Melting Moments

Iam back after a loooong break!!I was tied up with work and other things.

Its always good to be back in blogosphere...Hope you guys are doing great!

I made these cookies long time before...They were so good.

Recipe courtesy:Joy of baking

Ingredients:

Allpurpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Corn Starch - 1/2 cup

Butter - 1 cup softened at room temperature

Icing sugar - 1/4 cup to mix in and another 1/2 cup for topping

I made my own by grinding regular sugar in blender.

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Method:

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. 

 

In the bowl , beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. 

Cover and refrigerate the batter for an hour or two, or until firm. 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

When batter is firm, form into 1 inch balls and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 10 - 14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies just start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-5 minutes.

 Transfer the cookies to a wire rack that is placed over a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Put the confectioners sugar in a fine strainer or sieve and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the sugar.

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Vegan Chocolate Bundt cake

 Happy Valentines Day to all the readers!!This recipe is one cake you can make for your valentine who is vegan.

This vegan bundt is absolutely a breeze to make.I had no idea of baking a  vegan cake until I discovered that there were no eggs in  my fridge.I was so lazy to run to the store.So when I browsed,I found this vegan chocolate bundt cake in baking bites.com.It was unbelievably moist and no one can tell it is egg less..I skipped the glaze part.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour -2 1/4 cups

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water - 1 cup

Vegetable oil - 9 Tablespoon

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Apple cider Vinegar /White vinegar - 1TBSPn I used apple cider vinegar because it has a fruity flavour which blends well in baking cakes.

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Grease and flour a 9 inch bundt pan

In a large bowl,sift together flour and cocoa powder.Whisk in sugar,brown sugar,baking soda and salt.
Pour in water,vegetable oil,vanilla extract and vinegar,whisking thoroughly,until the batter comes together and is without lumps.

Pour into prepared pan.Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean and cake springs back when slightly pressed.


 Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Eggless Milkpowder Cake

The weather was cold and drizzly last weekend and it was perfect for baking a cake.But I ran out of eggs and even condensed milk to bake an eggless cake.The only thing I got was a tin of milkpowder which I had bought to make angel burfi.So I googled and found the recipe for eggless milkpowder cake from Divya's blog .She had made a marble cake.But I made it just plain and slightly adapted the recipe.It was moist,fluffy and delicious.

Thanx Divya!!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Milk powder - 4 TBSP

Baking powder -2 tsp

Baking Soda -1/2 tsp

Melted Butter-1/2 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Milk - 1 cup

VAnilla extract - 1tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 330deg F.

Grease a round cake pan and dust with some flour.Sift together flour,baking powder,baking soda,milkpowder.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar and add the vanilla extract.Add the dry ingredients.Then add milk gradually and mix a little bit.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

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Eggless Nutella filled Banana muffins

Who loves Nutella?I think I should've asked who does'nt?

My favorite way of eating Nutella is to just eat it with a spoon:)Me and my elder son love nutella ..

For all the nutella lovers out there..World Nutella day is Feb  5th...
So I thought I would make something with this yummy goodness.

I tried to make use of Nutella in my muffins..I swirled nutella on top of some of the muffins and filled in the rest..

Here goes the recipe..

Ingredients:


All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1tsp

Baking powder - 1tsp

Sugar - 2/3 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Melted butter - 1/3 cup

Mashed Banana - 4

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Chopped walnuts - 1/2 cup

Nutella - 1/2 cup


Method:


Preheat the oven to 360 deg F.

Line the muffin tin with muffin liners.In a medium bowl add the all purpose flour,baking soda,baking powder,salt and mix well.

In another bowl,add the mashed banana,sugar,melted butter,vanilla essence,chopped walnuts and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix.The mixture would be lumpy.Don't tend to over mix.

Fill up to 1/2 of the muffin liner.Spread the mixture evenly on the sides so that when you fill the nutella it will not come out through the sides of the muffin.Then add a tablespoon of nutella in the middle.I worked with my finger cuz I felt so easy to indent the nutella.Then fill the muffin up to 3/4 th.

You can also fill the muffin liner upto 3/4 th and then add a tsp of nutella on the top and swirl with a toothpick.

My swirl did not come out that good because nutella was sooo hard to work with..

