Tag Archives: healthy cake

Eggless Whole Wheat (No Butter) Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Carrot Cake is something special for various reasons-  it is a healthy one as it has carrots and has a distinct spicy flavor with cinnamon and nutmeg. I remember baking carrot cake once or twice when I was young, when I didn’t know it was a winter cake. I also firmly believe climate and craving can be diagonally opposite to each other.

Now, how can I bring in winter/snow to Chennai to bake my carrot cake… then I would never have tried this wonderful cake. Remember, I come from Tamilnadu,a state where thaathas (grandpas) and aachis (grandmas) use their mufflers and pull overs for their early morning walks or temple walks, only in Maargazhi Maatham (the tamil month of Maargazhi) – mid December to mid January, when the early morning temp. would be just below 20 degrees.

This report a couple of years might summarise the actual climatic condition of Chennai, Tamilnadu –

 

A report recently released by the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said the actual minimum temperatures fall below 20 degrees Celsius during January and February. At times, the actual minimum temperatures varies 2 to 4 degrees Celsius below normal values. Records of the past 25 years show there is a gradual rise in minimum temperatures over Chennai ranging between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius.

The Met office recorded the lowest temperature in the last 28 years on January 27, 1982 (15.6 degrees Celsius), followed by 16.2 degrees Celsius on February 3, 1982. In 2010, the minimum temperature range went up to 17.5-23.4 degrees Celsius, with a monthly mean temperature of 21.2 degrees Celsius. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-01-19/chennai/28356276_1_lowest-temperature-degrees-celsius

 

This is what winter means to us the Tamils! For more on our seasons – see dosaikal.com/thai-pongal-the-harvest-festival/.

Now, with global warming there is a decrease in temperature levels – where aachi has to stay with her sweater for the whole night. Now, Phnom Penh –
‘Citizens Warned to Wrap Up Against Cold Snap’

read the headlines of Cambodia Daily.

 

While the ministry’s website put temperatures in Phnom Penh at 21 degrees last night, Oum Ryna, director of the ministry’s meteorology department, said in some areas of the country temperatures could drop as low as 14. degrees.  http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/citizens-warned-to-wrap-up-against-cold-snap-48739/

 

So, Carrot Cake justified!!
The FLOP STORY and The JOY OF SUCCESS

 

too watery… not good

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When I tried as usual to make this cake a 100% whole wheat, eggless, butterless cake, it was a heart breaking flop consecutively 4 times. My desperation has no words to express that I even tried baking twice a day the same cake (of-course wasting nearly 200 gms of flour and other things twice in the same day . Thanks to my better half who never mentioned a word on wastage!). And that I tried converting the flop carrot cake into carrot cookies is another story.

The cake looked great from the outside – but was pudding like in the inside. Tried with crushed pineapple and once without the pineapple. One thing became sure – the cake was becoming too moist with yoghurt as substitute to eggs. Mixing all the wet ingredients – oil and yoghurt to sugar as first stage was making the mix more watery. So, adding pineapple created more problems.

Then I came across a few recipes – some vegan, some with all purpose flour and a few egg-less but with butter. A very few had a difference – where the dry ingredients were taken first and then the wet ingredients were added one by one to be immediately spooned into the cake tray and baked in the oven. By this the batter remained intact and didn’t let sugar and yoghurt and oil to become watery. I decided to give this a last try. Hurray!! This method worked well and my long awaited Carrot Cake was delivered in great shape!

Because of the continuous flops, I went in for a smaller cup size.
100% Whole Wheat Egg-less (No Butter) Carrot Cake

 

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Ingredients

dry ingredients

  • whole wheat flour – 1 heaped cup – 125 gms
  • brown cane sugar – 3/4 cup – 100gms
  • salt – a pinch
  • cinnamon powder – 3/4 tsp
  • nutmeg powder – 1/2 tsp
  • baking powder – 1 tsp – 4 gms
  • baking soda – 1 tsp – 4 gms
  • chopped walnuts – 1/4 – 1/2 cup

wet ingredients

  • grated carrots – 1 cup – 125 gms
  • refined oil – 1/2 cup – 75 ml
  • thick curds – 1/2 cup – 100 gms
  • grated ginger – 1/2 tsp
  • vanilla essence – 1 tsp

 

Method of Preparation

  1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees Celsius
  2. Grease a baking tray or place greased baking sheet, ready for the batter to be spooned in
  3. In a large bowl, take all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, baking powder and baking soda one by one except chopped walnuts
  4. Start adding the wet ingredients one by one  – carrots and ginger first
  5. Next, add oil and last thick curds/yoghurt and mix well
  6. Incorporate well as the baking powder and baking soda with the flour should dissolve completely, yet make it quick as the yoghurt and sugar doesn’t make the batter watery
  7. Fold in the chopped walnuts
  8. Spoon the batter into the baking tray
  9. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or till a tooth pick comes out clean.

