CARROT AND ALMOND CAKE

 Carrot cakes all along have been the ultimate classics that I always refrained to mend with.  How ever after a lot of brain storming and experimenting I managed to put my own little touch to it, still conserving its natural flavor. This cake is a perfect rainy afternoon bake with a cup of tea. 
I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

                                           CARROT AND ALMOND CAKE

                                                                        INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4th cup oil
• 1 table spoon coconut oil
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/8th teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4th teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

                                    SPICE MIX

• Ground cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and star anise. Together all of these must make up to 1 table spoon. 
• And about 1/2 a cup of sliced almonds.

                                                        METHOD

• Pre-heat the oven to 160 'C 
• Grease a medium sized cake tin.
• In a large bowl sift together all the dry ingredients ( flour, salt,baking soda, baking powder, spice mix)
• In another large bowl whisk together sugar and oil until creamy and then add yogurt , honey and coconut oil continue to beat it until well combined.
• Now fold in the dry into the wet mixture gently.
• Add the grated carrots and and transfer the cake batter into the cake tin.
• Sprinkle the sliced almonds all over the top almost covering the surface.
• Bake the cake for about 30-40 minutes until the inserted knife comes out clean.
• Cool the cake for a good 15 minutes, serve it with whipped cream and some tea to go with.

                                  

 CLEMENTINE AND CARDAMOM CAKE (eggless)

Its Raining clementines here in Paris right now. Amazing looking and incredibly tasty citrus. I have been wanting to use bake with these since the time they hit the market, but just kept procrastinating. However on my last visit to the closest sunday market near my apartment here I ended up buying really fresh ones, which of course tempted me to bake. Ohh and lets not forget the occasional sunshines these days! God it just does something to my creative spirits.

Also can we just take a moment to appreciate olive oil cakes? I feel they deserve a lot more buzz! haha. I mean jokes aside, the texture of the cake just turns out magically soft and the batter so velvety I could almost just eat the batter! 

                                              INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4cup + 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 tablespoon clementine juice
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 4 pods of ground cardamom (with skin)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 tablespoon rose water
• pinch of salt

                                                      METHOD

• Sift all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt) in a large bowl and set aside.
• Now in a separate bowl whisk in the sugar and olive oil until the mixture becomes a little pale, now adding the yogurt, rose water, clementine juice, lemon juice, cardamom and whisk well.
• Add the dry mixture to this bowl by slowly folding in and turning it into a cake batter, be very gentle or you will knock out the air that we've worked to build up so far in the batter.
• Now transfer the velvety cake batter to the prepared bread loaf pan and gently place the sliced clementines in desired pattern and bake this cake for about 35-40 minutes until the inserted knife comes out clean.
• Let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before slicing it up. Feel free to savor it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

STRAWBERRY, CHERRY AND BRANDY SUMMER PIE

 As I took the first bite of this warm, flaky pie my brain auto tuned to Nancy Sinatra's song summer wine and I went all like 
" strawberries, cherries an angel's kiss in spring. My summer wine is really made from all these things".

 I guess this Pie was our sunshine on that particular rainy day. The monsoons have now set in and I am all in the mood for baked sugary goodness. Pies in particular, especially with loads of stone fruits around. I hope you enjoy making this pie as much as I did.
Happy Baking Ya'll!!!

         STRAWBERRY AND CHERRY FILLING

                   INGREDIENTS

     

• 1 cup pitted cherries
• 1/2 cup strawberries cut into halves
• 1/3rd cup granulated sugar
• 60 ml Brandy (optional)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 1/4 cup water

                METHOD

• In a heavy bottom sauce pan on medium heat, add strawberries, cherries, sugar,water and corn starch.
• Continue cooking until it starts to bubble and thicken and all the sugar is melted. This will take around 10-12 minutes.
• Now add 60ml Brandy, stir the mixture for a minute and take it off the heat.
• Let it cool before transferring it into a glass jar.

     VEGETERIAN EGGWASH

                 INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoon milk
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

                    METHOD

• Combine all the ingredients and heat it in the microwave for a minute until the butter has melted.

