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CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE

Here is visual treat of our Anniversary cake !!!  This is Chocolate Orange cake covered with smooth Chocolate Ganache and decorated with Chocolate Macarons.  Chocolate and Orange is absolutely one of our favorite combo.  Truly Decadent :)  Enjoy !!!

You can see my Love for Oranges post here.


CHOCOLATE ORANGE CAKE 




















Thanks all !!! 

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A GIVEAWAY POST !

I am very happy to share the news about a giveaway.  I take this opportunity to thank all my friends, followers and everyone who had and has been encouraging me with your constant support.  Your inspiring comments and emails means a lot to me.   A big thank you to y'all !!!

Anyone anywhere in the world can participate in the giveaway. 

Now for the prizes.  


For the First Random Winner


1. "Bite Size Desserts"

This is a wonderful book to indulge our sweet tooth without eating huge portions :) Every dessert is covered including cakes, cupcakes, brownies, scones, pastries, tartlets, turnovers, mousses, custards, cookies, sorbets, ice creams, and candies.  The recipes are easy enough for a beginner and also gives ideas for party platters.

In addition to the book you have pretty cup cake liners with matching toppers.










 For the Second Random Winner




2. "Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients"

It’s really cool and amazing to do desserts with just 4 ingredients!  This book is beautifully laid out.  Recipes are made in a way which is easier for even a novice baker.

Along with this book you will receive cute little cupcake liners.










You can check Nutella Brownies which I posted following “ Desserts 4 Today “ book.




 




It’s easy to participate in the giveaway, Leave a comment and follow the below steps :


1.Like Dishesfrommykitchen Facebook  page and leave a  comment on the giveaway post saying that you did so.

2.Become a blog follower on dishesfrommykitchen.com and leave a comment on the giveaway post saying that you did so.
 
OR
Follow Dishesfrommykitchen on twitter and tweet the below message and leave a comment on the giveaway post saying that you tweeted.


"Dishesfrommykitchen.com is doing a giveaway, anyone can participate."

Make sure you provide your valid email address so that you can be contacted in case you are the winner.  If you are already following me on facebook, twitter or blog follower then leave a comment in this post mentioning how you are following my blog.

Appreciate if you could share a word about this giveaway to your friends as well.

Important Details :

 
1. This giveaway is open to anyone and anywhere in the world and will run until Feb 14th 5:00 AM GMT
2. Two winners will be picked via a random number generator software.  You will be contacted by email that you provide and you will receive the gifts to your door.


Good luck !!!


Thank you all for your participation in the giveaway.  Now for the moment of truth, I am happy to announce the results of the giveaway.

The two winners are
1.Subhashini Ramsingh
2.Shailaja Reddy

Congratulations to the winners!!!!

The winners will be contacted through email.
This giveaway is closed now.

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PONGAL FESTIVAL - 2013


Hope all of you had a good pongal festival.  I did have a very good pongal festival.  Pongal is always special to me for two reasons first is because it’s pongal and second it’s my son's birthday.  I did not have time to post the pongal pictures since I was busy with festival preparations and celebrations in the month of January along with other activities.  Now I had time to come up with the pongal post :):):).  Enjoy the visual pongal treat.


 


  













 





















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BEST EVER EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE/CUPCAKE !


After my interesting trials, finally I have reached to a point to say the Best Ever Eggless Chocolate Cupcake recipe is here.  I was very excited to taste the cake after each trial.  Based on the taste, I made changes to the recipe and did the next trial.  It was rewarding experience to do your own trials and come up with a flawless recipe. 

This is a feast to vegans and also to Eggetarian.  Also check out the Best Ever Eggless VanillaCupcake. 




 BEST EVER EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE/CAKE 




Ingredients:

Cake Flour - 3/4 cup ( See how the cake flour can be made here.)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 2 1/2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Oil - 4 tbsp
Apple Cider or any vinegar - 1 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Instant Coffee - 1/4 tsp (Optional)

FOR CAKE FLOUR :



ALL MY TRIALS !


  




Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line 6 cupcake liners.
2.  In a large bowl whisk all the dry ingredients.
3.  In a small bowl, whisk all the liquid ingredients with the coffee granules.
4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Whisk until everything is well mixed. Do not over mix.
5. Fill the cupcake liner about 2/3rd.
6. Bake for about 15 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cupcake center comes out clean. (Few crumbs clinging is absolutely fine... as it will be moist)
7.  Cool the cupcakes completely before you dig in, so that it is nicely set.


