Eggless Banana Sponge Cake (using pressure cooker)

Eggless Banana Sponge Cake

This is one of the easiest cake recipes, especially when you have extra ripe bananas at home! Just blend it, mix it and bake it. Voila! It’s done!! It is really that simple!! All you need is a handful of ingredients and an oven or pressure cooker.

Do you know that baking cake is literally a piece of cake! Seriously, the method of preparation is so easy; no wonder we can find these cakes being prepared dating back to 600 B.C. It seems, ancient Egypt was the first culture to show evidence of true skill in baking, making many kinds of bread and cakes including some sweetened with honey. The Greeks had a form of cheesecake and the Romans developed early versions of fruitcakes with raisins, nuts and other fruits.

Anyways, now that we know that baking cakes is easy and simple, let us know the basics of baking cake:

1. Pre heating the oven (or pressure cooker);

2. Sifting the dry ingredients- for even cooking;

3. Mixing the wet ingredients separately and then adding it to the dry ingredients;

4. Shouldn’t over mix the cake batter – the cake will not rise as desired;

5. And most importantly, perfect measurement is the key ingredient for perfect recipe.

Banana cake personally is my favorite, preferably plain banana cake that goes well with tea. If you don’t have an oven, try this cake recipe using pressure cooker. The results are totally same.. The first time I tried with experimenting cakes, it was always with pressure cooker. I didn’t have an oven then, but the cakes came out delicious. I even supplied cakes to my neighbors often when they ordered, and they had loved it too. Everyone thought the cakes were made using oven.… This recipe is made using pressure cooker and I used a square shaped pan. You can also use a steel bowl if you don’t have any pan.

So try this recipe and let me know your experience as well.

Eggless Banana Cake Recipe (using pressure cooker):

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

· All purpose flour (maida) 1 cup

· Powdered sugar ¾ cup

· Baking powder ¾ tsp

· Baking soda ¼ tsp

Wet ingredients

· Banana (pureed/ blended) 1 cup

· Vanilla extract ¼ tsp

· Oil 1/3 cup

· Butter ¼ cup (room temperature)

Other items needed

· pressure cooker

· salt ¼ to ½ kg

small stand (grid)

Method of preparation:

Step 1:

Pour quarter kg or half kg salt inside the pressure cooker and place the stand (grid) on this salt. Close the pressure cooker with its lid removing the gasket and whistle. Switch on the flame on low to medium heat. Let it heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 2:

Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients – all purpose flour (maida), baking powder, baking soda, powdered sugar. Mix all the dry ingredients.

Step 3:

Take another bowl and add banana puree, vanilla essence and mix well. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients. Now add oil and butter and mix well to a nice thick batter, making sure there aren’t any lumps. Do not over mix the cake batter.

Step 4:

Grease the cake pan with butter (you can also use steel bowl instead if you don’t have a cake pan), pour in the banana cake mix to this pan/ bowl. Only ¾ th of the pan should be filled. Tap the pan/ bowl and place it inside the pre heated cooker.

Step 5:

Bake this cake for 45 to 50 mins in low heat flame. Insert a tooth pick or fork to check whether the cake is completely cooked. The toothpick/ fork should come out dry. Your cake is now ready. Cut it into desired shapes of your choice.

Tips:

1. You can add almonds (badam)or cashews on bottom of the pan, and then pour the batter.

2. DONOT over bake the cake, otherwise the cake will become hard and chewy.

3. If you see the cake batter still stick to the tooth pick when inserted, put the cake back into the cooker and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes and check again till it come out clean.

4. DONOT place the pan directly inside the cooker without adding salt.

5. If using an oven, for this recipe, pre heat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 15 mins. Then bake the cake at 180 degree Celsius for 45 to 50 minutes.