Chocolate Yogurt Cake

*Adapted from Fauzia's Kitchen 

Pre-heat your oven at 175 C and grease/line an 8" round pan.

TIPS:
• Make sure everything is at room temperature when you start.
• Sift the flour with the self raising flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda two or three times just to aerate it, makes the cake very light and fluffy.
• If the yoghurt you are using is too watery, you can thicken it by pouring it into a cheesecloth/muslin cloth, and tie it in such a way that it can hang for a while, all the excess water will drain out and you will be left with a lovely thick yoghurt.

Ingredients

1 cup sugar, grinded to a powder (200gm)
½ cup butter or margarine (112gm)
1 cup all-purpose/plain flour (120gm)
½ cup self-rising flour (60gm) ( or 1/2 cup flour+3/4 spoon baking powder and a pinch salt)
½ cup cocoa powder (60gm)
1 cup heavy thick yoghurt (200ml)
½ cup milk (100ml)
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1 ½  tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt ( if using salted butter skip it, I skipped)

Instructions

1. Add the grinded sugar to the butter/margarine, and cream together until light and fluffy. Don't rush past this stage, it is the one that will determine the texture of your final results, so do it for at least 7-10 minutes. I use grinder for it mostly

2. Now add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla essence. Add the yoghurt and milk and beat well, then remove the mixer/machine and take a wooden spoon to do rest of steps.

3.  Add in the flour ingredients in two or three additions, folding it in after each addition. Do not over mix, just fold until everything is well incorporated. Pour into your pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake in the pan for about 5 minutes, then turn it over on a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ganache, I didn't want it too thick because I wanted some of it to be absorbed into the cake.

Ingredients

½ cup whipping cream (100ml)
150 gm. dark cooking chocolate, chopped and at room temperature ( I used normal dark chocolate+ milk chocolate in market)

Instructions

Heat the cream until it almost starts to boil around the edges. Remove from the heat and add in the chopped chocolate. Stir until smooth.

Slice the cake in half, add half of the ganache to the center place the second half of the cake and pour the rest over the top, letting it drip down the sides. Garnish if you want with nuts or chocolate flakes. I used some strawberry and almond flakes on top.

Marble Cake

*  2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 2 teaspoons baking powder
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 cup white sugar ( I used 1 cup granulated sugar and then grinded it)
    * 1/2 cup butter, softened
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 1 cup milk
    * 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Grease and line an 8" round pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

2. Beat the butter with the sugar until light and creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Now add a third of the flour and beat until combined, then add half the milk. Again beat the batter until milk is mixed in. Add another third of the flour, mix it in, and then add the remaining milk. Finally add the last of the flour and the vanilla essence. Beat just until everything is well combined.

4. Stir cocoa into the 3/4 cup reserved batter and mix well

5. Pour the vanilla batter into prepared pan then pour the chocolate batter on top of it. Using a knife, swirl everything together to create a marble effect. 

 6. Bake in a regular preheated oven at 180 C for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let it cool completely before icing and slicing.

I decorated with powdered sugar but once can frost with butter cream frosting too. 

Zebra Cake

INGREDIENTS
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (8 oz / 250 g) granulated sugar ( I added bit more)
1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) milk, at room temperature
1 cup (8 fl oz / 250 ml) oil (corn, vegetable or canola is fine)
2 cups (10 oz / 300 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon vanilla powder
1 tablespoon (equals 3 teaspoons) baking powder (if not available, substitute with 1 teaspoon baking soda)
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder (make sure it is not very bitter) such as Dutch-processed ( Dark zebra patterns won’t stand out with light cocoa powder)

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Using a hand-held electric mixer or wire whisk beat until the mixture is creamy and light in color

2. Add milk and oil, and continue beating until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine and mix flour, vanilla powder and baking powder. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.  (DO NOT OVERBEAT to prevent air pockets from forming in the batter.

This is the consistency of the batter: neither very thick not too loose. If the mixture is too thin, add a little more flour.

4. Divide the mixture into 2 equal portions. Keep one portion plain. Add cocoa powder into another and mix well.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).

