Easy 'Mango 'Raita'; anybody can make it!

                   
          A very refreshing, easy-to-make delicacy! 

'Raita' is, almost, 'a must' accompaniment of food in India, specially during summers. This 'Raita' is so easy to make and yet so tasty and refreshing to eat that you would want to make it every day! Mangoes are a-plenty in summers and rest of the ingredients are also easily available in all Indian homes.

Ingredients-  (1) Curds (with a little whey)-1 cup (270gm.),   (2) powdered sugar- 1 heaped tsp.,   (3) salt-to taste,   (4)- 'kala namak' (rock salt)- 1/4 tsp.,   (5) roasted and coarsely powdered jeera (cumin seeds)- 2 generous pinches and one small pinch for garnish, (6) Ripe mangoes-1 big or 1 1/2 small,  (7) Ripe banana-1,   (8) Black pepper powder-a small pinch ( optional).

Method-  1. Take the curd in a bowl and add salt, sugar, roasted jeera powder and pepper (optional). 

2.  Beat nicely with a fork so that you get a smooth, thickish mixture.  Check the taste.   3.  Wash the ripe mango and remove it's skin. Chop the pulp into cubes and add to the curd mixture.Peal the banana, slit lengthwise and chop into small pieces, roughly equal to the size of mango pieces. Add these pieces also to the curd and mix gently as these fruits are very soft. You may ask 'why banana?' It is because banana blends very well, brings a refreshing change in taste and enhances the taste of 'Raita'.  4.  Put it in the fridge to chill slightly.   

Note-  Roasted jeera-powder is not easily available in shops and, if available, lacks the desired aroma. But do not despair, it is very very easy to make at home in a jiffy! Jeera should be dry- roasted (i.e. without oil) on a 'Tava' (griddle), on medium flame, till it browns nicely and leaves a rich aroma. Don't let it get black. Put this roasted jeera on a clean work-surface and grind to a coarse powder with a 'belan' (roller), preferably wooden, while still quite warm. Following pictures will make this process clear.        

5.  Serve your 'Raita' sprinkled with some more jeera powder. This makes a nice accompaniment to 'Rajma' and Rice but can be enjoyed with any type of food or, even on it's own!

Enjoy!

'Rajma' Punjabi style.

                       
                'Rajma'  yum-yum! ( Indian Kidney-bean curry)


             It is an all-time favorite dish of Punjabis. In fact, it is relished by all Indians. 

Rajma are traditionally eaten with simple boiled rice but, they taste delicious even with 'Paratha', 'Poori', 'Pulao', 'Tandoori roti' or plain every-day 'roti' (chapati). 

Punjabis have a special style of making Rajma. I am going to share with you the way I make them.

Ingredients-        (1)  300gm.'Rajma' (Kidney beans);    (2)  5-6 medium onions;     (3)  8-10 tomatoes;     (4)  1 pod garlic;     (5)  2 inch piece ginger;     (6)  80-100 gm.cooking oil;     (7)  1/3 tsp.turmeric powder;     (8)  1/2 tsp. red chilli powder;     (9)  salt to taste;     (10)  some chopped coriander leaves for garnish.

Method-         1.  Wash rajma 2-3 times and soak overnight (6-8 hrs) in plenty of water. A short-cut method is to soak them in slightly warm water for 3-4 hrs. and, if you do not have time to soak them at all, not to worry, just pressure-cook them for 15-20 minutes longer!

2.  Grate onions after removing their skins and make a paste of ginger and garlic by crushing them together.

3.  Put a 'kadahi' or fry- pan over fire, heat 80 gm. oil and add grated onions.You can add more oil later if

you feel the requirement. Fry onions, stirring contantly so that they do not stick to the bottom. When they become slightly pink in color, add ginger-garlic paste and continue stir-frying till the 'masala' becomes a nice red-brown. Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt and cook for a few seconds more before adding chopped tomatoes.

Keep frying, stirring constantly, till tomatoes are nicely cooked and become a part of the 'masala' and it starts leaving oil ( you will see tiny bubbles of oil appearing on the fringes). This is the time to add 'rajma'.

