NO-BAKE 10 LAYER CAKE for our 10th!

I knew one thing for sure this year... I wanted to make a 10 layered cake for our 10th wedding anniversary. I somehow didn't want to stand by the oven baking layers after layers this year since we were all going through a round of fever,cold and cough and cake baking,even if it was for our anniversary was the last thing on my mind at that time. Even though I tried to push the thought of making a 10 layer cake away as much as I could, it came back to me with double the force! So I knew, I would be disappointing myself big time if I didn't put my plan into action!

This cake is a no-bake layered cake which you can customize to the number of layers you want it to be! I needed 10 and this particular measurement gives you 10 with enough frosting to cover it up. So if you need to build a bigger or a smaller cake, please scale the recipe accordingly. There's absolutely nothing to go wrong here,even a child can make it! It's super simple and extremely delicious!

So you basically need graham crackers and a good frosting. I chose the chocolate graham cracker because our kids love chocolate cakes and I was pretty sure it would do down well with them as well. You can choose to use regular graham crackers or even honey flavoured. This recipe is inspired by the Russian Honey cake where you make a batter first and then make several layers of cake by baking them separately.I've made the original version quite a few times before when we had friend's over and it was a massive success!

Given a choice, I would have gone for the longer route but with all what was going on at home, I just wanted to do the quick version and literally be done with it and have a cake for ourselves to enjoy the next day! So this cake barely needs 15 minutes of your time to be put together but it needs some good amount of chilling time so that the crackers get the the time to soften up and become cake like! It absorbs the moisture from the frosting and becomes really soft and a bit plump. No one can ever tell they were made using graham crackers!

NO-BAKE 10 LAYER CAKE
Serves 12-15

Ingredients:
4 sleeves of chocolate graham crackers (1 box + 1 sleeve from another box)
Frosting:
16 ounce / 2 cups heavy cream, chilled
One 8 ounce packet cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounce unsalted butter, room temperature
One 14 ounce can condensed milk
Topping:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
Crumb:
4 extra crackers

Method:
Frosting: In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks and set aside.
In another large bowl, beat the butter along with softened cream cheese till it's smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the condensed milk and beat until it's well incorporated, about 1 minute.
Fold the whipped cream into the butter mixture carefully in 2-3 batches. Your frosting is ready!
Topping: Gently melt the chocolate and cream together in a microwave oven for about 1 minute. Stir until smooth. Set it aside.
Crumb: Crush the crackers into a fine powder using a rolling pin
Assembly : Take a large platter and dab a small amount of frosting in a rectangular shape. Place three chocolate crackers over it. Cover it with some frosting and repeat till all 10 layers are done. You will need 30 crackers in total for a 10 layered cake. Cover the top and sides with the frosting. Pour the ganache carefully just to cover the top. Gently press the crumb mixture to the sides of the cake. Let it chill for a minimum of 6 hours before serving.

This cake tastes absolutely delicious! Just look at that list of ingredients...how can it go wrong! :-)
It is a heavy, rich cake mostly because of the frosting, so serve them in small slices. Ian kept saying this is the best cake I've ever made and then he corrected himself saying...'Well, it's always like that!'

ICED ITALIAN CREAM CAKE...for my 30th!

This time,I just didn't want a birthday cake for my birthday. I don't know why but when Jobin started asking me about what cake I wanted for my big day, I couldn't decide on any. Finally I told him that I didn't want a birthday cake and I didn't have a reason to give him for that choice of mine.Then he told me that they both (Father & Son ) wanted to make a cake for me.I agreed to it with the condition that they can cut it the day after my birthday ;-)

Anyhow, I agreed to join them and we chose a cake that I have been eyeing for a very long time. It was an Italian Cream Cake by Trisha Yearwood. It's a pretty straightforward cake loaded with calories! Since it was my birthday,I didn't care for the calories.It's a day to celebrate and not sit around counting how many grams of fat a slice of cake has,right?
Ian was very eager to help his Appa in baking the cake. Every single time I turn on the mixer,he is by my side. It was the same this time as well. We have to be a bit careful when he is around as he likes to add an extra cup of flour or an extra tablespoon of baking soda to the mix!

