A Choco-Vanilla Checker-board Cake - A Birthday Treat For the Special Man!

I am back to posting after a long gap! Life is going tough these days with lots of additional responsibilities on personal and professional fronts, so that my favorite baking projects are also being neglected. These days I am not a regular baker anymore - baking only in special occasions. In last few months, though I had baked few items and the recipes are pending to be posted here. I was not being able to make any time for my blog, but this time the credit goes to my sisters to give me a real push for updating my blog after so many days. My dear sisters, you know, who you are! Thank you so much my dearies, you all mean a lot to me!!

So here I am with my latest baking project - Choco-Vanilla Checker-board Cake!

My Birthday Cake - Death by Chocolate!

I am back after a long gap! It was more of a writer's block, along with other family affairs including my laziness to water-mark the pics for the blog and then posting it here. However, I must admit that this time I am back for a bunch of young ladies, who have pushed me to overcome all these hurdles and to be back with my blog!! Thank you my dear girls (You know, who you are) !!! 

Today I am going to present the recipe of Death by Chocolate cake. But before that, a little bit of background story. 

Merry Christmas - My Favorite Christmas Cake

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"....

Yeyyy... Christmas is here... the year is going to end with a happy note for me and I wish for all of my friends, too. In this festive season, how can I stop myself from baking more and more cakes... No I could not...

Actually in last few months I shifted to my new apartment and I took some time to organize everything, particularly the kitchen - because that is one of my favorite places at my home. But baking was on - with 2 school-going kids, I really cannot afford to stop baking. As I said earlier, I always prefer to slide in a slice of home-baked cake instead of the store-bought ones. So, I have my stock full now to share with you - more recipes, more cakes and more stories...

This time, I am back with a bang... And that is the easiest Christmas Cake recipe with dry fruits. I can tell you, this is going to be a show-stopper for sure.

Choco Chips Cup Cakes - a Favorite for All!

When I am not in mood for a long baking project, I bake cup cakes! And when I don't have enough time to write a long blog, I write on these cup cakes projects!!! LOL...

So here is a simple and quick cup cakes, which I have baked quite some time back. This is not a latest bake, so I have only 2 pics to share with you all. Next time, I bake this choco chips cup cakes - I'll surely take step-by-step pics for you - I promise.

My First Red Velvet Cake!

An attempt to a red velvet cake needs some confidence in baking. I am definitely not that confident in baking and I always believe that I've so many things to learn and practice. So, I was not at all sure whether this project will come out successful or not. Actually, I kept this one pending for quite a long time. As I have mentioned many times in my blog, that my daughters are my best source of inspiration. They would always encourage me to take the next plunge in my life - no matter whether it's the baking project or something more serious decision. So this time also, the same situation occurred. They just pushed me into baking a red velvet cake and I made it! Although the process is little elaborate and you will need a variety of ingredients - but the red velvetty texture of the cake and the melting-in-mouth taste will make your job less painful and you will be in heaven at your first bite of the cake. The appreciation you get, once you present it on the dining table - is absolutely priceless.

Cherry and Cashew Topped Vanilla Cake

Hi friends!

I am getting little irregular in posting, as I am going through a terribly busy schedule... but can't help really... everything is part of life! However, this does not mean that I have stopped my baking projects. My weekend baking spree is still on... and in this gap, I have already gathered enough stock for couple of my next posts. One of these, is this one - Cherry and Cashew Topped Vanilla Cake.

This is a complete tea-time cake or good for your between-the-meals snack craving. You can also use this as breakfast by topping with your favorite jam or jelly. Obviously this type of no-icing cakes are best for your kids lunchbox and most of the time, I prefer to bake these ones. On the health-side, this one is better, as it does not have any creamy icing on top. But, this is definitely not a dessert cake. 

These days, whenever I visit my friends or relatives place, I make it a point to bake for them. I believe, a home-baked fresh cake is much, much better than the store-bought ones - because, it has this personal touch, which is simply priceless! And I have seen, all my close friends and relatives - they do enjoy to have a freshly baked cake from me - that really gives me extreme pleasure. So, this cake was baked with the same intention. I specifically avoided an iced-cake, as I had to carry this for long distance. 