4.  Drain the water from the soaked 'rajma' and wash them again in fresh water. Transfer the prepared 'masala' to a pressure cooker, put on the fire, add 'rajma' and stir both the things together for approx. 1 minute. Now add 1 liter water, close the lid and put weight on the pressure-vent when steam appears. You may lower the heat after the first whistle and, cook for 45 minutes after which time, turn the heat off. Let the pressure come down and open the lid to check. 'Rajma' should be very soft and some of them should have started splitting when they are done. The 'masala' should also have turned into a nice, thickish gravy. If the 'rajma' are not nicely cooked, pressure-cook again for 10-15 minutes. You can add more salt or chilli at this stage and, more water also if the curry is thicker than your liking. Boil for a few seconds more after making the additions so that everything is nicely mixed. Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves and your 'rajma' are ready to eat!

5.  Serve hot 'rajma'  with plain boiled rice/pulao/paratha/poori/tandoori roti or, simple every-day roti (chapati), it is delicious always!

Enjoy!

'Chhole', the delicious Indian Chickpea curry.

                                                          'Chhole', the way I make them


On popular and express demand of my family and friends, specially my son, who feels that only Bhature makes an incomplete recipe, I am going to share with you how I make this  delciious accompaniment to Bhaturas ( my post of 16 June). 'Chhole' can be eaten with rice, 'paratha', 'naan' or 'Kulche' also but these are considered 'a must'  with bhaturas.

Every family has it's own recipe for making 'chhole' but my family likes them this way-

Ingredients-  (1)200 gm.Kabuli chane (chickpeas),soaked overnight   (2) 3 medium onions, grated,   

(3)1Tbsp.ginger-garlic paste,   (4) 3-4 tomatoes,   (5) 1 small ball tamarind,  

(6) 1/3 tsp. turmeric powder,   (7) 1/2 tsp. chilli powder (you can add more or less),   (8) salt, as per 

your taste,    (9)  25-30gm.Desi ghee (clarified butter) or oil.

For 'Tadka' (garnish)-  1 medium onion cut lengthwise; 1 tomato, chopped; 2-3 green chillies, chopped

1/2 tsp.'garam masala' ( a mixtures of powdered cinnamon, cloves, black cardamoms and coriander seeds),

2 tsp. cumin seeds and, approx. 15 gm desi ghee/oil.

Method-  1.  Heat ghee/oil in the pressure cooker and add grated onions.

2.  Fry onions, stirring constantly, till the color starts changing and then add the ginger-garlic paste. Fry till this 'masala' is nicely browned, stops sticking to the sides of the cooker and, starts leaving oil.

3.  Now add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt, stir for a few seconds, add tomatoes, and cook some more.

4.  When tomatoes are also nicely cooked, add soaked 'kabuli chana', stir them with the 'masala' for a few seconds and add about 500 ml. water and pressure cook for 30 min. While the chana are cooking, soak

tamarind in hot water, mash it with your fingers after a few minutes, to mix the pulp with water and, strain.

Keep this tamarind water aside for now. 

5.  Open the cooker and check the seasoning. If you find that 'kabuli chana' have not cooked properly

you can pressure-cook them for a further few minutes. They should be nicely cooked and soft. Now add some tamarind water, taste and, see if it is to your satisfaction. The taste of this 'Chhole should be sour but the extent of sourness depends upon your own preference.You can evaporate the excess water at this stage or add some more if you like.

6.  Now you have to prepare the 'tadka'. For this, heat oil in a fry pan, add cumin seeds, fry for 4-5 seconds

and add chopped onion and green chillis. When the onions  start changing color, add tomatoes, cook some more and add 'garam masala'. You don't have to brown the onions and tomatoes here.

Mix this 'Tadka ' into 'chhole' and, bring the whole thing to a boil.

7.  Pour 'Chhole' in a serving bowl, sprinkle chopped coriander and serve with bhaturas.

Enjoy! 

  

Yummy Bhaturas

Bhatura, the delicious Indian fried bread.

