Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate and Pistachio

Although I spend much of my time eating at amma’s place, I do a fair bit of cooking as well. For example this vanilla cake topped with white chocolate and pistachios that I made last evening. People looking for a basic vanilla eggless cake can make this recipe minus the ganache sandwich.

Makes: 10-12 servings

Ingredients

For the Cake

• All Purpose Flour – 1 1/4 cup
• Milk Powder – 3 tbsp
• Sugar – 3/4 cup
• Butter – 1/2 cup
• Milk – 3/4 cup
• Baking Powder – 2 tsp
• Cooking Soda – 1/2 tsp
• Vanilla – a few drops

For the Filling and Topping

• White Chocolate – 125 gms
• Fresh Cream – 1/4 cup
• Pistachio – 1/4 cup (whole)

Method

1. Line a baking dish 9 by 9 (or equivalent) baking dish.
2. Powder the sugar well. Cream the butter and sugar.
3. Mix the flour and milk powder. Fold this into the butter-sugar. Fold in the milk. Add vanilla and mix. Divide this batter into two parts. Refrigerate one part immediately.
4. Add 1 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of cooking soda to one part of batter. Pour into the baking dish. Bake at 220 C for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Cool the cake and transfer to a flat tray or cake holder. Line the 9 by 9 baking dish again.
6. Take out the remaining batter from the fridge. Repeat step 4 to bake another cake. Cool completely.
7. Chop the White chocolate to small pieces.
8. Bring the Fresh Cream to a boil over medium heat.
9. Take off heat and pour over the chopped chocolate in medium bowl. Whisk well until the ganache (chocolate-cream mixture) is smooth, silky and shiny.
10. Spread half of this ganache on top of one cake. Place the second cake on top of the first cake and spread the rest of the ganache on top. Dot with pistachios.
11. Refrigerate until the ganache is set, cut into pieces and serve. Can be served slightly warmed with ice cream on side.

Vanilla Cake with White Chocolate and Pistachio – for the Recipe Marathon

Fellow recipe marathoners:

DK, Siri, Srivalli, Ranji, PJ, Curry Leaf, Medha, Priya, Bhawna, Raaji, Ruchii
Anu, Kamala, Roopa, Divya Kudua, Rekha, Divya M, Raaga, Lakshmi Venkatesh, Sripriya, Viji, , Kamalika,Pavani, Roochi, Karuna

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Sour Cream Cake for Recipe Marathon – an imagined Day 1

One of my recurring nightmares while in the third semester of my Masters degree was that I’d missed a date for submission for an assignment. Third semester was highly disorienting, we’d have 20 assignments due within 2 weeks time, with submission dates almost within 2 – 3 days of each other. Even the most organized of people on campus had panic attacks about over looking a crucial piece of paper, not being able to take a print out, computers crashing and forgetting days and dates.

I for one, still end up counting days and dates wrong!!! And so I imagine today was the first day of the Recipe Marathon, and that today was the fabulous 17th of May when we all begin on this challenge on posting one recipe each day for the next 15 days!! Thankfully I don’t have any “life sustaining” credits to earn on this challenge. So I shall go ahead and imagine, that today is a beautiful Day 1 when I start my highly ambitious project of posting one recipe every day.

My in laws had come to visit over this weekend. I love cooking for my niece and nephew – kids give you the most open hearted, frank opinions on how your food taste. They’re generous with their appreciate, precise with their criticism. I packed some tutti frutti sour cream cake for them.

It’s a not too dense, not too light cake that’s most delicious when warmed slightly and eaten with ice cream on the side.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour – 2 cups
• Sugar – 3/4th cup
• Cinnamon – 1 stick
• Sour Cream – 3/4th cup
• Curd – 1/2 cup
• Milk – 1/2 cup
• Cooking Soda – 1/2 tsp
• Baking Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Tutti Frutti or Chocolate Chips or Butterscotch – 1 cup

Method

1. Line a 12 inch or equivalent Baking Pan. Mix Cooking Soda and Baking Powder with the Curd. Powder the sugar and cinnamon stick together.
2. Mix All Purpose Flour, Cinnamon Sugar, Sour Cream, Curd and Milk together. Add the Tutti Frutti (or Chocolate Chips or Butterscotch).
3. Pour batter into the Baking Pan. Bake at 220 degrees centigrade for 40 – 50 minutes.
4. Put a toothpick in the center of the cake after the 30th minute to check for if the cake is done. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.
5. Cool the cake, cut into pieces and store.

