The cooks collection | To Tickle Your Tastebuds!

Vanilla Banana Caramel Flans

2012-01-16T12:00:00.000+05:30

I recently bought this book Small Batch Baking and i"m already in love with it. Thanks to Debby for such a wonderful book. I've already tried most of the recipes from the book with lovely results. This book serves for just 1 or 2 people, just small portions of baked goods. Have you ever tried to measure one teaspoon of an egg or even halve an egg?? This book does and the results are just perfect. It satisfies the sweet tooth cravings along with saving those large batches of goodies which either gets distributed to neighbors or you end up eating most of it. Perfect for small households, or just whipping up something for the kids when they come home from school. This book delivers small yield recipes for all types of baking.

And now about the flan, this flan is creamy and caramely. Instead of using a full fat cream, this recipe uses half-an-half, i.e., a mixture of one part milk and one part cream. The banana puree adds richness and taste. The flavor is astonishingly intense and makes a sophisticated dessert. Debby says garnish the plate with slices of caramelized banana: cut one or two bananas into long diagonal slices and toss them with a bit of lemon juice. Arrange them on a baking sheet, sprinkle with light brown sugar, and broil or grill until the sugar melts; it will take about one minute.

Makes 2 flans ; Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 very ripe banana (i used a small one)
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup half-and-half (mixture of one part milk to one part cream)
2 large eggs
Yolk of 1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Boiling water, for the baking dish

PANS REQUIRED:

Two 1-cup souffle dishes or ramekins
1 baking pan

Method:
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 deg F (160 deg C). Set aside a baking pan that will hold the souffle dishes. Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium-size mixing bowl, and set aside.

2. Pour 1/3 cup of water into a small saucepan, add 1/2 cup of sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Then boil, without stirring, until the color turns golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the color is a medium golden amber, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and spoon 11/2 tablespoons of the caramel into each souffle dish. Reserve the remaining in the saucepan. Set the souffle dishes aside.

4. Peel the banana and slice it into the saucepan. Add the lemon juice and mash the banana, caramel and lemon juice together with a potato masher or a pastry blender. Add the half-and-half and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar. Place the pan over medium high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until the banana is cooked, 1 minute. Then remove the pan from the heat and strain the mixture through the sieve, pressing down hard on the banana to extract as much pulp as possible. Scrap off the pulp clinging to the bottom of the sieve and add it to the custard mixture in the bowl.

5. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla into the custard mixture, and pour the mixture evenly over the caramel in the souffle dishes, dividing it evenly between them. Place the souffle dishes in the baking pan and pour boiling water into the pan to reach halfway up the sides of the souffle dishes. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake the flans until the centers are set, 25 to 30 minutes.

6. Remove the baking pan from the oven and carefully lift the souffle dishes from the pan with a metal spatula. Let the flans cool completely on a wire rack. Then cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, 6 hours or overnight.

7. To serve, run a small sharp knife around the inside of the souffle dishes to loosen the flans. Cover a souffle dish with a dessert plate, and quickly invert the flans onto the plate. Pour the caramel mixture remaining in the souffle dish over the flan. Repeat with the second flan. Serve immediately.

Nutella Fudge Brownies

2012-01-10T21:18:00.001+05:30

These small bites are just not enough to satisfy your sweet buds. You'll surely be asking for more and 12 minis will be just gone in minutes. These brownie bites are just made with using 4 ingredients and can be whipped in just 2 minutes. These brownies are fudgy in texture and not too sweet, just perfect for me and the nuts on top get roasted as they bake and give a wonderful crunch. You'll need mini muffin cups or pan for the recipe. If you are in Bangalore, India you can get these mini muffin cups in General Food Additives.
Here goes the recipe...

Recipe Adapted from Desserts 4 Today: Flavorful Desserts with Just Four Ingredients (USA |India)

Makes 12 Brownies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Nutella Spread
1 Large Egg
5 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped ( i have used walnuts, can use almonds too)

Method:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended. Add the flour and whisk until blended.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.
Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Switch-Ins:

In place of the hazelnuts, switch in one of the following:
* ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon (add with the flour)
* peanuts, chopped, 1/4 cup

Bread Khova Burfi

2011-12-19T13:17:00.000+05:30

This is one dessert that is sure to please everyone. Its rich, chewy and the slight crunch from the dry fruits is just yumm.. I'm sure people would simply start guessing the ingredients in this burfi without any clue that bread could be the major ingredient. Recently i had been to my aunts place and she gave me this sweet. The moment i tasted it, i instantly fell in love with it and asked her for the recipe. It was another aunt who has given her the sweet. I am thankful to her for passing on her recipe and for the detailed instructions she gave me for making this yummy dessert.

Khova, which is also called Khoya, Mawa or Khoa which is used in most of the Indian desserts also contributes to the taste of this burfi. This is the first time i've used khoya in my dessert and was pleased with the result. It transforms the taste completely. Bread gives the body or the structure to the dessert and khoya brings the flavor out of it. Khoya is available in any Indian grocery stores or can be even prepared at home.

Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:

1 pound ( approx. 500 gms) soft sweet bread
200 gms khova
325 gms sugar
2 tbsps ghee (clarified butter)
few chopped dry fruits as per your taste(i used just cashews and raisins, you can use walnuts, almond too)

Equipment:

1 thick deep saucepan
2 flat griddle (tawa)
1 spatula

Method:

Crumble the bread with your hands along with the crust into very tiny pieces. Crumble the khova.
Combine crumbled bread, khova and sugar. Transfer the mixture into the saucepan and on a medium heat, keep stirring the mixture till it all comes together into a solid mass. Add ghee and give it a stir.
Now take out the thick mixture from the saucepan and transfer it onto the griddle. Flatten the bread, khova mixture using a thick plastic sheet or if you are daring, you can use your hands.
Spread the mixture entirely over the griddle. Sprinkle the dry fruits all over the griddle and press them a little bit into the mixture. And on a slow flame roast the flattened mixture for few minutes till the surface turns golden brown.
Now you need the flip the mixture and roast the other side too. To do this take another flat griddle and place it frying side down on top of the mixture and hold both handles of the griddle and turn it upside down. Now the dry fruits side mixture will get roasted. Place the new griddle with the mixture on the flame and roast it.
When both the sides gets roasted well. Remove from flame and allow it to cool completely. Don't worry if the burfi is still soft, it'll get slightly harder after it cools. Slice into desired shapes and serve.

Apples

2011-09-06T16:30:00.000+05:30

There are thousands of varieties of apples in every types, shade of yellow, gold, red, green, ranging from sweet to tart and mealy to crisp. Unfortunately, as is often the case, growers have concentrated on just a few these are among the least interesting; probably the best of the widely grown varieties are McIntosh (even thats become very hard to find) and Golden Delicious. Of course, you'll find the most variety and most interesting apples at local orchards in the fall. And the good news is many apples will keep for weeks in a cool, dry spot, like a garage or basement.

In general apples are divided into three categories; eating, cooking, and all purpose. The chart lists some of the most common and some not-so-common but worth seeking - apples with notes on flavor and texture, and category.

Buying and storing:
All apples should be firm and heavy for their size; avoid any with soft spots. Those that ate less than perfectly firm are best suited for cooking. Store in a cool, dry place, or in the refrigerator for weeks, though some keep better than others. Almost all apple are harvested in the late summer and fall, but wholesalers keep the fruit in reduced-oxygen storage, where they remain in reasonably decent shape for months. But they deteriorate quickly when removed from these special storage conditions, so use apples quickly in winter and spring.

Preparing:
Rinse and take a bite or peel and cut. For peeling, start at the stem or flower end and work in latitudinal strips or around the circumference; a U-shaped peeler is best.
For coring, you have several options. You can remove the core and leave the apple whole by digging into the stem end with a sturdy melon baller and removing it; this leaves the blossom end intact, a nice presentation for baked apples. Or you can buy a slicer-corer, which will cut the apple into six or eight slices around the core in one swift motion. Finally, you can quarter the apple and dig out each piece of the core with a pairing knife.

Apples brown quickly once peeled or cut; to prevent browning, drop them into acidulated water (one part lemon juice to about ten parts water) or white wine or toss with lemon or lime juice.

Other fruit to substitute : Pears

Check out few of my Apple recipes..

Apple Crumble

Apple Marzipan Galette

Creamy Apple Pumpkin Soup

Sweet-Hot Spiced Pecans

2011-02-15T17:30:00.000+05:30

Believe me, these sweet -hot spiced pecans are very addictive and vegan too. It is crunchy, sweet, spicy and a little salty. Altogether a wonderful crunchy snack. It can be served as a great evening snack with a sip of coffee or can even be wrapped and be sent as gifts. You can easily double the batch and make more if you wish. Trust me, no one can eat just one.

Recipe adapted from Myrecipes

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground flaxseed or 1 large egg white
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups pecans

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, mix sugar, cayenne, salt, ground coriander, ground cinnamon, and ground allspice. Whisk together the ground flaxseed, water and oil (Alternately whisk 1 egg white and vegetable oil.

2. In a large bowl take 2 cups of pecan halves. Add in the flaxseed mixture and stir to coat the pecans. Now add the sugar and spices and mix well to coat well.

3. Spread nuts in a single layer in an oiled nonstick baking sheet or simply lay a parchment paper over a baking sheet. Bake in a 300°F OR 150°C regular or convection oven, stirring occasionally, until nuts are crisp and lightly browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Let cool about 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to loosen nuts from pan; cool completely. Serve or store airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Kodbale - Spicy Carom Flavored Rings

2011-02-08T17:30:00.000+05:30

Kodubale is one of the popular snacks in South India. "KODU" means Horn (like that of a cow) and "BALE" means Bangle. These are named based on their shape. These kodubales are crunchy, hot and tasty. This recipe is slightly different from most of the other kodubale recipes, as i use fine semolina here instead of rice flour which is most commonly used. I suggest you use the finest quality of semolina here. They give a wonderful taste and the initial stage where you grind the coconut, dalia, carom and cumin seeds itself will give you the aroma of the final product.

Ingredients:

2 cups fine semolina
1/4 cup desiccated coconut or dry coconut, grated
1/4 cup kadale or Dalia
1/4 tsp asafoetida or hing
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp carom seeds
1/4 tsp jeera
2 1/2 tbsps chilli powder (can reduce according to your preference)
1/4 cup hot oil + oil for deep frying (preferably sunflower oil)

Directions:

Grind together the coconut, dalia, asafoetida, carom seeds and jeera to form a smooth powder.

Combine the ground powder, fine semolina and hot oil and mix well. Add chilli
powder, salt and combine well. Now add enough water to make a soft dough.

Take about a teaspoon of the dough and roll it on a wooden board with your fingers to form a thin long cylinder, about 4 inches long and thickness of about your little finger. Slowly turn around both the ends together and join them to form a circle (like a bangle) with your thumb and fore finger. Do the same with the remaining dough.

Heat oil on a low to medium heat. Do not over heat the oil or the kodubales would turn raw from inside. Deep fry these roundels of dough. You can add 5 to 10 roundels together depending on the pan you are using. Fry them for 5 to 10 minutes each batch till they turn slightly reddish brown.
Let them cool to take a bite to see if the the kodbales have fried well and they are crispy from in to out.

Enjoy these spicy, crunchy kodbales as an evening snack with a hot cup of coffee.

Daring Bakers : Biscuit Joconde Imprime/Entremet

2011-01-27T15:03:00.000+05:30

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

Joconde imprime /entremets. A joconde imprime (French Baking term) is a decorative design baked into a light sponge cake providing an elegant finish to desserts/torts/entremets/ formed in ring molds. A joconde batter is used because it bakes into a moist, flexible cake. The cake batter may be tinted or marbleized for a further decorative effect.

This Joconde/spongecake requires attentive baking so that it remains flexible to easily conform to the molds. If under baked it will stick to the baking mat. It over baked it will dry out and crack. Once cooled, the sponge may be cut into strips to line any shape ring mold.

Entremets (French baking term)- an ornate dessert with many different layers of cake and pastry creams in a mold, usually served cold. Think Trifle in a mold vs. a glass bowl.

Equipment required:

Silpat or a silicon baking mat
½ baking sheets or a 13” x 18” jelly roll sheet (rimmed baking sheet)
Mixer (optional)
Bowls
Knives
Offset spatula
Regular spatula
Pastry comb (optional)
Rulers
Spring form pan
Biscuit cutter (or ring mold, or cut PVC pipe, or whatever else you can think of to use as a mold for individual desserts)
Torte/entremets mold/Springform pan/ Trifle dish (for larger desserts)
Cling wrap
Parchment paper
Gel, paste or liquid food coloring (optional)
Joconde Sponge

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients:
¾ cup/ 180 ml/ 3oz/ 85g almond flour/meal - *You can also use hazelnut flour, just omit the butter
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons/ 150 ml/ 2⅔ oz/ 75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 1 oz/ 25g cake flour *See note below
3 large eggs - about 5⅓ oz/ 150g
3 large egg whites - about 3 oz/ 90g
2½ teaspoons/ 12½ ml/ ⅓ oz/ 10g white granulated sugar or superfine (caster) sugar
2 tablespoons/ 30 ml/ 1oz / 30g unsalted butter, melted

*Note: How to make cake flour: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2009/09/how-to-make-cake-flour/

Directions:

1. In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
2. Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
3. On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
4. Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
5. Fold in melted butter.
6. Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

YIELD: Two ½ size sheet pans or a 13” x 18” (33 x 46 cm) jelly roll pan

Ingredients
14 tablespoons/ 210ml/ 7oz/ 200g unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups plus1½ tablespoons/ 385ml/ 7oz/ 200g Confectioners' (icing) sugar
7 large egg whites - about 7 oz / 200g
1¾ cup/ 420ml/ 7¾ oz/ 220g cake flour
Food coloring gel, paste or liquid

COCOA Décor Paste Variation: Reduce cake flour to 6 oz / 170g. Add 2 oz/ 60 g cocoa powder. Sift the flour and cocoa powder together before adding to creamed mixture.

Directions:

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
2. Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
3. Fold in sifted flour.
4. Tint batter with coloring to desired color, if not making cocoa variation.

Preparing the Joconde- How to make the pattern:

1. Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
2. Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used. OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
3. Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
5. Bake at 475ºF /250ºC until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 15 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.
6. Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.
7. Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the Jaconde for Molding:

Video: MUST WATCH THIS. This is a very good demo of the joconde and filling the entremets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4eLDok-4Q

1. Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. You should have a nice rectangle shape.
2. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.
3. Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)
4. Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.
5. The mold is done, and ready to fill.

*Note: If not ready to use. Lay cake kept whole or already cut into strips, on a flat surface, wrap in parchment and several layers of cling wrap and freeze.

Entremet- Filling

It is nice to have a completed dessert so you can unmold and see the Joconde working. Fill with anything you desire. Layers of different flavors and textures! However, it needs to be something cold that will not fall apart when unmolded.

Half of my Cake was filled with French Pastry Cream and another half with Strawberry Mousse.

French Pastry Cream

Ingredients:
350ml milk
17 gm / 1 tsp sugar, for the milk
27 gm corn starch
70 gm sugar
55 gm egg yolk
35 gm butter
250 gm freshly whipped cream
6 gm agar agar or gelatin

Method:
1. Boil the milk and sugar in a saucepan.
2. Next in a bowl mix the yolks, corn starch and sugar ill it becomes white.
3. Then pour half the boiling milk into the bowl and mix well. Now pour this into the saucepan and heat until it thickens.
4. Take the pan off the heat and add butter.
5. Mix agar agar into the above mixture.
6. Cool the mixture and mix with the whipped cream and fill into the round shaped prepared biscuit.

Suggestions:
Mousses, pastry creams, Bavarian creams, cheesecakes, puddings, curds, jams, cookie bases, more cake (bake off the remaining sponge and cut to layer inside), nuts, Dacquoise, fresh fruit, chocolates, gelee.

Tapioca Pudding ( Sabakki Paayasam)

2011-01-16T15:45:00.000+05:30

Sabakki Paayasam is basically a Kheer or Pudding made out of tapioca pearls or sago. This dessert is perfect finish for any meal. It has a lovely creamy texture flavored with cardamom and saffron and crushed almonds to give a wonderful crunch feel.. Its been one of my favorite childhood dessert!

You'll need the following ingredients..

1/4 cup Sabakki or Tapioca pearls
1/2 tin Sweetened Condensed milk
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
pinch of saffron
A handful of crushed Almonds

Directions:

In a large pan, fry Tapioca pearls with a teaspoon of ghee( thats optional, its just to give a little aroma) for about 2 minutes on high flame, just to warm it up a little bit.

Pour about 300ml of water and cook on medium to high flame with constant stirring every couple of minutes. Keep adding water if the water gets dried up. It'll take about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient and make sure the entire pearl gets transparent. See that the white part of the pearls disappears. Thats when the tapioca is cooked.

Now add the Sweetened condensed milk along with saffron and cardamom powder and let it come to a boil. You can add a little milk to get the right consistency. And you can even substitute sugar for condensed milk and add more milk instead.

After it has reached the right consistency, take it off the heat and let it cool a little bit.

Serve warm ,cold, or chilled topped with crushed almonds.

Enjoy!

Daring Bakers Challenge - Sugar Cookies

2010-09-27T15:53:00.000+05:30

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Preparation Time
30 minutes: Making dough & rolling
1 hour min: Refrigeration
8-15 minutes: Baking per tray depending on size of cookies

Equipment Required
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- 5mm guide sticks (optional)
- Cookie cutters or sharp knife
- Baking trays
- Wire cooling rack
- Spatulas
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups/spoons or weighing scale
- Sieve
- Icing bags / Parchment Cones
- Sizes 1 to 5 plain icing tips (2 and 4 being the most common to use)
- Star icing tips (optional)
- Couplers (optional)
- Toothpicks
- Elastic bands

Basic Sugar Cookies:
Makes Approximately 36x 10cm / 4" Cookies

200g / 7oz / ½ cup + 6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
400g / 14oz / 3 cups + 3 Tbsp All Purpose / Plain Flour
200g / 7oz / 1 cup Caster Sugar / Superfine Sugar
1 Large Egg, lightly beaten
5ml / 1 tsp Vanilla Extract / Or seeds from 1 vanilla bean

Directions
• Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavourings you’re using. Beat until just becoming
creamy in texture.
• Tip: Don’t over mix otherwise you’ll incorporate too much air and the cookies will spread during
baking, losing their shape.
• Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
• Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
• Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of about 5mm/1/5 inch (0.2 inch)
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 30mins.
• Tip: Recipes commonly just wrap the whole ball of dough in clingwrap and then refrigerate it for an
hour or overnight, but by rolling the dough between parchment, this shortens the chilling time and
then it’s also been rolled out while still soft making it easier and quicker.
• Once chilled, peel off parchment and place dough on a lightly floured surface.
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a sharp knife.

