Wholewheat Chocolate Yogurt Cake

My baby was unwell, hubby was out for work, and I was sleep deprived for two consecutive nights. You can imagine the stress and exhaustion I was in over the last few days. I really wished I could fly away to an undisclosed location or rub Alladin's lamp or do something which could bring me some joy and relief. Solution? Well, neither could I fly nor could I get hold of the genie but I did de-stress by baking this wonderfully simple and healthy chocolate beauty. Baking is therapeutic indeed and I can vouch for that. As for the cake, it was yum all the way and I enjoyed it to my heart's content without worrying much about the calories. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup wholewheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup yogurt (I used flavored ones as I had too many in stock)

2 tbsp extra light olive oil (you can use refined oil too)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

Handful of chocochips (optional)

Direction

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius and grease a medium bundt pan or your regular bakeware and keep aside. 

Sift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder and keep aside. 

Beat the eggs and sugar together till light and fluffy. Add the yogurt, oil, and vanila extract and beat further. 

Fold in the flour and mix in a single direction till no lumps remain and all the flour has been incorporated. Add the choco chips now if using and gently mix. 

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and tap on the counter for a couple of times to release any air bubbles. 

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Remove from oven and cool in the pan for ten minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing and storing in air tight container. 

Eggless Whole Wheat Nutty Cookies

So I was cleaning the fridge today and was looking for stuff that had been there for long and are in their death bed. I chanced upon these tiny little boxes packed away in one corner of the fridge. Some crumbled almond, pista, and cashews were quietly waiting for the day when luck would shine upon them and they would be given a chance to satisfy people's palettes. So be it. I quickly took out some whole wheat / aata and the bit of butter I had in the fridge. It took me just under 1 hour to get these super crunchy and deliciously healthy cookies ready for my evening tea.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup butter softened (you can quickly soften chilled butter by putting it in the microwave for 20-30 secs)

1/2 cup powdered brown sugar (white sugar can also be used)

1/4 cup crumbled nuts (Almonds skin removed, cashews, and pistachio ground to a coarse powder)

1 tsp cardamom powder

2-3 drops almond essence

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Direction

In a bowl, add all the ingredients together except the milk. Mix all well with the help of an electric beater or using your hands. Now add the milk little at a time and knead a moist but non sticky dough. The dough should not be firm but should come together. Now pull out small balls from the dough and flatten it on your palm giving whatever shape you want. Place it on a greased baking tray or baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the dough. You can place the cookies close to each other as it will not spread. Garnish with some halved pistachios and bake in a pre- heated oven at 220 degree celsius for 30 minutes. The first 20 minutes bake in the broil mode (only top rod) for a nice golden top and the last 10 minutes bake in the regular oven mode (both the rods) at a reduced temperature of 180 degree celsius. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before taking out on wire rack for cooling completely. Store in air tight containers and enjoy with your evening tea/coffee.

                         

                         

 

Whole Wheat Custard Almond Eggless Cake

Just back from a long long holiday and after so much of eating and indulging, I wanted to bake something healthy for my hunger pangs. I had a pack of custard powder open for long along with some ground almonds. A quick Google search landed me with a nice and easy custard marble cake recipe which can be put together in less than 15 minutes, if you have all the ingredients ready. However, I felt a little lazy to separate the batter and so changed the recipe to make it a Custard Almond cake. The result was a soft and delicious crusty tea time cake which can be relished without any guilt!

Ingredients

3/4 cup whole wheat flour/atta

2 tbsp all purpose flour/maida

1/2 cup custard powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp oil

1/4 cup ground almonds

Silvered almond slices for the topping

Direction

Sift together the flour, custard powder, salt, and baking soda. Keep aside.

In a bowl, mix milk, sugar, vanilla essence, and oil. Fold in the dry ingredients little at a time and mix everything well till no lumps remain. Add the ground almond powder and mix again. 

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius. Line a rectangular baking tin with butter paper or grease the tin. Pour the cake batter into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Take out from the oven and let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Later, cool completely on a wire rack and serve. It can be refrigerated for up to 1 week in air tight containers. 

                                        

                                        

Soft and Spongy Whole Wheat Buns/Pav

To think of healthy alternatives for the regular food has become more of a necessity in today's world. However, healthy food usually comes with a compromise on the taste factor. However, there are always exceptions. Today's recipe of whole wheat buns is an example of tasty healthy alternative to the regular flour buns. These buns are soft and spongy and remain such even after a day or two after baking, which is usually not the case with whole wheat buns. Just warm it and eat it and enjoy a guilt free meal.

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat flour (you may add a little additional flour while kneading)

1 tbsp instant dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp butter, softened

75 ml warm milk (add little at a time to avoid adding additional flour)

1/2 cup warm water

1 egg

Olive oil for oiling hands and bowl

Direction

In a bowl, mix sugar in the lukewarm water and add the yeast. Make sure the water is not too cold or too hot. Else the yeast will not proof. Let it stand for about 10 minutes until frothy and bubbly and starts rising. For reference, see the picture below.

                                     

In a separate bowl, mix the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and add the softened butter, yeast mixture and egg. Start kneading the dough by adding little milk at a time. Continue kneading for about 8-10 minutes till the dough is moist but non-sticky and a finger pressed down does not come back with a bit of dough. Ensure, however, that the dough is not too dry. Lightly oil your hands and rub your hands on the dough. With a little more oil, lightly grease the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly and keep it in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled. In some cases, the dough does not rise doubly. However, if your yeast has proofed well, the buns should be soft and spongy after baking.

Once the dough has risen, line a round baking pan with parchment paper. Lightly knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, punching out the air. Do not overknead. Now take lemon sized balls and arrange on the baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the dough. See the picture below for reference.

                                      

Cover with a cling wrap and keep it in a warm place for another hour. The balls would now be clinging to each other as shown in the picture above.

Pre-heat the oven on toast mode at 200 degree celsius. Brush the top of the buns with a little milk and bake them for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on top. Take out from the oven and immediately brush a little butter on the buns. Transfer to a wire rack and keep covered with a kitchen towel for 10-15 minutes. Your soft and spongy buns are ready to be eaten. I teamed it with Mumbai style Pav Bhaji.