*****PREPARATION*****
Before you make the eggless vanilla cake recipe, get all your ingredients ready. Make sure all of them are at room temperature, except the butter (that can be cold).
- Add 1.5 cups of all purpose flour with 1 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt into a sieve placed over a mixing bowl.
- Sift the dry ingredients twice. Set aside.
- Grease a 7.5 or 8 inches round pan with some butter or parchment if you prefer.
Heat slightly more than ½ cup of butter in a small pan or bowl on medium-low heat until it just melts.
Measure the melted butter in a ½ cup measuring cup. Set aside. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 to 20 minutes before baking.
In another bowl add ¾ cup of raw sugar (or white/brown sugar), 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, ¼ cup of curd (yoghurt) and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
Note: Beat the curd separately in a bowl and then add. Also use fresh curd and not sour curd.
Tip: Swap with white vinegar or lemon juice if you do not have apple cider vinegar.
- Add ½ cup of water.
Whisk briskly until all of the sugar is dissolved and the curd gets evenly mixed. It should be like buttermilk, slightly off-colour and foamy.
It is important that you beat the curd before adding as mentioned above so that you don’t have tiny lumps of curd in this liquid mixture.
- Now add ½ teaspoon of baking soda to the wet mixture.
- Stir until the baking soda is mixed evenly. The baking soda will cause some bubbling in this wet liquid mixture.
*****MAKE CAKE BATTER*****
Add the liquid mixture and melted butter to the dry sifted ingredients.
Mix very well with a wired whisk. Break apart any lumps by tapping them with the whisk. Be careful not to over-mix the batter.
It should be a smooth batter
Tip: If the batter becomes too thick or look dry, add some more milk or water (at room temperature) to get it to the desired consistency. Depending on the flour texture and quality, you will need to add more or less water.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan. Tap the pan on the countertop a few times so that any extra air bubbles are released and the batter spreads itself evenly in the pan.
Do not even the batter with a spatula as the batter spreads on its own.
*****BAKE*****
Place the cake pan in the preheated oven on the middle rack.
Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top crust is golden.
Tip 1: The baking time varies with various oven type and the temperatures are not the same. Thus this eggless vanilla cake recipe can take less or more time to bake in your oven. Keep an eye on the cake as it bakes so that it does not brown too much.
Tip 2: Remember not to open the oven door until ¾ of the cake is baked. Opening and closing the oven door many times can make your cake sink or collapse.
Tip 3: When the cake begins to get golden and you see that is browning very quickly, then cover the top with an aluminium foil or butter paper and continue to bake.
Check the cake with a bamboo skewer. It should be clean with no sticky batter on it.
Place the pan on a wired tray or rack and let the cake cool to room temperature. Let the cake cool completely before you spread the jam glaze on it.
*****JAM GLAZE*****
This eggless vanilla cake is delicious as-is, no toppings needed. However, a fresh fruit jam, buttercream icing or rich chocolate ganache are yummy options to make the cake an extra special sweet treat.
Before you frost the cake, make sure it is cool. To make an easy jam glaze,
- First add ½ cup of any sweet fruit jam of your choice in a small skillet or pan.
- Now add 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch or arrowroot flour or cornstarch, plus 3 tablespoons of water (or more if needed) and 1 tablespoon butter.
- You can use any type of starch-based edible thickener that is available to you. All the three starches that I have listed above thicken the glaze nicely.
- Place the pan on low heat and begin to mix.
- Keep stirring until all the ingredients have melted together and evenly combined.
- Simmer on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the glaze thickens, stirring often. Do not boil or cook the mixture down too much.
Set aside and allow the jam glaze to cool slightly, so that it is warm and not hot.
*****FROST CAKE*****
- When the eggless vanilla cake cools, remove it gently from the pan. Place it on a board, tray or plate or a cake stand. A rotating cake stand makes applying the glaze easiest.
Place some of the jam icing on top and use a spatula to spread the glaze evenly on top and sides of the cake.
Sprinkle some unsweetened desiccated coconut on top. You can even spread it at the sides. (optional)
Cover with a large steel bowl, taking care that the coconut and icing do not touch the bowl. Let the glaze cool completely and set.
Later slice and serve. You can also keep in the refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours and then serve.
*****Notes*****
- Flour: use unbleached and/or organic flour. This recipe works well with both all-purpose flour as well as unbleached pastry flour.
- Butter: You can use a neutral oil in place of butter. For butter, use unsalted butter. In a pinch you can opt for salted butter, but omit adding that pinch of salt in the recipe.
- Jam: Any sweet jam works well for the glaze in this eggless vanilla cake recipe.
- Vinegar: If you do not have apple cider vinegar, use white vinegar or swap vinegar with lemon juice.
- Sweeteners: To make the eggless vanilla cake less sweet, you can add ½ cup of sugar. In place of sugar, you can also use jaggery, coconut sugar or palm sugar. But the colour of the cake will change and become dark. The taste with these sugars will also make the cake taste different.
- Leavening ingredients: This recipe includes both baking powder and baking soda. They are not replaceable with each other. To get the best results, follow the proportions mentioned in the recipe. Do make sure that both baking powder and baking soda are fresh and within their shelf-life.
*****Baking and Storage Tips*****
- Baking time: The baking time varies with oven types, temperatures inside the oven etc. So, it can take less or more time for the cake to bake in your oven. Keep an eye on the cake as it bakes so that it does not brown too much.
- Storage and reheating. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days, in a sealed container or box. When you refrigerate this cake, the butter in it solidifies and the cake becomes slightly dense. While serving, lightly warm the cake in your oven at 90 degrees celsius (195 degrees Fahrenheit) for some minutes.
