Chocolate and White Chocolate Mirror Glaze

Working around fondant......

Decorated cakes and themed cakes are really easy to plan and make with fondant..because its basically like play dough..and you can make whatever you want with it... it also gives your cakes a lot of stability, especially if you want to carry your cake someplace else..where in it wont have refrigeration while travelling...whipped cream cake can really melt in such conditions in the heat that we experience over here...

But what do you do if you don't like the taste of fondant..or if fondant is not easily available..In My case i really don't like the taste of fondant, i wouldn't mind a few tiny fondant roses on top if my cake..that too would be put aside while eating...so covering the whole cake with fondant is pointless..as no one in my house or near and dears like fondant...a cake should have just the rite amount of sweetness and it should be fresh and soft...covering it with chewy fondant in my opinion is waste of a good cake...

so anyways the question arises as to what can be used to cover the cake and give it a smooth appearance to make successful themed cakes....and the answer is mirror glaze..

its easy, its cheap, and its tasty, and your cake looks great, and your cake gets stability.

for smaller floral decorations, i found that you can make flowers our of marshmallows which i tried suceesfully and gummy candy too..which is on my next to try list(the list btw is never ending)

  

chocolate mirror glaze with fondant roses and marshmallow flowers

I finally found my answer in chocolate mirror glaze - it like the best thing possible, tastes like chocolate sauce and it actually gives stability to your cake, similar to fondant, and your cake decorations don't spoil on touch (as it would in case of buttercream or whipped cream).

And you can make either a chocolate or white chocolate version depending on the theme of your cake

3D car cake with coloured white chocolate glaze..

I followed the recipe more or less, but reduced the sugar quite a bit as that is my personal preference

Ingredients:-

10 g powdered gelatin ( about two tsp)
150 g sugar (100 g for white chocolate glaze)
100 g water
65 g cocoa powder ( 50 g milk powder - optional - for white chocolate glaze )
65 g fresh cream or heavy cream (75 g for white chocolate glaze)
50 g dark chocolate / white chocolate

Method:- 

In a medium-sized bowl, bloom the gelatin in plenty of cold water. Let the gelatin bloom for at least 10 minutes before using.
 Bring the sugar, water, cocoa powder, and Heavy cream to a boil while stirring constantly.
When it comes to a boil, stir in the chocolate and mix until dissolved.
Squeeze the excess water off the bloomed gelatin, add it to the pot, and stir until dissolved.
Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, or use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until it is smooth and glossy ( if your mixture already looks smmoth and glossy the you can skip this step)
Transfer the chocolate glaze mixture to a jar, and cover the surface of the chocolate glaze with plastic wrap.
Chill in the refrigerator overnight before using.

When you’re to use it, warm the chocolate glaze to the temperature between 44°(microwaving it for short bursts at medium high , gets the desired result ) before using it. If you do get a a lot of air bubbles in the glaze, strain it through a fine mesh strainer before using, otherwise the tiny bubbles will show on the finished cake.
NOTE It is always necessary to make more glaze than needed, because the entire cake needs to be covered with glaze. As the glaze is poured over the cake, some will pour off, resulting in an even coat. You can rescue some of the dripped off glaze to reuse later and pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.
this glaze can be stored in the refrigerator for more than a month, and can be reused.

My little one's 3rd birthday cake !!!

personally i like the chocolate glaze better than the white chocolate glaze..but this could be because, i'm not a big fan of white chocolate, plus the white chocolate available was not of the best quality...but stability wise they both worked great.....

Coffee mousse cake with marbled glaze for the anniversary !!

victoria sponge

Classic Buttery treat...

I think this would be the oldest and simplest plain butter cake recipe...Its ideal for people who want to start learning the basics of baking, and the end result is a lovely golden yellow buttery sponge cake, that can be layered with jam, nutella, or had just as it is.
This one is an old recipe, dug out of some of my mom's files...oh how i miss that file sometimes.....

layered with chocolate ganache n almonds

Ingredients:
100g butter
100 g powdered sugar
2 eggs
100 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp warm water

Method:
cream butter and sugar until it becomes soft and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well. fold in sifted flour, baking powder and salt, mix lightly and evenly, stir in warm water. Spread mixture evenly in a pan.
bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes. until well risen.
serve with jam, chocolate sauce or whipped cream...or just plain doesn't matter it still tastes awesoeme.

layered with coconut cream

yoghurt mousse

Who says healthy can't Be tasty....

