Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

This winter has been the longest, by far. We're seeing hard freeze days here in the south in March. That's way too cold for tropical creatures like me. I love the summer months, primarily because of the wide variety of fruits that hit the market - including all the yummy berries, lemons and of course, mangoes! :)

One of the few days when Houston weather was nicer, I saw some wonderful berries in the local market. I knew I had to buy them the moment I set my eyes on them. It was probably my attempt to feel that warm summer days are here again! One of my friends has the sweetest tooth I know. She loves cakes with fruit in them, so I decided to bake one with lots of berries for her birthday. It turned out to be 'Berry Berry Berry Lemony'! Based on a recipe by smittenkitchen, here it goes: 

Ingredients:

Cake

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed.
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon (I used a zester, but a small cheese grater works well, too)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups mixed berries, rinsed and dried (I used blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)

Glaze

2 cups powdered or confections’ sugar Juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very soft.

Method:

·    Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with softened butter and set aside. I used my favorite Fleur-de-Lis bundt, for added pizzazz.

·    In a medium bowl, whisk or sift 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. I used my newly acquired flour sifter.

·    In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. It is crucial that the butter is at room temperature, so the butter and sugar fluff up nicely.

·    Now, with the mixer on a low speed, add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.

·    Add 1/3 flour mixture to batter, beating until just combined, followed by half the buttermilk, another 1/3 of the flour mixture, the remaining buttermilk and remaining flour mixture. It is important to start and end with the flour mixture. Don’t forget to scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.

·    In a small bowl, toss the berries with 2 tablespoons of flour and gently fold the berries into the cake batter. The batter will be very thick.

The batter is very thick

·    Spread cake batter in the prepared baking pan and spread the top smooth. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. The cake is done as soon as a tester comes out clean of batter.

·    Set cake pan on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, before inverting the cake onto a serving platter. I find that taking the cake out before it cools completely helps unmold a Bundt cake easily. Cool completely.

·    Once cooled completely, prepare the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and butter until smooth and thick, almost like crepe batter. Spread carefully over top of cake, letting it trickle down the sides.

·    Serve at once or keep it covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. I garnished the cake with some more berries with the help of my friend’s 3 year old! 

Glazed Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

Berry Berry Berry Lemony cake

Bon Appétit!

Hetal from Houston

Traditional Fruit and Nut Cake

   The credit for this cake recipe goes to The Duffadars !! This was the first cake I ever baked and is the most frequently made one in our oven . I have been following this blindly since Hetal passed me her family recipe over an email a few years back. The  baking bug has been biting me since last few days and this evening the irresistible urge made me try the recipe yet another time ;  I was not failed this time either :) The room still smells of freshly baked cake and adding onto the holiday vibes.

Fruit and nut Cake

Prep Time : 20mins
Baking Time : 35 mins
Serves : 4-8

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125 g butter ( 1 and 1/4 sticks)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 cup nuts etc ( cherries, raisins and cashews; I added crumbled pethas I got from my recent India visit)

Method :

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Mix butter, sugar and eggs using a hand blender.
• Add in other dry ingredients slowly to ensure uniform mixing.
• Bake for 35 mins.

Serve warm with icecream !! Heavenly :)

Keep Baking !

Happy Festive Season ,

Ajanta from Walnut Creek

Fishy Chocolate Cake

One of our friends' child, Z is learning to talk and his vocabulary is increasing manifold. One evening, they came over for dinner, and we were having a relatively quiet evening when suddenly little Z pointed at a tea -coaster and said 'Feeesh'! We all burst into a laughter. That was probably the first word he spoke all evening.

It was Z's 3rd birthday and we decided to get him a set of magnetic fishing poles to 'reel in' all the 26 letters of the English alphabet that were engraved on foam shaped like fish. Keeping with the 'fishy' theme, I baked a simple chocolate cake and shaped it into a fish. Little Z's reaction was priceless, and worth every minute of work that went into it. Here it goes -

Time: 2.5 hours (baking, cooling and frosting)
Serves: 6-8 persons

Cake:
I simply followed my tried and tested recipe for a basic chocolate cake here, except that I used regular cocoa powder instead of dark cocoa powder. Since I wanted to shape it into a fish, I baked it in a single layer square 9x9 inches cake pan.

Frosting:
1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/3 cups of powdered sugar
Food coloring of choice (optional)
M&Ms (sorted according to color)

• Whip the butter with sugar into a light fluffy frosting, about 5-8 minutes. 
• Add food coloring of choice. I did not want a white frosting for a child's cake, so I added a few drops of blue and yellow food coloring gel to get a light pastel green color. Set aside.

