LAYERED STRAWBERRY MOUSSE CAKE

This post and recipe is dedicated to celebrate the spirit of woman in all respect. We used strawberries specifically because the sweetness and slight sourness of the berry highlights the characteristic qualities of women of being jovial, delicate, vibrant and bubbly. The soft and airy texture of the mousse alternating with the moist and dense sponge is symbolic of the soft kindness and ineffable strength she's born with, the layering of the cake strikes a balance between the two textures in the dish and speaks of feminine characteristics. 
Wishing all the lovely ladies a very happy women's day.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR ONE SPONGE:

You'll be baking two sponges so double up the quantities.

• 60 gms Flour (Maida) 
• 50 gms powdered sugar 
• 35 gms Egg 
• 34 gms Butter
• 16 gms Curd 
• 24 gms Milk 
• A pinch of baking powder
• A pinch of baking soda
• 3-5 drops of Vanilla extract 

FOR THE MOUSSE

• 1 Cup soft vanilla ice cream ( Melt if for 15-20 minutes on room temperature before using it )
• 1 pack of instant strawberry jelly ( we used jello)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup of warm water
• 1 cup of cold water

METHOD:

BAKING THE SPONGE 

• Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees celsius and grease two 5 inch cake moulds.
• Sieve the flour and add the pitch of baking soda and baking powder to it and keep aside.
• Whisk the butter and sugar for about a minute with an electric mixer or 2 minutes by hand.
• Add in the egg and mix well, follow this step by adding in the curd and mix the ingredients well.
• Add in the flour to this mixture, alternating it with the milk. Whisk it for about 2 minutes .
• Spoon the batter in the cake moulds, and bake for 11-15 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack for half an hour.
• Repeat the steps for the second sponge.

PREPARING THE MOUSSE:

• In a large mixing bowl, add the jelly powder, pour over 1 cup of warm water and stir well. 
• Add the cold water to this mixture and mix well. Add in the semi-solid ice cream.
• Allow this mixture to rest in the freezer until semi-set.
• Meanwhile whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
• Remove the jelly-icecream mix from the freezer, whisk it until it reaches a wobbly liquid stage, avoid whisking it on high speed, it makes it watery.
• Fold in the stiff egg whites to this mixture.
• Mix in the sugar.

ASSEMBLING THE LAYERS:

• Place one sponge at the bottom of a well greased spring foam cake tin, if not place it on the dish you would like to serve your cake.
• Spread 1.5 cup of the mousse mix on the sponge and smoothen it.
• Alternating with the sponge follow the steps again.

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2 STEP OATS & WHOLE-WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD

Hello everyone, hope you all had a wonderful weekend. This weekend for us was nourishing and a learning process about various things in life, our best learning experience was this delicious Oats and Whole wheat Irish Soda bread, that our father taught us patiently while we asked him a million questions to feed our curiosity. The Irish bread was a Poor man's meal and became an international favourite over the centuries, as a matter of following tradition a cross was cut over the bread before baking it, as a measure of protection from the devil. As compared to breads made with yeast as a leaving agent, the texture of the Irish bread is dense with a hard top  Follow the simple steps to enjoy this yummy bread.

INGREDIENTS:

• 200 gms Whole-wheat flour
• 50 gms Oats ( we use bagrry's oats, they are delicious)
• 50 gms all purpose flour (maida)
• 250 ml butter milk 
• 3/4 Tsp bi-carbonate of soda (Baking soda)
• 1 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Tsp salt
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, (crushed)
• 1.5 Tsp rosemary or any other herb you like

METHOD:

• Pre-Heat the oven at 200 degrees celcius, and grease a baking tray.
• In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, garlic and herbs. 
• Add in the olive-oil and butter milk to the flour mixture, and bring it together with a wooden spoon/spatula or hand. ( The dough will be soft and sticky)
• Flatten the dough on your greased baking tray ( approximately a 6 inch diameter), brush olive oil on the surface and sprinkle rosemary and a pinch of sea salt.
• Use a sharp knife to make a cross on the dough.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. After baking let the bread rest in the tray for about 10 minutes followed by cooling on the wire rack for  2 minutes before slicing.
• The bread is relished best with soup or stew. Although we enjoyed it with butter , feta cheese and basil leaves, it was delicious.

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