Things have been so quiet around here on the blog that Christmas almost passed us by. Rather than going into why I've been missing in action, I'm just going quietly slink in and join the Christmas party because that's all that matters!
We may not celebrate Christmas at home but there's no reason why one can't put up the twinkly lights, pull out the pretty plates, bake a cake and raise a toast to the year gone by!
And that's what we did. The cake is my trusted eggless chocolate cake with a fudge frosting that I bake every time I need a cake on short order and am assured will not disappoint.
How could I not jazz it up keeping the colours of Christmas in mind?! Luckily, strawberries and pomegranates are in season right now and a few mint leaves from the garden did the job beautifully. And lest I forget, thank you Pinterest for the inspiration.
This is the first time I have used fruit in such a way to decorate the cake and I must admit I absolutely love the final result. It hardly took any time and effort and made the cake look so festive. It's an idea which I shall be turning to time and again.
And on the taste front, the fruit cuts through all the chocolate and freshens up the cake and the palate, both in danger of being overwhelmed in this season, where indulgence is the norm.
Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I wish that you spend the last week of this year surrounded by family, friends, laughter, good food and all that makes this season special!
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Chocolate Cake With Strawberries, Pomegranate And Mint Wreath
Serves 8-10
** For the chocolate cake and chocolate frosting, I used my trusted eggless chocolate cake recipe. You can find the recipe for both at this link.
For the fruit wreath:
- 150 gms strawberries, hulled and halved.
- 1 pomegranate, extract all the arils from the fruit
- few mint leaves
- Combine the strawberries with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Once the cake is covered with the fudge frosting, simply arrange the macerated strawberries and pomegranate arils on top of the cake, around the edges. Scatter the mint leaves at regular intervals.
- Finally, spoon the juices of the macerated strawberries on top of the fruit to keep it moist and fresh.
Stunningly beautiful!! And I'm sure tantalizingly delicious as well.
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing you a happy, healthy New Year!!
Thank you so much Sweta! It was such a simple idea that I saw on Pinterest but it really jazzed up the cake for the occasion! Happy New Year to you and yours too..xx!!
DeleteOh my God, this looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteIts been a long time that I visited your blog. How have you been? Have a wonderful 2016 ahead!
Long time Balvinder...just received your post in my inbox after ages!! Happy new year to you and the family!! Catch up with you on your blog..
DeleteFinally tried this!! And very proud of my achievement ;-) This is a really gorgeous looking and tasting cake!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Sukhda
Sukhdaaa..soo happy that you tried this recipe and enjoyed it!! Its a favourite at home too!
DeleteTotal Winner! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe. I couldn't wait to try this when I first saw it. My son's childcare centre only allows egg-free food to be brought in since one of the children is intolerant to egg. I have used Egg Replacer before and whilst it was fine, I was so excited by this egg-free recipe! I was determined to make it for his 2nd birthday party at 'school' and as it was so rich, I added some raspberries. It was a hit! Since then I have made it about five times (in the last two months!) perfecting it for his Dinosaur Birthday party. This cake is so versatile! I've made it with strawberries, raspberry and fudge filling, in cupcakes and as a Bundt Cake. I have put crumbled biscuit on the fudge icing and stuck dinosaurs and even a spiderman on it for kid's birthdays. Thank you so much xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Geraldine..comments like this one remind me all the time why I enjoy writing this blog. The reason I was on the lookout for an egg-free cake recipe was because my nephew (padmini's son) is allergic to eggs. Its a different matter that he likes the cake only when his mother makes it, even though we both bake from this same recipe!! :)) Anyhow, am so happy that your lil munchkin and his fellow classmates enjoyed it...thats just the ultimate validation I can want.
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