There is no beating of butter and sugar till it becomes fluffy, no whisking of eggs, no cut and fold method of assimilating the flour and other ingredients together. This cake simply requires mixing of all the ingredients, transferring them in the baking tin and letting the oven do the rest. [I baked this cake to get over my recent baking fiascos ;-)] It is one the simplest cakes that I have ever baked and also one of the healthiest and yummiest. Given a choice I would rather have this cake over chocolate cake. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolates but I am always sold out to the health quotient of a dish.
For the past three years I have been baking my cakes in a micro-oven and it is just recently that I purchased a conventional oven. After making this cake in the conventional oven I realized what a great difference it makes when a cake is baked in an oven and not a micro-oven. Nothing beats the traditional/ conventional method of baking – the texture was lighter and more delicate and the cake had retained its moisture and all this lead to an enhancement in its taste too.
To make the cake healthier whole wheat flour has been used instead of plain flour. Also, I earlier used to use demerara sugar which I now substitute with coconut sugar. You can use granulated sugar or even packed brown sugar. My daughter, who is a pucca chocoholic and was never fond of this particular cake, enjoyed the oven made one to the core. Next time, I am going to double the amount of ingredients to have a larger cake J
This cake is incredibly versatile. It can be enjoyed with a cup of hot or cold coffee/ tea and it can be paired with custard to make a delicious dessert. The idea of pairing it with custard just happened one fine day. I once had friends over for dinner and though I usually plan the whole menu, for some odd reason I didn’t give much thought to what I would serve for dessert! I had this cake in the fridge and I decided on making custard (which seems to be the easiest thing to make) and served this cake along with it. Everyone loved it and most had a second helping! I warmed the cake in micro-oven and served it with thick chilled custard and it was just the way I like my dessert – contrasting in texture and temperature.
The ingredients and the recipe:
½ cup any neutral Oil
½ cup Demerara Sugar / Coconut Sugar (you need to amount by a couple of tablespoons since coconut sugar is less intense)
3 large Eggs
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour / Wholemeal
¼ tsp Baking Soda
¼ tsp Baking Powder
100 grams stoneless Dates, coarsely chopped (do not use Medjool or any soft dates)
50 grams Walnuts, coarsely chopped
¾ cup peeled and shredded Carrots
2 – 3 tbsp Milk
Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round baking tin. Grease and dust the pan with plain flour or line it with parchment paper.
Whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda.
In a mixing bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Lightly beat in the eggs.
Start mixing the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Start by adding half the amount of flour mix, walnuts, dates and carrots, each.
Incorporate them well so there are no dry patches. Finish off the rest of the batch along with the milk.
Pour the batter in the prepped baking tin and bake at 170 degrees for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted comes out clean. The baking time will depend on your thermostat.
IT IS ALWAYS ENCOURAGING TO HEAR FROM FRIENDS, READERS & VISITORS. I CAN ALSO BE REACHED AT: easyfoodsmith@gmail.com