Steamed Chocolate Cake!!

I did my schooling in a Convent school and majority of my friends were from the Christian community.During Easter and Christmas[more so during Xmas],my friends brought along Cakes,Brownies and such other baked stuff to school.Mostly homemade and needless to say,delicious as well.I used to go home and ask amma why she did not bake and why can’t we use eggs at home to make baked goodies and why she only makes Nankhatai and not cakes.I sure was a nasty kid:).I overlooked the fact that she made the best chips,best sweets[not baked though] and so many varieties of snack back to back for us three ever-hungry-for-a-snack kids:)

During my learning-to-cook phase,though I tried cooking different stuff,baking was a no-no,since we did not have an oven and most importantly,amma wouldn’t allow cooking with eggs:).But I still wanted to make or rather bake a cake.During that time Pillsburry introduced Pressure Cooker cakes.I promptly bought one packet only to discover later that we needed to add eggs,oil and water to it.Shucks..what to do.Me and bro decided it is “okay’ to skip the eggs and went ahead with the cake.What we got in the end was a denser than a brownie cake and no prizes for guessing where it went after the tasting session..:).

Recently,I came across a recipe by Lakshmi Nair[of Magic Oven fame]which was a simple steamed Chocolate Cake.Though initially the recipe reminded me of the Pressure cooker cake:),I went ahead with the recipe.The cake tasted excellent..moist and chocolatey.I poured some chocolate syrup on top and decorated it with some sprinkles.Thanks to her..:)
Steamed Chocolate Cake
Recipe adapted from Lakshmi Nair’s Cookbook-Paachakakala

Ingredients

Maida/Flour – 1 cup
Cocoa powder – 4 tbsp
Powdered sugar – 1 cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Milk – 1 cup
Vinegar – 1 tbsp
Egg – 1
Melted butter – 1 tsp
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Method

Add the vinegar to milk and mix well with a spoon,leave it aside for 15 minutes[after a few minutes,milk will start to curdle and become sour milk]
Sieve together maida,cocoa,baking powder,baking soda and salt twice.
Beat together powdered sugar and egg.
Add the essence and keep beating.
Add the melted butter.
Now add the flour-mix and the sour milk alternately in three batches till you get a smooth lump-free batter.
Grease a baking tin and pour the batter in it.Cover tightly using aluminium foil so that the steam does not escape.
Steam the cake for 45 minutes.[I used a steamer].
Invert from the tin and pour some chocolate syrup on top and add sprinkles.
Let it cool completely.
Slice and serve!! My niece Raksha is celebrating her birthday today.Happy Birthday Rakshu darling.♥Love ♥ you lots!!

Here’s a sneak peek at the test cake my vanni prepared for her birthday.