The Best Vanilla Cake

I do want to have "The Best" in my repertoire - the best chocolate cake, the best chocolate chip cookie, the best vanilla cake... you know, get the basics right with some foolproof recipes (and 2 kinds at that - With and without egg, because quite some of my immediate family do not eat egg). And with cakes, I am looking for cakes that use oil versus those that have butter. While there is no match for the flavor and texture butter brings in, it means that that you can't put it together just whenever you would like to what with the time required to soften it etc.

So coming to the cake, this is the best vanilla cake with eggs and with oil that I have baked/ had yet. I have been on the search for one for a while now. Among homemade cakes, I have a very special corner for Vanilla cakes a favor them even more than the chocolate ones. Some years back when Nestle was running small cafes in Delhi, there was a chocolate chip muffin they used to retail which I absolutely loved, so much so I even traced its origin to the Standard Coffee shop in Connaught Place. This cake, was very close to that, here it is.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. In a bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, corn flour, salt, baking powder till evenly mixed.
3. WIn another bowl, whisk the eggs for 15 seconds with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and whisk for 30 seconds more. Add the vanilla and oil, whisk a little more.
4. Add half the flour mix to the wet mix and blend it slowly, add half the buttermilk followed by rest of the flour and rest of the buttermilk. Scrape down the sides and blend it in.
5. Bake for 35 minutes, browning the crust a little.

Ingredients
1 cup All purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup Cornflour
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking powder
3/4 cup powdered Sugar
1/2 cup vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
1.5 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (If you dont have this on hand - Just add 1 tsp vinegar to 1/2 cup milk and allow to stand it for 5 minutes. Shake and use it.)

Cinnamon Roll Cake

Husband's cousin's birthday last Saturday and he requested the Apple Pie.. Yes, a pie for his birthday. I had been eyeing a Chocolate fudge cake for the day but he requested something cinnamon-y. Pulled out this recipe which I had bookmarked long back. Turned out great, very flavorful.

It is actually a giant Cinnamon roll, with its texture, flavor and the glaze. Easy to make and just right for a cinnamon fix.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C. Whip the egg and mix everything except the butter. Stir in the butter slowly. Pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pan. For the topping, mix all the ingredients until well combined. Drop on the cake batter slowly and swirl it in with a knife. Bake at 180 degrees until the center when tested comes out baked, my oven took 35 minutes.

For the glaze, mix everything together and pour over the cake when it is still warm, you may want to wait for 10-15 minutes after the cake is out of the oven.

Ingredients

Cake:
1 1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp.salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted

Topping:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze

Nothing spells summers like lemons (and of course mangoes!). I remember when my Mom would bottle sugar-lemon syrup and store it for quick shikanjis during summers. This has been on my "to-bake" list for a very long time. A simple easy recipe which promised a flavorful cake and did it live up! It had the tang and the crunch - from the glaze and had a very light texture. I made a small batch in a 6 inch bundt pan, cutting the original recipe into 1/3rd.

Pre-bake the oven to 180 degrees C and grease a 6 inch bundt pan. Beat the butter, sugar and salt till light and fluffy, do this well - I think it added a lot to the lightness of the cake. Add the egg and beat well. Add the baking powder. Add milk and flour, a small portion at a time and mix till you get a smooth mixture. Stir in the lemon extract. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-45 minutes till a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. The baking time would have to increase as you bake a bigger batch.

Stir together the sugar and lemon juice for the glaze as the cake is baking. Remove the cake from the oven when done and let it cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and have the right side up. Pierce the top with a fork and give the glaze a stir. Start brushing the glaze onto the still warm cake. Brush on more till all of it is used up.

Let the cake cool completely before slicing. The cake turned out lovely! I did up the quantity of the lemon extract. The only change I would make for the next time would be to use the lemon rind for a more natural flavor.

Ingredients:
Cake

1/3 cup unsalted butter

2/3 cups sugar

1/3 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

2/3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup maida/ all purpose flour

1/3 cup milk

finely grated rind of 1 lemon OR 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Glaze

1/6 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup sugar

Chocolate Banana Cake

Came home one day, last week from work to a very generous slice of a decadent looking cake slice sitting on my table. On inquiring about its whereabouts, got to know it had been sent over by my neighbor who when saw her own daughter enjoying the cake so much, sent some for my baby girl and her Mommy. It was heavenly, one of the best chocolate cakes I have had... quite flavorful and moist without being overly rich or soggy - a fine line to tread that. I had to have the recipe. The next morning saw me at her doorstep.

I would call this the secretly healthy cake because the healthy stuff remains a secret behind all the good tasting stuff. I cheated a bit too on the recipe to up its health quotient a notch. I switched half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour. It did not alter the taste much but did make it a little more fudgier but the cake still retained its spring. It gets its moisture from the bananas, the milk and water, uses vegetable oil instead of butter so stays much longer.

