THINGS MADE THOUGHTFULLY A fun cookbook to help you bake exclusive cake recipes with your kids. By chocolatier and chef Varun Inamdar. I t’s a piece o f cake.
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
THINGS MADE THOUGHTFULLY
A fun cookbook to help you bake exclusive cake recipes with your kids.By chocolatier and chef Varun Inamdar.
It’s a piece of cake.
Nothing speaks celebration like cakes. Be it
with your family or for a larger gathering, be it
for children or adults, cakes can double the
joy on any occasion. Add a cake to any event
and it's sure to steal the limelight! In fact, if
you are having a get-together, baking a
customised cake can make it a lot more
intimate! But the best part is that you don't
need a large party to whip up your favourite
cake – any day becomes special when you
are baking a cake! And if you want double the
fun, have the kids or get your friends over,
and bake some delightful memories together!
So go ahead, pick your favourite recipes and
remember to share the happiness! We wish
you and your family many happy
baking-days!
Celebrate with a cake
Two-time National Award winner, Varun Inamdar is regarded as one of the
top 10 celebrity chefs. He has 18 years of work experience as a trained
chef, chocolatier, food stylist, author and an ex-top rank executive at
Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, India. He is the chosen chef for all Presidential
and Prime Ministerial visits to India and has served over 75 dignitaries
including Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Nicholas Sarkozy, Vladimir Putin,
to name a few. Known as the ‘Prince of Chocolates' and 'The Bombay
Chef' by fans and followers world over, his digital show has garnered
more than 533 million views.
He is the brand ambassador of cocoa as appointed by The Government
of Ecuador and is credited to have created India’s first-of-a-kind 6 feet tall
chocolate mannequin and chocolate Ganesha idol on television. He is
also currently nominated as a brand ambassador by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi for ‘Swastha Bharat Yatra’ and ‘Eat Right India’. Amongst
many coveted awards, he holds the Guinness World Record for 'The
world's largest chocolate mud pie' weighing 1346 kgs (3000 pounds).
After being a part of over 25 food shows from 2016-2020 across
television, internet and several OTT platforms and featuring on
MasterChef India on Star Plus in two consecutive seasons (5 and 6),
he is currently presenting his food channel.
About the author
2020 has been quite a roller-coaster ride. We established new norms and a new normal.
As we’re getting closer to the ‘season of joy’, I have realised that this year was particularly tough for
the kids. When I go down the memory lane, I remember rejoicing in the festivities – visiting my family,
going on holidays, sharing the obligatory Christmas cake with my friends and having a gala time. And
now the pandemic has been a Debby Downer, with kids still confined to their homes.
The whole world is adorned with decorations, lights, stars and Christmas trees every year. And I
thought why not bring the festivities to the kids with a fun-filled ‘Christmas cake recipe book’. It is
more than a cookbook. It’s a tribute to the power of baking together and hopefully encourages kids to
connect, engage, share and truly celebrate the spirit of Christmas.
I thoroughly enjoyed curating this cookbook, and I invite you kids to try out the recipes at your homes.
Great thanks to everyone who made this book possible.
And a special thanks to you, my Lil’ readers and future bakers! Don’t forget to bake, eat, sleep, repeat!
Varun InamdarTwo-time National Award-winning Chef and Chocolatier
Foreword
Discover Inside1. Kerala Plum Cake
2. Mahabaleshwar Strawberry Cheesecake
3. Marble Cake
4. Butterscotch Cake
5. Rawa Cake
6. Mawa Cake
7. Tutti Frutti Cake Drops
8. Rasmalai Tea Cake
9. Carrot Loaf
10. Goan Baath Cake
11. Honey Cake
12. Three Ingredient Flourless Cake
13. Chenna Cake
14. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
15. Chef Varun’s 'Guinness World Record' Mud Pie
16. Chef Varun’s 'Master Chef India' Chocolate Cake
Legend has it that India’s first Christmas
cake was baked in Kerala in 1883. Since
then, they have sustained the tradition of
creating Christmas cakes infused with the
finest of spices and dry fruits from the farms
near Malabar coast. I am most certain that
just a slice of this will bring a smile to your
face and happiness to your celebrations. I
learnt this recipe on one of my travels to
God’s own country, and over the years, I've
been making it for all my friends as a part of
my goodie basket.
Now, it's all yours!
1 Kerala Plum Cake
Kerala Plum Cake1
Method
Ingredients1 cup refined flour1/2 cup cashew nuts, chopped1/4 cup black raisins1/2 cup mixed dry fruits (I prefer dates,glazed cherries and orange peels)3/4 cup brown sugar (for cake batter)2/3 cup salted butter, at room temperature3 nos eggs1/2 tsp cinnamon powder1/4 tsp clove powder1 tsp baking powder1 tsp Malabar vanilla extract
For the Caramel syrup1/2 cup white sugar1/4 cup water
For the Caramel SyrupIn a pan on medium heat, melt white sugar and caramelise it without burning. Turn off the heat and add water. The sugar will harden. Turn the heat back on and slowly heat the mixture until the sugar crystals dissolve. Let this cool and set aside.