Its yoghurt, its fruit, its yummy, its healthy....especially if layered with a whole wheat sponge...YES!!mthats rite, you heard rite...substituting refined flour with whole wheat in my sponge cake recipe is an idea thats been ruminating in my mind since a while now. As i have already substituted whole wheat in most of my recipes successfully, the trick is to simply reduce the quantity of flour a little or add a mix of oat flour and wheat flour. in this case I only reduced the amount of flour from 9 tbsp to 7 tbsp (since this was a plain sponge didn't add any cocoa or custard powder, hence 9 tbsp). and thankfully my sponge turned out nice and soft and spongy.

the mousse is quick to make, and for fruit mousses, the yoghurt gives a nice tart flavour to the overall dessert.

i have so far tried a lemon mousse, orange mousse and of course strawberry mousse.....next on my list pineapple mousse......

Proud of my sponge !!!

Ingredients:
200 g strawberries, pureed
200 - 250 g hung curd (made from 500 g curd)
5 - 6 strawberries chopped
2 packets of whipped cream powder. (prepared)
10 g gelatin (if preparing in individual glasses, you can sip the gelatin)
powdered Sugar, as required.
2 sheets of sponge cake (if you want a mousse cake) / for individual mousses you can also use biscuits soaked in milk.

Method:
prepare whipped cream as per package instructions and refrigerate. Soak gelatin in two tbsp of water for 5 minutes, then add 2 tbsp of boiling water to dissolve.
Beat the hung curd with powdered sugar until smooth, make sure there aren't any lumps. add in the pureed strawberries and gelatin. fold in the whipped cream and chopped strawberries.
If you want to make individual glasses or bowls you can straight away set in those and refrigerate for 4 - hours.
For mousse cake. refrigerate for half an hour. Take a deep dish or a spring-foam pan. place a layer of sponge cake at the bottom, you can soak with a little syrup if you want, cover it with half the mousse mixture, add another layer of cake, and cover with the remaining mousse mixture. cover and refrigerate overnight for best results.

lemon mousse..

For lemon mousse: add 2 tsp of freshly grated lemon zest and 3 - 4 tbsp of lemon juice, depending on the taste and tartness.



For orange mousse : use 2 tbsp of freshly grated orange zest, 1/4 cup of orange juice, 1 tbsp lemon juice.

badaam halwa

Mummy Ka Magic...

Here is that one recipe, that i haven't made myself, but I absolutely had to share it.

Almond Halwa is my mom's speciality, every winter she makes this batch of yummy melt in your mouth barfis, that are too die for.Its healthy, Its yummy and it's filled with all the love that a mom has to offer.

The funny part is I know the recipe, I've seen her make it lots of times, I've actually helped her make it many times, but still when it comes to badam halwa, I always ask her to make it instead of making it myself,Can't really explain it..buts thats the way it is with these little sweet diamonds...

Ingredients:
250g Almonds, peeled
200g sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup ghee
1 lt Milk
100g edible gum, optional

Method:
soak almonds overnight and peel. Grind almonds along with milk and make a smooth paste. Add water to sugar and cook to make sugar syrup. once the syrup is ready add ghee and the almond paste. Cook on low heat till it is quite thick and ghee starts coming on the surface ( about 1 to 1 1/2 hours).
Fry the edible gum in 1 tbsp of ghee seperately, crush and add to the halwa when it is almost dry.
Remove from heat and spread on a tray and flatten it.refrigerate to make it firm. Cut into small diamond shaped pieces.

Tiramisu

The Aroma of Coffee.....

Oh how i love the smell of coffee....i don't make coffee based desserts very often, due to my little son...But personally I just love coffee desserts...and especially a Tiramisu...

there is just something about that perfectly coffee soaked sponge layered with the silky smooth cream, that once I take a small bite, I really can't stop myself from devouring the rest of it (It takes a lot of self control to keep some for others)
this is not a classic tiramisu recipe...coz that takes a lot of time and I prefer it lighter with less amount of eggs and yolks in it. also due to the unavailability of lady finger biscuits in mumbai, i make it with a normal sponge cake. (doesn't make a difference to the taste as lady finger biscuits are basically sponge biscuits)

