Eggless Date Cake -- goodness does not spell butter

I had resolved to be un-floured and unen-doughed for the first few days of my New year. But that did not happen. So I decided to push my New year to next week, Jan 9th to be precise. Till then I am living in the old decade.

This Date Cake is my friend's recipe. She is a very good cook and has been making this cake for a while now. I myself have had it several times baked by her and each time have been floored by it's taste. However, I never asked for the recipe.

You would think a foodie will instantly ask for a recipe when she eyes one. Not me.

I thought Date + Cake ? Too difficult. Plus she has those shiny Kitchen Aid Stand Mixers. Anything can be done with those. I don't have a shiny Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer. Don't even plan to buy one. So I cannot bake Date Cake.
QED.

Then she baked it for one of our parties during the holidays. Everyone "oohed" and "aahed" and then asked for the recipe. Not me, mind you.

But then it was a small place, not a haveli(huge palace) or something and you could clearly overhear even if you did not wish to.Of course I could have excused myself and gone to the loo but that would be too much. So I overheard and it was so simple that I could not believe it. I thought she might have skipped one whole chapter what with the wine and all that noise. Just to be sure, I asked her the recipe again, over the phone on the evening of 1st Jan.

And guess what ? It was really T..H..A..T simple. Hallelujah, one more reason not to buy a shiny red Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

The cake called for no eggs, no butter and I did not have to even take out my hand mixer. What relief !
And it tasted best of all the eggless versions I have tried so far. In fact it tasted much better than my pound cake did.Moist, fluffy, studded with nuts, just right sweet, what more could you ask for in a cake ?

But then what makes it rise and become so soft and fluffy ? There has to be science and this did not fit the bill of my earlier explanations. Except for the baking soda, there was nothing to make air, air and more air.

It seems the baking soda does the trick. Baking soda is a “base.” It needs an “acid” ingredient in order to start the chemical reaction that makes it work, such as buttermilk, cocoa powder, chocolate, honey, lemon or orange juice, etc. I guess the dates have some acidic ingredient which reacts with the baking soda to create carbon dioxide and thus bubbles in the batter. With this theory I am thinking you could substitute dates with some other dried fruits and make an yummy cake too. If you notice this is the reason the raspberry cup cakes turned out very well too. Vinegar worked with baking soda in that recipe.Do not try to replace baking soda with baking powder as baking powder already has the acidic ingredient, so further reaction with an acid in the batter might ruin the cake like this.

So go and bake this eggless butterless date cake. It really is the best and I usually do not impose on unless it is the family or it is something that will change your life...

If you have started your newest year have a good one.

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Eggless Date Cake

Pitted Dates ~ 18. She said I could use more, so I used 25.
Milk ~ 1 Cup

Soak dates in milk overnight. I did not have so much time so I soaked the dates in warm milk for 3 hours and then nuked it for a minute.

Preheat oven to 350F

In a blender add
dates + milk
3/4 cup Sugar
Since I had more dates, I reduced the sugar a wee bit.
Make a smooth mix.

Sift
1 Cup of AP Flour
1 tsp of baking Soda
*AP = All Purpose. Can be substituted with Maida

Measure out
1/2 cup of Oil

In a wide mouthed bowl add the
date+milk+sugar mix from the blender
Add
1/2 Cup of oil
Add the flour mix gradually, mixing as you go.
Add 1 tbsp of chopped cashews or walnuts.

Mix gently to make a smooth batter. My friend suggested the hand mixer but I just mixed with a spatula.

Now grease a bundt pan. Pour the batter in this pan and bake till a toothpick comes out clean. Mine was done in 32-35 minutes, but I had a silicone pan. You can also use a regular 8" cake pan instead of a bundt pan. Baking time may vary.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as my friend does.

Similar Recipes:

Eggless Date Cake from Aayis Recipes

Vegan Date Cake from Madhuram

Bangali Triangle Parota ar Alu Bati Charchari

Parota with Alu Bati Charchari -- Divine

1.We had an amazing Christmas party.

2.The Liberty Science Center is a whole lot of fun when there is no one around.

