Simplicity Chocloate Cake (not so simple!)

My family recently got together for Grandma's birthday and it was my job to take afternoon tea and cake. I cheated a bit. Afternoon tea was store bought dips and biscuits as well as super simple tomato, cheese and kabana bites. I also made a beetroot dip using baby beets (from a can), 200g chickpeas, lemon juice and cottage cheese. It sure didn't look pretty but it was healthy and well received.

I put all my effort into the cake. Simplicity Chocolate Cake was the recipe name. Simple it was. Cake, not so much; it was more crumble. As the picture suggests, it didn't turn out so great!

It was Friday night and the last thing I wanted to do was bake, but I couldn't let Grandma down so I tried a different cake recipe. Nigella's Old Fashion Chocolate Cake was perfect because I needed to use some sour cream I had in the fridge. My luck was not so good this Friday night. Cake number two turned out quite flat. I cannot quite convey just how frustrated I was with my cooking but I chose to stick it out and do what I could with my two 'cakes.'
I covered Nigella's cake with Nutella and salvaged what I could of the Simple cake to make a top layer.

The layered cakes

Next I made the frosting. I didn't have quite enough icing sugar so the icing was runny. Atleast it tasted nice. I stuck a few TV Snack biscuits on top. I was so embarrassed by the cake but at least Grandma would know lots of love went into the preparation

My brother said it looked like a cow pat. He's not wrong!

Any way, I apologised to my family, we sung Happy Birthday and then served up the cake. I held my breath while waiting for a response and I guess the saying is true; don't judge a book by it's cover (or a cake by it's cow pat appearance).
This is what the layers looked like once cut into.

Simplicity Chocolate Cake

• 2 eggs
• 75g butter, melted
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 150g milk chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• Nutella for icing

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Thoroughly grease 20cm round cake tin.
2. Beat all ingredients together by hand for 3mins. Spread into tin.
3. Bake for about 45mins or until cooked. Allow to cool in tin before turning out.
4. When cold spread Nutella over cake. Serve with Cream.

Nigella's Old-fashioned Chocolate Cake

Follow this link for the cake recipe

Indian for Mother's Day Dinner

Although not actually on Mother's Day, on Saturday I served my parents up an Indian feast to celebrate the occasion.
It was Dad's request for Aloo Gobhi (Potato & Cauliflower) that led me to cook Indian.
Aloo Gobhi had to be on the menu of course, plus there was Channa Masala (Chickpeas) in the freezer from the other week. I also made Kheema Matar (Lamb with Peas) because it was so delicious last time and Bindi (Okra).
To accompany the dishes and soothe Mum's sensitive palate, I made some Raita (yoghurt).

Aloo Gobhi
I was very careful not to let this burn itself to the bottom of the frying pan. It wasn't particularly strong in flavour which could be seen as a good or bad thing. The taste of the cauliflower and potatoes was still noticeable. I'd say it was average.

Channa Masala
When we ate this straight after it had been cooked, it wasn't very impressive. This time round, because the spices had plenty of time to strengthen I had higher hopes and I am thankful it was tastier than last time.

Kheema Matar
I followed the same recipe as last time, all apart from adding fresh chillies. The absence of the chillies meant it was unfortunately lacking a 'kick.' It was still tasty, just not as good as last time.

Bindi
I love bindi. I had never tried the ingredient before my mother in-law prepared it. It definitely isn't a common vegetable in Australian households. This was nice.

Raita
I just mixed natural yoghurt, fresh coriander, cucumber, garlic and lemon pepper together.

The spread:

Because the meal was rather heavy and filling, we had fruit and ice-cream (or yoghurt) for dessert.

Happy Mother's Day Mum!

Dad's Birthday Nibbles

Yesterday we had a family get together for my Dad's birthday. I was responsible for organising the nibbles and pre-dinner snacks. I took along the cashews and some strawberries (for dessert) from last night as well as a store bought dip, chips and crackers. But I also prepared:

• Hommus dip with carrot and celery sticks 
• Spinach and Ricotta dip in a bread bowl
• Kabana toothpicks; kabana, cheese and cherry tomatoes

My aunty had given me a very large bag of chickpeas recently and I know Dad is a fan of hommus so made a big batch of dip as a treat for him. I also serve up some hommus and vegie sticks for a snack.

The bread bowl dip is something i've enjoyed many times before but never made myself. It was super easy and so moreish. This was definitely the family's favourite.

Kabana toothpick are just fun.

The cashews, store bought dip and strawberries were also served up.

Two of the recipes were from taste.com.au. I actually stuck to the proper recipe for both of these! No wonder they turned out nice.

Spinach and Ricotta Dip

• 500g frozen spinach, thawed
• 300g fresh ricotta
• 300g carton sour cream
• 1/3 cup chopped chives
• 30g packet spring vegetable dried soup
• 1 round cob bread loaf

1. Squeeze and discard all liquid from thawed spinach. Place into a large bowl. Add ricotta and sour cream. Stir until well combined and smooth. Add chives and dried soup. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Mix until well combined.
2. Using a serrated knife, slice a 3 to 4cm-thick slice off top of loaf. Set aside. Remove soft white bread from centre of loaf to form a bread 'bowl'. Spoon spinach and ricotta mixture into loaf. Replace bread lid. Serve immediately.
   
   

   Classic Hommus

   • 1 cup dried chickpeas
   • 2 tablespoons tahini
   • 1/4 cup lemon juice
   • 1 garlic clove, crushed
   • 1/4 cup olive oil
   • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
   • Paprika and extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

   
   

   1. Place chickpeas in a bowl. Cover with cold water. Cover with plastic wrap. Stand overnight.
   2. Drain chickpeas. Place in a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Cover. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup liquid.
   3. Process chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, oil, salt and reserved liquid until almost smooth.
   4. Spoon into a bowl. Sprinkle with paprika. Drizzle with oil. Serve.