Heppy Budday!

Its birthday time! I always bake for C on his birthdays and this year was no exception! He is a big fan of muffins or cupcakes rather than the big ones and so I decided to bake this classic! The basic recipe is from here. I say it makes a great birthday cake..... and its so super gooey ! :P.... Give it a try and let me know how you like it!

What you need:

Flour: 1/3 cup

sugar: 1/2 cup

chocolate:~ 2 cups chocolate morsels( Any of your favorite brand will do. I used the Ghirardelli bitter sweet chocolate morsels)

light cream:4 -5 tbsp

Eggs:2 beaten

baking powder: a pinch

baking soda: a pinch

butter: 1/2 cup and extra for the ramekins( at room temp)

salt:a pinch

Preheat the oven at 350F.

Generously wipe the ramekins with softened butter moving from bottom to the walls. Set aside.

Sift flour,salt, baking powder and baking soda together and keep aside.

In another bowl whisk the eggs ans sugar together.

In a separate microwave proof bowl put the chocolate morsels together and heat on high for 30-45 seconds. Next take it out and mix with the light cream and softened butter to get a smooth consistency.Set aside.

Now add the egg mixture to the flour whisking simultaneously. next add the chocolate mixture once it is cooled to room temperature.

Whisk lightly so as to fold in the mixture.

Scoop out equal portions in the buttered ramekins.*

Bake for 12 minutes for a molten center and 15-18 minutes for a firmer center. Cool for 5 minutes and then with a serrated knife pry out the edges . Next tip it over a dish so the the cake comes out upside down.

Enjoy warm with a dollop of caramel ice cream!

* I did not have ramekins and so I buttered my muffin pan and it turned out fine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR with Malpoa!

Happy New Year everyone! This is just wishing everybody great health and wealth and sending loads of love to all who care to visit this blog of mine !:)

Malpoa is a traditional bengali sweet dish that is served in all festivals and even in weddings. The deep fried pan cakes (well sort of!) dripping in thick sugar syrup is a favorite among all ! It is simple to make and you can tweak it as you like: like you can add kheer to the batter, or condensed milk, or maybe some chopped dry fruits and some strands of saffron . But what I made for New year was the simplest version and served hot after lunch or dinner it is simply a mouth watering delight!

What you need:

flour--1 cup

Suji/ semolina--4 tbsp

milk --1 and 1/4 cup

sugar--1 tbsp

grated coconut--1/2 cup

oil-- for frying

Sugar syrup:

2 cups sugar

1 and 3/4 cup water

Over low heat , in a pan boil the sugar and water to a syrup .It should be hot but not boiling.

Meanwhile in a bowl mix all the ingredients and whisk so that there are no lumps.

Now heat oil in a pan and add a ladle full of batter. Fry until golden brown on both sides.

Directly add the malpoa to the sugar syrup and let it soak for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot!

Triple chocolate cheesecake !

Ah!!! The year end festivities and the gooey cakes! Lovely!

Wanted a decadent cake this time with the chocolate and cheese and that's what I got....

I mixed and matched a number of recipes and this is what I landed up with! And I am not complaining!

Dry Ingredients:

flour--1 and 2/3 cups

corn flour-- 1/3 cup

baking soda--1 tsp

baking powder--1 tsp

cocoa powder--4 tbsp

salt-a pinch

Wet Ingredients:

eggs--2 beaten lightly

brown sugar-1 and 3/4 cup

butter- 10 tbsp

chocolate chunks-1/2 cup

Ganache:

light cream-2 cup

chocolate chip-2cup

butter-5 tbsp melted

Filling:

light cream cheese--2 cup at room temperature

chopped hazelnuts-- to garnish

Mix the dry ingredients and keep aside.

Cream the butter and sugar and to it add the eggs.

Fold in the mixture into the dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chunks and fold lightly.Butter a round baking pan and preheat oven at 340 F.

Pour the batter in the baking pan.

Next lightly whisk the cream cheese and add it over the batter. With a flat knife slowly infuse the cream cheese into the batter. Do not whisk.

Bake for 40 -- 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

In a pan heat the cream and butter just under boiling point. Pour it over the chocolate chunks and mix into a smooth paste.

Now freeze the mixture for around 2 hours. and the frosting is ready.

When the cake has cooled with a sharp large knife cut the cake horizontally.

Slather the cooled chocolate frosting inside and also over the top.

Sprinkle a handful of nuts on top.

Now sink into the chocolaty velvetness!

Happy New Year! :)

Run-up to Christmas!!

Christmas is not the same without cakes. With our moving to the new apartment I wanted to test my new oven and what would be better than a lovely Chocolate Vanilla Nut cake! I peeked into my pantry and discovered a packet of chopped hazelnuts and thought it would be lovely to include the nuts....

