Marble Cake and An Ode to Casa Piccola

This might be very Bangalore centric but I’m sure anyone who’s seen one of their favorite/old eateries shut down, can connect to what I’m saying. Casa Piccola has be serving Bangalore fun and affordable European cuisine from 1979 and the Devtha Plaza location was definitely all the school and office goers favorite. If there was one place I remember frequenting as a kid for burgers and pizza’s and spaghetti – it was Casa’s. Many a date has been arranged here, with the friends sitting at the next table and sniggering away, while the poor boy was left wondering whether he did something wrong! If there is one restaurant that I’ve actually eaten every dish on the menu – it was at Casa’s. We even knew the waiters by name and some of them have worked in the establishment forever and a day. My favorite dish was Pasta Fungi – Pasta and mushrooms in a white sauce. (As a child with limited French vocabulary I was afraid to order it because I assumed Fungi = plural of Fungus!). My other top orders were the Sloppy Joe Burger (open face burger with ham and mushrooms covered with sauce), Epinard Ala Crème (A spinach bake covered with mashed potatoes) and Pasta Tetrazzini (Pasta in a cheesy red sauce)! The desserts were always fun and the Profiteroles and the Marble cake with ice cream :) topped the list!
The restaurant downed it shutters last month and I went there and tried and ate everything that my stomach could stomach! It was the only way a foodie can ever say goodbye to their favorite haunts. It’s sad to see commercialization gobbling up parts of Bangalore that we hold dear and Casa’s joins the elite list with India Coffee House, Victoria Hotel, Premier Book store and Airlines drive thru. But old Bangaloreans will remember… and this is my ode to you.

Marble Cake

Prep time: 20 mins

Baking time: 45 mins

Makes: one 8 inch round cake

What you need:

125 gms Unsalted Butter

¾ cup Caster sugar

2 Eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp Vanilla essence

2 cups Flour

2 ½ tsp Baking Powder

A pinch of Salt

½ cup Milk

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder + 1 Tbsp Milk

Red/Orange food coloring

What to do:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a deep 8” cake tin with butter; line the base and sides with butter paper.

Using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl, till light and fluffy and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add essence, beat until combined.

Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt in three batches, alternating with the milk. Start and finish with the flour. Stir until just combined and smooth.

Divide the batter into three bowls. In the first, mix in the sifted cocoa and 1 Tbsp Milk, combine till smooth. Add enough food colouroing in the second batch to give it a nice pink/ orange flush. Leave the third bowl plain.

Now, drop spoonfuls of alternating colours into the prepared cake tin until all the mixture has been used up. Draw a skewer or knife through to swirl the colours. Bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave the cake in its tin for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool. Eat warm.

Say a little prayer for Casa Piccola before you tuck in with some Ice Cream!

Note: This is a Basic Butter Cake recipe. So if you don’t want a marble cake, just omit mixing the cocoa and coloring in. The rest of the process remains the same.

Fluffy Sponge Cake and a Trifle Pudding

Sponge cakes are so called because they are as fluffy as a sea sponge. The air incorporated into the batter lifts the cake to make it light and irresistible. Since it is used as a base for many other desserts it’s one of the first cake recipes that I wrote down in my little black book of Baking! (Yes, I have one – though the color is more navy blue than black). There are many variations to turn out a perfect sponge. I use the method which involves creaming the eggs and sugar and adding the melted fat in the end. Some people use oil instead of butter, but I always think butter makes everything better, so you know my leanings! You can eat the sponge cake like a Victorian Sandwich – jam and whipped double cream or use it for a rolled cake like a Swiss Roll. (The flexibility of a sponge cake allows us to roll it without breaking).  I have used it as a base for the popular English Trifle. Now the Trifle is nothing but a combination of layers of cake, custard, fruit and cream. But it is an impressive looking dessert to turn out! I use ready mix custard and jelly which saves me time. You can also go ahead and use a ready cake as the base of the trifle. (I won’t tell anyone!) But it’s so cost effective and easy to make at home, that I desist buying some from the bakery. Once you have all the ingredients, a trifle pudding is just assembly – though you have to wait a trifle between steps. Like George Savile said, “A man who is a master of Patience is a master of everything else”. (I don’t think he had a wife…’master of everything else’ ….hmph!) J

Fluffy Sponge Cake

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Serves: 4 (makes one 8X8 inch cake or two 20cm round cakes)

What you need:

4 eggs

¾ cup (165 gms) Caster Sugar

1 cup (150 gms) Flour

1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

1 tablespoon Cornflour

10 gms (2 teaspoons) Butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup (80 ml) Hot Water

What to do:

Pre-heat oven to 180°C for a normal oven or 160°C for a fan-forced oven. Grease one 8x8 inch square cake pans, and line the base with baking paper. (Baking paper makes it easy to remove the sponge cake – other be prepared to lose large chunks to the pan).

