RUM & VANILLA CHERRY GATEAU a.k.a CLASSIC BLACK FOREST CAKE

Things have been super exciting at our end for the last 32 days, since our Ian vaava was born.Yes, he turned a month old today. He is a very good baby and doesn't give his Amma a tough time. Touchwood, the term 'sleepless nights' don't seem to work in our household. So Jobin is 'Appan' and I am 'Amma'. My Appan and Amma are 'Appu' & 'Ammu', short form of Appoppan & Ammooma.Jobin's mom will be called 'Velliammachi',like how Ian vaava's cousin's call her.Ritchie is yet to be named :-)

Ian vaava was baptised on 12 August, at the Basilica here. It's the first Basilica in America and it's beautiful! I will share some photographs once we receive it. This cake was baked 2 days before his baptismal day as we were having guests over. It's been on Amma's list for a long time, so we thought of going ahead with it...a Black Forest Cake. The fruit that Appan & Amma has been munching ever since they landed in the US are Bing Cherries. To be honest, I keep buying pounds of it in their name...I love it too! So making a Black Forest Cake was another excuse to eat up those maroon Cherries.

The cake was a simple yet super spongy chocolate sponge cake which rose beautifully and gave us 4 layers. The cherry filling was made with basic ingredients and tasted just perfect.It was my first attempt at making the filling from scratch so the ingredients were thrown in at random measurements which worked perfectly well.

The cake was very well recieved but I wasn't awake to see it. I heard it from Amma, the next day that it was a success and I knew it the minute I opened the fridge as it had almost vanished! Amma also said that Appan usually says 'Eval enthu cake ondakkiyalum nallatha nallatha ennu parayum' . I don't think he would say that again :-) The gateau was loved by all.

RUM & VANILLA CHERRY GATEAU
My own recipe
Ingredients:
Fatless Chocolate Sponge:
6 eggs
1 c sugar
1/2 c flour
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/4 c cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Method: Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and line 2 x 8 inch round cake tins.
In a large spotlessly clean bowl , beat the eggs and sugar for 15 mins on high.It should be super foamy and mousse like.Add vanilla and beat for another 1 minute. Sift the flour, cocoa powder & cornstarch over it and fold it in gently.Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 25-30 mins or until springy to touch. Let it cool completely. Split each cake into 2.Dust off the cake crumbs and reserve till needed.

Rum & Vanilla Cherry filling
2 c pitted fresh cherries
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp dark rum
2 tsp vanilla
1 c sugar
1 c water

Method: In a medium sized bowl, mix together cherries, 2 tbsp sugar, rum & vanilla. Mix well and leave it covered in the fridge overnight.
In a medium saucepan, add the macerated cherries (along with it's juices), 1 c sugar, 1 c water and bring it to a boil. Switch off the heat and let it cool completely. The syrup would have thickened by now.(You will need almost all of the syrup to soak the 4 layers to get a real moist gateau.)

For filling, frosting & decorating
2 c heavy cream, whipped with sugar to taste
8 whole cherries
150g dark chocolate,shaved

Assembly: Place a layer of the cake on a cake stand,drizzle with the cherry syrup uniformly,spread a thick layer of whipped cream and then scatter some of the rum-vanilla cherries over it. Repeat. The topmost layer should be the 4th layer of cake. Cover the top and sides with whipped cream . Decorate with grated/shaved chocolate & whole cherries. Refrigerate the assembled cake overnight for the flavours to blend . Serve chilled.

So the other day, we went to our favourite Italian restaurant for dinner & dessert, which of course had to be Tiramisu. After having a piece of it, we asked Appan about how he liked it. He said ,'Ethum nallatha pakshe aval ondakkiya aa cake thanneya ethinekkalum nallathu!' Wow! Now that Tiramisu has a competitor, I must say ;-)

Jokes apart, this is seriously good! The cake layers soaked in the syrup very well lending a melt in the mouth texture. The rum-vanilla cherries were mild yet flavourful. This gateau was so good that I really don't think I would even give another Black Forest Cake recipe a try.

MEET BABY IAN !

Meet our new love, Baby Ian! Born on 22 July 2012.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES with MASCARPONE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

I 've been away for a good amount of time, from blogging and I must say it did me some good. It gave my mind some rest and also ample time to set up our house for my parent's visit :-) Yes, they are visiting us right now so my contribution to this food blog would be minimal. Appan,Amma & Jobin asks me every now and then about the future of my food blog if I left it at Kadumanga. Jobin even mentioned that he would give away all my props if I don't plan to continue food blogging :-) So here I am with the cupcakes Amma & I baked for our friend's baby shower recently. She loves cream cheese frosting so I chose to bake Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES
Recipe source: Joy of Baking
Yields 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c buttermilk
2 tbsp liquid red food colour
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking soda

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 350 F /180 C and line your cupcake tins.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cocoa powder. Set aside.In a mug,mix buttermilk & red food colour.Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter for 2 mins. Add sugar and continue to beat for 3 mins.Add eggs one at a time and beat for a minute after each addition. Add flour and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with flour.
Mix vinegar and baking soda together,which will fuzz violently. Pour it into the cake batter and fold it in. Pour the batter immediately in to the cupcake moulds and bake for 20-25 mins. Let cool completely before frosting.

MASCARPONE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Recipe source : Epicurious

Ingredients:
1 c unsalted butter,room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 c powdered sugar
8 oz mascarpone, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Method: In a large bowl,on medium high, beat together butter, cream cheese & sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 mins.Add the mascarpone, salt & vanilla and beat until just combined. DO NOT beat any further as the frosting will curdle. Frost the cupcakes as desired.

I really hope she liked it as much as we enjoyed baking it for her :) The baby booties are handmade fondant cupcake toppers.