It was a snowy winter afternoon and even with the heating on, it was quite chilly inside. The warmth of the oven was inviting and even more inviting was the aroma of chocolate and vanilla . So here it is.... make your Christmas a little more delicious...(you are free to add any other type of nut or fruits if you like)

What you need:

For the vanilla batter:

Flour: 1 cup

baking powder:1tsp

baking soda:1/2 tsp

white powdered sugar:1/2 cup

brown sugar:1/2 cup

chocolate chips:1/4 cup

vanilla:1 tbsp

egg:1 lightly beaten

butter:4 tbsp molten

salt:a pinch

For the chocolate batter:

Flour:1 cup

baking powder:1 tsp

baking soda:1/2 tsp

white powdered sugar:1/2 cup

brown sugar:1/2 cup

chocolate chips:1/2 cup melted over slow burner with 2 tbsp milk

hazelnuts:1/4 cup

egg:1 beaten

butter:5 tbsp

salt:a pinch

Vanilla batter:

Mix all the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar. Slowly add the egg . Whisk well.

Now mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Add the vanilla and salt.

Fold the mixture in slowly. Add the chocolate chips.

Chocolate batter:

Same as the vanilla batter.

Mix the chopped nuts and the molten chocolate last.

Take care that the chocolate is at room temperature.

Now line the baking tray with a tin foil .Lightly brush melted butter.

First add the chocolate batter and smoothen it out.

Next add the vanilla batter.

Preheat the oven at 350 F.

Bake for 40 -45 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Serve warm with a dollop of caramel vanilla ice cream....you will be in heaven!!!

Banana Walnut muffins..... with an added treat

Ripe bananas are a nuisance. I cannot eat them and their final destination is the dustbin. I hate to be wasteful but when that black ugly fruit sits on the top of my fruit bowl screaming , on most weeks I end up disposing 1-2 in the garbage bag.
Yesterday however was different. The banana was ripe and the skin was black as usual and I ventured into peeling the fruit. I discovered the fruit was perfectly alright, just a bit too soft and the fruity smell was a tad too overpowering . And so I could not bring myself to throwing the poor one away. And VOILA! there it is calmly sitting in my warm muffins totally at peace..... I am happy and the banana is too(I hope!).
What you need:

flour---1 tbsp less then 1 cup
baking soda---1/2 tsp
baking powder---1 tsp
ripe banana---1 mashed
chopped walnuts---1/4 cup
chocolate chips---a handful
brown sugar---1/2 cup
sour cream---2 tbsp (at room temperature)
egg---1 beaten
butter---6 tbsp

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cream the butter and sugar together and keep aside.
Lightly beat the egg and add to the butter and sugar. Add the sour cream.
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together with a pinch of salt and slowly add to the egg mix.
Lightly fold in the mixture.
Next add the ripe banana and gently mix.
Add the chopped walnuts and a handful of semisweet chocolate chips.
Line a muffin pan with the greased pastry sheets.
Scoop out equal portions of the batter.This batter makes about 8 medium sized muffins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is puffed and golden brown. Take them out and cool for 10-12 minutes.
Lovely yummilicious treat..... just pop it into your mouth and enjoy the softness! :)



And P.S..... The added treat as indicated in the header is the "chocolate chip".... which is totally optional...... but then you know my desserts are never really desserts without a hint of chocolate..... so then..ENJOY!

Easy Apple Tart

This is a simple apple tart and an absolutely amazing one ....sweet yet with a bit of tang.... the texture is not entirely like cakes.... it is much softer and and has an amazing apple y top...
I got the original recipe from here. Just wanted to give it a try since I had two red apples sitting on the top of the microwave and staring at me. It is also also very different from a usual cake. It is a tart but without any crust making and the recipe is amazingly simple.
I am not very fond of apples. Of all the fruits the least I like is apple. Somehow I do not like the texture of apples. So whenever I buy apples I try and incorporate it into custards and fruit salads. And this apple tart is another way of making my desserts healthier.

Ingredients:
apple-1 large red one
brown sugar-1 cup
white crystalline sugar-1/2 cup
flour-1 cup
baking powder-1/2 tsp
sour cream-2tbsp
egg-2
butter-6 tbsp

I omitted the lemon zest and vanilla as I did not have them handy.

Peel and scoop out the core of the apple. Cut into wedges and arrange at the bottom of a glass pie dish .Butter the surface of pie dish generously.
Now combine the brown sugar and water and put on low heat until a thick brown sugar syrup forms. Pour the syrup on the apples evenly.
In a bowl combine the white sugar and butter and cream them.
Slowly add the eggs, sour cream, flour and the baking powder. Add a pinch of salt.
Next spread the batter over the apples and even out the batter.
Bake for 40 -45 minutes at 350F. Cool for 15 minutes before turning it out upside down with the apples on top.
Serve warm with cold vanilla ice cream.
HAPPY BAKING!