• Arrange shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and refrigerate for another 30mins to an hour.
• Tip: It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.
• Re-roll scraps and follow the above process until all scraps are used up.
• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C Fan Assisted) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
• Bake until golden around the edges, about 8-15mins depending on the size of the cookies.(I baked in a convection oven for 15 minutes on a non-stick baking pan)

• Tip: Bake same sized cookies together otherwise mixing smaller with larger cookies could result in
some cookies being baked before others are done.
• Tip: Rotate baking sheets half way through baking if your oven bakes unevenly.
• Leave to cool on cooling racks.
• Once completely cooled, decorate as desired.
• Tip: If wrapped in tinfoil/cling wrap or kept in airtight containers in a cool place, un-decorated
cookies can last up to a month.

Royal Icing:

315g – 375g / 11oz – 13oz / 2½ - 3 cups Icing / Confectioner’s / Powdered Sugar, unsifted
2 Large Egg Whites
10ml / 2 tsp Lemon Juice
5ml / 1 tsp Almond Extract, optional

Directions:

• Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined.
• Tip: It’s important that the bowls/spoons/spatulas and beaters you use are thoroughly cleaned and
grease free.
• Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites.
• Tip: There are 2 amounts of icing sugar listed, the lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.
• Beat on low until combined and smooth.
• Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.
• Tip: Royal Icing starts to harden as soon as it’s in contact with air so make sure to cover containers with plastic wrap while not in use.

General Baking Tips
• When measuring by volume (cup) always shift/aerate your flour/icing sugar in the container/bag before measuring because it settles as it sits and so you end up with more flour/icing sugar in your cup. I do this by moving the ingredient around with a spoon, whisk or fork.
• When measuring flour or icing sugar by volume (cup) never scoop the flour/icing sugar up with the cup otherwise you compress the contents and this can make a big difference in the amount you’re using. Rather, spoon the ingredient into the cup until level with the top.
• When measuring baking powder or baking soda, always level off the top of the measuring spoon with something flat (like the back of a knife) as these ingredients need to be accurately measured.
• When mixing your ingredients, always follow the recipe instructions, especially when it comes to beating in eggs and flour, so if it specifies to mix until just combined or to beat for 4 minutes, follow the instructions to get best results.
• Unless otherwise specified, always have your ingredients at room temperature.
• It’s always best to invest in an oven thermometer so that you know exactly the temperature you’re baking at then you can also find out if you have cold or hot spots in your oven.
• If you need to rotate your trays midst baking, always allow at least half the baking time to lapse before opening your oven to move baking trays around, this allows time for your baked goods to form a good structure so that they won’t flop.

General Royal Icing Tips
• Keep a damp cloth handy while decorating your cookies so that if you’re switching between different icing bags, you can keep the tips covered with the damp cloth so that the icing doesn’t dry and clog them.
• If your icing tips do clog, use a toothpick or pin to unclog them.
• Always pipe a little bit of royal icing onto a board/paper towel before you begin to make sure there are no air bubbles.
• Remember to always cover bowls containing royal icing wither cling wrap, a damp cloth or sealable lid so that the surface doesn’t dry.
• Don’t store anything decorated with royal icing in the fridge otherwise the royal icing will
become tacky.

VERDICT:
1.The cookies tasted great as it is without the icing. With icing, i felt the cookies tasted more sweet.
2. As a whole, it was a lovely challenge. My daughter (3 years old) assisted me in making the cookies and decorating it. It was a lovely experience.
3. I will surely be making it again.

Ginger Spiced Brownies

2010-09-19T01:18:00.000+05:30

This is one of the best homemade brownies i have ever had. Ginger with chocolate is a delicious taste sensation. Here good bittersweet chocolate flavored with pieces of candied ginger is used in a chocolate brownie mixture. Just a hint of spice, plus deliciously tangy soured cream, makes these brownies extra special. The texture of this brownie is dense, fudgy and moist. You just cant stop for one!! Now go-ahead and make them yourself..

Makes 20

Ingredients:

200 g, 7 oz. good milk chocolate
100 g, 7 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
1 cup sugar, granulated or superfine
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons soured cream *can substitute with full fat yogurt
50 g bittersweet chocolate with candied ginger pieces, chopped (if you cant find them, just add 30 g of choc and 20 g of candied ginger ,separately chopped)

a brownie pan, 8 x 10 inches, greased and base lined

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Break up the 7 oz milk chocolate and put it in a heatproof mixing bowl with butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of steaming water and melt gently, stirring frequently. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and leave to cool until needed.

Put the eggs and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer or a hand mixer until very thick and mousse-like. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift the flour and spices into the bowl and stir in. Mix in the soured cream followed by the chopped chocolate with ginger. Transfer to the prepared pan and spread evenly.

Bake in a preheat oven for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted halfway between the sides and the center comes out just clean. Remove the pan from the oven.

Leave to cool before carefully removing from the pan and cutting into pieces. Store in an airtight container and eat within 5 days.

Maple, Pecan & White Chocolate Muffins

2010-09-11T17:24:00.000+05:30

Maple syrup adds a lovely caramel flavor to these muffins. These muffins have a soft crumb and goes well with the crunchiness of the pecans and the feel of the soft sweet touch of white chocolate.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

300 g (10 oz) self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
125 g (4 oz) soft brown sugar
1 egg
50 ml (2 fl oz ) maple syrup
250 ml (8 fl oz) milk
5o g (2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
125 g (14 oz) white chocolate, chopped or white chocolate chips
75 g (3 oz) pecan nuts, coarsely chopped

to decorate
chopped pecans
chopped white chocolate

Method:
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the sugar.

Beat together the egg, syrup, milk and melted butter and beat into the dry ingredients until mixed. do not over mix.

Fold in the chocolate and pecan nuts.

Line 12 holes of a muffin tray with paper cases. Divide the mixture among the paper cases and top with some extra chopped nuts and chocolate.

Bake in a preheated oven 200 deg C(400 deg F), Gas Mark 6, for 20 - 25 minutes until risen and golden. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Lamingtons

2010-08-11T15:56:00.001+05:30

Lamingtons are to Australians what the chocolate brownie is to Americans. These are basically cubes of sponge cake coated in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut to finish.

Makes 24 small cakes

Ingredients:

For cake:
125 g unsalted butter, softened
125 g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
250 g self raising flour, sifted
pinch of salt
1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For icing:
200 g icing sugar
50 g cocoa powder
75 -100 ml boiling water
100 g desiccated coconut

Method:
Make the cake: Put all the cake ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Or if you are making the cake batter by hand, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and light. Then beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until incorporated. Sift in the flour and salt and fold into the creamed mixture with milk and vanilla.

Oil and base-line a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) cake tin and transfer the mixture to the prepared tin. Smooth the surface with a palette knife and bake in a preheated oven, 190 degrees C (375 degrees F) for 25 -30 minutes until risen and firm to touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack to cool. Leave out overnight.

Make the icing: Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Male a well in the center and beat in the boiling water to make a smooth icing with a pouring consistency.

How to proceed: Cut the cooled cake into 24 squares. Use 2 forks or a big skewer to dip each cake into the icing and then immediately coat with the coconut. Leave to set on a baking paper.

Enjoy!!

Frozen Apple Yogurt

2010-07-14T16:46:00.000+05:30

This delicious dessert is simple and perfect not only for the heating summer But for the winter too. I loved the flavor of apple with the curd cheese. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:

500ml yogurt mass(recipe below)
125 gms sugar
1 big apple, pureed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites

Directions:

For the yogurt mass, put 1 kg skimmed milk yogurt into a strainer which has been lined with a thin cheese cloth. Put the transparent film on top, weigh down with a plate, and allow to drip off at least for 6 hours or overnight. The yogurt should now have a consistency of firm curd cheese or cream cheese.

Mix yogurt mass, sugar, pureed apple and vanilla well.

Beat the egg white until stiff and mix carefully with the yogurt mass. Fill the mass into the bowl of an ice cream maker and run the machine for approx. 30-40 minutes.

Note:

If you do not have an ice-cream maker, then after the mixture has been in the refrigerator overnight, pour into a deep plastic vessel and place in the freezer. After 30 - 45 minutes take out and whisk with an electric hand mixer. Place back into the freezer. Repeat this process several times - 3 to 4 - then allow to freeze until firm.

Marble Bundt Cake

2010-06-08T15:29:00.000+05:30

The cake - it is cake, so don't kid yourself - should be delight to eat. It is the ultimate coffee accompaniment, when made correctly it is the perfect yin - yang dessert. Unfortunately, many marble cakes lack any distinction between the chocolate and vanilla components; the chocolate flavor is no more interesting than brown food coloring. This recipe is a tribute to the classic marble bundt, with a rich chocolate flavor (thanks to the combination of dark chocolate and cocoa powder) that contrasts nicely with the delicate vanilla swirl. If you're going to eat cake for breakfast, it should be this one.

This is the best homemade marble cake i've ever had. I recommend the book "Baked - New Frontiers in Baking" to all my readers who love baking. Go for it!!

Yield : 1 (10 inch) BUNDT CAKE

Adapted from Baked - New Frontiers in Baking

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SWIRL

6 ounces, 170 grams dark chocolate (60 to 72 % cocoa), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder (like Valrhona)

FOR THE SOUR CREAM CAKE

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 ounces, 453 grams sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE SWIRL : In the top of a double boiler over simmering Water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

MAKE THE SOUR CREAM CAKE : Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with a nonstick cooking spray or simply use a silicon bundt pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and slat together into a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 30 seconds.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to combine the chocolate mixture and the batter to make a smooth chocolate batter. Spread half of the remaining batter in the prepared pan. Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the chocolate cake batter directly on top of the plain cake batter. The dollops will touch and mostly cover the plain batter, but some plain batter will peek through. Use a butter knife to swirl the chocolate and plain cake batter together. Pour the remaining plain batter on top of the chocolate layer and smooth it out. Once again, use the knife to pull through the layers to create a swirl.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a sharp knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake and invert it into the wire rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

STORAGE : The cake will keep for 3 days. tightly covered. at room temperature.

Daring Bakers Piece Montée

2010-05-28T15:30:00.002+05:30

May 2010 Challenge

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

This month’s challenge recipe is for a Piece Montée, which means literally “mounted piece.” You may know this dessert by another name – Croquembouche (“crunch in the mouth”). Piece montée is the traditional wedding cake here in France. They are often served at baptisms and communions as well.
The classic piece montée is a high pyramid/cone made of profiteroles (cream-filled puff pastries) sometimes dipped in chocolate, bound with caramel, and usually decorated with threads of caramel, sugared almonds, chocolate, flowers, or ribbons.
Recipe Source: The recipes used for this month’s challenge comes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and were originally created by famed pastry chef, Nick Malgieri.

Note: This recipe has 3 main components: the pate a choux, the crème patissiere, and the glaze used to mount/decorate it. While you can purchase or make a cardboard conical structure to build your piece montée or use toothpicks as an aid, it is relatively easy to assemble it using just the baked pate a choux as the main building blocks and the glaze as the glue.

While a piece montée may be a bit time-consuming to assemble, the various components are relatively easy to make and don’t require any special ingredients. The best part about them is that once you have mastered them, you will be able to go on and make many beloved French French pastries such as éclairs, profiteroles, Paris-Brest, etc. all of which are made with this pate a choux recipe, a filling and glaze.

Preparation time: You will want to use your puff pastry batter and chocolate glaze or caramel as soon as it has been prepared and as close to serving time as possible. This is not a dessert that stores well and it may be a bit temperamental in humid areas as the glaze needs to harden to hold the choux together. The crème patissiere can be made a couple of days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.

You will need approximately 10 minutes to prepare the puff pastry, 10 minutes to pipe and about 30 minutes to bake each batch. The crème patissiere should take about 10 minutes to cook and then will need to be cooled for at least 6 hours or overnight. The glazes take about 10 minutes to prepare.

Equipment required:
• several baking sheets
• parchment paper
• a whisk
• a pastry brush (for the egg wash)
• a pastry bag and tip (a plain tip or no tip is best for piping the puff pastry; you can use a plain or star tip to fill the puff pastry with the cream)
• a flat surface such as a baking sheet or cake board/stand on which to assemble your piece montée
• some of the items you may want to use to decorate your piece montée include ribbons, Jordan almonds, fresh flowers, sugar cookie cut-outs, chocolates, etc.

Vanilla Crème Patissiere

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Half Batch)
1 cup (225 ml.) whole milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
6 Tbsp. (100 g.) sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp. (30 g.) unsalted butter
1 Tsp. Vanilla

Preparation: Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.

Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.

Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.

Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

Pour cream into a stainless steel/ceramic bowl. Press plastic wrap firmly against the surface. Chill immediately and until ready to use.

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)

¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Preparing batter:
Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny.

As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.

It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

Piping:
Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.

Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).

Baking:
Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Filling:
When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Use one of these to top your choux and assemble your piece montée.

Chocolate Glaze:
8 ounces/200 g. finely chopped chocolate (use the finest quality you can afford as the taste will be quite pronounced; I used semi-sweet)

Melt chocolate in microwave or double boiler. Stir at regular intervals to avoid burning. Use the best quality chocolate you can afford. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:
You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert. For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 8 inches) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern. Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.

Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up.

When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate. Have fun and enjoy! Bon appétit!

Apfel Streuselkuchen ( Apple Crumb Cake )

2010-04-29T04:00:00.000+05:30

Streuselkuchen (crumb cake) is a German speciality. Traditionally it is made of a yeast dough covered with crumbs. The term "streusel" (a German word meaning "something scattered or sprinkled", refers to a crumb topping of butter, flour, and white sugar. This yeasted dough can be topped with any of your favorite fresh fruits, be it, plums, apricot, cherries, or any of the berries. The streusel gives the cake a nice crunch and the added sweetness balances the slight tanginess of the fruits.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
400 g flour
30g fresh yeast or 2teaspoons dry yeast
150ml milk, luke warm
80g sugar
1 egg, large
100g butter or Margarine
pinch of salt

For the topping:
1.2 kg Apples, about 5-6, each cut into 8 pieces

For the streusel:
175 g butter
250 g four
200 g sugar
1 packet vanilla sugar

Directions:

Prepare the dough by dissolving the yeast and a pinch of sugar in the lukewarm milk. Keep aside till you start seeing bubbles and froth on top of the solution. Combine the flour, sugar, eggs, butter, frothed yeast and a pinch of salt and knead with the kneading hooks of your machine or simply with your hands. The dough should be smooth and silky. If kneading by hand, take your time and knead well till smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm dry place till it doubles in volume - approx. 1 hour. If the weather is too cold in your kitchen, then simply switch on the baking oven to max for 2 minutes and switch it off. Place a bowl of hot bubbly water in the bottom of the oven and the dough in the center rack. Close and let it rest till it doubles.

For the streusel, melt the butter. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and vanilla sugar. Add the hot melted butter and work with the flour until you form pea-size crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C, and prepare a baking tray by lining it with some baking paper.

Once the dough has risen using floured fingers spread the dough out to the edges of the baking tray (39 cm X 32 cm). Spread the apple pieces over the dough without leaving any gaps in between. Now spread the crumble topping and let the dough rest for another 10-15 minutes.

Bake in a preheated 200 deg C oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Marbled Brownies

2010-03-29T16:23:00.000+05:30

You cant get enough of these!! Best part of these brownies is that cream cheese is used instead of butter. 100 g of cream cheese equals to 170 kcal where as the same amount of butter gives you 737 kcal. Isn't that great?? Also the addition of both the dark and white chocolates in the recipe gives the brownie two different chocolate flavors along with the marbling effect. The walnuts are added at the end which can be made optional if you are allergic to nuts or the quantity can be reduced according to your taste.

Recipe adapted from Brownies, einfach schokoladig

Ingredients:

100 g dark chocolate, chopped
50 g white chocolate, chopped
300 g Philadelphia cream cheese
200 g fine sugar
3 eggs, large
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 g all purpose flour
80 g Walnuts , finely chopped

1 Brownie form (20 x 25 cm), greased and lined with a baking paper.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Melt the dark chocolate and white chocolate separately over 2 double boilers and let cool.

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer or a hand mixer till well combined. Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour. Combine well.

Now divide this mixture into 2 equal portions into two separate bowls. Add the melted dark chocolate to one bowl and combine. Do the same with the melted white chocolate. The dark chocolate mixture would be a little thick compared to the white chocolate mixture.

Now spread dark chocolate mixture into the prepared pan, about a tablespoon each, evenly on the prepared pan leaving a gap in between. Finish up the mixture. Now fill up the gaps with the white chocolate mixture. Spread the chopped walnuts all over the pan.

Using a skewer or using the back of a wooden spoon, zig -zag the mixture giving a marbled effect. Do not mix up too much or else the batter would look mushy.

Now in a preheated 180 deg oven, bake the brownie for about 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool.

Storage: This brownie keeps well in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Tiramisu ~ Heaven on a Dessert Plate!

2010-02-27T13:30:00.000+05:30

DARING BAKER CHALLENGE FEBRUARY, 2010

This divine Italian dessert translates to mean ‘pick me up’, supposedly referring to the ‘kick’ provided by the strong coffee, sugar and alcohol in it!
On the other hand, a slight mistake in spelling it as "Tiramuso" could end up meaning that you were "pulling a sulky face"! Classic tiramisu is made of alternate layers of espresso soaked ladyfinger biscuits and a cream made from mascarpone cheese and zabaglione (an egg custard).

The perfect Tiramisu is a balance of flavors of a sweet zabaglione, strong coffee, marsala wine, creamy mascarpone cheese and the dusting of unsweetened cocoa.

So when, where and how was tiramisu born?

Tiramisu is said to have its origins in Treviso (Italy), and there are quite a few stories about how it came to be created.
One story traces the tiramisu as far back as the Renaissance claiming that it was first made in honour of the visit of Grand Duke Cosimo di Medici to Tuscany. Yet another one points to the tiramisu being an adaptation of the "Zuppa Inglese" referring to the sponge cake and cream layered English Trifle.
However, experts in this area generally agree that the tiramisu as we know it today, was born in the ‘70s.
Some believe that the Tiramisu was created in the the Le Beccherie (a restaurant in Treviso). Ohters suggest that Tiramisu was first made in 1971 by an Italian baker named Carminantonio Iannaccone in a small bakery in Treviso, Italy.

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

PREPARATION TIME:

Tiramisu is made up of several components which can be made separately and ahead of time and put together the day before serving.
Making tiramisu from scratch requires about 2 to 3 days (including refrigeration) from when you start making the mascarpone to the time the tiramisu is served. So this challenge requires some prior planning.