Shaping the cake:

• Once the cake is completely cooled, gently score out the body of a fish. Cut long the score marks using a serrated knife.

• Place two of the cut out corners along the lower half of the body, to form the fins. Take one of the remaining corners to make the tail. Gently pick up each part and place it on a tray. Trim edges to get desired shape. Attach with toothpicks so the fins and tail stay in place.

• Before frosting, tuck in strips of parchment paper under the cake sides that can be removed after frosting for a clean finished look.

• Using a offset spatula, spread the frosting evenly on the cake, starting from the centre and working your way out. Frost the sides and edges completely. 

• Time to let your imagination run wild. Decorate with M&Ms or any other topping of your choice. I chose M&Ms because Little Z likes to call them gems :)

• Remove parchment strips for a complete and clean look.

It was a colorful and bright fish, for a happy little 3 year old :)

Bon Appetit! 

Hetal from Houston

Paleo Lemon Pound Cake

       
     Before I start writing this blog, I would like to declare in public that I am NOT following  paleo diet ! I am too much of a foodie so far,  to do this :) But as saying goes 'never say never !' This was an experiment with a friend who is trying paleo and I was tempted to try something different after baking fatty sinful cakes for all these while.. Can't really deny the guilt trips most of us take after eating those yummy cakes...can we !?! Lemon is an all-time favorite and this one looked easily doable ! Turned out to be very tasty and exactly of the texture one would like pound cake to be ....here is the link for recipe we found but below is how we did it :) 
  
       We could not find all the ingredients we needed in the only grocery store we visited... Should not be hard to find if you at least try two stores may be ! We were lazy, but you are not  :P !!  So let's honestly call this a partial paleo cake :)

Prep Time : 20 minutes
Baking Time : 40-45 minutes
Serves : 5-10

      
Ingredients : 

Dry :

Almond flour - 2 cups                        
All-Purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Sea salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 heaping spoon

Wet :

Raw honey - 2/3 cup , warmed to a liquid state
Olive oil - 2/3 cup
Large eggs - 4
Full-fat coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract - 2 tbsp
Lemon zest - 1 tbsp ( I mixed orange zest as well )

Glaze :

Freshly squeezed lemon juice : from 2 lemons ( Please strain it ) 
Lemon zest - from 1 lemon
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Raw honey - 4 tbsp

Preparation :

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Prepare a 9x9 baking pan by coating the interior lightly with olive oil. 
3. Sift dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk to combine.
4. Place oil and honey and mix  for 1-2 minutes using electric blender. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add coconut milk, vanilla, and lemon zest, and continue to process until well combined.
   
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a wooden mixing spoon to thoroughly combine ingredients, pressing out any lumps. Use blender if needed and we did need :).
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top was supposed to be lightly browned and mine came out dark brown.
7. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, run a butter knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, and then turn it out onto a cake plate and let cool completely.
8. While cake bakes, prepare the glaze by adding vanilla extract, lemon juice, zest, and honey to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
9. Using the tines of a fork, perforate the top of the cake several times. Pour glaze over the cake, using a spatula to evenly distribute the glaze over the entire cake top. Let the cake rest for an hour to fully absorb the glaze. Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator.

 It was a good combo with our evening Chai that day ! Totally non-paleo :P 

Have fun baking :)

Ajanta from Amherst

Orange pound cake with chocolate chips

Orange pound cake with chocolate chips

My Dad was a Boy Scout, and is very proud of his Boy Scout experiences. He never misses an opportunity to use the 'reef knot' or the 'clove hitch' in his day-to-day life. Once he made 'potato curry' in one of his camping trips, and apparently won the best cook title - we have heard this story a zillion times. Only recently did I find out that my Baa had measured all the spices and salt for him, and all he did was boil the potatoes and dump the spices!! So much for being the 'best cook' in the camp. 
His box of scout woggles, scarves and badges is definitely one of his prized possessions :) He spent one full afternoon explaining to his 6 and 8yr old daughters why the Scouts and Guides logo was the Fluer de Lis. I dont remember the story but was surely thrilled to learn a French word! :) It was a big deal for an 8yr old! :) 

Last week, I made an Orange Pound cake with chocolate chips for his birthday in my Fluer De Lis bundt pan. :) I was looking for the perfect recipe for my newest bundt pan, and my most reliable recipe source a.k.a Ajanta came to my rescue. It is a Barefoot Contessa recipe that turned out just perfect! I think the zest and the freshly squeezed orange juice add to the depth of flavour. Here it goes -

Serves: 10-12 persons
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes -1 hour


Ingredients:

