VEGAN / EGGLESS CHOCOLATE & VANILLA MARBLE CAKE

Things are all good here. How about you,all? We are very busy planning our Someone Little's Big Day,which is this month.The menu is fixed and now we have to get other things done. As the days are approaching  our Baby's Big Day,I am kind of feeling sad thinking he is no more a tiny fellow! He will be a year old ! How fast the time flies, right?
Sigh!!

I baked this cake well over 2 months ago and the photographs were still in my camera until last week. It's not that I don't get the time to write here, it's just that I chose to spend more time with Ian Vaava. He needs me much more than my blog baby!
Oh well! I changed something on the blog today. Did you see it yet? No? It's something on the right hand side bar. Okay, now that you just saw it, let me tell you... Jobin did it :-)

This cake is quite good for the fact that it doesn't use butter,milk or eggs! It's not that we prefer eggless bakes, its just that I like to try different recipes to compare with the ones I've made in the past. When I saw Hetal & Anuja bake this up, I made a note in my mind to try it out because it looked very simple and delicious!

The texture and taste for this cake is spot on. It is intensely chocolate-y and at the same time vanilla-y! The batter for both the flavours are almost the same. Look at the recipe closely and you will see what I am talking about. So it's just the mixing part that's left! I prefered making a bundt cake and topped it with some Chocolate Ganache. You can frost it or eat it plain. It is delectable, either way!

CHOCOLATE & VANILLA MARBLE CAKE
Ingredients:
Chocolate cake batter
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon coffee granules
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon oil

Vanilla cake batter
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon oil

Method: Preheat the oven to 350/180C. Prepare a 10-12 cup capacity bundt tin.
For both the batters, the method remains the same. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, mix together the wet ingredients.Now, combine the wet and dry together until you get a smooth batter. Once both the chocolate and vanilla batter is made,pour them alternately into the pan and swirl the cake batter with a butter knife gently, for the marbled effect. Bake for 35-40 mins or until done. Cool completely.Frost as desired.

I made this for a friend of ours when they came home for dinner,on a Friday night. They loved the cake and she asked me if it's okay if she could take some home with her! I was more than pleased to do so. Ian Vaava as always, enjoyed each crumb of this cake. I baked the same cake, again in a weeks time for Jobin's  niece's First Holy Communion. Everyone seemed to have liked it! :-)

I am hoping to be in full swing action,on the blog, very soon!
 

MOIST EGGLESS VANILLA CUPCAKES

I don't usually care for the amount of eggs in a recipe I am about to try because I love eggs,especially hardboiled eggs.When I say hardboiled,it should be perfectly hardboiled.No rubber like yolks for me,please!Okay,now lets get back to the topic. Well,Kannur is not a place where you can get wonderful ingredients for baking.I know it,so Amma and myself stock up really well. But on how on earth will we know that there will be shortage of eggs,especially in a place where there are atleast 3 bakeries on a street!

Well,it happened.Kannur town was out of eggs,for almost a week and that was too long for me to wait,without baking a cake of some sort. Our house is swamped with guests these days,to see our Ian vaava. So we need something,and when I say something,it has to be homemade because Amma & I cannot think of serving  anything storebought to our guests.

The hunt for something eggless started.I found way too many recipes online but only a few grabbed my attention. When I chose this recipe,it reminded me that I had tried out the same a few years ago and found the cake to be very oily.I thought of giving it a second chance and it worked just fine.

I had some buttercream with me,from the movie star's cake,so tinted it pink and used it to decorate the perfect cupcake tops.I usually don't go for such lavish decor on my baked goods for our daily consumption but since it's for the lovely folks who are visiting us,I didn't think twice.

MOIST EGGLESS VANILLA CUPCAKES
Recipe by Nita Mehta as seen on Recipe on Click


Ingredients:
300g all purpose flour
250 ml thick plain yogurt
150-180 g granulated sugar
125 ml oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method: Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350F. Line your 12- cup cupcake tin.

In a large bowl,beat the yogurt until smooth.Add granulated sugar and beat till dissolved completely.Add baking powder,baking soda and mix to combine.Leave aside for 5 minutes or until frothy.Add oil,vanilla and beat to mix.Spoon in flour little by little and fold it into the batter.Beat with beaters for 30 secs to make the batter smooth and lump free.Pour into tins and bake for 25-30 mins or till done.Cool in the tin for 5 mins,remove and cool completely before frosting.

For the Vanilla Buttercream recipe,click here.

Ritchie loved the frosting and mentioned that he likes cupcakes with eggs better.I found these to be really moist and perfect for eggless days!

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!

ONE- BOWL VANILLA CAKE

On Saturday, we Indians, the cricket crazy people waited with baited breath to see who would win the Finals of the Cricket World Cup. And we WON! Yeayy! So as usual my Facebook news feed was filled with Cricket updates and I thought of asking my friends how do they want to celebrate? 'Something sweet' was the most common answer , so we decided to cook/bake something sweet to celebrate the 'massive' victory.

