Okay , so this cake has been lying in the Refrigerator since last night and it has taken all my willpower not to try it. The aroma that spread the kitchen when this came out of the oven was out of this world. So you can imagine what I went through. But sunlight is important for good photos so it was worth the wait.

This is a recipe I learnt at the workshop I attended recently and I love it! I've just made a few changes like I made the recipe eggless and replaced the blueberries with strawberries since I couldn't find fresh ones anywhere in the vicinity. So feel free to use any type of berry you want,  I can assure you that anyway the cake will turn out to be amazing.

Let's come to the best part , the icing on the cake! This cream cheese frosting is out of this world! It's the best I've ever had. The cream cheese gives a wonderful tanginess and the butter just makes it super creamy. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour
2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup strawberries (chopped)
3/4 cup oil
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups hung curd
3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
For the frosting
8 ounces cream cheese ( at room temperature)
3 cups Icing sugar
100 gms butter ( softened)

METHOD
Pre heat your oven to 180c , line a 9 inch cake tin with parchment paper.
Combine the milk and the vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes.
In a bowl , whisk together the oil and the sugar.
Add the hung curd to this and beat till combined.
Then beat in the lemon juice.
In a separate bowl pass the flour, baking powder , baking soda through a sieve thrice to incorporate air. Mix in the lemon zest. Add half of this to the wet ingredients and gently fold it in.
Then add the milk and stir.
Add your strawberries and the rest of the flour and mix.
Pour into the mould and bake for 40 minutes or till a skewer , when inserted into the cake,  comes out clean.
For the frosting, whip the cream cheese till fluffy. Then add the butter and beat well.
Add the icing sugar one cup at a time and best well after each addition.

08:00:00

The Recipe Booklet

I'm sure all of you who love food have scrolled through Instagram pictures of bloggers day and night looking for delectable recipes to make at home. I have gone through the same thing for so long and have found so many amazing blogs on the way.

 Bakewithshivesh by Shivesh and lifekirecipe by Amrita have always been in my favourites. I love the unique combinations Amrita uses and the variety of baked goods I can learn to make on shivesh's blog. Not only are these recipes easy to make but they also show that great taste can be achieved form the simplest of flavours. So when I saw that there was going to be a workshop I wasn't going to miss it at any cost and I'm glad I didn't! This was food heaven and I'm definitely looking forward to attending the next one too.

So the workshop started with everyone's introduction and shivesh and Amrita announcing the winners of the gifts sponsored by urban dazzle. After all that was done shivesh baked mini orange chia bundt cakes and oh! The aroma that filled the air was amazing! The taste matched the level equally and left everyone craving for more. The crunchiness of the chia seeds and the freshness of the orange made a sinful combination. The best thing was that the recipe was eggless and being an Indian this is a very good aspect as most of the people are pure vegetarians and do not consume egg. I hardly come across good baking recipes that do not use eggs but this one is going to get a special place in my collection.

Ready to Be Baked

The next thing that we learnt was a vibrant summer Mango , quinoa and arugula salad with a mango vinaigrette. This is a perfect salad recipe as it's super fresh and it's sweet and just spicy enough to make your taste buds light up. I never knew that mango would taste that good when combined with something savoury. This was one of the recipes that Amrita displayed. 

   

Shivesh then taught us a Lemon Blueberry  Cake with the best Cream Cheese Frosting ever. It was super smooth and creamy and had the perfect amount of sweetness ! The cake was light and airy and the fresh blueberries really did the trick. This was without a doubt my favourite recipe of the day and you're gonna be seeing a post about it soon !

The Best Cream Cheese Frosting Ever 

The next thing Amrita taught us was a watermelon , chicken and glass noodle salad. It's a very nice alternative to the usual watermelon and feta salad that we get everyone. It's sure to impress !

Amrita also taught us how to make Cold Vietnamese Spring Rolls and the most amazing dipping sauce! The rolls were fresh and crunchy and the dipping sauce was sweet and sticky and full of flavour. The best part is that all these recipes are super healthy and perfect for the summers.

Just Look At The Colours!

Ready To Be Rolled

So I don't have pictures for this because this got over the moment it came out of the freezer but believe me this ice cream is marvellous and it's needs no churning! So no need to buy an ice cream maker for delicious ice cream right at home.

Marshmallows For The Ice Cream 

 after this the chef from molecule displayed some  dishes which left the entire group in awe. Yes, there was liquid nitrogen everywhere and he evne explained the science behind what he was doing! 

This was the first dish: Potato tikkis with a stuffing of feta and apricots served with yoghurt shells, chickpeas and green chutney caviar 

The Yoghurt Shells 

The tikkis being shallow fried 

The next dish was an imitation of rasmalai. This dish had wasabi (yes, in a dessert!) as the chef used it as a palate cleanser. this also had a rose sponge which was made in just 40 seconds and some paan flavoured cotton candy.

Rasmalai being "Fried" in liquid nitrogen. 

The Final Dish

All in all this was one stunning workshop and I've learnt a lot. The recipes were great and it was a wonderful experience. My favourite one was the Lemon Blueberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.         

  

07:22:00

Thai is definitely one of my favourite cuisines. I love how simple flavours combine to form the most complex dishes. It's sweet , salty , bitter and spicy all at once ! Not only are dishes perfect to enjoy as a part of any meal they are also super easy to make. All you need are some good quality ingredients.

So this is my mothers recipe and I love it since it's super easy to make and has limited ingredients. Also I'm not a big fan of raw vegetables and find it difficult  to like salads ,this one is an exception as I just exclude the vegetables and enjoy the flavour of the raw papaya. So I hope this salad appeals to all the picky eaters out there because it definitely works for those  I know. Enjoy !

INGREDIENTS                                    SERVES 2

1 large green papaya

2 tbsp palm sugar

2tsp soy sauce 

1tsp fish sauce

salt to taste 

2 thai red chillies (thinly sliced)

juice of 2 limes

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup peanuts

Sundried tomatoes (optional)

METHOD

• Place the lime juice, palm sugar,chillies ,salt , soy sauce and fishsauce in a mortar and combine everything with the pestle.
• Toss the papaya, tomatoes and peanuts with this paste.
• Serve immediately  

05:00:00