Please read the instructions as you need to begin making the mascarpone at least a day in advance.
The zabaglione & pastry cream also need 4 hours to an overnight for chilling, as does the main dessert. The flavours mature after an overnight rest, and the dessert can be kept refrigerated for 2-3 days.
Once assembled, the tiramisu can be frozen till you need to serve it, in case you are not serving it immediately.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:

A double boiler (a stainless steel bowl that fits inside a large saucepan/ pot without touching the bottom will do)
Two or three large mixing bowls
Whisk
A medium sized heavy bottomed pan
Fine meshed strainer (to remove lumps from pastry cream, if any)
Electric mixer, hand held
Serving dish (or dishes) of choice (8" by 8" should be fine)
Spatula for folding and spoons as required
Plastic wrap/ clingfilm
Baking sheets
Parchment paper or nonstick liners
Pastry bag (can be disposable)
Plain 3/4" pastry bag tip or cut the end of pastry bag to this size (If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off)
Oven
Cooling rack
Thin-bladed spatula for removing ladyfinger biscuits from the baking sheets
Instant-read thermometer (optional)
Strainer
Cheesecloth or cotton napkin for draining mascarpone
Fine-mesh strainer for shaking cocoa powder on tiramisu

TIRAMISU

(Recipe source: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007 )
This recipe makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
For the zabaglione:
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the vanilla pastry cream:
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

For the whipped cream:
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy cream (we used 25%)
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

To assemble the tiramisu:
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:
For the zabaglione:
Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the pastry cream:
Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the whipped cream:
Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

To assemble the tiramisu:
Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside.

Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Workings quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

LADYFINGERS/ SAVOIARDI BISCUITS

(Source: Recipe from Cordon Bleu At Home)
This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers.

Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons /75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons /50gms confectioner's sugar,

Method:
Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.

Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.

Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.
Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

MASCARPONE CHEESE

(Source: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese)
This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

Ingredients:
474ml (approx. 500ml)/ 2 cups whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream (between 25% to 36% cream will do)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Method:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.
Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.
Keep refrigerated and use within 3 to 4 days.

NOTES/ TIPS:

1. If you cannot find Marsala, port wine is considered a good substitute.
2. If you would rather not use alcohol in your tiramisu due to diet restrictions or because you want to serve it to children, you may replace the Marsala with an equal amount of espresso or coffee.
3. Many people, especially those who are not excessively fond of coffee, might find brewed espresso very strong. In this case, please feel free to dilute the espresso or coffee to the desired strength.
4. It is generally suggested that cream with 25% fat is best for making mascarpone, but 36% works just as well.
5. We both used lime juice. Deeba has a recipe for mascarpone posted on her blog here.
6. The mascarpone recipe below is for approximately 340gms of mascarpone. The tiramisu recipe requires only 1/3 cup/75gms so you may scale down the recipe to requirement or put the extra mascarpone cheese to other equally good use. (100gms cream will yield approximately 75gms mascarpone)
7. While using the double boiler to make the mascarpone as well as the zabaglione, always ensure that the bottom of the bowl on top doesn't touch the bottom of the lower one. It is important to use a stainless steel bowl to pour your cream into, while making the mascarpone.
8. Ladyfinger batter is very fragile so fold in the flour and yolks very carefully into the meringue so that the whites don't lose their volume.
9. It might be a good idea to decide the size of the dish in which you intend to set the dessert, and make the fingers to a size which would fit that dish. This makes it easier when assembling the tiramisu later. Do remember that ladyfingers/ savioardi puff up a little while baking.
10. Ladyfinger biscuits may be stored up to a week in an airtight container. We both made the savoiardi fingers 4-5 days in advance, and stored them in an airtight box in a cool place (or the refrigerator).
11. We both made the zabaglione & pastry cream the previous day, and assembled the tiramisu the next morning. I (Aparna) then froze my tiramisu for 7 days before decorating and serving it.
12. Placing the bowl (in which cream is to be whipped) and the beaters of the hand held electric mixer in the fridge for about 1/2 to 1 hour before hand makes the cream whip up very well.
13. Do not dip the ladyfinger/ savoiardi into the coffee solution for more than ONE second, or they might become very fragile & disintegrate. Extra soaking is likely to spoil the end product, making it soggy. I (Aparna) dipped my biscuits only on one side and found they soaked up more than enough coffee solution.
14. If you would like to de-mould your tiramisu from your dish (cutting can be easier and neater this way, you can line your dish with plastic wrap (leaving a little extra on the sides of the dish) and then start assembling your tiramisu. Once the tiramisu sets in the refrigerator, you can use the overhang to pull the tiramisu out of the dish.

Easy Homemade Granola

2010-02-22T02:22:00.001+05:30

This homemade granola is filled with nuts and dried fruits, it's reasonably healthy and wholly addictive. You can customize your own blend by exchanging fruits and nuts at will. I even added few flax seeds and sunflower seeds for extra crunch. You'll just fall in love with the aroma of toasted oats and nuts starts to emanate from your oven. This granola is great for snacking on its own, and for layering in fresh fruit, in yogurt parfaits or by simply adding plain milk to it. This will serve as a very healthy breakfast and you'll definitely enjoy making it all by yourself. You can even double the batch if you want.

Yield: 1 pound

Easy Homemade Granola
from "Baked: New Frontiers in Baking" by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup whole hazelnuts
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries
plus (i added 2 tablespoons flaxseeds and 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 160 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the oats with cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the hazelnuts over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let cool completely. Sprinkle the raisins and cherries over the granola and use your hands to transfer it to an airtight container. The granola will keep for 1 week.

Mushroom Mutter Masala

2010-02-12T03:05:00.002+05:30

Mushroom Peas Curry

This delicious dish is not often found in restaurants, but one that is definitely worth trying. The ingredients are so simple and you'll be surprised to see the end result which will make you keep licking your fingers. You can just halve, quarter, or thickly slice the mushrooms according to their size.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

350 g button mushrooms
225 g frozen peas
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
200 ml or 1 US Cup Curry sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin or cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves/ kasoori methi
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons chopped green coriander

Directions

Rinse and thickly slice the mushrooms. Rinse the frozen peas well in hot water and drain.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan. When hot. add the mushrooms and green peas and fry on a gentle heat for 4 - 5 minutes till the mushrooms look soft.

Now add the curry sauce and bring to a simmer. Stir in the salt, turmeric, ground cumin, and chilli powder. Simmer stirring occasionally. for about 15 minutes.

Add the dried fenugreek and the garam masala and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Allow the oil to settle and skim off the excess. Stir in the green coriander and serve.

Basic Curry Sauce

2010-02-12T03:00:00.001+05:30

This is the most closely guarded of all the secrets of restaurant cooking.
Once prepared, it has a very smooth texture and a pale golden color. Taste it and it is pleasant with a subtle curry flavor. Every good restaurant has a large pan of the sauce always at hand, with the recipe varying only slightly from chef to chef. It forms the base of all the restaurant curries from the very mild to very hot and spicy. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, although the best restaurants will prepare no more than 3 day' requirement in one go. Together with your spices, the prior preparation of the curry sauce and whatever vegetable you propose to use, a selection of dishes can be made in a matter of minutes.

You will see that the making of the curry sauce is in fact simple with no special equipment required other than a blender. It is essential, though, that you follow strictly the instructions for blending and skimming as these are two procedures that can make the difference between a good curry and a poor one.

The quantities given here are enough for 3 to 4 people. If you do not require so much, you may halve the quantity of each ingredient, or alternatively freeze the remainder of the finished sauce.

Adapted from "The Curry Secret" from Kris Dhillon

For approximately 4 main course dishes.
Preparation and cooking time : About 1 1/2 hours

Ingrdeints:

450 g onions
25 g ginger
25 g garlic
750 ml water
3/4th teaspoon salt
1 small tin(110 g )tomatoes OR can use 2 fresh ripe tomatoes
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika (can substitute chilli powder)

Peel and rinse the onions. ginger, and garlic. Slice the onions and roughly chop the ginger and garlic.

Put the chopped ginger and garlic into a small blender with about 1/2 cup of water and blend until smooth.

Take a large saucepan and put into it the onions, the blended garlic and ginger, and the remainder of the water. Add the salt and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to very low and simmer, with the lid on, for 40 to 45 minutes. You'll see that the water turns green. Don't worry.
Leave to cool.

Once cooled pour half of the boiled onion mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Absolute smoothness is essential. To be certain, blend for at least 2 minutes. Pour the blended onion mixture into a clean pan or bowl and repeat with the other half of the boiled onions.[ To make this more easier, just drain the boiled onions and reserve the water. Simply blend the onions until smooth and combine it with the reserved water.]

Open the can of tomatoes. Pour into the rinsed blender jug, and blend. If using fresh tomatoes, blanch them first by boiling whole tomatoes in a pan of hot water for few minutes and take the skin off, let cool and then blend. Again, it is important that they are perfectly smooth, so blend for about 2 minutes.

Into a clean saucepan, put the oil, turmeric, and paprika/chilli powder. Add the blended tomatoes and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Now add the onion mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil again. Turn down the heat enough to keep the sauce at a simmer.

You will notice at this stage that a froth rises to the surface of the sauce. This needs to be skimmed off. Keep simmering and skimming for 20 -25 minutes, stirring now and again to prevent the surface sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

Use immediately or cool and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Vegetable Pizza

2010-01-24T02:31:00.003+05:30

A hot oven, a preheated pizza stone or baking sheet and a well- floured wooden board for sliding the pizza dough into the oven, all help to produce an authentic, crisp-based pizza. To make a thicker, soft crust for a hearty pizza, use the entire 1 quantity pizza dough in the recipe below and spread it on to a baking sheet using greased hands. Try not to spread too much and keep the thickness of the dough to about 3/4th of an inch. If you want a thin crispy crust, just halve the 1 quantity pizza dough recipe and spread it a little thin about 1/4th of an inch or even less if possible. Load with your favorite toppings, also try not to overload with too many toppings. Keep it as minimal as possible.

Also the base for all the toppings, the chunky pizza sauce blends wonderfully with the other topping ingredients. You can even double the sauce recipe as it can be used along with spaghetti or noodles as well and it even stores well in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days and even freezes well for up to a month.

This is the best pizza recipe i have ever come across. Its got the perfect crust(i like a soft thick crust) just like the pan pizzas you get in pizza hut. And now lets go for the recipe..

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 quantity basic pizza dough

For the pizza sauce:
400 g (13 oz) can chopped tomatoes or can use fresh tomatoes instead
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
1 teaspoons dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Other toppings: These are my favorite toppings but you can choose any of your favorites.
2 Capsicums, thinly sliced, any color of your choice
1 onion, thinly sliced
125 g canned sweet corn
150 g (5 oz) mozarella cheese, grated

Method:

Make the pizza dough

Meanwhile, make the pizza sauce. Put the tomatoes, garlic, oil, basil, sugar, chilli flakes and some salt and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 - 30 minutes until thickened. Adjust the seasoning and transfer to a bowl to cool.

Turn out the risen dough on to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half and roll out one piece thinly to a 30 cm (12 inch) round or make just one big pizza. Put it on a well-floured wooden board.

Top the dough with half the pizza sauce, capsicum, onion, corn and mozzarella. Drizzle with a little oil.

Carefully slide the pizza on to a preheated pizza stone or baking sheet and bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven, at least 230 deg C (450 deg F), Gas mark 8 or hotter if possible, for 10 to 12 minutes until the base is crisp and the topping is bubbling and golden. Repeat to make a second pizza.

Serve hot. Enjoy!

Basic pizza dough

2010-01-24T02:30:00.002+05:30

This simple bread dough makes the perfect crust for pizzas, and this recipe is sufficient for 2 medium-sized pizzas.

Makes dough for 2 x 30 cm (12 inch) thin pizza bases or 1 (11 inch) thick pizza base

Ingredients

2 cups, 250 g (8oz) White bread flour or all purpose flour
1 teaspoon fast-acting yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
150 ml (1/4 pint) warm water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Method

Sift the flour into the bowl of a food mixer and stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water and oil, set the mixer to low and work the ingredients until they just come together. Increase the speed and knead the dough for 8 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Shape the dough into a ball and put in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling form and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and knock out the air. Use as required.

Note: To make the dough by hand sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the sugar then make a well in the center and add the frothed yeast, water and oil. Using your hands, gradually work the ingredients together to form a soft dough. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 - 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Continue as above.

Bayerische Creme ( Bavarian cream with Raspberry jelly )

2010-01-13T00:53:00.002+05:30

Bayerische Creme is a classic rich and creamy German dessert. It is basically vanilla cream, thickened with gelatine, whipped cream, and egg yolks. It is similar to flour or cornstarch thickened crème pâtissière but thickened with gelatin instead. It is lightened with whipped cream when on the edge of setting up, before being molded, for a true Bavarian cream is usually filled into a fluted mold chilled until firm, then turned out onto a serving plate.

Little about Vanilla : The name vanilla derives from the Spanish word "vainilla", little pod. Vanilla is an Evergreen annual creeper plant from genus of orchid plants which flourish in tropical and subtropical climate. Vanilla is the only type of Orchid which contributes to the human diet. The plant originally comes from Mexico and Central America. Today's areas of vanilla are situated in the tropical Island Madagascar, the Comoros, Reunion and other tropical areas along the Indian Ocean. From over one hundred Types of vanilla, only fifteen are interestingly aromatic and only three are suitable for the manufacture of vanilla. The special aroma of vanilla is formed from 35 other substances along with vanillin and glucose. This aroma is achieved only after a very intensive working process where a fermentation is achieved by drying and sweating. And finally, the pods contain a maximum of just 3 % of vanillin.

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, due to the extensive labor required to grow the vanilla seed pods. Despite the expense, it is highly valued for its flavor, which author Frederic Rosengarten, Jr. described in The Book of Spices as "pure, spicy, and delicate" and its complex floral aroma depicted as a "peculiar bouquet." Despite its high cost, vanilla is widely used in both commercial and domestic baking, perfume manufacture and aromatherapy.

Now with the recipe..

Recipe Serves : 6

Ingredients Required:
500 ml milk
100 g sugar
6 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod
200 g whipping cream
4 gelatin sheets

1 packet raspberry jelly (optional)

Directions:
Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes and let it soften.

Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrap the seeds using the sharp end of the knife. In a saucepan, combine milk and the pod along with the seeds and simmer them together over low-to-medium heat for about ten minutes. Don't allow to scald or boil!. Take the pan off the heat and let the vanilla get infused into the milk for a while.

Meanwhile, beat the yolks and sugar together using a hand mixer till pale and fluffy.

Slowly add warm vanilla-milk into the yolk mixture and combine using a whisk. Add this vanilla milk-yolk mixture back into the saucepan and simmer on low heat till the mixture thickens, and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat.

Now take the gelatin out of the cold water, squeeze and add it to the hot vanilla custard, whisking well to combine. And let this custard cool completely.

Beat the cream along with 3 tablespoons of sugar until stiff and fold this into the cooled custard. Pour this mixture into individual wine glasses and refrigerate until to set.

Use raspberry jelly according to the instructions on the packet and pour it on to the fully set vanilla cream. Or you can simply use any fruit purees on top of the cream.

The cream even tastes delicious with or without any fruits.

So enjoy this awesome dessert.

Black Forest Brownies

2010-01-05T13:30:00.001+05:30

First and foremost, i wish all my readers a very happy and a prosperous new year 2010!! Hope you all had a great time spending long holidays with family and friends with loads of good food.. I hope to bring you all good food and some good photography this year..
My first post this year are one of my favorites "Brownies".
I remember i had a good large black forest cake last year in Black forest. It was filled with cherries and cream.. It was simply delicious. The black forest brownies here use the same ingredients that are used in the famous "black forest cake" , except that they turn fudgy and gooey instead of cakey and creamy. Sour cherries, kirsch and chocolate are a known tested and tried combination. But for this recipe they all combine together to give a wonderful tasting brownie, which serves as a great dessert for all the brownie lovers out there. To make this brownie alcohol free, you can add the canned cherry syrup instead of kirsch. This brownie tastes extra special with some sweetened whipped cream. So do try this yummy treat!!

Recipe adapted from Brownies, einfach schokoladig. This is a great book with wonderful Brownie and Blondie recipes. Simple, yet delicious recipes.

I got this book on my hubby's birthday. I know, i should be presenting him with something on his birthday but in turn i got this book from him that day. I'm so lucky.. ain't i?? I recommend this book for people who are crazy about trying different kinds of brownies and blondies.. Till now, i've tried 4 recipes from that book and not one have disappointed me. All were a hit! Its the best book of brownies i've got. And yes, fyi, its a German book.

Recipe gives 12 big or 24 small brownies.

Ingredients:

225 g milk chocolate, chopped (Use dark chocolate, if you like more intense chocolate flavor)
125 g butter, cut into cubes
3 tbsp cream
3 eggs, large
225 g fine sugar
2 tbsp kirsch or syrup from the canned cherries
160 g all purpose flour
100 g dark chocolate, chopped, or 100 g chocolate chips
465 g canned or glass sour cherries, (drained weight 175 g)[Can add more, as per your taste]

powdered sugar to sprinkle

1 Brownie form (20 x 25 cm) greased and lined with a baking paper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Combine milk chocolate, butter and cream in a small bowl and melt using a double boiler (place the bowl over another bowl with a simmering water). See that the bowl with the chocolate doesn't touch the water. Once everything melts together, take it out and let cool.

Beat the eggs in another bowl using a wooden spoon or a hand mixer until combined. Add in the sugar and kirsch and beat together until the mixture thickens a little bit.
Add in the melted chocolate-butter mixture.

Add flour in small batches and combine with a wooden spoon. Add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate. Combine well.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and place the cherries on the batter evenly.

Bake the brownie in a preheated oven for 30 -35 minutes. Remove the pan and let cool.

Cut the brownie into 12 equal portions.

Serve the brownies with some powdered sugar sprinkled on it.

Storage: The brownie stays well in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Gingerbread House

2009-12-27T13:30:00.001+05:30

Daring Bakers December Challenge 2009

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

I choose Anna's recipe from Good housekeeping. I had never baked a gingerbread house before. I thank Anna and Y for giving us such a great challenge. It took three days for me to finish the gingerbread house. Decorating was the fun part in the entire challenge. Its been 10 days since i made the house and it still looks and smells great.

This is the template i used.

Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup(s), 450 g packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cup(s), 360 ml heavy cream or whipping cream
1 1/4 cup(s), 425 g light (mild) molasses
9 1/2 cup(s), 1200 g all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon(s), 30 g baking soda
1 tablespoon(s), 15 g ground ginger

Directions:

In very large bowl, with wire whisk, beat brown sugar, cream, and molasses until sugar lumps dissolve and mixture is smooth. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and ginger. With spoon, stir flour mixture into cream mixture in 3 additions until dough is too stiff to stir, then knead with hands until flour is incorporated and dough is smooth.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions; flatten each into a disk to speed chilling. Wrap each disk well with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until dough is firm enough to roll.

