Top 10 Delicious & Mouthwatering Cake Flavors

I am guessing you like cake. If you don’t like cake, you are one of the 0.001% people in the world who don’t. From birthday parties to weddings, cakes are an essential component of every occasion. And very rightly so. A good cake can cheer you up and is an absolute treat for your tastebuds. So what are some of the best cake flavors that you must try? Here are the top ten-

10- Carrot Cake

This may seem like an unlikely flavor, but the fact is that carrots have been used in sweet cakes since the Middle Ages in Europe! Carrots are healthy, cakes are sinfully, deliciously unhealthy. A combination of the two results in a great flavored cake- carrot cake. Carrot cakes are made by integrating grated carrot into the cake batter. This carrot becomes soft and moist when the cake is baked, resulting in a subtle yet beautiful carrot flavor that many people simply love. The consistency of a carrot cake is usually thicker than that of other cakes. Most people who bake these cakes also use carrots to decorate the cake icing. The icing which is most commonly preferred on carrot cakes is cream cheese. A lot of bakeries that prepare this cake usually bake it with walnuts, pecans, raisins or pineapples for added flavor. This is one cake bugs bunny would love to have!

9- Banana Cake

Banana is just the right kind of fruit to use in a cake. With its natural sweetness and amazing taste, banana flavor in cakes gives these cakes a slight edge over other fruit flavors. Bananas have always made excellent ingredients in desserts. If you love a slice of banoffee pie as much as the next person, banana cakes are just the right thing for you. These cakes are usually made by mashing bananas right into the cake mixture. Whipped cream goes really well with this cake, as does strawberry or chocolate garnishing. And if you are like me, you will really enjoy a slice of banana peach cake too. The flavor combinations that can be created with banana cakes are endless, and each one is better than the first. So bake your own banana cake and experiment away.

8- Lemon Cake

Don’t go by the name and expect a sour tasting cake. No! Lemon cakes are actually delicious. The tartness of the lemon compliments the sweetness of the cake to give it a really amazing flavor. It may seem like a very unlikely ingredient to use in cakes at first (and I have no idea who thought of putting a lemon in a cake for the first time!) but the end result is really quite delicious. For people who hate oversweet desserts, especially, lemon cakes are a great option. These cakes are made by using lemon zest and grated lemons. The icing is usually a tangy, yellow or white coloured frosting. If, however, you don’t like the tartness of lemon-frosted lemon cakes, you can even go for sugar dusted ones that are sweeter. Some people love lemon cakes filled with lemon curd, and that is also a popular flavor for weddings.

7- Yellow Butter Cake

Some people like to keep things simple, and this cake is perfect for such people. The classic yellow butter cake is simple and easy to bake, with no unnecessary flavors exploding on your taste buds. And the name sounds so sinfully yummy! Even though the amount of butter that goes into making this cake is criminal, it gives the cake a beautiful, moist consistency. The Classic Yellow Butter cake can be made out of a box (like almost all cake flavors these days) or from scratch. The texture should be firm but moist. A lot of people use this flavor as one of the three or four flavors in a layered cake. The icing that goes best with yellow butter cakes is buttercream or chocolate.

6- Rum Cake

Alcohol- Good. Caked- Gooood! Rum cakes are a popular bakery items, especially during the time of Christmas and New Year. Since rum goes beautifully with all desserts and especially chocolates, this cake is extremely tasty. Most people let the rum in into the batter of the cake. A lot of them bake the cake and then soak it in rum. These rum cakes usually contain toasted nuts or walnuts for a spicy tinge of flavor. They also have a glazing of sugar instead of traditional icing to make sure that the flavor of rum remains intact.

5- Vanilla

Another cake for people who like to keep things uncomplicated. This basic cake is both easy to make and good to taste. While a lot of people consider vanilla boring and go for sharper flavors like coffee or chocolate, there are plenty of other people who adore the subtle taste of vanilla. Vanilla cakes are baked using vanilla essence or vanilla extract which is easily available in the market. The icing that goes best with this cake is a browned butter one that imparts a sharper flavor. For people who just cannot get enough of vanilla, the cake can also be topped with thick vanilla syrup. Layered vanilla cakes go very well with strawberry jam between them and garnished with real strawberries. Since vanilla itself is a basic flavor, you can experiment with different garnishing and icing flavors to see which one you like best. My advice would be to bake a single cake, slice it up and try a different frosting on each slice.

