Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Rum-Spiked Dates

This was one of those cakes that I wanted to try for a long, long time...but never got around to making it. Either for lack of the main ingredient, sweet potato or just plain laziness. One evening, sitting out in the verandah with mum, I happened to mention something about this cake. Mum was intrigued and the very next day she got some sweet potatoes for me. Even then, it took me a few more days to get myself together and go bake. The cake is definitely on the boozier side, and that got my dad's and my vote. The original recipe called for rum plumped golden raisins. And since I had run out of raisins, I used dates instead.

any cake that has rum and dates makes for a brilliant treat... don't you think?

All you have to do is....

Sieve the dry ingredients...set aside
Grease the bundt tin and dust with flour...

Beat some eggs and sugar till light and frothy and nearly doubled in volume.

The electricity in our house decide to go on a long vacation when I put the eggs in the bowl and I had to do the whole thing by hand. Entirely feasible, but kills your arms with all that exercise. Make this cake regularly, and you'll definitely have beefy, mom arms! But don't let that stop you, do try it once.

Add the rest of the wet ingredients and then...

Fold in the mashed and boiled sweet potato alternating with the dry ingredients and combine.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake...

Ok...now you have to remember that we had no electricity at home because the transformer blew up in flames. And the cake had to be baked in a gas oven that definitely belongs in the Victorian era! It's temperamental and dysfunctional. Enough to give any baker the heebie-jeebies! But still, my mum wouldn't give up, she said lets give it a try and allow the cake to bake at a lower temperature but for slightly longer than the time specified by the recipe. The lower temperature is because the oven refuses to go beyond 150-165 degrees Celcius. And after all that explanation I present to you the slightly burnt cake...but don't hold it against me, blame the neanderthal gas oven!

Here's a slice...

This recipe makes a very large cake, so there's plenty for everyone. Share a slice of the cake with family and friends on a cold evening with a cup of steaming coffee!

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Rum-Spiked Dates

makes a very large cake, serves 16-20

recipe adapted from Mary Allen at http://whisktogether.wordpress.com/

Ingredients

3/4 cup dates, chopped into bits
1/3 cup dark rum, plus more if needed ( I always need more)
3 cups flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for salting the water ( I used flaked sea salt, you can use table salt if you don't have it)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 large sweet potatoes (I didn't use 3, I find that 2 large ones are more than enough)
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk (make your own by adding 3/4 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 3/4 cup of milk and allow to stand for 5 minutes before using in your recipe).

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan.
2. For 30 minutes or so, soak the dates in the rum. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.
3. Prep the sweet potatoes while the dates are soaking: peel and cut into 1″ pieces. Boil in a large pot of water until tender. Pour them into a colander to drain. Next, mash them and measure out 2 cups. I would suggest passing the pulp through a fine mesh strainer, so you don't get any of the fibers in your cake.
4. With your mixer (use a whisk attachment if available), beat eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil and vanilla.
5. Drain dates BUT keep the liquid!!! Add 1/4 cup of that drained liquid to the batter (I added all of it). Add the 2 cups of sweet potato mash to the batter. Mix to combine.
6. Next, you are going to do the alternating method. This is when you add about one third of the flour. Then, half the buttermilk. Another 1/3 of the flour. The other half of the buttermilk. Finally, end with the rest of the flour.
7. Fold in the soaked dates. Pour into your bundt pan and bake for 80 minutes (about 50 minutes into the baking time, cover he top of the cake with aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning) . Cool 10 minutes and then turn upside down onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving the cake.

Glaze

The recipe does call for a glaze, but I did not make it. Firstly because I was so tired from all the mixing by hand and watching out so the Victorian era gas oven didn't burn my cake ( which it managed to do anyway!) and mainly because I felt the cake was quite sweet on it's own and didn't need any more help from the glaze, or it'd be overpoweringly sweet and will put most anybody in a Diabetic Coma!!! But if you still feel you need it here's the recipe...

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon reserved rum from cake recipe

To make the Glaze: In a saucepan mix the sugar, butter and cream. Bring to a boil and then let it boil another 3 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat. Add 1 Tbsp. of the reserved rum or fresh if you ran out.

