Chocolate Guinness Cake

It all began here. I was mesmerized by the beautiful dark and luscious chocolate cake ( I wonder how many people are like me out there...you know - be mesmerized by seductive pictures of food!). My "house cake" for years when we lived in Canada was lemon poppy seed cake with a tangy lemon glaze. It was my go to recipe whenever we had guests from out of town.

But now I am in the mood for something new. I am on the look out for at least 3 cake recipes that require minimum fuss and maximum delight. The list of ingredients should not a mile long, and it would be especially helpful if I could purchase most of the ingredients for the cake at the local grocery store...on my way home from work. And finally I should be able to make it ahead ( at least a day or two ahead).


This chocolate Guinness cake fits the bill for me. The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's Feast cookbook. This dark and rich chocolate cake has one special ingredient - 1 cup of Guinness Stout. All you taste is just a hint of tang in the cake, so no worries - it would not have the aroma of a mug of just poured stout! This cake can be baked a day or two ahead as it allows the flavours to mellow and meld. I have already made this tight crumbed and moist cake on various occasions and it has not let me down....yet.

This cake comes together very quickly once you have all the ingredients measured and sifted. All you need is a large pot, melt sweet butter with a cup of stout on low heat, remove pot from stove and whisk in sour cream -egg mixture followed by dry ingredients, pour into a prepared cake pan and bake.

One down, two more to go! What is you favourite cake to bake?


Chocolate Guinness Cake - Nigella Lawson

The cake pan should be lined with buttered parchment paper ( I have used spring form pan here). The cake batter will be runny and once the cake is baked the middle of the cake will sink ever so slightly. Cut butter into small pieces if it is cold.

1 cup Guinness stout
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 2 Tb unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 Tb pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 9 inch pan cake pan ( I used a spring form pan). Line pan should be buttered.

Whisk sour cream, eggs, salt and vanilla in a bowl and set aside.

Gently heat Guinness Stout and butter in a medium pan until butter is melted. Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar. Add the sour cream mixture into the Guinness mixture and mix until well combined.
Add in flour and baking soda to this mixture.

Pour batter into the lined cake pan and bake for 50 minutes for an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cake on rack. Serve with cream cheese icing, whipped cream or just a light dusting of confectioners' sugar right before serving. This cake keeps well. If you are planning to refrigerate the cake, bring it cake to room temperature before serving.


Happy New Year everyone!!

Tandoori Shrimp With Cucumber & Shallot Raita

Here is a dish that you can make without slaving in the kitchen for hours ( but impress the guests in the end). It is quite lovely with drinks or even as part of a main meal. All it takes it some colossal prawns (it is the holidays after all), some tandoori paste, yogurt, a shallot ( or a small amount of onion) lemon wedges and a hot oven. It will be ready in no time!

Tandoori Prawns
I have used Greek yogurt in this recipe, I find it creamier and it has a lower water content than regular yogurt. If you are using regular yogurt, line a sieve with cheesecloth ( 2 layers) or a sheet of kitchen paper, pour in the amount of yogurt that you need in and let sit for a few hours. Proceed with the recipe using the drained yogurt. This yogurt can be used to the raita as well.

1lb prawns ( 15 count)
1 tb tandoori paste - I used Patak's (wet paste)
3 tb yogurt
1 tb olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of salt
lemon wedges and cucumber raita ( recipe follows)


Wash ( in very cold water) and peel prawns, leaving tail intact. It serves as a handle while you feast on it ;) Pat dry.
In a bowl, mix tandoori paste, yogurt and olive oil. Marinate prawns in this paste for half an hour. Do not marinate any longer as the yogurt could soften the prawns and make it mealy.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spread prawns on a baking sheet in one layer, lined with parchment paper. Discard marinade that would be leftover. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. This dish can be served with drinks at room temperature or hot as part of a main meal. Serve with raita and wedges of lemon. I prefer to squeeze some lemon over the prawns right before indulging!


Cucumber & Shallot Raita
This cooling raita can be served with most curries and can be made ahead of time but salt it right before serving.

1 tsp cumin seeds
150 gm plain yogurt/Greek yogurt
1 small shallot- chopped fine
1/2 English cucumber- seeded and chopped fine
salt to taste

Dry roast cumin seeds lightly until the cumin seeds release a nutty aroma. Medium heat does the job, high heat will end up burning the seeds. If you do not end up with burnt seeds, start all over again because burnt seeds will taste bitter. Cool seeds and then crush lightly in a mortar and pestle.


