It's festival time and all we think is of celebrations with our loved ones. Food especially desserts form a special part of the celebrations. I personally belief desserts build a special bond among the people. A small celebration with a simple homemade dessert can add extra love, joy and personal touch of feelings. Gifting or saying Thank you to someone with homemade desserts like cookies, cakes or mithais(Indian Desserts) adds up a special touch of love and gratitude. When someone is told that they have to follow special diets due to certain medical conditions like gluten or nut or dairy allergies one thinks that they cannot have desserts or food that they like. Switching to special diets does not mean the end of having good food or desserts that what I read in a book that I recently picked from the library here. It's on how to make healthy, no sugar, no fat, no dairy desserts .." I love Desserts" by Nicolette M.Dumke. I am loving this book, it has a whole range of healthy dessert recipes with gluten-free flours like almond flour, millets with no sugar, no dairy, no soy or Corn syrups.
I recently tried this Sorghum cake recipe from the book with some changes as per the ingredients available to me and it came out really well. It's a good thing that a lot of gluten-free, nut-free flour and sweeteners and substitute ingredients are available in stores that people on special diets can make good use of. Millets flours are very good options not only for people on special diets but for others also as these have numerous health benefits. Millets are good for the heart, detoxify the body, prevent diabetes, improve the digestive system, boost the immune system, increases energy levels. I am not an expert on this subject to say more but one should consult an expert in this field or doctor before switching to such diets. I tried this recipe out my curiosity to test how the Jowar cake comes out. The recipe is very easy and is like any other cake recipe where we need a sweetener, a binder and some fat or a substitute for it and of course flour that gives structure to cakes. I used agave sweetener, the original recipe has used stevia, and in place of 1 egg in the recipe, I substituted the egg with Chia gel. I also added some black poppy and chia seeds and topped the batter with sunflower seeds to add crunch. If you are not allergic to nuts use can almonds, walnuts for toppings.I added very less oil and used applesauce along with it and in the first trial, the result was a well-baked cake. The cake was little crumbly as Sorghum is a dry flour and needs a lot of water/liquid ingredients. Hope this recipe is useful for those who are looking for nut-free, gluten-free and sugar-free special baking recipes.
Let's see how I made this.
Jowar Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Sorghum Flour/Jowar Flour
- 1-2 Tbsp Cornstarch Or Tapioca Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
- 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil Pls see Notes
- 1/4 Cup Agave Syrup Pls see notes
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
- Salt a pinch
- 1 tsp Chia Seeds
- 1 tsp Black Poppy seeds optional
- Sunflower seeds for topping
Instructions
- Make Chia gel before starting to prepare the cake. Add Chia seeds and mix with 3-4 tsp of water.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F or 180C.
- Mix together Jowar, cornstarch/tapioca, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Beat together olive oil, vanilla essence, agave syrup, till it is frothy.
- Fold in the flour mix lightly. If the batter is very dry, add 2-3 tbsp of water/unsweetened apple juice. orange juice.
- Transfer the batter to a pan/oven-proof dish. Top the cake batter with sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, and chia seeds.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes or till the cake leaves the side of the pan.
Notes
So if you are looking a gluten-free, millet flour based cake that is also sugar-free and vegan, do give this one a try. The result won't be like the whole wheat and all-purpose flour cake but it will definitely taste delicious. If you feel the texture is little dry after baking, pour very little fruit juice or agave syrup.
I am taking this to Dec'18 Bake-A-Thon Day 9.
Check out the other bloggers doing this Bake-a-Thon An InLinkz Link-up.
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Rita
Jowar is so healthy. Did not know it is gluten free. Nice idea to bake a cake.
Swati
Yes Rita it is gluten-free..
Yogini Bapat
Tried it... Was very crumbly.. But i loved the flavor.. Used date syrup Instead of agave.
Swati
Thanks for trying it. As I have aso entioned in my post, since it is gluten-free , it will have a crumbly texture. Date syrup is a good substitute for syntheic sugar,
Priya Srinivasan
wow, i m loving your GF bakes dear! i will definitely try this one out! thanks for sharing!
Annapurnaz
The cake looks incredibly good and there are no doubts about it being healthy. Liked your tip of using fruit juice to end up the dryness of the cake
Sharmila Kingsly
What a yummy cake with jowar flour.. Can we call this diet cake!! Lovely bake..
Swati
Thanks Sharmila!!
Pavani
I never thought cake can be made with jowar flour. Cake looks so fluffy and must have tasted amazing with the nuts. Good one Swati.
Renu Agrawal Dongre
After I baked a ragi cake, I was keen on trying a Jowar cake and here you have a wonderful recipe for me. The cake crumb looks so moist and soft. Yum.
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille)
what a healthy cake - don't really use sorghum but this is inviting me to try
Varada
There are so many variations in flour for cakes! You got nice texture on the cake.
sizzlingtastebuds
Awesomely nutritious cake ! Bookmarked and will try very soon .. use of chia gel is very interesting
Sharmila
What a nutritious cake with interesting options!! Lovely Crumbs there. Perfect for a celebration.
Srivalli
Awesome yaar, this cake looks stunning and so innovative!
Swati
Thanks Srivalli for such lovely words!!
Nalini
Nice and innovative cake,sounds interesting and inviting.
gayathriraani
The cake with sorghum flour has turned out so good. For a gluten free cake the texture is too good and what a healthy treat for every one.
Swati
Thanks Gayatri
Rafeeda - The Big Sweet Tooth
That cake looks really good, especially baking with alternate flours need a lot of trial and error. Love that you customized it and still got an amazing looking cake...
tastyrecipesfrompooja
Welcome ?
tastyrecipesfrompooja
Wow! Awesome recipe and superb options given by you!
Swati
Thanks Pooja!!
Suma Gandlur
The idea of jowar cake itself is exciting and the cake texture looks good. I am sure that I am not going to forget to try it even if I am not going to bookmark it.
Priya Suresh
Mindblowing Swati, what a cake yaar, jowar cake while reading the name itself am very much tempted to give a try to this incredible cake. Well done.. Cake looks amazing.