CupCakes :)

Cupcakes Cupcakes Cupcakes!!! YummYumm Yumm !!!


Those yummy little cupcakes, brightly coloured look so delicious that you can't but grab a few. I decided that it was about time I tried my hands at them. Alas, I had not a beater/whisker so had to whip the cream with my hands :P It didn't turn out badly but better use a hand mixer !


Ingredients:

1. 1/2 cup (113 gms) Amul butter (room temperature)

2. 2/3 cup (130 gms) powdered sugar

3. 3 eggs (room temperature)

4. 1 tsp vanilla essence

5. Zest of 1 lemon (outer yellow skin)

6. 1 1/2 cups (195 gms) maida (flour)

7. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

8. 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk

Procedure:

1. Take a big bowl and pour in the butter and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. I used a whisker and beat it manually. I suggest that you try this rather than using the blender. Beat slowly till the mixture is a smooth and fluffy paste.

2. Add the eggs one by one. Beat after every egg added. Once all eggs are added, beat for some more time to achieve a thick, yellowish, light and fluffy mixture.

3. Add the lemon rind (scrape the lemon) and the vanilla essence. Mix well.

4. In a separate bowl, sieve the flour and the baking powder together. 

5. Add the flour to the egg mixture slowly, mixing well alternately. Add the milk and mix some more. 

6. You need to use the paper cupcake moulds. Place the paper moulds in the metal cupcake moulds. One in each cavity. Then add the cake mixture in each mould till 3/4th of each mould is full. 

7. Bake at 180* Celsius for 16-18 minutes. Check with a  toothpick to see if its done. Repeat till the entire mixture is over. 

For the Frosting:

1. 2 cups (230 gms) powdered sugar

2. 1/2 cup (113 gms) margarine (room temperature)

3. 1 tsp essence (Mango / Strawberry / etc)

4. Food colours ( Yellow if you add mango flavour / Red if you put strawberry flavour )

5. Beat the above well till the mixture is light and fluffy. The mixture will rise to almost double the size.

6. Put it in a icing bag with the nozzle that you want. 

7. After the cakes cool down to room temperature, apply the icing on the cakes. 

Blueberry New York CheeseCake !!!

Yay! After ages of being sunk in chocolate till I actually go breathless, I decided to try out a cheesecake. The Occasion? - my best friend's birthday! Let me warn you though - it's easy on you but not on your pocket! So the next time you see the cheesecake being doubly as costly as the other pastries, you will be fully fit to empathize with them!

Let's start with where to buy the ingredients from.

You need Cream Cheese and Sour Cream - you get this at FoodHall, Godrej Nature's Basket, etc.

Blueberry Preserve - The same places

Ingredients - (Total Cost - Rs. 800 odd)

Cream Cheese - 450 gms

Sour Cream - 100 gms

Eggs - 2

Flour (Maida) - 4-5 heaped tsps

Vanilla Essence - Around 1 tsp

Powder Sugar - 1 1/3 cups full (approx. 300-350 ml) - Please taste before adding the entire quantity as per the quantity of sweetness on your taste buds!

Cookies (or Marie Biscuits) - 1 packet

Amul Butter - Almost 1 packet (100 gms)

Sugar (for the base) - as per taste

Procedure -

1. Crush the biscuits in a mixer. Take a vessel and add the butter and the sugar for the base in it. After it melts, add the crushed biscuits. Toss till golden brown!

2. Take a big bowl and add the cream cheese. Put the hand mixer / blender on low speed and start beating it lightly. Slowly add, one by one, the powdered sugar, the flour, the eggs, the essence and the sour cream.

3. Mix well and keep aside in the fridge.

4. Take a open base mould (if it has a removable base , the better! ). Cover the base with aluminium foil all the way till the top as an added protection.

5. Preheat the oven for 5 minutes at 160 degree Celsius.

6. In the meanwhile, layer the base of the mould with the biscuit mixture. Spread it evenly and press it gently to make a think base.

