Chocolate Cupcakes

These chocolate cupcakes are a dedication to all chocolate lovers. The cupcakes are soo moist and light. The texture, the appearance and the taste of the cupcake is absolutely divine. They are really easy to make and quite addictive too. Trust me, you can't eat just one. The original recipe is of a Chocolate Cake. Once, I had leftover batter and tried making these cupcakes with them. And since then, I haven't tried it any other way. I prefer not to change anything even with it's simple appearance.

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup levelled all purpose flour (maida)
• 1 cup sugar (powdered)
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup boiling water 
• ¼ cup refined oil
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg

Method:-

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 
• Line cupcake moulds with paper liners.
• Sieve together maida, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
• Add powdered sugar to this and mix well.
• Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla essence.
• Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Now add boiling water and stir well.
• The batter will be thin.
• Pour the batter in the cupcake moulds till ¾ full.
• Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 30-35 minutes or until done.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes:-

• If you like your cupcake to be more sweet, you can add 1½ cup sugar instead of 1 cup.
• For simple icing:- double boil 100 grams milk chocolate with ¼ cup butter. Cool and use.
• If you are icing the cupcake, do not increase sugar.
• For the eggless version, just add ½ cup buttermilk instead of egg

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this to :- Vardhini's Bake Fest # 25

 

7.11.13 - +Joerg Sterner tried this Chocolate cupcakes... Thanks +Joerg Sterner for sharing your feedback... God bless.. 

Pistachio Biscuits

I love baking. Pistachio is one of my favorite ingredients used while baking. I love it's fragrance and my home smells divine whenever I bake these cookies. I simply love these delicious and crispy pistachio biscuits. I'm really addicted to them. They are so yummy and irresistible and always a hit among family and friends. Make them and relish with a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:-

• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour / maida
• ¼ cup pistachios (blanched and sliced)
• 1½ tbsp butter (at room temperature)
• 1 tbsp sugar 
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp honey
• ⅛ tsp vanilla essence
• ⅛ tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt       

Method:-

• Sieve maida, salt and baking powder and keep aside.
• Powder sugar and brown sugar finely.
• In a bowl, add butter, sugar powders, honey and vanilla essence.
• Beat well till soft and pale.
• Then add sifted flour and knead lightly.
• Add in the sliced pistachios and knead well to form a dough.
• Make a long log of the dough.
• Wrap the log in a cling film.
• Keep in freezer to chill for at least 2 hours.
• Remove and immediately cut into long thick slices.
• Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
• In a greased plate, arrange the slices at distance 
• Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown.
• Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
• Store in an airtight container.

Notes:-

• You can substitute almonds for pistachios
• These cookies are soft when you remove them from oven but gradually harden when cooled.
• If you find the dough too dry while kneading, add 1 or 2 tsp milk to bind well.

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this entry to :- Breakfast recipes and My Bowl of Snack and Whats with my Cuppa 2 and Eggless Baking–sweet or savory 

 

Vanilla Pound Cake

I love pound cakes. Today, I made Vanilla pound cake for breakfast. It is the best cakes I've ever come across. It is very rich and creamy, but still feels light when you eat it. 

This is the first cake I learned from my Mom. She used to bake it in a pressure cooker when we were kids. And I always felt my Mom was a magician. To me, she was perfect and I always looked up to her thinking "Wish I get at least quarter of her wisdom when I grow up". There was nothing I believed that my Mom cannot do and I still stand by that thought. I always used to come running from school to my Mom and ask, "Mumma, my friends favourite flavour is strawberry. She will come home tomorrow. Will you make strawberry cake for her?" And the answer was always, "Yes beta, why not ?" No matter how tedious her job was, No matter how busy she was or no matter how tired she was! She would always say YES with a smile on her face. Cooking as I though earlier was not my cup of tea, but it was her encouragement, patience and love that made me into what I am today. I cannot thank her enough for whatever she has done for me. Today's post is dedicated to her for the number of times I still don't remember she made this cake for me and my friends. Love u mumma! 

Coming back to the recipe... This is a basic recipe that everyone should have coz it's really simple to make and can be made with different variation of flavours from the same recipe. I definitely recommend this cake to all those who haven't tried their hands at baking. Go bake it for yourself and see the results. 

