Eggless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache [Video]

Rich, moist, indulgent, sinful and delectable eggless Chocolate Cake covered with a smooth dark Chocolate Ganache. This cake is perfect for birthdays and special occasions. It is easy to make and super delicious.

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This is the BEST eggless chocolate cake EVER!!!

And the family agrees.

This year when I asked both Raj and Gee if I should bake them a cake, both of them just shooed away the thought and asked for different things. I made those other things, but it did not feel like a birthday if I did not bake a cake. So here's the best Birthday cake I ever made.

Recently, my baking has been a little bit of a failure - super healthy cakes that tasted not so delightful, a tray of freshly baked brownies that saw the floor before they saw the mouth and a cake that tasted like groundnut more than vanilla thanks to the groundnut oil I used. So this cake had to be a success. It was, after all, the birthday of the two people who make up my life.

This cake is everything you ever imagined a Chocolate Cake should be. It is eggless, yet moist. It is rich, dark and deeply chocolatey. Top it with the dark chocolate ganache and the cake becomes sinful and indulgent. Basically, this cake kicks the ass of any other birthday cake.

To make this Eggless Chocolate Cake

Firstly, we need to bake 2 layers of cake. I do not use box mixes, so this cake is made from scratch.
The cake is made from simple easily available ingredients. A few things that make this cake rich and moist:

Oil instead of butter. We want a moist and dense cake instead of a light and crumbly cake. And my pro tip, use a flavorless oil, unless you like the flavor of oil. Last time I used groundnut oil and it had an aftertaste that I could not get rid off.

Condensed milk. This is my favorite egg replacer in all eggless cakes. The condensed milk manages to hold the cake together like nothing else does. I always use sweetened condensed milk, so I tend to use less sugar instead.

Yogurt. Again, this makes it moist while adding a creaminess to the cake. You will never taste the sourness of the yogurt, but it does add another dimension to the flavor.

Coffee. Coffee has time and again been used in dark chocolate cakes, and with good reason. Coffee brings out the flavor of the chocolate and makes the cake taste more chocolatey. It enhances the darkness of the cake too, in flavor and color, if you know what I mean.

I baked the cake at night and frosted them the next day morning. The cakes need to completely cool before you frost them, else the ganache will melt. While all my cakes dome in the center, this one did not really. I mean it did, but ever so slightly. So while frosting the cakes, I sliced the top off to level them.

The cake tasted AH-MAZING with the chocolate ganache, so I really wish you make it too.

The ganache is made from only 3 ingredients, so be nice to me and yourself, and make it. Use the best quality dark chocolate bar, your favorite one. I used a regular sweetened dark chocolate bar that I eat and not cooking chocolate. I used Amul's Peru single origin dark chocolate bar and it tasted so good. Cut the chocolate into small pieces so it melts quickly. Heat the cream and pour it into the chocolate and mix it until the chocolate melts and has no lumps. If the cream isn't hot enough, the chocolate will not melt. In that case, gently melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

The chocolate I used already had sugar in it, so I added very little powdered sugar later. If you are using unsweetened or semi sweetened chocolate, add in more sugar (as desired). At this point the chocolate is molten, you can pour this over the cake if you plan to serve the cake as a single layer cake. If you want to make a two-layer cake like me, then cool the ganache slightly in the fridge so it hardens slightly and reaches a spreadable consistency. 15 mins were more than enough for me. This time may differ depending on the type of chocolate used. I suggest peeping into the refrigerator every 10 minutes. If it hardens up a lot, gently reheat it over the double boiler for a few seconds and add some milk and whisk it into submission.

I did not pipe the ganache into fancy shapes but just used the back of a spoon to create the pattern on the top of the cake. You can make any pattern you like.

The cake tastes best when slightly warmed up. Microwave any leftover slices for 10-20 seconds and enjoy an even more sinful dessert.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Eggless Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Rich and delectable eggless chocolate cake topped with a dark chocolate ganache.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Total time:     70 minutes
Yield:                One 6" cake

Ingredients:

For the chocolate cake:

1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
0.75 cups unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 cup Powdered Sugar
0.5 cup Oil
200ml sweetened Condensed Milk
0.5 cup Yogurt (Curd)
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 cup hot Water
1 Tbsp strong Coffee Powder

For the chocolate ganache:

250gms good quality Dark Chocolate
1 cup full fat Cream
2-3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

Method:

To make the chocolate cake:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder 1-2 times to remove lumps. Keep aside.
2. Take the powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and add the oil. Whisk until the two are combined.
3. Add in the condensed milk, yogurt and vanilla essence and whisk until completely combined and smooth.
4. Boil the 1 cup of water and mix in the 1 Tbsp of strong coffee powder and add to the mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
5. Add in the sifted dry ingredients by the spoonfuls and whisk to combine.
6. Grease two 6" pans and either line them with baking paper or dust them with flour.
7. Divide the batter equally between the two pans.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 180 degree Celsius until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
9. Demould the cakes and allow them to cool on a wire rack until completely cooled.