Beat eggs in a bowl, using an electric mixer, for about 10 minutes, until thick and creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved. Triple-sift flour, baking powder, salt and corn flour together and fold it into the egg mixture gently.  (Folding in flour and other ingredients can be tricky when you use a spoon or spatula, but you can use your fingers to pull the dry ingredients up and through the egg mixture).

Combine the melted butter and the water, pour it down the side of bowl and fold through gently

but thoroughly. Pour mixture into the pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Immediately turn out the sponges to cool, top-side up, onto a wire rack covered with baking paper. Cool and use as you please.  

Basic Trifle Pudding

What you need:

4 cups Vanilla Custard (Prepared from 500ml milk and 3-4 tbsp Custard packet mix)

2 cups Jelly (prepared from 1 packet – I used Rex)

2 cups fresh Cream whipped with 3 Tbsp Sugar

1 Sponge Cake Base

2 cups of mixed Fruit (strawberries, cherries, pineapples, apples, grapes)

What to do:

In a big glass bowl, layer the sponge cake at the base. Put the jelly in as the next layer. Now top with fruits. Pour custard over. (It's better if the custard is thick rather than runny...helps hold the trifle's shape better). Now lightly top with whipped cream. Decorate with fruit slices/ sprinkles. Ready to serve!

Note: You can also make individual portions of trifle, much easier to serve!

Ice Cream Sandwiches for Milestones and Hot Days

I’ve always been bewitched by Ice Cream Sandwiches. Not many companies made it and on the rare occasions that I would get to eat it; I was always in awe that ice cream could be held together by two cookies! They are very popular in Singapore (being one degree above the equator, that’s fair enough!) and that’s where I had one, every day of my trip. No exaggerating! There, they use wafers to make the sandwich but I much prefer the cookies…so much more yummy! A very popular flavor there is Durian ice cream sandwich. The fruit may stink like old socks but the ice cream tastes divine. Summer just kicked in last week and the Bangalore heat has gotten as bad as Singapore this year. No really, we were at 35 degrees yesterday! The heat made me crave for the ice cream sandwiches. After looking for them in most ice cream parlors and turning up negative, I made them myself. (Not the ice cream darlings, bought that one). And since this is the month I got married in and the co-resident and I completed five years of being together, I dedicate the (cheesy) heart shaped ice cream sandwiches to him. Ha ha ha , I can just imagine him going red in the face… well, he can cool off with an ice cream sandwich can’t he?

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prep time: 30 mins + cooling time

Makes: 10 sandwiches

What you need:

500 ml Ice Cream slab (I used Amul Vanilla)

For the chocolate cookies:

100 gms All purpose flour (Maida)

¼ tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Baking soda

20 gms Cocoa powder

40 gms Butter

50 gms Powdered sugar

1 Tbsp Water

What to do:

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder together in a medium sized bowl. Chop butter into small chunks. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Now add a tbsp of water to it and beat for few mins more. Add the dry ingredients mixture in two parts and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the mix is incorporated and rolls into a ball. Now wrap the cookie dough in a cling film and refrigerate for 10 mins.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Sprinkle some All purpose flour on your working surface and roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Use your cookie cutters to cut out shapes. (I used a heart… ahem ahem… go ahead and laugh, it looked cute!)

Place the cut out cookies on a baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes at 180°C. Let the cookies cool on wire rack for a while and store in air tight container

Assembling the Ice cream sandwich: Bake the cookies. Place one cookie (under side facing up) on a plate. You need to work really quickly in the coolest part of the kitchen now. Cut a slab of ice cream as thick as you want the sandwich to be. (I used ¾ inch). Quickly cut the ice cream using your cookie cutter and place the shaped piece on top of the cookie and sandwich it with another cookie on top. Now quickly transfer it to the freezer for it to firm up. (I used a Tupperware box lined with butter paper to store the ice cream sandwiches).

