Old Fashioned Banana Cake

This is one cake I have been saving to do for some time now...and ya, at last I tried it out and regretted waiting for so long. It is so soft and yummy, practically melts in the mouth. You just got to try this out to see. It is so easy to put together and the recipe's a keeper.

You need :

3 large ripe bananas, mashed
170 gm butter
160 gm castor sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp yogurt
227 gm cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method :

Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 8x8 inch square pan.

Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat well between additions. Add in vanilla and yougurt. Beat.
In a bowl, combine flour, soda and baking powder.
Add in mashed bananas and flour mixture into the mixer and beat in slow speed.
Once combined, pour into prepare pan and bake for about 40-50 mins (depending on your oven). Check occasionally after 35 minutes to avoid over baking.

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake

It has been some time since I baked something special for dessert. So when I was out grocery shopping yesterday I bought a pack of fresh blueberries, a couple of lemons and a pack of edible flowers (I've been hunting for this for some time now and was too happy that I couldn't resist not buying them).

I started prepping the dessert the minute I came home after work and in 30 mins, it was in the oven, filling the house with that lovely smell...then I started on dinner which was Tofu and Vege Jalfrezi (I'll update that recipe later). The cake was cool by the time we finished dinner and I whipped up a simple lemon glaze and decorated it with the edible flowers...and it looked so LOVELY ;)

Do give this yummy, moist and easily impressive dessert a try. Feedbacks are welcome.

Ingredients :

1/3 cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 1/2 cup Cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
lemon zest from 2 lemons
1 cup fresh blueberries, coated with some cake flour

Method :

Preheat oven to 170C.
Prepare a loaf pan by greasing and lining the bottom and sides with baking paper.

Beat butter and sugar using electric mixer and then add in the eggs one by one.Add in vanilla. Beat well.
In a bowl, mix together flour and baking powder. Add this to the egg mixture alternately with milk.
Now using a spatula, fold in the blueberries and lemon zest.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40-45 mins or till skewer comes out clean.

Lemon glaze :

1/2 cup icing sugar
Juice of half a lemon

Whisk both ingredients using a hand whisk till sugar dissolved.

Pour or drizzle glaze on cool cake.
Top with edible flowers.

Ready to serve.

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Happy Mother's Day to all readers/bloggers. Here's a special cake I baked for the occasion, a new favourite of mine, baked in a bundt pan. The whole house smelled wonderful while it was baking and one good thing about using a bundt pan is that I don't have to bake it in 2 layers like I usually do and lesser frosting needed.

This is a flavourful, moist and delicious cake, prefectly paired with cream cheese frosting. The humid weather didn't help at all while I was frosting it thus the not so perfect piping. Nevertheless, we enjoyed it for dessert and loved by all. That's the important thing, right. ;)

Hummingbird Cake

Here's what you need :

3 cups cake flour

1 cup castor sugar

4 medium bananas, mashed

8oz can of crushed pinapple, not drained

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup conola / corn oil

1 cup pecans, baked for 5 mins at 170C and chopped

3 eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method : 

Prepare and grease a bundt pan.

Sift flour with baking soda and salt. Keep aside.

In an electric mixer beat eggs and add in oil, mashed bananas, crushed pineapple, mix and add in sugar and vanilla. Mix well to combine.

Slowly add in flour mixture and beat on low till combined. Do not overmix.

Add chopped pecans. Mix.

Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 170C for an hour or till toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting :

4 oz cream cheese

4 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cup icing sugar

Beat all together in a electric mixer and pipe on cake.\

Adding this post to :

Cook for Mother's Day

Bake Along Challenge

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Here's a bundt cake I made this week.

Recipe from by scrapbook cookbook collection.

250 gm butter

8 oz cream cheese

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 cups cake flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp lemon rind

vanilla extract

Preheat oven 160C.

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.

Add eggs one by one to butter mixture and beat between each addition.

Add flour mixture with the mixer running slow.

Add in vanilla, ginger and lemon rind. Mix well but do not overbeat.

Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 60-85 minutes/ till done.

It's a golden moist cake with soft crumbs. Great with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

This joins the May Week 2 Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.




Bake Along Challenge : Bundt Cakes

Eggless Coconut Cake

A yummy, moist cake. Perfect with a cuppa.

Baked this for my on going event : bake-along-challenge-7-coconut
To all fellow bakers/bloggers, do join the challenge.

Ingredients :

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method :

Heat oven 170C.
Beat softened butter with sugar in an electric mixer.
In another bowl, mix flour with baking powder and soda.
Add flour mixture to the butter, alternating it with yogurt and milk till all incorporated. Add vanilla. Do not overmix.
Fold in the desiccated coconut
Pour in a prepared and greased 8' pan.
Bake at 170C for 40 minutes or till toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Adding it to my event :

Moist Banana Bread

The texture of this loaf is between a bread and a cake....moist, crumbly, prefect for breakfast or tea...

