Moist Carrot Cake

 Been planning this post for quite some time.. but cannot procrastinate it further since carrot season is too short for my antics..;). This cake is heavenly moist & the nutmeg cinnamon combination makes it smell yummy.. I have made adjustments to the original recipe given to me by my friend Aparna.. She is one of the most effortless bakers who practically taught me how to bake..:) so here is the moist carrot cake everybody loves..

You Need
2.5 cup flour ( maida)
2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground Cinnamon (Dalchini)
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg (Jaiphal)
3 Eggs
1&3/4 cups Sugar
2/3 cup softened Butter
3 cups shredded Carrot
1/2 cup Orange Juice
Zest of  1 Orange ( chopped or grated orange Rind)
Raisins (optional)

How to :

Mix the dry ingredients that is Flour, Spices, Baking Soda & salt.














In a large bowl whisk butter ,Sugar nd eggs.
















Grate roughly 4-5 carrots to get 3 cups of shredded carrots.

   











Add grated carrots, orange Juice nd orange Rind to the mix.
Add flour mixture to and gently mix.. Do not over mix. The batter
will be moist so don't panic. Add raisins now if adding.

Dust a large Baking Pan  or line with a baking parchment.
It is a fairly large cake.. I have used a 12" square pan.

Bake for 50 minutes at 180*C. Insert a needle to check if done.
ENJOY..!!

Very Berry Strawberry Cake

I love strawberry. and though the strawberry season in my city is no more than a few weeks i have been preserving it in my freezer for year long consumption.. here's a post link on how to preserve... http://chefshruti.blogspot.in/2010/03/strawberry-preserve.html

So while I love them with Ice creams and even my daily Wheat flakes, I am always looking for good recipes for the same. and here is one awesome recipe..  You can use any berry that u can get Blueberry, Raspberry etc if you are luckier than me..;)) Cake is really simple with a crusty exterior and soft mushiness inside.. Enjoy!!

You need -

1 1/2 cups sifted All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 cup softened Butter ( in case using Amul/ Salted don't add salt)

1 cup granulated Sugar

4 Egg Whites ( alternatively 2 whole eggs)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Lemon zest

3 tbsp Sour Cream or  Regular Cream

1/3 cup  milk

1 cup of fresh Blueberry, Strawberry or Raspberry ( whichever you can get or all mixed..)

For the Crust

3 tbsp softened butter

1/3 cup brown sugar or plain sugar

1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

How to:

1) Mix flour, baking Powder,Salt. keep aside.

2) In a large bowl mix butter & sugar for the cake. Whisk well.

3) Add eggs, Vanilla, Lemon Zest. Mix well

4) Add cream & the flour mixture. Gently Fold the ingredients adding milk as you need. Do not over mix.

5) Use a 9" baking Pan. I used a loose bottom tin but you can use any regular round or Square pan. Dust it well before Pouring the mixture. Level the mixture using spatula.

6) In a bowl mix the ingredients for Topping. Sprinkle the fruits and the topping mix over the cake making it as even as possible.

7) Bake at 180 deg C for 40 minute..

Easy Chocolate Squares

            I am back to Blogging after nearly a year.. a year full of activity  but total laziness to blog anything at all.. been archiving pictures of what I made but never got around posting them.. Thank God for FACEBOOK which reminded me this morning that there has been no activity on the page..:)
now for this renewed beginning, as the cadbury Dairy Milk ad says "Kuch meetha ho jaaye". what better way to begin than a chocolate recipe.

             The best thing about this recipe is that it hardly takes any time and is so yummy that it finishes before you know. Before we talk about the recipe let me tell u a few things about ingredients. In terms of chocolate to use you have a lot of options. It can be chocolate buttons or cooking chocolate bars. Often I have read people mention percentage of cocoa in the chocolate or a great brand. Personally i really never found any difference .. but if you prefer a certain brand go ahead use that.. i buy whatever that i can considering i live in a smaller town and it is a bit of a luxury to choose brand.. and never found any difference in results..you may opt for semi sweet or dark chocolate depending on your taste preference.
the original recipe is from www.chefinyou.com but i have tweaked it to my liking.

You need

• 350 gms of any cooking chocolate chopped or chocolate buttons
• 400 gms Tin of condensed milk ( Nestle milkmaid wud do)
• pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of butter( unsalted) if using salted Amul etc don't add extra salt
• Cinnamon or any other spice if you like ( optional)
• 200 gms assorted nuts roughly chopped ( cashews, almonds, walnuts etc)

How to Make

In a large heatproof glass bowl mix chopped chocolate/ buttons, condensed milk, salt, butter, cocoa powder and spices if using.


Heat the mixture using double boiler.. a double boiler is essentially a glass bowl kept above a simmering pan of boiling water. the water shud not touch the sides of glass bowl. this way chocolate melts using indirect heat of steam.

Once the chocolate melts add the chopped nuts. and pour the mixture into a square tin lined with greased baking or parchment paper. Let the mixture cool. refrigerate for 2-4 hours .

Once set u can cut squares of your choice out of it. And wrap using a chocolate wrapping paper. Or better just eat it like that..:)