Chocolate Ganache

 

Chocolate cakes are delicious and yummy, who does'nt like chocolate indeed, but there are few exceptions too, so my next recipe will be vanilla cakes for people who are not chocolate lovers. At this point i would like to tell that, I learnt the art of baking soft and good textured cakes from my very dear granny, she is an expert in cooking, i still wonder the way she used to cook from veg to non-veg, chappathi to noodles everything, such tasty food that one would love to eat in a lifetime, i just thank her for inheriting me this gift of cooking that is all to say, i love you dear granny.

 

You might wonder what is ganache, sounds different right, some might know about it some may not so let me explain. Ganache is a French Term referring to a smooth and velvety mixture of chocolate and cream. It is made by pouring hot cream (cream with a 35-40% butterfat content) over chopped semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate chips, when stirred it gives a shiny and smooth glaze which can be used for cakes as topping.

 

I have used Ganache on top of the chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream frosting for decorations.

Sometimes when we buy cakes from the shop it might be dry without any moisture left, which obviously we don't like much. A very good technique which my granny uses is she doesn't add egg yolks to the cakes, with just egg whites, the magic works. So here you go with the recipe.

Ingredients :

For Chocolate Cake :

• All purpose flour - 1 cup
• Egg                  - 4 (just whites are needed)
• Unsalted Butter   - 3/4 cup
• Powdered sugar  - 3/4 cup
• Chocolate chips   - 3/4 cup(If using cocoa powder - 4 tblsp)
• Baking powder   - 1 tsp
• Vanilla Essence   - 1 tblsp
• Condensed milk  - 2 tblsp(Gives additional taste, if not available use whole milk as alternate)
• Salt                  - a pinch

For Ganache :

• Heavy Whipping Cream - 3/4 cup
• Chocolate chips              - 1 cup (semi sweet or dark chocolate)
• Unsalted Butter              - 2 tblsp
• Vanilla Essence              - 1 tblsp

For Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting :

• Chocolate chips    - 3/4 cup ( semi sweet or unsweetened )
• Powdered Sugar  - 1/2 or 1 cup
• Milk                   - 2 tblsp
• Condensed Milk   - 1 tblsp (Optional)
• Butter                 - 1/3 cup 

Method :

Chocolate Cake :

• Seperate the egg whites and yolks
• Sift the flour together with the baking powder to avoid any lumps (if using a cocoa powder add it to seive)
• Bring the butter to room temperature by placing it on the double boiler once it melts measure it
• Remember that softening the butter is really important, do not place the butter in the sauce pan directly it will tend to burn, use only the double boiler to do that
• Double boiler is not a complicated one, just place a sauce pan filled with water and on top of that a heat resistant bowl or a stainless steel deep mixing bowl with the butter this will get the heat from the water and get softened, so this is how we should do it, Use the long wire whipper to mix it (please note the 7th picture below)

  

 

• Once you measure the butter keep it aside in a seperate bowl
• Add the chocolate chips to the double boiler on the same vessel which has the left over butter
• Mix it similarly to the butter till it melts
• Keep it aside in a seperate bowl 
• Take a clean and dry mixing bowl, pour the egg whites and start whipping it using the wire whipper or stand mixer 
• Keep whipping till you get a kind of shiny creamy layer which almost resembles a foam
• Once done keep it aside

 

    

   

• Keep it aside, take a clean and dry mixing bowl
• Start whipping the butter, once it starts to thicken add sugar in intervals and keep whipping
• Add vanilla essence, and add seived mixture(flour,baking powder) in intervals and whip it
• Once everything is mixed well u get a kind of thick mixture
• At this stage add the melted chocolate and milk to this and whip it
• Finally add the beaten eggs and fold it using the spatula, folding is nothing but just moving the spatula in up and down strokes very slowly that you don't get in too much of air into the cake mixture, just move the spatula in the clockwise direction do not stir just fold it from the bottom
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees ( i use only this temp coz if we increase the temperature more than this at times the outer surface of the cake gets either cracked which won't look good or gets hard)
• Once mixed well, place a parchment paper on the baking pan as a liner
• Pour the mixture
• Just pat the sauce pan hard on the flat surface to spread it evenly so that the air goes out of the mixture
• Place in the middle of the rack in the oven for 30-35 minutes
• Check out if the cake is cooked using a tooth pick on to the middle of the cake if batter doesn't stick to it the cake is done
• Let it cool for 5 mins
• Place a flat plate on top of the baking pan and turn it upside down
• Since we place the parchment paper the cake does not stick to the sides it is easier to take it out from the pan
• Remove the parchment paper and place the cake covered in refrigerator for 15 mins

                                            

Ganache :

• Pour the heavy whipping cream in a sauce pan
• Add the butter and vanilla essence to it and bring to a boil
• Keep the chocolate chips in a heat resistant bowl or a stainless steel mixing bowl
• Pour the hot whipping cream to the chocolate chips
• Leave it for 2 -3 mins and start stirring till it gets mixed well  
• Let it cool down for 10 mins, once it cools down you get a thick sauce like texture which is easy to pour on top of the cake
• Take the cake and place the bottom side on top, coz the bottom part will always give a even surface than the top layer
• Place the cake on a wire rack, Gently brush off the loose crumbs on the surface
• Pour the ganache to the middle of the cake and quickly spread the ganache with a spatula or a knife using big strokes to push the ganache over the sides of the cake
• See if there are unfilled spaces on the sides when pushing to the sides, if so patch it up with the spatula
• Once done wait for atleast 5 mins for the chocolate to drip off in the wire rack
• Remove it from the wire rack and place it in the flat plate
• Decorate the cake with the frosting you like, readymade or homemade
• I have made chocolate buttercream frosting for decorating
• You can use the leftover ganache also to pipe the details
• Using a decorating tip i have designed the corners, if not available make a cone out of the parchment paper and cut it accordingly so that you can design
• To get fine details Parchment paper is easy to pipe than the plastic bags
• Methods for Making parchment paper cone is available online so you can check out
• Refrigerate the cake for 10-15 mins once everything is done
• So here you go with the chocolate ganache

