Bake Along #42 - Deep Chocolate Pound Cake

This cake is very compact and dense. That's the first impression I had in mind when I first tried it. But it's indeed moist and crumbly
Taste wise, I loved it. I didn't mind the honey taste in it. But texture, not really my kind of cake. Not my family, either. Moist, yes we like. But dense, not really
Nevertheless, I and Abby, my chocolate addict girl, did munch on this cake quite a bit :) DH ate a little, too. Ian had a bite and that's it LOL

Recipe is from HERE

What you need:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp coarse kosher salt

¼ tsp baking soda½ cup sour cream (replace with yogurt) ½ cup whole milk

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons boiling water¾ cup sugar (reduced to 1/2 cup) ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon chocolate emulco

½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk yoghurt and milk in small bowl

2. Add honey and water in a heatproof pan. Cook and stir as heating the mixture. Once combine, off the heat (no need reach boiling point). Add in cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Cool completely3. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. 3. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl
Beat in chocolate emulco. Add cocoa mixture; stir until smooth, occasionally scraping down bowl
4. Fold in flour mixture alternately with sour cream (yogurt) mixture in 2 additions each until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips
5. Pour batter into lined baking pan or muffins mould. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 45 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean
6. Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack

I'm submitting this post to Bake Along #42 organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids

Devil's Food Cake For Mum's Bday

Baked this cake for my mum's birthday yesterday
She loves chocolate cakes, I baked devil's food cake with a very simple deco :)

Pic below taken last night :)

 

 

These two pics below taken this afternoon :)

 

 

A very easy to love kind of cake, the whole family enjoyed it so much :)

Recipe is from Small Small Baker, the texture is great, not too moist but not too dry, either
The recipe calls for taller two layered cake, I baked just half recipe with chocolate frosting on top

What you need:

(below is half recipe)

 

90g butter

190g caster sugar

2 eggs (60g each)

110g self-raising flour

40g plain flour

1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda

35g cocoa powder

2 tsp dry instant coffee

60ml water

65ml milk

 

Chocolate frosting:

60g dark chocolate

60g unsalted butter

 

Method:

1. Grease 20cm round cake pans, line bases with paper; grease paper
2. Beat butter and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after additions
3. Transfer mixture to large bowl, fold in sifted flours, soda and cocoa with combined coffee, colouring, water and milk, in 2 batches
4. Pour mixture into prepared pans; bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 45 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool

Chocolate frosting:

1. Combine chocolate and butter in heatproof bowl over pan of simmering water, stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Cool at room temperature until spreadable, stir occasionally while cooling
2. Pour frosting over the cooled cake and spread evenly

Happy Birthday to my mum, I wish you only the best in everything, cos you deserve it
Love you! XOXO

Nutella Yoghurt Cake

Today is World Nutella Day
I never really made an effort to bake anything with Nutella on this particular day
Yesterday I had this thought to do so, since Nutella is one of my family favorite, too, so why not
So, I baked this Nutella yoghurt cake. I used recipe from Happy Home Baking

Anyway, yesterday was not a baking with smart time management
By the time I finished doing the mixing and the batter ready to be transported to the oven, it's time for me to pick up Abby from school
In the end, the batter waited for me to come back for close to an hour
I mixed briefly with spatula, poured into the pan and knocked a few times to get rid of the bubbles but apparently that was not good enough, cos the best was not to let the batter waiting

So, pardon me for the holes in my cake
Rest assured, this cake is soft and yummy, with minimum crumbs

I always love this sexy crack on butter cake :)

Look at those holes.. It should be fine smooth texture :(

 

But believe me, this cake is one of those worth trying :)

 

 

 

I baked half recipe using 18cm loaf pan - greased and floured, recipe below

 

What you need:

 

113g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

43g butter, soften at room temperature

1 1/2 tbsp Nutella spread (I used 2tbsp)

75g sugar (I used 60g)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I used chocolate emulco)