I did not have much time to shop for the ingredients, so I decided upon this cake, as everything was available in my stock. The cashews were brought from Goa, and I wanted to use these cashews, in various ways - not only in cake, but also in other recipes. But, before I could make extensive use of the cashews, the pack was about to get finished all of a sudden. People, at my home, were lavishly snacking just on cashews. So, I grabbed the last part of it and could use only in few of my cakes... :) The cherries which I had in stock, was dried type. So, I soaked these cherries in a cup of warm water for couple of hours, and they were ready to use.

The process is very simple. The batter was similar, as of the Basic Vanilla Cake. I took, 1/2 cup of cherries and 1/2 cup of cashews. Sprinkled some flour on top and then 3/4th part of this mix, was added to the batter. The rest of the cherries and cashews were placed on top of the batter, after pouring it into the greased pan. Pre-heated the oven at 160C and baked the cake for 30-35 minutes.

Once the cake was ready, I left it in the cake pan itself, to cool down at room temperature. Then wrapped with cling wrap for carrying the cake through long distance driving.

Happy baking, friends...

Coconutty Strawberry Cup Cakes and a Bleeding Heart!!!

Cupcakes are the first love of my kids... why only kids, I think, everyone loves to eat cupcakes! The cute and simple look of the cupcakes, the varied flavors and the easy-to-make nature -  all these have made the cupcakes so popular, I guess! 

All my baking projects are done in my microwave - and for the cupcake projects, I do really feel the need of an OTG. Because, in a microwave you cannot bake more than 8 cupcakes at a time. And 8 is not at all a considerable count, when it comes to cupcakes... you know, what I mean! So, I have bought another set of 8 cupcake moulds, which make it 16... at least this count of cupcakes will last for couple of days for my family. 

This strawberry cupcake recipe is so unique, probably you've never tasted it. The regular cake shops generally don't keep cupcakes, even if they do - you'll not get this one, I am sure. So the only way to taste this super-simple strawberry cupcakes, is to make them at home. 

I have learnt this recipe from my baking guru, Lynette. During the fondant class, she wanted to treat us with something unique, as the after-class snacks and then she brought these lovey-dovey cutey-cutey cupcakes. We were simply amazed to see her skill - these cupcakes were absolute delicacy and yet so simple to make. Perhaps that's the mastery of any art, which teaches you to make elegant yet simple art pieces - and baking is an art!!!

Coming back to the recipe - prepare the cupcake batter - it will be a simple vanilla batter which I've mentioned earlier in my blog - The Basic Vanilla Cake. Additionally for the decoration purpose you will need -

Strawberry Crush - 2 cups

Water - 4 cups

Desiccated Coconut - 2 cups

Preheat your oven at 160C. Do not put cupcake liners on the cupcake moulds. Butter the cupcake moulds nicely and then pour the batter into the moulds. The moulds should be only 3/4th part filled with the batter, as you need to keep some space for the cupcakes to increase in size while baking. Place the moulds inside the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 mins at 160C. Bring out of the oven and carefully remove the moulds. Place the cupcakes on a flat plate or sheet and allow them to cool at room temperature.

In a big bowl, mix the strawberry crush with water. 

Spread the desiccated coconut in another large plate. 

Take each cupcake, dip them in liquid strawberry crush for a minute or so and then immediately, roll over the desiccated coconut. Spread some amount of coconut on top too. Do this for all the cupcakes. As a final decoration, spread 1 teaspoon of strawberry crush on top. As an alternate, you can put 1 fresh strawberry slice on top. Allow the cupcakes to chill inside refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours before serving.

I had made only 16 cupcakes, so I had some extra batter. I decided to make another heart-shaped cake with that. 

And here is what came out from the microwave.

Again sprinkled the desiccated coconut on top and drizzled some amount of strawberry crush... which ultimately looked like a bleeding heart!!! Huh....

Happy baking! See you again!!! :)

Fresh Strawberry Vanilla Cake

Hello friends!!!

Off late I am getting irregular with my posts and I am extremely sorry for that... Couple of family get-together and then my elder daughters results were out this Monday... so I was quite busy during this time. But that could not stop my weekend baking projects - I made few easier projects of cupcakes in last few weekends. Those will appear in my next posting - images are queuing up to be watermarked... so I am back with a bang, you can say!!

