EGGLESS CHRISTMAS CAKE LOADED WITH LOTS OF DRYFRUITS AND NUTS ( ALCOHOL FREE)

Hello everyone

This post was supposed to be posted on Christmas Eve but due to lack of time, i couldn't make it. But i think late is better than never, so posting it now on New Year. Cakes are alltime  favorite for all occasions. I went  through lots and lots of  recipes then came up with mine this recipe. It is so moist and nice juicy flavoured nutty cake that no one can say no to it. Best part of it is that it's eggless and alcohol free too, so anyone can enjoy it without any tension. Hint of orange and tangyness of cranberries and plum made it much more appealing to your taste buds. Try this once and i bet you will become fan of its flavours for lifelong.
stepwise recipe is given below. do try and share your experience with me.

EGGLESS CHRISTMAS CAKE LOADED WITH LOTS OF DRYFRUITS AND NUTS

Time: 1:30 hrs
Serves: 12-14

Ingredients

For soaking

1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup black raisins
3/4 cup chopped nuts ( almonds, cashew, walnuts etc)
1/4 cup tutti fruity
1/4 cup prunes, chopped
1/4 cup dates, chopped
1 cup fresh plums, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
300 ml orange juice
For cake

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour / chapatti flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp all spice powder ( or 1 tsp cinnamon powder+1/4 tsp nutmeg powder+ 1/4 tsp clove powder+1/2 tsp green cardamom powder)
1/2 cup milk ( as per need)
1/2 cup tightly packed grated jagery / brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup oil
1/2 cup thick yougurt, beaten
1 tsp baking soda
Zest of two oranges
1 tsp vanilla essence



Method:

First of all soak all ingredients given under soaking section , for 20-24 hrs in refrigerator.
Mix in between to ensure all dryfruits get evenly soaked.

* Keep it out 2-3 hrs before baking, to make it to room temp.

Take a 9 or 10 inch pan or two 8 inch pans and grease it properly followed by dusting with flour.
Preheat your oven at 180°C. ( I made two 8 inch cakes, which took exactly 45 mins to bake )

Shift flour, baking powder, salt and all spice powder 2-3 times to mix all well.

Add baking soda in beaten yougurt and give a quick stir. Keep it for 5-7 mins, till it become nice frothy.

Take jaggery/brown sugar, sugar and half the milk in big bowl and mix till sugar dissolve.

Now add vanilla essence and oil to it and mix well.

Add orange zest and soaked dryfruits in flour mixture and mix well.

Now pour milk mixture in flour and fold .

Finally add frothy yougurt and again fold. Add remaining milk, as per need ( if batter is too thick), to get slightly thick batter than regular cake batters.

Immediately pour the batter in prepared cake pan and bake at 180°C for 1 - 1;30 hr or untill skewer inserted in it comes out clean.

If the cake gets brown soon then cover it with aluminum foil and bake till done.

* Baking time may vary oven to oven, so keep an eye on your cake after 45 mins. Bigger cake will definitely take more time to bake.

* You can use any dryfruits or nuts of your choice and availability.

Now let it rest in baking pan for 10 mins then invert on a wire rack to cool down completly before slicing.

You can enjoy it as it is or pour some ganache to enhance its beauty. I used orange chocolate ganache and topped it with ganache dipped strawberries. Use your imagination and decorate your yummy beauty.

* Instead of jaggery you can use brown sugar.

You can store this cake at room temperature for 2-3 days and in refrigerator for 7-10 days. It's best for kids tiffin, get together, picnic or celebration too.

So bake this super yum rich cake and don't forget to share your experience with me.
Your valuable comments and suggestions meant a lot to me.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS DATES AND DRY FRUITS CAKE WITH SALTED DATES AND CHOCOLATE GLAZE WITH CRUNCH OF ROASTED ALMONDS

Hello everyone

I am too fond of eggless as well as healthy baking. Whenever I have to bake, I try to make it as healthy as i can. Today's cake is not new to you all as I made it many times and posted in my blog too. This is one of my favorite eggless and alcohol free christmas cake with lots of dates and dry fruits.The only new thing this time is its shape , size and glaze.

Earlier I made naked bundt cake every time, with this recipe . 

http://sonicuisine.com/2016/03/eggless-dates-and-dry-fruits-bundt-cake.html

But this time I planned to bake a bigger cake and thought to try something new so gave completely different shape and baked in square cake pan instead of bundt one.

