Black Forest Gateau

I have made Black Forest Gateau a number of times before, but never got a chance to take pictures of it....Every one in my house loves this light as feather gateau and  nobody had patient to wait for me to take the pictures....I am not a big fan of chocolate, but this is one chocolate cake I can't resist to eat....So this time, I made sure I finish the cake when Mohit has gone to his office and Bhavye busy with his playing...

Do try this recipe...You are surely gonna love this.....

All you need is

For the chocolate sponge

All purpose flour-2\3 cup
Cornflour-2 tbsp
Cocoa powder-4 tbsp
Granulated sugar-1 cup
Eggs-6

For soaking syrup

Water-1and 1\2 cup
Sugar-1\2 cup
Rum-4 tsp

For cherry filling

Cherries-10-15 ( chopped )
Sugar-1\4 cup
Cornflour-1 tbsp
Water-1\2 cup

For the frosting

Heavy whipping cream-750 ml
Confectioner's sugar-4 cups
Vanilla extract-2 tsp
Fresh cherries-25-30 plus more for decoration ( chopped )
Unsalted butter-1\2 cup ( melted and cooled to room temperature )

Method of preparation

For the chocolate sponge

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees
Grease and line two 9" cake pan
Sift together all purpose flour, corn flour and cocoa powder
Beat eggs and sugar till light and fluffy
Fold in the flour
Pour the batter in the prepared pans equally and bake for 30-35 minutes
Take out from the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes
Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack
Cut each cake into 2 layers

For soaking syrup

Mix water, cherries and sugar in a pan and boil till the mixture is reduced to half
Add rum when the mixture is cooled
Refrigerate till use

For the frosting

Add whipping cream, vanilla extract and sugar and whip till stiff soft peaks are formed
Add melted butter and beat again till stiff peaks are formed

For cherry filling

In a pan, add chopped cherries and sugar
Dissolve cornflour in water and add to the pan
Cook for 2-3 minutes
Remove from the heat and cool


Assembling the cake

Put one layer of the cake on the cake board
Brush with soaking syrup
Put 1 cup of whipped cream and spread on top
Sprinkle 1\3 rd of the cherry filling on top of the cream
Keep another layer of cake and brush with soaking syrup
Spread the cream and sprinkle the cherry filling
Repeat with all the layers
Give a crumb coat to the cake
Cover the cake with the remaining cream and decorate with chocolate shavings and cherries

Homemade Fettuccine with Crème Fraîche sauce

My hubby dear  gifted me a pasta machine yesterday....I have been wanting to have one in my kitchen for a long time and I was pleasantly surprised to get one.... Making pasta from scratch was a wonderful experience for me....It turned out great and even my fussy little eater was happy with his lunch...Best thing is that you can modify the dough, the way you like...Next time , I am going to make some flavored pastas....


The sauce I made for my fettuccine was a lemon flavored Crème fraîche..

Crème fraîche is a soured cream containing about 28% butterfat and with a pH of around 4.5. It is soured with bacterial culture, but is less sour than sour cream.

The pasta turned out wonderful....It was very rich and creamy with a slight tang from the lemon....Do give this recipe a try...You can also use store bought pasta if you don't have a pasta machine or you don't want to make it by yourself....But trust me, nothing can compare a fresh homemade pasta.....So here is the recipe....

All you need is ( serves-2-3 )

For the fettuccine ( adopted from http://www.davidlebovitz.com )

All purpose flour- 3\4 cup

Coarse semolina-1\2 cup

Eggs-2

For lemon Crème fraîche

Sour cream\ buttermilk\hung yogurt-1\2 cup

Heavy cream-1 cup

Lemon juice-2 tsp

Zest of one lemon

For the pasta

Mushroom-250 gms

Green peas-1\2 cup

Parmesan cheese-1\2 cup

Mozzarella cheese-1\2 cup

Olive oil-2 tsp

Salt to taste

Black pepper powder-1\2 tsp

Method of preparation

For the Fettuccine

Mix together flour and semolina in a deep bowl
Make a well in the center of the flour and crack the eggs in the well
With your fingers, mix the eggs with flour
Mix till the flour comes together
Take the dough onto a floured counter and knead it with the heels of your hands for 3-5 minutes
Add little more flour if the dough is too sticky
Do not add excess flour
Cover the dough in a cling film and let it rest for at least an hour
This dough can be kept for several hours at room temperature
Try to make the dough on the same day , you want to make the pasta
To roll the pasta, divide the dough into2 parts
Fashion each  part into a rough rectangle
Pass it through the pasta machine on the widest setting
Fold it again in half and pass again
Now reduce the setting and pass the dough again
Keep passing the rolled dough to a lower setting, until you get the desired thickness
The pasta, plumps a little bit after boiling, so keep that in mind, while deciding the thickness
If you don't have a pasta machine, dust and roll the dough on a counter top to a very thin sheet
Cut the shape with a sharp knife
Once rolled, sprinkle some semolina on the pasta and mix
It will keep pasta from sticking to each other if you are not using it immediately
When you are ready to use the pasta, just boil a pot full of water and add salt ( generously ) to it
Add pasta to the water ,only when water starts boiling
Cook for 2-3 minutes
Drain the pasta in a strainer
The pasta is ready to be mixed in a sauce

For lemon Crème fraîche


Mix sour cream and heavy cream in a bowl and keep it undisturbed on your kitchen counter overnight
It should have thicken a little bit
Add lemon juice and lemon zest


For the pasta


Add olive oil a pan
Add mushrooms and peas in the pan and cook till all the water is evaporated
Add salt and black pepper and cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes
Take out cooked mushroom and peas in a large bowl
Add Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese to the bowl
Add the cooked pasta and lemon Crème fraîche
Mix all the things together
The heat from the pasta will help the cheeses melt a little bit
Serve hot

Chicken Malai Tikka

One of my friends made this tikka for a get together and it was delicious....I asked her for the recipe and she generously shared it with me....I made a few changes in the recipe she gave and the result was a very flavorful and juicy chicken tikkas....We barbequed the chicken as it's a US tradition to grill on the 4th and we thought to enjoy the day, the American way.....But you can cook it in a oven too.....Do give this recipe a try...Thanx Puja for sharing this wonderful recipe....So here is the recipe....

All you need is

• Chicken breasts-4 ( cut into small cubes )
• Cheddar cheese-1\2 cup
• Fresh cream-1\4 cup
• Egg-1
• Ginger garlic paste-4 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper powder-1\2 tsp
• Lemon juice-4 tsp
• Sour cream or hung yogurt-2 tbsp
• Olive oil- 3 tsp
• Cardamom powder-1\2 tsp
• Cumin powder-1\2 tsp
• Saffron- a pinch
• Oil for basting
• Skewers soaked in water overnight

Method of preparation

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 6 hours
Put the pieces in the skewers
Barbeque the chicken or bake in a pre heated oven at 350 degrees till the chicken is browned from both the sides
Keep rotating the skewers while cooking
Bast with oil in between grilling
Serve hot with coriander chutney and onions