Ingredients:
400 - 500 g Mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
1 cup Whipped cream
Powdered sugar, as required ( 5 - 6 tbsp approx)
2 cups strong black coffee (with sugar)
Sponge cake or lady finger biscuits

for the mascarpone cheese:-
400g fresh cream
200 - 250 ml milk (can add 3-4 tbsp of milk powder to increase the amount of cheese)
1 - 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar

Method:
for the mascarpone cheese:-
Mix the cream and millk and milk powder (if adding) in a skillet, and heat on midium stirring constantly until it just starts bubbling, add in the lemon juice. heat until the cream curdles, stirring frequently. the cream should cover the back of the spoon. line a sieve with 2 layers of cheese cloth and set over a bowl. pour mixture into the sieve. once cooled completely cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

For the Cream:-
Beat the cheese and sugar until smooth, without any lumps. fold in the whipped cream, and 1 or 2 tbsp of prepared coffee.

Assembly:-
If using sponge cake, you should have to equal sized layers of cake that can fit into deep dish. My sponge cake recipe makes exactly two layers of cake. that i bake separately. place the first layer at the bottom of your dish and generously soak it with prepared coffee. alternately if using lady finger biscuits, dip each biscuit in coffee and arrange such that it covers the bottom of the dish. Cover the cake with a thick layer of prepared cream and dust lightly with cocoa powder. cover with the second layer of cake, soak again with coffee, cover with the rest of the cream and dust with cocoa powder. refrigerate to set for atleast 2 -4 hours before serving. you can reserve the final dusting of cocoa powder for just before serving for a better look. (that is if it ever get served, you can eat the whole thing yourself, i wont question you)

Once you Start eating..that is not a lot

You can also make individual glasses

Triple Layer Oreo cake

Slice of heaven....

By Far the Best cake I have made.....according to public and personal opinion...

I had always wanted to make a three layer cake, and this Oreo cake was being designed in my head since quite a while...originally i had wanted to make a smaller version of the same cake for my niece's first birthday...but due to certain circumstances that got cancelled...so i thought why not make it for my little one's second birthday, then again his birthday was like just two days before eid...so I finally Made it on Eid, when all my beloved family comes over, i mean why keep a good thing to yourself.

Decorate it what ever way you like

for my three layers I made two layers of white sponge cake with oreo chunks in it, and one layer of moist chocolate cake in the centre. 

For the oreo sponge I used my swiss roll sponge recipe.The only difference to the recipe i made was that i used two eggs in each cake layer instead of three and reduced the sugar a little.i didn't use any custard powder this time since i wanted a white cake

I mixed separate batches and baked the cake separately. also make sure to hand chop your oreos and not blitz them in a chopper as then they become too fine, and your cake will have more or less a brown color. Also fold inn the oreos in the batter at the very last moment before baking, so that it retains some of its crunch after baking. 

For Frosting I used whipped cream powder, which i blended with half milk n half cream, to get stiffer cream.and mixed oreo chunks into it. I needed 5 packets of whipped cream powder for this big a cake, and three big packets of oreos.

reserve some oreos for decorating and chop the rest.

While completing the cake, make sure to moisten the layers with light sugar syrup. so that the layers completely merge and blend into each other, to give that "Oh So Good taste".

lovin the layers !!

Gulab Jamuns

Going Traditional....

I have to confess...I like traditional sweets, But I am Very picky about where I have a particular Indian sweet from , My Kaju Katli Has to be from MM mithaiwala, my rossogulla has to be fresh and spongy, my carrot halwa has to be mom made and so on and on it goes...(people think i'm impossible, but thats just how i am).
When it comes to gulab jamuns, the traditional way of making gulab jamuns is by addind a little khoya or mawa to the dough, plus some people even add rose water to the syrup. but i don't like them if either of these ingredients are added, and i prefer the modern recipe for this traditional sweet , that is, making the dough with milk powder. 

Ingredients:

8 tbsp milk powder

3 tbsp maida

1 tsp ghee

1/4 tsp soda bicarbonate

milk - as per consistency

for syrup -

2 cups sugar

4 cups water 

Method:

mix milk powder, maida,ghee, and soda bicarbonate, add milk to make shaping consistency. make balls, make sure that the surface of the balls is smooth. fry the balls in ghee.

make sugar syrup, and add balls in warm syrup, cover and keep till the balls are softened.

Golden balls of perfection !!!

Seviyan barfii

Trial and Error..

