Celebration Chocolate Cake

Huge piece of good news: I graduated! Which means, my obstacles-prediction was wrong as I didn’t 1) fail statistics in the first quarter (I got a B, so ok, Im no wizard but still) and 2) Die of the cold (not sure if you guys remember me literally crying on Instagram when I was stuck in a snowstorm in APRIL - wearing heels!) So I would say, I’m pretty satisfied with how 2018 has panned out. 

My parents couldn’t make it for graduation, so I brought a little bit of home to me here in Chicago with this cake.  If I had to make one dessert that says ‘HOME’ to me, its this chocolate cake with chocolate fudge frosting. This cake did the rounds on our dining table 5 times a year, one for each person’s birthday, plus once on Rakhi and on most other special occasions. 

My mum calls it a ‘2-minute chocolate cake’ which is a lie because it most definitely takes more than 2 minutes but it’s incredibly quick and easy. (My mum would come home from work on our birthdays and have it ready by dinner.)

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen me make it a hundred times over (literally made 36 of these for my friendicoes fundraiser). Its so simple, so delicious and reeks of classic, nostalgic flavors like salty-sweet chocolate, and a soft, pillowy texture with a fudgy frosting slathered on top. 

 I shouldn’t have to convince you any more. MAKE THIS CAKE. 

Cake

Ingredients

• 2 eggs 

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 

• 1/2 cup cocoa 

• 2 cups sugar 

• 2 cups flour 

• 2 tsp baking powder 

• 1/2 cup warm water 

• 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream 

• 1/4 tsp salt 

• 2 tsp vanilla extract 

Process: 

• Pre-heat oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper 

• In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. 

• In  large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and oil together. You will have a pale mixture. 

• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. 

• Add vanilla and beat. 

• Mix the cocoa powder and warm water in a separate cup and stir until smooth. 

• Add the cocoa mixture into the oil-sugar-eggs mix and beat until combined. 

• Alternatingly, add the flour mixture (1/4 cup at a time) and yogurt and beat until just combined (Do not over beat) 

• You should have a batter that’s not too thick and not too runny. 

• Divide the batter into the 2 pans and bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Frosting (from Nigella Lawson) 

• 3/4 stick unsalted butter 

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate 

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 

• 1 tbsp light corn syrup 

• 1/2 cup sour cream 

• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Process:

• Melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler over low-medium heat 

• Let it cool. In the meanwhile, sift the confectioners sugar to remove lumps 

• Add the corn syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the vanilla and sour cream 

• Lastly, add the confectioners sugar (one spoon at a time) and beat until fluffy. 
  

To assemble the cake, 

Trim the rounded tops of the cake using a serrated knife (this step is optional - only if you want a perfectly flat cake, otherwise don’t waste cake and let it be rounded) 

Place one layer of the cake on the plate and spread frosting on top. 

Cover with the top layer and do the same. Frost the top and sides tightly and sparsely to create a crumb coat. 

Slather on the remaining frosting on the top and sides. 

Decorate with sprinkles or fruit!

Lemon curd cookies

WAIT A SECOND. 

There are no leaves on the trees and my weather app is showing a big, rude MINUS sign before the numbers (I’m still using Celcius). My mood swings between excited for the snow to dreading the wind and so. 

How I feel about the weather is reflective of how I feel about life in general at the moment. Half excitement and half dread. My masters degree has come to a finish (or a grand finalé, I like to think of it, because this quarter I studied in London and won a shopper marketing competition… recruiters, are you listening? Just kidding). While the prospect of finding challenging and fun work with passionate people (and of course, finally earning some $) is exciting, I dread the process. Recruitment is many things but predominantly it is quite daunting.

The good news is that when I’m stressed I .. (no surprise) bake. Baking or cooking, has been my go-to strategy whenever I’m anxious and here’s why: It channels my energy in a creative way and the result is immediate. When I peer into my fridge wondering how my ingredients can be put to use, the creative juices start flowing. A mini-brainstorming session takes place until finally I have an idea that fits what I want to eat and is executable and in an hour or two, its sitting there on my kitchen counter - and immediately, I feel productive and happy. And I haven’t even eaten it yet. 

The festive season has brought so much inspiration that I’m constantly in the kitchen. My lemon curd and rosemary cookies are not exactly christmassy but they remind me of my family, who I wish I could go home to for the holidays! And also a moment of appreciation for the achievement that is these cookies because they were made with 3 of us crammed into my TEENNY TINY kitchen making 3 different kinds of cookies, mulled wine, eggnog and chicken tikka so its a miracle that theres no chocolate chips, cayenne pepper, cardamom or garlic in these!