To make the chocolate ganache:

10. 30 minutes before you are ready to serve the cake, cut the dark chocolate and put it in a large mixing bowl.
11. Add in the hot cream and whisk until all the chocolate has dissolved and the ganache is smooth. If the cream was not hot enough and the chocolate did not melt completely, you can melt it gently over a double boiler.
12. Add in the powdered sugar as required and mix well.
13. Refridgerate the ganache until it hardens slightly and reaches spreadable consistency.

To assemble the chocolate cake:

14. To assemble, slice off the dome of the cake to level both of them.
15. Place one on a plate and spoon some of the ganache on it. Spread it around. Place the other cake on the first.
16. Spread the remaining ganache on the top and sides of the cake.
17. Cake is ready to serve.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Almond Chocolate Brownie

Eggless Pineapple Cake

Vegan Date and Walnut Cake

Blueberry Muffin

Almond Semolina Cake

Vegan Coffee Walnut Brownies

Read more ...

Milk Rusk Recipe | Sweet Bread Rusk Recipe [Video]

Milk Rusk is a twice baked sweet bread. Milk Rusk is sweet and tastes best with a hot cup of tea. Rusk is a popular tea-time snack in India.

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How do you like your chai/tea? I like mine slightly strong with little milk and 1 tsp of organic jaggery powder, that brown chocolatey kind, with a rusk to dunk into it.

I LOVE dunking biscuits and rusks in my tea. I sometimes dunk cakes and bread too, but that's a story for another day. I've been dunking rusks for years and loved how the crispy hard rusk just melts once dunked. My snack box usually has a packet of rusk from the local bakery, coz those are the BEST!

So one Saturday, when I was relatively free, I decided to bake some myself. So there are sweet rusks and savory rusks. I am not sure if the savory one is native to only Bangalore and surrounding areas because I had never seen one before. But that's my least favorite one, so totally ignoring the existence of that one. There are 2 types of sweet rusks, the bread rusk and the cake rusk. The cake rusk is like a biscotti, where one bakes a cake first and then slices it and bakes again until it dries up and becomes a crisp sweet cake rusk. That's a recipe I still need to try. This time I tried the second recipe, which is of bread rusk. 

To make the bread rusk, one needs to bake a sweet bread first and then slice it and bake it again until it dries up to give the crispy hard rusk that we all enjoy.

About the Sweet Bread

• Bread rusk takes a considerably longer time to make because it includes the rise time of the bread. However, this is free time as you don't need to monitor it, just leave it in a warm place to rise.

• Sweet bread takes longer than regular bread to rise. The added sugar slows down the process, so you will have to wait longer. It took me around 4 hours to get a good rise out of the bread, it may take longer if you live in a cooler area. 

Once the bread is ready, it doesn't take very long to make the rusks if you have a large oven and a sheet pan. I had to make mine in batches, so it took me some time to bake them all.

But the wait was worth it! The satisfaction of dunking a home baked rusk exceeded the boredom of the waiting period. Happy Rusk Baking to you!!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo @oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are up to.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Milk Rusk Recipe | Sweet Bread Rusk Recipe

Milk Rusk is a twice baked sweet bread. Milk Rusk is sweet and tastes best with a hot cup of tea. Rusk is a popular tea-time snack in India.

