Eggless Black Forest Cake

It was during one of those after-college evenings when me and my friend M went to Hot Breads,hungry enough to eat the whole shop.We didn’t have much cash with us but still wanted a Black forest Pastry each.I remember it cost about 20 bucks and we just had 50rs/- with us.We bought 2 of them,paid the lone fifty rupee note and waited to collect the balance.The shopkeeper gave us 60 rs back thinking we gave a 100 rupee note.*Ok,I’m not so proud of this but still sharing it with you all*.We just glanced at each other and ran from there-literally,holding our pastry and the unexpected extra cash..hah those were the good ol’ days..;).

I never expected in my wildest dreams that I would be baking my own Blackforest cake some day.Leave alone BF cake,I didn’t even think I could cook a proper regular meal..:).I guess with each passing day,we learn.

I’ve seen indefinite number of recipes for Blackforest cake but every time I zero in on one,I get jittery and then I drop the whole plan.But today I had to make one,I work well under pressure,I guess.My dearest ma-in-law is celebrating her 60th birthday and the least I could do is make something for her.Thats why the eggless cake.

I cried out loud or rather twittered aloud for help regarding the cake and my dear friends Ria,Aparna and Deeba gave me the necessary push and encouraged me to go for it.Thanks to you guys or else I would have taken the nearest escape route ahead and made something much much simpler.

I chose this recipe from Vanitha magazine amongst an array of dishes using Milkmaid.I’ve seen a similar recipe at Srivalli’s and Renuka’s place.A simple eggless chocolate cake which can be whipped up in no time.

Eggless Black Forest Cake


Ingredients-For the cake

Condensed milk-Milkmaid – 400 grams(1 can)
Butter – 125 grams
Maida/Flour – 225 grams
Cocoa powder – 3-4 tablespoons
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
Aerated cola – 200ml(I used Pepsi)

Method

Grease and line an 8’ round baking tin
Preheat oven to 150C.

Melt butter-Microwave for 1 minute on high.Let it cool.
Add milkmaid and beat well.
Sift together maida,cocoa powder,baking powder and baking soda.
Add maida mix to the milkmaid-butter mixture alternating with cola till maida and cola are finished.
Pour into the greased baking tin and bake for 30-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients –For the Sugar syrup

Sugar – ½ cup
Water – ½ cup

In a thick bottom pan,mix the sugar and water and boil till the sugar melts.Keep aside to cool.

Ingredients –For the cream

Fresh cream – 300 ml
Powdered sugar – 4-5 tablespoons
Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

Keep cream and the beater blades in the freezer for about half an hour.
Add sugar and essence to the chilled cream.
Beat well till the cream is thick and forms soft peaks.
Keep refrigerated till use.

Ingredients for filling and garnish

A cup of cherries chopped fine-I used glazed cherries-reserve a few for garnishing on top.
A bar of milk chocolate – Make chocolate shavings out of the bar and keep refrigerated till use.
Few edible silver beads

For assembling the cake

Cut the cake into 3-4 layers horizontally[I cut it into 3 layers].
Keep one layer of the cake on the serving plate.
Sprinkle 3-4 tablespoons of sugar syrup on it.
Now spread 2-3 tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the cake.
Add the chopped cherries on top.
Repeat with other layers.
Cover the cake completely with whipped cream on all sides and the top.
Level the top and sides with a broad spatula dipped in chilled water.
Decorate the top with chocolate shavings,halved cherries and silver beads.
Keep chilled in the fridge till use.

Happy Birthday Amma..:)

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

My cookbooks adorn a prime space on our bedside table.Hubby sometimes finds it funny that I read cookbooks and that too so enthusiastically.Since I never stop buying cookbooks and never intend to do so,I have truckloads of new recipes to read always.I glance through each of them and keep ticking away those which I want to try ASAP.Bookmarking so many recipes from blogs too,I am confused as to where to start.

Nita Mehta’s Cakes and Cookies was one of my first Baking cookbooks.I took baby steps in baking following her recipes.Simple beginner recipes which yields perfect results.Some of the recipes I tried are here,here and here.