7. Pour the cheese mixture in it and level.

8. Bake for around 50-60 minutes at 160 degree Celsius.

9. Remove it and let it cool in the fridge. Remove it on a separate dish and apply the blueberry preserve on it.

10. Last but not the least, see the happiness on your friend's face and ENJOY the Cake! Bon Appetit!

Chocolate Torte Cake !!!

Trust me, this is the best ever cake I have ever made!!! The occasion is my best friend's birthday and to be very honest was not in the mood to make a cake. But suddenly in the evening, I decided to go for it. I have been making brownies for a long time and had left making cakes, so it had to be a self-made recipe. I looked for a good recipe online but to no avail. So I had to make a 1 egg cake as I did not want to take risks.

Here goes the recipe

1 cold egg

1/6 cup margarine

45-50 gms chocolate

1/6 cup powdered sugar

1/3 tsp vanilla essence

1 flat tsp baking powder

3 1.2 heaped teaspoons of maida

The procedure is as follows

1. Separate the egg yolk and white and leave them to come to room temperature.

2. Beat the egg yolk with the sugar for around 3-5 minutes on medium speed till it thickens and becomes around 2-3 times of the original amount.

3. Beat the egg white separately till it thickens and becomes white in colour.

4. Melt the chocolate in double boiler or microwave.

5. Add the vanilla and molten chocolate in the egg yolk mixture.

6. Sieve the maida with the baking powder and add to the egg yolk mixture.

7. Mix the egg white to this mixture. Beat a little.

8. Grease the baking dish. Bake for 160' C for 20 minutes and 180' C for 10 minutes in a convection oven.

For the frosting

1. Take Amul or any other fresh cream around 3 teaspoons. Beat it well for around 7-8 minutes with 2 tsp of powdered sugar.

2. Melt around 40 gms of chocolate. Let it cool but not till it hardens. Add to the cream.

3. Add around 2 tsp of cocoa powder.

4. Beat a little. Add extra sugar/cocoa if needed.

Let the cake cool down. Remove it on a plate. And the apply the frosting.

Gajar Halwa Microwave Style!!!

i was eagerly awaiting the yummy gajar halwa my mom was to make today evening and when the time arrived she postponed the plans till tomorrow. i was dejected... and especially my tummy for the yummy!!! so i decided i will make it myself... actually it is my love for food that has made me learn to cook. and today too i was learning. i had made gajar halwa before but never in the microwave. this was going to be an experiment of sorts. i asked mom how much sugar and ghee to add. that is the only thing i asked her apart. and i set forth. i instantly grated 3 long carrots directly in the microwave dish. i added like 2 1/2 tablespoons ghee and sugar, a little less than half the quantity of carrots. having mixed them well, i covered the bowl with a lid and put it inside the microwave for 7 minutes! after the first round of microwaving, the carrots were almost done but not fully and the creamy part was still left. so i added cardomom essence, saffron, cashews, kismis, 1 1/2 - 2 cupfuls of grated mawa, 3-4 teaspoons of condensed milk and a dash of salt and put it right back in the microwave for 4 1/2 minutes.
the moment i opened the lid, my low-leaning face was instantly hit by a warm wave of safron laced steam! wow! it felt hot and nice!
the end result can be seen from the pics!

have a nice day!

tin din ti din!

yummy salad!!!

see i don't know the name of the salad. i just decided on a list of ingredients and went out shopping...wanted to make salad since ages...
first i picked up some lettuce, mushrooms, and red and yellow bell peppers. then went on to get baby tomatoes, pineapples and celery. i love the smell of celery. its divine. sadly i didn't get any chicken. so again had to venture out in the evening to buy chicken sausages and olive oil.

today i just boiled the mushrooms and chicken sausages. didn't want to fry either. mixed everything well and added a dash of olive oil. i had cheese and spicy mayonnaise at home of which i added dollops.
the end result actually can't be put into words as i am still eating it. better take a look at the photos