Marble Cake

 

   Nope, the marble cake does not have the round marbles we used to play as children ;) In fact, this cake originated in Germany somewhere in the 19th century, when a batter with darker ingredients was lightly mixed into a yellow cake batter, to create a streaked or mottled appearance, something similar to our childhood marbles. The original marble cakes were made using molasses and different spices, especially cinnamon. When many German bakers immigrated to the US after the world wars, they began using chocolate instead of the spices, thus giving us today's famous marble cake.... lovely chocolate swirls inside a vanilla cake :) It need not always be chocolate, I later came to know.The marbling effect can also be done using pink food color (rose milk, in India) or with multiple food colors (red, green, chocolate and vanilla). If I can remember well, my mom's marble cake was usually a pink and white color cake. An avid baker, she seldom repeated the same cake recipes. So, sometimes it was chocolate swirls, rainbow marble cake or her favorite pink and white. Yup, I very well remember it being a part of my snack/ lunch box. The recipe I have posted here is from her collection and the some of the photos are of the cake I baked in my mother's home, this last trip to India in December 2012.

Triple colored marble cake

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Baking powder - 2 tsps

Oil - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps

Eggs - 4 ( I used large white eggs at room temperature)

Milk - 1/2 cup (optional, add only if you feel adding oil does not bring out batter consistency)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Cocoa powder - 1 and 1/2 tbsps (for triple colored marble cake)

Rose pink essence - 1 tsp or 1 and 1/2 tsp if you want a darker color (I used the Indian 'rose milk' essence and the smell and taste overpowered the vanilla flavor. Luckily this subsided after a day and the cake tasted much better the next day. Truth is, baked goods always taste better after a day. Use an essence or food color which is less overpowering. Actually, any color of your choice will do. Hmm...I am yet to try using food colors in my baking)

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour either a 9 inch round pan or a 9.5 inch square pan. I tried baking this cake in both types of pans. The pink and white cake was baked in a round pan and the multicolored one in the square pan.

2) Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. To this, add the sugar. Since we get finely granulated white sugar here in the US, I just add it. But in India, it is better to first powder the sugar as the crystals are bigger. While measuring, take a 1 cup measure and then powder it. If directly using powdered sugar, you may need 1 and 1/4 cups, but I am not too sure of this measurement :) Mix the dry ingredients well with a whisk.

Sifted flour with salt and baking powder

Adding sugar to the flour

3)  In another bowl, beat the 4 eggs on medium speed till they are frothy. Should take a minute for this. Add vanilla essence and beat for 10 seconds.

Beaten eggs with vanilla essence

4) Now make a well in the center of the bowl containing all the dry ingredients. Pour the oil  and milk into this well and cut and fold the dry ingredients with this, mixing well.

Pouring oil in the 'well' :)

Mixing eggs with dry ingredients

All mixed well :)

5) Divide the batter into two halves, if you want to marble it pink and white. To one half, add the pink food color and mix well, taking care not to over mix. If using a round pan, first pour in the white vanilla batter in a semi-circle, taking care to keep it on one side of the pan. Now  pour the pink colored batter on the other side of the pan in a semi-circle, completing the circle of white and pink batter. The batter may seem to get mixed up, but don't worry,they won't. Repeat the same process, if using 3 colors too.

Batter colored pink :)

Half pink, half white batter  in a round pan

Making chocolate colored batter for triple color marble cake

Chocolate, pink and white batter alternate in a square pan

6) Take a fork and gently run it between the two batters. This motion will create the marbling effect, mixing the two batters just enough. Do not over mix, else you might get too much of one color overlapping the other. But worry not, if you feel the batters are mixed too much.... you can always create art work of your choosing !!

Marbling the batter in the round pan .... the proof of the effect can be seen in the cake ;))

Marbling effect in triple colored cake :)

7) Place the pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan itself and when completely cooled, cut into round or square pieces. Keep the pieces in an airtight container. This should stay fresh for atleast 3 days. If its peak summer, refrigerate the container as cake may get spoilt due to excess heat and humidity.

I know, I know.... the pink color was not enough for the round pan :(

Ta Da :)) Marbling effect finally here !! 

