Weekend Baking Project – My Personal Favourite With A Twist!

I’m sorry, but this is starting to look more like a food blog; but then cooking is one of the leisure pleasures I indulge in! :-)

I love baking and that isn’t a secret anymore. The joy of eating hot pizzas, breads, rolls and cakes right out of your oven feels so fulfilling. I always wanted that, but every time I bake something, I spring back to being a novice with all those inhibitions, doubts and anxiety clouding my efforts. All what I know has been self-learned from videos and blogs, and I thought, a little expert help wouldn’t hurt.

Just a thin layer of ganache; I did not want it to cover completely or make it thick layer.

So, last week, something amazing happened! I and another good friend of mine took up a basic baking course here. We had 4 wonderful days of flour spilled, vanilla smelling and gooey -chocolaty baking sessions, which taught us a lot what self-learning couldn’t. Certain doubts I had were cleared, got some fool proof recipes, expert tips and most importantly, hands on experience of techniques including -

1. Creaming butter and sugar

2. Creaming egg and sugar

3. Whipping the cream

4. Applying icing

5. Cutting cake layers

And much more

Couldn't really wait for the ganache to harden, I sliced it :P

Now that all classroom sessions are over, weekends are going to be super busy in my kitchen lab! So it is going to be my pizza experiments and cake/cookie experiments side by side – I love it already!

Growing up, baking cakes and goodies at home was never a tradition, but we still used to enjoy those perfectly baked goodies from nearby bakeries. There used to be one on the way to the nearest bus stop, “Cochin Bakery”, and every time we walked past it, an instant inertia used to grip me. And then the fine aroma from the hot oven would put the gravity at work. The sight of those deliciously decorated cakes, glass jars filled with cookies and cream filled croissants – I would do anything to go back and take another bite. There are these things that guarantee you a free trip back to your childhood and the smell of perfectly baked cakes out of the oven is one of those!

Marble Cake has always been my classic favourite; best of both worlds sealed in those gorgeous swirls of cocoa and vanilla is just as much a treat to eyes as it is for taste buds! So my first trial had to be something in the same line and hence Cocoa and Vanilla Layer Cake and to make it dearer, I gave it an awesome Ganache Frosting – need I say more!

If you're craving for something perfectly sweet and fluffy, it’s time to pull up the sleeves and get baking…

Cocoa and Vanilla Marble Cake: (Recipe courtesy, Poonam, my baking teacher)

YOU NEED:

Eggs, 4 (medium sized and at room temperature)

Olive oil, ½ cup (or any other vegetable oil)

Granulated sugar, ½ cup

All-purpose flour, 1 cup

Baking soda, 1 pinch

Baking powder, 2 tsp

Vanilla essence, 8-10 drops or about 1 bottle cap

Cold milk, a couple of tablespoons, for adjusting the consistency, if required

Unsweetened cocoa powder, 2-3 tbsp

Coffee power, 1 tsp (optional, to enhance the cocoa flavour)

 

HOW TO:

Making the vanilla batter:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 2-3 minutes using electric mixer in medium speed.

Now add sugar and oil, and adjusting the speed between medium and high, beat the mix for about 10 minutes, until it turns pale, fluffy and almost triples in size. Add vanilla and give a final whisk.

Sieve the dry ingredients 3 times and add to the wet mix little by little, and folding in after every addition. DO NOT beat further, only fold in. There is a way to do cut and fold technique and in case you are not familiar, please watch the video given below.

The consistency is right when you take a ladle full of batter and pour it back in, it settles well, without forming lumps. If the consistency is not reached, add a couple of tablespoons of cold milk.

Making the cocoa batter:

Preheat oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Grease and flour a baking pan.

Transfer about a bowl of the cake batter (just about 1/4 cup or so) into a smaller bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and coffee powder, if using.

Layering the batters:

There are many ways you can do this, here are two -

1. Pour the vanilla cake batter into the prepared pan. Pour the cocoa batter right in the middle and using a knife or a fork, give it a couple of light stirs; since I did not want cocoa to from into layers here but form a layer at the bottom. This is the little twist I added.

2. If you want swirls then using a knife or fork, make swirls. Knife and fork will make thinner swirls and if you like thicker ones using back of the ladle or so, which is thicker.

Now bake the cake in the oven for 22-24 minutes or until it passes toothpick test.

When done, cool it on wire rack.

The chocolate layer at the bottom and a few swirls here and there...

When the cake is cooled completely, give it a layer of your favourite icing or frosting. You can even slice the cake into two halves using a serrated knife and apply a layer of icing or frosting. I gave it a ganache frosting; this time I tried a thinner consistency, will soon try a thicker version. 

The cake is perfect to eat as it is.