Chocolate Peda

I had been planning to post this recipe- Chocolate Peda for a long time for the event going on here Lets Celebrate Sweets-Chocolate. This event is a part of the series started by Nivedita. Thanks to my broken laptop I have not been able to be very active in blogging lately. 

Hopefully the roundup of this evnt will be up next week or so. Please bear with the delays.

This is my last minute entry for this event. Along with this I would also like to submit my Choclate Rum Truffles. 

Coming back to Chocolate Peda recipe:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fresh paneer.

1/4 cup milk powder.

1 /4 cup powdered sugar.

1 tsp cocoa powder.

1/2 tsp chocolate powder.

To garnish:

2 cardamom pods crushed finely

Chopped pistachios.

Process:

1. Pan fry the crumbled paneer without any ghee or oil. Let it cool down to room tempreture.

2. Mix the sugar and milk powder and mix it nicely the way we work on a dough till everything is well incorporated and the mixture is even in texture and colour. No need to add water.

3. Make 8-10 balls and shape them up like pedas. Garnish it with chopped pistachios and crushed cardamom.

4. Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours. Chocolate Peda is ready to it!

Enjoy!

Nutty Home Made Chocolate With Coconut Coating!

Before starting off with today's recipe, I want to share an undesirable incident that has happened with me, with you guys. Recently, I got a comment on my Eggless Black Forest Cake by 'Washpota'(I cannot access the profile) saying that he/she has seen the exact recipe on Manorama Online and even quoted the links which are this and this. The site is in a language I don't know and I am taken aback by the fact that someone( M Vaheeda Rahaman) copied my content word for word and even the picture. Can anyone guide me how can I contact Manorama Online. Any help will be highly appreciated.

Now lets check what I have today to share with you all!

I came across this recipe at Nithya's Blog and tried them immediately. They were finished so soon that I did not even get the chance to photo shoot them.. :-)! So, I decided to make them again for the event 'Lets Celebrate Sweets- Chocolate' hosted here. This event series is the brain child of Nivedita.

Also to remind you, another event 'Winter Warmers' is being hosted here till 30th Jan 2011. So, rush in you entries!

Now coming back to the recipe, it is very simple and doesnot call for any fancy ingredients. I have used half of the measurement given by Nithya and got 15 balls. Only addition I did was to add the nuts and coat them in dessicated coconut. Lets give it a look!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cocoa powder.
100 gm milk powder.
1/2 cup sugar.
1/4 cup water.
2 tbsp butter.
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts.
1/4 tsp vanilla Essence.
Dessicated coconut to coat.

Process:

1. In a saucepan heat water and add sugar. Boil it till it reaches 1 string consistency.

2. Remove from heat and add butter.

3. Once it melts add the other ingredients and mix well to form a sticky dough.

4. Let it cool for sometime. Then with greased hands roll them into small balls.

5. Roll them into dessicated coconut and place them in a small tray.

6. Refrigerate for a while it gets firmer. They are ready to eat.

Here is one for you!

Enjoy! Have a lovely weekend!

Chocolate Cake With Fudge Icing (Eggless)

This is my last minute entry for Suma's event - Bake-o-mania. I had made it for New Year. The fudge icing transformed this simple cake into a delicious and sinful treat. The reason I chose to cover it with fudge icing was the lack of time. I did not want to sit and spend time smoothing the icing. I am glad to have made the choice.We enjoyed some slices of it with scoops of vanilla ice cream. Doesn't that sound tempting!

This cake also find its way to my event 'Winter Warmers' and Champa's Bake Off.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup AP flour.

½ cup condensed milk.
¼ cup butter,
2 tbsp cocoa powder.
3/4 tsp baking powder.
½ tsp baking soda.
80 ml soda water
½ tsp vanilla essence.

For the fudge icing and decoration:

50 g milk chocolate.
1 cup icing sugar.
3 tbsp butter.
1/4 cup milk.
1 tsp vanilla essence.

Process:
1. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 15 minutes.

2. Grease a sandwich tin and dust it with flour. In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients together and mix. Sieve it so that the mixture in uniform and there are no lumps in it.