Note:
  The cake I baked in the round pan was perfect, albeit a bit colorless :)) I did not add any milk in this, but added the 1/2 cup milk to the triple colored one as I felt the batter was a bit too thick. Like I said before, the milk is optional, as the 4 beaten eggs and oil are sufficient to provide the necessary moisture to mix the cake batter.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

   

    
    I have been wanting to try eggless baking for a while now and after some searching on the web, came across this easy recipe for chocolate cake. I tried baking this recently and was so surprised with the result, I just had to blog about it! Most recipes for baking always call for the use of eggs to add texture, increase the volume and enhance the taste of the baked goods. Eggless baking on the other hand uses egg substitutes to get the same end quality. These substitutes may be products like distilled vinegar, condensed milk, pureed fruits like applesauce, pureed tofu, curds etc. I had a tin of condensed milk on hand, to use if I needed, but decided against it as I wanted to eat something chocolaty without making too much of an effort. This recipe uses vinegar in lieu of eggs. Do try this and tell me how much you liked it :)

Luscious cake to bite into :)

Ingredients:

All purpose flour or maida - 1 and 1/2 cups

Cocoa powder - 3 tbsps

Sugar - 1 cup

Oil (any vegetable oil) - 1/4 cup (I used canola oil)

Water (at room temperature) - 1 cup

Baking soda - 1 tsps

Distilled white vinegar - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp (I used just a pinch)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Walnuts - a handful (roasted in the microwave for 20 secs, to make them crisp)

Chocolate chips - a handful

 ( I added the walnuts and chocolate chips to enhance the taste and indulgence. You can leave them out, if you so desire to )

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease and dust a 9 inch round pan. 

2) Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, till all lumps are removed. Set it aside in a  bowl.

Adding the flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt

Sifted dry ingredients

3) In another large mixing bowl add water, then add the sugar and stir together till the sugar is all dissolved. Now add the oil, vanilla essence and distilled vinegar. Stir just once to blend the liquids. Take care to pour just the measured quantity of vinegar. Excess vinegar will make the cake taste tart.

Water, sugar and oil mixed together

Vanilla and vinegar added to the sugar mixture

4) Add the dry ingredients to the liquid in two parts, mixing well with a spatula. Take care to see that there are no lumps of dry ingredients. Don't over mix as once the vinegar comes in contact with the baking soda, it will begin to react. The batter will be a little watery and thin. Don't worry, you are assured of getting a fluffy cake :)

5) Now add the walnuts and chocolate chips, mixing once or twice with the spatula to blend them well. Pour the batter into the prepared container and bake for 30-35 mins or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. 

Batter with the walnuts and choco chips in the pan :)

6) Take the cake out from the oven and cool it in the pan itself or remove it from the pan onto a cooling rack. Once cooled, cut into pieces and store in an air tight container. Refrigerate the cake if it is summer, else it should stay out for about 3 days, if you don't have a go at it ! 

Hmmm..Eggless chocolate cake ready !!

  

Note: This is a very moist, soft and fluffy cake....so much so, its hard to believe it is eggless.  I was a little surprised to see the walnuts on the cake surface when I was expecting them to actually sink :) The choco chips being denser were mostly at the bottom of the cake though. You can convert this recipe into a eggless Black forest cake too. Sure, the amount of cocoa powder may seem less. Just double the quantity of the ingredients and bake two cakes and proceed to follow the instructions I have written down for the Black forest cake :) I must admit that I am yet to try the eggless version of the black forest myself, but will  try it out soon. But knowing how good anything chocolaty can taste, I am sure it will come out good.

