Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Here is the surprise cake I baked on my birthday..The Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake. Absolutely moist and delicious cake. This was the first time I was using buttermilk in a cake. The almonds I used made it crunchy too. 

There is one thing that I thought I should have done but just skipped my mind. I was in a hurry to finish off, so I could spend time with my family. I forgot to use cocoa powder for dusting instead of all purpose flour. And that's one thing I repented but then it hardly mattered to anyone because everyone enjoyed the cakes and it was over in minutes. 

I tried to get dark chocolate but it was out of stock at all the supermarkets here. So I thought why not try a white ganache instead for a twist :) And I loved it. 

So hope you all enjoy this recipe..

Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Recipe Source: Passionate about baking by Deeba

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup All purpose flour

¼ cup Wheat flour

¼ cup Cocoa Powder + a little more for dusting the cake pan

½ tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Baking soda

¼ tsp Salt*

½ cup Unsalted butter

1 cup Sugar

2 eggs

100 ml Buttermilk ** see tips

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Ganache:

100gms White/Dark chocolate

3 tbsp cream + more if ganache is too thick

Chocolate shavings

METHOD

Prepare an 8’’ round pan by greasing it and placing a butter paper on it at the bottom and sides. Again grease on top of the butter paper and dust it with some cocoa powder***

Preheat oven to 170 degree C.

Prepare the buttermilk and keep aside.

Mix the dry ingredients (Flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt).

Sift it to mix well and avoid lumps.

In a separate bowl cream the butter. Add the sugar.

Add vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternatively.

Stir in chopped almonds/hazelnuts/pistachios.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let it cool.

For the ganache:

Add the cream and chocolate and place on low fire. Keep stirring till the chocolate melts fully. Remove from heat and stir briskly. It should be of flowing consistency. If the ganache is too thick add a little more cream/ if it’s too thin add a little chocolate.

Final touch:

After the cake has cooled remove from rack and place on a cake stand/plate.

Pour the ganache slowly pushing it from the centre to the outer edges so that it drips on the sides.

Decorate with chocolate shavings.

Tips:

Avoid salt if you are using salted butter.

To prepare buttermilk take 100ml milk at room temperature. Add 1 tsp white vinegar. Let it stand for 5-10 minutes. When it curdles it is ready for use.

Always dust your pan with cocoa powder if you are making chocolate cakes (instead of All purpose flour) to avoid white layer being formed on the outer crust.

Mahogany Cake

July is a month of celebrations at home with 3 birthdays!! Yay...and a chance for me to bake different cakes.

This delicately coffee flavoured chocolate cake has been a hit at home. This is the cake I made for my Amma's birthday. Just loved the chocolate and coffee flavour that just melts in the mouth. Hmmmm...this was the reaction of all my family members. Some doubted whether it was store bought. Unfortunately I could not click even one picture as it was all over so soon. So I made this one again on my birthday along with another cake...Surprise...

Again I am not very happy with the pictures as it was taken in a hurry as everyone wanted to take a bite..But I really want this cake to be on my blog as it is one of the first coffee cakes I made and just loved it.

MAHOGANY CAKE
Recipe Source: Ria's Collection

INGREDIENTS

Flour  – 1 1/3 cups

Eggs  - 2

Unsalted butter – 150 gms

Baking soda – ¾ tsp

Boiling water – ½ cup

Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp

Powdered sugar – 1 cup

Instant coffee powder – 2 tsp

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Salt – 1 tsp**see note

Vinegar – ½ tsp

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degree C for 10 minutes.

Sieve flour with baking soda and salt.

Boil water. Add coffee powder and cocoa powder to it and stir. Reserve.

Cream butter till light. Add sugar and beat well.

Add 1 egg at a time and continue beating.

Add vanilla and vinegar. The mix may look curdled but will look fine when the flour is added.

Alternately add flour and coffee mixture beating and mixing well after each addition.

