Whole Orange & Chocolate Cupcake

I love citrus flavor in baked goods.Especially Orange,the mild tinge of orangey goodness in a cake is too hard to resist.It is a dominant flavor in this cake and strangely,I haven’t much used it in my cakes after that.While going through some recipes,I remembered this cupcake recipe which I learnt in a baking class I attended a while back.The class dealt with baking with fruits and I joined because I was curious to know what it was all about.

The class itself was a short one with 9 recipes covered in two days.But to be honest,I was disappointed[not with the recipes though!].I expected an interactive cooking class where we were also a part of the whole process,but this one was more like a sit-and-watch kind of a thing.Nevertheless,it was a learning experience was for me.The little tips and tricks shared by her were quite useful.

This is the second recipe from the class.The first one being this cake,the original recipe used Lychees in syrup but I substituted it with Strawberries.

I used a variety of Orange called Kinnow.It is not very bitter tasting hence works perfect for this cake.

Whole Orange and Chocolate Cupcakes

The recipe is copyrighted and hence cannot be reproduced here.Sorry!!

Few more days left to send in an entry for my event The Best Chocolate Cake.Have you baked your chocolate cake yet??

♥Strawberry Cream Gateau♥ ~ For my Man!!

Ajay turns a year older today..but with the excitement that I have right now,it seems like it is my birthday and not his.Even after trying for so many years,I still cannot seem to make him understand that Birthdays ARE special..I mean,how can you go about it like its just another day??A week before,I started planning the menu for the day,which cake to bake and what to gift and even today morning,he’s asking me,what’s so special..hmm!!

He has a totally namkeen tooth[if there’s a word like that..LOL] and only few sweet things appeal to him.If I gave him the choice I am sure he would ask me to make Biscuit Pudding or Moong Dal Payasam[which I did make,eventually!].So it was upto me to decide what to make.

I know he likes moist cakes,otherwise he wouldn’t finish all of his share when we had a Pineapple Cream Pastry at a pastry shop a while back.But sponge cakes scare the hell out of me.I,however like the moist-on-its-own kind of cakes and not the sugar syrup soaked sponges.But a birthday boy[man?;)] has to have a cake of his choice and I decided to make a simple sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries..!!


I wasn’t so sure about how the cream would behave so took the easy way out and used whipped cream powder-a first for me.Gave good results and not much of a taste difference.The cake was very light and moist and the flavors of cream and strawberry mixed with chocolate was simply out of this world!!The birthday boy[man] is happy and so am I!!


When Deeba posted this cake,my prayers were answered as to how I wanted my Strawberry cream cake to look like.I am pretty satisfied with the results though my cake is not a match to Deeba’s:).I have longingly looked at the chocolate lace border adorned cakes at Ria’s and Deeba’s and finally can pat myself on my back for achieving near-similar results!!



Happy Birthday Ajay..you are so special to me!!

Strawberry Cream Gateau


The recipe for the basic sponge cake is copyrighted and cannot be produced here.Check out this,this,this and this for similar recipes.Sorry!!


Ingredients


1 8' sponge cake
Soaking syrup(recipe follows)
Cream filling(recipe follows)
Strawberry - 200gms,divided
Chocolate-for the lace border and the garnish


For the filling


Fresh cream - 400 ml
Icing sugar(or powdered sugar) - 1 cup
Strawberries,chopped - 100gms


Whip the cream till soft peaks form.Mix in the icing sugar and whip again till it forms stiff peaks.Reserve half the cream and add chopped strawberries to the rest of the cream.


For the soaking syrup


Water - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp(or use any liquer of your choice)


Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat until it boils.Let it cool and then add vanilla extract.Reserve.


Assembling the cake


Slice sponge into 2-3 layers.[I sliced it into 2]
Place first layer on the serving plate.
Moisten with a little syrup.
Spread 1/3 of the strawberry filling on top.
Repeat with next layer.
Reserve a little cream for piping and spread the remaining cream over the top and the sides.
Pipe a border around the edge and then garnish with strawberries and chocolate shavings.

For the chocolate lace border – Measure the height of the border and the circumference of the cake. Cut out parchment paper to this measure and pipe patterns or drizzle with melted chocolate on it. Wait for it to almost set, where the paper is still flexible and the chocolate is not set hard. Wrap it around the cake and press gently to the frosted sides so that the pattern sticks to the sides.

Chill the gateau well before slicing and serving.

