Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe, Eggless, Step by Step

This is a recipe to make rich, creamy chocolate ice cream without eggs using an ice cream maker, at home. Phew. What better way to bring in a new year than with ice cream, that too chocolate ice cream, right? So I made this couple weekends ago and saved it to share on the first day of 2014. I wish you all a wonderful new year :)

{You may also like this 3-ingredient eggless mango ice cream recipe}

My friend Darsh had made ice cream using this simple recipe from Cuisinart during one of our last dinners together in Singapore before we moved, and I absolutely loved it. While it's best churned in an ice cream maker, you can definitely make this chocolate ice cream recipe without an ice cream maker too (refer notes in the end to see how) and also, this is a no-cook ice cream recipe, you just mix a few things together, churn, and freeze.

This ice cream is rich, creamy, and just the right amount of sweet. The best part about homemade ice cream anyway is that you can control all the flavour combinations and it has none of the nasties that store-bought ice cream has which I don't mind at all once in a while, but still, nothing beats homemade ice cream, especially for kids.

A word about my ice cream maker - I have the Kitchenaid ice cream maker attachment and it worked like a dream the three times I have used it. The first was to make this blueberry cheesecake ice cream and twice to make this chocolate ice cream. If you own a Kitchenaid stand mixer, I highly recommend this extra add-on (make sure you double check compatibility to your stand mixer, there are two versions of it). You do need to chill the bowl well in advance (at least 24 hours) but that's the case in most ice-cream makers anyway so remember to do that if you are using an ice cream maker for this recipe.

Ok then, let's get this year started already with some delicious homemade chocolate ice cream!

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM RECIPE

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves 6 generously
Adapted from: Cuisinart chocolate ice cream recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup of full cream milk
1.5 cups of cream with at least 35% fat content
1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
A small pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Whisk together the cocoa and both sugars

until thoroughly combined.

2. Add the milk to this, gently incorporate by hand, and then continue whisking either manually (2-3 mins) or with an electric mixer (30 seconds).

3. Time to add the cream. Now, there's generally some confusion on what type of cream to use for homemade ice cream. I'd say it really doesn't matter as long as your cream has at least 35% fat content. This is what makes the ice cream rich, creamy, and delicious.

Pour in the cream, vanilla and add a pinch of salt.

4. Mix again until full incorporated.

5. Pour this mixture into the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn for 20 mins, approximately.

6. The mixture should turn into soft serve ice cream like below. You can serve it at this stage or freeze for a harder more ice-cream-like consistency.

I always use my Pyrex storage bowls for freezing ice cream, especially since they come with a lid. Use either a glass or plastic container, and freeze for at least 8 hours.

Done! Ice cream is the perfect make-ahead dessert recipe for guests because homemade ice cream is always going to be special and you can make this well ahead in time, even a week ahead. That's a win, right?

NOTES

1. To make chocolate ice cream without an ice cream maker, add the ice cream mixture to a blender and blend on high speed for 2 mins. Transfer to a container and place in freezer. After an hour, take it out and blend again (if too hard, leave outside until thawed and then proceed). You can repeat these steps 2-3 times but the idea is to remove as much water crystals from the ice cream as possible. Since we are using cream and full cream milk, this method should work well. I haven't tried it so please let me know if you do
2. You can add any flavourings of your choice - like a dash of rum, some instant coffee, chocolate chips, chocolate ganache, etc.
3. This chocolate ice cream is quite rich and creamy so a little goes a long way. Store-bought ice cream is mostly air so we can eat a lot more. I'd say this can easily serve 8 but want to be conservative in my estimate since it really depends on your portion size
4. Keeps well for 20 days (I haven't kept it longer to test, really)
5. The difference in colour of ice cream among first three pics is due to lighting differences. Please adjust. 

For homemade chocolate ice cream recipe in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar.

Vegetarian Green Curry Paste Recipe - Thai Veg Green Chilli Paste

Learn how to make vegetarian green curry paste for Thai green curry with vegetables. This authentic Thai recipe uses no fish sauce and instead we compensate by adding two kinds of soy sauce. This recipe is perfect for those who love Thai food but follow a vegetarian diet. One other vegetarian Thai recipe I've tried is my favourite veg tom kha soup using coconut milk.

