Wednesday, July 20, 2011
A Zebra Cake
A zebra cake is something I always put away when it came to baking thinking it was a difficult process. I love the cake for their stripes more than their flavour. This was the choice of the Cake Slice Bakers this month. And this being the choice, I obviously wanted to try it. It isn't difficult as it would seem when you see the stripes. With a little patience the stripes can be very pretty. Mine are just ok.A simple cake but can create quite an impression. With no frosting or any sort of decoration, this can win just on its stripes. And yes, it sure did make an impression on my daughter who has requested for a birthday cake minus the frills (note frosting here) and only the stripes with a lot more colours. That remains to be tested now. So here's the recipe for this simple yet very striking cake.
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
240g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
225g caster sugar
220ml whole milk
100g butter, melted and cooled
100ml vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 9 inch pan, line with a circle of parchment paper, grease the parchment and dust with flour. Combine the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.
Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the milk, butter, oil and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Stir in the flour mixture, a quarter at a time.
Transfer a third of the batter into another bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder.
Place 3 tablespoons of the vanilla batter into the centre of the pan and let it stand for a few seconds so it spreads out slightly. Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter right on top of the vanilla and wait another few seconds until it spreads. Continue alternating vanilla and chocolate until you have used up all the batter and it has spread to the edges of the pan.
Bake until the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a cutting board. Peel away the parchment paper. Re-invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slice and serve.
Makes one 9 inch round cake
Combine the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, stir in the milk, butter, oil and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Stir in the flour mixture, a quarter at a time.
Transfer a third of the batter into another bowl and whisk in the cocoa powder.
Place 3 tablespoons of the vanilla batter into the centre of the pan and let it stand for a few seconds so it spreads out slightly. Place 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter right on top of the vanilla and wait another few seconds until it spreads. Continue alternating vanilla and chocolate until you have used up all the batter and it has spread to the edges of the pan.
Bake until the cake is set and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a cutting board. Peel away the parchment paper. Re-invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slice and serve.
Makes one 9 inch round cake
Monday, July 18, 2011
Moroccan Spiced Chicken
This space of mine has been neglected for a really long time. No excuses, just very lame ones. But I did try to do a post for the Secret Recipe Club, an exciting event created by Amanda. In this club, one is offered a blog to choose a recipe from and then post about it without the assigned blogger or anyone else know about it.
This time, I was assigned Dana's Food for Thought . A new blog and a very interesting one at that. I chose to do the Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken. The only changes that I made was to pan fry the chicken. I know it isn't healthy but we couldn't resist having fried chicken. The spices used here are similar to the ones used in our Indian cuisine. I always do a taste test when the marinade is done and this was little less on the heat. Dana says this is mildly spicy but to suit our palate I had to increase the spices. In the same pan in the leftover juices of the chicken, I fried some julienned onions. Served with the chicken, they made a complete meal.
My changes are in brackets. So here goes the recipe.
This time, I was assigned Dana's Food for Thought . A new blog and a very interesting one at that. I chose to do the Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken. The only changes that I made was to pan fry the chicken. I know it isn't healthy but we couldn't resist having fried chicken. The spices used here are similar to the ones used in our Indian cuisine. I always do a taste test when the marinade is done and this was little less on the heat. Dana says this is mildly spicy but to suit our palate I had to increase the spices. In the same pan in the leftover juices of the chicken, I fried some julienned onions. Served with the chicken, they made a complete meal.
My changes are in brackets. So here goes the recipe.
Moroccan Spiced Grilled (Pan fried) Chicken [Adapted from here]
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons (2 T) ground coriander
1 T(2T) olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons (1T) paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon (1t) salt
1/2 teaspoon (1 T) freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts
to 3 T oil, Fry the chicken pieces on both the sides until they are browned as required. Once the chicken is fried, there tend to leftover juices of the chicken. So add in some julienned onions or whatever you please.
A great recipe and a wholehearty meal!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
wibiya widget