Easy, Nutritious Ragi Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake is hands down, one of my all time favourites. I like my chocolate cake to be moist, decadent, with soft crumbs, very chocolatey in flavour, not overly sweet and topped with a luscious chocolate frosting.

This chocolate cake recipe is an easy one. It uses Ragi/Finger Millet flour which is very nutritious and naturally gluten free. The texture is slightly different than regular cake but it is really moist and decedent. This cake is completely refined sugar free and egg free. The frosting is a whipped paneer chocolate ganache. This easy frosting uses a combination paneer and cream and is very chocolatey, very smooth and very delicious. My little one loves to have this frosting on its own!

If you love chocolate cake, you may also like these recipe: Vegan Chocolate and Orange Cake, Chocolate Beetroot Cake

Here are the main Ingredients:

Sprouted Ragi Flour is made by sprouting the ragi first, drying it and then grinding it into a powder. It is considered more nutritious and is finer in texture than regular Ragi flour in texture and gives better results in baking. Sprouted Ragi Flour is easily available online.

Flaxseeds are considered a good source of dietary fibre and omega 3 fatty acids. When dissolved in a liquid, it turns sticky and slimy. This helps in providing a good structure to the cake, as Ragi flour is naturally gluten free.

Jaggery is the only sweetener used in this recipe. If you want, you can substitute it with brown sugar or white sugar.

Fat: I have made this cake using Ghee. But you can use Butter or any neutral flavoured vegetable in this recipe.

Cocoa Powder provides that chocolate flavour here. So using a good quality cocoa powder is important. Dutch processed cocoa powder gives a really intense flavour. Use a cocoa powder with high percentage of cocoa butter, around 20-25%.

Corn flour helps with the structure of this cake. Though you can leave this out as well. The cake will have a slightly crumblier texture without the corn flour.

Milk helps bring the moisture in this recipe.

Frosting:

Paneer: A very soft paneer/chhena has a creamy texture. It provides volume and structure to the frosting.

Cream: This frosting can be made with either fresh cream or whipping cream.

Chocolate: I use a really dark, bitter chocolate with high percentage of cocoa for this frosting. It helps bring a rich chocolate flavour without having to use too much chocolate.

Jaggery: Since I use a bitter chocolate, jaggery brings in the required sweetness to the frosting.

Here is the detailed written recipe:

Eggless & Gluten free Ragi Chocolate Cake

Serves: 8 Prep Time: 30 mins Cooking Time: 50 mins 50 mins

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

For the Cake

• 1 cup (130 g) - Sprouted Ragi Flour
• 3/4 cup (110 g) - Jaggery
• 1/3 cup (30 g) - Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 cup (25 g) - Ground Flaxseed
• 1/2 cup - Water
• 1/2 cup (90 g) - Ghee
• 1 cup - Milk
• 2 tsp - Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp - Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp - Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp - Salt
• 1 tsp - Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp (5 g) - Corn Flour

For the frosting

• 1/3 cup (90 g) - Paneer
• 1/2 cup - Cream
• 3 tbsp (30 g) - Jaggery
• A pinch of Salt
• 50g - Dark Chocolate

 

Instructions

 For the Cake:

1. First make the buttermilk by combining the milk and vinegar in a bowl or a glass. Give it a stir and set it aside.
2. Take a large mixing bowl and add ground flaxseeds and water. Give it a mix and let the flaxseed bloom for around 10 mins.
3. Once this mixture has turned thick, add the ghee, jaggery and sprouted ragi flour and give it a good mix until everything is evenly combined.
4. Place a sieve over the mixing bowl and sift in the cocoa powder, corn flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
5. Add in the vanilla and our prepared buttermilk from step 1. Give it a thorough mix until a smooth batter forms.
6. Pour the batter into a greased and lined 8 inch baking pan and bake the cake in a preheated oven at 170 C for around 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. A skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean.
7. Let the cake cool slightly before taking it out of the pan.

For the Frosting:

1. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a double boiler or in a microwave.
2. Take the paneer, cream, melted chocolate, jaggery and a pinch of salt in a blender jar and blend it until it turns smooth.
3. Set this in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes if the frosting looks loose.
4. Add the frosting on top of the cake once the cake has cooled down completely.
5. Spread it evenly on top of the cake with a spoon or offset spatula. You can also frost the sides of the cake.
6. Top the cake with some fresh fruits of your choice (optional)
7. Store any leftover cake in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Have you made this recipe? Tag me on Instagram at @VanillaTrails and use the hashtag #MadeWithVanillaTrails.