Tiramisu Whole Wheat Layered Cake

I got a slice of Tiramisu cake from the local French Bakery on a day out with my little girl, we shared that single slice happily one evening never realizing that we would have a whole cake all to ourselves the very next day. I couldn't resist recreating it at home. I made the 2 layers of cake with whole wheat flour, layered with one layer of lady fingers and some custard/frosting in between. It is not the traditional Tiramisu custard in the sense that I did not use Mascarpone cheese at all. Omitted that all together and instead just used home whipped cream along with the egg custard to give it some volume and lightness. But if you do have some Mascarpone cheese to spare, then by all means add that instead of the whipped cream. It would result in a richer and creamier custard.
The layers in this cake synced up harmoniously and it just complimented each other just perfectly. Just like a regular Tiramisu, it is best eaten the next day, being in the refrigerator overnight marries all the layers and flavors well.

The littlest person in the house was ready for a tasting even before I could get it all assembled. She went on "repeat" with "Can I eat it now?" for the whole time I spent making it.

And she ended loving it! Yippie!







Tiramisu Whole Wheat Layered Cake 

Ingredients:

For the custard/frosting:
Eggs - 5
Sugar - 3/4 cup (Or a 1/4 cup more if you want it sweeter)
Pure Vanilla - 1 tsp
Whipping cream - 1 cup

For the ladyfinger's layer:
Lady fingers - 10-12 (more or less depending on the size of the pan)
Instant Coffee - 2 tsp
Warm water - 1 cup

For the cake:
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup mixed + Instant coffee - 2 tbsp (mixed together)
Baking soda -  1/2 tsp
Pure vanilla - 1 tsp

Method:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix both the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder and keep aside.
Beat the oil and the eggs till the eggs become light in color. Add the sugar and whisk well.
Add the water to the instant coffee powder till well combined. Mix into the egg mixture along with the vanilla.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk just until well combined. Do not overmix.
Pour into a 8" round pan and bake at 350F for about 40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from pan after baking and set it down on a cooking rack till the cake is completely cool. You may alternatively set it in a refrigerator after it reaches room temperature.
After chilled, removed and slice the cake into two halves. Set aside.

For the custard/frosting:

In a double boiler, in a simmer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar on the top bowl till it is pale in color. Add in vanilla essence. Cool this thoroughly.
Whip the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl separately and slowly add into the custard mixture.
Whip everything well. Set in the refrigerator to cool.

For the assembly:

Take an 8" spring form pan of your choice that will fit the cake perfectly and is about 3"-4" in height.
Lay one half of the cake on the bottom and layer on a-third of the custard/frosting evenly.
Dip the lady fingers in the coffee for the next layer and lay close to each other one by one.
Now, for another layer of frosting/custard.
Lay the other half of the cake and press down gently. Spoon in the last layer of the custard/frosting on top and make sure it is even. Tap down very gently.
Cover the pan with a plastic wrap or a plate and set it in the refrigerator overnight to chill. This is mandatory for best taste and texture.



The next day, sift on some cocoa powder evenly on the cake. Open the latch on the spring form pan. Cut out a slice and enjoy!

No Fry Sweet Puri

This vaguely has been adapted from my earlier recipe which happens to be one of my favorites. This is a healthier version and has layering in the puri itself. These puris are crunchy and sweet. Almost like a cookie.
The rose flavoring is by far the best when it comes to fried (in this case -baked) sweets dunked in sugar syrup. You may add other flavorings like saffron, almond,or even vanilla if you don't have the suggested flavoring in your pantry.
Lastly, make sure it is not too brown when it is baked. I removed mine when it was slightly golden in color. The layers give a parotta texture to it and ensures even baking.



No Fry Sweet Puri

Ingredients:

For Puri
Whole wheat flour/Atta - 2 cups
All purpose flour - 3 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - For the dough

For Syrup
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Rose essence - 2 drops
Cardamom - A pinch

For layering
Melted butter/Ghee - 3 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Sliced Almonds- For garnish (optional)

Method:

Mix the melted butter/ghee and the rice flour and set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the water and knead to a dough. Add the 1 tbsp of oil and knead for about 5 min till the dough becomes soft.
Let it rest covered for 5 min.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Roll out the dough into a large circle and about 1/4" thick using a rolling pin. Spread a thin layer of the butter+ rice flour mixture. Let it sit for 2 min.
Then roll the dough from one side to form a tight log. Cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Flatten each one with you palm.