Grease the pan with butter. Place butter/parchment paper. Grease again and dust with cocoa

powder.

Pour the mix into the prepared pan and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes clean.

FUDGE FROSTING

Cocoa-2 tbsp

Milk-3tbsp

Butter-50 g

Icing sugar-225 g

Caster sugar-75g

Vanilla-1/2 tsp

METHOD

Mix cocoa and icing sugar in a bowl.

Melt the butter, castor sugar and milk on medium flame till the sugar is dissolved completely.

Bring the mixture to a roaring boil and pour over the cocoa icing sugar mixture.

Mix well with the spatula.

Apply on the cake and level it.

Tips:

**If you are using salted butter then omit the salt.

It is little difficult working with the icing as it gets hardened soon. Add little butter at room temperature or milk to make it smoother.

Apply the icing when the cake is still warm as it is easier.

Boil little water and dip the spatula, wipe and then try leveling the icing.

Pound Cake

A simple pound cake should be on all bakers list of recipes. A Pound Cake is a rich, finely textured yellow cake containing eggs, flour, butter, and sugar.A cake that is golden yellow, soft and moist. The way it derived its name is interesting. In olden days it used to be made with a pound each of sugar, butter and eggs. But over the years the recipe has changed.


I have done this as part of the 'Sweet Punch' recipe for the month of June. Really glad to be part of this as the Sweet Punch team consists of the ever passionate and famous bakers and bloggers Ria, Maria and Divya.

So here is my try at Pound Cake.

INGREDIENTS  
1 1/2 cup Cake Flour sifted
3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons Milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
13 Tablespoons/ 184 gm Unsalted Butter, softened 

METHOD

Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 degree C.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl on low speed for 30 seconds.

Lightly whisk the milk, eggs and vanilla in a separate small bowl.

Chop softened butter into small cubes.

Add the butter and half the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix till well moistened for about a minute on medium speed. This will aerate and develop the cake mixture. Keep mixing scraping down the sides.

Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches , beating for about 20 seconds each.

Grease the sides and bottom of a 8 x 4x 2.5 inch loaf pan or fluted tube pan.

Place parchment paper at the bottom and grease on top of it.

Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth the surface using a spatula. 

until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a greased wire rack.

Tips:

For making Cake flour at home - Take one cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it.Replace the 2 tbsp flour with cornflour and sift together 2-3 times.
I used the dough hooks of my mixer to mix this dough as it is difficult to do it using the egg beater.
Always use a parchment paper or butter paper to line the bottom of the pans to be on the safer side. It is easier to remove the cake from the pan.
If you have a real sweet tooth you can increase the sugar level a bit. 

Triple Layer Hummingbird Cake

July 4^th is a special day for all Americans and  it is for us too.. We celebrate the birth of our little prince who turns 2 on this day.

I have been thinking of which new cake to bake on this special day. Checked out a lot of cakes but was not able to decide which one and wanted to try something new which I have never heard of before. Being an amateur in baking I was quite apprehensive about choosing the cake recipe. Finally I decided on the Hummingbird Cake. Found it very interesting because of its ingredients and because it was quite hassle free compared to the rest. J

Just loved the flavors. It was amazing! Crunchy, at the same time could get the taste of pineapple and it just melts in your mouth. I don’t like the taste of banana cake but in this cake the taste of banana was not so evident so I loved it. It is truly a fruit and nut studded super moist cake.

The best part about this cake is that there is no beating, forming peaks, sifting and stuff. It is quite easy. This was my first trial with layered cakes and quite happy with the result.

