Neapolitan Cookies/ 7 Layer Cookies ( Eggless Version)

Today is a special day. It has been three beautiful years since I started this blog. During this incredible journey, I have earned lots and lots of friends, learnt a lot in cooking, learnt a lot about blogging and photography and still the amazing journey continues. I am also thankful to all my readers who motivate me to keep this blog going. For this day I thought of making a special cookies under the Bakes theme for the Blogging Marathon #32. This neapolitan cookies has been in my to do list since it was announced for the December 2012 Daring Baker's Challenge. But I made another cookie recipe for the challenge and I kept on postponing this. Though this is called as a cookie, this consists of three layers of sponges, sandwiched with two layers of jams and coated with two layers of chocolate. How delicious this cookie could be. To find out I started working on the sponge yesterday. I used a recipe with eggs and substituted the eggs with curd and baked the sponges. They were very soft and crumbly, didn't rise and I could never make a neapolitan cookie with them. So I discarded them and used my usual cake recipe to make the sponges. I also used Kissan jam for the sandwiching and bittersweet chocolate for the top most and the bottom most layers. 


After assembling all the layers I refrigerated the whole set up overnight. Today I started cutting it into small slices and there was one more hurdle to cross. The chocolate layer was set very nice and when I tried slicing it broke. So I let it sit on counter for another hour and slicing it again. But my chocolate layer never softened. I think I prepared the chocolate perfectly. So whoever is going to try this cookie recipe, slice the cookies when still the chocolate layer is little soft to get perfectly shaped cookies. Mine didn't come out perfect shape wise. But still it tasted delicious and am very happy to have made this for the third blog anniversary. My daughter has been pestering me to have a bite since yesterday. But I didn't let her. Today once she returns home from school she will have this wonderful treat.






Ingredients:
For The Cake Layers:
Flour/ Maida-250 gm
Condensed Milk-1 tin/ 400 gm
Butter-1/2 cup
Milk-1 cup
Baking Soda-1 tsp
Baking Powder-2 tsp
Vanilla Essence-1 tsp
Cocoa Powder-1 tbs
Instant Coffee Powder-1 tsp
Pink Food Colouring- a few drops

For The Jam Layer:
Fruit Jam-1/2 cup

For The Chocolate Layer:
Bitter Sweet Chocolate Slab-350 gm

Procedure:
Cake Layers:
1. Preheat oven to 175C.
2. Cream together butter and condensed milk until smooth.
3. Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.
4. Add milk and vanilla essence to the butter mixture and mix well.
5. Add the flour and mix gently until incorporated.
6. Divide it into three equal portions. I measured the batter and divided them.
7. Butter a 8" square pan, line with a butter paper with extra paper on the sides ( it will make the removing of cake easy) and butter the paper again.
8. Pour one portion of the batter (which is plain) into the pan and bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
9. Remove the cake from pan by lifting the paper out.
10. Cool on wire rack. Flip the cake on to the rack and remove the paper.
11. Now line the tin again with a butter paper.
12. Add a few drops of food colouring to one portion of the batter and mix well.
13. Pour this into the prepared tin and bake until done.
14. Remove from tin, cool, remove the paper and cool completely.
15. To the remaining portion of the batter, add the cocoa powder and coffee powder. Mix well.
16. Line the tin and butter it, pour the chocolate batter and bake until done.
17. Remove from oven, cool, remove paper and cool completely.

Assembling The Cookie:
1. Now place the chocolate layer on a butter paper lined tray.
2. Add 1/4 cup of jam on it and spread it evenly on the cake.
3. Now place the pink cake and add the remaining jam on it.
4. Spread it evenly and place the yellow cake on it.
5. Now place a butter paper on top, place a tray on it and place some thing heavy on it.
6. Leave this arrangement for 10 minutes. This is to make the layers even.
7. Now melt 1/2 the chocolate in a double boiler.
8. Pour the melted chocolate on top of the cake and spread it to an even layer.
9. Place it in fridge so that the chocolate sets.
10. Line another tray with butter paper, invert the cake upside down so that the chocolate layer goes to the bottom and the chocolate cake comes to the top.
11. Now melt the remaining chocolate, pour on the cake and spread it.
12. Refrigerate until slightly firm.
13. Trim all the edges, cut into small rectangles and now refrigerate until set.
14. Enjoy the cookie.




The plain cake batter. The butter paper should extend to the sides which makes it very easy to lift out of the tin.




The pink cake.




Apply jam to the chocolate layer.




Place the pink layer, spread jam and place the yellow cake on top.




Place the butter paper on top, place another try and place a heavy object on top.




Then apply a layer of melted chocolate on top.




Once set, invert the cake, apply a layer of melted chocolate on it.




Set it in fridge.




Trim the sides and cut into small slices.




As my chocolate was so crunchy, the top didn't come out perfect.




But it was absolutely delicious. Isn't it cute??? This slice is for you for reading this post with patience...






Logo courtesy : Preeti

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 32 br />

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