Thats what comes to my mind whenever I think of this yummy dessert. One of my cousins once brought a box of these barfis to our house and one bite of it was enough for us to start guessing the recipe, so that we could recreate it later. And as soon as She got the time, My Mom along with her two helpers (me and my sister) tried cooking up a batch that would be similar to the orignal barfi that we had got.
What mummy concluded after tasting the crisp, n crunchy barfi was that, it had three main ingredients - seviyan, condensed milk and nuts.
The First batch - It was not at all the same, it stuck to our hands..and we couldn't even get out proper pieces.
Second Batch - we decided to increase the amount of vermicelli and roast the quite a lot and with a little ghee. But the result was still not perfect - it was still lacking in the crunchiness
TADAA.. THE THIRD BATCH - This one was perfect and it became a frequently mad edessert in our house, the only difference in this batch was that after spreading it on a tray, mummy put it in the oven for a bit to crisp up the top, and it turned out perfect....

Ingredients:
150 - 200 g seviyan (vermicelli)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (400g)
2 tbsp ghee
100 g mixed nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews or walnuts), you can toast the nuts a bit if you want.

Method:
Prepare a tray by lining with foil and grease with a little ghee.
Dry roast the vermicelli till a little fragrant. then add ghee and roast for a few minutes. the vermicelli should be golden brown and fragrant. add the condensed milk and chopped nuts. Mix till all of the vermicelli is coated with condensed milk.
transfer into lined tray immediately, and flatten with the backside of a bowl or the underside of a glass.
score with a knife into diamonds or squares.
bake the barfi in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes at 160 degrees Celsius. to crisp up  the top, and make it nice and crunchy. (you can skip this step if you like it softer)
Let cool and separate the pieces.

Perfect to carry as a gift for your friends and family

crisped to golden perfection

Creme Caramel

From Scratch....

We all have had a few ready from the packet desserts or instant desserts stocked in our pantries, likr always. I know i have....from the time i can recall, my mom always had a shelf full of assorted jellos,custard powder, caramel custard, and dream whip packets in her kitchen cabinet (i mean who doesn't), these were the first desserts i learned to make. and what is there to lean really, just boil a the given amount of milk or water (as the packet says). dissolve all ingredients in the packet and pour into bowl and voila..your dessert for the day is ready.

But as i grew older, i always had this curiosity to try these same desserts from scratch, yeah i know some people just find that painstaking, but I say why not...

So over the years 

• I Have tried whipping my own cream, and after trying it have realised whipped cream powder is better and quicker,especially with the quality of cream that we get here (only 25% fat, takes a really long time to whip). An even better option i discovered is to dissolve your whipped cream powder in the single pouring cream available, instead of milk or water.it gives a real nice and thick whipped cream within minutes!!!
• I have tried making my own jelly with fruit juice and gelatin...and that didn't turn out too bad...infact i prefer that to all the artificial coloring and fruit flavors...why not have the real thing.
• Custard, well i still think i like my eggless custard powder better
• And creme caramel...yes I finally tried it. I've been wanting to try it since a long time and so i finally did. (plus i had a few extra yolks i wanted to use up instead of throwing them away after i made some garlic sauce)

i used this recipe i saw on donna hay's website, but made a few adjustments to fit my two yolks...you can make the same recipe even without the yolks, what i normally do for substituting yolks in any recipe is to - use 1 egg instead of every two yolks, works fine all the time as i usually don't like using only yolks.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup (120g) caster (superfine) sugar

⅓ cup (80ml) water

400ml milk

2 tbsp custard powder

3 eggs

2 egg yolks, extra

1/4 cup caster sugar, extra

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 150°C . Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil and and cook for 8–10 minutes or until the mixture is dark golden. Pour into 4  - 5 ovenproof dishes, or you can even use just one big dish if you want. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the caramel is set.
Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to the boil. add custard powder dissolved in a little cold milk, and cook for another minute.Remove from heat.
Place the eggs, extra yolks, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Gradually add the milk mixture, whisking to combine. Strain the mixture and pour into the dishes. Place dishes in a roasting pan or cake tin lined with a dish towel(prevents the dishes from slipping) and pour boiling water around the sides till it comes halfway up the the dishes. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until set. Remove from the dish and refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold. Remove the crème caramels from the fridge 30 minutes before serving. Turn out onto plates to serve.

creamy delights ..

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

Going down the upside down lane....

