Mango Cheese Cake
Tuesday 31 December 2013
Best of 2013
Mango Cheese Cake
Friday 27 December 2013
Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies With Marshmallow Crème Filling ~ December Daring Bakers' Challenge
Whoopie pies are a cross
between a cookie and a cake (not a pie!), with two round, mound-shaped halves
sandwiching a sweet creamy filling.
The December Daring
Bakers' Challenge had us all cheering - the lovely and talented Bourbonnatrix of Bourbonnatrix Bakes was our hostess and challenged us to make fun, delicious
and creative whoopie pies! Delicious little cake-like cookies sandwiching luscious
filling in any flavors we chose... What else is there to say but
"Whoopie!"
Since this is the first
time I am making Whoopie Pie I wanted to stick to the Classic Whoopie Pie
recipe. For filling I couldn’t find Marshmallow Fluff/ Marshmallow Crème in the
market here, so I had to make it at home. Found an easy recipe for the fluff on
the net. It was really fun making whoopee pie, marshmallow fluff and the
filling all from scratch. This time my super picky eater son loved the whoopie pies
and he was the one who ate the most!
Wednesday 25 December 2013
Monday 23 December 2013
Candy Cane Cookies
May this Christmas fill your hearts with warmth, peace and joy! We Wish You and Your Loved Ones A Holy and a Blessed Christmas!
During Christmas season I try to bake at least
one new cookie every year. This year I tried the Candy Cane Cookies for my
little one's school Christmas party. It was a little more time consuming than I
expected but it was fun. Hope all of you are ready with your Christmas menu and
if you are looking for ideas please go through my Christmas special menu…
Labels:
Bake,
Biscuits,
Christmas Specials,
Cookies,
Kid's Delight,
Snacks
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani
Like I said in my Mutton Biriyani post
there are plenty of ways to make biriyani and every household has their own
unique recipe for the same. This recipe is from my mom which many moons ago was
published in Vanitha magazine. Whenever I make chicken biriyani I stick to this
recipe as it is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time and baked just
before serving. So if you are planning to make biriyani on Christmas or New
Year try this one and let me know :)
Friday 13 December 2013
Classic Fudge Brownie
As
Christmas and New Year’s draw close, everybody must be busy baking cakes and cookies… I too
have baked my first batch of Christmas Fruit Cake… To ring in the festive cheer
I thought of sharing this decadent
Classic Fudge Brownie, a perfect
Christmas gift if you don’t want to make fruit cake and cookies… These are
quick and easy to put together; yet immensely rich and satisfying; I am sure
people will definitely love this little bite of chocolate heaven! Always use
the best quality dark chocolate and cocoa powder for making brownies. The
original recipe uses pecan nuts, since I didn't have pecans I used a mix of
cashew nuts and almonds… You can reduce or completely omit nuts in this recipe
if you so desire… do try this heavenly little bits this holiday season and
enjoy it as is or serve warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and hot
chocolate sauce!
Labels:
Bake,
Brownies,
Chocolate,
Christmas Specials,
Desserts,
Valentine’s Day Special
Friday 6 December 2013
Gingerbread Doughnut Muffins
Holidays are
around the corner I am sure everybody is looking for an easy yet different
recipe to try out. I found this irresistible breakfast treat at Annie’s Eats
and after reading the recipe, I found myself in the kitchen baking these! The
spices that go into this muffin, the cinnamon-sugar topping and of course the
name all inspired me to try it immediately :)... These are soft and tender and with the right amount
of mixed spices, it is a real treat on a lazy holiday morning to share with
family and friends over a cup of coffee or hot chocolate... the best thing about
this recipe is you can prepare and serve in less than one hour....You can even
bake them in a doughnut pan too..... Try these muffins during this festive season....
