Chocolate Cake

 
         Well, there are lots of cake recipes through out the Internet but when we need a cake to be simple, soft and easy to prepare, then this one is worth trying. This recipe is followed by my friend Ramya Eswaran from the time she was studying her 7th grade - Shocking right? I have no wonder why her cake is so perfect. This is her mom's recipe that she says never goes wrong. When we prepare this cake batter you can judge how soft the cake would be. The batter simply puffs up fluffy like whipped cream does and so we get a tasty soft cake after baking.

This Blue board was a hand painted gift from my friend Radhika Vasanth of Food4sevenstagesoflife :)

I did get to taste this super soft cake and was so impressed that I asked her for this recipe and permission to post this on my blog. Simple recipe that calls for equal amount of Flour, Sugar and Butter - heard right, EQUAL AMOUNTS. This is a rich cake with lots of butter but the taste is simply unbeatable. I did not edit anything and prepared the same way she did. So happy to share this easy chocolate cake recipe as a part of Christmas month so that you guys can make this to show your love for your loved ones.

Ingredients:
Maida / All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/2 cups or 1 Stick (Melted)
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Baking Powder - 1 teaspoons
Cocoa Powder - 3 teaspoons (Drinking chocolate or Chocolate Syrup can be substituted)
Egg White - 3 eggs (Remove egg white from 3 large eggs)



Method:

• Mix Flour, Baking powder in a bowl, sleeve, set aside. In another bowl, Beat egg white to form frothy peaks. Take another bowl and beat butter and sugar until they are soft and creamy.

• To the butter mixture add the flour little by little and fold in (It looks crumbled and butter will ooze out). Add beaten eggs, fold in together in a clockwise direction. Once everything is mixed, add cocoa powder and stir well. 

• Preheat oven at 325'F for 10 minutes. Butter and Flour dust cake pan. Pour in the batter and tap lightly on all sides. Bake at 325'F for 50 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool down on a wire rack to room temperature. serve with some ice cream or with some chocolate sauce, nuts on top.

My Notes:

• Do not over beat the cake batter after adding egg, we need to just fold in the beaten egg with flour mixture.
• I used a loaf pan but will not recommend it as the cake got stuck below the pan and it took longer time to cook as well. Cake pan is wide enough and spreads the cake to bake easily.
• Fill only 3/4th of the cake pan with batter.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

My hubby completed his 10 years in TCS this October 29th and when I saw him narrating his happiness and proud feelings about his successful years, my mind triggered to give him a surprise. This was the cake I baked for him. Eggless and Butterless so that he can have slices without any hitches. For the man who served ethically in his work - this was a deserved surprise.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour - 1-3/4 cups

Cocoa Powder - 3-1/2 Tablespoon

Baking Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Baking Soda - 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar - 1 cup + 1 tablespoon

Instant Coffee Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla Essence - 1/2 teaspoon

Olive Oil - 3 tablespoon

Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Yogurt - 1 tablespoon
Lemon Juice - 1 teaspoon

Whole milk - 1-1/4 cup

(Use all Ingredients in Room temperature)

Method:

• Mix and Sleeve All purpose flour, Cocoa Powder, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt together into a bowl. In another bowl whisk Sugar and Milk until sugar dissolves completely.

• In a small bowl beat Yogurt, Coffee powder, Vanilla Essence, Lemon juice together(until smooth and fluffy). Fold in sleeved flour little by little to Sugar Milk mix. 

• Add Yogurt mix and Olive oil, Fold in to get everything together. Pour the batter to a Greased and Flour Dusted Cake pan (I used 8x2 inch round pan). 

• Pre - heat oven at 350'F for 10 minutes then place the baking pan in the middle rack of your oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a Tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let it sit in the cake pan for 10 minutes. Move the cake to Cooling rack to cool down completely. I poured melted chocolate on top and served them.