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     6 Hours
Cook time:     1 Hour
Total time:     7 Hours
Yield:                Makes 20-25

Ingredients:

2 cups All purpose flour
0.5 cup Milk Powder
3-4 Tbsp powdered Sugar
0.5 cup lukewarm Water
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Active Dried Yeast
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Milk
Water as required

Method:

1. Add the 1 tsp of sugar and the active dried yeast into the lukewarm water and mix well. Keep is aside for 5-10 minutes to bloom.
2. Take the flour, milk powder and powdered sugar in a large bowl.
3. Add the yeast and mix well.
4. Knead into a smooth dough using water.
5. Coat the dough with the oil and cover and keep aside to rise until doubled. This may take 2-4 hours.
6. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and knead it gently for 2-3 minutes.
7. Divide the dough into 2 and shape into rolls. Cover and keep aside to rise again.
8. Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
9. Once the loaves have doubled, brush the loaves with milk and bake for 30-40 minutes until done.
10. Allow the bread to cool completely, then slice into rusk slices.
11. Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
12. Place the rusk in a single layer in a baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.
13. Flip the rusks after 10 minutes.
14. Cool on a wire rack.
15. Store in an airtight container. Serve with tea or coffee.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Fruit Biscuit

Almond Cookies

Baked Papdi

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Eggless Almond Cookies Recipe | Badam Biscuit Recipe [Video]

Eggless Almond Cookies or Badam Biscuits. Crisp buttery cookies made with almonds. 

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These Almond Cookies guys.... are the best cookies EVER!!

I've baked several cookies over the years, but it is to these almond beauties that I keep going back. These were the first cookies I ever baked and posted. Today I'm just reposting the exact same recipe, nothing to fault there, with new photos and a video to make it easier for you to bake these almond cookies. Now you have absolute no reason not to. Right?

I would have never got around to baking anything if it weren't for a quarter packet of unsalted butter staring at me every time I opened the fridge. Frankly, I can't even remember why I bought that butter and when I used parts of it. I've been racking my brain but got nothing so far. So because I was actually bored of seeing that butter in the fridge, I decided I need to bake something. I had excess almonds available, so I got around to baking these oldies again.

Making these cookies is very very easy. All you need is 7-8 ingredients at room temperature. I use a mix of maida or all purpose flour and atta or whole wheat flour, just because I stay a little far from all purpose flour when I can. If you like you can use only all purpose flour or only whole wheat flour. The whole wheat flour here adds to the nuttiness of the cookie and is pretty much unnoticeable. I coarsely ground the almonds, you can also chop the almonds or add extra chopped almonds to give it a more almond-y taste. I plan to add the chopped almonds next time.

The important thing while baking cookies is to not over-mix the mixture. Over-mixing will give you harder cookies, so mix everything until just combined. Also, don't overdo the creaming of the butter, it is a cookie not a cake, so don't incorporate a lot of air in there. I made one batch with the full 100 gms of sugar and found it a tad too sweet. Hence, here in this recipe, I added only 3/4th of the sugar first and then added more as required.

It is recommended to chill the cookie dough before baking as it prevents the cookie from spreading too much. If you are short for time, freeze it for 15 minutes. This cookie dough did not slice well for me as it had almond pieces, so I rolled them instead of just slicing the dough. Once all that is done, just bake the cookie until it is slightly browned on the sides. When you remove the cookies out, they will feel soft, allow them to cool and they will firm up.

These Almond Cookies are crisp and not chewy. They taste great when dunked into a hot cup of chai. Don't you just love dunking your biscuits or cookies in chai? So I'm off to eat my cookies with chai.

Happy Weekend!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Eggless Almond Cookies Recipe | Badam Biscuit Recipe

Eggless Almond Cookies or Badam Biscuits. Crisp buttery cookies made with almonds.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     40 minutes
Cook time:     20 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                35 cookies

Ingredients:

0.75 cup or 125 gms Unsalted Butter
0.5 cup or 50 gms Flour (Maida)
1 cup or 100 gms Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)
0.5 cup or 100 gms Sugar
0.75 cup or 100 gms Almonds
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Tbsp Milk

Method:

1. Powder the sugar until fine.
2. Coarsely powder the almonds.
3. Take unsalted butter that is at room temperature into a large bowl.
4. Add in 3/4th of the powdered sugar and whisk until the sugar has mixed well and the butter is creamy.
5. Sift in the flour, whole wheat flour and baking powder.
6. Add the powdered almonds and vanilla essence and knead until combined. If it is too dry, add a little milk.
7. Taste the dough and add in more powdered sugar if required and knead again until combined.
8. Wrap in a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
9. After 30 minutes, divide the cookie dough into 35 equal parts.
10. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
11. Shape the cookies and place on a greased baking sheet.
12. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the edges are slightly browned.
13. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
14. Store in an air tight box once completely cooled.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Masala Bread Toast

Eggless Almond Chocolate Brownie

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Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta [Video]

Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta. Crusty grilled bread topped with sweet cumin roasted butternut squash, artichokes cooked in the oven until soft, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. This vegan appetizer is perfect for soirees and parties. Included is a video that shows how to roast butternut squash and how to cut and prepare artichokes to cook in the oven.

