My first Frosted Cake! - A Black Forest Cake

Today, I want to share an anecdote with you, of how baking happened in my life and I got the passion of my life! So, here I am, walking down the memory lane...

It started in March 2012 when I came to my new house in Mumbai where my Hubby stays with his elder brother. Yeah, that was the entry of a 'girl' in once used to be a 'bachelor's house'. To my surprise, their bachelor's house was cleaner than how I used to keep my house before marriage. I used to live in a real mess! By then, I had already left my 16-hours-a-day job and had plenty of time without much work. The only work I had was making food 3 times a day which was something I had never done anytime in my life! The only time I made anything before this was on a weekend if I was not working and if I didn't want to eat anything my maid was making. As a result, I landed up searching the internet for recipes and always ended up watching posts on all the exotic looking cakes.


I had a tiny Morphy Richards OTG (just 9 ltrs!) lying silently in the corner of the kitchen which bhai got for a frozen paratha commercial he shot (he is a Cinematographer!). I thought, why not start baking in this oven? I have always believed that you don't know baking until you know how to frost a cake. A cake looks complete to me only when its frosted. Come April and I went for a baking class to learn Light Cakes i.e. light from inside which make them perfect for icing. I was so excited that I woke up early on a Sunday morning, prepared breakfast and lunch and left for this class. The class was great and I couldn't wait to try the cake myself! 


The very next day, I found myself shopping for the ingredients required to make the cake. I bought Rich's non dairy whipping cream from Arife, Bandra (as had been suggested in the class), some dark chocolate (Morde for starters) and a can of candied cherries among all other ingredients. I made this cake in April 2012.

With my forever fascination towards chocolate, I first decided to bake a 'Black Forest Cake'...

My First Black Forest Cake 

Here's what you will need for making the Black Forest Cake.

For Sponge 3 eggs at room temperature
75 gms - all purpose flour
15 gms - cocoa powder
90 gms - sugar
1 tsp - vanilla extract
75 ml to 100 ml - water

For Icing/ Frosting 
150 gms Rich's cream
Glazed cherries
Chocolate shavings - 75 gms
100 ml - Sugar syrup. (You can also add 2 tbsp of rum also in sugar syrup which I missed in my first trial)

Here's how you gonna make it

Preheat your oven to 180° C/ 350° F. Line a round/ square tin with parchment paper.

• In a bowl, beat one egg with sugar. Gradually add remaining two eggs one at a time and beating continuously till soft peaks form. Add vanilla extract and beat. This is the most important part of this cake as the sponge will get its aeration from eggs. 
• In another bowl, sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder. Add these ingredients to egg mixture and fold it with the help of a spoon or rubber spatula. 
• Add some water to get the dropping consistency. The batter should be so thin that if u take a spoon out, it should be free flowing. 
• Pour the mixture in pre-lined pan and bake for 20 - 25 minutes. 
• The cake is done when the outer surface is brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
• Take the cake out from the pan after 5 minutes and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. 
• Once cooled, cover the sponge with the cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours before icing. 

For icing/ Frosting

• Whisk the whipping cream with the help of the electric beater until the stiff peaks come and the cream loses its shine. Let the cream cool in the refrigerator till we ready to use it. Always use cooled whipping cream to frost a cake! 
• Cut the sponge into half horizontally. 
• Soak the bottom layer of the sponge with some sugar syrup covering the entire cake. The cake will get its moistness from this sugar syrup, else the icing will look fainted as the cake will absorb moisture from the cream. 
• Apply fresh cream on the soaked sponge and then add seedless cherries. 
• Sandwich this with the second layer of the sponge and soak it with the syrup. 
• Cover the top and sides of the cake with a good amount of cream. Flatten the sides and top of the icing with the help of a long knife/ spatula dipped into hot water. Try to flatten the icing with minimum strokes of spatula. 
• Decorate the cake with swirls of fresh cream, cherries and chocolate shavings. 

I really liked messing up with some fresh whipped cream. The reviews to my first ever were a real bonus and gave me a satisfaction of creating something good which I never got while working in MNCs or traveling in Business Class or staying in Five Star Hotels. :)

Hope you would also have the same fun making this as much as I did! Do share with me your experience of baking your first cake! I would be eager to know your stories.... Will be waiting for your responses...:)

Cheers!

Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Ganache Frosting

There isn't anybody who loves to eat in a restaurant and hasn't tried the Sizzling chocolate brownie. Who doesn't like the flavour of hot chocolate dripping down a cold dollop of ice-cream. And meeting the dark chocolate brownies making it even more divine. The feeling makes me go Yummm.

Have you ever thought of giving the sizzling chocolate brownie a try? 

Even I didn't really think of making it until I had this brownie at Theobroma bakery at Colaba where I and my sister-in law happened to visit on our trip to Gateway of India while taking her on a Mumbai yatra. The brownie that I had that day with hot cup of coffee was so magnificent that I decided to give it a try at home.

Hence started my search for the recipe of a perfect brownie online until I spotted this website www.joyofbaking.com with the video of recipe demonstration. Like a lucky girl, I was ready to give this recipe a shot coz its really very simple n easy to make and can be made in just one bowl with one whisk and spatula. This doesn't need any electric mixer or beater, even better for a lazy person like me. I made some alterations to this recipe as we don't get the same ingredients as people do in America. 

These are so amazing to taste that I earn a lot of "brownie" points every time I make this for friends visiting my home. :)

DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Before you start, there's one tip for you - Baking is all about precision and doing the things as has been prescribed in the recipe. Hence, measure your ingredients appropriately as a difference of 10 gms here and there can also make a difference to your delight. With this, lets get going....

