VIENNESE CHOCOLATE GENOISE SPONGE with STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE...A sweet toast for the NY and my 100th post!

' Happy New Year Everyone! May your soufflés rise, macarons have feet, and cakes have a beautiful crumb! '

Kamran Siddiqi  via Twitter 

Days, weeks and months flew by and here we are ... with a new year and a new decade! 10 years ago I was in school and now, I have exactly 45 days more to get married!! Phew! Those 10 years saw a lot of change in me! 2009 personally for me, was a very happy year. And 2010 is going to be a very very different year for me (& Jobin) since we are getting married on 15 February.So basically it would have been my last year being single(definately not ready to mingle again! :P)

2009 gave me lots,I must say. A very blogging supportive family :), a new circle of real real good blogging friends, lots of travelling( ♥ ), lots of gastronomic adventures( how can I forget that??) and a lane of good memories! Hope 2010 holds even more better stuff for me and for all you guys out there!

Blogging wise, it was a roller coaster ride for me. Some months saw me blogging immensely, some rarely.Food photography gave me a share of emotional highs and lows :) I am still struggling to get enough light for my pics..sooner or later I will , hopefully! :) Sometimes I did feel that it is quite a struggle to feed my hungry blog especially since I started my trousseau shopping.But I definately didn't let it starve! I can't be that bad! ;) Anyway, I am starting this new year with my 100th post! Woo Hoo!! :) Time did fly by! That means, I tried out 100 recipes, clicked a minimum of 300 pics?!? WOWIE! :)

It was only in November(15th) that I added a widget to track the no. of people who visit my blog. I was so amazed to find out that I have an average of 800 visits everyday and 1400 being the highest! So that shows I have many many silent readers! THANK YOU! :) Y'all make my life (&blog) feel so special!

So here I am, raising a toast to the NY and a new decade with a VIENNESE CHOCOLATE GENOISE SPONGE  with STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE.I made this cake for my Dad's 50th birthday  3 days ago. It was indeed a very berry cake! 

Menu for his Birthday:

•  *STARTERS*:-Honey Roasted Almonds, Devilled Eggs,Gold coins with Cottage Cheese ,Mint Kakras, Baked Bean Canapes
  
•  *MAIN COURSE*:- Tomato Rice,Chapathi,Kadai Vegetable, Lamb Rogan Josh,Mixed Vegetable Curry 
  
• *DESSERT*:- Silky Chocolate Custard Pudding, Fresh fruits with Cream & Honey,Viennese Chocolate Sponge with Strawberry Mascarpone & Chocolate covered Biscuits  .
  

VIENNESE CHOCOLATE SPONGE WITH STRAWBERRY MASCARPONE

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

125 g flour

125g powdered sugar

125g chocolate,melted

100 g butter

5 large eggs

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

300 g homemade mascarpone 

75 ml fresh cream

4 tbsp vanilla sugar, ground or to taste

150 g strawberry, chopped

Gelatin-1 tsp bloomed in 1/8th cup of water, melted (I got this idea from Deeba ,Oops! Sorry Deeba, forgot to mention this here before!)

For the frosting:

150 g homemade mascarpone 

25 ml fresh cream

2-3 tbsp vanilla sugar, ground or to taste

50 g strawberry , chopped

Method:

For the sponge:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
  
• Grease and dust a 10" baking tin and line the base with a greaseproof paper.
  
• Melt the butter in a small bowl over a pan of hot water and leave for any sediments to settle. Pour off the clear ghee from the top of the bowl ( you can use homemade/storebought ghee instead).It should not be hot when it is added to the mixture.
  
• Sieve the flour and baking powder twice.
  
• Separate the yolks and whites and keep in 2 bowls.
  
• Add sugar to the yolks and beat over a pan of hot water until thick and creamy.Add vanilla.
  
• Sieve the flour on to the egg mixture.Do not stir in.Pour the melted butter slowly over the flour, around the sides. 
  
• Pour the melted chocolate. 
  
• Whisk the egg whites stiff(not dry) . Add a little whisked egg whites to the flour and mix gently.Fold in the remaining whites carefully.
  
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 mins. The cake is cooked when it shrinks from the sides of the tin and springs back into shape when pressed.
  
• Remove the cake from the oven and leave it for 2 mts in the tin on a wet cloth and then turn it out on a clean dry towel.Peel of the paper and invert the cake on a wire rack
  
• When cooled, slice horizontally into 3.
  

Filling :

• Beat the mascarpone with a wooden spoon still smooth. Add the remaining ingredients(except gelatin) and mix well. Check for sweetness.Pour the melted gelatin and give a good mix.
  

Frosting:

• Beat the mascarpone with a wooden spoon still smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Check for sweetness
  

Assembly:

Place one layer of cake on the cake stand or plate .

Pour 1/2 of the filling and cover the surface of the cake completely. Leave to set in the fridge for 30 mins. Repeat the same for the next 2 layers.

Frost the top and sides of the cake. The scrolls have been inspired from Deeba   & Art of Dessert. 

Refrigerate the cake overnight for the flavours to blend well.

The cake was downright delicious! The chocolate wrap around the cake was a stunner.Never knew I could get it right at the first time! :) Many of our guests thought that the cake was bought from a patisserie :D It sliced beautifully and the mascarpone filling made it ever so luscious! Everybody(including me, definately ;D ) enjoyed the cake to the last crumb! :) This is a perfect party cake!

I have another reason to kick start the NY. My friend Jitha's dentist actually sent her an sms asking her to check 'ria's collection' since he heard it was real good!

Whoa! What more do I need!! :)


*~Jitha: riiiiiiiii'

me: heyyy

 *~Jitha: ur blog is super famous

  :D

  im soo proud of u ..lol

 me: LOL!

  y????

 *~Jitha: my dentist msgd

 n i was telling him dat i was luking up a few recipes

 me: aha

  ennnittu?

 *~Jitha: n hes like oooooooo chk out rias collection..i heard its real gud


Wishing you all a very happy new year! My NY resolution remains the same: To make a resolution.