Wholewheat Chocolate Ganache Cake, Healthy Cake, Eggless Wholewheat Cake

Cake that is fluffy, decadent with dark chocolate doled in to hit the right notes, eggless, refined-sugar-free, glazed with a rich chocolate ganache and coated with roast pistachio and peanut crumble. Tempting, isn’t it – to have your cake and eat it too, all guilt-free!

If you know me you know my obsession with chocolate – in fact, the darker it is the better it gets! Dark chocolate is my ultimate weakness and something I crave most for, so I keep whipping up chocolate goodies from time to time at home to ensure I don’t end up eating the calorie-laden items outside too frequently.

This cake was made using whole-wheat flour and palm sugar, thus replacing all purpose flour (APF, a.ka. maida) and refined sugar entirely. Whole-wheat flour has higher protein, fiber and thiamine profile, not to mention the nice texture it renders to the cake. Palm sugar has a lower Glycemic Index than refined sugar. You HAVE TO trust me on this – one bite and you will not believe this nice, moist piece of cake is not store-bought!

This recipe is a fail-proof method if you are watching your weight or avoiding simple carbs, yet wish to indulge. Also, it is entirely possible to play with the flavors – try adding some almond crumb to the cake mix, or play with the ganache – I know I’m gonna try a caramel ganache or a salted peanut butter chocolate ganache the next time! You could variate the crumble coating on the sides too – roasted pistachio, hazelnuts, almonds – sky is the limit!

If you’re looking for healthy bakes, do your hand at my Chocolate Banana Muffins with Buckwheat Oats Flour Mix, Lemon Poppy Seed Buckwheat Muffins or Chocolate Banana Muffins with Millet Flour Mix too!

RECIPE: WHOLEWHEAT CHOCOLATE GANACHE CAKE

Makes 2 layers of a 6X6X2.5” layer cake; serves 6

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup palm sugar
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder
• ½ cup yogurt/ dahi
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• Salt, to taste

FOR THE GANACHE

• 1/3 cup fresh cream (I used Amul’s low-fat Fresh Cream)
• 100 gm dark chocolate (preferably semi-sweet)
• 2 tbsp palm sugar (if the dark chocolate is unsweetened)

FOR THE NUT CRUMBLE COATING

• ½ cup roasted, roughly chopped nuts (I used pistachio & peanuts)

METHOD

Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Grease and line two 6-inch pans, preferably springform.

In a bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients, i.e. flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well with a spatula.

Pour warm water in a mug and stir in the instant coffee. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients, i.e. palm sugar, coffee water, vanilla essence, yogurt, buttermilk, oil, in a separate bowl. Whisk everything together until the palm sugar melts.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with wet ingredients, mix everything together while scraping the sides with a spatula. Take care to mix only well enough to make a smooth batter; do not overmix.

Divide the batter equally and pour into the two greased pans.

Bake at 180°C for about 30-40 minutes, until it has risen firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool completely. Run a knife along the rim of the pans, release the springform. Run the knife through the bottom and remove gently.

Upend separately into two plates lined with cling-sheet. Set aside for ganache-work.

For ganache, heat cream in a thick-bottomed pan. Add chopped chocolate and sugar. Keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn, and turn the flame off as bubbles start appearing on the sides.

Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

Now pour the ganache on one cake and spread evenly. Place the other cake on top and spread the remaining ganache evenly. You can use a rubber spatula to ensure an even coat.

Coat the roasted nut crumble along the sides, working one section at a time. This might take a while, but is worth the effort!

Allow the ganache to cool.

If you wish to create the marbled effect that I attempted, pour some fresh cream in a sauce bottle or piping bag. It is better to chill the fresh cream ahead. Make horizontal straight lines on the surface. Now using a toothpick, make strokes with a light hand to get the desired pattern.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 1-2 hours so the marbled pattern and ganache set properly.

Devour!

[Loosely adapted from KitchenTimeWithNeha’s recipe.]

NOTES

Since this recipe utilizes baking soda, the mix needs to be baked immediately.

Do not refrigerate the cake before making the marbled pattern, else you’ll end up making gashes on the cake or worse, scraping tiny bits of the set ganache. Refrigerate after the pattern is made.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (per serving)

Energy	148 calories
Protein	3.2 g
Fat	8 g
Carbohydrates	15.8 g
Of which, Fiber	5 g

*Recipe is for 6 servings; all values in grams.