Ria's Collection: ♥Praline Vanilla Sponge Gateau♥ A Cake baked without an oven♥

Saturday, August 22, 2009

♥Praline Vanilla Sponge Gateau♥ A Cake baked without an oven♥


Yesterday afternoon we were sitting outside our house post lunch and we were free together after LONG! Yes, I quit work last Friday BUT I really din't get time to even breathe properly except for those 8 hours that I sleep :) It's because Amma had a huge order for desserts and juice. So I was helping her out with it.
I remember Amma baking cakes in Pressure Cooker many moons ago and I tried to re-create those sometime ago and it was a HUGE failure! LOL! So recently I reminded her that it's been a while since we both baked together ( she is a caterer by profession so she is busy with TONS of orders everyday :D ) .This cake is one that reminds me of my 4th std -5th std years. Amma used to make this cake very often then. And this was long before my town Kannur had a decent cake shop. And finally when they opened one...they had the same cake displayed! But no matter what they can never beat this homemade version. Trust me,it's real good!

So this is what we baked together yesterday! :)
Praline Vanilla Sponge Gateau
Recipe by my Mom

For the sponge

Flour-100g
Sugar-100g
Eggs-3
Vanilla- 1 tsp

Method:
  • Beat eggs and sugar till thick and creamy and falls in thick ribbons when poured from a height ( approx. 8-10 mins).
  • Then add in flour ,vanilla and beat till it forms a real thick batter which is almost mousse like(approx.4-5 mins) [I know that for a sponge we should be very careful not to let the air escape and we need to fold in the flour little by little. BUT for this cake this method works like a charm! :) ]
  • Pour into a prepared round tin and bake in an empty pressure cooker sans the weight for5 mins on high flame and then reduce the flame to medium high and bake for 20 mins. [You must put in a steel ring/holder and then place the cake tin on it.]
  • Open the lid and do a skewer test to see if the cake is done.
  • Take the tin out of the cooker and let it cool in tin for 10 mins.
  • Remove the cake from the tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

You can bake the same in an oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 mins or till done .
Basic Butter Icing:
Unsalted butter, softened-75 g
Icing sugar-140 g
Milk-1-2 tbsp ( optional)

  • Mix butter and powdered sugar to a smooth paste like consistency.
  • Add milk if you need to make it a bit more loose.
  • If you like your icing to be thick , double the recipe.

Praline:
Butter-1 tbsp
Cashewnuts-2 tbsp
Sugar-3 tbsp
  • Caramelise sugar on a medium flame till golden brown.
  • Add nuts & butter to it and mix well.
  • Pour onto a butter/tissue/parchment paper and let it cool completely.
  • Crush/powder them into tiny bits.
Assembly:

  • Cut the cake horizontally into 2 or 3 [I cut it into 2]
  • Sandwich each layer with 3-4 tbsp of butter icing.
  • Sprinkle some praline in between the layers (optional)
  • Spread the remaining icing on top and sides.
  • Sprinkle the crushed praline on top and on sides.
  • Cut into wedges and serve.
My bro booked the second slice even before his first! And the foodie in me couldn't resist it anymore...I ate 3 huge slices! [I felt like I committed a sin because it's been 4 days since I ate anything sweet...you know the 'gym' effect! ;D] But I don't mind doing a few more counts of excerise to eat another slice ;) There is some more left and I am going to attack it as soon as I am done with this post!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!♥♥

40 Comments:

Divya Kudua said...

Oh wow Ria..lovely lovely cake..:).I love pralines on the cakes as topping..:).Hats off to your mom for coming up with such a wonder recipe..:).As usual..pretty pretty pics..:).

Jamie said...

Ria this is a stunning, gorgeous cake! I am still a bit confused about how you cook it in a pressure cooker, but wow it is beautiful! Thanks Amma!

Raaga said...

lovely cake... and made in a cooker! Amazing!

Unknown said...

The cake looks perfectly risen and moist!! I've seen many mixes around that use a cooker, and always been intrigued!! Now I know!! :P

P.S - When did you change your blog design?? I LOVEEE it!!!!!

Unknown said...

Cake looks so yummy!! This is my all time fav cake :) and I've always wanted to bake in cooker. thanks for the recipe. I've some doubts, will mail and ask u :)

Unknown said...

ria, is this the same nougat cake we used to get 1st in cochin bakery and now at baker boys?

