The Best Chocolate Cake Recipe (Low Fat)

Well..it seems ages since I have been here.

 

Some technical issues with blogger. I was unable to post pictures onto blogger and i admit.. i didn’t bother much to go digging into it. Anyways..its back to working now. Fotos are getting uploaded and finally...this space gets some fresh air after a long break. All this while...most of my posts got reduced to mini ones directly onto my fb page. I am still getting kindof bugged up putting up this post, coz the formatting just wouldnt save. The fonds keep changing size and type even though they look just fine in the preview... :/

 

But I have to post this today....coz...

 

..today is someones birthday ! And i used to keep telling her, i would drop by her blog but always missed it out. So.,.this is for her... one of the best human neign i have ever come across from this blogpshere..a terribly witty lady...Amelia, of Amelia’s Dessert.

Happy Birthday sweetheart..this is for you!!!

 

An easy, foolproof chocolate cake which is moist with a fudgy texture and will keep well for 4-5 days.

 

 

To all Chocolate Cake freaks..trust me blindly..this IS a KEEPER !  As simple as baking a store brought cake mix pack..where you add some oil and egg to the packed dry mix. Here, you just prepare that dry mix, add some liquids , mix ...bake. And the best part is..itis definitely Low in Cals. The liquid content is just plain hot water (or hot coffee), low fat milk , plus some oil. No Butter !

 

But just few things to share before moving to the recipe.

 

I would strongly recommend, if using Panasonic Dimension 4 oven..KEEP THE TEMPERATURE TO 160 deg C. Cakes are always to be baked at 180 deg C, but in this brand...those baked at 180 never give a good output. Made be coz of the power setting of the oven..but from trial and error, i have noticed that in this particular brand of oven..cakes are best when done at 160 )

 

This recipe gives quite a lot of batter, especially as it is of a runny texture. You can make two 9” round cakes . I could easy get one 9” bundt cake, about a dozen mini doughnut sized ones (baked it in a doughnut maker tray) and a dozen mini cupcakes.

 

 

Ingredients

For the cake

·         1 ¾ cup plain flour

·         2 cup caster sugar

·         ¾ cup cocoa powder

·         1½ tsp baking powder

·         1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         1 tsp salt

·         2 eggs

·         1  cup low fat milk

·         ½ cup vegetable oil

·         2 tsp vanilla extract

·         1 cup hot water / hot coffee

 

Preparation method

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. For me..it was 160 deg C, in my oven.

 

Grease the pans with some butter and dust with flour. Set aside.

 

Add all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt into a   bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon till well combined. (I did sieve it once just not to take chance.)

Now break in the 2 eggs, pour the milk, oil and mix with an electric beater for atleast 2 minutes till combined. The batter would be really thick at this stage.

 

 

 Add the vanilla essence,  hot water/hot coffee to the mixture, a little at a time. (The cake mixture will now be very liquid.) Beat again on medium for a minute or two till until smooth.

 

Divide the cake batter between the tins and bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.



For me at 160 , it was done in 35 minutes. At 180 deg, maybe about 30 mins would do.



Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in their tins. I repeat..cool COMPLETELY...still in the tin. I was not patient enough for it to be fully cooled, and well..mine ended up half in the plate, half still in the pan while inserted. ;)

 

So much...for my impatience. :/ :/

 

To remove the cake, run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the cakes. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins.

....very soft and fudgy  !!!

(God! i feel terrible seeign how my post looks. The texts in different size, shape, colour... eeks ! But I wanted to share this, and in a step-by-step way..so... kindly excuse. Sure..this recipe will make up for this crapness. I will put it on blogger again ) ;)

 



An intro to an Air-Fryer and simple Potato Wedges

As promised on my fb page…the introductory post to an Air Fryer and a simple Starter Recipe to kick start some Air-Frying.  



 

Now..on the Air Fryer, in just two lines -   

In comparison to a deep fryer – this is a big yes !!

In comparison to a conventionaloven – this is partial(about 70%)yes. Read further to know the reason why..

But firstly...What is listed below  are just my views. I definitely am not compelling anyone to purchase it, if its not going to be used. I know quite a few who has huge cooking ranges at home but its oven would have turned into a storage cabin. So, if you seriously are planning to replace your deep fat fryer, then definitely go for it, this is way healthier an option, but compared to a conventional oven…well…its mixed choices, depending on what we need to prepare.

 

To getting started – some simple faq’s.

1.    Why is the Airfryer better than a conventional deep-fat fryer?
 

Coz it takes absolutely nil or very very less oil in the Airfryer compared to the deep-fat fryer, to prepare tasty food.

2.    So, when exactly do we add oil for air-frying, for what and how much ?
 

Adding oil is only necessary when you prepare homemade dishes from fresh ingredients that have not been pretreated, such as freshly peeled potatoes or unmarinated skinless chicken. Adding oil creates a crispy layer to the untreated food and improves its taste. It needs just a bit of cooking spray to 'cook' the outside and make it golden brown as if submerged in hot oil.

3.    What about on an Air Fryer in comparison to a Conventional Oven?

a)To me, it looks like the conventional oven is better for big items like roasting chickens, smaller whole turkeys, etc. It doesn't look like the convection heating can get 'under' the food if the quantity is more. Upto 1 whole chicken cuts is fine. But more than that..i would go for an oven. But for fries, snack items…it’s the Philips.

 b) The next advantage I noticed is the ease in temperature control . It can easily be varied in an airfryer compared to the oven.

c) The pre-heating time is also less. Its just 3 mins standard for any temperature  in the Philips, which is a great time saving.