            SUMMER PIE

         INGREDIENTS

   ( makes a whole medium sized pie)

• 1 cup  + 1/4th cup flour 
• 1/4th cup cold butter cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 tablespoon cold water
• 1/8th salt teaspoon
• 1/4th teaspoon baking powder

        METHOD

• In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients except the extra 1/4 cup of flour.
• Add the butter and start to work the dough, slowly add cold water as you go until the dough starts to come together. Kneed it slightly and wrap it in saran wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator  for a good 30 minutes.
• Take the pie dough out of the fridge and hit it with a rolling until it comes to a malleable state.
• Now start rolling and dusting the dough with the extra flour, it must me at least an inch and a half more than the pie tin on each side.
• Now slowly place the rolled dough over the pie an and press it in gently, cut the excess dough with the help of a pair of scissors. With the help of a fork make tiny holes in the pie, to avoid puffing up.
• Pre- heat the oven to 190' C
• Now place the pie tin in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before baking it.
• Make sure you place baking weights or a cup of rice on some baking paper over the pie tin to avoid puffing up of the base.
• Place the pie tin in the centre most slot of you oven and bake it for 15-17 minutes.
• While it bakes cut out your lattice strips, depending on what pattern you want to bake.
• Now take out the pie weights and add the the filling and lay the lattice over the filling and tuck in the sides.
• Brush the pie with egg wash and sprinkle sugar on it.
• Put the pie back in at 175'C and bake it for 20-25 minutes more until the crust turns golden brown. 
• Let the pie cool for a bit, before you dig in. Make sure you've got Ice cream around while your at it.

MANGO AND LIME CREAMSICLES

Hello there,
  Its been a while since I last uploaded a recipe, which is why I believe this super easy and very simple recipe for mango creamsicles would suffice for it. Its summer, meaning eating extensive amount of popsicles to deal with the raging heat and plus its the mango season. Which means its the perfect time to make and relish these dreamy-creamy mango and lime creamsicles. 

As a part of a summer experiment, I shall be sharing a few easy summer recipes that do not require a lot of effort nor fancy equipment. So watch this space for more summery recipes. 

                          MANGO AND LIME CREAMSICLES

                                        INGREDIENTS

                                (Makes 6 regular sized popsicles)

• 1 cup mango pulp (If  fresh, scoop out the pulp of two fresh  mangoes)
• 1/4th cup milk
• 3 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4th cup condensed milk
• 2 tablespoon water
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

 NOTE- You will also require popsicle moulds.

                                        METHOD

• In a saucepan add milk, sugar and condensed milk and bring it up to a boil over medium flame.(about 4-6 minutes)
• Now set aside the saucepan to cool the liquids.
• Once cooled, add the mango pulp, lemon juice, water and the cooled liquids to a blender and blend until everything is smooth and you will notice that the mixture is slightly fluffy this is what gives the creamsicles its creamy texture.
• Now transfer this mixture into popsicle moulds, pop in the ice-cream sticks and let it set over night
• Once set make sure you handle these babies very carefully, so while taking these out of the mould run the exterior part of the moulds through running water, warm it with your hands and then slowly pull out the pop-stick and enjoy this summer treat!

Best Ever Coconut Cookies With White Chocolate Dunk

Its already march can you believe it? like seriously 2017 whats with all the rushing?!! after a hectic travel schedule finally found the time to write this long due post. These  too were as all my other recipes the result of a mad kitchen experiment, honestly these cookies are a curation of a very close friends favorite flavors i.e coconut and white chocolate! Crisp on the outside and melt away as soon as you pop them in your mouth, these cookies are a must try for all you coconut lovers! 

              COCONUT COOKIES

                                INGREDIENTS

                                           

                  (makes 8-10 normal sized cookies)

                                        

• 1/2cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cups softened butter
• 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 table spoon coconut oil
• 2 tablespoon milk

                                  METHOD

• Sift the  flour, baking soda &salt into a large bowl, mix in the desiccated coconut and set aside.
• Now cream the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and the coconut oil in a separate bowl with the help of a whisk or preferably a twin blender.
• Combine the dry into the butter mix, slowly add in the milk and switch to hands to combine the dough.
• Chill the dough in refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes covered in cling film.
• Pre-heat the oven to 175' C.
• Now scoop out the dough in tablespoon measures for each cookie onto a lined baking sheet and flaten each cookie slightly with the help of a fork or a flat plate lined with baking paper.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the sides turn golden brown.
• Once the cookies cool dunk them half into melted white chocolate and sprinkle black sesame (optional) and let the chocolate set before eating.
• These cookies will store up to a week in airtight containers.
  