Finally, pineapple upside down cake....You see..I love pineapple the fruit, but when it comes to store bought pineapple cake or the jello packets that are available...they always taste so artificial, not at all like the actual fruit..
So when i wanted to make my pineapple cake, i didn't want to use any canned fruit...i went for the fresh pineapple (coz that's easily available and cheaper and healthier ), and i must say the cake turned out truly amazing. Ther is just something about the goey caramel at the bottom...or top that literally make you lick the plate and the spoon in the end.
It also makes you wanna try all kinds of upside down cakes.
after googling for some time I narrowed down to the recipe here as i found it best fit my requirements (or maybe looked the simplest).

Ingredients:

Topping:-
1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored
3/4 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Batter:-
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make topping: Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.
You can reduce the amount of caramel, if you have a smaller cake pan, or if you have left over caramel, just add a litlle water to the pan, bring it to a boil and make caramel syrup to use in any recipe later.(that's what i did). the recipe was for a 9 inch pan, and I have a 6 inch pan.
Make batter: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)
Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet five minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.
Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.
Do ahead: Cake may be made one day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before serving.

absolutely scrumptious 

Swiss Rolls

Quickie Dessert

Or so I think now, this is one of those desserts that I was in awe of for a long time. And i always dreaded actually making it, for fear that either my cake would break or it wouldn't roll properly or for not knowing how to roll it.

But after i tried it, it took no time to master it, and now its the recipe that i make, when i'm looking for a quick dessert, coz it takes no time to make, and.... its so simple.

i hate seperating eggs and most recipes i found had seperated eggs. so after looking for a while i found the perfect recipe over here. Its simple, Its quick and its awesome....

i just made a very few minor adjustments which i felt need changing.

filled with coffee ganache n coffee whipped cream

stawberry jam filling

                               

Chocolate sponge with strawberry whipped cream

The best thing about Swiss rolls is that you can vary the filling and try out new varieties every time...

I'm even planning a savory one. lets see how that turns out..

Vanilla sponge witButterscotch filling

Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:-         

3 eggs

½ to ⅓ cup sugar

6 tbsp flour

2.5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder / vanilla custard powder

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp boiling water

Filling:-

1 cup whipped cream / icecream

1 -2 tbsp jam or preserve

Method:

preheat oven to 200 º C and line a square or rectangular baking tray with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer beat the eggs and sugar until very thick and four times the initial volume. When the beaters are lifted they should leave a trail of egg on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Fold in the sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking powder very gently. And then fold in the water.

Spread mixture on parchment paper, evenly. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until the centre is spring to touch.

Spread a clean kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar on it. Place the top of the cake on the towel and carefully peel the parchment paper. Trim of any crisp edges.

Starting from one end, use the towel to roll up the cake, with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll.

Once cooled, unroll the cake and spread the filling, leaving a ½ inch border around the edges.

Roll it back, wrap in cling wrap and chill.

Slice into ¾ inch pcs for serving.

caramel cupcakes

Something about caramel.....

sorry about the really really long break in posts, but was really busy the last few weeks..what with the wedding season starting over hear.
So caramel cupcakes....you see speaking from a health point of view chocolate is better then caramel. But there is something about caramel..the sticky, sweet goo.. that is caramel. how can anyone say no to anything caramel.
I've had a few caramel cupcake recipes bookmarked since a long time, but most of these recipes had caramel as a filling or as caramel frosting. what i really wanted to try was a caramel flavored batter, as i usually prefer plain and light cakes. rather than a heavy and extremely rich cake.
after a lot of browsing, i came across a recipe on someone's Facebook page that swirled the caramel into a plain yellow cake which really appealed to me. so i adapted a similar idea for my own caramel cupcakes..

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

100 g butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

vanilla essence

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp buttermilk

1 tsp baking powder

for caramel sauce:-

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup cream

Method:

for the caramel sauce - heat sugar and butter on medium heat until melted, do not stir, u can swirl the pan to distribute the sugar and melt it evenly, keep heating until sugar turns a nice amber color. remove from heat and add the cream all at once and stir to mix evenly and dissipate the air bubble...be sure to pour in the cream from some distance so as not to burn your hands. cook for a few more minutes to get the right consistency. remove from heat and let cool completely...the sauce will turn thicker once it cools.

for the cupcakes - cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs one at a time until well blended, add the vanilla essence. Add half of the sifted flour and baking powder, then add the butter milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. fill your lined cupcake tins halfway, then add 2 tbsp of caramel sauce and top with another tbsp of batter. swirl with a fork. 

bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

can top with extra caramel sauce before serving.

topped with caramel...yummmm!!!

light and Heavenly....

caramel sauce...

