Cakes with egg and butter give a nice texture and taste. But I always craved for egg-less cakes. Though I can eat cakes with egg flavor, I prefer baking egg less cakes most of the time at home.
When I tried this cake for the first time from this site, I used whole wheat flour and it didn't give expected results. It didn't rise at all but the taste of the cake was good. Tried this cake again with whole wheat pastry flour and the result was perfect and as expected. Initially after cooling the cake, when I cut few slices from it, it looked like a brownie. But the texture was good when I cut them into slices the next day after storing it overnight in refrigerator. To me, the difficulty level is little complex as it requires correct ingredients and proper mixing of the batter. Don't compromise with any of the ingredients and take extra care while preparing the cake batter. It is worth trying if you really need a healthy cake and at the same time you don't want to compromise your chocolate craving.
Basic Information:
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
Serves: 12 persons
Ingredients:
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1 and 1/2 cups (see notes)
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
Baking soda - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Water - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup - 1 cup (I used brown sugar)
Unsweetened applesauce - 1/4 cup (see notes)
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Fresh lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
Grated/peeled, cored and diced apple - 1 cup
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 350F/180C for 10-15 minutes. Grease the round / square baking tin with oil and the dust it with flour. You can also use butter paper/parchment paper.
2) In a clean and dry mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Do it twice (if possible) for even mixing of all the ingredients.
3) Take another mixing bowl and mix water, applesauce, oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Just mix enough.
4) Mix these wet ingredients with the dry ones. Stir carefully just until it absorbs moisture. Do not over stir or over mix.
5) At last, add the grated apples and sugar. Gently fold them with batter. Take care not to over fold it.
6) Pour this batter to the prepared baking tin and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Check the cake with a tooth pick by inserting it into the centre of the cake. It should come out clean.
7) After few minutes, transfer the cake to the wire rock and cool completely.
8) When the cake is at room temperature, cut them into slices and enjoy.
Notes:
1) If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour, substitute it with All-purpose flour. I first tried it with whole wheat flour and the cake didn't rise at all. But the taste of the cake was good.
2) Then I first baked, I found 3/4 cup of sugar is less to my taste and added 1 cup next time when I baked it for the second time.
3) I used homemade apple sauce in this recipe. To prepare it, peel and dice one apple and cook it along with 1/2 cup of water till it becomes soft. Then cool it to room temperature. Once cooled, blend it to a smooth paste and use it. Before blending, if there is excess water, first drain it and then blend it to a paste.
4) If you don't have lemon juice, substitute it with a tablespoon of White distilled vinegar.
5) The cake's texture is very good after refrigeration.