Shabs.. said...

Nice cake...

Ahh, so u r from kannur too!!!

kannuril evideya?

does ur mom own any bakery or as such in naadu? Im going there this oct, wud love to visit if she owns one...Nalla adipoli home made stuff kittumallo....

Parita said...

The cake looks fantastic, praline and vanilla always a hot combo! till 3 yrs back i used to bake my cakes in aluminium tins which we used to store our grains in :)

BrightStar said...

Hi Ria,
Do you need to put water in the cooker or is it dry cooking? What about the rubber ring?

BrightStar said...

Hi Ria,
Do you need to put water in the cooker or is it dry cooking? What about the rubber ring?

Shabs.. said...

Oh, I know payyambalam....I have been to the beach there...Im originally from payangadi,but we live in Pappinisseri...
I wouldd loooooove to attend her cookery class, but the prob is Im in india for only 2 weeks and I think those 2 weeks are going to be hetic visiting relatives and stuffs...:(...Whats the main thing that she teaches in cookery class?..wud love to know...

Mom caters means, she takes orders from people and prepares for them...Is it?...ood to know another Kannur blogger
Cheers...

Mishmash ! said...

Now I understand where ur passion for cooking comes from :) Am scared to try cooker for baking cakes...i liked the texture of ur cake....beautiful and perfect and praline cake is my fav too :)

Chef Jeena said...

This is lovely Ria.

I love using pressure cookers they are so nifty for everything.

I love the pralines yum yum so tasty. :-)

My comfort food network said...

Lovely cake. Love anything with Praline. Never tried baking in a cooker, to scared to try.

Sarah said...

hi Ria,

I wanted to try out this cake. I had a small confusion regarding baking in a cooker. Do we need to pour a little bit of water into the cooker before placing the cake batter into it? What I meant to ask is - is the cake steam-cooked in the cooker? If so, won't it end up more like an appam?

Thanks,
Sarah

Ria Mathew said...

Thank you all so much!!!

Jamie- I hope it's all clear now :D

Avanika- I changed the template few days ago :D

Maria- Mail me :)

Parita- Necessity is the mother of inventions ;) Right?

Brightstar, Sarah- There is no need to add water in the cooker. Just put a steel ring inside first, then place the vessel with the batter inside slowly ,cover with the lid (yes, that black rubber/washer should be put on) and cook without the weight till done. It is safe to open the lid and check in between since we are not placing the weight on .

Mishmash- Don't be scared! It just doesn't suit the beautiful cook in you! Just go ahead and try... I can guarentee you that nothing will explode! ;)

Pooja said...

i would like to bake this cake in a pressure cooker ! i hadmany doubts which u have answered ! thanks will let u know how my cake turned out !

Michelle said...

Each and every one of your cakes are just gorgeous and so unique!

Lalitha said...

hi rai this is my first visit to ur blog and u've gotten me hooked!!... lovely pics .. im so hungry now..
two Qs.
1.i cant make anything with eggs in my house as my family dont eat eggs. but i want to make the same cake without eggs. can u tell me how? it would be greatly appreciated ..
2. how do u caramalise sugar? thanks in advance
lalitha (from lovely chennai)

Suparna said...

Hi Ria,
I baked this cake this evening :) and ooooooooo..it tastes heavenly :) thanks a lot!
I've updated the pic in my latest post take a look :)
It's turned out pretty good!
TC

Ria Mathew said...

Lalitha - I am so sorry for such a delayed response! I feel ashamed!

1. I have never tried an eggless version for this. But there is a way you can substitute for eggs. Take one tbsp flaxseed powder and mix it with 3 tbsp water, mix well. Let it stand for 5-6mins, it will have a consistency of an egg. The given proportion is for 1 egg.

I don't how the results would be if you try this way though.

2. Caramelising sugar is very easy. Take the required amount of sugar in a pan and switch on theheat. Sugar will melt, then turn into a golden colour. That's it! :) This is called dry caramel since you are not using water at all.

Suparna- Thank you so much for trying. That cake is outstanding! :)

Recipeswap said...

I love your blog,my first time here!

Bharathy said...

After Suparna and Dhivya, It's me who got hooked ;)....

Then add in flour ,vanilla and beat till it..
DiD you say "Beat"?..continue to beat with the same elctric beater?speed?
I'm dying to try this..but have not tried the basic sponge cake so far..

amna said...

this looks delicious!! i am going to try it :)

Bharathy said...