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Hey, we are mid week already!!

If you are an optimist (which I am sure you are), you are thinking you are halfway through to the weekend. So true!! Shouldn't we celebrate? I  say we should with this Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta.

I simply LOVE Butternut Squash. It's a beautiful vegetable. For those who haven't had one, it is the closest in taste to red or orange pumpkin, but slightly firmer in texture. You can replace butternut squash with pumpkin too. But I love the texture of a butternut squash. And roasting it brings out the sweetness of the squash. I kept the flavor profile very simple, just red chilli and cumin. The red chilli brought a nice heat to the otherwise sweet squash and the cumin added a little earthy flavor that worked wonderfully with the sweet squash. The little cubes are so tasty, you won't stop eating them while cooking, so make a little more than you would like to serve. Your own secret stash.


Next in, the Artichokes. This is not something very regularly available in India. I happened to find it stocked in the supermarket near my house and I couldn't resist buying it. Good decision, though. The last time I had cooked artichokes, Raj was totally unimpressed. He almost forbade me to buy them this time. But after this time, I may have at least converted him to tolerating them. I almost steamed the artichokes in the oven and they turned out all soft and melt in your mouth texture, that was really appetizing. I absolutely loved them with just salt and olive oil. Gee preferred adding in some Italian seasoning. Season the artichokes according to your taste.

Good quality crusty bread works best for a Bruschetta, but you can use what you have. You can even use crackers.

This Roasted Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta is a perfect snack or appetizer that you can serve for a Sunday Brunch, or Friday night Cocktails, or a just a soiree with friends. It is also something that you can prepare in advance, so you can leave your hair loose and enjoy with your family and friends and just accept the compliments that will come your way. Happy celebrating!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

Video Recipe

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Butternut Squash and Artichoke Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an Italian appetizer in which crusty grilled bread is topped with sweet cumin roasted butternut squash, artichokes cooked in the oven until soft, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. This vegan appetizer is perfect for soirees and parties

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:            Italian
Prep Time:     15 hours
Cook time:     60 minutes
Total time:     75 minutes
Yield:                Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

2 Baguettes
1 Butternut Squash
2 Artichokes
0.5 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2-3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste
Water as required
1 Lime or Lemon
2 Tbsp freshly cracked Pepper

Method:

1. Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Dice it into bite sized pieces of about 1 cm.
2. Add salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder and 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil and mix well.
3. Layer them on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 220 degree Celsius or until soft.
4. In the meanwhile, prepare the artichokes. In a large bowl, take water and add lime juice to it and keep close by. Acidulated water prevents artichokes from browning.
5. Cut the top of the artichoke and remove the tough outer leaves. Keep dipping the artichoke in lime water to avoid browning.
6. Trim the stem and cut the artichoke into half and soak it in the lime water.
7. Once all the artichokes are prepped, place them in a baking pan and drizzle olive oil and salt over them. Use your fingers to rub the salt and oil into the artichokes.
8. Add water to the pan and cover with aluminium foil.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until soft in an oven at 220 degree Celsius.
10. Allow the artichokes to cool a little and either chop them or separate the individual leaves.
11. Slice the baguettes and grill them or toast them until crisp.
12. Top with the artichokes and butternut squash.
13. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Top with freshly cracked pepper for taste.
14. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Grilled Veg Sandwich

Breakfast Bruschetta Duo

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Read more ...

Roasted Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Quinoa Salad Recipe

Vegan salad made with roasted sweet potatoes, baked spicy chickpeas, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and veggies by tossing them in a simple dressing made of mustard and dates!

Until my 20s, a salad in my life was just a plateful of sliced tomatoes or cucumbers. A boring but supremely healthy plate of food that neither tempted the vision nor the appetite. And then, I found this salad bar in a mall food court that totally made me love salads. While salad bars are extremely common in the west, there aren't many out here in the tropical sub continent. May be it is the weather or may be it just that there is no demand. I loved the idea that I could pile up my bowl with anything and everything and make my own salad. Unfortunately, the place shut down after a while. But ever since, I love DIY salads.

While I eat salads, I rarely post their recipes. When I make salads at home, they are usually very simple - veggies tossed in a simple vinaigrette, so I don't share them with you. But this salad, I had to share!!

Where do I begin with this salad... it has so many delicious things all mixed together.

