Well...here I am 1 year and a baby later! Just the other day while I was surfing for a recipe, I came across this wonderful blog named Ria's collections. I must say her blog inspired me to give my blog a second chance. Also, I have been typing out recipes to my friends and one of them asked me.."Why don't you put it on your blog?". So finally, I thought.....YES.... its time to focus on my blog!!!
Then I kept thinking what to post...should it be the butter chicken recipe that I tried recently and became a hit or my favorite beef chilly or something else??? Then I thought why not put something different from what I usually post... And yes... the answer was quite simple.....CAKE!!!
I am not a person who bakes a lot of cakes. So I tried to search for some interesting recipes and found out this wonderful website. It's videojug.com. It has everything from cooking to fitness to whatever you can think of.
This recipe is taken from their site though I modified it a little to my taste. The sponge cake is exactly the same. I have never tasted such a light and fluffy sponge cake in my life! The recipe is very simple and the result is amazing!
Click here for the sponge cake's recipe:
For the icing:
Milk chocolate - 120 g chopped
Heavy whipping cream - 350 ml
Caster sugar - 2 tbsp
Peeled roasted hazelnuts - 300g
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tbsp
Sugar- 320 g
Milk- 80 ml
Kahlua - 1 tbsp ( I used Mocha)
Instant coffee powder - 1 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
1. Prepare the caramel by heating the sugar in a pan. Once in reaches golden brown in color, add the hazelnuts and coat it well with the caramel. Remove from heat and spread the mixture on a parchment paper.
Note : The caramel should be just enough to coat the nuts, otherwise you will get to bite on caramel chunks. Almonds are also a good substitute for hazelnuts.
2. Heat the water and dissolve the coffee powder. This enhances the flavor of chocolate and gives a good color.
3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave or by double boiling method.
4. Combine the milk and the liqueur. Brush the both the sides of the two halves of the sponge cake with this mixture.
5. Crush the praline once it cools down. Make sure it cools down completely. You can crush it using a pestle or a rolling pin.
6. Whip the cream until frothy. Now add the caster sugar and whip till it becomes thick and fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and the coffee mixture. Whip again.
7. Frost the cake as usual with the cream in between the cake layers. Also sprinkle some crushed praline in between the cake layers. Finally, decorate the whole cake with the praline and the cake is ready to serve!!!
