My Best Cake...

The final day of my course 2 was  yesterday. Always, it was fun gathering there and chit chat while learning the techniques. I have always wondered if I would be able to prepare some nice cakes. I mean a neatly decorated cake. Even at the beginning of the last class, I never imagined I could make a nice decorated cake. But, I took back my opinion, when I could make a cake like this,

This is my best cake ever till now. When I prepare the cake, I was waiting to decorate and cut soon. As the cake is a vennila cake with Strawberry Marshmallow Mousse filling. I loved the filling and it tasted to good when I prepared them. But when I decorated the cake, I never had the mind to cut the cake :)

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Baking cakes have become once a month or atleast once in couple of months task. I just love to try all flavors of cake, and chocolate comes on the top of the list. Sundar loves all flavors of cake and so my daughter.
This cake is decadent and a great treat for chocoholics!

During the process of baking this cake, I realized that my little champ is seems to be a chocolate lover. Maybe I can call him, chocolate boy. He seems to be enjoying every single lick that I gave him out of the chocolate cake. He also liked Nutella, hazelnut spread with cocoa. Of all these things, he is quite fond of my oven. When not in use and when not hot, he loves to use it as his play area.

Fresh Fruit Pastry

Pastry is a term used in India to refer to any cake made with a fresh cream filling or frosting. The most popular ones are the Black Forest, Pineapple pastries, or any other fruit pastries.
I had the Fresh Fruit Pastry once in a bakery in edison. I have had the other pastries when I was a kid in India and we used to crazy for Black Forest Cake.

Pastries are usually made with fat-free sponge cakes where all the sponginess comes from the eggs.

The Fresh Fruit Pastry is a soft sponge cake and decorated with thin slices of fruits. I used soft fruits like strawberries, kiwi fruit and pineapple. I think you can’t really use harder fruits like apples and pears for obvious reasons that it will be impossible to cut them. Moreover apples and pears can oxidize and turn brownish. If you use watermelon or cantaloupe, they will watery and hence make the cake soggy. So, rightly choosing the fresh fruits is very important.

The fresh fruit pastry is pleasing to the eyes and palate. What else could you think of using for this?
The Fresh Fruit Cake is very light and not overly sweet. A great cake for almost any occasion or you can create an occasion for the cake.  Always, plan the seasonal fruits, as they give the natural sweetness.

Moist Mango Nut Bread

Why does Mango come in this season? We are all Mango maniacs in our home! When we find yellow Mango in the shop, we get them! These mangoes are from Ecuador, and they are lovely to make desserts or any other baking. They are not juicy but sweet and tender to bake.
They are quite similar to Alphonso mangoes. Quite lot of fibers and when they are naturally sweet we do not require much sugar for baking.

I prepared a small loaf of the bread and it hardly lasted for 2 days. I always like to share (testing samples, may be!) my new creations with my neighbours. But this time, I hardly had a very small piece to give. So I prepared some more for today, I think by the time Sundar is home they will be distributed :)

The bits of mangoes dotting the bread and the slight crunch of nuts makes this one of my favorite breads. This recipe was passed on to me by my aunt from some TV show. When I baked for the first time, I used eggs and today I ran out of eggs. So added Mango puree instead or by increasing the oil. Just blend few pieces of the yellow goodness and blend it and replace for the egg whites.

Black Forest Cake

Wish you all a very Happy New year 2012! Hope the year bring happiness, peace, love and health to all out there! And wish you have many more such happy new years!

Black Forest cake has been a cake which makes me to lick the last bite on the plate. Hmmm, delicious! I'm sure to say it, after every slice of it! This was how I grew up! And to follow me are my cousins. When I ask one of them, why did you choose Black Forest cake for your mom's wedding anniversary celebration, as my aunt doesn't like? He said who cares, I love to eat the entire cake if they leave it to me! I think most of us tend to be that way, but either our diet or something that stops us saying that.

This is the reason that made me to prepare this cake. Well, I'm not a regular baker. Somehow, when I plan to bake something, I wind up all my regular chores and think about this big event going to happen. It still comes to me like a big happening taking place! Or I should say I am yet to touch the comfort zone of baking! I'm sure to touch there one day and feel a better baker, baking like how I cook.

There are so many ways to prepare the cake. Mine is a simple, yet tasty recipe. You are sure to feel it like a Black Forest Cake, a heaven in every bite! They require basic baking stuffs.

Christmas Fruit Cake step by step Recipe

Oh yeah! Do-do-do-oh! Santa Claus is coming to town!


Oh! You better watch out
You better not cry
You better not pout I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

I wish Merry Christmas to all of you!

Satisfy the sweetest tooth this holiday season with a deliciously easy Christmas cake recipe. Baking the Christmas cake is such fun and effortless. This traditional Christmas cake with all the dry fruits, nuts and spices is so fragrant while baking.
Involve your kids while baking the cake, you are sure to get memories that never fade. This is a British Fruit Cake, and the cake is repeatedly fed with alcohol (usually brandy, rum is also good).

This Fruit Cake recipe comes from Nigel Slater's 'The Kitchen Diaries' and it is by far the best one I have ever made. It is jammed with raisins, currants, dried cranberries, dried figs and prunes, dried apricots, and candied fruit and peel (candied fruit is preserved fruit that has been dipped several times in a concentrated sugar syrup). Nuts are also included as is ground almonds. Do try to make your fruitcake about three to four weeks before Christmas so you can brush it with alcohol several times and allow the flavors to mingle and age. This cake can be frozen so it might be a good idea to make two and then you can freeze one for later.

Basic Sponge Cake

I just wonder How many times I have baked this, since I started baking. I know, countless! And not penned the recipe here.
I have lots of sweet tooth at my home, anything sweet, just this Pound cake. Made these couple of days back for their cravings. Now, I realize, Baking isn't really that hard as long as you stick to measurements.
Sundar, likes to take them for his snack time :)