The minute I saw this cake on her blog, I knew I would try it that day itself and I did. I couldn't help but lick the batter just to see how it tasted with custard powder as an ingredient. It tasted like a box cake to me...I mean in a good way as I really like the Betty Crocker boxed vanilla cake. The city where we live, Minneapolis, is the 'home' of Betty Crocker. I don't know how many of you know that 'she' is just a fiction. There is no  real 'Betty Crocker' , sadly! How I wish there she was real and she lived even today...maybe I could have gone and met her :-)

Also, it's exactly a year since we moved to Minneapolis, our first home. It's been an incredible year! Coming back to the cake, it's a very easy one-bowl cake as the name suggests. It has nice vanilla flavour and  is a very light cake with a good crumb. A perfect cake for tea time or any other time you feel like snacking on a piece of cake ;-)

ONE-BOWL VANILLA CAKE
Original recipe: Betty Crocker Cookbook
I found this recipe on Aparna's blog.

Ingredients:
1/2 c unsalted butter,room temperature
1 1/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c custard powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C .Line and dust an 8" round cake tin.

Using a whisk cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
Add in the egg and whisk till incorporated and fluffy.
Add in the remaining ingredients one by one and whisk together for 2 mins.
Pour into the tin and bake for 55-60 mins or till done.
Cool in the tin for 10 mins, remove and cool completely.

* The design on the cake is natural , that's why I left it plain :)

Verdict: As I said before, this is an easy cake which is so full of vanilla flavour. Anytime you are pressed for time or otherwise, just use this recipe to get fabulous soft cake.

If you read through the recipe, you should have noticed that this recipe doesn't even call for an electric hand beater...it just needs a 'whisk'! Looks like I am in a 'Vanilla' mood...did you see the Vanilla Cupcakes with Glossy Frosting that I made a few days ago?

You can serve this cake plain , dusted with confectioner's sugar or even fruit sauces. I'm sure you will like it!

HONEY COMB CAKE...celebration time for 200,000 hits!

Before we move on to the post, I would like to re-name this cake from Chocolate Buttercream & Vanilla Bubble Cake to HONEYCOMB CAKE. The credit for the new name goes to 'Appan', my dad. He said the former name was very lengthy and asked me to re-name it :)

This cake was featured as the Recipe Post of the Day on Foodblogs.com! Thank you all very much!

Okay, now onto the post.

I was very happy for my blog when it had 100,000 hits (in 7 months time) on 10 June 2010.  Today, I am even more excited that my blog had another 100,000 hits in less than 2 1/2 months! What more should a blogger ask for?

Thank you all very very much for your valuable support!  I have done a special something for you all, today.

If you look beneath my header, you will see a tab called YOU & I. Do read it if time permits. That's one way that I could show my appreciation for you all.

Now onto the cake.Let's celebrate people! Instead of opening a bottle of bubbly, let's dive straight into this decadent 3- layered Bubble cake! So get your forks ready! I'll provide the paper napkin :-) and yes, the cake too! ;-)

HONEY COMB CAKE

Things you'll need:

Traditional Vanilla Cake

Chocolate Buttercream

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Surprise element- Bubble Wrap

Traditional Vanilla Cake
Recipe source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook


Ingredients:
Unsalted Butter- 1c
Sugar-2c
Eggs-4 large,at room temp
All purpose flour-2 3/4 c
Baking powder-2 tsp
Milk-1 c
Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C
• In a large bowl, cream butter on medium speed till smooth, about 2 mins.
• Add sugar gradually and beat till fluffy ,about 3 mins.
• Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.
• Combine flours , add in 4 parts , alternating with milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition.
• Pour into the prepared pan (I used a 9" round tin) and bake for 35-40 mins or till the inserted skewer comes out clean.
• Cool in tin for 10 mins, then invert it onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Buttercream {EGGLESS}
Recipe source: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook


Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 1c, very soft & NOT melted.
Milk- 1 tbsp +1 tsp
Semi sweet chocolate- 6 oz, melted  & cooled to room temp
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Confectioner's sugar/Icing sugar- 1 1/4 c


Method:

• In a medium sized bowl, beat butter until creamy for about 3 mins.
• Add milk and beat until smooth for about 1 minute.
• Add the melted and cooled chocolate and beat well till everything is mixed well.
• Add in the vanilla extract and beat for 3 minutes.
• Gradually add in the sugar and beat until creamy and of desired consistency.

Bubble Wrap Decoration
Ingredients:
Semi sweet chocolate-10 oz

Method:

• Cut a template out of a fresh bubble wrap.
• Melt the chocolate and let it cool to room temp.
• Pour over the template and wait till the chocolate is half set.

Assembly:

• Cut the cooled cake in 3 layers, horizontally.
• Apply the buttercream in between the layers ,sides and on top.
• When the chocolate is half set, invert the bubble wrap over the cake and press it slightly.
• Leave the cake with the bubble wrap on in the freezer for 15 mins.
• Peel away the bubble wrap carefully.

Verdict: 
It was difficult for me to cut through the bubble layer. I actually did hear Jobin gasping when I cut through it. We both were admiring the bubble layer even while I was clicking the pictures,but when I had to slice it, our hearts broke.

But the moment we had a taste of the cake...we were least bothered about the bubble layer! :-)