Cooking with Shail

Hello!!! I have shifted to a new home and trust me the unpacking is a huge task. My stress buster is baking and cooking so I thought of baking this simple and easy pineapple cake with pineapple filling in between as a welcome into the new home. I have never tried doodling on the cake and hence this is my first attempt on doodling a design on the cake. The recipe is very simple and the cake is very delicious. Please ignore my amateur doodling and try the cake at home.

Ingredients:

For Sponge:

Milkmaid/Condensed Milk- 200 gms

Unsalted Butter- 75 gms

Baking Powder- 1 tsp

Baking Soda/Soda Bi Carb- 1/2tsp

All Purpose Flour/Maida- 150 gms

Pineapple Essence- 1 tsp

Milk- As required

For icing:

Whipping cream – 250 gms

Pineapple Essence- 2 tsp

For Sugar Syrup:

Water – 1/2 cup

Sugar- 3 tbsp

For drawing:

Unflavored transparent cooking gel- 1/2 cup

Food color
Other items:

Unflavored transparent cooking gel- 1/2 cup

Finely chopped fresh pineapple – 1/2 cup

Round 8″ baking tin

Oil

Rubber Spatula

Palette Knife

Knife for cutting cake

Piping Bags

Method:

For Sponge:

1) In a mixing bowl take the milkmaid and butter and beat well. The butter should be at room temperature.

2) Now add the baking powder and baking soda and mix well. Cover the bowl and leave aside for five minutes.

3) In another bowl sieve the all purpose flour.

4) Add this flour gradually in the milkmaid mixture and keep mixing till there are no lumps. If the mixture feels stiff add milk gradually. The batter should be of pouring consistency and there should be no lumps.

5) Add the pineapple essence and mix well.

6) Take the baking tin and rub some oil in the tin. Now dust the tin using the all purpose flour.

7) Pour the batter in the tin. Take care that the batter should not be more than half of the height of the tin. The batter should be half of the tin or less then half only then it will have space to rise properly.

8) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 25 mins. Once done check by inserting pin/toothpick in the center if it comes out clean then the sponge is ready.

For Icing:

1) In a deep vessel add the whipping cream. Remember the whipping cream should be chilled. You can use any brand whipping cream.

2) Start whipping the cream using electric beater. Initially start with speed 1 then go to maximum speed. Beat the cream till it form hard peaks. The entire time the cream is whipped it should be chilled. If it is summer season place the vessel in which you are whipping the cream in a wider vessel containing ice cubes and maintain the chilled temperature of the cream.

3) Once whipped the cream will double in volume.

4) In the whipped cream add pineapple essence. Do not mix the whipped cream vigorously as it will become loose. Mix gently by using a spatula.

For Decoration:

1) Cut the cake horizontally in two halves.

2) Soak the layer using sugar water (mix sugar in water and boil for 2 mins cool it and use).

3) Add the whipped cream on one half and sprinkle the chopped pineapple pieces. Now sandwich the pineapple pieces by adding some more whipped cream on top and place the other half of the cake on top. Cover the entire sponge from the outer side completely with chocolate cream using palette knife and keep in fridge for 15 mins.

3) Take the 1/2 cup cooking gel in a bowl and add 1 tsp of pineapple essence to it. Add water to it and loosen the consistency a bit.

4) After 15 mins pour the gel on the cake evenly. Once the cake has been evenly coated decorate by drawing on the cake.

4) For drawing take the remaining gel in a bowl divide into 2-3 portions depending on number of colors you want to use. Add 1-2 tsp water and gel color of your choice. If your using water color don’t add the water. Mix well. Use writing nozzle of the piping bag for drawing and coloring.

5) Leave the cake in the fridge for an hour for setting. Serve chilled.