MICKEY MOUSE CAKE

I am keeping my fingers crossed as i am writing this post. This is the first cartoon character based cake that i have ever baked. It was for a cute angel M.Baked and frosted it in a limited time; We decided on the flavour and look and feel and i had no idea of how to make it. Somehow i managed to deliver it on time. Still waiting for the feed back. If you are a regular reader of my blog; this is the same eggless chocolate cake recipe, only that i converted it into a butterscotch cake by replacing the cocoa powder with flour.

I didn't have any chance to taste the cake, but the frosting was yum...It tasted like butterscotch icecream. Still to hear from my friend on how the cake turned out. Will keep ya posted

CARAMEL CAKE

I am back. Sound's like Arnie isn't it. Just kidding. Was busy for so long, couldn't try anything bloggable. ha ha. So just  to refresh my already "not so good" skills in baking, i managed to bake this cake. This will be a really treat for any caramel lover. Though there are many recipes for a caramel cake, i stuck to an old fashioned rustic grandmother style cake that is so popular in the southern region of America,

I love caramel, i could have the whole frosting just by itself.  About the cake, there is nothing special, except,  it is an ordinary yellow cake with a glorious caramel frosting. I loved this cake. By the way, this was made for my amma, who was craving for a cream cake. She was, of course disappointed, as she had expected a luscious creamy white frosting, being presented with gooey clay instead. Nonetheless, the taste was fantastic, still i promised to make her a frosted cake some day. Though i hate  iced cakes, sometimes i do indulge in these rare ones. Verdict: A great cake for family reunions, when you want something special or unique.

Before signing off, i forgot to mention my "Tweaks". As the frosting is going to be a glorious caramel, i omitted vanilla extract from the cake, replaced with butterscotch essence instead. Worth the try, the cake smelt wonderful Secondly, the frosting was of spreadable consistency, a bit dripping, i would say. Reason could also be the heat, it is a scorching 109 here.

Recipe

Flour                200gms

Butter               200gms

Sugar                200gms

Eggs                 4

Baking Pdr           2 Tsp

Butterscotch essence 2 Tsp

Frosting

Sugar       50gms

Cream       100ml

Icing Sugar 200gms

Butter      20gms

Caramelisze the sugar untill amber colour.Remove from heat. Add cream and butter. Allow the foam to settle. Mix thoroughly. While it is tepid, add the icing sugar and mix well. Store in a glass container. This will keep for two weeks.

P.S. I had a cup of frosting left after icing the cake. Thinking of making cinnamon rolls and use this as a topping

BANANA MILK SHAKE

Summer is soaring. Hardly March and it is already 36. Shudder to think what is waiting in May. As like most chennai - ites, i am used to this. So, thought of dishing out a few coolers to drink up the summer. There were lots of banans, lots of milk and lots of  almond icecream. Just mish mashed everything to make this beauty. I didn't add any extra sugar. The icecream and bananas were sweet enough. The twist was, i added some roasted bananas on top of the shake, then covered it with crunchy almond icecream. This added texture to the otherwise "BORING" milk shake. I loved it. Since i am a 'fruity' type of  person, i would savour anything with fruits with full zeal and glee. For those who like bananas, this is an excuse to "GO BANANAS"

recipe:

Bananas           -             2

Almond Icecream   -             2 generous scoops

Cold milk         -             1 cup

Whip up the cold milk and bananas in a blender (save 1/2 or a few pieces for garnish). Roast a few banana pieces with a teaspoon of sugar till they are coated with caramel. Pour the shake into a glass, add the roasted banana on top and finish it off with some almond icecream. HEAVEN

MAIDA HALWA

I am still on cloud nine, yet to get over from the award hangover, this was time to celebrate my maiden award. I might sound like a maiden academy award winner, LOL, still...it makes me happy enough. I made this in 15 mts, so easy, just make it and gulp it down, so silky and slippery. But i would prefer the wheat Halwa over this because, it has more body and texture than this. This halwa, though good enough was like a step sister who was not as beautiful as Cinderella. Anyways, comes in handy for instant sweet cravings. Hope you enjoy. The one mistake was the garnishing. I didn't add any nuts to the halwa itself, but messed up with shaved almonds. Appa thought it was coconut scrapings till he tasted it, next time, keep it simple and keep it the right way, happy-bowl.