Melting Moments (Russian Tea Cookies)

 
    I love home made cookies as I know for sure that I wouldn't ever get to see the calorie value of the cookies I bite into, unlike the packaged ones where the first thing I always seem to count are the 'Fat Calories' :) Remember, how the very mention of a food item can bring back some very fond memories......well, the Melting moments cookies does make me a wee bit nostalgic. I do remember how I used to take hand written notes of this recipe to my mother's friends home as a little girl. And the many times mom and her friends would discuss cookies at tea parties, melting moments would definitely find a mention :) These Russian tea cookies are very delicate. Oh, so very delicate they simply melt in your mouth....hence the name. History has it that the Russians baked them for their tea sharing ceremonies during the 18th century. They just mixed flour, water and nuts and baked them, finally dredging the hot baked cookies in powdered sugar. Apparently they added more sugar once the cookies cooled down. The water in the recipe was replaced by oodles of butter over the course of time, which made these cookies really light. The Mexicans have a similar cookie called 'Mexican Wedding Cookies' which uses ground anise as an additional ingredient and are traditionally a part of every mexican wedding. These cookies are better known as 'Snowball cookies' in the US and are a part of Christmas holiday traditions. I baked these cookies recently and was simply blown away by their crisp lightness.  When I told my mother about me baking them, she said she always preferred baking other cookies than baking these. She felt there was much better use of all the butter that went into baking a batch of these.... yup, she sure was health conscious. All the same, indulge in the melting moments cookies first and count all the fat calories later :) 

Ingredients:

Flour - 2 cups (sifted)
Butter - 1 cup (2 sticks, softened at room temperature)
Sugar - 1/2 cup (add a few tsps more if you want sweeter cookies)
Salt -  1/4 tsp 
Vanilla extract - 2 tsps
Chopped nuts - 1/2 or 3/4 cup (chopped and roasted almonds, pistachios and walnuts)
Confectioners sugar - 1/2 cup

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 325 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat. You can use a medium or large size cookie tray for these cookies.

Flour, sugar, butter and vanilla essence

2) Cream butter in a large bowl by beating it with a hand or stand mixer for about 2 minutes till it is very soft. Add sugar and vanilla extract to it. Continue beating the butter for about 3 minutes till the mixture is pale yellow and not gritty. Take care to scrap the sides of the bowl while beating to ensure all the butter is well creamed.

3) Sift together the flour and salt. Remember to measure out 2 cups of flour after sifting it first. That way air will be incorporated into the flour and will ensure soft cookies, since there is no baking soda or powder in this recipe.

4) Divide the flour into three parts and add it little at a time to the creamed mixture and blend thoroughly with a spatula. 

5) Add the nuts and mix well. Use store bought roasted nuts or roast them at home. First chop them into small pieces, then microwave them for about 20 secs at high power. That way they will be crunchy and add flavor to the cookies.

6) The cookies dough should be soft in texture. Scoop out 1 inch balls with a spoon or ice cream scoop and place them on the parchment lined sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes till the sides of the cookies are slightly brown. Don't allow the cookies to brown completely. Russian tea cookies are meant to be slightly browned on the sides only.

Cookie dough ready for the oven!

7) Once done, remove the cookies onto a cooling wire rack or another unused baking sheet. Once cooled, roll the cookies in confectioners sugar. You can either buy this sugar at the store or just powder a cup of granulated sugar in the mixie or coffee grinder. 

Cookies left to cool on a baking sheet

Dredging cookies in confectioners sugar

8) Now sit back and enjoy the most delicate cookie ever......just melts in your mouth!!!

No one can eat just one :)

Note: This recipe should make close to 3 dozen cookies. It should store upto 2 weeks in an air tight container.

Black Forest Cake

  

Black Forest Cake with Strawberries

    I vividly remember the times I visited the 'Nilgiris Bakery' on Brigade road in Bangalore as a kid. I was  irresistibly always drawn to the 'black forest pastry' :) in spite there being so many other delicious looking pastries...hmm, guess it was either the tantalizing chocolate factor or the rather mysterious name that drew me towards it ;) I was allowed to indulge myself at times, but on many occasions I was denied the pleasure of eating my favorite pastry, since my mother believed that it was only chocolate color and no real cocoa in the pastry. And she wanted to keep my teeth safe from the excess sugar! She was mostly correct about there being no real cocoa (or rather a sparing amount) in the pastry, as the last time I ate the pastry at Nilgiris as an adult, I was thoroughly disappointed. But I must admit that no matter which bakery I go to in India or anywhere I visit for that matter, I am always on the lookout for the Black Forest. This cake or pastry has its origins in the black forest region of south western Germany and is named after the specialty liquor 'Schwarzwälder Kirsch', that is distilled from tart cherries. A typical black forest cake has several layers of chocolate cake with whipped cream and pitted maraschino cherries in between. Then the entire cake is covered in whipped cream and decorated with whole cherries and chocolate shavings. Traditionally the tart cherry liquor was added to the cake layers, but it may be substituted with rum. Since its this alcoholic Kirsch that gives this cake its unique and absolutely heavenly flavor, this cake is truly called  'Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte'  (Black Forest Cherry Torte).