• Roasted Sweet Potato - I found some gorgeous orange sweet potato (a rare find in Bangalore), so I bought some and roasted it in the oven with olive oil, salt, cumin and smoked paprika until they were soft and fabulous. Alternatively, roast some pumpkin.
• Spicy baked Chickpeas - You have to add some crunch to the salad, and in this case, these chickpeas are the crunch element. I soaked chickpeas overnight and cooked them with salt until soft. Then I peeled them and roasted them with olive oil and salt. I tossed in some red chilli powder after removing from the oven. You can buy crispy chickpeas or you can just add boiled chickpeas.
• Quinoa - This is what makes the salad filling and increases the protein content of the salad. If you cannot find quinoa, use millet or buckwheat.
• Blanched Vegetables - I blanched some broccoli and beans and added them to the salad. I love broccoli and beans are just healthy. Add any of your favorite veggies, blanched or raw.
• Pomegranate - I love pomegranate and I will add this to any salad I can. These sweet juicy pink seeds make any salad pop. They add a slight sweetness to the salad and complement the sweet potato really well.
• Walnuts - You can never have enough crunch in a salad. Add in any nuts you love, I personally love walnuts. Plus, they are good for your brain.
• Lettuce - Salad isn't salad until you have some green leaves. And while I list is last, it is most definitely the mandatory element of the salad. You can replace it with kale or baby spinach.

Since the salad itself had such gorgeous ingredients, I kept the dressing simple, yet interesting. Mustard, dates, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt. Just blend everything until you have a tart sweet and hot dressing. 

This salad is substantial enough to be a meal in itself. In fact, it was our dinner and it kept us feeling full for a long time. However, it felt light also. 

The salad has ingredients that need preparation - roasting, baking, blanching and boiling. You can prep all of these in advance. That is exactly what I did. I roasted the sweet potato and chickpeas the day before. The chickpeas tend to get a little soft and chewy, but you can pop them in the oven for a while before adding to the salad to crisp them up again. I boiled the quinoa the previous day too. If you plan to make the salad the very next day, then you can also blanch the veggies the night before.

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email

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Roasted Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Quinoa Salad Recipe

Vegan salad made with roasted sweet potatoes, baked spicy chickpeas, quinoa, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and veggies by tossing them in a simple dressing made of mustard and dates.

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:            International
Prep Time:     8 hours
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa (uncooked)
1 medium Sweet Potato
100gms dried Chickpeas
0.5 cup Pomegranate Seeds
10 French Beans
1 cup Broccoli florets
6-8 Walnuts
3 cups Lettuce leaves, loosely packed
5 tsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Mustard Powder
0.5 tsp Garlic Powder
0.25 cup Vinegar
0.25 cup Water
8 Dates
0.5 tsp Red chilli powder
0.5 tsp Smoked Paprika
0.5 tsp Cumin Powder
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas for 8-10 hours. Drain and boil in salted water until done.
2. Drain and peel the chickpeas. Dry as much as possible.
3. Toss with 1 tsp Olive oil and bake at 200 degree C for 25-30 minutes until crisp.
4. Remove from oven and toss with red chilli powder.
5. Peel and dice the sweet potato.
6. Toss in 2 tsp olive oil, smoked paprika, salt and cumin powder until all pieces are coated.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 200 degree C until done.
8. Cook the quinoa as per instructions on the packet until done. I soaked the quinoa for 1 hour and pressure cooked with 1.5 cups of water.
9. Boil water and add a pinch of salt. Blanch the broccoli florets and beans for 2-3 minutes. Remove from hot water and immediately put the broccoli and beans in cold water.
10. Soak the dates in warm water. Drain the water, deseed the dates and blend into a puree. Use little water while blending if required.
11. Blend together mustard powder, vinegar, garlic powder, date puree, water and salt until mixed.
12. Make the salad by tossing the lettuce leaves, roasted sweet potato, chickpeas, quinoa, blanched broccoli, chopped blanched beans, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and the dressing together.
13. Serve at room temperature.

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Garlic Roasted Potatoes

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Vegan Date and Walnut Cake Recipe [Video]

Vegan cake made with dates and walnuts!

A few weeks before my birthday, Gee asked me to help her bake a cake. She's only ever baked two cakes in her whole life - Banana Bread and one plain Vanilla, but both a long time ago. And both of those in my house. This time, she wanted to bake one in her house to test out her oven. I was all confident telling her what to buy and how much to buy, until I landed up in her house and realized, that the last cake I baked, not muffins or cheesecakes, but a loaf cake was actually 2 years ago!!! 

