Cupcake Trio - Strawberry - Tangerine - Blueberry

I don't have much to say about Cupcakes. Everyone loves them. These are miniatures :D I mentioned I really like everything bite sized. Recently Cupcakes are in vogue. The sky is the limit to your imagination. You can have one for every theme. :D

Condensed Milk - 1 tin ( Milkmaid / mithai mate ) - I prefer mithai mate
Butter - 8 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Refined flour / Self raising flour / Maida - 2 cups
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Soda bicarbonate (meetha soda) - 1 pinch
Fruit Salt - 1tsp
Milk - 1/4th - 1/2 cup
Club Soda - 1/4th cup


METHOD


1) Preheat the oven at 250 degrees.
2) Melt the butter and take it in a mixing bowl. Add the condensed milk and the vanilla extract and keep aside.
3) Seive the flour , Baking powder, fruit salt and soda together in a separate bowl.
4) Add the flour mixture spoon by spoon and mix either with a double beater or mix with a wooden spoon.
5) Add 1/4th to 1/2 cup milk of you think the batter is too thick.
6)Add the soda and beat
7) Spoon this cake batter in cupcake moulds lined with cupcake liners and bake at 180 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes. ( Note - Do not open the oven once the muffins have been put in.)
8) Check with a wooden tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean, then the cupcakes are done.

Tangerine - citrus Cheesecake

Whenever you get a chance to read my posts, they would all be Lacto – vegetarian. I was raised being a lacto – vegetarian and thereby it has been inculcated in me, hence my recipes do not even include eggs.

It was Sunday morning and  I was craving something sweet. I looked IN my refrigerator and f.ound some Quark cheese and some mascarpone cheese; hence a no-bake cheesecake was in order.  I love both of them as Quark cheese is low fat and Mascarpone is so velvety. Since I am a a lacto-vegetarian,  I do not use gelatin in my cheesecake, I substitute it with ‘Vegetarian gelatin’ – as it is sold in the speciality shops (it is actually carrageenan).  Use exactly the same amounts as gelatin but no soaking is required. All you have to do is beat it along with some warm water

Recipe – This recipe makes 2 3 inch cheese cakes

INGREDIENTS

Crust

Digestive Biscuits / Graham Cracker – 8 (ground to a fine powder)

Melted Butter – 2 tbsp (30 g)

Filling Base

Mascarpone Cheese – ½ cup

Quark Cheese – ½ cup

Hung curd / yoghurt (hung overnight 1 cup curd = ¼ cup hung curd) – ¼ cup

Vegetarian Gelatin (Carrageenan) – 1 tsp dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water

Whipping cream – ¼ cup whipped

Powdered sugar – ½ cup

Flavouring - Orange Juice concentrate / Lemon juice

Jelly Layer

Orange / lemon orange jelly crystals - 1/2 pack

METHOD

Crust

Mix the powdered biscuits and the melted butter together. Spoon it in the dish you are going to present it in. I used mousse rings. Press the mixture till it is firm and compact. Freeze it for about 30 minutes.

Base Filling

In a bowl mix all the ingredients together. Use the sugar as per the sweetness desired by you. Add the Orange juice concentrate,Lemon juice and orange pieces to it and spoon over the crust and level with a spatula.

Jelly Layer

Make the jelly layer as per the pack instructions. and pour over the filling layer.

Refrigerate this for about 4 – 5 hous before de-moulding it. Carefully de-mould it and garnish as desired. I used tangerine slices and mint to garnish.

SMILESSSS :)

Blueberry Tartlets

I love food that is bite sized. It is so easy to eat such food. I completely enjoy eating them. More over they look so fascinating. Blueberries look very pretty and their color looks very attractive. They are not very easily available in India more over the frozen ones available are quite expensive (I bought them for Rs. 900/ kg) Blueberry pie filling cans are easily available (American Garden Blueberry Topping is easily available in stores which keep imported ingredients). They can be used instead of blueberries. Making tarts is superrrrr easy. You just CANNOT go wrong with one. Follow the steps as they are mentioned. This is a standard recipe for the tart and can be used for other recipes as well where you wanna use other toppings and fillings. 

