Eggless chocolate orange cake

The orange chocolate cake I’d made previously was so nice that I decided I’d take up a reader’s suggestion (thanks, Shvetha) and try out an eggless version. This time around, I boiled the orange in the microwave for about 10 minutes, in two tranches of 5 minutes each. It could take a couple of minutes more or less, depending on your microwave’s wattage/power, so go easy after the first 5 minutes. Of course, make sure to “drill” the orange through with a skewer, before microwaving it.

I don’t really know first-hand what would happen if you microwaved an orange that was not hole-y (what, did you think I’d pass up the opportunity for a godawful pun?). I don’t think it would explode, at least going by a video I watched on You Tube of three idiotic guys doing exactly that experiment. (I did my research, as you can see.) The orange didn’t explode for them - much to their disappointment - but since I wasn’t sure that my orange would refrain from creating an unhole-y mess in the microwave, it went in sanctified, thereby NOT going kablooey.

Anyway, microwaving the orange is MUCH quicker than cooking it on the hob till it’s soft, and I totally recommend it.

The rest of the ingredients are more or less the same as for the previous cake, sans eggs, of course. I substituted some of the sugar with Splenda, but it's not a "must-do" thing at all.

This cake was actually even better than the eggy version, in my opinion – it tasted gooey and moist while looking quite deceptively fluffy. The cake keeps well for a couple of days under cover. I didn’t make any frosting this time, because I didn’t have any chocolate left, but I added ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the batter to intensify the chocolate experience.

Recipe for: Eggless chocolate orange cake



Ingredients:

2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
120 gm dark chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup splenda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 large Seville orange
4 tsp vinegar
1 cup milk
2 tsp orange oil extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Method:

1. Pierce the orange with a skewer 3-4 times, then place in a bowl of water and microwave it for 8-10 minutes.





Throw away the water, let the orange cool, then puree it finely. Set aside till required.



2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking sugar and salt.

3. Add the sugar and splenda and mix well.

4. Make a well in the centre, and add the melted dark chocolate, the pureed orange, vinegar and oil.



Stir this well, then add the milk and stir till thoroughly mixed.



5. Add the orange and vanilla extracts and mix them in.



6. Finally, add the chocolate chips and fold them gently into the batter.



7. Pour the batter into a 9” round baking tin



and bake at 180C till the cake tests done – this took about an hour in mine. To be on the safe side, check after 45 minutes.



If desired, split the cake and fill with ganache frosting.

RECIPE: EGGLESS CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
120 gm dark chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup splenda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 large Seville orange
4 tsp vinegar
1 cup milk
2 tsp orange oil extract
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Pierce the orange with a skewer 3-4 times, then place in a bowl of water and microwave it for 8 minutes. Throw away the water, let the orange cool, then puree it. Set aside till required.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking sugar and salt.
3. Add the sugar and splenda and mix well.
4. Make a well in the centre, and add the melted dark chocolate, the pureed orange, vinegar and oil. Stir this well, then add the milk and stir till thoroughly mixed.
5. Add the orange and vanilla extracts and mix them in.
6. Finally, add the chocolate chips and fold them gently into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into a 9” round baking tin and bake at 180C till the cake tests done – this took about an hour in mine. To be on the safe side, check after 45 minutes.
If desired, split the cake and fill with ganache frosting.