Using a toothpick (or skewers because they are longer), poke a bunch of holes into the cake. Drizzle 1/3 of the glaze on the warm cake. Now wait 15 minutes. Add the rest of the glaze. Now, let the cake cool completely.

*The glaze should be poured on a warm cake, not a cooled cake.

Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

Until next time,

Happy Baking!!!

Happy Birthday Nigella, here's a Chocolate Irish cream cake for you...

Today is Nigella Lawson's Birthday. For those of you who don't know me, I think of Nigella as my Guru. She according to me is the best cook ever and is also one of the reasons why I love baking so much. She makes it all so easy, breezes into her beyond amazing kitchen, fiddles around with all those doodads, throws a few things together and Voila! you have a visual treat right before your eyes, which just makes you wish you could somehow wrangle an invitation to her house for a meal. And she does all this while she looks like a million bucks, for someone who is always around food! If I did that, I'd probably look like a freight train! (Scary image in my head now, definitely need to do some Power Yoga). 

Even if I cannot be a part of her birthday celebrations (for now, I hope I get to meet her someday) I thought she deserves a beautiful cake (which I would eat on her behalf). And well, it's just another excuse to bake a cake. And it couldn't be just anything... it had to bold, brassy and beautiful, in other words something that says Nigella or sort of describes her. I know she likes chocolate (who doesn't?) so I made a chocolate cake with Irish Cream.

Happy Birthday Nigella

I've always wanted to bake a cake using Bailey's. And lazy person that I am, I've always managed to come up with some excuse or the other. Most used was the lack of Bailey's Irish cream whiskey at home. The other day when we were at an aunts place for dinner, I found a bottle of  her Home-made Irish Cream and asked if I could borrow it. The original recipe called for Bailey's and since I didn't have any, I've used the homemade version. I've also added chocolate so the cake has a more intense chocolate flavor. It also made the cake more moist and delicious.

Irish Cream Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
250g plain flour

My very cute measuring cup and spoon set...was a gift from mum

1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
60g cocoa powder

40g Good quality dark chocolate, chopped (or you can use chocolate chips)
300g sugar
250ml strong coffee (any temperature)
210g butter, cubed
375ml Baileys (or other Irish Cream liqueur, homemade works too as long as it's good) ( I used a li'l more approx 400 ml)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 160C, grease and line an 8 x 8 inch tin.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Put the chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, coffee and butter in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat, whisking frequently until the butter and chocolate has melted and the sugar dissolved. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Stir in the Baileys Irish cream into the liquidy chocolate mix.

Add the eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.

I prefer to crack the eggs into a separate bowl and then add into the batter, so you don't get any eggshell pieces by mistake

you should have a smooth glossy batter after mixing in the eggs

Add the flour mix and whisk gently until everything is incorporated into the batter.

be gentle while incorporating the flour mixture

Pour the thin batter into the prepared tin and rap the sides of the tin a few times to remove air bubbles. Smooth the top of the batter using a wet spoon to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for 1 hour, after an hour put foil on top of the cake and continue for another 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs

Cake in the oven

Let cool completely before dusting with icing sugar if desired. (we finished the cake way too soon, so it's not dusted with icing sugar...and I left the paper doilies I flicked from the Orange County soup bowls in my aunt's bag! I wanted to use it as a template for dusting the icing sugar on the cake for a nice pattern ).

Yum yum yum :)

Note* The batter is very very runny and may look like it will never cook, but don't worry it will. Just make sure not o shake the pan at all when it is in the oven.

Do not over bake the cake as it will dry out.

You can use a vanilla bean instead of the extract, just split the bean and scrape the seeds into the batter.

And lastly, it is very dense, very moist, intensely chocolaty and a very very boozy cake...you might get a li'l tipsy, so just don't feed it to your kids.

Now go bake some and tell me how it was.

Until next time, Happy Baking!