Friday 29 November 2013
Kerala Style Potato Stew / Urulakizhangu Stew
Potato Stew is a very easy and simple dish of Kerala that goes
well with Appam, Poori, Chapathi, Puttu, Idiyappam, or even with plain bread.... I have posted another Vegetable Stew earlier with strong
and spicy flavors with darker hues due to the masalas used in it,
whereas this one has a more subtle flavor.... Here is
how we make Potato stew in our homes....
Labels:
Bake,
Breakfast,
Curries,
Indian Curries,
Kerala Cooking,
Lent Recipes,
Side Dish,
Veggie Delights
Friday 22 November 2013
Homemade Mint Wine Recipe
Christmas is around the
corner and many of you may have already started your Christmaspreparations..... I know some of you have already made wines and soaked fruits for your cake as I have
been getting several emails with doubts regarding the same.... I am trying my best to reply to all of you.... But I
have a small request.... please read the recipe thoroughly as most of your
queries are already answered in my recipe. For e.g. I have clearly mentioned in
every recipe how many days you have to stir the wine and how many days to
keep the wine.... so please don’t send me questions that are already
answered.... Also do check the post “Tips for making Homemade Wines” as this will
help tremendously.... Thanks for understanding :)....If in case
you are looking for a nice Christmas Cake recipe here is the link....
I made this Mint wine last
April. It’s a really sweet dessert wine with a subtle mint
taste.... Even though you can consume it after 30 days, the wine looks
little cloudy. I got this very clear wine after keeping it for almost
6 months. So I suggest you allow this wine to age for approximately 6 months after which you will get a
mild mint flavored clear wine.
Thursday 14 November 2013
Two-Tier Birthday Cake with Marshmallow Fondant ~ My first fondant attempt on a two tier cake
I made this
cake on my birthday last week. Every year, at Christmas, I used to make homemade fondant and
decorate a small fruit cake… but I had never tried fondant on a
regular sponge cake… so to experiment fondant on a two tier cake I made
this on my birthday… Bottom layer of the cake was a Vanilla Buttermilk cake and
top layer was a Dark chocolate Cake and I layered and lightly crumb coated the
cake with Buttercream Frosting and then covered and decorated the cakes with
homemade Marshmallow Fondant… I really enjoyed making this cake :) ….
Wednesday 30 October 2013
Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake
I
love simple citrus cakes and I enjoy
making bundt cakes:).... It’s amazing to see
the beautifully baked bundt cake in front of us when we remove the cake from
the pan..... My heart always beats faster
when I try to remove the cake from the bundt always apprehensive of whether the cake will retain its beautiful shape or not ;)..... Now a
days I am obsessed with collecting bundt pans along with props; so if anyone is planning to give me a gift, hope you got some ideas right?? ;).... Jokes apart, this
is a fabulous cake with the orange and cardamom flavor and the citrus glaze
drizzled on top of the warm cake makes it a delicious treat!
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Spicy Barbecue Sauce Recipe
I always keep a bottle of barbecue sauce in my kitchen and I
add a little when I make chicken for pizza topping or in sandwiches or while
grilling chicken, fish etc. I used to
make homemade Tomato Sauce when tomatoes are in season … When I saw this
Barbecue recipe in a burger book, I tried it and it came out really good. It is
easy to make but a little time consuming and definitely healthier than the
store bought ones as it does not contain any preservatives … Here is how I made
Spicy Barbecue Sauce…
Saturday 28 September 2013
Pastel de Tres Leches – Three-Milk Cake ~ Daring Baker’ September 2013 Challenge
Pastel de Tres Leches or Three milk cake was on my do list for
quite some time and I even bought all the ingredients once too… But somehow I was
never able to make it …. When this month’s Daring Bakers’ challenge was announced
I did not want to miss the opportunity to make this cake. I did not add fruits
to the cake layers, just decorated the cake with some raspberries. If you want
you can add fruits like peaches, mangoes, berries or cherries. I really enjoyed
this month’s challenge and will definitely make this cake again!
This recipe slightly
adapted from an interview given by one of Mexico's best Pastry Chefs; Paulina
Abascal to the magazine Revista Secretos de la
PastelerÃa Caserais it produces a super moist
yet light Tres Leches.