4- Red Velvet

Red velvet cakes, like the name suggests, are bright red and very tempting to look at. Sometimes the color varies to orange or brown. The red color in these cakes traditionally came from using beetroot as a sweetener. Some recipes still use beetroot even though the most popular option nowadays is artificial food colors. Red velvet cakes were traditionally iced with a French style butter roux icing but that icing is now seldom used because of the time-consuming preparation method it requires. The more contemporary and tasty icing is to compliment this delicious cake is a cream cheese frosting.

3- Pineapple

This is a universal favorite. I have yet to meet anyone who says they don’t like pineapple cakes and pastries (except little kids who cannot look beyond chocolate) Pineapple cakes are often served in birthday parties and celebrations since they are good to taste and comparatively reasonable. Most bakeries put in real pineapple inside the cake to give it a crunchier texture and better taste. This cake tastes best when the texture is moist and soft. If you like a lot of pineapple in your cake, you could even try baking an upside down pineapple cake where a whole layer is made up of pineapple slices. A simple no-fuss cream frosting really goes well with pineapple cakes.

2- Black Forest

Black forest cakes are perfect for people who like chocolate but find chocolate cakes oversweet or too heavy. This cake is composed of layers of chocolate cakes held together by whipped cream. Yum. To add to the flavors, the chocolate cake if filled with cherries and the cake is topped with more cherries, cream and chocolate shavings. I can almost feel the flavors in my mouth as I write. This gorgeous dessert has its origins in Germany where it was made using liquor. Now most recipes do not involve alcohol. In 2006, the world’s largest black forest cake, weighing 3000 kgs, was made in Germany (I knew I was born in the wrong country!)

1-  Chocolate

When it comes to cake flavors, nothing can beat chocolate. Extremely popular with both kids and adults, chocolate cakes are the best-selling items in bakeries. Most children want a chocolate cake on their birthdays. The amount of cocoa used in the preparation of these cakes can vary from recipe to recipe. The icing that compliments this cake really well is, you guessed it, chocolate. The cake is often topped with melted chocolate to make it, well, chocolatier. You can now even buy ready to bake chocolate cake mixes at your local supermarket. That makes it the eighth time I have used the word ‘chocolate’ or some variation thereof so I am guessing you get the point- Chocolate is very popular!

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Top 10 Advantages of Being in a Relationship

10. Always have company .

Remember that time when your best friend cancelled the once-in-a-blue-moon outing? How much you fumed and cursed them! It can lead to binge drinking in a random place alone if you’re single. But if you’re in a relationship, you know you have someone who will be more than happy to cover up. Even if they don’t take you out, a simple home cooked dinner made special can do the trick and make you happy. Better yet, they will listen to you whine and make sure you get over it especially if it was something you had been waiting for a while. They are not obliged to do it. Whatever the conditions are in your relationship, that person will always want to see you happy and normal.


9. The one person who’s always there

Office politics, meddling mother, that friend always in need – your partner knows it all. Everyone has best friends but sometimes you just need to vent. There are some things you can’t even tell your best-est of friends! As you become busier in your lives, friends grow apart for obvious and practical reasons. But when you come back after a busy day and you need to just blabber, they’re there! And it’s never one way; both of you can share your problems, discuss them and even find a solution then and there. Your partner often enables you to think clearly amidst the chaos in your head by calming you down. They have all the qualities you want in your best friend even if they’re not your best friend. And you always have the privilege of the 3 am friend with a partner!

8. Good for self-esteem

With constant love and support from someone, you will have another reason to believe in yourself. That is not to say that you need someone to help you build self-esteem. Of course you can do it on your own and do it well. But just like an ego booster helps you move on with everything, a partner is like. If someone makes you feel good about yourself in little things, you have a more chances of surviving and doing well.

7. Intimacy

Intimacy doesn’t automatically translate to sex here. Intimacy is more deeply related to having a bond that goes beyond the physical. Something like sleeping beside someone after a terrible day or holding hands amidst a crisis really helps you get through. You may argue that friends can offer that too but when in the middle of the night you wake up from a nightmare; you will have comforting arms in your partner. Touch is a powerful thing and can be a real healer of any wound.

6. Help around

Your partner might be more understanding than your roommate. Imagine, if you have divided work and someday, you’re too tired to carry it out yourself. A roommate will ignore it until you do it but a partner will make sure you get rest and do the work assigned to you on their own. This understanding simply springs from love and care. Worse, if you’re living alone, having a partner means you’ll have someone to share all the household work with. People may say that all this will vanish a few years into the relationship but you must believe and carry it on because it is you who matters and not the surveys.



