Ferrerro Raffaello Cake and an Anniversary

I know I said I wouldn't be posting as much  coz I am on my vacation ( thank you for all the wishes you guys  ) but how could I not post today coz today is the day I started my blog a year ago and that was the best thing I had done . I got to post about stuff that I love so much and above all that I made lots of new and wonderful friends from all over the globe . I have to thank each one of you who visited my blog and left comments here , I just love reading them and it really encourages me to do more so a big Thank you to all of you again .
For today's post I had to make a cake and this cake is based on my favorite chocolate and I think all of you know this chocolate I am talking about , it's called Ferrero Raffaello ,the white counterpart of the famous Ferrero rocher . I just love the coconutty taste of this one and I wanted to incorporate this flavor into my cake and I am happy to let you know the results were quite good .

The cake is light and moist with a hint of the coconut flavour and the sweetness of the white chocolate ganache balances well with the light cream frosting and  the crunch from the toasted coconut and almonds and I hope you guys like it :) .

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter room temp
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp almond essence
1 cup light coconut milk or 3 tsp coconut milk powder dissolved in 1 cup water

for the white chocolate ganache 

225 gms white chocolate
1 cup cream

for the frosting

1 cup liquid whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar

for the topping

3/4 cup toasted dessicated coconut
3/4 cup toasted almond flakes


METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy .
Add the eggs and beat well.
Add the vanilla and almond essence
Mix the flour and the baking powder well and beat it into the mixture alternating between the coconut milk .
Grease and line two 9 inch sandwich tins and pour the batter in it .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 15-20 min.
To make the ganache , heat the cream and add in the chopped chocolate and stir it till you get a smooth mixture.
Whip the cream and sugar till stiff .
To assemble the cake , add the white chocolate ganache on top of the cake and cover it with another layer of cake . Add a little more of the ganache on top of the cake and leave it to cool till the ganache is set .
Now frost the entire cake with the whipped cream  and top it with the toasted coconut and almonds.
Chill and enjoy .

Pineapple Delight

Hey all you guys , summer vacation is on the way and this is gonna be my goodbye post , I am going for a long.... long....... really long vacation for almost two months , so Kerala here I come , going to enjoy the monsoons and the fresh air and I am gonna be really busy so won't be able to post quite frequently as I do now but I will popping in to see all my blogger friends delicacies .
Now back to today's post , this is something my sister used to make way back  now she is too lazy  (ooooh!!! I am gonna get into so much trouble for that ) and I just loved this dessert and had forgotten about it for a long time , so decided to refresh my memory of it . This is sort of like a cheesecake but without the cheese , it is quite creamy ,crunchy ,tangy ,sweet from the pineapples , it has all the textures and flavours for a perfect dessert so here goes..........

INGREDIENTS

10 digestive biscuits
75 gms melted butter
600 ml whole  milk
2 eggs separated
300 gms cream
12 tbsp sugar
2 and 1/2 tbsp gelatin + 6 tbsp water to dissolve it
200 gms canned pineapple

METHOD


Crush the digestive biscuits.
Melt the butter and add the crushed biscuits and toast it till a nice aroma comes up.
Put this mixture in a loose based tin and pop it in the fridge to cool it.
Beat the egg yolks with sugar till light and pale .
Heat the milk on low and add the beaten yolks to it , cook it on low heat till the mixture coats the back of the spoon like a custard .
Set the custard aside to cool .
Meanwhile, dissolve the gelatin and mix it in the custard stirring till the gelatin is mixed properly in the custard.
Beat the cream with 2 tbsp of sugar till soft peaks form  and fold it in the custard.
Beat the egg whites till stiff and fold it in the mixture.
Now pour the whole mixture on top of the crust .
Add chopped pieces of pineapple and also before pouring the custard , you can add the pineapple slices for garnish and then pour in the custard .
Chill to set and then enjoy .