Super Healthy Carrot, Banana and Chia seeds cake
Birthdays are always an exciting affair. There’s something that you makes you feel special the moment the clock strikes 12:00 am in the midnight…Every hour seems like a golden hour the following day…Suddenly your life is filled by bountiful of good wishes- the feelings of being precious, loved and cared for are hard to ignore…….you fail to bring your feet down on the ground.
I have always loved celebrating my birthday with great zeal but what I absolutely love to do is making other peoples birthdays the grandest with whatever small gestures I can….and taking care of each and every detail is something which comes naturally to me…..So, of course, my own sister’s birthday had to be made significant and I was too overwhelmed with every little stuff that had to be gathered. ……………The most important aspect was the cake and this time I really wanted to go the healthy way! As usual, something different was the topmost criteria.
For a foodie like me, cakes are almost an extension of your personality. …a world of fantasy, of magic and little adventures that roll up to make a helluva dough and a dish that’s like a cast of a spell!
So this time healthy meant something without any kind of sweetener, addition of banana (my sisters favorite), made without any white flour and with very little butter or oil or completely devoid of it. I went along gladly with the experiment and the result was more than expected.
Everything used here provides such nutrition – bananas for potassium and fiber, carrots for vitamin K, fiber and antioxidants, walnuts for omega 3 fatty acids and numerous other benefits, raisins for digestion and iron, apple cider vinegar for fighting diabetes and harmful bacteria, chia seeds for omega 3 fatty acids, fiber, iron and calcium etc.
When it came to the icing for this cake, instead of opting for a healthier version I wanted something to perfectly complement the taste of this utterly real cake. And there couldn’t be anything better than our good old recipe of butter and icing sugar. Everything was right there in my kitchen- Amul butter (believe me it works as good as unsalted butter), vanilla essence, lemon, and icing sugar…A powerful blend of these gave the cake the finished detour it needed, decorating this cake was almost like petting a furry baby with all the love……well, the taste………..the bestest ever (no exaggerations)!!
RECIPE
What’s better than the healthiest cake on a birthday which it as delicious, right? This cake is without sugar, no white four, made with nuts, fruits and veggies and is a proud addition to any bake on any given day…Go for it!
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1-2 bananas
10-15 fresh dates (without seeds)
6 tbsp sunflower oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cardamom
3-4 carrots (medium size, grated)
½ cup walnuts (roughly chopped)
1/2 cup raisins
Icing:
200 gms Amul butter
3 to 4 tbsp icing sugar (keep it according to taste)
Few lemon drops
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
For decoration:
Colorful sprinklers or any other item of your choice
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180 degree C). Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Use a hand blender or a blender to mix bananas, dates and oil into a thick cream in another bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and stir it together with the eggs and the banana-cream. Add grated carrots, walnuts and raisins and stir it until it all comes together.
- Pour it into a cake pan and bake for about 40 minutes. Try to stick a toothpick in the center of the cake, when nothing sticks on it the cake is ready. Let it cool. Then cut it into half.
- Whip together the butter and icing sugar. With the help of a brush, apply some water to the topmost part of both the layers of the cake. Add the icing when the cake is completely cooled off. Cover both the layers of the cake generously and the sides as well and place them on top of each other. Serve with the colorful sprinklers or any other item, of your choice.