Blackforest cake

T'was my best friend's birthday recently and i HAD to bake a cake for him....Worked out after 2 whole attempts..:P...Finally made some changes to the original recipe and got a nice nice cake..:)...Written the final recipe here for all...:)

INGREDIENTS-

For the cake-

1)4 large eggs
2)85gms maida(remove 3 tbsp from this amount)
3)3 tbsp cocoa powder
4)115 gms powdered sugar
5)1tsp level baking powder
6)1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
7)1 and 1/2 tbsp hot boiling water

For the icing and decorations-

1)4 cups (460 grams) confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

2)1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

3)1 teaspoon vanilla essence

4)4 tablespoons milk

5)1 dark milk chocolate(40gm)

6)Mixed fruit jam

 

METHOD-

 

For the cake-

 

1)Separate white and yellow of eggs

2)Beat egg whites till stiff

3)Add sugar gradually(2tbsp at a time) and keep beating till all the sugar is used.

4)Add yolks.Mix well.Add essence.

5)Add boiling water,half tbsp at a time and beat more.Beat till the mixture of eggs and sugar is thick and frothy and three times in volume.

6)Sift maida,cocoa powder and aking powder together.

7)Fold in maida gently,using a spoon(not a beater) adding half of it at a time.

8)Put in a greased and dusted tim and bake for 30-35 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 C

9)Cool the cake.Keep aside.

 

For the icing and decorations-

1)To prepare the chocolate flakes,keep the milk chocolate with the wrapper on it,on the outer surface of a hot oven so that it melts slightly and becomes soft.

2)Cool it in the fridge.

3)TO MAKE THE ICING-In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and well blended. Beat in the vanilla essence. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the milk and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap to prevent the frosting from drying out. 

4)Put some icing cream in an icing gun and keep in the fridge.

Final steps-

 

1)Cut the cake into 2 halves.

2)Put jam on 1 half and icing on the other.Keep it in layers.

3)Cover the cake completely with cream on all sides and the top.Level top and sides with a broad knife.

4)Decorate with chocolate flakes and cream from icing gun.

 

Being a newbie the blobs didn't come out even

This is just a preview of the layers...:P

 

Kitchen Tips-2

Being a cheese lover, I found this tip extremely useful!!

To easily shred cheese, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes. The firmer cheese is less likely to make a melted mess on your grater.

Vegetable Tempura

It was a really cold and rainy which inspired me to make these hot "pakodas" yesterday....:)...It's extremely simple to make and hardly takes time...! Make sure you have it hot though coz it tends to get soggy after it cools........

INGREDIENTS---

1)Vegetables of your choice(I used mushrooms,capsicum and carrots....Made the plate look colorful...:P)
2)Maida-3/4 cup
3)Ice cubes-loads of them(This is required so that the coating becomes crispy...:))
4)Salt and pepper to taste
5)Oregano(Optional)

METHOD----

1)Slice the vegetables and keep aside.
2)Mix the rest of the ingredients to form a batter-like consistency.
3)Dip the vegetables in the batter and then deep fry till golden brown.
4)Drain the oil on tissue paper.
5)Serve hot!!


Your appetizer is ready!!!!

Kitchen Tips-1

My mom knows a variety of kitchen tips which come in handy many-a-time....Thought since this is a blog named Meghna's KITCHEN, it wouldn't be totally out of place to add these tips on this blog.....I will keep adding these tips from time to time....To see all of them together you can always click on the label on the right side of this page....:)

Well my first ever tip-

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In case you want to clean a vessel having burnt food , place some chopped onion in the vessel , pour boiling water in it, keep it for 5 minutes and then clean....

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Try it out and then do comment...:)

Strawberry Cheesecake

Had recently gotten a sudden urge to make cheesecake for some reason and thought i'd give it a try....It turned out to be YUM-MY!!!So here it came...............

 Ingredients---

1)9 crushed marie biscuits(You can add more for a thicker crust)
2)2 heaped tbsp butter
3)2 cups curd(hung)
4)12tbsp powdered sugar
5)3tsp gelatine
6)1 cup cream
7)1/2 tsp vanilla essence
8)few drops orange colour
9)1 packet strawberry jelly(Any flavour of your choice can also be used)

Method--

1)Mix the biscuit crumbs with the butter.Press into a 5" diameter and 2"high pie dish.
    Bake it for 10 minutes at 200degree C.Cool.Keep aside.

2)Beat the curd with powdered sugar till smooth.Keep aside.

3)Sprinkle the gelatine over 2tbsp water in a saucepan.Melt the gelatine on low heat,stirring continuosly.DO NOT LET IT BOIL!(I almost made that mistake!)Remove from fire.Cool for 5 minutes to room temperature.

4)Add the melted gelatine to the beaten curd,stirring continuously.Miix the cream also with the curd mixture.Add essence and colour.Beat well.More powdered sugar may be added depending on the sourness of the curd.Make sure it is not too sour!

5)Chill the mixture in the freezer till slightly thick.Pour over the biscuit base in the pie dish.Keep in the freezer till well set.

6)Make some jelly following the instructions on the packet...Before it sets,spoon the glaze over the cake and keep it back in the freezer.

YOUR CHEESECAKE IS READY!!

 

Here are a few more pics of cheesecakes i found on the net..You can use it for decoration help!

Got this on the net..Caught my eye and couldn't help but add it here..

This uses sliced strawberries in sugar syrup instead of jelly..