5. You understand yourself better

When in a relationship, you assess yourself, your responses, and your behavior for at least the first few months. This allows you to understand yourself better in every term and you strive to make yourself a better person. This is not in order to impress your partner but to become a good human being altogether. When a person loves you, they love you for who you are and they don’t try to change you. So you evolve into a better person and are mindful of that. Even if that relationship fails, you not only know what you don’t want in your partner, you also know what mistakes you are not going to repeat.


4. You see things differently

When you’re in love, whether you’re male or female, a soft side is aroused in you. You tend to see things with tenderness and warmth. You find good in everything and even if for a little amount of time, it makes you a positive person. No, violins don’t play in your head all the time but the world generally becomes a good place to live in when love is all around you. Things don’t move in slow motion but a silly smile keeps you happy all day. These little perks and joys you wouldn’t get when you’re single.

3. You don’t have to be dressy all the time

Being single means you are in fact ready to mingle, whether you like it or not. So you have to get dressed impeccably on every occasion, be nice at home, attend every social gathering and over all maintain a high profile. Things are different and much better in a relationship. Once you’re in a comfortable relationship, you don’t have to keep yourself up to the mark all the time. You get to roam around in your track pants and live a lazy and easy life, something you can do only when you’re living alone. Remember, a roommate will be very nice to you if you are careless and lazy but will be prone to judge you and your habits. A partner will reprimand you for being careless and lazy but more often than not be your partner in crime. You get to maintain that low profile, live free and easy!

2. Less stress

Some studies conducted empirically prove that people in relationships are less stressed out than those who are single. There can be numerous reasons for this, first one being you’re always surrounded by some love. Even after there is regularity and boredom in a relationship, a little love is always sweetening the air around you. Second, you get to keep fewer secrets. Things that you can’t discuss with all of your friends can have an out here. Third, you have personal jokes that can lighten up any moment of stress. Living with someone always leads to some fun and joy in life. Who knows if you find someone who is willing to play water fight with you!

1. Love and security

There are three basic needs for survival – air, water, food. But these quantitative things that help you live. The idea is to be alive! When you have constant love, support, security and care, you automatically become a good human being. Living becomes easier and you have someone to count on. When you are younger, your family gives you that support but there will be a time when you will be out there and alone. This is when your partner steps in. Your survival doesn’t depend on them but they help you live through the good and the bad. You feel secure in the presence of someone as you have a constant support system beside you. Seeing them every day brings joy in your life. Having love is a common but still a rare thing and is not easy to find. Once you begin to treasure this love and cherish it, you will live a joyful, loved life that will keep you alive and awesome!

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$100 3D-Printed Prosthetics Offer Hope to Amputees in War-Torn Sudan

Back in 2012, Time magazine published an article describing the plight of a 14-year-old boy named Daniel Omar, who lost both hands to a bomb dropped by his own government. One reader, Mick Ebeling, CEO of Not Impossible Labs, was so moved by the story that he decided to do something about it. So he packed up his bags, grabbed some laptops and 3D printers, and headed to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan to build Daniel a new arm.

Daniel is only one of 50,000 amputees in South Sudan, so Ebeling’s goal wasn’t just to build a single prosthetic — he wanted to set up a lab at a local hospital to produce low-cost prosthetic limbs for thousands of patients long after he left. Not only are locals being trained to produce the limbs, which cost about $100 for materials, in about six hours, but Not Impossible is also providing the open-source design free of charge so similar programs can be implemented around the world.

The arms being printed aren’t as precise as the real thing. They can’t lift heavy weights, can only perform limited motions with the fingers, and require special attachments to hold utensils. Still, they allow a level of independence some of these patients haven’t had in years: after receiving his new arm, Daniel was able to finally feed himself for the first time in two years. Now, he’s using his arm to help produce prosthetics for others.

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Medical Marijuana to Be Legalized in New York for Limited Use !

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New York is set to soon become the 21st state to legalize medical marijuana use. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an executive action today that will loosen laws on use of the drug, allowing it to be distributed to patients with serious illnesses at 20 select hospitals. Despite the governor’s very public opposition to marijuana legalization in the past, this turnabout plan will give patients who suffer from illness such as cancer, glaucoma or other diseases limited access to the 

substance, and could initiate future broadening of medical marijuana laws.

According to The New York Times, Governor Cuomo is bypassing legislature and introducing the policy action based on a provision in the 1980 public health law called the Antonio G. Olivieri Controlled Substance Therapeutic Research Program. Olivieri was a New York City councilman who died at the age of 39 from a brain tumor and used marijuana to ease the affects of his chemotherapy treatment.

