Easy Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake - It Can't Get Easier Than This!

Lack of peace and quiet, the pandemonium our house constantly is  - you have read about these and is all coming out your ears now. The kids now have holidays and are with their grand parents in our home town since the past few days. After all the excitement of packing and getting ready to leave with Granny, the son had cold feet at the last moment, but my 4-year-old daughter surprised us by waving away enthusiastically and gleefully (a little too much for my comfort!) from the train. The one who came home teary-eyed was me! 

"You got to teach them to fly'' was the amused hubby's philosophical remark on the silent drive back home. By the next morning I was excited about all that I could do in these few days without having to worry about the kids. Bake, blog, read up, catch a movie, a quiet dinner out with hubby.. oh yes!! In came the maid who does the dishes and washes clothes for me. She remarked how silent the house was without them.. Errr. yes its silent...am trying to sip and enjoy my coffee and reading my baking book as early as at 8 a.m. My other house help, the neighbor, the vegetable vendor - all of them had something along similar lines to say.. sighing and 'tching' too much and too often for comfort. Well!!

Though I have hardly been home, I find the house all too silent when we come back, not much to clean up after. For all the grand plans I had to bake and blog about, there is nobody to hover over my shoulders as I take the pictures and then give me a thumbs up after eating. Feels weird and disconcerting, is this a small glimpse of the empty-nest syndrome during the later years? Funny, am now not seriously looking forward to see the kids growing up fast now!

Watch my video! 

Did I just say I have nobody to bake for? Well, this is the time to bake a couple of batches of brownies for the brother's colleagues, my colleagues, my cousins, freeze some of it for the kids, make some cookie dough, make home-made cake and bread mixes. These can really help get things in the oven real fast. And the frozen stuff would be great to feed the kids when they come back, my son is surely going to have questions for me when he 'checks' my blog for what I have been baking while he was away! 

What freezes well, awaits and this one comes from my drafts which means something they have already eaten, sparing me the sad and incredulous ''You baked this while we were away?''  The joys of being a blogger Mom!

Here is a cake which is really easy, tasty, can be put together with minimum fuss, slices beautifully and can feed a good number of people too. The beginner's perfect entertaining cake? Not just for the baking part, but also decorating it - by just slathering on some cooled ganache, garnish with some bright cherries or strawberries and you can confidently let that party crowd in!

 Recipe from Citrus And Candy. Please weigh ingredients for best results

Unsalted butter - 150 grams, cut up
Brown sugar - 220 grams 
Good quality dark chocolate, chopped - 100 grams
Cocoa powder - 50 grams

Instant coffee - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Milk - 160 ml
Large eggs, 3 / 150 grams (without shell) at room temperature
Plain flour -170 grams
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

 Salt - tiny pinch

Ganache : Recipe here. 

Method : Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C / 340 degree F.  Grease your bundt pan thoroughly.( I have used a  7.5 cup pan from Alda. Check out more of my baking product recommendations on my Amazon store  here) You could use baking spray or grease with ghee and dust with flour. Tap to remove excess flour. 

You could also use an 8'' or 9'' square tin lined with baking parchment, grease and flour the sides. 

Mise en place .

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt , set aside.

Take the butter, milk, cocoa, sugar, coffee and chocolate in a heavy saucepan.. Heat on low till the chocolate, butter and sugar melt completely and you have a smooth mixture.. You could do also do this in a large glass bowl in the microwave. Allow the mixture to cool. 

Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture  one by one and whisk to combine. Sift over the flour mixture and then gently fold it in. Scrape batter into tin and bake for 25 -30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Do not over bake. Cool in tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Invert the cake tin on the cake, then re-invert on the serving platter and pour the ganache. (Watch video above to get a better idea) 

If you end up with an overbaked slightly dryish cake, brush the cake with some simple syrup.

Heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and cool.

Watch my video How to make ganache 

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Strawberry Quark Cream Cake

                                Birthdays are nature's way of saying eat more cake! 

So it was hubby's birthday last week and of course there had to be cake! With the pretty blush of strawberries dotting the carts and supermarket aisles all around,  a strawberry cake was waiting to happen. Baking layered cakes is fun but involves time and effort.  Nothing that can't be planned ahead and spread over a couple of days to make it easier though. If you want homemade quark in the filling, pre-planning is absolutely necessary. I made the quark first (you will need at least 40 plus hours for this!), baked the sponges later,  struggled to get neat layers (and failed), made and filled the strawberry filling the next day. Let it sit in the fridge a good 16 hours and decorated it on the birthday.  Turned out to be a light and moist, slightly tangy, relatively low fat Strawberry Quark Cream Cake we enjoyed.