  
  
  
  

The Big Pink Bundt (eggless)

The title of this  post was originally supposed to be the plain old and classic strawberry bundt with lemon and strawberry glaze but I think that the big pink bundt best sums up this amazingly fluffy and flavorful cake. Im a very experimental person in the kitchen, and this cake was originally supposed to be pink but with the use of the natural strawberry color however it dint quiet turn out the way I had expected for it to visually but when taken a bite its what you call THE BOMB. As all of my other recipes this one too is super simple and also happens to be eggless!! Im still trying to figure out this whole blog writing thingy, but I intend to now post more often. Also I have a number of no-bake recipes lined up for you guys, so stay tuned!! Hope you guys enjoy this post, Id love to hear your thoughts so don't forget to leave a comment. HAPPY BAKING !ii

    STRAWBERRY BUNDT CAKE  

1. You can also add an egg instead  of the flax seed paste
2. Blend up to a cup of strawberries with a little water to make the fresh strawberry juice.

                                                             

                             INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup sugar (granulated)
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 3 table spoon water (separate) 
• 2/3 cups fresh strawberry juice
• 3 tablespoon yogurt

                              METHOD

• Pre heat ven to 150' C
• In a large bowl sift in all the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• Take a smaller bowl add the water and ground flax seeds mic well to form a paste 
• In a larger bowl with the help of a twin blender whisk the butter  and sugar, now add the yogurt and flaxseed paste and mix well.
• Now fold in the dry into the wet with the help of a spatula very gently to form a rather thick batter.
• Now transfer this mix into your desired bundt cake mould (grease if necessary)
• Bake at 150'C for 20 mins then crank up the oven to 175'C and bake until inserted knife comes out clean that would be about 15-20 more minutes.
• Make sure you wait for the cake to cool before you flip it upside down.

                    STRAWBERRY AND LEMON GLAZE

• 1/2 cup icing sugar 
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon fresh strawberry juice
• A pinch of salt.

                            METHOD

• In a bowl add lemon juice and strawberry juice and gradually whisk in the sugar bit by bit with the help of a spoon to form a glossy glaze.
• Now pour the glaze on the cake and enjoy!!

Mini Chocolate Caramel Centre Cakes With White Chocolate Glaze

New years greetings to all my lovely readers, hope you have a great 2017. Mine has rather been a slow start to the new year, here's hoping it picks up the pace soon. The winter has me reaching out to warm baked goods resulting in a lot of kitchen experiments lately  (not that I'm complaining, Im loving it). This recipe was I must say more of an accidental trial with successful results, Its a simple recipe with very simple ingredients. Perfect to serve in the winters. I hope you enjoy making these as 

much as I did, Thank you.

                

 

MINI CHOCOLATE CAKES WITH CARAMEL CENTRE AND 

WHITE  CHOCOLATE GLAZE

CARAMEL CENTRE 

• Make sure you make this ahead of time, because it can be a little time consuming.

                                                     

                                                             INGREDIENTS  

  

• 1 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/4th cup milk

                                                            METHOD  

   

• In a sauce pan, over medium heat add the sugar and wait until it all melts until it turns into a golden syrup stirring occasionally.

• Now slowly add milk and stir until it all combines to become thick caramel.

• Now take it off the heat and wait for it to cool.

• Once cooled take a melon baller (a small spoon would work too) dip it into powdered sugar and scoop the caramel and transfer it to a plate with powdered sugar to avoid sticking.

• Now repeat the same to make at least 6 such balls.

•  You can store these balls in a jar with powdered sugar in the refrigerator for over 2 weeks.

MINI CHOCOLATE CAKE

                                                              (Makes six mini cakes) 

      

• You will need standard panna cotta moulds  (as shown in the pictures above) to  achieve the shape.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Egg
• 1/4th cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon coco powder
•  1/8th teaspoon baking soda
•  A pinch of salt
• 2-4 tablespoon water

METHOD

• Pre heat the oven to 175' C

• grease the cake tins with melted better and dust off  with some flour.

• In a large bowl sift  flour, coco powder, baking soda and salt. Add sugar  and combine well.

• In a separate large bowl whisk sugar and oil together, break in the egg and switch to a hand blender.

• Whisk the eggs very well and slowly fold in the flour mix, add water one tablespoon at a time to ensure the right consistency.

• Scoop the mixture a little more than half way through the moulds, now slowly stick in the caramel centre and bake for 20-25 mins until the inserted  tooth pick comes out clean.

WHITE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4th cup white chocolate (chopped)
• 2 tablespoon milk

METHOD

• In a microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate for about a minute in the microwave add in the milk and stir until combined well.

• Now drizzle the white chocolate glaze over these decadent mini cakes and enjoy!!!