Another look at the cake – turned upside down.

The good people who posted on the actual Day 1:

• Dhivya – Bhindi Jaipuri
• Siri – Baked Cauliflower with Puck’s Marinara Sauce
• Divya Vikram – Peas Kurma
• Raaga – Masala Lauki Chana Dal
• Srivalli – Chicken Semi Gravy
• Swati – Dum Ka Murg Zafrani
• Bhags – Tomato Shorba

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Coffee Dried Currants Cake

Note: It’s snowing at The Yum Blog – those aren’t white dots but snow flakes.

If plum cakes can be cakes without plums then dried currants can be currants that have nothing to do with currants.

Dried currants as the Wikipedia article rattles, are tiny seedless intensely flavoured grapes from the island of Zante in Greece. Greece account for close to 90% of all the Zante grapes in the world, making it the largest producer and exporter. In fact the production of currants traditionally in Greece has been so large that once it even incited an economic crisis in late 19th century and early years of the 20th century. One of the oldest known raisins in the world, their current name derives from “Reysyns de Corauntz” or “Raisins of Corinth”.

I have never made a cake without chocolate or cocoa – so this is my first attempt. I dumped in ingredients with a rough estimate of what goes inside a cake and I was delighted with the results.

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour – 1 1/2 cups
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Butter – 1/2 cup
• Coffee Decoction – 1/2 cup (coffee concentrate)
• Dried Currants – 3/4 cup
• Espresso Powder – 4 tbsp
• Curd – 4 tbsp (adjust as per batter consistency)
• Baking Powder – 1/4 tsp
• Cooking Soda – 1/4 tsp

Method

1. Line and Grease a microwave safe square glass dish (8in to 9in in size). Leave some paper to hang from the sides.
2. Soak the Dried Currants in Coffee Dicoction for 1 hour or so until the currants are plump.
3. Powder the sugar. Take a large mixing bowl and cream the butter and sugar.
4. Add the flour followed by the Espresso Powder. Mix well.
5. Add the dried currants with the Coffee dicoction.
6. In a small cup, mix the curd with baking powder and cooking soda. Add this to the batter in the mixing bowl and mix well.
7. Check the consistency of the batter which should be thick but flowing. Add a couple of more tablespoons of curd or milk to adjust consistency if required.
8. Transfer batter to the greased dish and microwave on high for 7 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake. Keep for an additional minute or so if the toothpick doesn’t come out clean.
9. Remove from oven when done and wait for the cake to cool before cutting into pieces.

This is my entry for AFAM – Dry Fruits which is being hosted by us for the month of December.

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Chocolate Apple Brownies – low fat and vegan

My “bestest” days are when my kitchen experiments translate into success. One of the interesting food events that I stumbled upon is the Heart of the Matter – eating for life that rounds up heart friendly recipes each month based on a theme. This month’s theme is Baking. I find it interesting not because I am a health fanatic – in fact most of my favourite indulgences are far from low fat – but because:

a. Zero Butter low fat cooking opens up a whole world of amazing possibilities – Cakes and Brownies can graduate from a “once in a while” indulgences to a routine snacks.

b. I find it challenging to recreate the magic of food for those whose health affinities don’t permit these indulgences cooked the conventional way.

Here’s a “low fat- no dairy” recipe that I adapted using Emeril’s Microwave Double Chocolate Brownies as a reference. It qualifies as both low fat and vegan – and personally I am very satisfied with the yummy result it produced.