Recipe

Maida         -  100gms

Corn flour    -  15gms

Sugar         -  300gms

Gum Powder    -  a pinch

Ghee          -  150gms

Food color    -  a pinch

Nutmeg        -  1 tsp 

Make a runny paste with maida, cornflour, gum powder, food color and water.

Make a thin syrup with the sugar, when it comes to a boil add, maida and cornflour slurry.

When it comes to a boil and starts getting thicker add the ghee little by little.

When the mixture start coming together and leaves the pan,add nutmeg powder and transfer into a tray. Allow it to cool and cut into pieces.

THANKYOU HHB

This is an emotional moment for me. It came unexpected. It's been nearly a year since i started blogging. I was just an avid blogger who would scour through pictures of mouth watering desserts and wondered "how the heck they make it at home...?".  When i became a regular reader of HHB, i gained some confidence in baking, first, then, starting my own blog; Now, when i am awarded by someone who was a great deal of inspiration to me, is so gratifying.

HHB, thank you so very much to recognize my blog. This means a lot to me. I dedicate this award to all newbies like me, who are avid bakers and aspire to conquer the baking battle with flying colours. One may wonder why my blog has only desserts, though i don't post all of what i cook, i have an incredibly strong sweet tooth. For health reasons, i tend to share all of what i cook, tasting a very small portion of it. Sometimes i restrict it to three or four desserts a month. That is why, there are fewer posts in my blog each month.

Truly touched and boosted with greater confidence, i am moving forward with this award as a stepping stone in my baking journey.

As to pass on the award to 10 other bloggers of my choice, i am no authority to judge other blogs, as i follow very few of them. All of them are stalwarts in their own rights. So, i request them to accept this award as a token of my admiration towards their diligence in their work. There are a few rules to accept the award. See here for details

I would like to pass on the awards to

Rak's Kitchen

Sharmi's Passions

US Masala

Solai Kitchen

MILK HALWA

If you had been reading my blog for a while, you must know that i don't give up easily on getting thing right. So, i am second time lucky...(touchwood). I made this the traditional way that my grandmother used to make. On FIREWOOD. Yes, i took the challenge and handled it, well .. with much gusto, No one  to help me around, i managed to lit the fire in my garden and had to toil around to keep away from the smoke that was swaying from the fire. It was like a merry go round, to venture away from the direction of the smoke. Otherwise i enjoyed it very much. Folks, if anybody can, please try to cook this way at least once in a lifetime, it is fun.

Recipe:

Milk                   -     2.5 ltr

Sugar                  -    400gms

Cream of  Tartar       -    1 tsp

Liquid Glucos          -    1 tbsp

Boil the milk in a big vessel. The milk tends to boil over, since the heat from a firewood stove is much higher than a normal gas stove. When the milk boils for five minutes, add cream of tartar and wait till it curdles. Cook it with the water. When all the moisture is absorbed, add sugar and allow it to caramelize a bit. When it becomes a nice brown color. remove from heat and add the liquid glucose. One must wonder that i didn't add any flavouring. There was a subtle smoky flavour that i liked very much. That is the reason for no extra flavouring..Try it, you won't regret making it. 

HORLICKS MYSURPA

Fore warning: This has a zillion calories.True. You have to toil in the tread mill for a whole week for just one serving of it. This was a rage when introduced by SKC. But, now ,it is available at any corner store. Nothing like home made. I couldn't get the lighting right; that is why this blue tint. One thing i tweaked is, the recipe actually calls for full cream milk powder, i didn't have them handy, so i substituted with horlicks...:-).This has a melt in mouth texture, asking for more and more. I, with great restraint, had to pull myself out of the cupboard where this is stored.