3. In another bowl add the soft butter and beat in the condensed milk. Stir well for two minutes. Add the vanilla essence and beat nicely for 2 minutes till everything is evenly mixed.

4. Now add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture, slowly and keep rotating to form a batter. Add the soda water and mix for another couple of minutes.

5. Pour it in a pre greased tin and bake it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes at 180 C till nicely raised and a skewer pricked in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

6.  Cool it completely on a wire rack. While it is cooling prepare the fudge icing. For that chop the chocolate into small pieces. Pour all the ingredients into a heat proof bowl and place it over a pan containing boiling water. Stir the ingredients as it melts.

7. Take it off gas once nicely melted and beat well. Wait till it cools a bit and reaches the right consistency.

8. Once the cake is cooled completely cover it with freshly prepared fudge icing and decorate it with chocolate gems.

Enjoy! Have a nice weekend!

Carrot Halva (Microwave)

Christmas is over :-( . Hope you all had a good time enjoying all the goodness this festival brings, not to mention good food, gifts, parties and so on. I had a good time too and am having a good time now as well, shopping around in the big sale season! I tell you I love shopping and I do not know many people who do not :-)!

The blogosphere is filled with recipes of Christmas goodies and it made things more festive. May be I will share them sometimes later. Today, I am sharing this Halva which is an all time favourite in my household especially during winters. This Carrot Halva is the microwave version. I had posted the conventional one long back. You can check the recipe here.

This is probably going to be my last post this year.. Lets end it with this sweet dish! Wishing you all the very best in the coming year!

Coming back to today's recipe:

Carrot Halva (Microwave):

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded carrots.
1 tbsp ghee
½ cup milk.
¼ cup sugar or less.
A few strands of saffron.
2 cardamom pods crushed.
Almond flakes and chopped pistachios to garnish.



Process:

1. Add the carrots to a safe microwave bowl and add ghee. Give a good stir so that the ghee is nicely coated on the shredded carrots.

2. Add milk, crushed cardamom, saffron and sugar and mix such that all the carrots is covered by it.

3.Microwave on a high for 3-5 minutes and stir and microwave again for 3-5 minutes.

4. Follow this cycle till done. Mine took 20 minutes. If you are making a lesser amount it will be done quicker and also time differs from microwave to microwave. So adjust accordingly.

5. Finally, garnish with almonds and pistachios. Serve warm or cold.

Sending this off to my event - Winter Warmers held here.

Enjoy!

Mango Choco Chip Tea Loaf

I had baked this cake around 3 weeks back. It happened when, I was cleaning and reshuffling my kitchen shelves when I spotted a can of mango slices sitting at one corner. I had bought it long back from Tesco and it was till to be used.

Long back I had bookmarked this recipe from Madhuram's site. She had made it from here. I thought of using my long desolated mango slices can for it. However, I didnot want it to be overly mango-ey. So, I decided to add some chocolate chips to it. The original recipe was vegan but mine is not as the chocolate chips I used are not vegan. Otherwise, it a nearly vegan cake! I drained the syrup form the can and churned the slices into a smooth puree. It measured 1 cup which was half a cup less than stated in the original recipe. I also added half a tsp of baking soda for leavening. I reduced the amount of sugar as the mango puree was already very sweet. I baked it for extra 4-5 minutes to get a nice golden crust. It just looked and smelled awesome when out of oven.

This Tea Loaf makes its way to Champa's Bake-Off, Suma's Blog Anniversary Event-Bakomania and to Sameena's Cookies n Cake for X mas Event.

P.S: Don't forget to check out what Suma's giveaway for the event!

Mango Choco Chip Tea Loaf:

Ingredients:

1½ cup AP Flour.
1½ tsp baking powder.
½ tsp baking soda.
¼ tsp salt.
⅓ cup sunflower oil.
1 cup mango puree.
1 tsp vanilla essence.
¼ cup chocolate chips.
⅔ cup - 2 tbsp sugar.