For the Cake BatterPre-heat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius.
Add 2 tbsp flour to the dry fruits and nuts. Dredge them completely until they're coated. Keep aside.
Mix the remaining flour, baking powder and powdered spices until well combined.
Beat the butter, vanilla extract and brown sugar; until fluffy and pale yellow.
Add 1 egg and continue beating. Then, add a bit of the flour mixture and fold. Likewise, alternate between the eggs and flour mixture until they are all used up.
Add the caramel syrup that was set aside to dredged fruits and gently fold in. Pour batter into a greased 6” cake pan and smoothen the top.
Bake for 60 minutes in your Godrej Microwave Oven until the top turns a dark brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
No winter is complete without travels to the
closest hill station. To us, it was Lonavala. A
little more prodding to our father and
Mahabaleshwar would happen. We had to
cry to push him to his limits ;) and it worked.
For us kids, the fresh strawberries and
cream, strawberry jam, plucking fresh
berries of the season was the ultimate guilty
pleasure. Somehow, the berries just tasted
different there. We came back home with
boxes full of berries, and they all looked, felt
and tasted so different. Maybe, it was an
overdose! Over the years, I started making
cheesecakes for my family. I love tarty jams
and compotes, and this cheesecake topped
with them makes so much of a
showstopper.
2MahabaleshwarStrawberry Cheesecake
2
Method
Ingredients
1 cup fresh strawberries1/2 cup castor sugar1/2 tsp corn starch2 tbsp water
For the Base150 grams any neutral biscuit, crumbed50 grams salted butter, softened
For the yummy mix!360 grams Philadelphia cheese180 grams castor sugar4 nos whole eggs40 grams refined flour200 ml dairy cream1 no. lemon, zested and juiced(I love using the green one instead)
Strawberry Compote
Philadelphia Cheesecake
Philadelphia Cheesecake
Strawberry CompoteMix corn starch and water in a pan till it is lump-free.Stir in sugar and strawberries and cook for 3 minutes
on medium flame.Let it cool down completely. Pulp it and keep aside.
Mix the softened butter and biscuit crumbs. Press the mixture firmly into the base of an 8” loose-bottomed cake tin and chill whilst preparing the yummy mix!
Beat together the Philadelphia cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended.
Stir in the flour, dairy cream, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Pour onto the prepared cake tin.
Bake at 170° Celsius in your Godrej Microwave Oven for 1 hour. Turn off the heat and leave to cool in the oven for 1 hour. Chill completely and remove it from the mould.
Top with strawberry compote.
MahabaleshwarStrawberry Cheesecake
One of my firsts! I was eight when I started
in the kitchen. And this recipe was written in
my grandmother’s diary. The pages of which
over the years kept getting yellow-brown!
Who knew about lamination then? The age
of the floppy disc came in coinciding with
our IT classes in school. For me, typing the
diary down in MS Word and keeping it safe
in a floppy disc was then a great high and a
greater shock for my grandmother. Who
could have guessed that machines would
rule our everyday lives to this extent!
Sometimes, I wonder how she would have
reacted to my presence on YouTube and
other OTT platforms…hahaha…anyway,
enjoy this beautifully rippled cake from her
diary. In fact, my grandmother’s recipe had a
sweet butter glaze which I feel gives it that
unique touch that you won’t see elsewhere.
3 Marble Cake
3Ingredients
Method
1/2 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's2-1/2 cups sugar, divided1/2 cup water4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 cup buttermilk4 nos. whole eggs2 tsp vanilla extract3 cups all-purpose flour1 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp baking soda3/4 tsp salt1 cup salted butter, softened
5 tbsp salted butter3/4 cup sugar1/4 cup water2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 160° Celsius.
Grease and dust an 8” pan/ loaf tin/ Bundt pan.
Mixture One: In a small saucepan, combine the cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, whisking until smooth. Get it off the heat, immediately add the chocolate; whisk until the chocolate is
melted and the mixture is smooth. Set aside.
Mixture Two: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside.
Mixture Three: In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the remaining 2 cups of sugar. Mix well.
Add softened butter along with mixture two and mix well.
Transfer about 2-1/2 cups of the batter to another bowl and add the chocolate mixture to it and whisk until smooth.
Now you have two batters – vanilla and chocolate!
Spoon both batters in the prepared pan spoon by spoon and ripple them together with a fork.
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
While the cake bakes, make the glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, water, and vanilla. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the cake is baked and out of the oven, unmould it and poke some holes using a toothpick. Pour the glaze and let the cake absorb it all.
Leave the cake on the rack to cool for 30 minutes.
Slice and serve!
Marble cake
For the Sweet Butter glaze!
Indian bakeries specialise in making a very
uniquely flavoured cake called butterscotch
- it is buttery, creamy, nutty, caramelised; all
at the same time with a syrupy white
sponge. Yum, I say! It is quite a shocker for
the international cake world, but do we
care! We love our creations. In fact, the
popularity of this flavour sometimes
transcends vanilla. I mean just look, you
can see butterscotch in so many forms on
the shelf - ice creams, toffees, syrups,
crackers, wafers, cones, candies,
milkshakes, flavoured milk, and this!