Pastel de Tres Leches– Three-Milk Cake is a super moist, light, airy and super delicious
sponge cake soaked in the three kinds of milk (evaporated milk, condensed milk,
and heavy cream). Tres Leches is a very light cake (especially if made without
butter), with many air bubbles in its crumb. This distinct texture is why it
does not have a soggy consistency, despite being soaked in a mixture of three
types of milk.
Inma was our Sept. 2013
Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and
delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not
soggy.. just plain delish!
Wednesday 25 September 2013
Tomato Jam Recipe
My mom was an expert in jam making and I have already
posted her Mixed fruit jam and Banana jam recipe... But this Tomato Jam was
something new I learned from my mother-in-law... she used to make it frequently and
she passed her recipe to me... recently while flipping through my recipe
collection I noticed this one and realized that I haven’t made it in years!.... It was my hubby’s favorite jam while he was a kid and he used to eat straight
from the bottle and still does the
same :D.... Try this tomato jam when tomatoes are in season but make
sure not to overcook it.... if you cook more it will become very hard and
sticky after cooling....
Friday 13 September 2013
Ombre Rose Wedding Cake
Hi everybody.... I am back
after a 2 month vacation..... Usually I used to schedule a few posts when I go on
holidays but this time around I couldn't find time to do so and hence my blog
was idle for the last 2 months! I have been away from my blog most of the time..... and could not respond to your comments or queries.... After returning
I tried my best to reply to all of you and if I have missed any please let me
know..... And thanks a lot to all my readers who have visited this space and to
those who liked my FB page too....
Labels:
Bake,
Cake Frosting Ideas,
Cake Icing Ideas,
Cakes,
Desserts
Thursday 27 June 2013
Chocolate and Caramel Tart ~ June Daring Bakers' challenge, Life Of Pie :)
Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’
host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies,
fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie! :)
Rachael gave us four delicious sweet pie recipes to choose from
and I really wanted to try all of them… But I could only make this smooth and
utterly indulgent French Chocolate
and caramel tart before I left for our vacation in beautiful
Switzerland…. I used store bought caramel (Dulce de Leche) for the caramel
layer and we really enjoyed this chocolate indulgence…. Thank you Rachael for the great
challenge :)
Labels:
Bake,
Chocolate,
Daring Bakers,
Desserts,
Dulce de Leche Recipes
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Eggless Chocolate Mousse Recipe
I
have posted a couple of Chocolate Mousse recipes earlier, an Instant ChocolateMousse with Marshmallows, a White Chocolate Mousse and an Eggless ChocolateMousse from Nita Mehta’s book.... I used to
make the eggless chocolate mousse a lot during those times.... the Eggless
chocolate Mousse I am posting today is also from Nita Mehta’s, this one is more
richer and chocolaty as it has chocolate along with cocoa powder.... It’s very
easy to make and you can use either
gelatin or China grass (agar agar)..... Do try this rich chocolaty treat next time
when you arrange a party for chocolate lovers :)
Labels:
Chocolate,
Desserts,
Eggless Desserts,
Valentine’s Day Special
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Uppumanga Curry (Salted Mangoes in Coconut Gravy)
A traditional
vegetarian side dish of Kerala made with Uppumanga / salted mangoes in brine..... I made this curry following the same recipe of Chakkakuru Manga curry .... A plate of boiled
rice with this curry, a piece of fish fry and some stir fried vegetable is
bliss for lunch!
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Pazham Jam Recipe / Banana Jam Recipe
I
grew up watching amma making different kinds of jam according to the seasonal
fruits available. The varieties she made
included mixed fruit, pineapple and Pazham (banana) jam.... and if you ask me which is my favorite, the
answer without hesitation will be Pazham Jam :)...I love it to the core... This banana jam we made while I was in Kerala last summer, I know almost a year
back :D… When I went for a short visit to my aunt’s place she had lot of
Palayan kodan pazhams in her backyard.... I ate a lot
of them and then she made
a bottle of jam for me as she knows how much I like
banana jam :)...
