Apple Cake

Apple Cake

            On a recent holiday to Kesroli palace fort in Alwar , I ate one of the most delicious coffee cakes. The flavours were so subtle that despite being a baker myself I had to ask the chef " what is it that I can feel but not pinpoint in it?" To my surprise the magical element was Grated Apple.. Yes!! and it tasted divine.

With apple season round the corner I decided to try  adding apple to one of my favorite basic cake recipes.. and Bingo! the cake was so delicious that it was eaten in a day..:P

I don't know much about varieties of apple. Nor do i care. they just needed to be juicy nd fresh. I used Shimla apples that have just started flooding the market.

here's the super Tasty easy Apple cake  for every1.

You need

125 gms Maida

125 gms castor or regular Sugar

100 gms Butter ( I use Amul/salted for this one)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

few drops of lemon extract or lemon juice

1 apple peeled and grated.

pinch of powdered cinnamon 

pinch of nutmeg

How to make

1) Pre heat oven at 180 degrees. Dust a baking pan or  line with parchment paper.

2) In a large bowl mix Eggs, Sugar & Butter till fluffy. 

3) Add vanilla, lemon extract, Cinnamon and Nutmeg.

4) Mix the baking powder and flour. add flour to the butter mixture.

5) Peel and grate a large apple. And quickly add to the batter before it oxidizes.

6) Mix gently and pour in the prepared tin.

7) Bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

And the delicious cake is ready to consume.. :P

Home-made Vanilla Ice - Cream

  Ice-cream is one of most preferred dessert.. Every one I know loves Ice-cream. But very few want to make it at home. Alright, I know the most difficult part is to get the creamy frothy texture of a store bought one. But trust me, it can be easily achieved using an Ice cream maker. Mine is a simple one which has a bowl and a motor attached spatula. I just have to freeze the empty bowl in the freezer a day before I want to make an ice-cream. The bowl gets cold and then I can pour in any batter . The consistency is just right.
this particular recipe taken from www.joyofbaking.com is just perfect. I have though altered it since i have reduced the amount of egg yolks and the sugar. but it is Heavenly anyway. In the recipe I have used a vanilla bean . In case you don't have it you can use vanilla extract. Result may not be same but is good enough.

You need
300 ml milk
300 ml fresh cream
4 large egg yolks
160 gms sugar
Vanilla bean or vanilla extract

How to make:

In a pan let the milk boil with the whole vanilla bean. After a boil take out the bean , cut it into half length wise and using back of a knife scrape the seeds. Discard the pods and add seeds to the boiling milk carefully. The seeds add a great look to it.
Simmer milk and add cream to it and let the cream warm . DO NOT boil the milk with cream or it will separate.

In a separate bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar well.

Carefully add the hot milk and cream mixture into the egg & sugar one. While adding milk constantly stir the mix.
In case you are adding vanilla extract then you can add it at this stage.

Warm the milk nd egg mixture on a Double boiler. Which is a heat proof bowl over a simmering water vessel.
Once the custard is thick enuf to coat the spoon take it off heat.
 let the mixture cool in a refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

Get you Ice -Cream maker ready as per the instructions on its manual.
 slowly pour the batter into it and start the machine. It may take between 20-30 minutes depending on your machine.

You may find the ice-cream soft at this stage. You can freeze it overnite in an air tight container.
Enjoy with hot chocolate syrup or Brownie.. :)

Chocolate Brownie

A Brownie differs from a chocolate cake in several ways.. It has a moist and more crumbly texture.. also ingredients wise it uses more eggs and very little flour. personally I prefer a brownie only with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream ( the recipe is soon to follow this one.. :D  ) you can add crushed Walnuts to the batter and get a walnut brownie. Alternatively you can add chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to get even more chocolate flavour..
And this is a perfect recipe in case you are a chocolate lover like my sister Bhanu.. she can live on chocolates.. :p
to make you need

150 gms cooking chocolate, dark or semisweet (chopped or in buttons)
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
1    Cup castor sugar ( or normal granulated sugar)
3     Eggs
2     Table spoons cocoa powder
3/4  Cup flour
1/4   tsp salt
1      tsp  vanilla extract

How to make
Dust a 8" square pan or line it with parchment. Pre- heat the oven to 180* C.




                         
In a glass bowl put chopped chocolate and butter.

Melt the chocolate and Butter in a Double boiler. Basically place the heat proof bowl over a simmering pan of water. The chocolate will melt in a few minutes. Take it off heat





Mix cocoa powder and Sugar.
Add the eggs and flour to molten chocolate.
Combine well. Add Vanilla extract and salt.

Pour it in the prepared tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

The Brownie will be moist when you insert a pin. but it is done.. Do not over bake the brownie. It is okay for the surface to crack.

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..:)

PHIRNI

Kheer is perhaps one of the most common dessert dishes made in north indian homes... smallest of occasion or celebration kheer would be there with puris ... Phirni's though are not so common.. i first tasted phirni at rajputana shereton courtesy my chef friend... and the way they serve it as an individual portion in a miiti ka bartan makes it yummier.. later when i tried the recipe at home it turned out even easier..

The most difficult part is getting the rice to be ground into grainy consistency.. the problem was solved when i found packets of ground rice rawa in local super markets.. this made the whole recipe a matter of minutes..( okay almost 60 min still easy..)

YOU NEED

1 liter milk

60 grams rice rawa

60 grams sugar

elaichi powder

saffron leaves 3-4

kewra essence

Method

Put milk for boiling in a heavy bottom pan. let it boil till it is reduced to 2/3 rd of actual quantity.

Add 60 grams rice rawa and keep stirring occasionally so it does not stick to the bottom.

Add saffron and elaichi for flavour. Cook till the rice granules are almost translucent.

Take off the flame. Let it cool a bit.

Add sugar to the slightly cooled phirni. Mix well. Add Kewra essence.

Garnish with finely chopped pista..