This sponge has been a favorite,  one I have been using since ages.  About time I stopped just saying and actually tried a new recipe ! Finally tried a slightly more substantial fat less sponge from Deeba's blog.  The eggs are warmed over simmering water and then beaten,  a touch of baking powder lightens the cake.  Love these sponges as nothing soaks and holds up syrup better. If you are yet to try one of these, please do! I like having pieces of this cake in my freezer for trifles and would probably store whole ones too if I had a freezer big enough!  

Strawberry Quark Cream Cake

Ingredients:

For the sponge from here: ( You will need 2 of these if you want a large 6 layered cake)

• Eggs - 4 large / 192 grams 
• Sugar  - 100 grams, I used powdered, Deeba uses granulated
• Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• Plain flour - 100 grams
• Baking powder - 3/4 teaspoon
• pinch salt

For the Strawberry Puree

Fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped roughly - 12-15 

Butter - 1 teaspoon

Sugar - 3-4 tablespoons (adjust depending on the tartness of strawberries)

Vanilla bean - 1/2 scraped

Strawberry Quark Cream (You may need all of this baking a 6 a layered cake, better more than less)

Strawberry puree - 1/2 cup

Homemade Quark- 2 cups (from about 1 liter milk) 

Sweetened Whipping cream ( I use non-dairy) - 2 cups (to make 4 cups of whipped cream)

Powdered sugar - about 1/3 to 1/2 cup as needed depending on the proportion of quark to cream

Vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons
Pink Gel color - a couple of streaks (optional)

Simple syrup 

Water (1 1/2 cups) and sugar ( 3/4 cup) heated together. Cool and stir in a bit of vanilla. Make more if needed.

Method to make the sponge :  

It would help to remember that it is most important to whip the eggs to the specified stage and so is folding in the flour right. The baking powder helps make the sponge lighter, a saving grace! I need more practice, it petrifies me each time! Watch this and this video of Rose Levy Beranbaum if you will baking this kind of sponge for the first time. 

• Preheat oven to 190C. Line a 9'' (Deeba uses 8'' loose bottomed tins) round baking tin with parchment paper. Grease the bottom and sides, dust sides lightly with flour.
• Make 1 sponge at a time 
• Sift the baking powder, salt and flour together. Set aside.
• Place the eggs, vanilla and sugar in a large steel bowl. The bowl should sit snugly in a preferably heavy, sturdy bowl with a handle. I used my pressure cooker.  The bowl with the eggs should not touch the hot water in the bowl below. 
• Whisking constantly, heat until the eggs are slightly warm to the touch (it was about 102 F on my instant read thermometer)
• Take off the heat. Using a hand mixer on highest speed, beat the eggs until they have tripled in volume, and become very thick and mousse like, 5-8 minutes. 
• Sift 1/3 of the flour over the eggs, fold in with a large spatula or slotted skimmer gently till you see most of the flour disappear. Repeat with 1/3 more of the flour. Add the remaining flour and fold in making sure all flour is mixed thoroughly with no lumps. Please do watch Rose's videos for this technique. 
• Turn batter into the tin (do NOT rap the tin) and bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly colored and a tester comes out clean. If in doubt, err on the side of over baking slightly.
• Run a sharp knife around the sides to release the cake, immediately invert it on a rack, then re-invert so that the cake cools top crust up. When completely cool, trim the top and bottom crusts, cut the cake into 2 or 3 layers as needed. If you do not trim the crust, the syrup won't be absorbed well. 

For the fresh  strawberry puree / compote - To make a generous half cup

Put all ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Cook on low heat for 5-8 minutes till the mixture is thick and syrupy. Be sure this is not watery as it will thin your cream. Mash roughly with a fork to keep it chunky or puree in a blender for a smoother puree. 

Strawberry Quark Cream 

Whisk the quark, vanilla and powdered sugar till well blended. Fold in the strawberry puree. Mix in half cup of whipped cream to lighten the mixture.  Gently fold in the whipped cream in the proportion you desire. ( Try with a tablespoon of quark, sugar, 2 tablespoons whipped cream and some puree to get an idea about the proportion you will prefer. More quark makes the cream tangier as the puree will be tangy too. Use sugar as needed)

To assemble :

Place one layer of the sponge on a platter, brush the simple syrup over it, making sure it is thoroughly moistened or the cake will be dry. Dollop some cream in the center, spread evenly using an offset spatula. ( I will never learn this in a 100 years!!) Repeat with two more layers. Frost the top and sides. There are always chocolate collars to the rescue! Chill at least overnight or even up to a day to let the flavors meld. Decorate as you wish. Serve chilled. 

