It’s that time of the year when we’re all reviewing the past months and planning to do better than that in the future. I’m pretty sure that most of our lists feature healthy eating as a goal – one which is important, but easier said than done! But this doesn’t mean that you have to start your brand new year on a note of deprivation. What if I said that you could have your cake and eat it too – quite literally? Yes, with our sugar free, whole wheat chocolate orange cake recipe, you sure can!
In this recipe, I’ve skipped regular white sugar and used Coconut Sugar, also known as Coconut Palm Sugar. It is as sweet as regular caster sugar but since it has a low Glycemic Index, it doesn’t spike the blood sugar as regular sugar does. However if you can’t seem to find coconut palm sugar, regular sugar can easily be substituted.
Sugar Free, Whole Wheat Chocolate Orange Cake
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups of Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)
- ¼ cup of Cocoa Powder, unsweetened and good quality
- 1 cup of Coconut Sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 6 tablespoons of Vegetable, Sunflower or Soybean Oil
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1½ cup of Orange Juice
- 1 teaspoon of White Vinegar
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Grease your pan well with butter or oil. This recipe works for a 8 inch round and square pan but I used a Bundt Pan for a fancy and festive feel.
2. Whisk together the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sugar.
3. Make 3 wells or depressions in the flour-mix: 2 small ones for the vinegar and vanilla essence and one largish one for oil.
4. Pour in the vinegar, vanilla essence and oil into the wells/depressions. Follow up with orange juice.
5. Mix gently till smooth. Be careful not to over-mix.
6. Pour batter into your pan, making sure it’s not too full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes till done.
7. Insert a toothpick in the middle to check for done-ness. If it comes clean, it is done. Cool for five minutes and turn the cake over on a dish.
8. Dust the cake with little powdered sugar and cocoa powder and drizzle with chocolate sauce (optional) and decorate with orange slices.
To decorate the cake you can either use a ganache glaze or your favorite icing. But the cake is so moist and flavorful, that you can skip the glaze completely and have it plain with a cup of tea or coffee. Let your healthy eating goals for 2017 be more about sensible substitutions rather than deprivation. Here’s to a healthy happy New Year to all of us!
- 1½ cups of Whole Wheat Flour (Atta)
- ¼ cup of Cocoa Powder, unsweetened and good quality
- 1 cup of Coconut Sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 6 tablespoons of Vegetable, Sunflower or Soybean Oil
- 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1½ cup of Orange Juice
- 1 teaspoon of White Vinegar
- Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Grease your pan well with butter or oil. This recipe works for a 8 inch round and square pan but I used a Bundt Pan for a fancy and festive feel.
- Whisk together the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and sugar.
- Make 3 wells or depressions in the flour-mix: 2 small ones for the vinegar and vanilla essence and one largish one for oil.
- Pour in the vinegar, vanilla essence and oil into the wells/depressions. Follow up with orange juice.
- Mix gently till smooth. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Pour batter into your pan, making sure it's not too full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes till done.
- Insert a toothpick in the middle to check for done-ness. If it comes clean, it is done. Cool for five minutes and turn the cake over on a dish.
- Dust the cake with little powdered sugar and cocoa powder and drizzle with chocolate sauce (optional) and decorate with orange slices.
