Instructions for Cake Mix: Millet Chocolate Cake

Millet Chocolate Soda Cake Kit Instructions

This recipe makes one 6 inch round cake

Tools needed

Whisk
Silicon spatula
Silicon brush
6 inch baking pan
Mixing bowl
Thick bottom pan
Measuring scale or measuring cups & spoons

Shopping list

1 cup (227g) yogurt
8-10 tbsp unsalted butter
Vanilla extract
150ml whole milk
1 tbsp oil (to grease the pan)

Here’s all the ingredients you will need

Cake

Package has:

Parchment paper
Cake flour mix
Jaggery & coffee powder
Soda beverage (you will need 3 tbsp)
Baking soda

You will need:

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (227g) yogurt, room temperature
7 tbsp (98gm) unsalted butter, melted & warm (not hot)

Instructions

1. In a bowl add the yogurt and sprinkle baking soda over it and set it aside to foam up, about 10mins. Mix the two together to enhance the reaction.

2. Preheat the oven to 355F and grease a 6inch baking pan with oil on its sides and bottom, line the bottom with parchment paper additionally.

3. In a separate bowl, add melted butter and jaggery & coffee powder. Whisk it well and then add the vanilla extract, foamed yogurt and 3 tbsp of soda beverage. Mix again till you get a smooth mixture.

4. Now, add in the cake flour mix and gently get the batter together using the spatula. Do not over mix at this stage, stop when no flour pockets are visible.

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean (some crumbs attached to the skewer are ok).

Chocolate sauce

Package has:

Sauce dry mix
Flaky salt (optional garnish)

You will need:

150ml whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1.5tbsp (22gm) unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Heat milk and butter in a thick bottom pan over a medium flame. Keep whisking to mix well.

2. Add in the sauce dry mix and whisk again. Keep scratching the sides and bottom of your pan using your whisk to avoid flour from getting stuck and forming lumps.

3. Let the mixture boil for 1 minute before taking it off the heat. Finally, mix in vanilla extract

Assembly

Wait for both, the sauce and the cake to cool down before drizzling chocolate sauce over the cake and sprinkle flaky salt over it, if using! You could also garnish with some chopped almonds/cashews/walnuts! You could also warm the cake for 5-10seconds in microwave for a different experience!

FAQ

Can I bake the dessert in a different size/material pan?

Absolutely! Actual baking time may differ based on your pan size, shape and material.
There are some basic rules:
1. A round baking pan may easily be replaced by a similar sized square pan.
2. ⁠In general, cakes baked in smaller pans take longer to bake than cakes baked in larger pans. It’s all about how much surface area is directly exposed to heat.
3. Cakes bake faster in metal pans as compared to ceramic pans since metals conduct heat better. Ceramic pans aren’t my baking material of choice but will certainly work for your dessert here.

I don’t have extra parchment paper at home, what should I do to prepare my baking pan?

Your package should come with 1 suitable sized parchment paper. If you need more, you could just use any flavorless oil to grease your pan really really well. Coat all the sides and the bottom. Your cake should easily pop off once you use a knife along the edge of your pan.

Do I need to use unsalted butter? Can I just use the salted butter (Amul butter has salt) that I have at home?

For best experience, I’d recommend using unsalted butter. Your dry mix contains salt already and using salted butter may throw the delicate balance of the recipe off.

How long should I continue to mix the batter after I’ve added the Cake Flour Mix?

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until you get a uniform mixture. No dry pockets of dry flour should be visible. Remember to be gentle with the mixture at this point- stop using any stand mixers/hand mixers/whisks at this point and shift to gentle folding method using a silicon spatula (explained in the process video as well)

How do I know when my cake is done baking?

About 5 minutes before the suggested baking time in the instructions, poke the center of the cake gently with a skewer or a fork. If you see any wet/semi-wet batter on the skewer, return the cake to the oven in small time increments of 2-5 minutes.
Your cake is done when your skewer comes out mostly clean. Few dry crumbs attached to it are ok.

What if I don’t have all of the listed tools?

You would definitely need a whisk or a spatula, baking pan, thick bottom pan, measuring scale or measuring cups & spoons. Most other tools can be replaced with suitable replacements from your kitchen.

Do my ingredients need to be at room temperature?

For best experience, make sure to get your ingredients to room temperature before you start your baking adventure. This goes for everything you’d normally store in a refrigerator e.g. milk, yogurt, eggs, butter, etc.

However, in this recipe you can relax about everything except the yogurt, that needs to be at room temperature. We are going to put the butter and milk on the stove anyway. The yogurt should take about an hour to come to room temperature when left on your kitchen counter.

Does it matter if I add my baking soda to room temperature or cold yogurt?

We are aiming to use the bubbles that the reaction of acids in the yogurt with baking soda produce to our advantage. For best results, add the baking soda and mix in the yogurt once it has arrived at room temperature.

How do I know when my butter is melted enough? What does “melted & warm (not hot)” mean?

You want to just melt all of the butter- you aren’t trying to bring it to a boil. Start by putting your butter on the stove at medium low heat or in your microwave for 20 seconds. I also like to break my butter in small pieces to allow for even heat distribution.
Keep checking often and give it a quick stir. I actually like to stop when most of my butter is melted- the residual heat ends up melting the remaining small pieces, if any.

How do I know if my butter is mixed well enough with my jaggery & coffee powder?

You will stop seeing butter fat dispersed in your mixture after a certain point. The color of the mixture would have also lightened up just a tad.

Why are we using a soda beverage?

The bubbles in the soda give our batter a nice rise and that gives us a softer cake. The soda also makes the flavor ever so slightly tangy. 🙂

My batter is in the pan. Anything I should do before I put it in the oven?

Smoothen out the top of your batter by using the silicon spatula or the back of a spoon. You could also bang your pan on the counter a few times to make sure the batter disperses evenly in the pan.

Why is there a range for baking time?

Each oven is different and baking times differ for a variety of reasons. It’s generally a good idea to set the oven timer for the lower limit of the suggested time and then do the skewer test once the timer runs out.
Just bake till you don’t see wet batter on your skewer. Dry crumbs are perfectly fine!

I added my chocolate sauce dry mix and soon after, my mixture started to form lumps. What do I do?

Whisk, whisk and whisk some more. The sauce is designed to thicken once heated, keep stirring and whisking often to avoid lumps. Break small flour pockets using your spatula/whisk and gently scratch the surface of your pan to avoid flour from sticking and forming lumps later.

I left my chocolate sauce to cool and it solidified. How do I bring it to the right consistency?

It is normal to find a thin “solid” layer on the top of your chocolate sauce once it is done cooling. Just give it a couple of whisks again and it should come right back to a pourable consistency

Do I have to use all the chocolate sauce on my millet soda cake?

You don’t have to, but I truly recommend it! 🙂
But this is your dessert, make it your own but putting all of it or as little as you prefer..

What are some additional suggested toppings for the cake?

You could use anything that you love with chocolate flavor in general. Nuts, seeds, or even sprinkles. 😉

How do I store this cake?

This cake will stay well in the refrigerator for about 3 days when stored in an airtight container.

What is the best way to consume this cake?

The cake will taste the best right after it’s baked and topped with the chocolate sauce. However, for similar results you can put the cake at room temperature for an hour before you plan on consuming it. You could also microwave it for 5-10 seconds!
I wouldn’t recommend consuming it straight out of the refrigerator for a flawless experience. 🙂