frosting Archives - Page 6 of 9

White Chocolate Mud Cake With Pineapple

11|03|2015

White Chocolate Mud Cake made extra delicious and moist by the addition of pineapple. A simple honey whipped cream completes the frosting.

Growing up in the tropics, pineapple flavored sweets were a prominent part of my childhood. I don’t think I had ever spotted canned pineapple back then. Fresh pineapple was the way to go and despite the work involved, prepping the pineapple never seemed daunting to anyone as much as it is to me today. My mum’s favorite thing to make was a fresh pineapple chutney with a generous squeeze of lime and two big dried red chillies. The blend of sweet, sour and spicy flavors would make my palate dance. Another flavoring agent was the pineapple essence. Pretty common and more popular than orange or strawberry. I would love to eat the tea cakes that were flavored with this essence and speckled with dried pineapple. I was a bit disappointed not to find the pineapple cake as popular in Australia when I came to live here.

Mud cakes however are pretty popular in Australia. Though I have never come across a white chocolate mud cake with pineapple before I made one, I could envision quite clearly how it would taste. Since mud cakes are rich and dense, I could foresee the pineapple totally blending with the texture and turning into a pineapple enriched fudge. Biting into the fudgy cake, you could taste tiny bits of crunchy pineapple. Mud cakes almost always have chocolate in them and here I’ve used white chocolate. It definitely adds to the sweetness of the cake but the primary flavor is pineapple.

Since the cake is quite rich, I chose a simple whipped cream frosting swirled with honey. With this recipe, I baked two cakes. Which means, I divided the batter between two cake pans. Then I served the first one with whipped cream while I dusted icing sugar on the other one to eat with tea. The cake on it’s own is not very sweet so I preferred the frosted one over the plain one, You could bake the cake in one pan as well but the baking time will increase. Or simply use half the recipe for the size and thickness of the cake you see in the picture. Mud cakes do take a long time to bake as they are cooked under low temperatures.

The cake keeps well for quite some time (about 4-5 days) even when stored outside the refrigerator. I find that it actually tastes better the next day. Frost the cake just before serving.

White Chocolate Mud Cake With Pineapple
Serves 8-10

350 g butter, chopped
150 g white chocolate, chopped
1 cup castor sugar
400 g can of crushed pineapple in syrup
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups plain flour, sifted
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
1 cup heavy cream/whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks.
1/4 cup honey (or more)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C ( 140 degrees C for fan-forced) Grease two 19 cm round cake tins and line the base with baking paper..

Place butter, white chocolate, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Leave aside for 15 minutes to cool.

Add the crushed pineapple and mix till blended. Add eggs one at a time and stir to combine. Add plain flour and self-raising flour. Stir to combine. Divide mixture equally between prepared pans. Bake for 50 minutes-1 hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre has moist crumbs clinging. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Fold in the honey gently with the whipped cream. Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the honey-cream frosting over the cake. Slice and serve.

Rhubarb Cake With Pomegranate And Rosemary Buttercream

4|03|2015

Speaking of rhubarb, I think we people broadly fall into two groups. The ones who love rhubarb and the ones who are unfamiliar with rhubarb. I belonged to the second category until a couple of years ago but now I am very much in the first one. I love Rhubarb! I am always drawn to it’s beautiful colour…specifically the pink stains it leaves on baked goods and of course it’s juicy, tart flavor. When balanced out with right amount of sweetness in a recipe, it can do wonders to the dish. Fortunately, I have had success every time I’ve cooked/baked with it so I was able to dream up a three layered rhubarb cake.

The rhubarb cake by itself is not too sweet so it makes a great pairing with buttercream. The rosemary snugly fits into the recipe lending a subtle earthy touch which is quite refreshing. When I went to my favourite fruit market looking for inspiration, I was torn between rhubarb and pomegranate. I wanted to bake cakes with both. Fresh produce markets always seem to have that effect on me. Then instead I combined the two. If you like both Rhubarb and Pomegranate, this cake is recommended. If you are a fan of one of them, then this is a must-try because you never know, you may fall in love with the other one as well. It might seem like an unusual combination but trust me, they pair well here. Colour, texture and taste!

The rhubarb cake is dense (but not heavy) like a typical sour cream cake. You will surely taste the rhubarb and the rosemary but the pomegranate flavour is not too strong. The fresh pomegranate on top does give the cake a nice crunchy bite whilst making it look like a pomegranate cake. Frost the cake the way you like. The frosting is again a Swiss meringue buttercream which is what I generally use for my cakes…light, fluffy and not overly sweet.