6. Lightly grease the pan with oil. If you don’t have non-stick baking pan, grease whatever pan you have then line it with parchment paper (baking paper).

7. The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. This is what you do. Scoop 3 heaped tablespoons of plain batter (you can also use a ladle that would hold 3 tablespoons) into the middle of the baking pan. Then scoop 3 tablespoons of cocoa batter and pour it in the center on top of the plain batter. IMPORTANT! Do not stop and wait until the previous batter spreads - KEEP GOING! Do not spread the batter or tilt the pan to distribute the mixture. It will spread by itself and fill the pan gradually. Continue alternating the batters until you finish them. The pictures below will guide you through.
his is how the cake will look before it goes in the oven.

8. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. Do not open the oven door at least the first 20 minutes or the cake will shrink and will not rise. To check if the cake is ready, insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean when ready. Remove from the oven. Immediately run a small thin knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake, then invert the cake onto a cooking rack. Turn the cake back over and let cool. You can sprinkle the top of the cake with some powdered (confectioner’s) sugar or leave it plain.

I coated it with chocolate ganache recipe from here

And some strawberry and white chocolate drops ( Using piping bag is better for this as my experiment was messy)

Date Walnut Cake

Inspired by Fauzia's Kitchen

Ingredients

1 cup self-rising flour (120gm) or For every cup of plain flour, add 1 and a half tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Sieve together and use. ( I used plain)

½ cup all-purpose/plain flour (60gm)

150 gm. chopped dates (de-seeded then weighed) (three-quarter cup)

1 cup of very hot water or milk (200ml) ( I used milk)

1 ½  tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla essence

2 tbsp. soft unsalted butter (30gm)

1 egg, lightly beaten

¼ cup sugar (50gm) ( I used 1 cup as I prefer sweet)

¼ cup crushed nuts (optional) ( I used walnuts) 

Instructions

1. Put the chopped dates in a bowl, sprinkle the baking soda then add the cup of boiling water. Mix together, then cover and set aside for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture thickens and cools.

2.Grease a loaf pan/  and line with baking paper. You can also use an 8" round pan ( I used cake pan)

3.Sieve the two flours together, then add the nuts into them if you are using. Toss together so that the nuts are well coated with flour.

4.Mix the sugar and butter until creamy (you can use a machine or by hand), then add the egg and mix until the egg is well combined. Add the vanilla and beat for a few more minutes. Now add the dates mixture and stir using a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the flours with the nuts, and fold into the mixture until well-combined.

5.Pour into the prepared pan, and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Lemon Orange Cake

185g (3/4 cup) butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt with the butter)

190g  caster sugar ( I used 1 cup granulated sugar and then refined it) 

3 large eggs at room temperature 

1 teaspoon finely grated zest (lemon and/or orange)

185g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour ( or 1 1/4 cup flour and about 1 1/2 and pich of baking powder) 

4 tablespoons (80ml) citrus juice (we use 2 tablespoons orange juice and 2 tablespoons lemon juice)

Citrus Icing

150g (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) icing sugar

30ml (1 1/2 tablespoons) citrus juice (either lemon or orange or a mixture of both)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Celsius). 

2.Grease the side and base of a 8'' round cake pan. I used heart shaped but  springform pan for easy removal of the cake can be used. If so, line base and side of the pan with non-stick baking paper. 

3.Using an electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters, beat butter and sugar until very pale and creamy. This could take a bit long. Some say 20 minutes but depends.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a few minutes after each addition. Don't rush the addition of the eggs as the mixture will be more likely to separate and develop a curdled appearance. Add the zest with the last egg. 

5. The butter, sugar, egg and zest mixture should be pale and creamy.

6. Add half the flour and stir until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour. Mix in juice.

7. Spoon mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly.

8. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, or until a thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed in the centre.

9. Sit pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool. When cooled, remove cake from pan and ice with citrus icing (also can turn the cake over and ice the base of the cake for a smoother finish).