Beetroot Brownies / Beet Brownies / Beetroot Chocolate Brownies

 

            Being a mother its always a concern to feed my little one with vegetables. That is the most difficult part for me but blogging has led me to try out different recipes where I can make her eat veggies by hiding them as ingredients in some of her favorite foods. Well one such attempt is my Beetroot Brownies. I know this is not as healthy as eating vegetables directly but a slice or two with some veggies mashed in them is infact a better snack option than without them.

          Now your mind will pop this question -  How were these goodies?. The best part of these brownies were that they were moist, creamy, crumbled on the inside and had no signs of the secret ingredient "BEETROOT" until told to anyone who tasted it. The brownies did not smell the rawness of beets but its taste can be felt. I got around 12 medium pieces of brownies for the listed ingredients. Trust me, from elders to little ones - no one will stop with one slice. So what are you waiting for, just get your counter top ready and start mixing in your BEETS...

Ingredients:

Semi Sweet Chocolate - 3 ounces / 85 grams (chop to melt easily)
Beetroot - 85 grams (Fresh beet cooked and pureed)
Butter - 1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 tablespoons at room temperature)
Cocoa Powder - 1 tablespoon
Sugar -  (Ground to fine powder)
Vanilla Essence - 1 teaspoon
Eggs - 2 no's (at room temperature)
All Purpose Flour / Self Raising Flour - 2/3 cup (I used APF)
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon (If unsalted butter is used)
Almonds - 1/4 cup or 30 almonds (Crushed or roughly powdered)



Pre - Arrangements:

• Clean the beetroot well. Take a pan, place the beetroot and add water above 1/2 inch of beet and close cook until the beets are soft or tooth pick can be inserted easily when poked. Once cooled, drain the water and peel the skin. Make a paste of this cooked beetroot without adding water in a food processor.

• Mix Flour, salt, cocoa powder in a bowl, Powder the sugar, Roughly crush the almonds, Beat egg and vanilla essence together. Keep these things ready in separate bowls.

• Grease and line a parchment paper in an 8x10 inch pan. Pre-heat your oven to 350'F / 180'C for 10 minutes and place the rack in the center.

Method:

• Melt Butter and Chocolate together in a stainless steel bowl placed over pan of simmering water. Remove the Melted butter chocolate and add in the powdered sugar, Mix well. 

• Whisk by adding Egg and vanilla extract mixture little by little to the same bowl (Whisk well fast to avoid the egg from cooking because of melted chocolate heat). Once its beaten well, add Flour, salt, Cocoa powder mixture little by little. Fold everything together lightly(to avoid letting in air into the batter).

• Add Beetroot puree and crushed almonds to the batter and fold in from all sides. Beautiful Red brown batter is ready.

• Pour the batter to the greased pan and spread neatly. Bake it for about 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out with baked crumbles (Remember we do not want them baked fully as brownies needs little moisture inside but cooked too. it took me 25 minutes exactly).

• Remove the brownies from your oven and let it rest in the bake tray for 10 minutes. Then remove the brownies to wire rack, cool down completely and cut down to pieces. 

My Notes:

• Always remember that the amount of chocolate and beetroot should be the same. If you take 100 grams of chocolate then add in 100 grams of Beetroot.
• If you dont prefer to add cooked beetroot then simply grate them in the thinner blade and add directly or grate/slice beats, steam cook and then add it but little bit of raw smell and taste tends to exist and so I am adding completely cooked beets. 
• Do not waste the water of cooked beets as it can be used while making chappathi dough or for boiling pasta like i did though pasta turned red :).
• I used only 1/2 cup+2 teaspoon of sugar when I made as my beets were very sweet. So please adjust if your beets are very sweet after cooking.
• When eggs are added try to whisk fast and quickly as our butter chocolate melt will be slightly hot and that might make the eggs to cook.
• After adding flour, fold in from all sides so that too much air does not get inside the batter which would let the brownies raise.
• Baking time might differ according to the oven used so the best way to check if the brownies are ready is by pricking a toothpick inside and you get cooked crumbles on the toothpick. Please note to not over bake them or to get the toothpick clean because brownies need to be moist.