Cookies n Cream Ice Cream Pie

Cookies N Cream....

Do i need to say more, this is one of those no fail recipes, its actually not even a recipe, more like an awesome idea to serve your ice cream, than just in a bowl,

i know we are an oreo crazy generation, everywhere you go you are bound to find something oreo flavored (and awesome), but who is complaining .

so when its and oreo pie base, with a cookies n cream ice cream and crushed oreos and chocolate chips as topping. its a win win win dish.

Ingredients:

A big packet of oreos

2 tbsp butter, softened

20 - 50 g dark chocolate

vanilla ice cream mixed with crushed oreos or Cookies n Cream ice cream

chocolate chips and extra oreos to top

Method:

put butter, oreos and dark chocolate in a food processor and blitz till it resembles coarse crumbs.

press into a foil lined pie tin or spring mould.

fill with softened ice cream and top with extra crushed oreos and chocolate chips. freeze for 6 to 8 hours, until hard. serve chilled.

Coconut Barfi

When God gives you coconuts....Make coconut barfi..

well thats exactly what i did when there were like 8 coconuts lying in my kitchen. you see every few months we take down all the ready coconuts from the coconut tree in our society and they get distributed among all the flats. 

so we couldn't figure out what to do with so many coconuts. i thougt of coconut cake, coconut cookies, but finally zeroed in on a coconut barfi recipe as they are really tasty and pretty easy to make, as compared to other nut barfis.

I adapted this recipe to suit my taste, as i don't like very sweet desserts

Ingredients:

• Coconut,scraped - 4 cups
• Sugar 1- 1 1/2 cup
• Milk 3/4 cup
• Green cardamoms 2
• Saffron (kesar) a few strands (optional)
• Ghee 2 tablespoons
• Almonds

Method:

heat ghee in a pan and fry the almonds till fragnant, keep aside to cool.Mix sugar and milk well. Add scraped coconut and mix. Transfer the mixture into a pan and cook, stirring continuously with a spatula. Peel cardamoms and crush the seeds. Add crushed cardamom seeds to coconut. Mix well and add saffron. Mix again. Continue cooking for about ten minutes or till the mixture becomes a little dry and begins to leave the sides of the pan. Grease a tray with ghee. Pour the mixture into it and spread evenly. Cool and cut into pieces and top each piece with an almond. 

thats what you do with a lot of coconuts....

Almond Pralines n Custard Layer Cake

Festive baking

Normally i take a lot of time to finish one post, but when I posted this pic on facebook after eid, i got a lot of requests for the recipe, and so for a change i'm finishing this one a little faster.

I went for a purely white cake for Eid this time, (mainly b'coz we went on a chocolate overdose for my son't birthday, and didn't want to make anything chocolaty for some time).

So i was really confused as to what to make on Eid (can't think straight when there is no chocolate involved), thought of a cheese cake, or lemon squares, or muffins, and i kept on searching the net for ideas, finally zeroed in on a combination.

So most of the recipe is just combining simple ingredients to get a lovely light custard filled, sponge.

Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:-

3 eggs

⅓ cup sugar

7 tbsp flour

1.5 tbsp unsweetened vanilla custard powder

½ tsp baking powder

1 tbsp boiling water

for the caramel syrup:-
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

for the custard filling:-
750 ml milk
4 - 5 tbsp sugar (don't make the custard to sweet, as we are soaking the cake in syrup and adding pralines)
40 g custard powder (add more if required, the end result should b like a pudding)

for the almond praline:-
1/2 cup toasted almonds or any other nut
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp butter

For topping:
1 packet of whipped cream powder or whipped cream

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 º C and line a square or rectangular baking tray with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, or bowl of a stand mixer beat the eggs and sugar until very thick and four times the initial volume. When the beaters are lifted they should leave a trail of egg on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

Fold in the sifted flour, cocoa powder and baking powder very gently. And then fold in the water.