P.S.:If you do not want this tart to be too sweet just reduce the amount of sugar in the batter.

A lovely little treat----- Chococlate cream cheese filled mini tarts

One of my favorite passions have always been baking. I have always loved baked goodies and if they are sweet .... ooh!! Lovely!
The cakes and pastries in this country are a little different from what we have back home. I hardly see any layered pastries (and by pastries I mean the sweet creamy small cakes which are sold by piece at shops like Monginis or Cookie Jar or Flury's).Here I find either the cakes are fruity ( that I get at Starbucks) or the scones and muffins which are not really what I crave for.
These mini tarts are not too sweet and and i just baked them last afternoon when I suddenly remembered the most delicious boat-shaped pastries that Baba would buy us from Flury's.It has a boat shaped bottom which is the crust and it is just like biscuit and tastes kind of crumbly and the filling is the most divine chocolate and mocha cream.....
Any ways my mini tarts are just a crude version of those pastries but they taste just as good! Just give them a try!
I used a filling of chocolate and cream cheese.... if you are not in a mood for chocolate just use any of your favorite jams or jellies or any other filling that you have in mind.

What you need:

For the mini tarts:
Flour-1 and 1/2 cup
butter (cold)-2 sticks
ice cold water
salt-a pinch
sugar-4 tbsp

For the filling:
chocolate chips or any bar of -one small packet
cream cheese-1/2 cup softened at room temperature

Take a fork and mix together the salt , sugar and the flour.
Now take the cold butter and with the fork just fold it in so that the mixture is crumbly. it should not form a dough. Wrap it in a plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 45 minutes.
Next take ice cold water and bring the flour mixture to a soft dough.
Take the dough on a floured surface and roll it out flat with a rolling pin.Do not roll out too thin.
Next take a pastry cutter or any round object with sharp edges and cut out small round sections.
Place them on greased pastry liners and fit them inside your muffin pan.
Chill them again for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile in a pan soften the chocolate chips and the cream cheese.
Do not make the filling too runny.
Bring the filling to room temperature.
Take out the small tarts and spoon in the filling. Chill again for 15 minutes.
Next bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the crust turns golden brown and crunchy.
Serve hot with a dollop of cold vanilla ice cream!

Of Parfaits and summers!

Now that summer is here.... and with the heat and sun and long afternoons ,I decided to whip up a cool treat for C. It had to be healthy and tasty and of course cold. And so I decided on a fruit parfait... well mine was slightly different since I was not using granola. I had some very colorful fruits and some vanilla yogurt... and so parfait it was!


It was so scrumptious and cold and full of flavors !

What you need:

ripe papaya-1/4 cup diced
banana-1/2 of ripe one sliced
apples-1/4 cup diced
grapes-halved and de seeded
cashews- 1/2 cup chopped
vanilla yogurt- 1 and 1/2 cup (depending on the size of serving cups)
sugar-1/2 tsp
lime juice-2 tbsp
whipped cream can

Dice the fruits into small bite size pieces and toss them with the lime juice and sugar.
Alternatively you can also use honey.
Whip the yogurt smooth and add the chopped cashews.
Take the serving glass and start layering alternating the fruits and yogurt.
Top it off with whipped cream...ooohhhh lala!LOVELY!

Shimai er payesh... or Vermicelli milk pudding

Birthdays always bring back fond memories of home.The nostalgia sets in big time and my mind flies back home. There were no elaborate parties but the food was always there...sumptuous and made with a whole lot of love .
And payesh is one such thing which is definitely my mother's birthday specialties.
Back home we made this traditional Bengali pudding/kheer with rice. But at in-laws place Shimai is preferred instead of rice. And over the last two years I too have grown to love this sweet delicacy.I love to see C's face lighting up when he sees his bowl of payesh.

What you need:

milk (full cream!) -1 lt
gur-1 cup crumbled
chopped cashew-a handful
shimai/vermicelli-1/3 cup
oil/ghee-2 tbsp
sugar-2 tsp

In a saucepan start boiling the milk at low temperature. Careful not to scald the milk at the bottom. This is a long process as the heat is low medium.
Meanwhile add ghee /oil to another pan and lightly fry the shimai until they turn deep brown.
When the milk has reduced to half add the shimai and keep stirring.
When you think it is the desired consistency add the sugar.
Next add the gur/jaggery and let it dissolve into the milk and watch the as the color turns a rich chocolaty brown. Add the gur according to taste... depending on how sweet you want your payesh.And the sugar is added before the gur so that the milk does not curdle even if the gur has some impurities in it.
Remove from heat and add the chopped cashews.
Cool and serve.