INGREDIENTS

Recipe Source: Godairyfree.org

All Purpose Flour – 3 cups

Sugar – 2 cups

Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon

Ground Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon

Salt – 1 teaspoon

Eggs – 3 large beaten

Vegetable Oil - 1 ½ cup

Crushed Pineapple – 227 gm (8 ounce)

Bananas – 2 Chopped

Almonds/Pecans – 1 cup chopped

Vanilla Extract – 1 ½ teaspoon

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Recipe Source: Joy of baking

Unsalted Butter – ¼ cup at room temperature

Cream Cheese – 227 gm at room temperature

Confectioners/Icing Sugar – 454 gm sifted

Vanilla Essence – 1 teaspoon

½ cup – Chopped Almonds/ Pecans

METHOD

Preheat oven 180 degree C.

Combine all the dry ingredients. Stir well with a ladle.

Beat the eggs slightly and add to the powder mixture.

Add the oil and mix again. Do not beat just mix well so as to combine all the ingredients.

Stir in the pineapple with the juice, banana, 1 cup of the nuts and vanilla.

Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with butter. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with parchment paper. Grease each pan with 1 tbsp. butter and dust with a little flour; shake pans so that flour evenly coats them. Invert pans and tap out excess flour.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until a until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 10 – 15 minutes. Invert pans and remove parchment paper and let cool on rack.

Frosting

The actual recipe for the frosting is given above. As I did not manage to get Cream Cheese I had to go for the butter icing. Just beat the butter (approx 400 gm) to make it soft and then keep adding the icing sugar as per your preference. The butter icing recipe calls for 1:2 ratio of butter and icing sugar but I find that too sweet. So keep adding till you get the right texture and stop adding icing sugar when the sweetness level is as per your palate.

Assembly

Place one layer of the cake on the cake stand.

Apply the icing evenly on the top. Place the second and third layer repeating the same process.

Spread the frosting on the sides. Decorate with the chopped Almonds/ Pecans.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Sending this recipe to Pari's  'Only Series' of events is hosted at Tamalapaku's  by Harini - Jaya 

Honey Comb Cake

Ever since I saw Ria's Honey Comb Cake, I have been thinking of attempting to make it. It really looks like a bee hive!! This cake looks stunning! I have not been able to get the 'Ria's cake look' but I am happy with my attempt. :)

This is one master piece cake you need to try. I was amazed at the way the cake looked once I removed the bubble wrap. Believe me... it feels GREAT!!!

Was a bit worried if it would come out proper but as I removed the wrap, I was actually admiring it. The only problem I faced was getting a good bubble wrap. May be I will try it again with a good one and you will get to see better pictures.

As of now enjoy this one...

HONEY COMB CAKE

Recipe Source: Ria's Collection (Do check this link for step by step method)

There are basically 4 steps to be followed to prepare this cake
1. Preparation of Vanilla cake
2. Chocolate butter cream icing
3. Preparing chocolate for bubble wrap decoration
4. Assembly.

STEP 1 - VANILLA CAKE

 INGREDIENTS

Largely adapted from Fun and Food Blog

2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)

2 cups unsalted butter

2 cups sugar (powdered)

2 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup plain milk

2 tsp baking powder

2-3 eggs

1 tsp salt

METHOD

Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.

Beat butter and sugar mixture well till thick and creamy.

Break the eggs in a separate bowl  and beat so that any spoiled eggs do not spoil the whole mix.

Pour the beaten eggs into the butter and sugar mixture. With a hand mixer blend everything well..

Add flour slowly while continuing to mix on low speed.

Beat until you see sharp peaks form in the mixture. Always mix in the same direction(clock wise or anti clock wise).

Add the vanilla essence and milk. Blend well. Do not over beat.

Pre-heat oven at 180°C for 10 minutes.

Coat a cake pan (9” round pan) with butter and sprinkle all purpose flour. Dust off the remaining powder.

Pour the cake mixture into the pan. Bake for 30- 40 minutes or till done. (Insert a wooden toothpick and check if it comes out clean). The edges of the cake will separate from the pan when done.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert and cool completely.