                                    

Bhaturas are a very popular Indian delicacy and they are eaten, always, with 'chholas'; a special chickpea

curry, made as an accompaniment to bhatura. Though most Indians go to restaurants to eat bhaturas these

days, I like making them at home sometimes as nothing can compare to the home-made version.

Most people think that making bhaturas at home is very difficult but, actually it is not! It's rather easy!

It only needs a bit of time because the dough has to be prepared a few hours in advance as it needs leavening.

But I'm sure, anybody who likes cooking at home will not find it difficult at all. 

I made them yesterday only for dinner and I'm still enjoying it's taste in my mouth!

This is how you can also make it-

Ingredients (for about 18-20 medium-size bhaturas) -                                                                                                                                 

(1).  500gm. all purpose flour (maida);  (2).  150 gm.curds (dahi), you can also use yogurt or thick buttermilk

(3).  1 tsp. baking powder;  (4).  1/2 tsp. baking soda;  (5).  1/2 tsp.salt;  (6).  150-180ml water (the quantity of water can not be exact );    (7)   desi ghee (clarified butter)- 2 Tbsp.;and, (8).  Oil for deep frying.

Method-

1.   First of all sieve together flour, baking powder and baking soda and then sprinkle and mix-in the salt.

Sprinkle 2Tbsp.'desi ghee' (clarified butter) and mix-in with fingertips. You may use oil instead.   

                                                    

2.   Now add the curd and 150ml. water, mix nicely and knead the dough. Add the rest of the water 1tbsp. at 
  a time, as required. You need a very very soft dough so try to incorporate as much water into it as you can. It will be very sticky initially but as you keep kneading,
  it will turn smooth and stop sticking. It needs to be kneaded for at least 10 minutes, maybe more. When you

  feel that it has become quite smooth and elastic, it is done.
  








3.   When you are finished kneading, liberally oil a container in which the dough is to be kept for fermenting. Form the dough into a ball, roll it inside the container so that it is covered with oil on all sides, cover with a 

lid and leave it for 3-4 hrs.

4.   In hot weather, the dough is nicely fermented in 3 hrs.so, you can start making bhaturas.Don't keep the dough outside after the necessary time; refrigerate it. Take out and bring to room temperature before making bhaturas. Take one handful

of the dough and form a 'peda' (flat disc). Apply some oil to the 'chakla' (rolling surface) and put the 'peda' on it. As this dough is very soft, it is not easy to roll it so you may have to spread it a little with your fingers, and then roll gently with 'belan' (roller). You will see that when you try spreading it to one side, it tries to shrink back, so you will need to apply some pressure. Do not flip, apply pressure on one side only if you want nice, puffy bhaturas. If you feel the need to apply more oil on the 'chakla', you'll have to do so when the disc has not been spread much as otherwise it may tear. It should be rolled to a thickness of 2mm. Do not worry about making perfect rounds as that is next to impossible!

                                                    

5.   Now you have to fry the bhaturas, and for this you have to heat oil in a 'kadahi' (Indian skillet) to very

 hot, reduce the heat to medium, gently lift the rolled bhatura and slide it into  oil. Cook for about 20 sec.

on one side, press gently to puff it up, it should become golden in color. Now flip and cook for 20-25 sec. on the other side and lo! your bhatura is ready! Now lower the heat, make another 'peda', put the flame on high, roll the 'peda', put the flame on medium again, wait for a few seconds and slide the second bhatura into the oil.  Bhaturas should be served piping hot with hot 'chhole' and onion rings. 

And, in case you want thinner and more fermented bhaturas, let the dough ferment for 9-10 hrs.

You will have to roll this dough really thin and cook in very hot oil for just 5-6 seconds on each side.

They will not puff-up fully. They will be sort of 'blotchy', but some people like them this way. This is how they 

will look-

Enjoy!

'Rum Tiramisu', it's Different

                                                       'Tiramisu',  with Rum 

I know, making Tiramisu with anything other than 'Marsala' wine feels like Blasphemy to Italian Chefs, but

 there is no way I can get 'Marsala' in a small Indian town like Jhansi! So I improvise! I've made Tiramisu

using Cherry brandy liqueur a few times and it turned out delicious so, this time I wanted to create some  variation.

