Last week, blogger and baker Shivesh Bhatia released his latest cookbook Eggless Baking with Shivesh. From tarts to cookies, it has recipes to fit every occasion; be it evening tea or Diwali party. Here’s an excerpt with ridiculously easy recipes for rainbow cake, donuts with lemon curd and cherry almond cupcakes.
RAINBOW CAKE
Ingredients
For the cake
4 and half cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 and half teaspoons baking soda
2 and half cups caster sugar
1 and cups vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
3 cups of yogurt
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 gel food colors (purple, indigo, green, yellow, orange, red)
For the buttercream
1 and half cups softened butter
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups icing sugar, sifted
To top
rainbow sprinkles
This cake is perfect for days when you feel pumped and want to go the extra mile! Bring out this rainbow cake for a party, and I’m sure the guests will never stop talking about it!
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease six 8-inch round cake pans with oil and line them with parchment paper.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, whisk the sugar and oil until pale and combined. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract and mix well.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently mix everything until there are no large flour pockets in the batter.
5. Divide the batter equally among six separate bowls. Add the rainbow colours, one per bowl and mix it in gently.
6. For the batters into six baking pans. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely before frosting and filling them.
7. To make the buttercream, put the softened butter in a bowl and beat it for 4-5 minutes at high speed until it becomes pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.
8. Add the icing sugar in two batches, mixing it in at low speed first and then beating it for a minute or so at high speed. Make sure all the sugar is incorporated by scraping down the sides of the bowl.
9. To assemble the cake, place the purple cake layer on a plate/cake board. Evenly spread a scoop of buttercream over the cake. Next, place the indigo/blue layer and continue this till your rainbow stack is ready. Use the rest of the buttercream to frost the outside of the cake.
10. Top with rainbow sprinkles and enjoy!
DOUGHNUTS WITH LEMON CURD
Eggless donuts with lemon curd. (Photo: Eggless Baking with Shivesh)
INGREDIENTS
For the donuts
1 cup warm milk
Three-fourth teaspoon yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 and one-fourth cups all-purpose flour
Half teaspoon salt
One-fourth cup melted butter
Oil for frying and brushing
For the filling
2 cups lemon curd
Give a sweet and tangy twist to the classic donut with these lemon curd–filled donuts. If you don’t fancy making the lemon curd, use Nutella, vanilla cream, jam or jelly. I bet you won’t be able to stop at one!
METHOD
1. To make the donuts, put the warm milk in a large bowl. Add the active dry yeast and sugar. Give it a slight mix and cover the bowl. Let it sit undisturbed for 5–7 minutes while the yeast blooms.
2. Once the yeast has bloomed, add the all-purpose flour, salt and melted butter. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything and bring the dough together into a ball and lightly brush the top with some vegetable oil.
3. Cover the bowl with a cloth and set it aside in a warm corner. Let the dough rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
4. Once doubled, punch the dough and let all the air out. Sprinkle flour on your working surface and transfer the dough onto it. Knead the dough again for 1-2 minutes and then roll it out to half-inch thickness. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles using a cookie cutter. Since we are going to be filling the donuts with lemon curd, do not make a hole in the centre.
5. Line a tray with parchment paper and place the donuts on it, leaving some space in between for the second proofing. Cover the donuts and let them rise again for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
6. To deep fry the donuts, bring the oil up to high temperature. Dunk the donuts into the oil and fry them on medium heat until they are golden brown on both sides.
7. Allow them to cool a little before filling them with lemon curd.
LEMON CURD
For the lemon curd filling
2 teaspoons lemon zest
Three-fourth cup caster sugar
Three-fourth cup lemon juice
Half cup butter
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons water
Half cup condensed milk
To make the lemon curd, combine the lemon zest, caster sugar, lemon juice and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring continuously, about 4-5 minutes. Make a cornflour slurry by dissolving the cornflour in water and add this to the pan. Simmer the mixture for 3-4 minutes, until it thickens. Take it off the heat, pour it into a bowl and stir in the condensed milk.
CHERRY ALMOND CUPCAKES
Eggless cherry almond cupcakes. (Photo: Eggless Baking with Shivesh)
INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes
Half cup all-purpose flour
One-fourth cup almond flour
Half teaspoon baking powder
One-fourth teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons caster sugar
One-fourth cup vegetable oil
Half cup yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Half cup cherries, pitted
For the buttercream
Half cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
One-fourth cup cherry puree
2 drops pink food color
To top
fresh cherries
Fluffy, moist and super soft almond cupcakes topped with a smooth cherry buttercream frosting and a cherry on top! Cherries and almonds are truly made for each other; I’m sure you will agree with me once you make these cupcakes.
METHOD
1. To make the cupcakes, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl and set it aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk the caster sugar and vegetable oil until pale and well combined. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract to this and mix well.
3. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing only until everything is combined and there are no large flour pockets in the batter. Add the cherries.
4. Transfer the batter to the cupcake tray using an ice cream scoop, filling the molds three-fourths of the way.
5. Bake at 180°C for 20–25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool down completely.
6. To make the buttercream, use an electric mixer to whip up the butter till it is pale. Sift in the icing sugar and whip the butter and sugar till the frosting becomes light and fluffy. Add in the cherry puree and food color and whip again till they are evenly incorporated in the frosting.
7. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and decorate the cooled cupcakes. Top with fresh cherries.
Also read | Bake like a pro with an eggless poke cake trifle recipe
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