White Chocolate & Nuts Blondies

Ingredients:

White chocolate - 175 gms (finely chopped)

Unsalted butter - 115 gms (softened)

Powdered sugar - 100 gms

Eggs - 2 (lightly beaten)

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Maida - 130 gms

Cashew Nuts - 50 gms (roughly chopped)

Almonds - 50 gms (roughly chopped)

Directions:

1. In a bowl, take chopped white chocolate. Temper the chocolate either using double boiler method or using microwave. For tempering using microwave, use microwave for 30 seconds and mix well using silicone spatula. Later, use microwave for 10 each and mix well until chocolates becomes runny and shiny
2. Add softened butter, mix well until butter melts
3. Add powdered sugar and mix well
4. Add lightly beaten eggs and blend it well using hand mixer
5. Add baking powder as well as maida. Fold it in the chocolate-butter-sugar mixture
6. Add chopped nuts and mix well
7. Pre-heat oven at 180 degrees centigrade
8. Grease 8" x 8 " tin and pour the mixture
9. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for around 30 minutes or until tootpick inserted at center comes out clean
10. Once baked, allow it to cool completely and cut into 1" x 1" squares
11. Serve it with vanilla cream or dust with icing sugar

Waffles

This Sunday we planned to have brunch at home rather than conventional lunch and finalised on loaded Waffles, Chicken Schnitzel and bacon. I had once read waffle recipe by Gary Mehigan (one of the hosts from Masterchef Australia) and decided to adapt the same. The result is what you see in the picture....

Waffles

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon castor sugar
• 250 gm plain flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (I used Blue Bird brand)
• 250 ml (1 cup) milk
• 250 ml (1 cup) fresh cream (I used Amul fresh cream)
• 4 egg yolks
• 150 gm melted butter (salted or unsalted..If using salted, no need to add salt mentioned above)
• 4 egg whites

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup luke warm milk. Let it stand until creamy / frothy (about 10 minutes) Make sure that milk is not too warm else it will kill the yeast

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the luke warm milk and the melted butter. 

3. Stir in the yeast mixture, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cups milk as well as 1 cup cream alternately with the flour, ending with the flour. 

4. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks

5.Fold the egg whites into the batter. 

6.Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour

7.Preheat the waffle iron and grease with oil 

8.Pour 1/2 cup batter in the center of the iron. Spread it evenly and close the lid  

9.Bake until waffle is golden brown. Serve with honey, maple syrup and fresh fruit slices

Batter and cut fruits ready

Fresh waffles from the iron

Waffles loaded with hone & fresh fruits

Divine Waffles

Assorted Donuts / Doughnuts

Recently I have been hearing about many outlets selling donuts in Bangalore and people going "mad over donuts" :-).....So, I decided to try making these donuts which turned out to be relatively simple. There is no baking but deep frying involved in this recipe (of course we can make baked donuts as well but I deep fried them). Donut can be termed something in between bread and cake....Bread because yeast is added and cake because butter is added. We can enjoy donuts anytime of the day, be it breakfast, snack or even meal by itself! 

Ingredients:

For Donuts - 

Plain flour (maida) : 3-1/4 cup + for dusting
Powdered Sugar : 1/4 cup + for dusting
Active Dry Yeast : 2 tsp
Milk : 3/4 cup
Eggs : 2
Softened unsalted butter : 110 gms
Vanilla Essence : 1 tsp
Oil for deep frying

For Glaze - 

Granulated sugar : 1/4 cup
Milk : 6 tb sp
Dark chocolate : 50 gms (tempered)
Rainbow sprinkles

Method:

1. In a bowl, sprinkle active dry yeast over luke warm milk. Add 1 tsp sugar to help activate the yeast. Keep it aside for 10-15 minutes until yeast foams well
2. In another big bowl, sieve the flour so that it gets aerated well. Add to it 1/4 cup of sugar and mix well
3. Beat two eggs lightly with the help of fork and add it to the flour. Add vanilla essence and mix it well with spatula
4. Add well foamed milk and yeast mixture and also softened butter. Mix well and bring all the ingredients together
5. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is forms a soft ball and no longer sticks to the bowl
6. Keep in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours or until the dough doubles up in volume
7. Punch the dough to take out the air from dough and allow to rise the dough again for 30 minutes
8. Once again punch the dough and then keep it in freeze for 30 minutes so that the dough becomes pliable for rolling
9. Lightly dust the floor with some flour and then roll the dough using rolling pin in 1/2 inch thick round. (For small / mini donuts, keep the thickness to 1/4 inch)
10. Using donut cutter, cut out the donuts and arrange it in tray / plate. Keep covered using plain cloth at a warm place for 30-45 minutes until these donuts rise again
11. Deep dry donuts in oil on medium until these turn golden brown and place these in a plate
12. Dust the powdered sugar on the hot donuts
13. For chocolate donuts, dip the cooled donut in tempered chocolate and take it out. Take rainbow sprinkles in a plate. Dip the wet chocolate side of donut in the sprinkles so that it gets coated well. Arrange it in plate
14. For sugar glaze, mix granulated sugar and milk in pan and boil until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens a bit. Allow it cool. Dip the donuts from one side in the glaze and arrange it on the plate
15. Serve the donuts either warm or even cold

Fluffy Pancakes

Now a days, our Sunday also starts very early since my younger son has his classes in the morning. Today I decided to make simple but healthy breakfast of Fluffy Pancakes served with honey and maple syrup. Pancakes can also be served by garnishing it with fresh fruits, fruit crush or jelly etc...

Ingredients

Flour / Maida - 1 1/2 cup (approx. 185 gms)

Milk - 1 1/4 milk (approx. 300 ml)

Egg - 1 no.

Baking powder - 4 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Butter - 3 tbsp (melted) (approx. 42 gms)

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Makes around 10-12 medium sized pancakes 

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour/maida, baking powder, salt and sugar
2. Add to it melted butter, egg and milk
3. Mix together with hand blender until it is smooth
4. Add vanilla essence and mix well
5. Keep aside for 15 minutes
6. Take a non-stick pan. Grease it with little butter / oil and heat it on low to medium heat
7. With the help of ladle, pour approximately 3-4 tbsp of batter on the hot pan and spread evenly to form around 5 inch diameter circle
8. Cover the pan with lid and allow to cook for 3 minutes so that bottom is golden brown
9. Turn the pancake over and cook covered for another 3 minutes so that other side also becomes golden brown
10. Take out from the pan and serve with honey, maple syrup, cut fresh fruits or jelly

Pavlova Miniatures

Yesterday, I had been for lunch at a restaurant and they had Pavlova as one of the many options for dessert. Pavlova is meringue based dessert having delicate but crisp crust and soft marshmellowy center. It is typically served by decorating the top with whipped cream and fresh fruits like Strawberries, Kiwi, Passion Fruits etc. This dessert is said to be created first either in Australia or New Zealand. After having tasted this lovely dessert, I decided trying to recreate it.

The base of Pavlova is made by slow baking the firmly beaten egg whites and then garnishing it with whipped cream, fruits crush and fresh fruits.

Baked Meringue Bases, Whipped Cream and Fresh Fruits

Ingredients

Egg Whites - 4 (make sure not even a drop of egg yolk is mixed)

White Sugar - 225 gms (finely ground)

Cornflour - 2 tsp

White Vinegar - 2 tsp (you can substitute it with lemon juice)

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Whipping Cream - 250 ml

Kiwi Fruit - 2 nos.

Peach - 1 no.

Strawberries - 10-12

Fruit Crush - 3/4 cup (I used Mala's Very Berry crush)

Makes 9 Pavlova miniatures of 4 inch diameter

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven at 150 degrees centigrade
2. In a sufficiently big bowl take egg whites and beat until they hold firm peaks but are not stiff
3. Gently add sugar, one spoon at a time while beating continuously. Make sure that all the sugar is dissolved completely and then beat further until you get snowy and shiny meringue but it is not dry. (Ensure not to over beat the meringue else egg whites loose volume and deflate when folded with other ingredients)
4. Sprinkle cornflour, vinegar and vanilla essence on top and gently fold in the meringue to combine
5. In the baking tray, keep the silicone baking sheet (alternatively you can use baking sheet lined with parchment paper)
6. Spoon the meringue on the baking sheet and spread in approximately 4 inch diameter circles with 1 inch spacing between them. Try to make the rim little higher than the center so that it can hold whipped cream and fruits later (unfortunately, my meringues were not indented in center. You can use backside of the spoon to make indentation in center)
7. Put the baking tray in the oven, reduce the temperature to 130 degrees and bake for around 50 minutes or until the surface is slightly light brown and is hard if touched
8. Switch off the oven, keep the oven door slightly open and allow it to cool inside the oven itself for around 30 minutes.
9. Once cooled, transfer to wire rack
10. Meanwhile, peel and cut the fruits
11. In a cold vessel, take whipping cream and beat it until soft peaks are formed. (Add 1 tbsp sugar while beating if whipping cream is unsweetened)
12. While assembling the Pavlova, put a dollop of whipped cream on the baked meringue based and smooth it from all the sides. Place a spoonful of fruit crush and then place cut fruits on top
13. Enjoy the tasty Pavlova

