Devil's Food Cake with Salted Caramel and Snicker Bits

This one was made ages ago but your there these times when your really stuck and words don't flow, the thoughts are just bumping around....basically feeling stuck! Well I have passed that phase I guess...
The Devils Food Cake is a Nigella Lawson Recipe, in her words "this cake is heavenly and the crumb is tender". I paired this up with a salted caramel slightly runny but then left it in the refrigerator to stiffen up and it did!!! The cake was made for my brother and we irony was we ended up going to this restaurant called "The Phobidden Fruit" - for those wanting where that is its located on 12th Main Indiranagar (Umm Bangalore). Overall a sinful affair with us family!!!

Ingredients:
For the Cake
50 grams best-quality cocoa powder (sifted)
100 grams dark brown muscovado sugar
250 ml boiling water
125 grams soft unsalted butter (plus some for greasing)
150 grams caster sugar
225 grams plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the bottoms of two 20cm / 8inch round sandwich tins with baking parchment and butter the sides.Put the cocoa and 100g / half cup dark muscovado sugar into a bowl with a bit of space to spare, and pour in the boiling water. Whisk to mix, then set aside. Cream the butter and caster sugar together, beating well until pale and fluffy; I find this easiest with a freestanding mixer, but by hand wouldn’t kill you. While this is going on – or as soon as you stop if you’re mixing by hand – stir the flour, baking powder and bicarb together in another bowl, and set aside for a moment. Dribble the vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar – mixing
all the while – then drop in 1 egg, quickly followed by a scoopful of flour mixture, then the second egg. Keep mixing and incorporate the rest of the dried ingredients for the cake, then finally mix and fold in the cocoa mixture, scraping its bowl well with a spatula. Divide this fabulously chocolatey batter between the 2 prepared tins and put in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Take the tins out and leave them on a wire rack for 5–10 minutes, before turning the cakes out to cool.

Salted Caramel Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Start with the frosting: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add brown sugar and heavy cream. Stir constantly over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Add salt. Allow to bubble for exactly 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until you reach desired consistency.


I then cut some snicker bars to add to the overall look because the birthday boy loves Snickers!

Truffle Cupcakes

These were made for my lovelies at my Friday Prayer Group to celebrate the day of love. Not only did we have the serious sharing of the Word and fantastic Worship. We ended it all with a Sweetheart Bible Quiz and a game called Sword in Hand. My group is is enthusiastic and a bunch that is earnest and ever friendly. So after all the bible discussion we tucked into these little sweet things for a sweet ending to our meeting!!!!

Ingredients:
For the Cake:
Plain Flour - 85 gms
Caster Sugar - 100 gms
Unsalted Butter - 50 gms
Cocoa Powder - 25 gms
Egg - 1
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp

For the Ganache:
Dark Chocolate - 100 gms
Cream - 100 ml

Into a small bowl pour 100ml of boiling water to the cocoa powder and whisk into a smooth paste and cool to room temperature. Cream the butter and sugar together until using an electric whisk or food processor. Add in the egg and then the flour, baking powder and soda together and then add in the cooled cocoa mixture. Put spoonfuls into 14 paper cases and bake for about 18-20 mins in a preheated oven of 180 C. Remove once baked and allow to cool.
In the meantime prepare the ganache by bringing the cream into a boil in a saucepan and pour over the chopped up chocolate and stir to dissolve. You should end up with a thick glossy creamy mixture. Drop a teaspoonful of the mixture onto each cupcake and sprinkle on chocolate sprinkles or shavings, dust icing sugar (optional) and serve.

The Football Cake for the Football Lover and Player ~ It's a Chocolate Cake

I'm not sure where to start because the last three to four months has been more than just a roller coaster ride for me. Well a midst the excitements I have had I know I have left my readers a bit in the lurch with my disappearance. Let me get back to were we stopped and do I have some interesting recipes to post. So stay tuned and I will try my best not to let you guys down again. This cake was done for my our dear friend Binny, I should have mentioned him in the past because he is a father of three adorable boys - they are triplets. It's simple gesture from all us friends appreciating him and his lovely family for the support, the encouragements, the counsel, more than ever the spiritual one-ness we share. So let me know continue babbling and lets get on with the simple recipe. 

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients: 

[Recipe Source: Tana Ramsay's Family Kitchen - Pg. 245] 

Self Rising Flour - 125 gms

Caster Sugar - 150 gms

Unsalted Butter - 150 gms

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Cold Water - 2 tbs

Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Eggs - 3

Cocoa Powder - 25 gms

Sieve together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Into it add the unsalted butter, vanilla extract, sugar followed by the eggs. Add in the cold water and mix until you get a dark, smooth, brown mixture. Divide the batter between two 18cm round, greased and lined cake tins. Knock the tins against a hard surface to get a smooth top on each. Bake the cakes for approximately 25-30 mins until the center of the cakes springs back on touch or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Place them on a wire rack to cool and then proceed to make the icing.

I used regular  vanilla butter cream icing for the cake to pipe out the football if not for butter cream then you can use chocolate ganache to cover the middle and top of the cake  and it doesn't matter if it runs down the sides of the cake  - looks more indulgent!