Please note : If making this sponge first time, it s a good idea to use the extra layer of cake to test how much syrup it will absorb. Brush and chill, top with some cream, chill for an hour or so, then check the taste and texture.  Alter the amount of sugar in the syrup if needed. The sponge will be moist but not soggy or pasty. One of the layers here is very similar sponge from Roland Mesnier. Deeba's is easier and faster. 

The fresh strawberry puree lent a nice but subtle flavor and tang to the filling. If strawberries aren't quite your thing, just wait for the mangoes to arrive or use chopped ripe sweet kiwi fruit instead (do not cook either fruit). That should be delicious too!  

Adore strawberries and love tangy sweet ? Try this cake before the season is over! I liked the sponge too, a Tres Leches next perhaps?

Coffee, Almond & Chocolate Dessert Cakes

So I turned a year older!  One of the things I look forward to is the cake I bake for myself. Its more fun as I don’t have to organize for a birthday party as I do for the kids.  And I can get away without cooking anything for the day if I chose to! A good time to get experimental as I can survive a not-quite-there cake as it is my birthday cake and just for the immediate family. A chocolate genoise I baked did not quite rise to the occasion –  was I grouchy! My mother thought I was crazy to be spending half a day baking myself a birthday cake and even crazier to be baking another after one failed! But that’s me and it makes me happy! At times like this, old cakes in your repertoire are saviors. You know you are sure to turn out something decent. This cake is one from my earliest baking days,  a recipe I have used innumerable times. Always tasted good and (sheepish!) was the only recipe I knew! An oil based one, makes a good tea-cake, works well as a base for a cream filled cake when moistened with the right amount of syrup.  It is not in the same league as a fatless sponge in terms of texture, but the chocolaty-ness of the cake makes up for it. But the cake surely takes fairly well to a decent amount of syrup and retains its texture when moistened and chilled. The cake came together quickly and baked quickly as I wanted a thinnish layer of cake and not too many cakes in numbers.  Lots of coffee, ground almonds and agar agar powder just enough to help the cream hold its shape once out of the supporting mousse strips.  Layers of chocolate cake and coffee almond cream – not a bad dessert for the birthday girl to eat on her birthday…and the next day too!! Chocolate Cake – A Nita Mehta recipe ( Sorry, don't remember the name of the book) Ingredients: All purpose Flour – 65 grams / 1/2 cup Cocoa powder – 4 tablespoons /20 grams approx Baking powder - 3/4 teaspoon Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Oil – 6 tablespoons Eggs – 2, large / 96 grams Pure vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon Procedure:  Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Grease, flour and line the bottom of an 8’’ square tin with baking parchment.  Shake off the excess flour. Keep aside.  Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder together thrice. Keep aside.  In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla for about 2-3 minutes (speed 3 on your hand mixer) or till double in volume.  On low speed beat  in the oil till incorporated, then the sugar. Beat just enough to incorporate well  Fold in the flour mixture gently. This makes a batter of dropping consistency, neither too thick nor thin. Spread the batter in the cake tin and bake for about  16-18 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake or it will be dry. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack, cool completely  Using a sharp serrated knife, cut the cake horizontally into 2 layers (about 5mm thick each worked best). Cut into circles with a sharp round cookie cutter. Keep covered in an airtight box till you make the cream. Before you make the cream, have your mousse strips (10-12), cake circles and syrup ready.  You can at this point soak a circle in syrup (read below) and refrigerate covered for an hour or more to see how much of syrup you will like in the cake and soak the rest accordingly. For the syrup Hot water –1/2 cup Instant coffee - 1 teaspoon Powdered sugar - 2 tablespoons (or 3 for a sweeter cake) Vanilla - 1/4 teaspoon Mix everything together, taste. I like the syrup to be just about sweet.  Cover and keep aside. This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. If using coffee in the syrup you will need more sugar to temper the bitterness. For the coffee-almond cream :  Sweetened whipping cream, chilled – 2 cups Instant coffee powder –4-5 teaspoons ( I used 5) Powdered Sugar – 2 tablespoons (Read note) Agar agar powder (not flakes) –1/2 teaspoon Ground raw almonds (ground till powdery but with a bit of texture) - 1/2 cup Note: The non-dairy cream is sweetened, but I have used a bit more as there is enough coffee (to give good coffee flavor) to temper the sweetness. Without the extra sugar and so much of coffee the cream may taste a bit bland. Keep the beaters and a large bowl chilled.   Take about 6 tablespoons of the cream (from the 2 cups), agar agar and coffee in a small saucepan. On low heat, heat till bubbles form around the edge and towards the center. About 30 seconds to a minute. Be careful not to burn. Stir to mix with a spatula. Strain using a fine mesh strainer.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Do not leave for too long as the agar will begin to set and you may need to re-heat and cool again.  Fill a larger bowl with ice cubes.  Sit the smaller bowl in the ice. While the hot cream cools, whip the remaining cream and sugar over ice. Once the beater marks start to show, add the coffee cream and continue to beat till soft drooping peaks form when the beaters are raised. Fold in the ground almonds. At this stage, the cream will be of spooning consistency (will set more firm on refrigeration, so do not keep it in the fridge at this point). The cream can’t be made ahead as it will set in the fridge. Take about 1 ½ cups of cream and fill in a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip.  Remove the adhesive tape from the strips, stick together to close and fit the cake circle snugly. Test one and remove, you can fit them in after spooning the syrup.  Keep the closed mousse strips on a platter (this will be the platter which will sit in your fridge once assembled. I kept my platter in my cake caddy).  Spoon syrup over the cake circles one by one. The cake should be thoroughly moist, but not soggy or dripping syrup. If needed turn the circles over and spoon the syrup on both sides. Immediately, carefully fit within the strips (one at the bottom of each).  Now spoon the cream on the cake to come a little under the rim of the strip. You will fit another soaked circle on top.  Moisten more circles and place on top of the cream. Pipe some cream on top, cover airtight. Refrigerate at least 8-10 hours before serving.  Remove the strips carefully and place on the serving platter.  Just before serving, dust some coffee on top. Place a coffee bean on each. Making simple chocolate decorations like the one above is fun, try it if you haven't! Please note:  Prolonged refrigeration made the cream with agar agar it go a tad dry-ish, so you may not want to keep these around for more than 2 days once assembled. If not using agar agar, whip the cream to soft peaks (which hold their shape when the beater is raised) and use immediately. In this case, the cream will not hold its shape firmly.  Bake 1 ½ recipe of cake above in an 8’’ round spring-form, increase baking time accordingly. Make 3 layers and layer with cream (you will need more of this too). Chill, release and decorate with a chocolate lace collar. A note on agar agar: I am experimenting with agar agar powder, used it to give texture to just hold its shape and this looks like it worked! The cream took on a slightly mousse-y texture and held its shape while it was still creamy, but obviously not the same mouth feel as softly whipped cream. How do you use agar agar?