Process:

1. Grease a 1 lb loaf pan and dust it with flour. Preheat the oven at 180 C for 15 minutes.

2. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the sugar and mix thoroughly.

3. Add mango puree, oil, vanilla essence in the dry ingredients mixture and mix gently to get a uniform batter. Add in the chocolate chips and fold it in the batter.

4. Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake for about 35- 40 minutes till done.

5. Cool it on a wire rack for 10 minutes before taking it out of the tin. Cool it completely before slicing.
 Serve cold ot warm with a cup of tea!

Enjoy!

1st Blog Anniversary with Black Forest Cake!

It is exactly one year today since I started this blog 'The Veggie Hut'. I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to all my readers and blogosphere friends for their support and encouragement throughout the year. That is the reason I have reached this milestone today. Thanks a ton friends!

During this journey of a year, I have known so many food enthusiasts from around the globe, have experimented and tried my hands on new recipes, have made some blogosphere buddies and lots more. In a nut shell, it has been a enriching experience and a win-win decision to start this blog!

On this special occassion, I would like to share the recipe of 'Black Forest Cake'. I am sharing it from my drafts as I had saved it for this day :-).

I have refered this recipe from Nita Mehta's Book and I am satisfied with the results. Lets check the recipe now. First we have to prepare a ‘Rich Eggless Chocolate Cake’. We will need:

Ingredients:

½ tin condensed milk.
½ cup milk.
1 cup flour.
¼ cup powdered sugar.
¼ cup cocoa powder.
½ cup oil.
1 tsp baking powder.
½ tsp soda bicarbonate.
1 tsp vanilla essence.

Process:

1. Grease a swiss roll baking tin and dust it nicely with flour. Preheat the oven at 175 C for 10-15 minutes.

2. Sieve flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda bi-carb together. Keep aside.

3. Beat oil, sugar and essence till well mixed. Add condensed milk and milk. Beat well till well incorporated.

4. To this mixture add flour mixture in 2-3 batches, mixing well all the time. Beat well for 4-5 minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy and of a soft dropping consistency. Add a few spoons of milk if needed.

5. Transfer the cake mixture to the prepare tin. Level it.

6. Bake it at 175 C for 15-20 minutes. If the same cake is prepared in a small square or round tin it will take around 35-40 minutes to bake it.

7. Insert a clean knife in the middle of the cake to check if it is done. If it comes out clean, switch off the oven and take the cake out. Remove from tin after 10-15 minutes, by inverting on the wire rack.

I was in a hurry to take it out of the tin. I didnot wait for more than 5 minutes.. Thats evident from the picture!

For the black forest cake we will need.

1 chocolate cake (From above)
150 gm glazed cherries.
1 tbsp rum (Gives the flavour, I encourage to use it or use rum essence).
2-3 tbsp sugar.
¼ cup water.
50 gm dark chocolate flakes.

Cream Icing:

250 gm double cream- chilled.
4 tbsp sugar or to taste.

Process:

1. Cut the sheet of chocolate cake into 2 equal halves. Slice off thin slices from the sides. Place one half upside down on a flat plate.

2. Beat cream with sugar till the cream is thick and stands soft peaks. Keep it in the freeze till needed.

3. Dissolve sugar in water with rum. Thinly slice the cherries keeping aside 5-6 for decoration.

4. When the cake is completely cooled down, brush the sugar and rum syrup generously over the cake. The cake will soak it and will be moist. Spread a layer of cream over it evenly. Now spread a thin layer of sliced cherries.

5. Place the other half of the cake. Brush with syrup generously. Cover the whole of the cake with cream icing evenly.

6. Cover the cake sides with chocolate flakes. Decorate the top with chocolate flakes and cherries as desired.

7. Keep the cake in the freeze and take it out 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Sending it off to Champa's Bake Off!

Diwali Wishes and a sweet dish- Kalakand!