4 Butterscotch Cake
4Ingredients
Method
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 nos whole eggs
1 no. egg yolk
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup salted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp butterscotch essence
2 tbsp butterscotch syrup
1/4 cup butterscotch praline
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius.
Grease and dust an 8” pan/ loaf tin.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder & baking soda. Whisk the dry ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, scraping down in between.
Add in the eggs, one at a time and continue beating.
Stir in the butterscotch essence, followed by butterscotch syrup and milk.
Add in the flour mix and praline. Fold well.
Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan.
Bake in the middle rack, for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake on a rack while in the tin for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and let it completely cool on the rack.
Butterscotch Cake
For the cake
For the cake base
#DidYouKnow that according to food historians, the ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills.
The history of cake dates way back to ancient times. The first cakes were very different from what we eat today. They were more bread-like and sweetened with honey. Often, nuts and dried fruits were also added. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the English word ‘cake’ back to the 13th century. It is a derivation of 'kaka', an Old Norse word. Medieval European bakers often made fruitcakes and gingerbread which were known to last for many months.
According to food historians, the precursors of modern cakes were first baked in Europe sometime in the mid-17th century. This is primarily due to advances in technology (more reliable ovens, manufacture/availability of food moulds) and availability of ingredients like refined sugar. During this period, cake hoops were used for shaping cakes by placing the hoops on flat baking trays. These hoops were made of metal, wood, paper and some of them were also adjustable. Apart from cake hoops, cake pans were also used.
The first icings were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites and sometimes, flavourings. This icing was poured onto the cake, and the cake was then returned to the oven for a while. When removed, the icing cooled quickly to form a hard, glossy, ice-like covering. Many cakes made during this time contained dried fruits like raisins, currants, citrons, etc.
It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) arrived on the scene.
Cakes – how did it all start?
Bakeries in the South of India are known to have created this magical bake. It is a grainy textured sponge, yet soft and moist with a touch of grease on the fingertips. I am not complaining for sure. The legacy of the Iyengar bakeries is believed to have been started by HS Thirumalachar, who hailed from Hassan. He established the first Iyengar bakery called the Bengaluru Brothers Bakery way back in 1898 and is said to have learnt the art of baking from an Englishman who was a regular visitor at his shop that initially only sold sweets. With the successful formula of delicious bread, buns and biscuits, the bakery grew fast and strong and was renamed Bengaluru Brahmins Bakery since the 1970s. I was working in Bengaluru (Bangalore then) and every day, I picked my dose of rawa cake post-work, sat at Ulsoor lake, and finished my day.
5 Rawa Cake
5Ingredients
Method
100 grams softened butter250 grams castor sugar 100 grams mawa6 nos whole eggs1/2 tsp vanilla extract 125 grams refined flour125 grams semolina/rava(that’s where the name comes from)5 grams baking powder
Add in the mawa and cream it for 1 minute.
Now add in 1/3 of the semolina and mix.
Then add in 1/3 of the flour and mix.
Then add in 1/3 of the eggs and mix.
Repeat this alternating step of addition and mixing till all ingredients are used up.
Mix for about 2 minutes.
Then pour it in the baking tray and make sure you even it using a palette knife.
Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven.
Cool and slice and serve!
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius.
Grease a 9"x7" baking tray.
In a bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder and set aside.
Crack the eggs in another bowl. Lightly beat and add in the vanilla extract and then beat on a high speed for a minute till frothy. Set aside.
In a big bowl, add the butter and sugar. Cream it for 2 minutes.
Rawa Cake
Old Bombay and its Irani cafés have a
long-standing romantic affair. Mawa cake
is testimony to that. There are as many
versions of this cake as there are cafés in
the city, and this one has been my
favourite over the years. I make this recipe
come hail and storm. For me, this is a
healer! If I’m feeling low, this cake helps
me spring back. I am obsessed with this.
As simple as that! And did I mention that it
is eggless?
6 Mawa Cake
6
Ingredients Method1/4 cup mawa1/4 cup softened butter1/3 cup castor sugar1/4 cup milk, warm1/4 cup curd 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder¼ tsp nutmeg powder3/4 cup refined flour1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp baking soda
In a bowl, whip together butter, mawa and sugar till fluffy.
Add warm milk and curd along with nutmeg and green cardamom powder.
Mix well and stir in baking powder, soda and refined flour.
Transfer in a greased and dusted mould or in butter cups.
Bake in your Godrej Microwave Oven at 160° Celsius for 40 minutes.
Cool down, unmould and serve warm!
