Baked from Scratch · Mumma's Kitchen · Recipe · Uncategorized

Cream n’ Pineapple Cake


Last year,when we organised a party to celebrate my daughter’s birthday,we were very disappointed by the choice of cakes offered. Either the cake was too dry,or the design wasnt nice..or we didn’t want the frosting that they offered or they didn’t agree to do a frosting of our choice..OR..it was just TOOOOOO expensive.
We still ended up paying $$ and getting a cake that we didn’t like..Ok make that I didn’t like..DH doesnt care much anyway.That day,I decided that come what may,I will bake the cake for her b’day hence forth.
The cake in the picture is the one that I baked for her 3 rd birthday party,2 days back.
Its the first time I baked a sponge cake..and I can tell you,this recipe is a KEEPER!The recipe is a hand-me-down from my brother,who is an HM graduate.He made me try out a sample 1-egg cake..and I was hooked.I baked it in the nite,iced it.DH and Aadi loved the taste and I was happy with the result.
And my scientist brain works better,in stress!So,baking that one egg cake was a great help and made for easy calculations.
To make this cake,you need-
Ingredients-
For the Sponge Cake:
Self Raising flour- 200 gms
Corn Flour-1 tablespoon
Sugar- 200 gms( Sugar- can vary depending on your taste)
Eggs- 4
Baking Powder – 1 1/2 tspn
Vanilla extract- 1 tspn

For the filling-
400 gms whipped cream- thick and fluffy
1/2 can pineapple pieces(Do Not throw away the syrup,keep it aside.

For the final finishing-
700 gms whipped cream,thick and fluffy(I used ready to serve whipped cream,which came in 400 gms tub)-chilled
Pineapple rings
Halved strawberries.

Preparation:
Line and grease two 9″ round cake tins.Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C(160-fan forced).
Sift the flour,corn flour and baking powder and keep aside.
Separate the yolks and egg-whites.
Gradually add sugar,to the egg yolks and mix using a whisk.Add the vanilla extract and continue whisking,till the mixture turns to cream color and gets a buttery consistency.
Divide the flour mix in three part and slowly fold into the egg-sugar mix,using a spatula.
When the mix gets too dry and it gets difficult to move the spatula,then beat the egg white,till its frothy and add it to the mixture,little at a time.
The final batter shud be creamy and smooth and should fall in ribbons,when you lift the spatula..
Put the batter in the greased tins and bake for 15-20 mins.When you insert a knife in the cake and it comes out clean,turn off the oven immediately and remove the cake from the oven after 5-10 minutes.
Let it cool.

Puttin the cake together :
Put the cakes upside down.Prick the surface with a fork and spoon some pineapple syrup on to the cake,till all the surface is wet.Let the cake absorb the syrup.Repeat again after 10-15 mins.Let the syrup be absorbed once again.
Spread a thick layer of whipped cream on the base cake.
Put a layer of pineapple pieces on that and then,spread another thick layer of whipped cream.Keep the other cake on this,like a sandwich.
Cover the top of the cake with whipped cream.Cover the sides of the cake with whipped cream.Cover with cling wrap and let it sit overnight or atleast a couple of hours.
When the base coat is set,spread a fresh layer of whipped cream on top.Smooth out the top and sides.Garnish with pineapple rings and strawberry halves.
Let it chill for a few hours,before serving.

Here’s what my final cake looked like.My daughter wanted a Scooby Doo cake and so,I propped a Scooby Doo figurine in the middle.

I can’t wait to try it with other fruits…The cake was super soft and super moist-totally melt-in-your-mouth.When my brother suggested pineapple cake..the first one that popped in my mind was Monginis pineapple cake..and I so wanted to re-create that..And I am glad,this is the closest thing to it,that I have tasted in all the years that I have been away.
BTW,when I decided to bake this cake,I searched the blogs for Pineapple cream cake and stumbled upon Soma’s recipe..it is slightly different..but,her pics are very detailed.
Hope you enjoy baking it,as much as I did..:)
Happy Baking.