     I baked this cake for the first time for my little son's birthday and had no idea it would turn out a big hit! I used fresh strawberries as I love them more than cherries. Moreover I could not get fresh maraschino cherries and did not want to used the canned variety. I did not use any alcohol whatsoever to wet my cake... instead, I steeped some strawberries in sugar syrup and used the syrup in lieu of the kirsch. I would call this the asymmetrical cake as I baked two very moist chocolate cakes in disposable pie pans, didn't bother to trim the cake edges to a circular shape, layered one cake on top of the other with the whipped cream and strawberries in between....lo and behold , I made my very own tasty black forest cake! And this recipe is so easy, you will absolutely love it. 

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 3/4 cups
Sugar - 2 cups
Cocoa powder - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsps
Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsps
Salt - 1 0r 1/4 tsp (I always add a slightly more than a pinch of salt)
Eggs - 2
Whole milk - 1 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup ( Canola or any vegetable oil )
Vanilla extract - 2 tsps
Boiling water - 1 cup
Chocolate bar (for shavings) - 1 (160z) use the one with 70% cocoa

For decorating between the cake layers:

Maraschino Cherries - Fresh or 1 can (20 oz), drained ( you can cut and pit fresh cherries,  not necessarily the maraschino variety. The ones in the can will already be pitted and cut. If using fresh strawberries, wash and slice them into thin pieces. This will make it easier to layer the cake.)
Kirsch or brandy or rum - 1/4 cup

If you desire to refrain from using any alcohol, then you can make your own fruit in syrup to wet the cake layers. I have used this in the above cake, as mentioned before.

Fruit in syrup:

Water - 2 cups
Sugar - 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup (if you want a very sweet cake. Black forest cakes should be slightly tart, to allow the chocolate flavor to stand out.)
Fresh cherries (any variety will do) or fresh strawberries - 1 pack (8 oz or 16 oz, if you want many layers of cake)

Method:

Boil the 2 cups of water and add the 1/2 cup sugar in it.  When the water boils, add the cut and pitted cherries or sliced strawberries. Cook for 5 minutes and cool completely. Refrigerate juiced up fruit.

Preparing fruit in mild sugar syrup

Steeping strawberries in syrup

For the whipped cream topping:

Heavy whipping cream - 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups (8 fl.oz or 16 fl.oz pack, if you want more cream)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsps

Chill the container in which you wish to whip up the cream in. If using a stand mixer, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If using a hand mixer, place the wire whisks into the fridge too. I usually place the wire whisks into the bowl and place them in the ice box for a good 1/2 hour. That way on whipping up the cream, it will retain the stiff peaks a while longer. Pour the chilled heavy cream into the cold bowl and beat on high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and beat again till soft peaks form. Don't over beat, else it will become butter. You can whip up the cream as the cake cools, cover it with cling wrap and place it in the ice box, until it is ready to use.

Method for baking the cake:

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.

Greased and floured pan 

2) Whisk or sieve together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl.

All the dry ingredients sieved together

3) Beat eggs or add them directly with the milk, oil and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients.  Beat all the ingredients on medium speed for 2 minutes. Remember to use a really large bowl for this as mixing all the ingredients will increase its volume.

4) Stir in 1 cup of boiling water. You can microwave it on high for 2 minutes until water boils. Stir the batter well. It will be of a very thin consistency.

Chocolate Cake batter before placing in the oven

5) Now divide this batter equally between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes . Test for doneness with an inserted toothpick. It should come out clean. Cool the cakes completely in the pans or remove them from the pan to a wire rack.

