dessert – Ovenderful

almond, buckwheat flour, eggless, gluten-free, millet, vegan, vegan baking

Became a mother slowly, and the Gluten-free Vegan Orange Almond Cake

July 4, 2018July 5, 2018 ovenderfulhealthybaking

At what point in time did I realize that I am a mother with complete certainty ? The question itself might sound absurd when you think of the fact that I have two human kids and 2 canine kids too, all of whose birth and entry into my life should have been enough to make me feel sure. That I am a mother.

Each of them did take me a little further into my realization. I became a mother slowly. You question your own motherhood from time to time due to many factors. You know you are there and yet that ‘little something’ which makes you feel sure evades you. You wait for that big moment to burst into your life to convince you.

And then there is this – a quiet moment between your kids, that tiptoes into your day, into your life.On an ordinary afternoon. And you know with a sense of peace that you are a mother indeed. When you have raised a child whose compassion shows in his gesture, in the way he expresses, without a word.

On that note, let me share a recipe which is Gluten-free and Vegan ( in line with my belief to be compassionate towards all beings) – this yum Orange Almond Cake.

1 cup Jowar Flour

1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour

1tsp Baking powder

3/4 cup Raw, Unrefined sugar

1/2tsp Salt
1 cup Applesauce

1/4cup Oil

1/2 cup fresh orange juice. Zest of one orange.

Roasted almonds as per one’s taste.

Preheat the oven at 160 degrees C. Grease a round baking pan and keep it aside. Sieve well the flours,baking powder, salt and keep aside.

Whisk the applesauce,oil and raw sugar nicely and beat well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients gently and mix with spatula. Do not over mix the batter. Add the orange juice and zest. Pour the batter to the already prepared pan.

Bake in middle rack for 25 minutes,until its done.
Let the cake cool completely.

cake, chocolate, coconut sugar, healthy baking, jowar, millet, oats

Baked Jowar(Millet)-Oats Dark Chocolate Fudge Squares & How the Mind is more powerful…

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 ovenderfulhealthybaking

Chanced upon this place in the heart of Bangalore and what a serene place it was , with a sense of purpose. A plant nursery by the Association of People with Disabilities, and the memory I will have imprinted on my mind is of a young boy without legs, expertly guiding us through the rows of plants to help us choose what we were looking for. I did not want to embarrass him by taking a picture and so I strongly urge you to visit the place to meet him, and realize how knowledgeable he is.

Truly the mind is so much more powerful than the body will ever be.

And the icing on the cake was to see my son loving plant our plants into the pots 🙂

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What more could one ask for , to brighten up a weekend ? There is one more thing that could brighten it up a wee bit more 🙂 These yum and healthy fudge squares.

Baked Jowar – Oats Dark Chocolate Fudge Squares

200g dark chocolate, broken into cubes (I used Bournville, 50% Cocoa)
3/4 cup coconut sugar
125 gms butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour mix ( half jowar, half powdered oats)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Pre-Heat the oven to 160 C. Prepare a square tin or square sectional baking pan, since this is a traybake.
Melt the chocolate, coconut sugar and butter in a pan. Keep stirring with the whisk and then when its well mixed, remove it from the heat. Allow it to cool off.
Beat in the eggs, flour mix and vanilla extract.
Pour the mix into the tin and bake for 25 mins or so.
Cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

almond, apple, baking, cake, coconut, coconut sugar, healthy baking, wholewheat

Healthy Baking exists and a delicious Wholewheat Apple – Coconut cake(with coconut sugar)

August 20, 2016May 17, 2017 ovenderfulhealthybaking

I had started this post on another note. But then something prompted me to rewrite it in another way, to share a perspective – about different kinds of opinions, about breaking internal barriers, about evolving times and then some more.

It’s interesting to hear many schools of thought from various bakers – how healthy baking is a fad or what we consume through our traditional bakes is not harmful or even better, there is nothing called healthy baking.

Has happened to me as well – healthy bakes are an acquired taste, they come to you over a period of time. Have you given it that time ? As I think back to my own approach, I know I can say this with absolute conviction – even the best of us can sometimes get trapped in the confines of our own minds, get tricked by our own taste buds, get slowed down by our own lack of courage.

But what if, just what if we opened the window of our mind a wee bit – If we simply make a small change? Instead of beginning with the mindset that they can’t be yum, let’s just re-align our minds to understand that they will be different. That’s it. You have taken the most important step.

Because you know what – closed minds will always lead to redundancies – no matter what area of work or passion you follow. Because the world is evolving and if we keep following rule-based baking and do not experiment with healthier ingredients, guess who loses – our family and friends, because they deserve healthier options and as the bakers it is our responsibility to make that change. Yes rules are good, but work with rules in a way that you put your wellness first and rules second. Not the other way round:)

So what’s YOUR next step ?

Blame it on your present lifestyle? You may have done that already.
Change food habits to suit present lifestyle – Have you done this yet?

Assure yourself of how we have grown up with these ingredients? You may have done that already.

Tell yourself that what you eat as you ‘grow older’ should change too –– Have you done this yet?

Oh but you eat all that stuff only of special occasions –You may have done that already.

Oh but you love your tea biscuits daily, so should you change that-– Have you done this yet?

So here’s a recipe to ease you into Healthy Baking (it does exist!)

Wholewheat Apple-Coconut Cake

1 1/2 cups of wholewheat flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1 large apple, peeled and grated

1/2 cup of grated fresh coconut

1/2 cup of coconut sugar

2-3 tbsp of honey

3 eggs

100 grams butter

1 tsp of cinnamon ( freshly grated)

Almonds ( chopped)

Method –

Preheat the oven at 170 degrees C.

Sift wholewheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder and keep aside. Grease and dust a 7×7 square pan.

Mix the butter, honey and coconut sugar with a whisk first then beat them well so that it becomes creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

Add the sifted flour-bp-cinnamon mix into the tin. Lastly fold the grated apple, coconut and almonds into the batter gently. No need to beat at this stage.

Transfer it into the tin, bake at 170 C for 45 minutes, until it becomes golden brown. Cool it well before de-moulding it.