So let me pick up from where I was in my previous blog - A Vanilla Sponge Cake. I used a vanilla sponge cake to prepare this fresh strawberry cake. My baking guru - Lynette, shared few tips and after applying those tips it came out quite well. But, I won't say I was super successful in this project. After assembling the cake, I kept it in refrigerator for over-night and the next day I carried it to my brother-in-law's place, which is in 40-45 mins distance from my house. The car a/c was put on High and my hubby tried his best to give the cake a smooth ride - but still the cake got little soggy and the fresh cream icing was almost going to slide from the cake. The cake was immediately put into refrigerator. but it didn't come back to its previous shape. Here is a lesson learnt for me and for all of you - that don't carry a fresh cream cake for long distance, and even if you do, you should have proper logistics.

Here are the items you will need to prepare this cake -

A vanilla sponge cake

Blueberry whipping powder - 2 packs

Fresh strawberries - 1 cup, vertically sliced

Strawberry crush - 1/2 cup

Light sugar syrup - 1/2 cup (add 2 tablespoon of sugar in 1 cup of water, boil and cool down at room temperature)

Step 1:

Slice the cake horizontally in 2 parts and evenly soak the bottom layer with some amount of sugar syrup. This will make the cake moist.

Step 2:

Spread 1/2 part of whipped cream on top of the bottom layer. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of strawberry crush on top of the cream filling. You can also add few strawberry pieces into it.

Step 3:

Place the other half of the cake on top of the filling. Soak the top portion with remaining sugar syrup and then cover the top part with whipped icing.

Step 4:

Place the strawberry pieces on top of the icing in a nice way. If you want you can make designs with it too. Also add few pieces on the sides.

Step 5:

Put little amount of strawberry crush on top of the strawberry pieces to keep the strawberries fresh and moist.

Step 6:

After assembling, refrigerate the cake for over-night, so that everything is nicely set.

A Vanilla Sponge Cake without Oil/Butter

Hi friends!

I am back after 2 weeks of hibernation!!! In this 2 weeks, I went for a short vacation to Goa and enjoyed to the fullest with my family. It is a place of beautiful scenic locations, good food, warm and caring people and unlimited shopping! So, I would recommend this place to all of you.

Anyway, back to my topic! This is not a travel blog - but may be I should soon open one travel blog too, to share my travelling experience with all of you. :)

There are several recipes pending to share with you. Today, I am going to talk about one of my latest bakes - a fresh strawberry cake! This one I baked for my sister's birthday and it came out quite well. But there were few issues, which I experienced while working on this cake. I'll share those too, later on. Let me first begin with the vanilla sponge cake.

This fresh strawberry cake I prepared using a vanilla sponge cake and it was made without oil or butter. When I put a lot of icing on top of the cake, I try to balance the fat-quantity by making the cake fat-free. You have to keep a track of the health quotient too, while preparing the desserts. A sponge cake is also light in weight, so it does not give you that heavy feeling after eating.

It is very easy to prepare this basic cake. You will need only few ingredients.

The dry ingredients are -

Flour or maida - 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon

Powdered sugar - 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

The wet ingredients are -

Eggs - 4 large

Hot water - 1 1/2 tablespoon

Vanilla essence - 1 1/2 tablespoon

The process is very much similar to the chocolate sponge cake recipe. Please note that you should be very careful in measuring the items.

In a large bowl, sieve in flour and baking powder. Blend well and keep aside.

Break the eggs and separate the white and yellow parts in 2 different bowls. The white part should be kept in a large bowl.

Use the electric beater to beat the egg white until stiff peaks arise. Gradually add sugar by couple of tablespoons at a time and keep on beating. Once all the sugar is used, add the egg yolks and again beat for some time. Next add the vanilla essence and mix well.

Now gradually add boiling water in few drops and beat well. Now the mixture will be light, fluffy and almost 3 times in volume.

This is the time to set your oven in preheat mode (180C). Also prepare your cake pan by greasing and dusting.

Slowly fold in flour into the egg mixture. While doing this, don't add all the flour at a time. Sprinkle in small amount on top of the batter and fold in nicely.

Pour the batter in the pan and place inside oven to bake at 180C for 30-35 minutes.

The cake will leave the side of the pan, when it is done. Also the top will spring back when you touch on top. Insert a knife to check the doneness and if ready, then remove from oven.

Allow it to cool down at room temperature and then bring out the cake from the pan. Wrap the cake with a cling wrap and place inside refrigerator for future use.

In my next blog, I'll share the fresh strawberry cake making procedure using this vanilla cake.

Till then, ciao!

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!