 

     

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting :

• Place the chocolate chips in a double boiler
• Add the butter
• Once both melts take it off from the double boiler and start whipping it
• Add the powdered sugar, milk and condensed milk, you can add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence for added flavour
• Keep whipping it till you get a creamy texture
• Once you get the texture it is ready for piping

 

 

Enjoy......... your delicious cake :-)





Ulunthu Vadai

Ulunthu vadai or Medhu vadai, the most common south indian recipe that comes with breakfast, meal or a snack, I love it too especially the one which my mom makes and the other is the Saravana Bhavan vadai mmmmmmm delicious ;-)

During my childhood my mom used to prepare vadai as an evening snack i still remember those crispy vadai's that myself and dad used to enjoy. My cousin sister's are my mom's fan too, we used to sit together in the terrace and have the snacks, those where the good old days, and i miss them

too :-(  ...

Vadai's are delicious and crispy if made well, a slightest change in proportion may lead to disaster as well( very hard ones ). Coz recently i had one such disaster, My sister and her family came home to stay with us on a long weekend, i wanted to prepare them a good breakfast along with a crispy vadai, it was early morning and as well i was sleepy i guess, accidentally i added 1 spoon rice flour instead of 1/4 tsp which made the vadai hard (oopsy) :-( , i felt really bad, we had no other option left so here comes the next option, sambar vadai, we soaked all the vadai's in sambar and had it :-). So the lesson is keep your proportions intact for a crispy snack :-), ok let me stop boring you guys, here you go with the recipe.

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal             - 1 cup
• Fennel seeds       - 1/2 tsp
• Onions                - 1
• Coriander leaves - few
• Green Chillies     - 1 ( take off the seeds inside )
• Curry Leaves      - few
• Rice Flour           - 1/4 or less (optional)
• Ginger                 - 1/4 tsp (grated)
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

• Soak urad dal for 2 - 4 hours
• Grind it with fennel seeds, rice flour and Salt without water, coz if too much of water is added you get a runny batter in which you cannot make the shape of the vadai. So even if water is needed add very little

      

• Once the batter is ready
• Add onions, ginger, coriander leaves, green chillies, and curry leaves to the batter
• Place a plastic cover on a flat surface
• Take a small lemon sized portion of batter and make it as a round ball
• Pat it over the plastic cover into a circle with a hole in the center

• Heat a kadai with oil and fry the vadai's
• Serve it with sambar or chutney.... :-)
• To get a crispier vadai we can use the grinder to grind instead of mixie.

Mutton Chukka

Mutton Chukka - One of the most famous recipe which many people love to try, in hotel or home, People make it in different ways, I learnt this recipe from my mother-in-law, she is basically from tanjore, she just makes awesome curries and we all just love the way it tastes, This is my Husband's favourite dish too, He just loves it a lot, and he suggested me to post it as the first recipe :-). So this is for you my dear husband ;-)

Ingredients:

Gravy :

• Mutton                  - 1 cup (small pieces)
• Small Onions          - 1 cup ( 15 or  if using a big onion – 1 medium sized )
• Tomatoes              - 2 ( Medium Sized )
• Ginger Garlic Paste   - 2 tblsp
• Curry Leaves          - sprig
• Salt                      - to taste
• Coriander leaves      -  few
• Oil                       - 3 tblsp
• Water

 Masala :    

•  Chilli Powder                - 1 tsp ( as needed )
•  Coriander Powder         - 2 tsp
•  Fennel seeds powder     - ½ tsp
•   Jeera Powder               - ½  tsp
•   Turmeric Powder          - ½  tsp
•   Garam Masala Powder  - ½  tsp
•   Pepper powder             - ½  tsp

Method :

• Pressure cook the mutton with tomatoes and a pinch of turmeric with 1 ½ or 2 cups of water          ( 5 whistles or till the mutton is tender )

   

   

 

• Once mutton is tender, Heat the sauce pan with oil and add curry leaves, onions, a pinch of salt  and sauté it ( we use salt so that onions get cooked faster  than the usual time )
• When onions are cooked add the ginger garlic paste

     

• Add the  pressure cooked mutton, and the masala


                     

• Cook it on Medium Flame

• Once it thickens you can take it in a gravy consistency for  chappathi as side dish or leave it for a couple of minutes to get the chukka done
• Serve it with rice or chappathi whatever you prefer enjoy...........

   Tips

• Always grind the ginger and garlic in equal amount to get a better taste
• Home made garam masala gives better taste

     Garam Masala Preparation:

• Cinnamon           - 3 Sticks
• Cloves                - 25 – 30 ( or equal amount for cinnamon) 
• Aniseed              - 1 or 2

    Grind everything together as a powder. That’s it done, here you go with your    
    home made garam masala powder. You can use it for any recipe.