Eggless Wholegrain Chocolate Fudge Cake is insanely chocolaty and delicious. The cake is dense and fudgy. It is s delicious dessert cake.



A whistling Thrush perched atop a sloping roof sings loud and clear. Her notes are sonorous and fresh like the Spring itself.   Spring is the new beginning, a symbol of rebirth and life. Buds blossom, grass grows and the brown shrubbery gives way to juicy green tender shoots. The forest drapes in all the shades of green and sway in mirth as the fragrant breeze pass by. Spring is about warmth, colours fragrances, flowers and butterflies.




Spring invokes many a sweet memory. Our garden in the foothills was a riot of colours in spring. Bougainvillaeas, calendulas,  aster, phlox, marigolds, dahlias, daisies and a dozen others made it an enchanted garden and the magician was our Dad who was blessed with green fingers. 




Mellifluous strains of Sitar melded with the scented air and wafted through early morning as he played his sitar for hours.  It was pure bliss, sheer magic, absolutely calming and rejuvenating!

It was one such beautiful day in Spring, the temple bells chimed in the distance, it was neither too cold nor hot, the garden was a slice of heaven, it was the New Year of the Hindu calendar, day of fasting and praying when dad quit his battle with his disease and decided to leave. We were never prepared for his adieu from the world. In spite of his waning health, we convinced ourselves that he would live on. The grief was maddening, a wrenching pain that shattered and changed our lives forever. A phenomenal father, husband, grandfather, a man of boundless compassion, our mentor, guide, forever friend was gone forever.

Dad made our lives richer with his bountiful love, generosity, and the gift of good values. The grief over a father’s death never ends. My daughter who has grown up in his arms,  tells me, “life goes on, so move on, he won’t come back”. Every journey comes to an end. The circle of life completes. One has to accept.

Memories don’t age, memories don’t fade and memories don’t erase. Memories like sunshine fill up the heart with warmth and joy. We celebrate his being in our life. And we celebrate his birthday with elan every year. And his favourite Eggless Chocolate Fudge Cake is baked and shared, songs sung, his memories lived and enjoyed sometimes in the veil of tears. “You may be gone from our sight but you are never gone from our heart”, we tell him.




Eggless Wholegrain Chocolate Fudge Cake is insanely chocolaty and delicious. Use a good quality dark chocolate. The cake is dense and fudgy. Do not bake it in a small size pan. I have used whole wheat flour for the recipe. You may use all-purpose flour for a lighter crumb.




Drizzle ganache on the cake if you are baking for some special occasion and decorate with chocolate barks or chocolate hearts. I have given instructions for making chocolate hearts at the end of the recipe.

Eggless Wholegrain Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • ¾ cup unrefined sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 stick butter (100 grams approx ½ cup)
  • 100 grams dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line one 7 inches round cake pan.
  2. Sift all the dry ingredients (the first four ingredients)  twice and keep aside.
  3. In a pan add water, sugar, and heat on medium flame. Stir till sugar dissolves.
  4. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Mix to get smooth consistency.
  5. To this add warm sugar solution and mix well.
  6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mix. Mix gently to get a smooth batter. Do not over mix.
  7. Pour into the prepared pan.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The cake should be firm and a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.
  9. Cool on the rack.  Enjoy plain or pour and spread some ganache on top and enjoy a fudgy chocolate cake.

 


Chocolate Hearts

To make chocolate hearts, take a broad strip of parchment paper. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler. Pour it on the parchment paper. With a flat spatula, spread it evenly. The chocolate layer should be thick. Keep it in the refrigerator.  Once the chocolate hardens, press a heart-shaped cookie cutter and carefully remove the chocolate hearts. Keep the chocolate hearts on a plate and keep the plate in the refrigerator until you use them.




                


Giraffe Print bread is light bread with a hint of chocolate. It is a pleasure to slice the loaf and discover the patterns inside. It is best enjoyed with a chocolate spread or peanut butter. 


We are perpetually living in winters this year. Unexpected and unanticipated rain over the last fifteen days has plummeted the temperature. The brown blanket of the dry foliage has got replaced by green. Ferns have sprung up around the corners, under the big trees and in all the crevices. Nature has its own ways of healing. The dryness of winters has been compensated.