Governor Cuomo’s administration plans to have the infrastructure for the new program in place by this year. However, before the plan can move full steam ahead, there are a few hurdles the New York State Department of Health must address, including the selection of hospitals, regional diversity assurance planning and policy restrictions to prevent abuse. Furthermore, it has yet to be determined where the medical marijuana will be sourced as state and federal laws prohibit the growing of marijuana in any capacity.

According to Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance who recently spoke with The New York Times on the action, “Governor Cuomo remains committed to developing the best medical marijuana law in the country and that’s going to require legislative action.”

Via New York Times

  

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10 weird Facts About Ravens !

Edgar Allan Poe knew what he was doing when he used the raven instead of some other bird to croak out “nevermore” in his famous poem. The raven has long been associated with death and dark omens, but the real bird is somewhat of a mystery. Unlike its smaller cousin the crow, not a lot has been written about this remarkable bird. Here are 10 fascinating facts about ravens.

1. RAVENS ARE ONE OF THE SMARTEST ANIMALS.

When it comes to intelligence, these birds rate up there with chimpanzees and dolphins. In one logic test, the raven had to get a hanging piece of food by pulling up a bit of the string, anchoring it with its claw, and repeating until the food was in reach. Many ravens got the food on the first try, some within 30 seconds. In the wild, ravens have pushed rocks on people to keep them from climbing to their nests, stolen fish by pulling a fishermen’s line out of ice holes, and played dead beside a beaver carcass to scare other ravens away from a delicious feast.

If a raven knows another raven is watching it hide its food, it will pretend to put the food in one place while really hiding it in another. Since the other ravens are smart too, this only works sometimes.

2. RAVENS CAN IMITATE HUMAN SPEECH.

In captivity, ravens can learn to talk better than some parrots. They also mimic other noises, like car engines, toilets flushing, and animal and birdcalls. Ravens have been known to imitate wolves or foxes to attract them to carcasses that the raven isn’t capable of breaking open. When the wolf is done eating, the raven gets the leftovers.

3. EUROPEANS OFTEN SAW RAVENS AS EVIL IN DISGUISE.

Many European cultures took one look at this large black bird with an intense gaze and thought it was evil in the flesh … er, feather. In France, people believed ravens were the souls of wicked priests, while crows were wicked nuns. In Germany, ravens were the incarnation of damned souls or sometimes Satan himself. In Sweden, ravens that croaked at night were thought to be the souls of murdered people who didn’t have proper Christian burials. And in Denmark, people believed that night ravens were exorcized spirits, and you’d better not look up at them in case there was a hole in the bird’s wing, because you might look through the hole and turn into a raven yourself.

4. RAVENS HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN MANY MYTHS.

Cultures from Tibet to Greece have seen the raven as a messenger for the gods. Celtic goddesses of warfare often took the form of ravens during battles. The Viking god, Odin, had two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory), which flew around the world every day and reported back to Odin every night about what they saw. The Chinese said ravens caused bad weather in the forests to warn people that the gods were going to pass by. And some Native American tribes worshipped the raven as a deity in and of itself. Called simply Raven, he is described as a sly trickster who is involved in the creation of the world.

5. RAVENS ARE EXTREMELY PLAYFUL.

The Native Americans weren’t far off about the raven’s mischievous nature. They have been observed in Alaska and Canada using snow-covered roofs as slides. In Maine, they have been seen rolling down snowy hills. They often play keep-away with other animals like wolves, otters, and dogs. Ravens even make toys—a rare animal behavior—by using sticks, pinecones, golf balls, or rocks to play with each other or by themselves. And sometimes they just taunt or mock other creatures because it’s funny.

6. RAVENS DO WEIRD THINGS WITH ANTS.

They lie in anthills and roll around so the ants swarm on them, or they chew the ants up and rub their guts on their feathers. The scientific name for this is called “anting.” Songbirds, crows, and jays do it too. The behavior is not well understood; theories range from the ants acting as an insecticide and fungicide for the bird to ant secretion soothing a molting bird’s skin to the whole performance being a mild addiction. One thing seems clear, though: anting feels great if you’re a bird.

7. RAVENS USE “HAND” GESTURES.

It turns out that ravens make “very sophisticated nonvocal signals,” according to researchers. In other words, they gesture to communicate. A study in Austria found that ravens point with their beaks to indicate an object to another bird, just as we do with our fingers. They also hold up an object to get another bird’s attention. This is the first time researchers have observed naturally occurring gestures in any animal other than primates.