Mawa Cake
Tutti Frutti Cake dropsMy father used to get this from abroad
(that’s what I thought). I was too tiny to
even get its name. I used to tell him, “That
biscuit with red jelly. Bring that”. He
always got the wrong one till one day I
spotted it randomly in his shopping cart. I
screamed, “This one”. The entire living
room burst into peals of laughter. It was
from the local bakery close to our house. I
could have eaten it every day, you see! My
loss! But then one day it shut down. I tried
several recipes in my professional kitchen,
bakery and almost every workplace till
one day one boy made it for his trait test
when he came looking for a job in my
team. I hugged him. Unfortunately, he
couldn’t get through the further rounds.
But I think it was pure serendipity. I never
met him after that. The recipe stayed with
me nevertheless!
7
7Ingredients
Method
3 nos eggs; separated1/2 cup granulated sugar; divideda pinch of salt1 tsp mixed fruit essence2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice; dividedthe zest of 1 lemon, grated1/2 cup refined flour; sifted2 tbsp potato starch¼ cup tutti frutti, choppedfinely powdered sugar for dusting
Sift the flour and potato starch over the egg mixture and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula until smooth and well combined.
Gently fold in the egg whites.
Transfer half of the batter to the prepared piping bag. Pipe the batter into lines about 10 cm (4 inches) long, keeping distance between them.
Repeat with the rest of the batter.
Sprinkle the cookies lightly with icing sugar. Let them rest for about 5 minutes and sprinkle again with icing sugar.
Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden.
Let these cake drops cool for a few minutes then release them from the parchment paper, with a flat spatula, while they are still warm. The most amazing cake drops! Call them fingers! Just make them. And thank that little boy who randomly gifted me this recipe! Little did he know what this means to me.
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Prepare a pastry bag fitted with a round 1.5 inch tip.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites, half of the sugar, 1 tsp of lemon juice and mixed fruit essence until stiff peaks form.
In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar, remaining lemon juice, lemon zest and salt until thick and pale yellow. Fold in the chopped tutti frutti very gently.
Tutti Frutti Cake drops
8 Rasmalai Tea CakeI made this for the Kuwaiti Royal, Her
Highness Sheikha Amthal Al Ahmed Al
Jaber Al Sabah, years back and I
thought it would be quite a novelty for
her since she loved Indian flavours.
Saffron, nutmeg, green cardamom being
her favourite flavours made me think it
was perfect. She took a few bites, then
a few more pieces and said, "This is just
like Kuwaiti Gers Ogaily". Ah! and I
thought I would have impressed her by
baking something different. This is her
version for all of you. Thank her. Not me.
But what I love about this cake is the
fact that it has Mediterranean, Persian,
Arabic and Indian flavours.
8Ingredients2 cups refined flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
4 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
A few generous pinches of saffron
1 tbsp sugar
4 nos whole eggs
1.5 cups castor sugar
½ cup salted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup milk, warm
1 tsp green cardamom powder, fresh
1 tsp rose essence
½ tsp saffron essence
MethodPreheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius.
Grease and dust a 12” Bundt pan or madeleine mould and keep aside.
Soak saffron strands along with rose essence and saffron essence in warm milk.
In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder.
In a larger bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until thick and foamy
Add melted butter and the flavoured milk.
Fold in the dry ingredients
Pour the batter in the prepared pan.
Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake at 180° Celsius for 40 minutes.
Cool completely and unmould.
Goes well with a Kuwaiti Kahwah or even an espresso!
Rasmalai Tea Cake
Know your cake better!
Butter Cakes or Shortening Cakes:Any cake that starts with cream butter and sugar is
a butter cake recipe. The butter can be substituted
with other shortenings. Hence, the other name.
Once the creaming is done, typically eggs or its
substitutes, flour, and baking powder or baking
soda are added for leavening.
Dense American Style Cakes:This cake didn’t originate in the U.S.A. but gained a
lot of popularity there. Hence, the name. These
dense cakes are sturdy enough to hold thick icing
and fillings and are perfect for a rolled fondant. They
may also be shortened with oil.
Pound Cake or Grandma’s Cake:This cake gets its name because of the way its
ingredients can be measured - a pound of each! The
cake itself is extremely dense since it doesn't rise as
much as the American-style butter cake. Because of
its richness, pound cakes typically have light flavours
and are served plain or topped with a basic glaze.
They're normally baked in a loaf or Bundt pan.
Pound cake variations include some coffee cakes,
sour cream cakes, and fruit crumb cakes.
Vegetable Cake:Carrot cake, like the American-style butter cake is
the most classically known vegetable cake. The
recipe generally uses a combination of either baking
soda or baking powder for leavening. Most recipes
of carrot cake use oil instead of butter for shortening
purposes. This makes the cake last long and a tad
bit greasy. The combination of the rich cream
cheese icing and the warm spices makes for an
irresistible dessert.
Cakes come in many form, here are some popular ones
Red Velvet Cake:It was long known before it started trending
like a wildfire. It is a butter cake but oftentimes
made with oil instead. The distinct red velvet
flavour comes from the added cocoa.
Originally, the reaction between buttermilk,
vinegar and raw cocoa gave the cake its
identifiable red colour. Today, the colour is
mostly the result of food colouring.