Whip the yogurt with a fork and add all ingredients. Store in fridge.

Bombay Style Salmon Curry and Gourmet Winner

Before I go any further, the winner for the Gourmet giveaway is Jude form Apple Pie, Patis and Pate. Congratulations Jude and I hope you enjoy the free annual subscription to one of fave magazine!

Here is a break from all the sweet treats . The salmon is simmered gently on low heat in coconut milk and aromatics. Do not boil the coconut milk as the heat would cause it to separate and the fish could overcook and break. This elegant and aromatic dish is perfect for entertaining this festive season.

The rule with all fish is to get it as fresh as possible. It is far preferable to buy fish that has been frozen and recently thawed at the market than to buy fresh fish that has been sitting for a few days. If you are able to see the whole fish, look for clear eyes and clean red or pink gills. If you are able to smell the fish, it should smell like the sea, not fishy.

The colour of the salmon will partly vary by species. Farmed salmon is usually artificially colored: it would be very pale otherwise (the safety of the most common coloring agent has been questioned: it is allowed in the US, but not in some other countries). Wild salmon is a healthier choice than farmed salmon due to to PCBs and other contaminants that are found in farmed salmon.

Being one of the fattier fish, salmon is sturdy, and holds up to a great variety of cooking styles, including grilling, baking, poaching, broiling, or pan-frying. The important thing is not to let it dry out. Salmon works with a wide variety of flavors. Whereas more delicate fish becomes overwhelmed with strong flavors, salmon takes to lots of different sauces, rubs, and marinades.

Bombay Style Salmon Curry
2 garlic cloves
2 small green chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp hot chili powder
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tb tamarind paste mixed with 1 tb water
2 tb vegetable oil
2 medium sized salmon steaks, cut in half
1 cup coconut milk
chopped cilantro for garnish
salt to taste
2 medium sized shallots, thinly sliced


I used a mortar and pestle to pound together garlic and green chillies. You could also mince both ingredients very finely. Wash and pat dry fish steaks. Make a paste with chili powder, cinnamon powder, turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp salt, tamarind paste and cloves. Spread this paste over fish and marinate for at least 1 hr in the fridge.

Heat 2 tb oil on medium heat in a pan large enough to hold fish in a single layer. I used a heavy bottomed saute pan for this. Saute the sliced shallots till golden and add the marinated fish on top of the sauteed shallots. Pour coconut milk over the fish and lower heat to low. The idea here is to simmer the coconut milk very gently and not to bring to a boil. Boiling the coconut milk could cause the milk to separate and the fish to break. Cover and let it simmer gently for 10 to 12 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. The sauce will be thick. This dish elegant dish is best served with rice. Scatter chopped cilantro before serving.

Serving tip - Making this curry 4 to 5 hours ahead will allow the flavours to develop as with most curries. Heat it on low and slow ( bring it back to a gentle simmer) before serving.

Chocolate Gingerbread

Before I go any further, don't forget to leave a comment in order to win a year's subscripton for Gourmet magazine. Deadline it tomorrow Wednesday 17 at midnight!

It seems like most bloggers are arm deep in flour, sugar, butter and creating the most wonderful little delights to have and to share with loved ones. I am playing catch up with my baking. I had intended to start baking much earlier. I had bought all the supplies early December and had the pantry well stocked. I finally got cracking this past weekend and have had a fun time planning and baking. The best part of it all was packing up the treats in beautiful tins adorned with ribbons to be distributed to friends, the wonderful guys and gals at the bank and post office ( we have a special relationship with the people at the post office).

I was in the mood for some new recipes this year and tried out this chocolate gingerbread recipe from Martha Stewart's latest cookie book. I had purchased the book for a friend and peeked at a few recipes before wrapping it... I wonder how many people do that.. peek at a book before gifting it?

These cookies were fudgy with a hint of spiciness that seems appropriate this time of the year. It was especially wonderful while still warm, waiting to cool, on a rack.




