Eggless Cakes & more! I went eggless in my baking a couple of years ago, something I honestly never thought would work, something I didn’t think I could successfully pull off. But as they say, never say never, my desserts are totally egg free, look quite pretty {IMHO} and are vegetarian as well {read no gelatine, only plant based setting agents}. A journey I have enjoyed immensely, a challenge of sorts, it was conversations on Instagram that largely drove the change, something I am profoundly grateful for.
Why eggless you might ask? I never did enjoy the egginess that egg based desserts had and though I made them often, I didn’t enjoy some of them. While most like special layered cakes were enjoyable indeed, my palette always picked up the aftertaste of eggs, something I just couldn’t tolerate. Yet that was just me! As the pandemic took over the world, requests for eggless recipes grew and that was a definite sign for me.
There was no looking back and I’ve come a long way. From eggless cakes, eggless layer cakes, eggless baked cheesecakes and loads in between, I have come to look at baking with new eyes. Not that there is anything wrong with baking with eggs; this is just a personal choice. You can find loads of delicious recipes using eggs on the blog and I do hope you’ll find something you like.
Best Ever Eggless Baked Chocolate Cheesecake
Best Ever Eggless Baked Chocolate Cheesecake … Deep, divine, satisfying and smooth, the clarified butter giving caramel tones to the biscuit crumb makes it even better! It's simple to bring together and most satisfying to dig into. Makes 1 8" heart shaped or round cheesecake.
Fudgy, eggless, whole grain, one bowl, hand mixed and quite special, you are going to absolutely love these gluten free, millet brownies that come together in minutes.
When chocolate, coffee and vanilla come together to create a dreamy ombre cake, it can only be good. Here's an eggless Chocolate Coffee & Vanilla Ombre Cake that is as simple as it is delicious!
This cake tastes beautiful, and offers an inviting citrus overload. The eggless sponge is flavoured with orange zest and is light and delightful. The cavity has layers of chocolate and vanilla cream, finished off with an interesting marmalade jelly and fresh orange wedges. All in all a delightful take on yet another variation of my cavity cake.
The mango season is incomplete without a mango tres leches and this egg free version is sooooo good!! You could make this with berries as well, or late summer stone fruit.
… the name says it all! An addictive, delicious, no bake, eggless tart with a filling of the much loved Nama Chocolate. Each bite is indulgent, a celebration in a tart if you like, a gentle tease on the palette that is so sublime that it's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Another delicious version of the cavity cake, three layers fill the cavity – dark chocolate, vanilla bean white chocolate and strawberry jelly from scratch. I always have frozen berries in my freezer but you could use fresh ones too. The recipe is a simple one bowl eggless sponge, and the way to make the cavity is as simple as it looks.
You can find more EGGLESS recipes here! Do tag me on Instagram at Passionate About Baking if you make this, or any other recipe from the blog. I’d love to see it!
Nama Chocolate Tart … the name says it all! An addictive good tart with a filling of the much loved Nama Chocolate, a remarkably simple and luxurious Japanese chocolate that is quite easily made at home. Each bite is indulgent, a celebration in a tart if you like, a gentle tease on the palette that is so sublime that it’s addictive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
My first memories of Nama Chocolate go back to a visit to Japan in 2014. Tokyo had the prettiest little patisseries, aesthetically showcased and the desserts are so delicate and stunning to look at. One of the first things I bought as we exited the airport was Nama Chocolate though at the time I took no pictures, just simply savoured it!
That first bite of chocolate was unforgettable. Smooth, rich, comforting, satisfying, and above all, so pretty to look at. It never crossed my mind that I could make it at home since it seemed too exotic, maybe very complicated too. A few attempts later, here’s a very simple recipe for the famed chocolate and it tastes as good as I remember it to be!
I made it as a tart because it’s really warm here these days and the chocolate tends to melt quite quickly in the summer. It will definitely work like a dream in winter and I can’t wait for the weather to improve. If you’d just like to make the chocolate portion, then consider setting it in an 8’X8″ square loose bottom lined tin. Once set, sift over with cocoa powder and then cut it into squares with a sharp knife, cleaning the blade between each cut.