 

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Carrot Cakes look great with Cream Cheese Frosting – as a family we would prefer a plain carrot cake and avoid the sweet frosting. Still for the great experience of making a frosting and my latest culinary interest – please do bear with me.. my dear friends!
Cream Cheese Frosting

 

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Ingredients (Less quantity for the above small cake – I had some left over frosting too)

  • cream cheese (I used Philadelphia cream cheese) – 115 gms
  • unsalted butter – 60 gms
  • icing sugar or confectioners sugar – 110 gms
  • vanilla essence – 3/4 tsp
  • chopped almonds for topping

Method of Preparation

  1. Keep the cream cheese and butter out of refrigerator and bring to room temperature
  2. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth
  3. Add vanilla essence
  4. Spoon in sugar and mix well till a spreadable texture is achieved
  5. Amount of sugar can be altered to individual preference – (this was a bit too sweet for us)
  6. Spread on the cake with a blunt knife or spatula
  7. Arrange chopped almonds or any other nuts of your choice or decorate as you wish.

Egg-less Whole Wheat Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is ready!

(100% Whole Wheat, Condensed Milk) Eggless Choco Walnut Cake with (trial attempted) Dark Chocolate Ganache

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I have already posted a basic eggless chocolate cake previously with yoghurt (dosaikal.com/eggless-chocolate-cake/). This one is also 100% whole wheat, no butter and no eggs – but with condensed milk for a richer, more moist texture.  I wouldn’t term it as a very healthy cake – this time I give it up for a little indulgence. Of course, helps my daughter not to be tempted to the best bakery in town for white flour buttery chocolate cake.

Except for a few alien souls on this earth, most of us would relish chocolate cakes or even more chocolate frosted/iced cakes and pastries. With home made vanilla, banana, carrot or chocolate cakes – such cakes from the baker have not been really a hit at home these days – thanks to my little one’s magnanimity accepting my version of cakes! Now, what next when you go to a coffee shop for a break for Ice Chocolade,  the choice is from donuts, croissants or choco frosted cakes or pastries. Donuts are a big NO and Croissants are once in a while alright – but with Choco Frosted Cakes – I am lost myself!! Then, the little one has the best company of the mother and we indulge together – then the guilt is only mine. The little one’s inbuilt innocent mechanism digests it so well!

 

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That’s what happened last week – A break with Ice Chocolade and Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache! Then, I promised her I shall try at home. I strongly believe icing is for those ‘yogic souls’ with great concentration. Icing is not my cup of tea or my piece of cake – though the piece of whole wheat cake is mine. But melting chocolate blocks and pouring on top of a cake is easier, the only problem being the finishing touch of perfection. I have tried more than a couple of times with melted chocolate topping on my cakes – tasted wonderful but not good with its looks.

Well, to achieve something you need to sacrifice something is a common phrase in Indian films and soaps since decades and no doubt that can be one of the heaviest truths of life too! So, I chose to achieve the goodness of chocolate icing not bothering about the looks of the finished product. I have also vowed to learn frosting swirls for my cup cakes. The warning signal has already been passed over to the ‘Tasting Duo of my Home’ – Father and Daughter Combo!

First the Cake.
EGGLESS CHOCO WALNUT CAKE (100% whole wheat, no butter) WITH CONDENSED MILK

 

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Thanks to these websites from which I could get an idea of the quantity of condensed milk – but I have altered the ingredients to make the cake with whole wheat – butterless and less sweeter too-

http://www.thatslife.com.au/Article/Food/Reader-Recipes/Condensed-Milk-Chocolate-Cake

http://www.love2cook-malaysia.com/2012/03/eggless-condensed-milk-chocolate-cake.html

 

Ingredients

  • whole wheat flour – 1 cup – 150 gms
  • cocoa powder – 3 heaped tbsp – 50 gms
  • baking powder – 1 tsp – 4gms
  • baking soda – 1 tsp – 4 gms
  • hot milk (diluted if full cream)  – 1/4 cup – 50 ml
  • refined oil (sunflower oil) – 1/2 cup – 75 – 80gms
  • condensed milk – 1/2 cup – 150 gms
  • chopped walnuts – 1/4 cup – 30 gms
  • vanilla essence – 1 tsp
  • extra warm milk – 1/4 cup – 50 ml (only to be used if batter is too thick)