This cake is super spongy,moist and delicious! It is filled with sweetened coconut and pecans, a very Southern thing! The crunch from the two were irresistable! I still cannot believe that it's been 3 years since I made the 30 layered Nutella Crepe Cake for Jobin's 30th! Time sure flies! I had made a list of stuff that I wanted to achieve before I hit 30 last January...you can call them New Year resolutions too! I had only 5 months to achieve them and yes,I have ticked off the main thing off my list! I hope this new decade has plenty of good stuff in store for me. I am pushing myself into doing new things now and I really hope it's for the best!
Also, have you guys heard about Food Panda? You can search, choose,order food online from your favourite restaurants and it will be delivered for you !

ICED ITALIAN CREAM CAKE
Serves 12-15

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 stick unsalted butter,at room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs,separated
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese,at room temperature
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 pound confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Method: 
Cake: Preheat the oven to 350F / 180 C and prepare 3 9 inch cake pans.

Sift flour and baking powder together .In a large bowl,beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. In another bowl, beat together butter,shortening and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the egg yolks one by one and beat well after each addition,15 seconds each. With the mixer on low speed,add the flour and buttermilk alternately,starting and ending with flour.Fold in vanilla,pecans and coconut. Divide the batter among the tins and bake for 22-25 minutes. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn them out onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Frosting: In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter till fluffy. Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat well to incorporate. Frost the cake as desired and scatter the chopped pecans on top.

 

STRAWBERRY & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

Not sure how many of you know about the Minnesotan weather. It's COLD...very very COLD here during winters with the temperature going as low as -40 C. Last winter was my first winter here in the US and from the Day 1 after I moved to Minnesota, whoever knew it was going to be my first winter here said,'It's long', 'It's COLD!', 'Ooooh! You have to experience it!'.

I was prepared for the worst, in my head. Therefore I expected everyday to be worse than the previous day but once it's cold, it's just COLD. It doesn't seem to get any cold-er to me until the wind blows! :-) Jobin made sure we never stayed indoors especially on the weekends, so we used to go sledging and playing in the snow. We always always had a sledge in our car so that if we ever spot a small hill covered with snow, we would stop the car there, pull the sledge out and go sledging! It was fun! I never hated those cold days...all because of him.

Last winter, my first winter lasted loooong. We skipped Spring. I was still wearing a sweater till the end of May and a few days in June. Everyday I'd wait for the sun to make an appearance. Finally we hit Summer and the days are still cloudy and rainy. Not sure whether I'll be around here to witness the Minnesota Summer this year since I'll be home sweet home! I'm trying my best to soak up the sun here...to make sure I get my dose of Vitamin D, naturally...from Mr. SUN.

I baked this cake over the weekend. To honour Summer, I used fresh berries. Strawberries, to be precise. You would have guessed that from the title :-) We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday so this cake was baked for them. I love serving cakes,not plain cakes but layered cakes for our guests,for dessert.

He had to come and touch that layer because he loves Bavarian Cream and you can see that in the picture, above! I have used it before in Jobin's Birthday Gateau & Mocha Bavarian Cream Gateau with Joconde Imprime. It's such an awesome filling for cakes and our guests love it as it is very smooth and not too sweet.It sets well and leaves a lasting impression!

STRAWBERRY & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU
Serves:10

Ingredients:
For the sponge:
3 eggs
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla

For the Vanilla Bavarian Cream (Use only half the quantity)
22 g Gelatin
150 ml cold water
5 large egg yolks
125 g granulated sugar
500ml warm milk
8 ml Vanilla Extract
500 ml whipping cream

Soaking Syrup 
1 c sugar and 1 c water boiled together for 2 mins or till sugar dissolves.

Strawberries for lining the cake tin

Method:
For the Vanilla Sponge:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F/ 180C.Prepare an 8" round cake tin.