 


Enjoy with you favorite frosting!






Note:

1.  Cool the cake completely before frosting.
2.  This cake also worked well with all purpose flour instead of Cake flour. I personally loved the texture with cake flour.
3. A simple ganache or any whipped cream frosting tastes heavenly.


Updated on September 13th 2013

BEST EVER CHOCOLATE CAKE FOR MAKING LAYERED CAKES

For the Layered Chocolate cake Follow this measurements :

This is for one 8 " Inch cake pan.

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour - 1 cup 
Corn flour - 1 1/4 tbsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Unsweetened cocoa powder - 2 1/2 tbsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Apple Cider or any vinegar - 1 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 1/2 tsp
Instant Coffee - 1/4 tsp


Method :

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Line 8"inch tin with the parchment.
2.  In a large bowl whisk all the dry ingredients.
3.  In a small bowl, whisk all the liquid ingredients with the coffee granules.
4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Whisk until everything is well mixed. Do not over mix.
5. Pour the batter in the prepared tin.
6. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake center comes out clean. (Few crumbs clinging is absolutely fine... as it will be moist)

HERE IS THE CASUAL SHOT FOR THE LAYERED EGGLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE, IT'S A BLACKFOREST CAKE FROSTED WITH WHIPPED CREAM , FILLED WITH CHOCOLATE WHIPPED CREAM AND CHERRIES.








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PANETTONE - DECEMBER DARING !


Wishing you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2013 !

Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan (in Milanese it is called "paneton" Milanese dialect  usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy, southeastern France, Brazil, Peru, Malta, Germany and Switzerland, and is one of the symbols of the city of Milan. In South America, especially in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Chile, it is a Christmas dinner staple and in some places replaces roscón de reyes/bolo rei (King cake).

Folk legends abound about how Panettone became associated with Christmas. Some say the sweet Milanese bread was developed in the 1400's by the Duke's falconer and his love Adalgisa, a poor baker's daughter. Working in secret at night, the two created a rich bread that revived the bakery's business. At Christmas, they added dried fruit and citron, a resounding success that made the baker wealthy, and allowed the couple to marry. A less romantic possibility is that as a "Pane di Tono" or luxury bread, the lofty loaf with it's expensive ingredients, and long proofing and preparation time it was reserved for Christmas.

 As with all ancient recipes, several legends circulate about how one came into being. The most popular are the romantic versions. How typical of the Italians to meld together romance and food. Today, the bread is produced and shipped throughout the world. It is always given away as gifts and graces the tables of all Italians at Christmas.

I had made the panettone right in time for the Daring baker, but was very busy after that did not have time to come up with the post.  So I am posting this delayed.  Even though the whole process is time consuming and takes a whole day, it’s worth the time spent. 

When I visited Italy I eat lot of Panettone, but still wanted to do this for Daring baker.  The satisfaction of doing your own Panettone cannot be explained in words, it needs to be experienced.
 
This is my first post for new year 2013 and I wanted to start the year with a sweet bread which is rich in history and taste.

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina.  Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread!




 


Panettone

Makes 2 Panettone 

I halved the recipe and made 12 mini Panettone with 6 Panettone glazed and 6 Panettone without Glazing.

Ingredients :

 Sponge:

Active dry yeast - 1 sachet (2¼ tsp) (7 gm)
Warm water - 1/3 cup (80 ml)
All purpose flour - ½ cup (70 gm)

First Dough:

Active dry yeast - 1 sachet (2¼ tsp) (7 gm)
Warm water - 3 tbsp (45 ml)
Eggs - 2 large, at room temp
All-purpose - 1¼ cup (175 gm)
Sugar - 1¼ cup (175 gm)
Unsalted butter, at room temp - ½ cup (1 stick) (115 gm)

Second dough:

Eggs - 2 large
Egg yolks - 3 large
Sugar - 2/3 cup (150 gm)
Honey - 3 tbsp (45 ml)
Vanilla extract - 1 tbsp (15 ml)
Lemon essence/extract - 1 tsp (5 ml)
Orange essence/extract- 1 tsp (5 ml)
Salt - 1 tsp (5 ml) (6 gm)
Unsalted butter - 1 cup (2 sticks) (225 gm) at room temp
All-purpose flour - 3 cups (420 gm) plus up to (2/3 cup) 100 gm for kneading

Filling and final dough:

Golden raisins or golden sultanas - 1½ cups (250 gm)
Candied citron - ½ cup (75 gm)
Candied orange peel - ½ cup (75 gm)
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
All-purpose flour - 2 to 3 tbsp






Method:

Sponge

1. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and allow to stand until creamy. That’s about 10 minutes or so
2. Mix in the flour.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size for about 20 to 30 minutes.