My Fail proof Brownie Recipe

Brownies...just saying the word makes me think of warm, chocolatey and chewy slices of goodness which will instantly put anyone in a good mood. A brownie will make you more friends than anything else. And why not, when it tastes so good! And I am sure that anyone with access to an oven would have baked a brownie at least once in their lives. Brownies can be used for just about anything...for example, You have messed up big time and need to say sorry - bake some awesome brownies, pack it very well and give it to the person...and you will definitely be forgiven. Have some guests coming at the last minute for dinner and you have no dessert, whip up brownies, serve with whipped cream and caramel or chocolate ganache...Voila! you have a 'killer' dessert. Your child has a bake sale at school, make a batch of brownies. So many uses for such a simple thing!

Here's what wikipedia has to say on the subject: "A chocolate brownie is a flat, baked square or bar developed in the United States at the end of the 19th century and popularized in both the U.S. and Canada during the first half of the 20th century. The brownie is a cross between a cake and a cookie in texture.[1] Brownies come in a variety of forms. They are either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density, and they may include nuts, frosting, whipped cream, chocolate chips, or other ingredients."

Now, everyone has their own version of the best brownie recipe. Considering the amount of brownie recipes available on the internet, it's a definite possibility that everyone has at least a few recipes in their kitty. As they are fairly easy to bake and use only a few ingredients, none of which are fancy stuff ( unless you plan on wowing the audience with brownies using Ghirardelli Chocolate or Valrohna or even Hershey's Cocoa for that matter) it's inexpensive too. And moreover most recipes don't call for a stand mixer or even a handheld mixer for that matter (which is definitely a plus point according to me), and use only about two bowls at most which reduces the washing up (this I love, because I hate washing up!). I take laziness up a notch by spreading out some clean papers and sieving the dry ingredients on them ( see, I reduced washing up by using only one bowl).

I definitely have more brownie recipes than most, I have a whole book-full! I have every conceivable kind of brownies - chocolate, triple fudge brownies, s'more brownies, pretzel ganache brownies, blondies and even a lemon and lime brownie (this is my all time fav!)...and many many more! The brownie recipe below is one that I can whip up last minute, as this is a no effort brownie and I mix this using a whisk. And as the title says, it is a fool proof recipe!

My fail Proof Brownie Recipe
Ingredients:
All purpose flour 1 1/3 cup
Granulated sugar 2 cups
Cocoa Powder 3/4 cup (use a very good quality, I use Hintz or Hershey's)
Baking Powder 1 tsp
salt 1/4 tsp
Chopped nuts 1/2 cup
4 large Eggs (lightly beaten)
Vegetable Oil 2/3 cups
Vanilla extract 2 tsps
Milk 2-3 tbsp
Assorted nuts 1 cup ( to scatter on top of the brownie)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 degrees Celsius). Line and grease a 9 X 13 baking dish.
2. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the sugar and 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and mix well ( The nuts should be well coated with flour so that they don't sink to the bottom when you bake the brownie).
3. In another bowl, mix together the lightly beaten eggs, the vegetable oil and the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Add two tablespoons of milk to the batter and mix until combined. If the batter feels too thick add another tablespoon of milk and mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
4. Pour into the prepared baking dish, scatter the assorted nuts on top (if using) and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Cut and serve. Yields 24 pieces.

Until next time,
Happy Baking!

So much for my steely resolve...

People who want to lose weight really shouldn't know how to cook, let alone make wonderful, full of calorie- desserts! I really hate myself right now. When I left home last month, I'd promised myself that I wouldn't bake or make anything that was loaded with calories, because, to quote my cousin Tanya- I put on weight if I breathe too much! And I've been pretty strong too, for someone who has a serious sweet tooth (and also has Anand sweets right opposite her house!). I stuck to a no rice diet, exercised religiously and even went to yoga thrice a day sometimes (overzealous much!). But two days ago, my steely resolve flew out the window as did the promise not to eat anything sweet.

