SPANISH DELIGHT CAKE- GUEST POST BY MANJU G RAO

 SPANISH DELIGHT CAKE- GUEST POST BY MANJU G RAO

Here's wishing you and your families a Merry Christmas! For most of us Christmas time is Cake time!! 

You may remember we had a Guest Post for Plum Cake ( Christmas Fruit Cake) in this blog by my friend, Manju G. Rao. She is an accomplished baker who has developed her passion for baking to a home business called "The Cakery by Manju" which is doing exceedingly well. 

Last year she shared her recipe for Eggless Choco Butterscotch Cake  which was very well received.

I am happy that this year too she gladly accepted my invitation to contribute a Guest Post in the festive season. I am sure you will enjoy making her Spanish Delight Cake to add to the Christmas gaiety for your family and friends!! 

Thanks for this Guest Post, Manju.... and over to you!!!! 

From Ms. Manju G Rao of "The Cakery" :

Dear Friends, 

Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

I am so delighted and proud to present my cake recipe in Shobana Akka's popular blog,  "Cooking With Shobana" for the third consecutive year. Thanks, Akka. I am honoured.

Spanish Delight Cake as the name suggests is truly a delight, so yummy and "melt in the mouth", chocolaty and crunchy! This cake is on my best seller list and I am so happy to share the recipe with you. 

Ingredients ( For a 1 Kg Spanish Delight Cake)

 To Bake The Sponge:

• All Purpose Flour (Maida), 3/4 cup
• Cocoa Powder, 1/4 cup
• Sugar Powder, 3/4 cup
• Eggs, 4
• Vanilla Essence, 1 tbsp
• Baking Powder, 1 tsp
• Baking Soda, 1/4 tsp
• Sunflower Oil, 1/4 cup
• Milk, 2 tbsp

Mix the maida, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda well. Sieve it in a strainer 2-3 times and keep aside.

Grease a 7" aluminium cake tin with oil and butter paper, preheat the oven  for 10 minutes

In the mean time, crack the four eggs in a dry bowl , add vanilla essence and start beating the eggs with an electric beater at low speed

Then start adding the sugar powder little by little and continue beating the eggs till they become foamy and pale white

Add oil and mix once. Then add the maida and mix three or four times very gently so that the egg mix should not lose its foamy texture

Add a little milk and mix if the batter is too thick then pour the batter in the greased tin and bake for 35 to 40 minutes @ 160 degrees Celsius

After 35 minutes, insert a toothpick and check whether the cake is done, if not bake again for 5 more minutes then let it cool.

Mean while boil 1 and 1/2 glass water with 1/2 cup sugar in it  for 2 minutes and let it cool. This is the sugar syrup to soak the cake

Nesxt step is to make the caramel sauce. Take 1/2 cup sugar in a thick bottomed pan, keep in low flame until it melts, when it turns light brown add 2 tbsp of butter  and 1/2 cup fresh cream  or whipping cream, stir continuously for 3-4 minutes, switch off when the sauce starts to thicken.

For crunchiness, take some almonds and cashew, dry roast them, crush them lightly ( but do not powder) and keep aside

Finally to prepare the cream to frost the cake:-

Take 2 cups of chilled non-dairy whipping cream, start to beat the cream in low speed and increase the speed slowly, within 7 minutes the cream gets ready for frosting. Add the prepared caramel sauce, 1 tsp instant coffee powder and 1 tbsp Boost powder to the cream. Beat again until the cream gets well incorporated  with the sauce and powders. The special cream is ready for frosting

Divide the cake sponge in 3 equal layers, in a turn table keep the cake board, keep the first cake layer, soak it with the prepared sugar syrup, spread the cream, add the roasted nuts and keep second layer repeat the process and cover the cake with cream and gently finish the frosting. (Frequent practice needed for perfect frosting)

You can decorate the cake as per your choice- with chocolates or with flowers or with nozzle decorations

Cakes will be more moist and tasty if refrigerated for 7-8 hours before they are cut

Try this out , dear friends, and enjoy Spanish Delight Cake this Christmas with your family and friends!! 

EGGLESS RED VELVET CAKE/MUFFINS: GUEST POST BY SANDHYA KINI MAYENKAR

EGGLESS RED VELVET CAKE/MUFFINS : GUEST POST BY SANDHYA KINI MAYENKAR

As we are in the festive season, let me wish you, my readers, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I am grateful to my friend, Sandhya Kini Mayenkar for so readily agreeing to contribute a guest post to my blog despite the busy Christmas season when she does what she loves- teach people to bake cakes in sunny Goa. Do check out her Facebook Page: Skm Kitchen D'lites. 

She says, "All these cake pics are of the same recipe, done in 3 different ways

For heart shaped plain red velvet I just sieved icing sugar on a decoration template over the cake."

Many thanks, Sandhya for your recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:

• Maida, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Thick Yogurt, 1 cup OR Warm Milk + white vinegar, 1 tsp*
• Granulated Sugar, 3/4 cup
• Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp
• Baking Powder, 1 and 1/4 tsp
• Refined Oil/Melted Unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup
• Vanilla Essence, 1 tsp
• Salt, 1/2 tsp
• Cocoa Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Red Colour, a pinch, or as required

*Please note warm milk + vinegar is equivalent to yogurt so you can use either.

Method:

Sieve all the dry ingredients (maida, baking powder, baking soda, salt, colour, and cocoa) three times and keep aside

Cream the sugar and curds till all the sugar is dissolved

Add the oil and vanilla essence and mix well

Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture

Pour into cake tin or muffin moulds and bake in a pre heated oven to 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes

Cool completely before you do any icings

Usually topped with cream cheese frostings

For Cream Cheese Frostings:  1 cup unsalted cream cheese combined with 1 cup heavy whipped cream. Colour and essence as per choice.
Combine well and pipe on your cake with the required decorations.

With the same batter, we can also make these yummy, beautiful muffins!