I am going to limit this to festive delicacies from now. Too good for ordinary occasions. Now for the recipe.

Besan flour -   250 gms

Sugar       -   500 gms

Ghee        -   1 Kg (a whooping amount. Yes, but do not reduce) 

Horlicks    -   125 gms

Roast the flour in ghee for about 10mts.

Make sugar syrup of 1/2 string consistency.

Mix both together and put on the flame. Once the mixture comes together, add the horlicks and keep stirring untill it forms a big mass.

The edges should start spluttering when your ladle passes through it.

Pour over in a greased plate and slice them.



MOLASSES COOKIES

I have to confess, folks, this post is for participation purpose only. I have no idea of what is made on CNY, but would be very happy if this finds a place in the new year bakes. This is a regular cookie that we make, but with a small twist. Molasses. Add a generous table spoon of molasses to get an earthy flavour that is very appetising for me. This makes a very small batch and was gifted to a little girl who enjoyed it very much. She gave me a double thumbs up.

Recipe

Flour                200 gms

Butter               175 gms

Icing sugar          175 gms

Molasses             1 Tablespoon

Salt                 1/2 tsp

Baking soda          1/2 tsp

Mix everything together.No creaming of ingredients is required.

Scoop into cookies in a baking sheet and bake for 20 mts at 170.

They will be soft when hot but will eventually harden as it cools.

 I am submitting your post to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight

BASUNDHI

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY. Let this year be a one filled with  happiness and wishes fulfilled with good health and prosperity. Since my sister A had come over from Singapore, we had a bash on New Year. She is not a patron of sweets and so i tried to impress her with a heritage dish. Thus Basundi. Creamy and decadent, loaded with calories, we made sure that all of us had a small serving so as to control the calories. Reserve the extra calories for the rest of the year.

Recipe

Milk          1 liter

Sugar         50 gms

Pistachios    10 nos

Almonds     ` 10 nos

Kalonji       2 Tbsp 

Heat the milk in a wide heavy bottomed vessel and skim of the malai as it accumulated to the corner of the vessel.

Once the mixture becomes thick with lots of malai, add the sugar and stir till it dissolves.

Allow the mixture to cool and garnish with nuts.

I didn't add cardamom or any other flavourings, the aroma of quartered milk was enough.

MILK BURFI

I decided to make this for the New Year treat, but curiousity got the better of me. Saw the recipe on a television show and had long been wondering how this was made in sweet shops. At last i came to know how simple it was. Really simple; doesn't need any attention till the last minute. Yes.. you can leave it alone and attend to it for a mere few minutes and this will be beautifully done. The next time i do this am going to take it away from the flame five minutes before so that it stays much softer which is often called "paal halwa". I  intentionally made it into a burfi because it is easier to serve. Next thing about this sweet is that it does not have any butter or ghee in it. Though i am not a milk sweet person except rosgollas, this was a winner.

Recipe

Milk                     1 litre

Sugar                    100 gms

Curd                     2 Tbsp

Liquid glucose           1 Tbsp (omit if you cant get it, this just makes the burfi  soft and prevents hardening)

Maida                    1 Tbsp

Mix maida with all of the milk before boiling.Make sure it is well blended and there are no lumps.

Bring the milk to a boil and simmer it for 10 mts until it gets a nice color and aroma.

Add the curd and allow it to curdle.

Do not drain (as we do for paneer). Allow it to cook with the whey until all of the water evaporates.

When the mixture is thick and comes together halwa like, add the sugar and leave to simmer again for another 15mts.

By now it should reach a nice brown color.

When the water from the sugar has evaporated, increase the flame and keep swirling the pan.

DO NOT STIR, JUST KEEP SWIRLING UNTIL THE BOTTOM IS BROWNED.

When the bottom is crystallized,transfer this into a tray. Allow it to cool and cut into pieces.

Garnish with almonds or pistachios. (i didn't). Neither did i add liquid glucose. Googled it to find that it prevents the dish from hardening and keeps it soft. Doesn't matter. It tasted good even without.

Mmm...should think about New Year Dessert.

