A Chocolate Sponge Cake and More!

It was the birthday of my younger daughter and this time, I made a Black Forest cake for her. A Black Forest cake is a common favorite for many - the soft and smooth texture, a tinge of rum taste mixed with cherry sweetness, along with the blend of chocolate flavor - makes it truly irresistible. I wanted to make it little unique, with some Mehendi design on it and at the end, it came out to be the show-stopper for the evening!

Making a Black Forest is little-bit lengthy process. Till now I have posted only the basic cake recipes. Now to make something exclusive and different, you have to spend some more time on these basic cakes. There is no way to shorten this procedure, dear! Basically you can divide the process in two parts. First you prepare the cake in the first half, allow it to cool and then in the second half, you do the assembling and decoration. The second half takes more time than the first half, so you should plan accordingly. I've planned ahead and so baked the cake in previous evening and then next day, I did the remaining part. 

Since the texture of a Black Forest cake is more  soft and spongy, you have to use a chocolate sponge cake for that. So, I'll tell you the first part of the process - which is baking the chocolate sponge cake; the assembling, will be described in my next blog.

The chocolate sponge cake I baked this time, is a oil-free one. Since I had to use lot of cream to decorate the cake, I wanted to be on the healthier side, as much as possible.

The dry ingredients, I used -

Flour or maida - 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Powdered sugar - 1 cup - 1 tablespoon

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

Soda-bi-carbonate - a pinch

Note - You've to be very particular about the measurement. The spongy effect will not come properly, if you don't measure the ingredients carefully. For example, 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon means take 1 tablespoon more flour on top of 1/2 cup flour; similarly 1 cup - 1 tablespoon means measure 1 cup sugar and remove 1 tablespoon sugar from that 1 cup and then use it.

The liquid ingredients are -

Eggs - 4 large-sized

Hot water - 1 1/2 tablespoon

Vanilla essence - 1 1/2 teaspoon

Take a big bowl, to sieve in flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda-bi-carbonate. Blend the ingredients together using a dry wooden spatula and keep it aside.

In another big bowl, crack the eggs and add sugar. You should sieve in the sugar, if lumpy. Use the electric beater and beat the mixture for 4-5 minutes. The color of the mixture will change from yellow to off-white, as you beat. 

Meanwhile, boil some water in a saucepan. Gradually add 1 1/2 tablespoons of hot water in the mixture, while you continue the beating. The water should be added in drops, when the electric beater is on. The addition on hot water will make the batter light and fluffy. Finally add the vanilla essence and give a final beating.

Set the oven in preheat mode at 180C temperature. Also grease and dust your cake pan and keep it aside.

Remove the electric beater from the egg mixture and use the wooden spatula to fold in the flour. Take 2 tablespoons of flour at a time, sprinkle on the egg mixture and fold in. The folding in process should be done in such a way that more air is sealed within the batter. This trapped air will make the cake spongy and soft. So this part is extremely important.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and place inside the oven for baking. The baking should be done for 25-30 minutes at 180C temperature.

When the cake is ready, it will shrink a little bit from the sides of the cake pan. Also if you touch the top, you will be able to feel the sponge effect. Now, you should do the knife test to check the doneness. 

Remove the cake from oven and let it rest in the pan for sometime (5-10 minutes). Once it reaches room temperature, wrap it with a cling wrap and place it inside the refrigerator. 

You can also use this recipe to prepare a simple chocolate sponge cake. Add icing on top as per your choice, serve as a dessert or serve as it is, without any icing, as an afternoon snacks.

The assembling part of black forest... to be continued...

A Basic Vanilla Cake with Choco Cream Frosting

One of my dearest friends, has commented recently in my FB page - "Aren't u being obsessed with cakes..."? She is my long-time school friend, with whom I got re-connected after almost 30 years. Within this 30 years, I have grown through so much of changes, developed new passions and erased few from my memory. So definitely I am not the same person, as I was in my girly days! But one thing I enjoyed in her comment, is that I could make her think that I am obsessed and I could reach to that limit of being passionate about baking. Being a jack-of-all person, this is a real achievement for me. Thank you so much, my dear friend, for your compliment - as it gave a new dimension in me. My philosophy is - life is multi-dimensional and explore as much as you can!! :)

Well, it's not a time to discuss philosophy!! So, let me get back to my main topic...