INGREDIENTS

SHORTCRUST PASTRY - TART
Refined flour - 2 cups
Butter (at room temperature) - 3/4th to 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/4th to 1/2 cup (as per sweetness desired)
Milk - for binding if required


FILLING


Ganache
Dark chocolate - 50g
Milk/ Fresh cream - 100g


Cream - yoghurt filling
Hung curd - 1/2 cup
Whipping cream - 1/2 cup
Icing sugar - As per sweetness desired


BLUEBERRY SAUCE
Blueberries - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup


METHOD


TART
1) Cream the butter and the powdered sugar till light and creamy.

2) Mix the flour with the creamed butter just with your fingers till it resembles breadcrumbs.
3) Add a little milk to bind the mixture if you feel it is too crumbly.
4) Take a tart mould and line it with the short mixture on the edges and the base.
5) Bake in a pre - heated oven for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees C
6) Remove from oven and let cool till it hardens and only then remove from the tart mould


FILLING


Ganache - This method is a cheat method for making a ganache :P
1) Temper chocolate on a double boiler till it completely melts.
2) Just add the milk / cream and whisk vigorously till smooth. As you do this, the color will darken and the chocolate will thicken eventually.


Cream - yoghurt filling
1) Beat the whipping cream and the sugar till it forms soft peaks. 
2) Add the hung curd and beat till smooth. You can flavour your curd with lemon if you like.


BLUEBERRY SAUCE
1) In a saucepan, add the blueberries and the sugar.
2) The sugar will start melting and the blueberries will ooze out some water.
3) The blueberries will soften and cook till you get a thick sauce.


Take the cooled tarts, spoon some thick ganache and then add the cream - yoghurt filling. Finally top with blueberry sauce and some blueberries and mint and serve witha SMILEEEE :D

This one looks so beautiful :)

Tiramisu Surprise

Whenever I think of coffee, I think of Tiramisu. I am not addicted to coffee but I surely get indulgent when I have a good Tiramisu in front of me. Tiramisu is surely one of the most amazing cakes you can eat. (if you love coffee and also if you don't :P ) It is a very easy dessert to make if you have all the ingredients available with you. The recipe I am sharing with you is not a very classic recipe. I have modified it as per availability of the ingredients. Classic Tih - Ruh - Mee - SOOO (this is how you pronounce it the right way) has ingredients like Ladyfingers (biscuits), Coffee, Mascarpone, rum, eggs (to make the custard). I didn't find Ladyfingers (these are special finger shaped biscuits made for Tiramisu) and I am a Lacto - vegetarian hence NO EGGS. :P I missed mentioning about Mascarpone cheese, It belongs to the cream cheese category and is very soft and velvety.

INGREDIENTS


Cake / Cookies - Cut into fingers - 20 to 25 pieces
Coffee Solution - coffee, sugar and water solution - 1 cup


Cream Filling
Whipping cream - 100g
Mascarpone Cheese - 200g
Sugar - As per sweetness desired
Dark rum - 2 tsp (just to add the warmth)


Topping / Garnish
Drinking Chocolate and Cocoa powder - 2 tsp


METHOD


Cream Filling
1) Mix all the ingredients and beat well till light and fluffy.

MASCORPONE CHEESE

Assembly
1) In the dish you have decided to plate. Place the cakes fingers soaked in coffee syrup.
2) Spoon a layer of the cream filling and make sure it is uniform.
3) Place another layer of soaked cake fingers and spoon a layer of cream filling on it. 
4) Dust a mixture of cocoa powder and coffee powder to finish it and Garnish it as you like.

Very Berry Strawberry Trifle....

