Eggless Ragi Chocolate cake

An Eggless Chocolate cake which is completely vegan,  gluten free, and has the goodness of Ragi(finger millet) and jaggery. It is dairy free.

You read it right!. No Maida,  No Eggs,  No Milk, and No Butter.

I've been wanting to write about this since a long time. I modified an age old chocolate cake recipe,  since I was baking it for my toddler's birthday. The cake turned out delicious!.

You gotta try this once!. I'm sure you'll love it.

Ingredients required

1. 5 cups - Ragi flour (Finger millet flour)
1/2 cup - Cocoa powder
1 cup - Organic jaggery powder
1 cup -  Lukewarm Water
1/2 cup - Sunflower oil
3/4 tsp -  Baking soda
1/2 tsp - Salt
1tbsp - Vanilla extract
2 tsp - White Vinegar

Procedure

1. Mix cocoa powder with lukewarm water and set it aside. Ensure that the temperature of water is just right and not too hot. It enhances the flavor and taste of cocoa in the cake.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt to a container. Make a well in the centre and gradually pour the cocoa mixture. Add jaggery, vanilla extract, oil and mix till it forms a lump free batter.

3. Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius for 15 minutes. Grease an 8 inch tray and dust it with flour.

4. Add white vinegar to the batter and give it a mix. Pour the batter to the greased pan and bake it in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.


For the chocolate sauce:

3 tbsp  - Cocoa powder
1/4 tsp - Vanilla extract
3-4 tbsp - Jaggery powder
4 tbsp - Water

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and get it to boil for a while. You can either add more water or add more cocoa powder and jaggery till you get the right consistency. Don't make it too runny. Cool the sauce and it will thicken a bit. Pour it on the cake and spread it uniformly.

Notes:

1. I use organic jaggery powder which is fine and dissolves easily. If you notice lumps in the powder, you can turn it into a fine mixture using a blender or dissolve it in water along with the cocoa powder. Ensure that it has no lumps. Alternatively, you can use Brown sugar as well.

2. You can slightly roast the flour as it aids better digestion. It is optional, though.

3. You can substitute lemon juice for white vinegar. I have found vinegar does a better job than lemon juice. You can experiment with it and see how it turns out.

4. If you feel 1/2 cup cocoa powder is too much, you can reduce it and substitute it with flour to get the required consistency of the batter. Use unsweetened Cocoa powder.

5. You can use any neutral-flavored oil as a substitute for sunflower oil.

6. You can bake the cake in a pan or cooker as well. In fact, my first cake was baked in a cooker. Spread enough salt at the base of the pan/cooker. Keep a perforated plate at the base, cover it and pre-heat on medium high flame for 15 minutes. Place the cake tin and bake on low or medium low flame till it's baked.

Here is a look at the yummy delicious cake out of the oven.

Topped with the chocolate sauce and ready to be served. 

This cake tastes heavenly and no one can tell it is made with Ragi flour and jaggery. To be honest, no one can guess it is completely dairy-free.

It is moist and soft and has the perfect texture.  This has become an all time favorite,  but do ensure kids don't get to eat too much as cocoa contains caffeine. Moderation is the key for everyone.