When I was in Bangkok in May 2013 on work, I extended my trip to include a weekend just so I could take a Vegetarian Thai cooking class in Bangkok. I took the recommendation from Sala's post on Thai cooking classes and picked May Kaidee Thai cooking school in Bangkok. It was not very fancy but the class was intimate (just me and 2 other guys) and we learnt so many dishes in 4 hours, in addition to Thai singing and dance!

TH and I love Thai food and since he's vegetarian, it was great to attend an exclusive vegetarian class. After getting back to Singapore, it was soon time for us to pack our bags to move to Australia and I was worried that I'd forget all the dishes we learnt in class. I'd taken pictures of all the ingredients we used so I could get similar or same brands wherever possible. The ingredients, particularly the coconut milk used in green curry, makes a lot of difference in taste to the final dish. I'll share the vegetarian Thai green curry recipe soon but first we need to learn how to make the green curry paste at home.

Most of the store-bought brands of green curry paste have fish sauce or too much salt in them and there's really no reason why you shouldn't make your own, since the ingredients are easily available in a Thai store. In Sydney, Lucky Thai Grocers near Paddy's Markets has everything you need. Admittedly their lemon grass was not very fresh so my green curry paste looks a bit fibrous but it still tasted fabulously fragrant.

When you make your own green curry paste, you can adjust flavours according to your preference, like the heat, salt levels, amount of lemongrass, etc. So let's get started on some Thai green curry paste, shall we?

VEGETARIAN THAI GREEN CURRY PASTE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Makes 1 cup
Recipe Source: May Kaidee Thai cooking school notes

INGREDIENTS:
2 stalks of lemon grass, cut into small pieces
2 shallots or 1/4 cup chopped onions
6 Thai green chillies (I used mix of green and red), adjust to taste
4-5 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp of cumin seeds
2" piece of galangal
2 tbsp of coconut milk
1 tbsp of soya sauce (use thin soya sauce from healthy boy brand if available, or any Thai soya sauce)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. It's important to prep your ingredients and have a mise en place to cook Thai food. Makes things more organized and easier to put together. If possible, use the brands of coconut milk and soya sauce shown below. For the paste, I used the thin soya sauce and when we make the curry, we'll use a mix of two soya sauces.

2. Grind all ingredients to a coarse paste. In the class we used a deep large stone pestle and mortar and it took about 12 mins to get the right consistency. in the mixie, it took me less than a minute. I'll let you decide how you want to do this :D

Once the paste is done, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. It keeps well for 2-3 days but I recommend making the paste just before making the green curry, for best results.

Recipe for vegetarian Thai green curry coming soon!

Food Processor for Indian Cooking - Magimix Review for Indian Kitchens

A detailed review of the use of food processor in an Indian kitchen for Indian-style cooking. Food processors can be used for chopping, slicing, mincing, grating, and pureeing vegetables as well as whip eggs, cream, and make dough for rotis and parathas. Wondering if a food processor would be useful to you and if you should get one? Read on.

After a lot of deliberation, and research, both online and offline, I decided to go ahead and buy a Magimix 3200 XL to help with my cooking needs. Besides the more basic functions like chopping and slicing, the Magimix also comes with a dicing attachment and I was quite excited about that, even though I did have to get it separately and pay extra.

Things to Consider before Purchasing a Food Processor

- Main purpose: are you going to be kneading a lot of dough in your processor? If so, you need to go for a strong machine that can handle it, with a reliable motor. If you are going to be using it more for processing vegetables, then go with one that has the right kind of attachments for slicing, dicing, shredding, etc.

- Budget: food processors come in many different sizes and models so once you have your main purpose sorted, look for options that fit in your budget. If you plan to get a lot of use out of it and it's going to be your main kitchen helper, invest in one that's strong and will give you years of food processing fun. More on this below, from an Indian kitchen context.

- Counter space: this is a small yet important piece. You have to plan to leave your food processor out on the counter, otherwise you won't get much use out of it. You also need to be able to store the attachments and accessories in a handy place to reach easily while you use the machine.

- Where to buy: this entirely depends on where you live. In India, there are many stores online where you can compare and see reviews of food processors. You can even go to a store, check out a few models, and then purchase online if prices are better. This is what I did in Australia since prices vary here dramatically depending on where you buy. After checking out many stores both online and offline, I finally bought my Magimix from Kitchenwaresuperstore. They had very competitive prices and if you find it cheaper anywhere, they will match it. Delivery was before the date promised, and their phone support was fabulous. I'll definitely buy from them again.