If you have a few guest coming over and you wish to serve a fancy dessert then this one surely is an easy take. This dessert is more to do with compilation. It has different flavors, colors, textures to give that complete feel. It can have as many layers as desired. Cakes, Biscuits, Macaroons, Cookies, etc along with custard fresh fruits, fruit sauces, Whipped cream. The sky is the limit to your imagination. Yoghurt, cream sheese, sour cream, Mascarpone cheese can be used as well. So its time you whip up some creativity.

INGREDIENTS


Cake / Cookie / Biscuits - I used Cakes cup into 1 inch squares - 200 g
Cut fruits - Strawberry - 1 cup
Custard (made by following the instructions on the pack) - 2 cups
Whipped cream - 1 cup
Fruit juice - for soaking the cake
Glasses / Trifle bowl 


METHOD


1) Take a glass / bowl and place the cake pieces at the bottom and soak them with juice.
2) spoon some custard on it and top some fruit and then fruit sauce and then place some cake pieces and repeat the layers.
3) Pipe out some whipped cream and top some fresh fruits and desired toppings.

Oooh La Laaaa.. :D :D

Sinful Mac 'n' Cheese

Often I wonder how some people don't like cheese. It has such a smooth, melt in the mouth, complete flavour. It is just so tempting. I cant resist. I love cheese with practically everything. (I am actually closing my eyes and imagining the experience). Food is all about experience and indulgence. If I had to spend a guilt - free 'EAT' day. I would dig into my all time favourite Mac 'n' Cheese. So buttery, so smooth, so yummmm... This is a very popular american dish. It can be a casserole dish for a large gathering. Kids love it as it is ful of cheesy moments. It should have nice rich Cheddar.Guess what ?? U.S. of America has a National Macaroni and Cheese day - 14th july :D :D :D It is extremely simple to prepare and barely takes minutes.

INGREDIENTS

Macaroni - 100 g
Oil - 1 tsp
Butter - 2 tsp
Refined flour- 2 tsp
Milk - 1 and a half cup
Processed / Cheddar Cheese - 1 and a half cup
Salt - if needed (cheese already has salt)
Pepper - Optional

METHOD

1) Boil water in a vessel, add the macaroni along with salt and oil. Both salt and oil are important as oil prevents them from sticking and salt to balance the taste as macaroni will not absorb salt later.
2) Prepare mornay sauce with other ingredients http://therecipebay.blogspot.com/2011/10/sauces-heart-of-recipe.html
3) Mix the sauce and the macaroni together and either put in a baking dish or plate as desired. Grate some cheese on the top. Bake them for about 20 minutes at about 150 degrees C. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Dig into this fun -tastic casserole.

 Howz that ???

Hara Bhara Kebab ..

I would generally go to a restaurant and order a Paneer Tikka or a Hara Bhara Kebab for my appetizer. I simply love them both. I can not resist and keep popping them. This recipe is a simple, extremely yummy one and you definately cant go wrong with this one. Its really going to be worth it making this appetizer. Makes a perfect blend of flavours. This can be made and frozen and stored over a period of about 3 months.

INGREDIENTS


Potatoes (Boiled) - 3 medium
Onion - 1 medium
Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Green chillies - 2 medium
Cottage cheese / Paneer - 100 g
Spinach (Blanched) - 100 g pureed
Green peas (Boiled) - 1 cup
Cornflour - For binding only
Bread (Ground in the grinder) - 4 slices
Salt - As per Taste
Oil - for frying


METHOD


Pre-preparation - Boil the potatoes and peas, Grind the Onion, ginger, garlic, green chillies together, Grind the bread slices, blanch the spinach and puree it.


1) Mash the potatoes and add the ginger - garlic - onion - chilli paste, Add the peas, bread powder, spinach puree, salt , crumbled cottage cheese and mix everything together.
2) Add the corn flour if you feel it is required (i.e. if the mixture is too wet)
3) Keep the mixture aside for about 10 minutes and in the meanwhile heat the oil for frying.
4) Make small ball and flatten them and fry in hot oil till they get a brown coating on the top.

5) Serve hot with green chutney, ketchup, etc

I hope you all like it :) :) Enjoy.