It all started with the half finished loaf of bread in the fridge (damn you half finished bread loaf!). Last month, when I was home, I had this mad craving for bread pudding. I know what you'll think; of all things in the whole wide world, I wanted bread pudding. But it's not any ordinary soggy bread pudding I wanted, it was Nigella's Chocolate chip bread pudding! And the way she describes it get's your mouth watering. Since I didn't have all the ingredients she used, I made up my own recipe and the result an amazingly soft, crisp on top, slightly soggy at the bottom bread pudding with melting chocolate chips! Two days ago, I spied some bread in the fridge and I decided to make some again, since Tanya's just got braces for her teeth and can only eat soft food...and what better soft food than bread pudding. Again most of the stuff we needed, we didn't have them and we borrowed from our very nice neighbours. And once again the recipe doesn't fail and I have three adoring fans.I don't have a picture to upload coz it was finished so fast.

Soaked bread cubes packed with chocolate chips

After the bread pudding I was guilt ridden. I know I shouldn't have, but then I couldn't. And then I made Panna Cotta with Passion fruit jelly yesterday! I'd promised my aunt whose a vegetarian that I'd make something she could eat, so the panna cotta. The best part about it, well other than that it was fantastic, was that I told that idiot boy (read cousin Tushar) that I ate all the passion fruit! Bazinga! He ate most of the passion fruit without sharing, so I'd say he deserved it ( well, apparently not enough...coz he got a share of the panna cotta). Any way, I ate that too...so I have to do some extra exercise (youch). Here's a picture of the damn panna cotta with passion fruit jelly.

I love this...don't you?

Oh and here's a picture with my cousins Tanya and Tanu 

the one in black's Tanya, the pink lady's Tanu...The other one's obviously me the pretty one! :D

And now the recipe...I know Anton Mosimann's bread pudding is the best (or so I hear, I've actually never tasted it or attempted to make it either). But until I do, (or probably even after I taste Anton's) this is the most amazing bread pudding! EVER!

My version of Chocolate Bread Pudding with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients

250g - Stale bread (either white or brown) with the crust on, cut into cubes

100g - Chocolate chips ( dark or milk chocolate), I always add extra

2 eggs, at room temperature

500 ml full fat milk

1 tbsp - brown sugar (light or dark)

1/4 cup - granulated white sugar

1 tbsp - good quality cocoa powder

2 tsp - vanilla extract

2 tbsp - dark rum, optional

1 tbsp - freshly brewed strong coffee, optional

1 tsp - cinnamon powder

4 tsp - demerara sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Tip the cubed stale bread onto a greased round pie dish (approx. 23cm). Sprinkle the chocolate chips on and make sure to mix it well with the bread, so that they're evenly distributed.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, brown sugar, granulated white sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon powder, rum (if using) and coffee (if using), until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour this mixture over the bread and chocolate chips.

3. Squish the bread cubes down slightly using your fingers and allow it to soak for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Sprinkle on the demerara sugar over the pudding mixture and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.

Serve hot with whipped cream or ice cream, or else just enjoy it as it is with a cup of coffee.

*If your bread isn't stale, then leave slices to dry first, for a while, on a wire rack before cubing and using.

Until next time (I will tell you about my love for Chuck Hughes)...Happy Baking!

Four posts in one day...ha! so much for laziness!!!

I guess I am wired from all the yoga today, hence so many posts. Also, I felt a wee bit guilty about ignoring the blog for so long and decided that I better catch up and post some stuff. And also, I forgot to mention that I had baked 4 wonderful Tarte Tatin's for Anjali Aunty's kitty party and I got rave reviews for them. I baked another Tarte Tatin last week for my aunt's party, so I guess I can say I am getting to be quite an expert at baking them. After all they are so easy.

Tarte Tatin with Tanu's finger!

Also I came up with a new recipe for Sweet n Sour chicken. It all started with an intense craving for Sweet n Sour chicken when I was at home in Coorg; and since there are no great Chinese restaurants nearby, I had to make some myself. It was sooooo goood, I think I almost bit off the tip of my li'l finger (hee hee). See picture below. Recipe to follow soon.

ooohhh...I wanna have some now!

I also baked some Red velvet cupcakes. I am crazy about red velvet cupcakes, and who wouldn't be...they look so pretty and taste so good too! And they are so moist...add a little cream cheese icing on top and it's the bees knees! See picture below.