This week Summer Fest features "Beetroot"... do check for more beetroot recipes from the links below from other summer fest friends.

Jeanette's Healthy Living:Star Anise Ginger Pickled Beets
The Heritage Cook:Rosemary Roasted Beets, Potatoes and Peppers
Dishing:Beetroot Brownies / Beet Brownies
Devour: 4 Beet Salad Best Bets
Napa Farmhouse 1885:Beet Greens with Balsamic Glazed Beets
Red or Green:Sweet and Spicy Roasted Beet and Bacon Salad
Virtually Homemade:Beet Risotto with Goat Cheese
Domesticate Me:Ginger-Soy Glazed Salmon with Asian Beet Slaw
Dishin & Dishes:Roasted Beet Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette
Taste With The Eyes:Shrimp, Beet, Raspberry, Radicchio and Rose Salad
Weelicious:Red Beet and White Bean Hummus
FN Dish:5 Ways to Brighten Beets

Classic Banana Bread

            

            After I baked Low fat Banana Muffins for my hubby's breakfast, he really started liking the idea of a 'quick' breakfast. He wants me to bake them and have them stored so he doesn't have to mix cereal and milk in a bowl....I don't mind as well because I can sleep with my daughter for a loooooonnngggg time ;).

           This time I did not have my paper liner's in stock so I baked banana bread with no compromises on butter and other ingredients. Fill them in a muffin pan with liners, then your classic banana muffins are ready too...Choice is our's.

           This version was more tasty, creamy and sweet. One thick slice with a cup of coffee was quite filling. I cant wait to try them in small muffin molds so that they are more easy and handy. We can store them for a week(I did this) in an air tight container. The outer crust might be a bit hard but it gets soft after cooling down. You will sure love them for a snack.

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients:
Banana - 4 no's (over ripe)
Butter - 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup or 1 stick - in room temperature)
Egg - 2 no's (in room temperature)
Milk - 1/8 cup
Vanilla Extract / Almond Extract - 1 teaspoon

Dry Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour / Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Raisins or mixed nuts- 2 tablespoons (to decorate but if you wish to mix with batter then use 1/2 cup)


Method:

• In a bowl add all the dry ingredients(except raisins or nuts) and mix well.

• In another bowl beat egg with vanilla extract. Add butter (Melted and cooled is also accepted) and mix well.

• Mash the banana's and mix the egg mixture into it.

• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl and mix. Add milk and bring everything together(if you prefer to add nuts/raisins to the batter then this is the time).

• Grease and flour your loaf pan and add the batter into it and pat the sides to get it set. Remember to fill only 3/4th of your baking pan(I did a mistake here by filling fully) so that bread raises up very well and remains soft. Spread raisins or nuts on top.

• Pre-heat oven to 350'F for 5 minutes and place the loaf pan in the middle and bake for 60-65 minutes or until the wooden toothpick comes out clean(it took 65 minutes exactly for me).

• Remove and cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes and then move to cooling rack.

• Slice and serve for your breakfast or teatime :).

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

              There is a funny story behind this bake. We got a good offer from a grocery store where all the organic produce were 1/2 priced for Earth Day and on top of that we got a coupon through Groupon for "Pay $20 for $40 purchase" for the same shop. So, eventually everything was 1/4th of the price. How could we miss this deal ? Me and my friend rushed to the shop and filled the cart with as much as we could, guess what, the cashier rang everything and said we still had about $18 left in the coupon :)

           We started the second round, brought another cart and emptied all organic fruits and veggies in the small store there. Eventually, we bought $80 worth of produce for just $20..!! Why did i share this story - well the recipe was due to an overstock of apples at home :) These muffins were so soft for the next day and had a shelf life for 2 days and more in the refrigerator. They are not too sweet like our Low-fat Banana muffins but you can increase sugar by 1/2 cup in total to make them sweeter.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

Whole Wheat flour - 1-2/3 cups

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Baking powder - 1 teaspoon

Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder - 1 teaspoon

Wet Ingredients:

Apple pureed - 2 cups (Peel apples and grind to paste. the paste should measure 1-1/2 cups)

Apple chopped finely - 2/3 cup(chopped to size of small raisins)

Milk - 2/3 cup

Egg - 2 no's

Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Method:

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and keep aside.

