Recipe Admirers !!!!!!

Saturday 27 October 2012

Choco Muffins -- Eggless

I love making muffins and cupcakes. The round tiny fluffy muffins are a delight to eat be it plain or frosted. My favourite are chocolate and blueberry muffins and I can polish as many as I can manage with a cup of coffee. 
This time I prepared an eggless chocolate muffin recipe. I used bits of white chocolate in the centrer just to add an additional taste. You can add dark chocolate chips as the molten texture will lift the wonderful chocolatty taste of these beauties. 
Enjoy the recipe i'll wait for your feedback and comments.


" Choco Muffins -- Eggless "

Ingredients : 

3/4th cup flour
1/4th cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp soda bi carb
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk (mix 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup curd)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 bar white chocolate or 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:
  • Sift flour, cocoa powder,baking powder and soda bi carb together in a bowl
  • Beat butter and sugar till soft and fluffy. Add vanilla essence and mix again
  • Add buttermilk to the above butter mix
  • Add flour mix slowly and keep mixing till soft and smooth. 
  • Add chocolate chips or milk chocolate pieces and mix well.
  • Grease muffin or cupcake cups with little butter and flour. Pour the mix in these cups till 3/4th full
  • Put chocolate chips or milk chocolate pieces on top 
  • Bake in preheated oven at 180*C for 25 to 30 minutes till done. Insert a toothpick or knife and check
  • Let them cool. Remove from the cups and serve plain or frosted
Note : You can use white or dark chocolate as per your choice. These muffins will be little soft and moist due to buttermilk. 






Thursday 18 October 2012

"Celebration Cake"

Birthdays and Anniversaries are incomplete without a CAKE. Imagine having a birthday party without the birthday cake .. Impossible. With the amount of cakes available nowadays at each shop, you tend to get confused as to which one is the best one. Chocolate, Oreo  tiramisu, pineapple,butterscotch,vanilla,fruity,cheesecake and so on. The list is endless and we might have to celebrate 365 birthdays every year to try all the types of cakes available :)
So let me share an excellent and exquisite recipe of an Eggless Celebration Cake. I made this cake for my hubby's birthday last weekend and trust me it was really special. There is a bit of hard work involved but if you want to gift something special to your loved one, then do try this cake for the next special occasion. 

Enjoy the recipe and I'll wait for your feedback !!!


"Celebration Cake"

Ingredients :

For the Cake Base - 

200 gms flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda bi carb
1/4th cup milk
1 and 1/4 cup yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
3/4th cup powdered sugar

Preparation for the base :
  • Line a round cake tin with butter or baking paper. Grease with butter and dust with a little flour. Keep aside
  • Preheat the oven at 190*C for ten minutes before baking
  • In a bowl, Seive flour , baking powder and soda bi carb. Keep aside
  • Beat sugar and butter together till light and fluffy. Mix yogurt and lemon juice.Add the flour mix gently and keep mixing. Add milk and mix well.You will see that the mixture will turn smooth and light and starts doubling in quantity. Do not over mix.
  • Pour the mix in the greased tin and bake for 30 minutes till browned and done. Check with a knife if its fully baked or not.
  • Remove from the oven and let it cool for sometime before removing it gently from the cake tin.
  • Place on a serving plate or tray and keep aside
For the icing :

200 gms whipping cream ( you can use double cream as well)
1 tbsp butterscotch essence ( if not available, use vanilla essence)
1/4th cup sugar boiled with 1/2 cup water for soaking the cake

For the caramel praline and nougat : 

1/2 cup regular sugar
1/4 cup roasted peanuts

For decoration :

Coloured fresh fruits - 
1 apple
1 kiwi
few pieces pineapple
cherries or strawberries  ( You can use any types of fruits as per ur taste or choice)

