.... be a part of "Maitri"

Barley Flour Cake with Chocolate Frosting - MAITRI friendship chain

>> Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Hello everyone,

Till now I had posts that used to speak about "Maitri", the mystery ingredient and passing it to 2 other bloggers.. But here I've something that initiates "Maitri" and declares that this friendship chain is functional from now onwards.. Many bloggers have shown their interest and we've listed them in our records.. I'm happy for this huge participation and looking forward to many more. I believe that most of us are aware of Arusuvai friendship chain and now they are running the second season of this chain.. I hope we will also make Maitri grow tremendously.


I agree the situation in USA is bit different from India. We've certain concerns and limited resources that restrain us from getting involved. When Priya & I discussed about this idea even we were concerned about the similar situations. And finally we decided to make it happen. I would encourage everybody in USA to be part of this chain..

To all those who haven't read about "Maitri" yet, please click here.

So, now with great pleasure let me explain how we initiated Maitri. It begin with Priya & I sending parcel to each other. Last Friday, I received my box of mystery. Well I was excited from the day when I was informed by Priya that she has mailed my package.. Wow!! I used to wonder what would be the mystery ingredient and I donno what is she going to send me.. Out of curiosity, even I did research on her blog and I was pretty sure she would send me something related to rajasthani cuisine.

On Friday, around 2:00 pm, I went out to check my mailbox and there I found this small box by USPS.. I rushed to my apartment and I was so excited that while I was opening box and taking out all the stuffs, I forgot that I'm supposed to take pics of everything sent to me.. Then what?????? I loaded everything back into the box and here are the pics of "Box", "mystery ingredient" and "very cute goodies" sent by Priya Mitharwal...


Box & the mystery ingredient...!!!


Salt - Pepper Shakers & Spoon Rest!!! Love you Priya, they are so cute....

Now coming to my experience with mystery ingredient.. Before this can u guys identify what was sent by Priya..

Well, at very first look I felt it is Whole Wheat and I checked with Priya.. After 2 hrs she replied "No!!" with a big happy smiley.. But now what to do?? I tasted one of the grains and realized that it is not Whole Wheat... It is "Barley"!!!!!!! I was so happy and sure as well that this time I'm not wrong.. Again I emailed Priya and checked with her.. After 2 hrs she replied "u r genius" with a big sad smiley... ;)

I did lots of research to prepare something special and delicious with this ingredient. I bookmarked some breakfast recipes, then went for brownies and finally ended up with Cake.. And here is the picture of "Barley Flour Cake with Chocolate Frosting" and this is dedicated to Maitri and to all of my blogger friends.. Do grab your piece of cake.. :P


I'm not a good baker so my cake is not with perfect finishing but yes it tasted awesome.. Of course, how can something prepared with all those gr8 ingredients can go wrong. The Barley flour gave a different flavor to cake and with thick chocolate frosting and marshmallow fondant red balls, it was simply irresistible.



Also, this cake is special for me because for the first time I've worked with frosting.. And yeah you guys can see the frosting is not applied perfectly.. But I love this look.... ;)

So, guys lets move on to recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups barley flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking pwd
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup oil
3 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla


for icing

3 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F for about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the barley flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In the center of the bowl, make a well and add oil, egg yolks and vanilla. Beat with spoon until smooth.

Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold a fourth of the whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the rest.

Generously grease the baking pan. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Run a paring knife around the edges and then invert it onto a cake plate.

Meanwhile, prepare icing for the cake. In a work bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder together and slowly add to the butter, beating well after each addition. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until well blended and fluffy.

Once the cake has cooled down to room temperature, frost it with chocolate frosting.

I had store-bought marshmallow fondant with me. So I added red color to it and kneaded well to get fondant evenly colored. Make tiny balls with fondant and decorate over the cake.

You can decorate your cake in number of ways but this was the least time-taking one.


Those who are interested to be part of Maitri, do leave a comment or email me at reshrite@gmail.com or priya at priya.mitharwal@gmail.com.

Sending this as an entry to Treat to Eyes: Series 2 event hosted by rumana.


Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

29 comments:

Reshmi Mahesh March 23, 2011 at 10:58 AM  

The cake is so tempting...yumm...

