Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares

Here comes the winter and it’s a perfect season for warm bakes. I love to do lots of baking in this holiday season. Also, I love to experiment with different ingredients in my baked goodies. This Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake is a very new addition to my eggless bakes. This time the texture I got was incredible, after having this nobody can tell that it’s eggless. The taste and aroma of the spices blended with the fruits and nuts so well, that you can’t stop at one! And cornmeal added a lovely yellow hue here which created a great contrast with the colourful fruits. So, what are you waiting for? It’s an easy recipe, give this a try and let me know about your experience. 🙂

Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares
Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares

Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares

Yields: 12 cake squares

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour/Maida- 3/4 cup
  • Cornmeal- 1/4 cup
  • Caster sugar/White powdered sugar- 2/3 cup
  • Salt- ¼ tsp
  • Yogurt- ¼ cup
  • Baking powder- ¼ tsp
  • Baking soda- ½ tsp
  • Vegetable oil/Olive oil- ¼ cup
  • Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
  • Milk- 6 tbsp (I used toned)
  • Dry fruits- 1/3 cup (I used tutti frutti and 4 chopped dried apricots)
  • Pistachios- 1 tbsp (chopped)
  • Cashew nuts- 1 tbsp (chopped)
  • Cinnamon powder- 1 big pinch
  • Nutmeg powder- 1 big pinch

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare a 9”x 7″ cake pan by greasing with oil and place a piece of baking paper at the bottom of the pan.

2. In a bowl mix all-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt.

all-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt
All-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt
all-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt
All-purpose flour, cornmeal and salt after whisking

3. Now add cinnamon and nutmeg powder into this, mix well, keep aside.

Flour mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg powder
Flour mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg powder
Flour mixture, cinnamon and nutmeg powder added into flour mixture
Cinnamon and nutmeg powder added into flour mixture
Cinnamon and nutmeg powder whisked well with flour mixture
Cinnamon and nutmeg powder whisked well with flour mixture

4. In a separate bowl mix yogurt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Wait for 2-3 minutes. The mixture will become a little frothy.

Caster sugar, baking powder, baking soda and yogurt
Caster sugar, baking powder, baking soda and yogurt

5. Now mix in oil and vanilla extract.

Yogurt-sugar mixture, vanilla extract and oil
Yogurt-sugar mixture, vanilla extract, and oil
Vanilla extract and oil added to yogurt-sugar mixture
Vanilla extract and oil added to the yogurt-sugar mixture

6. Add the flour mixture into this in 3 batches. And keep mixing.

Mixing flour mixture in batches with the wet mixture
Adding flour mixture in batches with the wet ingredients

7. Now add milk. After adding the milk, I used my electronic hand mixer to whisk the batter well. On low speed beat the batter for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and again beat on same speed for 1 minute more.

Milk and cake batter
Milk and cake batter
Whisking the batter with electronic hand mixer
Whisking the batter with electronic hand mixer

8. Now add the dry fruits and nuts into the batter and gently fold by a spatula.

Dry fruits and nuts- Cashews, pistachios, apricot and tutti-frutti
Dry fruits and nuts- cashews, pistachios, apricot and tutti-frutti
Fruits and nuts added to the cake batter
Fruits and nuts added to the cake batter

9. Pour this into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the top with the help of spatula. Tap cake pan gently on kitchen counter a couple of times to release the air bubbles.

After pouring the cake batter. Cake , it is ready to go in the oven
After pouring the cake batter in the prepared pan. It is ready to go in the oven for baking

10. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Insert toothpick in the middle of the cake. The cake is ready if the toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes and then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and carefully remove the cake. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave there till cool completely.

Fresh out of oven!
Fresh out of oven!

When cooled, cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Note:

  • This recipe can easily be doubled as per your need.
  • The baking time may vary for different size of baking pan.
Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares
Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares
Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares
Cornmeal Fruit & Nut Cake Squares
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