* though I did ice but I think I somehow would prefer a non iced cake

Citrus Icing

Stir icing sugar and juice together in a small bowl until smooth.

Recipe Inspired© exclusivelyfood.com.au

Belgian Double Chocolate Cake ( with Fudge Icing)

Recipe is inspired from here

Ingredients

180 gm flour ( 1 1/2 cups)

60gm cocoa powder (1/2 cup)

125gm butter ( about 3/4 cup)

125gm sugar ( I used almost 1 cup)

3 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

three quarter cup milk (3/4 cup)

2 tsp vanilla essence

75 gm chopped chocolate (i used dark chocolate)

3 tbsp chopped walnuts ( one can use hazelnuts too)

Some walnuts for sprinkling on top.

Method.

1.Grease and line an 8 or 9 inch baking pan. I used a heart shaped cake tin and lined it with baking paper. One can line with a foil and grease it and sprinkle some cocoa/ flour on it too.

2.Cream butter with sugar, then add eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated. Or else one can cream them using a electric mixer to save time.

3.Sieve flour with cocoa, salt ( if unsalted butter), vanilla essence and baking powder. Gradually add flour and milk in three instalments, mixing until just incorporated, do not over mix. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts.

TIP: Dust the nuts and chopped chocolate in some flour before adding them to the batter. This will help prevent them from sinking during baking.

4. Fold gently and pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 170 C for about 30minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool then either frost with chocolate ganache or lightly dust some icing sugar. I frosted it with Fudge Icing

Recipe (to cover an 8" cake)

2 tbsp margarine/butter

8 tbsp icing sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

half tsp vanilla essence

some milk

Heat the margarine until it melts, keep the heat on low.

Sieve the icing sugar with the cocoa together, then add this into the melted margarine.

Stir together, then slowly add milk a teaspoon at a time. You will need about 5-8 tsp so just have a bowl of milk next to you and keep adding and stirring until you reach a smooth consistency.

The icing will thicken as it cools so keep it a bit thinner than what you want the final results to look like. Add the vanilla and turn off the heat, immediately ice your cake and sprinkle crushed nuts or cake crumbs. Give it a few minutes to set, and serve!! :)

Note: cakes crack due to overheating so keep temperature less if your cake cracks....also bake in the middle shelf to avoid burnt crusts.

New York Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Everything has to be at room temperature. This is the key to making the perfect cheesecake. You need a lot of patience for this recipe. Here it goes..

You will need

20 graham crackers [Or you can even use digestive biscuits if you don't have graham crackers. In that case just use 10-12]
2 tablespoons of melted butter
500 grams cream cheese. That is roughly 16 oz. ( I used Amul cheese spread due to unavailabilty)
1 and half cup of sugar
3/4th cup of milk
1/4th cup Maida
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Vanilla essence
Extra butter for greasing

You will need a springform pan to bake the cake. It is available in the market. You will also need a hollow tray/vessel which is bigger than this pan, because you need to place your springform pan in this bigger tray while baking. You will also need aluminium foil.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350C/170F.

Grease the springform pan with butter. [Base and sides]. Also cover the pan with aluminium foil so that the top remains open.

Put the graham crackers in a blender and make crums out of them. Add butter and mix well. Now put them on the bottom of the springform pan and press gently so that it forms the crust of your cake.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spatula until it is smooth. Be careful not to overmix.Now add the milk and mix again.
Next, add the eggs one by one, and mix gently such that the eggs get incorporated in the mixture.
Now add the sour cream, vanilla essence and maida. Mix gently.

Once you get a uniform mixture, pour it over the crackers in the greased and foiled pan.
Just gently tap it so that it sets and lets out any air bubbles.

Now, in the larger pan, add some warm water such that when the springform pan is kept into it, then the water covers the pan half way through the height.

Add the springform pan into this water.

Place this in the oven and bake for 1 hour.DO NOT CHECK YOUR CAKE BY OPENING THE OVEN AGAIN AND AGAIN.

[manage]

Turn off the oven after an hour, but let the cake remain inside for an extra 4-5 hours so that it does not crack.

