Hey, guys! To honor my tradition of posting about food at least once a week, I would love to share a couple of cakes that I made in December. I will also give you the ingredient list as well as a guide of how to prepare the treats. Plus, there are going to be some photos to pamper your eyes! :D
Also, these cakes are perfect for all occasions, I have some unhealthy, full-fledged calorie cakes as well as a raw, vegan cake for you that will be loved by kids and adults alike!
1st. The Chocolate on Chocolate cake
This is a heavy but easy-to-make cake. It is meant for those who enjoy chocolate but for the faint of heart, it may be too strong of an option. :D I also used a lot of sugar making it so those who prefer natural sugars should stay away or use xylitol(which I did).
Dry ingredients
300 g of flour
350 g of sugar
112 g unsweetened cocoa powder
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
one and a half teaspoons of baking soda
Wet ingredients
240 ml of milk
115 ml of melted oil(I used coconut)
240 ml of boiling coffee
2 eggs
Icing
400 g dark chocolate
550 ml fresh cream
Berries for the top
P.S. It is better to use oil instead of butter as the butter makes the cakes batter heavier
What you have to do is sift your flour in a large bowl and mix in all of the other dry ingredients.
Then heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and take a large cake form, or two, if you have two. Add a baking sheet on the bottom and spray with baking spray or butter that baby up :D Then, add a light layer of cocoa
Now, add the milk and melted oil to the dry ingredients and mix it all together.
An optional thing to do is to separate your egg whites and yellows and whip them with a mixer but I did not do that the last time I made the cake and it came out soft anyways.
If you choose to make your eggs whipped then add them in the batter when you are done with the mixer, if you do not feel like extra work, just add them eggs in the bowl and continue mixing the ingredients together.
Finally, add the boiling coffee to the mixture and mix it up once more until the batter is even and without clunks(mixer can be used here once more). The batter should be a little thin. If it is not, it might be that you will end up making extra batter for the third layer of cake(guilty here).
I did not trust my instincts and added little bit less coffee than necessary. In the end, I had to make a batch of extra batter for a third layer of cake, so it would be big and fluffy.
Now, divide your batter into halves and distribute it evenly in the cake form/-s (if you only have one form, don't worry, you can bake the second batch when the first one is ready)
Bake for 30-35 minutes checking with the long-proven toothpick method :D
While the cake is baking, make the icing. Break up the chocolate into smaller pieces and put it in a pot. Bring the heat up and add fresh cream. Then heat until the chocolate has melted and all of the mixture is brown and clunks are non-existent.
Switch off the heat and put the chocolate on the side. It needs to cool down and start to get thick again. After, it is going to be ready to apply.
When the cake has baked, take it out of the oven and leave for 10 minutes. Then, take it out of the form and leave to cool. When it is mildly warm, you can start the building.
Put the first layer on a cake plate, spread the chocolate/fresh cream mixture generously over it and add the second layer(as I said, I had 3 layer cake, but two is better, 2 is survivable for the belly) Then, spread the remaining chocolate everywhere, on top and on the sides of the cake. Add some berries on top to fool your stomach. :D
But to be honest, the berries give a refreshing feel to the cake and make it even better than it already is! And, overall, this is an easy recipe to make.
2nd. The Raw Cake of excellence
This is the easiest and healthiest cake out there and everybody who has tried it so far loved it. It is a no-bake cake with only one downside. Because of the top-notch ingredients, it might be more on the expensive side. Oh, and, by the way, this is my signature cake, so I can give it a name and it is Lindalicious :D
Ingredients
650 g hazelnuts
1 kg dates
200 g dark chocolate
300 ml coconut milk(I use fresh cream when ''vegan'' is not required)
So, this is all a piece of cake to make (see what I did there? :D)
All you need to do is put aside a couple of hazelnuts for garnishing and blend the rest with dates. The mixture should be sticky, you should use higher-quality dates that are juicier than those cheap dried ones.
Never add all of the hazelnuts at first, otherwise you might end up with a not-so-sticky mixture and another trip to the store will be guaranteed.
Take a cake form and munch your sticky mixture in it. Even it out. It is not going to be a high cake, but, because of the vitamin-rich ingredients, it is going to be filling. In a way, it resembles a protein bar as, well, it is full of them proteins.
Now, break up your chocolate and put it in a pot. Melt it, adding the coconut milk(or fresh cream) and, when the mixture is fully melted, pour it on top of the nuts/dates and leave to thicken for a while.
After it is not so sticky anymore, add some garnishing on top(hazelnuts, coconut pieces, dried cherries, etc.)
P.S. Sorry for the different filters, I have only old pictures of this cake (I make it very often so pictures do not seem so essential anymore)
3rd. A very traditional(German) Black Forest Cake
This is the one that takes time. And some love. And a lot of mixing. Your hand will get tired but the cake is well worth it. The secret is the Rum in it and that is an amazing addition to the treat! I made the cake for the first time this December. My boyfriend's sister had her birthday and her favorite cake is the Black Forest Cake so I had to oblige.
Oh, and sorry for that overly colorful plate that two of the cakes are served on, I do not love it very much, but that is the biggest plate in the house, so... :D
Ingredients
3 glasses of canned sour cherries
100 ml of cherry water(a little bit more may be used as well)
800 ml fresh cream
60 g of butter
7 eggs
270 g of flour
100 g cornstarch
230 g of sugar
50 g of cocoa powder
about 50 g of dark chocolate or chocolate crumble
3 packets of cream stabilizer
Baking powder
Vanilla sugar
Cinnamon
Salt
A good dash of rum
For this recipe, I mostly followed a step-by-step instruction found online. The original is in German, but google translator does a great job bringing the English version to life. I also updated the ingredient list to the amount that I used in each element(less sugar and fresh cream, etc.)
There was one significant difference I made and that is that I left the cherries to soak in Rum overnight. It gives the cake a special vibe of being baked by the grandma. You know, that special feel, when you eat a cake and it feels like home? That is the difference it made!
Here is the original recipe that I suggest each of you try at least once, the cake is well worth it!
http://www.rezeptschachtel.de/schwarzwaelder_kirschtorte_rezept.html
So, these are some amazing cakes that you should try out! There is one cake for each person out there. Easy to make and time-consuming. Chocolaty and fruity. Layers on top of layers and a simple goodness. For those who have an oven and for the others who have tiny kitchens.
I wish you an amazing year, and a positively eventful life,
Linda