cakes

No-bake strawberry cheese cake–in a cup/glass/jar

| Rekha Vengalil
After all that drooling seeing 2 posts by my dear blogger friends, Rafee and Nava. I couldn’t stop but make it. My hubby calls me bottomless pit when it comes to cheese cakes. That’s been my love for a cheese cake. 

I first got a taste of this in 2007 when I had invited our dear friends over for dinner and they wanted to bring the dessert. Since then I am indebted to them for introducing me to the no-bake cheese cake. During my pregnancy and until Saana turned one, the only thing I ate was this and I guess it showed on my baby too.  Look at her at 6 months and you know where all that cheese cake went..:-)

My little sumo 🙂
Now for the last 2 years I have stopped making it often. I think the last I made one was 7-8 months back. Yet whenever I feel like eating one I do drop by star bucks, I love their New York cheese cake.

Over to the recipe, I have been making the no-gelatin version all the while and this is the first time I was adding in gelatin. I had read Nillega’s answer to a query where she says when you use gelatin it gives more a mousse like texture. I felt that was true. With gelatin or no, I love it. Cheese cake is the word!

You need –

For crust

  • Digestive biscuits – 250 grams
  • Butter – 75 grams (melted)
Filling

  • Cream cheese – 225 grams
  • Strawberry pulp- 1/2 cup
  • Thick cream – 1 cup
  • Sugar – 1/2 cup
  • Gelatin – 1 teaspoon
  • Fresh strawberries – for garnishing
How to –

Crumb the biscuits in a processors.

Mix the crumbs, butter well and spoon into the bottom of a jar/container and make sure to press down so it’s packed well and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Sprinkle the gelatin in 3 tablespoons of hot water. Mix well and set aside to cool.

Whip heavy cream until it forms soft peaks then add in cream cheese, pulp, sugar and gelatin, mix well until  smooth and well combined.


Spoon the cream cheese mixture into the jars/containers and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Add chopped fresh strawberries on top before serving.


Princess cake

| Rekha Vengalil


Times flying and my little angle turned 5 today. Seems like 5 years just went by like a breeze. Yet loaded with wonderful memories.  



This year birthday has not been like the past. She has her ideas, her plans and her birthday shopping list. Signs of growing up! This birthday she wanted her favorite princess cake. She didn’t know I was going to make one for her. I decided to surprise her. I locked myself in the room saying I was in a call and asked her to stay with her daddy. At stroke of 12, we wished her and I showed her the cake. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her expressions were priceless.



This is simple butter cake with butter cream-marshmallow filling and fondant icing. Well I am not a fan of fondant icing especially for kids but then to decorate such cakes they are best. Once the cake is cut I scrape some off before feeding my daughter or kids.



This is where I got help with making the princess –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfiOcsCe4Mo and click her for the butter cream-marshmallow filling. I also used miniature marshmallows in the filling.

Cake recipe –
  • Butter – 125 grams, softened
  • Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon
  • Caster sugar – ¾ cup
  • Eggs – 2, at room temperature
  • Self-rising flour – 1 ½ cups
  • Milk – ½ cup

How to –

Pre-heat the over to 160c. Grease the cake pan and set aside.

Beat butter, vanilla essence and sugar in bowl with electric beater until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in one at a time till well combined.


Stir in the flour and milk in two batches and mix well till everything is well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pans and bake till done or when a tooth pick is inserted in the middle, comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack completely before decorating the cake.

Note – make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature to start


Chocolate-orange cake with cream cheese frosting

| Rekha Vengalil


Cake recipe from goodtoknow.co.uk. 

You need –
For the cake
  • Eggs – 4
  • Caster sugar – 150 grams
  • All-purpose flour – 190 grams
  • Cocoa powder – 50 grams
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Olive oil – 100 ml
  • Grated zest of 1 oranges
  • Juice of 1 orange

For the cream cheese frosting
  • Cream cheese – 8 oz
  • Unsalted butter – ½ cup
  • Icing sugar – 2- 2 ½ cups 
  • Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

How to –

Cake

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line a 20cm (8-inch) round cake tin with lightly oiled baking parchment paper.


In a heat proof large bowl place the egg and sugar over a pan if simmering water. Whisk the egg mixture with an electric whisk till creamy and thick
Place the eggs and sugar in a large bowl, over a pan of simmering water. Use an electric whisk to whisk the eggs until creamy and thick, enough to leave a trail when you lift the whisk from the mixture.


