Doll Cake

'Ipoh' inspired Doll Cake

You may all be wondering what the hell happened to me or where did I disappear? Well, making excuses of kids, how they keep me busy ,their exams etc. have now become a habit these days ; but believe me, this time it's not them. It has nothing to do with any one else other than ME !

I'm sure many of the bloggers might have experienced this stage when we get so much into blogging that we have no control over our lives and it's the blog that controls it. We think, we shop for it, we cook for it, we click for it ... whatever we do, it's all for the blog. I was too much involved in doing so that somewhere I felt like I was forgetting to live for me, my kids or for my entire family. I wanted to take back that control to my hands and give a new direction to life. Setting my priorities and not to lose the purpose of life! It was not so simple; but yet.. now everything is at place. My mind is at peace, I have no hurry thinking about next post, photoshoot, etc. which occupies 3/4th of my mind; checking blog stats umpteen times a day etc. These days,I even forgets to check my blog daily. Now I have a control on all these as these comes only after ME, my religion, kids, family and friends.

How did I do this? Well, first of all I stopped checking social networks frequently, mainly fb and blog. First 2 weeks went like that and spent those free time with kids. It felt so good that I eventually forgot about them-my fb friends, blogs etc. Then started reading Quran, tried to learn it, joined online courses to learn Arabic and so on. I bet, that's the best decision I've ever made. It helped me grow as a person and my mind is at peace now. I started enjoying life and now I don't spend my time on tvs, fbs or movies. I don't enjoy watching them as I've one beautiful life from God to enjoy . I know it's just 4 months, but still I have learned to forgive others, not to harm anyone even in thoughts and be nice as a human being.

Nawal named it Ballerina and so the arms up in the air!

Beauty lies in the mind;inner-soul. Peace of mind and happiness are what everyone long for, and these are the ways through which people can have a good life and find complete happiness and joy. At times, people forget the purpose of life, many of them terminate their lives without hope.  When the human being realizes the purpose of life, an ordinary person can become a means of spreading guidance to hundreds of thousands of people. There are diamonds, gold, silver and pearls to be discovered inside human heart. So take a pause from your usual life, think about your goals, purpose or what you want from your life and go ahead. If you are on the right track, nothing to worry :) .. Think about how you were 10 years ago . If you are still the same, then  you will have to work on it.  We should grow as a person, learn to live, be happy, wipe off the negativities in life and take a U turn. Look at the kids and see how happy they are.. with no worries, no hatredness, love for others, excitement.. that's the inner self. that's how we are.. all these jealousies, hatredness etc. are our outerselves which we do not need actually. Snatch them out from our selves and live this life beautifully.

Smile and smile forever! :) Spread Love and no Hatred!  

This is a 'no-recipe' post as I have shared my  favourite chocolate cake before also. Girls were so happy to see this cake. It was made in a day; from dawn to dusk I must say; for my nieces who were leaving the same day. I was so busy that I couldn't take step by step pictures to share with you all the techniques behind this cake. 

X-Box Cake

I know how Moms go crazy planning their kids' birthdays.  I had been planning since two weeks before the day. I do not usually throw a party or make it a big affair; but  try to make them feel special; feel loved. This time I had something else in mind. I wanted to celebrate his birthday with his dearest and one and only friend, Achal. Both share birthdays on the same week. They are best of the buddies. Football or cricket they have their team of two and no 11. They came to this world on the same week, joined playschool together, has been going to school in the same bus since 6 years, play together and the most interesting thing is that we have never witnessed them fight or disagree or debate. Masha Allah! They complete each other. If one is childish, the other is matured; one is interested in sports and the other in intellect games. Their schoolmates complain that Razin sits disconnected with the world when alone and as soon as Achal gets into the bus, he rules the bus. That's their friendship is about and we love them and wish that they may stay connected like this for their entire life.. Aameen!

Thinking about a theme for the cake, X-Box came into mind as both love Xbox and play for hours on weekends.  I started making figurines  a week ago. This was my first experience with gumpaste and I've no artistic background with which I could make caricatures or resembles them in some way. For this I love Anna Austin and her cakes. Hats off to the lady! I wish you were somewhere here in this desert. :) So, coming to the cake , the first figurine was ok. The second one I tried with a half sleeve and something somewhere went wrong and it showed some feminine features. I was upset and no energy or time to redo everything. It already took 3-4 hours. When Naw came in,  I asked her whether she knew who were they on the couch. She said yes, Razikkaka( Razin bro) and Mom ! :( I was really sad. Even the 3 year old could recognize the femininity in that figure. I thought of changing the theme to either Mom n son or Sis n Bro... But still, I was upset as he would be more happier if it was Unni (Achal). So I asked suggestions from a few friends of mine and changed a bit here and there. This time it was much better. The cake decors out here can find many flaws in this.. but I was happy and so were the kids. Now I learned what is gumpaste and I'm sure I can make a better figurine next time, Insha Allah! Both were so happy and couldn't control their laughs; while my small one could recognize at the first glance and shouted its Unnikkaaka and Razikkaka.