Lemon & Pistachio Baby Bundt Cakes - And Meeting Kate Bracks!

Receiving invites for food related events and promotions happens now and then if you are a food blogger. Now receiving an invite to meet Kate Bracks, winner of MasterChef Australia 2011 is something that doesn't happen everyday! MasterChef Australia's contestants from all walks of life made the world sit up and take notice as they morphed from cooking amateur style food to gourmet class food, presented with elan - all under pressure and the watchful eyes of George, Gary and Matt Preston. Hope for folk like us that there is a  possibility that you can cook and bake like a pro sans any formal training!

Kate Bracks, testament to ordinary people doing extraordinary things out of passion, discovering their true potential and achieving super success. A mother of three, previously a school teacher in New South Wales, Australia, Kate became a household name with MasterChef Australia 2011. She had considerable following even as one of the contestants in the phenomenal television series. Months spent away from family, husband and kids, the most difficult choice a wife and mother can make. Kate's very supportive husband urged her to enter the contest and boy, did she make him proud!! From wife-mother-teacher-homecook to world famous celebrity, television chef, author and so much more! Kudos Kate!

It was indeed a pleasure to meet her at Marriot, Whitefield last month. I know this comes a bit late, but then what is it that they say about being late better than never?  Watching her in action, it was hard to remain unaffected by her infectious energy.  We also got to taste some scrumptious Raspberry, Chocolate and hazelnut muffins The Dessert Queen baked for us!

MasterChef Australia, says Kate, made her pay as much attention to the textures and balance of flavors as the taste of food. Crispy with creamy, soft with crunchy, sweet, salt and tang - that's food for you! Here is one of the recipes from Kate's book The Sweet Life. Soft, sweet and tangy baby lemon cakes with the mild crunch of pistachios brushed generously with sweet hot syrup... they were dainty and delicious with a lovely crumb! Oh! Is this me? Am not much of a lime/lemon in desserts person, but loved these Kate! I had to stop myself from pouring some chilled vanilla bean crème anglaise over the bundts and let it pool around the bottom ...yes, that would have been even more delish!