Pazham jam is a Kerala specialty and it is best made
out of Palayan Kodan pazham (sorry I don’t know the English translation), a
smaller variety of bananas available in Kerala. The jam get’s its deep
reddish colour from the quality of the banana used... unlike other regular jam’s
pazham jam will be little watery in consistency and if you cook more it will
become very hard and sticky.... You can use other types of
bananas but the colour and the taste will definitely vary....
Friday 31 May 2013
Foodpanda ~ a unique online food ordering service!
I
have never done a review on my site before. But when Foodpanda requested me to
do a review I thought it will be helpful for some of my readers.
Foodpanda is an up and coming website that operates by delivering food from a wide range
of restaurants as well as fast food outlets to either homes and/ or offices in
11 cities in India, namely Delhi, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, etc.
Foodpanda introduces a convenient food ordering
service for their customers that provides a great variety of culinary choices
online. Simply enter your post code and search for cuisine type, restaurants or
even price range. The restaurant index also includes address and delivery
hours.
So next time you are too tired to cook and just want to relax and
chill at home try ordering from Foodpanda and experience the convenience of
ordering online with just a few effortless clicks!
I will be back with some delightful recipes soon… Enjoy your
weekend!
Sunday 19 May 2013
Nelllikka Chammanthi Recipe / Amla Chutney Recipe / Indian Gooseberry Chutney Recipe
Everybody
knows the nutritional benefits of Nellikka / Amla / Indian gooseberries. I buy some whenever
it’s available and the best way to eat it is raw
dipped in some salt.... Sometimes I make wine, pickles, chutney and once in a while I even throw it in the blender and make juice.... If you haven’t tried it as chutney
do try this tongue tickling chutney.....
Wednesday 8 May 2013
Chicken with Bell Peppers
I
have been making this for quite some time and it’s a Ree Drummond recipe. The original recipe is
with Beef and here I used chicken instead, but I have tried beef also many
times and both are equally good.... The main thing we love about this curry is that it goes with almost anything like rice,
noodles or even with chapathi..... It can be served as a side dish or as a main
dish after mixing it with some noodles.....
Labels:
Beef,
Chicken,
Chinese,
Curries,
Healthy Cooking,
Non-Veg Delights,
Recipe Cards
Sunday 28 April 2013
Mango and Passion Fruit Flavored Savarin ~ April 2013 Daring Bakers Challenge
Savarin
is a yeasted cake made with the same dough as Rum Baba. I made Rum Baba a couple
of years back… the difference between the
two are, rum baba has
raisins or currants in the dough and is baked in tall cylindrical baba mold and
served without a filling. Savarin is made without raisins and baked in a
large ring mold and the hole in
the centre is filled with pastry
cream and fresh fruits.
Natalia
of Gatti Fili e Farina challenges us to make a traditional Savarin, complete
with soaking syrup and cream filling! We were to follow the Savarin recipe but
were allowed to be creative with the soaking syrup and filling, allowing us to
come up with some very delicious cakes!
I
made a Mango and Passion Fruit flavored soaking syrup. The glaze was made with
mango jam. I served the Savarin with fresh mangoes and vanilla whipped cream. I
halved the recipe and used 2 small bundt pans for baking. We all enjoyed the
Savarin and thank you Natalia for a great challenge.
Labels:
Bake,
Bread,
Daring Bakers,
Desserts,
Fruit Desserts,
Mango,
Passion Fruit / Liliko'i,
Yeast
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Orange-Soaked Bundt Cake
Recently when I saw this recipe I tried it and we really
loved this amazingly moist cake.... The
cake has a good orange flavor and is very moist.... both flavor and moistness improves
with time..... I made some changes from the original recipe, the amount of oil in
the original seemed a little too much for me so I reduced it to ½ cup, I used
orange zest in the cake not lemon zest and for syrup I used fresh orange juice
not frozen.... It was a really good cake and the best part is you can make it 2
or 3 days ahead of time if you are planning a party and the cake tastes
wonderful after 2 days.....
