Perfect Party Cake

After a one year hiatus, I am back into the blogging world.. My world has changed a lot in the  past one year… A new job  ,a handful of very special friends , the many beautiful moments  filled with fun and laughter I spent with them .. and the good byes to a few of them , which is always  the hardest part in a friendship. Though life separates us from our dear ones through distance, they will always hold a special place in our hearts which cannot be erased by  space or time..

And last year I met a few of my dear friends after a gap of many years.. It was like we had met just the other day. Nothing seemed to change, the fun , the warmth, the special bonding..I have often noticed that food plays an important role during get togethers .. like how my best friend cooked biriyani especially for me  when I went to visit him.. or how my friend had particularly asked me to bake a vanilla cake for her when she would visit me for the first time after 15 yrs.. Food and friendship.. it sure does go hand in hand 🙂

On another note, the stats show that my blog has crossed  200,000 hits.. and this blog post is kind of celebration post too.. and a dedication post.. dedicated to all those wonderful friends, who stood by me during the low phases.. who pushed me to continue blogging when I had totally lost interest in it,  who had more faith in me than I had in myself.. whose motivating words kept me going.. Thank you guys, for being there for me..

This was the vanilla cake I had made as per my friend’s request. This is a bit sturdy cake , with a slight lemon flavour.  To make it a bit more moist I added used sugar syrup . The recipe is pretty simple, not with many complicated steps. After the cake cooled down, I sliced it into layers and sandwiched with whipped cream, topped it with ganache. I must say this cake is quite a party pleaser. So go ahead and try it out..

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE

(Recipe source- Baking from my home to yours)

• All purpose flour – 2 cups
• Cornflour – 4 tbsp
• Baking powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt – 1/2 tsp
• Whole milk or buttermilk – 1 1/4 cup
• Egg whites – 4 large
• Sugar – 1 1/2 cups
• Grated lemon zest – 2 tsp
• Unsalted butter – 1 stick (113gms)

FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP

• Sugar – 1 cup
• Water – 1/4 cup

FOR THE WHIPPING CREAM 

• Dreamwhip – 2 sachet
• Cold Milk – 1 cup
• Vanilla Essence – 1tsp

FOR THE GANACHE

• Semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces – 8 ounces (227 grams)
• Heavy whipping cream – 3/4 cup (180 ml)
• Unsalted butter – 1 tablespoon (14 gram)

METHOD

FOR THE CAKE

1. Sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt.
2. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl
3. In another bowl, put the sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and rub them together with fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
4. Add the butter to the sugar and beat with egg beater ,till the butter and sugar are very light
5. Add one third of the flour mixture, beating at medium speed
6. Beat in half of the milk egg mixture .
7. Repeat adding the flour and milk alternately till all the flour and milk is incorporated well.
8. Pour the batter into the pan . The batter should fill only till 2/3 rd of the pan . Bake at 180 degree for around 30 to 35  minutes .
9. To test whether the cake is done, insert a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean ( without any crumbs on it) , then the cake can be taken out of the oven .
10. Let the cake cool to room temperature .

TO MAKE THE SUGAR SYRUP

Stir the sugar, water and essence in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer till the sugar has dissolved, and cool completely.

TO MAKE THE WHIPPING CREAM

Mix the contents in 2 small sachets of Dreamwhip with 1 cup cold mix and a teaspoon of vanilla essence. Beat on high speed for 5-7 minutes till you get light fluffy peaks. This will give about 4 cups whipped cream.

TO MAKE THE GANACHE 

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel, or heatproof bowl. Set aside
2.  Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil.
3. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth.
4. When Ganache has completely cooled, beat until soft and fluffy. Then spread the frosting on top of the cake.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE

1. When the cake is cooled, use a long serrated knife and cut off the top to make it straight. Slice the cake horizontally into 2  or  3 equal parts..
2. Pour one-third of the sugar syrup on the first cake layer .
3.  Spread the whipping cream over the first layer.
4. Take the second cake slice on top of the first layer . Pour one third of the sugar syrup and spread the whipped cream.
5. Repeat the process with the third layer.
6. Cover the whole cake with whipping cream.
7. Pour the ganache over the top of the cake and spread it . Spread the ganache to the sides of the cake .