Roz Ka Khana

I’ve never had great luck with eggless baking except for occasional wins like with this Chocolate Banana Cake, so it was with some apprehension that I tried these cupcakes yesterday. I’d been a Facebook fan and a Twitter follower of Chef Chloe Coscarelli’s famous vegan recipes (yes the Chloe Coscarelli of Cupcake Wars fame), so when her new book, Chloe’s Kitchen made its debut last week, I had to buy it. I bought the Kindle version of the book for my iPad this past weekend, and have to admit, was hooked just browsing through the pretty elaborate selection of recipes.

But when I picked this recipe to experiment on Nikhil and his friend yesterday (let’s face it – it’s day two of Spring break, and bored kids are not only ravenous but also willing to help, as long as there is a reward at the end:), little did I know this was THE winning recipe that made Chloe famous and won her the Cupcake Wars prized title. I have to admit, this was the best eggless muffin/cupcake I’ve ever made – and what’s more, these are vegan! I almost called these “I can’t believe these are vegan” cupcakes:).

I did not try the frosting as she describes it in the book and made my own “healthier version” with greek yoghurt and agave nectar, which, turned out equally good, only a tad runnier than I would’ve liked. The other thing I’m bummed about – I couldn’t get better pictures of the finished product and none of the cupcakes with the frosting. Let’s just say the cupcakes were all gone before I knew it:)

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin puree, canned or cooked fresh

1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well

1/2 cup canola oil (I used Smart Balance oil – soy, canola and olive oil combo)

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.

2. Line 12 cupcake pans with liners.

3. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl – flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, spices, and salt.

4. In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients – pumpkin, oil, coconut milk, vinegar and vanilla essence.

5. Now pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just combined.

6. Fill the cupcake pans about 2/3 with the batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely before you frost.

Frosting :

This is adapted from my friend Mona’s recipe. 2 tbsp greek yoghurt with 1 tbsp plain cream cheese, agave syrup, vanilla essence and some powdered sugar (to taste), whipped well with a beater until fluffy.

To be very honest, I had not heard of a “Tian” until now. That’s the beauty of the challenges that are dished out of the Daring Kitchen, I suppose. This is my second month on the challenge, but the first one that I’m actually posting.The first challenge was Tiramisu, that somehow eluded me, or I avoided it, however you want to put it:) These challenges are quite complicated (duh!) , and though I’m glad I finished it this month, I’m not sure I would necessarily make it again, at least not the same complicated steps.

The tian was quite delicious, don’t get me wrong, but I think the same orange cream pie/creamsicle taste could have been achieved via a recipe that took half the time. At least, that was my immediate reaction after I tasted it.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris. These were the variations/conditions of the challenge-
Variations allowed:
* You can choose to serve the dessert ‘family-style’ and don’t have to make it in individual portions. (This is how I made it)
* You can use your favorite “Pate Sablee” recipe if you have one, but it must be a pate sablee
* You can add any additional flavoring to your whipped cream
* You can play with different citrus in this dessert (grapefruit, blood orange, lemon) at any step in the recipe.
* However, you must make the tart dough, the whipped cream, the caramel sauce, citrus segments and marmalade.

I ended up making everything on the same day which didn’t help. By the time I was done and put the Tian in the freezer, it was close to midnight . I will suggest that you make the marmalade, caramel sauce and the pate sablee a day ahead and the whipped cream the next day, so you can assemble the dessert and leave it in the freezer overnight. Then put it out to thaw in the refrigerator the next day and possibly out at room temperature about 2 hours prior to serving.Mine was probably in the fridge too long as the base was still a little frozen when I served it to my guests. When I ate it the next day, it felt perfect but I’d already made an impression (not the right kind) on my 30 guests who tried to eat it with a fork at first and eventually had to pick it up with their fingers to eat it like a scone with whipped cream on top!

Well, on  a positive note, I learnt how to make marmalade that turned out perfect and I survived my first Daring Baker’s Challenge . April DBC, here I come!

For the Pate Sablee:

Ingredients U.S. Imperial Metric Instructions for Ingredients
2 medium-sized egg yolks at room temperature
6 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 2.8 oz; 80 grams
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter 3.5 oz; 100 grams ice cold, cubed
1/3 teaspoon Salt 2 grams
1.5 cup + 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour 7 oz; 200 grams
1 teaspoon baking powder 4 grams

Directions:
Put the flour, baking powder, ice cold cubed butter and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

In a separate bowl, add the eggs yolks, vanilla extract and sugar and beat with a whisk until the mixture is pale. Pour the egg mixture in the food processor.

