Simple Sponge Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing

It’s “A”’s dad’s 60th birthday and we wanted to surprise him with a homemade birthday cake, since it’s a special occasion and a store-bought dessert just won’t do it. As expected, not all the ingredients came easily accessible so we had to substitute.

So here’s a very simple cake recipe made from ingredients you can get from anywhere in India and can be done in lesser than 30 minutes. The cake is light and fluffy while the chocolaty icing adds moisture to the cake making every bite decadent!

Ingredients

Cake
Courtesy from a good friend Anjali - thanks girl! (yes, you probably know her too)
1 cup of white flour (locally known as maida)
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of cream
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of baking powder
10 walnuts, crushed (optional)
Some butter for oiling the pan

Chocolate Fudge Icing
Handful of chocolates chunks (I like using dark chocolates but you can pretty much use any kind of chocolates – cooking chocolates, Ooty chocolates, milk or dark chocolate bars that you normally snack on, etc…)
2 tablespoons of cream
1 tablespoon butter

Cake Decoration (optional)
3 tablespoons instant oats and 1 tablespoon sugar (put in blender, set on high for 1 minute or until mixture becomes powder)
OR
3 tablespoons powder sugar (which we couldn’t find after looking in 5 different stores)

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade (or on a “high” setting, if you are using an oven that doesn’t tell you the temperature). Prepare cake pan (we used a 10-inch round pan) by rubbing butter, sprinkling with flour and tapping out extra.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder. In separate bowl, whisk eggs and then add cream and stir well until combined. Add wet ingredients into flour mixture, fold and stir until combined and smooth, scraping the sides, about 2 minutes.

Pour batter into pan. Bake for 20 minutes (or 15 minutes at “high” setting). Remove cake from pan and cool on rack or big plate.

While cake is baking, create a double boiler (don’t stress, to create a boiler, simply place a medium glass or porcelain bowl on a small pot of boiling water, on low fire. The bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the bottom of the pot.) Mix all icing ingredients in the bowl, stir until ingredients melt into chocolaty sauce. Your icing is ready!

Here’s the fun part; the decoration – slowly pour chocolate icing on the top of the cake and spread evenly, allowing access chocolate icing to flow down the sides of the cake. To finish, dust some cocoa powder on the top of the cake.

Now for a wow factor. On a piece of paper, cut out words like “Happy Birthday” or “This cake rocks!” to make a stencil. Place stencil on the cake, making sure the all surface of the stencil is in contact with the cake. Dust powder sugar or powder oats evenly on the stencil. Carefully remove stencil.


"A" carefully designed and carved this perfectly aligned stencil to decorate the cake.


Powder oats on stencils.


Yum!

Spanish Cookout at Caperberry

Last weekend, I attended the Spanish Cookout at Caperberry. I won't go in details here what we made (and ate) but you can read about it in on my other blog.

Instead I'll tell you about what Chef Abhijit Saha served us for lunch, after our cooking class, when we were already quite stuffed from eating all the tapas we just made.


Tapas that we had just learned how to cook. (L to R) Fried calamari, chicken al ajillo and minted lamb chops.


Mushroom Soup with almonds, quite the usual mushroom soup but nonetheless, very tasty.


Gazpacho. I actually liked this a lot and I usually don't like cold soups.


Pan-fried grouper with creamed spinach. The fillets were very moist and creamed spinach comparable to what you'd get in a restaurant in NYC.


Vegetarian entree option. I'm guessing grilled vegetables with creamed spinach.


Grilled chicken with tomato sauce. "A" liked it so much he finished the whole plate!


And for dessert, churroz with dark chocolate cream. Not quite like the ones served in a cafe in Madrid but so good by itself, it doesn't have to be compared. I loved the dark chocolate cream. If we had it our way, we would've poured the rest of the chocolate cream into my purse and taken it home.

More stories on the cooking class.

Raintree Cafe

One of the (many) reasons why I love Bangalore is for the obscure places you would never imagine exist but they do. Last weekend, "A" and I went to the National Gallery Of Modern Art, which itself was an amazing place to visit and we decided to drop by quaint Raintree Cafe for a cup of latte and an afternoon snack. Raintree is a fashion and craft boutique but they had allocated a tiny space for a cafe that seats no more than 10 people.


I'm unsure of the history behind this property but the vast garden with an old-world charming bungalow made us forget we were actually in the middle of bustling Bangalore city.


Some deserts and small eats (quiche and sandwiches) available here.


Chocolate tart - very moist and not too sweet.


And to finish up the afternoon, a nice cup of latte.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 8.5/10

Would we return?
Yes and to the boutique as well!

Address:
4, Sankey Road,
High Grounds,
Bangalore

Cafe Noir

The brother of Toscano's owner Chef Jean Michel Jasserand opened a French cafe earlier this year. Cafe Noir is located at the U.B. City Piazza, the same venue as Toscano. The al fresco dining area didn't remind me of cafes along Champs-Élysées but the modern decor and ambiance of the place made me forget for a moment that I was in India.


Onion soup - most onion soups made anywhere in the world is done with beef broth but this one however is made with vegetable broth, which is very welcoming for me who doesn't eat any parts of a cow. Served with a small piece of mozzarella toast submerged into the savory broth.


Zucchini vegetable soup - light broth with pieces of vegetables and a hint of sweetness from mushrooms.


Club sandwich - layers of ham, cheese, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes in between crunchy toast. All sandwiches were served with sides of crispy fries and leafy green salad.