The red velvet cupcakes just out of the oven...I didn't put on any cream cheese frosting coz there were no cupcakes left to frost, we ate 'em all :)

And finally to the recipes...the recipe that I am sharing is one of my own and it's easy (a li'l time consuming, but all good things to those who wait or something along those lines). And it's another of the recipes from the baking class.

Mushroom Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

Pasta – 200g pack (You can get any pasta of your choice, farfalle, penne, rigatoni, macaroni, fusili, ziti, alphabet pasta, paprdelle, rotini, penne rigate, conchiglie, orecchiette, rotelle etc.)

Mushrooms – 300g (You can get any mushroom of your choice or mix them, button mushrooms, shitake, porcini, chanterelles, oyster mushrooms etc) (cleaned and chopped)

Olive Oil – 1 Tablespoon (or any cooking oil) plus 1 Teaspoon of oil for boiling the pasta.

Salt to taste

Worcestershire sauce – 1 Tablespoon

Crushed Black Pepper – 2Tteaspoons

Garlic – 4 large cloves crushed

Parsley – 2 Tablespoons (chopped finely)

Coriander leaves and stalk – 1 Tablespoon (chopped finely)

Mint leaves – 1 tablespoon (chopped finely)

Dried Rosemary – ½ Teaspoon

Dried Thyme – ½ Teaspoon

Dried Oregano – ½ Teaspoon

Dried Chilli Flakes – 2 tablespoon

Cheddar or Mozzarella Cheese – 200g (grated)

1 large onion cut into rings

1 large bell pepper (capsicum) cut into rings

1 large tomato cut into rings

For the Béchamel Sauce:

Wheat Flour – 100g

Butter – 100g

Warm Milk – 400ml

¼ cup pasta water

Salt to taste

Crushed black pepper – 1 teaspoon

Cinnamon or Nutmeg powder - ½ teaspoon

Instructions:

Fill a large saucepan with water, add 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a rolling boil. When the water starts boiling, add a teaspoon of oil, then add the pasta and give it a stir. Cover the pot and let boil for 15 to 20 mins. Keep stirring in between or the pasta will stick together and burn. Also, keep checking to make sure the pasta is not overcooked. It should be just cooked “al dente”.

Once the pasta is cooked right, then immediately strain into a colander to remove the pasta water. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water and set aside. Run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process and set aside.

In another pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, fry the crushed garlic and then add the mushrooms to the pan. Add salt to taste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and the herbs and and sauté them till it is cooked. Add 2 tablespoons of the grated cheese and set aside.

To make the béchamel sauce, on low heat, roast the wheat flour till slightly brown, add butter and stir vigorously till you have a roux (the flour and butter mix to form a thin paste). Stir so that there are no lumps. Now pour in the milk and whisk continuously to remove all lumps, keep stirring until you feel the sauce thickening. Now add the pasta water, keep whisking, also add the salt, pepper and cinnamon or nutmeg powder. Whisk until you have a thick but pourable and smooth sauce.

Into a large baking dish, first add a 2 tablespoons of béchamel sauce and spread to cover the base. Now add the pasta and half the béchamel sauce and 2 tablespoons of grated cheese. Mix lightly. Next add the mushroom and cheese mixture and spread on the pasta. Spread the rest of the béchamel sauce and sprinkle half of the remaining grated cheese. Arrange the onion rings, bell pepper rings and tomato rings and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top. Finally sprinkle the chilli flakes on top of the grated cheese.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until the cheese melts and top is bubbling and is lightly golden and crisp. Serve hot with fresh garlic bread.
And for all you meat loving types who can't live without it, you can add minced meat or even sausage to the same recipe.

Until next time, Happy Baking :)

Baking Classes, power yoga classes and going crazy at a Book Fair in Bangalore!

