Swan's Down (Chocolate Cake)

Extremely laborious in today's instant cake mix age, but well worth the effort if you have an appreciative audience who loves cake. This has traditionally been the birthday cake made for my sister and my birthdays, and for Aditya whenever my mom has been in town.



Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup sifted flour (maida) (about 250 gms packet)
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 9 tbsp cocoa (cadbury's preferred, Hershey's makes the cake too dark)

Combine the ingredients above and sift together 3 times

• 1 1/2 cup sugar (first measure the sugar grains and then powder the sugar)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp butter (Amul salted butter - 100 gms)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbsp curds
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (Bush)

Instructions:

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for a minute after each
3. Add the sifted flour/cocoa mixture, alternately with milk and curds a little at a time, folding well. Use your hands at this stage - to fold in.
4. Last add vanilla and blend in
5. Line the cake tin with many thicknesses of paper, as it is a long baking cake
6. Bake in medium oven (350 degree for 30 mins - Gas mark 4)

For Icing:

• 8 tbsp of butter beaten until creamy
• Sift 2 1/2 cups icing sugar and blend 3 tbsp cocoa with 3 tbsp hot water until smooth
• Add the icing sugar to butter alternately with cocoa mixture until it reaches spreading consistency