Process until the dough just comes together. If you find that the dough is still a little too crumbly to come together, add a couple drops of water and process again to form a homogeneous ball of dough. Form into a disc, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.

Roll out the dough onto a lightly floured surface until you obtain a ¼ inch thick circle.

Place a parchment (or silicone) lined baking sheet inside a round cake tin or a springform pan. Place the dough on the paper and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to get golden.

For the Marmalade:

Ingredients
Freshly pressed orange juice ¼ cup + 3 tablespoons; 3.5 oz; 100 grams
1 large orange used to make orange slices
cold water to cook the orange slices
pectin 5 grams
granulated sugar: use the same weight as the weight of orange slices once they are cooked

Finely slice the orange. Place the orange slices in a medium-sized pot filled with cold water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, discard the water, re-fill with cold water and blanch the oranges for another 10 minutes.

Blanch the orange slices 3 times. This process removes the bitterness from the orange peel, so it is essential to use a new batch of cold water every time when you blanch the slices.

Once blanched 3 times, drain the slices and let them cool.

Once they are cool enough to handle, finely mince them (using a knife or a food processor).

Weigh the slices and use the same amount of granulated sugar . If you don’t have a scale, you can place the slices in a cup measure and use the same amount of sugar.

In a pot over medium heat, add the minced orange slices, the sugar you just weighed, the orange juice and the pectin. Cook until the mixture reaches a jam consistency (10-15 minutes).

Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

For the Orange Segments:

For this step you will need 8 oranges.

Cut the oranges into segments over a shallow bowl and make sure to keep the juice. Add the segments to the bowl with the juice.

[See YouTube video in the References section below for additional information on segmenting oranges.]

For the Caramel:

Ingredients :
granulated sugar 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
orange juice 1.5 cups + 2 tablespoons; 14 oz; 400 grams

Place the sugar in a pan on medium heat and begin heating it.

Once the sugar starts to bubble and foam, slowly add the orange juice. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, remove from the heat and pour half of the mixture over the orange segments.

Reserve the other half of the caramel mixture in a small bowl — you will use this later to spoon over the finished dessert. When the dessert is assembled and setting in the freezer, heat the kept caramel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon (about 10 minutes). You can then spoon it over the orange tians.

[Tip: Be very careful when making the caramel — if you have never made caramel before, I would suggest making this step while you don’t have to worry about anything else. Bubbling sugar is extremely, extremely hot, so make sure you have a bowl of ice cold water in the kitchen in case anyone gets burnt!]

For the Whipped Cream:

Ingredients :
heavy whipping cream 1 cup; 7 oz; 200 grams
3 tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp vegetarian Gelatine (I bought this at Whole Foods and it’s called vegetarian jello. You may also use agar agar)
1 tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar
orange marmalade (see recipe above) 1 tablespoon

In a small bowl, add the gelatine and hot water, stirring well until the gelatine dissolves. Let the gelatine cool to room temperature while you make the whipped cream. Combine the cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip the cream using a hand mixer on low speed until the cream starts to thicken for about one minute. Add the confectioner sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high. Whip the cream until the beaters leave visible (but not lasting) trails in the cream, then add the cooled gelatine slowly while beating continuously. Continue whipping until the cream is light and fluffy and forms soft peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and fold in the orange marmalade.
[Tip: Use an ice cold bowl to make the whipped cream in. You can do this by putting your mixing bowl, cream and beater in the fridge for 20 minutes prior to whipping the cream.]

Assembling the Dessert:

Make sure you have some room in your freezer. Ideally, you should be able to fit a small baking sheet or tray of desserts to set in the freezer.

Line a small tray or baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Lay out a springform pan onto the parchment paper/silicone.

Drain the orange segments on a kitchen towel.

Have the marmalade, whipped cream and baked circle of dough ready to use.

Arrange the orange segments at the bottom of the springform pan. Make sure the segments all touch either and that there are no gaps. Make sure they fit snugly and look pretty as they will end up being the top of the dessert. Arrange them as you would sliced apples when making an apple tart.