Usually a vanilla cake is not so adorable for my kids. In my weekend baking time, they will keep on asking - "Mom, what are you baking this weekend?" And when I answer, it's a vanilla cake - they will immediately make unhappy faces... :( :(... No, they are not interested in plain and simple vanilla cake. So very rarely I bake vanilla cakes and even when I do, I have to make an elaborate icing plan for that... so that my princesses are at least not unhappy... :)

This time I wanted to test the basic Vanilla Cake recipe, which I posted here. Since I haven't used this recipe for quite some time, I was kind of unsure - how it will turn out. But, it turned out real good and now I can confirm you that this recipe is tried and tested. It came out perfect, fluffy and soft. 

Even the bottom part of the cake was so nicely done that it just slid easily from the cake pan, without much effort.

The icing part was again simple. This time I used -

BlueBird Whipping Powder - 1 pack (I wanted to keep it simple, you can use 2 packs if you want thick icing on top and in between)
Cocoa Powder - 2 tablespoons

Choco Chips - a handful

The whipping process is mentioned in the back of the packet, follow that. If you want to make the icing little stiff, then you can reduce the water quantity than it is mentioned. This time, I wanted to make the icing little tight, so I used less quantity of chilled water. After whipping through the mixture for 10 minutes (given short intervals) I added the cocoa powder. Using a plastic spatula, I blended the cocoa powder into the whipping cream. After blending, you can do another quick whipping for couple of minutes more.

Spread this chocolate cream on top of the cake, nicely and evenly. Sprinkle the choco chips on top. Keep the cake inside refrigerator for 30 minutes, before serving. This will help the icing to set nicely.

While serving you can drizzle some chocolate sauce on top, for added flavor.

I'm loving it, now!!!

Fresh Chocolate Cream Icing on Chocolate Cake

A chocolate cake with a chocolate icing - is a double treat for the chocolate lovers... Ummm - for me too...!!! And obviously for my kids and my hubby!!! Actually they prefer chocolate cream icing more, than the normal vanilla one - so most of the time I end up with a double treat... :)

This one was a basic chocolate cake - a simple one, I baked over the weekend for simple snacks purpose. Initially I did not have plans to ice it, but I had some remaining whipping cream (the Amul one) in my refrigerator. So I thought - why not use it and finish up the stock? However, the quantity was not sufficient to make a layer of cream in between, hence I had to go with only top-part layering.

The ingredients I used -

Fresh Whipping Cream - 1 cup (chilled)

Icing sugar - 7-8 tablespoons

Cocoa Powder - 6-7 tablespoons

Before the whipping procedure, I kept the glass bowl (in which the cream would be whipped) and the whipper sticks inside the refrigerator, to make these items ice-cold. 

In another bigger sized bowl, I poured some ice-cold water along with few ice cubes, so that the chilled temperature is maintained while whipping the cream. 

Then I placed the glass bowl into the bigger bowl, poured the whipping cream and started to whip using the electric whipper. The speed should be highest and you should whip for 15-20 minutes giving few short breaks. During this process you will notice that gradually the peak is forming. Add the sugar by tablespoons and continue to whip. Once the cream starts to form hard peaks, then start adding the cocoa powder. Whip it for some more time until the powder is thoroughly blended into the cream and you can see the peaks are nice and hard. 

The moment your cream is ready, transfer it inside the refrigerator and allow it to chill for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes bring out and spread on top and side of the cake.

I had few silver pearl sprinkles in my stock, so I sprinkled those pearls evenly on the iced top and immediately, the simple cake turned to be a gorgeous one! 

You really don't need to be a master chef to prepare these simple things and to make your family happy and proud of you! Enjoy baking and icing at your own spirit!!