 

 

You need :

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup fine sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 medium bananas (ripe), mashed

Preheat oven 180C and prepare a loaf pan (grease and dust with some flour).
In a mixing bowl, stir together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, vanilla and mix well. In another bowl combine flour, soda and salt.
Add flour mixture to butter and mix till smooth. Fold in sour cream, mashed bananas and walnuts. Mix well.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for about 50 min - an hour. Toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool in pan for about 15 mins. Then remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Best served warm.

Blueberry Cheese Butter Cake

I made this when my aunt invited us for her Diwali open house....It makes a 9 inch round / square cake..buttery with a lovely combination of juicy blueberries and cheese..makes the ordinary butter cake extra special...worth the try..

You need :

250 gms butter
3/4 cup fine sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 medium sized eggs
250 gms cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 rd cup milk
2 1/4 cup self raising flour
150 gm fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 160C.  Beat butter and sugar till fluffy using paddle attachment. Add in vanilla. Add in the eggs, one at a time..beating well between each addition.
Change to whisk attachment and add in cream cheese and milk. Whisk till batter is smooth. Add the flour and whisk till combined. Using a spatula, fold in the blueberries.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes or till skewer inserted comes out clean.
Place on wire rack to cool before removing from pan.

Steamed Sweet Corn Cake

My friend gave me a can of cream style sweet corn which her mom has accidently bought and told me to bake something using it...hmmm...I'm used to making custard with cream style corn but this time I wanted to try out something new...the end result : a steamed corn cake. I gave her some to take home to her parents and they all loved it ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

4 eggs

150 gm sugar

300gm cream style corn

250g plain flour

1 tbsp double action baking powder

 

80g melted butter ( I melted in the microwave)

Method:

1. Whip eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the sweet corn, mix well.

2. Add in the flour and baking powder, mix until well blended. Lastly add in the butter and mix.

3. Pour the mixture into a greased cake pan. Cover the cake pan with aluminium foil to avoid water droplets to drop onto the cake. Place in a steamer.

4. Steam for 30 minutes or till cake is cooked through.

Margarita Cupcakes with Tequila Lime Buttercream Frosting

Made these yummy cuppies for my fren's hens night...and it was loved my all ;)

 

Original recipe is from BrownEyedBaker

I doubled the amount of tequila and.reduce the lime juice a little for the cupcakes. Once cuppies are cool, I poked holes in the cupcakes and added tequila direct into the cupcakes using a small spoon and immediately covered it with the frosting. Best consumed immediately once frosted or placed in the refrigerator till consumed...preferably on the same day as tequila evaporates.
A great idea if you're planning to bake something for a party like this ;)

Wholemeal Banana Cake

Looking for THE banana cake?
Look no further...this cake ticks off all the points : Moist, healthy, eggless, nutty even without any nuts, easy - without a need for the mixer, fast yet delicious....
Now, here goes...my version of Wholemeal Banana Cake ;)

Ingredients :

1 cup low protein flour
3/4 cup wholemeal (you can get it from baking supply store)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup low fat milk
2 ripe bananas (well mashed)
1/2 cup canola / sunflower oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method :
Heat oven to 180C. Prepare a loaf pan.
In a mixing bowl, sift in the flour, add the wholemeal, salt, baking powder and sugar. Mix well.
Add in the milk, oil, vanilla and bananas. Gently mix till combined. Do not overmix and it will make the cake dense and not moist.
Pour in the loaf pan and bake for about 35 - 40 min or till ur cake tester comes out clean.
Goes well with a cuppa.

Link sent to : whats-with-my-cuppa-2 and http://uk-rasoi.blogspot.com/

 inking this recipe to Shruti’s ‘Sweet Celebration’ Event
 

Hokkaido Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream

My dearest dearest friend Davina was quitting her current job and moving back to her hometown so we gals planned a small farewell for her...sort of a dinner gathering here in Seremban..So, me and my fren Joann planned to make a surprise cake for the occasion. First we wanted to make a chocolate caramel ombre cake but I couldnt get the muscavado sugar that was needed so we changed the plan and decided on a White Chocolate Tiramisu cake. Unfortunately, we couldn't find white chocolate, sponge fingers and even mascarpone on that particular week...Well, it was truly dissapointing. So I went to the hypermarket, grabbed whatever I could find, bearing in mind that I will somehow come up with plan the next day. When I reached home and started pondering on what I could make with whatever that I have in hand, I realized I had long bought the hokkaido cupcake liners and I've always wanted to give it a try...so, here goes...our first attempt (me and Joann's) at Hokkaido cake.....

