Eggless Oats Brownies

 I have mentioned in my previous posts that eggless bakes are a hit with folks at home. This one has oats as one of its ingredients, so it immediately took my fancy. I found this recipe on Divya's blog long back. I baked these for my daughters snack time at school.

Eggless Oats Brownies
Recipe adapted from Divya's blog (divyascookbook.blogspot.com)

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour/Atta - 1 1/2 cups

Oats - 3/4 cup

Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Dark Chocolate - 150 gms,melted and cooled

Dark Brown Sugar - 4 tbsp[I used white sugar]

Milk - 2 cups

Sunflower Oil - 5 tbsp

Method

Preheat oven to 180C--Grease/line an 8' square cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, oats, cocoa powder and baking powder.

In another bowl, mix together milk, sugar and oil.

Mix the liquid ingredients into the flour mix slowly.

Fold in the melted chocolate.

Transfer the batter into the pan and smooth the tops with a spatula.

Bake for 25 minutes,the centre will still be soft at this stage.

Place the pan on a rack and cool completely in the pan

When completely cool,cut into 16 squares.

Verdict: This one was a winner from the start. Eggless, whole wheat with dark chocolate. Oats are the added bonus in this recipe. This is definitely on my bake-often list :)

Apple Cake

Hubby's b'day was just an excuse to bake this lovely apple cake :). Seriously, I wanted to bake with apples for a while and his b'day gave me the perfect opportunity.
I adapted this recipe from www.joyofbaking.com

Apple Cake:

3/4 cup (75 grams) chopped walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)

1 pound (454 grams) apples (about 3 large) (I used only 2 apples, Maybe the batter would have taken 3)

1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 1/2 cup (195 grams) all purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup (50 grams) raisins (I omitted this)

Apple Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter or spray with a non stick cooking spray, an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan and then line with parchment paper or wax paper.

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly brown and fragrant. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack and then coarsely chop.

Peel, core, and chop the apples into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1 - 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk and beat until fully incorporated. Fold in the chopped nuts, raisins, and chopped apples.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in preheated oven for about 35 - 45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Cover and refrigerate. Serve warm with some custard or ice-cream.

Makes about 9 servings.

Verdict: This one got a thumbs up, both from the b'day boy and my little girl :). I warmed up the cake and poured cold custard over it. They just loved it!

Ganesh Chathurthi - Special (Delayed post)

It is that time of the year. Colourful, festive, loads of goodies at home; Every two weeks there is something to look forward to, along with all of the above, long weekends and sometimes one day break in the middle of a work week. Who wouldn't love this time of the year. Yes, I am talking about the festival season from late July to early January. That is the time of the year that we have the maximum number of holidays in India. May through July are quite the toughest months. Absolutely no holidays :(. But come Varamahalakshmi, followed by Janmashtami and then Ganesh Chathurthi, Dussherra and Diwali, the varied festivities and the different preparations for each of these keep me quite busy.

This year was a little different. There were too many challenges on the home front and I was unsure if we could keep up the festive spirit as in the previous years; but there was a welcome change at the last minute. My sis-in-law was with us during this time, and thanks to her, together we put up a wonderful treat :). We could not follow the fasting and pooja before noon; we put all the neivedhyam before the Lord only in the evening. And I suppose all items were first tasted by my daughter as soon as they were prepared. But I suppose Lord Ganesh is not complaining :)

Stay tuned for the recipe of Ellu Urundai, Parauppu Vadai, and Ellu Kozhukattai :).