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'A'
The 12 Days of Cookbooks: Day 9
6 hours ago
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Hooked on Crepes
The last time I partied with my friends in the east village we discovered this crepe place that had the most amazing and yummy crepes. At 4.00am in the morning, when the drinking and dancing finally stopped we hurdled around this place, hungry as wolves and ate about 1/2 a dozen crepes. Oh, they were so heavenly and of course the cook in me wanted to try them at home the very next day.
The cooking mechanism is similar to dosa making, so I knew that part should be a piece of cake. I had to figure out the batter because the one I ate, had this nutella chocolaty flavor and I wanted the same. I also had to figure out the base of the batter. I wanted to try out the crepe immediately so I needed ingredients that I had at home. A few Internet searches revealed that I could use a pancake mixture and that's exactly what I did. Out came the pancake batter, the cocoa for a little chocolaty flavor, the whipped cream (whichever I had in the pantry), strawberries and blue berries filling and other main ingredients as you can see here. I did not achieve the Nutella flavor but next time I make it, I'll make sure I use Nutella spread as well.
What you'll need!
Ingredients:
Pancake batter - 1/2 cup (either a ready to use batter or a batter mix)
Cocoa powder - 1 teaspoon
Whipped Cream - about 3 tablespoon or as per taste
Hershey's Syrup - for the drizzle
Confectioners Sugar - about a pinch for the drizzle
Strawberries or any other fruits of your choice - 4 large strawberries, cut.
Olive Oil - 1/2 teaspoon. Use oil spray if you have one.
Water - 1/6 oz
Prep:
-- Mix the pancake batter and cocoa powder. Add a little water to make the batter of a somewhat running consistency. If you're familiar with dosa (Indian Crepe) batter then it should be a shade lighter than a dosa batter.
-- Heat a flat nonstick pan on the gas/heat burner at medium flame. Spray the pan with oil.
-- Take a heap full of the batter in a ladle. Pour it on the pan and spread the batter around in a circular motion. start from the center and move outwards.
-- The crepe should cook in about 2 minutes. Remove it from the pan with a flat spatula and keep aside.
-- Fill the crepe with the fruits.
-- Add the whipped cream and dizzle some chocolate sauce.
-- Dizzle it with chocolate sauce and confectioner sugar.
Eat it right away. It's fresh, with a warm and cold combination and is sinful! I'm a fan for life.
Tip: You can also make miniature crepe that are one mouthful. This is works really well when you want to impress for a party.
The cooking mechanism is similar to dosa making, so I knew that part should be a piece of cake. I had to figure out the batter because the one I ate, had this nutella chocolaty flavor and I wanted the same. I also had to figure out the base of the batter. I wanted to try out the crepe immediately so I needed ingredients that I had at home. A few Internet searches revealed that I could use a pancake mixture and that's exactly what I did. Out came the pancake batter, the cocoa for a little chocolaty flavor, the whipped cream (whichever I had in the pantry), strawberries and blue berries filling and other main ingredients as you can see here. I did not achieve the Nutella flavor but next time I make it, I'll make sure I use Nutella spread as well.
What you'll need!
Ingredients:
Pancake batter - 1/2 cup (either a ready to use batter or a batter mix)
Cocoa powder - 1 teaspoon
Whipped Cream - about 3 tablespoon or as per taste
Hershey's Syrup - for the drizzle
Confectioners Sugar - about a pinch for the drizzle
Strawberries or any other fruits of your choice - 4 large strawberries, cut.
Olive Oil - 1/2 teaspoon. Use oil spray if you have one.
Water - 1/6 oz
Prep:
-- Mix the pancake batter and cocoa powder. Add a little water to make the batter of a somewhat running consistency. If you're familiar with dosa (Indian Crepe) batter then it should be a shade lighter than a dosa batter.
-- Heat a flat nonstick pan on the gas/heat burner at medium flame. Spray the pan with oil.
-- Take a heap full of the batter in a ladle. Pour it on the pan and spread the batter around in a circular motion. start from the center and move outwards.
-- The crepe should cook in about 2 minutes. Remove it from the pan with a flat spatula and keep aside.
-- Fill the crepe with the fruits.
-- Add the whipped cream and dizzle some chocolate sauce.
-- Dizzle it with chocolate sauce and confectioner sugar.
Eat it right away. It's fresh, with a warm and cold combination and is sinful! I'm a fan for life.