3.The kids faith in Santa was re-instilled. BS got her toy which changes hair color only it needs icy cold water to do that and I am unable to provide icy cold water in this icy cold weather. LS got her "geef",a Thomas engine and couple of books.

4."Pippi Longstocking" and "Katie Kazoo" are some new series that I got for BS.

3.I must edit my last post to add that Sheela and Munni are now the mainstays of Bong parties. So move over Ms.Lahiri.

4.Indian Chinese for Christmas works perfect.

5.We have been snowed in and housebound for the last 3 days and I wish Santa had gotten me a gift, a transmogrifer.

6.I saw "Up" after every one in the world has seen and said everything about it.

7.Teen kona parota or Bengali Triangular Parotas are not all that difficult and can be made without the aid of a compass and protractor. I say Bengali because I have not seen Triangular Parathas in any of my non-Bong friend's house.

Parota with Notun Gur(Palm Jaggery) sent from home for Winter -- Priceless

I have been so afraid of making the standard Bengali Triangle Parota all my life that I never ever attempted them. I would wait patiently for the Ma or Ma-in-law to turn up and serve them. I had such a mind block that I never even stood beside them while they rolled out the perfect isosceles triangles. And geometry wasn't even my weak point.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure why they were better than the circular ones and I thought it was just a lot of hype. My doubt still continues.

Then everything changed on a sunny November Sunday morning, when I told a friend staying the weekend with us, "Chal Parota banai"(Let's make Parota). Timidly I asked her if she knew to make triangular Parotas. She pooh-poohed the whole thing, saying it was no big deal and showed me how. While she expertly made 10 of them in 5 minutes, I struggled with two but at least I got some bell like shape out of it.

There after I got into the groove and made them again. They now looked better. After some more attempts I can now say, Triangle Parotas are easy to make. Why they are important I cannot tell.

Repeat after me.

You guys have a great next year. Make your resolutions and stick by them. When making teen kona parota is the high point of my life, it is natural that I resolve to do nothing better.

Happy 2011

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Bengali Triangle Parota

What You Need

AP Flour/Maida ~ 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1 cup
White Oil for shortening ~ 1&1/2 tbsp. many people use ghee as shortening too.
Salt ~ a pinch or say 1/4tsp
Warm Water ~ 1 cup(added gradually). Some people add warm milk to make a softer dough, I haven't, you can try.
Dry Flour ~ in a plate for rolling the Paratha.

How I Did It

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it.

Now start rolling as follows

Take a ping-pong size ball, flatten it between your palms, dust with flour.

Roll a small circular disc

Fold along the diameter to form a semi-circle

Take the right end of the semi-circle, lift and fold along the radius to meet the left end

Gently roll and elongate the sides to get a triangular bell shape

Roll some more, maintaining the shape. Thickness should be like the regular paratha.

Heat a skillet/tawa. Place the rolled paratha on the heated tawa and cook on one side until bubbles starts to appear.
Flip the other side and pour oil in drops around the edges of the paratha or spray the surface with cooking oil.
After half a minute or so flip again and again add oil around the edges. Keep doing this, every side half a minute or so until the paratha is cooked on bot sides. There will be little brown spots on the surface and then you know you are done.

Alu Bati Charchari

I have a post on bati charchari with a lot of vegetables

This one is done only with potatoes

Peel and chop 3 medium sized potatoes in 2" long pieces.

In a heavy-bottomed deep pan heat 3 tsp of Mustard Oil

Add 4 hot Indian green chili, slit halfway

Add the potatoes

Add salt to taste + 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder and mix well. Saute for a minute

Add 1 to 1&1/2 cups of water.

Cover and cook without any stirring till potatoes are cooked and water dries up. If needed add more water for cooking

Once done, add 1-2 tsp of Mustard oil on top before serving

Best enjoyed with Parota, Luchi or Roti

Better Than Anything Chocolate Cup Cakes

We have too many parties during the holidays. By too many, I mean "two", but that is many by my standards. And by parties I do not mean the sequined slips, pointed stilettos,dancing in smoky room kind of parties. That would be cool and I could have then put up pics of such dos on FB but I am never invited to such parties and I don't even have a personal account on FB or a sequined slip for that matter.

