Wholegrain apple spice cake!

Jini and I were so stoked by the success of our righteous chocolate loaf that we wanted to go the next step, to test the acceptance of whole grain and jaggery on our palates without the luxurious comfort of good dark chocolate!  And of course that meant that we sat in our little balcony, eating cake and brainstorming about what flavours are bold enough to stand up on their own,and what ingredients can add moisture to a whole grain batter without ruining the consistency.

I found a recipe for a jaggery cake on Passionate About Baking's blog and we made it our own by introducing fresh apples, Cointreau, raisins and pistachios. After making three different versions of the cake, we finally had one that we absolutely loved and as I started writing this post I realised this cake would be a great way to sneak health into the decadence of the festive season.

I have a suspicion that a few strands of saffron infused in a small quantity of warm milk would add just the touch of glamour that a festive dessert demands!

What you need:

• 100g butter softened
• 145g jaggery powder
• 45ml honey
• 30ml water/ milk infused with a few saffron strands
• 1 tbsp cinnamon powder
• 2 tsp Cointreau
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 165g wholewheat flour
• 1 apple chopped into little pieces
• 50 g chopped pistachios
• 50 g chopped raisins

How we stir:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease lightly 6 mini tart tins or one 6-7″round baking tin}
2. Place the jaggery, butter, honey and water/milk in a heatproof bowl. Heat in microwave for a minute, until the butter has melted.
3. Whisk well till combined and there are no chunks of jaggery left. I find using an electric whisk is the best way to get this done, but it can also be done by hand.
4. When it is a gorgeous golden brown homogeneous batter, add in the cinnamon powder, the Cointreau, baking soda and baking powder
5. Add the eggs one by one and beat well to combine.
6. Fold in most of the flour and then toss the pistachio, raisins and apple in the remaining flour and fold into the batter. Taste and if you like a more pronounced orange flavour, add some more Cointreau! We did!
7. Ladle into prepared tins, sprinkle over a few crystals of brown sugar and top with a few slivers of pistachio.
8. Bake for approximately 20 minutes for the mini cakes and about 35 minutes for a larger cake. I like to take out this cake from the oven when it is slightly under, to retain some of the moisture.
9. Let them cool in the tins and then dig in! They are actually best when they are slightly warm.

They keep well in the fridge for over a week and I just zap a piece in the microwave for 15 seconds before I devour!I made this cake this Diwali, not to share with my guests but for me, so that after all the festive bingeing is complete I can pull it out of my fridge and enjoy a guilt free dessert for the whole week!