White Chocolate and Coffee Cake

White chocolate and coffee cake

Maybe because it is the change in season…maybe because it is the nip in the air…but I am loving the aroma and taste of coffee.. I love a good cup of coffee in the morning and what better accompaniment than a white chocolate and coffee cake.

Ingredients

40 gm butter

85 gm white chocolate

125 gm sugar

4 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp strong coffee

1 tsp vanilla essence

125 gm flour

Use a double boiler to melt the white chocolate and butter. When melted remove from heat.

On the same double boiler put a pan containing sugar, eggs, coffee and vanilla essence.

Whisk hard with an electric whisk. The water should be on a gentle simmer and not boiling. The mixture should become pale and leave a trail of ribbon.

Remove from the double boiler and fold in the flour.

Add the butter chocolate mix.

Preheat the oven at 180 degrees. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes.

It makes an excellent tea time cake.

Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls…a hint of cinnamon with coffee glaze..

Tea time is difficult time because it is not complete without something savory or something sweet. I decided to try out these cinnamon rolls and I liked them. I baked mine for a bit longer to get a crunchy texture. Maybe next time I will vary the baking time a bit to get softer rolls.

Ingredients

345 gm flour

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 ¼ tsp dry yeast

½ cup water

¼ cup milk

2 ½ tbsp butter

1 egg

For filling

3 tbsp butter at room temperature

1 ½ tbsp cinnamon powder

¼ cup sugar

For glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tbsp coffee/milk/cream ( I decided to add all three…n believe me the glaze was lip smackingly tasty)

First put aside ½ cup of flour.

Mix together the rest of the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Keep it aside for the time being.

Heat the water, milk and butter until it is warm to the touch. The temperature should be about 125-130 F. The right temperature is important for the yeast to work. Too hot or too cold can kill the yeast. I prefer using a cooking thermometer.

Stir the butter mix into the flour mix. Add egg and start mixing. Now you can use the flour you set aside earlier to make a soft dough. Keep mixing a spoonful at a time till you reach the right consistency. Knead for some time on a floured surface. Rest for 10 minutes.

Flour your kitchen slab and roll out the dough into a thin big rectangle (approx 14x8”). Spread softened butter and sprinkle a mixture of sugar and cinnamon powder.

Roll it up tightly.

Cut into equal roundels.

Place the roundels in a greased dish.

Cover it with aluminum foil and leave to rise for 90 minutes.

With winter setting in the weather is not exactly conducive for yeast based products. However there is a simple solution to this. Heat the oven at 180 degrees for a few minutes, switch it off and place the dough inside to rise. The rolls should double in size.

Preheat oven at 180 degrees and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Cover the dish with foil to avoid excessive browning.

Once the rolls are baked let them cool for about 15 minutes and then drizzle with glaze. 

Cupcakes

Cupcakes..like a fairy tale..

There is something about cupcakes decorated with swirls of frosting and adorned with sprinkles...soul food I call it...every bite into the soft, creamy cupcake is a delight...
The recipe I am using is pretty basic and simple but the result is awesome.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Whisk together butter, sugar and light brown sugar.

 Whisk in eggs and vanilla essence.

Add the flour and baking powder.

Pour the batter into cupcake tin.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Whip cream icing
 Ingredients
120 gm butter
200 gm icing sugar
1/3 cup whip cream
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat the butter and sugar well. Add the whip cream and beat again.

You can use any kind of nozzle to pipe the cream. I prefer using a disposable piping bag and do away with the hassle of cleaning the piping bags.

Here is an easy method to put the icing into the piping bag. Take a coffee mug and set the piping bag inside the mug.

Fold the sides over the edges of the mug and simply put in the icing.

Fold up the edges and your bag is ready.

                                                                                           

Whiskey and Marmalade Icecream

Whiskey and Marmalade Ice cream

I don't have a sweet tooth but there is something about ice creams that even I cant resist. Ever wonder how it would feel to make ice cream at home? I did, especially because it gives me a sense of achievement to make something by my own hands. There are so many kinds of ice cream makers in the market but I wanted to start on  a low scale and get one that won't pinch my pocket. I decided that things should start with a bang and not a whimper. So instead of opting for a plain vanilla or strawberry ice cream I made a whiskey and marmalade ice cream. Sounds interesting? Well it tastes delicious!!!!!!!!