First Dough:

1. Mix the yeast and water in a large bowl and allow to stand until creamy. Again, about 10 minutes or so
2. Mix in the sponge and beat well with a wooden spoon
3. Stir in the eggs, flour and sugar.
4. Mix in the butter well
5. This should only take about 5 – 6 minutes
6. Cover with plastic wrap and allow double in size, about 1 – 1 ¼ hours


 



Second dough:

1. Be sure to have your dough in a large bowl as above.
2.With a wooden spoon mix in eggs, egg yolk, sugar, honey, vanilla, essences/extracts and salt.
3.Mix in the butter.
4. Then add the flour. Stir until smooth.
5. At this stage the dough will seem a little too soft, like cookie dough.
6. Turn it out and knead it on a well-floured surface until it sort of holds its shape. Don’t knead in too much flour but you may need as much as 2/3 cup (100 gm). Be careful the excess flour will affect the finished product.












First Rise:
   
1. Oil a large bowl lightly, plop in your dough and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Now we need to let it rise until it has tripled in size. There are two ways to go about this.
3. Rise in a warm place for 2 – 4 hours Or find a cool spot (64°F -68°F) (18°C – 20°C) and rise overnight Or rise for 2 hours on your kitchen bench then slow the rise down and place in the refrigerator overnight. If you do this it will take some time to wake up the next morning but I preferred this method.






Filling and Final Rise:

1. Soak the raisin/sultanas in water 30 minutes before the end of the first rise. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Now take your dough and cut it in half. Remember we are making two panettone.
3. Combine all your filling ingredients and mix well.
4. Press out one portion of dough into an oval shape.
5. Sprinkle over one quarter of the filling and roll up the dough into a log.
6. Press out again into an oval shape and sprinkle over another quarter of the filling.
7. Roll into a log shape again.
8. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
9. Shape each into a ball and slip into your prepared pans, panettone papers or homemade panettone papers.
10. Cut an X into the top of each panettone and allow to double in size.
11. Rising time will vary according to method of first rise. If it has been in the refrigerator it could take 4 hours or more. If it has been rising on the kitchen bench in a warm place it should be doubled in about 2 hours.






Baking:

1. When you think your dough has only about 30 minutes left to rise preheat your oven to moderately hot 400°
F/200°C/gas mark 6 and adjust your oven racks
2.  Just before baking carefully (don’t deflate it!) cut the X into the dough again and place in a knob (a nut) of butter.
3.  Place your panettone in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to moderate 350°F and bake for another 10 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat again to moderate 325°F and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean.
6. Cooling your panettone is also important. If you have use papers (commercial or homemade) lie your panettone on their side cushioned with rolled up towels. Turn gently as they cool. If you have used pans cool in the pans for 30 minutes then remove and cushion with towels as above.
7. Panettone can also be cooled suspended. How to do this? Firstly you need to use papers (commercial or homemade), insert clean knitting needles into the bottom of the panettone in a X shape. Flip over and support the knitting needles on the edges of a large saucepan with the panettone suspended within the saucepan.
8. For Small Panettone it took 20 to 22 minutes altogether first 10 minutes in 350°F and after that 12 minutes in 325°F. If you check inside the internal temperature it has to be 185F. 




For the Glaze :

If you are not glazing follow the above procedure with the x mark with blob of butter.  Otherwise follow this procedure with glazing.

This measurement is for 6 mini Panettone

Vanilla sugar - 25 g
Ground almonds - 1.5 g
Vegetable oil - 2 g
Corn flour - 2 g
Cocoa powder - 2 g
Egg whites - 15 g

Method :

To mix the glaze, whisk all ingredients together. Brush the glaze evenly onto the top of the Panettone.   Sift powdered sugar over the tops, then sprinkle with pearl sugar and a few whole blanched almonds. Then Bake as said above.

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