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degC
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
3. Mix together yoghurt and vanilla essence
4. Beat butter and nutella for 1 min. Gradually add in sugar and beat on high speed for about 3 mins
5. Add in the eggs slowly, beat constantly for about 2 mins
6. On low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture. On medium-high speed, beat in 1/2 of the yoghurt mixture. On low speed, beat in half of the remaining flour mixture. On high speed, beat in the remaining yoghurt mixture. On low speed, beat in the rest of the flour mixture
7. Pour batter into into the pan, level it
8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes (half recipe) til skewer comes out clean
9. Let cool in pan for 10 mins and transfer to cooling rack 

THB #13 - Dark Chocolate Almond Cake (Happy Call)

Two years is fast! LBT turned two on Friday, hence the challenge for this month, any bake for celebration :)
So I chose to bake this yummy chocolate cake, decorated with sugar cookies which happened to be requested by Ian :)

I baked this yummy chocolaty cake in conjunction with the 13th bake for The Home Bakers, a recipe chosen by Jocelyn from Riceball Eats, from the book  "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas
This time I baked using Happy Call pan and I was satisfied with the outcome
Soft and chocolaty, tasty too. A bit crumbly, perhaps cos I overbaked it a little
Very similar to brownies, but not the fudgy type
Very well received by my family, including the kids :)

I had only chopped almonds which I blended briefly, so I still could taste a little crunch from the almond bits :)
I used bittersweet chocolate and strong brewed coffee. I guess the coffee was a bit too strong I felt the cake was not sweet enough. Since I love the slight coffee taste in the cake, I would still use the same kind of brewed coffee and used semi sweet chocolate instead to get the right sweetness to my liking

Here for presentation I sliced the cake to bite size small squares
It's surprisingly pleasant to munch the cake together with the cookie :)

Please view Jocelyn's site to view the full recipe for the chocolate cake
As for the sugar cookies, I used the same recipe I made before from Rima

So glad I finally managed to find time to participate in The Home Bakers event this time, after I missed out the previous bake :)
This event is hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours
Please visit HERE if you're interested in joining the fun :)

And to LBT, happy 2nd birthday! So glad to be able to share baking experiences together with the ever growing number of members, many turn to best friends :)
Many more years to come. Cheers!

Bday Cake 4Hubby - Moist Devil's Food Cake (Martha Stewart)

I always a fan of Martha Stewart, she has a pair of super talented hands and fingers, not only in the kitchen but basically in every corner of the house and even outside the house!
So, I'm happy that this month's Cook Like A Star theme is Martha Stewart :)

This is her cake I wanted to try for so long, and this is the time for me to give it a shot, in conjunction to DH's birthday
Recipe is from HERE, very similar to other Devil's food cake recipe, actually
I modified a little and I didn't make the chocolate ganache, I used Nutella instead
Time constraint I had since it's school holiday now (read: me being lazy LOL)

What you need:
(recipe below is 1/2 recipe I made with slight modification)

170g unsalted butter
43g cocoa powder + extra to dust
1/4 cup boiling water
255g sugar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
145g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh milk
1 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder

1. Grease a 20cm round pan, line with paper and dust with cocoa powder
2. Sift cocoa and coffee powder into the boiling water, whisk. Set aside to cool
3. Cream butter (low speed) til light and fluffy. Gradually add in sugar - around 3 minutes
4. Add in vanilla and eggs one at a time til well mixed
5. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt
6. Whisk milk into the cocoa/coffee mixture
7. With mixer on low speed, add in flour and milk/cocoa/coffee mixture into the butter mixture (starting and ending with flour)
8. Pour batter into the prepared pan, bake until skewer comes out clean, around 35 minutes, rotate pan halfway for even baking
9. Let cake cool on wire rack. Cut into two parts after it's completely cool
10. Spread filling evenly on the top part of the bottom layer and top with the other layer