Grease and flour large cookie sheets (17-inch by 14-inch). Roll out dough, 1 disk at a time on each cookie sheet to about 3/16-inch thickness. (Placing 3/16-inch dowels or rulers on either side of dough to use as a guide will help roll dough to uniform thickness.)

Trim excess dough from cookie sheet; wrap and reserve in refrigerator. Chill rolled dough on cookie sheet in refrigerator or freezer at least 10 minutes or until firm enough to cut easily.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Use chilled rolled dough, floured poster board patterns, and sharp paring knife to cut all house pieces on cookie sheet, making sure to leave at least 1 1/4 inches between pieces because dough will expand slightly during baking. Wrap and reserve trimmings in refrigerator. Combine and use trimmings as necessary to complete house and other decorative pieces. Cut and bake large pieces and small pieces separately.

Brush house pieces lightly with water before baking. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until pieces are firm to the touch. Do not overbake; pieces will be too crisp to trim to proper size.

Remove cookie sheet from oven. While house pieces are still warm, place poster-board patterns on top and use them as guides to trim shapes to match if necessary. Cool pieces completely on cookie sheets before removing.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar ( i used 1/4 tsp cream of tarter)
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Pistachio, Lemon and Honey Baklava

2009-12-23T02:43:00.000+05:30

Baklava is a Turkish delight made from layers of filo pastry, nuts, sugar and spices, drizzled with syrup. The resulting sweetmeat is wonderfully sticky and sweet.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

175 g (6 oz) shelled pistachio nuts
125 g (4 oz) blanched almonds,
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice (1/8 teaspoon each of nutmeg, clove, allspice, and ginger)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
12 Sheets Store bought filo pastry
125 g(4 oz) unsalted butter, melted

For the lemon and honey syrup,

grated rind and juice of 2 lemons (can reduce according to your taste)
250 g (8 oz) clear honey
150 ml(1/4 pint) water

Method:

Put the pistachio nuts, almonds and spices in a food processor and pulse briefly until the nuts are coarsely ground. Stir in the sugar.

Lightly oil a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 inch) cake tin. Cut the sheets of filo pastry in half crossway's so that they are about the same size as the tin (OR if the sheets are small, just keep the tin over the sheets and keeping the correct measurement of the tin, trim off the extra sides using a sharp serrated knife. the extra pieces could be used in the recipe for layering.)

Brush 1 sheet with melted butter and press it into the tin. Continue to brush and layer the sheets until half remain(about 5 sheets). Scatter over half of the nut mixture and then top with another 2 sheets brushing each with melted butter. Then scatter the other half of the nut mixture and the remaining pastry, brushing each sheet with melted butter as you go. (The original recipe says 6 sheets for the base, topped with the entire nut mixture which is again topped with the remaining 6 sheets of filo pastry.) This was the one slight change in the recipe which i made. You can make anyways you like. The result wont be just the same.

Use a sharp knife(serrated would do good) to score a diamond pattern into the pastry, cutting down to the base. Drizzle over any remaining butter and bake in a preheated oven, 180 deg C (350 deg F), Gas Mark 4, for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160 deg C( 325 deg F), Gas Mark 3, and bake for further 20-25 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden.

Meanwhile make the syrup: Put the lemon rind, juice, honey and water in a saucepan and heat gently until boiling. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Pour the hot syrup over the baklava and leave to cool.

After it has cooled and has absorbed all the syrup, it'll look like this.

Enjoy the lovely dessert!

Murukka ( Crispy spicy savory crackers )

2009-12-15T20:18:00.000+05:30

Murukku is one savory snack popular in south India. A special gadget called "chakli varalu" is used to make this snack but you can simply use a Patisserie Cream Syringe like here and here with a ribbon tip or any other small thin tip. Or you can just fill the dough into a plastic seal bag, make a small cut in the edge and pipe it directly into the hot oil. Shape doesn't matter at all. Its the ingredients for the dough thats matters and the end result would definitely be tasty and crispy no matter in what shape it is. I got this recipe from one of my friends mom who cooks real tasty south Indian food. I thank her for this wonderful recipe. Its become one of my husbands new favorite. You should try it to know it.

Ingredients required:

2 cups rice flour
1/4 cup Split roasted gram /Dalia /Hurigadale, ground into powder
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder
2 tbsps sesame seeds
1/4th cup hot oil
1/2 tbsp salt or as per taste
enough water to form a soft stiff dough
enough oil to deep fry

Directions:

combine rice flour, ground roasted gram, asafoetida and salt, mix well. Add hot oil and combine well. Now add the chilli powder and sesame seeds, mix well. Add enough water to form a soft dough.

Heat oil a deep pan on medium high. Grease your hands and take some of the dough and fill it into the chakli mold or icing bag (with a small nozzle). Pipe out spirals directly into the hot oil. Fry them in batches.

Deep fry the chaklis till golden. Drain on paper towels, cool and store in an air-tight container.

Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee.

Mutter Paneer

2009-12-08T03:26:00.000+05:30

Pan-Fried Cheese with Green Peas

There is no one north Indian restaurant menu, or any special occasion meal from that region, that does not include mutter paneer. This dish is rich, creamy and with some homemade freshly ground perfumed spices, they taste delicious. You can have this along with any store bought or homemade naan, and the meal is complete. The garam masala in this recipe is added in the beginning itself to let the lovely spices blend together with the creamy sauce.

If you don't find paneer or you don't have it handy, then you can easily substitute it with boiled and cubed potatoes and you can rename the dish as "Aloo matar". Even potatoes go very well with this sauce.

Recipe adapted from 660 curries

Ingredients:

1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
3 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 1 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 1/2 inch thick)
3 large cloves garlic
1 or 2 fresh green chillies
2 tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable/ sunflower)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 cup tomato sauce , canned or homemade
2 teaspoons bin bhuna hua garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
8 ounces Paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes and pan-fried with few teaspoons of oil till golden brown
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:

Combine the onion, ginger, garlic, and green chiles in a food processor and pulse until they are minced.

Heat the oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the cumin seeds and bay leaf, and cook until cumin seeds sizzles, turns reddish brown, and smells nutty, 5 to 10 seconds. Immediately add the minced onion blend and stir fry until it is light reddish brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in tomato sauce, bin bhuna hua garam masala and salt. The sauce will quickly start to bubble up and splatter, so lower the heat to medium. Simmer the sauce partially covered, stirring occasionally, until some oil starts to appear on the surface and around the edges, providing a glistening sheen , 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour in 1/4 cup water and the peas. Cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender and olive green in color, 8 to 10 minutes.

Fold in the cream, paneer and cilantro. Cover the pan and simmer, occasionally stirring gently, until the cream and cheese have warmed through, about 5 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Bin Bhuna Hua Garam Masala

2009-12-08T01:29:00.004+05:30

Coriander Scented Untoasted Blend

The heady aromas emanating from the release oils of just pulverized spices give you a hint of fresh and complex flavors that are sorely missing from store- purchased pre-ground spices. This version of garam masala does not involve toasting of whole spices. It is added to a dish, early on in the cooking, allowing time to add their subtle flavors.

According to Raghavan Iyer, the author of the book 660 Curries, this blend is perfectly acceptable in any recipe that calls for a commercial curry powder.

Makes: 3 tablespoons

2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds from green or white pods (or can substiture 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder)
2 dried bay leaves
3 or 4 dried red chillies; or 1 teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper)

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a small blender and grind until the texture resembles that of finely ground black pepper.

Store the mixture in a tightly sealed container, away from excess light, heat, and humidity, for up to 2 months (Do not refrigerate, as it adversely affects its flavors).

This blend is used in the recipe Mutter Paneer.

Heerekai Chutney ( Ridge Gourd Chutney )

2009-12-01T01:30:00.000+05:30

This dish has been one of my childhood favorite. I used to love it when my mom used to make this for me. This chutney goes very well with just plain steamed rice or as an accompaniment with Indian flat bread, chapathi. You can add more or less green chillies according to your taste.

Serves : 4

Ingredients:

2 big ridge gourds, peeled and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons chana dal (bengal gram)
2 green chillies
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup coconut, fresh or desiccated
2 teaspoons tamarind juice
1 teaspoon jaggery or sugar
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida , optional
few curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Directions:

Take the ridge gourd cubes in a deep vessel and add about a cup of water. On a medium high heat, bring this to a boil and cook until tender. Add a little more water if needed (do not add too much).

In another small pan, fry chana dal, green chilli and fenugreek seeds with little oil till chanal dal starts imparting a nice smell, till you see blisters appearing on the surface of green chillies and the fenugreek seeds start to turn brown. Take the pan off the heat and let cool a little bit.

Tranfer the contents of the pan into a blender. Add coconut, salt, tamarind, jaggery and the boiled ridge gourd (keep the water separate). Blend until smooth. Add the reserved water if necessary to get the right thickness.

Take oil in a pan, add mustard and let it splutter. Now add asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves and fry for few seconds. Now add the mixture from the blender and stir well.

Serve this wonderful tasting chutney with rice or chapati. Enjoy!

Daring Bakers: Cannoli filled with Ricotta and Mascarpone Cheese Cream

2009-11-27T15:00:00.002+05:30

Daring Bakers November 2009 Challenge

The November 2009 Daring Bakers Challenge was chosen and hosted by Lisa Michele of Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives. She chose the Italian Pastry, Cannolo (Cannoli is plural), using the cookbooks Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and The Sopranos Family Cookbook by Allen Rucker; recipes by Michelle Scicolone, as ingredient/direction guides. She added her own modifications/changes, so the recipe is not 100% verbatim from either book.

Cannoli are known as Italian-American pastries, although the origin of cannoli dates back to Sicily, specifically Palermo, where it was prepared during Carnevale season, and according to lore, as a symbol of fertility. The cannoli is a fried, tube-shaped pastry shell (usually containing wine) filled with a creamy amalgamation of sweetened ricotta cheese, chocolate, candied fruit or zest, and sometimes nuts. Although not traditional, mascarpone cheese is also widely used, and in fact, makes for an even creamier filling when substituted for part of the ricotta, or by itself. However, cannoli can also be filled with pastry creams, mousses, whipped cream, ice cream etc. You could also add your choice of herbs, zests or spices to the dough, if desired. Marsala is the traditional wine used in cannoli dough, but any red or white wine will work fine, as it’s not only added for flavor or color, but to relax the gluten in the dough since it can be a stiff dough to work with.

Equipment:
Cannoli forms/tubes - optional, but recommended if making traditional shaped cannoli. Dried cannelloni pasta tubes work just as well!
Deep, heavy saucepan, enough to hold at least 2-3-inches of oil or deep fryer
Deep fat frying thermometer. although the bread cube or bit of dough test will work fine.
Metal tongs
Brass or wire skimmer OR large slotted spoon
Pastry bag with large star or plain tip, but a snipped ziplock bag, butter knife or teaspoon will work fine.
Cooling rack
Paper bags or paper towels
Pastry Brush
Cheesecloth
Sieve or fine wire mesh strainer
Electric Mixer, stand or hand, optional, as mixing the filling with a spoon is fine.
Food Processor or Stand Mixer – also optional, since you can make the dough by hand, although it takes more time.
Rolling pin and/or Pasta roller/machine
Pastry or cutting board
Round cutters - The dough can also be cut into squares and rolled around the cannoli tube prior to frying. If making a stacked cannoli, any shaped cutter is fine, as well as a sharp knife.
Mixing bowl and wooden spoon if mixing filling by hand
Plastic Wrap/Clingfilm
Tea towels or just cloth towels

Required: If you don’t have or do not want to purchase cannoli forms, which I would never ask of any of you, you could simply cut out circles, squares, or any shapes you want and stack them with the filling of your choice to make stacked cannoli's aka Cannolipoleons (directions below). If desired, you can channel MacGuyver and fashion something heat proof to get traditional shaped cannoli (6-8 inch sawed off lengths of a wooden broom stick or cane, sanded down and oiled, is THE authentic cannoli form!), or non-traditional shapes such as creating a form to make bowls, or even using cream horns if you happen to have them. Mini cannoli would be great too, and I've provided links to retailers of cannoli forms of all sizes. I used Aluminum Foil BBQ Grill Trays for the cannoli forms. I cut them and rolled them using garlic presser and rolled them again with a sheet of parchment paper. I sealed the ends of the parchment paper using small cut outs of the grill sheet. This helps when you fry the pastry for the first time. Later the parchment paper sticks by itself and you wont need the sealing. This is a wonderful alternative for the steel cannoli forms. The fried pastry come sout easily without any problems.

Also, for those who don't like to cook or bake with alcohol - grape juice, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, apple juice..any sweet juice of a fruit, especially ones used in or to make wine, can be substituted. Just add a little more vinegar to insure you get enough acid to relax the dough

Makes 22-24 4-inch cannoli
Prep time:
Dough – 2 hours and 10-20 minutes, including resting time, and depending on whether you do it by hand or machine.
Filling – 5-10 minutes plus chilling time (about 2 hours or more)
Frying – 1-2 minutes per cannoli
Assemble – 20–30 minutes

CANNOLI SHELLS
2 cups (250 grams/8.82 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons(28 grams/1 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.06 ounces) unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (approx. 3 grams/0.11 ounces) salt
3 tablespoons (42 grams/1.5 ounces) vegetable or olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 grams/0.18 ounces) white wine vinegar
Approximately 1/2 cup (approx. 59 grams/approx. 4 fluid ounces/approx. 125 ml) sweet Marsala or any white or red wine you have on hand
1 large egg, separated (you will need the egg white but not the yolk)
Vegetable or any neutral oil for frying – about 2 quarts (8 cups/approx. 2 litres)
1/2 cup (approx. 62 grams/2 ounces) toasted, chopped pistachio nuts, mini chocolate chips/grated chocolate and/or candied or plain zests, fruits etc.. for garnish
Confectioners' sugar

Note - If you want a chocolate cannoli dough, substitute a few tablespoons of the flour (about 25%) with a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process) and a little more wine until you have a workable dough.

CANNOLI FILLING
2 lbs (approx. 3.5 cups/approx. 1 kg/32 ounces) ricotta cheese, drained (i used half ricotta and half mascarpone cheese)
1 2/3 cups cup (160 grams/6 ounces) confectioner’s sugar, (more or less, depending on how sweet you want it), sifted
1/2 teaspoon (1.15 grams/0.04 ounces) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (4 grams/0.15 ounces) pure vanilla extract or the beans from one vanilla bean
3 tablespoons (approx. 28 grams/approx. 1 ounce) finely chopped good quality chocolate of your choice
2 tablespoons (12 grams/0.42 ounces) of finely chopped, candied orange peel, or the grated zest of one small to medium orange
3 tablespoons (23 grams/0.81 ounce) toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Note - If you want chocolate ricotta filling, add a few tablespoons of dark, unsweetened cocoa powder to the above recipe, and thin it out with a few drops of warm water if too thick to pipe.

DIRECTIONS FOR SHELLS:
1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer or food processor, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the oil, vinegar, and enough of the wine to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and well blended, about 2 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge from 2 hours to overnight. (I kept the dough covered with a plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 2 days and i had no problems with the pastry. It was easy to roll and had blisters on the surface.)

2 Cut the dough into two pieces. Keep the remaining dough covered while you work. Lightly flour a large cutting or pastry board and roll the dough until super thin, about 1/16 to 1/8” thick (An area of about 13 inches by 18 inches should give you that). Cut out 3 to 5-inch circles (3-inch – small/medium; 4-inch – medium/large; 5-inch;- large. Your choice). Roll the cut out circle into an oval, rolling it larger and thinner if it’s shrunk a little.

3 Oil the outside of the cannoli tubes (You only have to do this once, as the oil from the deep fry will keep them well, uhh, oiled..lol). Roll a dough oval from the long side (If square, position like a diamond, and place tube/form on the corner closest to you, then roll) around each tube/form and dab a little egg white on the dough where the edges overlap. (Avoid getting egg white on the tube, or the pastry will stick to it.) Press well to seal. Set aside to let the egg white seal dry a little.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, pour enough oil to reach a depth of 3 inches, or if using an electric deep-fryer, follow the manufacturer's directions. Heat the oil to 375°F (190 °C) on a deep fry thermometer, or until a small piece of the dough or bread cube placed in the oil sizzles and browns in 1 minute. Have ready a tray or sheet pan lined with paper towels or paper bags.

5. Carefully lower a few of the cannoli tubes into the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Fry the shells until golden, about 2 minutes, turning them so that they brown evenly.

8. Lift a cannoli tube with a wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, out of the oil. Using tongs, grasp the cannoli tube at one end. Very carefully remove the cannoli tube with the open sides straight up and down so that the oil flows back into the pan. Place the tube on paper towels or bags to drain. Repeat with the remaining tubes. While they are still hot, grasp the tubes with a potholder and pull the cannoli shells off the tubes with a pair of tongs, or with your hand protected by an oven mitt or towel. Let the shells cool completely on the paper towels. Place shells on cooling rack until ready to fill.

9. Repeat making and frying the shells with the remaining dough. If you are reusing the cannoli tubes, let them cool before wrapping them in the dough.

Pasta Machine method:
1. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Starting at the middle setting, run one of the pieces of dough through the rollers of a pasta machine. Lightly dust the dough with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Pass the dough through the machine repeatedly, until you reach the highest or second highest setting. The dough should be about 4 inches wide and thin enough to see your hand through

2. Continue rolling out the remaining dough. If you do not have enough cannoli tubes for all of the dough, lay the pieces of dough on sheets of plastic wrap and keep them covered until you are ready to use them.

3, Roll, cut out and fry the cannoli shells as according to the directions above.

For stacked cannoli:
1. Heat 2-inches of oil in a saucepan or deep sauté pan, to 350-375°F (176 - 190 °C).

2. Cut out desired shapes with cutters or a sharp knife. Deep fry until golden brown and blistered on each side, about 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oil with wire skimmer or large slotted spoon, then place on paper towels or bags until dry and grease free. If they balloon up in the hot oil, dock them lightly prior to frying. Place on cooling rack until ready to stack with filling.

DIRECTIONS FOR FILLING:
1. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the ricotta in the strainer over a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Weight it down with a heavy can, and let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator for several hours to overnight.

2. In a bowl with electric mixer, beat ricotta until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioner’s sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and blend until smooth. Transfer to another bowl and stir in chocolate, zest and nuts. Chill until firm.(The filling can be made up to 24 hours prior to filling the shells. Just cover and keep refrigerated).

ASSEMBLE THE CANNOLI:
1. When ready to serve..fill a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain or star tip, or a ziplock bag, with the ricotta cream. If using a ziplock bag, cut about 1/2 inch off one corner. Insert the tip in the cannoli shell and squeeze gently until the shell is half filled. Turn the shell and fill the other side. You can also use a teaspoon to do this, although it’s messier and will take longer.

2. Press or dip cannoli in chopped pistachios, grated chocolate/mini chocolate chips, candied fruit or zest into the cream at each end. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and/or drizzles of melted chocolate if desired.