Uncategorized

The party that was…

We finally had a party for Aadi’s 3rd birthday, this Sunday.The birthday was on March 30th,so,the party was way over-due..isn’t it?
This year the Princess wanted a Scooby-Doo cake..and she kept insisting..she wanted a Scooby cake,everytime I asked her..and not even once in the last 3 months,did she change her mind.Occasionally,she wanted a Cars cake like the BB got..and then she would change her mind and say..she wanted Scooby and the Cars! ..and so on.So,Mumma promised her a Scooby cake.
A Scooby-doo invite was made using Evite.com..I used her pic and Scooby images and this message(Please don’t laugh at my lame attempt)-
Scooby Dooby Doo,Scooby Dooby Dee,
Guess who is Three?
It is….Aadya Doo..
Won’t you come too?
Come for Scooby snacks and treats..
Lets have a party,that can’t be beat!

I had been planning the party for more than three months.I asked her what cake she wanted and decided to have a general theme floating.But,last two-three weeks have been terrible ,health-wise so,I didn’t do everything that I had planned. But,there was one thing that I was not prepared to compromise on and that was the cake.And I didn’t.More on that when I post the recipe..this post is about the party.
So,the cake was mommy-made Cream and Pineapple cake.

It was light sponge cake with whipped cream and pineapple filling,with whipped cream frosting(?) and pineapple and strawberry for garnish.I looked in all the party shops for the scooby cake topper and didn’t find anything.Finally,found a set of 5 Scooby doo characters in Big W,toys aisle.So,I used that as the cake topper.
I was very happy with the finished cake and it was a big hit with the guests and most importantly the Birthday Girl.
It was a tea-time party and most people arrived by 4.30-5.00.I had planned some craft activities for the kids,if it was cold.But,luckily,it was a beautiful day and all the kids were outside,running and playing and sharing OR fighting for the ride-ons.
When it was time to cut the cake,Aadi was more excited about blowing the blow-out than cutting the cake.Her little friend,S,took a step closer to the cake and that was all the push,she needed to blow out the candles.And she blew off half the candles even before DH or I could take our positions besides her..and called us,only when she needed help to blow out the ones far from her.
Then,it was chow-time..I had planned on making bone shaped sandwiches for kids..but,didn’t find a bone shaped cookie-cutter..(and I didn’t look enough!),so,it had to be mini-triangles..

The Menu was-
Sandwiches– We had three kind of sandwiches
*Mini Bread-butter-jam sandwich-I used the chunky strawberry jam and threw in a few fresh strawberries in the sandwich tin.
* Veg-Chutney Sandwich-The Sandwich Wala kind.
*Egg Salad-Chutney Sandwich
Aalu-Chole Chaat
Veg Noodles
Samosa from the Indian sweet shop
Fresh Watermelonand Pop corn,chips,cheetos,coke,fanta,juice..
And there was Tomato Soup..that I forgot to serve till the very end.
Some people forgot to tell us that they won’t make it and some others had to bail out at the last minute and so,we were left with a lot of food.So,everyone got to take some food home.
And now the most important part of a kiddie party-The loot bags.I fell in love with these bags that Patricia used for her daughter’s party and I knew..this is what I was looking for.Before I saw Patricia’s bags,I was planning on making some bags with newspaper and stamping them with some cute stamps.But,in the end,I decided to go with the brown paper bags-

The bags were embellished with ribbons on a corner and each child’s name was stamped on it.And then a handwritten Thankyou note was tagged to it.There was one for Aadi too and her note said-Happy Birthday.
The loot bag this time contained- My little Pony toy sets for girls(because all the girls on the guest list are crazy about My little Pony),water rings video game set for boys(you know the kinds we used to get when we were kids-sort of like a handheld video game),balloons,blow-outs,mini easter eggs(come on-her birthday falls before easter-almost all the candy available is easter themed!),and Marshmallow lollypop shaped like bugs and butterflies(so cute!)
We didn’t take a lot of pictures this year..but that’s because we were sooo busy having fun!Hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I had fun planning the party.
More about party planning in another post…For now,I will leave you with a picture of the birthday girl and her loot…

crochet · hats · Uncategorized

A Durango for me..

