Saturday 7 March 2015

There's Nothing To It!

Torta al Cioccolato & Limone Senza Uova, Burro & Latte
Chocolate & Lime Cake without Eggs, Butter or Milk


It is a well-known fact that I CAN NOT BAKE- it is not an urban legend- it is simply the plain truth! Another thing I never do is to follow recipes... UNLESS I get really curious.

Well, everyone has also noticed that I am more than a little "curious", haha... but sometimes I guess that I get a little "curiouser"... and want to find things out!


 

I had seen an article online in which I read about this "no egg, no butter and no milk" thing and thought to myself- what madness is this!

I am not one for these food-trends, although I eat relatively little meat I am definitely not vegetarian and have no interest in things vegan... so I kind-of groaned a little inside, fearing the worst.

But when I took a look at the website it originated from, I found that this was a recipe from the days of the Great Depression, when people simply did not have those commodities. Now THAT is something I like! And THAT was why I wanted to find out!


 

The original recipe I based my version on can be found here: http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/2013/03/tried-true-tuesday-crazy-cake-no-eggs.html

The cool thing is that the method is so incredibly simple too! You don't even need a whisk, mixer... or even a bowl necessarily to make this!

The original recipe replaces the butter with oil- which I replaced with olive oil, it calls for vinegar, which I replaced with lime juice and it uses vanilla essence, which I dispensed with entirely.

As this was a complete experiment, I made only half the amount of the original recipe and one little, individual "gugelhupf" shaped cake all for my lonesome... but go ahead- make a larger one for yourselves!


 

Well- you didn't expect me to stick completely to the original recipe did you?!?!

And again- to make this even more "my own"- I made a light "sauce" of a relatively thin glaze of confectioners sugar, cocoa and lime juice and add a sprinkle of chopped pistachio. Ahem. Pure genius I would say!


 

Incredibly, there is absolutely no way you would know those ingredients are missing if no one was to tell you! All of those comments you will see on the link, with the recipe? Believe them! Believe them all!

 

It took 3/4 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of cocoa, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of baking powder and a pinch of salt to complete enough dry ingredients for one individual cake.

Once stirred together, I made 2 little "wells" and added 2 tablespoons of olive oil into one and 1 tablespoon of lime juice into the other.


 

I added 3/4 of a cup of water and stirred everything together into a soft batter, simply using a fork.

I then spooned the batter into a greased and floured baking form and it was already to go into a hot oven- just as simple as that!


 

After 20-25 minutes, at 180°C, my first ever cake, baked with no eggs, no butter and no milk was done! And that runny batter, incredibly had indeed turned into a wonderfully fluffy, rich and aromatic little cake! Who knew?!?

 

I was amazed that I even managed to get it out of the baking form- haha! Never mind that it tasted so great! But I have to repeat- that using olive oil and lime juice WAS an act of pure genius on my part! I just couldn't help myself! I learned to love the combination of chocolate and lemon or lime in Sicily this past Christmas... and it is a love that will endure!

 

And being Sicilian... the decoration just HAD to be pistachio!

 

Need I say more?
 
 

Go back to that website, check out the recipe and make it your own- as all of the other readers have done!

And yes- especially for all of you vegans out there- you really need look no further! All your longings for cake can be cured right now!

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