TIPS AND NOTES:
- Dough must be stiff and well kneaded

- Rolling the dough to paper thinness, using either a rolling pin or pasta machine, is very important. If the dough is not rolled thin enough, it will not blister, and good cannoli should have a blistered surface.

- Initially, this dough is VERY stubborn, but keep rolling, it eventually gives in. Before cutting the shapes, let the dough rest a bit, covered, as it tends to spring back into a smaller shapes once cut. Then again, you can also roll circles larger after they’re cut, and/or into ovals, which gives you more space for filling.

- Your basic set of round cutters usually doesn’t contain a 5-inch cutter. Try a plastic container top, bowl etc, or just roll each circle to 5 inches. There will always be something in your kitchen that’s round and 5-inches if you want large cannoli.

- Oil should be at least 3 inches deep and hot – 360°F-375°F, or you’ll end up with greasy shells. I prefer 350°F - 360°F because I felt the shells darkened too quickly at 375°F.

- If using the cannoli forms, when you drop the dough on the form into the oil, they tend to sink to the bottom, resulting in one side darkening more. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to gently lift and roll them while frying.

- DO NOT crowd the pan. Cannoli should be fried 2-4 at a time, depending on the width of your saucepan or deep fryer. Turn them once, and lift them out gently with a slotted spoon/wire skimmer and tongs. Just use a wire strainer or slotted spoon for flat cannoli shapes.

- When the cannoli turns light brown - uniform in color, watch it closely or remove it. If it’s already a deep brown when you remove it, you might end up with a really dark or slightly burnt shell.

- Depending on how much scrap you have left after cutting out all of your cannoli shapes, you can either fry them up and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar for a crispy treat, or let the scraps rest under plastic wrap and a towel, then re-roll and cut more cannoli shapes.

- Push forms out of cannoli very gently, being careful not to break the shells as they are very delicate. DO NOT let the cannoli cool on the form, or you may never get it off without it breaking. Try to take it off while still hot. Hold it with a cloth in the center, and push the form out with a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

- When adding the confectioner’s sugar to the filling..TASTE. You may like it sweeter than what the recipe calls for, or less sweet, so add in increments.

- Fill cannoli right before serving! If you fill them an hour or so prior, you’ll end up with soggy cannoli shells.

- If you want to prepare the shells ahead of time, store them in an airtight container, then re-crisp in a 350°F (176 °C) oven for a few minutes, before filling.

- Practice makes perfect. My first batch of shells came out less than spectacular, and that’s an understatement. As you go along, you’ll see what will make them more aesthetically pleasing, and adjust accordingly when rolling. My next several batches turned out great. Don’t give up!!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2009-11-24T01:30:00.001+05:30

These whoopies pies are two soft, spiced cakey cookies with a fair amount of cream sandwiched between them. These cookies are so much full of flavor, the spices and the pumpkin flavor blend beautifully together. They taste great with the vanilla flavored cream cheese filling and these cookies are so good and moist, that they are delicious and can be had even without the cream cheese filling. One change i made with the recipe was that i reduced the recipe by half and made 6 sandwiched whoopie pies which was good enough for just 2 of us (me and my hubby) and i also reduced the quantity of confectioners' sugar in the filling. It was little too sweet for my taste bud. Altogether this is a great recipe for people with sweet tooth.

Recipe adapted from Baked, new frontiers in baking.

Yield : 12 WHOOPIE PIES

Ingredients for the pumpkin whoopie cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon cloves powder
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (i used light brown sugar)
1 cup vegetable oil (i used sunflower oil)
3 cups chilled pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cream cheese frosting:

3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) You can reduce the amount according to your taste
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves together and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar and oil together until combined. Add the pumpkin puree and whisk to combine thoroughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until completely combined.

Use a small ice cream scoop with release mechanism to drop heaping tablespoons of the dough on to the prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookies are just starting to crack on top and the toothpick inserted into the center of the cookie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely on the pan while you make the filling.

Make the cream cheese filling

Sift the confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment(you can even use medium sized bowl and a hand beater), beat the butter until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Be careful not to overeat the filling, or it will loose structure. (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before filling.)

Assemble the whoopie pies

Turn half of the cooled cookies upside down (flat side facing up).

Use an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon to drop a large dollop of filling onto the flat side of the cookie. Place another cookie, flat side down, on top of the filling. Press down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edges of the cookie. Repeat until all the cookies are used. Put the whoopie pies in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up before serving.

Storing:

The whoopie pies will keep for up to 3 days, on a parchment-lined baking sheet covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.

Note:

Make sure you chill the pumpkin puree thoroughly before making this recipe. The chilled puree will make your whoopies easier to scoop and give them a domed top.

Schokoladen Sirup Muffins (Chocolate Syrup Muffins)

2009-11-17T01:30:00.002+05:30

Schokoladen Sirup Muffins in German meaning Chocolate syrup Muffins ,adapted from "1 Teig = 100 Muffins" book. This book has a plenty of muffin recipes both sweet and savory. Its the german version of the book "1 Mix, 100 Muffins". Anybody wanting for a cake and have no buddies to share a big cake with, then go ahead and make these tiny muffins. It'll satisfy your wanting for a cake as well as serve just a few. You can even cut the recipe by half and make just 6 muffins.
I loved the texture these muffins had. They also have a strong cocoa flavor. You can make a simple sugar glaze to top these muffins with if your don't much like the strong flavor of cocoa or even a dusting of icing sugar would do. They taste great as it is as well. Enjoy these muffins just with a plain glass of milk. Yummy!!

Makes 12 regular-sized muffins

Ingredients:

225 gms all purpose flour (Appox. 1 1/2 cups + 1 1/2 tbsps)
50 gms Cocoa powder
3 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
150 gms light brown sugar
2 eggs (large)
200 gms sour cream
6 tbsps sunflower oil or 90 gms butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsps heller sirup ( can substitute golden syrup or honey)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large mixing bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Stir in the sugar and keep aside.

In a medium sized bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the sour cream, sunflower oil ( or melted butter) and syrup mixing well. Set aside.

Make a well inside the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Do not over mix this batter or the muffins will be tough when baked.

Divide the batter amongst the 12 muffin cups using two spoons or an ice cream scoop, About 3/4th of the muffin cup. (I transfered the batter into a zip lock cover. Made a 1/2 inch hole in the corner. This helped me a lot and ensured me a clean fill up.)

Place in the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a touch, the muffin bounces back. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Serve warm with little icing sugar or a simple glaze using powdered sugar, water and vanilla on top.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2009-11-10T01:30:00.000+05:30

I had bookmarked this recipe from a very long time and finally i made it. These rolls turned out very moist and were full of flavor. The addition of pumpkin to the dough gave a lovely color and flavor. These pumpkin cinnamon rolls are just like the usual cinnamon rolls we make except that there is the addition of pureed pumpkin to the dough and instead of the usual cinnamon-sugar mixture sprinkled on the rolled, buttered dough, here we make a streusel using cinnamon, sugar, flour, and butter which is sprinkled on the rolled dough, rolled again into a log, cut into individual portions and then baked. The vanilla sugar glaze on top of the baked rolls gives a wonderful sweetness. Must say, i am fully satisfied with the results. It was a great tasting recipe!

Recipe adapted and slightly altered from myrecipes

Ingredients

For the buns:
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Homemade Pumpkin Puree (recipe below)
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (57 gm) butter, melted
1 tablespoon + a pinch granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Cooking spray

For the filling:
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

For the glaze:
3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 tablespoon hot water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

For the pumpkin puree:

You'll need 2 small pumpkins( i used Hokkaido)

Gives: 2 cups of pumpkin puree.

Cut the pumpkins into fourths. Remove and discard seeds and strings. Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Bake in a preheated 180 deg C oven for 30 - 45 minutes or until tender. Cool, peel and mash it with a potato masher or by just using your hands.

Keeps well in an air tight box, in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days , and freeze up to 3 months.

To prepare the rolls:

Dissolve yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Add flour, pumpkin, milk, melted butter, 1 tbsp sugar, salt and nutmeg; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes) OR just use your hands to bring all the ingredients together and knead well to form a smooth dough.

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray or some neutral oil, turning to coat top. Cover with a plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into the dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.)

For the filling:

Combine 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 x 10-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam and ends to seal. Cut roll into 12 (1-inch) slices. Place slices in a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray(9 slices fits the pan, the left 3 slices can be baked in a muffin tray).

Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)

Bake the rolls at 375° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over buns.

Serve warm.

Creamy Carrot Soup

2009-11-03T01:30:00.000+05:30

Many people think that for every bowl of smooth creamy soup on the table there's a worn-out cook in the kitchen. Cream soups are so impressive they must be difficult, right?
Wrong. Actually, this family of soup is easy to make in advance, which makes them perfect for entertaining. In fact, because they're mostly pureed, its better to make them in advance. Since creaminess often comes from a simple addition, it's really no big deal, and there is no denying their elegance.

This classic French soup can be varied in several ways and also be produced in completely different fashion. Vegans will obviously want to use some kind of vegetable oil instead of butter. For a completely smooth soup, always be careful pureeing hot soup. Its important to let it cool down a bit before pureeing it in a blender.

For the recipe, you'll need the following ingredients..

3 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 pound (453 gm) (approx. 4 large) carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large starchy potato, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 cups (approx. 1 liter) vegetable stock or water
2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste (optional)

Directions:

Put the butter or oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When the butter melts or the oil is hot, add the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots soften a bit. Add the stock or water and cook until the vegetables are very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pan. Or cool the mixture slightly (hot soup is dangerous), pour it into a blender, and puree carefully until smooth, working in batches if necessary. (You may prepare the soup in advance up to this point. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days, and reheat before proceeding.) Adjust the seasoning; if the soup tastes flat, stir in the sugar to play up the carrot flavor.

If you're serving the soup hot, reheat it in the saucepan. If you're serving it cold, refrigerate, covered, for at least 2 hours. Either way, but i definitely prefer this soup hot. You can garnish the soup with few chopped parsley leaves or coriander leaves and serve.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice

2009-10-27T01:30:00.004+05:30

This is another delicious and wickedly indulgent treat that is best cut into fingers. I decided to bake this cake as soon as i saw this recipe in the book "Fresh Baked" with a lovely picture. This recipe is very quick with very easy to follow instructions and the result is in front of you. Its got a nice chocolate base topped with a lovely satiny cheesecake layer which is again decorated with a lacy melted chocolate. Any favorite chocolate biscuits can be used for the base. I used butter biscuits coated with dark chocolate which went very well with the cheesecake layer.

Use the exact sized baking pan for the recipe mentioned as this effects the thickness of the cheesecake. I also used a weighing machine to weigh the ingredients which gave me the perfect result.

Chocolate Cheesecake Slice
from Fresh Baked

preparation time: 20 minutes
cooking time 50-60 minutes
serves: 12-16

Ingredients:

250 gm (8 oz) Chocolate biscuits (any of your favorite)
100 gm (3 1/2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
50 gm (2 oz) dark chocolate
500 gm (1 lb) cream cheese
150 ml (1/4 pint) sour cream
3 eggs (i used large)
125 gm (4 oz) caster sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Put the chocolate biscuits in a food processor and process until smooth, then stir into the melted butter until evenly combined. Lightly oil and line a 18 x 25 cm (7 x 10 inch) cake tin with baking paper, allowing the paper to overhang the edges. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread flat. Chill while preparing the topping.

Put the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until it has melted. Keep warm. [If the chocolate turns too thick, add few teaspoons of sour cream to slightly liquidity it so that it would be easy to drizzle over the cheesecake layer. I filled this chocolate - sour cream mixture into a small zip lock cover. Made a small hole in the corner and this ended up with a very clean , hazel free drizzle.]

Put the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a clean bowl and, using an electric beaters, beat together until smooth. Pour into the tin and drizzle over the melted chocolate, using a skewer to create a swirling pattern over the creamed mixture.

Bake in a preheated oven 150 deg C (300 deg F), Gas Mark 2, FOR 50 - 60 minutes until the mixture is firm, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Chill for 1 hour, then carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin and cut it into fingers.

Enjoy with a cup of hot coffee!

Puran Poli

2009-10-17T19:57:00.003+05:30

Puran poli is one very popular Indian festival sweet dish. Its basically a soft dough filled with a sweet lentil mixture , rolled and fried. Puran poli usually uses jaggery as the sweetner but here i've used sweetened condensed milk which gives a lovely milky sweetness.
I made this dish for the diwali festival, a festival of lights. I also wish all my Indian readers a very happy and safe diwali.

Now for the recipe you'll need..

Ingredients:

200 gms All purpose flour (maida)
3 tbsps fine semolina
1 tbsp rice flour
pinch of turmeric
pinch of salt
200gms (2 cups) raw chana dal
1 tin (400gms) Sweetened condensed milk (milkmaid)

pinch of cardamom powder

Ghee or neutral oil for frying
water for dough

Directions:

For the puran mixture:
Wash and cook chana dal in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water. Give 4 whistles and let the steam escape before you take off the lid. Let it cool. Drain the water completely.

Grind the chana cal to make a thick paste. Transfer the paste to a non-stick pan. Add the sweetened condensed milk and cardamom powder and cook till the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan. Keep aside. This is the puran mixture.

To make the dough:
Combine all purpose flour, semolina, rice flour, turmeric, a pinch of salt with enough water to form a soft pliable dough.

Divide the dough into 10 equal parts. Also divide the puran mixture into 10 equal parts.

Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a small disc, stuff each rolled disc with the puran mixture, enclose the stuffing with the dough from all the sides and flatten it lightly with both your palm. Now place this stuffed dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll it again to form a little larger discs. Use as much little extra flour required for rolling. This helps the dough to move easily on the counter.

Preheat a non stick pan or tawa. Place each rolled disc one at a time and fry each side by brushing little ghee or oil on both the sides till golden brown spots are formed on the surface. Follow the same with all the remaining dough and puran stuffing.

Serve hot or warm with a spoonful of ghee on top.

Strawberry Muffins With Cream

2009-10-13T02:00:00.000+05:30

Muffins belongs to the 'quick bread' family as indeed it takes hardly few minutes to prepare and bake and the results are yummy and tasty. Strawberry muffins are the ultimate thing to bake when you have strawberry's left out in the kitchen. These muffins are moist, not too much of sweet and can serve as a great treat for your guests or for yourself. Any berry, be it, blueberry or raspberry can be substituted for strawberry's. These studded berry's with every bite give a lovely tangy taste with the cake like crumble. Hmm.. it tastes yummy!

Now for the recipe.. This recipe is adapted from "1 Mix, 100 Muffins"..(A must have for muffin lovers)

Makes 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients:

Oil or melted butter to grease the muffin pans or use muffin papers

150 gm Strawberry's (around 6 medium sized), finely chopped
280 gm All purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
120 gm Sugar
2 large Eggs
250 gm Whipping Cream
6 Tbsp Sunflower oil OR 90 gm Butter, melted and cooled
5 drops Vanilla Aroma

To decorate:
125 gms Creme double
12 small strawberry's

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Position rack in center of oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners or grease with butter or a vegetable spray. Set aside.

In another large bowl, sieve the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. Stir in the strawberry's and sugar.

Lightly beat the eggs in another bowl. Add in the whipping cream, sunflower oil and vanilla aroma.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or the muffins might turn tough.

Fill each muffin cup about two thirds full of batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins have turned golden brown and spring back with a touch.

Let the muffins stay in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

Whip creme double until stiff with a little confectioners sugar if desired and spread it on the cooled muffins and decorate with the whole or sliced strawberry's.

Refrigerate until u serve. Serve chilled or at room temperature without the cream.

Paneer Jalfrezie (Creamy Cheese with Red Onion and Bell Peppers)

2009-10-07T01:00:00.001+05:30

The word Jalfrezie, a coined term that originated in Indian restaurents catering to the English, has come to mean many things. Some associate it with "chiles-hot," while to others it indicates the inclusion of bell peppers and onions as key ingredient that contribute to the curry's gusto. So this recipe is an old English favorite curry.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsps oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium-size green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup tomato sauce, canned or homemade
1 tbsp Balti Masala
1 tsp salt
2 tbsps finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
8 ounce Paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:

Heat the oil in a wok, or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger, and stir fry until the onion is light brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce, balti masala, and salt. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until a bit of oil starts to form on the surface and sround the edges, 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of water and the cilantro. (The water thins the curry to accommodate the cheese.)

Gently fold in the paneer, raise the heat to medium-high, and simmer, uncovered, stirring every so often, until the sauce starts to thicken, 10-12 minutes. Then serve.

Balti Masala (Fennel-Flavored Toasted Spice Blend)

2009-10-07T00:59:00.000+05:30

A Hindi/Urdu word for "bucket" is balti and here it's not a vessel for cooking. This is a coined terminology that originated with an enterprising Pakistani restaurant owner in Birmingham, England, and ended up back in restaurants in India. The food is actually cooked and served in a karhai, not a bucket: a karhai is the Indian version of the wok. Wherever it came from, some of the spices used in this blend are typical in Pakistani cooking. This blend can also be substituted for Kashmiri garam masala for equally satisfying results.

Makes 1/3 cup

Ingredients:

2 tsps fennel seeds
2 tsps coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
3 fresh or dried bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks (each 30inches long), broken into small pieces
2 tsp cayenne (ground red pepper) or can substitute red chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add all the whole spices (reserving the cayenne and nutmeg), and toast, shaking the skillet every few seconds, until the fennel, coriander, and cumin turn reddish brown, the mustard, cloves and bay leaves appear brittle and crinkly, and the mixture is highly fragrant, 1 to2 minutes. (The nigella will not change color.)

Immediately transfer the nutty smelling spices to a plate to cool. (The longer they sit in the hot skillet, the more likely it is that they will burn, making them bitter and unpalatable.) Once they are cool to the touch, place them in a spice grinder or coffee grinder, and grind until the texture resembles ground black pepper. (If you don't allow the spice to cool, the ground blend will acquire unwanted moisture from the heat making the final blend slightly "Cakey".) The ground blend will be a deep reddish brown and the aroma will be sweet and complex, very different from those of the pre-toasted or post-toasted whole spices. Stir in the cayenne and nutmeg.

Store the mix in a tightly sealed container, away from excess light, heat and humidity, for up to 2 months. (Also refrigerating the blend adversely affects its flavors.)

Cantuccini

2009-09-30T12:30:00.002+05:30

All Italian cookies are called biscotti, but these are what we think of as classic biscotti. Twice baked cookies, they are first baked in a log shape, then sliced and baked again until they are very dry and crunchy. (Because they contain no butter or other fat, except that contained in the eggs, they can bake to a formidable state of crunchiness.) The techniques used to make can't-stop-eating-them biscotti are, like the cookies themselves, classic.

