Eggless water based Dates cake

Just as I had baked a eggless flax cake for my son's  15th birthday, i wanted to bake an unusual cake for my daughter's 18th birthday and like the flax cake, this non-fussy, fondant, cream and dairy free cake turned out moist and soft in texture and was gone in a trice. 

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup
sugar - 1/2 cup
cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Dates - chopped finely - 1/2 cup
water - 1 cup
any vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
baking soda - 1 tsp
salt - a pinch
Honey - 1 tbsp

Method:

Add baking soda to maida and sieve it twice and keep aside
In a pan, add the measured sugar, salt and mix well.
Follow it up with chopped dates and cinnamon powder
To the above mixture, add vegetable oil and water.
Blend them together and place the mixture on stove and boil it.
when it starts bubbling around the sides, lower the flame and simmer it for 15-20 minutes.
Switch off and wait till the mixture cools. i left it to cool overnight.

When the mixture  cooled, I added the sieved flour little by little and mixed well. One can use a hand blender, but I did it with my hand and wooden spatula. This should take some time to blend well. Ensure you have no lumps.

I then transferred it to my glass baking tray and baked it for 20 minutes. (mine is a bajaj oven with no temp control)

I inserted a skewer into my baking tray to ensure it was done. 

                                 The fist few steps of the cake are over the stove top

The blended maida and water oil sugar date mixture in the baking tray

                                                                       The baked cake

Toppled bottoms up and decorated only with a few rainbow sprinkles.

                       

Some tips: For a more healthier version substitute maida with wheat. You can even substitute sugar with palm sugar. Substitute dates with any dry fruit or nut of your choice.

Wheat carrot cake with flax seeds

Ingredients
2 cup multigrain wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
flax seed paster* (instead of 4 eggs)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained(optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients( except flax seeds)
Add oil, honey and flax seeds mix well
Stir in remaining ingredients
Bake the mixture to eat a guilt free cake loaded with goodness of honey, carrots, wheat and flax seeds.

The cake was moist and spongy. forgot to click in the beginning, only the crumbs are what you see

To replace one egg:
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons water (or other liquid)

Stir together until thick and gelatinous.

You can also use whole flaxseeds:

1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds
4 tablespoons water (or other liquid)

Process seeds in a blender to a fine meal, add liquid and blend well.

You can make a bigger batch by increasing the ingredient amounts. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Eggless Black Forest cake

This cake was baked by my daughter and son to keep themselves occupied during their 15 day school break and I helped them. Recipe courtesy Milkmaid booklet.

Ingredients:
milkmaid tin ---- 1
refined flour ---- 13/4 cup
butter ---------- 100 gms
soda water ------ 1 1/4 cup
sodium bicarbonate--- 1 teaspoon
cocoa powder ----- 2 to 3 spoons
baking soda -------- 1 teaspoon
cream ------- 200 gms
powdered sugar ----- 2table spoons
tinned cherries ----- 20-30 numbers
vanilla essence ---- 1 teaspoon
nestle chocolate bars ---- 2











Method:

Sieve flour,cocoa,soda,sodium-bicarb.
In a bowl mix milkmaid,vanilla essence and butter till they blend well. Slowly blend in the maida mixture and soda water alternatively till all the flour and soda are used.
Now pour the mixture into a greased dish and bake for 15 minutes( my oven bajaj make)
or according to your oven settings

remove the baked cake and when cooled slice them horizontally to make two equal halves with the help of a twine thread or knife.

Soak the halves in sugar syrup present in the tinned cherries.

Parallely blend in the castor sugar and cream and layer the halves with the cream. Spread the cherries on the lower half and cover with the other half.

Now dress the top half also with the cream, grated chocolate and place few cherries and cool them in the fridge for half an hour.

Tips: Instead of tinned cherries, you can buy preserved cherries and soak them in hot sugar syrup and can use the syrup.


Tip 2: cut the cake with a thread to get two equal halves

Eggless Carrot cake

I found this recipe in the sugar free natura recipe booklet. My 14 year old daughter baked this cake with certain variations and my help.

Ingredients:
Carrots grated : 1/2 cup
apples grated : 1/2 cup
orange juice : 1/3 cup (I used tropicana)
sugar free sugar: 1 1/3 cup ( i used natura)
refined flour(maida) :1 1/2 cups
Baking powder : 3/4 teaspoon
Soda Bicarbonate: 3/4 teaspoon
cinnamon powder : 1 teaspoon
oil- 4 tablespoons


Method:
Grate apple and carrots in a bowl.
Add orange juice, diet sugar  and mix well.

Sieve refined flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate together and then add somecinnamon powder. Fold the flour gently with the orange juice mixture. Finally  add oil and mix.





Put the batter into a greased baking dish and bake for twenty- five minutes or till done( It varies from oven to oven).
When cooled, cut into slices and serve.