Foam Cakes:These light and airy cakes make for limitless variations. Foam cakes
typically contain no fat or leavening, aside from the fat provided by
eggs. When you are baking foam cakes, it is important to remember
that the batter needs to go in the oven as soon as it's ready to
prevent the egg whites from deflating. They also need to be baked
in a tall pan due to the rise the egg whites give them. These cakes
are not going to hold up well against heavy frosting, so it's best to
give them a light glaze or a dollop of whipped cream.
Sponge Cakes or Genoise:Technically any recipe that contains no baking
powder or baking soda, but lots of whipped eggs or
egg whites is a sponge cake. A traditional sponge
cake has just three ingredients: flour, sugar, and
eggs. As the name suggests, this cake takes well to
being soaked with syrups. They are several different
types of sponge cakes, and they may go by different
names depending on where you are in the world.
Perfect for Swiss rolls.
Biscuit Sponges:In a biscuit sponge cake, both the egg whites and egg yolks are
whipped with sugar separately. The two mixtures are then folded
together with flour. The result is a light batter that's drier than
genoise, but that also holds its shape better. This is the reason
why biscuit cake batter is often used for piped shapes such as
ladyfingers. In a slightly different variation, the flour is replaced
with matzoh cake meal and potato starch to make the classic
Passover sponge cake.
Perfect for tiramisu.
This is possibly the funniest incident of my professional experience as a pastry chef. My boss asked me if I have baby carrots in the pantry. I didn’t have any as the season had just begun. I ordered a few pounds from Panchgani because that was the only farm, then, that could manage deliveries on an ‘SOS’ basis. They arrived. I was asked to bake a fresh carrot cake loaf using them, topped with cheese frosting and marzipan carrots on top. Basically, the works! Because it was a request from my boss and against delivery schedule, I personally stayed back, worked through the night and completed the order which was scheduled for 7 am. Room service called in and the cake got picked up on time. Finally, I took a breather and sat sipping coffee with the order takers in their console only to realise that the order was for my boss’ pet dog’s birthday. I looked at the order taker, shook my head in disbelief, changed and left for the day. This embarrassing incident aside, this recipe will be your benchmark for quality.
9 Carrot Loaf
9Ingredients
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped roughly
1.5 cups dark brown sugar
½ cup white grain sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 nos whole eggs
3/4 cup fresh apple puree
(without seeds and skin)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2.5 cups refined flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1.5 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
¼ tsp cloves, powder
2 cups grated carrots
(not baby carrots, please!)
For the cake2 cups Philadelphia cheese½ cup salted butter4.5 cups icing sugar1 tbsp milk1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Cheesecake frosting
Whisk butter and cream cheese together.Add icing sugar and milk along with vanilla extract.Whip till it is nice and fluffy. Keep it covered and refrigerated.
For the cheesecake frosting
Method
Carrot Loaf
9
For the cake
Method
Carrot Loaf
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven at 150° Celsius.
Line a large cake mould with a baking paper.
In a large bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, apple puree, oil and vanilla essence till well combined.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon powder, ginger powder, grated nutmeg and clove powder together.
Fold in both the mixtures together along with grated carrots and walnuts.
Pour the batter in the prepared mould.
Bake for 45 minutes at 150° Celsius.
Cool in the same pan, unmould and keep aside to cool.
Scoop the frosting on top and spread unevenly with a spoon or a palette knife.
Slice and serve!
10The 8th of September is the feast of the
Nativity of Mary. Every year, it is
celebrated in the premise of the Mount
Mary Church, Bandra, for the last 300
years. It started when a statue of Mother
Mary was found floating in the Arabian
Sea in the earlier 1700’s by a Koli
fisherman who dreamt about it a few
years earlier. It is till date a miraculous
incident which has its own legendary
status. All faiths visit the fair for years
now. My family is no exception. We love
picking up knick-knacks on offer at the
fair. You’ll find the wafting aroma of freshly
roasting black chana, halwas from Kerala,
sweets from Mangalore and some
goodies from Goa on display. This recipe
of Baath cake is from Mrs Gonsalves who
puts up a stall there for several years now.
Goan Baath Cake
10
Ingredients2 cups freshly grated coconut
1/8 cup cold water
6 nos whole eggs
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup fine semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup cold milk
Method
Goan Baath CakeIn a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and mix along with the above mixture.
Cover and place in your refrigerator for overnight fermentation.
The next morning, keep the bowl outside and allow it to come up to room temperature. Stir in vanilla essence and cold mix. Stir well.
Pour the batter in a greased baking mould.
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 180° Celsius for 15 minutes. Bake at 180° Celsius for 40 minutes till the top is golden brown and the inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Cool it down. Cut into thick slices and serve!Grind coconut along with 1/8 cup water to a fine paste.
Beat eggs till fluffy and foamy and keep aside.
In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugar together. Add beaten eggs and coconut paste. Stir well.