Fresh Cream Icing with Whipping Powder

Fresh cream icing was a challenge to me until I found this miracle product - BlueBird Whipping Cream Powder. Before that I tried with Amul fresh cream and also Amul whipping cream. There are other whipping cream products as well, which are just meant for cream icing. However, till now I didn't have the opportunity to use those products. As I mentioned earlier, that I am a self-taught baker and whatever I know about baking and icing today, I know it from few of my baker friends, baking channels on youtube and finally my experience.

Initially I tried with Amul fresh cream, as it is commonly available in any grocery store. However, this was not at all satisfactory. The maximum you could have is soft peak icing, but that's all. You can never make strong peaks using Amul fresh cream. Actually, this product is not meant for icing purpose also. 

The Amul whipping cream product is very good,though. This is particularly meant for whipping cream. Only once I found this product in my nearby departmental store. I bought a big tetra-pack of 500 ml and that stayed in my fridge for quite some time. I shifted the cream to a plastic container and stored inside the freezer. When in need, I used to bring this out in the lower racks of my fridge and then used to whip up the cream. It gave very good creamy consistency, but definitely you have to whip a lot.

However, the BlueBird whipping cream powder is a quick alternative for your any type of fresh whipped cream requirement. Just mix the powder with little amount of cold water, blend well and then whip for 10 mins. You will end up with a bowl of nice, fluffy, hard-peak icing cream. Keep it inside the refrigerator for 5 mins and then use for icing. You can easily bring a professional touch in your cake using this whipped cream product. For a 9" cake two packs of this powder is sufficient. You can make a layer in between and also can spread allover the body.

This one was the basic chocolate cake and I just covered it with BlueBird whipping cream... made simple designs on the edges to bring this simple but subtle look. How about a bite...!!!

Simplest Chocolate Cake and More!

Chocolate cake is all-time hot favorite for most of us... particularly the kids. Even the adults can turn to be a kid, when you offer a chocolate cake to them. Initially when I started baking, my most important primary intention of home baking was to bake a soft and moist chocolate cake, so that I can slip a piece of home-made chocolate cake into my kids' lunch-box or me and my husband, can enjoy the bite of homemade afternoon snacks while sipping in a cup of evening tea... being too much romantic! Huh!! But, may be this is the dream nurtured in the mind of many women - as they always want to be a good loving wife and a good caring mother...

So the first chocolate cake I tried was not a perfect one, for sure... may be I was too new to baking or the recipe was not a proper one... the outcome was not proper at all. But still we enjoyed the half-done type of chocolate cake, just because we all love chocolates and cannot even dream of wasting any chocolate products in kitchen garbage bins! 

Gradually after few more trial and error processes, I became a master of baking a chocolate cake. Nowadays even my extended family and my neighbors have tasted it and liked, too. Considering all these positive feedback, I can claim at least to be a master of chocolate cake!!

Now, the recipe!

Dry ingredients -

Flour  or maida - 1 cup 

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup 

Sugar powder - 1 1/4 cup 

Baking powder - 1 3/4 teaspoon and

Soda-bi-carbonate - 1/4 teaspoon

Wet ingredients -

Eggs (medium/large) - 4 

White cooking oil - 3/4 cup 

Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon 

And the process!

In a large bowl sift in all the dry ingredients together and using a wooden spatula, mix well. Done!

Take another large bowl - add eggs and sugar. Use the electric beater to beat this for quite some time, until the volume increases to 3-4 times and the sugar is smoothly blended into the egg.

Slowly pour oil into the mixture and continue beating at low speed. Add the vanilla essence and blend with the mix.

Now is the time to put your oven at preheat mode. For this cake, the required temperature is 180C - so set the preheating temperature as 180C. Also, keep the cake pan (preferably a 9" pan) prepared by oiling and dusting.

Sprinkle the dry mix in smaller quantity on top of the wet mix and slowly fold in, using the wooden spatula. Fold in means top-down movement of mixing. Continue this process of mixing until all dry ingredients is nicely blended and your batter is ready. 

Pour this gradually in your pan and set for baking at 180C for 30 mins. In my oven, this is the perfect setup for this cake. In case, it is not done, then you can bake it for another 5 mins at same temperature. Do the knife-test to check the doneness of the cake and allow to cool down to room temperature within the cake pan.