The chocolate tastes best left at room temperature for ten minutes after which it begins to soften because of the chocolate to cream ratio. The tart holds it better in summer since the chocolate has a base that carries it. Either which way, it’s luxurious!
What is Nama Chocolate you might ask?
Nama chocolate comes from Japan. But there are many theories out there regarding who exactly created it. A widely circulated urban legend attributes authorship to pastry chef and chocolatier Masakazu Kobayashi. When he was the owner Sils Maria, a small pastry shop in Shonan, he invented nama chocolate and gave it the name.MICHELIN Guide
The recipe is simple and fuss free and can be easily made at home. The filling is basically just 3 ingredients, 4 if you choose to add coffee powder like I did, so do make sure you use quality ingredients because they really shine in here. Pick a dark couverture chocolate, anything above 54% is good. For me, the darker the chocolate, the more luxurious the feel of the filling. I find that a 70.5% works really well though the 54.5% tastes great too.
I use normal Amul Fresh cream, a 25% fat cream available easily in India. You could use a 30% fat cream if that’s what is available where you live. Use the best butter you can find, and your favourite coffee powder. That’s about it. Oh and of course, the signature finish which is a sifting of cocoa powder on top. That really completes the dessert.
The tart base is also super simple and just has 3 ingredients. I find that I use less clarified butter/ghee in the base in summer. If it’s cooler/colder where you live, then perhaps increase it a tsp at a time until the crumbs come together when pinched between the fingers. I’ve shared a tart base FAQ at the bottom since I always get loads of questions on Instagram asking about how I make the base. Hope that helps you too.
Try it please! Perhaps make it for home or as an edible gift for someone you love. With the weather quite warm and extremely humid, it works beautifully in a tart. In cooler, better weather, the Nama Chocolate will hold well on it’s own! In any case, it’s delicious both ways!
… the name says it all! An addictive, delicious, no bake, eggless tart with a filling of the much loved Nama Chocolate. Each bite is indulgent, a celebration in a tart if you like, a gentle tease on the palette that is so sublime that it's addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Course Dessert
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword chocolate, dessert, eggless, homemade, no bake, one bowl, simple, stovetop, vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
6 hourshours
Total Time 6 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
Tart base
150digestive biscuits
45gclarified butter/gheemelted, cooled
10gcocoa powder
Filling
270g46% dark chocolatechopped
125gAmul Fresh cream/25% fat cream
75gunsalted butter
1tbspcoffee powder
Ganache
125gAmul Fresh cream/25% fat cream
175g46% dark chocolatechopped
Cocoa powder for dusting over
Instructions
Tart base 8”
Place the biscuits and cocoa powder in a processor and blend to a fine meal. Blend in the melted clarified butter/ghee on low speed. {If the weather is cool, you might need 5-10g more of melted ghee}
Work up the sides of a tart tin firmly, then press firmly to make the base.
Place the tin in the freezer for an hour while you make the filling. Once the base is chilled and firm, gently loosen the edges of the chilled tart shell and return to the tin and leave in the freezer.
Nama chocolate filling
Pour the cream into a heavy bottom pan and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer over very low heat until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Cool slightly, then pour into the chilled tart base {still in the tart tin}.
Place to set in the freezer for 2 hours or in the fridge for about 6 hours or overnight.
Demold, pipe with ganache and dust with cocoa powder.
Video
How do I get a clean tart shell?
1. Use a loose bottom good quality tart shell. Here’s the TART TIN I use. It’s available on Amazon.in. 2. Line the base with a circle of parchment. This is optional but I find it useful. 3. Begin by building the sides first, nice and neat and firmly built to the top. Use your fingers or a spoon. Once the sides are built, make sure they are parallel to the edges, scrape off any extra to the bottom so you get a straight, flat wall right around. Once this is done, firmly push the remaining crumbs to form the base, then neaten up the edges where the base meets the walls. 4. Once done, place the whole tin in the freezer for about an hour until it is frozen, then gently push the base up, applying equal pressure all around to loosen the biscuit shell. Once loose, return to the tin and leave in the freezer until required. 5. Always be gentle when handling the biscuit base since it isn’t baked. Once the filling has set, the tart isn’t that fragile.
