Finally, spring has arrived and so has Easter! With us going veggie for the past 50 days of lent, everyone here has been looking forward to Easter, just as much as spring, so that we could chew on a bone or two. Big girl RM, a carnivore, would argue as to why we had to give up fish and meat during lent. She even went to the extent of suggesting that we should give up vegetables for 50 days! Boy! Woudn't that make her happy! She made it very clear that she would have nothing to do with vegetables on Easter day. So as per tradition we had Appam and "Appa's meat curry" for breakfast, Chicken Biriyani for lunch and cake for desert . "Appa's Meat Curry" is a recipe my dad gave me a long time ago, around the time when I was newly married. It turned out well then and I have been making it ever since. While that recipe will be up in some future post, with spring, Easter and Vishu all here at the same time, its going to be the cake that takes the stage today.
After our heartbreak over the snowshower on the official first day of spring, we were very cautious henceforth in deciding whether it was spring yet or not. However the blooming of the bright yellow Forsythia flowers on the hedge just outside our frontdoor was one sure sign that spring has truly arrived! The flowers also serve as our "Vishu Konna" this year as they have the same colour as the traditional "KonnaPoo" which blooms around the time of Vishu (New Year in Kerala). Our Easter cake was the classic yellow cake with a French Vanilla whipped frosting. With the abundance of fresh flowers and ever so helpful flower-pickers I decorated the cake with fresh forsythia flowers. We went with the whipped frosting over buttercream so that we could eat cake without all that guilt !
YELLOW CAKE:
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.
Flour - 2 1/4 cups
Baking powder - 2 1/2 teaspoons
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Sift all the above together.
Milk - 3/4 cup
Eggs - 4
Vanilla essence - 1 tablespoon
Whisk all of the above in a bowl and set aside.
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Unsalted Butter - 1 cup (2 sticks)
Cream butter and sugar till light.
Add half the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and mix till just incorporated. Now add half the milk mixture and beat well. Repeat with the other half of the flour and milk mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes.
Cool cakes on a rack. After they are completely cool, trim the tops of the cakes to level them.
COOL WHIP FROSTING
Cool Whip - 1 (8 oz.) tub, thawed
Milk - 1 cup, cold
Jello instant French vanilla pudding mix - 1 box
Whisk pudding mix and cold milk till creamy. Fold in Cool Whip.
Frost the top of one of the cakes. Place the other cake on top of it. Now frost the top and sides of the entire cake. The frosting may also be used to pipe decorations and flowers. I used fresh flowers. If using fresh flowers, make sure they are non-poisonous and no toxic insecticides have been used on them.
In case the ingredients for the frosting is not available in your area you can use this recipe here, which is the real thing.
Dig In!!!!
Mita.
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