Did you know that ‘stressed’ spelt backwards gives you ‘desserts’?? So when you get stressed, go dig in to some dessert to reverse some of that stress! What a lovely idea, don’t you think?!! Yeah I know that its bad to do, but dont we all eventually reach out to the proverbial treat to help us feel better when we’re upset/stressed about something? Yeah, that’s what I thought too! Every doctor, every dietitian will tell you to stay away from sweets, desserts and the likes. But trust me, Im no saint when it comes to food…I need to have my share of sinning. So, I try and bake healthy to feel less guilty when I do sin once in a while.
Ingredients:
All purpose flour/Maida – 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa - 1/2 cup (If you like it chocolatey, make it 1 1/4 cups maida and 3/4th cup cocoa powder)
Brown Sugar – 1 1/2 cups (firmly packed) Note: You could add 3-4 tbsps more to suit your taste (If you don’t have brown sugar or if procuring it is tough, just go ahead and use normal white sugar).
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Salt – a pinch
Flax seed powder – 4 tsps mixed in 1 cup warm water (substituting 4 eggs)
Milk – 1/3 cup
Water – 1/3 cup
Oil – 1/3 cup (I used Rice Bran)
Vanilla essence – 2 tsps
Note: If you wish to make a Vegan version, then omit the milk and increase both water and oil to 1/2 cup each.
Procedure:
Sift all the dry ingredients together, preferably thrice and transfer to a wide bowl.
Stir in the milk/water, oil and vanilla essence. Mix well.
Lastly stir in the flax-seed powder mixed in warm water and mix well. The batter must have a ribbon-like consistency now.
Pour the batter into a greased and dusted microwave-safe glass pan (should be wider than it is deeper).
Now cook the cake on high for 5-7 minutes (My microwave sets to 900W at high power. Please check yours and increase/decrease the time by a minute or two, as required).
Give it a standing time of 5 minutes and put it through the toothpick test to check if its done well.
Once done, let it cool in the pan for a while.
Serve with a dollop or two of icecream, topped with nuts and chocolate sauce…aaaah, divine!
Apart from giving in to your cravings/urges, this cake is also perfect for when you’re having a party ‘cos it just takes about 10 minutes to put together. Give another 10 minutes for the cake to bake and dessert is fixed already! Bake it the previous evening so it gets it share of time to cool and when it’s time for dessert on the day of the party, just bring it out, cut into equal portions and serve with a dollop or two of ice-cream, top it with some chocolate sauce and some nuts (if you like) and watch everyone’s eyes go wide from the first signs of food coma!
