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Do a variation on the whole mithai and sweetmeat tradition this festive Diwali season, and try cake instead. This simple chocolate cake recipe of mine is a variation of the usual “100 grams of everything and three eggs” sponge cake recipe that even the least adventurous of us may have tried.

The best part of this really scrumptious chocolate cake is that it is without any maida or refined flour at all. And the end result is a darkly rich cake consistency that can pass off for a brownie even, tasting delicious by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. To the recipe without further ado –

You will need –

• 100 grams softened butter
• 100 grams powdered sugar
• 3 eggs
• 50 grams cocoa (not drinking chocolate but unsweetened cocoa)
• 50 gram atta (whole wheat atta that we use for rotis)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A few tablespoons of milk
• Half a cup chopped walnuts (optional)

First make sure that the butter is soft enough to blend with an egg beater. Then take a large bowl and put the butter and the powdered sugar in it and blend with a whisk, electric egg beater or a hand blender. (If you don’t have powered sugar, just regular sugar a whizz in the mixie to powder it).

 Once the butter and sugar are blended, add the eggs and blend. Then add the cocoa, atta and baking powder and blend well; also adding three to four tablespoons of milk to make the consistency a little less thick. Blend very well, making sure there are no lumps and that the batter is a smooth, very thick pouring consistency. Add the chopped walnuts if you want or keep it plain.

Pre heat the oven (I usually start the oven when I start mixing the cake batter so it is nice and hot when I am ready to pop in the cake tin) to the ‘sponge cake’ temperature. Line a baking tin or cake mould with a bit of butter and dust it with atta and then pour in the cake batter. Bake for about 30 minutes or a little longer if you like your cake a little crusty on the outside. Make sure to put a knife in the center of the cake to see if it is done, before you take it out. If the knife comes away clean, the cake is done.

Also make this cake in the good old OTG and not a microwave. Though the microwave will take a fraction of the time; maybe only 6 minutes or so, the cake seems soggy and does not come away cleanly from the pan. The OTG may take longer but the cake is way tastier. You should get a rich, very dark brown cake, nice and moist; slightly crusty at the edges looking very much like the picture.

I usually double the quantities given above, and then bake two cakes. Or I make cup cakes at times – if you can, get small disposable aluminum foil cake tins to make cupcakes; the kids love it, there is no need to line the pan. Happy Baking and Enjoy!