So long..... enjoy your payesh... and day dream about home.....!:)

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte ---Black Forest Cake

Black Forest Cake is one of the best cakes I have ever had......
It was an unbelievably cold and rainy July afternoon and we were waiting for our train at the Freiburg station. And the cold had numbed my nose and my exposed fingers. So i decided to go for a stroll and then I saw the yummiest Black Forest Cake in the station bakery. i bought two pieces and while on our way back home we savored the cake with full gusto!

And so this Monday with a holiday I decided to give it a try(very skeptically) and it turned out quite ok.
I browsed through many recipes and settled on one basic easy one.C had been peeking in and out and perhaps wondering...." What is she up to?!"(I decided to surprise him... you see)
I had all the things handy..... but decided to make a few alterations:

I did not use cherry liquor
I did not use chocolate shavings
I did not use heavy whipped cream

OOoooooooh! I am a health freak.....:)

For the cake:

flour-1 and 1/2 cup
cocoa-1/2 cup
baking powder-2 tsp
sugar-1 and 1/2 cup
eggs-2 large
low fat butter/margarine -5 heaped tbsp
milk-1 cup


For Frosting:
light low fat whipped cream(Cool whip): 1 can
fresh cherries:de seeded and halved
chocolate chips:a handful

First sift the flour ,baking powder and cocoa powder together.Mix evenly.
Next beat the eggs and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is light and frothy. Do use a beater.
Soften the butter over low heat and cool.
Then add the butter to the egg-sugar mix and beat again.
Next add the flour mix and gently fold the mixture.
Beat for 10 -15 minutes.
Line a baking pan with greased baking sheet and preheat oven at 350F.Pour the cake mix.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. This may vary. insert a toothpick/knife to check if the cake is done.
Take the cake out and cool for 1 hour.

Frosting:
After the cake has cooled properly cut horizontally with a broad knife. You can cut 2-3 layers according to the height of your cake.
Spread the layers on a flat plate.
Now generously cream the layers with the whipped cream.
Spread evenly with a knife.
Sprinkle the chopped cherries and the chocolate chips.
Repeat with all the layers.
Carefully re arrange the layers on top of each other .
Now cream frost the outer layers.
Spread evenly with knife.
Decorate with cherries and chocolate chips.
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Serve cold with hot black coffee...... and enjoy a good book! :) ( I did that!)

Happy Holi...... and a yummy dessert....

Its been 4 days since I returned.... Surprisingly enough there is no jet lag and I feel totally fresh and perky in the morning... Yesterday being Holi I decided to cook a proper dinner for C who had been surviving on take -aways for the last 1 month.....

I cooked paneer khichuri, Chicken keema and this yummy dessert....... I will post the recipes for the former two later...... today its 'Shrikhand' time..... Learnt this form my Sister who stays in Delhi and thanks to her I gathered the recipe for an easy dessert....

Ingredients:(for two)

Unsweetened curd-2 cups
A clean white muslin cloth
Sugar-4tbsp or according to taste
Chopped pistachios-a handful
Black cardamom powder-a pinch

Hang the curd in the white cloth for 3-4 hours till all the water drains out.
Next transfer the curd in a serving bowl(not steel) and add the sugar.
Beat the curd until the sugar melts and the curd is thick and creamy.
Sprinkle the cardamom powder and the pistachios.
Refrigerate until you serve.
Serve chilled.

Fun times....Desserts and all that!!

I love desserts... what is a meal without one? Be it ice creams or cakes or sweets or the typically bengali amshottwer chutney or doi or ... oh god... I could go on and on and on.....So for New Year I baked a simple chocolate cake and it was heavenly.....
Here's how I did it...

Baking tray
Milk Chocolate chunk-150 gm
Cocoa powder-4-5 tbsp
All purpose flour-1cup
Baking powder-2-3tsp
Eggs-2 large
Sugar-1 and 1/2 cup
Margarine or low fat butter-5 tbsp

In a shallow pan heat the butter/margarine and just as it melts away add the chocolate chunk. All this while keep the flame on low. Be careful not to burn the mix.As the chocolate melts and the syrup thickens slowly add the sugar and the cocoa powder and let it melt away .
Grease the baking pan and preheat the oven to 180C.
In a separate bowl sift the flour and baking powder.
Beat the eggs and slowly fold the flour mix in it. Mix thoroughly.
Meanwhile take the chocolate syrup off the flame and let it cool.
Then mix the syrup in the flour-egg mix and beat for 2-3 minutes.
Pour the mix in the baking tray and set it into the oven for 40 -45 minutes.
Bake until the cake is set and test with a knife or tooth pick.
Cut and serve with a hot cup of coffee or just like that!!!!