Thursday 18 April 2013
Uppumanga / Salted Tender Mangoes in Brine
I
think Uppumanga (Raw mangoes in brine) with kanji along with a
kanthari mulaku (bird’s eye chilly) is the
Malayali’s favorite comfort food... right?? I know my husband will
not agree with it :D... Almost a year ago when Sarah of Vazhayila posted
this recipe it triggered my childhood memories... But I never got tender
mangoes (kannimanga) here... so this year when I saw some green mangoes I decided
to make it with that... so I
selected the smallest thin skin mangoes available and made Uppumanga and now I
am a happy girl having it with kanji and making uppumanga curry and chutney!
Traditionally uppumanga is preserved in a big bharani (earthen pot).... In one of my
old recipe books it’s
written that to prevent it from fungal attack, in the old days people make a pouch with clean
sand in a cloth and tie the bharani with this sand pouch and the Uppumanga
preserved this way lasts yearlong! If you don’t have a bharani use clean glass bottles, make sure
to add enough salt water to cover the mangoes.... My aunt told me to add little
coriander powder tied in a clean cloth in the brine to givethe mangoes and the brine a lovely smell.... Always use clean sterilized bharani / jar to preserve mangoes and use a dry spoon, else you will
see fungus attack....
Labels:
Basic,
Kerala Christian Recipes,
Kerala Cooking,
Lent Recipes,
Mango,
Preserves,
Side Dish
Monday 15 April 2013
Arabic Stuffed Zucchini in Tomato Sauce / Kousa Mihshi Recipe
Kousa
Mihshi (Stuffed Zucchini) is an Arabic main dish and widely popular in
this region. Minced beef / lamb is mixed with raw rice and spices and then
stuffed inside the cored Kousa / koosa (marrow squash / Arabic zucchini) and
cooked in tomato paste. I used minced chicken instead of red meat.... I got the
basic recipe from my maid and then I searched on the net and made this dish to
suit our taste buds.... While searching the net I remember reading on one site
that you can make a vegetarian version of this dish by replacing the meat with
chopped mushrooms, I never tried it though.... If you like zucchini you will enjoy this
mildly spiced dish. Serve as a main dish along with some nice salad....
Labels:
Arabic,
Beef,
Chicken,
Healthy Cooking,
Main Course,
Mutton,
Non-Veg Delights,
Party Special,
Rice,
Veggie Delights
Tuesday 9 April 2013
Passion Fruit Squash Recipe
Like I have said in many
of my passion fruit recipe posts, my appa collects and freezes passion fruit pulp for me which I then bring back to Kuwait. Since my son loves passion fruit juice
appa always tells me to
make juice for his grandson.... alas little does he know that his daughter uses most of the pulp for her baking / desserts or wine than for making squash for his grandson :D.... But this time I
made sure to make some squash as I received many requests for the squash recipe... Amma used to make
passion fruit squash using this recipe.... Potassium meta bi sulpahte is used to
preserve the squash, so that you don’t need to store this syrup in the fridge.... But if you are making small quantities I suggest not to use preservatives and to keep the juice in the fridge and it will lasts
months.... Do make this squash if you get hold of some passion fruit and
also you can use this squash to make fabulous cocktails with rum or vodka....
Thursday 4 April 2013
Hot Cross Buns Recipe
Hope you all had a great Easter
celebration with family and friends! In Kerala traditionally we make IndariAppam on Maundy Thursday and have it for supper. Good Friday we spend 6-7 hours in church and serve piping hot
Kanji and payar at the end of mass.... And on Easter it’s always Appam and Chicken curry for breakfast, followed by a lavish lunch and dinner with non-veg delicacies made with chicken,
beef, mutton and pork... Hot Cross buns are not even part of our tradition :)... But since I see a lot
of Hot Cross Bun recipes all over the net during this time I too got tempted to try and
made a batch of these.... I followed Poineer Women’s recipe and the buns came out
super soft and delicious.....