Lemon Pistachio Baby Bundt Cakes  From  here . Kate's recipe has coconut flakes in it, I have used pistachios instead. The other minor changes I made, a slight reduction in the sugar and a tiny bit of baking soda I sneaked in. I have halved the original recipe and the batter gave me about 12 mini cakes. If making the batter with double the below recipe, you can also bake it in an 8'' round tin, preferably spring form says Kate.

Be sure to use fresh lemons for the juice and zest. Don't be scared of pouring the hot syrup on the hot cakes. Don't absolutely let anything (not even the pictures!) stop you from tasting these as soon as they turn barely warm...that's when they are at their irresistible best!

Lemon & Pistachio Baby Bundt Cakes

Ingredients:
The Cake
All purpose flour - 105 grams
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon
Baking soda - 1/8 teaspoon
Salt - 1/8 teaspoon

             OR
112 grams Self Rising Flour

Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 60 grams
Superfine sugar - 85 grams, approximately 7 tablespoons, read note (Kate uses 1/2 cup/ 100 grams caster sugar)
Eggs - 72 grams / 1 1/2 large
Zest of one lemon - about a teaspoon

Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon
Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon

Fresh thick yogurt, lightly whisked (or sour cream) - 6 tablespoons

Sliced, raw pistachios - 1/4 cup ( I am going to make this mandatory!)


The syrup (please read note)
Water - 3 tablespoons
Lemon juice - 1 tablespoon (or more water if you do not want the tang)
Sugar - 3 tablespoons

To Serve
Crème anglaise, chilled or whipped cream and fresh blueberries.

• Getting ready : Preheat oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F.  Generously grease your mini bundt pan (mine is about 5 tablespoons capacity) or any other mini molds, flour lightly, tap to shake off the excess. Sprinkle some of the sliced pistachios inside.  Reserve some for garnish. Set aside. 
• Sift the flour, baking powder, soda and salt thrice. Whisk together the lemon juice and zest in a small cup. Measure out the ingredients for the syrup directly into a saucepan, ready to go on the heat as soon as the cakes come out of the oven.
• In a medium sized bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy. I did this on speed 3 of my hand mixer for about 5 minutes. 
• On speed 1, add the egg in 2 additions, beating till fully incorporated (about 30 seconds) before you add the remaining egg. Beat another 30 seconds.
• Keep the speed low, add the lime juice, vanilla and zest.
• Fold in the self-rising flour in two additions, alternating with the yogurt..
• The batter will be of normal cake batter consistency, neither thick nor nor thin.
• Spoon into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the remaining pistachios. Bake for 15-16 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Meanwhile bring the water, juice and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. As soon as the cakes are removed from the oven, pierce each randomly 6-8 times with a fine skewer or toothpick and spoon the hot syrup on the top. Let cool for a minute, invert and spoon more syrup on the bottom of the cakes. 
• Remove the cakes on to the serving platter, serve warm with cream and berries or with chilled vanilla crème anglaise. 
• The syrup soaked cakes were terrific warm, though they were still delicious the next day.  If you wish, you could omit the syrup and they should still taste great!

Please note: Use more sugar in the batter if not using any syrup. Kate uses 1/3 cup water, 150g (3/4 cup) sugar for the double the above recipe. You could make it to your taste and the amount of sugar you have used in the cakes.

Picture courtesy Nandita Iyer

It was wonderful and truly inspiring to meet you Kate! Thanks to you, these little cakes will be made quite often in my kitchen!

Mocha Walnut Bundt Cake - And A Break...

 

Coffee, walnuts and chocolate - they have a way of worming their way into my baking wish list! The trio in a marbled bundt cake - irresistible! Flip through Dorie Greenspan's Baking - From My Home To Yours and this cake is sure to charm you into baking it! A rich batter of dark chocolate, ground walnuts and coffee swirled through a vanilla walnut batter. A drizzle of chocolate sauce over the slice adds to the charm. A slightly but pleasantly dense cake with a fine crumb . The chocolate and coffee part, if you ask me, was even better! 

I have to admit, I am not always lucky marbling cakes. Turns out Lady luck was on my side this time around, may be I can marble cakes after all! One way of doing this is placing alternate spoonfuls of batter in the pan and then running a skewer through it to give a more marbled effect. First spooning all of the batter of one color into the bundt, then the other batter on top, then swirl will give a ginkgo pattern. Amazing! With marbled cakes, you will hold your breath till you cut the cake and see what pattern has emerged -  its never the same! Amazing!

 Mocha Walnut Bundt Cake , From Dorie Greenspan's 'Baking - From My Home To Yours'.  I have halved the original recipe and baked in my small 6 cup bundt pan.