6) Once cooled, level both cakes by removing any peaks from the center. If you have used baking strips, then you would not have to level the cake as it would have risen evenly. Place one cake on the serving platter you wish to serve the cake on.

One layer of cake placed on the serving platter

7) Wet the cake with a few tsps or so of the prepared fruit juice. Take care not to wet the cake too much, else it will become a pudding. Start from the sides and move on the center of the cake. If using kirsch or rum, sprinkle few tsps of this of the cake to slightly wet it.

8) Take a dollop of whipped cream, place it on the center of the cake and with a spatula evenly spread it round. Place the cherries or strawberries in juice on the cake, after draining the sugar syrup.

Whipped cream and drained strawberries on 1st layer of cake

9) Place another layer of cake on top of the 1st cake, wet it with the fruit juice, add whipped cream and level it. Cover the sides of the cake with more whipped cream. If you have a pastry bag, you can pipe rosettes onto the top of the cake. In the picture below, I have placed the second cake atop the first one.

Cream covered two layered cake, with tiny rosettes

10) Take the bar of chocolate and using a knife or melon baller scrap the sides to get shavings. Take care to do this as fast as you can as holding the chocolate too long will start to melt it. Gently lift the shavings with a flat knife or spatula and place them on the sides and top of the cake. If you find it challenging to place the shavings on the cake, use your imagination and decorate the cake as you please :)
11) Place glazed or fresh maraschino cherries with the stem on the top of the cake or decorate with sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

Cake without the decorative strawberries. My son ate them all !! :)

  I also tried decorating just a single layer of the cake with cherries. For this, just take one layer of cake, place it on the serving platter and slice it into two even halves by turning the platter and running a knife through it. Follow the same procedure of placing whipped cream and cherries in juice between the layers and decorating with more cream and cherries.

Black Forest cake with cherries

Yummy Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte !

A slice of the delectable Black Forest Cake !

Note: This is a very moist and spongy cake. You might wonder how using just 2 eggs can make a cake so spongy..... trust me, I had the same doubt, but after baking my cake, I was  surprised too. Mixing all the ingredients is almost like baking a cake out of a boxed cake mix. On one occasion, I forgot to add the boiling water, but still got a moist, but slightly dense cake. You can use both cakes to make the black forest or else use just one, slicing it into 2 or more layers. You can try freezing the unused cake and use it later on. I did try doing that once, but was not very happy with the cake once it was thawed. Maybe I did not do a good job trying to freeze the cake.

Vanilla Butter Cake

  Birthdays were always a special occasion at my maternal home. My mom always baked me a cake, icing or no icing :) I guess my brother was not as lucky as me when it came to getting to cut a birthday cake..... as mom mostly made payasam for his birthday. I vividly remember how my mother once baked a plain cake and iced it with my favorite pink color home made icing. She used all the different nozzles to pipe out a cute doll on the cake. I still remember the black peppercorns she used to create the doll's eyes with :) That was for my eleventh birthday. Back then, there was no ready made icing available in India and there definitely was no Betty Crocker brand in any of our stores. So mom would buy icing sugar, food colors, blanch almonds, make almond paste, make colorful rosettes and flowers out of that to decorate the cake...in short, it was a tedious process. But she always took extra pains to get an outcome as good as the photos in her recipe books. She mostly preferred to bake a simple vanilla cake or 'plain cake' as she would call it, whenever she wanted to ice it. She always felt that this was the best cake to enjoy the flavor of home made icing. Well, all I can say is that whatever she baked, I thoroughly enjoyed eating...it really didn't matter to me whether the cake was plain or not :) Mom did try to hand me down the recipe for her vanilla cake, but the recipe got misplaced somewhere :( Hence began my search for the perfect 'plain cake' and after many months of searching the web, I chanced upon a recipe quite similar to my mother's. On second thoughts, I wouldn't exactly call this my old plain cake as this one is way more buttery than my mom's cake. I do relish this recipe though, as this was the first perfect cake I baked, all on my own. It is very simple to bake and very heavenly to eat...... thank the butter for all the dense flavor!

Vanilla butter cake out of the oven

Vanilla cake, less a yummy slice !