 

the dry ingredients

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Method of Preparation

  1. Preheat oven at 175 degrees C and grease a round baking tray or place greased parchment paper in the dish as you wish
  2. Mix the chopped walnuts in very little flour so that the nuts do not settle in the bottom of the cake; Keep aside
  3. Combine whole wheat flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and keep aside
  4. Combine condensed milk, oil and vanilla essence in a wide bowl
  5. Mix baking soda and hot milk and it would become frothy, add this to the wet contents
  6. Fold in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder into the wet batter
  7. If the batter is too thick, add the extra milk that is kept;  the batter need not be pourable consistency – it is right if it is a spoonable consistency
  8. Mix the floured walnuts to the cake batter
  9. Spoon the batter into the cake tray/dish
  10. Bake for 30-40 minutes (mine took even more) depending upon the oven, till a tooth pick comes out clean

 

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For the Ganache –

Now, what I learnt about Ganache –

 

Ganache is a French term referring to a smooth and velvety mixture of chocolate and cream. Its origin is a little unclear, but it is believed to have been invented around 1850. Some say it originated in Switzerland where it was used as a base for truffles. Others say it was invented in Paris at the Patisserie Siravdin.

To make Ganache, hot cream (cream with a 35-40% butterfat content) is poured over chopped semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, and the mixture is stirred until smooth. The proportions of chocolate to cream can vary depending on its use, but the basic form is equal weights of chocolate and cream. Dark, milk, or white chocolate can be used to make ganache and different flavorings can be added such as liqueurs and extracts. Butter, oil, or corn syrup can also be added when a dark shiny glaze is desired. http://www.joyofbaking.com/ganache.html

 

I went in search for the basic dark chocolate ganache recipe with butter and framed these two..

http://savorysweetlife.com/2009/08/simply-glorious-chocolate-ganache-recipe-3-ways/ and

http://www.chow.com/recipes/28649-basic-chocolate-ganache

and chose to stick to the second but learnt from the pictures of the first!

I took the 1:1 ratio for chocolate and cream and added butter for the extra shine and glaze of the icing.
CHOCOLATE GANACHE

 

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Ingredients

  • Chocolate Bar (used 52% cocoa which is not bitter) – 200 gms
  • whipping cream – 200 gms (mine was 30% milk fat)
  • unsalted butter – 100 gms

Method of Preparation

  1. If your chocolate bar is in the freezer as mine, place it outside and bring it to normal temperature or atleast less cold to cut into small pieces and keep in a heat proof dish
  2. Bring the butter to room temperature
  3. Heat the cream in medium stove position and bring to boil
  4. Pour the cream over the chocolate pieces and let it melt – this might take 5 minutes
  5. Stir well so that the pieces are completely melted
  6. Mix the butter to choco-cream mixture
  7. Chocolate Ganache is ready to be poured and spread on the cake.

cut chocolate and pour hot cream into it

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add butter and the ganache is ready to be poured

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NOTE:

  1. This quantity of ingredients for ganache gives about 3 to 4 cups of pourable consistency.
  2. It took less than half for the above chocolate cake.
  3. The rest that I have stored – can be stored for months.
  4. I plan to make choco-swirl icing or choco truffles too!  I might try the swirls on a choco-chip vanilla cup cake!!

 

thickened ganache in fridge

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Now, I forgot to take a picture when the ganache was ready on the cake. Then, I started thinking of ways to decorate it – which as I said earlier – not my cup of tea still. I decided on chocolate curls and tried but turned out to be grated chocolate!

So, I spread the grated chocolate on top of the ganache… not really pleasing- but truly tasted good.

 

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Then I thought again of any other means of making my daughter happy –

I had already kept the ganache in the fridge and it was set well. I took it out and spread it on the cake pieces and ended it like this!!

 

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with sprinkles

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Believe me, the taste of Ganache was truly awesome.. just like the ones in those glass doored -wi-fied  pastry shops!!

Basic Wheat Cake/Atta Cake

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This is another cake with just the basic ingredients. Flour, sugar, butter and eggs are the basic ingredients in any cake. Here again, the all purpose flour is substituted with wheat flour; brown cane sugar in place of white sugar and  cooking oil is used instead of butter. I wanted to bake this cake without eggs – but my daughter who loves the beating part in cake making, insisted using egg. So, egg is used.

This cake does not need much beating. Just mixing one ingredient after the other is enough. It is very quickly done.

  

 

Ingredients

  • wheat flour – 1 cup/100 gms
  • sugar – 3/4 cup/75 gms
  • oil – 1/2 cup – 50 ml
  • egg – 1 no.
  • yoghurt/curds – 3/4 cup
  • baking powder – 1/2 tsp
  • baking soda – 1/2 tsp
  • vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

  1. In a wide bowl, beat egg and sugar – enough to melt sugar
  2. Powdered sugar can also be used for easier melting
  3. Add oil and vanilla extract and mix
  4. Mix baking soda and baking powder with gothumai maavu/wheat flour/atta
  5. Start adding flour little by little to egg, sugar, oil mixture
  6. The batter would be thick half way – now add little yoghurt to set right the consistency
  7. Add all the flour and yoghurt to bring batter to thinner consistency
  8. Grease a baking pan and dust it with a light coating of flour
  9. Pour the batter into the pan
  10. Preheat oven at 200 degrees centigrade and bake for 30 minutes
  11. Check at 30 minutes with a tooth pick – if it comes out clean, cake is ready
  12. Depending upon the oven, it might take another 10 minutes too – so it is better to check at 30 minute point
  13. Remove from oven and let it cool to serve.

