There are tons of eggless cake recipes online but there is one major problem with many of them – They are not uniform, different recipes can have so many different methods and ingredients that it can make us wonder which one to experiment. Trial and error is something I don’t enjoy while making cakes. Cakes don’t happen in a snip and a snap! My friends love my cakes. They are soft, eggless, not too sugary and are easy to make.
Many of those online recipes don’t give us the fluffly, airy, non-greasy texture we want our cakes to have. I am grateful to my sister’s recipe book with me which has helped me bake the cakes that my family and daughter adores. What can be a better expression than – “Mom I don’t want to eat any other cake. Your cakes are the best!”
I must admit, I am no pro with icing and I just do what I can manage best with. I am ready for a professional class for that but you can still use this recipe for a great sponge cake covered with grated chocolate, coconut flakes and basic icing. There is lot more to baking a cake perfectly and I don’t find myself having the space to list all of those small techniques here. But this basic recipe should get you started right away!
PREPARATION TIME: 20 to 30 mins.
COOKING TIME: 40 to 45 mins.
INGREDIENTS:
Prepare the baking molds by first layering a thin slice of butter, then sprinkle 2 to 3 Tbps of flour and spread it all around by turning the mold in all directions, ensuring the flour has spread to all sides. Alternatively, you can use parchment paper and thin layer of flour over it. Place the mold on a flat, room temperature surface and then, pour the smooth batter gently into the mold without touching it.
- Maida (Bleached or unbleached wheat flour) or Self Raising Flour = 125
- Condense Milk – 200gms or half tin
- Butter, Ghee or Oil (Liquid form) – 60ml
- Soda Water / Coke – 100 to 120ml
- Vanilla essence or any essence of choice – 1tsp
- Cocoa Powder – 1 Tbsp (Don’t add if making Vanilla Cake)
- Drinking Choc – 11/2 Tbsp
- Soad Bicarb (Edible Soda) – 3/4tsp
- Baking Powder – 3/4 tsp
- Chopped Nuts if you want – 1 to 2 Tbsps
METHOD:
Prep and Preheat the Oven to 325 degrees F. Mix all the Wet and all the Dry Ingredients in separate bowls. Sieve all the dry ingredients in a large (deep and wide) bowl. Sieving will help to smooth and remove any lumps. Slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and continue to mix them, stir them slowly with a hand whisk or spatula in ONE DIRECTION. Keeping the same direction ensures bubbles are formed and they remain (break if you change the direction). Mix all the wet and dry ingredients in a swift motion with a hand spatula or at the slowest speed with the machine whisk for 5 to 7 minutes (feels smooth, silky). Wear safety oven mittens and place the cake in the center of the oven safely. Close oven door, turn on oven light if you have that feature. Place a 25 minutes timer.
Bake in oven at 325 degrees for 25 to 50 minutes depending on the oven size, type and the quantity of batter.
WHEN TO KNOW IF IT’S READY: Do not open the oven in the midst of baking. That will release air bubbles built to rise the cake. In stead look at the cake from outside and see if the cake looks like it is rising and turning more brown. Ideally, the fragrance will tell you when it is baked. A strong, cake fragrance should fill the room. To check if baked fully, open the over door at 25 to 30 mins. and while wearing safety mittens, prick a toothpick (not knife) in the center of the cake or at 2-3 different places of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean with no batter or sticky residue, then the cake is ready.
Place the cake in a cool, not heated area over a steel, metal wire frame to allow air to pass through the bottom and the top of the cake mold. Do not attempt to remove from the mold until it is completely cool.
This cake is a 3 layered cake with fondant on top of all the layer. I baked it for my daughter’s 4th Birthday along with purple icing cupcakes. The same recipe for cupcakes! You can see in the picture that the cherries were gone first!! L-O-L. The fondant layer should be thinner than the one in this picture.
I will be uploading later, a picture of the sponge cake with just chocolate dressing on top, with no icing. It was the 5 kg cake I baked on my daughter’s 1st birthday and it was just as delicious. I have so many of my cake pics, just have to find them from the plethora of images I have on record!
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