Strawberry Vanilla Bean Conserve

I discovered the joy of making Jam with this Mango Jam recipe.I’ve been making it for sometime now.I’ve also tried Apple Jam and Pineapple Jam[yet to blog].So it was with great interest I read through Deeba’s recipe for Strawberry Vanilla Bean Conserve.We get good Strawberries this time of the year and I wanted to try it so badly.I tried making it with a lesser amount first and loved it so much that I already have 3 small jars of conserve sitting happily in the shelf.Yes,the recipe is that good.

So without further ado,here’s the recipe-followed verbatim from Deeba’s.


Strawberry Vanilla Bean Conserve

Recipe source - Deeba-Original recipe here.

Ingredients

1 kg of either very small strawberries or halved hulled larger strawberries

1 kg granulated vanilla sugar (or regular sugar)

1 vanilla bean, split

Juice of 3 limes (or 1 lemon)

Method

Place alternate layers of strawberries and sugar into a bowl; add the lime juice and vanilla bean, cover and leave to stand overnight.Make sure the bean is submerged in the liquid to help infuse well.
Next day, transfer the fruit and sugar to a pan, bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour back into the bowl, cover and leave again for another day.
Finally, transfer to a pan, bring to the boil and simmer until setting point is reached. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little until the fruit begins to sink in the syrup. Stir and pour into small, hot sterilized jars and cover immediately.Makes about 1.5 kgs of conserve.

Kiwi Fruit Cake

I am not a fruits person.Except for mangoes and maybe apples,I can happily live without following the one fruit per day rule.As expected,Ajay is very particular about the fruit basket being always full and replenishes it even before the whole lot gets over.In fact,whenever one of the fruits gets rotten or get discoloured,he puts the blame on me and says I did not have my share and hence..

Ever since I started baking with fruits though,the scenario has changed.It is me who stock up on bananas,oranges,strawberry and pineapple now..:).Who knows when I get an urge to bake with these..:).Ajay sometimes comes around to have a banana or two and he is left gaping at these cute banana muffins..:)

I had not had a Kiwi fruit till date and was really curious to see how it tastes.Well,I would say it really is an acquired taste and not all[me included] would like it.But they don’t come cheap and I had to find a way to use them.I pulled out my recently acquired Cake book and Voila..a Kiwi Fruit Cake..which seemed perfect for the situation.I have to say the fruit tastes better in the cake.Ajay liked it so much and even bought a tub of Vanilla ice-cream saying that it would taste better with ice-cream and it did! A slice of cake with a dollop of ice-cream and we were in Kiwi-Ice-cream heaven!!!

Kiwi Fruit Cake
Recipe from 1 Mix,50 Cakes

Ingredients [I halved the measures to make a loaf cake]

Flour – 175 gms
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Butter,softened – 175 gms
Caster Sugar – 175 gms
Eggs – 3,beaten
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
Kiwi Fruit – 2,peeled and chopped-plus extra slices to decorate

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C.
Grease and line a loaf tin or an 8’ round tin.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and add the butter,caster sugar,eggs and vanilla extract.
Beat well until the mixture is smooth,then stir in half the chopped kiwi fruit.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with a palette knife.
Scatter over remaining chopped fruit.
Bake for about 1 hour or until risen,firm and golden brown.[Adjust the baking time accordingly if you are halving the recipe]
Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes,then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.

The original recipe uses a Cream cheese Lemon frosting.But I had some White chocolate ganache,just enough for this cake,so I used that.
Spread the frosting over the cake and top with Kiwi fruit slices.I did some playing around with some dark chocolate ganache too:)


Do you want the book 1 Mix,50 Cakes too??Participate in my event and Giveaway and be eligible to win this book!!

Aloo Kofta

Koftas..I love them.I remember tasting my first-ever Malai Kofta from a restaurant in Ekm while dining out with friends.Strangely I was the only one who liked it and ended up eating the curry by myself.Yeah,that’s what happens when you take non-veg eating friends to a pure vegetarian restaurant!!I liked the potato-paneer based koftas with a slight hint of sweetness and a perfect gravy.

I never could order it again because of the same reason,I would have to finish it all by myself:).

And then..I see Raaga’s post on Aloo Kofta which had me jumping with joy.No paneer,hence I wouldn’t have to wait to make/buy paneer to make this.I was going through her blog to zero in on a dish for Tried and Tasted,an event originally started by Zlamushka and is hosted by Divya of Dil se this month.