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees C. In a big bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and sugar till well combined.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the egg. Add the mashed bananas (I gave them a whirl in the blender), milk, warm water and oil. Next, add the vanilla extract. Pour the wet mixture into the dry one and fold till well combined. Here is my little one lending Mommy a hand.

Pour it into a greased 8 inch round cake tin and bake for 40 mins till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 15 mins and then take it out. Enjoy!

Psst... By the next couple of days, the bananas work their magic and it appears the cake has rum added to it ;)

Ingredients (for an 8 inch round cake tin)

200 grams Sugar

65 grams All purpose flour

60 grams Whole wheat flour

40 grams Cocoa powder

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 Egg

2 mashed Bananas

120 ml warm Water

60 ml Milk

60 ml Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

My little one loves cakes, guess the apple does not really fall from the tree! I have been looking for healthier options for her, seeing her down slices of refined flour cakes being not up my alley. Stumbled upon this, it had all things good - Oats, raisin, a proportionally lower level of butter and sugar. So, i got down to making these muffins.

These are adapted from the recipe here. While one adds raisins, the other chocolate chips. I chose raisins mainly because my daughter can't have enough of them! The flavors are quite delicate and the sweetness can definitely be increased. I did sprinkle sugar on top and that helped to add to the sweetness and gave an unusual crunch in the bite.

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C and prepare your muffin moulds. I own pretty pink silicone ones (that I had been dying to use again) which require little prepping and can go in almost ungreased.

In a medium bowl add oats and 1/2 cup of milk and let stand for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, add boiling water to raisins, to plump them up. Let them sit for 10 minutes and then drain.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

In a large bowl whisk together egg and sugar till well combined and takes a caramel color. Add butter and vanilla to it, whisking well till you get a smooth batter. Add flour mix, oat mixture and remaining milk and stir until completely combined. These two mixes have different consistencies and take a good mixing to be evenly combined. Fold in the raisins gently to this batter.

Pour in (rather plop) the batter into the muffin moulds, sprinkle some brown sugar on top. Here are mine ready to go in, don't they look pretty?

Bake for 15-18 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean. My oven took 15 mins.

Allow to cool in the moulds for 15 mins (not any longer!) and Enjoy!

And here is the best part - With trepidation, I put it in my brightest cupcake liner and offered it to my little one - she literally gobbled it down. After downing one, she held my hand and walked me to kitchen and said "Aur!" (More!). It was all just so worth it!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour (130g)
1 cup oats, large flake or quick cooking. I used quick cooking.
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg. I had run out of it. The muffins tasted great nevertheless.
1 cup milk
1/3 cup packed brown sugar. I added a little more (about a tbsp.), could do with some more.
1/4 cup butter, melted (57g)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup raisins or any dried fruit or chocolate chips
Brown sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Coffee Cake

This is my first coffee cake. I had been looking for an alternate to a chocolate cake, equally rich in flavor and on the dark side (if you know I mean). This one promised an over the top experience, no subtleties, delivering just what it says - Coffee and Cake! And did it live up to it! This one packed a punch - flavorful, moist and absolutely delish!
Also, had been dying to try my hand at icing these roses. So a friend's wedding anniversary gave me the perfect chance to do it and the perfect cake.
The recipe for the cake is from Pioneer Woman (btw, love the way she writes!), I halved the ingredients and used a 7" round baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and flour the pan. I would strongly suggest lining the bottom with parchment paper to avoid any stick-ins, this cake turns out quite moist.
In a bowl, mix sugar, flour and 1/8 tsp. salt.

Melt butter over medium-low heat (the recipe asks for 1 stick, which I found to be 113 grams). While that's melting, add 1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee to 1/2 cup boiling water. Set aside.

To the melted butter, add the coffee mixture and boil it for another 10 seconds, turn off the heat. Set aside for just a minute.

In another bowl, add buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix until well combined.

Pour the butter/coffee mixture into the flour mixture. Stir the mixture together gently till it is cooled down and ready to receive the egg mixture.

Add in the egg mixture and stir gently until well combined. Pour into an 8 inch pan and bake for 20-25 mins till set. Let it cool completely.

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/8 tsp Salt
• 110 grams Butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp Instant Coffee
• 1/4 cup Buttermilk
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence

And now for some pretty flowers! I had on me some powdered whipped cream. I took half a cup of it and added equal part cold milk to it with a few drops of pink food color (since it already had sugar and vanilla added to it). Whip it till it quadruples in volume and keep refrigerated. Crumb coat the cake to seal them in.

Fill the cream in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe flowers moving in a clockwise direction to form a flower. Cover the sides first and the then the top of the cake, beginning by frosting a flower in the center. And, you should have a pretty little cake!