11I was in Dubai a few years back as I was
invited to do a stage show with Shilpa
Shetty and Kailash Kher to celebrate
India’s Independence Day for the Indian
diaspora in The Emirates. The organiser
gave me a cake baked by someone in
his family. It was an amazing,
honey-scented creamy cake. Exquisite,
to say the least! I realised much later that
this recipe was that of a classic Russian
cake called Medovik which also
apparently goes back to some café in
San Francisco. Clear your tabletop and
your schedule so that you get it right,
light and airy! Remember, it is a layered
rustic beauty so plan accordingly.
Honey Cake
11Ingredients1.5 wildflower honey, divided1/4 cup water1 cup + 2 tbsp white sugar14 tbsp salted butter6 nos whole eggs2.5 tsp baking soda3/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp sea salt1 tsp cinnamon, powder3 3/4 refined flour1 1/4 dulce de leche4 3/4 cups heavy cream, chilled and divided
Method
sugar and butter. When the butter melts and becomes slightly warm, add baking soda, 3/4 tsp salt, cinnamon powder and eggs, whisk vigorously to create an emulsion.
Remove from heat and fold in the flour. Mix till it is smooth.
Spread it evenly on the prepared trays and bake at 190° Celsius for 6 minutes each.
Cool them all. And cut into the rounds as we now need to build them up. All the trimmings need to be run in a mixer/processor and crumbed. Keep both the sponges and crumbs aside.
Let’s move on to making the frosting. Take ½ cup cooked honey, dulce de leche, 1/4 tsp sea salt. Whisk and pour 3/4 cup cream. Continue whisking till it is homogenous.
Whip the remaining 4 cups cream till it has stiff peaks. Mix both and keep aside.
Assemble the cake by building up layers of sponge and frosting. Finally, completely cover the cake with frosting and dredge the outside with sponge crumbs that were kept aside. Believe yourself! You just made a Medovik!
Chill and serve!
Preheat your Godrej Microwave Oven to 190° Celsius.
Line a few baking trays with baking sheet and keep aside.
In a saucepan, heat 3/4 honey. Simmer and cook for 3 minutes. It will begin to foam and smoke. Do not let it burn. Add water and stir. It will become runny and liquidy once again. Turn the flame off and transfer in a measuring cup. Keep aside.
In another pan take some water and place a large bowl on top; like a double boiler.
In that bowl add 1/4 cup cooked honey, 3/4 cup honey,
Honey Cake
12
A cake that too flourless…and three
ingredients to top it all…an absolute
shocker for me as a budding pastry
man...as we never heard about it back
in the pre-Wikipedia and YouTube days!
Even if these were written about, we
had no access to these wonderful
creations. Anyway, it has become one
of my absolute favourites over the
years. I have used it in my verrines,
petit fours, entremets. Even by itself, it
tastes great. It is wonderfully crusty on
the outside and perfectly set yet gooey
in the centre.
Three Ingredientflourless Cake
12
Ingredients6 nos whole large eggs350 grams dark chocolate; couverture, please!6 tbsp salted butter
Method
Slowly fold in the whipped eggs into the chocolate mix in 5-6 batches. The whipped eggs are the key to the structure of the cake
Grease a 6 inches springform pan with parchment paper. Bake for 45 minutes in your Godrej Microwave Oven at 180° Celsius.
It will crack on top when perfectly baked and slightly deflate on cooling down. Can be eaten both cold and warm. What’s my choice? Straight off the oven with a dollop of ice cream!
In a large bowl, whip eggs on high speed until it triples in volume and becomes pale yellow and frothy.
In a microwave bowl, add chopped chocolate and butter. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir. Heat again for 30 seconds and stir. It has to be melted, lump-free and not burnt.
Now you have two mixtures: One is whipped eggs and the other is melted chocolate and butter.
Three Ingredientflourless Cake
Angel Food Cake:Angel food cake is made with only the egg whites, not the yolks.
The beaten egg whites act as a leavening agent, and there is no
added shortening in the recipe. This makes the angel food cake
a delicious no-fat dessert. These cakes need to be baked in a
tall pan because the egg whites create such a dramatic rise. The
texture of these cakes tends to be slightly chewy and spongy
due to its high sugar content. Top this delicate dessert with
berries and whipped cream for the perfect flavour combination.
Chiffon Cake:This classic American cake is a cross between a cake
that has been shortened with oil and a sponge cake.
The recipe includes both baking powder and vegetable
oil, but like many types of sponge cake, the eggs are
separated and beaten before being folded into the
batter. All of this gives you the rich flavour of an oil cake,
but a lighter feel of a sponge cake. It's typically drizzled
with a glaze or frosted with a lighter frosting.
Baked Flourless Cake:Baked flourless cake includes baked cheesecakes, flourless
chocolate cakes, or any other form of cake that is baked
without flour. Flourless chocolate cake is a variation of the
foam cake. These cakes are usually very rich because of the
chocolate, egg yolk, and the fat it contains. To prevent the
bottom of these cakes from burning, they're often baked in a
‘water bath’. This means that the cake is made in a springform
pan, that is then placed in a larger pan that is partially filled
with water, helping to give the cake its silky texture.