Sky laden with clouds seems to be melting and dripping causing heavy showers. A water hole made for the birds gets brimmed with fresh water. 




A jungle myna alights from a nearby tree, inspects around and dashes into the sparkling pool. 

A Grey Winged Blackbird removes leaves from the wet ground continuously till it reaches the wet mud and  is rewarded by a fat earthworm.




A drongo is nesting on the tallest Pear Tree. She sits on her tiny cup-like nest and drives away all those who perch on the nearby branches. This policing continues all day.

In our baking studio, it’s a hectic day. A Giraffe Print Bread is being baked. For bakers, the dough becomes a medium to play with and to unleash creativity. This bread is special as it requires a lot of precision. It is important to have a weighing scale.



To make the pattern, we need one plain dough and one cocoa dough.  Both the dough will be divided into four pieces. One piece of each dough will be larger than the other three. The weight of the dough may differ slightly from that mentioned in this recipe. So weigh the total dough and divide accordingly. A few adjustments in dough weight will work fine.

The pictorial steps will help to shape the bread.

















Giraffe Print Bread

Ingredients for the plain dough

  • 250 grams all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup warm milk (1 -2 tablespoons extra)
  • 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar/brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soft butter
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast

Ingredients for the cocoa dough

  • 330 grams plain dough
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3-4 teaspoons water/milk

Instructions

  1. To prepare the plain dough, mix sugar and yeast to warm milk. When sugar dissolves, add all the remaining ingredients and knead for 6-7 minutes. If the dough feels hard, add 1 tablespoon of the extra milk and another if the dough is tight.  Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
  2. Remove 330 grams of the plain dough. Shape the remaining dough into a ball and transfer it to a greased bowl. Cover and keep in the refrigerator.
  3. Make a paste with cocoa powder and water/milk. Knead into the 330 grams of the plain dough until well combined. Shape into a ball and transfer to a greased bowl and cover with a cling wrap.
  4. Remove plain dough from the refrigerator and keep both the bowls, one with plain dough and the one with the cocoa dough in a warm spot to rise for 45-50 minutes or until double.
  5. Divide the cocoa dough into 4 pieces.  1x90 grams (one piece)   3x80 grams (3 pieces).
  6. Divide plain dough into 4 pieces. 1x50 grams (one piece)      3x40 grams (3 pieces)
  7. Roll the dough into balls.
  8. Now we have one large piece and three small pieces for each dough.
  9. Roll out the largest piece of cocoa dough into a rectangle as long as the baking tin you are using. Working on the long side of the rectangle, roll up. Pinch to seal all the open ends of the roll.  Similarly, make rolls with the remaining cocoa dough balls. 
  10. Roll out the largest piece of plain dough into a rectangle as long as the largest cocoa roll. Place the cocoa roll on the white rectangular dough. Pull up the sides of the plain dough, over the cocoa roll. Seal all the edges.  Repeat with the remaining pieces, until you get 4 rolls.
  11. Cut all the rolls into half. You will have 8 pieces. With one sharper and one open end.
  12. Grease one 8x4 inch loaf pan. Place three small rolls in the bottom, two big rolls in the middle and three small rolls on top.  Place the rolls in such a way that the ends are alternating. Cover and keep in a warm spot to rise until double. (after placing the rolls, there will be a lot of empty space in the pan on either side).
  13. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees C  for 20-25 minutes.
  14. Let cool down in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove and cool in the rack.
  15. Slice when cold.
Recipe adapted from - www.foodieyuki.com

Linking to #BreadBakers
BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.


We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Our host this month is Kelly. She chose to bake bread with surprises inside. It is a very interesting theme.

Check out the bread with surprises here-



·                Broccoli Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm

·                Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Bread from Making Miracles

·                Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread from Food Lust People Love

·                Giraffe Print Bread from Ambrosia

·                Leopard Print Milk Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories

·                Paw Print Bread from Passion Kneaded

·                Peek-a-boo Panda Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

·                Picasso Floral Surprise Loaf from A Messy Kitchen

·                Swirl Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

·                Swirl Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread (Chocolate, Garlic & Herbs) from Cook with Renu

·                Whey Watermelon Bread from Sneha's Recipe

 


NewerStories OlderStories Home