Eggless Bottlegourd Chocolate Cake for Sunny's Birthday

Keeping up with the self imposed tradition, celebrated Sunny's birthday yet again this year. Ma made Nolen Gurer Payesh and I made a few mini cakes and cupcakes.

Recipe source: Ruchik Randhap

Ingredients:r
AP flour / maida - 1 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 6 tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp
Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
Salt -1/8th tsp
Odourless oil - 1/4 cup [I used sunflower oil]
White vinegar - 1 tsp, diluted
Vanilla extract/essence - 1 tsp
Water - 3/4 cup
Bottle gourd - 1 cup grated

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 180 degrees C for 10-15mins.
2. Grease a 7" round cake tin with oil and line it with parchment paper - or just grease it well & dust it with flour. Keep aside.
3. Sift all the dry ingredients - flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, baking soda & coffee powder together in a large bowl
4. Make a small well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients - oil, vinegar, vanilla & water. Mix well.
5. Squeeze out excess water from the bottle gourd and add to the mixture and combine. Pour the contents into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30-35mins or till the skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 10-15 after which you can gently invert it onto a wire rack and leave it uncovered to cool completely.

PS: I made 2 small cakes and 6 cupcakes with this batter and baked for around 20 mins.