Unbaked Flourless Cake:This includes unbaked cheesecakes, mousse cakes,
or any type of cake that is typically moulded in a
dessert ring or springform pan before chilling and
unmoulding. These types of cakes often have a crust
that's baked before the filling is added. Try layering
them with genoise or biscuit for a decadent treat that
is perfect for summer.
Know your cake better!Here are a few more types of cakes for you to relish
Madeleines:Scalloped shell-shaped cookie cakes.
Upside Down Cakes:Example: Pineapple upside down or peach upside down cake.
Fortified Sponges:Example: Financiers. Artisanal Cakes:
Example: Classic checkerboard cake.
Special Purpose Cake:Example: Any tiered or handmade, fancy-shaped cake made for a special purpose like Halloween, birthdays, holy communion, Christmas, Passover, Christmas Logs, etc.
Quick Bread:Example: Banana bread.
Coffee Cakes:Colloquially known as tea cakes.
Yeast Cakes:Babka and Stollen being the most classic examples.
Beyond all these, cakes are also described according to their physical appearances like cake pops (on a popping stick),
Bundt cakes (shaped in a Bundt pan), cake balls (rum balls), cupcakes (mawa cake), layer cakes (Dobos torte), sheet
cakes (swiss rolls), conical (kransekake), etc.
My first professional job was in Kolkata.
I’ve eaten and learnt some brilliant recipes
here, not just food but also cakes.
Montoo’s, Nahoum’s, Flury’s and so many
legendary bakers, some extremely famous
ones and some bakers baking from dingy
lanes where the paint on the walls peels
off, but all so amazing! And what taste!
Some bakes dating back to the British
days. In fact, I’ve strolled down some
Anglo-Indian neighbourhoods which are
open all night on Christmas Eve and
people lining up outside these bakeries for
their specialities. Some of them even rent
out their ovens for neighbours who wish to
bake their own ‘home-baked’ Christmas
cakes. This is one recipe which sells as
much as the quintessential Christmas
cake and celebrates Kolkata’s winter
special decadent nolen gur too!
13 Chenna Cake
13
Ingredients½ cup cottage cheese/ chenna
1/3 cup nolen gur/ date palm jaggery
½ cup white sugar, powdered
1 no whole eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
MethodBeat eggs and powdered sugar until dissolved.
Grind chenna and milk to a fine paste.
Mix the two mixtures, till smooth along with nolen gur and vanilla extract.
Pour into a mould. Steam on double boiler for 12 minutes.
Before serving, grate some nolen gur!
Chenna Cake
I love making the caramel glaze for this
which is so creamy, lemony, buttery,
nutty and perfectly sweet with hints of
butterscotch. And trust me, it is the
most important part of the recipe. I’ll
give you a tiny hint, even if the cake
goes slightly wrong, the glaze which
eventually seeps into the cake like
syrup is a complete ‘face-saver’.
However, this recipe is fool-proof and
trust me, you will never make it any
other way. I learnt this for the first time
in my hotel school but again the recipe
kept evolving over the years. But in
recent years, the recipe hasn’t changed
much, however, sometimes I make it
with canned apricots and peaches.
14 Pineapple UpsideDown Cake
14
Ingredients
1/4 cup salted butter2/3 cup dark brown sugar2 tsp lemon juice5-6 canned pineapple ringsglazed cherries
1/3 cup vegetable oil3 nos eggs1/2 cup pineapple juice1/4 cup buttermilk1 tsp vanilla extract3/4 cup castor sugar1 1/2 cup refined flour1 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp baking soda1/2 cup desiccated coconut1/4 tsp nutmeg, grated
In a bowl, add salted butter, brown sugar, cream the mixture till it is nice and fluffy.
Add lemon juice, mix well and transfer it to a mould.
Spread the mixture evenly in the mould and place the pineapple and cherries on it.
In a bowl add oil, eggs, pineapple juice, buttermilk, vanilla extract, give it a good mix.
Add castor sugar, refined flour, baking powder, baking soda, desiccated coconut, nutmeg, give it a good mix.
Add salt, mix well and transfer it to the cake tin.
Bake it to 200° Celsius for 40 minutes in your preheated Godrej Microwave Oven.
Our pineapple cake is baked and ready, let it rest in the mould for 30 minutes.
Place a plate on top of the mould and turn it.
Tap the mould very lightly and release it.
Base Syrup and Assembly
For Cake Batter For Cake Batter
For Base Syrup and Assembly
MethodPineapple UpsideDown Cake
The world's largest, yes! 3000 pounds. One day, a man came to my Mumbai office with an appointment to check if I would be interested in doing a master class for a large audience in an open stadium in Goa. I had done it monotonously all through that year. I took a chance and asked him if he could manage budgets for a Guinness World Record, which I promised I will crack for him. He left quietly only to message a few days later, signalling that we must go ahead. I jumped at it and started planning. Finally, it took a few hundred thousand phone calls and emails, meticulous planning and training, a core team of 24, a support team of 80, baking several versions, scaling them up and down, a few travels to the neighbouring states to get the 8 feet round collapsible mould, a 12 feet large baking oven, and several letters from state heads to get it all transported to Goa at the peak of a nationwide transport strike! But, at 2:30 am after 18 hours of herculean working, the final baked weight was checked and there we had created history. It is not important that the record is held by me, I am proud that it is held by an Indian. I am also attaching the original recipe by weight for you to feel the magnanimity of the pie! Initially, we had envisioned it to be 1 tonne, and that’s why the original recipe may add up to that number, but then we positively went overboard (a lot happened in between these lines), and we crossed 1.5 tonnes!