For glaze I used simple milk  chocolate bar and dates syrup. It was just an experiment but turned out really delicious, and is confirmed by my kids.

Recipe is given below. Though it was not planned to add in blog so not having all the step's pics but will try to explain as per my knowledge, best.

EGGLESS DATES AND DRY FRUITS CAKE WITH SALTED DATES AND CHOCOLATE GLAZE WITH CRUNCH OF ROASTED ALMONDS

For Cake: http://sonicuisine.com/2016/03/eggless-dates-and-dry-fruits-bundt-cake.html

For Glaze:

Ingredients

1 milk chocolate bar  ( I used cadbury milk chocolate, 90 gms)
1/2 cup dates syrup
2 pinches salt ( you can use more if like more salty)
2 tbsp chopped roasted almonds for sprinkling

Method:

Roughly chop the chocolate bar and melt in a double boiler or in microwave. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning it while microwaving.
Now add salt and dates syrup to it and whisk vigorously to get nice shiny and smooth glaze of pouring consistency. If it seems too thick then add some more dates syrup and mix well to get right consistency. 

It should form nice smooth ribbons when poured with spoon.
Now immediately pour all over the cake . Spread evenly with knife or cake spatula. 

Sprinkle roasted and chopped almonds all over it.

 Let it chill in refrigerator overnight or atleast 4-5 hrs to set the glaze. It will not become completely solid on chilling but will not drip and spread , while handling.

I used milk powder and milk as ran out of white chocolate stock , to make nice pattern on my cake . You can also use melted white chocolate and with help of piping bag make desired pattern on your glazed cake.

This step is completely optional, without this too your cake will look and taste heavenly.

After making pattern, Again let it set for sometime before slicing.

*  Completely cool the cake before pouring the glaze.

* Be quick with pouring the glaze as it gets thicken very soon . So try to pour when it's still  hot. Also spread quickly to get nice smooth finish.

* Do final decoration or cutting once glaze is completely set.

This is one of the simplest glaze you can try and don't forget to share your experience with me.

Hope you will love to try this healthy twist in regular glaze in a simplest way. Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS OATS AND JAGGERY CHOCO CHIPS COOKIES

Hello everyone

Today I have a very delicious yet healthy cookies recipe to share with you all. My this recipe is inspired by Nishchita Thejas's oatmeal raisin cookies with eggs. It was so delicious but I thought to give it my own twist as I generally make eggless ones and with some healthy ingredients to add on some more nutrients for my kids. That's why replaced little butter with peanut butter to give my cookies a nutty flavour and some health too. I tried four different texture of the same cookies by adjusting baking time and added some chocolate wheat flakes in my last batch of cookies to add some extra crunch. Basically these are chewy at center and crisp at edges.
My this mix and match of ingredients to main recipe turned out really delicious and for this I would like to thank nishchita for giving her recipe.
Stepwise recipe is given below. Hope you all will love and definitely give it a try.

EGGLESS OATS AND JAGGERY CHOCO CHIPS COOKIES

Time: 30-40mins
Yield: 16-18 medium size cookies

Ingredients 

1 cup instant oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour ( I used chapatti flour)
1/2 cup - 2 tsp butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp peanut butter ( completely optional, but then use whole 1/2 cup butter)
1/2 cup grated jaggery ( used grainy texture golden jaggery not sticky ones)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking Soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder ( completely optional)
1/4 cup thick yogurt
1/2 tbsp corn syrup ( can be replaced with honey)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup semi sweet choco chips ( you can use any)


Method:

First of all preheat your oven at 180 degree C.
Add flour, baking soda, salt and cofffee powder. Mix well and keep aside for later use.

Take butter and peanut butter in a big bowl and beat with a hand whisker or electric mixer till nice creamy. Now add grated jaggery and sugar and again whisk till fluffy. Add yogurt and again whisk till nicely incorporated.

Now add corn syrup and vanilla essence, mix well.
Add prepared flour mixture to it and mix well.

Now add oats followed by choco chips and fold to get nice lumpless sticky scoopable mixture.

Take a baking mat or baking pan lined with parchment paper. Scoop dough ( as per your choice of size preference) by icecream scoop or any spoon and place on baking sheet at reasonable distance ( as cookie will spread while baking). Now press each dough a little and give nice clean round shape with hand. 