Preparation for Frosting and Decoration:
  • Whip the cream with butterscotch essence till firm peaks are formed. Refrigerate
  • For making the praline, grease the kitchen surface with little oil. Add sugar to the non stick pan. Spread it out evenly in the whole pan and keep on medium heat for 2-3 minutes without touching the sugar.
  • When the sugar starts to melt and turn golden just stir the sides a little and swirl the pan till the sugar melts completely. Let it become light golden in colour.  
  • Immediately pour some designs from a spoon to the greased surface. You can make any abstract thin designs. ( Remember to do it fast ). These will look like praline shards as given in the pic below.
  • Let them cool for few minutes completely and they will harden and become solid. Gently lift them and place on a tray and keep in the fridge

  • To the remaining sugar in the pan, add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Pour on the greased platform and let the mixture cool down completely. Once it becomes hard, crush them roughly and keep aside. They will look like rough breadcrumbs. Nougat is ready.Refer to the pic below. 

  • Cut the fruits in some designs like apple leaves, kiwi baskets and pineapple flowers or any other form of your choice
Arranging the cake :
  • Cut the cake in two layers. Place one layer of cake on the serving plate. Soak with few spoons of sugar syrup. Put few dollops of whipped cream and spread evenly. Sprinkle some nuts nougat and put the second layer of cake on top. Press gently.
  • Soak with the sugar syrup.Cover with cream on top and on all sides evenly. Use a big knife or spatula to even the cream on all sides. Clean the plate with a tissue to wipe the cream fallen outside. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
  • Stick the nuts nougat on the cake sides generously. Remove the fallen mixture from the sides.
  • Decorate the fruits in the center of the cake. Insert the praline shards around the fruits creating a design. 
  • Sprinkle some remaining nuts nougat on top.
  • Chill the cake and serve for the party.
Note : The base of the cake is soft and fluffy and once you soak it in sugar syrup it will become more mushy and as good as a bakery product. You can change the fruits and design as per your liking. 











Sunday 14 October 2012

"Classic Bread & Butter Pudding"

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the intake of white bread when it comes to healthy eating. One school of thought states that you should only consume whole wheat brown bread to avoid unsaturated fats and the other school of thought states that white and brown bread has the same qualities and demerits. 
Well, you know what, who cares, eat what you think is right and will keep u healthy. My school of thought is  eat everything but in moderation :)
So lets enjoy a classic Bread & Butter pudding recipe that can be made in a jiffy and will taste delicious at any time. Serve it little warm with a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy the comfortness of this delicious recipe.


"Classic Bread & Butter Pudding"

Ingredients :

Raisins and Black currants - 1/2 cup soaked for few hours
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp custard powder
one glass or 350 ml milk
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 lemon zest
4 tbsp cream cheese ( optional) or fresh cream
25 gms soft butter
5 slices white bread
2 tbsp jam ( mixed fruit / pineapple/mango/apricot)
icing sugar for sifting

Preparation:
  • Beat the egg and sugar together till light and fluffy. Whisk in the custard powder until the mixture is smooth
  • Warm the milk a little and then add it to the egg mixture slowly. Keep whisking till the mix becomes smooth and to avoid curdling
  • Add vanilla essence, lemon zest and mix well. Let it rest for half an hour
  • Add the cream cheese or fresh cream and whisk well
  • Strain the custard through a sieve to get a smooth consistency
  • Grease a pudding bowl or tray with some butter.
  • Spread butter and jam on each bread slice. Cut the slices into 4 triangles. Lay the bread triangles in the dish with the jam side facing upwards.
  • Scatter some raisins on top. Pour half the custard mix and leave to soak for 15 minutes
  • Preheat the oven at 180*C . Take a baking tray, Place the pudding bowl in it. Pour the remaining custard on top of the bread and press the slices a little.Spread the remaining raisins as well.
  • Fill the baking tray with a little water before placing it in the oven.
  • Bake at 180*C for 20 minutes and then at 190*C for another 5 minutes till top is crisp and golden.
  • Serve it warm with fresh cream and sift some icing sugar on top.
Note : you can use any jam of your choice for the pudding.