Birthday 2011

Pound cake

Summer is getting better, bright and sunny. We are in love with this amazing weather and want to spend all the time outdoor. Weekends are fun days for us, either we are out for a hike or will be cooling off our souls in the beach or grilling outside our small patio with friends. Last Saturday was no different, we ventured out to Miramar beach in Half Moon bay with S's colleagues and their families. I pulled out my capris, flip flops, sunscreen, summer hat, sun glasses, beach towels, tent for the little prince, umbrella - All set! We headed screaming "Hola, beachy-breezy California, here we come". And yes, I forgot we packed a cute bamboo picnic basket with  water, mango lassi, sandwiches, strawberries and oven fresh pound cakes for dessert. 

One fine morning of June, I received an email from Sweet punch and the post for the month was Pound cake.I was really excited as this is my first time in Sweet punch. I love simple cakes and I ended baking this couple of more times.  Who doesn't love to bake and who doesn't love to enjoy those sinfully delicious goodies? I am no exception to it. I am sure no one is.Since I was baking back to back for the last few months. I went on a baking hiatus and started with weight loss regimes and healthy eating for the last 8 weeks. Details here. Sweet punch made me bounce back into the baking world and I am committed to bake just the ones announced here and also share it right away with my friends and neighbours and not indulge myself to these harsh on waist lines treats. 

My kitchen air smelt of vanilla and butter. Straight out of the oven, once cooled and sliced. I offered it first to S. He called it smooth, moist and simple. I added few farm fresh, ripen strawberries and slathered it with fat-free whipped cream, mildly sweet and wonderfully infused with vanilla. Yes, the proof is in the pudding. He cleaned the plate with this forks and offered the empty one for another slice.I would also toast the pound cake in butter and serve the hot toasted slice with vanilla ice cream. Sometimes, I add fudge sauce or sweetened berries. Yum! Delicious! Irresistible! I have no words to express how simple was its preparation.

Measure, whisk, mix and  Voila, you end up with a master piece. Even a first time baker can make it taste the way a pastry chef would do it.

How do you like to enjoy your pound cake?

Ingredients
3 tablespoon milk
3 large eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups cake flour (150gm)
3/4cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (184 gms)

Method

1.Preheat your oven to 350 F/175C.

2.Butter an 8 inch by 4 by 2.5 inch loaf pan, or any six cup loaf or fluted tube pan.Lightly whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. 

3.Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until blended.     

4.Add the butter , lemon zest and half the egg mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. On medium speed, beat for one minute. This will aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down sides.  Add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape down sides.

5.Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula.

6. Bake for 55-65 minutes (35-45 minutes if baking in a fluted tube pan), until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minuets before inverting onto a greased wire rack. If using a loaf pan, flip the cake over so the top is up.

For making cake flour at home - Take one cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it.Replace the 2 tbsp flour with cornflour and sift together 2-3 times. Cake flour is ready to use.

 Note: This recipe is no way related to South Beach Diet. Don't try this if you are on a diet.

Chocolate banana bread for Valentine's day

Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! I love love love them.
I wouldn't even mind to have 'Chocolate' as my middle name. Chocolate and romance go hand in hand. Also the color red. Nod your head, if you agree?

It's Valentine's Day today, so HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY people!!! I see cupid dancing and his arrows flying from one heart to another.There is love in the air and I could visualize tons of red heart balloons raising against the fluffy blue February sky.

The tempting advertisements convince me that this day is so very special and makes me yearn for a romantic get away with S. A silent candle-light dinner, recognize his love with a diamond earring placed in a small blue velvet box, handing it like a chivalrous man proposing his love to his college sweetheart and end the day with an armload of passionate red roses.
To celebrate and toast our love, I baked a rich chocolate banana nut bread, very dense, moist, nutty, with speckles of hazel nuts in it. This is a perfect dessert to pamper your lover and as he finishes his plate of this decadent delight, wish him "Happy Chocolatey Valentine's day, honey" through your eyes. No words needed!!!

These slices were delicate, the banana keeps them lusciously moist with a lovely crunch from the hazel nuts with a comforting hug from the vanilla. Chocolate banana nut bread is a pure bliss. Ahem, May lord have mercy, I want to die in a pool of chocolate.

Ingredients
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1/4C cocoa powder
1C sugar
1tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/4tsp salt
1/2C chocolate chips ( I used Hershey Kisses chocolate instead)
2 large eggs - room temperature
1/2 C butter - room temperature
3 ripe banana (about 1 - 1 1/2 cup)
1/2 C roasted hazel nuts
1tsp vanilla extract

Method
Before you start, make sure that all the ingredients at room temperature.

Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt,cocoa powder) and set aside.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. I used KISSES's chocolate. After melting it, it turned to be real thick, so I mixed in 2 tbs of 2% milk and created a thick syrup.

Cream the butter and eggs (add one egg at a time) together for 10-15 minutes until they look smooth and well incorporated with each other. Throw in the sugar and whisk until they dissolve and turn smooth and fluffy, approximately 20 minutes. Add the sifted flour mixture and mix them with a spatula. Fold in the mashed banana, melted chocolate and hazel nuts, one after the other.

Grease a loaf pan (8 x 4 x 2 inch) with butter and cover with parchment paper, Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour for the large loaf or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Keep checking the bread after 45 minutes, if you find the top layer browning fast, cover them with aluminum foil to prevent charring.

Turn off the oven and let it rest inside the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the pan; cool thoroughly on a wire rack. For easier slicing, wrap loaves in foil and store overnight.

You could serve them with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry on top or just toast them in a griddle and serve warm.