Swapna's Cuisine

Saturday, 19 April 2014

Eggless Chocolate and Vanilla Condensed Milk Pudding

Chocolate and Vanilla China Grass Pudding

This is an all time favorite from my childhood days … I have posted the vanilla version sometime back and this time I have layered it with chocolate flavor like my mom used to do… You can either set the pudding in individual serving bowls like in the picture or you can layer it in a big dish. Always make sure to use good quality China Grass or Agar Agar …

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

Spinach Basil Pesto Sauce Recipe

Pesto sauce is handy when you want to make a quick meal. It is good as a spread on plain or toasted bread, you can make this as a filling for bread rolls, you can marinate chicken or fish with pesto sauce and grill them and also the famous pesto pasta, it is even good with chapathi or basmati rice too! This pesto is really tasty with a blend of spinach, basil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic and cheese.... The original recipe asks for pine nuts but you can substitute with almonds.... It is perfect for freezing in an ice cube tray and you can add to a pasta dish for a quick and easy meal.....

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Mocha Mousse Slice

Another recipe from my favorite Australian Women's weekly that I tried recently..... I have previously posted two recipes from the same book, White Chocolate Caramel Slice and Banoffee Slice .... This Mocha Mousse Slice is an equally decadent one.... We enjoyed these rich and luscious little chocolate heavens.... They are real easy to make and a good choice for parties as they can be made a day before....

Friday, 21 February 2014

Coffee Chocolate Mascarpone Layered Cake

It was my hubby’s birthday a couple of days ago and unlike every year this time he was pretty sure of the cake he wanted! He had seen the picture of this cake on my FB feed and asked me to make it… I knew I didn’t have to worry about how the cake would turn out as I trust Deeba’s recipes blindly and from experience I know her recipes always turn out perfect :)…. Like we expected this is a beautifully flavored, 6 layers of delicious cake which you will definitely like if you are a coffee lover! I followed the recipe as is, but added a little rum in the filling and frosting. Also I reduced the gelatin in the filling to 1 tsp as I used heavy whipping cream… Only trouble I had was the frosting… mine turned out a little loose and it was difficult for me to frost it on to the cake so I added a little gelatin to the frosting to make it thick… The procedure is a little lengthy and elaborate but if you split the work and start making a day or two ahead, it will be an easy job…. But worth the effort for a beautiful 6 layered Coffee Chocolate Mascarpone Cake!

Monday, 10 February 2014

Chocolate Orange Fudge Recipe

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, shops are filled with roses, chocolates, teddies etc... Like every year I thought I will update this space with some recipes that are apt for the season... This Chocolate Orange fudge is super easy to make and it will be a big hit with kids and grownups... This is a great option as a gift on Valentine’s Day, Christmas or even when visiting friends or relatives.... The nuts in the recipe is optional and if you don’t like nuts you can completely omit it or reduce it to ¼ cups... I only added ¼ cups of cashew nuts... Try this Chocolate Orange Fudge at home....

Thursday, 30 January 2014

One - Bowl Dark Chocolate Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

I made this for my son as he was requesting me to make his favorite chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. After several days of nagging I finally decided to make this as I wanted to try out a frosting idea I saw recently on Amanda’s blog… For the decoration she suggests # 32 tip and you can see her detailed tutorial here…I didn't have # 32 tip so I tried with my star nozzle. .. It didn’t come out perfect and I ran out of butter cream frosting at the last row … But somehow I liked the overall look of the cake, so I thought of blogging it… Was intended as a blog anniversary post last week but due to time constraints I could not manage it last week... It’s been 6 years of blogging and thank you so much for the love and support you have given me :)...

This chocolate cake I have already posted a long time ago... I used to make this cake regularly and the best part is that it is a one bowl cake and uses oil no butter… it’s a very soft cake and you can frost it with Butter cream or with Whipped cream ....

Friday, 17 January 2014

Falafel Salad

This salad recipe was shared by my friend, Neethu in Kuwait. A classic Arabic salad and a party pleaser too.... You can prepare falafel ahead of time and fry them just before preparing the salad. For healthier options you can even bake or grill the falafel.... you can add any leafy vegetable like spinach, cabbage etc to the salad....

Thursday, 9 January 2014

Pork Vindaloo Recipe

Pork Vindaloo, is a hot and spicy dish popular in Goa and also amongst Christians in Kerala. It’s a very spicy dish and is served on special occasions like Christmas, Easter, engagement and baptism ceremonies. Like in any other recipe there are many different versions of this recipe. Some recipes add fried potatoes towards the end of cooking; I did not do so but if you wish you can add cubed and fried potatoes towards the end of cooking. Vindaloo tastes better when served the following day and it goes well with breads, Palappam, Vellayappam, Sannas and all kinds of Indian breads and rice. And for those who don’t like pork you can substitute with Beef, Chicken or Lamb....

Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Lemon Wine Recipe

May every day of the New Year glow with good cheer & happiness for you & your family.

Happy New Year!

I made this Lemon Wine soon after I made Orange Wine last March.... At first just after the fermentation period, it tasted and looked like lemon juice and I was a little disappointed.... I kept the wine away and untouched for a couple of more months and again when I checked the wine, the pale color had changed to golden and the taste had changed drastically.... Now it has a unique zesty flavor of lemon mingled with the sweetness of raisins! Another successful wine experiment to add to my collection....

Tuesday, 31 December 2013

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