Hi Friends,

At the very outset my heartiest belated wishes to you for Diwali! Hope you a had a good time and enjoyed a lot! Actually, I was planning to post this dish on the diwali day but could manage time to do so. Anyways, better late than never! I had made it specially for Diwali. I had referred the recipe from a small booklet of 'Milkmaid'. I have incorporated a few simple changes to the recipe. It tended to be a bit crumbly in the beginning but once properly set it was fine. That's why, you can see that all the pieces of the sweet are not uniform in shapes. But that does not lower the taste. Hope you would like it too..

Before going into the recipe, I would like to say something about this illuminating festival. Diwali is a festival which celebrates the victory of good over evil. As per the Hindus, it is the day when

Lord Rama returned to his kingdom, Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, after putting an end to the demon Ravana of Lanka. In Ayodhya, the people welcomed them by lighting rows of clay lamps. So, it is an occasion in honor of Rama's victory over Ravana; of truth's victory over evil. But, we Jains have a totally different occasion of celebrating this festival. It is the festival of jubilation to commemorate the Moksha attained by our 24^th Tirthankar Lord Mahavira on Amaavashya of Kartika in Pavapuri,India. According to our Holy Scriptures many Gods and Demi-Gods were present on that occasion, illuminating the darkness of Amaavashya. To symbolically keep the light of Lord Mahavira's knowledge alive, ordinary people also illuminated their homes. Hence the name of the festival - Deepawali.

Sweets and Lights are a very important part of this occassion. So, lets see how I made this Kalakand. Kalakand when normally made from milk takes a lot of time. Since I used condensed milk it was considerably quicker!

 Makes 16 peice.
 Ingredients:

1 tin milk maid.

2 cups full fat milk.

2-3 tbsp curd.

1 tsp lime juice.

2 cardamom pods crushed finely.

Few strands of saffron.

Pistachios and almond flakes to garnish.

Process:

Heat a non stick pan. Add milk and boil on a high flame. When it comes to a boil add the curd and take it off thegas for a moment. Give it a good stir. The milk will curdle. Now put it back on heat and add the condensed milk and give it a good stir. Add the lime juice  and stir. It will curdle too. Now add the crushed cardamom pods and saffron threads. At this moment if you want to add a little more sugar to your taste you can. Keep stirring and heating the curdled milk till it dries up. It will take about 25- 30 minutes.

Set it in a lined square tin and garnish it with pistachios and almonds. Let it cool down and then using it pizza cutter cut it into square size. Keep it in refrigerator.

Serve cold!
Sendin g this sweet to PJ's ongoing event- Lets Celebrate-Bengali Sweets,This event is the brain child of Nivedita And also sending it to Mina's Event CMT-Sweets started by Jagruti

Belated Diwali Wishes again! Wish you a very joyous, prosperous year ahead!

Plum & Apple Crumble

A very easy and yummy dessert that does not need any elaborate preparation!

Sending this off to Baking from a Book-4 hosted by Sowjanya. This event is the brain child of Champa. Also sending this off to Champa's weekly Bake-Off.

Ingredients:

2-3 Fresh Plums deseeded and cut into wedges.

2 medium fresh apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges.

1 tsp golden syrup.

Splash of water.

1 tbsp caster sugar.

Pinch of cinnamon powder.

For the crumble topping:

1 tbsp butter.

1 tbsp brown sugar.

1 tbsp AP flour.

1 tbsp rolled oats.

Pinch of cinnamon.

Serves 2

Process:

Preheat the oven at 200 C. Line 2 heat proof bowls or ramekins with the plums wedges with the skin down followed by apple wedges. Drizzle golden syrup over it and add a splash of water. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon powder and heat in the oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile for the crumble topping, mix all the ingredients and rub it well till it resembles rough crumbs. Remove the bowls from the oven squeeze them lightly with the back of a spoon. Then cover it with the crumble mixture. Bake it in the oven for 20-22 minutes till the crumb layer is nice golden brown.

Enjoy!!

Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or chilled custard.

Baked Apple Surprise

I had green apples sitting in my fridge for a long time and did not know what to do with that. We do not like to eat the green apples raw. I generally bake crumble apple pie with them but this time I wasn't in a mood to make it. Last week, I had been to Blooms, a big nature event here. Some free pamplets were being distributed,some of them had few recipes. I had saved it as i found some recipes interesting. This one - Baked Apple Surprise too comes from there. Sending it to Champa's Bake Off and Baking from a Book this month being hosted by Suma of Veggie Platter. 

