Pistachio Cake (eggless recipe)

Blogging Marathon# 36: Week 2/ Day 3
Theme: Travel Food
Dish: Dessert -- Pistachio Cake (Almost Vegan)

It has been a busy weekend with an early Sankranthi celebrations at my cousin's place. It was fun getting the kids dressed up and rounding them up for Bhogi pallu. Trying to keep the traditions alive.
Today's recipe has nothing to do with Sankranti, but is related to travel. Desserts for travel become very important when kids are involved. I wouldn't probably think of desserts when just me and my husband are travelling, but they become essential when kids are around. I usually carry cookies or Indian biscuits along. My mom used to make barfi or peanut fudge for travel when we were little.

My son prefers cookies and cakes over Indian sweets, so I made this almost vegan Pistachio cake for today's post. I had some pistachio paste leftover in the fridge after making these cookies that I wanted to use up. I call it almost vegan because I used regular butter instead of vegan butter because I didn't have any Earth Balance butter sticks in the fridge.

I found the cake to be a little too sweet after adding the sugar glaze on top. So you can either skip the sugar glaze or reduce the sugar in the cake.

Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter - 4tbsp (half of a stick)
Canola Oil - 3tbsp
Sugar - 2/3cup (increase to ¾cup if you want a sweeter cake)
Pistachio paste - ½cup (can be substituted with almond or hazelnut paste)
Egg replacer - 2tbsp whisked in 6tbsp water (or use 2 large eggs)
Vanilla extract - 1tsp
Soy milk - ½cup
Apple cider Vinegar - ½tsp
All purpose flour - 1cup
Wholewheat Pastry flour - ½cup
Baking powder - 1tsp
Salt - ¼tsp

Sugar Glaze: (optional)
Confectioners Sugar - ½cup
Milk - 1~2tbsp
Pistachios - 3tbsp, toasted and chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 8" round cake pan.
• Whisk soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a few minutes to curdle.
• In a mixing bowl, beat butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Next add pistachio paste and vanilla extract, mix until combined.
• Add egg replacer mixture (or eggs) and beat until combined. 
• Pour in the soy milk and mix well.
• Sift flour (s), baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. Mix until just combined.
• Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 35~45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the Glaze: In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar and milk to get a pour able consistency. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. 

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 36.