Once you have neatly arranged one layer of orange segments at the bottom of the pan, add a couple spoonfuls of whipped cream and gently spread it so that it fills the cpan in an even layer. Leave about 1/4 inch at the top so there is room for dough circle.

Using a butter knife or small spoon, spread a small even layer of orange marmalade on the circle of dough.

Carefully place the circle of dough over each ring (the side of dough covered in marmalade should be the side touching the whipping cream). Gently press on the circle of dough to make sure the dessert is compact.

Place the dessert to set in the freezer to set for 10 minutes to overnight.

Using a small knife, gently go around the edges of the cookie cutter to make sure the dessert will be easy to unmold. Gently place your serving plate on top of a dessert (on top of the circle of dough) and turn the plate over. Gently remove the cookie cutter, add a spoonful of caramel sauce and serve immediately.

Resources:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-tian.htm(An article about the dessert known as tian.)

YouTube link on how to segment an orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5mcEEBlcI

To learn more about Pectin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectin

What to substitute for Pectin: http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Dictionary/P/Pectin-6222.aspx

This was a dessert/potluck recipe that I got from an old friend when I was working as a graduate assistant in school at the U of I. As I look through an old binder that consists mostly of printed recipes from sites like ammas.com, bawarchi.com, usenet groups or forums, I realize that good food has always been a passion for me. Blogs didnt exist then, I’m talking about 1999-2000, but there was this need to keep a recipe diary of sorts. It’s amazing to think about how much change web 2.0 has brought to our browsing habits and our social space. What is now a blog link that I can share on Facebook or Twitter was a little printed email note from a friend back then. It also amazes me that I still kept this printed note…the recipe of fruit pizza that she brought to the school potluck party that I never tried..until now. I’m not sure that she would even remember me today but this post is dedicated to Gloria.

I tried it finally this year for our Super Bowl party and it was the perfect dessert.

Ingredients:

1 log of store bought or home made sugar cookie dough (I used the Nestle brand, but you can use any)

2 bananas, thinly sliced

10-12 strawberries, thinly sliced

4 kiwi fruits, sliced into small c’s (see picture)

blueberries

1 8oz block of strawberry cream cheese (you may use any flavored kind)

Method:

1. Roll out the sugar cookie dough on to a round cookie sheet. You can make this in any shape but since I call it “Fruit Pizza”, I rolled it out in a large circle. The cookie dough should be about 1 – 1 1/2 inch think. Bake according to package instructions, or about 10-12 mins at 350F. Cool the cookie until it gets to room temperature.

2. Slice the fruits thinly.

3. Beat the cream cheese a little till soft and easy to spread. Spread a generous layer of cream cheese on the cookie, and arrange the fruits in any order you like. Chill in the regrigerator until ready to serve. Cut into wedges using a pizza cutter and serve.

The 2010 February Daring COOKs challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

As if I didn’t have enough challenges making and posting recipes, I decided to take on one more. But I’ve realized that I need a challenge to get me inspired to do anything. I had step by step instructions to make the dish, but the best part about the challenge was the deadline, so I had no excuses. Or so I thought. I was so fired up that I made them the very next week the challenge was posted. I invited a few friends over and spent 4-5 hours in the kitchen. My mother was there, of course, to help me all the way. What would I do without her help? In fact, I realized after various attempts at rolling out the pita dough that there is a skill to it as well. Amma was able to effortlessly roll them out evenly and sure enough, they puffed up with pockets and all!

The reality of this challenge, however, is that the post was due on Feb. 14th, the day of the “reveal” and I am already a couple of days late posting my first completed Daring Cook’s challenge. I do hope I am within the “grace period” of one week.  I have to admit that I had a lot of fun trying this challenge out. I also bought a pizza stone finally from Williams-Sonoma just to make these pitas. Didn’t I mention that I have expensive hobbies?:)

So I made hummus, baba ghanoush , falafels and of course the pita bread. I also added some olive tapenade and tabouleh to finish the mezze, though these were all optional. Would I do this again? The , falafels, hummus and baba ghanoush…absolutely! The pita bread…umm..I’d rather head to the nearest Mediterranean store. These were a little time-consuming and I don’t think I got it just the way it was supposed to be. It may have been other factors in play, I was using a pizza stone for the first time and I don’t know if it was heated enough, as all the initial batches of pita bread didn’t rise very well. Then of course, the even rolling. When I was almost done with my dough (and Amma gave it a hand), the last few pitas started to rise and puff up really well. That’s probably how long it took for my pizza stone to heat to just the right temperature!

