The Saga of Baking a Chocolate Cake

Everyone has some weakness and we like to tap on one’s fragile point and use it to our advantage. For a coffee addict, there is nothing more important than a piping hot cup of coffee with the perfect balance of decoction, sugar, milk and love. Who does not love a heavenly piece of chocolate cake with a sinfully good choco mocha dripping sauce?

Kitchen has, over the ages, been accommodative and accepting than the society will ever be and has housed the menfolk of the household. Cooking, that is often looked at as something reserved for women and lists itself under ‘work’ and ‘burden’, has, lately, been referred to as therapeutic. You may have heard your friend saying that cooking is his passion or your sister sighing and entering the kitchen to assist your mother during the weekends. But, we all have that one friend whom you would have heard saying “Cooking is therapeutic. It calms me down and makes me happy.” As soon as you hear this, you have a dialogue in your head “What is he, crazy? How can someone even bear working in the kitchen, in front of the flame on a summer day? How does one manage all the cutting and multitask in the cooking space? This guy must be joking!”

As a person who loves to experiment, when people around me love to gorge on my experiments; it’s pure bliss to see a satisfied smile on their faces. Cooking gives me a stupid happiness which is hard to put into words and, therefore, I find it therapeutic. Well, it cannot be denied that my guilty pleasures include whipping coffee and sugar powder for the thick fluffy cream floating on top of my bitter coffee or watching the sugar granules dancing their way into a vessel of boiling, hot milk and the like. But, nothing comes close to baking a good old chocolate cake which is a companion during both, good and bad days.

   “Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people.”    

                                                                                                -Audrey Hepburn

A gooey, dark chocolate cake, cooked to perfection is a wonderful spectacle. The process of baking one is absolutely pleasurable. The first step is to gather all the ingredients required- measuring cups and spoons of various sizes, flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, vanilla essence and the like. A mixing bowl, where the magic begins, welcomes the flour and cocoa powder as they sift their way through the sieve, to be a part of something greater. The rich brown against the white is a beautiful amalgamation of the paradox. The powdered sugar filters down, creating a layer of snow which encircles the bowl. The gust that blows through the window, on a warm afternoon, makes the powdered sugar twirl and shiver before it joins the other ingredients. The mixing bowl becomes a fiesta, a potpourri of sweet and irresistible fragrance. 

Adding the wet ingredients (curd, and milk) to the dry ingredients and whisking it to the perfect consistency is an art in itself. One experiences unadulterated joy as the whisk is lifted to check the pouring consistency of the batter; we relive our childhood memories- we taste the batter in the pretext of checking if the flavors are balanced. Once the oven is set, the batter is poured into the mould, it is impossible for one to take their eyes off the bubbling batter as it sets on its journey to transform into a delectable chocolate cake. The chocolaty smell wafts across the house, inviting visitors occasionally who patiently wait to devour this dark beauty. 

The cake, once out of the oven, is cooled and the baker impatiently pokes the cake to check if it is cooked. As the mould is lifted, the cake stands in all its magnificence until a luscious layer of choco, mocha sauce is poured over it, covering the tiny pores and making the occasional visitors restless and fidgety. The first slice of cake is cut and the chewy and creamy goodness is demolished within minutes of its glory.

Image courtesy:
Topperoo
Quote Master
City magazine