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tester when inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and store in air-tight container.

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Eggless Banana Crumb Muffins

This recipe has become my favorite banana muffin recipe.Ive tried banana muffins recipes before.But this one has the crumb topping for that extra crunchy and sweet top.I found this in allrecipes.com and it has been listed as one of the top recipes with a five star rating.I made my muffins egg less by adding an extra banana.I also added cardamom powder instead of cinnamon for the crumb topping.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

For the crumb topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon butter
 
Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.




Ready to go into the oven


In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cardamom. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.




Fresh out of the oven


Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

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Spicy Oven Fries

These are the healthier version of french fries because they are baked and not fried.It can be served as a side or a snack.

Ingredients :

Yellow potatoes - 3(Peel the skin and cut into cubes or cut into long strips.You can leave the skin on  if you wish)

Oil - 2tbsp

Salt to taste

Chili flakes /Chili powder - 1 tsp

Kitchen king masala - 1/2 tsp(optional)You can even use garam masala or Italian seasoning .

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.

In a medium bowl pour the oil.Toss the potato cubes,salt,chili flakes,Kitchen king masala  and mix well.

In a cookie sheet,spray non-stick cooking spray and arrange the potatoes taking care not to overcrowd them.

Bake them for 15 minutes and then turn the potato cubes and bake for about 10 minutes.The potatoes will be light brown on the outside and soft on the inside when done.

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Eggless Banana Yoghurt Muffins

Recipe Courtesy : Recipezaar

I tweaked the recipe according to my taste.I omitted the egg and added a quarter cup of applesauce instead.I used butter instead of oil.I added extra sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth.I didn't add the cinnamon powder.

Ingredients :

All purpose flour -  2 cups

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Vanilla Yogurt - 8 oz(1 cup)

Applesauce - 1/4 cup

Bananas - 2 mashed

Melted Butter - 1/4 cup

Non fat milk - 2 Tbsp

Method :

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and  mix In another bowl, combine yogurt, applesauce, milk, and melted butter

Add contents of wet mixture to dry ingredients and mix- do not over mix.

Stir in bananas (you can also add chopped nuts or other fruits if you want) Place batter in muffin tins.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

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Eggless,Protein Rich Banana Muffins

My blog is becoming more of  a baking blog nowadays:)Thanx to my baking obsession!!

I was really tired of baking the same old banana and walnut muffins.So was trying to get adventurous and planned to bake some healthy muffins.Though the muffins did not look pretty,they tasted really good.

Since my kid does not like to eat whole nuts,I often tend to include nuts in disguise.

Ive substituted a part of allpurpose flour with almond meal.Chopped walnuts are added too.So it provides a double dose of protein.

How to make almond meal?

Preheat the oven to 350def F.Spread  half cup of unblanched almonds in a cookie sheet.

Roast in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes till the nuts become slightly brown and you can smell the almonds.

Allow the almonds to cool down to room temperature.

Pulse them in little intervals in a blender.Take care not to over grind them or it  will become almond butter.If it is too hard,a teaspoon of sugar can be added while grinding.

Ingredients:

Allpurpose flour - 1 cup

Almond meal - 1/2 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Baking soda - 1tsp

Salt - 1/8 tsp

Light brown sugar - 1/3 cup

Medium bananas - 2

Apple sauce - 1/4 cup

Unsalted Melted butter - 1/3 cup

Chopped Walnuts - 1/2 cup Reserve a few for sprinkling on top.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350degF.Line muffin pan with muffin liners.

Sift together allpurpose flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt.Mix in the almond meal.

Mash bananas with a fork.Add the sugar,melted butter and applesauce.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and slightly mix till they incorporate well.

Fold in the chopped walnuts.

Fill the muffin liners till three-fourths.Sprinkle a few on top of each muffin.




Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

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Eggless chocolate cake with chocolate ganache frosting

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Newyear!!I baked this cake for Newyear.