For DH's bday this time, I was so clueless about how to deco the cake
I ended up piped the whole cake with star tip. It looked more like white Xmas cake than birthday cake to me. But the most important thing is, he loved it, not only the deco but also the taste of this delicious cake, and so were the kids and me :)

This post is for Cook like a Star, organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Riceball from Riceball Eats

Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake

This is the first cake always comes into my mind everytime I think of steamed cake, chocolate steamed cake in particular - all time favorite!
It's been many times I made this cake and every bite always makes me go hhhmmmm... :)
So luscious, rich and moist, chocolaty, and soft, too
Another excellent point is, it's really easy to make! No mixer required -> my favorite! :)

I posted this cake before, when I made it for my sis' bday, you may view HERE
I realized I didn't write the recipe in that posting - only link up to the original recipe, so here it is....

Recipe is from Cooking Crave

What you need:

180g butter
200g caster sugar
200g evaporated milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
100g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp dark rhum

1. Preheat steamer, wrap the cover with clean cloth and line + grease 8" round pan
2. Mix caster sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla essence and butter in a saucepan
3. Stir over low heat til sugar dissolves and butter melts
4. Remove from heat, let cool
5. Add in beaten eggs, stir well
6. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda
7. Pour egg mixture over the flour mixture and stir well (cake batter should be runny)
8. Pour batter onto the pan, steam for 10 minutes on high heat, reduce the heat to low and steam for another 45 minutes

Chocolate fudge topping:

200g sweet condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp corn / canola oil
20g cocoa powder - sifted
a pinch of salt

1. Bring to boil sweet condensed milk, oil and cocoa til thicken
2. Add in salt and vanilla
3. Pour over cooled cake, keep refrigerated

Note:
* For me, I prefer to eat this cake warm. I will warm the refrigerated cake for 15 second before consuming
* This time I used low fat version for both evaporated milk and sweet condensed milk and it didn't change the texture nor taste of this cake

 

I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Baker #25 Steaming Hot Cakes (Nov 2012) hosted by Miss B of Everybody Eats Well In Flanders

Healthier Chocolate Cupcakes (Happy Call) For Teacher's Day Gifts & Healthy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

No eggs, no butter, less sugar
A healthier choice for this sweet fudgy rich moist soft chocolate cake
I baked this using Happy Call, the result is similar to steamed cake
I guess baking with oven will give fluffier texture

I was worried the cake would rise too high so I poured only half the mould hence the short cupcakes :)

I decorated some of them for Teacher's Day gifts for my kids

I bought the container which can be of a use, and decorated the cover with self made ribbon, hence the decent shape :)

Recipe is from Passionate About Baking

What you need:

180g all purpose flour
130g sugar (reduced by 30% and it's just nice for me)
30g unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup hot water
90ml canola oil
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt
2. Combine water, oil, vinegar, vanilla in a large cup
3. Add to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined, a few lumps are ok
4. Oil cups, pour batter half the cup
5. Pour two mugs of water into Happy Call pan, bake small flame til tester skewer comes out clean, around 30 minutes
6. If baking in the oven, it'll about 30 minutes at 180degC
7. Let cool on a wire rack and decorate as desired (to eat plain is good enough to me)

I will surely try the baked version next time, this is one yummy chocolate cake recipe :)


Another healthy snack I'd like to share with you is baked sweet potato fries
Simple to prepare and yummy too
A sweet good quality sweet potato determines the end result
I used Indonesian honey sweet potatoes and it's sweet in taste

I had a little leftover blended wholemeal bread so I used it as coating and the remaining used crushed cornflakes - they're healthier options than ready to use store bought panko breadcrumbs

With wholemeal breadcrumbs coating

 

With crushed cornflakes coating

Left: wholemeal breadcrumbs coating. Right: crushed cornflakes coating

Both are nice, but I personally prefer the one with cornflakes coating, the contrast of salty and sweet is really great together

Recipe is from Seasaltwithfood

What you need:

