The 7 Sins Chocolate Cake!

.....well...almost! I lost count of the chocolate sins of this cake lol!...anyway, Saturday was spent making this cake...and Sunday was spent eating the cake! This cake consists of a Devil's Food Chocolate Cake using Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe, and the finishing consisted of 3 types choc pastry cream, choc marsmallow buttercream, choc ganache, cocoa powder, but I didn't use any choc shavings or buttons to decorate! ....and Rose's Devil's Food Choc Cake is the Rolls Royce of chocolate cake, I must say! It was total heaven having this cake...and making one too, phew!

I must thank Sprinklebakes for this recipe! For all the complete instructions and steps to do this cake please visit her awesome blog ya! Here's the recipe that I adapted from her blog!

Devils's Food Chocolate Cake

1 oz. fine quality unsweetened baker's chocolate, I used Callebaut 70% cocoa
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder, I used Cocoa barry 
1 cup hot coffee  (can use hot water or decaf coffee if caffeine sensitive, I used Nescafe Gold
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sour cream, I used natural yoghurt
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
16 tbsp (2 US sticks) unsalted butter, softened, about 226g

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9-inch cake pans with vegetable shortening and line with a circle of parchment paper. Grease paper and flour; tap out excess and set pan aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the chocolate, cocoa and hot coffee (or water) until smooth. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, sour cream, half the chocolate mixture and vanilla until just combined.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt on low for 30 seconds. Add the softened butter and the remaining chocolate mixture.  Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. With the mixer off between additions, add the egg mixture in two parts, starting on medium-low speed and gradually increasing to medium. Beat on medium speed for 45 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. The batter will be fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula.
6. Bake for about 30-40 minutes (check at 30).  Let the baked cakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn cake out onto a wire rack sprayed with cooking oil.  Let cool completely.

Trio of Pastry Creams:Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Espresso Pastry cream
2.5 oz. dark chocolate
2.5 oz. white chocolate
2.5 oz. milk chocolate
¼ cup cornstarch
2 cups evaporated milk
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tbsp. whiskey, I didnt use
3 tbsp. dulce de leche (find this canned in the ethnic food aisle, I didnt use
1-2 tsp. espresso powder (to taste)

1. Have ready three small bowls (2 cup size), wiped spotless of any moisture.  Chop the chocolate evenly and place each type of chocolate in a separate bowl.  Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup of the milk. Beat the whole eggs, then the yolks, one at a time, into the cornstarch mixture.
3. In a saucepan, combine the remaining milk and the sugar; bring to a boil, whisking constantly.
4. While whisking the egg mixture, slowly pour 1/3 of the boiling milk into it, to temper the eggs.
5. Return the remaining milk in the saucepan to medium-low heat.
6. Pour the hot egg mixture into the saucepan in a thin stream, whisking, so as to not scramble the eggs.
7. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to boil.  Remove from the heat and pour the hot pastry cream over the chopped chocolate, dividing evenly between the three bowls.  Let stand for 2 minutes, and then stir each bowl until mixture is well incorporated.  Mix 1 tbsp. butter in each of the bowls.  When butter has melted and is thoroughly combined, fold in 2 tbsp. whisky into the dark chocolate pastry cream; 3 tbsp. dulce de leche into the white chocolate pastry cream;  1-2 tsp. espresso powder into the milk chocolate pastry cream.
8. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surfaces of each type of pastry cream so they do not form a skin. Cool to room temperature.
9. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Marshmallow Buttercream....loved this!

12 tbsp (1 1/2 US sticks) unsalted butter, softened, I used about 160g
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar
6 oz. milk chocolate melted and slightly cooled
7 oz. marshmallow cream

1. With a hand mixer or standing mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat butter for 3 minutes until fluffy.  Add powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated.  Add melted chocolate and beat until fluffy. Add marshmallow cream and beat until frosting has lightened in color and all ingredients are well combined.
2. Scrape down bowl and mix again.  Transfer 3/4 cup to a piping bag or zip-top bag with the corner snipped for later use. 

Chocolate Ganache

Boil 120g whip cream, remove from fire...let 120g stand for 2 minutes in the boiled whip cream, stir until smooth, let cool and set.

Fill and Frost The Cakes:
Cut each cake in half horizontally.  Pipe a line of frosting around the edge of the first cake piece. This makes a reservoir in which to hold the pastry cream (this is extra insurance, sometimes pastry cream is lax if not well refrigerated). I piped the pastry cream alternately on each layer of the cake and frost the entire cake with Marshmallow Choc Buttercream.  I dusted with coaoa powder and last drizzled with chocolate ganache. I let it chill in the fridge overnight before digging in the cake the next day!