The cake turned out nice and we got lots of praises but to me it needed to lighter and lacked the melt in the mouth texture that I was hoping for. Nevertheless, it was a lovely light cake which we had for dessert and the strawberry cream was awesome.

The original recipe is from Nasi Lemak Lover,,I followed the recipe given...changes I made:
- I used canola oil as I didnt have corn oil
- I doubled the recipe for the strawberry cream
- I could make 8 cupcakes with this recipe

Ingredients :

3 egg yolks
20 gm sugar
35 gm canola oil
60 gm milk
70 gm cake flour

3 egg whites
25 gm sugar

Strawberry Cream :

120 gm whipping cream
30 gm icing sugar
about 4-5 fresh strawberries (pureed)

Ice cubes and ice water

Method :
Preheat oven 170C.
Arrange paper liners on baking tray,
Hand whisk egg yolks and sugar till pale in colour. Add in oil and milk. Mix. Sift in cake flour, stir till combined, keep aside.
Beat egg whites till foamy, gradually add sugar and beat till soft peaks form. I used a hand held electric beater.
Take 1/3 of egg white mixture and add to yolk mixture. Mix with hand whisk. Fold in balance egg white into yolk mixture and mix with spatula till combined.
Scoop batter into liners (3/4 full) and bake for about 20-25 mins on middle rack. Mine took 20 mins.
Once done, leave on wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, beat whipping cream and sugar till firm and stiff (over a bowl of icy cold water).
Add in strawberry puree, mix well.

Pipe cream into cupcakes. Refrigerate before consume.

This is a pic of all of us last week during the meet :)


 Linking this recipe to Shruti’s ‘Sweet Celebration’ Event

Rustic Carrot Cake

This is my first attempt at carrot cake and I wanted to make a good one rather than going on a trial with many recipes. I was looking for one that must definitely be moist, without pineapples or raisins (my husband's not into raisins), does not require a weighing scale (as I was making it after work on a Monday and I like cakes which doesn't require long prep time), not layered (as it requires more baking time and lots of frosting) yet tastes awesome....well, there's a lot of criteria to meet, isn't it...
After going through endless carrot cake recipes online, I saved a few and decided to modify and make my own version using these as the basics....and the end result : moist, flavourful, totally yummilicious carrot cake...just like I wanted it to be and I know this recipe will be a keeper ;)
So, here goes....my Rustic Carrot Cake.

The frosting wasn't setting..maybe due to less amount of icing sugar or a softer cream cheese that I used. So, I'll give you the carrot cake recipe...feel free to make ur own frosting as I'm yet to find a perfect frosting recipe.

Ingredients :

3 carrots (grated finely)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar (brown castor sugar mixed with dark brown sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4  cup canola oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain fat free yogurt
3 eggs
chopped walnuts / raisins (optional)

Method :

Preheat oven 180 degrees celcius. Prepare an 8 or 9 inch round pan. Grease the sides and place baking paper at the bottom of pan. (I used a 9 inch non-stick springform pan)
Beat eggs and sugar using a hand held mixer. Meanwhile, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt and keep aside.
Add in the oil and yogurt slowly to the egg mixture. Once well mixed, fold in the flour mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches (u do not need the hand mixer for this).
Then add in the grated carrot and vanilla extract. Mix only till well combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-32 minutes or till skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Remove cake, frost with cream cheese frosting, sprinkle toasted pecans or walnuts and serve.
(I baked the cake a day earlier and once it was cool, refrigerated it. I frosted the cake the next day before serving).

And the expression on my friends' faces...priceless ;)

Linked this to : http://uk-rasoi.blogspot.co.uk/ and Whats With My Cuppa

Chocolate Loaf Cake

If u have noticed, I've been baking loaf cakes lately compared to one whole cake. I find it's less time consuming, lesser ingredients and the end result is a smaller cake so I don't have to figure out who I can give the rest of the cake to as there's only 2 of us at home.
So here goes, my husband's favorite...Chocolate Loaf Cake

Ingredients :

1/2 cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup fine flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup milk / buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp salt

Method :

Beat butter and sugar till fluffy using an electric mixer. Add in the egg and beat till mixed well. Add in milk and vanilla, beat till just mixed. Remove bowl. Add in sifted flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Mix together till ingredients are well mixed.
Preheat your oven to 170C. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or till skewer inserted comes out clean.