As a cook, it is never good to forget your skills, and here I was all lost and upset. So I decided I need to start baking more often. Lo and behold, this Date and Walnut Cake. I made it multiple times since I first did to just brush up my baking skills and dust out my recipes. And I can say with conviction, that I have loved it each time that I baked it. It has been a little difficult however, to stop sneaking in a piece - for me and for Raj. He'll even wipe out the crumbs (so will I !!). This cake is uber moist and slightly dense. It is rich and gooey to eat and when you find those little bits of walnuts and dates, it makes the bite, that much more special. I love the walnuts in the cake!!

If you like light airy cakes, then this may not fit the bill. 

The lucky recipients of my trials have been our friends. Lots of free cake going around from this household. 

Date and Walnut has always been a family favorite, only this time, I made it Vegan. It wasn't that I was looking for a vegan recipe, but this one just worked so perfect that I don't think I'll ever want to add dairy and change it. The cake uses Coconut Oil as the fat component, and I tell you, it tastes delicious. It imparts a slightly coconutty taste to the cake, that makes it so much more exotic in flavor. If you aren't such a coconut fan, use any neutral flavored oil like canola or sunflower. To enhance the coconut flavor (cause I'm a big coconut lover), I used coconut milk. Feel free to use almond or soy milk. If you have none, use water, however it may make the cake feel less rich in taste.

There are three sweeteners in here - Dates, Jaggery and Sugar. 

• Dates - Use the best quality you can. The flavor does come through and you want it to be good. I usually buy dates with seed and deseed them while using. The dates are cooked along with jaggery and water until soft and then blended to a puree. This adds sweetness as well as flavor to the cake.
• Jaggery - Jaggery is unrefined cane sugar.  With refined sugar off the list for many of us these day, jaggery is the perfect replacement. You can use palm sugar or coconut sugar or brown sugar if you cannot find jaggery. If you do have access to jaggery, buy the darkest, that is the least refined and has the best flavor profile. Sometimes, it even tastes like chocolate. 
• Sugar - I used half a cup of jaggery, and later added refined sugar, because the cake wasn't sweet enough. To avoid using refined sugar, just increase the quantity of jaggery to 1 cup or use powdered sifted jaggery powder later if the sweetness is less. You could also replace all of the jaggery with powdered sugar.

I have used all purpose flour or maida in the cake. I generally opt for whole wheat, however, I did not want this cake to be any heavier than it already was with all the vegan liquid ingredients. I suggest, if you are looking to use whole wheat, keep it at 50% and the remaining 50%, use all purpose flour.

The best part of the cake is the walnuts. Be generous. However, let me warn you that the cake gets a little difficult to slice when those walnut bits come in the way and you may not get the perfect slice. But don't let that stop you from baking the cake. Your family won't mind the large chunky slices, I assure you.cThe cake is soft and moist, so only slice it once it has cooled completely. Slicing it when hot will lead to it breaking into chunks around the walnuts.

Serve it warm with tea/coffee. 

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

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Video Recipe

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Vegan Date and Walnut Cake Recipe

Vegan loaf cake made with dates and walnuts. Eggless and dairy free cake.

Recipe Type:  Dessert
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     50 minutes
Total time:     70 minutes
Yield:                Makes one 9 inch loaf

Ingredients:

30 Dates
10 Walnuts
2 cups Flour
200 ml Coconut Milk
0.5 Coconut Oil
0.5 cup powdered Jaggery
4 Tbsp powdered Sugar
1 tsp Baking Powder
0.5 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract or Essence
Pinch of salt
0.5 cup Water

Method:

1. Boil together 20 chopped dates, water and the jaggery until the dates are soft or 5-6 minutes. If you want to make a refined sugar free cake, increase the quantity of jaggery to 1 cup.
2. Allow the mixture to cool, and then blend to a smooth puree. Add water if required.
3. Mix together the coconut oil and half the coconut milk until combined.
4. Add in the date puree and mix well.
5. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
6. Sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. You can add a pinch of salt if you want.
7. Mix until combined. Use the remaining coconut milk to loosen the batter if it is very dry.
8. If the cake batter isn't sweet enough, add the powdered sugar until you get the desired sweetness.
9. Mix in chopped walnuts and the remaining dates.
10. Grease a cake tin (9") and line with parchment paper or butter paper.
11. Pour in the batter.
12. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 200 degree C or until done. An inserted toothpick or knife should come out clean.
13. Demould after 4-5 minutes.
14. Allow to cool before slicing.

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