The past few months have been filled with fun and absolute craziness. I was in Bangalore at my aunt's place. The first few days I spent calling every yoga class in Indiranagar ( I had to lose all the weight from the baking spree). Most of them were either too far off or offered only 3 classes a week, BUT I had a lot of weight to lose (according to my mother... not me, I think am just well rounded with just the right amount of curves!). Finally after days of phone calls, I decided to try out Fit n Fine Power yoga centre (next to Namdhari's on the ESI Hospital road) and I actually enjoyed it. I didn't even mind getting up at 6:30 A.M and walking from home to the yoga class. Now I believe all those people who said yoga makes you feel better on the whole, and it's not just about losing weight. You have a positive attitude all throughout the day and you just feel better about yourself.

After yoga class I really didn't have much to do with my time, so when my cousin suggested that I start a baking class for kids at home I jumped at the idea. Tanya designed a very beautiful flyer for me and told all her friends about the classes. Three people attended my baking class ( I know...so much for all the big plans). There was Netra (Tanya's friend, who's always super excited about everything), Soni (our neighbour and Tanu's friend) and finally Tanu (my cousin). It was all in a rush, I got all the recipes printed out and all the stuff ordered in 3 days. The 16 days of those classes were so much fun (Of course, there were a few disasters with the power going off and all) and the girls managed to learn some great stuff. Here are a few pictures.

This is the poster that Tanya designed

These are the cupcakes we made in the baking class, it was a moist chocolate cupcake with buttercream icing and sugar beads...pretty no.

And finally the book fair at the Basava Samithi Hall...this is where we went totally crazy! This book fair happens every couple of months at the same place and they sell books by weight ( 100 Rs for 1 kilo, so you can imagine my excitement). The place is stuffed with all sorts of books and arranged neatly too. Last year, I took my brother with me to the fair and we bought around 6 kilo's (and I found Keith Floyd's cookbooks). This year, Tanya and I went twice and I guess we bought around 10 kilo's! Tanya and her friend Riya went through all the boxes underneath the tables for more books. I got Keith Floyd's cook book again along with the Ballymaloe cook book. All in all, a really really good bargain (coz most of those cookbooks cost an arm and a leg!).
 And finally here's a recipe from the cooking class.These cookies are amazingly moist and make a great snack.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2.   Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper (or you can use aluminium foil to line the baking sheets) .

3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the centre 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week (I assure you, there won't be any left to store).

Simple apple galette

Last week I had promised you all that I would post the recipe for an apple galette. Well, here it is. This recipe is so easy even a child could do it. I found the recipe on smitten kitchen. It seemed easy enough, but I made a few changes to it.
Simple Apple Galette
Adapted from the smitten kitchen
Makes one 4 inch pie
Ingredients
For the pate brisee:
1 1/4 cups - All purpose flour
1/2 cup - cold butter (cut into cubes)
1/4 tsp - salt
1 tsp - sugar ( add another teaspoon if you want it sweeter)
2 tbsp to 1/4 cup - very cold water
For the apple filling:
2 nos. - granny smith apples (green apples, you can use any other firm apple like fuji, washington or golden delicious)
1 tbsp - softened butter (cut into cubes)
2 tbsp - granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp - cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp - nutmeg powder
1 tbsp - lemon juice
1/2 tbsp - lemon zest
For the apple and lemon syrup:
the peel and cores of the 2 apples
1/4 cup - granulated white sugar
2 tbsp - water
1 tbsp - lemon juice
1/2 tbsp - lemon zest
Instructions:
For the pate brisee:
1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and the butter using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
2. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in 3 tbsp of water. Mix well until you have a smooth dough. The dough should be soft and smooth to touch.
3. If the dough feels crumbly, add another tbsp of water ( no more water after this) and mix till smooth.
4. Immediately wrap the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins before using.
For the apple galette:
1. Peel and core the apples and reserve them. Cut the apples into thin slices.
2. Mix the sugar, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder and lemon zest and add to the apples. Pour the lemon juice over this.
3. Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and flatten it slightly. Place it between two sheets of cling film and roll into a circle slightly larger than your pie dish and 1/4 inch thickness. Place the rolled dough in the refrigerator for 10 mins.
4. Place the chilled rolled dough on a 4 in pie dish with extra dough hanging on the sides.
5. Place the apple filling inside the dough. Place the softened butter cubes on it. Now, fold the dough sides so that they overlap over the pie. It should be folded so that a small circle of folded dough is on the edges and a circular hole shows the apple filling.
6. Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp of sugar on the pie and bake in a preheated oven at 180°celcius for 30 - 40 minutes. Watch so that it doesn't burn. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
The apple and lemon syrup: (to be made in the last 10 mins of baking time)
1. Place the cores and peels in a pan with the sugar, lemon juice, and water. Bring to a boil. Remove the peels and cores, add the lemon zest and return to heat, until its syrupy. Take off heat, cool slightly and then pour over the apple galette. Cut and serve with a dollop of ice cream or eat as it is.
I can assure you, one bite of this galette is definitely not enough.
Enjoy! And until next time happy baking :)