This recipe had called for 2 tbsp wholemeal brown bread crumbs which I did not have so I added a tbsp of dessicated coconut more. I loved this baked dessert with vanilla flavoured custard.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 good sized granny smith apples.

2 rounded tbsp brown sugar.

120 ml water.

2 tbsp raisans.

3 tbsp dessicated coconut.

Grapes to garnish. 

Process:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Rinse dry and core the apple. With asharp knife make a tiny incision all the way around the middle of each apple. This will allow the apples to puff up when baked.

Mix the sultanas, desicatted cocnut and half the brown sugar together in a bowl. Use a teaspoon to spoon this mixture into the hole in the top of each apple,firming gently into place with one finger. In another small bowl mix half of the brownsuagr with alittle water until the sugar dissolves. Place the apples in a shallow roasting pan. Pour the water and suagr mixture into the botom of the dish,not over the apples. Bake uncovered on the centre shelf of a pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes until the apples are soft.

Place in individual plates, spoon the syrup over the baked apple. Top it with grapes. Serve it with cream or custard.

 

Enjoy!!

I m back with Mango Ice Cream

During my childhod days summers were a delight for me. The reason being 'Mangoes'. I am in love with this fruit and love them in any form. Today, I am here with a summer cooler recipe which is based on this fruit. I came across this recipe on Red Chillies and had been longing to try it for a long time. The weather had been great here last week and it gave me the chance to make some summer delights, one of them being this 'Mango Ice Cream. I have followed her recipe exactly except I added pistachios in lieu of walnuts. Needless to say, it was a hit.

You will need:

1 1/2 cup mango pulp.

1 1/2 cup coconut milk (I used low fat version).

1 1/2 cup evaporated milk.

1/2 cup sugar.

4 cardamom pods freshly crushed to powder.

10 pistachios chopped plus extra for garnishing.

Makes 1 litre.

Process:

Blend the mango pulp, coconut milk, evaporated milk, chopped pistachios and cardamom powder till well blended. Add sugar and blend again. Check sweetness and add more if neccesary. Transfer into an air tight container and freeze for 6 hours. Take it out after 6 hours and let it set and then blend it again. Freeze for another 6 hours. Repeat this process 2 more times before freezing it finally. Take it out 10 minutes before serving. Scoop out the icecream. Garnish it with chopped pistachios and serve.

And..now I am all set to have it!

My verdict: I am loving this ice cream. It has some crystals in it, so I think adding cream would help. Still, I would like to enjoy it in this low fat version. Its a guiltfree pleasure with no serious tension about the waistline!

Enjoy! I will be back with some more summer cooler recipes!

Amras

Mango is one of my favourite fruits. This fruit has a lot of childhood memories attached to it. There was not a single day during the summer season in India when we didnot have this fruit either having it cut into cubes or making this 'Amras'. I could have roti or rice simply with this, no need to subji and the only mango I loved was 'Langda Aam'. There in North East India we didnot have Alphonso Mango. We also had mango trees in our house but those mangoes were best eaten raw when not ripe coz they were very fibrous. After a rainy night, first thing in the morning we did was to check for the fallen mangoes!!:) I loved them with a spicy masala of red chilli powder and black salt. Oh! my mouth is watering as I write this!

After coming here I have missed this fruit a lot and have never got any other variety that can match 'Langda Aam'. Well, something is better than nothing. So, I devour what ever I get here. Coming to the recipe now-

Serves 2-3.
1 large mango ripe.
1/4 cup milk.
2-3 tbsp sugar.
1/4 cup water.
Ice cubes to serve, optional.

Process:

Peel the mango and take out as much flesh as possible. Churn it in the mixer with the milk and sugar. Adding sugar will depend on how sweet the mango is, so adjust accordingly. Strain the mixture through a strainer. Add water to reach your desired consistency. Chill it in the refrigerator. Take it out 15 mins before serving. Add an ice cube (optional) and serve.