Some time back I'd tried making Lemon Tiramisu also after reading it in somebody's blog but, I did not 

like it much. Then I read some people's views who'd made it with Rum and thought of giving it a try. It came out quite well and was really appreciated by everybody! So, here I am, sharing it with you, with step-by-step

instructions. 

Another thing different that I did was that I made the sponge-fingers using baking powder in the batter.

The result was that the fingers spread more sideways so they were a bit flattish and broadish but the taste was good, so I made the adjustment by making the Tiramisu with 3 layers instead of the customary 2.

                                         Here is how it goes-
 The First step-  is to make Mascarpone cheese. If you live in a big city and can get ready-made mascarpone cheese in some departmental store, you can omit this step otherwise you'll have to make it at home only, as I do, and so you will have to start at least two days in advance as it needs some time to mature. 
( You can get the recipe and method for making Mascarpone at home from an earlier blog of mine, that of 21 May '10 )
 The Second step-  is to make Sponge-fingers. You can make them using any recipe of your choice
  but this is how I made them-
         Ingredients for sponge-fingers-   
         (1)  130 gm.flour,  (2)  1/2 tsp. baking powder,  (3)  160 gm. powdered sugar,  (4)  4 egg yolks,
         (5)  4 egg whites and,  (6)  1/4 tsp. cream of tartar.
        Method-  
          1.  Sieve flour and baking powder together 3-4 times and keep aside. Line two large baking         

               rays with baking paper.  
        2.  Beat egg yolks , vanilla essence and half the sugar till thick    
            and pale yellow. At this stage pre- heat the oven also to200c.
       








       3.  Sprinkle cream of tartar over egg-whites and beat on high till  
            soft peaks form. Start adding the remaining sugar, and beat     
            till stiff and glossy.








  
      
       4.  Gently mix approx.1/3 of egg-whites into egg-yellow mixture,
            sprinkle the flour over it and fold-in nicely and lastly, gently     fold-in the rest of egg-whites.

       5.  Fill-up a pastry bag, without nozzel, with this batter and pipe fingers on the paper-lined baking 

trays.

 

        6.  Bake for about 10 minutes. When the sides of fingers start browning a little you should know    that they are done. If you like crisp fingers, let them bake for 1-2 minutes more. Take out of

the oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Separate them from the paper while still warm.

The third step-   is to make the 'zabaglion'. Traditionally it is made with raw eggs but in India

most people won't like eating anything made with raw eggs in it so I cook egg-yolks with sugar.

Ingredients for Zabaglion(custard)-     (1) 5 egg-yolks, 2)  50gm. sugar,(3)  110 ml. rum syrup,

  made by mixing 50 ml. rum with 60 ml. caramel-sugar syrup (which, in turn, can be made by

dissolving 35gm. caramelized sugar in approx. 60 ml. water, bringing the mixture to the boil

and simmering for about 1 minute).

Method -   You will need a double boiler here and, if you do not have one take a set of two

pans where one pan fits on the top of the other, lower, pan.

1. Beat egg yolks and sugar till pale yellow in color in the upper pan.

2.  Fill the lower pan 1/3 with water, bring it to the boil and let simmer.

3.  Hold the pan containing egg yellows over it's mouth and add the rum                                                                                                                           

mixture, beating all the time till it becomes quite thick.   

4.  Remove from fire, transfer in a steel bowl and keep aside, in a water-

bath, to cool. 

The Fourth step-   is to mix all the ingredients of the 'filling'.

Ingredients-  (1) The Zabaglione made above,  (2)  200 gm.heavy, whipping cream,

(3)  1 Tbsp. powdered sugar and, (4)  350 gm. mascarpone cheese.

Method-   1.  Bring mascarpone to room temperature and beat nicely till smooth. Fold it in the cooled

zabaglion.