STEP 2 - CHOCOLATE BUTTER CREAM ICING

INGREDIENTS

Recipe Source: Ria’s Collection

Icing sugar- 1 1/4 cup
Unsalted butter- 1cup

Milk- 1 tbsp +1 tsp

Cooking Chocolate- 6 oz

Vanilla essence- 1 tsp

METHOD

Microwave the cooking chocolate till it melts (1 minute). Mix well and let it cool.

Microwave butter to make it soft (not melted) and beat it using a hand mixer till soft and creamy. (Almost 3 minutes)

Add milk and beat for 1 minute.

Add the melted and cooled chocolate and beat again till all ingredients are mixed well.

Add the vanilla essence.

Add the icing sugar and mix well with ladle till you get the right consistency.

STEP 3 - BUBBLE WRAP DECORATION

INGREDIENTS

Recipe Source: Ria’s Collection

Cooking Chocolate – 10 oz

Bubble wrap 1 (cut as per size of cake)

METHOD

Cut the bubble wrap as per the size of cake.

Microwave the chocolate, mix well and let it cool to room temperature.

Place the bubble wrap on a plate and pour the chocolate over the bubble wrap and wait till it is half set.

STEP 4 - ASSEMBLY

Cut the vanilla cake into 2 layers.

Apply the butter cream icing between the layers, on the sides and on top.

Now invert the plate with the bubble wrap on to the cake slowly.

Remove the plate and press the bubble wrap slowly.

Place the cake with the bubble wrap in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Peel the bubble wrap carefully.

You can decorate the cake with the remaining icing as per your taste.

Please do check Ria's lovely blog for the actual  pictures of the cake. Its amazing!!

Chocolate Frosting Chocolate Cake

Time for loads of chocolates….

It’s the time of the year when kids have their vacation. And I thought to give this treat for my son, Ashu, to begin the holiday season!! Yes, a luscious Chocolate Moist Cake. It definitely tastes as great as it looks. I owe my thanks to Susie Aunt for this recipe. It’s the best chocolate cakes I have had and gonna be on my list of favorite cakes.

I am the biggest chocolate dessert fan and think this one is for all the chocolate lovers.

So if you are craving for chocolate or having to impress your guests give this recipe a try. It works!!

Chocolate Frosting Chocolate Cake

Recipe Source : Susie Aunt (Ria's Mom)

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Cake

Sugar	2 cups
Flour	1 ¾ cups
Cocoa	¾ cup
Baking Powder	1 ½ tsp
Baking Soda	1 ½ tsp
Salt	1 tsp
Eggs	2
Milk	1 cup
Vegetable Oil	½ cup
Vanilla Essence	2 tsp
Boiling Water	1 cup

Chocolate Frosting

Butter	100 g
Cocoa	2/3 cup
Powdered sugar	3 cup
Milk	1/3 cup
Vanilla Essence	1 tsp

METHOD

Chocolate Cake

Mix the dry ingredients with a ladle i.e. flour, sugar, cocoa in a bowl.

Mix baking powder, baking soda, salt separately and add to the other dry ingredients.

Add eggs,milk, oil and vanilla essence and beat well for 2-3 minutes.

Preheat oven for 10 minutes.

Boil water and add slowly to the mixture. Now mix it with a spatula.

Pour into a greased cake tin. A rectangular flat cake tin(13x9x2) is preferred.

Bake for 35- 40 minutes.

Check if it’s cooked by inserting a toothpick. It should come out clean.

Remove from oven and let it cool.

Once cooled invert it on to a plate and let it cool.

Chocolate Frosting

Melt butter in a microwave.

Add the cocoa powder. It should be very dark cocoa for best results.

Alternately add sugar and milk.

Beat till you reach a creamy consistency. Add vanilla essence and mix well.

Spread it over the cake. Add 1-2 teaspoon milk if frosting is not of spreadable consistency.

Tips:
Its a must to use parchment or butter paper to line the bottom of the cake for this recipe.

If you are using 9'' round pan then divide the mixture into 2 and bake separately. Else it will not cook in the center / will take a long time. In that case bake for 30- 35 minutes.