Ingredients:

All purpose flour or maida - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Eggs - 2 (at room temperature)
Baking powder - 2 tsps
Butter - 1/2 cup (1 unsalted stick)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 3/4 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsps

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease and flour either a 8 or a 9 inch round pan. The cake will rise more in an 8 inch pan. The pan in the above picture is a 9 inch one.

1) Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature. You can place cold eggs in luke warm water to speed up  the process. Microwave cold butter for about 10-15 seconds if you don't have time to thaw it. Hopefully in peak summer time, it should take less than an hour to thaw them both.
2) Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. 
3) In another large bowl, cream the butter using a hand or stand mix on low and then medium speed, for about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating on high speed, till you use up all the sugar. Take care to scrap the sides of the bowl so that all the butter is well creamed. You should get a smooth pale yellow mixture once creaming is done. If the butter and sugar are not properly creamed, then the mixture will be slightly gritty in nature and this will affect the texture of the cake. The creaming process will take about 3 minutes.
4) Now add the eggs and vanilla extract to the creamed mixture and beat on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.
5) Gently add the sieved ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk until well blended. Use a spatula to 'cut and fold' all the ingredients.To do this first add a small quantity of the flour followed by a little milk, then take the spatula and cut through the creamed mixture, simultaneously folding all the ingredients in a gentle circular motion.You could divide the dry ingredients into 3 portions to make this easier. Continue with this gentle mixing until all the dry ingredients and milk is used up.
6) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes at 350 °F. Check for doneness with a toothpick or a tester. The cake if done should spring back on a slight gentle touch. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 10 mins, before transferring to a cooling rack. I prefer to leave the cake in the pan itself to cool down, as that way, the surface of the cake does not become too moist. Just be sure to cover the cake with a clean kitchen towel or paper napkin after a couple of hours.

7) Once cooled completely, cut into pieces and store in an air tight container. Refrigerate the cake in the hot summer to increase shelf life, else it may go bad in a few days due to the heat.

Note: This cake is awesomely buttery in taste and so is slightly on the denser side. If you don't prefer the dense taste, increase the quantity of flour to 2 cups. Enjoy eating 'plain vanilla cake' :) Once cooled you can ice it with any icing of your choice.

Banana Walnut Cake

    I got my first taste of the banana walnut muffin in the US. I do vaguely remember seeing banana recipes in my mother's old trusted recipe books, maybe my mom did try out this cake long time ago, but I have no memories of that.All I remember about bananas being used as an ingredient in a sweet was the 'unniappam', where ripe bananas were smashed, mixed in the maida or rice flour batter along with sugar, cardamom and deep fried. Those were yummy in their own way, but nothing beats the combo of walnuts with bananas. Truly heavenly! Got ripe bananas and don't feel like eating them...well then, just bake this cake. I tried baking this cake with variations in the quantity of flour and it came out great on all the occasions.

Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

All purpose flour or maida - 2 cups

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Brown sugar - 1/2 cup(optional, but highly recommended for best results!You can also use just 1 cup                                     sugar, if you don't have brown sugar)

Ripe bananas - 2 (pureed)

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Eggs - 2

Butter - 1/2 cup (use 1 stick of unsalted butter)

Milk - 3/4 cup

Walnuts - 1/2 cup (broken and roasted)

Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp or more (if you like a cinnamon flavored cake)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

1 round 9 inch cake tin or a 8.5 inch square tin

Method :

     Prepare the cake tin first by smearing a little butter or cooking spray and dusting with flour.Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1) Firstly, bring the butter and eggs to room temperature. You can microwave the butter for about 10 seconds till it is just soft, taking care that it does not become liquid. Immerse cold eggs in luke warm water for a while and it should fasten the process.

Butter and eggs ready for use

2) Sift together all the dry ingredients (flour, soda, salt and cinnamon) in a large bowl using a sifter. Sifting ensures that all the dry ingredients are mixed well without any lumps.

Sifting together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon

3) Cream the butter using a hand or stand mixer at low speed in another large bowl. You will find it easier to cream butter kept at room temperature.Slowly increase the speed till the butter turns a light yellow color, taking care to scrape the sides of the bowl. By scraping the sides, you make sure that all the butter is properly beaten.