Tip: Please don’t remove the biscuit base from the tin before filling it. If you do, the tart will collapse with the pressure from the yet to set filling.
Eggless Saffron Mango Tres Leches Cake… The mango season is incomplete without a mango tres leches, more so if the colours of this dessert reflect the colours of the Indian national flag. With layers deliciousness, here’s a dessert to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day, a dessert that screams summer!
Saffron really makes everything special and this EgglessSaffron Mango Tres Leches Cake is no exception. A never ending supply of mangoes is definitely inspiration to create desserts around the king of fruits. Here’s my easy and refreshing version of the tres leches with a soft, moist and very thirsty egglesssponge {saffron & pistachio flavoured} that obligingly drinks up the saffron flavoured tres leches milk. Saffron milk is a great match here since I used the Kesar variety of mangoes when I made these, ‘kesar’ that translates into saffron. You can use any vibrant mangoes you find though.
Mangoes with cream are a quintessential summer favourite here in India. Add saffron to the equation and you literally have magic!Desserts like this make summer so worthwhile! Everything is fresh about this cake. The light sponge, the beautifully addictive milk, the sweet mangoes and then the stabilized cream that holds the mangoes together.
For those who might be curious, I stabilize the cream since low fat cream is all that is easily available locally in India where I live. I’ve found a way to stabilize it the way it works for me. Of course it’s not as easy as whipped cream but for me it’s better that non dairy alternatives available locally that have labels of ingredients that scare me. Feel free to use a whipping cream with at least 35% fat if available.
1tspagar agar {Increase by 1/4 tsp if the weather is very warm}
2tbspcastor sugar
1tbspclarified butter/ghee
100-125gsmall diced mango {plus extra for garnish}
Instructions
Eggless saffron pistachio sponge
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a 6″ baking tin with parchment. In a large bowl, whisk the yogurt and castor sugar until smooth.
Whisk in baking soda, baking powder, salt, saffron strands and pistachios and leave to stand for 5 minutes until the mixture is bubbly.
Whisk in oil until well blended/emulsified.
Sift over the plain flour & fold in until smooth. Transfer to the baking tin, smooth out the top and edges.
Bake for 30 minutes / tester comes out clean. cool completely.
Tres leches milk
Whisk together in a glass jar or bottle and refrigerate overnight for the flavours to mature well.
Stabilized cream
Whisk together all the ingredients in a glass bowl.
Microwave for 30 seconds, whisk again. Repeat until the cream begins to thicken at the edges, 3-4 times. Cool, whisking now and then to keep the cream uniform and to prevent a film from forming on top.
Note: You can also make this on the stove top. Stir constantly.
Assemble
Secure an acetate collar and place the sponge in a compact serving dish.
Poke the sponge with a skewer/fork right across making sure you poke straight to the bottom.
Pour over the tres leches milk a little at a time, waiting for it to absorb completely. Top the soaked cake with diced mangoes, then pour over the stabilized cream to cover the mangoes completely.
Place in the freezer for about 2 hours, then remove to the fridge and leave to set overnight.
Garnish with freshly diced mangoes, mint and rose petals.
Eggless Fluffy Pancakes … quick, simple and ever so satisfying, you’ll never need another pancake recipe again! The recipe ticks all the boxes. Simple staple pantry ingredients, one bowl batter and a well behaved one at that. The pancakes hold up well and taste amazing. Did I tell you that they taste fab cold too? Strangely enough but they are addictive cold as well!
The idea of fluffy pancakes was always tempting as we grew up. Tall piles of golden brown pancakes, maple syrup streaming down the sides, berries, butter and everything delicious. Yet attempts at making pancakes then were dismal and made you wonder what the hype was about anyway! All I can recall is that they were soggy and eggy!