 

2.  Whip the heavy cream with powdered sugar till soft peak stage and fold it into the mascarpone mixture gently but thoroughly.

Cover this bowl with foil and put in the fridge till required.

The Fifth Step-  is making the 'dip' for sponge fingers.

Ingredients-   (1)  1 cup strong, black coffee,  (2)  80 ml. rum,  (3)  50 ml. simple sugar

syrup and, (4)  2 tsp. vanilla essence.

Method-  Let the coffee cool to room temperature, add rest of the things and mix nicely.

The Sixth Step-  is 'assmbling' the dessert and, for this you will need-

Ingredients-  (1)  30 sponge fingers made above,in the second step,   (2)  the 'Dip' made in   

the fifth step,  (3)  the mascarpone mixture made in the fourth step and, (4)  some cocoa powder.   

Method-   1. Sprinkle some cocoa powder to cover the base of the serving dish. Now dip each finger in  the coffee dip just for a split second so as not to soak through. You may have to

 squeeze gently if they soak-up excess liquid. Lay 10 fingers, 5 on a side, to make the first layer.

2.  Spread 1/4 of the macarpone mixture over this first layer and spread evenly. 

    














3.  In this manner, make two more layers, spreading the remaining mascarpone mixture around the sides also to cover the dessert completely and then sprinkle some cocoa powder to cover it.

4.  Cover the whole dish with foil and refrigerate overnight, so that it 'sets' nicely.


The Seventh step-  is to Serve!  Take out from the fridge, invite your friends and family to the table
 and watch it disappear within no time!








                                                            

                                                                     Enjoy!

Fruit-Custard Pie, with a difference!

                                                          Fruit- Custard Pie

If you are fond of fruits, don't have too sweet a tooth, like desserts but want to watch your weight also, then this is the ideal dessert for you! I had some left-over Danish Pastry dough with me some time back and I wanted to do something different with it and, this is what I ended-up making. Below is the step-by-step procedure that I followed-


The Ingredients I used-  Danish pastry dough for a 9inch pie; 2 ripe mangoes; thick custard, made
with 1/2 liter milk; approx. 120gm. melted chocolate (60gm. bitter-sweet+60gm.milk chocolate); 1tsp.
vanilla essence.


This is how I made it-


1.   First of all I rolled the dough to fit into an 8inch pie dish, put it in the prepared dish pressing on all sides and applied a few tiny cuts on the bottom and sides, with a sharp knife. I kept it aside,covered with plastic wrap, for 1/2 hr.for the dough to rise and then baked it blind till pale golden.The mistake I made was that I rolled it too thick so, by the time I got around to baking it, it was so fluffed-up that after baking there was hardly any space left in it to make a traditional pie. This is the time I thought of making a simple fruit and thick custard filling.

2.   Next, I made a thick custard with milk, custard powder, sugar and vanilla essence and set it aside to cool. The next step was to chop some fruit which could be used in desserts. Mango is the best and tastiest fruit available in summertime Jhansi so I chose 2 ripe mangoes and chopped and piled them in the pie-shell when it had cooled down to room temperature.



3.   When the custard had also cooled to room temperature I covered the fruit with custard, making a mound
and put the pie in the fridge for 2hrs. to let the custard 'set'. 

                                

4.   Lastly, I chopped and melted the chocolate in the double boiler and drizzled it over the custard. The pie was again put in the fridge for the chocolate to set.   

 Once the chocolate was set I just cut thick wedges with a sharp

knife and sat down with my family to enjoy this unusual, but very tasty dessert!

            I used mangoes but you can use any fruit of your choice.

