Eggless Chocolate Walnut Carrot Cake Loaf

Yesterday I bought some carrots at the vegetable market. I was searching for something in my cup-board drawer and I came across this recipe and that is how it was meant to be. I loved the idea of chocolate, carrot and walnuts- slices sprinkled with icing sugar and chocolate sauce, served warm with may be lemon tea; it was a mouthwatering visual. For the health mongers, this one has carrots and walnuts and you can totally skip the icing sugar and sauce. The cake tastes yum even on its own. 

Adapted from recipe by Tarla Dalal

Ingredients: for the cake loaf

½ cup melted butter

½ cup condensed milk (I used milkmaid)

2 tsp corn / golden syrup (If you don’t have either, you can use runny honey)

2 tbsp castor sugar

¾ cup grated carrot

¾ cup self-raising flour

¼ tsp soda bi-carb / baking soda

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tbsp walnuts, chopped finely

1 tsp vanilla essence

Butter /oil for greasing  

Ingredients: for the chocolate sauce

1 small rectangular bar of cooking chocolate- chopped

¾ small rectangular bar of cocoa butter- chopped – room temperature

Method: for the cake loaf

1.       Sieve self-raising flour, cocoa powder and baking soda and mix well with a hand-whisk.

2.       Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celcius.

3.       Combine all the ingredients except for carrots and walnuts in a mixing bowl and whisk to get a smooth batter.

4.       Now fold in the grated carrot and chopped walnuts.

5.       Pour or spoon the mixture in a greased and dusted loaf tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it after 15-18 minutes.

6.       Remove once the toothpick comes out clean from the cake and unmould on a wire rack.

7.       Sprinkle with icing sugar or pour chocolate sauce over it. Slice once it has cooled down a bit.

Method: for the chocolate sauce

1.       Take the chopped chocolate and cocoa butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds to start with and then for 7-10 seconds subsequently at a time for it to melt, till you get a smooth lustrous sauce. You can make this sauce in a double boiler also.

2.       Pour generous helpings of this rich chocolate sauce on the gooey chocolatey sin, take a bite and experience pure bliss.

 Sweet Dreams :)