Remove from pan and serve with a dollop of chocolate or vanilla ice-cream. 

This is how it came out for me -

Last time when I baked this chocolate cake, I did something more to that. And that was a fresh cream icing...

How I did it? Hmmm... I'll share that in my next post... till then, happy baking!

Few Important Baking Tips for the Beginners

Initially I was planning to make this blog on a basic chocolate cake recipe, because many of my friends already requested me for uploading this. It seems that, chocolate cake is the hot-favorite for everyone... the situation is same at my end, too! So, even I can't wait to share the recipe and techniques of baking a chocolate cake. But...

Yes, there is a "But" for which I changed my mind and decided to share few important tips, before you go and try the chocolate cake recipe. Let me explain the "But" first and then will go into the tips part. One of my friend tried the Vanilla cake recipe, but most sadly the attempt was not successful. Here I can give a disclaimer that all my recipes are tried and tested for multiple times in my kitchen. It is also true that many a times, even I found that the cake might got over-baked or it could have been baked for few more minutes! So, there is nothing to loose your heart. As I've told you earlier, baking a cake is a form of art - the more you do, the more you improve. I am not an expert, I am also learning and gathering experiences along with you. So, it's a journey together...

Coming back to Tips part - I've never learnt baking from any proper place... my learning is completely from the recipe books and my experience. So, whatever tips I've gathered from my baking experience, I am sharing those here -

1. Measuring ingredients is a very important part in baking. All your ingredients should be exactly same as mentioned in the recipe. So take extra care to measure your ingredients.

2. Beating the batter properly is another important part of the task. Check that the batter increases at least 2-3 times in volume. Best result is obtained when you use an electric beater, Also, don't mix everything together, first prepare the liquid mix, beat well and then gradually fold in the dry ingredients, to get the best output. Fill the cake pan to its 3/4th height - always remember that the cake will rise and there should be enough space in the pan to prevent spilling.

3. Always preheat the oven to desired temperature. If you are using convection microwave then thoroughly read the manual. I've noticed that the baking temperature might vary from brand to brand or say oven to oven. So, if the recipe mentions - bake at 150C for 30-35 mins, and if you find that the cake is not yet done, then let it bake for another 5 minutes or more, until the cake is done. The microwave manual might give you the exact temperature of baking. Also, you will learn from your experience. So, at first try, if you see that the recipe is not giving successful result then you can adjust accordingly. Like, you can adjust the time according to the doneness of your cake.

4. Don't forget to oil and dust your baking pan. Dusting should be done liberally, so that the cake pan has a fine layer of flour before you pour the batter. You can also use baking paper to make the lining. This will help to remove the cake from the pan.

5. Don't disturb the baking process, when the oven is on. Once the baking starts, let it continue till the given time. Also when the cake is ready, you can keep it inside the oven for some more time. Allow the cake to cool down a little within the baking pan before removing.

6. The baking test should be done, when the cake rises and the baking time is over. Use a sharp knife and prick at the middle of the cake till the bottom, where it has risen. The knife should come out absolutely clean. If you see any wetness, then let it bake for another 5 minutes. Repeat the test as long as the cake is not properly done.

7. Once the cake is out, keep it at normal room temperature and cover it with a clean towel. Be careful not to keep it under fan or open air, it might loose its moist.

Let's follow these tips carefully... and I hope, you'll surely be successful in baking a cake pretty soon...

Enjoy baking!

A Simple Chocolate Frosting for Your Basic Vanilla Cake

Now you have the vanilla cake recipe with you... but you are not too happy... it does not look so good, does not have a professional finish... may be your kid already told you - "no mamma, I don't want this!"

Never mind, here is a simple choco-frosting recipe,which anyone can try out... Spread this on your vanilla cake and just see, how the attitude changes towards your cake. :)

To do this simple chocolate frosting, you will need Milk chocolate bar or dark chocolate bar - the ones regularly available in any grocery store. I used the normal Dairy Milk medium-sized bars. You'll need minimum of 3-4 Dairy Milk chocolates.