Now coming to the specific food processor I got, the Magimix 3200 XL which is the smallest option, meant for a family of 2-4. Magimix a French brand that makes home-friendly food processors with the same quality and strength as their popular Robot Coupe machines meant for commercial use. The motor comes with a 30 year warranty and the machine is (relatively) silent, efficient, and strong.

I made roti dough in the food processor and it barely moved with the force of it. While I would prefer to make dough in a Kitchenaid stand mixer, if you don't have one, a food processor is a perfectly fine option since it can do so much more than a stand mixer.

The processor comes with 3 bowls that nest one inside the other and the smallest one is really useful for making small amounts of guacamole, hummus, etc and also for pulsing nuts. In this case, I was making date and nut balls.

I use the large bowl for pureeing large amounts of onion-tomato gravy which I then add to multiple curries through the week. I make this gravy in bulk on weekends to make my weeknight cooking easier. Before I got this food processor, I used to do this in multiple batches in my small mixie jar.

I also made pesarattu batter in the large bowl. The blades are extremely sharp and they don't really grind the soaked beans, but crush them so the batter was grainy even after a few mins of processing so I wouldn't suggest using a food processor for making dosa batter but it's definitely an option, especially for grainy batters like for pesarattu and adai.

I've also sliced and grated many many batches of carrots, cucumber, cabbage, beetroot, etc, thanks to the handy attachments the Magimix comes with. It also stacks neatly in a box so you can easily put them away when you don't need them. There are 2 slicing discs, 2 shredding discs, 2 blades (one for the large bowl and one for the mini bowl), one whipping attachment, and one dough blade which is not sharp but pointed to enable kneading action.

I leave the box of attachments open inside the nearest cupboard to where the processor is so I just have to open the cupboard and grab the blades I need. This is extremely handy, needless to say.

As I was mentioning, the main reason why I bought this particular processor is because of the new dicing attachment. It needs to be bought separately and comes in 3 pieces - a dicer, a pusher, and a blade. Essentially, the dicer has sharp blades placed criss cross and we have to push the vegetable through it with the pusher to get it in cubes. The slicer will slice it into small pieces once it has passed through the criss cross blades.

So far, I've tried to cube carrots, potatoes, and beans. Potatoes work really well and you can even cut them for French fries by not using the slicer (you don't need to operate the machine either). Carrots need to be pre-cooked a bit since otherwise it's too tough to push through the dicer, so this is a bit of a disappointment. With that extra time needed, I might as well cube them by hand. Beans worked reasonably well as you can see in the picture above. I was able to push a large bunch through at the same time and was done in seconds. The pieces are not super uniform and while I'd love for every piece to be of the same dimension, this will do just fine since it takes only a few seconds. That said, I am not sure convinced that a dicing kit is worth shelling extra for. I'd buy it on sale or when they are giving it for free with purchase of a processor (like they are now).

I am yet to try making pie dough or whipping cream in the food processor. I have heard that a food processor does a great job of mixing pie crust so that will be next. I was waiting to try a few things before posting a review here so it can be as comprehensive as possible.

Overall, if you are considering a food processor for your Indian cooking needs, here are my suggestions:

1. If you want this to be your one main machine for the kitchen, then I'd recommend getting an Indian mixie instead. I had asked for recomendations on my Facebook page a couple of months ago and many people recommended Inalsa and Bajaj. Those brands are definitely worth a try
2. If your main purpose is blending or whipping, I'd highly recommend hand-held blenders. They are cheap and before this I had one which also had a small chopper attachment which I got a lot of use out of
3. If you plan to make roti dough very regularly and that's going to be your main purpose, consider investing in a stand mixer. I use and love my Kitchenaid stand mixer but there are options in the market too. Get one with a stable and strong motor, that's key. Kitchenaid India has now launched so you can also contact them to learn more. I am not sure if Magimix is available in India though
4. Get a food processor if you will be doing a lot of slicing, shredding, and grating primarily. I am getting a lot of use out of mine for this purpose. I slice an grate vegetables in bulk and prep them halfway which I then use through the week. This way, I am able to make dinner for us and prepare lunch for TH to take to work. I wasn't able to pull it off so easily in Singapore so the processor is definitely helping

If you have any other questions or comments, please leave a comment below and we can talk! I hope this post made your decision-making process a bit easier.

This is not a paid review. I purchased the food processor and all opinions are my own. 