Roll out each round into 3" diameter circles. Lay them on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. It would look something like this.



Bake at 375F for about 8-10 min or until golden.



Flip it over and bake for another 8-10 min. Both sides should be golden brown in color.

While the puris are baking in the oven, heat the sugar and water in a pan and bring it to a boil. To prevent crystallization, you may add a couple of tablespoons of corn syrup.
When the sugar reaches soft ball stage/one-string consistency, turn off the heat and add the rose essence and cardamom.

Dip the puris one by one in the sugar syrup and let it dry on a sheet.



You may garnish with sliced nuts and saffron if you have some on hand.

Enjoy!

Easy Chocolate Fudge

Easy Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

Dutch processed cocoa - 4 tsp
Fat-free Condensed milk - 1 can
Skim Evaporated milk - 1 can
Butter - 4 tbsp
Vanilla - 1/2 tsp
Sliced almonds - For garnish

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a non-stick pan or a heavy-bottomed pan on medium-low heat. Keep stirring till it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan.
At this stage it should not be sticking to the pan anymore.
Pour it into a small tray lined with parchment paper. Top with the sliced almonds. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours.
Cut into desired shapes.
Store in airtight container.

Baked Gulab Jamun

Yes! You heard it right! They are baked... these beauties are not fried, not this time around... :)
This recipe is dedicated to my cousin H. I promised her one for her bridal shower and never got around giving it to her. I wanted to make something healthful, an Indian dessert and one that I could create just for her. I have tried this recipe a couple of times once from a ready made mix and another time from scratch. Both have turned out very well. So here is the recipe for you my dear H...

Note: The jamun balls once placed in the oven needs your utmost care and patience. This recipe switches between baking and broiling in your oven. When you turn the broil mode on, you cannot take your eyes off the oven. It takes just seconds to burn them, so giving you all a heads up.



Baked Gulab Jamun

For the Jamun:
Khova powder/Mava powder - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Clarified butter - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp
Skim Milk - 2 tbsp (just enough to make a stiff dough)

For the Sugar Syrup:
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Corn Syrup - 2 tbsp
Rose essence - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp

Saffron - For garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F.

For the sugar syrup, Place a pot on medium heat, add sugar, water and corn syrup and let it boil till it reaches a syrupy consistency. The corn syrup prevents the sugar from crystallizing. You can omit this if you are familiar with making this kind of syrup. Switch off the flame and add the cardamom and rose essence. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients listed under "Jamun" and knead well to make a stiff dough. Make small balls and place on a greased baking sheet. Place the tray in a pre-heated 375F oven. Bake the jamun balls till they are very lightly brown on the bottom. Just around that time, switch the oven to broil mode and let the jamuns get golden brown on the top. Make sure to keep a constant look on the tray, as the broil mode in an oven typically reaches 500F, and will burn the jamuns in no time. This should take about 2 minutes or less.
Once the jamuns are brown on both sides as shown in the picture, take them out and plop them into the sugar syrup and let it soak. You may make more sugar syrup if you like, the recipe that I have given makes just enough to soak the jamuns. It was my way of not adding too much sugar into the recipe.
Allow to cool completely and enjoy.

Chocolate and Walnut Loaf

For all practical purposes this is a cake. Except that it is made in a loaf pan to give an appearance of a loaf of bread. We love this here at home, made it plenty of times and just can't seem to get enough of it.
The chocolate on top adds to the decadence and the sensual aspect of this loaf, you could totally omit this if you watching what you eat.
Adding oil instead of butter yields a very moist cake, whereas you can't beat the buttery taste when you add the latter. I don't care that much for the buttery goodness, so I add any neutral tasting oil to it.
Ahem, I could write more... but really, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to eating my slice... :)
Happy viewing!