Sending this off to Srivalli's Thanda Mela. Enjoy!

Gaajar Kheer (Carrot Pudding)

Grated Carrots cooked in thickened milk, flavoured with cardamom and saffron and garnished with almonds and pistachios.

An absolute treat for sweet lovers like me. If you like carrot halwa, I bet you can't say no to this. My hubby doesn't like any type of kheer (which is a pleasure for me sometimes), so he just tasted it for my sake and I got the rest of the whole for myself.

Sending this off to Srivalli's Thanda Mela

 

Serves 4
Ingredients:

800 ml full-fat milk
200g carrots, peeled and grated
3-4 tbs sugar
a good pinch of saffron strands
4-5 green cardamom seeds, powdered
8 pistachios, chopped
2 tbsp flaked almonds

Process:

Take 2 tbsp of the milk and add saffron to it and set aside.Heat rest of the milk in a wide based pan, stirring constantly so as to make sure the milk doesnot stick at the bottom and burn. Keep the flame on medium. Another way to prevent milk to stick at the bottom is to grease the pan from inside with ghee and then start the whole process.
Keep cooking until it reduces by about one third. It will takes about 20 minutes.
Add the carrots and continue cooking for another 15-25 minutes,until they are soft and the milk is as thick. The consistency of milk and sweetness is a personal choice, so adjust accordingly. Stir in the sugar, the saffron milk and cardamom powder, cook for another 2 minutes and taste for sweetness. Cool and then place in the fridge for 3-4 hours to chill. Take it out of fridge 15 mins before serving. Serve in bowls sprinkled with the chopped pistachios and flaked almonds.

Enjoy!

Ras Malai for Indian Cooking Challenge

Ras Malai, the very name sets my mouth watering. Its my favourite dessert since my childhood. I was delighted when I saw that this was the April Challenge for ICC. I have followed the recipe and process given by Srivalli to the T. She adapted it from Lavi's Blog. I tried it twice and the second time it came out good. My husband loved it too. He encouraged me to try Indian desserts more as I tend to bake cakes when he wants me to make something sweet.

Now coming to the recipe used in making this ras malai:

Eggless Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I had a few pineapple slices in my refrigerator and my hands were itching to bake something. So, I decided upon this cake. I have baked this cake many times now but never got to post it in this space. I used soft dark brown sugar here for the glaze. However, it can be replaced by plain granulated sugar if liked.
Needless to say, it tasted delicious and was over in no time.

Kulfi

A very indulging Indian icecream, Kulfi is my all time favourite. I adopted this recipe from Anjum Anand's Book I mentioned here. Sending this off to Srivalli's Thanda Mela.

Coming back to the recipe, here is what you will need.

Vegan Banana and Gingerbread Slices

I love reading books. I read a variety of them, from novels to short stories and most recently cookbooks! Ever since I have developed an interest for cooking, I always browse the cookery section of the library on my frequent visits. It just happened that I came across a low fat baking book and I brought it home. It is a nice book with a huge collection and has pictures for all the baking recipes. I have tried this particular cake from the book- 'The Ultimate Low Fat Baking Cookbook' edited by Linda Fraser. I have made a lot of variation to make it eggless. I made this cake for our 'Girl's Get Together' which was at one of my friend's place. While baking it I kept it in oven for about 42 mins and the top of the cake turned slightly more brown and hard. I should have taken it out 5 minutes early. Still, the taste was great. The flavour of this cake develops as it keeps, so if you can store it for 2-3 days before eating.

Chocolate Rum Truffles

Who doesnot love chocolate? I haven't met many people who will say no chocolate. And, even if one doesnot like I don't mind, I will have more to eat ;-). Here is something, I tasted first on a trip to USA.

When we went to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Shop in San Fransisco, we fell in love with it. You roll your eyes and all you can see is a variety of chocolates. We bought an assortment of chocolates and one of them were truffles. I have tried to make it at home and I would say it was preety worth the effort coz there is not much effort and the taste is great.