Remove the cake after 4-5 hours, and then gently remove the aluminium foil and later release your cheesecake.

Chill it in the refrigerator until serving.

TRUST ME ITS WORTH ALL THE WORK. IT TASTES AMAZING! JUST BE PATIENT!

I must make this clear too. Please place the springform pan with filling in the larger pan first, and then pour the hot water up till it reaches halfway up the springform pan. If you can handle boiling water, then it's even better to pour that into your larger pan


Note:

Cover the pan from outside. A springform pan is actually where the base comes out like a spring. So you cannot cover that from inside, otherwise the mere foundation of cheesecake would be lost. So you need to cover this pan all the way round from outside so that the water does not seep inside the cheesecake mixture when you keep it in a water bath (larger pan with water)

SOUR CREAM

As sour cream is not available in India, this recipe is suggested as a substitute.


Ingredients
200 grams fresh cream
1 to 2 tablespoon thick curds
2 pinches salt

Method
1. Beat the cream until thick.

2. Add the curds and salt and mix well.

Cream Cheese (Home made)

Take amul cream

just take 1 cream packet and put it on flame and when it just starts to bubble, squeeze a lemon into it and then stir constantly till ur wooden spoon comes out coated and then u hang it overnight in a muslin cloth in fridge and next mornin wake up to fresh cream cheese. like i pour it in the cloth and then the cloth keep it in a sieve and the sieve i keep it in a utensil and tht utensil i keep in fridge so all water drips in utensil. Then cream cheese is one inside cloth and water is to be removed in morn and remove the cheese in a bowl and nicely stir and it'll be smooth.Only thing is it wont be salted.

Nigella's brownie (Self Adapted)

Ingredients

375 g soft unsalted butter ( I used salted hence didnt add salt later and i felt butter was too much so even 300 g would be good enough)

375 g best quality dark chocolate ( I used 160 grams dark chocolate and rest good quality milk chocolate- one can make from plain milk chocolate too)
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanila extract
500 g caster sugar ( its generally 21/4 cups but i used 2 cups plain sugar and blended it in mixer and used 2 3/4 cups of caster sugar and so sweetness was perfect)
225 g plain flour (2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt ( i didnt use)
300 g chopped walnuts ( i used 1 cup due to less at home but 2 cups will be amazing)

Directions:

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. 2 Line your approximatley 33 x 23 x 5 1/2cm brownie pan with foil or baking paper. ( i used a 9" springform but usual pan is recommended due to leaks)
3. 3 Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based saucepan.
4. 4 In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
5. 5 Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
6. 6 When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar mixture, and then the nuts and flour.
7. 7 Beat to combine and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined brownie pan.
8. 8 Bake for about 25 minutes ( it usually takes 45 minutes to a hour).
9. 9 When its's ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle still dark and dense and gooey.
10. 10 Keep checking the brownies as they cook; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
11. 
    
12. Note: my brownie took long to cook and i did mistake to leave overnight in oven and so was hard by morning. But it was perfect in gooeyness. So cook it maximum for an hour and take it off, cool it and leave in fridge overnight so it cooks perfectly.

Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients:

* 250 g castor [powdered] sugar

* 180 g Milk Chocolate

* 180 g soft butter

* 110 g plain flour (Maida)

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 3 eggs

* some butter for greasing

Recipe

1. This ones very simple to make... firstly.. grease the dish in which you will be baking the brownie. preheat the oven to 160 degree celsius or 320 farhenheit..

2. Now, in a double boiler, melt chocolate and butter together.

3. How to make a double boiler: basically double boiler is nothing but a bigger pan filled with water, and a smaller pan or heat proof vessel inside it which holds your stuff to be melted.

4. So in the larger pan add some water, and in the smaller vessel add the chocolate and butter, heat this assembly for about 10 minutes, and the butter and chocolate should start melting,[ tip: do not touch the mixture before the chocolate is melted, coz if you do so then the chocolate will be very difficult to melt after that!! once u see that the chocolate is melted then u can stir it] once they are melted, mix them together, put off the heat, remove the inner vessel and allow this mixture to cool...