Watch this video for tips on preparing a bundt pan and unmolding it properly.

https://bit.ly/3ompZ4Q

How to melt chocolate

https://bit.ly/35hZYfu

 

How to grind nuts for baking

https://bit.ly/35hs8av

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour - 316 grams / 2 1/4 cups - grams (please refer note) 
• Finely ground walnuts - 1/2 cup 

• Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Unsalted butter, at room temperature  - 226 grams / 8 oz /1 cup (please read note) plus
  
• Unsalted butter at room temperature - 28 grams /1 oz / 2 tablespoons / , cut into 4 pieces ( to be used for melting the chocolate)
• Bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped - 3 ounces / 84 grams
• Hot or cold coffee (can also use plain water)- 1/4 cup
• Finely ground instant coffee or  instant espresso powder - 1 teaspoon ( I have used heaping 2 teaspoons, for full recipe as I used hot water)
  
• Sugar - 350 grams /1 3/4 cups ( I use super fine)
• Eggs, at room temperature - 4 large / 192 grams
• Pure vanilla extract - 2 teaspoons
• Whole milk ( I have used 2%), at room temperature- 1 cup

Procedure : 

GETTING READY: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350°F. Grease a 9 - to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan with special attention to the nooks and crannies, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. 

 

Sift together the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder, and salt twice. Set aside. Break the eggs and put them in a bowl, whisk lightly, weigh, set aside.

Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, chocolate, instant coffee and hot water in a pan of barely simmering water (watch video above). Remove the bowl from the heat. Set aside. You can also melt using a microwave. 

Have another medium sized, clean and dry bowl ready. You will be mixing the chocolate batter in this. An extra spatula and a thin long skewer to swirl the batter.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl ( I used my hand mixer, speed 2), beat the remaining 1 cup of butter and the sugar at medium speed for about 3 minutes – you’ll have a thick paste; this won’t be light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. The mixture should look smooth and satiny. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately, adding the dry mixture in 3 portions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients).

Scrape a little less than half of the batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate and, using a rubber spatula, stir to blend thoroughly.

If you want to go for the gingko pattern, scrape all of the white batter into the pan and top with the chocolate ( I have put the chocolate first). If you want a more marbled pattern, alternate spoonfuls of light and dark batter in the pan. When all the batter is in the pan, swirl a table knife sparingly through the batters to marble them.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes ( I baked the small cake for 50 minutes), or until a thin skewer inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean and the vanilla part is a nice golden brown. Transfer the Bundt pan to a rack and let cool for 10 minutes before unmolding ( I use a plastic knife), then cool the cake completely on the rack. I play safe, cool for almost 1/2 to 1 hour.

 

Please note:


Flour - Dorie measures flour using the dip and sweep method, which weighs 140 grams /5 oz per cup.
Walnuts - I have first ground chopped walnuts and then measured. I have then ground it with some of the flour in the smallest jar of my mixer before proceeding.
Butter - To get the butter to room temperature, take it out of the fridge, weigh and cut into cubes and keep it on your counter. The butter should not be too soft or oily - it should be pliable but still cool to the touch, that's when its ready to use says Dorie.

I am going to be taking a short break from blogging - just stealing time for myself! A few of my blogger friends have been kind enough to guest-post for me during this period. So stay tuned for some fabulous treats coming up! Please do visit my space, leave your much awaited comments or drop me a line at suma dot rowjee at gmail dot com for any queries or just to say hello! Would love to hear from you!

Almost Fudge Gateau

Given that I adore chocolate, its really difficult to resist baking this French style chocolate cake which Dorie Greenspan describes as 'moist, dense and definitively chocolate, just the thing for all oven owners (and chocolate lovers)'! I have been devouring the book,  Baking - From My Home To Yours since days and it did not take long for me to zero in on this dessert cake. The recipe is from her Parisian friend, Hélène Samuel, owner of the restaurant Delicabar. When Hélène got an oven for her home, she would for the first few weeks, bake this cake everyday, watch the cake puff up sitting cross-legged in front of the oven, giving up watching television!

The cake is quite a quick and easy one, given you can whip egg whites, fold them in and have a spring form tin on hand. And of course a good deal of chocolate too, 250 grams / 9 ounces to be precise for this cake! Chocolate, butter, sugar and coffee are melted together, the little bit of flour folded in. Finally whipped egg whites go into the chocolate mixture and then baked. The cake puffs up as it bakes, cracks on the top. While you invert it and cool, it sinks quite a lot. I would say, if you have the patience, you must leave it overnight and by then the cake would have meta morphed into a dense, almost creamy, smooth one. Pour some glaze over it, allow it to set, slice and serve with some softly whipped cream. Its texture being very different from most chocolate cakes, its sure to please most chocolate loving, discerning palates.