• Beat eggs and oil together.

• Mix apple puree and milk together in a mixer and add that to the egg mix.

• Add wet ingredients to dry and bring everything together. add chopped apples finally and mix well.

• Pre-heat oven to 350'F for 5 minutes. Arrange the Muffin molds with paper liners or grease the molds. I got exactly 12 medium muffins for the above ingredients. Fill about 3/4 of the batter in the molds.

• Bake them for 25 to 30 minutes(it took me exactly 30 minutes) or until toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

• Remove from oven and let them rest in the molds for 10 minutes and later remove them to wire rack for cooling.

• Serve them for Breakfast or for Tea/Coffee time snacks.

My Notes:

• Substitutes for Whole wheat flour is APF and apple puree can be apple juice too.
• Butter can be added instead of vegetable oil completely or up to 1/8 cup for the above ingredients to get the muffins softer.

Happy to link this recipe to : Event by Archana's kitchen - Summer Fiesta

Avocado Loaf Cake

               Avocado is one fruit that gets ripe real fast. I buy them in a small pack to treat as snack for my little one but end up wasting as they get over ripe. Thanks to my blog - today am using the ingredients to make new things of my choice like using the over ripe avocados for making loaf cake.

            Avocados give the cake creaminess. The cake inside is light green and golden outside crunch simply melts us down. I got my outer crust a bit crunchy but inside the cake it was extremely soft. After a day the outer layer also became soft. With the flavor of avocado this was really a wonderful snack cake. They are light in sweetness and texture. I am happy that my own recipe was absolutely satisfactory.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 1-1/2 cups
Sugar -1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/4 teaspooon

Wet Ingredients:
Avocado - 1 medium sized (2/3 cup when mashed)
Eggs - 2 no's
Warm Milk - 1/2 cup (i used Low fat)
Olive oil - 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/8 cup(Melted)
Vanilla Extract / Almond Extract - 1/2 teaspoon
Chopped Almonds and Raisins - 1/4 cup (together)

Method: 

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned under "Dry ingredients" list above in a bowl.

• Whisk egg and vanilla extract in a bowl. Add melted butter and olive oil to this and whisk again.

• Add warm milk to the egg mixture and whisk well. Mash avocados and add to the egg mixture.

• Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir well from all sides to bring everything together. Add chopped almonds and raisins and stir well.

• Preheat oven to 350'F for 10 minutes. Grease your Loaf pan/Cake pan. Pour the mixture and let it sit for a minute.

• Place the loaf pan in the middle rack of your oven and bake them for 45 to 50 minutes(it took me exactly 50 minutes).

• Remove them and let it sit in the same loaf pan for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from your loaf pan and shift to cooling rack.

• Slice and serve them for your break fast or tea time :). 

My Notes:

• Bread flour/Almond flour/Coconut flour/Wheat flour can be substituted for All purpose flour.
• Milk can be substituted with curd / Buttermilk.
• We can add banana along with avocados. They are a perfect combination that go together. 
• We can bake them in muffin holders to make avocado muffins too.
• 1/4 teaspoon of Baking soda can be added to the above ingredients to make the muffins fluffy.
• I used Loaf pan of 8.4 in x4.4 in x 2.5 in size. This was a small loaf pan and that is also one reason that it took long time to bake. Set less time according to the size of baking pan used.