This cake has 4 layers of which 2 are of vanilla flavor and 2 chocolate flavored; filled with chocolate buttercream and covered with dark chocolate ganache. I have shared this cake recipe many a times; but sharing again here in this post

For Vanilla cake, use this same recipe and for chocolate cake, take away 1/2 cup of flour and add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to it.

Ingredients:

courtesy: Martha Stewart

• 
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 
• METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 170 C degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
3. Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
4. Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with Whipped Frosting. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides.

Chocolate Buttercream:

• 50g Cooking chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
• 100g unsalted butter, softened
• 200g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• milk, to loosen

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. (Do not allow the base of the bowl to touch the surface of the water.)
2. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft, then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Add the vanilla extract and fold in the melted chocolate until smooth (add a few drops of milk if the mixture is a little stiff).

 chocolate ganache

• 
  
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp unsalted butter
• 300 plain chocolate

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.

DORA Cake- Vanilla Cake with White chocolate & Blackberry Filling

And here it is! A cake ordered by my niece . She was so excited and wanted a Dora cake for her 3rd birthday. A toothpick, a scissor and some papers were all what I had as fondant tools. I had made cutouts of leaves-big and small and then kept on rolled fondants to cut out different sized leaves. Figurines were made a week before.  It was difficuilt without any tools. Dora's hair on the left broke when I tried to fix it up on the cake. I would have handled more carefully.

It's a soft , buttery, vanilla cake sandwiched with the goodness of white chocolate ganache and blackberry jam ,crumb coated with dark chocolate ganache and fondant covering. I was planning to fill and frost the cake with just white chocolate ganache, but once I made the ganache, it was too sweet for my family and so to reduce the sweet effect, added a little bit sour jam and dark chocolate to the cake.

The cake was refrigerated while clicking this picture and thus, the texture looks hard.. but it was soft at room temperature

INGREDIENTS

(I doubled this measure for a 4 layer cake)

courtesy: Martha Stewart

• 
  
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 
  

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 170 C degrees. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined.
3. Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

Design Inspired from Party City

 White chocolate ganache
Courtesy: Taste of home

Ingredients:

White chocolate  400gms
Heavy cream       1/2 cup


Method:

Take a small bowl and keep chocolate in it.
Bring cream to boil in another saucepan. When you see bubbles at the edges, take it off the fire and pour over the chocolate. Mix this thoroughly and allow to cool for about half-an-hour. Beat for about 2-3 minutes until ganache is double in volume.

Dark chocolate 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.

Assembling the cake:

Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper underneath. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with ganache. Top with another piece of cake; Spread jam. Now again cake, then ganache, and a final layer of cake. Crumbcoat with dark chocolate ganache.

Cinnabon- Replica

I don't read . I don't read books, I don't read any novels. I don't read newspapers. The list goes on and the fact is that I read nothing. I hate this habit of mine ;because of which I don't get to expose to what's going on in the outer world ; nor I get to improve my writing or clear my children's doubts. Thank God that they have their 'Genie DAD' ;) . But I did read story books to my kids when they were small . Got them all sort of books when and where they demanded. Offered many a things when they read newspapers and so now, they read a lot. I've to snatch books from them when guests are home or while eating. Now we started fighting for magazines;Noora read articles, while I look for recipes. I felt some sort of embarassment there. Yesterday I thought I would read something from the 'Friday' magazine and I read whole 3 articles. I enjoyed reading and they motivated me a lot. I shall keep on doing this. The articles were about World Dwarf Games Champion, MMUN child ambassadors and a cancer survivor.The story was not about how Dianne fought her disease or how she survived or whether did she really destroy her enemy. Instead this was about how she took this reality into her life; how she decided to live her life instead of mourning; how she organised her life party instead of funeral,which would be after her death and she wouldn't be enjoying. That was a damn bold attempt. She celebrated her life, met all her friends and relatives,danced,enjoyed and thanked all those who had helped her somewhere in her life-journey. This article as well as Joby's(arm wrestling champion) inspired me a lot. We are among those few lucky people, who got all those blessings of this life with able body and good family (Masha Allah) and we don't recognize it's importance or fail to thank God at times. We shall make full use of this wonderful life and live for the purpose and do something fruitful in this life. We should concentrate on living our life to the fullest rather than abusing this life.