While clearing my fridge to search for something,I came across this small unopened bottle of Almond essence.I tried hard to remember why I bought that one.There are a few recipes which require almond essence but I had bought it long back specifically to make this tea-cake.Put my act through fast and made this yummy tea cake.Moist,with just the right sweetness,crunchy nuts and sweet cherries to bite this one’s won our hearts.:)

Cherry Almond Loaf Cake

Ingredients

Flour/Maida – 1 cup

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Glace cherries – ½ cup(50 grams)-cut into round slices

Almond – ½ cup(40 grams)-chopped roughly

Powdered Sugar – ¾ cup

Eggs – 2

Oil – ½ cup

Almond essence – 2-3 drops

Method

Grease and line a 8’- 4’ loaf tin.

Preheat oven to 150 C/350 F.

Sift together flour and baking powder and keep aside.

Keep aside a few cherries and almonds for the topping and mix the rest with the sifted flour.

Beat together powdered sugar and eggs till frothy.

Add oil gradually and keep beating.

Add the flour-mix to the egg batter,beat well.

Then add the essence-scrape the bowl and mix well again.[the batter is quite thick].

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for an hour[or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean].

If the top is browning too quickly,loosely cover the top with a foil.

Remove from oven,let it cool for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack.

Slice and serve.

A medley of dishes!!

A medley of dishes with sweet memories!!

Yup,I had been to Kerala-Ernakulam precisely,for a week and just cant stop talking about it.Even though its just an overnight journey from Chennai,for me it would always be far..and I so much look forward to going there.This time it was a sudden trip with RaC tickets which got confirmed at the last moment..thank God for small mercies;).

Cooking was obviously the last thing on my mind and the last thing I did while I was at home with amma.By the time I got up and came down,breakfast and prep work for lunch would be over.All I did was eat,sleep and have fun with Pluto.It was raining non-stop daily while I was there and I enjoyed every bit of it.Had those long long chatting sessions with amma..how I missed that;).Amma cooked up every favorite dish of mine and I have put on at least a couple of kilos in a matter of few days..;).

Here are a few dishes which amma cooked especially for my blog since I had asked her for some long-forgotten Konkani dishes.

Ponsa Gharya Upkari – Ripe Jackfruit stir fry.

There are a few dishes which usually gets cooked during the jackfruit season and at amma’s place,this was a regular since after a while people did get tired of the overtly sweet jackfruit.Of course,nowadays this has become a rare dish since people buy cut fruit and it is enough for a tasting session and not more.A simple upkari which can be had as a snack as well as with lunch.

Ripe jackfruit pieces-salt to taste-jaggery-seasoning-red chillies
In a kadai splutter mustard seeds and add red chilly.Add the cut jackfruit pieces,jaggery to taste[only a little bit] and salt.Stir well till the jaggery melts.

Kellya Sassam – Ripe banana raita

Very similar to fruit raita.Another one of my favorites after Banana muffins.One of the fruits I rarely eat,banana has become a regular in my cooking.Easy to whip up and tasty too.

Ripe banana[rastali]-thick curds – seasoning
Chop banana into small cubes.Prepare seasoning in a kadai-splutter mustard seeds,add curry leaves and green chilly bits.Whisk the curds and add a pinch of salt.Mix everything together while serving.Serve chilled.

Quick Bhatoora
One of the recipes we saw in the latest edition of Vanitha.Oh yeah,I remember-I did cook breakfast one day..had tempted amma so much about my Poori-Aamras combo.While making this,we prepared this quick bhatoora too.An easy version which does not require any resting time.

All purpose flour 1 cup-mashed potatoes ¾ cup-salt to taste-oil to deep fry
Cook potatoes till mushy.Mash till no visible lumps remain.Mix in maida-do not add water.Make a smooth batter.Roll out pooris/bhatooras and deep fry in hot oil.Serve hot with channa.

Chocolate Cupcakes

Living bang opposite a bakery,I was a big fan of cakes,pastries and cupcakes.Many a times,I came back from school hoping to hear the golden words..”theres no snack here,get anything from the bakery”[even though it was very rare].I used to throw the schoolbag around and literally run to the bakery;).Last time I went home,I made a trip there and found that I am no longer intrigued by the stuff displayed there.Does that mean the child in me has grown old? Or have I grown old..huh,maybe I have.Of course now that we also have to look for the calorie tag,many things don’t look that exciting anymore..!!