....now I can say I had a real chocolate cake!

I'm Here To Stay....I Won't Give Up!

To my caking madness and my new PB venture! Enjoy this and have a brilliant week!xoxo

Banana Walnut Cake with Valrhona Chocolate Ganache

Assalamualaikum, hello beautiful peeps! I have been away for a bit, yes! It's the time of the year where all of us have been bogged down with office work....and I have been super busy in the kitchen as well. My orders are full till the first week of July, and I hope to let the ovens rest from thereon, until after Syawal! I have also been busy with my other venture! I'm tired on certain days, but am super excited, and that has been keeping me going! Alhamdulillah Khadijah was offered with a JP-Mara Scholarship. And, inshaallah after our appeal to the sponsors she will continue her A-Levels and sit for her exams next fall as scheduled in Taylors, and the sponsors will resume her scholarship when she continues with her first year in UK next year, inshallah......she and the private education of my other children have been the push and motivation to strive hard.....in case you wonder:p

I have been trying a few new recipes, simple ones amidst my busy schedule, but let me share this one first! I have done this before, but I added chopped chocs in the batter...think banana and chocolates are superb combos!

Ingredients
175g all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp salt

125g butter-melted

120g sugar

2 large eggs

300g bananas-I used 450g pisang emas and reduced the sugar to 100g

80g walnuts-I added!

100g sultanas- I omitted this

1 tsp vanilla extract

For Choc Ganache

Boil on medium fire 250ml whip cream (at least 30% fat content),remove from fire, pour 250g dark choc (I used Valrhona), let stand for 3 minutes and then stir till well incorporated. Let is set for about 1 hour in the fridge. I also added a pinch of salt...yumms!

Method

1.Preheat oven at 160C, Prepare baking tins...I used muffin cups this time.

2.Sift flour, bicarbonate soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.

3.Melt butter, let cool, add in sugar and eggs, whisk lightly. Add in vanilla.

4.Add in flour mixture. Mix bananas, walnut, dark chocolate.

5.Bake for about 40 minutes.

I had one after they came out from the oven last nite, and another for breakfast this morning. Khadijah had 5 ehehe....

...and here's some bakes I made a couple of weeks ago...tqs peeps, you know who you are...terimaksih daun keladi esok lusa order lagi!

See you in the next post...errr soon I hope, bye xoxo, Yani  the Kitchen Guardian....

Lemon Lime Squares

...last week was madness! I was doing things on an auto mode....didn't have time to pause and think, it was do, do , and do! And I couldn't believe I survived last week, pheww! Life is pretty quiet since yesterday, since I finished all my orders on Saturday, except one Victoria Sandwich Cake that I did on Saturday  night.

...and yesterday, we spent some family time with the Baharom clan and Kak Ayush's house and later dropped by my sister's house in Shah Alam...of course there were lots of food along the way....gatherings are all about makan you see! Alhamdulillah for the rezeki!

I didn't have time to try any fancy schmenacy recipes, but I made a Strawberry Gallette, which tasted awesome and all, except that I stuffed way too many strawberries that my gallette was swimming in starwberry sauce, sort of! Well, I just have to make them again before I postsome pics and recipe here!

...and I made this tangy, tart supposed to be lime bars, hehe, when I found enough lemon and lime in my fridge and decided to turn them into this super sedap no eggy taste at all Lemon Lime Squares....on Saturday!  and while entertaining besties Bad and Liza and their brood!

To make the crust

8 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

To make the topping

1 cup sugar - I used 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime and lemon zest...I sukaaaa!
1/2 cup strained fresh lime and lemon juice
Powder sugar for dusting - I didn't add

Method

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. I used my rectangular tart tin (which I loved very very much, hehe.

For the crust

Combine the melted butter with the sugar, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Using your fingers, press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, our until the crust is fully baked, well browned at the edges, and golden brown in the center.

For the topping

Stir together the sugar and flour in a large bowl, until well mixed. Whisk in the eggs, then stir in the lime and lemon zest and juice.

When the crust is ready, turn the oven down to 150 degrees C. Slide the rack with the pan out and pour the filling onto the hot crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes longer. The topping should not jiggle in the center when the pan is tapped. Place on a rack and cool completely in the pan.

Cut into bars and if desired, sift powdered sugar over them just before serving. We had them almost immediately after it was removed from the oven....sedaaapppp!...and tqs Meeta fro What's For Lunch Honey for sharing this awesome recipe!

....and here's some bakes that I made a couple of weeks ago! Tqs beautiful peeps.....

....till the next post....tra...notice that I used my instagram for my photos, show how desperate I was for time last week, hehe! Anyway, have a productive week ahead!xoxo