Chocolate and Walnut Loaf

Ingredients:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1
Skim milk - 3/4 cup
Vegetable Oil/Butter - 1/3 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Semi sweet chocolate chips - 6 oz.
Chopped walnut - 1/2 cup
Melted chocolate - To drizzle on top

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together butter and sugar together using a hand/stand mixer. Add egg and vanilla and beat well.
Sift together baking soda, powder and flour.
Add the flour mixture and milk alternating between the both till everything is combined.
Fold in the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips.

Transfer the mixture onto a greased loaf pan and bake at 350F for about 45-55 min.

Check if the loaf is done using a toothpick. Insert it into the middle. It should come out clean.

Let it cool on a wire rack and then drizzle melted chocolate on top. The top of the loaf will be cracked a little bit. It is normal.

Baklava Cigars

One of the reasons I love Baklava is because it is loaded with nuts, has my favorite rose syrup all over it and uses the delicate phyllo dough!
Working with Phyllo sheets are tricky. You need to thaw them out to the right temperature so they are not too dry from the cold that they break or they are too thawed out that they stick together. One good tip is to use a damp kitchen cloth and keep the sheets covered until you are ready to work with them. Keep them covered even if it is only for a couple of seconds. That way they will stay soft and easy to work with.
It is not a pretty sight to have brittle phyllo dough all over your kitchen counter. Been there, done that!
Psst... I have even thrown the tiny broken pieces of the phyllo burying them along with the filling and rolled it all up in the hope that no one would ever find out! :)

This quick and individual portions of baklava are perfect for parties and for dunking in some sinful rich silky chocolate sauce, or caramel, or oh! oh! how about some dulce de leche?
Okay, allright! Let me stop right there because we did neither... no party, or dunking nothing in anything. We just enjoyed it way the simple way. The little sugar syrup on top was the right amount of sweetness especially if you are watching what you are eating. There is no need to let them soak in syrup like the regular Baklava. Sorry about being a little devil tempting you right there with the dunking part. Er.. remember?... We try to cook healthy here.



Baklava Cigars

Ingredients:

Phyllo sheets - 2 sheets for each cigar (buy a box, and use as many as you need)
Melted butter - 3 tbsp
Rose essence - 1/2 tsp
Dates - 1/2 cup
Roasted almonds - 1/2 cup
Roasted walnuts - 1/2 cup
Toasted Hazelnuts - 1/2 cup
Roasted Sunflower seeds - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup (optional)
Powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Take out phyllo sheets from the freezer, open and cover with a damp cloth and set aside.
In a food processor pulse the nuts and seeds till they are coarse bits. Transfer onto a clean dry bowl.
Then blend the raisins and dates (chop them roughly before you put them into the food processor). Add the nuts, chocolate chips. Pulse only till combined. The whole mixture should still be coarse. You should be able to pinch out a lemon sized ball and roll it without sticking. It can definitely be on the drier side too. If it is powdery, that is okay too.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Now slowly separate out one phyllo sheet, and place on a working surface. Brush ever so slightly with melted butter and place another sheet over it and brush again with butter. Now place the filling in one corner of the sheet. Filling should be about 3" long and 1" thick.



Roll the sheet like you would a burrito. Seal the edges with a drop of melted butter.

Roll all the cigars the same way until you have exhausted all the filling. Brush all the cigars with a light touch of melted butter.



Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake till the cigars are golden brown in color.

Allow to cool completely. Meanwhile mix the powdered sugar and rose essence with a 1/2 tsp of water and pour over the cooled baklava cigars. This way it is not soaking wet in sugar syrup.

Enjoy when the sugar has slightly set. Tastes even better the next day!

Happy baking! :)

Eggless Chocolate chip Walnut cookies - Happy Birthday Amma

I am guilty of not being the first person to wish Amma today. I wish I had. I know she does not expect anything from anyone, and she probably does not even care for such days.
And she is not going to be too thrilled for announcing this day on my blog :)
I know, and yet it makes me smile.
This cookie I baked today is just for her. She only has one criteria when it comes to eating what I make... it has to be completely vegetarian. No eggs, no fancy ingredients, just keeping it plain and simple. Just finished baking these, and let out a sigh of relief when she said she liked it.
Thank you for letting me make these for you today. You deserve much more than just cookies.
Happy Birthday Amma.

