Apple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - 1 Cup

Coarsely Chopped Apple - 1 1/2 Cups

Sugar - 1 Cup

Butter - 1/2 Cup

Egg - 1

Baking Powder - 1/3 Teaspoon

Any Flavoring Essence - 1 Teaspoon

Cinnamon - 1/2 Teaspoon (Optional)

Apple Upside Down Cake

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

3. In another big bowl, blend butter, sugar, flour, egg, baking powder, and essence one after the other. 3hisk well.

4. Grease the cake pan. Cut apples in a desired shape and arrange the cut apples in the pan. The layer of the apples should be thick (preferably 1 -2 inches thick) otherwise the baked apples would turn into applesauce. Then, sprinkle little sugar cinnamon mixture.

5. Pour the blended cake batter over the apples. Sprinkle the remaining sugar cinnamon mixture. Bake the cake for 30 minutes or until you get a good aroma of the apple cake. Check if the cake is ready by running a toothpick. If it comes out clean, then the cake is over.

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Now, Apple Upside Down Cake is ready!!!

Banana Muffin

Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 Cups

Baking Powder - 1 Teaspoon

Baking Soda - 1 Teaspoon

Mashed Bananas - 3

Sugar - 3/4 Cup

Egg - 1

Salt - 1/2 Teaspoon

Melted Butter - 1/3 Cup

Banana Muffin

Another Shot Of Banana Muffin

Banana Muffin

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin pans with non-stick spray or use parchment paper.

2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter one by one. Then add the flour mixture little by little and mix until smooth. 

4. If it is mini muffins, bake it in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. If large muffins, bake it for 25 to 30 minutes. Run a tooth pick and if the tooth pick comes out clean, then the muffins are ready.
Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Now, Banana Muffins are ready!!!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

Pineapple - 7 Slices

Butter - 1/4 Cup

Brown Sugar or Normal Sugar - 2/3 Cup (I used normal sugar)

Self Rising Flour - 1 Cup

Sugar - 3/4 Cup 

Shortening - 1/4 Cup 

Egg - 1

Milk - 1/2 Cup

Apple Upside Down Cake

Apple Upside Down Cake

Preparation

1. Heat Oven to 350°F degrees. Apply butter on the cake pan. Drain pineapple (reserve 2 tablespoons syrup). 

2. Melt butter over low heat and add brown sugar. Keep stirring until sugar melts and remove from heat. Arrange pineapple as desired in the cake pan. Now, pour the brown sugar on top of the pineapples. 

3. In a medium bowl, mix flour with sugar. Add shortening and milk. 

4. Mix at medium speed 2 minutes. Add egg, milk and pineapple syrup. Beat for three more minutes.

5. Pour cake batter over pineapples in the cake pan, spreading evenly.

6. Bake 40-45 minutes and use a toothpick to check if the cake is done.

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Now, Pineapple Upside Down Cake is ready!!!

Rainbow Cake

Ingredients

Flour/Maida - 2 Cups

Baking Soda - 1/4 Teaspoon

Baking Powder - 1/4 Teaspoon 

Condensed Milk (400 grams) - 1 Tin 

Butter - 1/2 Cup

Oil - 2 Tablespoons 

Vanilla Essence (Optional) - 1/4 Teaspoon 

Milk - 3/4 Cup 

Edible Colors of Your Choice

Floral Effect 

A Slice Of Rainbow Cake

Another Slice Of Rainbow Cake

Side View Of The Decorated Rainbow Cake

Decorated Rainbow Cake

Preparation

1. Beat butter, oil and condensed milk till the mixture becomes smooth. Add vanilla essence and mix once.

2. In a separate bowl, sieve maida, baking soda and baking powder.

3. Add a tbsp of flour and mix, alternating with a tbsp of milk. Repeat the process till the flour blends well with the wet ingredients. If the batter is too thick, you can add more milk.

4. Take 6 small bowls. Pour 2 heaped tablespoons of plain batter into each of the 6 bowls. I used 6 colors. Add few drops of each of the edible colors in each bowl. Mix well.

