CHEF QUEST WINNING CAKE RECIPES

(By Nadia Zaheer : 1^st Place)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour, plus more for dusting the pans
3/4 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon corn flour
1 cup vegetable oil or crème or low-fat substitute can be made by mixing equal parts of skim milk and low-fat yogurt

3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Icing and Decorations:

400 ml crème

4 table spoons icing sugar

1 table spoon vanilla extract.

3 table spoon Hershey’s Chocolate syrup

12 pre made marzipan or fondant flowers for Cake Decorations.

1 readymade white crème tube with a star nozzle for decoration (optional)

Method:

Heat the oven to 350F or 180C.

Grease 2 round baking pans with vegetable oil/butter and dust them with 2-3 pinches of flour, One 10 inch in diameter and the other 6 inch in diameter.

Sift the flour, baking powder and corn flour and cocoa powder together.

Beat the eggs in a big glass bowl with an electric beater. Put oil in it and then beat till it becomes a smooth mixture. Add sugar bit by bit and keep on beating. When all the sugar has been added, put 2 table spoons of the sifted flour (including baking powder and corn flour) and beat it. Keep on adding 2 table spoons at a time and mix it till the flour is finished. Beat for another 2 minutes.

Put the cake batter in the pans and pop them in the oven for around 40 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, and then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely.

For Icing: Beat the cream, Hershey’s chocolate sauce and icing sugar with an electric mixure for 15 mins. When the cake has cooled down. Put the 6 inch diameter cake over the 10 inch dia cake to give it the shape of a hat. Put some icing on it and put it in the freezer for 15 mins. Then, take it out and add another layer of icing. Pop it into the freezer so that the icing does not melt. After 30 mins put the ready made cake decorations on top and voila! You are done! Refrigerate it to keep the icing from melting. Serve chilled.

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Marble Cake With Chocolate Mousse

(By Saika Qayyum : 2^nd Place)

Mousse Ingredients

1 cups chilled heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Method

Heat cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, and add in vanilla. Stir frequently and add chocolate. Whisk chocolate into custard until smooth, then cool.

Beat egg whites in a bowl until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold in the egg whites gently but thoroughly.

Spoon mousse into class or bowl, chill at least 6 hours.

Marble Cake Ingredients

1 and 1/4 Cup flour

1 Cup Sugar

½ cup oil

¾ cup milk

3 Eggs

½ cup cocoa

Method

Beak the eggs and add sugar. After stirring well add flour , milk and oil. Divide the mixture in two half. Add cocoa to one half. Now greased the baking pan and pour in the mixtures in layers. Whisk one mixture into the other but don’t let them both mix completely. Bake of 240 F for 45 minutes.

Serve with fresh strawberry and kiwi, and cream/chocolate mousse.

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MARBLE CAKE

(By Madiha Panni : 3^rd Place)

Ingredients:

1 cup cake flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup oil

1 cup (200 grams) superfine or castor sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract/essence

3 teaspoons Coco powder

Pinch of yellow food colour

Note:  To make your own superfine sugar - place 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar in the bowl of your food processor.  Process until very fine (about 30 seconds).

Method:

Preheat for 30 minutes the gas oven to 190 degrees F or electric oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Oil the pan and sprinkle/spray with flour so that a white layer appears on the pan or line the bottom of pan with butter paper.

In a large bowl, sift together, the flour and baking powder. In the bowl of your electric mixer or food processor (Grinder), beat the eggs. Gradually add the sugar and beat the mixture, then add oil and vanilla essence beating continuously on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (this will take about 1-2 minutes).

Add the mixture into flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Now take out I cup of this mixture and add coco powder in it. Mix it well. Add the food colour into the cake mixture in the big bowl then add the coco mixture into it and stir it with a spoon or spatula and give the desired shape. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature. Will keep several days well wrapped or it can be frozen for a month.

From: Mobilink