Cinnamon Heaven...:)

I am in Cinnamon Heaven. The past few days I've been obsessed with this spice, so I've baked (and hogged) a whole load of cinnamon goodies. There's this earthy scent to cinnamon that gives your baked goodies a rich aroma and a unique taste which is all the more better. 
Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BC, but those who report that it had come from China confuse it with cassia.According to Wikipedia, cinnamon was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for a god: a fine inscription records the gift of cinnamon and cassia to the temple of Apollo at Miletus.^[11] Though its source was kept mysterious in the Mediterranean world for centuries by the middlemen who handled the spice trade, to protect their monopoly as suppliers, cinnamon is native to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malabar Coast of India and Burma. Cinnamon, as a warm and dry substance, was believed by doctors in ancient times to cure snakebites, freckles, the common cold (thanks to Dr. Ganapathy who says there's nothing like cinnamon for the common cold and cough), and kidney troubles, among other ailments.

Cinnamon and sugar is probably one of the best flavors in the world. Add a tablespoon of finely ground cinnamon to a quarter cup of granulated white sugar and you have cinnamon sugar. It makes a nice addition to hot chocolate, doughnuts, churros and various other desserts. My apple pie is incomplete without cinnamon in it. 

The past few days I've baked Cinnamon Rolls, Braided Cinnamon Wreath and Cinnamon Bread. Here are a few pictures. 

The braided cinnamon wreath

This is one of the best cinnamon sugar confections. You may believe it is very hard to do, when in fact it is quite simple. The taste is incredible. I need to make a few changes to the recipe and then I promise I'll post it some time soon.

Next, we have the cinnamon roll...ahhh!...just typing those words makes me crave for one yummy gooey soft roll. 

doesn't it look perfect...

I have several recipes for cinnamon rolls, but the one I loved the most was by Stephanie Jowarski of joyofbaking.com. You'll find the recipe at the end of the post.

comfort food

And I've saved the best for last, the Cinnamon sugar pull apart bread. I think  JOY THE BAKER deserves an award for this recipe. I tried it just because the pictures looked too good to resist. I never expected to fall in love with it. My dad and I polished it off in 2 hours. This bread is now at the top of the list of my favorite comfort foods. This bread will definitely give you some sweet dreams. Recipe to follow.

As promised, here's the recipe for the Cinnamon roll.

Cinnamon Rolls (Buns) Recipe

by Stephanie Jowarski

Makes 8 rolls

Ingredients:
Dough:

4 1/2 - 5 cups (590 - 660 grams) all-purpose flour

1 package (1/4 ounce) (7 grams) (2 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 cup (240 ml) milk

1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter

1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams) salt

3 large eggs

Filling:

3/4 cup (160 grams) packed light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar and it turns out just fine)

1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cold (cut into pieces)

1/2 cup (120 ml) raisins or currants (optional)

Half-and-half (or light cream) (I used milk)

Glaze: (Optional)

1/2 cup (58 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 - 2 tablespoons half-and-half (light cream)

Cinnamon Rolls: 
In the bowl of your electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (can use an electric hand mixer), combine 2 1/4 cups (295 grams) flour and the yeast.

