And there is more cake

Eggless Chocolate Honey Cake. Yes. As if I had not had enough the last time around. This cake falls into the second category of cakes I have in my head. Did I tell you about those categories?

Egg less Chocolate cake

I was about to, when my computer software hit a bug. After all kinds of firewalls in place, I had to go press some key, that made my laptop what it was more than a decade ago - a machine not connected to other similar machines (uhhh..no Internet I meant). After a week of fighting with myself - for first pressing the key - then breaking a computer key - which still did not make a difference to restoring any data and  then trying to get back as much previously held data in the computer, my last chocolate cake was over, and I wanted more. And it had better have some icing on it. I wonder now, if it would have been more prudent to remember that good bakeries sell good chocolate cakes too, but then ever since I decided to write about my baking adventures, such mundane ("seriously you think this is MUNDANE??" a voice in my head says) ideas get automatically filtered.

Chocolate Ganache

So I have had this cake in my to do list for, oh, maybe a year? It is not like it's the first time I am making it. I have been making it since high school. That's probably the oldest baked good in my baking memory. When I was in high school (and supposed to be studying for the all important board exams) I had gone around to my mom's friend's place. She served me this cake, and I was besotted. I was in love - with a cake. I calmly ate one more piece (or was that three? I don't remember), thanked her for the cake and got home. I could do little else than dream of making that very cake at home after that. Never mind any exams. I called her up a few days later to request her for the recipe. Aunty explained it so well to me, I can make this cake without looking at the instructions. And since I did not as yet own a recipe diary,  I jotted it down in my mom's collection. Sounds over the top, but since vegetarian, or egg less, cakes had never tasted so good, that's as much understanding that I can come to with my 14 year old self.

Yes, next time I'll remember to remove the barcode.

So let me tell you about the cake. The original recipe is I think from an extremely popular cookery show, that used to air once a week. Once a week! Imagine that!  The cake is very moist and tender, but there are times when it doesn't rise all that much. That's because the only rising agent to go into the cake is baking soda. If you put too much of it, the smell of the soda can put you off eating the cake (& you don't want that). Too less or if the baking soda is old, the cake will not rise. Also - if you have access to cake flour, use that. Or use plain flour that you have used before and that you know would be fresh. In this cake, flour sometimes tends to absorb all of the moisture - which has happened to me - so it's best to use a flour that you are comfortable with. If you are not sure, I suggest you remove about a tablespoon of flour from the suggested amount in the recipe before adding it to the batter.

Eggless Chocolate Honey Cake

You need:

150 gms plain flour (maida)
1/2 tsp baking soda
5  heaped tsps cocoa
1 teacup milk (200 ml), at room temperature
3/4 teacup (100 gm) soft butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1-2 tsp honey (you can use less or none depending on whether you like the flavour of honey)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsps Rum *optional

* I have measured weights as I added the ingredients. And I have used regular teacups - not standard measuring cups

For the Ganache use the recipe from here


To make the cake -

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Take the butter, sugar, honey in a deep pan and set it over the stove on low heat. Pour the milk over this and stir gently (and constantly) until the butter melts completely. Take it off the stove once the mixture is uniform.

2. Sieve the cocoa, soda and the flour into the liquid mixture. Stir the cake batter gently using a spatula until there are no more lumps. Add the vanilla and then the rum  to the cake and give it a stir.
Pour this into a lined 20cm cake tin or a floured tube pan (which I used).

3. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes - till a cake tester inserted in the cake, comes out clean.

4. Let the cake cool for a couple of hours. Invert it out on a plate, make and pour the ganache all over the top and serve.