Cinnabon is a famous brand cafe-chain who makes cinnamon rolls topped with cream cheese frosting. They make such delectable rolls that it just melts in mouth. I felt this recipe could do justice to atleast 80-85 % of the original one and is so delicious that you won't be able to stop with just one. I didn't had the bread machine or bread machine yeast, but still it tasted great . Measure your ingredients correctly and follow the technique as it is described below:

Ingredients:
(Courtesy:All recipes)

Warm Milk   1 cup
Eggs             2
Margarine     1/3cup
Bread flour   4 1/2 cups
Salt               1tsp
Sugar            1/2cup
Yeast            2 1/2tsp

Filling:
Brown Sugar           1cup,packed
Ground Cinnamon   2 1/2tbsp
Butter                       1/3cup,softened

Topping:
Cream cheese           3oz ,softened
Butter                       1/4cup
Confectioners'sugar 1 1/2cups
Vanilla essence        1/2tsp
Salt                           1/8tsp

Method:

1. Mix yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk and let it rest for a few minutes till bubble appears on top. Don't mix yeast with spoon. Let it stand like that for few minutes.

2. Take milk in a mixing bowl, add eggs,salt,yeast mix and sugar. Mix well. Add flour and melted margarine to it. Mix it and prepare dough. Keep on kneading for atleast 6 minutes. You might get tempted to stop before that, but you shall not dare to do that. The dough will be sticky. You can grease your hands with melted margarine,but little.

3. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it rest till it doubles in size.ie; for about 2 hours or more.

The dough doubled in size in the second picture and you can see the hand imprint on the third. This is how it looked after rising.

4. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.

5. Roll dough into a 16*21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar-cinnamon mixture.Spread whole the brown sugar mix.I was hesitating Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9*13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C.

sorry for poor lighting. It was clicked at night.

6. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking,beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Shelf life: I kept on my kitchen counter(without topping) for 2 days and microwaved for 20 seconds before serving. Spread topping after heating.

Serving Suggestions: Top with Chocolate chips,curls, chocolate sauce, pecans,walnuts,caramel etc.

Vardhini's BAke fest event co hosted by Priyas Versatile recipes

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Friends just happen, don't they? When I had stepped into a new school, a new country and completely new world years ago, soon after my 10th, I could hardly make friends there except a few. I didn't want to shift my school, leave my old friends; couldn't think of the fact that they were all together and I was the only one who got separated from them. Nevertheless, I had pretty much decent experience in The Model School(TMS),Abu Dhabi. Teachers were friendly, students were much more competitive than I saw in India,which helped me to study like never before.

As I've said earlier , I couldn't make friends there other than 1 or 2.  Might be because of my introvert nature or that I was not so happy leaving my best buddies back home. Many years later when FB started ruling our social lives, a few of TMSians met through our school group. Some where my juniors ,some seniors and ofcourse from the same batch too. We chatted almost daily for hours and hours. There were days when we chatted till  morning. And that was before my baby, though.lol.There were 13 of us who were active and finallly our friendship grew to new heights. Now,we meet once a while, chat daily and share our sorrows and happiness with one another. We belong to different batches from the same school, some of us didn't know or meet each other those school days, but today we turn to best of the friends. Friends just happen.I'm so lucky to have them around me and blessed to have met them. I love them, madly;but never told them . This post is dedicating to my 'Pals' and our friendship. Cheers!!

 

Recipe time: Nothing is more inviting than a gorgeous looking coffee cake with a surprise hidden inside served along with tea or coffee..Ooh laa laa.. you can't stop eating this vanilla goodness with the crunchy streusel on top and middle of the cake. It's even better the next day ;if we have the patience to let it stay a day for its flavor to get blended with each other.

Ingredients:

Courtesy: Ina Garten

Unsalted butter               12 tbsp ( 1 1/2 sticks) ,at room temperature

Granulated Sugar           1 1/2 cups

Eggs                               3 extra-large, at room temperature

Vanilla extract                1 1/2tsp

Sour Cream                    1 1/4 (Click here)

Cake flour                      2 1/2 cups (Click here)

Baking powder              2tsp

Baking soda                   1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/2 tsp

For the Streusel:

Brown Sugar                  1/4cup,packed

All purpose flour            1/2 cup

Cinnamon powder          1 1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/4tsp

Cold unsalted butter       3tbsp, cut into pieces

Walnuts/Almonds          3/4 cup chopped (optional)

         

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 170C. 

2.For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

3.Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 4 -5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4.Add the eggs 1 at a time. Then add vanilla and sour cream. Mix well.

                      

5.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

6.With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

7.Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

8.Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Linking this to Nayna's Valentine Event

Vardhini's BAke fest event co hosted by Priyas Versatile recipes

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.