Chocolate chip cookies are one of the most comforting cookies that you could ever find. Making it eggless was a little challenging for I was afraid how it was going to affect the texture of the cookies. I have used flax as a substitute for egg in my breads and they have turned out nicely. So took that hint and ran with it this time. I avoided using any hearty flour like whole wheat or oat flour since I was already experimenting sans eggs.
I could not have hoped for a better tasting cookie. Loved the texture (which is crisp) and the no-fuss recipe... goes down in my book as a success.



Eggless Chocolate chip Walnut cookies

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 3/4 cup
Unsalted Butter - 1 stick
Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup (I added a little less, probably close to 1/3 cup)
White Sugar - 1/2 cup (Again I added a little closer to 1/3 cup)
Pure vanilla extract - 1 tbsp
Baking soda -1/2 tsp
Flax meal - 2 tsp (mixed with enough warm water to form a paste)
Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup
Walnuts - 1/2 cup

Method:

Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy using a hand mixer.
Add the flax meal paste, vanilla and baking soda and beat well.
Add the flour in three parts, mixing well after each addition.
After all the ingredients are well combined, add the chocolate chips and walnuts and mix with a wooden spoon.

The dough will be pretty thick, roll it into balls and flatten them out evenly. They spread slightly, so leave 2" between them before baking.

Bake at 350F for about 12-15 min or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy with a tall glass of milk.

Yields: 20-24 medium size cookies

Beetroot Chocolate Cake with Rose scented Apricot Glaze

I enjoy watching people cook, there is something more intriguing about actually seeing someone cook either in person or on television, than actually reading a cookbook. The only kind of books I have or read are novels (plenty of them.)
I do not own a cookbook, and I have an attention span of probably five minutes when I scan through one. I probably stop to ogle at those luscious pictures (especially desserts)
You can imagine what goes through my mind when some well intentioned friend tells me that I should write a cookbook! The irony of it. A person who does not own a cookbook, actually writing one!

This recipe is not from a cookbook, neither is it from a cooking show. This dish was born on a lazy Saturday afternoon. No fancy story to it, we were craving for some dessert after a nice lunch, decided to make something, anything with beets in it. Threw a bunch of stuff that I thought would meld together nicely and lo and behold my beetroot chocolate cake was born.

It has some sugar and butter use in relatively minimal quantities, but there is also whole wheat, beetroot, applesauce, and oats to make it into something that you can enjoy and yet not feel super guilty about it.
The glaze just rounded up everything beautifully. The Oat crust is completely optional. You could make the cake without it as well.
Verdict: It tasted just perfect. There is nothing I would ever change considering the whole cake lasted only that weekend. It was gone, far away to our very happy tummies.



Oats crusted Beetroot Chocolate Cake with Rose scented Apricot Glaze

Ingredients:

For the Oat crust:

Old fashioned oats - 1 cup
Light brown sugar - 4 tbsp
Milk powder - 1/2 cup
Melted butter - 3 tbsp

For the Beetroot Chocolate cake:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 3/4 cup
Finely grated raw beetroot - 3/4 cup
Original applesauce - 4 oz.
Room temperature butter - 5 tbsp
Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tbsp
Large eggs - 3
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

For the Glaze:

Apricot preserves - 4 tbsp
Rose essence - 3 drops

Method:

Combine all the ingredients for the oat crust and press it down onto a single even layer on a 8" greased springform cake pan.

Sift together flour, cocoa, and baking powder and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar using a hand mixer.

Add the eggs and continue mixing for another 3-4 minutes until the eggs turn pale yellow in color.

Then add the applesauce, vanilla and beetroot and continue mixing. It will get a little messy, so do remember to keep the mixer on low speed.

Then add the sifted ingredients slowly into the wet batter.

Pour the batter into the cake pan already layered with the oats.

Bake at 375F till a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Probably after 25 min.



Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze.

For the glaze, mix the apricot glaze and the rose essence and spoon just before serving.

Creamy Whole Wheat Orzo Pudding

Orzo is the most cutest shaped pasta ever in my eyes. They look like rice but only they are pasta. The regular Orzo would typically look white as they are made with Durum wheat/semolina, but these that were used in my pudding are whole wheat and hence they have this brownish hue to them.