FRUIT CAKE

What is Christmas without a fruit cake..?. Though we do now celebrate Christmas, i enjoy the fervour and spirit it spreads in this time of the year. I enjoy all the goodies that my friends pass on during Christmas, and as a return gift, i pack them a slice of this cake.

This is, again, a few of my original recipes that i have developed myself with some innovations each year. The first time i made this was with plain sugar and treacle. Next year it was demerera sugar with home made caramel. The fruits of course, we are spoilt with choice, but, i stay to almonds,walnuts, dates, dried black raisins and dried cranberries. Once you get to taste home made fruit cake, you would never go for a store bought one. I do not restrict this bake to Christmas alone. This family favourite will find a place in the table during any special occasion that needs a cake.

One could play with this recipe (as i did); say you could change the proportion of fruits added or the flavourings or the soaking syrup. We are strict non alcoholics, thus a mix of apple and orange juice. The traditional rum soaking method is always there. Another thing that is amiss in this recipe will be candied peel. That does not work for me. If you want a very strong flavoured cake you can add a dash of it too.

An important tip in this cake is, use the soaking syrup according to the days you will make the cake in advance. I make this cake two weeks in advance , so 200ml. By the time it is 4 days before Christmas(that is when i start distributing), the cake would be packed in flavour and Punch.

Now for the recipe

Flour                    200gms

Demerera Sugar           200gms

Butter                   200gms

Eggs                     4

Salt                     1/4 tsp

Caramel                  4 Tbsp

Cinnamon                 1/4 ts

(i don't enjoy it thus such meagre amt, add 1  tsp if you are a fan of cinnamon)

Nutmeg                   1tsp

Dryginger powder         1/2 tsp

Vanilla                  1 tsp

Dates                    100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Dried black raisins      100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Dried cranberries        100gms (soaked in hotwater for 15mts)

Walnuts                  100gms toasted

Almonds                  100gms toasted

Apple Juice 100 ml

Orange juice 100ml

Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy.

Add eggs one at a time untill well blended.

Add all the flavourings and mix well

First add the caramel and soaked fruits and make sure they are mixed well

Then add the nuts (cooled).

Now add flour and mix untill well incorporated.

Give it a quick mix (do not worry about over beating) and fill in a 12 inch bundt pan and bake for 35 mts at 180c.

Wait unitll completely cooled. The next day, mix both the juices in a nozzled bottle and spray liberally over the cake. You will find the cake very wet, but have faith, the refrigerator will do the magic. Pack it in a airtight box and leave it in for two weeks. When you open it after two weeks you will never regret the labour of this cake.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #14: Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011) hosted by Hankerie

CONDENSED MILK POUND CAKE

This is not a pound cake in the strictest sense. I have learnt that a pound of each butter, sugar, eggs and flour contribute to a good pound cake. To make this extra special, we add condensed milk, i suppose. When i saw the post here, it looked so good. But alas, i ran out of stock of two things, cake flour and vanilla extract. The forever adventure seeker that i am, i went ahead with the recipe with some.....tweaks..yeah you guessed it right. There was AP flour and nutmeg.

The cake was good, i had to steam it for a few seconds the next day to make it extra moist. The flavour of nutmeg was something different to me. Since i prefer nutmeg over cinnamon on any given day, i enjoyed it very much. One thing i missed was the tight crumb that baking fiend had. Must have something to do with the cake flour.

So, this month awaits another variation of pound cake, the "ELVIS PRESLEY FAVOURITE POUND CAKE". Waiting for the right occasion to make it.

Here is the recipe for the cake:

120gm good quality butter

45gm sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup (152gm) condensed milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste  (replaced with 1 teaspoon of nutmeg)

120gm cake flour (replaced with AP flour)

3/4 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

Sift cake flour and baking powder tog. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar tog till light and fluffy.

Add in salt and vanilla paste and cream well.

Pour in condensed milk and cream till well combined.

Using the mixer on low speed, add in flour in 3 additions. Mix till batter is smooth.

