Vanilla Banana Caramel Flans

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.

Apples

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

Apple Strudel (DB's)

French Apple Flan

Frozen Apple Yogurt

Apple Jam

Frozen Apple Yogurt

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.

Apfel Streuselkuchen ( Apple Crumb Cake )

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.

Strawberry Muffins With Cream

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.

Fresh Rhubarb Upside-down Baby Cakes

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.

Pineapple Gojju ( Pineapple Cooked in a Spicy Coconut Sauce)

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
2 tbsps 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.

Apple Jam

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"

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

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!!

Apple Marzipan Galette

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!

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

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

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.

Layered Strawberry Cake

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.

Daring Bakers - Cheesecake

Daring Bakers April 2009 - Cheesecake Centerpiece

Cheesecake cupcakes

After a very sweaty but delicious March challenge of Daring Bakers Lasagna, April challenge was very relaxing and cool..

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Cheesecake was very new to me as i had never baked a cheesecake before and had tasted it just once as one of my friend had forced me to try it as it was her favorite dessert. It was long time ago and i had almost forgot how it had tasted. I used to avoid buying cheesecake as just had in mind that, it would be full of cheese and would load me with calories.. And finally i ended up baking it for the Daring Bakers challenge and i had to bake it!

The challenge here was to bake not a usual cheesecake but we were given freedom to play with the flavours, the sauces and the topping. We had to make it look and taste unique and make it a showstopper of a dessert. Yes, it was another daring bakers creative challenge.

First thing i did was i stepped into a bakery and tasted a simple cheesecake. Just to get the taste of it so that i could think upon what kind of flavours i could use and with what i could decorate it with. Then i decided to pair it with cardamom, as somehow i felt it would taste more like our North Indian sweets where Indian cheese, Paneer is paired with cardamom and i loved that combination. For the topping i decided to use a vibrant colour which would go well with the light shade of the cheese filling. I then decided to use fruits, all kinds, berry's, banana, grapes.. I found this gelatine based strawberry glaze which i thought, i would use over the fruits. Finally i ended up with a rich, creamy and delicious dessert. I actually fell in love with it. I loved the combination of the base, the creamy cheese filling paired with cardamom and the stawberry glazed fruits topping. It was scrumptious.

The recipe would fit for a 9" springform pan but i had a 7" pan. So i used the recipe for one 7" pan and used up the extra with a muffin pan, where i got another 6 muffin shaped cheese cakes.

So here is the recipe..

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

Crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (I used zweiback)

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cheesecake:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

3 cardamon pods, with seeds removed

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

Topping:

2 Cups fruits, Chopped ( Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, banana, grapes)

1 Packet Tortenguss rot

250 ml Water, hot

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese, cardamom seeds and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

6. For the topping, spread the chopped fruits over the chilled cake.

Stir in hot boiling water with tortenguss and leave it for a minute for the flavour to infuse. Just pour the tortenguss liquid over the fruits and chill.

7.Just before you serve just take some left over crust mixture and pat the sides of the cheesecake with your hands, just to cover the sides evenly.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!