Serve chilled just out of the freezer :)

Baked Yoghurt with Cinnamon and Orange Compote

The BBC Good Food magazine finally arrived in India! (Ok, it arrived in November but I’m writing this post now…Sue me!) Like any food fanatic, I was over the moon. Promptly went and subscribed for it and ran around like a headless chicken to get the first edition in my hand. Yes, I do love books with pictures in it… especially food pictures! Got the magazine back home and devoured it from cover to cover! Bliss comes in different ways to different people. I religiously book marked recipes to try and went and did my grocery shopping. Ain’t I the model foodie? But, days turned into weeks and now weeks into a month and I still hadn’t tried anything. The next issue arrived and I was determined to cook something from the first edition atleast! So obviously I picked the recipe that looked the most difficult, the most beautiful, the weirdest, the most challenging, the easiest! This recipe is more about combining ingredients than actual cooking, but it turned out to be quite the dessert! Maybe a little less cinnamon the next time and I’m bookmarking this recipe for easiest dessert ever. (Other than serving Ice cream of course!)

Baked Yoghurt with Cinnamon and Orange Compote

(Recipe Courtesy: BBC Good Food India, Nov 2011)

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 6-8

What you need:

¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon

200 gms Fresh Cream

200 gms Condensed Milk

200 gms Yoghurt (Set Dahi)

2 Mandarins/ Seville Oranges (where the skin sticks to the fruit)

4 Tbsp Sugar

1 Star Anise

What to do:

In a bowl, stir together the cinnamon, yoghurt, cream and condensed milk until it attains a consistent texture. Pour the mixture into ramekins and bake at 120°C until just set – approx 15 mins. Turn off the oven and let it continue to cool in the oven. Refrigerate for a few hours and serve chilled.

For the compote: Zest the orange making sure to avoid the white pith (that imparts the bitter taste). Cut the oranges into pieces and deseed it. In a saucepan, add the orange, zest, sugar and star anise and simmer for 12-15 mins until reduced. Serve warm spooned over the cold yoghurt.

P.S. The original recipe said ½ tsp Cinnamon, but I think it overpowers the yoghurt. So I’ve reduced it to ¼ tsp or lesser.

Orange-Raisin Muffins

Winter in Bangalore (if it can be called winter at all!) is a lovely time. We have a crisp chill in the air but the sun shines brightly and the sky is a gorgeous blue with dots of white clouds. What is also wondrous at this time is Oranges. One of my favorite fruits. Orange juices in cartons might have all but killed the joy of eating one, but there is nothing like a sweet citrusy orange to add that zing to your morning brekkie or evening snack or dinner time…you get the drift! An orange is one fruit that I eat with utmost care, not because it’s delicate but because my grandmother (bless her soul) had fed us with scary stories. She claimed that if we swallowed an orange seed, an orange tree would grow in our stomach and sprout leaves from our ears! Yes, she was quite the graphic storyteller! In such circumstances, my sisters and I all but spat the seeds out as soon as it touched our tongues. And since we had a lovely balcony that overlooked the road, the recipients of the seeds would always be unsuspecting passers-by! We would duck and giggle and continue the attack. So it’s with fond memories that I look forward to orange season every year. Brings the little rascal out in me!

Orange-Raisin Muffins

Prep time: 15 mins

Baking time: 20 mins

Makes: 8-10

What you need:

3/4 cup sultanas/ raisins

2 Tbsp Honey

Zest and juice of 1 Orange

1/4 cup Milk

1 cup natural Yoghurt

50g Butter, Melted

1 egg

2 cups plain Flour, sifted

2 tsps Baking powder

1/3 cup Castor sugar

What to do:

Preheat oven to 190'C. Lightly greese a non stick muffin pan.

Place sultanas, honey, orange zest and juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Beat egg, mix with milk, yoghurt and melted butter. Combine with the orange sauce. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Makes a lovely addition to your morning cuppa!

P.S. The sultanas may seem like a lot, but all the orange flavor is concentrated in them. Also the sultanas are what give the muffin sweetness. IF you like you’re breakfast sweet, then go ahead and increase the sugar to ½ cup.