Winter is here..and I hate the greys it brings with it…grey skies,grey coats,grey moods.
I have decided to bring in color in my life this winter…This hat is the first step.
When I made the Durango hat for my friend,Devi..I loved it.I wanted to make one for myself..but I was so tired of making the orders,that I didn’t get around to it.One of my goals this year is to knit more for my family and myself.I will still do a few orders..but somehow,it just doesn’t work out alright for me.The yarn too expensive,me too shy to ask for the right price or any money at all.This year I have decided to take orders only if when yarn is provided.Lets see how long,I can keep it up.
Anyway,here’s the hat,that this post is about-

A close up-

Sadly,this pattern is no longer available..
I am very happy with the finish of this one.Now all I need is a matching scarf..:)

Baked from Scratch · Mumma's Kitchen · Recipe · Uncategorized

Chocolate Fudge cake


I found this recipe in the Good Food magazine..and I knew instantly,I was going to try it out.More than anything else,I was sure,I wanted to bake it for Aadya’s birthday.I tried it as is,without mucking up and the cake was to DIE for! For the birthday cake,I upped the flour and used plain butter frosting instead of chocolate fudge..it was fine..but nothing to beat the chocolate,eh?
The recipe finally..Sorry for the long wait people.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups(225 g) self raising flour
1/2 cup(50 gms) cocoa
1 cup sugar
11/2 tsp baking powder
250 g butter,softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
75 g dark chocolate,melted( remember to pick up dark chocolate with atleast 70% cocoa solids)

Fudge Icing
200 g butter,softened
200 gm pure icing sugar
200 gms dark chocolate,melted

*Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C (or 160 deg C-fan-forced).Grease and line two 20 cm round sandwich pans.
*Place flour,cocoa,baking powder,sugar,butter,eggs,vanilla extract and melted dark chocolate in a food processor until smooth.If the batter is a little stiff,add 2-3 tbsps water and process again.
*Divide mixture equally between the pans,smooth surface and bake for 30-40 mins ,until a skewer comes out clean.Cool cakes in pans for 5 mins,before transfering onto wire rack to cool completely.
*To make icing,place butter and icing sugar in a clean food processor until combined.Add melted chocolate and process,until smooth.Sandwich together layers of cake with half of the icing and top with the remaining icing.

Cut a huge slice and ENJOY!!!

For this cake,I used vanilla custard filling and instead of the chocolate butter icing..I used pink frosting.EVERY thing was same,only I didn’t add chocolate powder and added some pink color.When adding color,add color to only a small portion of frosting,at a time.
I covered the top of the cake with pink frosting and then added chocolate sprinkles.The fairies were sugar fairies,cake toppers ($6-from Coles)..
Ta..daa.. all done!

Mumma's Kitchen · Uncategorized

Chocolate Fudge Cake

I found this recipe in the Good Food magazine..and I knew instantly,I was going to try it out.More than anything else,I was sure,I wanted to bake it for Aadya’s birthday.I tried it as is,without mucking up and the cake was to DIE for! For the birthday cake,I upped the flour and used plain butter frosting instead of chocolate fudge..it was fine..but nothing to beat the chocolate,eh?
The recipe finally..Sorry for the long wait people.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups(225 g) self raising flour
1/2 cup(50 gms) cocoa
1 cup sugar
11/2 tsp baking powder
250 g butter,softened
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
75 g dark chocolate,melted( remember to pick up dark chocolate with atleast 70% cocoa solids)

Fudge Icing
200 g butter,softened
200 gm pure icing sugar
200 gms dark chocolate,melted

*Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C (or 160 deg C-fan-forced).Grease and line two 20 cm round sandwich pans.
*Place flour,cocoa,baking powder,sugar,butter,eggs,vanilla extract and melted dark chocolate in a food processor until smooth.If the batter is a little stiff,add 2-3 tbsps water and process again.
*Divide mixture equally between the pans,smooth surface and bake for 30-40 mins ,until a skewer comes out clean.Cool cakes in pans for 5 mins,before transfering onto wire rack to cool completely.
*To make icing,place butter and icing sugar in a clean food processor until combined.Add melted chocolate and process,until smooth.Sandwich together layers of cake with half of the icing and top with the remaining icing.

Cut a huge slice and ENJOY!!!

For this cake,I used vanilla custard filling and instead of the chocolate butter icing..I used pink frosting.EVERY thing was same,only I didn’t add chocolate powder and added some pink color.When adding color,add color to only a small portion of frosting,at a time.
I covered the top of the cake with pink frosting and then added chocolate sprinkles.The fairies were sugar fairies,cake toppers ($6-from Coles)..
Ta..daa.. all done!

Uncategorized

On my needles..

Winter is here..and my knitting mojo is back…I think all I needed was cold weather..:)
On my needles currently are scarves..one for a friend,in fancy knitting yarn and
another one for myself.I just cast on Fishtail lace scarf in the same blue from the library bag..
I will update this post later,with pics.