Beat together the sugar,vanilla and eggs on high speed for 12 mins. Now, they would have tripled in volume.
Fold in the flour and pour into a prepared tin.
Bake for 30 mins or till done.
Cool in tin for 10 mins, turn it onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Cut into 2, horizontally, when cooled.

For the Bavarian Cream:
Soak the gelatin in water. Leave it aside to bloom.
Beat together the yolks and sugar. Pour in the milk while whisking constantly.
Using a double boiler,on medium, cook the milk-egg mixture till they thicken slightly, 4-5 mins.
Take it off the flame and add the melted gelatin into it and mix well.
Chill in the fridge, stirring every now and then till they thicken up.
Beat the whipping cream to soft peaks and fold into the custard.

Assembly:
On a plate or a cake stand, place one round of the cake and soak it with 1/2 c of Soaking Syrup.
Place a cake ring/Springform tin's ring and tighten it.
Place halved strawberries with their pointed tip facing up and the cut-surface facing the cake ring.
Fill in with Bavarian Cream and place the next round of cake and soak it with 1/2 c Soaking Syrup.
Let it set in the fridge overnight.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve in wedges.

Verdict: LOVED IT, like totally! :-) Jobin insists that I make something with Bavarian Cream everytime, now!

All the pictures are SOOC (Straight-out-of-the-camera)
Happy Monday, peeps! Also, don't forget to register for My Baking Class in Kannur!

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

Ihave no idea what took me so long to update this little space of mine after his birthday. Anyways it's better late than never : D The weather here is changing everyday. Finally we got to see some greenery on  the otherwise skeletons of trees. But this morning I woke up to see a gloomy sky giving way to heavy lightning and thunder and I was as happy as a peacock! Every time the sky gets gloomy, I see myself longing for heavy thunderstorms and rain.I'm just like a peacock, who does a rain dance with it's beautiful feathers (not that I have any) every time it's about to rain :)

This was Jobin's 2nd cake for his birthday. I thought of mixing up 4 of my favourite components while making a gateau : Simple Sponge, Soaking Syrup, Bavarian Cream & Ganache. You can never go wrong with this combo. The cake & filling was very light and the soaking syrup moistened the cake beautifully. I set the cake in a loaf tin as I didn't want the same old rectangular/square/round birthday cake this time. I'm sure I'll return to my favourite round very soon :-)

'A Sweet Punch' is completing a year  this month, so we thought of asking our members to bake whatever they like. So this is what I am sending in as my entry for this month! I still cannot believe that our little group has turned one! :-)

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA BAVARIAN CREAM GATEAU

You will need:
Simple Chocolate Sponge (Recipe given below)
Vanilla Bavarian Cream ( I made only half the quantity and omitted coffee powder from the recipe)
Soaking syrup
Chocolate Ganache

Recipe & Method for the sponge:
Beat 1/2 c granulate sugar and 3 large eggs together for 10-12 mins on high speed. I used my hand held beater. Fold in 1/4c all purpose flour,1/4 c cocoa powder & 1 tbsp cornflour. Pour into a loaf tin and bake at 350F/180C for 25 mins or till it is springy to touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, demould and cool completely. Slice it horizontally into 3.

Assembly:
Line your loaf tin with plastic wrap and put one layer of sponge, moisten it with the syrup and pour half the bavarian cream over it. Repeat. The last layer should be a layer of sponge.
Let it set in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.

De-mould it and drizzle ganache over the sides and top. I didn't level the top completely as I wanted a bit of an 'old fashioned' look for the cake.Decorate with slivered almonds.Chill till needed.

Verdict: I took this cake to my relative's house that evening as we were having a get together there. Everybody was intrigued by the texture of the cake as you can see that the bavarian cream was pushed out of the cake layers that it coated the sides too. It was very moist and equally delicious! Bavarian cream is one of the easiest and tastiest filling you can make for your layered cake. I'm so hooked onto it now!