Chocolate Gingerbread
7 oz semisweet chocolate - chopped ( I used semisweet chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cup plus 1 Tb flour
2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tb unsweetened cocoa powder
8 Tb unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 brown sugar - packed
1/2 molasses
1 tsp baking soda - dissolved in 1 1/2 tsp boiling water
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Sift together all dry ingredients ( except for baking soda) and set aside.
Cream butter until pale, add brown sugar until well combined. Pour in molasses and beat well.
Pour in dissolved ( and cooled) baking soda into butter mixture. Add in sifted flour, mix until just combined and add in chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
Refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and shape dough into little balls ( 1 1/2 inch) and roll in white sugar. I used coloured sugar to make it pretty and festive. You could also use granulated sugar or coarse sugar. Coarse sugar will make it look all sparkly :)
Place balls 2 inches apart and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on a rack before storing. Try them while still warm - it will be gooey and soft!

Cranberry Coffee Cake and Gourmet Subscription Giveaway

For TWD this week, fellow blogger Ulrike of Kuchenlatein chose Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies. I was not sure at first whether to attempt this recipe as I have yet to make sugar cookies that I liked. The cookies somehow always fell short in the taste and crumb department. But since it was TWD, I decided to give it a shot. I also added a little twist to the cookie dough, I used 1 teaspoon of pure rose water instead of vanilla extract. I was not disappointed. The cookies baked up beautifully and the lovely aroma ( just a hint, nothing overpowering) of roses filled my kitchen. These cookies are wonderfully crispy ( that is the way I like my cookies) and I think I will be making another batch very soon!


Moving right along, in the spirit of the season, I am giving away an annual subscription for Gourmet magazine! I have enjoyed this lovely magazine for years and look forward to it every month. And now I would like to share it with one lucky reader of my blog. Just leave a comment here and I will pick out one lucky blogger! Dateline is Wednesday, December 17th and is open to US readers only ( just this one time :)


I have made this cranberry coffee cake from this month's issue of Gourmet. You could make this cake in a round cake pan or in little loaf pans and give them away as gifts. I have used fresh cranberries for this cake. I am sure that you will be able to use frozen cranberries as well. But I am not sure if you are able to substitute it canned or dried cranberries. Canned cranberries would be too wet and too sweet for this recipe. The original recipe in the magazine called for half a vanilla bean. I do not usually stock vanilla beans in my pantry, but what I did have was pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract and used one teaspoon of it for the cake.




Cranberry Coffee Cake adapted from Gourmet
Please read the instructions carefully before making the cake. The amount of sugar that needs to be reserved and added in various stages could be a little confusing - well it was to me anyways! The cake turned out beautifully in the end!

1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
2 cups plus 2 Tb all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 2 Tb unsalted butter - at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line and butter a 9 by 2 inch cake pan ( line bottom and sides on pan) and set aside.
Whisk together 2 cups flour, baking powder , salt and set aside. Mix sugar with 1 tsp pure vanilla extract and set aside( you will be using the vanilla sugar for the cake as well as the topping of the cake)
Pulse cranberries with 1/2 cup of vanilla sugar in a food processor till finely chopped and set aside.
Cream 1 stick butter and 1 cup of vanilla sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time and beat well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture alternately with milk until mixture is well combined.

Spread half the batter in the lined pan and spoon the cranberry and sugar mixture over the batter, leaving half an inch border around the edge. Spread the rest of the batter over the fruit mixture and smooth the top.

Using a fork, blend the remaining 1/4 of the vanilla sugar with remaining 2 tablespoons of softened butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. Crumble this mixture over the cake. Place cake in a preheated oven in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until cake tester ( in this case a wooden pick) comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake. Cool cake on a rack. Serves 8 and can be made one day ahead.

Linzer Cookies

TWD challenge for this week was the famous Austrian treat, the linzer cookie. The addition of grounds nuts (can be either roasted nut or unroasted) and aromatic spices such as ground cinnamon and cloves makes this cookie stand out . I have used ground almonds here but any ground nut would work. The beautiful cookies are then sandwiched together with a layer of jam and lightly dusted with some confectionary sugar.

This is a great way to begin the baking season. Unsandwiched cookies will keep longer than sandwiched cookies. I prefer the crumbly texture of the unsandwiched cookie :)




This week's cookie was chosen by Noskos and the recipe can be found at Living The Life. Happy Baking everyone!