Ingredients :

Eggs - 5, large, separated ( Yolk - 90 grams, Whites - 150 grams)
Bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped - 252 grams / 9 oz ( I used dark compound)
Sugar - 1 cup / 200 grams ( I used super fine)
Unsalted butter, cut into chunks - 5 tablespoons / 70 grams aprox
Coffee or water - 2 tablespoons ( I used 1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water)
All purpose flour - 1/3 cup - 44 grams aprox
Pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon (my addition)

For the optional glaze - Dorie makes a glaze with chocolate, cream and corn syrup. I used ganache.

Procedure : Mise en place. Wash and dry the blades of your hand mixer and the bowl in which you will drop the whites in. If weighing ingredients, making sure your weighing bowl is squeaky clean and free of grease. Separate the eggs and weigh the whites first, next the yolks. Wash, dry the bowl, and weigh the rest. (I always like to have extra eggs on hand while separating, just in case, I do an oops!)

Center a rack and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350 F. Grease a 9'' round spring form tin, line it with parchment, grease the parchment, flour the sides of the tin, tap lightly to shake off any excess flour. Place the pan on a baking sheet (or another bigger cake tin) lined with parchment or a silicone mat. I used an 8'' round tin as I do not have a 9'' round tin, used some of the batter to make 4 small cupcakes.

Place the chocolate, butter, sugar and coffee in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stir occasionally till the chocolate and butter are melted. If the sugar is still grainy, its fine (mine was). Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and let it sit for 3 minutes. ( the mixture will cool) Stir in the yolks one by one, using a rubber spatula, add the vanilla. Fold in the flour.  Set aside.

Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or a hand mixer on medium high speed, beat the egg whites till they hold firm but glossy peaks. Make sure you do not over whip or let the whites dry out. Using the spatula, stir about a quarter of the whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Gently fold in the rest.  I used my slotted skimmer for this. (The batter was neither thin nor thick) Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

The cake will rise at the edges as well as the center too. The top will firm up, it may crack, mine cracked quite a bit. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the cake has risen evenly, the top firms up and doesn't wobble when tapped. A cake tester or thin knife inserted int o the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. I prefer my chocolate cakes slightly under baked to over-baked ones. Mine took about 40 minutes to bake. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack, let it cool for about 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife ( like a butter knife) around the edges of the cake, and remove the sides of the pan. carefully turn the cake on to another rack. Remove the pan bottom and parchment paper (this will be hot as you handle, be careful) Invert the cake on the rack and cool to room temperature right side up. The cake may cool as it sinks ( mine did)

Place the completely cooled cake on a rack flat side up. Place the rack over a large piece of parchment or another clean plate to catch the delicious drips. Pour the glaze or ganache on the cake, tilt slightly and carefully, (use a thin spatula to just coax the glaze to the sides only if need ) to coat the cake completely. Allow the glaze to set ( I did not wait, was in a hurry to finish the pics before I went to the bus stop to pick up my daughter). Lift the cake carefully to the serving platter using a giant spatula. Decorate, slice into thin slices and serve with softly whipped cream or even ice cream or crème fraîche if you prefer.

The cake when wrapped airtight, will keep for about 3 days at room temperature or for 2 months when frozen. I have not tried refrigerating the cake and will not do so too as it may change the texture. It tasted better as it sat at room temperature.

The cake was rich, chocolaty, smooth and creamy, mousse-like sort of, with whipped cream and the glaze, its definitely dessert!

EVOO And Yogurt Loaf Cake

Wish you a very Happy New Year! Hope 2011 was a great one for you and wish you have an even better year ahead! Do you make any resolutions? Do you break them? I never, never break them!!! I don't make any you see! We are pretty boring folks that way...no new year parties, no fuss, no resolutions. 2011 has been rewarding, have loved and enjoyed blogging, learnt a couple of new things too.  A mention and a tiny article in the local edition of the magazine, Time Out Bangalore, made me so happy! Felt truly, truly honored when Deeba Rajpal, India's most famous and best baker-blogger, mentioned my little space as one of  her 5 favorite Indian blogs, in her  interview with Blogadda! Left yours truly tickled pink and blushing beet red indeed!