I skipped the cakes section and came back home buying a bag of cupcakes[about a dozen].Me and my brothers happily munched it reminiscing about the good old school days.I always wondered back then why amma and appa didn’t have those sweet treats.I always asked her-“you can’t see the egg no,then why can’t you have it”??Now I understand and with the limited baking prowess that I have,I bake her eggless baked stuff.

I made these Chocolate Cupcakes using Nags’ recipe.I skipped the frosting and we had it plain.Absolutely loved it.They have been packed neatly and are off to my hubby’s friends tomorrow:).

Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from Nags,original recipe source Joy of Baking

Ingredients

Cocoa powder - ½ cup(50 gms)

Boiling hot water - 1 cup(240 ml)

All purpose flour - 1 1/3 cups(175 gm

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt - ½ tsp

Unsalted butter at room temperature - ½ cup(113 gms)

White sugar, powdered - 1 cup(200 gms)

Eggs - 2

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Method

In a small bowl stir until smooth the boiling hot water and the cocoa powder. Let cool to room temperature.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Then in the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth.

Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat only until incorporated.

Then add the cooled cocoa mixture and stir until smooth.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C.

Lightly butter, or line 16 muffin cups with paper liners.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full with batter and bake for about 16-20 minutes or until risen, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and munch away to glory:)

From your blogs # 7..and mine too!!

What do you do when you are back from a week-long holiday/vacation and don’t feel like cooking anything new??Ahem..I decided to blog:).Well,I haven’t made anything new,just the daily stuff,so I dug up my drafts folder and found few pictures of the stuff I tried out from other blogs.I am bookmarking so many recipes daily,and I am happy that I am trying out at least a few..:).

So without further ado,let me present you the dishes I tried out from other blogs[in random order:)]

DK’s Vegetable Hyderabadi Biryani

I have heard so much about Hyderabadi Biryani from my hubby and friends.Every time they talk about it,they rave and rave about the distinct flavor and pity me since I am missing out on the fantastic taste[since I’m a veg].While doing the Recipe Marathon,DK posted this yummy recipe with step by step pics[like all her recipes] and I was tempted to try it out.As usual,after a while I forgot about it.Once we had Veg Biryani at a friends place,we liked it so much that I had to recreate it at home.I chose DK’s recipe and fell in love with it.Lipsmackingly delicious,even my staunch non-veg loving hubby gave his thumbs-up!!

Raaga’s Sheera
They say its one of the easiest sweets ever..Strange that I never got it right the first few times I made it.Once I wrote down step by step recipe while ma-in-law was making it.It came out alright for a while and then again I lost the plot.When I saw Raaga’s recipe I liked the proportions she gave.Easier to remember and gets done pretty fast.Last week when I had guests at home,I made this Sheera and served it with Upma[which was our breakfast that day],it was a super duper hit!!

Nirmala’s Banana Buns
I came across this recipe while searching for something else.The recipe sounded very simple and I was madly baking with yeast those days so I literally jumped out from my seat and made this.A mildly sweet bun which had us asking for more.Even though I played havoc with some steps[due to which the dough didn’t rise much]it came out excellent!!

Divya’s & DK’s Dates Biscuit
We love dates and it often is our after-food dessert.Sometimes,I insert a cashew inside the dates and it disappears as and when I am making it;).I have not much experimented with cooking with those except for this Superb Dates cake.It had been long since I made cookies so I decided on this one.It smelled divine inside the oven.Once again,a mildly sweet biscuit,perfect for snack-munching!!

