Indulge in a generous slice of cake and pair
it with a hot cuppa for a perfect monsoon evening. Try your hand at baking with
these easy recipes by chef and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia.
Poppy lemon cake
Opposite page Ingredients: 1 cup granulated
sugar; ½ cup butter; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 whole egg; 2 egg whites; ¾ cup
milk; 2 tsp vanilla essence; 3 tbsp poppy seeds; 1 lime (only the zest); 1 tsp
baking powder; a pinch of salt
Method: pre-heat oven to 1800C.
Grease and flour the baking mould, set aside. In a clean bowl, beat granulated
sugar, butter, egg and egg whites and mix until well blended. Add milk and
vanilla; mix well. Add flour, poppy seeds, lemon peel, baking powder and salt;
beat until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with
powdered sugar or lemon sugar icing.
Poppy
lemon cake
Coffee chocolate mousse
Coffee chocolate mousse ingredients: 200 gm
plain chocolate; ½ cup black coffee; 4 eggs; 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Basic sponge cake ingredients: 1 cup flour;
1 cup sugar; 2 eggs; ½ cup butter; ½ cup milk; 2 tsp baking powder; a pinch of
salt
Method: Pre-heat the oven at 2000C.
Put pieces of chocolate in a bowl suspended over a pan of water. Heat the water
till the chocolate melts. Once melted, stir in the coffee and set aside to
cool. Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs in two bowls. Add sugar to the
egg yolks and whisk until bubbly. Fold the beaten egg yolks into the chocolate
mixture. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the chocolate mix.
For the basic sponge, beat the eggs until very light. Mix salt and sugar and
beat the eggs again for 2 min. Heat the milk in a saucepan just short of
boiling point. Add vanilla and butter to the scalded milk. In another bowl, add
baking powder to the flour. Add milk mixture to the eggs and butter mixture.
Gradually stir in the flour. Mix for 30 seconds. Prepare a baking mould, by
greasing it with butter and dusting it with flour. Pour batter into the pan and
bake for 30 min. Allow to cool. Once the sponge is cool, slice it into 3 thin
discs. To prepare the cake, place one disc on a cake stand, pour half of the
chocolate mousse on it and spread it out. Now place the second disc and pour
the balance mousse. Cover it with the third disc of the sponge. Serve chilled.
Coffee
chocolate mousse
White chocolate and mascarpone cake
Ingredients: For the base 175 gm Marie
biscuits, finely crushed; 100 gm butter. For the filling 400 gm white
chocolate; 300 ml double cream; 450 gm mascarpone cheese; 3 tbsp granulated
sugar; 2 eggs
Method: Mix the crushed biscuit with butter
and press firmly into a tin. Cover and keep in the fridge to chill. Break the
chocolate in small pieces into a bowl. Put it over a pan of simmering water.
Let the chocolate melt. Stir to avoid lumps. When the chocolate has melted, let
it cool slightly. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, mascarpone and double
cream with the sugar – don’t overbeat. Stir in the melted chocolate until the
mixture is smooth. Beat the egg whites and the yolks separately. Add the yolk
and mix it well. Now fold in the egg white till it becomes light and airy. Pour
on to the biscuit base and place back in the fridge for a good five hours or
even overnight. Decorate it with rose petals and serve.
White
chocolate and mascarpone cake