Bake for 14- 20 minutes or till you get nice golden colour on edges of cookies.
Remove from oven and wait for 3-4 mins so that they will become easy to handle. Then transfer to wire rack and let them cool completely before storing in an air tight jar.

**Baking time will depend on your preference of texture of cookies.

* If you like chewy , then bake for 14-16 mins.
* If you love crispy crunchy , then bake for more time till you get your desired texture ( approx 18-20 mins)
* For crispier cookies, spread the dough thinner while pressing to give shape.


*** Note: The cookies will be still little soft when touched immediately after removing them from oven. They will get firm on cooling.  take care of this while baking so that not to burn them in making crisp.

** You can also freeze its dough and bake fresh cookies whenever you want.

I made four different texture from this same dough mixture :

1. Spreaded scooped dough thick and baked for 16-17 mins. It gave nice chewy and thicker cookies.

2. Spreaded scooped dough thin and baked for 15-16 mins. It gave nice crisp edges and chewy center.

3. Spreaded thin and baked for 18-20 mins. It gave overall crisp cookies.

4. Added 2 tbsp of choco wheat flakes to my final batch and spreaded as much I could. Baked for 18mins. It gave super crunchy cookies.

*** Baking time may vary oven to oven , so keep an eye on your cookies while baking.

Try whichever suits your taste buds and enjoy.

These can be stored at room temp for a week and for  a month in refrigerator. You can also freeze them to increase their self life .

These cookies are so delicious and healthy that you can munch any time to satisfy your sweet craving in a healthy way as well as for small hunger sprangs. Ideal for kids tiffin and travel snacks.
So enjoy these eggless delicious beauties as you like .  It's best accompaniment with  chilled milk .

Hope you all will love this yummy cookie recipe and will definitely going to give it a try. Do try and don't forget to share your experience with me.
Please pour your valuable comments and suggestions here, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....

EGGLESS DATES AND DRY FRUITS BUNDT CAKE

Hello everyone

According to me no celebration is completed without a sinful cake. Whether it's birthday, anniversary or  Christmas, Easter etc. Cakes increase the excitement of an occasion to many folds and if it comes to festivals like Christmas or Easter then it becomes must to have a rich and flavorful cake in hand . So today I am sharing a very delicious and rich cake recipe full of healthy ingredients and most importantly it's eggless. You will just fall in love with this gorgeous eggless and alcohol free cake which is perfect for Christmas, Easter or any occasion you want to celebrate. 

Step wise recipe is given below, hope you will love this awesome cake and don't forget to tell me your experience ☺️

EGGLESS DATES AND DRY FRUITS BUNDT CAKE

Serves: 7-8

Time: 50 mins

Ingredients 

2 cup whole wheat flour / all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup dates, deseeded and finely chopped  

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup almonds

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp vanilla essence 

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar 

1 cup milk 

Method:

First of all add water , sugar and oil in a pan. Add all dry fruits in it and let it boil, then lower the flame and let it cook for 15 -20 mins or till dates become mushy . Switch off the flame and let it cool completely.

Till then sieve flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and keep aside for later use.

When dates mixture is cooled down, add milk and vanilla essence to it. 

Mix well and add lemon juice, give a quick stir and add flour to it in two to three batches and fold to a lump less smooth batter.

 This batter should not be runny , will be little thick . Now transfer the batter in greased and dusted bundt pan , tap the mold to evacuate any air bubble formed. 

Now bake it at 180 degree C in a preheated oven for 35-40 mins to till skewer or knife inserted in it comes out clean.

Let it cool for 10-15 mins in pan then demold on a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Your super delicious cake is ready to be served. 

Either serve it as it is or pour some ganache over it. It will taste divine in either way.

Choice of dry fruits is completely yours, you can use cashews, pistachios, cranberries, prunes or whatever you like. If you don't have bundt pand then go for any pan you have, but then baking time may vary so keep an eye on it after 30 mins of baking and keep checking.

Never over mix the batter after adding wet and dry ingredients together. 

Always let cake to become warm before de molding other wise it will not come out clean if it's too hot . 

It's a never fail recipe as I made it many time and it turned out perfect every time. 

So enjoy this rich palatable cake on any occasion and don't forget to share your feedback with me. Your comments and suggestions are precious, they meant a lot.

Happy cooking....