Chocolate Apple Cake

Chocolate Brownie with an Apple flavour

Preparation time: 10 minutes, Baking time: 5 minutes, Yield: 10 brownies

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Nuts (Powdered)##
• 1/4 cups Nuts (Chopped)
• 1/3 cup Sugar (40 grams Powdered) (or 1/2 a cup for a sweeter taste)
• 3 ounces Dark Chocolate (or 4 ounces for more chocolatey taste)
• 1/2 cup Apple Puree* ##
• 1 large Banana (Pureed) **
• 1 tbsp Coffee (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence (or flavourings of your choice)
• a pinch of salt (optional)
• 1/4 tsp Baking powder**

cups = 8oz measures .

Method

1. Line a baking dish (an 8 inch square dish or equivalent in other shapes) with wax paper.
2. Coarsely chop the Dark chocolate into small pieces and transfer to a microwave safe glass dish. Micro on high for 1 minute. Stir the chocolate every 30 seconds. Whisk into a smooth paste with the Apple Puree and Banana Puree. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix the All purpose flour, powdered nuts, chopped nuts, salt and sugar.
4. Add chocolate mixture, flavorings – coffee and vanilla and whisk into a smooth batter. Add baking powder and mix well.
5. Transfer to baking dish and Microwave on high for 5 minutes (Timings for a 900 watts oven). Stick a plastic knife or toothpick in the center to check for doneness. #

Cut into pieces after cake cools completely and store in an air tight container.

*Slice Apples and micro on high for 4 minutes and blend in a blender. Strain the puree and blend the coarse lump that is left on the strainer. Repeat till you get a smooth puree.
Alternatively if you puree raw apples, melt Chocolate along with the Apple Puree for 2 minutes.

##Apple Puree and Powdered Nuts have been used as butter substitutes to add richness to the Cake. Apple Sauce can be used in place of Apple Puree though this might make the cake sweeter.

**Banana and Baking Powder have been used as substitutes for Egg. Banana also serves as a natural sweetener.
# Over cooking can result in cake becoming very crumbly.

The brownies were mildly fruity in taste and had a wonderful crust for something that’s been baked in a microwave. People with a sweet tooth might find the sweetness on the lower side and chocolate fanatics might need an ounce more of chocolate to make it more decadent. For Brownies that are richer, I suggest increasing the chocolate by an ounce and sugar by a few tablespoons.

Heart friendly low fat vegan Chocolate Apple Brownies for Heart of the Matter 8: Baking hosted by Joanna.

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My Cake Book and Hand written Note Book

We had a long weekend and I took to blog hopping and posting random musings – like this previous post on Nagapattinam with pictures of my family temple. While I was blog hopping I saw almost everyone showing off their cook books! After seeing Suganya’s Tassajara cook book, I had to muster some courage to show off my humble belongings! 🙂 . I have a modest collection of cook books. I gather most of my cooking knowledge from my mother and aunts, my friends and acquaintances and their mothers and patties, random people I meet on holidays like this person who cooks at a guest house in a remote hill station, chefs at marriages and functions at all kinds, cookery shows like that of Sanjeev Kapoor and now food bloggers and food websites. Having travelled throughout India, I have met a whole lot of interesting people and been introduced to their cuisine.

So here are my cook books with some memories. Hope you don’t find my narration boring! 😀

Just before my marriage, I was attending a Nirmal (a traditional art form) painting class, around 5 km from my home. I wanted to join the bakery course conducted in the same place. One day on my way back from the classes I lost my purse with around Rs.7! Rs. 7 in those days was a loooooooooot of money for a youngster. I was so upset that I created a scene after reaching home! My mother got scared seeing my crest fallen face and refused to send me to the class from the next day. I somehow convinced her and joined a painting class closer home, though I was pretty upset about not being able to attend the baking class. Since I was so keen to learn baking my Appa who travelled a lot as a part of his job at Telecoms bought a cake book from Manneys, Poona for Rs. 50. Yes 26 years back the book was only Rs. 50 !!

Woman’s Own Cook Book of Cake Decorating and Cake Making is a large collection of recipes published by Hamlyn Publishing, London. No author/s have been mentioned anywhere in the book. This book was my introduction to the world of baking. Though my mother baked eggless cakes in a round gas oven, I learnt baking and decoration from this book! For the rich fruit cake I follow the recipe from this book, omitting rum.