Linked this to Whats With My Cuppa 2

Eggless Banana Choco Chips Loaf

I love baking banana cakes...but of coz without using banana essence as I feel it gives the cake a fake banana smell which is indeed quite strong..I decided to make this eggless banana cake to give my vegetarian neighbour who has come about to help me with my baby during confinement...it was truly thoughful of her.
This cake turned out exactly how I hoped it will be : easy to make, moist, delicious and irressitable ;)

You need :

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ripe bananas (mashed)
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven 180 degrees.
In a big bowl, sift together flour, b.powder and b.soda. Add sugar and mix well. Then add in the oil and mashed bananas. Mix and add in vanilla. Lastly add choco chips.Mix well to combine. Pour into a prepared loaf pan and bake for 35-40 mins or till done...

Eggless Moist Orange Cake

 

Hi everyone...Happy Tamil New Year...this is my first bake after a long absence. My Princess Shweta is a month old now and things are slowly getting into a routine. I managed to slot in a bake when she was taking a nap ;)....guess this is how things are gonna be for some time till she grows up...

Now, this cake is an easy bake, moist, fragrant with the right amount of sweetness. Do give it a try when u have only an hour to bake a cake as the preparation time I took was only 30 mins and 30 mins to bake. Most of the ingredients are things we usually have in the pantry.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup
Sweetened creamer - 1/2 cup
Brown castor sugar - 2 tbsp
Juice from 2 large oranges - freshly squeezed (1/2 cup)
Grated orange rind from 2 oranges
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Method :

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
In a mixing bowl,  beat together butter, creamer and sugar till well mixed.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and keep aside.
Next, add flour mixture and orange juice alternatively to the butter mixture and mix well with a wooden spatula. Add in vanilla extract.
Pour in a greased baking pan and bake for 30 mins or till skewer inserted comes out clean.

You may want to double the recipe if you want a taller cake which I plan to do the next time ;)

Linking this to : Nivedhanams - Bake Fest, Vardhini's Page

Moist Chocolate Cake

This is a moist chocolate cake with cream cheese filling and choc sour cream frosting ;)

Yesterday being my hubby's bday...I organized a small dinner gathering at our place and made his fav cake..Moist Choc..covered with choc...as requested...
Ive been browsing for a good recipe to try out and upon searching many sites, decided on Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake and topped it with choc sour cream frosting and added my personal touch to it by making a cream cheese filling ;)
I was truly glad the cake turned out well and everyone just loved it as it was moist, not so sweet..yet the perfect balance needed in a choc cake...yummilicious ;)

sorry abt the pics as we were enjoying the cake so much i forgot to snap a great pic of the cake ;)

Now for the recipe...
 
I followed the choc cake recipe by Ina Garten...u can check it out at Beatty's Chocolate Cake and I followed the frosting recipe from Recipe Girl

The best part is that there's no butter in this cake and I used oni 2 bowls for mixing - 1 for the dry ingredients and the other for the wet ingredients without using my Kenwood mixer....there's no sugar added to the topping and oni a little butter to make it glossy....;)

The modifications I did for the cake : I used brown castor sugar and reduced the amount by 1/4 cup and baked the cake for 35 mins each (poured the batter into 2 nonstick 8 inch pans)

And for the cream cheese filling :
I used 200gm cream cheese (room temperature), 4 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla
beat it all together and spread it on one layer of the cake...then add on the other layer.

Spread the topping and add on some fresh strawberries...and refrigerate it....delicious bday cake ready to go ;)

Linked this to Bake Fest #15 - Guest Hosting and Vardhini's Bake Fest

Moist Carrot Cupcakes

This is one really easy carrot cupcake recipe to make....and tastes so moist and yummy too ;)

You need :
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup or lesser granulated brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 carrots, grated
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk

Combine all dry ingredients in a big bowl, and add in the carrots...Next combine all wet ingredients in another bowl...Add in wet ingredients to dry ingredients..mix well to combine...Spoon into cups and bake for 20-30 mins at 180 celcius...according to your oven as the batter is not very thick...

Eggless Choc Walnut Cake

I made this to bring to a friend's house when she invited us over for dinner....we had it for dessert...served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream...it was moist, chocolatey and everyone loved it ;)

U need :

1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp Nescafe powder
1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup brown castor sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 cup sunflower / canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the topping :
chopped walnuts
1 tbsp castor sugar
2 -3 tbsp semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix together flour, cocoa powder, coffee powder and keep aside.
In another bowl, beat together sugar and yogurt till creamy. Add in the baking powder, soda, vanilla and mix together...leave for a few minutes till there are bubbles on the surface...Add in the oil, flour mixture and mix till smooth but do not overmix it..
Pour batter into a greased pan...
Arrange walnuts on top and sprinkle with choc chips and sugar.
Bake at 200C for 10 mins and reduce to 170C for 30 mins or till cake it done.

Cool on a wire rack...Serve warm with vanilla ice cream...

Linked this to :

Let's Party : Go Bake It

Bake Fest