Easy Chocolate Cake

No milk, no eggs and no butter. There is a video in regards to this chocolate cake floating around the internet and I wanted to give it a try. This is quite truly the simplest of cakes. You can whip it up in a cake tin, as the video suggests, however I did use a bowl. I added about 2 to 3 teaspoons of rose extract to give the cake a subtle rose flavour. I made a simple chocolate butter cream icing, to ice the cake and then decorated it with edible rose petals. Which is perfect, for a pre Valentine's Day treat. The cake itself was moist and not to heavy and had a delightful fudge taste. 

Easy Chocolate Cake

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1 1/2 cups flour

3 tablespoons good quality cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. 

Mix everything together in a round or square non-stick cake tin, until combine. ** If you are not using a non-stick cake pan then grease and flour the inside of the cake tin, both bottom and sides, then place a piece of parchment paper inside the bottom of the prepared pan. This helps to release the cake more easily and prevents sticking. 

Then create 3 wells and in each pour...

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

5 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup of water

Blend and mix well.

Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely. Icing or leave plain dressed with fresh fruit. Slice and serve.  

And this is what the cake looked like released from the tin. Lovely form, springy and a nice rich chocolate tone. It is perfect as is, however icing just added that finishing touch and the rose petals on top enhanced the rose flavour.  

Leftovers #15 ~ Rice Pudding

As far as comfort food desserts go, rice pudding hits the top of the list. This recipe is quick, easy and delicious. All you need is some leftover/day old rice, milk, sugar, an egg, salt and a few other ingredients to create such enveloping comfort in a bowl.  

Creamy Rice Pudding

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1 1/2 cups leftover or day old rice (rice that has already been cooked)  

2 cups of milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup raisins - optional  

1/3 cup caster sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, and salt in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until thick and creamy... for about 15 - 20 minutes.

Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg, sugar, and raisins (if adding any) into the rice mixture and stirring continually. Continue cooking until egg is set for about 2-3 minutes. 

Remove from heat. Stir in the butter and vanilla extract into the pudding.

Serve.

Notes: 
As you know I always have some leftover rice on hand... however if you do not have any leftover/day old rice then cook some rice, according to package, and use that. I was having a terrible time opening the bottle of vanilla extract therefore I used rosewater essence instead. I also added ground vanilla bean to the sugar and served it with edible rose petals. Ground pistachios would be a nice touch as well.   

Have a good weekend everyone! - JW 

Coconut and Curry Butter Cookies

These cookies are absolutely delicious! The aroma as they baked was completely intoxicating. The curry gave a subtle flavour and the toasted coconut was warm and sweet. Just make sure you do not use a curry powder with garlic. After the cookies had cooled I added my own personal touch by sprinkling edible rose petals on top of them. Which despite giving them a beautiful and exotic appearance, added another layer to their delicate flavour.   

Elegant Coconut and Curry Butter Cookies (from the book Luscious Coconut Desserts)

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1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (with no garlic)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon pure coconut extract

2 large egg yolks

1. Stir together the flour, toasted coconut, curry powder, and salt with a fork in a medium bowl.

2. Beat the butter, sugar, and coconut extract with an electric mixer in a large deep bowl, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat until will combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in two batches, beating just until blended. With a rubber spatula, stir in the coconut mixture.

3. If the dough is too soft, chill it for 1 hour, or until firm. Press the dough together with your hands and divide it in half. Place each half on a sheet of wax paper and form into a 7-by-1 1/2- inch log. Smooth sac log with damp fingers. Wrap the logs in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until thoroughly chilled and firm, or for up to 2 days.

4. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400ºF. Line two large heavy baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper, or use two large nonstick baking sheets.

5. With a sharp knife, cut each log crosswise into generous 1/4- inch-thick rounds. Arrange the rounds 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.

6. Bake one sheet at a time, turning the baking sheet around halfway through, for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Let cool completely on the baking sheets on wire racks. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. 

Notes: I could not find pure coconut extract so I used pure vanilla extract instead. The sugar I used was caster sugar however I wonder if using brown sugar would make a difference. I toasted the coconut in a nonstick pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mostly browned. I used parchment paper to line the baking sheets. I baked the cookies for 12 minutes turning the baking sheet around at the halfway mark, 6 minutes. I only have one heavy baking sheet so making the cookies took a bit longer. Having another sheet possibly would have been handy. I noticed that the cookies did spread as they baked and therefore had a bit of a rough edge, while they were cooling on the baking sheet I trimmed the edges of the cookies with a turner spatula. I found it easier to do while the cookies were still warm. Although no decoration was needed I scattered rose petals on top for my own personal touch.

**You can make your own curry powder by mixing ground coriander, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, celery seed, nutmeg, cloves, onion, red pepper, and ginger. 

Decadent! Apart from eating them on their own, I served them with some vanilla chocolate chip ice cream. - JW