Star Recipe

1. Take two Cake Pans – 6” each and apply slightly melted butter to all sides of the cake pan. And then put parchment paper at the bottom, so the cakes don’t get stuck to the base. Also, switch on the oven at 180 degrees Celsius to pre-heat, while we prepare the batter.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and keep aside.

3. Peel off an avocado, remove the seed and cut it into small pieces, to make a puree. I am using a hand blender to make the puree. If you don’t have it, you can puree it into your chutney jar. Add 1 tsp fresh lemon juice and mix for a few more seconds.

4. Put 1 & ¼ cups of powdered sugar into the bowl. Then add 4 eggs, which should be brought to room temperature before using. So, ideally should be taken out at least an hour before starting the recipe. And 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Whisk everything well for 5 minutes, using an electronic hand mixer.

5. After 5 minutes, stop whisking, add a few drops of green gel food color, and whisk further for just about 10secs.

6. Get rid of the hand mixer. Add ½ cup of melted unsalted butter and mix gently using cut & fold method using a spatula for about 10-15 secs only.

7. Add the dry flour mix and combine it with the wet mix, using the cut & fold method, gently with the spatula, picking the flour from the bottom, and mixing only until the dry flour pockets are no longer visible. Do not over-mix, to try to get a smooth batter, as then you will not get fluffy cakes, because the air incorporated due to whipping of eggs will be lost.

8. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans. Tap the pans each for a count of 15, so the cakes don’t dome while baking.

9. Bake for about 25mins at 180 degrees Celsius. Do a tooth-pick test after 25mins, to check the doneness of the cake. If the toothpick comes out with batter around it, bake for a few more minutes. Else, if the toothpick, has a few dry cake crumbs around it, or comes out clean, the cake is done. Switch off the oven, leaving the pans inside for 10mins, with the door partially open.

10. After 10mins, pull out the cakes from the pan and transfer them to a wire rack to cool down completely.

*If you don’t have unsalted butter, then add normal butter. In such a case, don’t add salt to the dry mix.

1. Take 200 gms of dark chocolate in a bowl, chop it in small pieces

2. Pour 1 cup of hot heavy whipping cream over the chocolate pieces and mix using a fork or hand whisk, so to get a smooth chocolate syrup, with no chunks of chocolate. Cover with a lid and keep the bowl in the fridge for about 30mins, to cool down a little

3. Beat using a hand mixer for about 2mins, or until you get stiff peaks.

1. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1/3 cup of water to a pan, and put it on a medium flame, for the sugar to melt.

2. After the sugar is melted, switch off the gas and let the mixture cool down a little, before transferring to a bottle with piping tip. Else, you can use a spoon to spread this syrup on the cakes.

1. Slice off the top layer of both the cakes.

2. Put some chocolate icing on the cake board. Keep one cake on it and press it down a little.

3. Pour some sugar syrup on the cake. This prevents the cake from drying in the fridge. The cake will be as soft as fresh cake, even after 2-3 days of being in the fridge.

4. Put a thick layer of chocolate icing

5. Add the second cake on top inverted, pressing down a little, ensuring the icing doesn’t come out, if you are planning to not coat the sides, like me.

6. Pour sugar syrup on the top, followed by some chocolate icing.

7. Finally, Use the cake crumbs from the top layers of the cake that were removed, to build a border around the cake, and then added some choco-chips and confectionary to garnish.