Vegetable Au Gratin

INGREDIENTS –

For vegetables:
2 cups vegetables ( I used carrots, French beans, American corn, baby corn,  and peas)
salt to taste

For white sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour( Maida)
2 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste

For Topping:
grated cheese
1 tsp bread crumbs (optional)

½ tbsp butter (optional)

METHOD –

1. Melt butter in a pan over low heat.

2. Add all purpose flour and mix well.

3. Slowly add milk while stirring.

4. Keep stirring on low heat until the sauce is thick.

5. Then put off the flame and add salt and pepper.

6. Boil the vegetables (after dicing them) in water with salt. Do not over boil them.

7. Drain the vegetables and let them stand for about 5 minutes to drain off excess water.

8. Mix vegetables in the prepared white sauce.

9. Adjust salt and spices according to your taste.

10. Take a baking dish and put the white sauce with vegetables in it.

11. Cover with grated cheese and then a little bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes at 180 C. Serve hot.

Double Layered Cake (Basic)

I baked this cake for my mom’s birthday along with my brother and we wished her at midnight with this lovely cake. It has one layer of vanilla sponge cake and the other is of Strawberry sponge cake. I have uploaded recipes of both earlier. And the frosting was chocolate buttercream  frosting. The cake turned out to be great but I have one tip for you – use unsalted butter for the frosting. If you don’t have unsalted butter, just use less butter. You wouldn’t like the frosting to be too salty.

Here are all the ingredients which you need for both the cakes and the frosting combined. 

INGREDIENTS –

(sponge cakes)

2/3 cup melted butter

400 ml condensed milk

150 ml yogurt/curd

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup strawberry crush

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

Vanilla essence

(frosting)

½ cup melted butter ( preferably unsalted butter)

½ cup sugar

½ cup melted chocolate

¼ cup cream

METHOD –

1.    Take a bowl.

2. Add melted butter and whisk..

3.   Add condensed milk and whisk again.

4.   Add the yogurt and vanilla essence and mix well.

5.   Put the oven for pre-heating.

6.   Sieve into the bowl all purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda. Gently fold in the mixture.

7.   Divide the batter into 2 portions.

8.    To one portion add strawberry crush and mix well.

9.   Take 2 cake baking moulds and grease them. Pour vanilla cake batter into one and strawberry cake batter into the other.

10.Bake at 170 degrees celcius for about 15-20 minutes.

11. You know that the cakes are ready when a knife inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

12.Take out the cakes and allow them to cool while you prepare the chocolate frosting.

13. Take a bowl and add melted butter (preferably unsalted) into it. Whisk well.

14. Add sugar and whisk.

15. Add melted chocolate and mix well. You might add more chocolate than the recipe calls for for a richer chocolate taste!

16. Finally, add cream and whisk again.

17. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes before using.

18. Place one of the sponge cakes, which you want to make the lower layer, on a tray and apply some of the chocolate frosting on its top.

19. Place the other sponge cake on this layer of frosting. Apply some frosting on the upper surface of this cake too and also on the sides of the 2 cakes. The frosting does not have to be completely even because this is only the first layer.

20.               Refrigerate for about 15 minutes. Then again apply a layer of frosting on the top and the sides, this time making an even surface.

21.Refrigerate until the chocolate is completely set.

22.               Decorate as you like and then enjoy!

Eggless Strawberry Sponge Cake

This is a really quick and easy recipe for an eggless strawberry sponge cake.
You can make this even without strawberries. I wanted to have a homemade strawberry cake for long but I wasn't getting fresh strawberries. So, I tried this recipe with strawberry crush and it worked well. It gave a good flavour, colour as well as aroma to the cake. But make sure that the crush is not too thin. I used this cake to make a double layered cake with chocolate frosting. I have uploaded the recipe for that one as well.

INGREDIENTS –

1/3 cup melted butter

200 ml condensed milk

75 ml curd / yogurt

1/3 cup strawberry crush

½ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Vanilla essence

METHOD –

1.    Take a bowl.

2.   Add melted butter and whisk.

3.   Add condensed milk to the butter and whisk together.

4.   Add the curd and vanilla essence and mix again.

1.    Finally, add the strawberry crush and whisk. To get a richer flavour of strawberry, add few pieces of strawberry. But if you do not have them, only strawberry crush will also give the cake a good flavour.

6.   Put the oven for pre–heating.

7.   Sieve into the bowl flour, baking powder and baking soda. Fold the mixture 

gently.

8.   Take a cake mould and grease with oil/butter.

9.    Pour the batter into the mould.

10.   Bake at 170 degrees celsius for about 15-20 minutes.

11.You know that the cake is ready when a knife inserted in the centre of the cake, comes out clean.

12. The cake is then ready to serve.
I forgot to take a picture of the baked cake but it would look something like this vanilla cake below (which I had baked earlier), except for the colour, which would be pink like the one in the second picture (that one isn't baked by me, I added it to just give an idea of the colour ;D).

 

Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake

This is a really quick and easy recipe for a basic vanilla cake or sponge cake. I was more than happy that it worked so well after a few unsuccessful attempts. I used this cake to make a double layered cake with chocolate frosting. I have uploaded the recipe for that one as well. I'm sure you'll love this easy-to-make yet delicious cake.

INGREDIENTS –

1/3 cup melted butter 

200 ml condensed milk

75 ml curd / yogurt

½ cup all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Vanilla essence

METHOD –

1.    Take a bowl.

2.   Add melted butter and whisk.

3.   Add condensed milk to the butter and whisk together.

4.   Add the curd and vanilla essence and mix again.

5.   Put the oven for pre–heating.

6.   Sieve into the bowl flour, baking powder and baking soda. Fold the mixture 

gently.

7.   Take a cake mould and grease with oil/butter.

8.    Pour the batter into the mould.

9.   Bake at 170 degrees celsius for about 15-20 minutes.

10.You know that the cake is ready when a knife inserted in the centre of the cake, comes out clean.

11. The cake is then ready to serve.