This is my first attempt in frosting.Though it was shabbily frosted :(I loved the taste of the cake with ganache.
Its been a year since I bookamrked this recipe on Joy of baking website.I was really apprehensive in making the frosting from scratch.But this recipe is so easy to follow that even an amateur baker like me was able to manage.
There are too many good things in this recipe.First of all it is eggless and the next thing is it uses only one pan.Yeah!!We mix all the ingredients in the cake pan itself and pop it into the oven.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

1/4 cup (25 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed), sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (75 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup (240 ml) warm water

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or vinegar)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract



Chocolate Frosting:

6 ounces (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream (35% butterfat)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature


Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

In an ungreased 8 inch (20 cm) square cake pan, stir together the flour, sugar, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the melted butter, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. With a fork, mix all the ingredients together until well blended.

Bake in preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.


Frosting: Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let the ganache sit at room temperature until slightly firm (about one hour) and then beat the ganache until creamy smooth and light. With an offset spatula or knife spread the ganache over the cooled cake.

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Eggless and butterless Double chocolate banana Muffins

Merry Christmas everyone!!Hope everyone is enjoying their holidays with family and friends.
Today Iam gonna make a chocholic's dream come true with double chocolate banana muffin post.
Chocolate and banana is a yummy combination and the best part of this recipe is it is eggless and butterless.
This recipe is adapted from Recipezaar.

Ingredients:

Allpurpose flour - 1  1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Baking soda - 1tsp

Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp

Baking Cocoa  - 1/3 cup

Mashed bananas - 2

Apple sauce - 1/4 cup(substitute for 1 egg)

Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup

Semisweet chocolate chips - 1 cup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 def F.Line the muffin pan with muffin liners.

Mix all the dry ingredients.Mash the  bananas and add the applesauce,vegetable oil.To this mixture add the dry ingredients.Mix just enough to combine.

Fold in  the semisweet chocolate chips.Reserve few for sprinkling on the muffin tops.

Fill in the paper lined muffin cups upto three-fourths full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until muffins are done.

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Eggless Chocolate cake with condensed milk

This is a very simple eggless cake.Ive tried making eggless chocolate cake before,but have used only oil.This recipe calls for butter and condensed milk.It was so soft,moist and rich that I coudnt believe it was eggless.
Both my kid and mom njoyed eating it and ofcourse me too(who's a chocoholic!!)

This recipe is Anushruthi's recipe from Divine taste.Thanx a lot Anu!!
I skipped the icing part as it was already oozing out with rich ingredients:)

Ingredients:

Allpurpose flour - 1 cup

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Sweetened condensed milk - 1 tin(I used Nestle's)

Butter - 2/3 cup(melted)

Water - 150 ml

Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 2tsp


Method:

Grease a 9 inch round cake tin.

In a mixing bowl,sift together the flour,cocoa powder,baking soda,baking powder.Preheat the oven to 300 def F.

In another bowl,mix together the melted butter,condensed milk,vanilla essence and water.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients just enough without any lumps.Resist your urge to overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin .The batter would seem watery.Dont fret.Bake for about an hour.

Test for doneness by inserting a skewer.If it comes out clean,the cake is ready to be taken out of the oven.

Allow it to cool for 10 minutes.Slice it and serve with vanilla icecream.

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Eggless Banana and Walnut Muffin

When I was searching a recipe for egg less version of banana and walnut muffins,I stumbled

upon this wonderful recipe of Saffron's.I just wanted to try i tout immediately.

The results were amazing...Soft,moist and fluffy muffins!!

Thanks a lot saffron!!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup - all purpose flour

4 ripe bananas mashed (i used only 3)

I had only 2 ripe bananas.But I had lots of apple sauce sitting in my pantry.

So i used 1/3 cup of applesauce to substitute for a banana.

In total 2 bananas + 1/3 cup of applesauce = 3 bananas

3/4 cup - sugar

1/3 cup - melted unsalted butter.

1 tsp - baking soda

1 tsp - baking powder

1/2 tsp - salt

small handful of walnuts;chopped.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 deg F

Line the muffin tray with paper liners or grease the tray withe a non-stick cooking spray.

First get the dry ingredients ready.Sift together the all purpose flour,baking soda,baking powder and salt.

Then prepare the wet ingredients.In a large bowl mix the mashed bananas,melted butter and sugar.

Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Mix only to combine.

Now fold in the chopped walnuts.Save some for sprinkling on top of each muffin.

Fill upto 3/4 ths of each cup.

