Bakes & Cakes, Desserts, Recipes
Published on June 4, 2012
Comments 16

Marble Cake and An Ode to Casa Piccola

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This might be very Bangalore centric but I’m sure anyone who’s seen one of their favorite/old eateries shut down, can connect to what I’m saying. Casa Piccola has be serving Bangalore fun and affordable European cuisine from 1979 and the Devtha Plaza location was definitely all the school and office goers favorite. If there was one place I remember frequenting as a kid for burgers and pizza’s and spaghetti – it was Casa’s. Many a date has been arranged here, with the friends sitting at the next table and sniggering away, while the poor boy was left wondering whether he did something wrong! If there is one restaurant that I’ve actually eaten every dish on the menu – it was at Casa’s. We even knew the waiters by name and some of them have worked in the establishment forever and a day. My favorite dish was Pasta Fungi – Pasta and mushrooms in a white sauce. (As a child with limited French vocabulary I was afraid to order it because I assumed Fungi = plural of Fungus!). My other top orders were the Sloppy Joe Burger (open face burger with ham and mushrooms covered with sauce), Epinard Ala Crème (A spinach bake covered with mashed potatoes) and Pasta Tetrazzini (Pasta in a cheesy red sauce)! The desserts were always fun and the Profiteroles and the Marble cake with ice cream 🙂 topped the list!
The restaurant downed it shutters last month and I went there and tried and ate everything that my stomach could stomach! It was the only way a foodie can ever say goodbye to their favorite haunts. It’s sad to see commercialization gobbling up parts of Bangalore that we hold dear and Casa’s joins the elite list with India Coffee House, Victoria Hotel, Premier Book store and Airlines drive thru. But old Bangaloreans will remember… and this is my ode to you.
Marble Cake
Prep time: 20 mins
Baking time: 45 mins
Makes: one 8 inch round cake
What you need:
125 gms Unsalted Butter
¾ cup Caster sugar
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp Vanilla essence
2 cups Flour
2 ½ tsp Baking Powder
A pinch of Salt
½ cup Milk
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder + 1 Tbsp Milk
Red/Orange food coloring
What to do:
Preheat oven to 180°C. Brush a deep 8” cake tin with butter; line the base and sides with butter paper.
Using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl, till light and fluffy and pale. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add essence, beat until combined.
Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour, baking powder and salt in three batches, alternating with the milk. Start and finish with the flour. Stir until just combined and smooth.
Divide the batter into three bowls. In the first, mix in the sifted cocoa and 1 Tbsp Milk, combine till smooth. Add enough food colouroing in the second batch to give it a nice pink/ orange flush. Leave the third bowl plain.
Now, drop spoonfuls of alternating colours into the prepared cake tin until all the mixture has been used up. Draw a skewer or knife through to swirl the colours. Bake for 45 mins or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Leave the cake in its tin for 10 mins before turning onto a wire rack to cool. Eat warm.
Say a little prayer for Casa Piccola before you tuck in with some Ice Cream!

Note: This is a Basic Butter Cake recipe. So if you don’t want a marble cake, just omit mixing the cocoa and coloring in. The rest of the process remains the same.

16 Comments

  1. Swaps says

    Looks gorgeous 🙂 And am glad the recipe turned out fine… I’m always crossing my fingers when someone attempts the recipes!! And like I said … only a true bangalorean would understand the Casa nostalgia … sniff sniff. Have fun stuffing your face!

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  3. hungryandexcited says

    I totally forgot about this post. I recently bought an oven and went all over hunting for a marble cake recipe. Decided to finally go with a Martha Stewart rendition. As I was mixing it, I thought of Casa Piccola, and then suddenly like a flash this post came back to mind! The cake is happily baking away now, as I type this, and when its done and I have blogged about it, I will send you a link 🙂

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  6. Manisha says

    thank you 🙂
    when i choose the desired temperature, the time is selected automatically and I clicked start twice. Now when the oven beaps, I hear the fan sound and the tray is rotating. When can I set the time before placing the pan inside as the timer button doesn't respond at this stage when the fan is on. Should I press stop and then select time?

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  7. Swaps says

    Press the convection button, set temperature and press start. The preheat sign will come on. Onbce its preheated it will beap. (The fan sound is normal). Then set baking time. Put your pan in and press start again.

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  8. Manisha says

    thank you Swaps! The LG microwave I have has the grill, combi and conv setting.. how do I preheat the oven and set the required temp and time on this one? the last time i tried to preheat, I heard some sound which was more like a fan running inside it after the oven beaped, is that common?

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  9. Swaps says

    @ Manisha… 1st ensure your LG has the convection, combination, grill and micro function. Thats the only version that bakes as well. The rest have only the grill and micro function.
    2nd … you can get basic baking stuff from Home Stop, MK Ahmed, Jamals, Lifestyle home center, Adams Square in Russel Market.

    To start you would need:
    1. Measuring spoons and cups (baking is nothing without exact measures)
    2. One round 9″ Pan – for cakes and pies
    3. Med and Big Bowls for mixing
    4. Electric beater/ whisk
    5. Spatula
    6. Baking Powder, Baking Soda
    Addtional – nice to have
    1. One springform pan with loose bottom for cheesecakes/ quiches
    2. Muffin tray/ silicon muffin cups
    3. Cookie cutters
    4. Loaf tin
    5. Deep dish for casseroles
    6. Piping bag to decorate your cupcakes.

    I think… this should more than do for a start…!

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  10. Swaps says

    @ Ganga … I don't believe you ate chicken stroganoff EVERY night.. but if you did … *clap clap clap* and I hope you haven't put on stroganoff weight 😉

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  11. ganga says

    I ate chicken stroganoff every night at casas for a whole year….May be the next ode on the list???

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  12. Manisha says

    thats great news as I have a LG as well but never ventured into baking for the fear that I might do something wrong 😀 could you please send me a list of the basic things I would need to buy to begin baking? Like where can I get decent bakeware and tools?

    thank you 🙂

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  14. Swaps says

    Revathi… Yes Premier book shop too.. as well as Gangarams if you must know. Thank the lord blossoms is still there.
    I heard some underground news that some other group has bought out Casa's … lets see what happens next!

    @ Manisha… yes… in the microwave on convection mode. My LG multitasks quite well! 🙂

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  16. hungryandexcited says

    DUUUDE premier book shop too?! I heard about java city on lavelle rd recently, but didnt feel a twinge as much as I did when I heard about casa's. It was my first eating out experience in Bangalore and I have literally grown up there. Having gone there at every phase of my life. First with folks, then with girl friends, then with boys, then from college, on dates, and it was a favourite haunt for the husband and I before we even hooked up. So siiighhh.. It really is the end of an era. And theres no better way to do justice than with marble cake!

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