                                                        

                                                                     Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse Gateau

            Chocolate Mousse Gateau

This mouth-watering dessert is not as difficult to make as it is satisfying to make. It does require a little of 

your time and patience but the way it is relished by your family and friends, and polished-off within no time

is reward sufficient for your efforts! This is how I made it some time back when Richie (my son) came home

for the weekend - I used chocolate- chiffon cake to make the main body of the gateau, i.e.,the base, sides and top lid. I used chocolate mousse to make 2/3rd of the filling and creme fraiche whipped

with powdered sugar and vanilla extract for the remaining 1/3 filling, chocolate ganache made with

milk chocolate and cream to cover the lid, tinned cherries to decorate and provide variety in taste

and a mixture of fresh cream and creme fraiche, lightly whipped with some powdered sugar and vanilla, for the luscious moist touch! This is how it is to be made-


1st. Step-   Baking the chocolate-chiffon cake 

The Ingredients I used for chocolate-chiffon cake are- 

1-  7 Egg-yellows,                       2-  8 Egg-whites      

 

3- 50gms. Cocoa powder,                             4.   325gm Powdered sugar 

 5.  165ml.water   6.  1 1/2 tsp.baking soda and,   7- a generous pinch of salt

 

8-   2 tsp.Vanilla essence and,    9- 1/2tsp. cream of tarter  

And this is how it is to be made --

(1)-   Heat the water to boiling and mix cocoa powder in it. keep aside to cool.

(2)-   Sieve flour and baking powder 3-4 times, to mix evenly.

 

Sprinkle salt over the flour and mix

with fingers of both hands ( it is difficult to sieve salt with flour and b.pdr. as salt-grains arer bigger).

(3)-    Beat egg-yellows and 200 gm.sugar at medium speed, for 2 minutes, then increase the speed to

high and beat till the mixture becomes thick,light and pale yellow in colour.

Now add oil and cooled cocoa and 

mix at medium speed till fully incorporated.

                                                                     

Sprinkle vanilla essence on it and stir nicely to mix.

(4)-  Sprinkle cream of tarter over egg-whites and,  

beat at medium speed for half a minute, then increase the speed to high. When egg-whites become frothy, start adding the remaining 125 gm. sugar, a little at a time, and beat till stiff peaks form.

(5)-  Now mix flour in the egg-yellow mixture gently ( I had to pour egg-yellow mixture in a bigger container as my earlier container was smaller than required) till you get a smooth batter. Do not beat.
It is also advisable to put the oven 'on' at this stage.

    

(6)-  Take about 1/4 of the stiff egg-white and gently mix in the flour mixture to lighten it,

then tip this mixture on the remaining egg-whites and fold gently using cut-and fold method, till mixed.Care should be taken to retain as much sponginess of egg-whites as possible.
                                                                                                     

(7)-    When the batter is mixed, take a clean and dry cake pan of any shape of your choice and fill it up till just a wee bit more than half full. It is a chiffon cake so the pan is not to be buttered and lined. I used the pan, shown in the picture below, of 2 liter capacity.

(I used the rest of the batter to make two smaller cakes, in 750ml and 600ml pans, which went into making a few chocolate pastries).

(8)-    Put the pan in the pre-heated oven now, and bake for about 60 minutes. It may take anywhere
between 50 to 70 minutes depending upon the temperature of your oven.Test with a skewer and if done,

 take out of the oven. Invert the pan immediately and hang it upside-down to cool completely (2-3hrs.). This is how I did it-

    Chiffon cakes should be cooled upside-down only
otherwise they sag. Don't worry, the cake will not fall out of the pan.

2nd Step-   Preparing the cake for filling

 (1)-  When the cake is completely cool, loosen it from the sides with a sharp knife, gently try lifting
the cake at a few places with the back of a spoon taking care not to tear it. Unmold it on a platter and then

immediately revert it back into the pan. Now remove the top skin of the cake with a sharp knife as otherwise it keeps sticking to everything. Cover the cake with foil, wrap the whole thing in a plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 2-3 hrs. This is done to make it easier to cut the cake into layers later.




(2)-  Take the cake out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut a layer of approx. 1/3 thickness. Place
this layer on the platter on which you want to serve the dessert. Out of the remaining cake, start cutting about
slightly less than 1cm. inside the rim of the cake, all around, with a sharp knife, very carefully.
.










Lift the inner portion out with care. This will make the lid of the Gateau and you will be left with the 'ring', the walls of the gateau into which you'll be filling the mousse.

