A New Year Greeting

...sent across to my neighbor Vidya n husband Sagar...moist chocolate mini cakes with oodles of strawberries n cream topp'd with a swirl of cream n choc dipped strawberries

Reji's Birthday Cake

OK! so heres a fantastic cake I had made for my bro's birthday.

I cannot understand why many slave for hours and make great looking cakes with fondant, that people aren't really gonna eat!I need my cakes to look fantastic and taste phenomenal...

This is a Rich Super Deluxe Chocolate Cake soaked in syrup and brandy and enrobed in dark chocolate ganache.

Looked prreeeety goooood too!

Swirls of the deepest, darkest, most luscious chocolate with fondant flowers, buds n leaves in white, beige n chocolate....
KNOCKOUT! (-:


Here's how to make the magic!

Ingredients

Cake:

4 oz sweet/semisweet dark chocolate
5 eggs
¾ cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons water

For the Soak :

2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon strawberry syrup
1 tablespoon icing sugar
6 tablespoons water

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C and line a 12 inch cake tin.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt it with the water in a double boiler.
3. Separate the eggs. With an electric mixer whisk the eggs whites until forming stiff peaks, add gradually half of the sugar while mixing.
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar for one minute using the electric mixer. Add gradually the vegetable oil, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each time oil has been added. Add the melted chocolate and mix thoroughly. Transfer to the bowl containing the whisked egg whites.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder, add vanilla extract and fold everything carefully together using a spoon or a rubber spatula.
6. Transfer to the cake tin and bake for about 45 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Remove cake from tin when cool and brush over with a mix of brandy, icing sugar, strawberry syrup and water.
8. Cover with Chocolate Ganache and decorate with fondant or chocolate dipped strawberries.

Frosting - Ganache:

8 oz cream
1 tablespoon butter (optional but makes it stay really shiny even after refrigerating)
1 oz sugar
12 oz chocolate

1. Break chocolate into 1/2 oz pieces and place in stainless steel bowl.
2. Heat cream, butter and sugar to boiling. Pour over chocolate and let stand 5 minutes. Stir from center out until smooth.

After refrigerating 1 hour, use to ice your cake by spreading (allow to cool to room temp first).

This is an amazing cake, not my own recipe, both these I found on the net and tweak them every once in a while. Credits :Chocolate Cake- http://www.cacaoweb.net/ Chocolate Ganache- http://cakecentral.com/

Chocolate Indulgence

Bama had come down with Cheekoo n brood in May for her dad's birthday...made this 3 kg-it was huge- wacky cake with pure dark chocolate frosting n choc-dipped strawberries..everyone was suitaby impressed....pic taken against the bedspread at Tiger's (my dad's) place