15'Guinness WorldRecord' Mud Pie
15
Ingredients
250 grams refined flour
120 grams salted butter
40 grams castor sugar
1 no egg yolk
300 grams chocolate sponge cake
150 grams dark chocolate
15 grams biscuit crumbs
15 grams salted butter
60 grams dark chocolate chips
70 grams glazed cherries; seedless
60 grams cashew nuts, broken
30 grams dairy cream
5 grams cocoa powder
25 grams castor sugar
1 no egg whites
For the Short Crust
For the Filling
MethodFor the short crustMix all ingredients together and chill for 1 hour.
Line a 9 inches mould with this pie pastry, trim the edges and chill for 15 minutes.
Dock it with a fork and bake in your Godrej Microwave Oven at 180° Celsius for 5 minutes; till it is half baked.
For the fillingMix all ingredients in a bowl and pour into the half-baked pie dish.
Bake in your Godrej Microwave Oven for 20 minutes at 180° Celsius.
Demould when it slightly cools down.
Serve this family sized version with ice cream!
'Guinness WorldRecord' Mud Pie
One afternoon, I was shooting for a brand when I got a call from the Master Chef India Season 5 team. They wanted me to make a chocolate truffle cake in their weekend-special guest episode. I was hesitant about making such a simple cake on national television. I requested them if I could add my two cents to it and make it interesting. They agreed. The twist was that the shoot was the next day at 11 am. I drove down the same evening, made a dummy in their makeshift studio kitchen and showed them what my idea was. They loved it. Next morning, I reached the sets, wore my jackets and the makeup (yes! I have to for the screen), gave one long take of 45 minutes like a master class and there we had a spectacular cake (that’s what they said!). I call it ‘my Master Chef India chocolate cake'! Every element of the cake represented India. The chocolate sponge represented Kashmir with its roses, fennel and almonds. The ganache had coffee from Tamil Nadu scented with black cardamom from Sikkim and the layers had candied Alphonso mangoes from Maharashtra and crushed peanuts chikki from Gujarat.
16'Master Chef India'Chocolate Cake!
16
Ingredients
4 nos whole eggs (room temperature)3/4 cup granulated sugar2 tbsp salted butter (melted)3/4 cups refined flour1/4 cup cocoa powder1½ tsp baking powder
1 tbsp dried rose petals, dried2 tbsp almonds, sliced¼ tsp fennel powder
Add sugar and whip till it forms ribbons.
Add the flour mixture and fold with light hands
Carefully fold in melted butter. Do not overmix.
Spoon the mixture in the prepared mould and top up with the mentioned ingredients.
Bake in your Godrej Microwave Oven at 200° Celsius for 30 minutes.
Cool to room temperature and slice!
This is the chocolate sponge which I personally love to eat and serve as a tea cake. If you wish to assemble it the way I did, cool the sponge and cut it into desired shapes for layering. Make a basic chocolate ganache and flavour it with coffee and a touch of black cardamom powder. Add broken chikki and aam papad in between the layers! I had garnished it with a red cage made of chocolate, some berries, edible flowers and edible gold leaf.
Sieve refined flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together into a bowl. Keep aside.
Line an 8” baking pan with foil or parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
Whip eggs till foamy and light.
For the Short Crust
Topping
For the short crust
Method
'Master Chef India'Chocolate Cake!
Balance out all the calorieswith some healthy cooking!
At Godrej Appliances, we believe in making things thoughtfully. That’s why, with our new range of
microwave ovens, we’ve made daily microwave cooking healthy.
With features like Oil-free recipes, Healthy Bread Basket, Healthy Indian Tadka and many more,
we help you pick up healthy habits and drop those crash diets.
Eat healthy every day so you can feel free to indulge in your delightful cakes every now and then!
Thoughtfully made Godrej Microwave Ovens that help you start a healthy habit.
Easy Barbecue
Healthy Indian Tadka
Dal Tadka
Oil-free Recipes
Healthy Breakfast& Snacks
Cutlet
UpmaPaneer Tikka
Get IdeasHealthy Recipes
World cuisine at your fingertipswith Godrej InstaChef AppMake the most of your Godrej Microwave Oven with the
easy Godrej Instachef App, available on Google
playstore on your phone. With detailed demo videos,
recipe videos, ingredient based search, recipe of the
day and many such useful features, the Godrej
Instachef app is designed so you can truly make your
microwave oven your daily cooking companion and
#StartAHealthyHabit.
Recipe of the Day 32+ Recipe Videos
THINGS MADE THOUGHTFULLY
Related Documents