For the cake
1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 organic extra-large eggs at room temperature
1/4 cup grated orange zest (I zested about 4 large oranges)
2 cups all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (From the oranges already zested- I find it easier to zest an orange before the juice is squeezed out)
3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups good semisweet chocolate chunks ( I used chocolate chips, instead)

Orange syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Ganache
8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan very well.
2. In a large bowl, whip the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then fold in the orange zest.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients - 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. 
4. In a small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons flour and fold them to the batter. Tossing the chocolate chips in flour prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
5. Pour into the pan, smooth the top, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the orange syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely. Tip: It is important to remove the cake from the pan at the specified time. Letting it cool in the pan may result in a tasty disaster :(
7. For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake. I didn't make the ganache, but it would surely make the cake more decadent! :)

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Dark Chocolate & Blackberry Cake

It was a lovely, still cool saturday morning when I baked a dark chocolate cake to bring to a potluck at a friend's place. I paired it with blackberries -both preserved and fresh. It turned out to be a moist chocolate cake with a hint of blackberry. Everyone at the potluck loved it - even those who dont dig chocolate cakes. I was delighted, to say the least. Here it goes.

Serves: 10-12
Preparation time: 15 minutes

Bake time -35 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 cup dark cocoa (I used dutch processed)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 large cage-free eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing pans
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp instant coffee
1 cup blackberry preserve or jam
1 cup fresh blackberries for topping/ decoration

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. Avoid using pans with removable bottoms, since the batter is very thin - it might leak into the oven. Set aside. 
• Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and whisk to combine. If you dont have buttermilk, you can substitute it with 1 tsp vinegar added to a cup of skimmed milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then proceed with the recipe. 
• Stir instant coffee into the boiling water and whisk this into the batter until incorporated. The batter will be thin, so gently pour the batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the middle rack of the oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment. Cool completely. Leave the cake at room temperature for an hour if you wish to frost it with ganache immediately.

Blackberry preserve spread

NOTE: You can make this cake the day before serving, sandwich it with blackberry preserve, and keep it covered in the fridge.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy cream
10 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped fine or chocolate chips.

Blackberry preserve sandwiched between two layers

• Set a heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water (It works like a double boiler). Add chocolate chunks/chips to the bowl. 
• As the chocolate begins to melt, whisk in the cream until well incorporated. Stir gently - avoid beating the mixture for a bubble free glossy finish. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes to thicken to a spreadable consistency. Alternatively, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes to hasten the thickening process.

Assembly

• Place one cake layer on plate/ cake stand. My cakes had risen a lot, and I had to trim off the top so  I could stack them evenly. In hind sight - I think I should have trimmed them further.
• Spread 1 cup blackberry preserve. Sandwich the other cake layer on top. 
• Ice the cake using a metal spatula. If the ganache is still thin, you can gently drizzle it to cover the cake. If you have baked ahead - allow the cake to come to room temperature before icing with the ganache.



Ready to go

• Garnish with blackberries and serve. I garnished it once we reached our friend's place, and were ready to eat dessert.

Note- This cake can be made using any jam or preserve of your choice. Garnish with the same fruit. Raspberries or strawberries would add a splash of color as well. :)

This recipe is based on Serena Bass' Cheating Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Blackberry Cake

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Coffee & Walnut Ring

I like a little something sweet on my dining table almost all the time... It does not need to be fancy. A coffee cake made with readily available ingredients comes handy when I have such sweet craving. This goes equally well with morning coffee or evening tea or even with your late night ice-cream :)

Coffee-Walnut Ring

Serves: 10 people
Prep Time: 10 mins
Baking Time: 40 - 45 minutes

Ingredients

• Oil/ Melted butter
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar ; I use 1 cup when I do not add maple syrup on top
  
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp instant coffee ; I use Nescafe ( original recipe calls for 1 tsp coffee extract )
• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• Walnut halves to decorate

Method

• Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease a 6 1/4-cup tube or a 9 inch square pan, preferably nonstick.
• Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs and coffee powder / extract. Beat well until the mixture is smooth, then stir in chopped walnuts.
• Spoon the mixture in the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until risen, firm and golden brown.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out carefully onto a wire rack. While the cake is still warm, spoon over half the maple syrup . To serve, top with walnut halves and drizzle with the remaining maple syrup.

When served with Vanilla Ice-cream ... Bliss !

 Enjoy your cake !


Ajanta from Amherst

Carrot shaped carrot cake

While I have baked many a cake, I usually frost or glaze them - never mustered enough courage use fondant. I love carrots and carrot cakes. Sadly, my best taste tester (read hubby) does not. Needless to say, I rarely bake carrot cakes. 
So when we invited our friends over this Easter, I decided to bake a carrot cake and cover it with marshmallow fondant. I used my favorite carrot cake recipe here and made a carrot shaped carrot cake. Here it goes.