Bharathy’s Onion Thokku

One of the first people who commented on my blog and one of those firsts to encourage me to do better,Bharathy is a sweetheart.Though she took a long-ish break when I started regular blogging,she comes out with such amazing recipes after each break:).I have tried out her Spicy Baby potatoes which Nags had also posted.I’ve been meaning to make the Chocolate Cake too,if only the two sisters gave me cup measures:).I made the Onion thokku a while back and it literally disappeared from the bottle.We had it with Dosa,Idli,Rice and Chapathi too and Bang,it was over..yummm!!!
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I feel nice when people tell me that they like my blog and they try out the recipes.I think that’s the biggest joy blogging gives me.I remember reading somewhere,how food blogs are different from cooking websites.They have an edge over websites coz you know the recipes come from another bloggers kitchen and they have been through the acid test to make your job easy.

But still there are some people or anonymous commenters or sometimes even friends who tell..’hey,I tried out that recipe of yours..didnt come out so good’…!!Initially I didn’t know how to deal with them,but I think now I do.We bloggers give our time and energy to each and every post of ours and when people just rub it aside,my blood boils!!So to cool it down,here are some recipes from my blog which dear Purnima tried out.I haven’t come across someone like her.Every time a recipe appeals to her,she tries it out,gives feedback and sends me pictures too..such a darling!!Clockwise from top-Eggless Chocolate Cake with Mocha Icing,Methi Chole,Malai Cookies,Karibeva Chutney and Eggless Banana nut Muffins.

Indian Cooking Challenge ~ Rava Laddoo

Accepting a challenge made me feel so good.When Srivalli announced the Indian Cooking Challenge,without giving it a second thought,I jumped in.Now,when I actually think about it,well..I’m getting jittery.There are so many items which popped up in the poll which sound Herculean to me and many more which I am not much fond of.But it’s a challenge and you can’t go back on your word,isnt it?:)

For this month,it was decided that before the Challenge begins,we’ll have a red carpet dish..er trial dish before the REAL challenge.Srivalli suggested Rava Laddoo and it was accepted by all.Why is it that this sweet is tried out by many except me,Oh yeah,it happens to me all the time:).I remember having mouthful of this laddoo during Diwali,when this was made in huge numbers.I don’t remember ever helping out amma while making these and anyway,I suck at shaping them in perfect rounds,so amma could very well do without my help;).

I was hesitant at the outcome of the laddoos,but the recipe is quite easy and I didn’t get any major hiccups while doing it.I was apprehensive about the shape too,but I guess they look fine.

So let me introduce the first dish or rather the trial dish for the Indian Cooking Challenge-Rava Laddoo.

Cooking method- I followed the exact recipe given by Srivalli[you can check out the recipe in her blog here].

Rava laddoo

Ingredients- Makes- 10 Laddoos of normal size[I got 20 small sized laddoos]

Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 25 gms
Milk - 25 ml

Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
Raisins - 10 nos

Method

Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai.

Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Once the raisins balloon up, remove.

Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done.

Keep all these aside.

Add the remaining ghee and roast the Rava till its well roasted and aroma starts coming out.
In a bowl, take all the roasted Rava, Nuts, Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.[I skipped this step,instead,I added everything into the kadai afer roasting the rava and continued with the recipe].

Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddos, transfer it back to the kadai and simmer for 2 mins.

Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 mins. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.

I enjoyed this month's challenge,trial dish actually-nevertheless.I am looking forward to the upcoming challenges..way to go:)

Poori with Aamras

While in college,the only time I properly ate food was doing breakfast.Lunch was a quick bite and a cold drink,tea was gulped down hurriedly and dinner was had in front of tv or while on the phone.I guess those five years in College were the only times I troubled amma being a teen[almost out of teens,teen:)].Soon after I got married and even though I whipped up few stuff in my kitchen,I struggled with what-to-make-for-breakfast thoughts.Both amma and ma-in-law made varieties of food for breakfast day after day and all I could think of was making dosas or idlies of readymade batter:).

I’ve come a far route from those days and can think of many ideas even if I don’t have any leftover batter[home-made;)].

I first had Poori and Aamras at one of hubby’s cousins wedding.I was blown away with the yummy combination,something I’ve never had before.After a while,we cousins stopped having poori and had only bowlfuls of aamras.We almost felt dizzy afterwards,eating so much of it:).

Summers are the best times to try out such royal dishes for breakfast since mangoes are available in abundance.We couldn’t stop eating this yummilicious breakfast:).