Check Out here for interesting recipes from Ghirardelli.
However this recipe is adapted from 'Joy of Baking'. Have a look at this site. It's pictures will make you drool.

Valentine Day Special Eggless Chocolate Gateau and Some Awards!

February has been a very lucky month for my blog. I have been showered with lovely awards from my fellow bloggers. I am very glad and thank ful to them. Thanks a ton for remembering me and encouraging me through these awards. It means a lot to me.

Priya on acheiving the milestone of 200th post passed an award to her fellow bloggers. Thanks a lot Priya for making my  day.                                 

     

Nithu also shared this award and another award with me.

                                                                            

Thanks Nithu for these lovely awards.

Renuka has shared a bunch of awards with me. Thanks a lot for your kind gesture.

                                            

                         

                                                                        

I would like to share these with all my blogger friends! Please accept them.

Coming back to the recipe I am sharing here. It is the cake I made this Valentine's day!

'Chocolate' is a word that brings a plethora of feelings, tastes and pleasures. A peice of chocolate that lands on our tongues, melts slowly into a rich and creamy taste and soothes and tantalize our tastebuds. Me and my husband, both are chocolate lovers. A peice of chocolate is a must after every meal. It is a stuff of mood lifting happiness. But when it comes to cake he always wishes to have a plain vanilla cake with cream icing and cherries. After having made it for several occassions now and most recently on new year, I wanted to make a chocolate cake. Gladly, my husband agreed and I made this cake.

 

Eggless Chocolate Gateau:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup AP flour.
½ cup condensed milk.
¼ cup margarine.
1 tbsp chocolate powder.
2 tbsp cocoa powder.
½ tsp baking powder.
½ tsp baking soda.
¼ cup milk.
¼ cup aerated drink.
½ tsp vanilla essence.

This measurement is for one sandwich cake.We need two sandwich cakes for this gateau so just twice this measurement.

A little extra margarine and flour for greasing and dusting the pan.

Icing:

250 ml fresh cream.
1 tbsp cocoa powder.
½ cup icing sugar.
10-12 glazed cherries cut in halves.

Sugar syrup:

1 tbsp sugar.
2-3 tbsp water.

Process:

Preheat the oven at 180 C for 15 minutes. Grease a sandwich tin and dust it with flour. In a mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients together and mix. Sieve it so that the mixture in uniform and there are no lumps in it.

In another bowl add the melted margarine and beat in the condensed milk. Stir well for two minutes. Add the vanilla essence and milk and beat nicely for 2 minutes till everything is evenly mixed. Now add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture, slowly and keep rotating to form a batter. Add the aerated drink and mix for another couple of minutes. Pour it in a pre greased tin and bake it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes at 180 C till nicely raised and a skewer pricked in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

                                                   Fresh from oven

We will need 2 sandwich cakes. Make the other sandwich cake in the same way.

Whip 125 ml of fresh cream with ¼ cup of sugar. Keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In a small bowl make sugar syrup by mixing the sugar and water. The sugar should dissolve completely in the water.

Heat a pan and add fresh cream. Keep the heat on low and let the cream melt. Add the cocoa powder and mix well. Remove it from heat and let it cool down a bit. Now add ¼ cup of sugar and beat well. Sugar will help it to thicken. Keep aside and cool it completely. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes before using.

The cake must be completely cooled down before using it or else the icing will melt and start running.

Place one sandwich cake on a flat plate. Brush it nicely with the sugar syrup. It will help the cake to remain moist. Spread the whipped cream over it evenly. Place the other sandwich cake over the cream layer. Spread the cocoa icing over it evenly. Decorate with glazed cherries.

I used ready to use tubes to write over the cake. It was very thick and I could only manage to write a few words.

                                                  But this lack of decoration this year was covered by the lovely taste. My husband loved it. I also served it later hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

                                                                             

[ Microwave a slice of cake for 30 secs and top it with a scoop of vanilla icecream, chocolate sauce and glazed cherries].

Hope all of you guys had a wonderful Valentine Day! Enjoy!!