Nani’s Cake

Recipe of Tara Maini shared by Sajni Khanna

Some recipes become family favourites because they are delicious.

Others become unforgettable because of the love story hidden inside them.

This cake belongs to the second category.

My Nani, Tara Maini, baked this cake almost every single day. Not for special occasions, not for guests, and not for celebrations – but simply because my Nana, Sant Ram Maini, loved having a slice of freshly baked cake with his evening tea.

And so, day after day, year after year, the aroma of chocolate cake would drift through their home as tea time approached.

For our family, this cake became much more than a recipe. It became part of the rhythm of their life together. The sight of a warm cake emerging from the oven, the kettle boiling for tea, and Nana waiting for his daily slice became a small but beautiful expression of love and companionship.

Even today, whenever this cake is baked, it brings back memories of those simple moments that often matter the most – the everyday acts of care that quietly become family traditions.

It is a simple cake, easy to make, wonderfully moist, and deeply comforting.

Most of all, it carries the warmth of Nani’s kitchen and the memory of a love that was expressed in the sweetest way possible: one freshly baked cake at a time.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups flour
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup curd (dahi)
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 capful vanilla essence

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, coffee powder, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, curd, egg, and vanilla essence.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix gently until well combined.
5. Pour the batter into a greased cake tin.
6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
7. Allow the cake to cool slightly before slicing.

Serve warm, just as Nani did – preferably with a cup of evening tea.

From the Family Kitchen

Some cakes are baked for birthdays.

Some cakes are baked for celebrations.

And then there are cakes like this one – baked simply because someone you love enjoys a slice with their evening chai.