 

4. What types of frozen fries can I prepare in the Airfryer?

 You can use frozen oven-ready fries or frozen fries suitable for deep-fat frying.

 

Breaded ones can be avoided though as it becomes too dry.

 

Burgers works just great even without a drop of it.

5. Can we use other baking pans?

 

Any dish that can be used in the oven, can be used in the Airfryer. In terms of materials, it can be metal, glass, ceramic or silicon. If a dish is 6.3 inches round or 5.9 by 5.9 inches square with rounded edges, it will fit into the basket of the Airfryer. When using a baking dish, you need to place it into the basket of the Airfryer.

 

6. The cleaning of the parts ?

 

Let the appliance cool down for approximately 30 minutes before you clean it.

 

The pan and the basket needs proper cleaning. They both have a non-stick coating. So, do not use metal kitchen utensils or abrasive cleaning materials to clean them, as this may damage the non-stick coating.

 

The pan and basket are dishwasher-safe. You can also clean the pan and basket, with hot water, some dishwashing liquid, and a non-abrasive sponge.

 

7. Which parts of the Airfryer get hot?

Hot air from the cooking chamber is blown out at the back of the appliance. This area gets very hot. The pan, basket and the area where you put those parts into also get hot. The outside of the appliance warms up during cooking, but does not get too hot to touch.

 

8. Does it create smoke?

 Not under normal usage, but foods with high fat content may cause some smoke to appear.

 

Frying chicken with its skin on definitely produces smoke.

 

9. What are the different types of Airfryers available ,and what is the difference ?

 

There are 2 types –Digital and Analog.

 

The former has a digital touch screen where the latter has a knob that you turn to the degrees. The 9230 will cook continually for 60 minutes and the 9220 has a 30 minute cooking time.

 

Which do I prefer ?
 

Well.its a personal choice. I have gone for the analog, and I don’t want to dish out some extra “more” bucks just to get a touch screen control. I seriously don’t mind turning a knob to change the settings ;).

 

Also, the 30 – 60 mins time settings. Well.. all the items that can be prepared in the Air-fryer takes less than 30 mins to cook. So, if you need to repeat the processs, you necessarily don’t have to go for one which has a 60 mins setting. You can just turn the knob once again.

These were the common questions that me too had in mind while planning to purchase one. Hope it helps.

And now to getting started...with a simple starter.

Some simple homemade potato wedges.

 

Not the store brought ones. So you need to have some oil in it. A few tsp's depending on quantity, preferably olive oil.

 

 

Step 1 - Set the temp to the desired..normally, similar to the conventional onens , ore refer to the side of the fryer which gives the required temperature and time details for most common items that can be done.

 

 Step 2 - Pre-heating : This is just 3 mins , for all temperatures. Standard.

 

Here, i set the temperature to 180 deg C.

 

Meanwhile, wash thouroughly the potatoes as you are not removing the skin, cut and add any seasoning of your choice. I gave a dash of olive oil, salt, paprika, Itialian seasoning, some dried herbs,a drop of chillie powder. Its optional...thou. Feel free to use your choices.

 

 

While the fryer is pre-heating , place the seasoned wedges in the microwave at full power, covered for about 5 minutes, or just to cook its interiors. (A time saving anyways).

Set the temperature to about 10 mins.

At about 5 minutes, it was like this. Turn around to cook evenly.

 

 

By about 10 mins, they were fully done.

 

Serve hot..with some sweet chilie sauce.

 

(note : microwaving the potatoes helps, as i said, in two ways.
 1, in saving time.. and other, it reduces the time needed in the fryer, as the interior is already partially cooked.)

Stay tuned for more simple recipes and tutorials using Air-Fryer. Easy healthy cooking. ;)
Cheers...
 
(sorry for the low quality of the images..i get absolutely no time for some proper clicks and edits. just instant shots from my mobile cam and think the lighting doesnt go well with the pics .)

 

Oats Cookery Workshop Part 4 : Recipe No 6 - Oats-Green Peas Tikkis

In continuation to the last three posts - on the Oats Cookery Workshop Demo -

 

Recipe 6 of 8 - Green Peas Oats Tikkis.

Oats Type Used - Quick Cooking

Recipe Type - Snack

 

Ingredients :

 

Green Peas : 1 can

Oats – 1 cup

Onion - 1 (chopped into small pieces)

Ginger - 1 small wedge

Green Chilly - 2-3 nos

Coriander leaves - a hand full

Salt - as reqd

Method:

 

Drain the canned green peas off the water.    

Crush the green chilies and ginger first, then mix it with the green peas and oats.

 

Give one spin in the blender just to coarsely grind the peas and oats. But this is optional..you can make the tikkis without grinding too.

Add the coriander leaves and chopped onion to the mix.

 

 

 Make small vada shapes and deep fry.

 

 

For a change, we tried a small batch dipped in beaten egg before frying. The cutlet effect ;)

 

The ladies preparing the tikkis.

 

Thats it there, on the right, served with some hummus. Yeah...it might sound wierd, but paired it so, out of some instinct.

 

 

Click on the links below to go back to the previous posts

 

Oats Cookery Workshop Part 1 : Recipe No:1, 2 and 3 - Oats bars, Oats fruit dessert and flavoured idlis.

 Part 2 : Recipe No:4 - Oats Cornflakes Cookies

 Part 3 :Recipe No:5 - Oats-Breadcrumbs Instant Idlis