Here's what you'll need for this recipe:-

150 gms - Dark Compound Chocolate (there are several brands available. I used Morde brand of dark compound chocolate)
100 gms/ 1 stick - Unsalted Butter (If you can't find unsalted butter, go with the salted butter and leave salt mentioned in the ingredients. I used Amul Butter which is salted)
2 tbsp - cocoa powder
3/4 cup - caster sugar/ granulated white sugar
1 tsp - vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup - all purpose flour
1/4 tsp - salt (leave this if you are using salted butter)

For Chocolate Ganache Frosting:-

90 gms - Dark Compound chocolate
1/3 cup - cream (I used Amul cream - it is 25% fat)
1 tbsp (15 gms) Butter

Baking Equipments:-

• Oven to bake
• 8 X 8 inch square baking pan
• parchment paper/ butter paper to cover the pan
• Wire whisk and spatula/ wooden spoon (rubber spatula works best)

Prep Time:- 15 minutes

Baking Time:- 25 - 30 minutes at 180° C

Yield:- 16 brownies

Here's what you need to do to get these wonderful brownie delights:-

• Grease the baking pan with butter and line it with parchment paper/ butter paper. Preheat your oven at 180° C.
• Cut the chocolate into small pieces. Add the chopped chocolate and butter in a heat proof mixing bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering hot water. This process is called Double boiling. DO NOT put the mixing bowl directly on stove as the chocolate will burn. 
• Once the chocolate is melted, sift the sugar and cocoa powder and add into the mixing bowl. Whisk until the mix is combined.
• Add one egg at a time and beat the mix until the egg is combined well into the mix after each addition.
• Mix vanilla extract, beat the mix for about a minute until the sugar gets dissolved into the mix.
• Sift all purpose flour and salt (only if using unsalted butter) and add into mixing bowl. Sifting is important to incorporate some air into the batter and to remove any lumps. 
• The batter is now ready to go in the prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center of the pan comes out with few moist crumbs. DO NOT over-bake it as otherwise the brownies will get dry.
• Remove from pan after 5 minutes and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

For chocolate Ganache Frosting:-

• Melt the chopped chocolate and butter on a double boiler.
• Remove from heat and stir for 30 seconds to cool the chocolate.
• Add cream and stir until its combined. Let it cool to room temperature.
• Spread the ganache over the brownies with the help of a spatula/ butter knife. Let the frosting set in the refrigerator before you cut into small pieces.

These brownies are best with ice-cream (vanilla/ coffee/ chocolate). So, enjoy making this super easy delight at home and please your taste buds.:) Don't forget to share your experiences...:)

My first Cake - An Eggless Cake made in a Cooker!

So, today after weeks (months) of procrastination I finally decided to write this blog to share my experience and journey to this wonderful world of Baking. I started Baking in December 2011 when I have quit my job at Ernst and Young and was planning to get married soon. Like any other girl, I thought of wooing my future husband with some wonderful dishes (believe me it totally works..;)) and also to satisfy my taste buds (I am a big time foodie!) I decided to learn something which I totally love...a plain Vanilla Cake. 

Being born and brought in an Indian Jain family, where eggs have no entry in the house, I learnt this eggless cake from my cousin's wife ('bhabhi' in Hindi) who is a wonderful cook herself. I baked this cake within first week of my entry to my husband's house to impress my mother-in law with my culinary skills. From the reactions, I guess I was successful. :) 

This cake is very simple, doesn't need any fancy equipment to stir or even to bake. You can simply mix the ingredients by hand with the help of a spatula and bake it in pressure cooker which is a default cooking appliance in any Indian household. M sure the aroma of this cake baking in cooker will give you a sense of accomplishment. This cake is perfect with breakfast or afternoon tea or any time of the day. 

VANILLA CAKE...As simple as it gets.

Here's what you gonna need:-

1 portion* Malai/ cream (butter) at room temperature

1-1/4 portion granulated white sugar (You can also ground the normal sugar for 1 minute in the grinder)

3/4 portion milk powder

1 portion milk

3 portion - all purpose flour

1 tsp - vanilla extract

1 tsp - baking powder

1/4 tsp - baking soda 

* Here I have used the word portion as it is not standard. You can use any small sized bowl (katori) for the measurement. 

For baking:- 

1 big size pressure cooker (remove the gasket and whistle from the cover of your cooker)

1 round cooling ring

1 stainless steel bowl with flat surface which fits properly inside the pressure cooker placed on the cooling ring

Here's how you gonna make it:-

• In a large bowl, add malai and whisk it for 30 seconds to make it smooth.
• Add granulated white sugar (sifted) and fold it properly in Malai.
• Add vanilla essence and whisk the mixture.
• In another bowl sift all the other dry ingredients like milk powder, all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix it with the help of a whisk/ spatula. 
• Add dry ingredient (in three additions) and milk (in two additions) alternatively starting and ending with  the dry ingredients. Stir until all the ingredients combine nicely into the batter.
• Put the cooling ring inside the cooker and place it on gas stove with the lid on at medium heat for about 5 minutes. 
• Grease the baking pan with some butter and dust a thin layer of all purpose flour. Alternatively, you can cover the baking pan with a piece of parchment paper or butter paper and grease it lightly with some butter.
• Pour the batter into the baking bowl and carefully keep it inside the cooker (care should be taken while placing the bowl into the cooker, use a kitchen towel or gloves while doing this)
• Cover the cooker with the lid and let it cook at simmer for about 50-60 minutes.
• You can open the lid and check the cake after 50 minutes. Insert a knife in the center of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is done. If not, let it cook for next 10 - 15 minutes. Keep checking after every 5 minutes. 
• This cake is best to have the day it is made and can stay good for 3-4 days in an air-tight container in room temperature. 

Variations:- 

• You can add 1 cup of choco-chips in the batter.