Eggless Chocolate Walnut Date Cake

by A Beh

175g margarine
125g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp emulsifier
1 tsp vanilla essence
100ml milk
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
100g self-raising flour

Sifted twice
80g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
75g dates, remove stones and coarsely chopped
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
1½ tbsp self-raising flour


Grease sides and line the base of 19cm round cake pan with non-stick parchment paper. Preheat oven at 170°C.

Combine dates, walnuts and self-raising flour in a plastic bag and shake well until fruits and nuts are well-coated with flour.

Cream margarine, sugar, honey and emulsifier until light and creamy. Gradually drizzle in milk and beat until well-combined. Should the mixture curdle, add 1–2 tbsp sifted dry ingredients and continue to beat. Add yoghurt and essence to mix.

Fold in sifted dry ingredients in batches and mix in date and walnut mixture.

Turn mixture into prepared cake pan and bake for 40–45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Cool cake in the pan for 10–15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. (This makes a moist vegetarian cake and as it’s eggless, it crumbles slightly when cut into slices).

Chocolate New Wave Mango Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp double action baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp red and ripe mango peel, finely chopped
2 cups (Hawaiian) mangoes, chopped
1 cup (Hawaiian) macadamia nuts, chopped
2 cups dried mangoes, chopped

Mango coulis:
100g mango, diced
100g mango puree
50g sugar
10g ginger, diced

Glaze:
peel of half a mango (julienned)
200g dark chocolate
80g mango juice
80g macadamia nuts (chopped)


Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together.

Cream butter or margarine. Gradually add in sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well each time.

Beat in sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Stir in vanilla, mango peel, mangoes and nuts.

Bake in a 25cm (10-inch) diameter round cake ring at 350 ºC for one hour. Turn out on the rack. Let cool for 15 minutes and glaze.

For the garnish, use fresh mangoes (diced) and crushed macadamia nuts. Then, drizzle with mango coulis.

To make Mango coulis: Saute diced mango and ginger. Add sugar and mango puree. Cook for a short while.

To make glaze: Melt dark chocolate and add mango juice. Add mango peel and macadamia nuts. Cook for a short while.

Chocolate Cake with Ganache Topping

by Amy Beh
125g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
100g butter
250g castor sugar
2 tbsp apricot jam
4 large eggs separated

Combine and melt:
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 tsp water

Ganache topping:
150g bitter-sweet cooking chocolate, chopped
50ml cream


Sift plain flour and cocoa powder twice. Grease and line the base of a 21cm round cake tin. Preheat oven at 180 ºC.

Put butter, sugar and jam in a small saucepan over very low heat. Use a hand whisk to stir until butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.

Place sifted dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, add in melted ingredients and stir gently to combine. Add the egg yolk and blend well with a hand whisk. Beat egg whites until just stiff, then fold into the cocoa mixture.

Turn mixture into prepared pan. Level up the surface with a spatula. Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes or until cake is cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Cool cake in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack.

For the ganache topping: combine cooking chocolate and cream in a deep saucepan and stir over very low heat to melt the chocolate. Stir gently with a hand whisk until mixture is smooth. Leave aside to cool.

Slice off the top of the cake to yield a neat flat surface. Turn the cake upside down, then brush with melted jam.

Pour the ganache topping over. Use a long palette knife to smoothen the top so that the ganache will flow down the sides neatly. Sprinkle the top with toasted almond flakes. Leave the cake to set with the topping.