The other book I cherish is my handwritten note book which is a treasure house of recipes from my mom and aunts, with exact measurements and rare dishes! This is the only book I follow 100%, with no modifications to the recipes. 🙂

I am also fond of the Tupperware cook book in which some of my recipes were published. 😉

I have a few cook books by Tarla dalal – some of them are with my daughter now. I like her North Indian recipes – simple and practical. Supersoft naans with Navratna kurma is the first dish I prepared from her books. TarlaDalal comes across as a simple and lovable person in her cookery shows! 🙂

I would like to send this as my entry for “Show me your Cook Book” the event hosted by Nags (Nags, please do accept my entry even if it is 3 days late!:)

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My Chocolate Indulgence

I am awful at Math, especially for someone whose parents eat mental arithmetic for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But as far as cooking is concerned, this is how my math works:

A series of chocolatey posts at Emily’s ROL blog + a double chocolate treat at Jugalbandi+ a follow on @ Arundhati’s Escapades + a Madrasi’s chocolate indulgence = “I need to cook some Chocolate before I go mad”.

Now the elements of my eco system have this compulsive need to conspire against me at the most unnecessary hour – the nearest store ran out of cooking chocolate stock and chose to remain closed the following day. Hmph!!! Dear conspiring elements, FYI, there is ancient recipe which makes it possible for me to make brownies without the cooking chocolate. I chose to make the eggless version, since I have developed strong disliking for the smell of egg after my failed attempts at making poached and boiled eggs a part of the breakfast menu.

I am yet to invest in a convection oven (Dont ask me why -My parents furnished my kitchen exactly a year ago), so I made these in the microwave. Microwave Brownies aren’t as crusty as the ones made in a convection oven, but make delightful pudding bases.

Preparation: 10 minutes, Baking: 5 minutes, Yield: lasts two gluttons 10-15 days.

The above photos are each a portion of batter cooked. I baked in two installments. If you plan to do this, please refridgerate the remaining batter.

Ingredients

• All Purpose flour – 2 cups
• Cocoa Powder – 1 cup (increase or decrease as desired)
• Sugar – 1 1/2 cups
• Butter – 1/2 cup
• Milk Powder – 1 cup
• Milk – 1 cup
• Curd – 1/2 cup
• Nuts of your choice – as desired (I din’t add any)
• Flavourings of your choice – 1 tsp (Vanilla, Instant Coffee, Almonds)

*cups= 225ml or 8oz
Method

1. Line an Oven Proof Dish with Wax Paper. (or spread 1 tsp oil over a normal white paper lined in). Note: Dont choose a deep dish, thick brownies may end up becoming very fluffy and more cake like in the microwave.
2. Powder the Sugar. Mix all ingredients into a smooth batter.
3. Pour batter into the Oven Proof Dish. Microwave on high for 5 minutes. Check after the 4th minute for doneness by inserting the back of a spoon or fork through the cake. (Timings are for a 900 watts oven).
4. Set aside for cooling. Invert into a flat plate and cut into pieces. Store in an air tight container.

Note: Overcooking or cutting while its still warm can make the cake very crumbly.

Is there a vegan version? No clue, though I dont see why one couldn’t try this with soymilk substitutes. Is this low fat? No idea, though I dont think 1/2 a cup of butter spread over 10-15 days of pure joy could be sinful. And if I cant burn that many calories, I must be a really lazy bum.

I like mine drenched in Apple Sauce and topped with some fresh cream.

Ingredients

• Apples – 4
• Bananas – 2
• Honey – 1 tsp

Method

1. Slice Apples and Bananas.
2. Microwave Apple on high for 2 minutes.
3. Add in Bananas and Microwave on high for 1 minute. Mash lightly.
4. Add Honey and Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Mash lightly and set aside to cool.
5. Pulse to a puree in a blender.

Like Rava Idlis and Ghee Cookies, this is yet another recipe, my mom and I will cook up at any time of the day or night. Chocolate Indulgence in 15 minutes.

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