Cakes . . . good one . . .

I've been quite encouraged by the response by my earlier post on baking cakes... It was quite funny that people are more interested in such things than the other things I write . . .

Couple of days back, we thought about making a different type of chocolate cake. My better half did not like it much, but both the kids have given the thumbs up. In fact, my daughter ate 3 pieces at one go as soon as it was baked. . .  It is bit bitter, but will be loved by people who like the bitter chocolate taste . . . 

Well, we shall call it the coffee chocolate cake. . . Here's a snap of what it looked like at the end. It looks like it got burnt. It isn't. It is just a very dark chocolate cake. . .  

For a 9 inch pan - 

Refined flour (maida): 1^1/4 cup

Cocoa powder: 200 gms

Milk: ^3/4 cup

Sugar: 1^1/4 cup

Egg: 2

Butter: 250 gms

Baking powder: 1 teaspoon

Baking soda: ^1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla essence: ^1/2 teaspoon

Coffee powder: 1 tablespoon

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Baking Time: 40-50 minutes

Preparation:

1.   Separate the yolk and white of the egg. Keep the yolk aside. Fluff up the white of the egg with an egg beater.

2.   Sieve the flour and add baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder to the same.

3.   Mix the sugar and the butter well. We usually powder the sugar before mixing.

5.   Add the yolk of the egg to the sugar-butter batter.

6.   Add the coffee powder to the batter.

7.  Incorporate the flour mixture gradually into the batter alternating with the milk. The batter should look a bit thick.

8.   At last, fold the fluffed up egg whites to the batter. Do not use a cake mixer for it. Take a spoon and just fold it into the cake batter.

9.   Don’t keep the batter outside for long. Bake as soon as possible at 160 degree Celsius (about 300 degree Fahrenheit) for about 40 to 50 minutes. Ensure that the cake is well cooled before you attempt to cut.

Baking Cakes

Baking was a new thing for my wife. She got the bug of baking cakes while as part of her post-graduate studies she spend 6 months in the Pathology Department where couple of consultants gave her quite vivid and juicy descriptions about the joy of baking cakes. My taste buds prayed quite a bit that she would take up this as a serious routine in our home.

So, one of the first new possessions that we brought after we shifted from Vellore to NJH was the Murphy Richard’s OTG (oven, toaster, griller). With internet around, it was not so difficult to find good recipes. Being quite away from town was a bit difficult especially when it came to procuring the baking ingredients especially butter. Occasionally, we used to get Amul butter – but it was not recommended because of the additives and the salt.

There is a good shop in Ranchi where we could get fresh butter. So, when someone made the long trip to Ranchi, at least a kilogram of butter was a constant order.

It did not take long for our kids to develop a liking for cakes. Considering the fact that we could not make cakes often because of butter not being available regularly – cakes were always in good demand when they were made. Both of them particularly took a liking for the eggless variety of chocolate cake which Angel modified quite well even with the addition of eggs.

Our first challenge was Shalom’s birthday party last September. The problem was about trying to decorate the cake. We wanted to make the cake as well as decorate it. That was when we found out that we could use colour coated chocolate bits marketed under the trade name ‘Gems’ could very well be used. It has become a favourite with both the kids. When Charis had her birthday celebrations in April, Shalom was quite clear about what type of cake we should have.

However, the kids have discovered that the joy of baking cakes is actually in waiting to lick the batter before the cake is baked.

Shalom discovered it on his own. Charis needed a bit of introduction from Angel. However, now Charis is the dominant player as you can see from this picture.

Initially, baking cakes used to be a family event. Unfortunately, of late, I’ve not been able to take part because of the workload in the hospital. I look forward to a day when I can be part again of the fun of baking cakes.