2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled and cut like french fries
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup wholemeal breadcrumbs / crushed cornflakes

1. Toss sweet potatoes with flour mixture, dip in egg, coat with breadcrumbs
2. Place on baking tray, lightly spray with canola oil
3. Bake on preheated oven of 220degC for 15-20 minutes

Original recipe used cayenne pepper, but it's too hot for the kids, so I didn't use
This snack is best eaten fresh from the oven
After an hour or two, it somehow lost its crispiness
You may toast them for 2 to 3 minutes to bring the crispiness back

I'm submitting both the cupcakes and baked sweet potato fries to  Aspiring Bakers #22: Lightened Up Cakes (August 2012) hosted by Qi Ting of A Dessert Diet

Emergency Blender Chocolate Cupcakes & Two Years Blog Anniversary

I have been really interested in trying this recipe, it's really a good decision
So easy to make, and it turned out to be a moist and tasted really good

One mistake I did, I only took pictures the day after, taken out from the fridge, the chocolate frosting was wet with condensation and I dabbed it with tissue paper, hence the pattern on top LOL

I made one recipe, and out of curiousity, I baked half with muffin tray, and steamed half with 20cm round pan
The result was totally different

The baked ones tasted like soft, quite fluffy and moist cake

The steamed one tasted more like a dense, rich, chocolaty yet soft pudding cake

I and my brother prefer the baked one, and the kids, too. DH and my sister, also my mum love the steamed one
So, it's good. Everybody gets a fair share :)

Recipe is from the book The Weekend Baker by Abigail Johnson Dodge

What you need:
(I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 190 degC
2. Line muffin tray with cupcake liners
3. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Blend on medium speed covered
4. Add in water, oil, egg and vanilla. Cover and blenf on medium high speed til smooth and well belnded, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides
5. Pour into muffin cups 2/3 high, bake on medium rack for 20 minutes or til tester skewer comes out clean, let cool
6. (For steaming, preheat steamer and pour batter in a lined round pan and steam over medium heat for 45 minutes til tester skewer comes out clean, let cool)

Fudgy frosting:
(I reduced the sweetener quite a bit cos I used semi sweet chocolate instead)
8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
8tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup light corn syrup
3tbsp condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. Melt together chocolate chips and unsalted butter (double boiled or in microwave)
2. Add in condensed milk, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Whisk til well blended. It will thicken as it cools
3. After completely cooled, cover with plastic wrap til ready to use

When the cake is completely cooled, spread a dollop of the frosting on top

Btw, today is my second blog anniversary! :)

(pic courtesy of spicytunas.com)

Time flies, really!
So far, I am still so glad that I started blogging two years back, one of the best decision I ever made!
I got to know many new friends with the same passion, got to experience cooking and baking things I never thought I would do too!
Blogging has become one of my hobby and I'm still hooked til now, more than ever!

I'm a self taught cook and baker at home which never attended even one cooking and/or baking class, blogging has given me priceless knowledge for me to improve even more :)
Not only that, I (try) to pick up skills in taking snaps of my food by looking at georgeous pictures I always find in all blogs
I learnt too that even though the subject is our passion - food, but basically blogging brings out our very own character in our writing, which I enjoy very much
And for those things, many thanks to you all, my dearest friends :)

This time, I have some giveaways to share my joy for blogging
I will reveal in my post tomorrow okie... Need to zzzz now, it's 12.30am now :)
Good night!