DO NOT leave the muffins in longer than 20 mins as they will turn as tough as hockey pucks. If you want to see a little more colour on the top of the muffins, give it an eggwash. (lightly brush some beaten egg over the muffin in the last 5 mins of baking.)

Nutella Cupcakes

Here’s a little treat for my sweet tooth! One – it’s a cupcake, Two – it’s got frosting, Three – Its nutella frosting. I nicked this recipe off the official nutella website – not promoting them, but boy was it worth it! You can’t really replicate the taste of nutella with anything else. Am I glad my supermarket had a buy one get one free offer. Considering the co-resident finished one whole bottle by just digging in a spoon and licking it all off, I needed to use up the other in more productive ways. So yes, this is an attempt at productivity – though it resulted in sheer indulgence!

Nutella Cupcakes

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 25 mins

Makes: 12

What you need:

1/4 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature

What to do:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes. 

Everyday Chocolate Cake

What is it about chocolate cake that makes men go weak in the knees? (Women as well… excuse the gender bias!). I am not the biggest chocolate fan… though my friends would beg to disagree. But I can honestly tell you, you can get away with murder if you offer someone a slice of chocolate cake. (OK, maybe not murder but a parking ticket for sure!). I won’t wax eloquent about the awesomeness of chocolate… some things are better experienced. This recipe is for the ‘easiest chocolate cake’ that you can whip up, to receive praise from one and all. Trust me, I have husband, siblings, friends and collegues who have fallen for its charm. My weapon of choice.

Everyday Chocolate Cake

Prep time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 6-8

What you need:

1 cup Flour

3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

½ cup Butter

¾ cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1/3 cup Milk

1 tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Soda Bicarbonate

1 tsp Vanilla essence

a pinch of Salt

Chocolate sauce to serve

What to do:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Ensure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Grease a 9” tin with butter. Finely sieve flour, baking powder, soda and cocoa. Keep aside. Mix vanilla essence in the milk. Keep aside. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy in a big bowl. (Electric mixer on low then moving to high or use a whisk). Add room temperature eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds after each egg. Beat till everything comes together. 

Now slowly beat the sifted dry ingredients into the egg and butter mixture in three batches, adding the milk between each flour batch. Start and end with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required, and ensure that the batter is evenly mixed. Do not over beat.

Pour the batter into the greased tin and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 mins or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Please note that I use a convection oven, increase the time on a regular oven to 35 mins). Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack. Drizzle chocolate sauce and enjoy!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

As a kid I was always amazed at this cake. How did they make the pineapple fit into the cake? Did they push it down and then burn the top? If they did then why dint it fall off when you turned it over? Anyway childhood has passed and all things magical are now just like that show – ‘Great magic tricks revealed’ (Which I hate by the way – I think they’re killing the enigma!). So yeah... I finally figured it out. They lay out the pineapple, pour the cake batter in and bake it. Finally, they filp it over – Hence Upside-Down cake. Should have paid more attention to the linguistics, mind you … would have figured it out much much earlier. But when you’re young and starry eyed, life is just so so much more fun. (The previous sentence in no way implies I’m an old hag now…just so you know … :P)

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Prep time: 30 mins

Cooking time: 30-35 mins

Serves: 8 (or 4 if you’re greedy)

What you need:

60 gms Butter, softened
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp Brown sugar
4 slices of canned Pineapple rings (drained and juice reserved)
For the sponge:
½ cup Butter, softened
½ cup Sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1½ cups Flour
2½ tsp Baking powder
A pinch of salt
7in/18cm Cake pan (deep)

What to do:

Lightly butter the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Cream together the butter and sugar and spread evenly over the parchment paper. Arrange the drained pineapple rings on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C.

To make the sponge, cream butter and sugar. Toss in the beaten eggs. Beat for 2 mins. Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix till just incorporated. Cut and fold technique. Spoon the batter on top of the pineapple rings and level the surface. Bake in the preheated over for 30-35 mins until the cake is well risen and springy to the touch. Invert the cake onto a warmed serving platter and serve at once.

P.S. That's my beautiful Brown sugar...mmm....