That the koftas didn’t need to be deep fried was an added advantage.I loved the koftas and would be making them again.I served it with Spiced Methi Paratha-directly flicked from Nags’ blog.

Aloo Kofta

Recipe from Raaga's blog

Ingredients

For the Koftas

Potato – 2 medium sized,mashed
Green chilly – 1,chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Coriander leaves,chopped – 2 tbsp
Haldi – ¼ tsp
Chilly powder – ¼ tsp
Flour – 1 tbsp-mixed in 2 tbsp water
Salt to taste

For the gravy

Onion – 1,chopped
Cashews – 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds – 1 tsp[I did not add this]
Red chillies – 2
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Haldi – ¼ tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp
Milk – ½ cup
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves and Kasuri Methi to garnish

Method

Grind the ingredients for the gravy in a mixer using a little water if necessary.

Mix all the ingredients for the kofta (except the flour-water mixture) and shape into small balls. Heat the appey pan and put a few drops of oil in each mould. Dip each ball in the flour-water mixture and place it in the moulds. Cook until each ball is golden brown, turning every minute or so. Remove from the pan and drain on absorbent paper.

Heat a tablespoon of oil and add the ground paste. Fry this for a few minutes until the oil separates from the paste. Add the salt and fry for a minute. Add the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the koftas and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and Kasuri Methi.

Caramel Kesari For Ugadi!!

Wishing all of you a very Happy Ugadi/Samsar padavo/Gudi padwa!!

A new year and a new beginning.Let us hope this year brings us joy,happiness,prosperity and peace!!

As usual,Ugadi is celebrated with full fervor in Ekm and Bangalore and I did not want to fall behindJ.I made the usual breakfast spread of Idli,Soi bhajil ghashi,Surna Adgai and a new sweet.Yes,a new sweet for the new year.I had planned to make Sheera,but suddenly decided against it and frantically searched for the recipe in my assorted cookbook collection since I had seen it sometime back and decided I would try it instead of sheera next time,when required.

Luckily,I found it and absolutely loved it.Somehow,caramelized flavour is something which I looove so this one was no different.Ajay liked this new sheera too[somehow,we don’t feel like calling it by its original name-Caramel halwa].

I have to warn you though.The recipe sounds very easy compared to the normal kesari but the caramel part is a bit tricky.But do not panic-keep stirring even if you get a lump of caramel separated from the rava,it will oblige and give way to a gorgeous amber colored Kesari!!

Caramel Kesari
Recipe source – Vanitha Pachakam

Ingredients

Rava – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Sugar – 1 ¼ cup
Ghee – ¼- ½ cup[add as required]
Nuts – a handful [ I used a mix of cashewnuts and raisins]

Method

Soak the rava in the water for about an hour till almost ½ the water is absorbed and the rava becomes pouring consistency.
In a thick bottomed kadai,add the ghee and fry the nuts and keep aside.
Now add the sugar and keep stirring till the sugar turns into a golden brown colour-at this stage,the ghee will separate and form a layer on top of the caramelized sugar.
Slowly add the soaked rava[with water]-even if everything does not get mixed at once-do not panic,keep stirring and it will come together.
When the kesari starts leaving the sides of the pan,add the ghee-fried nuts.
Grease a plate and pour the kesari and level the top with a knife.
Cut into desired shapes.

*The flavor of Caramel is dominant in this kesari and hence this one does not need any other flavoring agents like elaichi or saffron.

Mango Chundo

There was a time when I used to cook our regular meals according to the events going on the blogosphere..yeah I was a crazy blogger then:).Now of course I have sort of settled down and draft my posts accordingly and post them to match any event..yup,little tricks that blogging teaches you!!

MEC aka Microwave Easy cooking was one of the first events that I ever sent an entry to.In fact,following Srivalli’s Microwave cooking series I have prepared so many dishes which I wouldn’t have otherwise.So it was only natural that I send my entry this month,the theme fits the bill perfectly-Celebrating Bloggers.Bookmarking dishes from other blogs and trying them out is no more anything new to me..I do that all the time!!

A pale looking raw mango,peeping at me all the time from the fridge got me thinking.I had a recipe for Mango Chundo and I had been waiting to make it since long.I remembered sharing the recipe with Srivalli.A quick peep into her blog confirmed it.I went ahead and tried it..it is lipsmackingly good.Takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish.Tastes great with roti,dosa and bread..yum!!

