It was quite sometime that I was craving for simple homemade cakes. The market is flooded with its richer varieties- loaded with cream, ganache, fondant & frostings. No doubt they are absolutely lip-smacking & worth indulging on cheat days but for me nothing is as comforting as a warm slice of the humble homemade sponge cake. So I decided to bake one.
But there was a small hurdle to be dealt with at first 😀 I had no oven! & my microwave didn’t have convection mode but I badly wanted to have some cake 
I quickly flipped through the pages of my recipe diary, hoping to find at least one cake recipe baked in a cooker/ pan & voila!! I had actually noted down a very simple sponge cake recipe by celebrity Indian chef Rakesh Sethi long back & it came to my rescue today 🙂 He baked it in a cooker but I baked mine in a deep bottomed pan. My cooker wasn’t wide enough to place the cake tin inside. Worked perfectly fine, just that took double the time. One thing I can assure you that there couldn’t possibly be any simpler sponge cake recipe that is fantastic to taste as well. Do try it at your home. I slightly modified the recipe to suit my taste & diet needs 😉
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar (I used brown)
- 1/4 cup butter (I used salted butter)
- 1/2 cup condensed milk (preferably made from whole milk)
- 1 cup maida/ all purpose flour (I used wholewheat cake flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- Milk for batter
- Almonds, raisins, dark chocolate bits & shavings
Method:
Take a deep bottomed pan & place it on the stove top on low heat. Pour 1 cup salt into the pan. It will act as the base. This is necessary so that your pan doesn’t get burnt & neither does your cake. Now cover with a lid. Make sure there is a small vent/ opening on the lid. If using a cooker, don’t forget to remove the whistle while closing the lid for preheating.
For the batter, take a big bowl. Add sugar, butter & the condensed milk. Mix well using a balloon whisk. Now slowly add in the flour, baking powder & baking soda. Add milk in desired quantity to make the perfect thick batter.
Throw in some chopped almonds, raisins & Â chocolate bits & mix well. Grate 2 pieces of dark chocolate (chocolate shavings) and add in the batter.
Now line the cake tin with butter and pour the batter into it. (That rhymed 😀 butter & batter!) Make sure the batter is evenly spread. Now remove the lid from the pan & carefully place the tin inside it as the pan is very hot. Cover with the lid once again. On low heat it will take you around 50 minutes. On a pressure cooker it takes 25-30 minutes as per the chef. Keep checking with a tooth pick or knife after 40 minutes and when it comes out clean your cake is ready!
Enjoy with a cup of freshly brewed tea like I did or as it is. A slice of happiness, a slice of life 🙂
Note: ALWAYS use the same cup for all measurements (whether 1/2, 1/3 or 1)
the bruised frypan 