Creaming butter with a hand mixer

4) Slowly add sugar to the butter and continue beating the mixture till you get a coarse sand like texture. It is best to add the sugar in parts, so as to incorporate maximum air. Now add the two eggs and vanilla essence.Beat again on low speed. You can add the eggs directly or first mix them in a bowl and then add them.

1/2 cup Sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar mixed together

Creaming butter with sugar

Eggs and vanilla added to the creamed butter

Fluffy texture after beating eggs and vanilla with creamed butter

5) By now you should have a fluffy light colored mixture. To this add the banana puree and beat for a few seconds on high.The mixture will appear curdled. You can even try to mash the bananas with a fork and add the same. Personally, I prefer the smooth texture of the pureed bananas to the mashed one.

Bananas in mixer jar ready for pureeing

Pureed bananas

Adding banana puree to creamed mixture

Creamed mixture after adding banana puree

6) Add the dry ingredients slowly to this curdled mixture alternating with the milk.Use a spatula to gently cut and fold the ingredients into the wet mixture.You can use cold milk for this purpose.Milk is added to give texture to the cake and to prevent it from being too dry after it is baked.Use up all the flour mixture and milk to get a smooth batter.

Measuring 3/4 cup milk

Cut and fold dry ingredients with creamed mixture, alternating with milk

7) Now add the roasted walnuts and give it just one mix with the spatula till the nuts blend in. Microwave the walnuts for about 20 seconds, if roasted ones are unavailable.Adding the nuts in the end will ensure that they don't sink to the bottom and are evenly distributed in the cake.Add either 1/2 cup or 1 cup depending on how 'nutty' you want your cake to be.I usually don't add more than 1/3 cup as I don't prefer a very nut filled cake, even though I love walnuts.

Roasted walnuts dusted with wee bit of flour

Mixing in the walnuts

8) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.Check with a toothpick or cake tester for doneness, both on the top and sides of the cake. Bake for 5 more minutes in case you feel it is not done. Remove from the oven and keep in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a cooling rack.Cool completely before cutting and storing the cake in an airtight container.

Cake batter in a 8.5 inch square pan

Ta Da!!  Banana Walnut Cake :))

Variation:

Try these measurements if you want a denser, more rich cake with a buttery taste.
Flour- 1 and 1/4 cup, Sugar - 3/4 cup + 3 tsps, Baking soda - 1 tsp, Salt - a pinch, Eggs- 2, Bananas - 2(pureed),  Milk- 1/2 cup, Butter - 1/2 cup or 1 stick, Vanilla essence - 1 tsp.

Follow the same instructions as given above and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 35 minutes in a 9 inch round pan. Test for doneness. Cool completely before cutting and storing the cake in an airtight container.

Note:  
1) If both recipes are made in a 9 inch round pan, expect it to rise in the center and don't worry if the cake cracks a little on the top. The first recipe is also perfect for the square pan. The cake rises only slightly, but mostly evenly in this pan. In case the cake is not cooked well enough in the center after 35 minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees and leave the cake in the oven for 5- 7 minutes till the center cooks well enough.
2) The first recipe is very light and fluffy and absolutely yum! The variation recipe I have mentioned above, I used it when I first started out baking cakes. I recently tried baking this cake in a 9 by 13 inch pan with 3 large and 1 medium ripe banana. I had 2 and 1/2 cups of the puree and used it all with a cup of white sugar. I ended up with a slightly dense brownie like cake. It was mildly sweet and good, but I am still wondering why I didn't get a fluffy texture. Have to investigate ;) Also, I have not used brown sugar in either recipe...... a must ingredient in the banana walnut cake, because on all the occasions I have baked this, I never had stock of this sugar in my pantry :) Honestly speaking, I never missed using brown sugar as my cake was tasty without it. Its only recently that I have started adding 1/2 cup of brown sugar to 1/2 cup white sugar. Oh wow, nowadays, I am baking the tastiest Banana walnut cake ever!!! The brown sugar really does work wonders to the flavor.....hmm, heading to the kitchen to indulge in more baking ;)