I’ve had a really busy week and have barely been able to keep up to my posting frequency. I hope this cake makes up for my absence:-)
So tell me dear friends, do you fall into one of those groups? Do you think there could be a third group..not liking rhubarb?

Rhubarb Cake With Pomegranate And Rosemary Buttercream
Serves 10-12

Three-Layered Rhubarb Cake
90 g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
11/2 cups self-raising flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
450 g sour cream
400 g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2 cm lengths

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Lightly grease 3, 19 cm round pans and line the bases with baking paper.

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in sifted dry ingredients and cream in two batches. Fold in rhubarb. Divide mixture among prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cakes come out clean. Remove cakes from pans after 10 minutes and cool on wire rack.

Pomegranate And Rosemary Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1/4 cup fresh pomegranate juice (made by running the seeds through a food processor and straining)
1 sprig rosemary
4 egg whites
1 cup castor sugar
300 g unsalted butter, room temperature
1-2 drops, pink food coloring (optional)

Over medium heat in a saucepan, simmer the pomegranate juice along with the sprig of rosemary until it is thick and reduced to approx 2 tablespoons. Remove the rosemary sprig and keep the juice aside to cool down completely.

Place the egg whites and sugar in a large bowl that is placed over a saucepan of simmering water (over low heat), and whisk continuously, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the bottom of the bowl is warm to touch

Remove the bowl from the heat and whip on high speed until meringue holds stiff peaks and looks glossy. The bowl should have completely cooled by now.
Add the butter, 2 tablespoon at a time, until thick and fluffy. If it begins to look curdled, continue to whip until it comes back together, before adding in remaining butter.

When the buttercream has come together, add the reduced pomegranate-rosemary juice and mix in till smooth and well blended. Add the pink food coloring (if using) and mix till you get the desired shade.

To assemble : Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. With a large round nozzle, pipe buttercream kisses all over the cake. Place the second layer and repeat. Repeat with the third layer leaving room in the centre to place fresh pomegranate seeds. Decorate with fresh sprigs of rosemary.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake + Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting + Candied Beetroot Leaves

11|10|2014

In my previous workplace, I had two awesome friends. We were a group and since we always hung out together, most of the other colleagues called us ‘The Three Musketeers’. Perhaps for lack of a creative or better expression. I guess if there’s three of you, that is the most likely thing that comes to one’s mind. Nevertheless, going to work was fun and so were the long lunches, group meetings, gossips and just being able to connect with two people who were completely different personalities and you still got on like a house on fire. So even though the nickname wasn’t cool, our friendship was. Let me tell you what else is cool when three personalities come together. This cake.

Gingerbread meets chocolate cake meets beetroot. Sounds complicated. Well, it really isn’t. This is hands down the best chocolate beetroot cake I have ever tasted. You don’t taste the beetroot. What you taste is rich chocolate flavour which is intensified by the addition of treacle. Golden syrup and maple syrup will work too but treacle gives it strong flavour and rich colour. It is truly a treat! You know by now that my kitchen is nothing short of a test kitchen and I am constantly trying out different things. But in this case the stakes were high. I mean sky-high. I made this cake for my husband on his birthday who is not a big fan of sweet things. The only sweet treats he would like are the ones that have bittersweet chocolate, not overly sweet. Once he had a taste of my ginger cupcakes and asked me ‘What’s in there? Something strong that I cannot quite figure out but it tastes good’ He was obviously referring to treacle. So this was the excuse for me to combine the two. But I also needed an extra something to complement the two that would give body and moisture to the cake. The ginger cakes/cupcakes I make are quite moist and sticky and I didn’t want a sticky birthday cake.

The cake was everything I wanted and more. Luscious, moist, chocolate-y and now it was time to try out a gorgeous frosting that was not going to be buttercream. I love liquid and whipped ganache but I am beginning to get a bit bored with it. Enter this 2-ingredient, 5-minute chocolate frosting which I was dying to try out since months. I had come across something similar on Epicurious. I made a few changes and it worked. Wow! A fabulous addition to my frosting repertoire. I know this is one recipe I am going to use over and over again. It is not too sweet and has a great consistency. Spread or dollop or sandwich between your creations.

