Eggless Chocolate Cake

For birthdays, when I have no idea what to gift the person, I try and take a home made cake along. Oftentimes, there is a dietary restriction thanks to allergies or cultural beliefs. Earlier, I would hunt for recipes that would fit the needs of the person, but these days, I find myself more open to experimenting even in baking. This eggless chocolate cake came together very quickly. I used ricotta cheese as an egg substitute. I had meant to use silken tofu, but I realized that I had run out of it. A tip I learnt from the Food Network was to add some instant coffee to enhance the chocolatey flavour of cakes. I tried that too and I must say it worked very well.

1 cup Flour

2 1/2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Instant Coffee Powder
1/2 cup Sugar
a Pinch Salt
1/4 cup Oil
1/4 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla
 

Prepare an 10" ring or 8" round cake tin by greasing and flouring it.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

Beat the ricotta, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla together. Sift the remaining dry ingredients together and add them to the liquid mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and cut into slices. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea. This is a perfect eggless chocolate cake and the recipe is a keeper.

Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake

It looks like it is raining cakes at The Singing Chef. Quite like the monsoons! Last year, at about this time, it felt like I was serving cakes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Right now, once again, I have plenty of cake recipes sitting in my drafts. They shall be all be out very soon. I even have a couple of eggless cakes coming your way.

I made this cake at S's request. He had a team meeting at work and wanted to take something for everyone. I had wanted to make the Orange Ricotta Pound Cake, but I was all out of Ricotta Cheese. I did have buttermilk and so I decided to tweak Deeba's recipe. I am left with a winner recipe. The cake was soft and moist, with a crust on top. The flavour of the oranges came through with every bite.

 

1 1/2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
100ml Buttermilk

1 tsp pure Vanilla extract
Juice of 1/2 an Orange
Zest of 1 Orange

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F. Prepare a 10" ring tin.

Cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and beat again. Add the orange juice  and the zest. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the batter, adding a little at a time.

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool a little and cut into slices when warm using a bread knife.

I made this on a busy weekday morning and forgot to take pictures. It was only after I had cut and packed the cake that I remembered. So, the picture is one that I took using my phone.

Orange Ricotta Pound Cake to say Happy Birthday!

It is still raining cakes here. It is not as though I have not been cooking. I have been cooking a great deal. We've been eating new versions of old food as well as a lot of new foods. However, I'm also very hardpressed for time. My almost 6 month old is a handful, but I have also taken up studying for another master's degree. So, even if I do remember to take pictures of the food I make, they don't reach the blog very soon. I hope to change that soon.

One of my discoveries of this year was the Ricotta Pound Cake. I knew I had to bake it again (and again). I decided to stick to the very same original Giada recipe. So, this time it was an Orange cake. My favourite variety of oranges, Honey Murcott, is back in season, so the choice was but obvious. Since there were no modifications to my Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake, I knew this was going to smooth sailing. And it was.

1 1/2 cups Cake Flour/Plain Flour

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups Ricotta Cheese

1 1/2 cups Sugar

3 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Oranges, zested

A few drops Orange Colour (optional)

Icing sugar, for dusting

Butter and Flour/Spray for preparing the cake tin

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare a 10" round tin. (I used a springform ring mould.)

Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter with the sugar and ricotta until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and orange zest and beat well. Add the food colour, if using. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the batter, adding a little at a time.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool a little and sieve the icing sugar over it.

 

Ricotta in cakes has to be my discovery of the year! Probably my baking discovery of a lifetime. Afterall, when the spouse who has eaten every kind of cake baked in the last 5 years says, "This is the best cake you've ever made." it must mean something! There couldn't have been a better cake to celebrate today. (However, the real birthday cake is the Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake.)

And as I have in the years that have gone by, regardless of how busy I may be, I come back to the blog to say:

Happy Birthday, Dearest Sachin!

Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake

I am enjoying every minute of living in Singapore. I have not yet stopped going crazy at the grocery stores and keep finding things that had, until now, existed only in the cookbooks. I did have access to Ricotta Cheese and Mascarpone even in Gurgaon, but this is different. I have bought a can of evaporated milk though I can't remember which recipe had asked for it. That's how crazy I've become. I am the proverbial kid in a candy store.

I also like the deals that come up in supermarkets. Anything that is approaching its expiration date or best before date is sold at reduced prices. I wonder what they do in India. It is something I never thought of before. I found a tub of Ricotta Cheese selling at 1/5th the original price because it was "expiring" the next day. I always wanted to make a Lemon Ricotta Cake and so I bought it. This cake was made the very next day. I have only worked with lime in India and it is a pleasure to work with lemons here.

I found a recipe for an Orange Pound Cake by Giada on the Food Network site. I modified it and made this Lemon Ricotta cake. I baked with butter after ages and so so loved the texture of this cake. I know I will make it whenever Ricotta goes on sale!

1 1/2 cups Cake Flour/Plain Flour

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups Ricotta Cheese

1 1/2 cups Sugar

3 Eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla

3 Lemons, zested

Icing sugar, for dusting

Butter and Flour/Spray for preparing the cake tin

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Prepare a 10" round tin. (I used a springform ring mould.)

Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter with the sugar and ricotta until the mixture is fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and beat well. Incorporate the dry ingredients into the batter, adding a little at a time.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool a little and sieve the icing sugar over it.

Cut into slices when warm and just dig in. Memories of an era gone by will come rushing back.