Uncategorized

Birthday pics Finally


I think its about time,I shared some pics from Aadi’s birthday-
Here’s the birthday girl with her cake and most importantly,CANDLE!

The cake

This was my first attempt at butter icing and there were gaps..
Here’s the inside-

It was double chocolate cake with custard filling,pink butter frosting and chocolate sprinkles and sugar fairies.Aren’t the fairies cute?They are from Coles party decor aisle.

Finally I sent out invitations for Aadi’s birthday party.We were waiting to have a party after she started school..so,the party is next weekend..now,the madness begins.I wasn’t very happy with the butter cream..it looked and tasted nice..but I dont like the buttery after-taste the next day.So,this time may be I will try whipped cream or chocolate Ganache…If anyone has some tried and tested fab icing recipe..please pass it on..
Tomorrow is the first day of playgroup..Its a mom-baby(child) group..We have been wait-lists since we moved to Australia..About time,I say.
Enjoy the pics..

Uncategorized

Guess who is..

Toilet trained now??
Yes Ms.Aadya..
Remember the Diaper-making? So,when I told her,it was a tissue and not a diaper,she didn’t believe me.She had to try it.I was on the phone..and saw her running back and forth,pulling a tissue from the box,on each trip..Naturally,I checked..and the sight that met me,was..lets just say not very pretty.
She actually tried to use the tissue as a diaper..and it didn’t work..so,she panicked..Needless to say,I had to clean up the mess.But,she realised the tissue wont work.So,I put her on the toilet and she did it!!
The next day,when she wanted to go potty,she asked me to put her on the toilet seat!! And then the next day..and the day after..and so,before her 3rd b’day..she was absolutely diaper-free!![Anti-jinx]
Yayyy Aadi!

Uncategorized

TTC Diary#2

April 7th 2010-
Tested today morning..and got a BFN! no surprises there..
Nausea getting worse..I spent most of yesterday and today morning horizontal.
shoulder pain at the tip of left shoulder.sore abdomen and on and off cramping.
brown spotting yesterday night,on wiping.
Hopefully the blood test on Friday should give us an answer,one way or the other.

Uncategorized

Ready?…TTC Diary-1

Year 2010..
At the start of the year I didn’t get any baby vibes..but in the back of my mind this year was always the year of Baby#2..we’ll see what it holds for us.
January 2010
AF didn’t show..Last AF was on November 15th 2009.
I got my hormone profile done in India and all the readings were in the normal range.
February 2010
Finally AF showed- 12th Feb.
I was marking the calendar,since december…for even the slightest of tweak..that I felt.
The details matched the details for this cycle..
I spotted twice during the cycle,with cramps and sharp unbearable pain,on the left or right side.
14 days after the second spotting,AF showed up.
We are going to use this cycle and the next few as test cycles..to find a pattern.To see if it matches.
CD#1- Feb 12th.
CD#17- Feb 28th-mild cramping
CD#23- March 6th-Slight spotting(pink)
CD#24-March 7th-Spotting..
CD#28-March 11th-Blood-tinged and Egg-white CM.(Possible Ovulation??)
CD#33- March 16th-spotting(red on wiping)
CD#34-38-Clear..no spotting..
CD#39-March 22nd-Light Brown spotting
CD#40-March 23rd-Light Brown spotting continues
CD#41-March 24th-spotting continues
CD#42- March 25th- AF day? I woke up and I thought AF is here.Light on U/w and on wiping.Nothing after that.(is it implantation?)
CD# 43-All clear..
CD#47- Test at doctor office-BFN
CD#54-April 6th-still no AF.

In the meantime,
CD#29-March 13th-Extremely tired after 2 hours in the market..it was a very hot day
CD#30-March 14th- Headache after 1 hour at the town center.
from CD#31 Nausea on and off,very tired
CD#38-Achy calves and feet
CD#42-MArch 25th-hot flashes,irritation
General restlessness,lower back aches,head aches,loss of appetite,motion sickness,swollen breasts,nausea,insomnia,head rush on bending,stuffy nose.
April 2nd ,3rd,4th-Nausea after eating,tired,headaches,strong smells,Extremely sore breasts and back ache.
April5th-sore breasts,severe nausea-afternoon to almost dinner time,very tired…