Mango Chundo

Recipe source - Tarla Dalal

Ingredients

Raw mango grated – 1 cup [around 140 gms]-I used a medium sized mango.
Salt – 1 tsp
Haldi – ¼ tsp
Sugar – 1 ½ cups [ I used just a cup]
Chilly powder – 1 tbsp [ I used ¼ tbsp as I didn’t want it too hot]
Jeera, roasted and crushed-1 tsp

Method

In a microwave safe dish mix together grated mangoes,salt and haldi and keep aside for 3 minutes.
Mix in the sugar with 1 tbsp water and keep aside for another 3 minutes.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes- the sugar syrup should have a one thread consistency[I microwaved for about 7 minutes to get this stage]
Add the chilly powder and crushed jeera and keep aside to cool.
Store in a dry container.[I like to keep it refrigerated]

Sending this to Jayashree for the event MEC-Celebrating Bloggers,an event originally started by Srivalli.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake ~ For ♥ Ria ♥

It was a few months back[or is it more than a year already?] that I hopped on to Ria’s blog.I immediately connected with her style of writing and left a comment not knowing that I was the first person to post a comment on her newly-started blog!!Yay..:).We started commenting on each others blog,chatting on Gtalk and tweeting on Twitter.We exchanged phone numbers too and spoke to each other and it felt so good to actually hear each others voices and giggle over it!!

When she asked me to do a guest post for her,I actually got goosebumps.I mean,look at her blog-her recipes,her wonderful pictures,would I be able to do justice to her blog?I was not so sure.But a bride has to have what she wants and this is my humble attempt to “feed” her blog while she’s away.During her pre-wedding “ban” on baking by her mom,she was craving for some Chocolate cake and I didn’t have to think twice about what I was going to bake for her!!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake for ♥ Ria ♥

Hop on to her blog to read rest of this post...

Rich Chocolate Cake

One of the first recipes I jotted down on my cookbook before realizing I was noting it down from a Food Blog! I can never have ‘enough’ Chocolate Cake recipes and this one looked so rich and chocolatey that I couldn’t give it a miss.During my hunt for recipes for the Chocolate Cake event,I remembered this recipe and decided to give it a try.This one being a no-frost cake was tempting enough.Not that I dislike frosted cakes,on the contrary,I ♥ them,but sadly my weighing scale gives me nightmares.

I went ahead and frosted it anyway..just so that I could use up the leftover ganache-white and dark.See,I used up the leftovers..so I can be pardoned:).Followed this five-minute frosting idea from Deeba[who else].The result was a spectacular looking cake[if I may say so myself:)] with just a few minutes of effort.

I followed the recipe verbatim from Malabar Spices.Definitely on my bake-again list.Moist and chocolatey with a hint of cinnamon..l♥ved it!!

Rich Chocolate Cake
Recipe source – Mallugirl of Malabar Spices

Ingredients

Flour – 1 ½ cups [ half and half of Maida and Atta]
Baking soda – 1 ½ level tsp
Salt – a pinch
Cocoa powder – 3 tbsp,heaped
Sugar – 1 ½ cups
Eggs – 2
Butter – ½ cup,melted or 8 tbsp
Sunflower oil – ¼ cup
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Yogurt – 1 ¼ cup[I used homemade,Amul or Nestle dahi-set curd could be used too]
Walnuts/Almonds – ½ cup,ground to a powder[I used both]
Cinnamon – 1’ stick[optional]

Method

Preheat the oven to 175C.
Sift the flour with soda,salt and cocoa powder.
Beat the eggs slightly and keep aside.
Powder the sugar with the cinnamon[if using] and beat with the melted butter till the sugar dissolves.
Add in the beaten eggs and vanilla essence and beat well.
Blend in the oil and yogurt till well mixed.
Add the flour slowly blending it in as you go-do not add at one go-the mix should be smooth textured.
Now add the powdered nuts-do not overmix after this stage.
Grease an 8’ round cake tin and sprinkle with flour.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean[mine took 40 minutes]
Cool and cut into wedges.

Optional frosting

I frosted the cake with some dark chocolate ganache and made a spidey web pattern using the white chocolate ganache.This step can be skipped totally if you want a plain cake.It tastes delicious either ways!!

Have you sent in your entries for The Best Chocolate Cake event yet?

