Skip to main content

Cocoa Cravings & Complications

It's not everyday you get to bake and indulge in decadent chocolate cake. I had been craving to make some cake but the lack of time or the temptation of just lying in bed when I did have idle time, prevented me from taking to the whisk. Day before yesterday, however, the cake craving hit me hard. All that headache from the glaring day's sun exposure left me exhausted but I finally took out the ingredients and got out the cocoa at 9PM post dinner. The usual source to any and all recipes was mum or Google. But this time I thought why not try out what might be the most full-proof recipe; the one plastered on the label of Cadbury Cocoa box! Not ingenious, I know, I know...


So for the benefit of my readers, let me list out the recipe below:
5 tablespoons of Cadbury Cocoa
100 gms of butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups of white flour
3 eggs or 1 can of condensed milk
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 drops of vanilla essence/extract

Method:
Whisk the butter and sugar till it becomes creamy. Then crack in the eggs. Whisk again. Bit by bit, add in all the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder). Add the vanilla essence. Add a little milk if the batter becomes dry. Finally, bake the cake in the oven.

Only, there were a "few" complications when I started working up the batter. For one, I had white butter. Made at the local dairy, would this render a very 'Indian' taste to my cake? Not sure, but that's all the butter I had. So I added what seemed to me 100 gms of white butter. The next complication came in the form of sugar. I had it, the type was right, but umm...it was just under the 1 cup measurement mark. Dilemna. Now what! No one likes a not-perfectly-sweet cake. Then I remembered! I had some sugar sachets I packed from previous hotel stays (DO NOT JUDGE ME!). Thus that challenge too was conquered! When it came to adding the eggs, 3 seemed a bit too much compared to the amount of creamy butter and sugar mixture. My idea to avoid an egg-y situation by using condensed milk was vehemently opposed by the sisters. "How do you know if our can size matched their intended 1 can size on the recipe?", they said. So eggs it was. Would 3 eggs deem my cake to be 'too egg-y'? "Stick to the recipe, Hanisha!", yelled my sisters who were seriously begin to doubt the outcome of all that whisking and lack of precise measurements. So 3 eggs I added and whisked away. But here's where the worst happened. When I added the 2nd cup of white flour to the batter, it became tougher for me to whisk. The batter appeared dry and my immediate thought was my 100gm white butter was not really 100 gms. Oh well, mix in milk if the batter turns dry said the recipe. Only, I kept having to add milk, and more milk, and more milk, and not "little milk" as per the recipe. Oops. But then, when the batter's consistency seemed fairly right and not as dry, I popped it into a greased baking tray and into the oven. Pacing up and down my kitchen, I waited in anticipation and resisted the urge of opening the oven door and checking on the progress of the cake. But then, that moment when you prick the cake with the knife to check if it's baked and it comes out clean, THAT moment! My cake looked great! Natural cracks formed on the surface of the cake giving it a rustic look. Plus, the cake had risen. Seemed perfectly fine to me going by physical appearance. Now for the taste test!


My sisters and me seated on the dining table, silently watched the cake with much curiosity as we allowed it to cool under the fan. Hurry up and cool we thought. I had the privilege of cutting the cake and the sound of the knife halving the cake was music to my ears. We took a bite and the texture of the cake seemed just about right and the taste, chocolate-y.

A mental pat on my back, I breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving approving looks from the sisters while they munched on cake. Only, it amazes me that two days hence and I have only eaten one small piece. Dang! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

INSIDE THE GO CHEESE FACTORY

Last weekend, I got a unique opportunity to visit Gowardhan Cheese Factory in Manchar district, a good two hour drive from Pune city. The owning home-grown company Parag Milk Foods brand portfolio includes Gowardhan and GO boasting of a range of dairy products that have been retailed across Mumbai and Pune over the last decade. I first started using their yoghurt when the local kirana store ran out of my usual preference of Amul , Danone and Britannia . One spoon of it and I instantly found it so fresh, light and 'unprocessed'. I have always loved cheese but now I even prefer it over chocolate. So when I was scheduled to visit the GO factory, it bore semblance to winning the golden ticket and entering glistening gates to its factory much like the popular Roald Dahl 's  Charlie . Except that it was not all that dramatic! 

An Immersive Stay at Andaz Amsterdam

I have stayed at some great hotels, but none were like the Andaz Amsterdam . None of them. No hotel has impressed me as much as this Hyatt brand of hotel has. It's so good, it warrants an entire blog post. And here is why - right from the word check-in, you're really made to feel like you've stepped into a little slice of Amsterdam .  The hotel is located on one of the hottest streets in Amsterdam called Prinsengracht, a street along the city's most prestigious canal. A lot of the city's attractions are a short walk away. The hotel is designed by the famous Dutch designer Marcel Wanders . So no wonder hints of this vibrant old city of Amsterdam peek out from the interiors to induct you into Dutch culture. The lobby was stunning - with its prominently blue interiors, there was a touch of quirk everywhere. From the very high ceiling is suspended an enormous artsy lighting-cum-chandelier installation.  Above each reception desk there are huge white bell-shap...

Restaurant Review | Where Else Cafe & Bar

Where Else promises to be unique in Viman Nagar, a neighbourhood already brimming with so many eateries.   Four young friends came together to put their love for food and travel experiences in a melting pot called ‘Where Else’. This new café and bar is the brainchild of sibling duo Ardesh and Daisy Rustomjee and best friend duo Amritha Shrikumar and Sweta Jobanputra. These Viman Nagar residents have been firsthand witnesses to the rise of new eateries in their locality. With ‘Where Else’ they aim to fill in the void of a place that offers all-day breakfast and good quality indulgent food. We drove to the outlet in its first week of opening to find out if ‘Where Else’ is the place to be.