Tip: If you are not assembling the Pavlovas immediately, baked meringue bases can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days

Coconut Milk & Mango Panna Cotta

For Coconut Milk Panna Cotta Layer:

Coconut milk          200 ml

Heavy cream          300 ml

Granulated Sugar    8 tbsp

Vanilla essence       1 tsp

Gelatin                    3 tsp

Water                               6 tbsp

For Mango Panna Cotta Layer

Mango Puree                    250 ml

Heavy Cream                   300 ml

Castor Sugar                    5 tbsp

Gelatin                              3 tsp

Cold Water                      6 tbsp

Method

For Coconut Milk Panna Cotta:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over a cold water and leave for 5 mins to bloom
2. In a heavy sauce pan heat together coconut milk, cream, vanilla essence and sugar  just till one boil (don’t over heat it)
3. Take it off  the  stove and add white chocolate
4. Add the gelatin mixture in it and stir well till dissolves
5. Let it cool for 2-3 minutes
6. Pour it in glasses to be served, tilt it in muffin pan to give an angle effect
7. Refrigerate till set

For Mango Panna Cotta Layer:

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 3 tbsp water and allow it to rest for 5 minutes
2. In a pan heat sugar and cream till sugar is dissolved. (Do not boil it too much)
3. Remove from heat, add gelatin mixture and stir until gelatin is dissolved completely        .
4. Cool for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add mango puree to the cream gelatin mixture and mix very well.
6. Pour the mixture in the same glasses where coconut milk panna cotta is already set.
7. Refrigerate till set.

Dulce De Leche

Wikipedia says that "Dulce De Leche" is South American Confection prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk. Literally translated, it means "candy of milk" or "milk toffee" or "candy jam". This can be used with cakes, jams or even as "bread spread". I came across Dulce De Leche when I was looking for recipe of Banoffee Pie. The most basic recipe for this "milk toffee" calls for slowly simmering milk and sugar together stirring continuously for long hours until the mixture thickens and caramelizes.

At home, usually Dulce De Leche is prepared by boiling an unopened can of condensed milk for 2-3 hours. But there is also a simpler or faster way to make it by using the pressure cooker. This is the method I used to make this delicious Dulce De Leche.

Ingredients:

Nestle Milkmaid / Amul Mithaimate Tin - 1 No.

Method:

1. Take 8 or 10 ltrs. pressure cooker and fill it halfway with water
2. Remove any plastic wrapper / cover from condensed milk tin, if any. Ensure that the can is not opened at all.
3. Submerge the can fully, horizontally in water. Ensure that water is covering the can completely and is at least 2-3 inches above the top of the can.
4. Cover the cooker lid, place the whistle / weight and pressure cook on medium  to high heat until one whistle. In my case, this took around 20 minutes 
5. After the whistle, lower the heat to low and continue cooking for another 20-25 minutes with cooker lid as well as whistle still on (there will not be any more whistles while cooking on low heat)
6. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure to drop.
7. Open the cooker lid, remove the can carefully (remember that the can will be very hot)
8. Allow the can to cool completely (it might take 1 to 1.5 hour)
9. Once can cools, open the lid and relish your Dulce De Leche
10. This can be stored in refrigerator for about 7 days (it will get thickened further after refrigeration. So, you can heat it in microwave for 1 minute or so before using it)
11. You can also use 1 tsp vanilla essence before refrigeration.

Tip:

1. During my first attempt, I used a smaller cooker and even if I lowered the heat to low after first whistle, it continued to whistle and then I turned off the gas after 3 whistles. I found that the final product was not caramelized properly. Probably, I could have continued cooking it further for 2-3 whistles
2. Increasing or reducing the cooking time will make the final product thicken more or less. Adjust cooking time as per your taste in subsequent attempts