THB #6 Mocha-Cappuccino Marbled Coffee Cake - Another Birthday Cake For Ian

I baked this sixth cake for THB for Ian's birthday cake to be brought to his school to celebrate with his classmates

Among many car toys he loves, he adores Tomica the most
And the edible image on the cake below is his request :)

 

I was so tempted to add a little kahlua in the cake, but many kids would eat this cake, so no, not this time, but I am sure it would taste nice!
I baked some in cupcakes for our own consumption

 

From the book Coffee Cakes by Lou Seibert Pappas
Very straight forward cake to make, I love the coffee taste and aroma
Soft texture, light, not dry and yummy taste everybody in the house loves :)
I almost forgot that chocolate and coffee work well together, too - the color and the taste, too
I wasn't sure why I didn't get the marble effect, I did swirl the batter with skewer, perhaps I didn't do it correctly :)

I followed the recipe to the dot except that I reduced the sugar to 190g and I divided equally half each for chocolate and coffee batter
Used melted dark chocolate (50%) and added the coffee mixture to 2 1/2 tbsp for both the powder and water

For full recipe, please visit Lena's site, she chose this delicious tea time perfect companion :)
Please view HERE to check out other members' creations of this cake

Steamed Brownies

Recipe is from the book "Magic Steamed Cake" by Alex Goh

I like the taste, real delicious
Texture wise, it's quite crumbly, I wish it could be more moist
Original recipe uses walnuts, I will do so the next time I make this cake again, and perhaps some chocolate chips too
Overall, well loved by family :)

A
100g butter
85g cooking chocolate

B
180g sugar
3 eggs

C
20g cocoa powder
170g plain flour
1 1/4 tsp double acting baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

D
120g chopped walnuts (I didn't use but I will in the future)
100g chocolate chips (additional I'd like to use in the future)

1. Double boil A over simmering water til chocolate melted
2. Mix B til sugar dissolved. Add in cooled A, mix til well combined
3. Fold in sieved C, mix til well blended. Add in D, mix til well incorporated
4. Pour into 22x20cm shallow pan lined with alumunium foil (I used 20cm round, hence the taller cake)
5. Steam for 30 minutes. Set aside to let cool
6. Coat with chocolate ganache over the cooled cake

Bake Along #25 - Anniversary Chocolate Coffee Kahlua Layered Cake (Barefoot Contessa)

Wow! How time flies! Bake Along is 1!

It has been a joyous experience to be able to take part in this event
Thank you to the hosts, Joyce, Lena and Zoe for the wonderful idea and the continuous effort and making superb recipe choices :)
Great experience to meet many new friends sharing the same passion, learning together doing what we love... Isn't it just wonderful?
It is so coincident that today, 29 May, is my 8th wedding anniversary :)

So, for these two wonderful events, I baked this chocolate coffee cake from Ina Garten which has made me salivating when I saw Zoe and Kit baked this cake
Agree with them, this cake is superb!
Moist, fine texture, chocolatey, the sweetness is just right, the coffee fragrant is a plus point and I added with a hint of kahlua, it's a pleasant bonus :)
I used Valrhona cocoa which makes the chocolate cake tastes so much better :)
Another pleasant surprise is the buttercream
It's so smooth, creamy and yummy! Really a keeper!
And another plus point - which is my favorite, it's relatively easy to make!

What you need:

For the cake:

210g plain flour
400g caster sugar
3 eggs
85g Valrhona cocoa
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
250ml buttermilk
125ml vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 cup hot coffee (I used 3 tsp Nescafe instant coffee powder mixed with 250ml hot water)
1 tbsp kahlua

1. Preheat oven to 180degC
2. Grease 2 x 20cm round pans, line with parchment paper and butter + flour the pans
3. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in one bowl
4. Mix buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla in another bowl
5. With mixer on low speed, add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients
6. Still on low speed, add in coffee and kahlua, stir just to combine, scrap the bottom occasionally
7. Pour batter into pans, bake for approximately 45 minutes, til skewer comes out clean
8. Cool in pans for 30 minutes, turn onto cooling rack, cool completely
9. Place 1 layer, flat on top, spread frosting on top, place second layer on top, rounded side up, spread frosting all over cake as desired

For the frosting:

(I made 1/2 of the recipe below and it's sufficient)
170g chopped dark chocolate (70%)
226g unsalted butter, room temperature
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp instant coffee powder, dissolve in 2 tsp hot water
1 tsp kahlua

