Hope everyone is having a very wonderful new year. I wanted to post something so that my bloggy baby looks beautiful in the new year 2023 +. But looking at the calamities around the world,I was not in the mood to post something on time.
And then came my wedding anniversary, so, I finally got a solid reason to bake a cake. I wanted to make a moist, simple yet special cake, full of roses BUT guess what I forgot the recipe to make a fluffy cake. It's been a while. I have different cake recipes with different measurements in my recipe folders.
And then I am not someone who follows a recipe as it is always, I am prone to twist the recipe, experiment and curiously wait for the outcome. Sometimes it is a blunder or a wonder. That's why I call my kitchen my cooking lab - a lot of inventions ,destructions and preventions goes out in my kitchen. How I wished I had a window in my kitchen. Very soon the smoke alarm in my kitchen will blow up.#MyHomeAloneAdventures
Long story short, that's why I end up this time, baking 4 cake recipes with 3 different variations, one with no butter, another with no eggs, another sugar-free, and the last with the proper go-to delish fluffy cake recipe.
When my mother bakes a cake, it takes just one go and she has a basic oven, she doesn't use any hi-fi hand beater, she uses her bare clean handsπ . She says that's the secret of her soft and spongy cake. It is so time taking. Lazy me, can't even imagine using my hands for that matter π. So, thankfully, I have an electric beater for that. But when it comes to a go-to cake recipe, there is a recipe, that is easy to remember and the cake comes out deliciously moist and spongy as well with a nice dense crumb..A Classic American cake recipe, a 1234 + cake handed down from generation to generation exclusively for novice bakers with hazardous cooking tendencies like ME! πππ
The original name of the recipe is 1234 representing the main/star ingredients but we do need more ingredients to bake this cake.So, I have renamed them 1234 + cake! You see my memory is so good that I may end up using just the 1234 star ingredients next time that would make me dump the cake eventually in just 1-2-3-4 minutes. So, never underestimate the power of the other common ingredients. So, for me, it is a 1234 + cake!
Basic 1234+ cake
Ingredients
1 cup milk, lukewarm/room temperature
2 cups of powdered sugar
3 cups of "sifted" All-purpose flour
4 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 Tsps of Double Acting baking powder
1 cup of melted butter, room temperature
1 Tsp of Vanilla extract or any flavor of your choice
Pinch of salt
VIDEO/DEMO:
Preparations:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the "SIFTED" all-purpose flour, pinch of salt, and baking powder and keep it aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream butter until fluffy. At least for 3 minutes on low speed.
Add sugar and continue to cream well for a total of 6 to 8 minutes.
Scrape the side of the bowl always throughout making the batter as and when needed to avoid any lumps or unmixed ingredients.
Add eggs,1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla and continue to beat until just mixed.
Add flour little by little to avoid any lumps, alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
Then add milk and beat until mixed. Milk shouldn't be cold or hot. Lukewarm will be the best.
Now my cake batter is ready!
Cream a baking pan with little butter or I reuse the butter paper.
Pour the cake batter into the greased cake pan.
Tap the batter in the cake pan to release the air bubbles.
Put the cake into the oven and bake it for 30-75 minutes or until a toothpick/knife/stick inserted comes out clean. Do not be tempted to open the oven in between. After 30 minutes you may and close it fast and carefully. Try poking the top, and the sides to make sure the cake is well-cooked from the inside.
When the knife inserted comes out clean, that means the cake is cooked and ready.Put off the oven.
Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
That's it my basic 1234 cake is ready to be served!
NOTES :
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Make sure that all ingredients are at room temperature.
It will depend from oven to oven to bake the cake until it is done. It took me 75 minutes approx.
The original recipe calls for 3-4 Tsps of baking powder. However, I am using a double-acting baking powder and only 1 1/4 Tsp worked for me. You can substitute it with ordinary baking powder as well. So,if you are using a baking powder and soda combo, you may need to adjust the amount,I have not tried that way yet. Regardless, make sure they are not expired. Make sure to use ordinary all-purpose flour than the self-rising cake flour, in which case baking powder should be probably avoided.I haven't tried that way.It should be sifted.
Over-mixing the cake makes it a dry cake.
You can skip the salt if you are using salted butter.
If you wish you can decorate the cake and play around with frostings and other fillings etc.Just cool completely before frosting.
I then layered all my cakes and decorated them with white vanilla frosting ,green piping designs and finally covered the entire layers with my handmade not-so-perfect fondant flowers a.k.a rose flowers (You see I had to convince my doter that they are rose !) ...π
So, to all enthusiastic cake bakers especially if you are a novice, this homemade cake made from scratch, 1234 + cake will be your best bet I believe, at least it is for me. It is a sure keeper !! I wanted to post it and keep it for records in my blog! DONE finally !!