Preparation time: 
For cake: 10 minutes
For cream cheese frosting: 15 minutes
For fondant rolling/ decorating: 30 minutes + 8 hours rest.
Bake time: 30 minutes + cooling time.


Carrot Cake
Cake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 pound carrots (8 to 10 medium carrots), peeled and shredded
• 1 cups walnuts, finely chopped.

Cake Method:

• Grease and line a 11x9" sheet pan and a 8"x8" square pan (or any other shape) with parchment paper. I used only the sheet pan cake to make the carrot shape. I did not want to reduce the recipe to half, lest it changes the chemistry. You can use the other cake to make a smaller carrot, or any other shape. I just frosted it with cream cheese.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
• Whip butter and sugar (Both white and brown) with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, water & grated carrots. Beat until well combined. 
• Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped walnuts.The batter will be very thick.
• Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing evenly. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting

Frosting Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Frosting Method

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar gradually until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and beat again.

Carrot Shape:

• Cut the sheet cake along the long side into half. 
• Frost one of the halves, with cream cheese frosting. 
• Gently flip the other half over.
• Cut and shape into a carrot, with narrow side being about 3/4" wide.
• Frost entire cake with cream cheese frosting.
• Refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Carrot top:

• Cut a small piece of cake, about 2"x1". Frost with cream cheese. 
• Layer with another piece, and frost completely. Refrigerate for 40 minutes.

Marshmallow fondant:

• Prepare white marshmallow fondant as per this recipe a day ahead. Refrigerate for 8 hours wrapped in cling film. 
• Orange fondant: 



Placing rolled fondant on carved cake

• Pinch tennis ball sized fondant, and microwave for 15 seconds to bring it to soft maleable form.
• Add yellow and red gel food color drops to get orange color. Start with couple drops and add as needed.
• Knead till color is evenly blended.
• Grease counter top thoroughly. With a rolling pin, the orange fondant into 1/2" thick disk. Greasing rolling pin might help the rolling process. Also, sprinkle corn starch/ powdered sugar to keep the fondant from sticking.



Trimmed excess fondant

• Gently lift the rolled fondant and place on the cake.



Lines and indentations to make it look 'real'.

• Trim the excess from sides.
• Use a cheese knife to make random lines on the fondant to resemble a real carrot.
• Green fondant:
• Follow same process to color a small piece of fondant into green, for the carrot top.
• Roll and cover the carrot top. 
• Trim and decorate. 
• Attach to the carrot, using cream cheese frosting as glue.

With green fondant carrot topping

• Everyone at the party seemed pleased, and my best taste tester loved the cake so much, that he finished whatever was left of the cake as a midnight snack!!
• 
  

Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston


PS. You can use any carrot cake recipe, or even a box mix. 

Zebra cake

It was my kid sister's birthday, and a perfect reason for me to try out the wild and funky zebra cake that was all over Pinterest. I read many recipes like here and here, and even sat through a couple of youtube videos. Wishing my lil sis a super duper birthday again, here is my take on the zebra cake. 

Serves: 8-10 persons

Preparation time: 20-25 minutes

Cook time: 35-40 minutes

Slice of Zebra cake

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp Dark Cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
11/3 cup milk (I used 1%)+ 1 tbsp
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-inch spring form cake pan with a circle of parchment paper. Grease/ spray the bottom and sides of the pan with oil/ butter and flour.
• In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, vanilla, vegetable oil.  In a medium bowl, sieve the dry ingredients. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk to combine.  
• Divide the batter into two equal parts in two separate bowls. Set aside one of the bowls.
• Sift cocoa powder into the other batter and blend until incorporated. If the batter gets thicker, add about tbsp of milk to get runnier consistency.

Pour batter alternately to form concentric circles

• Slowly pour 1/3 cup of vanilla batter into the center of the pan and let it spread slightly on its own. Now pour 1/3 cup dark chocolate batter in the center of the vanilla. Notice that the chocolate batter pushes the vanilla batter out, and then gradually spreads creating lovely concentric circles of batter. Repeat this procedure till all batter is poured into the pan.

Just before getting baked

• Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the cake is done and a toothpick inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean. I left mine in the oven for a couple minutes longer, so it had a gaping crack on the top :(
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes. Gently flip the cake and peel the parchment paper.  Flip back onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Fresh out of the oven

P.S. While I usually prefer baking from scratch, box mixes are a great way to experiment. Any white or yellow cake mix would work along with 3 tbsp of dark cocoa and 1/4 tsp salt.


Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston