Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Its been long since my last post, was really tired. There are many recipes I still have to share but I guess im being quite lazy. Anyways, I'll try my best to be punctual from now on (fingers crossed). 

Now, coming to the recipe, this cake is such a treat to watch when baked! Looks marvelous and you really feel like giving yourself a good pat on the back! Here's the complete recipe. Enjoy! 

Ingredients

Dairy White Butter  -  6 oz
Eggs  -  4
Flour  -  6 oz
Baking Soda  -   1/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp

Yellow food color  -  2 or 3 drops
Castor Sugar  -  4 oz

Brown Sugar  -  2 oz
Pineapple essence  -  1 tsp
Pineapple syrup  -  1/4 cup

For Base:

Dairy White Butter   -  3 tblsp
Brown Sugar  -  3 tblsp
Pineapple slices -   8

Cherries  -  8

Method

1.      Preheat oven to 180 degree C. Use a 9 inch spring-form baking pan. Cover the base and sides of the pan from the outside with aluminum foil. Now grease the inside.

2.       For base, add butter and sugar to a saucepan and heat till it caramelizes a bit, not too much. let it cool a little and then pour it into the baking pan, spread evenly. Place the pineapple slices on it till they evenly fit. place a cherry in the middle empty circle of each slice.

3.   For the cake batter, beat butter and sugars in large bowl till fluffy. Add eggs one by one and then pineapple essence. Beat well.

4.      Sieve together flour, baking soda and powder.

5.      Now gradually add this sieved mixture into beaten butter mixture on low speed.

6.      Lastly add the syrup and fold well. Pour onto the prepared base and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until done.

7.     Let it cool for 10 minutes and then open the spring-form pan. 

8.  Invert the serving dish on top and turn the pan upside down to reveal a beautiful pineapple upside down cake!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients 

Butter   -  8 oz (200 g)

Brown Sugar  -  8 oz

Eggs  -  4

Vanilla Essence  -  1 tsp

Flour  -  6 oz

Baking Powder  -  2 tsp

Cocoa Powder  -  2 oz

Milk  -  3 tblsp

Melted Cooking Chocolate  -  4 oz

For Fudge Icing:

Butter   -  4 oz (100 g)

Cooking Chocolate  - 4 oz

Cream  -  ¾ cup

Cocoa Powder  -  2 tblsp (heaped)

Icing Sugar  -  10 oz  (1 ¼ cup)

Vanilla Essence  -  1 tsp

Method for Icing:

1.      In a sauce pan, mix together cream, vanilla essence, chocolate, coco and butter, cook till chocolate melts. 2.      Remove from fire. Keep in freezer till it sets. Take out and add in sieved icing sugar, beat till fluffy and smooth.

Method for Cake:

1.      Beat butter and brown sugar till light and fluffy.
2.      Add in vanilla essence, eggs one at a time and beat well.
3.      Fold in the sieved flour, coco powder and baking powder mixture, along with melted chocolate and milk.
4.      Pour this mixture into 2 greased 8 inch pans.
5.      Bake in preheated oven on 180 degrees for 40 minutes.
6.      Remove, cool. Spread with icing and decorate.

 

Blueberry Cheese Cake

Ingredients 

Yoghurt  -  ½ cup
Cream Cheese  -  8 oz
Condensed Milk  -  1 tin (medium)
Cream  -  8 oz

Gelatin Powder  -  2 tblsp
Lemon Juice  -  4 tblsp

Blueberry Pie Filling  -  ½ tin

For Base:

Digestive Biscuits  -  2 cups (200 g)
Butter  -  3 oz

Method

1.      For base, crush the digestive biscuits finely, add melted butter to it and mix well.
2.      Grease a 9 inch loose bottom pan and spread this biscuit mixture on to base evenly.
3.      For filling, beat cream cheese well with condensed milk.
4.   Make curd cheese a day before and add it to the mixture and beat all together till smooth. 
5.      Dissolve gelatin in 1/3 cup water and cook a little till gelatin dissolves, but don’t boil it.  Add it to the mixture with lemon juice.
6.      Beat cream stiff and fold in the mixture. Mix all well. Pour over base and chill till firm.

7.   Remove and top with blueberry pie filling, and decorate with fresh cream.

Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients

Dairy White Butter  -  4 oz
Eggs  -  2
Flour  -  2 cups
Baking Soda  -   1 ½ tsp
Cocoa powder 1/3 cup
Red food color  -  2 tblsp
Castor Sugar  -  1 ½ cup
Vanilla essence  -  1 tsp
Milk  -  1 cup

White vinegar  -  1 tbsp

For Vanilla Frosting:

Dairy White Butter   -  ½ cup
Icing sugar  -  1 ½ cup
Vanilla essence  -   1 tsp

Method

1.      Preheat oven to 180 degree C and thoroughly grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with flour or place butter paper.
2.      Beat butter and sugar in large bowl till fluffy. Add eggs one by one and then vanilla essence. Beat well.
3.      Make butter milk by adding 1 tbsp vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Then add red food color to it.
4.      Sieve together flour and cocoa powder.
5.      Now gradually add this sieved mixture into beaten butter mixture, alternating with red butter milk mixture. Start and end with flour mixture.
6.      Lastly stir in the baking soda, pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes until done, cool completely on wire rack.
7.      For vanilla frosting, beat the butter till fluffy. Gradually add in the icing sugar and vanilla essence. Beat for 2 3 minutes more. 

Decorate top of the cake with this frosting and dust with cocoa powder.

The Perfect Sponge Cake!

 

Sponge cake is what most people find difficult to make. Well… this is only because of a slight technique involved which is mostly not followed.  And you know what; a perfect sponge never requires baking powder, baking soda or any kind of rising agent!!  So here I am… telling you how to make a perfect sponge cake….and it’s so easy that you don’t need to flip through your recipe book every time you feel like baking one.

So here you go….basic techniques:

1.      Beat the eggs first alone for 5 mins till they start getting bubbly & fluffy. It is then that you add the sugar and beat it further for about 10 mins or so till the mixture doubles.

2.      You only need eggs, sugar and flour….nothing else.

3.      The amounts of ingredients have the same number! Sounds a bit confusing eh? Well what I mean is that if you take 2 eggs, then the ounces of sugar and flour will also be 2 each. Make the eggs 4 and you will need 4 oz flour and 4 oz sugar. How simple!!

4.      Flour is always folded gradually, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Make sure you move your spatula in a clockwise direction, by putting it in the center of the bowl. You draw it around the bottom towards you, scraping the bowl as you do it, and then turning the blade when it comes up, so it sort of scoops what's underneath, depositing it on top. Then you turn the bowl a bit and do the same, always from the center bottom up around the bowl towards you and over the top. Keep doing this and turning. You do the least damage to the beaten eggs that way. It usually shows you the clumps of unfolded material so you know when you have to keep going. Starting from the edges, taking the batter along with you a little and dropping it gradually in between after making a full round.

There you go! I told you it’s easy as 1 2 3!  Happy baking! =)