Panchamrutam - The five Nectars

South Indian festivals are an excuse to indulge in food of the sweet and heavy kind. One of the staples is ‘Panchamrutam’ which means the five nectars. This is prepared as a festive offering and is a medley of all things sweet! It’s a sugar high to say the least and considering this is what we offer our Gods they must be getting off on the sugar buzz! Anyway there are no fixed five ingredients though Milk, Curd, Honey, Ghee, Fruits (esp bananas), Coconut and Sugar are interchangeable. My recipe is almost a fruit salad, but with a holy twist! Bless you…

Panchamrutam

Prep time: 10 mins

Serves: 10 -12

What you need:

2 Bananas

1 Apple

2 Guava

1 Sweet Lime (peeled and segmented)

Handful of Black Grapes

Half a Pomegranate (peeled and separated)

500 gms Thick Curd

250ml Milk

2 Tbsp Ghee

1 Tbsp Honey

5 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

What to do:

Wash and dice the apples, guava and Bananas. Peel the Sweet lime and segment it. Remove seeds and transparent layer as well. Toss into a big bowl. Add the curd, milk, honey, ghee and sugar. Stir to incorporate without mushing up the fruit. Add the Grapes and Pomegranate. Refrigerate. Before serving garnish with extra Pomegranate seeds. Mmmmm…..

Note: To segment Sweet Limes – Cut off a thin slice from the top and bottom. Make Incisions in the outer skin from top to bottom in 4-5 places. Now you can peel the outer skin easily. Next separate the segments. Make an incision on the back of each segment and pry open. Remove seeds. Break away the pulp from the skin in 4 pieces.

Strawberry Fool

What’s red and sweet and juicy with a little green mop top? Strawberries! They are finally in season and I’m thrilled! I love strawberries – the colour, the taste, the cutesy look! Absolutely beautiful, these fruit are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C. If you have a cold, get yourself a big glass of strawberry juice and you can kiss the cold goodbye. Really! (Ok, It works for me all the time, maybe I subconsciously want to add one more reason to love the lil buggers!) So, if you want to get on my good side, give me a bowl of strawberries and cream! Yes, I’m a fool for strawberries …sigh!

Strawberry Fool

Prep time: 30 mins

Serves: 6

What you need:

350 gms Strawberries

1 tsp lemon juice

300 ml Double Cream

175 gms/ 1 cup Castor Sugar

What to do:

Put the strawberries into a small pan with 3 Tbsp of water and cook over a low heat until soft. Remove from heat, add the sugar according to taste and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool, then blend or sieve to make a puree. Set aside and cool. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Whip the double cream until it is fairly stiff and using a metal spoon, carefully fold it into the strawberry puree, losing as little volume as possible. Turn the mixture into six serving bowls/ dessert glasses and leave to set. Decorate it with strawberry slices. Leave in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

P.S. Fools are a very good way of using up a lot of seasonal fruit. Especially if it is soft as it needs to be pulped up and combined with cream. Other fruits that work well include raspberries, blackcurrants, mangoes and peaches.

Double Banana Nut Bread

Well baking is really not my forte. Not that I suck at it, but I would never really attempt a 10 layer cake and expect to get it right. That’s what the patisseries’ are for right? That said, this Banana Bread recipe is extremely simple. Actually I am even willing to call it failsafe. Add to the fact that it lets you use up overripe bananas left over from overzealous shopping expeditions, well who’s complaining?? The basic Banana bread recipe remains the same and you can toss any dried fruits/ nuts into it to make it more interesting. I would suggest walnuts, almonds and raisins. Also for a yummy flavor you could add blueberries.. but solo. We don’t want a hodgepodge now do we? It’s a really dense bread, so it keeps moist for a long time. But it's never lasted beyond two days at my place… cause we eat it up!!

Double Banana Nut Bread

Recipe Courtesy: Shelley Albeluhn

Baking time: 60 mins

Serves: 8-12 / One 9X5 inch loaf

What you need:

2 cups All purpose Flour

2 med Eggs, beaten

2-3 mashed Overripe Bananas

¼ tsp Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ cup Butter

¾ cup Brown Sugar

Handful of Raisins and Almonds (broken into small pieces)

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, sift and combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in beaten eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Ready and Bready :)

P.S. It’s called Double Banana Nut Bread cause it’s got a pronounced Banana flavor compared to other breads. Yes, it’s actually a result of a very scientific survey. Sue me!