Hop on to Ria's blog to check out my guest post for her..:).

Vegetable Chettinad with Coin Porotta!!

It was a while back,when we were newly married and had gone out with friends to a newly opened restaurant in Besant Nagar.They said it served pure Chettinad fare.When I opened the menu card,I was in for a shock.Out of almost a 6 page-menu card,there were only four vegetarian dishes and out of those two were Brinjal and Bhindi based[which are obviously on my dislike-list].I had to chose between a mixed vegetable curry and a stew.Our friends were feeling bad for me since they had no idea I was a vegetarian.I ordered the mix veg curry with Idiyappam.I had the idiyappam with pickle though..ask me why..the pickle was less spicy than the curry itself..:)

So there ended my Chettinad fiesta.

I’ve read and seen so much about Chettinad food that I really wanted to try it.I have also read that originally Chettiars were pure vegetarians,it is their travel abroad on business which made them non-vegetarians.[I read this on Vanitha Pachakam and hence this is not my opinion].

During my never ending search for side-dishes for roti,I came across this recipe which sounded easy and looked delicious.I did not follow the recipe exactly-after all,who needs 400gms of Dalda to make a curry which serves four?

Vegetable Chettinad
Recipe source – Vanitha Pachakam

Ingredients

Mixed vegetables – 2-3 cups[I added chopped carrot,potato,beans and green peas]
Onions – 2 big,sliced
Tomato – 2,medium,pureed
Whole mixed spices – 1 tbsp[Cinnamon,clove,cardamom and bay leaf]
Oil – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder – 1 tbsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Garam masala – 1 tbsp
Cashewnut paste – 3 tbsp [I ground a handful of cashewnuts in 1 tsp milk]
Whole red chillies – 2
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1-2 sprigs
Salt to taste

Method

Cook the vegetables till soft and drain the water.
In a kadai add the oil and sauté the onions till light brown.
Add ginger garlic paste,whole chillies,red chilly powder,coriander powder,haldi and garam masala.
Mix in the tomato puree and keep stirring till everything gets mixed.
Now add the cooked vegetables,cashewnut paste and salt to taste.
Add freshly chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves.
Serve hot.

I served the curry with Coin Porotta.I love the fluffy porottas we get in Kerala restaurants but the slow eater that I am,by the time I finish half of it,the porottas become rubbery.Coin porotta is perfect for me!!I followed the recipe from Beyond Curries and tweaked it to make these cute coin porottas.We loved it since it made of atta and a very easy method is followed to get the layers right.Thanks BC team:)


Sending this to Srish kitchen for the event EFM-Parathas and Gravies.

Jhatpat Corn Pulao

It is not easy for me to cook for myself.Whenever Ajay is not home I invariably reach for the noodles packet or raid the fridge for leftovers.Somehow,the thought of making something elaborate for myself is not so exciting..yeah,that’s how selfless I am..hehe.I wanted to make something fast and simple and I remembered this quick pulao I saw in my recipe collection.

It was originally a pulao with green peas and baby corn.I did not have green peas on hand and had only 2-3 baby corns.So I added a carrot and a handful of sweet corn[frozen] to this and I feel it has only enhanced the taste of the final dish.More vegetables could be added to make this into a wholesome veggie pulao..so many options!!

While typing the dish,I felt this one is very similar to my regular Veg Pulao.The more the merrier..:):)

Jhatpat Corn Pulao

Ingredients [I halved the recipe]

Basmati Rice – 2 cups
Green peas – 1 cup[I skipped this]
Carrot – 1 medium,chopped
Sweet corn[frozen] – ¼ cup
Baby corn – 3,chopped

Ghee – 5 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1’ piece
Cloves – 4
Cardamom – 4
Bay leaf – 2

Onions – 2,sliced thinly
Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 5 [ I added 1 tsp chilli powder instead]
Haldi – ¼ tsp

Coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Mint leaves – ¼ cup[I skipped this and added more of coriander leaves]

Salt to taste
Water – 3 cups

Method

In a pressure pan add ghee and roast the whole spices-cinnamon,cloves,cardamom and bay leaf.
Add the onions and fry till they start turning brown.
Mix in the ginger garlic paste,green chillies/chilli powder and haldi powder till the raw smell goes.
Now add the rice and roast for 5 minutes.
Add in the green peas/carrots,sweet corn and baby corn along with coriander and mint leaves.
Add water and salt to taste.
Cook for 2 whistles and switch off the cooker.
Wait till it cools down and open the cooker and fluff the rice with a fork.