My hubby loved it , but my doter, she is turning very picky and moody when it comes to food lately.When she was a baby to toddler phase,she ate everything happily,I made,as we never gave her any outside food for that matter . Now,it has changed !! She is becoming stubborn and choosy !! #ThisChildIsTheParentOfUs ππ
My reminder quote !πππ
She is a typical Malayali girl fond of rice and seafood/non-veg especially. Stuck there! So,I am sad that she didn't want to taste the cake for now.I am patient with her . My main focus is that she eats something for sure than eating nothing at all. At home, I am able to manage her to eat well. If I force her too much, she throws up.So, I am being tolerant with her. My mother says, we all kids were like that,we were picky and moody.It is just a phase, that shall soon pass !!
Anyways, Baking and cooking make me very happy ( ESPECIALLY in my kitchen) .MAGIC is, after all, something you make!The show must go on by divine's grace for my own edible gratifications and mastery !π
With food and good vibes,
Love and light !ππ
#IAmTheChosenOne #SomeoneDeletedIt
Doter of Madhura Meenakshi Ammaand Mridaya Mahadeva,πππΊπΌ
(On a funny note,a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds sir,the owner, and the user of Mint Mobile...On a serious note, Ryan sir,Reynolds pen used to be my favorite pen forever during my school/college days,made my handwriting beautiful !!ππ..Thank You!!..You are so funny ..in those ads especially !!ππ)
P.S....I like to dedicate this cake to all readers and especially my super divinely-gifted Tarot card readers. Some readings are great guidance for me. I know for sure you all are not simply playing cards.So, I feel like one of these chosen ones' purposes in life was to guide me and others like me in this spiritual journey. Thanks once again for being my spiritual guru !! May almighty bless you and your family in every way !!ππππ
I remember in one tarot reading by an "American" tarot reader, that was collective, she said, "You will embody your grandma's name ".I was quite taken aback as my maternal grandmother's name is the name of Mother Kali and my paternal grandmother's name is baby maa maa π...By the way,do check out these tarot readers,they are hot,happening,single,ready to mingle, and most importantly near to spirits and God.#ISpirituallyEndorseToDatersππππ
Also, thanks to all spiritual gurus out there who give us the right guidance to choose the path of righteousness and to seek the divine thereby alongside our overall protection against evil !!
My divine parents---My mother is bearing the stain in the front and my divine father got my back ...Coincidentally,the 2nd pic is a screenshot of a picture of Lord Shiva I had at my home in my calendar that resonated from Unni sir's picture from one of his movie,Bruce Lee as I captured in the superman cake video I dedicated to Unni Mukundan Sir on his birthday as a token of gratitude for being a part of this rollercoaster twin flame journey ...I will cherish this picture forever !!:))).....#OmNamahaShivaya #JaiMaaJagadAmba
This twin flame journey is all about - Since Lord Krishna himself can't come in real form , also known to disguise himself in many forms to test/help his devotees,the divine sent a "not-so-spiritually-grounded" π human being (with divine's name as a clue) to assist/elevate me in this journey/life in some way or other !!
Someone told me ," You met your dream man after your marriage and some said,your twin flame will never harm you/act like a demon !"...Like I told them and to be clear,my dream man is NOT him !...He did play a role in all chaos in my life as well ,as he was dancing to those tunes that were useful to them or are under control of and also out of sheer ego and arrogance..Some are very low vibrational and so are their lifestyle and moral values !... Since he is not fully spiritually awakened yet ,that's the reason for all his negative contributions in my life ...which my divine is miraculously trying to convert into blessings eventually...π#AllPraiseToMyDivine #IWishThemAllBest
Bruce Lee is an inspirational Icon but Unni Mukundan sir and gang showed me that they believe in the bruise lee (meaning bruise taken) to the bruise dee (meaning bruise given ) principle..That's a red flag, to be honest !!And I was healing everyone's bruises you see..ππ
Having said that,I do appreciate and will be grateful to dear Rama-Krishna for the protective efforts !ππ#HappyRamaNavami2023
Like I said before, my dream man is someone ordinary with extraordinary capabilities, coincidentally like the "SUPERMAN" who only exists in movies/DC comics..ππ#RichInMindHeartAndDeeds..everything else is a bonus !
Like I always said,I have the same astrological star as Lord Krishna and our Kuladevi/Ancestral deity - "Ashtami Rohini"..I am grateful beyond words that Lord Krishna and My divine amma did justice to that in a way !:)))))πππ
Neither last nor least, I am quite grateful to the almighty as always. And I feel one of my purpose in my life are to spread my faith in the divine, how much the divine loves his devotees/no matter how the circumstances are, never ever give up on the divine/everything happens as per his will and for good,good vs evil, sharing my spiritual experiences whether someone believes or not !! I can feel my divine parents' presence in my life for sure...To the people who ask if there is divine in stone, rock etc,..
