Wholewheat Banana choco chip cake-an ode to simple joys in life

What gives you happiness...simply..effortlessly..without any back breaking work..without any mind boggling?
To wake up to a song of birds..hear them chirping in the golden early morning sunshine,with closed eyes.
A phone call from a friend from another continent whom you have been thinking about..
A surprise find of a big currency note in the laundry bag
A fresh starched sari..
The discovery of a flower bud in the pot that you had been tending you for months in the balcony
A telephonic heart to heart with Mum
The sight of a warm cake rising in the oven
That look of joy in your child's eyes when he spots you in a crowd waiting to pick up their wards at school
That smile of husband when he finds his favorite dish on the dinner table after a long day at work
When you create something awsome from something almost useless..
Ah..thats what I was coming to..The list of things that give us joy..simply..can be endless and this banana cake is one of them.
Its effortless,simple and an absolute work of joy.
What we require primarily is bananas that are overripe but not rotten and beyond the point of use.
You see my point now..creating something that is almost going useless...overripe black bananas are the highlight here. Go ahead and create this simple joy for everyone at home..and importantly for yourself.

Ingredients-

Overripe Bananas-2
Wholewheat flour-1 and 2/3 cup plus one loaded tsp
Baking powder- 1 and 1/2 tsp
Salt-1/4 tsp
Baking soda-1/2 tsp
curd-1/2 cup
Egg-1
Oil-1/2 cup
sugar-1/2 cup
Vanilla essence-1 tsp
Choco chips- 1/2 cup

Preheat the oven at 180 degree.This cake gets ready for baking in a jiffy so you better switch the preheat button first.Grease a 9 inch baking mould and keep aside.
Take a big bowl and mash the bananas. Add sugar and oil and mix. Break the egg and mix vigorously.
Add vanilla essence and curd. Combine.
In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together so its all evenly mixed.
Add it to the banana mixture in batches but avoid vigorous mixing. Gently combine. Feel free to use more curd if the batter appears too dry.
In a small bowl, take the chocolate chips and sprinkle a loaded tablespoon of flour. Mix so the choco chips are coated with flour nicely. This will prevent the choco chips from sinking in the cake batter when you bake.
Add the chocolate chips to the cake batter and gently combine.
Spoon out the batter in the greased mould and bake at 180 degree for forty minutes or till the skewer comes out clean.

Its a simple recipe for spreading love and joy and a wonderful aroma in the house..Do try:)

Coffee flavoured fruit and nut loaf-water roux method

The wind sang songs to the cherry tree,
The lark soared high in the sky,
And I said to myself" what an indolent soul, what an indolent soul am I,
Let me,therefore work till the setting sun,
As the wind and the lark on their task begun"

For the wind moves always at God's behest,
And the lark will never arise,
To meet the dawn with a rapturous song,
All the thrilling with sweet surprise,
Unless His messages first be heard,
By this sweet , obedient little bird.

So the wind caresses the cherry tree,
And the lark sings high in the sky,
And I say to myself"what a fortunate soul, what a fortunate soul am I,
For I have a task of my own to do,
Like the wind and the lark my whole life through.
If I kneel in the morning awhile to pray,
I know I'll be guided as well as they"

-Margaret Dixon

I have been busy and am very happy about that. Sometimes one really senses the guidance of the Almighty in the way things pan out before you,like the way you never imagined or hoped before it all happened but the way situations unfurl before you in your favour.. just out of nowhere...here I am celebrating that feeling and That guidance with my new obsession with yeast. It is slightly challenging to work with yeast in the beginning but its that thrill of the challenge that keeps you going and improving. This bread is a wonderful healthy substitute for a sugar laden fruit cake. Do try..

Water roux

AP flour- 1/3 cup
Water- 1/2 cup
Milk- 1/2 cup

Whisk it all together to make sure that there are no lumps and put it on the stove.
Keep stirring till the water evaporates and lines start forming upon stirring.
Take it off heat immediately. Cool, cover and store in the fridge.
This stays good and usable for a couple of days only. Place it outside to come at room temperature before using. Use half of this roux for the following recipe and make any other with the remaining.