Celebrating 2nd Bloggiversary with A Cake,an Event and a Giveaway!!

Here I am,with my 300th post on Easycooking along with my 2nd Bloggiversary.Two joys in one post..wait there’s more!!

What started as a just-like-that blog has become two years old and has 300 posts in it.It is only because of YOU,my readers and fellow-bloggers who have made this possible.I wouldn’t have come this far if not for your appreciation and encouragement.I’ve gone from posting what I cooked for our meals to making dishes exclusively for the blog.Thanks to blogging,I learned to bake and can confidently say I can whip up a few baked dishes with ease.While saying that,let me also thank my dear taste testers-Ajay’s friends who eat whatever I bake with full gusto.With a licked clean box which comes back to making requests for the next cake-Thank you folks..:)

While thinking of the anniversary post,many things crossed my mind trying to decide on what to cook for the big day.After a lot of thinking I decided upon a Chocolate Cake.[Now I won’t tell you that was my first choice to begin with..psst].That got me thinking.We love Chocolate cakes and I have a couple of “go-to” chocolate cake recipes when hit with a craving.But,everytime I come across a new one,I scribble it down or bookmark it hoping to try it out next.I do try new recipes but invariably,come back to the old ones.

Do you have a safely guarded Chocolate cake recipe up your sleeve?Do you feel you have the best recipe for the Ultimate chocolate cake?Or have you tasted a cake so good and have been trying to replicate the taste??

Send them all to me for the “The Best Chocolate Cake” event.

It could be the one you have been baking for ages or it can be a new recipe you tried out recently.With eggs-without eggs,with fruits or with nuts,frosted or plain,baked-microwaved-steamed-pressure cooked.You get the drift don’t you?

Rules for the event-

1.Bake a Chocolate cake and post it on your blog between March 1st -April 1st.[Round-up would be posted soonafter]

2.If you already have the Best Chocolate Cake recipe posted on your blog,you can do a repost with a link back to this event.But it would be fun to try out something new,isn't it?

3.Send me the entries to divyakudua@gmail.com with The Best Chocolate Cake in the subject line with

*Your name
*Blog name
*Blog Url
*Post Url
*Picture

4.Non-bloggers can send in their recipes along with a picture and I will post it along with the round-up.

How about tempting you with a giveaway?

I've been so impressed with the book "1 mix,50 Cakes" by Christine France that I've decided to give it away to one lucky winner.A random winner* will be chosen from the entries and the winner will be announced during the round-up.[Pssst,the winner would be chosen by a special guest].

So what are you waiting for??Don your aprons and pull up your sleeves and bake the Best Chocolate Cake:)

*Shipping only within India.

Here’s one of my Best Chocolate Cakes.I tried this from Hershey’s site-Appropriately titled Celebration Chocolate Cake.One of THE BESTEST cakes I have baked so far.Ajay’s thumbs-up with both hands and half the cake consumed by both of us clearly explains the fantabulous taste of the cake.Oh-so-soft,melt in the mouth and intensely-deeply chocolatey-My first three layered cake..YAY!!!

Celebration Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Hershey’s Cocoa – ¾ cup [I used Cadbury’s-I had no choice-we don’t get Hershey’s Cocoa here.]
Boiling water – 1 cup
Butter or margarine – ½ cup+ 2 tbsp[I used Butter]
Sugar – 2 cups
Eggs - 3
Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
All-purpose flour – 1 ¾ cups
Baking soda – 1 ½ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Milk – ¾ cup
Dairy sour cream – ¼ cup [ I used Yogurt]

Method

Heat oven to 350°F.
Grease three 9-inch round baking pans. [I used 8' pan]
Line bottoms with wax paper-grease and flour paper.
Mix cocoa with boiling water in small bowl-stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Stir in vanilla. Gradually add cocoa mixture, beating well.

Stir together flour, baking soda and salt- add alternately with milk and sour cream to butter mixture, beating until blended.

Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks; carefully peel off wax paper.

Cool completely.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients

Butter or margarine – ½ cup [ I used Butter]

Hershey’s Cocoa – 2/3 cup [ I used Cadbury’s]

Powdered sugar – 3 cups

Milk – 1/3 cup

Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups frosting.

So what are you waiting for..send in your entries and let's have a bash!!