Since you "raaaan" to see my post...I too decided to do the same ..Already on my way to Kannur to collect the spl treat from you ;)...since this is going to be the "Christmas hit recipe" in blogosphere very soon.. ;)...

I am going to bake this again for Christmas as children just loved the cake! :)

Ann said...

Wow Ria - I've seen this cake start to pop up on the blogosphere, your recipe is becoming a sensation. That only means one thing - I gotta try it!! I'm a little scared of the pressure cooker route...I think I'll try baking it! Hats off to your Amma for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

Hey Ria,

I think ur recipe is missing ingredients I followed it and it was utter disaster
What about baking soda? what about the water that u need to put into the pressure cooker?

sa

Ria Mathew said...

Hello Sa! Thanks for getting back to me . I am so sorry that this cake didn't work out for you. :(

This cake has been tried and tested in my house over and over again and also by many many food bloggers too! Everybody seems to be happy with the results( scroll up to see the comments/google the cake's name to see how many tried and loved it! ). No idea what could have gone wrong with yours. Did you follow the instructions correctly?

And about missing ingredients, there are none. No baking soda nor baking powder has been used and while baking in a pressure cooker you do not have to use water. It must be baked in dry heat (same principle as in an oven).

Hope I am clear.If you still have doubts feel free to e-mail me. Thank you. :)

asha said...

hey ria how much baking powder to use..

Ria Mathew said...

Asha- There is no baking powder in this recipe. It all lies in beating the batter till real thick and mousse like. It will take about 10 mins of beating.

Amritha said...

hi ria...first of all congratulations on your delicious blog...itz scrumptious!!...I'm sooo glad I stumbled upon it...Jobin dude! ur one lucky man!! I completely understand the non availability of ingredients here in Kerala (btw I'm a fellow Malabarite...i live in Calicut)...my mum used to have to get it on our trips to madras or Cochin to bake some of her recipes..thnanx for posting recipes with locally available ingredients...and I happened to see my college mate and his son in one of your posts...prinu and I were college mates...small world I say...anyway...will try the vanilla sponge cake soon (as a matter of fact going to get the ingredients)...good luck and luking forward to more inspiration..

Unknown said...

Hi Ria.........

I am so happy that I made my first icing cake and it came out really very well..........MY hubby and kid loved it.I took remaining 2 portion to my office and they njoyed it and said gr8 comments..Thank u so much.....

Subhie Arun said...

wow..this is simply awesome..i'm going to try this! thx u 4 sharing..frst time hr...lov all of ur collections...glad to follow u!

Shauna said...

Hi Ria,

This looks wonderful.. One doubt though...Do I add baking powder in case I wish to bake this in an oven??

Shauna

Shauna said...

HI Ria,

The cake looks wonderful... One doubt though... Do I need to add baking powder if I want to bake it in the microwave??

Ria Mathew said...

Shauna- This is the basic sponge recipe which rises because of the air trapped in while beating eggs and sugar for 10-12 mins. There is no baking powder involved in the recipe, but if you want you can maybe add 1/2 tsp to the flour.

Charishma said...

hi ria i tried this cake out,i followed everything step by step.baked it an oven.but this cake failed,it just did not rise,it was just one flat hard piece of cake.what was disappointing was that i wanted to make this cake for my moms birthday,had to settle with a store bought cake,coz i had no time to bake another cake.
i think i should have just folded in the flour rather than beat it.
but won't give up,will try your other cake recipes
charishma

Ria Mathew said...

Charishma,I'm so sorry to hear that! Are you sure you beat the batter for 8-10 mins? Did you keep track of the time while you were beating?

The success of this cake lies purely in the amount of air that's trapped in, so if it was'nt beaten well, it will not rise since there is no leavening agent used here.

I hope you like the other cakes :)

Unknown said...

Hi Ria, this is an amazing recipe from your mom and I totally love your blog... I had incorporated your praline recipe for topping a chocolate cake(hope that is fine with you) and got so many comments. Just dropped to thank you and also if possible do visit me back...thank you

Unknown said...

Hi Ria,
Thanks for the wondeful recipes. I tried this praline cake and came really nice. Have one doubt the cake shown in the picture is made from the same quantity you mentioned above or its a doubled ingredient recipe. Because although my cake came really well the size was only half of your cake :).

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