Like we say in Malayalam, "Mannilum Vinnilum Thoonilum Thurumbilum Daivam Irikkunnu ,Avan Karuna Mayanayi Kaval Vilakkayi Karalil Irikkunnu .....Alum Arivum Ullavar Vazhvaam Adaril Jayikkunnu ,Avan Arivillathavar Thann Hrudayathil Arivaay Vilangunnu Arivaay Vilangunnu ...."
Meaning one who has true faith in the divine, can feel divine everywhere regardless, and the divine will always be there for them.(The bottom line! )
The apt quote I came across today...It's not about my faith, it is about my Divine's love and support for an ordinary woman like me against my ill-wishers/evil-doers !! #BELIEVEinDIVINEπππ
It's not the huge donation one does in holy places, doing big pujas/worships, knowledge of all holy books, etc matters the most (though it is necessary,each to their own way of showing/sharing/spreading their devotion towards almighty), what truly matters is the purity of heart and intentions, THERE one can feel the presence of the divine for sure. That's my personal belief !!
Believe it or not,I and my loved ones were under dark non-spiritual warfare from these 2 groups of people ...
Screenshots of a few tarot readings that resonated with my intuitions and experiences -
#MaliciousGroupFromMollywood (A group/cult of men and women who were using dark forces/black magic/evil spells to create havoc in my life )#Sho #NoOffenseRequestingPlsDon'tBeMalicious
These people not only hacked my phone etc,they are also deleting my cooking videos, and manipulating my youtube algorithms and payment.I work very hard ,I wish to grow my channel as I've just started seriously.I have better things to do.Kindly have some integrity and dignity that benefits others genuinely and not just pretending/showing off outside to be the right and powerful. DIVINE WILL SEE TO IT ANYWAYS !!
People seeking black magic to destroy others will face terminal illness,death,generational curse to name a few..SO,BEWARE !!Don't waste your hard-earned money for the wrong reason and indirectly your precious life and well-being of your loved ones !
#SilentKillers..The same astrological reading I got loong time back is resurfacing from many tarot readers about my mother-in-laaw and sis-in-laaw doing black magic and it almost resonates with all the hardships I went through after my marriage ...Due to all hardships especially related to conceiving,my faith in the almighty dwindled,I started doubting and there were days I stopped praying though I never stopped believing in the divine..It was during those vulnerable time,I became susceptible to those dark vicious attacks...LESSON: NEVER GIVE UP ON THE DIVINE REGARDLESS!
I loved them all so much..even though I had a hunch about their evil plots and schemes against me and others ,after my father-in-law's death,I wholeheartedly requested my mother-in-law to come and stay with us here in US.#EnoughIsEnough
SO,whenever something malicious is going against me , my divine mother I worship at home, whom I consider to be our Chottanikkara Amma (<- CLICK to read more about this supreme Goddess residing in one of the famous temples of Kerala in Kochi) really turns BLACK as shown in the picture above in several days..
#ProtectionForAllMyLovedOnes ..I am in my own lane and here for my own missions
Nothing else but mother's form gets stained and I KNOW (I will be experiencing something off or my intuition also hints to me in advance ) it is an indication to me and an assurance from my divine mother that she is bearing the stain on my behalf and will not spare the culprits for sure.She is watching over and justice will be served in private or public.So, pls leave me alone, kindly don't hurt me and my loved ones !! That's why I have dedicated even my website to my favorite diety's pictures as a humble tribute straight from my heart.π
The 1st quote I saw and took a screenshot from an American movie of a Saint I saw recently!:)
I also asked for my divine mother's forgiveness and permission to put her bare picture like that as I want to purify some people's nasty minds and hearts. After all, everyone drank milk from their mother's breast just like this when they were a baby!
Thank You Amma !! ππππ.One day I saw two cloves I offered to Maa Jagad Amba/Universal Divine Mother, in the evening which was floating in oil that too in winter, they were as seen in the picture above standing pointing directly towards Maa Bhagwathi !! I interpreted it as C-LOVES !!:))π....πππΊπΌπΉπΈπ·
I love you too my divine parents/Team !! Thank you !!πππ
Hara hara Mahadeva...Om jai Maa Parashakthi !!!ππ
Chaitra Navaratri greetings !ππ
P.P.S. : Until and unless it is purely obvious all RECIPE NAMES appearing in my YouTube Videos are just recipes and any resemblances to your perception are purely coincidental. There is no double meaning hidden!