Add in eggs one at a time. Make sure it's well mixed and smooth.

Bake at 175 degrees for 1 hour. (mine was done in 45 mts)

HOKKAIDO MILK CUPCAKE

I was waiting for a long time to try this cake. It looked soooo.. good and the reviews were great. When SSB announced this month's theme, the first thing that came to my mind was this cake. It yielded a whole dozen of cupcakes. The cake was soft, moist and tasty, but....the eggy smell was overriding everything else. Though i added two sachets of sucre vanille, it still was there, Otherwise the cake was a superhit. Very healthy and tasty for evening tea. The next time i am thinking  of adding lemon zest or orange zest to suppress the eggy smell or does anybody know anyother means to get rid of it ...?

Here is the original recipe. I gave my tweaking fingers some rest and followed the original recipe to a T.

Chiffon CupCakes:
yields 8 large cupcakes (I got 12 medium ones)

Yolk mixture:
40 grams milk
50 grams oil
70 grams egg yolk (about 4 large)
30 grams sugar
70 grams flour
10 grams cornstarch
1/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Egg White mixture:
160 grams egg whites (about 5 large)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar (i used lime juice)
80 grams sugar

1. beat egg whites with cream of tartar until it forms soft peaks. Add sugar gradually and peak to stiff peaks
2. Combine all yolk ingredients and mix until smooth
3. add 1/3 of egg whites to yolk mixture, and whisk to combine. Dump and yolk mixture back into the rest of the egg whites and fold gently until smooth and there are no more white streaks.
4. bake at 340F for 20 minutes.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011) hosted by Min of Min's Blog.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

This is the same cake as this. Only difference is, i substituted lindt 99% dark chocolate with cocoa powder in the original recipe. Everything looked so well done (or so i thought).When i placed the cake in the fridge to set, fate grinned at me. Power played spoil sport; the refridgerator started to defrost thereby water droplets started to drip on the cake. That is why one end of the cake is so untidy. The frosting was vanilla buttercream covered with chocolate gananche and the borders were malt flavoured buttercream.

Now that i have gained some confidence in frosting a cake, the next time, i should try something with freshcream. Baking fairy...are you listening.....?

BOONDI LADOO

Ladoo... This is what i call my nephew G in bombay. He is such a cute boy that this sweet reminds me of him. The staple of any south indian weddings, this is as versatile as the badusha and the mysorepak. This is another of my own recipe. Handed down from my grandmother, i made some changes. My gm makes the traditional south indian ladoos which are yellow in color and has a sugar basted look and feel in it. I always make this north indian version ladoo which has tiny boondis and is much softer and tastes great, but i have my own doubts about the shelf life (The SI ladoo stays fresh for 10 days in the fridge) .

 OK, now for the verdict, the ladoo tasted great, had the same texture and look, but......, i went wrong with the color and aroma. Out of curiosity, i added a bit more of the orange color (that is why the ladoo has a deeeeeeeeeeeeep color); i should have added pure saffron, i went for the essence instead; The usual elaichi and nutmeg combo gave this dish a nice aroma but the "shree mithai" aroma was lacking. Should do some research to acquire that aroma. Nevertheless the dish was superhit.

Recipe

Besan Flour - 500 gms

water           - 3 cups

orange color - a pinch

Sugar          -  1000 gms

oil               -   to deep fry

ghee           -   to deep fry

cucumber seeds - to garnish

elaichi, nutmeg - 1 tsp

saffrom essence - 1 tsp

Make a runny batter with the besan flour, water and color. Leave it for 10 mts. Heat a kadai with oil and ghee in equal proportions. Seive the batter through a fine boondi strainer. Make boondis with all the batter.

Prepare sugar syrup of less than one strand (1/2 string) consistency. Put in all the boondis. Simmer the mixture with the lid closed for 10 mts. The boondis should absorb all the syrup and they should not be sticking to each other. Let them cool down until they are warm.Mix in the elaichi/nutmeg powder/essence/  cucumber seeds and shape into ladoos. Enjoy