Shanavi March 23, 2011 at 11:03 AM  

Good job dear..This is perfect for me..Awesome pics and the goodies as well..

Unknown March 23, 2011 at 11:11 AM  

Wow drool worthy cake and sure healthy too.I was informed by Priya,that I will be recieving a parcel.Anxiuosly waiting to see the mystery ingredient.Shud we send the ingredient as a sample or a whole amount to be used to cook.For example, u have recieved barley,does this was sent to u fully like 250 gm or a sample . I just wanted to make sure I send the ingredient right to my fellow maitris.

sathya March 23, 2011 at 11:13 AM  

The cake looks absolutely delicious!

Priya Suresh March 23, 2011 at 12:04 PM  

Cake looks absolutely marvellous, u guys rocks with ur Mathiri friendship chain,keep going..

divya March 23, 2011 at 12:40 PM  

Fantastic n drool worthy tempting cake...lovely!

Only Fish Recipes March 23, 2011 at 3:08 PM  

wow...cake with barley! loved it ! keep rocking !

Hamaree Rasoi March 23, 2011 at 6:48 PM  

Cake looks so mouthwatering and attractive, loved the clicks.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Sowmya March 23, 2011 at 7:01 PM  

Wow...that's a deliciously different and healthy cake!

Vegetarian Cultural Creatives

Jeyashris Kitchen March 23, 2011 at 7:53 PM  

perfectly made cake , looks too great and awesome

Love2cook Malaysia March 24, 2011 at 12:36 AM  

Absolutely droolworthy cake! ;)

Indian Khana March 24, 2011 at 12:57 AM  

Gr8 going gals ...happy to see this is happening ..love those goodies so cute ..and the cake ...looks so yum ..dont worry abt the frosting along the way you will get it perfect :)

Harika baratam March 24, 2011 at 6:12 AM  

Cake looks yummy and awesome.

sojo March 24, 2011 at 9:18 AM  

looks yummm...barley cake ...hmmm.... fresh idea to me....

Vimitha Durai March 24, 2011 at 9:46 AM  

The cake has come out well baked and crumbly... Love the texture

schmetterlingwords March 24, 2011 at 10:03 AM  

Cake looks delicious... Congratulations for your first attempt with frosting.. indeed it looks gorgeous.. And, best wishes for Maitri!! :-) Sad that I could not paticipate... :-(

Torviewtoronto March 24, 2011 at 1:30 PM  

haven't made with barley flour
thank you for linking delicious pictures

Dimah March 24, 2011 at 2:44 PM  

looks yummy and tempting!

Rookie Qookie March 24, 2011 at 8:52 PM  

Never used Barley Flour..Interesting recipe :)

Cheers,
Reshmi

Neetu's kitchen March 26, 2011 at 12:07 AM  

very innovative and healthy cake....good way to eat fibers...and thanks for ur lovely comment on "Khurma" and following me..

Suchitra Vaidyaram March 26, 2011 at 3:58 AM  

Cake looks gorgeous and inviting! YUM :)

Ambreen (Simply Sweet n Savory) March 26, 2011 at 7:12 AM  

Tempting pictures... interesting recipe.There's an award waiting for you in my blog.Please accept it :)

Raksha March 26, 2011 at 10:56 AM  

Great cake. Congrats for working wonderfuly with frosting 1st time :)

Unknown March 26, 2011 at 9:48 PM  

Reshmi, amazing job gal. Beautifully done, I could have never thought of this one, seriously genius :)

@ Savitha, I would say, you should send enough quantity to prepare at least one serving of a meal, for example, I sent Reshmi, 1 cup of barley, thinking that should be sufficient and then your fellow blogger can buy and add more if needed. Hope that makes sense.

Richa Priyanka March 27, 2011 at 10:34 PM  

thanks for visiting, i am following ur awesome blog too! do u get barley flour? i get pearl barley here, the flour is really expensive.. is there a way to make barley flour from pearl barley?

Rumana Rawat March 28, 2011 at 10:29 PM  

This is awesome cake and picture too.... thanks:)

Rajee Mani April 7, 2011 at 6:44 AM  

This is a genius idea :-) Really wonderful.

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