KADUMANGA ACHAR / KERALAN MANGO PICKLE

Last Saturday, we were at our friends house for an early Onam Sadya. It was a potluck so we took some Pavakka Theeyal,Beetroot Kichadi,Puli Inji & Pal Payasam. There were a variety of other curries and the early Sadya was a big hit!The main thing that caught my attention was the Kadumanga achar that our friend made. It's so hard to find them in stores here so I thought I'd make some at home.

It's very easy to make and the only thing you would need to buy from the store just for this would be some green mangoes. I had 2 in my fridge so everything came together quite fast for me. This recipe makes a good amount of pickle so if you think you will not need so much, just halve the ingredients and continue with the method.

I usually recycle glass jars/bottles with or without lids for future use. Those jars without lids become my flower vases and the ones with lids gets used up in various form for storing things.Just make sure the bottles are very clean and dry,especially the lids. Don't ever use a wet spoon in getting the pickle out unless you like seeing white mouldy stuff in your pickle jar when you open them next. I love surprises but not like these :-)

KADUMANGA ACHAR
Recipe from Honey Sarah

Ingredients:
2 large green mangoes, chopped fine with skin on
1 tbsp salt
1/3 c oil (vegetable/canola/gingelly)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 pod garlic, sliced
1 large piece of ginger,sliced
6 green chilies,chopped fine
2 sprigs curry leaves
4 heaped tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 c water
1/2 tsp fenugreek powder
1/2-1 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar (adjust to your taste, esp if the mangoes are sour)

Method: Chop the mangoes,mix with salt and leave it aside for 5-6 hours.In a deep pan, heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds. Once the seeds pop, add garlic, ginger, green chilies & curry leaves. Saute them for 1-2 mins. Reduce the flame to a medium low,add red chili powder & turmeric powder. Saute for 1 minute. Add salt and water and bring it to a boil. Add asafoetida and fenugreek powder. Mix well. Let the masala boil till it is fairly thick.Add the chopped mangoes and mix well to coat. Switch of the heat and taste test for salt. Add vingear if needed. Let it cool. Transfer to a clean dry bottle and store in the fridge till it's used up.

I usually don't bottle the pickles till a day or two after I make it so that if any adjustments needs to be made, I can do it easily. Once again, use clean jars and spoons when it comes to any pickle. This pickle is yummy and  is best served with kanji and curd.

DOUBLE ORANGE CAKE with MARBLED ICING...for me from him!

There is a small tradition we had started between the two of us. Some of you might already know about it. It's a simple one,we bake each other's birthday cakes. Last year it was Real Tiramisu and the year before that it was Finnegan's Chocolate Cream Cake.This year was no different and I LOVE the fact that it's no different when it comes to our little tradition :-) A week before May 31 he starts asking me what I want him to bake as my birthday cake and it's not that I haven't been thinking about it since May 4 but still, I tell him,'I'll think and tell you!'. I love the entire one week when he asks me again and again if I have decided what I wanted :-) I feel like a child all over again!

This time, I was a bit confused because I wanted something very simple, very home-y, very soft and something with fruits in it. So when he got back from work yesterday, I told him I wanted an orange cake with a simple icing. I used to call a frosting an icing before my blogging days began and never noticed that it changed along the way. Whenever I say icing, it has a very warm feeling...that's the word Amma uses whenever she iced a cake :-)

Last evening, I was sitting on the couch browsing through my favourite navy blue recipe diary and wondered if I ever had a storemade/bakery made cake for my birthday at home. I really couldn't recollect even a single birthday which had nothing but Amma baked cakes!

When I was small, she baked me all sorts of good looking cakes like Hickory Dickory Clock Cake, Castle Cake etc. Seriously, she had the patience to hunt for things in Kannur and bake it that many years ago! Even now, Kannur is not a place where you can find everything that you want, even if your wants and wishes are as simple as marshmallows!

DOUBLE ORANGE CAKE with MARBLED ICING
My own recipe

Ingredients:
Cake
100g flour
100g butter, softened
100g sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp orange zest
3 tbsp orange juice

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and line a 6 inch cake tin.
In a medium bowl, beat together flour,butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder & baking soda on high for 2 mins.Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the zest and orange juice. Beat on high for another minute. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 mins. Let it cool in the tin for 10 mins . Unmould and cool completely over a cooling rack.

Marble Frosting
60g butter
1 1/4 c icing sugar
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method: In a small bowl, beat butter and orange zest together until light and fluffy. Add orange juice and icing sugar little by little and beat till smooth. Divide the batter into 2 and whisk in cocoa powder to one half. Spoon out the icing alternately over the cake and marble it using a toothpick.

Our birthday routine is the same, always. We wake up early and go to church for mass . Once we are home I  make the breakfast and when we are done with it, we get ready to cut the cake :-) I couldn't help poking into this cake every now and then because it was so so soft and moist that I kept telling Jobin,'This cake is so soft!' and he always answered back,'Who baked it!' :-)

Trust me people, this is one really good cake! The icing is a perfect combination of chocolate and orange. This is not the kind of cakes you get in patisseries, it's the kind you get to eat only at home! It has such a comfort factor attached to it!I really don't know what's with me and citrus cakes! I LOVE them and maybe that's why I end up making my own proportions for them. The last time, it was my Lemon Yogurt Cake and this time it's a Double Orange Cake with Marble Frosting! :-)

MOCHA BAVARIAN CHARLOTTE for a Wedding Anniversary!

May 30th 2012 marks the 30th year since my Appan & Amma got married and the least that I can do from here is to wish them many many many more together! :-)

This cake is a blend of many that I've posted on the blog. It has a lining of  Ladyfingers & layers of Simple Vanilla Sponge soaked with Simple Syrup which was filled with Mocha Bavarian Cream and later frosted with a Chocolate Ganache.