Labels:
Bake,
Bread,
Breakfast,
Lent Recipes,
Main Course,
Yeast
Sunday 31 March 2013
White Chocolate Caramel Slice
Hope all are ready for
Easter celebrations.... Wishing all my readers a Blessed and
Happy Easter!
Today I am
sharing an absolutely
decadent little indulgence of White chocolate caramel slices....Got this recipe
from Australian Women’s weekly.....I had posted Banoffee Slice recipe from the same book
earlier.....This too was really delicious and some of my guests who tried it really loved it..... The only problem for me was cutting the
slices into neat pieces after setting as
my white chocolate had become very
hard.... I suggest using really good quality white chocolate for this....Do let
me know if you try this recipe....
Wednesday 27 March 2013
Mini Carrot Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting ~ March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge: Hidden Veggies
Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring
Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the
kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and
delicious results!
It’s been a
busy month as my son has school holidays and my whole day is
spend with him.... I didn't even read the
challenge properly to understand that we have to hide the veggies.... I made this
carrot cupcake for the challenge.... Though the carrots are not
hidden, these cupcakes are really soft, moist and tasty with the lemon cheese
frosting.... try it I am sure you will love it....
Sunday 24 March 2013
Kadumanga Achar Recipe / Kerala Spicy Mango Pickle Recipe
Kadumanga pickle is every
Keralites favorite and since it’s mango season try to make some.
Kadumanga is also very popular during Lent; as we abstain from non-veg dishes pickles are in high
demand. In our church Kdaumanga pickle is served along with piping hot Kanji and payar after the long Good Friday service.
You can make
this pickle in two ways,
either grind ginger and garlic along with spices and sauté like I did or you
can add chopped ginger and garlic as it is and sauté. I like thick gravy for
kadumanga, so I opted for grinding. Also while making pickle one thing to
remember is never to add water to the pickle, if you want to store it for a long time... If you need gravy add vinegar not water
please and adjust salt.... I have seen a lot of people store their pickle
in the refrigerator
and I never liked the taste of refrigerated pickle ;)... So here is how I made
Kadumanga pickle....
Monday 18 March 2013
Vettu Cake Recipe / Deep Fried Sweet Cake ~ A Special Chayakkada Palaharam of Kerala ~ Step by Step Recipe
Vettu (Cut)Cake is a famous chayakkada / local tea shop
palaharam (snack). Amma used to make this when we were kids and I used to help
her cutting and shaping the dough while she fried them in hot oil. The cross
like cut on the square shape should be deep, so that when we add the dough to
the oil it will puff up and the cut will open up and resemble a flower.... Well
mine didn't come out perfect in shape as I was doing it all alone and by the
time I started frying the cuts had started joining back :D.... So the point is if
you want a perfect shape like a flower ask someone to help you while you are
frying them :D.... Eggs used in the original Vettu cake recipe are duck eggs and
since I don’t have duck eggs I used large chicken eggs. Another important point
while frying is that the heat should always be on medium low; do not over fry
vettu cake.... Since its summer holiday time in Kerala make this for your hungry
kids and their friends while they are enjoying their holidays!
Saturday 16 March 2013
Saucy Paneer Recipe
Since it is the Lent Season vegetarian recipes are much in
demand.... deciding the daily menu without any non-veg dish is challenging for a
Christian family :D.... Since Paneer is loved by almost all I thought of sharing
this Saucy Paneer recipe with you today.... with just a couple of sauces you can
make this curry very quickly and it goes well with fried rice, noodles or even
with chapathi..... If you don’t have 8 to 8 sauce at home you can easily omit it
or substitute with sweet and sour sauce like I do when I run out.... Instead of paneer you can also use Tofu for a
vegan version..... Check out the other Paneer recipes I posted earlier too.....
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