Trust me, it’s that simple as it sounds.

Yeah, I have been pretty obsessed with the flavor of chocolate. It isn’t really my fault you know. Chocolate is purely a nature’s blessing and while you look forward to a vegan healthy dessert, it gets all the more rewarding.

I have been lately trying some permutation and combinations for vegan baking and as I am an obsessed baker I love to try out healthy varieties for my beloved cakes. So this time, I intended to keep it simple, I thought of adding another nutrient quotient to my cake and that is Ragi.

Ragi is a very popular millet cultivated in the state of Karnataka in India. It is also known as Eleusine Coracana, a popular cereal crop grown in the arid regions of Africa and parts of Asia. Not only is this crop rich in amino acids but also in protein, calcium and iron and is a great ingredient for vegetarians, vegans and non vegetarians alike, to have it incorporated in their diet. India with its rich culture in food and cuisines have hundreds of recipes that make use of this wonder crop.

Using Ragi in a cake was my idea to make my dessert craving healthy and nutritious giving me more reasons to satisfy my sweet tooth. And the surprise part- a rich, dark and moist cake and no one even knows about the ‘surprise’ here.

Here is the ingredient list:

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of Ragi
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp of instant coffee
• 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of any unflavored vegetable oil- really it works
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of room temperature water- and so does this
• 2 tsp of white vinegar

To make:

• Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees
• Sift the flour, ragi, cocoa powder, instant coffee and baking powder.
• Beat sugar and oil separately to make a smooth mixture.
• Now the vinegar, sugar-oil mixture is ready to be added to the dry ingredients that you sifted at the start.
• Gradually add water to make a smooth batter. Yes, don’t be surprised by water. You could add any plant based milk but even water just works fine. Take my word!
• Once your batter is ready with a smooth consistency and you have greased your baking tin, mix the baking soda and the vinegar and quickly add the mix to the batter and mix well.
• You will see bubbles forming on the surface and that is what we are looking for.
• Tap the container 2-3 times to get rid of the excess air and put it to bake for the next 30 mins unless a tooth pick comes out clean and dry.

And now when you are done with the patience while it cools you are all set to taste this guilt-free dessert.