Death By Chocolate Cake-It's my 200th post & 3rd Anniwersary!!!

It was 3 years ago this day, that my cute li'l blog entered this world of bloggers, where everything was new for me. I shared my Pound Cake Tiramisu picture during first of Ramadan on my fb wall; when one of my  friends suggested me Friends Cookies page where everyone shared their tried and tested recipes with pictures. And then, the story began. It was like crazy cooking, clicking and rushing to upload in fb. My family got fed up with waiting till I click :) That's when I got acquainted with cooking blogs and fb pages. I was so fascinated with those blogs that I decided to start one. I was doing my MBA then and so waited till my exams got over. The very next day, I started one. My sisters suggested to name it in my Mom's petname so that all three of us could manage this blog. But they showed least interest once I started other than sending a few pictures and recipe links. I had to act as the captain of the ship since then. :)

 My hubby bought me a point and shoot camera soon and I was all the more happy with that. Started clicking decent pictures and stepped into the first step of learning process . 2 months then and was so happy to be accepted by many with their comments, feedbacks, criticisms etc. That's when I was pregnant with my 3rd child and then, blogging got hectic. Clicking, editing,typing, posting .. all these turned to be a tedious one, but somehow managed to post continously . With a baby around, clicking pictures turned to be more difficuilt. I threw both my cameras to support my baby when I saw she was falling onto the currybowl while I was busy clicking; that too in a week!! huff ..!! that was another turning point in my blogging path. I had to manage without cameras and laptop for 5-6 months. Used mobile camera and ipad instead. Got my Macbook after that ; but am still without camera. I wih to get one soon.

3 years passed by and today when I complete 200 posts , I feel on top of the world as I could manage posting atleast twice a month after going through many ups and downs in my personal life. Neither could I spend much time making friends online nor could I concentrate on my FB PAGE , but still all of you supported me and all thanks to that. I did never thought that I would be known in my mom's name (Kachuss) and now this happend. I wanted to move a step ahead from next year onwards to commercialise my hobby from next year onwards,Insha Allah!! Please do support me like this always.

 

 Now, this is a delicious rich chocolatty cake made with mayonnaise instead of butter, but you would never know this secret ingredient unless disclosed by someone. I didn't tell anyone that I had added mayonnaise until one last slice was left. I did say at last just to gulp that last slice which I know I would get if I they get to know about the mayonnaise secret ;) The cake recipe was adapted from here whereas frosting recipe from here.

Ingredients:

Makes an 9inch triple layer cake; serves 12 to 16

 (Recipe from Sky High Irresistible Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne)

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ¼ tsp baking soda

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 ½ ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup milk

1 ¼ cups hot, strongly brewed coffee

2 eggs

1 cup mayonnaise (not low fat or fat free)

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups sugar

 Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 9 inch round cake pans. Line the base of each pan with parchment.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Put the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the milk to a simmer. Pour the hot coffee and milk over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let the mocha liquid cool slightly.

In a mixer bowl, beat together the eggs, mayonnaise and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar. Add the dry ingredients and mocha liquid alternately in 2 or 3 additions, beating until smooth and well blended. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out almost clean. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before un-molding onto a wire rack and carefully peeling off the paper. Leave to cool completely.

 For Ganache:

Fresh Cream 300ml

Vanilla 2 tsp

Unsalted butter 2 tsp

Plain Chocholate 300 gm

For the chocolate ganache, heat the cream, vanilla extract, butter and chocolate in a heavy-based pan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth and thickened.

To Assemble

Place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Cover the top evenly with 1/3rd of the ganache, leaving a ¼ inch margin around the edge. Repeat with the second layer and the seond portion of the ganache. Set the third layer on top and pour the remaining ganache over the filled cake. Spread all over the sides and top. Don’t worry if some of the cake shows through. This first frosting is to seal in the crumbs, and is known as a crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

After this time cover the cake with the rest of the icing, smoothing it down the sides. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. Use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to swirl the frosting around the cake.