Poori with Aamras


For making the Poori

Atta – 2-3 cups
Salt to taste
Water – as required to knead the dough[about 1 cup]

Oil – to deep fry

Method

Mix salt with atta,add water and make a firm dough.
Knead the dough for a few minutes till the surface becomes smooth.

Poori dough should be firmer than chapathi dough or else it will soak up too much oil.

Pinch off small balls of the dough,flatten with a rolling pin and deep fry them in hot oil,till they puff up and become golden brown.

Check out Indira’s and Shilpa’s Poori pictorial for more info.

For making the Aamras

Mango pulp – about 2 cups
Sugar – 2-3 tsp
Milk – ¾ cup
Saffron strands – 2-3

Crushed cardamom - seeds of 1 or 2

Method

Make a smooth puree of mango pulp,sugar and milk.

Add saffron,crushed cardamom and mix well.
The texture of the aamras should be such that it should fall in dollops when served.
Chill and serve with piping hot Pooris.

Make the most of this combo during the the Mango season;)

Sending this across to Divya for her Show me Your Breakfast event

&

To Srivalli for her Mango Mela.

Palmiers~Little Hearts

Few years back,when my brother was doing his studies in MIT-Manipal,I used to look forward to his term-break trips back home.I knew that he would bring me stuff from a duty-paid shop nearby.Stuff like Kit-Kat[when it was not yet launched in India] and Little Heart biscuits were my favourites.I just couldn’t have enough of them.Soon after they were available everywhere and I lost interest in them.I think it had more to do with *my-brother-brought-it-for-me* stuff:)

My interest in Little heart biscuits grew further when I saw it in many blogs.Divya and Cham had made it with Puff pastry sheets making them more tempting for me.I had decided that those would be the first stuff I would try when I get puff pastry sheets.After a long delay,I made these.I had a few sheets leftover from the Veg Puffs and instead of re-storing it,I made these cutey little hearts which were gone the minute they came out of the oven.

I don’t think mine came anywhere near the real ones in terms of looks,but we loved the crispy and crunchy and mildly sweet home-made little hearts.My vanni tried it too and below is her little hearts;)

Little Hearts

Ingredients

Puff pastry - 1

Sugar - few tbsp

Method

Thaw the puff pastry according to the instructions given.

In a clean work surface,sprinkle some flour and sugar and keep the pastry sheet on top.

Sprinkle some more sugar on top and slightly roll it with a rolling pin.

Find the middle of the sheet and mark it with a knife.

Start rolling from either sides till both sides reach the middle.

Now the sheet will resemble a log,cut it into small ½ inch thick strips.

Place them in a greased baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or till they become evenly brown.

Aviyal ~ A medley of Vegetables!!

Few people talk fondly about their canteen/mess food.My cousin S actually looked forward to her canteen food,can you believe that??Her school had a canteen which served piping hot food.She used to rave about the bubbling in the pan Sambhar,full of flavour Aviyal,crispy papads,a bowl of curd and *its so hot you can’t even touch* kind of rice.Every morning,even if she forgot to take her books,she diligently packed her plate inside her school bag[every one were required to carry their own plates to the canteen].

For my part,as clichéd as it may sound,my school /college canteen sucked big time.Of all the years I’ve spent in the campus[almost 17 years,starting from K.G till my graduation days]I must have gone to the canteen 2-3 times,that too when I was forced to accompany some friends.It was a convent run canteen and the fish-non-veg stink was too much for me to bear.I am not being judgemental here,I have no qualms in having food along with my non-veg friends,but its just that the smell from the canteen used to put me off.

Its funny how people think vegetarians only have one sambhar and one aviyal to eat and nothing else.Many feel that we are losing out on stuff because we don’t eat non-veg.

Ok,has it started to appear that I am on a rant mode-it wouldn’t be surprising if I told you that off late I’ve been showered with compliments like –I’ll run out of recipes for my ”only vegetarian blog”.So I thought I will post this life-saver dish for vegetarians;).Of course,Aparna’s post inspired me to dig out the photos of this dish from my drafts.You can read all about Aviyal’s origin and the stories associated with it here.

Aviyal ~ A medley of Vegetables!!