Cut to now and these light, fluffy, eggless pancakes will have you addicted. It’s a simple 6 ingredient eggless pancake recipe and you’ve probably got all the ingredients on hand already. Takes all of 5 minutes to get the batter together, 4-5 minutes to cook each pancake and soon enough you’re ready to dive right in. It’s therapeutic to pipe the batter, see them bubble gently and rise, get a golden blush and then you flip them over.
egglesspancake
I cut the clarified butter / ghee into the dry mix of the eggless pancake recipe so that the fat coats the flour and keeps the pancakes light. In my opinion, that really made a difference to the texture and lightness. Also, do make sure the pan is of good quality, has a heavy bottom and the heat stays low for even cooking. This is the one I used.
The rest is literally a ‘pan’ oops cakewalk, so hope you give these a shot soon!
Simple recipes like these that make being in the kitchen so fun! This is a very basic eggless pancake recipe and should take well to changes. You could experiment with substituting part of the plain flour with a whole flour, maybe some nut meal, possibly oat flour too. Also think of add-ins … chocolate chips, blueberries, banana, nuts etc. Last but not the least, toppings! Think butter, whipped cream, a chocolate sauce or salted caramel, mango, else just a sifting of sugar. I am addicted to these, and I’m sure you will be too!
Quick, simple and ever so satisfying, you'll never need another pancake recipe again! The recipe ticks all the boxes. Simple staple pantry ingredients, one bowl batter, a well behaved one at that. The pancakes hold up beautifully and taste amazing.
Course Appetiser, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American, British
Keyword cake, dessert, eggless, eggless cake, no bake, one bowl, simple, stovetop, vegetarian
Prep Time 5 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 2people
Equipment
1 pancake pan/tawa non stick, heavy bottom
1 glass bowl
1 whisk
Piping bag
1 spatula
Ingredients
Dry mix
135gall purpose flour
1tspbaking powder
1/4tspbaking soda
Pinchsalt
1tbspvanilla sugar {or castor sugar & a dask of vanilla extract}
1 1/2tbspghee/clarified buttermelted, cooled
Wet ingredients
180-185gbuttermilkroom temperature
Toppings
Maple syrup/honeybutter, fresh berries/fruit etc
Instructions
Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to mix. Add in the ghee and mix in with fingertips to coat the flour. {You can do this in a small blender too}.
Whisk in the buttermilk until the batter is smooth. It should be pipeable but not runny. Add a spoon of plain flour if it’s runny, or a tsp of buttermilk if it’s too thick.
Pipe or spoon about 1/2 a cup batter on a non stick pancake pan/tawa over very low heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the edges begin to show a little light brown. Flip over gently and cook the other side for 2-3 minutes. You can do a toothpick test to check if you are unsure of the doneness.
Stack and serve with maple syrup/honey, fruit, butter etc.
Best Eggless Mango Cream Dessert Box… What is the best thing about the hot Indian summer? A never ending supply of mangoes, and of course inspiration to create desserts around the king of fruits. Desserts in glasses or boxes are fascinating because of the visual delight they offer, and this eggless mango cream dessert box is everything! I could eat this dessert all summer long.
There’s something utterly charming about desserts in boxes or rather dessert boxes. I love that so much goodness can be neatly layered in them, they show the dessert off well and they are so easily transportable, don’t you think? Dessert boxes make the perfect gift while the lid keeps the dessert fresh and moist. Wrap around a pretty ribbon with a little tag and it screams delicious edible gift! Now who wouldn’t like to dive into this Eggless Mango Cream Dessert Box?
There’s also something irresistible about mango desserts and every summer I make different ones. The mango season is always impatiently awaited here on the Indian subcontinent where the local bazaar is lined with carts overflowing with the fruit. It is easily our favourite summer fruit, the most popular one and isn’t referred to as the King of Fruits in India for no reason! I’ve added the Mango Cream Dessert Box to the list of my favourite summer desserts.