Tip: You can also make miniature crepe that are one mouthful. This is works really well when you want to impress for a party.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Black Forest Magic
So, the other day I had this huge craving for black forest cake. well actually I had two cravings...to eat and make black forest cake. I collected all the ingredients together and voila!, I had a black forest cake in minutes. Oh well, not minutes really...but in a short while :)
Look at this..does it not look D.I.V.I.N.E
(PS: I did forget to dizzle the top with chocolate sauce before the picture was taken and when I realized it, the cake was finished :D)
here's how you make it....
What you'll need!
Ingredients:
Low Fat Condensed Milk - 400gms
Whole Wheat Flour - 225gms
Butter - 125gms
Cocoa powder -3to4 tablespoon
Dr. Pepper (or any other cola drink) - 200ml
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
Whipped cream - 2cup(I used the commercially available can)
Canned Cherries - 1 can
Sugar - 100gms
Cooking Chocolate, Dark (you can also use any regular eating chocolate)
Water - 50ml
Hershey's chocolate sauce
Prep:
--Grease and flour two baking tin (or one large deep tin)
--Preheat oven at 305F
--Melt butter, allow to cool and add milkmaid to it. Mix well
--Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
--Mix this dry mixture with the milkmaid-butter mixture. Make sure you alternate the dry flour mixture with the cola till the dry flour mixture and cola are over.
--Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 mins at 305F or till done
--To check, insert a clean knife into the highest point of cake. If the knife comes up clean, the cake is done
--Cool and slit horizontally into two if you're using only one cake tin, else simply remove the cake from both the tins and keep aside to cool. I used two cake tins so I did not have to slice the cake.
--While the cake is cooling, make sugar syrup with 50ml water and 100gms sugar,not very thin and not thick consistency. You can add some of the syrup from the cherries into this.
--Sprinkle the syrup liberally on the two halves of the cake. make small insertions on the cake with a fork to that the syrup soaks in properly. take care not to crack the cake.
--Spread the whipped cream liberally on one of the cakes (the one to be used as the lower part). You could also spread some of the cherries here. Refrigerate the lower part for 30 mins
--Then place the other cake (the one to be used as the top part of the cake)on top of the refrigerated cake
--Spread the cream liberally on the sides and top of this cake too
--Sprinkle the grated chocolate on the top and arrange the cherries on top.
--Sprinkle some Hershey chocolate sauce around.
--Refrigerate the whole cake and serve it cool.
Have a bite? :)
Look at this..does it not look D.I.V.I.N.E
(PS: I did forget to dizzle the top with chocolate sauce before the picture was taken and when I realized it, the cake was finished :D)
here's how you make it....
What you'll need!
Ingredients:
Low Fat Condensed Milk - 400gms
Whole Wheat Flour - 225gms
Butter - 125gms
Cocoa powder -3to4 tablespoon
Dr. Pepper (or any other cola drink) - 200ml
Baking powder - 1 teaspoon
Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
Whipped cream - 2cup(I used the commercially available can)
Canned Cherries - 1 can
Sugar - 100gms
Cooking Chocolate, Dark (you can also use any regular eating chocolate)
Water - 50ml
Hershey's chocolate sauce
Prep:
--Grease and flour two baking tin (or one large deep tin)
--Preheat oven at 305F
--Melt butter, allow to cool and add milkmaid to it. Mix well
--Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder.
--Mix this dry mixture with the milkmaid-butter mixture. Make sure you alternate the dry flour mixture with the cola till the dry flour mixture and cola are over.
--Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 40 mins at 305F or till done
--To check, insert a clean knife into the highest point of cake. If the knife comes up clean, the cake is done
--Cool and slit horizontally into two if you're using only one cake tin, else simply remove the cake from both the tins and keep aside to cool. I used two cake tins so I did not have to slice the cake.
--While the cake is cooling, make sugar syrup with 50ml water and 100gms sugar,not very thin and not thick consistency. You can add some of the syrup from the cherries into this.
--Sprinkle the syrup liberally on the two halves of the cake. make small insertions on the cake with a fork to that the syrup soaks in properly. take care not to crack the cake.
--Spread the whipped cream liberally on one of the cakes (the one to be used as the lower part). You could also spread some of the cherries here. Refrigerate the lower part for 30 mins
--Then place the other cake (the one to be used as the top part of the cake)on top of the refrigerated cake
--Spread the cream liberally on the sides and top of this cake too
--Sprinkle the grated chocolate on the top and arrange the cherries on top.
--Sprinkle some Hershey chocolate sauce around.