No, ours is very un-snazzy Jhumpa Lahiri-ish Bong party. The kind where the kids play in the basement, the female folks gravitate around the kitchen and family room, the men folk drink wine and discuss Sodepur vs Obama and umpteen trays of food warm in the oven. I would say "desi" but there is a difference.

"Desi" parties have games, lots of them. Till date, I have been forced to identify 20 pictures of unknown buildings and memorize 10 random objects on a tray, two of which were safety pins, all while I waited for the hostess to serve Dahi Vada. The husband was once asked to put a bindi on my forehead, blindfolded. He fled.We are yet to return the hostess's dupatta, the one used as blindfold.

Bong parties have no such pressure.No showcasing of talent is necessary.No one is expected to do anything except eat, lots of it. You can get by without saying a single word other than, "Chop ta darun hoyeche(The chop is delicious)" or "Doi ta byapok(Yogurt is great)" and still be re-invited. Ask the Husband.He is the king of no liners.

I love games though, especially dumb charade. Maybe I will return the dupatta next week and see if I can get back in.

Yesterday night BS & I baked some Chocolate cup cakes for our Christmas Party.Our very own.

It is what some of us close friends throw together to provide the kids some entertainment and a Santa. Gifts bought by parents are distributed, kids play games, sing songs, play the piano and then everyone eats food.An immature attempt to warm up an otherwise cold Christmas Night. The kids might actually cringe at the thought of such parties in their adolescence but we like to think otherwise.

Now to these chocolate cup cakes which are hands down better than anything ever. Every chocolate cake is but these are rich, moist, chocolate-y and perfect. BS has loved them earlier and of all the things I have baked so far this and the Chocolate brownies are her only favorites. My search for the perfect chocolate cup cake recipe came to a stop once I found these and I have already baked them a couple of times.

I love chocolate cakes with a gooey center but wasn't brave enough to do the mousse filling. So I put a single Hershey Kiss at the center of each of the cup cakes and baked them. The result was not exactly a gooey center but a slightly soft, more chocolate center. The next time I will put in half of a Lindt truffle and see how that works.

These cakes are pretty rich and perfect sweet by themselves but for some I did a nutellaa frosting just because I had a Nutella jar itching to be opened.and for some BS did a icing just because she loves doing those. Also since these are pretty rich, I think it is better to do mini cupcakes instead of 16 regular ones. That way you can indulge without guilt. These go to Nupur's Holiday Buffet and thanks Stef of Cupcake Project for the awesome original recipe.



And we have already demolished 4 of the 16 cupcakes.If at least 12 survive for the 14 kids coming tomorrow, hail Santa. BS also plans to play " I want a Hippopotamus..." tomorrow. If we survive the hardly rehearsed rendition, we will have a Happy Holiday. You have one too.


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Chocolate Cup Cake

What You Need

Butter ~ 1/2 cup (1 stick) at room temperature
Sugar ~ 1-1/4 cups
Eggs ~ 2 large at room temperature

AP Flour ~ 3/4 cup
Baking powder ~ 1/2 tsp
Baking soda ~ 1/4 tsp
Salt ~ 1/4 tsp
Unsweetened cocoa powder ~ 1/2 cup

Milk ~ 1/2 cup
Vanilla ~ 1 tsp

Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips ~ 2/3 cup. Instead I used a regular Hershey
Kiss for each cup cake, 16 sweet kisses.

How I Did It

Beat butter until softened.

Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Check my post to understand how much to beat.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined.

Pre-heat oven to 350F

Measure
the flour,
baking powder,
baking soda,
salt, and
cocoa powder into a small sized bowl and whisk to combine.

In a cup add the milk and vanilla and stir to combine.

Add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar and beat to combine. Add about a half of the milk/vanilla and beat to combine. Beat gently, I mostly do this with my rubber spatula.

Continue adding, alternating between dry and wet and finishing with the dry.

Stir in chocolate chips. I did not do this, instead I added a Hershey kiss to each of the cups.

Scoop batter into cupcake cups about 1/2 full.

Bake at 350F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Mine were done at 18 mins.

Frost or ice or decorate according to your wish.

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If you want to create yummy chocolate cupcakes like this one, pastry schools offer classes on baking and pastry arts.