I was so thrilled to find the w.w. ones, just because I had not seen them until then or see them being used in any of the recipes I came across.
So very excited, came home, made a beautiful Orzo pasta salad with my favorite vegetables, cranberries and plenty of sunflower seeds and the rest went into making this pudding.



I love Rice pudding, especially the Indian kind. It is called Payasam or Kheer and is very similar to that of its American counterpart. Except there is no eggs in payasam.
My mom to this date makes the best payasam. I don't know what it is that she does, but turns out just right every single time. Rich, creamy... with nice crunchy cashew nuts and fat raisins that cannot get any fatter from drinking all that milk that it soaks up. I could keep on dreaming about it. My, she works such magic with desserts!
So in short, that is where my Orzo pudding inspiration comes from. You could always substitute regular Orzo if you are not a fan of the w.w. kind.
Do keep an eye out for the tempering process (I have detailed it in the recipe below.)
It is a little tricky if you add too much hot liquid into the cold eggs. Gradually heating the mixture is key, just like any other pudding.
Just a small note before we head on to the recipe... this pudding does tends to thicken as it cools.



Creamy Whole Wheat Orzo Pudding

Ingredients:

Skim milk - 2 1/2 cups
Whole wheat Orzo - 2 1/2 cups
Fat free evaporated milk - Half a can (or) 6 oz.
Brown sugar - 1/3 cup (More or less according to taste)
Organic Blue Agave - 4 tbsp (I like the taste of Agave, if you do not have it ready, you can add more of the sugar)
Egg - 1
Baking soda - A pinch
Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp grated fresh
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
Pure Vanilla essence - 1 tbsp
Almonds - 1/4 cup chopped/slivered
Raisins - 1/4 cup

Method:

Beat together brown sugar, agave and egg in a bowl.

Combine skim milk and evaporated milk in a non-stick pan and bring it to a boil. Add orzo and let it cook till it is closer to al dente. Do not overcook since it will continue to cook during the process. Keep stirring every now and then to avoid sticking to the bottom.

Pour a little (maybe a ladle) of the milk mixture to the egg and sugar mixture and mix well. Add a two more ladles, one at a time and gradually mix it. Then add the entire mixture back to the pot and let it simmer with a pinch of baking soda.
Very slowly heating up the egg mixture is called tempering.
If you add it all at once to the hot pot of milk, the eggs will curdle and you will get scrambled eggs. And it is totally not pretty!

Add the nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla essence and stir well. Also add almond and raisins at this step.

The mixture will thicken as it is cooling. The pasta tends to drink up a good amount of milk.

I like mine thoroughly chilled. It tastes best that way.

Microwave Mango Ricotta Kalakand - Back to blogging

Seven months! That is how long I have stayed away from blogging. In retrospect I should have at least posted about the break, but really I did not intend to stay away for so long from what I love to do. Cook and blog.
Speaking of cooking, that has taken a backseat as well, for here comes my priority, all packed into one tiny bundle of joy... my baby girl who was born last year, just around the time I started the break. During this time, there are a few things I have learnt to appreciate much much more. One of them being the time I oh-so-easily spent cooking or baking at the kitchen perfecting every single dish. Now, things are not so elaborate. It almost seems like I would be a good host for semi-homemade cooking!
Well, that is not a bad thing right? Shortcuts. We all need them at some point or the other. And reserve from-the-scratch dishes for leisurely weekends and holidays.
I may not have time to post as frequently as I did before, but I am surely willing to try and keep some good recipes coming.

Kalakand, I have seriously no idea how it is made originally, but here is my take on a quick version of it. That lovely yellow color comes from adding mango pulp. Speaking of mango pulp, I used a canned product. But if you are lucky enough to get some juicy ripe mangoes and if you are able to make a pulp out of them... I SO ENVY YOU!

Before I start on the recipe, thanks thanks thanks to all those who missed me and sent me those lovely emails. It meant a lot to me! And yes, most of you guessed it right :) I have been spending a lot of time making baby food!