5. Now, in a big bowl, break the 3 eggs, add the castor sugar to it, and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. whisk this mixture thoroughly.. now add in the cooled chocolate butter mixture to it, and FOLD it [do not whisk] with a wooden spatula.... [FOLDING THE MIXTURE means u move the spatula in such a way as if ur folding it over and over again]

6.Now add in the maida/flour to it and then mix it in a cut-n-fold way which means u have to move the spatula in the figure of "8" basically.. this makes sure that your cake mixture is very airy and it mixes thoroughly making your cake soft and spongy. [ you can add in some chopped walnuts to this mixture now if you wanna make it a walnut brownie]

7. And now!! time to bake!

you can bake this mixture just like that in the greased pan or u place a butter paper on your baking dish... both ways its good but butter paper makes sure your cake does not stick to the pan so its really your choice.

8. Pour the brownie mixture on the dish and spread it evenly with your spatula... and bake it for 20-30 mins at a temperature of 160 degree celsius or 320 fahrenheit.

9. Check the cake once 20 mins are over

10. one tip to do that is take a clean and dry knife and just poke it inside the cake.. and see if it comes out clean.. if it comes out sticky means you still have to cook it for some more time but if it comes out clean means your cake is ready!!

11. Once your cake is ready take it out and let it cool outside for 30 minutes or so... and then you can cut it and serve!!

Garnish:

you can sprinkle some castor sugar

you can serve it with vanilla ice cream

you can serve it with chocolate sauce

ENJOY and let me know how it went

Suggestions: One can also use dark chocolate or cocoa with hot water and some chocolates.

Chocolate Cake!

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups boiling water
* 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 1/4 cups white sugar(Make it 3 for the sweetness is bit less)
* 4 eggs(seperated)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 9 inch round cake pan. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. I separated the eggs and whipped the whites separately with some of the sugar, then folded it all together to make is extra airy.Beat in egg yolks one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture and then fold and cut using the 8 shaped method. Spread batter evenly in the pan

3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

4. One can sift some powdered sugar on top to serve.


Note: I recipe could easily be flavored with coffee, juice, or buttermilk in place of the water.
Also if one want it little more chocolaty, use half cup of chocolate sauce and half cup of cocoa and it tastes heavenly.

Variations( spongey choclate cake)

Ingredients

* 4 eggs

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 1 (16 ounce) can chocolate syrup

* 2 cups vegetable oil

* 2 cups all-purpose flour

* 16 ounces white sugar (2 cups powdered)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Beat the eggs and the vanilla with a spoon. Blend in the chocolate syrup. Fill emptied chocolate syrup can with vegetable oil and add to bowl. Add the flour to bowl. Fill can with sugar and add to bowl. Stir well and pour into a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Ice after cooling or leave plain.

Note: one can mix chocolate syrup (half) and half cup cocoa.

Apple Nut Cake!

INGREDIENTS

* Granulated Sugar- 2 cups (Make it powdered by blending in a mixer and leave 1-2 tsp for sprinkling or one can use caster sugar)

* Butter-1/2 cup (melted)

* Eggs-3 eggs

* All-purpose flour(Maida)-1 1/2 cups

* Baking soda-1 teaspoon

* 1 pinch salt

* Ground cinnamon-1 1/2 teaspoons

* Vanilla extract-1 1/2 teaspoons

* Apple - peeled, cored and chopped -2 cups (5 small apples)

* Walnuts- 1/2 cup

*Almonds-3/4 cup(1/2 cups for cake and remaining for top)

* Raisins-1/4 cup

*Yogurt-1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch cast iron skillet(I used spring form cake maker). In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat well. Fold in the chopped apples and nuts.Also add 1/2 cup of yogurt for moistness Put some flaked almonds above the mixture.

3. Pour batter into a greased 9 inch cast iron skillet or cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.(It took around an hour for me).

4. Sieve some powdered sugar and serve.

P.S. I made some home variations in the original recipe and this recipe turned bit heavy but heavenly if you are a nut fan.