CHOCOLATE YOGHURT CAKE ~ for lil Appu ~

'Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today.That way, at least you will get one thing done. "
Author unknown

\Appu, 3 yrs old is my nephew. Yes, I am a lucky aunt to be blessed with 6 niece's and 15 nephews( and the list will have 2 more very soon! )! And each one of them have their own likes and dislikes . My mom, is very observant when it comes to each one's likes and dislikes and she asks me to help her make something accordingly. Last time it was a 1-2-3-4 Nutmeg Cake with Mocha Ganache for Navya, Neev and lil angel Nial.

Appu L.O.V.E.S our good ole chocolate cake. So the moment Amma knew that he would be coming over, she asked me to bake a chocolate cake for him. But somehow I couldn't make it ahead of their coming, instead made it with him. Sorry, I don't have any pics of the making...since managing a child + whipping up a cake batter + clicking pics would drive me insane!But I must mention that he is one the calmest , mature 3 yr old that I have ever seen!

A lil more about him... He is Neil and we fondly call him as Appu . He lives in Dar e Salam, Tanzania. He is in India with his Mama, who actually came down for her delivery ( which can happen in 2 weeks from now!). He adores & dreams all day n night about Spiderman! He even sings the title song of Spiderman movies for you!

Since Spiderman is his hero, he is always on the lookout for spiders . If you are not watching him, he is bound to catch hold of one and make it bite him so that he can become another Spiderman and make webs by pressing a button on his wrist... look at what the media can do to a 3 yr old! :)

Now, let's get back to the cake :) I made a bunny shaped cake for him.

CHOCOLATE YOGHURT CAKE

Recipe source: Valsamma aunty

Ingredients:

Flour-2 3/4 c

Sugar-2 1/2 cup

Butter-3/4 c

Yoghurt-1 1/2 c

Cocoa-3/4 c

Eggs-3

Baking powder-1 tsp

Baking soda-2 1/4 tsp

Boiling water-1/2 c

Salt-1/4 tsp

Vanilla essence- 1/2 tsp

Frosting:

Chocolate Ganache

Method:

• Sift flour with baking powder and baking soda.
• Make a paste using cocoa powder and boiling water.
• Cream butter with eggs, sugar and salt. Beat till the sugar dissolves.
• Add flour, yoghurt and cocoa powder in one go and beat well.
• Pour into a prepared tin and bake for 45-50 mins or till done.
• Cool in tin for 10 mins and transfer onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.
• Frost as desired.

It was truly a soft, moist cake. He ate a few pieces with us and packed some to take back home with him :) Okay, now I am waiting for the next niece/nephew to come home! :)