Best of 2013

How fast time flew by! It feels like just recently we celebrated New Years and it’s the last day of the year so soon!!!  2013 was not the very best for me....  But I am thankful for all the blessings God give us all throughout the year, for protecting us and keeping us safe and healthy to see another year.... Blog wise also I was not regular, taking a lot of breaks in between.... But some good things like winning the DMBLGIT for my Orange Soaked Bundt Cake and also more recently being acknowledged as one of 30 best Indian Food Bloggers by Awesome Cuisine :)... This year I was able to do my first wedding cake for my brother’s wedding and it was like a dream come true.... Another proud achievement was a Two- Tier Fondant Cake I made.... I am thankful to all my readers, friends and family  for encouraging me every time and I hope to come up with more recipes in the coming year...  Here are some of the most popular posts from 2013 on Swapna’s Cuisine :)....

Mango Cheese Cake 

Kerala Style Pork Fry / Nadan Panniyearchi Ularthiyathu

Eggless Chocolate Mousse

Vettu Cake Recipe / Deep Fried Sweet Cake

Ombre Rose Cake

Orange Wine

Chocó flan Cake /Chocolate Flan Cake 

Kadumanga Achar Recipe / Kerala Spicy Mango Pickle 

Orange-Soaked Bundt Cake

Nelllikka Chammanthi Recipe / Amla Chutney Recipe / Indian Gooseberry Chutney Recipe

Nadan Kozhi Mappas / Chicken Mappas / Kerala Chicken Curry in Creamy Coconut Sauce 

Pepper Chicken Masala 

Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani

Chocolate and Butterscotch Fudge

Pastelde Tres Leches – Three-Milk Cake 

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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!

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Merry Christmas to All :)

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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…

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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 :)

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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!  

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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.... 

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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.... 

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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.

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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 :) …. 

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