Note: You can use how many ever colors you want. Even using three colors will come out well.

5. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Apply butter on the baking pan. The most important part is assembling the cake batter in a baking pan. It is fun too.

6. Pour 1/2 tbsp of plain white batter in center of the baking pan. Allow it to spread a little. Pour a tsp of one of the colored batter (First Bowl) on top of it and allow to spread a little. Again pour a little less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter on top of it. Next add a tsp of another colored batter (Second Bowl) on top of it and pour less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter on it. Next add a tsp of another colored batter (Third Bowl) and on top of it add less than 1/2 tbsp of plain batter. Keep repeating this process till the batter is complete.

7. Remember to pause for a while for each of the colors to spread before adding the next layer. You can also run a toothpick on top to create a floral effect.  You can see the floral effect in my picture.

8. Bake for 10 minutes at 200 C and reduce temp to 175 C and bake for another 40-45 minutes. 

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it should come out clean. Remove from the oven. Leave aside for 30 mins and invert the cake onto a cooling rack. Turn the cake back over and cool further.

Now, Rainbow Cake is ready!!!

First Place In Recipe Competition

Eggless Black Forest Cake

I am die hard fan of this cake. When I was young, I used to have Black Forest atleast 4 times a week. After moving to US, I found it difficult to find it in stores. I was literally craving for this cake. Not many recipes matched the exact taste. 


Finally, I tried this recipe from Divyascookbook. Voila...it came out very well. Thanks a million Divyascookbook. 


These days, Black Forest Cake seems to be costly too. I learned that a piece of cake costs about Rs.40 in India. My friends kids' just love this cake and whenever they come home, all they ask me to make is Black Forest Cake. 
This cake is definitely a BIG HIT in my kitchen.


Ingredients

Cake
Condensed Milk - 400 gms (1 Can)
Maida - 225 gms
Aerated Cola - 200 ml (I use Coke/Pepsi)
Butter - 125 gms
Cocoa Powder - 3-4 Tablespoons
Baking Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Baking soda - 1 Teaspoon
Sugar Syrup
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Water - 1/2 Cup



Cream
Fresh cream/cool whip - 300 ml
Powdered Sugar - 4-5 Tablespoons
Vanilla Essence - 1 Teaspoon

Decoration
Cherries - As required
Hersheys Milk Chocolate Giant Bar - 1

Eggless Black Forest Cake
Learned From Divyas Cookbook

Preparation

Cake

1. Put melted butter and condensed milk in a big bowl and beat well. 

2. Sift together maida,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda.

3. Add the maida mixture to the condensed milk mixture little by little by adding aerated cola in between. Repeat it until maida and cola are over.

4. Apply butter to the cake pan and pour the cake mixture. Bake for 30-40 mins or check using a toothpick if the cake is done. Cool down the cake.

Note. Do not check the cake in between by opening the oven for the first 20 minutes.

Sugar Syrup

In a pan, put sugar and water and boil till the sugar turns golden brown. You can also use the syrup in tinned cherries.

Cream

Mix the ingredients found under cream and beat well.Keep refrigerated till use otherwise it will start becoming soggy.

Note: If you are concerned about high calories and don't like vanilla essence, you can use the cream directly without adding powdered sugar.


Black Forest Cake is very easy to decorate too...you don't need buttercream icing or royal icing or colors.....all you need is just the cream and a chocolate bar. You can also be very creative in decorating this cake. 

Decoration

Grate the chocolate bar or get chocolate curls using a peeler.

Assemble The Cake

1. Cut the cake into 3-4 layers.

2. In the serving tray, keep one layer of the cake and sprinkle 3-4 tbsp sugar syrup or you can use the syrup found in the cherries tin.

3. Spread 2-3 tbsp of whipped cream on top of the cake.

4. Repeat the same with the other layers. Now, cover the topmost cake layer and also the sides of the cake with the cream. 

5. Then decorate the cake with the chocolate curls or grated chocolate and cherries.

6. Keep refrigerated. 

Now, the Eggless Black Forest Cake is ready!!!