Prep: 30 min.
Bake: 15 min. + cooling

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
1-1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorator icing and confetti candies

In a mixing bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Add water, oil,
vinegar and vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured 8-in. square
baking dish. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick
inserted near center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before
removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
In a mixing bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, milk, butter and
vanilla until smooth; set aside. Transfer cake to a work surface.
Using a 3- to 3-1/2-in. heart-shaped cookie cutter, gently cut out
four heart-shaped cakes (set cake trimmings aside for another use).
Place one heart on a serving plate; spread with some frosting. Top
with a second cake; frost top and sides. Repeat with remaining cakes
and frosting. Decorate with icing and candies. Yield: 2 servings.

* 75g (1/2 cup) hazelnuts
* 480g (2 cups) fresh ricotta
* 100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
* 125g (1/2 cup) sour cream
* 2 eggs, lightly whisked
* 1 x 100g pkt Lindt 70% cocoa dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
* 95g (1/2 cup) mixed peel
* 2 tbs brandy
* Icing sugar mixture, to dust
*
Shortcrust pastry
* 150g (1 cup) plain flour
* 55g (1/2 cup) almond meal
* 60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture
* 125g chilled butter, chopped
* 1 egg yolk

Method

1. To make the pastry, place the flour, almond meal, icing sugar and butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and process until the dough just starts to come together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Shape into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3mm-thick disc. Line a round 20cm (base measurement) fluted tart tin, with removable base, with pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to rest.
3. Meanwhile, spread the hazelnuts over a baking tray and bake in oven for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Place the hazelnuts on a clean tea towel and rub to remove the skins. Coarsely chop.
4. Combine the hazelnuts, ricotta, sugar, sour cream, egg, chocolate, mixed peel and brandy in a large bowl.
5. Cover the pastry base with baking paper and fill with pastry weights, rice or dried beans. Place on a baking tray and bake in oven for 10 minutes. Remove the paper and weights, rice or dried beans and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 180°C.
6. Spoon the ricotta mixture into the pastry base and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until filling is just set. Turn oven off. Leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the door ajar, for 1 hour or until cool (this will prevent the cake from cracking). Remove from oven and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to chill. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Method: Beat yolks with 150 gm sugar and vanilla until light. Beat in wine and oil.

Fold in flour and baking powder. Whip whites until stiff and whisk in remaining sugar. Fold into cake mixture.

Bake in greased and lined loaf tin at 180 degrees C for about 40 minutes.

Decorate with cherries and serve with whipped cream and mango puree.

In a deep bowl beat the eggs with sugar and keep aside

Mix baking powder and 4 tsp of cinnamon powder with the flour. Gradually mix the powdered mixture into the beaten eggs.

Mix in oil, apples and walnuts with it.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon powder on top.

Bake for one hour or till done. Serve.

Introduction to Eggless Cakes

Method:

Slice the cake in 3 horizontal parts. Take a bowl in which the cake fits perfectly. (use the tin used for baking the cake).

Place the butter paper strip all along the inside border vertically. Let the ends overlap. Place the lower part of the cake into the tin keeping the butter paper strip up and around it.

Boil the water, add jelly crystals, stir and dissolve well. Put half the mixture in the freezer to chill. When thickened but not set, beat with a spoon and pour on to the layer of cake in the tin.

Sprinkle a third of the biscuits crumbs on it. Place the centre layer of cake on top.

Put in the chiller for jelly to set. Also place remaining jelly mixture in freezer to thicken save 1 tbsp for top. Repeat as for above. Cover with top layer of cake. Pour the remaining jelly (1 tbsp) over it, spread. Sprinkle remain crumbs, decorated with chopped strawberries. Chill for the topmost layer to set.

To serve very carefully insert a wide spatula under the bottom layer. Hold the butter paper tight around the cake and transfer to a cake plate. Carefully peel off butter paper. Serve immediately with or without vanilla ice-cream.

Serves-6
Making time -1 hour (excluding cake baking time)
Shelf life -2 days in chiller.

Introduction to Eggless Cakes

Method:
#

Sieve flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cocoa all together 2 to 3 times. Keep aside.
#

Pour condensed milk in a bowl. Add the butter, and beat well till smooth. Add the flour spoon by spoon, mixing into the condensed milk mixture. In between, add milk as required if the butter begins to get too stiff. [Stir the mixture in one direction only all the while. This will incorporate more air and make the cake lighter].
#

Once all the flour is used up, beat the batter as above till light (5-7 minutes). Add the coke or Thums Up and mix gently till smooth.
#

Pour into a greased cake tin. Do not smooth with a spoon etc. If the consistency is right this will not be needed.

Pre-heat over to 300o c. Place tin inside. Bake at 200o c for 5-7 minutes and 150o c till done. (35 to 40 minutes).

Poke with a skewer and check. Cool a little. Invert on wire rack. Cool completely before doing icing if any. Or serve warm with tea.

Variations 2a) Eggless chocolate Sponge Cake

Ingredients

* 1 (19.5oz) package chocolate brownie mix
* 36 milk-chocolate mini eggs
* 12 ounces cream cheese, softened
* one-quarter cup granulated sugar
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* one & one-half cups flaked coconut
* 2 drops green food coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
3. Prepare brownie mix according to package instructions.
4. Stir in 9 unwrapped mini chocolate eggs and mix well.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
6. Place in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 15 to 17 minutes or until the edges start to firm but the center is still slightly soft.
7. Remove from oven and cool in pan for approximately 10 minutes.
8. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
9. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer until smooth.
10. Set aside.
11. Combine the shredded coconut and food coloring in a small bowl and mix well.
12. Now top each cupcake with a tablespoon full of the cream cheese mixture and smooth the mixture flat.
13. Then sprinkle the œgreen grass shredded coconut over the cupcakes.
14. Top each cupcake with one unwrapped chocolate egg.

Directions

Bake any flavor cake in a heart shaped cake form. Let cook and cut in half horizontally.

Mix a few drops of red food coloring into a container of whipped topping, and spread some on the bottom layer of the cake.

Add the top layer and frost the entire outside of the cake.

Top with fresh berries.

2 cups flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup sugar 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Sift the above ingredients together.

1 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise (can be homemade) 1 cup water 1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

Mix the miracle whip or mayonnaise and water together. Add vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until smooth. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Cool.