Microwave Mango Ricotta Kalakand

Ingredients:

Part skim ricotta cheese - 1 1/2 cup
Mango pulp - 2 cups
Butter - 1 tbsp
Fat free milk powder/Khova powder - 3 cups
Sugar - 2 tbsp (add more if needed, the mango pulp has plenty of sugar already)
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Saffron and Slivered almonds - To garnish
Yellow food color - If needed (for a brighter yellow color)

Method:

Very simple - Combine all the ingredients (except the garnish & food coloring) and microwave for 4-5minutes for about 6-8 times stirring in between. It might take longer.
Stop when the mixture has a thick curd-like texture and when you can form a small ball between your fingers.
Pour onto a greased plate, garnish, let it cool and then cut into desired shapes.

You could use a fun cookie cutter and cut out cute shapes for your little one or your neighbor's little one. Mom eats the scraps! End of story.

Fat-free & Whole wheat Angel Food Cake with Easy Chocolate Frosting

As much as I like the dense moist rich cakes, it takes a lot of rich ingredients that make it the way it is. For a light airy cake, today I tried to make one of my favorite cakes which has absolutely no fat in it. It is as light as a cake can get, and is called the Angel food cake. The main ingredient in this is egg whites which have been carefully separated from the yolks. Even a little bit of yolk, will mess with the whipping process. To ensure that, I separated one egg at a time in a small bowl, checked for shells/yolks that may have contaminated the egg white and then transferred it to a bigger bowl.
Use a very large bowl, since the egg whites tend to triple in size when whipped up.
Sifting the flour twice (once before adding to the wet mixture and once while adding to the wet mixture) is very crucial. Folding in the dry into the wet should be done gently or the whites will completely deflate and you will get a very sticky dense cake.
Normally Angel food cake is done with cake flour or all purpose flour. I substituted half of that with whole wheat pastry flour just to make it a little healthier.
The cake turned out awesome, it was still airy in spite of deviating from the traditional usage of A.P flour entirely.
The chocolate frosting was just a second thought. I had some cream leftover in the fridge and decided to make a simple frosting which turned out the perfect topping for this cake.
Though the frosting is entirely optional, I would certainly recommend slathering on a little bit.
Tube pans are ideal for this kind of cake, but since I did not have one, I used a spring form pan, and had absolutely no issues with it. I did grease it before pouring the batter in.

One thing to keep in mind before you make this cake is, USE a hand mixer for whipping up the egg whites, and NEVER use a hand mixer while mixing the flour into the egg whites. Only fold gently with light hands just until combined.



Fat-free & Whole wheat Angel Food Cake with Easy Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

For the Angel food cake:

Egg whites - 8 large at room temperature
Cream of tartar - 1/4 tsp
Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup

Whole wheat pastry flour - 1/3 cup
All purpose flour - 1/3 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Pure Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Almond essence - 1/2 tsp

For Chocolate frosting:

Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 1/2 cup
Whipping cream - 1/4 cup
Splenda - 2 packets
Pure Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp
Almonds - Chopped to sprinkle

Method:

For the Angel food cake:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sift baking powder, whole wheat pastry flour, all purpose flour and powdered sugar with the help of a sieve.

In another bowl take the egg whites, cream of tartar and whip using a hand mixer till soft peaks form. It will almost triple in size.
Now add the granulated sugar and whip again till you get stiff peaks. You wont need the hand mixer from now on.
Add vanilla and almond essence.

Now divide the dry ingredients that have already been sifted into three equal parts.
Take each part again in the sieve and sift right on top of the egg whites. Fold the flour using a rubber spatula. DO NOT beat the mixture.

After combined, add the other two parts one by one and fold very gently. Make sure not to deflate the egg whites.

Transfer to a greased baking pan, I used a spring form pan (for lack of a better one.)

Bake for 30 minutes or till lightly brown/cracked on top. Test with toothpick for doneness.

For Chocolate frosting:

Whip cream and sugar using a hand mixer till creamy, you may also use store bought whipped cream.
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave with a dash of milk for a few seconds. Mix well till there are no lumps and the chocolate is silky and cool to touch.
Add the chocolate and vanilla essence to the cream. Whip again till well combined.
Refrigerate the mixture for 30 min to allow the frosting to thicken.

Spread the frosting over the cake, sprinkle the almond bits on top and refrigerate for about 15 min. Cut and serve.