(3)-  Now take the cake layer that you'd kept aside, apply some melted chocolate around it's edges

and then, very carefully put the outer ring of the cake over the edges, pressing gently with fingertips so that

it sticks to the chocolate. Now you get a proper cake-shell ready for filling. If, while putting the shell together, a piece gets torn, don't worry, fix it in place with melted chocolate and nothing will show in the final result!                                  

Wrap this prepared shell in plastic wrap and refrigerate it till the mousse is prepared

3rd.Step-  Preparing and filling the Mousse

 There are many recipes for the chocolate mousse and any recipe of your choice will do. I'm explaining here how I make it-

Ingredients for the mousse- 1)- Eggs-2, separated; 2)- Semisweet chocolate, chopped-150gms.; 3)- Unsalted butter-45gms.; 4)-  Heavy cream- 120gms.,whipped and, 5)-  2-3 tbsp.powdered sugar. 

Method for making the mousse-  (1)-  Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan held over barely simmering

water  and stir to combine the two nicely. Next, add egg-yolks and mix.

        

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Remove the pan from fire when egg-yolks are nicely mixed and keep aside to cool to room temperature.The pan can be kept in a water bath to cool quickly.

(2)-When the chocolate mixture cools down sufficiently, start beating the egg-whites. Start adding sugar when they reach the soft peak stage and beat till the stiff-peak stage. 

(3)-When the chocolate mixture cools to room temperature, take the whipped cream and fold-in the chocolate mixture. Now pour this mixture over egg-whites and mix very gently, using 'cut and fold' method, just till combined.Your mousse is now ready. Do not chill it before filling.

(4)-  Take out the cake shell, unwrap it and fill 2/3rd of it with the mousse. Return to the fridge

till the mousse sets. A small accident occurred with me at this stage as a handful of cake crumbs

fell on top of the mousse! I just camouflaged them as best I could and nobody could even  make-out!   

4th Step- Filling with cream and covering

Once the mousse is set, you have to fill the rest of the 1/3rd space with 'creme fraiche'.

Ingredients for the 'creme fraiche' layer- All you need is, 1cup creme fraiche; 2tbsp. powdered sugar and 1tsp. vanilla extract. 

 Method-   (1)-Mix sugar and vanilla extract with creme fraiche and  beat till it becomes thick and spreadable.

You can use fresh, whipping cream or mascarpone cheese also for this layer, if you prefer.

 (2)-After filling the cake shell with cream, put the cake lid that you'd kept aside earlier.If you find the lid  too thick, just reduce it's thickness by removing approx. 1/3 layer from it, as I did.

5th.Step-  Now you have to glaze the lid and for that you have to prepare a simple Ganache.
Ingredients for Ganache-   You will require 80gm.milk chocolate (chopped),
40gm. semi-sweet chocolate (chopped), 60gm.heavy cream, 1/2tsp.vanilla, 1tsp. powdered sugar and 1tsp. unsalted butter,softened.
Method-  (1)- To prepare the Ganache, place chocolate pieces in a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a
 saucepan,pour it over the chocolate,cover with a lid and leave for a minute.
(2)- After a minute put butter and vanilla extract into it and mix the whole thing nicely to get a nice, shining glaze.
(3)-Pour this glaze over the lid while still warm (but not hot) and spread around with a spatula. You don't have to cover the whole cake, just the lid.







(4)-  Put this whole thing in the fridge till the glaze is set.


6th Step-  This is the step for decorating and serving.
Ingredients for decorating-  a few pitted, tinned cherries, 150gm.fresh whipping cream, 150gm.creme
fraiche, 2tbsp.(or more,or less, as per your taste) powdered sugar, 1tsp. vanilla extract.
Method-   (1)- Arrange the cherries on the set glaze in a pattern of your choice.
(2)- Mix rest of the ingredients together and beat till slightly thick but still pouring.
(3)- Pour it over the gateau and let it run down the sides. Your gateau is ready!

Now, if you can not resist, just cut a generous piece and enjoy yourself! Or,you can put it in the fridge for
another 1-2 hrs. so that the gateau is 'set'.

Enjoy!