BON APPETIT: My Blog Baby's First Birthday

It's party time folks - My blog baby has turned and am a proud parent of a happy, growing blog !

As I write this post am doing a happy and my heartfelt thanks to all of you who made it possible- your sweet comments and heaps of appreciation has spurred me to do better and special thanks to my family, friends & well-wishers who have showered me with utmost love and encouraged to keep up the good work. This blog happened at a time when I was on an emotional roller-coaster ride and life was not all bright and sunny. Even though I discovered the joys of penning my thoughts in a blog that was strictly for my eyes only, blogging about my kitchen adventures came in to reality when my sister pestered me repeatedly; thanks to her the start of a very lovely journey began !

I don't want to bore you with data showing my growth as a blogger but it warms my heart immensely that I have evolved as a cook - it is no secret that I did not enjoy cooking and anything to do with kitchen was secondary, though marriage changed that a lot. But it is after I became a food blogger, I appreciated the finer nuances of putting a dish on the plate. And after almost 8 years of cooking, food blogging gave me the courage to venture in to baking and it is one happy ride.

<:-P

As I was going through my very earlier posts I noted how they are not great in terms of pictures & content, but the slow and steady understanding of food styling and placement has resulted in much better clicks and even my write-up has improved several notches!
And finally happy hoots to my hubby who has been my inspiration to cook and supported me immensely in my experiments (mostly by being the guinea pig !!) and for being by my side as always >:D<
For the celebrations I made this very soft & delicious sponge like pastry that carries such an exotic name but is very simple to make and it tastes very elegant and yum. Recipe courtesy from here , thanks Rosa.I halved the measurements for the cake and made a few slight modifications but otherwise followed her recipe.

What's in it :-

All-purpose flour - 250 gm

Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Fine salt - 1/4 tsp

Unsalted butter - 60 gms

Castor sugar - 125 gms

Peanut oil (or any other neutral oil) - 1 tbsp (I used sunflower oil)

Vanilla extract - 1 1/4 tsp

Eggs (large) - 2 at room temperature

Full fat milk (or enough to obtain a smooth and spreadable cake batter) - 9 to 10 tbsp
Decorations :- Nutella & Sprinkles

Here's How :-

Preheat oven to 180° C /350° F and grease a cake tin. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder,salt and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy. I used a handmixer to do the same. Add the sunflower oil and vanilla and continue beating till fully mixed. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, beating/mixing all the while until well incorporated. Now blend in the dry ingredients and the milk, alternating between the two, while mixing well, until the batter is homogenous.Pour into the pan and spread evenly.
Bake for about 25-30minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack, covered with a towel (it keeps it damp).

Serving Suggestions (by Rosa)

This cake is best eaten on the same day you bake it and is delicious when served alone.It is also perfect when frosted or sliced in the middle and filled with buttercream, cream and strawberry jam, Nutella, pastry cream, etc., or just simply topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.