Chocolate Cake (for Fresh Cream Pastry)

Source:

Mrs. Rahana Manaf


Ingredients:

Flour - 3/4 cup

Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Eggs - 3

Sugar - 1 cup

Sunflower Oil - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp


Method:


1.  Sieve together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.

2.  Preheat oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

3.  Grease baking tin and line with butter paper and apply oil all over.

4.  Beat sugar and eggs until fluffy at high speed.

5.  Add oil and beat well for a minute.

6.  Slowly, add the sieved ingredients and milk alternatively and mix together with a spatula or at low speed with the hand mixer.  Do not over beat.

7.  Pour the batter in the greased tray at bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Notes:

Cool the cake completely and double cling wrap and store in freezer until use.  This cake suits best for the fresh cream pastry cakes viz., black forest, chocolate truffle, chocolate cream cake etc.  Decorate the cake with whipped cream and chocolate curls or garnishes or as desired.

Variation:  Increase maida to 1 cup and also add 1/2 cup of hot coffee at the end to the cake batter.  This enhances the taste of the cake.  Add 1 tsp of instant coffee powder to 1/2 cup of hot water.  Coffee dicoction can also be added.

Pineapple Gateau (Pineapple Fresh Cream Pastry Cake)

Source:

Adapted from Cook Like Priya


I used a fatless (i.e. no butter/no oil) sponge cake base to make this cake.  Any sponge cake (viz., normal or eggless) base of your choice can be used.

Fatless Sponge Cake

Yield:  An 8 inch cake cut into 3 layers

Servings: 10 to 12 generously


Ingredients:

All purpose flour (maida) - 1-1/4 cups (150 gm)

Sugar (granulated/powdered) - 3/4 cup (150 gm)

Eggs (large) - 5

Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp (2.5 gm)

Baking Soda - 1 pinch

Salt - 1 pinch

Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Pineapple Essence - 1 tsp


Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.

2.  Grease an 8" baking tin with oil and line the sides with parchment or butter paper about an inch higher than the cake tin and also line the base with the same.  Set aside.

3.  Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well incorporated.  Set aside.

4.  In a bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and pineapple essences.  Beat for about 5 minutes until soft peaks form.

5.  Gently add the sifted flour mixture little by little into the beaten egg mixture until well incorporated.  Take care not to over mix.

6.  Pour the cake batter into the greased cake tin and bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C.

7.  Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes.  Later, invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let the butter paper remain intact.

8.  Once the cake is completely cooled down, remove the butter/parchment paper.

9.  Cling wrap the cake and refrigerate until use.

10.  When about to use, remove the cling wrap and cut into layers.  I sliced into 3 perfect layers and placed them separately on plates.


Pineapple Soaking Syrup


Ingredients:

Pineapple Syrup - 1 cup (the syrup in the the tinned pineapple can)

Powdered Sugar - 4 to 5 tbsp

Pineapple Essence - 2 tsp

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside until assembling process.


Whipped Cream Frosting

Ingredients:

Cold Non-dairy Whipping Cream - 2 cups

Icing Sugar - 1/2 cup

Pineapple Essence - 1 tsp


Method:

1.  Freeze the bowl with whisk attachment for at least half an hour before making the whipping cream.

2.  Beat the cream at high speed for 2 minutes and then slowly add the essence and the icing sugar.  Beat until stiff peaks are formed.  Keep refrigerated until use.


Assembling the Cake

1.  Take the cake out of the fridge and unwrap the cling film.

2.  Place on a cake stand and mark a line with a colored toothpick tip (dipped in a bright food color) from top to bottom or vice versa at any of the points of your choice.  This helps in placing back the layers after filling in the same style as the original baked cake so that a uniform level is achieved.

3.  Slice 2 or 3 layers of the cake horizontally and place them on different plates aside.

4.  On a cake board, apply about 1 tsp of the cream in the center and then place the topmost layer of the cake on it.

5.  Drizzle one-third of the prepared pineapple soaking syrup liberally all over this cake layer and let sit for a few minutes until the syrup is fully absorbed.

6.  Now, add a big dollop of whipped cream on the soaked cake layer and spread with a spatula all over uniformly.  Place chopped pineapple (tinned) chunks all over the spread whipped cream.

7.  Place the middle layer of the sliced cake over this and repeat the process of soaking, spreading the whipped cream, and placing the pineapple chunks.

8.  Finally, place the bottom most layer of the sliced cake with the bottom side facing upwards.  This technique of placing the layers is called upside down technique.  Drizzle the soaking syrup all through and allow it to absorb.

9.  Then, spread the whipped cream all over the top of the cake and also on the sides and decorate with pineapple (tinned) pieces.  I used some store bought marshmallows also to frost and decorate the fresh cream pineapple pastry (gateau).

10.  Refrigerate the pineapple gateau for at least 30 minutes to set.

Once ready, cut, serve, relish, and enjoy!!!

This is a classic cake and just can't be stopped with one bite.





My Notes:

1.  I used non-dairy whipping cream for this gateau.  You can opt to use dairy cream (viz., Amul Whipping Cream).  Getting stiff peaks is difficult in Indian climatic conditions.  So, the cream can be stabilized with gelatin or agar agar powder to get stiff peaks.  Dissolve 1 tsp of gelatin/agar agar powder in 2 tsp of water and leave it for 5-10 minutes.  Once bloomed, add while whisking the whipping cream to stabilize it.

2.  I used the whipped cream itself to frost the cake.  Buttercream can also be used to frost the cake.

3.  If using fondant toppers, place them on the cake just before use.  They tend to run out of colors or become soggy and out of shape because of the moisture of the cream.