Hot Milk Cake / Sponge Cake

I stumbled upon this recipe when searching for a cake using lots of eggs and milk. It is extremely light, yet firm enough to hold any filling or topping...more like a sponge cake. I did adapt the recipe a bit according to the ingredients at hand and it turned out great.The original recipe can be found here http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-milk-cake. The cake on its own was a bit too sweet for my family's palate but the flavour and texture won them over...so will try next time with a little less sugar.

Ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh cream
• 100 gm butter

In a large bowl, beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes or more until thick and lemon-colored. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Sift flour and baking powder and gradually add to batter; beat at low speed until smooth.
In a small saucepan, heat milk, cream and butter just until butter is melted. Gradually add to batter and beat just until combined.(the milk mixture should be warm)
Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 12-16 servings.

A Birthday Cake

I think birthdays are times, when those culinary scientists decide to smother their loved ones with the results of their experiments.:)....
It was Papa's birthday....(and he has a sweet tooth..)..so this time, I decided to try out a new cake recipe. I wanted something white..but not plain..and finally got one from Allrecipes.com, which I thought would be nice. It was a white chocolate cake with nuts and coconut.
The cake, by itself was firm and I have a small feeling I baked it a little longer than necessary. It was supposed to be done in a 9" round pan and I made it in a bundt pan. So I just baked it a little more. Anyway no harm done... :) The frosting was plain whipped cream... not too sweet as the cake was sugary enough. (because of the white chocolate in it, maybe). I didn't know how it would turn out to be.. :) and was finally glad when the thumbs up sign came. The firm nutty cake with the soft whipped cream was a good combo and if you like coconut, you are going to love this dessert.
Here is how I made it..

White chocolate cake with nuts and coconut

(The original recipe made 3, 9" cakes, so I made only one-third of the mix as I didn't need such a big cake. The recipe given below is the original one.)

 Ingredients:

• 4 (1 ounce) squares/ 112gm white chocolate, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped pecans or almonds (I used almonds and cashew)
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 4 egg whites

I dry roasted both the nuts and coconut separately for about 5 minutes before adding them to the mix. It will improve the flavour of the nuts.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and line 3 (9 inch) pans with wax paper. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Put the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl and melt it over a pan of simmering water. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the yolks one at a time, then stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in the nuts and coconut.
3. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter, then quickly fold in remaining whites until no streaks remain. Divide batter into prepared pans.

  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.( I baked for 50-55 mins, as I used a bundt pan. The time varies, depending on your oven.) Allow to cool.

           The cake was frosted with sweetened whipped cream. You can also give a layer of whipped cream or custard sauce in the middle after halving it horizontally.

 

Weight of common ingredients in gram

Ingredient	Weight - (ounces)	Weight - (grams)
1 cup of whole wheat flour (sifted, then measured)	4.5 oz	125 g
1 cup of All Purpose flour (spooned into the cup)	4.25 oz	121 g
1 cup of AP flour (sifted, then measured)	4 oz	114 g
1 cup of cornstarch (lightly spooned or sifted)	4.2 oz	120 g
1 large egg (in the shell)	2 oz	56.7 g
1 large egg (without shell)	1.75 oz	50 g
1 large egg yolk	.65 oz	18.6 g
1 large egg white	1.05 oz	30 g
1 cup of butter	8 oz	227 g
1 cup of clarified butter or ghee	6.8 oz	195 g
1 cup of vegetable shortening	6.75 oz	191 g
1 cup of vegetable oil	7.7 oz	218 g
1 cup water	8.3 oz	236 g
1 cup of heavy cream	8.2 oz	232 g
1 cup of sour cream	8.5 oz	242 g
1 cup of full-fat yogurt	8.6 oz	243 g
1 cup of buttermilk	8.5 oz	242 g
1 cup of whole milk	8.5 oz	242 g
1 cup half and half	8.5 oz	242 g
1 cup mascarpone	8.8 oz	250 g
1 cup of granulated sugar	7 oz	200 g
1 cup of dark brown sugar (packed)	8.4 oz	239 g
1 cup of light brown sugar (packed)	7.7 oz	217 g
1 cup of powdered sugar (dip and sweep)	4 oz	125 g
1 cup of honey	11.75 oz	336 g
1 cup of molasses	11.25 oz	322 g
1 cup of corn syrup	11.5 oz	328 g
Cocoa – nonalkalized or natural (dip and sweep)	3.33 oz	95 g
Cocoa – nonalkalized or natural (spooned into the cup)	2.9 oz	82 g
1 cup almonds – whole	6.7 oz	191 g
1 cup almonds – slivered	4.2 oz	120 g
1 cup almonds – sliced/coarsely chopped	2.6 oz	75 g
1 cup almonds – finely ground	3.7 oz	107 g
1 cup almonds – powder fine	3 oz	89 g
1 cup pistachios – whole	5.32 oz	152 g

Leaveners and other ingredients
1 tsp baking powder		4.9 g
1 tsp baking soda		5 g
1 tsp yeast, instant		3.2 g
1 tsp yeast, active dry		3.1 g
1 tsp salt		6.7 g
1 tsp gelatin, powdered		3.1 g
1 tsp vanilla extract		4 g
1 tsp cream of tartar		3.1 g
1 cup raisins	5 oz	144 g

It might be helpful to refer How to measure in Baking 

volume conversions, weight to volume conversions,