A few weeks ago, a very close friend of mine asked me if I could bake an eggless cake for some temple priests as they are strict vegetarians. She went on to tell me, how much they crave for bakery delights but can't afford as almost all baked products use eggs and this prohibits them from enjoying these sweet goodies. So I instantly jumped at this opportunity and decided to bake one. Though I was very apprehensive and this was my first attempt at baking an eggless cake, to my delight, the cake turned out moist, spongy and delicious. Not to mention, the priests loved it. They were very happy. Just like kids, I could see the glimpse of excitement in their eyes when they saw the cake.
Net net, I was happy and content. I realized, things that we take for granted most often, are actually missed and craved by many many people. Never knew a simple vanilla cake would bring such immense joy to these godly souls. I guess there's a lot we should be thankful for.
Here's how this simple recipe was made.
Ingredients:
Cake Flour- 280 grams
Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons
Baking Soda - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar - 180 grams
Buttermilk - 240 ml (In case you don't have buttermilk, you could use 240 ml of milk at room temperature and 1 tablespoon of Vinegar and combine together and leave for some time. You will see that the milk has split).
Vegetable Oil - 130ml
Coconut Cream - 2 tablespoons
Sugar Syrup - 2 tablespoons
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
Method:
Line a 9"x3" round cake pan with the parchment paper and preheat your oven to 180ºC.
In a mixing bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
In another mixing bowl, add the sugar and the oil. With the help of a hand mixer, on a medium speed, mix it until the sugar completely dissolves. Leave the hand mixer aside.
Gradually add the coconut cream, vanilla extract and the sugar syrup. I also added a teaspoon of the coconut essence for a stronger flavour.
Combine all of the wet ingredients with the help of a whisk.
Now, add the buttermilk alternating with the flour mixture in three batches in the wet ingredients. Combine them gently with the help of a whisk. Don't overmix. Just gently blend them in until the mixture is smooth and no lumps are visible.
Bake at 180ºC for 35 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean.
Once the cake is baked, bring it out of the oven and allow it cool completely on a wire rack.
Now that the cake is completely cooled down, cut the sides of the cake crumbs with the help of a round 8"x2" cake cutter. Also with the help of the cake leveller/slicer cut the cake in two 1" levelled layers so that we can frost the icing in between. Set these layers aside.
Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients & Tools:
35% fat content whipping cream - 360 ml
Icing Sugar - 2 tablespoons
Coconut Cream - 2 tablespoons
Sugar Syrup - 4 tablespoons
Hand Mixer with whisk attachments
Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Angular Spatula
12" disposable piping bag
Basting Brush
Bench Scraper
Method:
Start by chilling the bakeware for at least 30 minutes which includes metal hand mixer whisker, mixing bowl and spatula. This is to ensure the whipped cream frosting holds its structure and shape.
Once chilled, start by whisking the frosting ingredients on medium speed until the mixture thickens. This would take anytime between 3-5 minutes.
Once you see that the mixture has slightly thickened, scrape the sides of the bowl and continue to whisk on medium speed for another 3-5 minutes until you see stiff peaks starting to form and holding its shape.
Once you see this, stop mixing. Over mixing actually will deflate the frosting.
You see stiff peaks , you know that your frosting is ready.
Scoop the frosting into the piping bags and your are ready to now decorate the cake.
Decorating the Cake:
Now your cake layers are ready.
Your whipped cream frosting is ready.
Cut your favourite fruits in your desired shapes and sizes for decoration.
I used strawberries, both yellow and green kiwis and some sprigs for fresh mint leaves. You could use oranges, pineapple chunks, blueberries, blackberries and any other fruit of your choice.
Now put your first cake layer on your turntable.
With the help of a basting brush, baste the sugar syrup on the cake layer. Make sure the whole surface of the cake is covered.
Now add a generous dollop of the icing on top and with the help of the spatula spread evenly all over the cake.
Now place the second layer of the cake on top and repeat the process again.
Making sure both the sugar syrup and the icing is spread evenly on the cake.
Once the layers are nicely covered with the icing, spread the icing along the sides of the cake by using an angular spatula. Make sure the cake is covered evenly from all sides.
You could stop at this stage and decorate your cake with fruits.
Else, if you want a more professional look, use a bench scraper to run along the sides of the cake and bring in a smooth finish.
Decorate with your choice of fruits and Voila!! Your Eggless Fruit cake with whipped cream frosting is ready.
And there you are. Ready with the eggless cake.
Enjoy!!!