Usually,in Kerala,all Naadan-Homegrown vegetables are used for aviyal.Ash gourd/Coloured cucumber,Yam,Brinjal,Yardlong beans,Drumsticks,Raw banana,Snake gourd&Green chilly.All the vegetables are sliced lengthwise and are used in a descending order-more of ash gourd,little less yam,even little brinjal and so on.

Due to the unavailability of many of these vegetables,new ones like Carrots,Beans,Potatoes etc have been added to the aviyal.As they say-anything goes into the aviyal-the more the merrier!!

Ingredients

Mixed vegetables about 3-4 cups – I used ash gourd,carrots,beans,potatoes,drumsticks and yam

Green chillies – 2-3,chopped lengthwise
Raw mango* – ½ of 1 small one-cut lengthwise

To be ground to a coarse paste

Grated coconut – ½ of one coconut
Haldi/turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Jeera – ½ tsp

Coconut oil – 3-4 tbsp
Curry leaves – 2-3 sprigs

Method

Chop the vegetables lengthwise[about the size of your small finger].Wash and keep aside.
Grind the grated coconut,haldi and jeera to a coarse paste without adding water,keep aside.

In a thick bottomed kadai/pan add the coconut oil and add all the vegetables into it.
Keep mixing till the oil coats the vegetables.
Add water-not much[about a cup should do]just enough to cover the vegetables and green chillies and cook the vegetables till soft.Take care not to overcook.
Add salt and the chopped raw mango to the cooked vegetables,mix well and then add the ground paste.
Spread the paste on top and cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
After 5 minutes,open the lid,mix everything.
Add a tbsp of coconut and fresh curry leaves.
Serve hot!!

*If raw mango is not available,you can use ½ a cup of curd/yogurt.

Aviyal is more of a side-dish than a gravy and the doneness is checked by the texture of the cooked vegetables coated with the ground coconut mix.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Icing

A year back,if someone told me that my parents would keep a pet[that too a dog] inside our house,I would have looked at them as though they were insane.Appa had real hardcore reasons for Why NOT to keep a pet at home.Amma ran miles away at the mere mention of pets.Me,well I could very well do without one.My brothers and hubby were all for it and they tried every trick in the book to make us see sense in their ideas.

Today,we are celebrating Pluto’s first birthday.Appa gives him* his daily dose of sweet,amma sings Happy Birthday and I am baking a birthday cake for him.

What brought about so much of a change in our attitude?I guess you will know it only if you live with it.The unconditional love of a pet dog will make the most hardest of hard rocks melt.My brother brought him home less than a year back,when he was a month old.He instantly became everyone’s darling.When amma called me up and said,he would be waiting for me next time I go there,I went eeesshh.But I too was spellbound at the way the love he shared with all of us.

Today,he’s the darling of the house.We call him our brother.A dear part of all of us.The little I could do is to bake a cake for him.He loves sweets and I am sure he’ll lick my hands off if I were to serve it to him. We couldn't keep our hands off it ourselves:)

Love you Pluto…Happy Birthday to you!!!

*We refuse to call him IT:)

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

Maida – ½ cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Powdered sugar – ½ cup
Eggs – 2
Cocoa powder – 2 tsp
Granulated sugar – 2 tsp
Milk – ¼ cup
Oil – ½ cup
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Method

Preheat oven to 170*C.
Grease and line a square cake tin.
Sift together maida and baking powder.
Beat the eggs well - you can either use an electric beater or a hand mixer.
Add the powdered sugar and mix well to form a creamy mixture.
Add the cocoa powder and sugar to it and mix.
Now add the oil and milk and beat well.
Add the flour little by little.Make sure there are no lumps-the batter will be quite liquidy.
Pour into the greased pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the tin for a while and then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the icing

Softened butter – ½ cup
Icing sugar – 1 ½ cups
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Cocoa powder – 1 tsp

Cream together butter and icing sugar till soft and creamy.

Add cocoa powder and vanilla essence to the butter-sugar mix and beat well.

Keep aside in the refrigerator or a few minutes.

Spread on the cool cake and serve!!

Recipe source - Vanitha Magazine