This post also goes to Meeta's Monthly Mingle : High Tea Treats

Recipe from Nick Malgiri. Adapted from the book "Baking with Julia".

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups unblanched whole almonds
3 large eggs
2 tsps pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C). Line a baking sheet with parchment and keep aside.

Put the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and stir with a rubber spatula to mix. Stir in the almonds.

Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a small bowl, then stir them into the flour mixture. The dough may seem dry at this point but it will come together as it is kneaded.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, folding it over onto itself until it is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into 12-inch-long log. Gently press down on the logs to flatten them until they are about 2 inches wide and 1 inch high. Transfer them to the prepared pan.

First baking
Bake the logs for about 30 minutes, or until they are slightly risen and firm to touch. Slide the logs, parchment paper and all, off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. The logs must be completely cool before you continue with the recipe. Since they will take about 30 minutes to cool, you can either turn the oven off or leave it on for the next step. You can bake the biscotti up to this point several days ahead. Wrap the logs well in plastic and continue when its convenient.

Second baking
When the logs have cooled completely, preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C), if necessary. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Working with a sharp serrated knife, cut the cooked logs diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the sliced cookies cut side down on the pans and bake for 10 -15 minutes, or until the biscotti are crisp and golden. Cool on the pans.

Storing
These biscotti will keep for up to a month in an airtight tin or plastic container.

Homemade Puff Pastry and Vol-au-Vent

2009-09-27T12:30:00.006+05:30

Daring Bakers September 2009 Challenge

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Vol-au-vent filled with pastry cream and topped with sweet whipped cream and sweet cherry. Hmm.. Yummy!!

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Puff pastry is a quintessential laminated dough. A simple dough is wrapped around a block of butter, then rolled, folded and turned six times, so that when the final dough is baked, it puffs mightily and forms almost one thousand seemingly laminated layers. Puff pastry is called mille feuilles, or "a thousand leaves" in French, but thats an exaggeration. In fact, there are only 944 layers of pastry, seperated by 963 layers of butter, but no matter. This is still the queen of all pastries, the one that, once mastered, entitles you to whatever bragging rights you wish to claim.

Steph’s note:

-This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

-Chill early and often - keep the pastry cold and you'll keep the layers.

-Be neat - fold the dough evenly.

-Stay away from the ends - Don't roll over the ends of the pastry or you'll glue the layers together.

-Take your time - don't skimp on the number of turns or the chilling periods.

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour (i used 1 cup APF + 1/4 cup cornstarch)
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (4 sticks/ 16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Extracted From the book "Baking With Julia".

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Note on Freezing Puff Pastry

Although puff pastry can be chilled or frozen at any stage, it is really most convenient to give the puff pastry a full six turns, roll it out into a flat sheet, chill it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and then, when it is cold, wrap it for the freezer. Rolling the dough into a sheet means it will defrost quickly and won't have to be rolled much before you cut and bake it. Thaw the dough, still wrapped, in the refrigerator.

Steph’s extra tips:

-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don't want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough...you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don't roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent)

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Pastry Cream

2009-09-27T12:29:00.001+05:30

Pastry cream is also known as Crème Pâtissière, pastry cream is a thickened custard used to fill sweet pastry cases and choux buns.

Source: Fresh Baked

Makes 350ml

Ingredients:
300ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split
3 egg yolks
50 gm caster sugar
2 tbsps cornflour
2 tbsps plain flour
15 gm unsalted butter

Method:
Put the milk in a saucepan and scrap in the seeds from the vanilla pod. Bring the milk slowly to the boil and remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, and sugar and then whisk in the cornflour and flour until the mixture is smooth.

Whisk in the hot milk and then return the mixture to the pan. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the mixture just starts to boil. Simmer for 1 minute, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Cover the surface with clingfilm and set aside to cool completely. Use as required.

Note:
It is really important to stir the mixture constantly as it cooks so that it thickens but doesn't become lumpy. If this does happen, put the pastry cream in a food processor and process until it is smooth. Always cover the surface of the cream with clingfilm as it cools to prevent a skin forming.

Creamy Apple Pumpkin Soup

2009-09-22T13:30:00.002+05:30

This is one of the wonderful soup I've ever tasted. It is mild, nutritious and has the perfect blend of flavors. The addition of apple gives a nice sweetness. And the texture is so soft and creamy. This is perfect before any meal.

Source: Myrecipes

Ingredients:
2 tsps Butter or Margarine or any unflavored oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 tsp dried rubbed sage
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 tbsps all-purpose flour
500 ml vegetable stock or water
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
3 cups deseeded, peeled & cubed fresh pumpkin (1 pound)
1 cup sweet cooking apple, chopped
1/4 cup milk

Preparation:
Melt butter in a big vessel over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add sage, curry powder, and nutmeg; cook 30 seconds. Stir in flour; cook 30 seconds. Add broth, tomato paste, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in pumpkin and apple; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes or until pumpkin is tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Place mixture in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return mixture to to the vessel; add milk. Cook until thoroughly heated. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.

Bharlele Masala Bhindi (Cashew and Coriander Stuffed Okra)

2009-09-15T12:30:00.005+05:30

This one has to be the best Okra recipe i have ever had. I used to avoid using this vegetable as i could not get rid of the sticky thing in it while cooking. But then i found this recipe in the book 660 curries written by Raghavan Iyer. I got this book as a gift from my hubby on my birthday and i've never looked back. I've been trying out all the recipes one by one and not one recipe has disappointed me. So look forward for more curry recipes from this book on this blog. The curries are finger licking and i'm glad i'm able to cook such wonderful curries for my family. I recommend all the Indian curries lovers to buy this book.
This curry Bharlele masala bhindi has got the perfect blend of spices and goes wonderfully with Indian flat breads as its little dry. Its got a little more amount of oil but this is what gives the curry a wonderful texture. But you can try reducing the amount of oil a little bit. The red onions give a lovely sweetness and the tomato which is added at the end of the process gives a tiny tang to the curry. So here goes the recipe..

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound (454 gms) Fresh Okra, rinsed and thoroughly dried
1/2 cup raw (unroasted) Cashew nuts , ground (powdered)
2 tsps Degi mirch red chilli powder
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup canola oil (or vegetable/ sunflower will do)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 small red onion, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
12-15 curry leaves
1 large tomato, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:
Trim the caps off the Okra without cutting into the pods. Then form a small cavity in each okra by cutting a slit down three quarters of the length, making the slit about 1/4 inch deep. Be careful not to cut all the way through the pod. This cavity will hold the stuffing.

Combine the cashews, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt in a small bowl, and mix well.

Using your fingers, stuff each okra pod with approximately 1/2 teaspoon of this spice blend. (You can safely stuff the okra a day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.) There shouldn't be any blend left over, but if there is, either sprinkle it over the stuffed okra or save it, stored in a jar or a self-seal plastic bag, on a cool pantry shelf for future use; it will keep for up to 2 months.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet, and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (not unlike popcorn), about 30 seconds. Stir in the onion, and add the okra along with the curry leaves. Lower the heat to medium, and roast the mixture, uncovered, occasionally stirring gently, until the onion softens and the now olive-green okra is partially tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir in the tomato, cover the skillet, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the okra is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Then serve.

Tips:

* To grind the cashews powder-fine, use a spice grinder or a blender. If some kernels refuse to pulverize, empty some of the ground nuts into a bowl, freeing up space for the blades to do their thing.

* When you rely on the juiciness of a tomato to provide essential moisture to a curry, it had better be perfectly ripe, bursting with sweet succulence- none of those waxy, pale pink specimens that remain firm even after squatting on the kitchen counter for days. If you cant find that just-right tomato, use 1 can(14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, juice and all, instead.

Fresh Rhubarb Upside-down Baby Cakes

2009-09-08T12:30:00.000+05:30

Here's a tender, soft-crumbled butter cake, a classic of the genre, made as individual upside-down cakes. The baby cake pans, each four inches across, are lined with a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, and pecans and decorated with slices of Rhubarb before the bourbon-boosted butter cake batter is poured in. In fact, there's nothing sacred about Rhubarb; you can vary the fruit as you choose. Try using mangoes, apples or pears, apricots, plums, or bananas, and vary the liqueur or flavoring to match the fruit.

If the urge to bake these lovely cakes strikes and you haven't a set of baby cake pans at hand, make these in muffin tins or custard cups, or make the recipe as one large cake. The batter is perfect for an eleven- or twelve-inch cast iron skillet or a twelve-inch round cake pan, and turned out, the large cake is impressive.

These baby cakes, as well as the Hazelnut baby loaves, Vanilla pound cake, are members of the same large and universally appealing family, the butter cake clan.

Recipe adapted from "Baking With Julia"

You'll be needing the following ingredients..

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup creme fraiche, homemade or store bought, or sour cream
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup(lightly packed) brown sugar
1 tbsp bourbon
2 tbsps chopped pecans
6 to 7 stalks (12 ounces) fresh Rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick-slices
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Melted butter for greasing the pans
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving(optional)

Here we start..

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 35o deg F. Brush the insides of 8-mini or baby cake pans, each 4 inches across and 1 inch deep, with a light coating of melted butter, dust the flour and tap out the excess. Whisk or stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together just to blend;reserve. In a separate bowl, stir the vanilla into the creme fraiche and set aside until needed.
Melt the 1/2 stick butter in a heavy skillet. Add the brown sugar and bourbon and cook over medium heat, stirring with wooden spoon until the sugar melts. Stir in the pecans to coat with the caramel and turn of the heat. Divide the caramel evenly among the pans, working quickly to get it to the edges of the pan before it sets( cooked sugar cools rapidly). Arrange the rhubarb in circles over the sugar, and set aside while you make the batter.
Put the remaining stick of butter and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or use a hand-held mixer, and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy, scrapping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. The butter and sugar must be beaten until they're light, fluffy, and pale, so don't rush it- the process can take 3 to 4 minutes with a heavy duty mixer and 6 to 8 minutes with a hand-held mixer. Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Working with a rubber spatula, carefully fold in the dry ingredients and the creme fraiche alternately- 3 additions of dry ingredients, 2 of the creme fraiche. You'll end up with a thick batter.

Baking the cakes Spoon the batter over the rhubarb and smooth the tops by rotating the pans while you run the rubber spatula over the batter. Put the pans on a jelly role pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. (Test couple of cakes to be certain.) As soon as the cakes are removed from the oven, turn them out of their pans on to a rack.

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Storage The cakes can be kept wrapped in plastic at room temperature overnight.

Paneer Pakora (Indian cheese fritters)

2009-09-01T12:30:00.006+05:30

Pakoras can be made from nearly any vegetable be it, spinach, onions, cauliflowder, potatoes and even chillies by dipping them in a seasoned batter of besan (chickpea flour) and then deep-frying.

Pakoras taste best when eaten piping hot. Paneer makes great pakodas that melt in your mouth. Chutney is the perfect accompaniment to this wonderful snack that is sure to leave you, your family and guests licking their finger tips.

Serves 4

Ingredients required:

To be mixed into a filling
1/2 tsp carom seeds(ajwain), dry roasted and lightly crushed
1/4 cup grated onion, squeezed
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp crushed and chopped garlic
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander (dhania) powder
1 tbsp dry mango powder(amchur)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

For the batter
1 cup bengal gram flour(besan)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 pinches asafoetida (hing)
1 tbsp hot oil
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves(dhania)
A pinch soda bi-carb
Salt to taste

Other ingredients
2 cups paneer (cottage cheese), cut into 1" cubes
2 tbsp chaat masala

Oil for deep-frying
Tamarind chutney or Tomato ketchup to serve

Method
1) For the batter : Mix all the ingredients together with a little water to make a thick batter. Keep aside.

2) How to proceed: Slit the paneer cubes, with the help of a knife, a little more than halfway, but not till the end.

Sprinkle some chaat masala in between the slit portion of the paneer cubes

Stuff a little filling into each paneer cube with the help of a knife and press well.

Heat the oil in a kadhai, dip each paneer cube in the batter and deep-fry on a slow flame till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

Sprinkle with chaat masala and serve hot with chutney of your choice or with one of my hot and sweet or sweet and sour dip.

Daring Bakers Dobos Torte

2009-08-27T14:15:00.003+05:30

Daring Bakers August 2009 Challenge

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

The Dobos Torta is a five-layer sponge cake, filled with a rich chocolate buttercream and topped with thin wedges of caramel. (You may come across recipes which have anywhere between six and 12 layers of cake; there are numerous family variations!) It was invented in 1885 by József C. Dobos, a Hungarian baker, and it rapidly became famous throughout Europe for both its extraordinary taste and its keeping properties. The recipe was a secret until Dobos retired in 1906 and gave the recipe to the Budapest Confectioners' and Gingerbread Makers' Chamber of Industry, providing that every member of the chamber can use it freely.
As i cook and bake only for two,i reduced the recipe by half and was able to get 2 4" diameter round cake, perfect for me. The cake turned out delicious especially when served chilled. Also i suggest not to add lemon juice to the caramel as it turns out bitter. Overall, a wonderful challenge.

Equipments required..

2 baking sheets
9” (23cm) springform tin and 8” cake tin, for templates
mixing bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
a sieve
a double boiler (a large saucepan plus a large heat-proof mixing bowl which fits snugly over the top of the pan)
a small saucepan
a whisk (you could use a balloon whisk for the entire cake, but an electric hand whisk or stand mixer will make life much easier)
metal offset spatula
sharp knife
a 7 1/2” cardboard cake round, or just build cake on the base of a sprinfrom tin.
piping bag and tip, optional

Preparation time:

Sponge layers 20 mins prep, 40 mins cooking total if baking each layer individually.
Buttercream: 20 mins cooking. Cooling time for buttercream: about 1 hour plus 10 minutes after this to beat and divide.
Caramel layer: 10-15 minutes.
Assembly of whole cake: 20 minutes

Ingredients for Sponge cake layers:

6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups (162g) confectioner's (icing) sugar, divided
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (112g) sifted cake flour (SUBSTITUTE 95g plain flour + 17g cornflour (cornstarch) sifted together)
pinch of salt

Directions for the sponge layers:

NB. The sponge layers can be prepared in advance and stored interleaved with parchment and well-wrapped in the fridge overnight.

1.Position the racks in the top and centre thirds of the oven and heat to 400F (200C).

2.Cut six pieces of parchment paper to fit the baking sheets. Using the bottom of a 9" (23cm) springform tin as a template and a dark pencil or a pen, trace a circle on each of the papers, and turn them over (the circle should be visible from the other side, so that the graphite or ink doesn't touch the cake batter.)

3.Beat the egg yolks, 2/3 cup (81g) of the confectioner's (icing) sugar, and the vanilla in a medium bowl with a mixer on high speed until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms a thick ribbon when the beaters are lifted a few inches above the batter, about 3 minutes. (You can do this step with a balloon whisk if you don't have a mixer.)

4.In another bowl, using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2/3 cup (81g) of confectioner's (icing)sugar until the whites form stiff, shiny peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, stir about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remainder, leaving a few wisps of white visible. Combine the flour and salt. Sift half the flour over the eggs, and fold in; repeat with the remaining flour.

5.Line one of the baking sheets with a circle-marked paper. Using a small offset spatula, spread about 3/4cup of the batter in an even layer, filling in the traced circle on one baking sheet.

Bake on the top rack for 5 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the centre and the edges are lightly browned.

While this cake bakes, repeat the process on the other baking sheet, placing it on the centre rack. When the first cake is done, move the second cake to the top rack. Invert the first cake onto a flat surface and carefully peel off the paper. Slide the cake layer back onto the paper and let stand until cool. Rinse the baking sheet under cold running water to cool, and dry it before lining with another parchment. Continue with the remaining papers and batter to make a total of six layers. Completely cool the layers. Using an 8" springform pan bottom or plate as a template, trim each cake layer into a neat round. (A small serrated knife is best for this task.)

Ingredients for Chocolate Buttercream:

4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) caster (ultrafine or superfine white) sugar
4oz (110g) bakers chocolate or your favourite dark chocolate, finely chopped
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons (250g) unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Directions for the chocolate buttercream:

NB. This can be prepared in advance and kept chilled until required.

1.Prepare a double-boiler: quarter-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil.

2.Meanwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar until pale and thickened, about five minutes. You can use a balloon whisk or electric hand mixer for this.

3.Fit bowl over the boiling water in the saucepan (water should not touch bowl) and lower the heat to a brisk simmer. Cook the egg mixture, whisking constantly, for 2-3 minutes until you see it starting to thicken a bit. Whisk in the finely chopped chocolate and cook, stirring, for a further 2-3 minutes.

4.Scrape the chocolate mixture into a medium bowl and leave to cool to room temperature. It should be quite thick and sticky in consistency.

5.When cool, beat in the soft butter, a small piece (about 2 tablespoons/30g) at a time. An electric hand mixer is great here, but it is possible to beat the butter in with a spatula if it is soft enough. You should end up with a thick, velvety chocolate buttercream. Chill while you make the caramel topping.

Ingredients for Caramel topping:

1 cup (200g) caster (superfine or ultrafine white) sugar
12 tablespoons (180 ml) water
8 teaspoons (40 ml) lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil (e.g. grapeseed, rice bran, sunflower)
Finishing touches

Directions for the caramel topping:

1.Choose the best-looking cake layer for the caramel top. To make the caramel topping: Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper and butter the paper. Place the reserved cake layer on the paper. Score the cake into 12 equal wedges. Lightly oil a thin, sharp knife and an offset metal spatula.

2.Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over a medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once dissolved into a smooth syrup, turn the heat up to high and boil without stirring, swirling the pan by the handle occasionally and washing down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan with a wet brush until the syrup has turned into an amber-coloured caramel.

3.The top layer is perhaps the hardest part of the whole cake so make sure you have a oiled, hot offset spatula ready. I also find it helps if the cake layer hasn't just been taken out of the refrigerator. I made mine ahead of time and the cake layer was cold and the toffee set very, very quickly—too quickly for me to spread it. Immediately pour all of the hot caramel over the cake layer. You will have some leftover most probably but more is better than less and you can always make nice toffee pattern using the extra to decorate. Using the offset spatula, quickly spread the caramel evenly to the edge of the cake layer. Let cool until beginning to set, about 30 seconds. Using the tip of the hot oiled knife (keep re-oiling this with a pastry brush between cutting), cut through the scored marks to divide the caramel layer into 12 equal wedges. Cool another minute or so, then use the edge of the knife to completely cut and separate the wedges using one firm slice movement (rather than rocking back and forth which may produce toffee strands). Cool completely.

You'll also need..

a 7” cardboard round
12 whole hazelnuts, peeled and toasted
½ cup (50g) peeled and finely chopped hazelnuts

Lorraine's note: If you're in Winter just now your butter might not soften enough at room temperature, which leads to lumps forming in the buttercream. Male sure the butter is of a very soft texture I.e. running a knife through it will provide little resistance, before you try to beat it into the chocolate mixture. Also, if you beat the butter in while the chocolate mixture is hot you'll end up with more of a ganache than a buttercream!