Being a (part-time) working wife and mother of two, obsessed foodie, baker and blogger, wearing many hats with ease and efficiency, is something I am yet to learn. Sigh! Moving ahead, hope 2012 will bring even better times, good health and happiness, hope to be more organized and do more in a day (only 24 hours and so many things to do!). Daughter starts her dance classes, son wants to take up cricket - it is effort along with academics, for both them and us. But we owe it to our kids - to give them the wings and help discover their interests and potential. Takes some zipping around and how I loathe not being comfortable in the driver's seat! Probably time to practice driving ( yep, I do have my license, but am too chicken!) and hopefully get myself a set of wheels! Long list, I know! But nobody ever said, being parents, and to two kids at that, is easy. Hope to achieve at least some of the above in the near future.

We are not much of believers in New Year, Valentine's Day and the kind . Unless it something of personal significance, we think of it as just another day. Well,  I told you we are boring! But I always look forward to seeing the date on the calendar. This means schools will reopen after the Christmas vacations. Kids finally out of my hair for some time at least! Relief!! Hubby's birthday is just around the corner. So, a much awaited decorated cake is in the offing - am excited!! My blog anniversary happens to be right after that, have an ongoing event and a giveaway for you.

On this happy note, here is a simple loaf cake made with extra virgin olive oil and yogurt, Dorie Greenspan's recipe. She calls this the simplest loaf cake, needing no more than a whisk and a bowl to put the cake together. I love cakes baked with oil as they are much more moist and much less fuss too. This cake can be made with any neutral oil of course and I tried it with rice bran oil as well, but EVOO lends a distinct flavor and richness to the cake. Yogurt is something most of us have at home at all times, so no extra effort for this. A kind of less rich, but flavorful, healthier version of a pound cake if you please. Just my kind of tea-cake, non-buttery, just about sweet, light, yet tasty, with a refreshing hint of citrus and of course the EVOO.

I have halved the below recipe and baked in a small loaf pan. (Had too many goodies around, so this had to be baked, but in a smaller quantity) You can find the original recipe here

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour - 195 grams / 1 1/2 cups 
Baking powder - 2 teaspoons
Salt - a pinch
Sugar - 200 grams / 1 cup ( granulated sugar, measured and then powdered with the zest)
Finely grated zest - from one lime
Plain whole milk yogurt - 120 ml / 1/2 cup (read note)
Eggs - 144 grams / 3 large
Pure vanilla extract - 1/4 teaspoon
Extra-virgin olive oil -  120 ml / 1/2 cup

Procedure

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350°F. Grease, flour and line a 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. I have used a smaller tin, but please stick to the recommended tin size if you have just started to bake.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, keep aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, sugar and vanilla. (If using fast dissolving fine grained sugar, put the sugar and zest in a medium bowl and rub the ingredients together until the sugar is fragrant, then add other ingredients) Whisk for about a minute. You just want the mixture well blended and homogenous, no need to work up a volume. 
• Gently whisk in the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions. You are more like stirring in the flour with a whisk. Vigorous over mixing /whisking will make the cake tough. The batter needs to be smooth enough with just enough whisking. Use a spatula to scrape any dry flour around the sides back into the batter.
• Using a spatula, gently fold in the oil. Folding in means incorporating ingredients into a mixture very gently but thoroughly. The batter will be thick and shiny. 
• Scrape it into the pan and smooth the top.
• Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until it is golden and starts to come away from the sides of the pan; a thin wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean. Check at 50 minutes (do not turn the oven off yet), if the skewer doesn't come out clean, bake for 5 minutes more. Thin long wooden skewers work great here, avoid toothpicks.
• Note : It took 25-30 minutes for a half the recipe in my small pan
• Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then run a butter knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Un mold and cool to room temperature right-side up. Slice and serve.

Dorie says the cake keeps at room temperature for at least 4 days and can be frozen for up to 2 months.

         The crumb : The crumb, i.e the inner part of the cake, is what she describes as a coarse one). Different recipes, different techniques, different crumb structure.

• Yogurt : You could use thick curd with fat percentage of 3% like Nandini, Nestle. If its cold, keep it out on the counter for an hour or so. This will take the chill off it and get it to room temperature. If there is any thin liquid around, just drain (no need to hang it), use only the thick curd. 
• Zest : You could use lemon or orange zest. If you do not have a citrus zester, use a very sharp knife to carefully peel just the outer yellow/ green part of the skin of lime/lemon. Grind it with the sugar. Take care not to scrape the bitter white pith of the lime. Wash the lime/lemon/orange with hot water, pat dry and zest it. This will help wash the wax off.

Thanks to all my friends for sending me their entries for my blogiversary event! If you have not yet sent, there is just about a week more left for you to send in your cookies and get a chance to win a copy of Alice Medrich's Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-In-The-Mouth Cookies .