1. Melt chocolate over a pan of simmering water, stir til just melted, let cool completely
2. Beat butter on medium high speed til yellow and fluffy - approximately 3 minutes
3. Add in egg yolk and vanilla, continue beating for another 3 minutes
4. Turn mixer to low speed, gradually add icing sugar, beat in medium speed, scraping down the bowl if needed, til smooth and creamy
5. In low speed, add chocolate and coffee, as well as kahlua to the butter mixture, mix til blended
6. Spread immediately on cooled cake

I'm linking this to Cook Like A Star blog hop event, hosted by Zoe, featuring Barefoot Contessa as the celebrity chef for the month of May

Happy anniversary to Bake Along, also to me and my dear hubby XOXO

Below is more layered cake from other Bake Along friends....

Banana Choco Mousse Chocolate Layered Cake

Banana chocolate cake, a combination many can't resist
First time I sank my teeth in this delicious cake was a store bought one, from Awfully Chocolate and Secret Recipe
It's love at first bite LOL

I've tried to bake this cake long time ago, I think close to 3 years ago, for my sis' bday, way before I started this blog
The time when I thought I could bake, when I was still lack of knowledge, resulting in disastrous time in the kitchen preparing this cake, and a far from acceptable cake, in terms of the taste, texture and presentation

Now, I think I am pretty much equipped to retry baking this cake again :)
And this time I'm satisfied with the result, even though it's still not as pretty as the ones from the two bakeries I mentioned above
Recipe is from Aunty Yochana's site, mine is not as pretty as hers, either
It's not easy to compete with such a deco expert like her :o)

I'm using one 4" and 5" round pans
The pictures below is from the 4" round pan

I should have spread the mousse layers thicker, no complaint though...

What you need:

For the cake:

A

4 egg yolks (from 60g eggs)

100g castor sugar

120g self raising flour

1/2 tsp double acting baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

50g canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

B

4 1/2 egg whites (from 60g eggs)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

60g castor sugar

C

30g cocoa powder

120g hot water

1. Mix all A ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir with wooden spoon
2. Mix together C and stir til smooth
3. Add in C mixture into A mixture and stir til smooth
4. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar from B for 2 minutes til frothy, pour in sugar gradually til egg whites become fluffy but not too stiff (soft peak)
5. Fold in gently half of A mixture into B mixture
6. Fold in the remaining A mixture into B mixture
7. Do not overmix, if still can't well mixed, stop folding in
8. Pour the batter into 9" round pan which has been greased, lined with baking paper and greased again
9. Bake at preheated oven at 175degC for approximately 50 minutes or til the skewer comes out clean
10. Cool and cut into 3 parts

For the mousse:

400g whipping cream

 1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp geatin powder, mixed with 4 tbsp water, microwave for 20 seconds (note: use when still hot)

50g cocoa powder - sifted

80g icing sugar - sifted

1 1/2 tbsp nescafe powder mixed with 1 1/2 tbsp water

1 tbsp kahlua

*3 medium size del monte bananas, thick sliced and soak in lemon juice to prevent it from browning

1. Beat the whipping cream til stiff
2. Mix all other ingredients together and stir in to the whipped cream 
3. Keep in the fridge

For the chocolate ganache I used the same recipe I used here

I microwaved for 30 seconds til it melted, let cool

How to assemble the cake:

Lay 1 cake layer and spread the mousse on top. Arrange sliced bananas on top of the mousse

Top up with the second cake layer, spread the mousse on top and arrange sliced bananas on top

Top up with the third cake layer

Cover the whole cake with the balance of the mousse and keep in the fridge til set

Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and keep back in the fridge til set

Tempted?

DH did, these are his hands wanted to grab the cake LOL

I'm submitting this layered cake to Aspiring Bakers #18 Layers Of Love (April 2012) hosted by Sweet Samsations

Also I'm linking up this post to:

*Sweet Treats Thursday

*Sweet Tooth Friday

*Sweets For A Saturday #67