Ingredients :-

• 1½ cups flour / maida
• ½ cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar (grind to pdr)
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp baking pdr
• ¾ cup milk

Method:-

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Grease and dust an 8 inch baking tin and keep aside.
• Sieve together flour and baking pdr and keep aside.
• Beat the butter and gradually keep on adding sugar while beating till batter is fluffy and well mixed.
• Add vanilla essence and beat again.
• Then add one-third of the flour and beat again.
• Add one egg and beat well.
• Add half of the milk and beat well.
• Again add one-third of the flour and beat again.
• Add the other egg and beat till well mixed.
• Then stop beating and add the remaining flour and milk and fold lightly in clock-wise direction with the help of a spatula.
• Pour the mixture in the baking tin.
• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 45-50 minutes.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Cut in slices and serve.

Notes:-

• Use all the ingredients at room temperature.
• You may substitute vanilla essence for your favourite flavourings (For ex- add strawberry essence and few drops of pink colour or pineapple essence and few drops of yellow colour). You can use any of your favourite flavour.
• Insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. It should come out clean, with no batter clinging to it. Then your cake is done or else you need to bake for a few more minutes.

Happy Cooking!!

Sending this entry to :- Sweets & Dessert Event @ MJ Delights and Love For Mum & Jagrutis Celebrate Love For Mum and Bake Fest # 19 & Vardhini's Bake Fest and Story telling with food event by The Big Sweet Tooth and Foodelicious Cook Like Mom Event 

Egg Custard Tart

Egg custard tarts are custard baked in pastry. I was truly longing for some egg custard tarts yesterday. So, finally decided to make one myself. It is pretty simple to make and highly recommended by me.

Ingredients  for the tart :-

• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp castor sugar
• chilled water (for kneading the dough)

 Method:-   

• Take butter in a clean and dry bowl and beat well.
• Add sugar and beat again till light and fluffy.
• Add egg yolk and beat till it becomes pale yellow in colour.
• Combine the flour and rub the mixture with your fingertips till it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add the chilled ice water and knead the dough lightly. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
• Grease a 9-inch tart dish lightly with oil.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough with light hands.
• Spread the base carefully on the tart dish and gently push the pastry into the sides of the dish to give it a shape. Do not leave the dough hanging around the edges as it might be difficult to remove the tart later.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Ingredients for the filling:- 

• 4 eggs
• 400 gms condensed milk
• 1½ cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tbsp almonds (blanched and sliced)
• ¼ tsp cardamom pdr 

Method:-

• In a bowl, combine eggs, condensed milk, milk and vanilla essence and beat altogether.
• Pour the filling mixture on top of the half baked tart.
• Sprinkle cardamom pdr and almonds on top.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
• Bake for 50-55 minutes till the custard is set.

Notes:-

• You may prick small holes before baking the tart or spread some rice, baking beans or lentils on it so that it doesn't puff up while baking or else just press lightly with hand while still hot and it will get back to origainal shape.
• You may substitute cardamom pdr with nutmeg pdr if you wish.
• You may serve this tart hot or cold as per your liking.

Happy Cooking!! 

Corn & Capsicum Quiche

Quiche pronounced as ‘keesh’, which is means ‘Cake in a shell’. It is a savory bake which is mostly prepared at breakfast and is a complete meal in itself. I had baked this quiche for breakfast today . A healthy bake with a pie/tart crust laden with butter filled with mild flavours, cream, cheese, eggs  and veggies.  

Ingredients  for the tart :-

• 2 cups flour
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 tbsp butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• chilled water (for kneading the dough)

Method:-   

•  In a bowl, combine the flour, butter and salt. Rub the mixture with your fingertips till it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
• Add egg yolk and mix well.
• Add the chilled ice water and knead the dough lightly. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. 
• Grease a 9-inch tart dish lightly with oil.
• On a floured surface, roll out the dough with light hands.
• Spread the base carefully on the tart dish and gently push the pastry into the sides of the dish to give it a shape. Do not leave the dough hanging around the edges as it might be difficult to remove the quice later.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Ingredients for the filling:-

• 5 tbsp corn
• 1 capsicum (chopped finely)
• 3 tbsp cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 cup fresh cream
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp white pepper pdr.
• ½ tsp mustard pdr / paste
• ½ tsp salt

Method :- 

• In a bowl,  combine eggs, cream, salt, pepper pdr, mustard and mix well. 
• Add in sweet corn, capsicum, cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Mix well again.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. 
• Pour the filling mixture on top of the half baked tart.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes till done.

Notes:-

• You may prick small holes before baking the tart or spread some rice, baking beans or lentils on it so that it doesn;t puff up while baking or else just press lightly with hand while still hot and it will get back to origainal shape
• The vegetables can be changed as per your liking (mushrooms, spinach , broccoli, green peas, cauliflower or sliced baby corn etc) in this quiche. But be sure to steam the vegetables before mixing them up for baking.
• You may also add some boiled and shredded chicken.

Happy Cooking!!