"Celebration Cake"

Birthdays and Anniversaries are incomplete without a CAKE. Imagine having a birthday party without the birthday cake .. Impossible. With the amount of cakes available nowadays at each shop, you tend to get confused as to which one is the best one. Chocolate, Oreo  tiramisu, pineapple,butterscotch,vanilla,fruity,cheesecake and so on. The list is endless and we might have to celebrate 365 birthdays every year to try all the types of cakes available :)

So let me share an excellent and exquisite recipe of an Eggless Celebration Cake. I made this cake for my hubby's birthday last weekend and trust me it was really special. There is a bit of hard work involved but if you want to gift something special to your loved one, then do try this cake for the next special occasion. 

Enjoy the recipe and I'll wait for your feedback !!!

"Celebration Cake"

Ingredients :

For the Cake Base - 

200 gms flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp soda bi carb

1/4th cup milk

1 and 1/4 cup yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup butter

3/4th cup powdered sugar

Preparation for the base :

• Line a round cake tin with butter or baking paper. Grease with butter and dust with a little flour. Keep aside
• Preheat the oven at 190*C for ten minutes before baking
• In a bowl, Seive flour , baking powder and soda bi carb. Keep aside
• Beat sugar and butter together till light and fluffy. Mix yogurt and lemon juice.Add the flour mix gently and keep mixing. Add milk and mix well.You will see that the mixture will turn smooth and light and starts doubling in quantity. Do not over mix.
• Pour the mix in the greased tin and bake for 30 minutes till browned and done. Check with a knife if its fully baked or not.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for sometime before removing it gently from the cake tin.
• Place on a serving plate or tray and keep aside

For the icing :

200 gms whipping cream ( you can use double cream as well)

1 tbsp butterscotch essence ( if not available, use vanilla essence)

1/4th cup sugar boiled with 1/2 cup water for soaking the cake

For the caramel praline and nougat : 

1/2 cup regular sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

For decoration :

Coloured fresh fruits - 

1 apple

1 kiwi

few pieces pineapple

cherries or strawberries  ( You can use any types of fruits as per ur taste or choice)

Preparation for Frosting and Decoration:

• Whip the cream with butterscotch essence till firm peaks are formed. Refrigerate
• For making the praline, grease the kitchen surface with little oil. Add sugar to the non stick pan. Spread it out evenly in the whole pan and keep on medium heat for 2-3 minutes without touching the sugar.
• When the sugar starts to melt and turn golden just stir the sides a little and swirl the pan till the sugar melts completely. Let it become light golden in colour.  
• Immediately pour some designs from a spoon to the greased surface. You can make any abstract thin designs. ( Remember to do it fast ). These will look like praline shards as given in the pic below.
• Let them cool for few minutes completely and they will harden and become solid. Gently lift them and place on a tray and keep in the fridge

• To the remaining sugar in the pan, add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Pour on the greased platform and let the mixture cool down completely. Once it becomes hard, crush them roughly and keep aside. They will look like rough breadcrumbs. Nougat is ready.Refer to the pic below. 

• Cut the fruits in some designs like apple leaves, kiwi baskets and pineapple flowers or any other form of your choice

Arranging the cake :

• Cut the cake in two layers. Place one layer of cake on the serving plate. Soak with few spoons of sugar syrup. Put few dollops of whipped cream and spread evenly. Sprinkle some nuts nougat and put the second layer of cake on top. Press gently.
• Soak with the sugar syrup.Cover with cream on top and on all sides evenly. Use a big knife or spatula to even the cream on all sides. Clean the plate with a tissue to wipe the cream fallen outside. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
• Stick the nuts nougat on the cake sides generously. Remove the fallen mixture from the sides.
• Decorate the fruits in the center of the cake. Insert the praline shards around the fruits creating a design. 
• Sprinkle some remaining nuts nougat on top.
• Chill the cake and serve for the party.

Note : The base of the cake is soft and fluffy and once you soak it in sugar syrup it will become more mushy and as good as a bakery product. You can change the fruits and design as per your liking.