Here are three eggless bakes to make this festive season

You can not only make Oatmeal Raisin and Cranberry Cookies but also Chocolate Truffle Cake and Dry Fruit Cake. Photo Courtesy: Special Arrangement

Christmas Day may be over but the festive season extends way beyond till New Year's Eve and even through mid-January amid the wedding season.

So, it is always a good time to bake. Baking during the festive season is less about perfection and more about the stories it carries, those of kitchens heavy with the scent of cinnamon, cakes baking slowly as carols hum in the background, and recipes passed down through voices rather than written pages.

These three traditional yet indulgent Christmas treats draw inspiration from The Tastes of India podcast on Audible, where home-style cooking unfolds through conversation, memory, and lived experience.

Thoughtfully festive and entirely eggless, these bakes are meant to be made without hurry, perfect for a Christmas or New Year's Eve where food isn't just prepared, but truly celebrated. You can not only make Oatmeal Raisin and Cranberry Cookies but also Chocolate Truffle Cake and Dry Fruit Cake.

Oatmeal Raisin and Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients:
All purpose flour maida 3/4 cup
Ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp
Baking soda 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter softened at room temperature 1/2 cup
White sugar 1 tbsp
Raw sugar 2/3 cup
Water 4-5 tsp
Rolled oats 1 1/3 cups
Mix of golden raisins, black raisins and cranberry 3/4 cup

Method:
1. Preheat the cover to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for at least 10 minutes.
2. Smear butter on a baking sheet and keep it aside.
3. In a large bowl, take the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking soda and ground cinnamon) and whisk the ingredients until they are mixed properly.
4. In another large bowl, add softened butter, white sugar and raw sugar. Beat this using a hand mixer (or with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment) until it smoothens.
5. Add water to this mixture and beat it until it is thoroughly combined. Use a spatula scrap to scrap the sides of the bowl.
6. Add the flour mixture and rolled oats to the bowl. Mix everything using your hand until everything comes together to form a soft dough.
7. Now, add soaked raisins and cranberries into the mixture and fold it to form the cookie dough.
8. Now take a portion of the cookie dough into your palm and shape it into a fairly smooth ball. Flatten it slightly to make a disk shape.
9. Arrange the disks on a baking sheet and place them a few inches apart so that the cookies have room to expand.
10. Bake the cookie dough in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. You can check on the cookies after 20 minutes itself using a toothpick to see how much baking is further needed. The baking time may vary depending on the oven.
11. Let the cookies cool down for 5 minutes, so that they can firm up. Then transfer them into a cooling rack so they can cool down.
12. Serve the cookies warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Ingredients:

For cake batter
All-Purpose flour 1 cup
Powdered sugar 2/3 cup
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1/2 tsp
Coffee powder 1 tsp
Cocoa powder 1/4 cup
Curd 1/2 cup
Refine oil 1/2 cup
Milk 1/2 cup

For chocolate ganache
Dark chocolate chopped 1 cup
Fresh cream 1/2 cup
Butter 1 tsp

Garnish
Dark chocolate 1/4 cup

Extras
Sugar syrup 2 tbsp

Method:
1. Take a 5-litre pressure cooker, put salt in it and spread it well in the base of the cooker.
2. Close the cooker lid, switch on the stove and preheat the cooker for about 6-7 minutes.
3. As you preheat the cooker, take a bowl and add curd and oil. Whisk this for 2-3 minutes continuously.
4. Sieve all the dry ingredients and mix it into the cake batter by the cut and fold method.
5. Add milk and beat for 3-4 minutes. Ensure that you do not overmix. The cake batter is now ready.
6. Grease the cake tin with oil on all sides. Dust it with plain flour and sift it to ensure uniform distribution of the flour.
7. Shake and tap the tin onto a plate to remove excess flour.
8. Pour the prepared cake batter into the greased and dusted tin and spread it evenly.
9. The pressure cooker must have heated up by now. Open the lid of the pressure cooker, place the baking tray on the cooker plate and cover it with a lid without the ring and whistle.
10. Now bake the batter in the preheated pressure cooker on a low flame for about 40 to 45 minutes.
11. Open the lid after the duration of baking. Take a toothpaste and check if the cake has been baked by poking the toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then your cake is ready.
12. If the cake is not ready, bake it for another 5-6 more minutes.
13. Separate the cake from the tin using a knife.
14. Now, take a plate and cover the top. Flip it over and gently tap on the top so that the cake is released.
15. Turn it upside down again and let the cake cool down completely.
16. By that time, warm up the fresh cream a little and add chopped dark chocolate and butter. Mix this continuously for 2-3 minutes and set it aside.
17. Now divide the cake into two layers by using a thread.
18. Sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar syrup on each layer.
19. Spread little chocolate ganache on the lower half of the cake and ensure it is spread evenly. Can do so using a palette knife.
20. Sandwich the other half of the cake on top and press it gently.
21. Now spread the remaining ganache evenly on top and on the sides of the cake.
22. Decorate with sliced chocolates
23. Keep the cake in the fridge for 2 hours.
24. The chocolate truffle cake is now ready to be served.

Dry Fruit Cake

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup
Semolina sooji 3/4 cup
Cinnamon Powder 1 tsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Baking soda 1 tsp
Curd 1 cup
Sugar 1 cup
Oil 100 gm
Vanilla Essence 1 tsp
Cashew 75 gm
Raisins 75 gm
Dates 75 gm
Almonds 75 gm

Method:
1. Soak all the dry fruits overnight.
2. Drain the excess water and coarsely grind the dry fruits and set it aside.
3. Take a large 5-litre pressure cooker. Use a cooker plate to keep distance between the cooker base and the baking tray. This will ensure that the cake will not be exposed to direct heat and get burned from the base.
4. Keep the cooker plate on the cooker ensuring it does not touch any place else in the cooker.
5. Close the cooker lid, switch on the stove and preheat the cooker for about 6-7 minutes.
6. As you preheat the cooker, take a bowl, add wheat flour, sooji, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder. Fold this well and keep it aside.
7. Take another bowl and add curd, sugar, vanilla essence, vegetable oil and coarsely grind the dry fruits and fold it gently.
8. Now add the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix everything well. However, ensure that you do not overmix.
9. Now, grease the cake tin with oil on all sides. Dust it with wheat flour and sift it to ensure uniform distribution of flour.
10. Shake and tap the tin onto a plate to remove excess flour.
11. Pour the prepared cake batter into the greased and dusted tin and spread it evenly.
12. Top it up with some more chopped dry fruits.
13. The pressure cooker must have been heated up by now. Open it and place the baking tin on the cooker plate. Cover it with the lid without the ring and whistle.
14. Now bake in the preheated pressure cooker on low flame for 40 to 45 minutes.
15. After 40-45 minutes of baking, open the cooking lid.
16. Take a toothpick and check if the cake is baked by simply poking the center of the cake with the toothpick.
17. If the toothpick comes out clean, then your cake is ready. If it is not, you need to bake for another 5-6 more minutes.
18. Separate the cake from the baking tin using a knife.
19. Now take a plate and cover the top of the baking tin and flip it over. Gently tap the tin on the top so that the cake is released.
20. Turn it upside down again.
21. The dry fruit cake is now ready to be served.