The man loved the cake. He was surprised when I told him there was beetroot in it. I decorated the cake with berries and candied beetroot leaves. Isn’t the colour amazing? I love candying things..it makes them look and taste lovely. I was a bit concerned if the beetroot leaves would bleed into the egg whites and spoil everything but they didn’t. In fact they were irresistible. We kept munching on them even before I put them on the cake.

Do give this cake a try with the frosting, candied leaves et al. It cannot get simpler than this. You are going to love it.

Notes :Please do ensure that you use a Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder or else the colour and flavour will not be the same. Do not grate the beetroot too finely or it would just get lost in the batter. While candying the leaves ensure that all the excess egg white is scraped off or they will take forever to dry up.

Chocolate Beetroot Cake + Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting + Candied Beetroot Leaves (minimally adapted from here, here and here)
Serves 8-10

For the cake
1/2 cup (125 ml) vegetable oil
1 cup (220 g) firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) treacle (can be substituted with maple syrup)
60 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped
250 g (around 2 cups) raw beetroot, coarsely grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups (225 g) self-raising flour
1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
Chocolate sour Cream Frosting, to frost
Fresh fruits or berries, to decorate
Icing sugar, to dust
Candied beetroot leaves, to decorate

For the Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting
150 g dark chocolate (semi-sweet)
50 g milk chocolate
1/2 cup sour cream (do not use the lite version)

For the Candied Beetroot Leaves
1 egg white
1/4 cup castor sugar
12-15 small beetroot leaves

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease and line the base of a 18 cm round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
Warm the oil in a medium size sauce pan on very low heat. Add the brown sugar, treacle and chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat. Add the grated beetroot. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl and then add them to the sauce pan. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together and stir into the beetroot mixture. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, before turning out and cooling completely.

Once cooled, dollop the frosting (recipe below) on top. Decorate with fresh berries/fruits. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with candied leaves.

Make the frosting: Melt the two chocolates in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat. Cool for 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and mix till smooth. The mixture thickens as it cools. If it sets faster than you want, warm slightly again before using.

Make the candies leaves: Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the egg white in a small bowl and the castor sugar onto a small plate. Make sure the leaves are dry before you start. If not pat dry with a kitchen towel. Working one at a time, dip each beetroot leaf into the egg white (scrape off excess against the bowl) and then dip into the plate of castor sugar, turning it to ensure an even coat on both sides. Lay the leaves in a single layer on the tray lined with baking paper to dry out. Leave aside for 24 hours, turning once in between.

Strawberry Almond Cake with Lemon Sour Cream Frosting

15|06|2014

Almond cake with strawberry jam for a delicious nutty texture and an easy lemon sour cream frosting and fresh strawberries to top the cake.

I’ve not been feeling like myself over the last few days. Rather, I’m feeling like my old-self before I became a mother. Carefree, energised, relaxed and slightly funny. Because even that takes some getting used to. My parents and my sister, who are staying with us at the moment apparently decided that I would be on a break till they are around and they are sharing the day-to-day responsibilities between themselves.

‘Take a break’ they told me. So, I took long showers, watched movies in fast forward mode, slept on the couch afterwards, visited a craft store I’ve been meaning to since months, eaten calories laden curries and flatbread. And baked cakes. For me, that has always been a way of de-stressing. With people to share them with, it just got a lot more exciting.

The cake uses strawberry jam for a subtle strawberry flavour. Almonds give it a moist nutty texture which is only typical of a nut-meal based cake. The great thing about the cake is that it is so simple to make by just throwing everything together in a bowl, that it can be created at the spur of the moment. The lemon sour cream frosting is equally quick and easy. Overall, this is one cake you would want to make over and over again for its simplicity yet refined flavours.

Strawberry Almond Cake with Lemon Sour Cream Frosting (adapted with variation from Taste.com)
Serves 5-6

Strawberry Almond Cake
175 g butter, at room temperature, roughly chopped
3/4 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup strawberry jam
3 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
Fresh Strawberries, to serve

Lemon Sour Cream Frosting
1 1/2 cups icing sugar mixture
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lemon, rind finely grated

For the Strawberry Almond Cake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a round 19 cm cake pan and line the base with baking paper.
Use electric beaters to beat the butter, sugar, flour, almond meal, jam, almonds and eggs in a large bowl until combined.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.

For the Lemon Sour Cream Frosting: Sift icing sugar into a bowl. Add sour cream and lemon rind. Stir until well combined. Pour icing over cake. Allow to set. Decorate with fresh strawberries. Serve.