It tastes quite like a lemon tart on a shortbread-y base. They’re not sweet at all though, so if you like it sweeter, I’d recommend adding 2 tablespoons extra condensed milk to the lemon curd.

Here’s the complete recipe 

The cookies

Ingredients:

• 175 g unsalted butter, softened 

• 60 g condensed milk or sweetened creamer 

• 250 g plain flour 

• 1 egg yolks 

Process:

• Pre-heat oven to 350˚ F (180˚C) 

• Place a cookie sheet or a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray

• Cream butter and condensed milk until light 

• Add the yolks one at a time and beat until combined 

• Mix in flour and combine with a spatula and using your hands until a dough forms 

• The dough should be more sticky than flour-y (but not too sticky - it shouldn’t stick to your hands) 

• Roll the dough into a ball 

• Flatten slightly and roll, using a rolling pin until about 1/2cm thick. 

• Using a cookie cutter, cut small circles and transfer to baking sheet 

• Bake for about 23 - 25 minutes. 

• When done, let them cool fully. 

While the cookies are in the oven, make the lemon curd. 

The lemon curd 

Ingredients

• 2 eggs 

• 1/2 cup ground sugar 

• 1/3 cup lemon juice 

• Lemon rind

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter 

• 1/2 cup cream 

• 2 tbsp condensed milk (optional) 

Process:

• Whisk the eggs till very fluffy.

• Add the sugar and continue to whisk until light and creamy.

• Add the lemon juice and rind and continue to whisk.

• Put it on a double boiler over low heat.

• Continue to whisk by hand until it thickens to pudding-like consistency. This will take about 10 mins so be patient! 

• Remove from heat and add unsalted butter. Stir until it dissolves. 

• Cool on an ice bath and add the cream Stir till smooth 

• Add condensed milk if you like it sweeter. 

When the cookies have cooled, its very simple. Just dollop a small amount (about 1 tsp) onto the centre of each cookie and top with a single rosemary leaf. 

Mango Ice cream coconut crepes

Chicago is finally warm and my new place actually feels like home - a stark contrast from my old apartment: a walk up with creaky floors, barely any furniture, no air condition (not that i needed it) and too much empty space. This place is smaller and homier and I actually have a TV and a plant! The kitchen is even tinier than the last one but has more storage and a dishwasher(!). You know you’re ‘adulting’ when you are grateful for your dishwasher and get excited to buy coasters. 

But the best part of it all is the location. Evanston is beautiful and quaint but so quiet, almost too peaceful.  I love the sounds of the city. I can hear them all the way up here on the 11th floor. I’m also pretty certain that this street has the most number of people with dogs which is amazing.

We celebrated the first week of moving in with everything that screams celebration: champagne, takeout from The Halal Guys, Sprinkles cupcakes and 7 whole days of binge watching Stranger Things with 4 pints of Jeni’s ice cream laid out in front of us. 

Ice cream is one of those things that can be as luxurious or as easygoing as you want to make it. It’s fuss free in that you only need a pint and a spoon and nothing else, except maybe a friend to share the guilt with or a movie. It can also be an expression of art in its plating, and creativity of flavors. You could go to Fig & Olive and have their delicious olive oil quenelle with a pistachio honeycomb brittle and chocolate dust. But also, you can open a pint of Jeni’s gooey butter cake ice cream on the couch. In all its forms, ice cream is worthy of the glory. 

A little while ago I made mango ice cream and served it to my grandmother (who, by the way, has high standards and is generally a dessert-rejector) with crepes. The recipe combines a few components but feel free to make just the ice cream if your family is easier to please ! :P

Mango ice cream

Ingredients: 

• 2 large mangoes (alphonso)

• 1 can condensed milk (You can use less than 1 full can if your mangoes are already too sweet)

• 220 ml cream (refrigerated)

Process:

• Take the flesh of 2 large, ripe mangoes and puree it.

• Pass it through a mesh strainer to get rid of the fibrous bits.

• Pour 1 can condensed milk into a large bowl and mix in the pureed mango and set aside.

• Create an ice bath in a tray. You can do this just by putting lots and lots of ice in the tray. Place a large mixing bowl in the ice bath.

• Pour 220 ml heavy cream into the bowl and whip to stiff peaks using an electric whisk.

• Fold the whipped cream into the mango-condensed milk mixture using a spatula.

• Pour the mixture in a dish and wrap in cling wrap. Set in the freezer for about 8 hours or overnight.

For the crepes, I used this recipe. 

Serve ice cream with crepes,  and drizzle with lime caramel and toasted coconut flakes.