Microwave Chocolate Cake Recipe in 7 Minutes (Eggless Options Included)

Learn how to make a chocolate cake in 7 minutes or less in your microwave. This cake is self-saucing so once you are done, there's a layer of gooey chocolate sauce on top to keep it moist and it needs no oven, no beating the batter until your elbows ache, and no fancy ingredients. Dangerous, I know!

When I made the 5-min Chocolate Mug Cake for the first time, my life changed a little. Before I knew it, I was whipping up 'cake' in a mug in less than 5 minutes whenever my tastebuds demanded, which was very often. After 2 weeks of too much mug cakes, I told myself to stop it already. While the microwave is not really meant for baking, these quick cakes are definitely an exception.

I had bookmarked this self-saucing microwave chocolate cake ages ago and finally got to making it a couple weekends ago. The thing with the mug cake is that if you let it sit for a while after it's cool, it turns rubbery and possibly inedible. This cake, however, has a lovely gooey chocolate sauce on top that keeps it moist and nice for up to a day. Fresh out of the microwave, you can't even tell it was whipped up in the microwave in a few minutes and not really baked.

I made a couple of minor errors when making this cake in the microwave which I don't want you guys to repeat. Learn from my mistakes, you know?

- I overcooked the cake a tad. I halved the recipe but didn't reduce the cooking time. I know this seems obvious but, ah well, I'm not perfect you guys. I have adjusted this in the recipe instructions below
- I halved the sugar in the sauce and this was a big mistake. The cake wasn't very sweet at all and no one likes a not-sweet cake, definitely not me, so we rectified it by eating the cake with vanilla ice-cream
- I scooped the cake out with a spoon and didn't cut it with a knife like a civilised person would do, which explains the wonky pieces in the pictures. This is not really a 'mistake' but hot cake and vanilla ice cream is a killer combo and I admittedly got a bit impatient.

Ok that's it, on to making cake in the microwave. Let's go!

MICROWAVE CHOCOLATE CAKE IN 7 MINS

Preparation time: 4 minutes
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Makes One small 5" Cake
Serves 4
Adapted from: allrecipes

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup of plain flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of cocoa powder
2 tbsp of melted butter
1 of egg
2 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of vanilla extract
For the sauce:
1/2 cup of brown sugar (or just use white sugar)
2 tbsp of cocoa powder
75 ml of warm water

INSTRUCTIONS:

0. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

1. Add the egg, melted butter (I didn't melt it though), milk, and vanilla to this.

2.  Whisk again gently until well combined.

3. Grease a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl with some butter and pour the batter in. If the batter is too thick, add a couple of teaspoons of milk. It should be thick, yet pourable. Use a spatula to flatten the top of the batter as much as possible so it cooks up evenly. Also, use a bowl that is large enough for the sauce to bubble up in the microwave.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the brown sugar and cocoa for the sauce.

5. Lay this mixture evenly on the cake batter.

6. Pour the warm water gently over this so as not to disturb the batter too much.

7. Use a fork to prick the batter below so that the sauce seeps through the batter.

8. Microwave on high for about 3 mins. The total time required will depend a lot on the size of your bowl, power of your microwave (mine is 1100 W), etc. So start with 3 mins and if the cake still looks too watery, give it another 30 seconds. Remember that the cake will get really hot in the MW and will continue to cook a bit further after done so it's better to stop when you feel l like it needs one more 30-second round. The sauce will also bubble up quite a bit as it cooks.

9. Done! A bit overdone in this picture, actually. Stop when there's still some sauce swimming around the cake. I know this is not the prettiest looking cake but it tastes pretty great for a chocolate cake that gets done in the microwave in 7 minutes!

Let it cool down a bit before you cut. I tried to unmould it but the shape was all wonky. Doesn't matter if it's odd shaped, place a piece on a plate, pour some sauce from the bowl on top, and enjoy with some vanilla ice-cream.

Notes:

1. If you want to make an eggless chocolate cake in the microwave, try the usual egg replacements like flax seed powder or yogurt. You will have to experiment a bit with the quantities. I haven't tried this myself
2. You can try replacing the butter for vegetable oil, worth experimenting if you so feel inclined
3. The cake keeps well for a day or two in the refrigerator but it's best eaten warm as it does tend to dry out a bit when left for long. Re-heat for 20 seconds in the MW if you are serving later
4. Obviously, you can customize this the way you want by adding chocolate chips, dried fruits, nuts, etc
5. Disclaimer: a cake made in the microwave is never going to taste the same as a baked one so set expectations accordingly. The total time taken to prepare/cook will depend on your speed of cooking, your microwave and power, etc and may go over 7 mins

For microwave chocolate cake recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, etc, please use the translate button in the sidebar.