 Note:

  1. It is again a small cake with less sugar
  2. Double it for a bigger cake and quantity of sugar can be added if needed.

 

Baking Cakes Healthy! – Oats and Apple Cake

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Passion for traditional food has always been there within me. But, when I was young and started trying my hands in cooking, I would attempt only exotic recipes from cookery books. Biriyanis, Pulavs, North Indian Specialities, and especially Cakes and other baked items used to be favourites. There was always amma and aachi to make the Tamilnadu specialities.

One such item which was always on my list of exotic recipes was cake. Cakes are hugely popular among young and old ones – irrespective of age. The soft, fluffy, sugary, sometimes nutty – vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, caramel and the king of all flavours if I can say – chocolate – cakes and their flavours steal the show in many places.

I remember amma baking cakes on stove – in a cake making vessel with sand as the base inside. First, sand used to be filled in the cake making vessel and preheated on the burner. The cake baking vessel looked like an idli kopparai or traditional idly steaming utensil. The cake batter would be prepared, poured in the metal baking tray, which would be placed on top of preheated sand and the vessel would be closed with lid. After an hour or so, cake would be ready. In the meantime, the exotic smell of cake being baked on top of sand would spread in the house… kids waiting for the minute to open and have the king and queen’s share!

Now, with oven in every household, cookery books, blogs and cookery classes – baking cakes have become a household affair – everything made easy. Though, baking cakes of different varieties has become easier now, I have always not been a great fan of the self-raising flour/all-purpose flour or maida as it is called locally. Maida, a refined product, too fine and sticky is considered as empty calories and quite often a waste material to the system. The usage of maida in my cooking is near to nil. So, I try baking a bit healthier cakes. Sugar is another empty calory intake – I try substituting sugar with other healthier options. Not compromising on the fluffy texture and basic nature of cakes, I have tried some cake varieties. At least, the guilt feeling of having an empty calorie sweet is reduced and the cake is also made fibrous and more nutritious for kids!

I always told my daughter sugar was bad. I substitute jaggery for sweetness in her porridges. Till today, she is not interested in the various sweets made at home or outside. She always says ‘sugar is bad amma’! So, when I started baking cakes with whole wheat flour, she immediately asked me – can we bake cakes without sugar? I seriously took that in mind and tried it. Next time she said – ‘butter is also bad amma’ – so I started baking cakes with whole wheat flour, any natural sugar substitute like raisins or dates with very little unrefined cane sugar and oil instead of butter.

When I plan to bake a cake,I would take out all ingredients and arrange them and just call my daughter to mix. She is the true mixer at home. My work is to give her all the ingredients and after she blends them well, keep the baking tray inside the oven. (I lend a helping hand to bring it to proper consistency). Though she loves to beat the eggs and roll the batter, she doesn’t try tasting any of them. She only bakes for others. Just that the sweet tooth forgot to appear till today!

 

Oats and Apple Cake

 

hands of my little one beating the cake batter

 

arrange apple pieces

 

 

Ingredients

  • whole wheat flour – 50 gms
  • Oats – 50 gms
  • cane sugar – 75 gms
  • eggs – 2 nos
  • refined oil – 50 gms
  • milk – ¼ cup
  • apple – 1 small
  • baking powder – ¼ tsp
  • baking soda – ¼ tsp
  • Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Method of Preparation

  1. Take sugar and oil in a wide bowl and mix well
  2. Beat eggs well
  3. Mix eggs with the sugar – oil mixture
  4. Sieve whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda twice
  5. Add oats to the wheat flour and mix well
  6. Slowly fold in the flour with the egg-sugar-oil mixture little by little
  7. Add the vanilla extract for flavour
  8. To bring the batter to better pouring consistency, add milk
  9. Cut apple into long slices
  10. Grease a baking tray and arrange apple slices
  11. Pour the cake batter on top of slices
  12. Preheat oven at 200°C
  13. Place the cake batter in and bake for 30 minutes
  14. Check after 20 minutes with a knife if the cake is done
  15. If the knife comes out without batter sticking to it, cake is done. If batter sticks, take it out at 30 minutes.

 

 

baked well

 

 

 

 

Note:

  1. This is a small cake and might give about 12 small pieces.
  2. If one needs a bigger cake, just double the quantity of all ingredients
  3. Sugar content might be less in this cake – if one feels to add more, sugar quantity can be slightly increased.