Teenage birthday cake

Serves 30
INGREDIENTS
For the sponge cake
4 egg yolks
1 egg1 cup (200g) sugar
1/4 cup (65ml) water
200g butter, melted
200g couverture chocolate
melted1 cup walnuts,
chopped1 cup (120g) flour

For the chocolate cake
6 eggs
2 ¼ cups (450g) sugar
2 ½ cups (300g) flour
1 cup (100g) cornstarch
3 tablespoons bitter cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup (185ml) milk
150g butter

For the filling Chocolate

For the orange syrup
1 cup (200g) sugar
½ cup (125ml) water
¾ cup (185ml) orange juice

For the frosting
1 cup (approx. 6-7) egg whites
3 cups (600g) sugar
3 tablespoons icing sugar
orange colouring

For the Royal Glaze
1 egg white
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

PREPARATION
Sponge cake base
Beat egg yolks, egg, water and sugar with an electric mixer for about 10 minutes or Until thick. Mix in melted butter and melted chocolate. Fold in walnuts and sifted flour. Pour the batter into a well greased and floured 34cm round tin and bake in a cool oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool over a wire rack.

Chocolate cake
Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for 15 minutes. Sift together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter. Bring to the boil. Fold sifted ingredients into egg mixture, alternatively with the hot milk and butter until well blended.Pour mixture into a well greased and floured 30cm round tin and bake in a moderate oven for about 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from oven and allow to stand for some minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Orange syrup
Place sugar, orange juice and water in a saucepan. Cook over a strong heat and allow to boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
Assembling the cakePlace sponge cake base onto a serving dish. Spread sponge with dulce de leche (creamy caramel) and chocolate butter cream. Sprinkle with broken meringue disc.

Cut chocolate cake in half horizontally. Spoon syrup over cakes without reaching borders and sandwich them together with dulce de leche , chocolate butter cream and meringue crumbs.

Decorating the cakeFrostingPlace egg whites and sugar in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolves completely.

Remove from heat and beat with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold in orange colouring until you obtain a delicate light orange shade.

Beat in icing sugar.Spread a thin layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Then, spoon some frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 2D nozzle and pipe frosting around the sides of the cake.

Fit piping bag with a # 48 nozzle and use the plain side (the one used to imitate basketry pattern) to decorate the top of the cake.

At the center of the top a square is drawn, using nozzle #48. Complete decoration with Royal glaze. Pipe small rosettes of it using a small fluted nozzle #2 or 3.

To make it look more beautiful, you can use different shades of orange glaze. The final touch can be given by adding two tiny bouquets at the sides. They can be made with wire and Royal glaze sprinkled with sugar.

Birthday cake for hot days

Serves 20

INGREDIENTS

For the cake
8 egg yolks
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 cup (130g) cocoa powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
2 teaspoons baking powderpinch of bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup walnuts,
chopped8 egg whites
1/4 cup (50g) sugar

For the vanilla and caramel cream
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups (750ml) warm milk
3 tablespoons (21g) plain powdered gelatine
500g dulce de leche (creamy caramel)
2 teaspoons vanilla essence1 1/3 cups (335ml) cream, double

For the frosting
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons caster sugarFor the chocolate coating 200g
couverture chocolate2/3 cups (170ml) cream, double

For the chocolate decorations
150g white chocolate
150g dark chocolate

PREPARATIÓN
Cake
Beat egg yolks and ¾ cup sugar for about 15 minutes, until light and thick.Sift together cocoa, instant coffee, baking powder and bicarbonate. Fold in chopped walnuts. Fold gently into egg mixture. In another bowl, whisk egg whites and ¼ cup sugar until stiff. Fold into mixture. Pour the mixture into a 28cm round tin, greased on the sides and lined with nonstick baking paper at the Bake in a cool oven for about 40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Remove from the oven and cool over a wire rack.Vanilla and caramel creamSoak powdered gelatine in ½ cup of milk. Set aside for 10 minutes. Place egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch inside a saucepan. Stir in 3 cups of milk in a thin stream until well mixed. Fold in soaked gelatine. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Fold in dulce de leche (creamy caramel which can be obtained by cooking condensed milk until it is a rich caramel colour) and vanilla essence. Cool completely outside the fridge, until gelatine is half set.Whip cream until stiff and fold it into the caramel custard. Beat egg whites and caster sugar until firm and fold gently into mixture. Place cake in a 28cm round tin with a removable base. Pour vanilla and caramel cream onto it and refrigerate overnight until well set.

Chocolate coating
Place cream inside a small saucepan and warm up over a low heat. Stir in chopped chocolate, until completely melted.Remove cake from fridge and tin and place it on a serving dish. Pour coating over the cake in a thin stream, allowing it to spread over the cake without covering the sides completely. Refrigerate again.

Chocolate decorations
Melt dark chocolate and white chocolate in two different double boilers. Using small paper or nylon piping bags, pipe swirls, crisscrosses or web patterns of dark chocolate on nonstick baking paper sheets.

Repeat procedure with white chocolate.Set aside and allow to set. Remove chocolate decorations from paper sheets and top cake with them, arranging them as we desire.

Besides being delicious and looking spectacular, this birthday cake is cool and freshening, ideal for a spring or summer day.

Dum biryani

Dum biryani

Ingredients: - 500 grams chicken, ½ cup curd(yoghurt), 1 cup basmati rice(long grain), 1 tablespoon milk, 3 cups water, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 2 black cardamoms, ½ teaspoon black pepper corns, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ tablespoon chopped ginger, ½ tablespoon chopped garlic, 1 blade mace, 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg, ½ cup mix of tightly packed coriander and mint leaves, 4 tablespoons poppy seeds, 1 tomato, 1 onion, 1 teaspoon saffron dissolved in a tablespoon warm milk, 3 potatoes halved, boiled and deep fried, 2 large onions cut into roundels, 2 tablespoons ghee(clarified butter) and salt to taste.

Preparation time : - 30 minutes Serves : - 2

HOW TO PREPARE: - Finely chop the onion, tomato each separately and set it aside. Now take a frying pan and pour 1 teaspoon ghee and fry half the onion roundels till dark brown. In a blender put the fried onion roundels, ginger, garlic, mace, nutmeg, green chillies, coriander-mint leaves, poppy seeds, tomato, onion and half of the cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms black and green, black pepper corns and bay leaves and make a paste of all these ingredients. Now cut the chicken into medium sized pieces and place it in a big bowl. Make slits on each side of every piece and then add the curd, red chilly powder, garam masala, turmeric and the paste with some salt. Now mix it all up and met it marinate for two hours at least. In a pot pour the water, milk and bring to heat. Add the rice, remaining spices except the cumin seeds, salt to taste and mix it all up. Now cook till the rice is half cooked. Drain the extra water and spread out the rice on a big platter. Let it cool for a while. Heat the ghee in a pan and when the oil is hot add the cumin seeds. Sauté till its golden brown. Put in the chicken with the marinade and fry for five minutes or till the chicken turns a light brown. Add the potato halves and mix it up. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes or till the chicken is done. Now smear melted ghee on the inside of the pan and lay the chicken and then a layer of rice. Make alternate layers like this till you have put in all the rice and chicken. Now cover with a silver foil and then put a tight lid so that the pot must become air tight. Then put a tava on the stove and this pot over it and cook for ten to twelve minutes till the rice is done or cook in a pre heated oven. Garnish with fried cashew nuts and raisins and serve. When serving ensure you put the spoon right inside so that you get the rice out in layers.