Sift in the flour, cocoa baking powder and gently fold in. When the flour is almost mixed in, add the olive oil, orange zest and juice and continue to fold in gently till well combined.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 20-25 mins or till done.  Cool in the tin for 10 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool.



Frosting

In electric beater beat the cheese ,butter and vanilla essence till light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating well after each addition till you get the desired thickness.
Once the cake is completely cooled, frost the cake as per your choice and serve.

Vanilla cup cakes

| Rekha Vengalil

You need-
  • Unsalted butter – 110 grams, softened at room temperature
  • Caster sugar – 110 grams
  • Eggs – 2, lightly beaten
  • Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
  • self-raising flour – 110 grams
  • Milk – 1-2 tablespoon

How to –
  • Preheat the oven to 180C line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.
  • Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale.
  • Beat in the eggs little at a time and stir in the vanilla extract.
  • Fold in the flour using a spatula, adding a little milk until the mixture is of a dropping consistency. Spoon the mixture into the paper cups until they are half full.
  •  Into the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
  • Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.


Tips –
1.   All ingredients at room temperate
2.   Beat the butter until it turns pale
3.   When folding the ingredients, use a spatula. Do not stir in or don’t be heavy handed else you will loose the air in the mixture and your cake will be too heavy

Simple n Easy Apple Cake

| Rekha Vengalil
                                 Simple n Easy Apple Cake

You need – 
  • Self raising flour, sifted – 1 ½ cups
  • Caster sugar – ¾  cup
  • Butter, softened – 125g
  • Eggs – 2
  • Milk – ½ cup
  • vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
  • Apple, thinly sliced – 1
  • Sugar – 1 tablespoon

How to
  • Preheat oven to 160C
  • In a mixing bowl, place the flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs and milk and beat until combined.
  • Spoon the mixture into a greased 22cm spring-form tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Top with the apples and sprinkle with sugar.
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until done.
Serve with vanilla ice-cream or double cream..

Spiced walnut and chocolate cookies cake with rosewater-sugar syrup

| Rekha Vengalil

Spiced walnut and chocolate cookies cake
with rosewater-sugar syrup
How to –
  • Eggs – 6, separated
  • Caster sugar – ¾  cups
  • Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
  • Ground cardamom – ½ teaspoon
  • Grated lemon rind – 1 teaspoon
  • Ground walnuts – 1 ½  cups
  • Ground chocolate cookies – ¾ cups
  • Salt – a pinch

For the syrup
  • Sugar – ½ cup
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Rosewater – 1 teaspoon

How to –
  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 c
  • Whisk together the egg yolk and sugar. Stir in the ground cinnamon, cardamom and lemon rind.
  • Add the ground walnut and cookies and mix well.
  • In bowl beat the egg whites and salt until spoke peaks. Gentle fold in the whites to the walnut-cookie mix making sure not to deflate the egg whites 
  • Into a greased cake tin, smooth the top  and bake for 45 minutes or till the toothpick is inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.
  • In a medium saucepan combine sugar, water and rosewater. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.
  • Pierce the cake with skewer; pour over the syrup and leave it to cool.

Spanish orange and almond cake

| Rekha Vengalil
Spanish orange and almond cake

You need – 
  • Orange – 1
  • Butter – 75 grams
  • Caster sugar – ½ cup
  • Eggs – 2
  • Ground almonds – 1 cup
  • Self-rising flour – ¼ cup, sifted
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoons
  • Icing sugar – as required for dusting.
How to – 

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Line the base of cake tin with non-stick baking paper
  • Peel the oranges and place them in a saucepan of water. Cover and simmer until soft.
  • Remove from the water,  take of the seeds and  chop roughly  . 
  • Process the orange, butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds, flour and baking powder in a food processor until smooth.
  • Transfer the mixture into the tin and bake for 35-45 minutes or till skewer comes clean when inserted.
  • Allow to cool and then dust the icing sugar and serve.
Please note -Traditionally the orange skin is used but I have not. If you would like to please do. You will need to boil the oranges with the skin.

Carrot cake

| Rekha Vengalil

This cake recipe is from http://www.joyofbaking.com/. I have never baked a carrot cake before and it turned out be a hit. This is a rich and moist spice cake with grated carrot, and the cinnamon flavour adds a punch. 

I have frosted the cake with butter cream with rose swirl design. 

Carrot cake
                                                                                                              Carrot cake