Spread mixture on parchment paper, evenly. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes until the center is springy to touch. 
i made double the quantity of sponge, given in the recipe to get four layers of sponge cake (approximately 6" by 10" ), but i didn't mix the batter all at once, because an egg sponge batter deflates pretty quicky, which would have resulted in the last layers of cake not rising properly. instead i first mixed a batch with three eggs and finished baking them, and then mixed another batch.

for the caramel syrup:- heat the sugar and 1/2 cup of water on medium high flame, stir until the sugar is just dissolve and then leave undisturbed(no stirring, but you can swirl the pan) till the mixture turns amber, remove from heat and add another 1/2 cup of water, mix well and bring to boil until the mixture is properly combined and liquid  cool to room temperature. (and prepared my syrup a day ahead)

for the Almond praline:-  toast a 1/2 cup of almonds at 150 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes until you start getting a nice toasted smell.
add the butter and sugar in a shallow pan and heat till melted ( do not stir ), when the sugar starts to caremelize, add the almond and mix till all the almonds are well coated, spread on a tray lined with foil paper and cool. once completely cooled and hardened. chop in a food processor.

for the custard :- heat milk and sugar, till it comes to a boil add the custard powder dissolved in a little milk and simmer till it thickens to the required consistency, chill in a covered container.

To assemble:-

soak the first layer of sponge with caramel syrup and spread the custard filling on it, sprinkle with chopped almond praline.

cover with the second layer of sponge cake and repeat the same procedure. use up all the layers of sponge. spread chilled whipped cream on the top layer, and sprinkle with slight larger pieces of the almond praline.

chill for a few hours before serving, to set perfectly.

A perfect dessert for anybody who loves white cakes instead of chocolate

Eclairs

light as air......
Coz its an eclair....okay i know my rhymes are not good..but my eclairs were absolutely delectable.
I've been wanting to try these for a long time, but to tell you the truth, I found the recipe a little weird. I mean cooking the dough before you bake it, i had heard of this for the first time, and could think of all possible things that could go wrong, but thankfully everything went right , and these turned out to be really awesome.
they were so light that you could gobble down 5 of them and still not feel full. these are definitely gonna become a regular in my kitchen.
they recipe (after i tried it out) is pretty simple and i got it from joy of baking
but i don't like the idea of a pastry cream full of egg yolks (just don't like the idea of using so many eggs in a recipe, especially yolks only), it just sounds to heavy..so instead i used custard and whipped cream for my filling, as according to me custard made with custard powder, is like vegetarian pastry cream.(although i've never tasted actual pastry cream or egg custard. coz of all the yolks...thats like my eww factor, i think)
anyways like i've mentioned before, it was light as air and very very yummm.

Ingredients:-
Choux Pastry:
1/2 cup (65 grams) all purposeflour
1/2 teaspoon granulated whitesugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsaltedbutter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the custard cream:
200 ml milk
4 – 5 tbsp custard powder
3 – 4 tbsp sugar
1 packet whipping cream powder

Chocolate glaze:
50 g semi sweet chocolate
30 ml boiling milk or cream


Method:
Choux Pastry:-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. To make all the eclairs the same size, I use a template. Take a piece of parchment paper and draw 12 - 3 1/2 inch (8.5 cm) lines, spacing the lines about 2 - 3 inches (5 - 7 cm) apart. Place the template under your parchment paper so you can use it as a guide.

In a bowl whisk the flour with the sugar and salt. Place the butter and water in a saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon, add the flour mixture, all at once, and stir until combined. Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes). Transfer the dough to your electric mixer (can do this by hand or with a hand mixer), and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about 1 minute). Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon). Place the dough in a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip and pipe 12 oblongs of dough (about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide) onto the baking sheet (using template as a guide). (When piping have the bag at a 45 degree angle.).
although my batter made around 20 eclairs instead of 12.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 25 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

for custard:-
boil milk with sugar. add custard powder dissolved with a little milk and cook till it becomes thick, it should be more of a spreading consistency, i.e quiet thick, compared to normal custard.
fold in whipped cream.

for ganache:-
chop chocolate and place it in a bowl. boil milk and add little by little over the chocolates. if using milk be careful to add very little at a time so as not to burn the chocolate. with cream you can add it all at once.

To Assemble: Split the pastry shells in half, lengthwise. Take the top shell and dip into the chocolate glaze, letting the excess drip off. Place on a wire rack to dry. Fill the bottom half (can spoon or pipe) with the cream. Once the glaze is dry, gently place the top half of the pastry shell on the cream. Can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for two days.

i know the recipe sounds quiet elaborate, but the end result is totally worth it .and it actually is not as tough as it looks.