With layers of absolute deliciousness, it’s another dessert that screams summer! A light sponge {part wholegrain}, a stabilized vanilla cream, diced mangoes {I used slightly tart mangoes here}, eggless mango curd poured over… and repeat. What’s not to love? I love the play of textures and flavours, the refreshing bites of fresh mango and the slightly tart mango curd all please the palate. If you don’t have a 4″ dessert box, go ahead and turn this into a layer cake or trifle, but please do try it. Desserts like this make summer so worthwhile!
Do tag me on Instagram at Passionate About Baking if you make this, or any other recipe from the blog. I’d love to see it!
With layers of absolute deliciousness, it's another dessert that screams summer! A light sponge {part wholegrain}, a stabilized vanilla cream, diced mangoes {I used slightly tart mangoes here}, eggless mango curd poured over… and repeat. What's not to love? I love the play of textures and flavours, the refreshing bites of fresh mango and the slightly tart mango curd all please the palate. If you don't have a 4" dessert box, go ahead and turn this into a layer cake or trifle.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line two 6″ tins {round or square} with parchment.
In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and give them a good whisk.
Divide between the tins (approx 130g each), spread uniformly and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tester comes out clean. These are flat 1 cm cakes that are perfect for layering the dessert box.
Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then cool completely on the rack. Gently trim the tops and stamp out 4″ squares using the dessert box as a guide.
Eggless mango curd
Whisk together the mango puree, sugar and cornflour sugar in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Once slightly thickened, take off heat and whisk in the clarified butter/ ghee.
Cool.
Stabilized vanilla cream
Whisk together all the ingredients in a glass bowl.
Microwave for 30 seconds, whisk again. Repeat until the cream begins to thicken at the edges, 3-4 times. Cool, whisking now and then to keep the cream uniform and to prevent a film from forming on top.
Note: You can also make this on the stove top. Stir constantly.
Assemble
Line the base of the dessert box with a layer of cake.
Pipe over a layer of cream.
Top the cream with a layer of diced fresh mango and drizzle mango curd over it.
Top with the second layer of sponge, press gently into place, and cover with cream., flattening the cream flush with the edges of the box.
Refrigerate for about an hour for the flavours to mature or overnight.
Quick Delicious Stone Fruit Crumble … often the best way to begin a day, else to end a meal! Dessert for breakfast or breakfast for dessert and life can’t get better than that in summer! If you like a hearty, somewhat guilt free ‘fruit loaded’ beginning to the day, this might be a good idea. It has oats and walnuts too! Sold yet?
Summer is one season I absolutely love, not least for the dreadful heat and unbearable humidity, but for stone fruit! Think summer fruits with a pit in the centre, think colourful, luscious and delicious fleshy fruit – mangoes, peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines, lychee, plums…
My first thought was a smoothie which is how my day begins every single day, 365 days a year using fruit in season. I had already frozen fruit for smoothies the day before, so my next thought of course was a crumble! I always enjoy making crumbles and this Quick Delicious Stone Fruit Crumble turned out a perfect destination for the few hapless stone fruit in the fridge … a couple of peaches, a few plums and a small bowl of cherries.
What are stone fruit you might ask?Stone fruits get their name from the pit or “stone” in their center that is encased in a fleshy outer area. Also known as drupes, stone fruits tend to have thin skins that may be fuzzy or smooth. The pit is actually a large seed, and stone fruits can be either clingstone or freestone depending on how easily the flesh pulls away from the seed. Since most stone fruits won’t ripen after being harvested, they’re picked at their peak and only good for a small window of time. This makes them highly seasonal, with different stone fruits arriving at different seasons.
Then I saw this huge glass mug on the counter and I knew CRUMBLE was going to be it! I thought it might look nice to see squishy colourful fruit pressed against the sides smothered by a crumbly, buttery topping! The rest came together pretty soon, on the go actually.
Crumbles don’t take very long to put together and I often make one large one in my 8″ KitchenAid baking dish. Once done, everyone just digs in. Fewer fruit mean individual servings though this ones seems good for a single large serving or even one shared by two. Dig right in!
Do tag me on Instagram at Passionate About Baking if you make this, or any other recipe from the blog. I’d love to see it!
