Vanilla and Chocolate Marble cake

Marble cake was in my baking to-do list for a long time.It was so easy to make than I thought and I got the swirls reasonably good for the first time:-)

Ive taken this recipe from allrecipes.com and made some changes according to the reviews.

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour - 2 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1 1/3 cup

Cocoa Powder - 2tbsp

Butter - 1/2 cup(softened at room temperature)

Vanilla - 1tsp

Eggs - 2

Milk - 1 cup


Method :

Grease and flour an 8 inch round pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Add eggs one by one and beat until fluffy.

Add the vanilla essence.

In another bowl mix the flour,salt,baking powder.

Add a small amount of dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.Gradually add little bit of milk and fold.Alternate between the flour mixture and milk and fold.

Separate into two parts.Mix the cocoa powder with melted butter and add  to one part of the flour mixture.

Put one spoon of vanilla mixture in the center of the prepared pan.Now add 1 spoon of cocoa mixture on top of the vanilla mixture.

Alternate between vanilla and cocoa.Finally swirl the top with a knife until you get a marble effect.Do not overdo it because you might lose the definition of either vanilla or cocoa mixture.


Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes and check by inserting a tester in the middle.If it comes out with a little bit of crumb then the cake is done.

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Mini Pepper Thattai

Mini pepper thattai was in my draft for a long time..This is very easy to make and would be perfect with a hot cup of coffee.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 2 cups

Urad /Black Gram Dal Flour - 1/4 cup

Coarsely Ground Black Pepper - 3 tsp

Butter - 2 Tbsp

Salt to taste

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Oil - for deep frying

Water as required

Method:

In a bowl add the rice flour,urad flour,asafoetida,chilli powder,pepper,salt and melted butter.

Mix thoroughly.Add water little by little until it forms a soft dough.The dough should not be very dry.

In a Ziploc bag smear some oil.Make small marble sized balls from the dough.

Pat the ball and flatten it with the tip of your finger to about 1 inch in diameter.Prick the surface with fork to prevent them from puffing up while frying.The ends of the thattai should not crack.If it does,sprinkle little water and mix.

Heat oil in a pan.When hot enough,deep fry them until they are golden brown in color.

Drain with a slotted spoon store them in airtight container.

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Two egg Vanilla Pound Cake

Pound cake recipes always calls for sooooo many eggs which makes it so heavy.Though rich and tasty,I always hesitate to bake one fearing the amount of  fat .
But I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe featured in About.com which uses only 2 eggs for pound cake baked in loaf pan.
It was moist,soft and delicious.

Ingredients:


All purpose flour - 2 cups sifted

Baking powder - 3/4 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Sugar -1 1/2 cup

Butter - 2/3 cup softened at room temperature.

Eggs at room temperature - 2

Whole milk - 2/3 cup

Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Method:


Line a loaf pan with parchment paper(It makes cleaning easier) .Alternately grease the pan with melted butter and sprinkle some flour.Preheat the oven to 325 deg F

In a medium bowl cream the butter with sugar until fluffy.Add eggs one at a time and beat well.

In anothe bowl,sift the flour,baking powder and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.Add milk little by little and mix gently.Finally add the vanilla essence and mix.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan.

Bake for about 1  1/4 hrs to 1 1/2 hrs.Start checking your cake after 1 hour.Mine took about 1 hour 20 minutes.



Test the cake by inserting a toothpick in the middle.If it comes out clean,then cake is ready.

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Penne Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Don't get intimidated by the name..It simply translates to pasta with garlic,olive oil and dry red pepper.This is a very simple,quick and inexpensive pasta dish.The original recipe calls for spaghetti.But I substituted Penne You can use your favorite pasta.

Ingredients:

Penne Pasta - 1 lb

Onion - 1 chopped finely(optional)

Dry red pepper flakes - 2tsp(or according to your spice level)

Garlic - 2 cloves 

Olive Oil - 4 tbsp

Fresh parsley - 1 sprig(I substituted coriander leaves because I didn't have parsley)

Capsicum - 1 chopped(optional)

Salt to taste

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to boil.Add the pasta,little bit of oil,salt and cook the pasta aldente.Drain in a colander and keep the pasta ready.

In a pan heat the oil.When hot,add the pepper flakes,garlic.When the garlic turns slightly golden add the onions and cook till translucent.

Then add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.

Now add the pasta,salt and toss together.Let it cook for 2 minutes.

Finally add the chopped parsley and garnish with grated cheese if you like.

Serve hot.

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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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