--Refrigerate the whole cake and serve it cool.
Have a bite? :)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Mini Chicken Tikka Croissants
Croissants takes my memory back to Bombay. Certain food, smell, places do this to me. So whenever I eat crossiants I remember this place in Andheri west call Merwans. They had really good Chicken Tikka Croissants. So feeling very nostalgic and missing Bombay so much I decided to pay a tribute to the croissant. I don't like the croissants we get here in the US. They either have a sweet filling or no filling at all. I decided to make mine similar to Merwans with chicken tikka filling. Vegetarians, you could make this with a vegetable filling of your choice.
Slurp!
Makes about 25 mini croissants
What You'll need!
Ingredients:
For the Chicken Filling:
2 chicken breast
1 medium onion finely sliced (any variety)
2 tablespoon Tikka Botti paste (stored bought. I used Laziza)
For the Croissant:
250grams/(about)8 ounce plain flour
125grams/(about)4 ounce plain light yogurt
125grams/(about)4 ounce soft butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Prep:
Chicken Filling:
--Boil the chicken in some water with a little salt till tender.
--Shred the chicken into pieces.
--Heat a teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet (the tikka paste already has oil so use just a teaspoon to for the onions.
--Fry the onions till brown.
--Add the tikka paste
--Add the shredded chicken
--Mix well and fry on medium heat for a while.
--Sprinkle very little water if it's too dry.
Croissants:
--Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
--Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar.
--Add butter and yogurt and mix to form smooth dough. Do not over mix dough.
--The dough can get very sticky because of the yogurt. So keep flouring your hands while you knead. Be careful not to over-floured it else the croissants will not be soft.
--Divide the dough in two and refrigerate for an hour.
--Roll each dough to form a circle with a thickness between 1/6" to 1/4".
--Using a pizza cutter or a regular knife, cut the circle into segments to look like a pizza slice.
--Spread the desired filling on the slice.
--Roll each segment completely, starting from the wider side, just like you would roll a scroll.
--Arranged the croissants in a baking sheet brushed with oil.
--Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
Slurp!
 |  |
What You'll need!
Ingredients:
For the Chicken Filling:
2 chicken breast
1 medium onion finely sliced (any variety)
2 tablespoon Tikka Botti paste (stored bought. I used Laziza)
For the Croissant:
250grams/(about)8 ounce plain flour
125grams/(about)4 ounce plain light yogurt
125grams/(about)4 ounce soft butter
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt
Prep:
Chicken Filling:
--Boil the chicken in some water with a little salt till tender.
--Shred the chicken into pieces.
--Heat a teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet (the tikka paste already has oil so use just a teaspoon to for the onions.
--Fry the onions till brown.
--Add the tikka paste
--Add the shredded chicken
--Mix well and fry on medium heat for a while.
--Sprinkle very little water if it's too dry.
Croissants:
--Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
--Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar.
--Add butter and yogurt and mix to form smooth dough. Do not over mix dough.
--The dough can get very sticky because of the yogurt. So keep flouring your hands while you knead. Be careful not to over-floured it else the croissants will not be soft.
--Divide the dough in two and refrigerate for an hour.
--Roll each dough to form a circle with a thickness between 1/6" to 1/4".
--Using a pizza cutter or a regular knife, cut the circle into segments to look like a pizza slice.
--Spread the desired filling on the slice.
--Roll each segment completely, starting from the wider side, just like you would roll a scroll.
--Arranged the croissants in a baking sheet brushed with oil.
--Bake for about 20-25 minutes.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Eggless Fruit Cake
I love any cake recipe that is eggless….in fact I love any recipe that is eggless. I made this Eggless Fruit Cake for Christmas and it was one of the most loved goodie in my Goodie Basket.
I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar. Don’t get daunted by the long list of ingredients. I did not add all the ingredients from the original recipe. I also reduced some of the spices because when I tried this recipe for the first time the spices were too overpowering. The one I made for Christmas was just perfect. I made about 8 small triangular shaped cakes for a serving size of 12. It was just so yum.....
I’ve listed the ingredient in the order required by the prep and in 3 separate block to indicate each step of the process.
What you’ll need!
Ingredients :
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup fresh seedless dark raisin
1 cup fresh plump currant
1 cup dry fruits. I used dried cashew nuts, almond, walnuts, pecans
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lemon, zest of only, grated
1 orange, zest of, only, grated
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1/2 lb butter, real, soft, in chunks
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoons allspice, ground
1 teaspoons nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons cooking oil, generous
1 cup brandy or bourbon or cognac for mixing in the cake
1/2 cup brandy or bourbon or cognac for sprinkling over the cake when done, extra
Prep:
--Grease and line a large square or round cake tin with baking paper, and grease the paper as well. Heat oven to 375 deg F or 190 deg Celsius.