In a small saucepan, stirring constantly, heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt just till warm (about 120 degrees F) (50 degrees C) and the butter is almost melted. Gradually pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, with the mixer on low speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then beat this mixture on high speed for 3 minutes. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook (or knead by hand), and knead in as much of the remaining 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups (295 - 365 grams) flour until you have a soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes), but not sticky. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 hours). Then gently punch the dough to release the air and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a bowl stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry blender, or two knives, until the mixture is crumbly.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch (30 cm) square. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the rolled out dough and top with raisins (if desired). Lightly brush one end of the dough with a little half-and-half or light cream (to seal the edges of the rolls). Roll the dough to form a log, starting at the end opposite the edge you brushed with cream. (Do not roll the dough too tightly or the centers of the rolls will pop up during baking.) Slice the log into eight equal-sized pieces. Arrange rolls in a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch (33 x 23 x 5 cm) glass baking pan. Cover rolls loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise, at room temperature, until almost doubled (about one hour). (At this point you can refrigerate the Cinnamon Rolls overnight (up to 24 hours). Next morning, remove the rolls from the refrigerator, take off the plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes.) Break any surface bubbles with a toothpick. Lightly brush rolls with half-and-half or light cream. Bake in a 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till light brown, and a toothpick inserted into one of the buns, comes out clean. Also, if you lightly tap on the top of the buns they should sound hollow. If necessary, to prevent over-browning, cover rolls loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove rolls from oven. Brush again with half-and-half or light cream. Cool 5 minutes and then invert onto a baking rack and re-invert onto a serving plate or platter. Drizzle with the Powdered Sugar Glaze.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Happy Baking!

It's almost the end of the year and am back with a new post. I know it's been a really long time. But I really have been busy. I've been trying out recipes, reading the books that I've hoarded over the years and never found time to read, painted some glass, tried to learn how to knit and gave up ( for some reason, I cannot learn how to purl), got some really old Anchor stitch kits lying in some old cupboard and tried my hand at that too. And since I did not complete any of the above except baking, I think I have ADD. Overall, I cannot comment on the past year, there were some high's and some low's. But it was fine I guess. Any way moving on to what I love most, baking, let's talk about Lemon Syrup Cake.

I first saw this cake when Julia made it on Masterchef Australia Season 3. I love anything that has lemon in it,
So I just had to try it. I searched for Julia's recipe, and couldn't find anything. Fortunately, for me, I found another recipe  by Thanh of eat, little bird. Believe me, this cake is so good, it'll blow your socks off ! Thanks a lot Thanh for an amazing recipe. My Dad and I always fight for a piece from the edges.

Lemon-Syrup Loaf Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

175 g (6 oz.) Plain Flour

125 g (4.5 oz.) Unsalted Butter

175 g (6 oz.) Castor Sugar

2 Eggs

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

Pinch of salt.

4 tablespoons Milk

For the Lemon Syrup:

100 g (3.5 oz,) Icing Sugar

Juice of  1& 1/2 Lemons (large sized) (Approximately 6 tablespoons)

Zest of 1Lemon (Approximately 1 tablespoon)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a loaf tin.

2. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add lemon zest and beat in eggs one at a time. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a tablespoon or so of flour and mix well.

4. Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and then mix in the milk.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes , until the cake has risen and is lightly golden in colour.

6. In the last 10 minutes  of baking time, make the lemon syrup by dissolving the icing sugar in the lemon juice, in a small saucepan on medium low heat. Heat the syrup gently until you have a clear liquid.

7. Remove cake from the oven, but not from the tin. Using a skewer, puncture the cake all over. Spoon hot syrup evenly over the cake. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack. 

Note:

I always use extra lemon zest in the batter, it's just the way I like it. Also, I always make more syrup than the recipe calls for, since I like my cake drenched in lemony goodness.

You can reduce the amount of sugar if you want, but I like the  extra sweetness just fine.

In the picture above, I have added candied lemon zest on the cake. You can leave that out if you want. Also, I've baked the cake in a square glass dish.

You can also try making the cake with limes instead of lemons. Tastes just as good.

Until next time, Happy Baking!