Moist chunks of roast chicken served in a crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside baguette. According to the owner, these breads are baked fresh every morning.


Croque monsieur - "A" thought this was good but I thought it was too close to a grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich.


Salmon quiche - the portion is a tad small compared to the rest. I was a bit worried that it might taste fishy (despite the use of smoked salmon) but I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture of salmon, asparagus and egg combination. Be careful not to eat it too quickly, the inside parts are piping hot!


Crème brûlée - the first I've had in a while that's been done perfectly. The perfectly burnt caramelized sugar tops a smooth rich custard.


Other desserts to choose from. The owner mentioned that the pastry chef used only local ingredients.

Our tasty meal for four came up to a whopping Rs1700 (US$39)! When we consulted the owner about the reasonable price, he replied again that using mostly local produce (whenever they can) from chocolate to flour to fresh fruits, have helped keep the prices low. "A" was of course very impressed by this since using local produce equals lesser carbon footprints and is also very eco-friendly. I think this place would be perfect for a quick light bite or a sumptuous afternoon tea.

Overall Ratings:
"A"'s: 8.5/10
Po's: 8/10

Would we return?
Definitely!

Address:
2nd Floor,
The Collection UB City,
24, Vittal Mallya Road,
Bangalore,
Karnataka, India

Bliss Luxury Chocolates

I want to quickly tell you about this chocolate store we stumbled upon while walking around in the Forum Value Mall in Whitefield. "A" had a piece of black chocolate with rum and I had a piece of dark chocolate with coffee cream and they were both very good! I ended up packing a box for "A"'s family and another box as a birthday gift.

They also have a lounge and some decadent looking cakes on sale. This should be a nice place to have a cuppa joe (A: chocolate shake *snap of fingers*) and split a slice of chocolate cake with someone.

Wide selections of chocolates

Overall Ratings:

Po's: 8.5/10

Would we return?

Yes

Address:
The Forum Value Mall,
224, Ground Floor,
62 Whitefield Main Road
Whitefield, Bangalore 560066

Pizza at Toscano's Forum Value Mall

Something was bugging me on Saturday and I couldn't shake it off. I was feeling antsy and it was beginning to show. "A" was busy with work but he couldn't bear to see me like this, so he said, "Let's go out for dinner". Not having much of an appetite, I suggested pizzas but I didn't want to venture into the hustle and bustle of town, so we went to Toscano's in Forum Value Mall in Whitefield.

Prosciutto pizza - the pizza crust was a tad soft even though the menu clearly says "thin crust", which is a big pet peeve of mine. If I wanted a soft pizza, I would've gone to Pizza Hut for a pizza pie. Thin crust usually means crisp. The marinara sauce was a bit too sweet and was lacking the deep slow-cooked tomato sauce flavor.

Smoked salmon pizza with pesto - I have the same complaint about this pizza as well and in addition to that, the salmon was tasting a bit fishy. It'd be nice if they gave us a bit more of the delicious pesto.

Mango pana cotta - along with the bread basket with yummy butter and basil olive oil, the dessert was also good. It wasn't too sweet and had a creamy smooth but jelly-like texture.

Compared to meals I've had at Toscano's UB City, which have all been pretty good, the food I had here was quite mediocre (A: come on, it was better than mediocre!). I've had better pizzas at Herb and Spice and Road Trip, but I would come back to try other non-pizza entrees because this place has nice interiors and ambiance.

Overall Ratings:

A's: 7/10

Candice's: 6.5/10

Would we return?
Most probably

Address:
The Forum Value Mall,
224, 2nd Floor,
62 Whitefield Main Road
Whitefield, Bangalore 560066

Spoonful of Sugar

"A" is a little upset that I came here without him. It was a very last minute decision and I didn't even have time to change out of my sweaty gym clothes and the driver (sent by Mama B to pick me and dadi up from home) is already impatiently honking outside at the gate. I've heard so much about this place and even read a superb review about the desserts on the Food Lovers magazine. "A" would have to wait.

Tuscan Chicken Sandwich - this was good! Ok, to be honest, I only took a little bite because Sammie ordered it and I wasn't going to devour the whole sandwich. I'm pretty sure the people at Spoonful of Sugar had coated chicken pieces with sun-dried tomato sauce or some sort of pesto.

Chicken Quiche - the chicken breast chunks were very moist, the quiche wasn't too eggy and the crust actually looks homemade. Needless to say, dadi loved this dish and requested to have her last bite packed in a parcel to be taken home.

Mississipi Mudpie - yum! When I saw this behind the glass window of the refrigerator, it was intact. They must have heated the pie so the chocolate filling would melt and what better way to serve melted chocolate than with custard.

There is not many seatings, maybe a total of 6 tables but it's a cozy and intimate place to hangout with loved ones. Plus, it's always nice when others are indulging along with you.

Follow-up visit with "A"

Sun dried tomato pesto with chicken


Mushroom cheese quiche


Raspberry mascarpone cheesecake


The many dessert choices available here.

Overall Ratings:
Candice's: 8.5/10

Would we return?
For sure!

Address:
421-G, 1st Main Rd, Indira Nagar
Bangalore, Karnataka 560038

(By the way, there are two 1st Main Roads in Indira Nagar. Google Maps might point you to the 1st Main Road next to Domlur, which is wrong. This 1st Main Road is nearer to CMH Road)