Like I’ve always said before I don’t bake as much as I used to because I eat up more of the baked goodies than anyone else does. However, sometimes there are some recipes that I come across that simply coax me into baking. This lovely recipe was shared by Laveena Pinto, a member of the food group I run on Facebook. Her original recipe was a cardamom flavoured ragi (finger millet) cake but I decided to adapt it and tweak it into a chocolate cake as I wasn’t sure if my kids would receive a ragi cake well. It was easier to deceive them with some chocolate in it and trust me, they had no idea that it was a gluten free cake. I used Laveena’s basic recipe and added a few ingredients to it to mask the deep, earthy flavour of the ragi. To make sure I had it all covered, I used melted chocolate too. I recommend using dark chocolate with at least 50-65% cocoa solids, however if you like a less chocolatey and more sweeter cake you can use your favourite milk chocolate like Cadbury’s if you please.
If you’ve noticed I made this in a hurry and didn’t bother to do any fancy photoshoot. I was dying to bake that cake and clicked the pictures in the AM and promptly gobbled up a few pieces right after. Considering that I made this with lesser sugar than called for and used soft brown sugar instead of white sugar I consoled myself for binge eating. I told myself that I’d skip the bread that I generally have for breakfast and ate 3 slices of this cake instead.
The ‘no-chocolate-cakes-for-me’ husband also liked this cake. The son had no clue that this cake contained ragi, something he abandoned eating after the several bowlfuls he gulped as a baby and the daughter willingly ate slice after slice until she had had enough.
So folks, don’t wait no more. Go make this cake. It is worth your time & effort and it is perhaps the best ragi cake that I’ve tried so far!
- 125 grams (1 cup) ragi (finger millet) flour (see note
- 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed (I used Hintz)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- a pinch of salt if you are using unsalted butter
- 100 grams (3/4 cup) unsalted or salted butter (I used Amul salted butter)plus extra to grease the loaf pan
- 100 grams (approx 3/4 cup) soft light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 1/8 cup approx 12 small squares of dark chocolate (at least 50-65% cocoa)
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In a bowl sift the ragi flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt (if usintwice.
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In another bowl beat the sugar & butter till pale and fluffy. Add in 1 egg at a time and beat.
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Add the yogurt and mix till incorporated
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Sift in the flour in parts and gently mix using a spatula.
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Add the milk alternatively till everything is mixed together
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Pour in the melted chocolate and mix well
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Preheat oven at 175 degrees Grease and dust an 8"x4" or 9"x5" loaf pan (or line it with baking parchmenand pour the prepared batter into it
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Bake for 38-40 minutes or until the skewer inserted comes out clean and the cake begins to leave the edges.
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Remove & cool on a wire rack till cooled completely. The cake may not come out easily so resist the urge to force it out. Instead gently run a knife along the edges, invert and tap lightly all along the base of the pan till the cake loosens up & comes out
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The cake must be cooled almost to room temp before slicing or it will crumb due to the absence of gluten.
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Enjoy your cake...almost guiltfree 🙂
You can replace 2 tbsp of the ragi flour with the cocoa powder. This may result in a more moist cake.
You make anything look so easy and delightful !
Thanks so much Sonia!! <3
I second this!
Thank you!
Hi … is there an eggless version of this recipe?
Hi, I haven’t tried an eggless version but you can either use an egg replacer (commercially available) or flaxseed powder mixed in water
Hi.. you mentioned in the notes that 2 tbsp rahi can be replaced with cocoa powder for a softer cake.. so it makes 4tbsp of cocoa powder , if I am right..
Hi,
No I meant, you can measure out the flour (125 gms), remove 2 tbsp from it and replace it with cocoa powder. Currently I have used 125 gms ragi flour + cocoa powder over and above that measure.
Hi Shireen, 1/8 cup chocolate would be approx how many grams? I use a block of chocolate so it’s difficult to count no of squares- thanks in advance
Hi Ambika,
I am sorry I had not measured the chocolate in a hurry, but I’d say 1/8th cup of chocolate would be around 25-30 grams
Would you share the cardamom ragi cake recipe link as well. Would love to try both!
Kui, I haven’t posted the recipe to the cardamom ragi cake yet. I plan to do that soon!
Hi Ruchika,
This recipe is full proof. Cake turned out very tasty.
Thanks.
Hi Neha,
Thanks for the great feedback! I am so happy to hear this! By the way my name is Shireen 🙂
Hi. Thanks a lot for this recipe. Its really taste so delicious. The perfect amount of sweetness and it’s moist too. Love the chocolatey flovour. Please do suggest me if I can double up this recipe.
Thank you so much for the great feedback! Happy to hear that! Yes, you can double the recipe but if you are putting all the batter in a single pan, the baking time will also need to be increased
Wow such a nice recipe. I tried it today OMG can’t believe gluten free flour cake can be very spongy and tasty just added some carmel Chaco syrup on top to hide the ragi flavor for my son. But actually the cake itself was very yummy the syrup made it very rich.
Thanks for sharing this recipe
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it so much!
Wow Shireen! such a good recipe. It looks exactly like the one in your pictures and so moist at the same time. Everyone at home loved it. My 2 year old wouldn’t stop at one slice 😉
I wish i could post the picture here. Very happy with the outcome.
Thank you so much for the great feedback Clara! So happy to know that everyone enjoyed it so much!! Do stay tuned for more recipes!
Can butter be substituted with coconut/olive oil
Yes you could try it but do remember that both these oils tend to leave a strong aftertaste.
Dear Shireen
Thank you so much for the reply.
My pleasure Smita! Hope the cake turned out well!
Ma’am Can I do this n cooker ?
I guess you can if you know how to make cakes in the cooker. I have never tried it though..
Hi..the cake turned out amazing..just impossible to stop at one piece.
Can we substitute butter with any nonflavoured oil.
Thank you so much for the feedback! Well, switching butter with oil would change the consistency of the batter and subsequently the baking time as well. From what I know you need less of it in case you are using oil instead of butter
Hey! Interested in trying this recipe, can this be made eggless? Also with jaggery? And no chocolate?
I have never tried an eggless version of this cake. You could try using jaggery instead. The chocolate is optional too
Hi Shireen, thanks a million for this lovely recipe..it is foolproof and the sponge is amazing for the ragi flour.It has become one of my favourite cake recipes.
Can we make cupcakes and what would the time in the oven be for it.
Thank you so much for the great feedback! Happy to know that you liked the recipe. Yes, you can try making the cupcakes. Around 15-16 minutes should be good
This is a fool proof recipe. I love it. But when I try to bake in a round cake tin, I either under bake or over bake it. May I know for how many min I can bake in 8 inch round tin?
Thanks a lot for the feedback! Sorry I haven’t baked it yet in an 8″ round tin, will update the recipe when I do.
I made this ragi chocolate cake with left over chocolate ganache from my daughter’s birthday, and it came out awesome! Shireen’s recipes are the best!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Rajsmita!! Happy to hear that!
I tried it today ! And yes it’s true to what you say. The kids love it!
So happy to hear that! Thanks for the great feedback!
What can be used instead of yogurt
You can use an extra egg and skip the yogurt