Fruit and Nut loaf

whole wheat flour- 1 cup
All purpose flour- 1 1/2 cup
Oats ground fine- 1/2 cup
I decided to keep it healthy and use a mix of flours , feel free to use 3 cups of all purpose flour or 3 cups of whole wheat flour or whatever you want to .
Wheat gluten-3 tsp (Admittedly the bread wont rise much without this...specially the heavy flours like oats and wholewheat. If you don't have this , stick to using AP flour entirely)
Milk powder-2 tsp
Coffee granules- 2 tsp(I am a huge fan of coffee flavour and if you are not you can omit coffee and cocoa powder totally...a dash of cinnamon gives a wonderful aroma too..just suggesting)
Cocoa powder -2tsp
Condensed milk- 2 tsp
Butter- 1 loaded spoon
Sugar- 4 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
walnuts and almonds chopped fine (and would be grand if toasted)- 1/2 cup
figs chopped fine and raisins- 1/2 cup
water roux-1/2 from the above
Yeast -if using dried granular form, then proof it in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water to which a tablespoon of sugar and salt has been added.Use this frothy mix to knead the dough.
If using fresh yeast then break and rub two tablespoons of it in the flour. Use 1/2 cup of milk to knead the dough.

It will be good if you use a food processor with the dough hook for this otherwise the dough is quite sticky and it is punishing to do it with hand.
Mix the flours, wheat gluten, milk powder, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee granules and salt and pulse for a few seconds to ensure everything is mixed evenly. If using fresh yeast rub it in the mix, add milk and knead the dough for good five to seven minutes. If using dried yeast, proof it and add the frothy liquid to knead the dough.
In the end , add the butter and knead to a smooth ball. Feel free to use extra milk if the dough does not come up as a smooth and springy ball.
Place the dough in a big greased bowl and cover with a cloth.
Generally the dough doubles up in 30-40 minutes but when the sugar content is high, the yeast works very slowly. So just wait longer for the dough to rise and double up in volume in this case.
Once doubled,use a sprinkling of flour for easy handling of dough and deflate it with all energy.
Sprinkle the fruit and nut, incorporate and roll.
This makes three small loaves.
Shape it in loaf or bun whatever shape you want it to be,place it in a greased tray or mould  and wait for another hour for a second rise.
Preheat the oven at 180 degree and bake it at the same temperature for thirty minutes.
The bread should sound hollow when tapped and that indicates its done.
Immediately take it out and brush it with butter. It gives a wonderful sheen to your hard work and makes it long lasting too. Enjoy it with a hot cuppa...

Mocha date cake with espresso glaze

There are friends with whom I  have spent so much time at different points of time in my life..of whom I think about everyday..with whom I have made wonderful memories with ...But now who exist only on my friend list online. Separated by miles and the different routes our lives took..I often wonder how life is at your end as I see your pictures and updates online. How we used to dream away our days in anticipation of the days to come..discuss the small and big things in life..like the new shoes and the big job move..Then we moved away first physically to different places and then emotionally, gradually. A missed call here..an unresponded message there... I am still not sure if this is the end to our friendship and if ,we will ever be able to relive the same friendship again. But should I bump into you one sunny afternoon someday, this is the cake I will bake for you and hope to share a spontaneous conversation and a joyous laugh over a coffee again...





Ingredients

Dates chopped fine-200gm
Water- 2/3 cup
Strong coffee powder-2 tsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp

AP flour-2 cups
Cocoa powder- 1/2cup
Sugar- 1cup
salt-1/4tsp
Baking powder- 2 tsp
Butter softened-1/2 cup
Eggs- 1
Sour cream or plain yogurt-1/2 cup

Espresso Glaze

Icing sugar-1cup
Coffee granules-2 tsp
Fresh cream- 2tsp
Vanilla essence-1/2tsp

Process
Preheat the oven to 180 degree and grease a nine inch cake pan.
Boil 2/3 cup water and coffee powder and then dates to it. Cook for two minutes and take it off the heat.
Once cooled, sprinkle baking soda over the cooked dates.
Sift AP flour+baking powder+salt+cocoa powder together and keep aside.
Beat the egg into the butter followed by sour cream or yoghurt.Add the dates and coffee and mix well.Gradually add the flour mix and combine gently.
Pour the cake mix in the greased pan and bake for fifty minutes or till an inserted fork comes out clean..

For the espresso glaze, beat the sugar and coffee very well.  Add cream or a spoon of milk if the glaze is not of the dropping consistency and adjust accordingly.Add a half spoon of vanilla essence to support the coffee flavour in the glaze.

Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Enjoy!!!