On top of each muffin just sprinkle some chopped walnuts.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.Muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and top of the muffin is slightly brown in color.

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Palmiers

Palmiers(palm-YAY) also called palm leaves or elephant ears cookie are made of puff pastry sheets sprinkled with sugar.These crispy,melt-in –the- mouth heart shaped cookies are just perfect with a hot cup of coffee.

These are similar to Britannia little hearts biscuits available in India.I never knew that these cookies are very simple to make until I stumbled upon this recipe in the epicurious website.

I made some variations.

Ingredients:

1 sheet – puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farms brand)

1 cup – sugar

2tbsp – ghee

2 sheets – parchment paper

Method:

Thaw the puff pastry sheets for 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 400 degree F

In work surface sprinkle a little bit of flour.Roll the puff pastry to about 10 inches lengthwise.

Sprinkle the surface of the pastry with ½ cup of sugar.Now gently roll the sheet with a rolling pin.Then flip the pastry sheet.Now sprinkle the other side with ½ cup of sugar and roll the side gently.

Now mark(not cut) the center of the pastry sheet.

You will have 2 equal sides.Now start folding from the left side of the sheet into equal parts until you reach the center.

Then repeat the same procedure starting from the right side of the sheet.

Now you will have both the sides folded up to the center.

Finally fold both ends like you close a book.

Wrap the log in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hr.

Then cut the log into ½ inch pieces.Line a cookie sheet with the parchment paper.

Now dip the top of the pieces in water and then dip in sugar.

Smear a little bit of ghee on top of each palmier for rich flavour.

Arrange them on the the cookie sheet with the cut side down,1 inch apart.Bake for 5minutes and then check whether the bottom of the cookies are slightly brown.

Then turn over the cookies and bake for another 4 minutes till the top is slightly caramelized.Keep on checking the cookies because they are easily burnt.

Here is the picture of step-by-step procedure for making the palmiers

Iam sending this to Bindiya's LOVE-HEART SHAPED FOODS event

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Jam Drops

This is an eggless cookie recipe published in the book "Complete Cookies, Muffins & Cakes"
Published by Murdoch Books.I made some changes according to my taste.

Ingredients:

7 1/2 tbsp - unsalted softened (at room temperature)butter

1/3 cup - sugar

2tbsp - milk

1 tbsp - cardamom powder(The original recipe uses 1/2 tsp vanilla essence)

1cup - selfrising flour

I used all purpose flour.So I added 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 baking powder along with the all purpose flour.

1/3 cup - plain custard powder(I used bird's eye view brand)

1/3 cup - strawberry jam(you can use any other flavour if you like)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy.

Add the milk and cardamom powder and mix well.

Add the sifted flour and custard powder and mix to form a soft dough.If you feel the dough is not soft enough you can add another tablespoon of milk.

Make small balls of the dough and place on the cookie sheet.

Make an indentation on each ball with your thumb.Fill each hole with a little bit of jam.

Bake for about 10 minutes.Cool on a wire rack and store in air tight containers.

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Eggless Orange Cake

I have a passion for baking.I always search for eggless baking recipes.This eggless orange cake recipe was posted in a jewish food website.I wanted to try immediately because i had all the ingredients in my pantry.So I saved an errand to the store.Not to metion about the texture.It was soft and light and it tasted good.

This was my entry to Mythreyee's Paajaka's Baked sweets event.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups - all-purpose flour

3/4 cup - granulated sugar

1 tsp - baking soda

1/2 tsp - baking powder

1 cup - orange juice(fresh juice or bottled)i used welch's brand

1/3 cup - vegetable oil(i used mazola corn oil)Any oil can be used.

1 tsp - grated orange zest(i omitted this since i ran out of oranges)

Method:

1. Grease an 8" round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350F(180C).

2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder until well mixed.

3. Add the oil and orange zest.

4. Then pour in the orange juice.

5. Stir just enough to combine the ingredients..No need to beat the mixture..Cuz over-mixing will result in the cake not rising well.

6.Pour into the prepared pan immediately.

7.Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until a tester inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean and the cake is slightly golden brown in color on the top.

Icing

Powdered sugar can be sifted on the top of the cake when the cake is still warm.I skipped the icing part.

Enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee!!

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