Red Velvet Cake

         

Red velvet cake is basically a chocolate cake with either bright red or red brown in colour. Not just it looks so beautiful but it also has a scrumptious taste. I'm sure most of you have eaten this cake. Its a bit tricky to make this cake but still not so difficult. So today I would like to share its recipe with you guys. I've tried making this cake before as well but the experience didn't turn out good. But when I tried out for the second time, the results were awesome. Also the recipe does not require anything that you wouldn't find easily in the market. So roll up your sleeves and scroll down to see the full recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

For cake;
Flour 2 cups
Baking powder 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder 2 tbsp
Butter 1/2 cup
Icing sugar 3 cups
Egg 2 large or 3 small
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Buttermilk 1 cup (Buttermilk: Take 1 cup milk, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar. Leave it for an hour)
Liquid red food colour 4 tbsps
White vinegar 1tsp

Baking soda 1tsp

Cream cheese frosting;
Dream whipped cream 2 sachets  
                               

Available at Imtiaz or Shazz super market.

Milk 1 cup
Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
Cream Cheese 150 gms
                     

Available at Shazz super market near National Stadium.

METHOD:
1) In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder.

2) In another bowl beat butter until soft. Add the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla essence and beat until combined. (Totally forgot to take picture of this step)

3) In a bowl mix the buttermilk with the red food colour. With the beater on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture. (Don't beat too high)
                                   

  4) In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to frizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.   

 

 5) Pour in greased cake pan and bake until done. (200 degrees for 30 minutes)
Check after 20 minutes, then 10 and then 5 minutes.
           

In the meanwhile, prepare the frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

METHOD:
In a bowl, beat the whipped cream with milk and vanilla essence for 45 minutes or until it stiffens and looks like this.
   

Its really hot these days so it'll take time and I would suggest to keep the whipped cream in freezer at intervals and then beat again.
2) Add cream cheese and beat again.
3) Cover and keep it in freezer. Before using, beat it again and use.

TIME TO FROST THE CAKE NOW!!

Cut the cake into two halves.

Fill in the whipped cream.

And then spread the whipped cream roughly on the whole cake.
I used a Wilton's 2D decorating tip to make flowers. You can make any design of your choice.

       

And then a green dot in the centre of flowers will complete the look.

               

 Like, comment and share your experience!

Vege Pizza

Hey buddies,
   Summer Sundays don't sound too great. But I thought of making it a little exciting one by baking pizza for my family. Some of you might look at the title and will give some weird expressions, "Vege pizza? No. No way." etc etc. But trust me, you can't miss this mouth-watering pizza. My father loves vegetables so it motivated me to try this yummilicious vegetable pizza. Scroll down to see the full recipe. Don't forget to comment, like and share!

INGREDIENTS:

For Pizza Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 pinches baking powder
warm milk mixed with a bit of water for kneading

For Pizza Sauce:
Oil 2tbsp
Garlic paste 1/2 tsp 
Tomato paste 1/3 cup
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt 1/3 tsp
Oregano leaves 1/3 tsp
Ketchup (chilli) 4 tbsp
Red chilli crushed 1/2 tsp

For topping of pizza:
Tomatoes 2 (sliced)
Capsicum 2 (sliced)
Onions 2 (sliced)
Mushrooms around 10 
Olives around 10
Potatoes 2 (boiled and cubed)
Corns (boiled) 150 grams
Cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese

PROCEDURE:

For dough:
Mix all the dry ingredients and the oil then slowly start adding the warm milk a little at a time. Get it to a soft dough, the softer the better, knead it very well for atleast 8 minutes or more if possible.
Dab a touch of oil all over the dough then cover it and place it somewhere warm. Leave it to rise double its size, takes about 30 mins to an hour depending upon the weather.

Once risen, punch it down, give it a quick knead and then roll it out to about 12 inches diameter and places on your greased pizza pan.


                                   

For sauce:
Pour oil in a pan(I used olive oil). Add garlic paste when oil is heated and fry for 2 minutes, Add tomato paste, red chilli powder, salt, oregano leaves, ketchup and crushed red chillies. 

It will look like this

Topping:

 

Boiled cubed potatoes and corns

On the dough, spread the sauce, vegetables, then some more sauce and lots of grated cheese.

Now bake in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins at 220°.

Here's the end result. :)