EGGless Chocolate Cake

EGGless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 15 mins |Cooking Time:40  mins | Serves : 6-7
   FOR THE CAKE
    All purpose flour    1 and 1/4 cup

    Cocoa powder    1/4 cup

     Yogurt |curd       1 Cup

     Oil      1/2 cup

     Baking soda  1/2 tsp

     Baking Powder   1 and 1/2 tsp

     Sugar      3/4   Cup

     Vanilla essence    1 tsp

      Milk          1 tsp 

    FOR THE  ICING
   Whipping cream   3/4 cup

   Sugar    1/4 cup

   Corn flour    2 tblsp*

   

Method:

• Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder so that they will be mixed evenly.

• In a separate bowl, add the yogurt and sugar and allow the sugar to completely dissolve .
• When dissolved, add the oil and the vanilla essence and the red food color. Adding red colour is optional. I wanted to make a red velvete cake, but unfortunately it didn’t give out the red colour.

• Mix well and slowly add it to the  sifted flour mixture and mix well.  Preheat the Oven at 160 degrees for 10 minutes..

• Grease the cake pan and dust it with some flour. Pour this cake batter to the cake tin.
• Bake this for 35 to 40 minutes. Insert a tooth pick to the centre of the cake and if it comes out clearly the cake is done.

• Allow this to cool completely and put a cling wrap on this and keep it in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours.
• Let us make the icing. Before that keep the Whipping cream in the freezer for 15 minutes. Also freeze the vessel in  which  you are going to whip the cream.Keep the blades too in the refrigerator. Always use a tall vessel or a wide bowl, so that the cream will not splutter while whipping.
• Powder the sugar and cornflour together, if using icing sugar no need to powder it.

• Whip the cream till it forms a  soft peak. Mine took 8 minutes. I used the REDMAN brand whipping cream which we get here in Phoon Haut shop.
• I used my electric hand blender.
• After that add the powdered sugar mixture to this and beat well. If adding agar agar powder, add now.
• Agar agar gives firmness to the icing and will not melt even if it kept in room temperature.
• After adding sugar mixture the cream will become more firm too.

• Till you start the icing keep the mixture in the freezer.
• When you are ready to make the icing, take out the cake from the refrigerator and place the cake in a plate and keep it on a inverted bowl. This step is to make the cake easily movable while doing the icing. Hold the plate in one hand while doing the icing.
• Using a spatula or a butter knife start doing the icing. Put a portion of the icing mixture on the top of the cake .

• Spread the mixture evenly with a spatula. Carefully spread first on the top and slowly do it  for the sides. Mine was bit uneven as i was doing for the first time.

• Wipe out the extras spread on the plate and keep this cake with icing in the freezer for and hour.
• This will be dry now and using a butter paper level the cake to get a clean even look.

• I decorated with the cake in a very simple way.
• I used a icing nozzle and filled up with cream and did some decoration.
• I used the food colour which i used for the cake.
• Take 3 tblp of cream in a bowl and add a drop of the red cherry color to this and mix well. Fill this mixture in the tube and cover the piping tube.

• Feel free to do the decoration according to your won imagination.

• I used some colored sprinkles to fill the gap.

 

• Slice the cake and enjoy the cake. The cake was spongy and it tasted so yummy with the whipping cream icing.

Notes: (Few tips adapted from Nita metha cook book)

1. Always keep the whipping cream, the vessel you are using to whip the cream in the freezer for 15 minutes before whipping.
2. Do not do the icing on the cake when the cake is not cooled completely.
3. Use electric hand blender to beat the cream, mixie will not work out for this.
4. If making cake on a peak summer season , keep the bowl on a ice cubes and then beat the cream.
5. Once the cream forms a soft peak stop beating this as it is ready for icing.
6. Over beating of cream make it loose.
7. While baking the cake do not open the door of the oven for the first 10 minutes. This will make the cake sink in the middle.

Molten Lava cake

  Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 1 Min |Serves: 2

     All purpose flour    4 tblsp
     Cocoa powder    1 tsp
     Baking powder   1/4 tsp
     Milk    3 tblsp
     Lemon juice    1/2 tsp
    Oil     1 and 1/2 tblsp
    Sugar   1 and 1/2 tblsp
    Vanilla essence  1/4 tsp
    Red food colour   few drops 
    Chocolate   2 small chunks
     
     

Method:

• In a bowl add the milk and lemon juice , mix well and keep it for 2 minutes.