8. RAVENS ARE ADAPTABLE.

Evolutionarily speaking, the deck is stacked in the raven’s favor. They can live in a variety of habitats, from snow to desert to mountains to forests. They are scavengers with a huge diet that includes fish, meat, seeds, fruit, carrion, and garbage. They are not above tricking animals out of their food—one raven will distract the other animal, for example, and the other will steal its food. They have few predators and live a long time: 17 years in the wild and up to 40 years in captivity.

9. RAVENS SHOW EMPATHY FOR EACH OTHER.

Despite their mischievous nature, ravens seem capable of feeling empathy. When a raven’s friend loses in a fight, they will seem to console the losing bird. They also remember birds they like and will respond in a friendly way to certain birds for at least three years after seeing them. (They also respond negatively to enemies and suspiciously to strange ravens.) Although a flock of ravens is called an “unkindness,” the birds appear to be anything but.

10. RAVENS ROAM AROUND IN TEENAGE GANGS.

Ravens mate for life and live in pairs in a fixed territory. When their children reach adolescence, they leave home and join gangs, like every human mother’s worst nightmare. These flocks of young birds live and eat together until they mate and pair off. Interestingly, living among teenagers seems to be stressful for the raven. Scientists have found higher levels of stress hormones in teenage raven droppings than in the droppings of mated adults. It’s never easy being a teenage rebel.

mentalfloss.com

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Krishna's Butter Ball – A Balancing Rock at Mahabalipuram

Krishna’s Butterball is a curious tourist attraction in Mahabalipuram, a town about 60 km south of Chennai famous for its stone carvings. The “butterball” is a giant balancing rock, 5 meters in diameter, perched on a smooth slope, seemingly defying all laws of physics.

In Hindu mythology Lord Krishna had an insatiable appetite for butter, and as a child, would often sneak a handful from his mother’s butter jar. Situated on a hill slope near the Ganesh Ratha this massive natural rock boulder is attributed to a bolus of butter the young Krishna would steal.

Photo credit

The rock’s awkward position makes it quite popular with locals and tourists alike as it makes for an interesting backdrop for some whacky photographs. It’s a common sight to see visitors placing hands under the stone posing for pictures, which looks as though they are holding it up. The rock provides welcome shade if you dare to sit underneath it, and local kids have discovered that the slippery nearby hillside also makes a great natural slide.

Mahabalipuram is an ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport during the time of Periplus (1st century CE) and Ptolemy (140 CE). Ancient Indian traders who went to countries of South East Asia sailed from the seaport of Mahabalipuram. Today's Mahabalipuram is purely a tourist town and one of the major attractions around Chennai. People visit this place to see the magnificent rock carvings, temples, cave sanctuaries, giant open-air reliefs such as the famous 'Descent of the Ganges', and the temple of Rivage, with thousands of sculptures to the glory of Shiva.

 .Mahabalipuram is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

from : http://www.amusingplanet.com

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A trip to Prabalgad Fort, India !

Prabalgad Fort, also known as Kalavantin Durg (Kalavantin’s Fort), is located between Matheran and Panvel in the Indian state of Maharashtra, at an elevation of 2,300 feet in the Western Ghats. It was built at the pinnacle of a rocky plateau very close to Matheran. Previously, the fort was known as Muranjan until it was taken over and renamed by the Maratha forces under Shivaji's rule.

The fort can be approached via a chillingly steep climb. The steps leading up to the fort were cut into the rock of the hill. There are no safety rails on the edge and no ropes on the wall to grab on to. The 

hardest part is the descent, especially if you have vertigo.

According to legend the fort was built for a queen named Kalavantin but that really seems to be all that anybody knows. Around 1458 Malik Ahmad, the prime minister of the kingdom of Ahmednagar, took over the fort during his conquest of Konkan. The Mughals took control of Prabalgad along with Kalyan, Mahuli, Karnala and a number of other forts after Sambhaji's death.

The fort was conquered by Shivaji from the Mughals in 1657, after he establishing himself in the Kalyan-Bhivandi area. At the time of the attack the fort was governed by Kesar Singh, a Mughal sardar, and was the only fort to put up a strong resistance. On seeing the signs of defeat the women in the fort performed Jauhar, a tradition of self immolation to ensure an honorable and respectful death. Singh died during the battle in October 1657, Shivaji in an act of kindness allowed Singh's mother and her 

grandchild a safe passage out.

amusingplanet

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