The recipe I chose has Creme Anglaise as a base. This is a wonderful sauce that can be used in many different ways. It takes a little bit of practice to make it as you are working with egg yolks.It took me three attempts before I could turn out a satisfactory sauce. The main problem with this sauce is that when hot milk is added to the egg yolks they tend to scramble. But like I always say...practice makes one perfect. The result is truly wonderful and I sincerely recommend that you try it out.

Whiskey and Marmalade Ice cream

Ingredients
400 ml milk
150 ml whipping cream
4 egg yolks
125 gm fine sugar
3 tbsp orange marmalade
1 tbsp whiskey

Method
Heat the milk and cream in a pan. The milk should be scalding which means you don't bring it to a boil; rather you stop when you see bubbles starting to form around the edges.

Keep a big pan full of ice ready at hand. This is required to stop cooking the sauce otherwise it would curdle.

Beat together egg yolks and sugar till it is pale and fluffy. To test whether it is done scoop up some with your whisk and see if it leaves a ribbon trail.

Now you have to add the scalding milk to this mixture. Drizzle a small amount of the milk into the mix and stir well. Adding small amounts ensures that the temperature in the egg mix does not rise too rapidly. Keep mixing small amounts and whisking continuously.

Once the two mixtures are incorporated put the pan on a double boiler.

Keep stirring using a spatula till the custard thickens. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. To test if it is done run a finger along the back of the spoon.If the line holds and doesn't drip it means your custard is ready,



Now cool the custard. Add the marmalade and whiskey and put in the ice cream machine for churning.

It will take about 2 hours to thicken. Put it in a sealed box and freeze for at least 6 hours.

I want to try out a bacon ice cream next. Anyone has the recipe????

Cake Woes

Cake Woes

believe me every time you eat a heavenly cake there is a lot of pain, practice and tears behind it. practice makes perfect and so if your cakes don't turn out the way you want them to, don't lose heart. baking is a science and if you understand just a few simple concepts it will make things easier.

the common problems one faces when they start baking are burnt cakes, collapsed cakes and dry cakes. it all depends on the basic ingredients, their proportions and how you handle them.

the first point to remember is follow a cook whose recipe you trust and stick to the measurements mentioned. once you become adept at the task you can tweak around and start having fun of your own. every good recipe book has lots of manpower, time, dedication and experimentation behind it.

now coming to the actual ingredients:

a cake will rise like a dream if enough air is incorporated into it and if you don't end up beating that air at a later stage. you must have seen that the eggs and sugar are beaten together till white and fluffy. this indicates that air bubbles are being created. a white foamy mix is just correct.

now the next thing to remember is not to beat out these air bubbles when you add the flour. flour contains a substance called gluten. if flour is overworked it will toughen the gluten which is not a good thing. to give a simple example when you are making namkin or papdi you don't knead the dough too much and it helps the namkeen become crunchy and khasta. when you make naan you play around with the dough a lot, even while rolling it out. have you ever tried eating naan that is a little cold? that stretchy, chewy texture is courtesy the gluten in flour. so remember gently fold in the flour drawing a figure of eight with your spatula.

baking powder and baking soda start working as soon as they come in contact with the wet ingredients. carbon di oxide is released and this creates more air in the batter. so keep your oven preheated and your cake tin lined and dusted before you add the flour. the batter should go into the hot oven as soon as possible. when the baking process starts these air bubbles will rise giving the cake the soft and spongy texture.
i know it is very tempting to keep opening the oven door to check how well the cake is doing. however never open the oven till the cake in done 3/4 th. the cold air entering the oven will disrupt the baking process.

if after following all the steps your cake still turns out dry then you can do one thing to salvage the cake. make a syrup of sugar and water. prick the cake with a toothpick and drizzle the sugar syrup over the cake to moisten it. if you cover the cake with a good icing believe me all the flaws will be camouflaged.

Brownies

Brownies: everyone's favorite

I don't think there is anyone in this wide wide world who is not fond of brownies. You can have them with ice cream, with custard, combined with jelly(we will come to that recipe later) and so much more. I also use days old brownies as a base for pies and tarts and they taste yummm.

There are many brownie recipes and I will share few of my favorite ones with you in the near future. Today I am working on a simple recipe which will yield a crumbly texture. I bet you can't stop yourself from finishing it off in a day.

Brownies

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Beat the eggs well. Add cocoa, salt, baking powder.

Melt the butter and add sugar. Stir it well to combine and then add to the cocoa mix. Add flour and stir.

Pour the batter into a lined cake tin and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Once the brownie is cooled sprinkle some icing sugar on it.