A sugar free whole-wheat cake doubles as a cheat's tiramisu :)

Desserts are happiness - but what is very important is to be cognizant of the portion size , the time of consumption and how very often you have them . The best make do, in my opinion , is to try and eat more of those infused with layers of fruit , nuts & berries. This will not only make your happy ending more filling and nutritious but also pack it with seasonal freshness and a feisty punch .

Made with basic pantry staples, this whole wheat jaggery banana walnut cake is free of refined sugar and flour . It makes a great healthy snack and is packed with the goodness of jaggery , bananas and walnut. The rest of the batter is made with everyday pantry staples that you will most likely have in your kitty. I like to enhance the sweetness with a generous douse of cinnamon powder which also magnifies the overall flavor of this cake . Also , since this is made with whole wheat flour , you can happily enjoy this with your evening cuppa without stressing much on the calories or the sugars.

Feel free to store this cake in an airtight container till up to 2 days or so . I used the last few remaining slices of the cake to make a beautiful version of a cheat's tiramisu which was equally pleasing. So go on , try both recipe and let me know what you think ...

Things you will need to make the cake

Dry Ingredients

• 01 cup of whole wheat flour or aata

• 01 tsp of baking soda

• 01 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder

• 02 tsp of finely ground cinnamon powder

Wet Ingredients

• 02 whole eggs , at room temperature

• 120 gms of salted butter , at room temperature

• 1/2 cup jaggery powder ( sieved

• 02 tbsp. yogurt + 02 tbsp. water mixed

• 02 tsp vanilla essence

• 05 small bananas (mashed)

• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Steps to follow

• In a large bowl , combine all the dry ingredients with a whisk and keep aside.

• In another mixing bowl , beat the butter until soft for 02 -03 minutes . To do this you can either use a hand mixer or a balloon whip .

• Next , add in the sieved jaggery powder to the butter and continue to whip for another 4 minutes , until the mixture is light and fluffy .

• Add in the 02 eggs ( one at a time ) and mix until combined.

• Next , fold in the mashed bananas into the batter along with the yogurt & water mix.

• The batter may appear to split at this point but do not worry - Add in the dry ingredients and fold everything gently by hand and watch it come together.

• Lastly , add in the walnuts and fold.

• Pour the batter into a well oiled cake tin and bake it for 40 minutes at 180 degrees celsius . Remove , cool , slice and enjoy !

To Make the Cheat's Tiramisu :

• Soak a few slices of cake in a cup of instant brewed black coffee .

• Layer the soaked cake as the base of the cheat's tiramisu.

• Top the coffee soaked cake layer with coffee soaked Marie biscuit .

• In a bowl , beat 1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese with 02 tbsp. honey .

• Top the biscuit layer with the mascarpone honey mix .

• Dust the top liberally with coffee powder & allow it to sit in the fridge for 20 minutes .

• Your cheats Tiramisu is ready !

**I have kept this cake very lightly sweetened as a lot of the sweetness comes from the bananas and the cinnamon but in case you would prefer a sweeter version , feel free to increase the amount of jaggery in the recipe or top it with honey before your serve.