13 April 2014

Eggless Banana Cake

I love baking (and trying to bake!!) delicious cakes and cookies for my parents...In my endeavour to look up new and interesting recipes, it's been a constant challenge for me to use alternatives for eggs(especially for my mother) in those recipes and yet get a satisfactory result.
Though the World Wide Web abounds with eggless recipes, I try to use my own measurements and experiment with what works best and not and thus understand the logic behind the ingredient...
The following recipe is one such experiment which came out delightfully soft and tasty. The use of banana, condensed milk and curd make for good binding agents that give the cake a nice texture and structure. Depending on the type and sweetness quotient of the banana you use (also because of condensed milk, which is pre-sweetened), adjust the sugar measurement to avoid over-sweetening.



Eggless Banana Cake

Ingredients :

Maida - 2 cups
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Demerara or brown sugar - 3/4 cup (If using white sugar, reduce quantity to 1/2 cup)
Cocoa Powder - 1 tsp
Curd - 1/4 cup
Condensed Milk - 1/4 cup
Softened butter - 1/4 cup
Bananas - 2 (Pureed)
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Water - 50 ml

For Topping (optional)
Dark Chocolate - 1 cup
Milk or cream - 2 tbsps

Method :

1. Sift together maida, baking powder, Salt and cocoa powder. The sifting process is very important as it opens up the flour.

2. Add the softened butter and sugar to a bowl and whisk well till sugar dissolves. Add condensed milk, vanilla essence and 25 ml water and beat till frothy.

3. Now add the curd and mix lightly with a hand whisk. Gradually add a small measure of the pureed bananas, followed by a cup of the flour mix; continue to add the two alternatively. Fold in with a light hand using a wooden ladle. Make sure to leave no lumps.

4. Preheat over to 200 degrees C. Grease a baking dish and pour the batter into it. Bake for about 30 mins or till the knife comes out clean. Remember to not over-bake as the cake firms up more upon cooling.

5. Meanwhile, prepare the chocolate sauce by heating chocolate in a double boiler along with milk to make it softer. If using cream, add it after the chocolate has melted.

5. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Spread the chocolate sauce over the cake and decorate as desired.

Variations : - You can also add crushed walnuts or pecan nuts. raisins and chocolate chips to the batter to make the cake richer. The kitchen is your laboratory, so don't be shy of innovating :))
Suggested serving - warm the cake slightly before serving.


0 comments:

Post a Comment