The Marble Cake

This was to welcome a new addition to the baking collection - a Bundt pan. Food blogs that I follow were always paying tribute to this pan by using it for age-old classic European cakes that turned out absolutely gorgeous. I opted to go in for a much simpler cake - a chocolate and vanilla marble cake. That happiness you get when the marbled pattern is intact on cutting the cake - totally worth all the calories that this beauty is loaded with !!

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

Butter - 8.5oz softened to room temperature

Granulated Sugar - 2 cups

Eggs - 6

All-purpose flour - 2 ¾ cups

Vanilla Extract - 1tbsp

Baking Soda - 1tsp

Sour Cream - 1cup (250ml)

Bittersweet chocolate chips - 8oz (1 cup)

For the Chocolate Sauce

Semi-sweet chocolate chips - 8oz

Heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup

Chopped nuts - a handful

PREPARATION

1. Combine the butter and sugar till it becomes creamy and fluffy. This takes about 7 minutes at low speed on a stand/hand mixer.

2. Add the eggs in to the butter mixture , one at the time and combine well until they are fully incorporated. Slowly add in the flour , one cup at a time , to this mixture and fold well.

3. To this batter , add the baking soda and the sour cream and fold well. Do not beat or overwork the batter at this stage. 

4. Separate the batter into two halves. In one portion of the batter , stir in melted chocolate chips and fold until combined well. 

5. Grease the bundt pan with some butter/cooking spray and use an ice cream scoop to place alternate scoops of vanilla cake batter and the chocolate cake batter. Continue to work in layers until all the batter has been used up. Run a fork through the batter to create a marbled pattern and smooth the top of the cake pan with a spatula. 

6. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and bake for 47 minutes. Make sure that a cake tester inserted comes out clean before inverting onto a wire rack. Cool the cake until it reaches room temperature.

7. For the chocolate sauce , combine the semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl on top of a saucepan containing simmering water. Heat until the chocolate and cream and completely mixed together. 

8. Pour the sauce on top of the cake and garnish with chopped nuts (hazelnut , almonds and pecans).

                  

Gulab Jamun Cheesecake

This is the first of my fusion cakes. Tamil New Year's day was fast approaching and I wanted to make some dessert at home. It all started with a debate on the ever traditional gulab jamun versus a much simpler classic , the cheesecake. Well , if there's going to be a war in the house between two favorite desserts , why not enjoy the best of both worlds in one stunning dessert ? The gulab jamun cheesecake has ever since been a staple at family functions too and after an eight month hiatus , it's time to reveal the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
For the base

Honey Graham Crackers - Roughly 350g (used 20-25 of these)
Butter - 1stick (8tbsp) melted

For the cheesecake

Cream Cheese - 10oz (each pack of Philadelphia cream cheese is 8oz)
Granulated Sugar - 1/4 cup
Egg Yolks - 3
Eggs - 1
Lemon Juice - 2tbsp

The gulab jamuns can be prepared from a ready-mix or can be prepared from scratch. 

PREPARATION

1. To prepare the crust , breakdown the honey graham crackers until you get a coarse powder. Add melted butter to the graham cracker crumbs and mix until they're combined. Press this mixture down on a 10inch springform pan and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes so that the crust sets.

2. In a mixing bowl , beat the cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Add the egg yolks and whisk again. To this , add the 1 whole egg and beat until combined. Fold the lemon juice into this mixture. 

3. Cut the gulab jamun spheres into half and place the halves on the crust face down. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the jamuns. 

4. Pre-heat the oven to 340F and bake the cheesecake for 25-30 minutes. At the end of baking , the cheesecake should have bubbled up to a golden brown top. Refrigerate for about half an hour.

5. Use gulab jamuns , a condensed milk glaze , cherries and slivered almonds to garnish.