• Add the baking powder to this and mix well. Now add the flour to this.

• Add the cocoa powder and sugar to this.

• Add the vanilla essence and the red food colour. 

• Add the oil and mix this well without any lumps.

• Grease 2 microwave safe ramekins with oil. Add half of the batter to both the ramekins.

• Now put the chocolate chunk into the center of the ramekin. I used the cooking chocolate. You can add even the dairy milk chocolate too.  
• Pour the remaining batter to cover the chocolate. Ensure the chocolate is fully covered. Take care that the chocolate chunk is fully covered with batter.

• Place the ramekin in the microwave and cook for 1 minute. Time varies from oven to oven. Mine i kept in high for 1 minute. Insert a tooth pick in the center of the ramekin to see whether it is completely cooked. If it comes out clean, then it is cooked.
• Take it out from the oven and allow this to cool.

• If you want you can sprinkle with some powdered sugar. Using a knife scrape the edges and  invert the cake in a plate. 

• Slowly cut the cake in the front so that the chocolate in the center comes out like a lava.

• Red velvet chocolate lava cake is ready to eat now.

Eggless Chocolate Brownie

  Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 30 Mins |Serves: 15 -17 squares

     All purpose flour   1 cup
    Cocoa powder   1/2 cup
    Sugar   1/2 cup
    Milk   1 cup
    Lemon juice  1 tsp
    Oil    1/3 cup
    Baking soda   1 tsp
   Vanilla extract   1/2 tsp
    Salt  a pinch 
     
     

Method:

• In a bowl add the milk and lemon juice and keep it aside.
• Add the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a bowl .

• Powder the sugar in a mixie. 

• Add this to the flour mixture and mix well.

• Add oil and vanilla essence to the milk mixture. Make a dent in the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients.

• Gently mix this in a circular motion and pour it over a greased baking tray.
• Preheat the oven at 160 degrees for 5 minutes.

• Place it in the oven and bake it for 25 minutes or insert a skewer|toothpick in the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, the brownie is perfectly baked.

• When it is completely cool, cut this into squares and enjoy the brownies.
• It tastes best when served with vanilla ice cream. 

Notes:

1. You can add a handful of walnuts on the top of the batter before baking.
2. Lemon juice and milk can be replaced with buttermilk

- See more at: http://www.jeyashriskitchen.com/2016/06/eggless-chocolate-brownie-chocolate.html#sthash.x428z4pl.dpuf

Ginger cardamom Tea

Ginger cardamom Tea

Ingredients

  Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 10 minutes|   Yields : 1 cup

 
    Milk   3/4 Cup
    Water  1/2 Cup 
     Tea or tea leaves  1 and 1/4 tsp     
    Ginger   A small piece
    Cardamom  1
    Sugar   As needed
    

Method:

• Crush the ginger and cardamom using a mortar and pestle. Crush the cardamom seeds nicely so that it will give a nice flavour to the tea.

 

• Boil the water in a sauce pan and add the crushed ginger ,cardamom and tea leaves|powder. Let this boil for 2- 3 minutes in a very low flame. The flavor of the tea, ginger and cardamom will now get infused into the water.  Add the milk now.

 

• Keep the flame little high and when it comes to boil, lower the flame. Keep it in sim for 5 seconds.
• Cover it for 3 seconds. Switch off the flame. Filter this now.

 

• Add sugar as desired . Mix well and serve hot.

 Notes:

1. Always use fresh milk for making tea. 
2. Select good quality of tea powder.
3. If you want the tea to be more dominantly ginger then add some more crushed ginger at the end , before putting off the flame and cover for 5 seconds.
4. Never reheat the tea after it is made. Either reheat in the microwave oven or use double boiler method.(heat water in a pan and keep the tea on this in a tumbler). Do not  reheat directly on the flame.
5. Always add sugar after the tea is done. Never add sugar when the tea is boiling. It will not taste good.
6. The ratio of milk and water depends upon your preference.
7. The amount of tea powder depends on the brand and how strong you need it.

- See more at: http://www.jeyashriskitchen.com/2014/05/ginger-cardamom-tea-indian-kitchen.html#sthash.R0ugCKXg.dpuf