To make 3 layer cake grease and flour three 8'' baking pan. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

You can make cup cakes too using this batter. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes. 

Zebra Cake in a Pressure cooker

This cake really impressed me with its looks. Amazing the way it really looks like the zebra stripes. Its very easy to make and I enjoyed the look of it even before it went for baking!

It is a chocolate marble cake. Soft and tasty!!

I got this recipe from Farida's blog. Thanks to Ria too..

Followed it step by step.

INGREDIENTS


Recipe source: Farida's Blog

4 large Eggs, at room temperature

1 cup  granulated Sugar

1 cup  Milk, at room temperature

1 cup  Vegetable oil 

2 cups  Maida

1/3 teaspoon Vanilla powder

1 tablespoon  Baking powder

2 tablespoons dark Cocoa powder 

METHOD

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Use a hand-held electric mixer and beat until the mixture is creamy and light in color

2. Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine and mix flour, vanilla powder and baking powder. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat  until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  If the mixture is too thin, add a little more flour.

4. Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. This is very important. EQUAL PORTIONS.Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well.

5. Preheat the cooker (without any water)for 5 minutes on High flame. Place a ring or small flat tumbler in the cooker to place the cake tin.

6. Line the cake tin with butter.Then sprinkle some maida.

7. Assembly - Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter. Do not stop and wait until the previous batter spreads. Alternate the batter until you finish them. 

8. Place the cake tin in the cooker and close the lid. Do not place the weight/whistle.Bake in the cooker first on High flame for 5 minutes then medium flame for 5 minutes. Then low flame for 10 minutes and again medium flame  till the cake is done.To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean when ready. Remove from the cooker.Invert the cake onto a plate/ rack. Turn the cake back over and let cool. 

I love those lines..And sure to make it many many more times!!

Fudge Cake in a Pressure Cooker!

This is one of my favourite fudge cakes for many reasons—It’s easy to make, fuss free, moist  and made of things you usually have at home. And it can be cooked in a pressure cooker!!!!

The fudge frosting with nuts makes it so yummy..All cake lovers are gonna love this one for sure!

INGREDIENTS

Recipe source: Susie Aunty

120g Maida

120g Salted butter

120g powdered sugar

3 eggs

¼ tsp vanilla essence

½ tsp baking powder

Milk if required

METHOD

• Sift maida and baking powder together.
• Beat butter and sugar.
• Add eggs and maida alternatively to the butter-sugar mixture.
• Add vanilla essence.
• If the mixture becomes too thick , loosen it by adding milk.
• Preheat the cooker for 5 minutes. Do not add any water.
• Keep a ring or small steel stand inside the cooker.
• Line the cake tin with butter and sprinkle Maida to cover all sides.
• Pour the cake mixture into the cake tin.
• Place the cake tin inside the cooker.
• Close the pressure cooker.Do not  keep the weight/whistle.
• Cook on high flame for 5 minutes.
• Then lower the flame to medium for 10 minutes
• Lower to low flame for 5 minutes.
• Check if the cake is baked by inserting a toothpick in the middle. It should come out clean.
• Remove cake from cooker and leave it to cool for 10 – 15 minutes. Do not place it under the fan as it may lose its moisture and make the cake dry.

Fugde Icing:

Ingredients:

1/2 tin(200 gm) Condensed milk(I used Amul Mithaimate)

50 gms butter

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp chopped nuts

Method:

• Heat a pan. Put 3 tablespoon sugar and stir.
• The sugar will caramelize to a dark brown colour.
• Remove from fire and add condensed milk first and keep stirring briskly.
• Add butter and mix well.
• Keep on high flame first and then reduce to medium flame. Keep stirring to reach a thick consistency.
• Make sure no lumps are formed.
• Pour it over the cake while it is hot. With a spatula cover the cake with the icing.
• Top it with the chopped nuts.

A sinful slice...........