Eggless Chocolate Bottle Gourd Cake

Modified: Oct 16, 2024 by Madhuram · 64 Comments.

5 from 6 votes

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Bottle Gourd in a cake? Sounds weird right? The credit for this one goes to my friend and neighbor R. Couple of months back she wanted to try the eggless zucchini bread recipe I had posted. She didn't have zucchini in hand and she told me that she used bottle gourd instead.

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We were eagerly waiting to taste the bread but she told me that the bread did not turn out good because of some problem with the oven. From then onwards I have wanted to try bottle gourd in a cake because quite often people ask me what they can substitute for zucchini.Finally, I tried it in this cake and the verdict is I would use it in a rich chocolate cake but not in any other cake/muffin recipe. The cocoa masks most of the smell from the bottle gourd. Usually, my husband is the first to point out things like this, but even he couldn't notice any difference and my son too. Chocolate Bottle Gourd Cake

I have made a couple of other substitutions also in this recipe. I posted an eggless chocolate cake recipe using silken tofu back in August 2008 and since then I've been asked the following questions.

Can I use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour?

What can I use instead of silken tofu?

Can I reduce the quantity of oil?

Can I halve the measurements?

Can I use an 8-inch round cake pan instead of 9-inch pan?

A couple of visitors have tried the original recipe incorporating a few substitutions thereby answering some of the questions above and also have left their feedback. But I thought I should do it and check it out for myself.I decided to attend to all these questions in one go. So that's what this recipe is about. I'm very glad that I did it because it turned out to be a very healthy chocolate cake and is absolutely delicious.To start with I halved the measurements to get one cake. Last time I had used two 9 inch pans, so this time I went with one 8 inch round pan. I had both white whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour (both are preferred substitutes for all-purpose flour) at home but decided to go with regular whole wheat flour itself because the former may not be available in all places.Usually it is recommended to start with substituting ⅓rd of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. So it would be ⅔rds of white flour and ⅓rd of wheat flour. But I decided to change it and went with ¾ths of whole wheat flour. I used the whole wheat flour I bought from the Indian grocery store, but don't remember the brand.I have used ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce instead of oil. But to give a taste which is closer to the original I have added 2 tablespoons of oil. So if you are already using oil instead of applesauce you may omit this 2 tablespoons of oil.Since we are experimenting with yogurt as egg substitute this month and as it's also available everywhere, I decided to use it instead of silken tofu.The substitutions did not stop with the cake, it continued to the frosting also. I did not have confectioner's sugar at home and since I'm trying to be on a "shopping-diet" I didn't want to buy it either. I had some chocolate chips and baking bars in hand.But those frostings require whipping cream which I didn't have either. Then all of a sudden a light bulb flashed! My son drinks Ovaltine (chocolate malt drink like Bournvita and Boost) and that powder is so fine, the texture resembles that of confectioner's sugar. So I decided to use it for the frosting. I was really wowed by the result. It was so good and tasty.Even after all these substitutions the cake has come out very well. It's not light and fluffy. It's moist and slightly dense but the taste is unbelievable. We are literally digging in the cake every day. My husband who is a health nut is also enjoying it as much as we are.Recipe

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Ingredients Used: All-purpose Flour, baking powder, baking soda, bottle gourd, cocoa powder, Milk-Dairy, oil, Sugar-White, unsweetened applesauce, vanilla extract, whole wheat flour, Yogurt-Buttermilk

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