Fish Pulao

It is an excellent idea to make Fish Pulao (another tasteful way to eat fish), as we usually make Chicken Pulao. 


Ingredients:

• Fish : 500gm (cut in small cubes)
• Basmati Rice : 2 cups (soaked for 1 hour)
• Onion : 1 small
• Garlic cloves : 4 (peeled and crushed)
• Fresh ginger paste : 1 tbsp
• Crushed red chilli : 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder : 1 tsp
• Salt : 2 tsp
• Cloves : 5
• Whole black pepper : 5
• Cinnamon stick : 1 small
• Whole black cardamon : 1
• Green chillies : 2 small
• Fresh lemon juice : 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds : 1 tsp
• Garam masala (mixed spices) : 1 tsp
• Oil : as needed

Directions:

• Wash and cut the fish in small cubes.
• Heat oil in a wok and add onions into it. Stir fry them till golden brown.
• Switch off the stove. Add little water into onions and cover with the lid for a moment. Then stir it for a minute.
• Add garlic and ginger along with all the dry ingredients mentioned above.
• Add fish into it and stir it very softly on a high flame for 5 minutes.
• Then cover it for 5 minutes on a medium flame till fish become tender.
• Add yogurt into it and stir fry till yogurt is absorbed and oil comes out.
• Then add 3 and half cup of water into kettle and boil it.
• Put this boiling water and lemon juice into the fish mixture.
• Add rice into it and put the lid. Keep the lid slightly open by putting wooden spoon in the wok.
• When very little amount of water is left, then put tawa (flat pan) under the wok, take the flame to its 'minimum' level and cover the lid completely. 
• Set the alarm for ten minutes. After that fish pulao is ready to serve.

Notes:

1. I've using panga fish fillets in this recipe. This is very soft and odourless fish so i didn't need any ingredients to remove the smell of fish. But if you are using fish, which has smell then first put it in a salty water along with little gram flour for at-least 1 hour, then drain it and use it.
2. Stir fish very gently as you don't want it to break.

Chicken 65 Recipe - How to Make Chicken 65 at Home

I always associate Chicken 65 with Madurai although I have only been to Madurai once and I didn't eat Chicken 65 during that trip. Weird, I know, but not too much because Chicken 65 is a very popular and spicy street food in Madurai. Anyway, I am sure none of you are new to this deliciously spicy fried chicken dish from South India that serves as an appetizer as well as it does a main dish. Now, the Chicken 65 in roadside stalls and restaurants may look a bit different but that's because they add a large pinch of red food colour and I didn't. But I can assure you that these bite-sized pieces of chicken are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and adequately spiced up.

I once made Chicken 65 with Achi Chicken 65 masala and it turned out really good. I wanted to make it from scratch so once that 50gm packet ran out, I didn't buy it any more in case it tempts me to stick to store-bought masala packets forever! I am a bit neurotic like that I guess, and while I have no issues buying masala powders at the store (I have never made garam masala at home), there's some special joy in making your own food, from scratch.

A different angle brings out different colours. YUM!

This Chicken 65 will serve as a great starter for a South Indian meal menu but I do love a good dry chilli chicken or chicken majestic too. Check out all Chicken Recipes on Edible here for more Indian chicken recipes.

SOUTH INDIAN CHICKEN 65 RECIPE

Preparation time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
300 gm of chicken breast, cleaned and cut into small cubes (boneless)
1/4 cup of thick plain yogurt (or 1/2 cup buttermilk)
1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
1/4 tsp of black pepper powder
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of coriander powder
2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
2 tsp of rice flour or corn flour (corn starch)
A fistful of curry leaves
2-3 cups of oil, for frying
1 tsp of vinegar (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix the yogurt with all the spices, corn flour, ginger-garlic paste, and some salt. Add the vinegar only if your yogurt is not sour. Add the chicken pieces to this and mix well.

Refrigerate this mixture for about 2 hours to let the marinade work its magic on the chicken pieces. You can even leave it overnight if you want to prep it ahead.

2. When you are ready to fry, heat the oil in a kadai or pan. The amount of oil should be enough to almost cover the pieces so the quantity required will depend on your pan.