The process is very simple. Take a sauce pan to half-fill with water and let the water boil on your gas stove. Simmer the heat, when the water starts boiling. Place a medium or large-sized glass bowl on top of the sauce pan and add the chocolate bars. The chocolates will start to melt gradually. When most of the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the pan. With a spatula, mix the liquid chocolate thoroughly so that there is no part of undissolved hard chocolate. Add 1 teaspoon of butter into the hot chocolate and mix well.

Pour the hot melted chocolate on top of the cake and spread it on top and sides using a plastic spatula. Level the top nicely and then place the cake inside your refrigerator. To decorate more you can sprinkle powdered sugar or chocolate shavings on top. You can also use a pack of gems to place on top of the melted chocolate.

Serve this cake chilled and to make it more delicious, add a dollop of chocolate ice-cream on top or spread fresh cream. Now your kid is surely going to love it. Try it today...

The Basic Vanilla Cake - The Simplest One!

Baking a vanilla cake, doesn't require any special cooking or baking skill! If you have all the basic tools and ingredients, then only thing you'll need a little bit of initiative to put everything together and place the cake batter inside the oven... voila!! You're done!!

I am very much for home baking... I can write a whole blog post showing the multiple reasons I have... the most strong reason among all is that you know, what you're eating...!! You are 100% confident about the quality of the ingredients, no-matter how unprofessional the cake may look like. Many of my friends think, baking is a big job. But all of you, can start with this simple and easy recipe.

                      

This recipe is very common and you can get it in several cook books. I mostly use the 9" cake pan and that can serve from 8-10 people - so it's sufficient for your family (considering a nuclear family, you can enjoy the cake for 2 days)! You will need -

3 dry ingredients:

Flour or Maida - 1 and 1/2 cups

Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons

Powdered Sugar - 1 and 1/4 cups

And 3 wet ingredients:

Eggs (Big-size) - 4

White Cooking Oil (any brand) - 3/4 cup

Vanilla essence - 1 teaspoon

So you are done with the ingredients!

Now the process...

In a large bowl, sieve in the flour and baking powder, together. Using a wooden spatula, mix it well and keep aside.

In another large bowl, crack the eggs. Add sugar and start beating. The more you beat, the more the volume increases. The volume should increase up to 3-4 times.

Now gradually, add the oil in continuous flow and continue beating.

Don't forget to add the vanilla essence to this mixture, now!

Your cake batter is half done, at this point... this is the time to start preheating your microwave. The baking temperature is 160C, so set the preheating temperature at 160C and let it go. You've something more to do now.

Take the flour mix and using the wooden spatula, slowly fold in the dry mix into the wet mix. What is fold in - that's a common baking term, many of you already know. For the beginners, it is a downward to upward movement (remember, not circular), to mix the dry into the wet. While folding in, you should add the dry mix 1-2 tablespoons at a time. This process actually makes the cake more soft and spongy, as it keeps the air sealed inside the batter. If you are in a hurry and can compromise on the softness, then you can use the beater, too. It'll still be a cake and quite good and eatable.... :)

By now, your oven should be preheated and ready. Prepare the cake pan by oiling (few drops of white oil) and dusting with flour (around 1 teaspoon of flour). This is very much necessary to prevent sticking the cake to the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place the pan inside the microwave. Set the convection mode on and select the required temperature, 160C. Let it bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on the doneness.

After 30 minutes, let's check the cake. It should increase in size and the top will be round by now. Take a thin skewer or knife, insert at the middle of the cake and bring out. If nothing is sticking on it, then you are done! If you see, the batter is still sticky, then close the door and put it for baking for another 3-5 minutes.

Once done, bring out and allow the cake pan to cool for 5 minutes. Use a sharp knife and carefully run around the edge of the cake tin to loosen the cake. Flip off the pan on a dinner plate and the cake will slowly slide in. You may pat the back of the cake pan, if the cake is not coming out.

This one is ideal for afternoon snacks with a cup of tea or coffee or as a dessert by topping with a dollop of ice-cream and chocolate sauce or simply to put inside your kid's lunch box and to make them proud about their mom's culinary skill and many more... Unless you bake one, how do you experience these sweet little fun moments of your life???

Happy baking to you all!!!