Angela's note: I recommend cutting, rather than scoring, the cake layer into wedges before covering in caramel (reform them into a round). If you have an 8” silicon round form, then I highly recommend placing the wedges in that for easy removal later and it also ensures that the caramel stays on the cake layer. Once set, use a very sharp knife to separate the wedges.

Assembling the Dobos

1.Divide the buttercream into six equal parts.

2.Place a dab of chocolate buttercream on the middle of a 7 1/2” cardboard round and top with one cake layer. Spread the layer with one part of the chocolate icing. Repeat with 4 more cake layers. Spread the remaining icing on the sides of the cake.

3.Optional: press the finely chopped hazelnuts onto the sides of the cake.

4.Propping a hazelnut under each wedge so that it sits at an angle, arrange the wedges on top of the cake in a spoke pattern. If you have any leftover buttercream, you can pipe rosettes under each hazelnut or a large rosette in the centre of the cake. Refrigerate the cake under a cake dome until the icing is set, about 2 hours. Let slices come to room temperature for the best possible flavour.

Storage

I (Angela) am quite happy to store this cake at room temperature under a glass dome, but your mileage may vary. If you do decide to chill it, then I would advise also using a glass dome if you have done. I should also note that the cake will cut more cleanly when chilled.

Variations

Shape: The traditional shape of a Dobos Torta is a circular cake, but you can vary the shape and size if you want. Sherry Yard in Desserts By The Yard makes a skyscraper Dobos by cutting a full-size cake into four wedges and stacking them to create a tall, sail-shaped cake. Mini Dobos would be very cute, and you could perch a little disc of caramel on top.

Flavour: While we both love the dark chocolate buttercream and this is traditional, we think it would be fun to see what fun buttercreams you all come up with! So, go wild! Or, you could brush each layer with a flavoured syrup if you just want a hint of a second flavour. Cointreau syrup would be divine!

Nuts: These are optional for decoration, so no worries if you're allergic to them. If you don't like hazelnuts, then substitute for another variety that you like.

Egg concerns

The cooking process for the buttercream will produce lightly cooked eggs. If you fall into a vulnerable health group then you may wish to use an egg-less buttercream.

Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

2009-08-25T12:30:00.003+05:30

Indian food incorporates very innovative cooking methods, be it the use of the tandoor or the concept of cooking vegetables directly over the flame thus endowing the vegetable with a great smoky flavor. This particular dish Baingan Bharta has many fans all over the world. It goes wonderfully with any Indian flat bread or simply plain steamed rice.

Baingan or Brinjals are cooked directly over the flame till the skin is charred and can be peeled off combined with a fine blend of spices and some ghee makes up this brilliant creation. While selecting the brinjals for this recipe, be sure to choose one's that are large and with a shiny smooth surface as these are likely to have lower number of seeds. All in all this scrumptious dish is worth all the time and mess it may create!!

Ingredients required:

1 large (750gms) Brinjal (baingan / eggplant)
1/2 tsp for greasing
1 tbsp Ghee or oil(neutral)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 onion(medium sized), chopped
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp finely chopped green chilli + 1/2 tsp chilli powder(if you prefer more hot)
2 tomatoes(medium sized), chopped

1/2 cup peas , i used frozen (no need to thaw)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish

Directions:

Grease the brinjal with oil and roast it over an open low flame till it is cooked. Keep turning the brinjal frequently so that all the sides are equally roasted(skin gets charred) and the inner flesh looks soft. OR you can use an oven which is a much easier option, as you wont have any mess around and you wont have to keep an eye on the brinjal. Just preheat the oven to 200 deg C and line a baking sheet or any other pan with aluminium foil and keep the greased brinjals as it is and bake for 1 hour. Take it out of the oven and let it cool completely. For this you'll need to plan ahead and start off.

Once the brinjals have cooled, peel the skin off and discard the skin. And chop the inner flesh or just roughly mash it. It need not have to be completely mashed. Keep aside.

Heat the ghee/oil in a pan and add asafoetida (hing) and cumin seeds.

When the seeds crackle add the onions and saute till they turn golden brown or translucent.

Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute for a few more seconds.

Add the tomatoes, peas, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook covered till the tomatoes turn soft.

Add the mashed brinjal, garam masala powder and salt, mix well and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

I'm sending this post for the event called "side dish for chapathi". An event hosted by Viki;s Kitchen.

Kesar Pista Kulfi ( Saffron Pistachio Popsicles)

2009-08-18T12:30:00.001+05:30

This is a wonderful treat during summer time. Any sweet dessert with a touch of cardamom and saffron gives a wonderful taste and aroma. It has chopped pistachios which give a light green color along with a crunch to the dessert. Its a must try recipe during this hot summer...

Ingredients required..

1 liter Milk
1/2 cup Sugar, can add more or less to your taste
2 pinches of Saffron
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 cup Pistachio, finely chopped
2 slices of white bread, crust removed and roughly chopped
1 tbsp Cornflour
1/4 cup of milk

Directions..

In a large pan, on a medium flame boil milk with constant stirring till it reduces to nearly half of its volume or use Evaporated milk instead.

Meanwhile, blend bread, cornflour and 1/4 cup of milk together till you get a nice paste. Keep aside.

When the milk has reduced, add sugar, saffron, cardamom powder and blended paste and bring it to a boil. Test to see if the sugar is right and adjust accordingly.

Turn of the heat and let the milk cool to room temperature.

Then fill your Popsicles with the milk and freeze overnight or nearly 8 hours. If you do not have Popsicles, you can fill the liquid in small cups and when it has half frozen, insert the kulfi sticks and freeze again.

Enjoy the lovely treat!

Nan Khatai ( Eggless Cookies)

2009-08-11T12:30:00.002+05:30

Famous tea time Indian cookies. Egg-less, light and melting in the mouth-its texture is simply irresistible. These cookies traditionally use "Ghee" or "Clarified butter" but using butter or oil would do just fine.

Serves: 20

Ingredients:

200 gms, 2 cups All purpose flour(maida)
100 gms, 1/2 cup Semolina(very fine quality)
150 gms, 3/4th cup cooking oil/ghee/unsalted butter
150 gms, 1 cup + 1/3 cup Powdered sugar
2 tbsp Curd(Yogurt)
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 tsp Soda bi-carbonate
2 tbsps Pistachios(chopped finely)
4-5 tbsp Milk (optional)

Directions:

Beat oil/ghee/butter, sugar and curd together using a hand mixer or a whisk till well combined.

Sieve flour, semolina and soda in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the curd mixture. Mix them well using your hands to form a soft dough. Add milk little by little if the dough seems hard otherwise just leave it as it is.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Divide the dough into 20 small balls.

Place the balls 5 cms apart on a baking sheet lined with a baking paper. Press each ball in the center with your thumb and garnish with pista and cardamom powder(You can even use a mortar and pestle to chop and mix pistachio and cardamom powder together).

Place the baking sheet at the lower third rack of the oven and bake at 180 deg C for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with coffee or tea.

Om Biscuit (South Indian Style Breadsticks)

2009-08-04T13:30:00.004+05:30

Om biscuit is one of the most popular South Indian bakery item. "Om" meaning Carom seed in "Kannada", a south Indian language. Its basically pencil-sized sticks of crispy, dry, sweet, Carom flavored bread.

This is one of my favourite snack and i badly wanted to try it out at home. After so many experiments and failures, i finally got this recipe right. I'm glad i did it. I'm sure you'll all love it!

Sending this post to Yeastspotting.

Here goes the recipe..
Makes: Eight 12" Sticks or Sixteen 6" Sticks

Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
1 tsp Ajwain or carom seeds
5 tsps Sugar
1 tsp DryYeast
4 tbsps lukewarm water
3 1/2 tbsps Oil (Vegetable or sunflower)
1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and lukewarm water (105° to 115°). Let stand for 10 minutes until bubbly and foamy.

Stir in flour, salt, Ajwain and oil into the yeast mixture. Stir together with a wooden spoon or beat with an electric mixer or just use your hands and knead until the dough is shiny, elastic,and soft, 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough well to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let the dough ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper and keep aside.

After 2 hours, Punch the dough and Knead by hand on a lightly floured surface until very smooth and soft. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Using floured hands, stretch and roll each piece of dough into a thin 12-inch-long breadstick. Place the breadsticks about ½ inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. And set aside for about an hour till the dough slightly rises.

Bake at 180 deg C until golden and crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheets to a rack and let the breadsticks cool completely.

Enjoy and have a great day!!

Healthy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2009-07-29T19:45:00.000+05:30

This fry will replace all your high fat potato fries. These are healthy, low fat and a baked version of fries. Its easy to prepare and tastes awesome. Try these and you'll never want the fast food French fries.

Here is the recipe..

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 medium sized sweet potato
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp Garlic powder or 1 small garlic, mashed (optional)
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oil, any

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 deg F(220 deg C). Line a baking with with a parchment paper.

Wash, peel, and cut the sweet potato just like you cut the potatoes for the French fries (cut it a little thin if you want a crispy fry).

Now toss the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and spread them on the lined baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake them at 425 deg F(220 deg C) for 15 to 20 minutes. Few more minutes if you like it crunchy. Do keep an eye so that it doesn't get burned.

Enjoy the fries with a little ketchup!

Also sending my first pic of fries to "CLICK", a food photography event. This month's theme being Bi-Color, any food related picture having just 2 colors. While the pic may have several colours, but TWO colors must be DOMINANT. Here i go..

Enjoy and have a great week!

Mallows - Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies

2009-07-27T15:30:00.002+05:30

Daring Bakers July 2009 Challenge

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

Mallows(Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients for the cookies:

3 cups (375grams/13.23oz) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (112.5grams/3.97oz) white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter
3 eggs, whisked together
Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows
Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

Ingredients for the marshmallows (Corn syrup Free):

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp. powdered gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
pinch of cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cornstarch

Ingredients for chocolate glaze:

12 ounces (340 gms) semisweet chocolate
2 ounces (1/4 cup)cocoa butter or vegetable oil

Directions:

For the Cookie: In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.
On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.
Add the eggs and mix until combine.
Form the dough into a disk, wrap with clingfilm or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.
Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

For the marshmallows: In a saucepan, combine the water and sugar, bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage, or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer. (If you do not have a candy thermometer, refer "the cold water candy test")

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a large steel bowl and let dissolve.
Pour the cooked sugar over bloomed gelatin in thin steam while the hand mixer is on high speed.
Change to medium speed and add cream of tartar, continue to whip until the mixture hold its shape. Add vanilla extract and salt and continue whipping until stiff.
Transfer to a pastry bag.
Sprinkle cornstarch onto a large baking pan and push it in with the object of your favorite shape and pipe in the marshmallow mixture.

OR Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie directly. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

Tip: If you are making marshmallows separately then after it sets, just heat up the base of the marshmallow with a lighter for few seconds and take the burnt skin out and stick the burnt side of the marshmallow onto the cookie base. Let it set for few minutes. This helps the marshmallow to stick well to the cookie and wont let the cookie and the marshmallow separate when dipping into the chocolate glaze.

For the glaze:

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.
One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze.
Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.
Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note: if you don’t want to make your own marshmallows, you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base. Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly, it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Pineapple Gojju ( Pineapple Cooked in a Spicy Coconut Sauce)

2009-07-21T12:30:00.004+05:30

Pineapple gojju is one of the traditional South India recipe served most commonly during marriage functions or festivals. "Gojju" is the term used in South Indian language "Kannada" for a gravy/curry. This gojju is basically nothing but chopped pineapple cooked in a spicy coconut sauce. This recipe goes well with both sweet pineapple and the tangy one. If you're using a sweet one, then you'll need to add more tamarind and if you're using a tangy one, you'll be using less tamarind. You just need to alter the tamarind, palm sugar and salt quantities accordingly.

Its got the tang, sweet, salt and spicy flavors to bring out all together a new delicious flavor. Its a must try recipe!

Ingredients:

1 pineapple , peel and chop into 1 inch cubes, or the canned pineapples
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup Urad dal or Black gram
8-10 Byadgi red chillies
1" cinnamon
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
1/2 cup dessicated coconut powder or freshly grated dry coconut
3-4 tbsp jaggery or palm sugar
2 tbsp thick tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let it splutter, then add the chopped pineapple and enough water to cover the pineapple. Do not add more water. Cover and cook at low to medium heat and let it boil for few minutes till the pineapple become slightly soft.

Meanwhile, fry the masala ingredients, i.e., urad dal, red chillies (broken), coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cinnamon. When urad dal starts turning golden brown, switch off the heat and add the poppy seeds. You add poppy seeds at the end as it doesn't require to be fried for a longer time. Just the heat which is in the pan is good enough.

Cool the masala ingredients and grind it along with the desiccated coconut adding as much water required to form a thick smooth fine paste.

Now add the ground masala paste, along with tamarind juice, jaggery and salt to the pineapple. Bring it to boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the curry thickens. If the curry becomes too thick, you can add water and bring it to the curry consistency. You can taste the curry and adjust the tamarind, jaggery and salt quantities.. As these 3 ingredients play a major role in getting the tongue tickling taste.

Serve with any of the Indian flat breads recipes in my blog, or with plain steamed rice. Enjoy!

Variation: You can follow the recipe with any other tangy fruit like grapes, or any other berries. Just make sure you dont boil the fruits too much and let them hold there shape. Its nice when you get bits of these fruits when eating.

Paushtic Roti (100% Whole Wheat Nutritious Flat bread)

2009-07-14T12:30:00.004+05:30

The word "paushtic" in Hindi means nutritious, healthy or life giving. This roti is a nutritious combination of a cereal and a pulse along with a green leafy vegetable, enhanced further by the addition of milk or curds. All of these contribute to make this dish rich in folic acid, iron, protein and calcium.

Have these rotis instead of the plain whole wheat chapatis we usually eat.

Recipe adapted from the book Parathas by Tarla Dalal

Makes 12 rotis.

Cooking Time : 20 mins.
Preparation Time : 15 mins.

Ingredients required..

2 cups Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
3/4 cup boiled and grated potatoes, around 1 medium sized
1 cup Fresh Spinach leaves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
4tbsp fresh curds or milk
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Other ingredients
Whole wheat flour for rolling
Oil for cooking

Method:
Mix all the ingredients and make a soft, smooth dough. Add a very little water, a tsp a time if required. Too much water can result in a sticky, lumpy dough as even potatoes and spinach leave some water. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll out each portion into small rotis using wheat flour for rolling.

Cook on a non stick tava (griddle) spreading a tsp of oil on both the sides till small dots of brown skin appears on the skin.

Serve hot with any of your favorite side dish or with just pickle and curd.

Apple Jam

2009-07-07T12:30:00.008+05:30

A delightful treat for your entire family, try this absolutely delicious recipe made simple in microwave. This recipe tastes exactly like the one in the stores, sweet, tangy with a lovely spreadable texture. When its so simple and can be prepared at home, then why buy from a supermarket?

Serves: 1 Cup
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Apples, big , peeled & Chopped (if taking small apples,take 3 nos)
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
few drops of lemon yellow color (optional)

Method:

Mix sugar and chopped apples in a microwave safe bowl covered. Microwave at 100% power for 3 -4 minutes. Or till apples are softened.

Blend softened apple-sugar mixture in a blender.

Microwave (covered) this blended mixture at 60% power for 7 -8 minutes. or till its slightly thickened and translucent. Stir in between to prevent scorching.

Stir lemon juice, color (if using) and pour in prepared glass jars. Let cool at room temperature and refrigerate. Serve with toasted bread, cakes and cookies.

Have a great week!

Coconut creams with poached rhubarb & a "CLICK"

2009-06-29T12:30:00.009+05:30

I was very new to this vegetable "Rhubarb" and wanted to try out few recipes using it. Then after a lot of search on the internet, i found this "Coconut Cream with Poached Rhubarb" recipe on bbc good food and i immediately decided to go with this recipe. Believe me, it dint disappoint me. Everybody in my house loved it. This dessert tastes awesome together with the combination of sweetened coconut cream with sweet and tangy rhubarb. Its a must try recipe in this season as you wont find Rhubarb in all the seasons.

Rhubarb looks like red celery, but don't let that fool you; beyond that and the strings that run its length, they have little in common. Usually used as a fruit in sweet preparations, rhubarb alone is actually extremely tart, and the roots and the leaves are poisonous (the leaves contain toxic level of oxalic acid). You can take advantages of its tartness or cook it with sugar or other sweet fruits, which is why we see it most often made into pies, preserves , and compotes, often paired with strawberries.

Buying and storing: Look for firm and crisp stalks. Store in the refeigerator and use it as quickly as possible.

Preparing: Rhubarb is best if you string it; grab one end between a paring knife and your thumb and pull straight down to remove the celerylike strings that run lengthwise through each stalk. Remember that rhubarb leaves are poisonous, though only mildly so.

Other fruits to substitute: Cranberries, tart cherries or fresh currants.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

Ingredients:

2 sheets leaf gelatine
400ml can coconut milk
8 tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
300g rhubarb , cut into short lengths

Method:

Put the gelatine into a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave to soak for 5 mins until softened.

Heat the coconut milk with 4 tbsp sugar in a pan. Bring to a gentle simmer, then remove from the heat. Lift the gelatine from the water and stir into the coconut milk. Keep stirring until the gelatine has dissolved, then pour into four small glass dishes or dessert bowls (if using glass, leave the milk to cool a little first). When the creams are cool, transfer to the fridge and leave to set.

Split the vanilla pod down the centre and put into a pan with 2 tbsp water and the remaining 4 tbsp sugar. Bring slowly to the boil to dissolve the sugar, then add the rhubarb and poach gently until softened but not mushy, about 3-4 mins. Leave to cool.

Spoon the rhubarb over the coconut creams to serve.

This picture above also goes to the CLICK, a monthly food photography event. It is a theme-based contest. This is my first entry for this event and this month's theme is "STACKS" , where you are supposed to click STACKS of any vertical, horizontal, heaped, piled or many of the same or different food related items.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

2009-06-27T14:30:00.006+05:30

Daring Bakers June 2009 Challenge

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) Strawberry jam (can use any jam or curd, warmed for spreadability)
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

Ingredients: (I used half the recipe, which fits 6 small 4" tartletts + 10 small cookies,which can be taken along with jam)
225g (8oz, 2cups) all purpose flour
30g (1oz, 2 tbsp) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Directions:
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Add the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
1 Kilo Strawberries
500 gms Gelierzucker (Pectin based Sugar)
Sterilized glass bottles

Directions:
Place the strawberries in a colander and rinse them under cold running water. Drain and hull the strawberries. Cut the larger berries in half or quarters and leave the small berries whole. Place the strawberries in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. Add sugar and gently mix. Once the strawberries start leaving out its juice, switch on the heat on medium. Wit till the mixture comes to a boil. Once it starts boiling, let it boil for another 5 minutes.