--In a large pot mix the first 8 ingredients up to and including the boiling water.
--Stir well. Bring to boiling, and simmer without a lid for 5 minutes.
--Remove from heat and cool somewhat.
--Stir in the butter and baking soda, and stir well to mix. The mixture will fizz a little.
--When it has cooled down some more, scrape mixture into the bowl of your electric mixture.
--Using lowest speed, add the next 9 ingredients up to and including the 1 cup brandy (or use bourbon/cognac). Make sure you keep the ½ cup aside for sprinkling ONLY.
--When everything has been incorporated well, remove the bowl from the mixer.
--Spoon the batter into the prepared tin(s), and smooth the top.
--Bake for 1 hour 15 mins, BUT lower heat to 350 deg F /180 deg C after the first 40 mins.
--At the same time lay a double thickness of foil over the cake to prevent scorching.
--Test with a skewer before removing!
--Turn out gently on a wire rack and sprinkle over the last ingredient: the extra half cup of booze. Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg around the plate for some visual appeal.
This cake taste better after 2 days or more. It can be stored in an airtight cake tin after first placing it in waxed paper.
See how moist the cake looks and all the nuts and raisin oozing out. One great thing about this recipe is that the nuts and fruits don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.
NOTE, the original recipe calls for 2 hours baking time and lowering heat to 350degF after first 1 hour, But I found that my cake was done perfectly in 1 hours and I used the extra 15 mins for a little more of browning. So keep checking your cake and take it out of the oven when your instincts tell you it’s done :)
I found this recipe on Recipe Zaar. Don’t get daunted by the long list of ingredients. I did not add all the ingredients from the original recipe. I also reduced some of the spices because when I tried this recipe for the first time the spices were too overpowering. The one I made for Christmas was just perfect. I made about 8 small triangular shaped cakes for a serving size of 12. It was just so yum.....
I’ve listed the ingredient in the order required by the prep and in 3 separate block to indicate each step of the process.
What you’ll need!
Ingredients :
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup fresh seedless dark raisin
1 cup fresh plump currant
1 cup dry fruits. I used dried cashew nuts, almond, walnuts, pecans
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lemon, zest of only, grated
1 orange, zest of, only, grated
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1/2 lb butter, real, soft, in chunks
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoons allspice, ground
1 teaspoons nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons cooking oil, generous
1 cup brandy or bourbon or cognac for mixing in the cake
1/2 cup brandy or bourbon or cognac for sprinkling over the cake when done, extra
Prep:
--Grease and line a large square or round cake tin with baking paper, and grease the paper as well. Heat oven to 375 deg F or 190 deg Celsius.
--In a large pot mix the first 8 ingredients up to and including the boiling water.
--Stir well. Bring to boiling, and simmer without a lid for 5 minutes.
--Remove from heat and cool somewhat.
--Stir in the butter and baking soda, and stir well to mix. The mixture will fizz a little.
--When it has cooled down some more, scrape mixture into the bowl of your electric mixture.
--Using lowest speed, add the next 9 ingredients up to and including the 1 cup brandy (or use bourbon/cognac). Make sure you keep the ½ cup aside for sprinkling ONLY.
--When everything has been incorporated well, remove the bowl from the mixer.
--Spoon the batter into the prepared tin(s), and smooth the top.
--Bake for 1 hour 15 mins, BUT lower heat to 350 deg F /180 deg C after the first 40 mins.
--At the same time lay a double thickness of foil over the cake to prevent scorching.
--Test with a skewer before removing!
--Turn out gently on a wire rack and sprinkle over the last ingredient: the extra half cup of booze. Sprinkle a dash of nutmeg around the plate for some visual appeal.
This cake taste better after 2 days or more. It can be stored in an airtight cake tin after first placing it in waxed paper.
See how moist the cake looks and all the nuts and raisin oozing out. One great thing about this recipe is that the nuts and fruits don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.
 |
NOTE, the original recipe calls for 2 hours baking time and lowering heat to 350degF after first 1 hour, But I found that my cake was done perfectly in 1 hours and I used the extra 15 mins for a little more of browning. So keep checking your cake and take it out of the oven when your instincts tell you it’s done :)
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