Gently add the marinated chicken pieces one by one without overlapping and fry on a low flame until golden brown, turning every once in a while. The outside should turn a dark golden brown otherwise the meat won't be cooked through.

3. The chicken pieces will shrink a bit on frying as the moisture leaves the meat. The sizzling of the oil will also die down almost completely. Do a quick taste test and remove from the oil. Drain on paper towels as you fry the next batch. Add the curry leaves when you are frying up the last batch and let it turn crisp.

4. Drain and add to the fried pieces of chicken. Give everything a quick stir and serve hot.

Hot and spicy Chicken 65 is ready! Serve with lemon wedges an freshly sliced red onions.

Notes:

1. It's important to fry the chicken in low heat otherwise the outside will start to begin while the inside remains raw.
2. If you want the colour you see in restaurants, you have to add red food colour
3. If you don't have cornflour, use rice flour to give the outside a bit of crispness
4. My version was not very spicy so adjust the heat  level to your preference. Using Kashmiri chilli powder will give your chicken a more brighter colour than regular chilli powder, without the use of food colours
5. If the marinade is too thick, you can add some water
6. If your yogurt is not sour and you don't have vinegar or don't want to use it, add a few drops of lemon juice to the marinade

For Chicken 65 recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.

Tutti Frutti Buttermilk Cake - One-Bowl Buttermilk Christmas Cake Recipe

Learn how to make this easy one-bowl buttermilk cake with dry fruits or tutti frutti for Christmas. The cake is easy to customize and you can add your own additions like fruits, nuts, etc to make it your own this holiday season.

Tutti Frutti is one of those things that's so very Indian and I relate a lot to Christmas. My mom would make ice cream sundaes with lots of fresh fruits and tutti frutti sprinkled on top which was such a delicious treat. This tutti frutti cake is a total winner too for many reasons.

- You only need one bowl to whip it up
- You can make this cake easily with ingredients that are most likely lurking in your pantry
- You can customize it in many different ways
- It is not an eggless buttermilk cake, however, you can adapt it to make it eggless
- From start to finish, it takes about 40 mins so it's perfect to bake when you are expecting guests

In fact, I baked this tutti frutti cake with ingredients in my pantry during the last few days in Singapore. We were trying to meet all our friends to say good bye and I was mostly hosting people for tea since an entire meal was hard to cook up while you are decluttering and packing up 5 years worth of your stuff. I was slightly apprehensive to try a new recipe because if the cake went bust, I didn't have any back up. But it baked up beautifully with a lovely crumb and a soft and spongy interior. The book I adapted this from, Camilla Saulsbury's Piece of Cake, is a definite winner and highly recommended for easy, one-bowl cake recipes (thanks SJ!).

If you want to bake an eggless tutti frutti cake, use this eggless sponge cake as a base and throw in some tutti frutti. Or, you may want to try this chocolate truffle cake that's one-bowl too. Of course, you may be looking for a Christmas fruit cake or maybe an eggless fruit cake?

TUTTI FRUTTI BUTTERMILK CAKE RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 8-10

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of plain flour (maida)
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 egg
1/2 cup of buttermilk (see notes)
1/4 cup of butter, softened
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of tutti frutti
A pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

0. Set oven to 400F/200C for pre-heating. Grease an 8" pan with butter. I used a loaf pan and got thin long slices.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

2. To this, add the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter.

3. Using an electric beater, beat this mixture on low speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and beat again on medium speed for 1 more minute.

If your mixer only has one speed, that's ok. Just use that. Using an electric mixer will give you best results in this recipe than using a whisk and doing it by hand. The mixture needs good aeration so getting some machine into the process helps.

4. Pour batter into your prepared pan.

5. Sprinkle the tutti frutti or whatever fruits/nuts you are using, on top evenly.

6. Bake for 25-30 mins until the top turns golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs.

Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving. This tutti frutti came keeps in the refrigerator for 4 days, wrapped tightly in foil or cling wrap.

NOTES:
1. If you don't have buttermilk in hand, just use 1/4 cup thick curd mixed with 1/4 cup water. I have tried this and not seen significant difference in the texture of the cake
2. As mentioned, play around with the add-ons to this cake. I'd try chocolate chips, mixed fruit peels, frozen blueberries (as in the original recipe) etc
3. Use a electric beater to mix the batter for best results

For Tutti Frutti Christmas Cake recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, etc, please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.