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.

                

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 Vanilla Wholegrain Cake has a tender and moist crumb. The berry compote made with the wild berries collected from the forest compliments the cake.

It was a foggy morning this Saturday. As the day progressed, it was calm and overcast. 

Last year around mid-June, we had spotted some berries growing wild in the forest. We discovered the berries to be black raspberries. 

Hoping to find the berries again, we went to the adjoining forest. Forest trail was serene and cushioned heavily with leaves and petals.  The dancing treetops and the rustling of the leaves felt like a gentle whisper. Such surroundings quieten the mind and your soul feels at rest.

Forests in the hills are treasures of edible wild berries and fruits. Cold weather and almost negligible human intervention favours the exuberance of wild growth. We reached the same site and discovered fruit-laden branches. Some were eaten right from the plants and some collected.

We got home some cuttings from the older plants and planted in our garden. Nature is amazing and kind and there is something magical about the salubrious Himalayan clime. All the cuttings survived.

Black raspberry is almost like the red raspberry. Red raspberry is very common while black raspberries are a unique type and only grows in certain locations. The ripe fruits are sweet and juicy and full of tiny crunchy seeds. The berries are rich in vitamins and antioxidants.

A wholegrain cake was baked this weekend. We made compote with the black raspberries, Golden Himalayan Raspberries( Hisalu) and homegrown strawberries

Sustainable baking is all about sourcing all the ingredients locally and from around. Most of the ingredients that went into the cake are sourced locally.

The cake turned out moist and soft. The compote complimented the vanilla cake.

You may use any local fruit or berries to make the compote. It adds so much zing to the cake and is a pleasant change from the regular ganache frosting.

Wholegrain Vanilla Cake (Eggless) With Wild Berry Compote

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar/apple cider vinegar

Wild Berry Compote

• 1 cup mixed berries
• 1/4 cup water or orange juice
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 2-3 tablespoons sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease and line one 8 inch round cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together first four dry ingredients.
4. In another deep bowl, take the milk and heat it until warm. Add Butter.
5. Add vanilla extract.
6. Add dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated.
7. Add vinegar and mix well. The batter will begin to bubble and feel light.
8. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
9. Remove from the oven after 5 minutes. Remove from the pan after 5-6 minutes.
10. Cool in the rack.

Wild Berry Compote

Mash the wild berries with a fork. Transfer the mashed berries to a steel wok. Add water or juice and lemon juice and sugar. Cook on medium heat till the mixture bubbles and attains a thick sauce-like consistency.

Cool. Pour on the cooled cake.

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Summer is the season of Hisaalu in the Hills. Soft, tangy and sweet Hisaalu are the Golden Himalayan Raspberries also known as The  Yellow Himalayan Raspberries ( Rubus ellipticus). Hisaalu grows in the hills in the forests and on the roadsides.

 The shrub is stout and thorny and it needs certain expertise to pluck the ripe fruit as the leaves also have bristles. You have to carefully put your hand under the ripe bunch and the ripe fruits fall  off with a gentle nudge. Ripe berries are sweet and juicy. The seeds are crunchy. It ripens around early June to mid- June and is much sought after by children, villagers, and birds.

 Children often stop by the bushes while coming back from the schools and amidst loud chatter and laughter they love collecting and eating the juicy berries. It is believed that the berries are the source of energy and were eaten by the travelers going uphill.

We have a lot of Hisaalu shrubs in our area. We used some in our cake and baked an Eggless Hisaalu Cake. We mashed some berries and added to the batter. 

We also added some whole berries to the batter. 

The crunch of the seeds and juicy berries in the crumb make a delicious cake. 

This cake can be made with any local berries.

  

Eggless Vanilla Hisaalu Cake | Eggless Vanilla Cake with Berries 

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole grain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raw sugar / unrefined cane sugar
• ½ cup butter (1 stick butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup Hisaalu (Himalayan Golden raspberries) or any seasonal berries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line one 8 inch round cake pan.
2. In a bowl, mix milk and vinegar. Stir and keep for 10 minutes.
3. Whisk together first three ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Beat butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.
5. Add flour to the butter-sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix well with a spatula ensuring that all the ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix.
6. Mash ¼ cup berries. Fold in mashed berries and ¼ cup whole berries into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Sprinkle remaining berries on top.
9. Bake for about 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
10. Remove from the oven. Let it rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on the rack.
11. Slice when cold or slice the next day.

Note : You may use any local berries. Use all-purpose flour for a lighter crumb.

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Heat is showing the greatest effect on Bananas in our kitchen. They are ripening at a phenomenal speed. A day ago, half a dozen of the fruit was bought. The Same day, we went to a village in the periphery of the Jim Corbett Park. It was hot but serene. The breeze was cool. The forest was mesmerizing. The trees stood tall donning new leaves. The sound of the birds was soothing. Every time when there was a movement in the grass, we hoped to see some animal. But we had to be content with the distant sound of a barking deer and a peacock that we spotted by the side of the road.

We stopped by a village. There, an old man gave us a bunch of pahari bananas. The bananas were small, sweet and had a very distinct taste. We were hungry and ate up half the bunch. 

We returned home in the evening, exhausted and happy after a forest drive. The bananas at home had blackened and had to be salvaged. We decided on baking an Eggless Banana Chocolate Coffee Cake with olive oil. We also used the local bananas in the cake. The Cake was delicious. Soft, moist and chocolaty.

Olive Oil Chocolate Banana Cake (Eggless)

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• ¼  cup of cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
• ¾  teaspoon salt
• 4 very ripe sweet bananas
• ¾  cup warm milk
• ¾  cup unrefined cane sugar / boora sugar / brown sugar
• ¼  cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease and line one 9 inch round cake pan.
2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients (first six ingredients) in a large bowl.
3. Take milk in a glass. Add vinegar, stir and let stand for 10 minutes. It will curdle.
4. Puree the bananas in a blender.
5. Add sugar, olive oil, vanilla extract, and sugar and blend to get a smooth mixture.
6. Add curdled milk and stir well.
7. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange some banana slices on the top (optional)
9. Bake for 55 minutes or till the cake shrinks from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Remove from the oven. Remove from the pan after 5 minutes. 
11. Cool on the rack. Slice the next day.

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