To test if the jam has reached its final stage, take a spoon of the mixture on place it on a plate and let cool. Once it cools, the mixture would have turned thick.

Take the mixture off heat and immediately pour it into sterilized glass bottles. Close the lid and keep the bottle upside down for 5 minutes. After that cool the bottle and the bottle can be kept at room temperature. Once the bottle is opened and use, place the bottle in the refrigerator.

I used just a tablespoon of this jam for each tart.

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

Ingredients:
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well using a spatula. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base.

Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. (I baked 6 tartletts for 15-20 minutes)

Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Enjoy with just a dusting a icing sugar. Its yum!!

Thandai

2009-06-23T17:30:00.001+05:30

Thandai is a wonderful cold refreshing and healthy flavoured milk that is traditionally prepared during the Holi festival(festival of colors). When people become a little exhausted throwing each other in the pool of coloured waters. A glass of Thandai offers instant energy and sets the mood for playing with colors.

Thandai when laced with the intoxicating bhang, make one sing, dance and go wild. Infact, bhang thandai is used as a mood setter for the festival of Holi. A wonderful and a distinct blend of spices to give ravishing drink. You should really taste it to see what it really is!!

Ingredients required..

1/2 tin, 200 gms Sweetened condensed milk (Milkmaid)
750ml Milk
8 - 10 Almonds, soaked and peeled
5-6 peppercorns
3-4 Cardamom or 1 tsp Cardamom powder
2 tsps Fennel seeds, saunf
2 tbsps Poppy seeds
Crushed ice
Rose petals for garnish

Method:

Grind the almonds, cardamom, and fennel seeds(saunf) to a fine paste. Blend with other ingredients till well mixed. Strain the blended mixture.

Half fill each glass with crushed ice and top up with the above mixture.

Serve garnished with rose petals.

Enjoy the lovely drink!

Apple Marzipan Galette

2009-06-16T12:30:00.005+05:30

This one's for the marzipan(sweetened almond paste) lovers. The recipe for the galette dough is adapted from Dorie Greenspans "Baking with Julia". The presence of Cornmeal in the dough is one of the ingredient which gives a wonderful crunchy feel and makes the dough easy to work with. Apples are one of my favourite and it when paired with almonds give a heavenly feeling. This galette is worth any special occasion.

This post is my contribution to Sugar High Friday - Fruit & Nut, an event hosted by Mansi of Fun & Food Blog.

This recipe is partially adapted from myrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1 Recipe Galette dough
1/4 cup marzipan, softened
4 medium sized apples. sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Dash of salt
1/4 cup Sliced almonds, some to drizzle on top

Method:

Preheat oven to 425°F (220° C) .

Roll the galette dough to a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place dough on prepared pan. Roll marzipan to a 9-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Place marzipan on top of dough.

Combine apple, sugar, flour, almond extract, sliced almonds, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl; toss well. Spoon apple mixture over marzipan. Fold 2-inch dough border over the apple mixture, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover apple mixture). Drizzle sliced almonds on top and bake at 425°F (220°C) for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. (apple filling may leak slightly during cooking).

Have a great week!

Strawberry Mousse & Blogs First Anniversary!

2009-06-09T12:30:00.009+05:30

This is the most exciting moment to share with you all. Its been exactly a year since i started this blog, the day i posted my First post! Its my "Blog Anniversay". Wow, time has just flew! This one whole year has been such a wonderful year for me, got space for myself (Thanks to "Blogger") where i could share all my kitchen experiences, had a chance to join "The Daring Bakers" and learned so much from them ALL ABOUT BAKING, got to meet other friend food bloggers, made wonderful friends! I had never spent so much time for myself as much as i did for this blog. Changing the look, the templates, editing posts, adding new widgets.. Finally after one whole year of repair, i've settled with the present look! Guess many more changes to come in the coming years..
As such i've no cakes or candles to celebrate this day, but i've made this wonderful dessert to sweeten all your tastebuds. Thanks to my readers for being with me and for all your support. Love you all!
And now for the dessert i was talking about.. "Strawberry Mousse". This is a very simple yet delicious dessert. Egg less but no less flavorful and rich. Its made out of just few ingredients and the result is outstanding. Gelatin provides the base structure to hold the mousse; whipped cream provides the airiness. Its got the grainy and sandy texture and feel and i promise, it'll just melt in your mouth. This dessert will definitely tickle your taste buds!! Its Yummy!

This post is my contribution to Strawberry Feast, an event hosted by happy cook of My Kitchen Treasures.

Serves 4
Source: Diana's Desserts.

Ingredients:
1 small container (approximately 8 ounces/250 grams) fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled and cut into halves
1/2 cup granulated sugar + more according to your taste
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
1 cups heavy cream, whipped

Garnish (optional):
Extra whole strawberries
Whipped cream or non-dairy whipped topping
Mint sprigs

Instructions:

Place the strawberries in a medium saucepan, add the sugar and water and cook over medium–low heat. Stir gently until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the strawberries are soft and the liquid syrupy. Process the strawberry mixture and gelatin in a food processor until smooth. Set aside to cool.

Fold through the cream. Pour into 4 (1/2 cup) serving glasses or cups and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

Garnish each serving with a dollop of whipped cream or non-dairy whipped topping, a strawberry and a mint sprig, if desired.

Enjoy and have a great day!

Other Mousse Recipes; 3 layered Chocolate Mousse

Mango Ice-cream

2009-05-31T18:00:00.002+05:30

This light creamy ice-cream is deceptively easy to make. It uses no ice cream maker and yet you get a lovely soft creamy texture. There is something special about the king of fruits… sweet-scented and aromatic, it imparts a luscious creamy texture to this heavenly dessert. Serve it with chocolate shavings or chips as chocolate and mango are flavors that complement each other beautifully.

You need to plan ahead before you start with this recipe. If you start during the morning, you can have this ice cream as a dessert after your dinner.

This post is my contribution to the Mango Mela, an event hosted by Srivalli of Cooking for all Seasons.

Recipe adapted from tarladalal.com

Serves 4.

Here are the ingredients that are required for this delicious ice cream..
1½ cups ripe alphonso mangoes, around 2, peeled and chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
½ can sweetened condensed milk, 200 gms
2 cups full fat milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method
Blend the mangoes with the sugar into a purée in a liquidiser.

Combine the condensed milk, milk, puréed mangoes, lemon juice and mix well.

Pour the mixture in a shallow freezer proof plastic container. Cover and freeze till slushy, for about 2 hours.

Pour the mixture into a deep vessel and blend using a hand mixer, or you can even use a whisk, but thats going to take lot of your time. Blend till it is smooth and creamy.

Transfer the blended mixture back to the plastic shallow container. Cover and freeze again till slushy and follow this step one more time and you're done.
Cover and freeze till it is firm. Shift it into the refrigerator 45 minutes before you serve.

Scoop and serve.

Tips
The lemon juice is added to enhance the flavour of the mangoes. If you find that the mangoes you're using are a little sharp,
Do not add the lemon juice.

Have a great week!

Daring Bakers: Apple Strudel

2009-05-27T12:30:00.002+05:30

Daring Bakers May 2009 - Apple Strudel

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

This recipe has been chosen for its technique of making the strudel dough. Its simply easy to go buy a phyllo dough and stuff it with your stuffing and bake it. But making your own strudel dough is a challenge in this months Daring Bakers challenge. The dough needs to be paper thin to get a flaky, layered finished strudel.

Preparation time
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes – 3 hours 30 minutes

15-20 min to make dough
30-90 min to let dough rest/to prepare the filling
20-30 min to roll out and stretch dough
10 min to fill and roll dough
30 min to bake
30 min to cool

Apple strudel from “Kaffeehaus – Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague” by Rick Rodgers

Strudel dough

The ingredients required for the strudel dough are..

1 1/3 cups (200 g) unbleached flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons (105 ml) water, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Instructions;
1. Combine the flour and salt in a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the water, oil and vinegar in a measuring cup. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour with the mixer on low speed. You will get a soft dough. Make sure it is not too dry, add a little more water if necessary.
Take the dough out of the mixer. Change to the dough hook. Put the dough ball back in the mixer. Let the dough knead on medium until you get a soft dough ball with a somewhat rough surface.

2. Take the dough out of the mixer and continue kneading by hand on an unfloured work surface. Knead for about 2 minutes. Pick up the dough and throw it down hard onto your working surface occasionally.
Shape the dough into a ball and transfer it to a plate. Oil the top of the dough ball lightly. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to stand for 30-90 minutes (longer is better).

3. It would be best if you have a work area that you can walk around on all sides like a 36 inch (90 cm) round table or a work surface of 23 x 38 inches (60 x 100 cm). Cover your working area with table cloth, dust it with flour and rub it into the fabric. Put your dough ball in the middle and roll it out as much as you can.
Pick the dough up by holding it by an edge. This way the weight of the dough and gravity can help stretching it as it hangs. Using the back of your hands to gently stretch and pull the dough. You can use your forearms to support it.

4. The dough will become too large to hold. Put it on your work surface. Leave the thicker edge of the dough to hang over the edge of the table. Place your hands underneath the dough and stretch and pull the dough thinner using the backs of your hands. Stretch and pull the dough until it's about 2 feet (60 cm) wide and 3 feet (90 cm) long, it will be tissue-thin by this time. Cut away the thick dough around the edges with scissors. The dough is now ready to be filled.

Apple filling;
2 tablespoons (30 ml) golden rum
3 tablespoons (45 ml) raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon (80 g) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, melted, divided
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) fresh bread crumbs
strudel dough (recipe below)
1/2 cup (120 ml, about 60 g) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 pounds (900 g) tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch-thick slices (use apples that hold their shape during baking)

Instructions;
1. Mix the rum and raisins in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in another bowl.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the breadcrumbs and cook whilst stirring until golden and toasted. This will take about 3 minutes. Let it cool completely.

3. Put the rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with baking paper (parchment paper). Make the strudel dough as described below. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the remaining melted butter over the dough using your hands (a bristle brush could tear the dough, you could use a special feather pastry brush instead of your hands). Sprinkle the buttered dough with the bread crumbs. Spread the walnuts about 3 inches (8 cm) from the short edge of the dough in a 6-inch-(15cm)-wide strip. Mix the apples with the raisins (including the rum), and the cinnamon sugar. Spread the mixture over the walnuts.

4. Fold the short end of the dough onto the filling. Lift the tablecloth at the short end of the dough so that the strudel rolls onto itself. Transfer the strudel to the prepared baking sheet by lifting it. Curve it into a horseshoe to fit. Tuck the ends under the strudel. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter.

5. Bake the strudel for about 30 minutes or until it is deep golden brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Use a serrated knife and serve either warm or at room temperature.

It is best on the day it is baked.

I enjoyed this dessert topped with vanilla honey sauce (just melt few scoops of vanilla ice cream and combine with few teaspoons of honey).

Enjoy!

Tips
- Ingredients are cheap so we would recommend making a double batch of the dough, that way you can practice the pulling and stretching of the dough with the first batch and if it doesn't come out like it should you can use the second batch to give it another try;
- The tablecloth can be cotton or polyster;
- Before pulling and stretching the dough, remove your jewelry from hands and wrists, and wear short-sleeves;
- To make it easier to pull the dough, you can use your hip to secure the dough against the edge of the table;
- Few small holes in the dough is not a problem as the dough will be rolled, making (most of) the holes invisible.

Zucchini and walnut bread

2009-05-26T12:30:00.002+05:30

A quintessential summer vegetable, Zucchini are tender and deliciously mild. Its flavor is so mild it picks up that of whatever you cook it with. It is low in calories and provides a bright green colour, moisture and nutrition to the cooked dish. Zucchini bread along with a glass of cold milk is a great way to start your day. This bread forms a thin soft outer crust and a very soft inner crumb. The presence of walnuts give a crunchy effect with every bite. Its not very sweet. Its a light bread which can be had without any extra accompaniment. This recipe is adapted from the culinary institute of America. Here goes the recipe..

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients
flour less cooking spray for greasing
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 1/2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsps grated orange zest
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts or pecans

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F(180°C).

Grease and flour two 8½-inch loaf pans.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves into a bowl and set aside.

Combine the zucchini, sugar, eggs, oil, and orange zest in a large bowl and mix by hand until evenly blended.

Add the sifted dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture. Stir by hand just until the batter is evenly moistened and blended.

Fold in the nuts.

Divided the batter between the prepared loaf pans.

Bake until the edges are browned and starting to pull away from the pan and the bread springs back when lightly pressed with your fingertip, 50-55 minutes.

Remove the loaves from the pans and let cool on wire racks before serving.

Paneer Paratha (Flat indian bread stuffed with Indian Cheese)

2009-05-19T18:05:00.001+05:30

Paneer also known as cottage cheese is used in a variety of dishes world over. It forms a part of salads, main course dishes and even desserts in the form of cream cheese. Known as the Indian Cheese, paneer is one of the most versatile ingredients available for cooking.

Women in India make their own paneer by adding curds to milk thus making it curdle. This paneer can then be grated or crumbled and combined with a blend of subtle masala's making it an ideal stuffing for a paratha. Make these delicious parathas for your family or guests and watch them disappear in a jiffy.

Makes 5 parathas

You'll need the following ingredients..

For the dough
3/4 cup All purpose flour (maida)
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
2 tsp oil(any)
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup Water

To be mixed into a stuffing
1 1/2 cups grated paneer (cottage cheese)
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
Salt to taste

Other ingredients
Whole wheat flour for dusting
Ghee or oil for cooking

Method

For the dough : Combine all the ingredients and knead well into a soft, smooth dough. Divide the dough into 5 equal portions. Keep aside.

How to proceed:
Divide the stuffing into 5 equal portions. Keep aside.

Roll out one portion of the dough into a circle of 3" diameter using whole wheat flour for rolling.

Place one portion of the stuffing in the centre of the circle. Bring together all sides in the center and seal tightly.(refer figure)

Roll out again into a square of 5" using whole wheat flour. Cook on a hot tava(griddle), using a little oil, until both sides are golden brown.

Repeat with the remaining dough and stuffing to make 4 more parathas.

Serve hot with any gravy you like. Try with Palak paneer.

Layered Strawberry Cake

2009-05-12T12:30:00.010+05:30

This Strawberry cake is basically a pound cake which is layered with sweet, tangy, juicy and colorful sugared berries and a velvety blend of whipped sweet cream, finished with the same cream and topped with fresh berries. The berry filling and the cream mixture can be used with any Genoise cake or any other plain vanilla cake.

I present this Strawberry cake to Meeta's Monthly Mingle - Spring Cakes!

This recipe is adapted and altered from "Baking With Julia".

The ingredients used for this recipe are:

For the cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (4 ounce),115 gms butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Strawberry filling
1 pint (2 cups) ripe fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)

For the cream
1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
2 tbsps sour cream
2 tbsps sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C). Butter and flour a 7 inch round pan.

For the cake Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Reserve.
Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment(or work with a hand-held mixer) and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady steam. Stop the machine and scrap down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small addition, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture becomes watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy, and increased in volume.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milk alternately--4 additions of flour, 3 of milk-- scraping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.

Baking the cake Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature.

Preparing the Berries Toss the sliced berries with the sugar in a large bowl and leave them uncovered, at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
Coarsely mash the berries with the tines of the fork and toss them again; let them stand for 1 hour longer. You can do this the day before, but the berries should be refrigerated after they are mashed.

For the cream Using a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand held mixer, whip the heavy cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla together until the mixture forms soft peaks. The cream is the proper consistency when the tracks made by the whisk close slowly and almost disappear. Cover and refrigerate the cream, give it a turn or two by hand with a whisk to bring the mixture together again.

Finishing the cake Using a serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, cut the cake horizontally into 3 layers. Pace the bottom layer cut side up on a cardboard round and the removable bottom of a tart pan. Lifting the berries from the bowl with a slotted spoon so that most of the liquid drains of, spoon half of the mashed strawberries over the cake layer, then spread a thin layer of the whipped cream over the berries. Top with the middle layer, spoon on the rest of the strawberries, and spread another thin layer of the cream over the berries. Center the top layer over the filling.
Working with a flexible metal icing spatula, frost the top and sides of the cake with whipped cream and decorate as you wish with strawberries or with some icing left out. Refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before serving.

Storing The cake can be refrigerated for several hours before serving. Keep it away from the foods in the refrigerator with strong odors, as cream picks up odors quickly. It would be ideal if you could store this cake in a box.

Gold Bags

2009-05-05T12:30:00.011+05:30

Thai cuisine is an interesting confluence of flavors and cooking styles. The ingredients used in this cuisine delicately balance the harmony of the dish. This recipe is one of the hit starter recipe in Thai cuisine. These are named "gold bags" as they look similar to a bag holding gold coins. Gold bags are dainty pouches filled with spicy vegetables. The ingredients and the flavors used for the filling is perfectly balanced and they match perfectly with the wrapper. These serve as a great starter when accompanied with sweet and sour dip. This dip goes great with this recipe. These gold bags can even be tied with a blade of lemon grass to give an authentic Thai look.

Makes 25 to 30 bags

Ingredients:
For the wrappers
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour (maida)
1/2 tsp Salt

For the filling
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes, 3 medium sized
2 tbsps carrots, grated
2 tbsps roasted peanuts, ground
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
For the wrappers
Sieve the flour and salt together. Add the hot water gradually and make a soft dough. Knead for a while. Cover and keep aside for 30 minutes.

Apply oil on your palm and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Roll out thinly on a floured surface, using a rolling pin. To make these gold bags to look and taste better, roll the wrapper dough as thin as you can. Cut the rolled dough into 25 to 30 squares of 75 mm. (3 ").

For the filling
Pound the garlic, coriander leaves and peppercorns in a mortar to form a paste. In a bowl, mix the paste with mashed potatoes, carrots, peanuts, soya sauce, sugar and salt. Mix thoroughly.

How to proceed:
Place a spring roll sheet on a dry surface. Spoon a little of the filling mixture in the centre of the wrapper square and gather all 4 corners in the centre to form a pouch. Fluff out gathers to make it look like a money bag.

Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown. Drain and tie with a blade of lemon grass. This gives a very distinctive look.

Serve hot with the sweet and sour dip.

Sweet and Sour Dip

2009-05-05T12:29:00.000+05:30

Combine this sweet and tangy dip with any deep-fried starter. It'll add a wonderful taste.

Makes: 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
100ml. fresh tamarind pulp
200 gms jaggery, crumbled
2 tsp red chilli powder or red chilli flakes
2 tbsps honey
1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt

Method:

Combine all the ingredients except honey in a pan and simmer till the sauce reduces to half.

Cool and add honey and salt. Mix well