I have been a follower of @passionateaboutbaking and her drool-worthy picture perfect Instagram handle for years now. When she put up a picture of a little whole wheat cake the other day, I just had to try it out. Not because it looked divine (which it did), but more so because I have consciously tried to give Sitara more whole grains rather than refined flour, and this seemed like an incredibly fun baking experiment to get dirty with, on the Sunday janta curfew.
Most ingredients you would have as pantry staples – whole wheat flour (regular atta), chia seeds, yoghurt, brown sugar, butter. Her recipe lists ample swap ins for example, using ghee instead of butter, or regular granulated sugar in place of brown sugar. I completely skipped the coffee (since Sitara was going to be eating it) and truth be told, I simply forgot the vanilla. The product was still an incredibly not too sweet and perfectly risen little tea cake, speckled with chia seeds and chocolate chips.
Baking requires a fair sense of precision, and while my preferred mode of measurement is in cups / teaspoons or tablespoons, this particular recipe required one to use a weighing scale to measure the ingredients. For ease, I’ve converted the measurements to cups / spoons using the internet’s conversion tools, but I personally haven’t tested it.
Ingredients:
- 125 gm / 1 cup whole wheat flour (regular roti ka atta)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 55gm/ 1/4 cup butter
- 100 gm / 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Chia egg: 1 tbs chia seed mixed with 2 tbs water
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 tbs yoghurt
- 1 tsp vanilla (which I forgot, and it still tasted great, hence this is optional)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chunks cut up from a mix of milk / white/ dark chocolate, whatever you have on hand
- chocolate ganache: 100ml cream + 80gm chocolate + 1 tbs honey
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180*c. Line a smallish baking tin or would of your choice with parchment paper, and spray or grease with some neutral oil.
- Mix together the dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a microwave safe bowl, mix together the butter and the sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes, until sizzling. mix slowly, it will first seem grainy and strange, but slowly the sugar and butter will come together to form a sort of caramel dough. Yes, sounds divine. Resist the urge to taste.
- Whisk in the buttermilk, chia mix, yoghurt and vanilla (if using). Add the dry ingredients, mix lightly and fold in the chocolate chips. Tip into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick once done, and leave in pan for 20 minutes before removing.
- While the cake cooks, make the ganache by mixing the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heating in the microwave for 30 second blasts. Keep checking as chocolate burns easily. Mix with a fork till shiny and smooth. Spoon onto the cooled cake, and decorate with sprinkles or just dig in!