All the same, I was quite satisfied with my first venture at being a “Daring Cook”.

Pita Bread – Recipe adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Prep time: 20 minutes to make, 90 minutes to rise and about 45 minutes to cook

2 teaspoons regular dry yeast (.43 ounces/12.1 grams)
2.5 cups lukewarm water (21 ounces/591 grams)
5-6 cups all-purpose flour (may use a combination of 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose, or a combination of alternative flours for gluten free pita) (17.5 -21 ounces/497-596 grams)
1 tablespoon table salt (.50 ounces/15 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (.95 ounces/29 ml)

Directions:
1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours.
3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F (230C).
4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4 inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.
5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn’t puff up, don’t worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus – Recipe adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden
Prep Time: Hummus can be made in about 15 minutes once the beans are cooked. If you’re using dried beans you need to soak them overnight and then cook them the next day which takes about 90 minutes.

1.5 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking) (10 ounces/301 grams)
2-2.5 lemons, juiced (3 ounces/89ml)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) OR use peanut butter or any other nut butter—feel free to experiment) (1.5 ounces/45 grams)
additional flavorings (optional) I would use about 1/3 cup or a few ounces to start, and add more to taste

Directions:
1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1 ½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.
2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Falafels – Recipe from Joan Nathan and Epicurious.com
Prep Time: Overnight for dry beans and 1 hour to make Falafels

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight OR use well canned drained chickpeas (7 ounces/100 grams)
1/2 large onion (roughly chopped, about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried parsley (.2 ounces/5 grams)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped OR use a couple pinches of dried cilantro (.2 ounces/5 grams)
1 teaspoon table salt (.1 ounce/5 grams)
1 teaspoon dried hot red peppers (cayenne) (.1 ounce/2 grams)
4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon cumin (.1 ounce/2 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder (.13 ounces/4 grams)
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour (1 ounce/24 grams) (you may need a bit extra)
tasteless oil for frying (vegetable, canola, peanut, soybean, etc.), you will need enough so that the oil is three inches deep in whatever pan you are using for frying

Directions:
1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, and then drain. Or use canned chickpeas, drained.
2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. If you don’t have a food processor, then feel free to mash this up as smooth as possible by hand.
3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough bulgur or flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.
4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees (190C) in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
6. Drain on paper towels.

Baba Ghanoush:

This recipe is from Anusuya’s kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant roasted

2-3 green chilies

2 tsp lemon juice

2 garlic pods

a small bunch of parsley

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tahini paste

1. Roast the eggplant and remove the skin.

2. Grind all the ingredients except eggplant in a blender. Add the roasted eggplant last and blend again. Do not over blend.

3. Garnish with some olive oil and parsley leaves.

Happy 2010 to all! May this year brings you everything you wish for. May you stick with all the resolutions you made on the 1st of the year. And may you have your cake and eat it all!

I hope to be a little more regular this year on Roz Ka Khana. I know, its January 7th already and I’ve been remiss in posting my New Year greetings. So much for a start. But I’m trying. Actually, I have been cooking and baking a lot, its just the writing and posting that takes time. Okay, I resolve to stop with the excuses and get on with sharing the recipes.

The year started off better than I thought. I finally figured out how to bake eggless cakes. Finally! An eggless cake that looks and actually tastes normal! I don’t have any dietary restrictions with eggs (I’m not vegan) but have run into occasions/potlucks where others are, and baking eggless cakes has always been elusive for me. I’ve had some one off successes (like the whole wheat banana nut muffins posted earlier) but for the most part, they literally fall flat. My eggless date and walnut muffins, for one, stuck to the paper with folks having to scrape (rather, gnaw) it off with a fork or their teeth. I could argue that they at least tasted good if people wanted to have every bite, even if they just felt like rocks:), but I’m just using my power of positive thinking here.

Madhuram’s Eggless Cooking was my answer! Her recent post, the vegan chocolate banana cake looked so tempting that I had to try my hand at it. Interesting recipe, as it calls for no milk or eggs. I substituted butter instead of the canola oil she used (per her notes) and the outcome was an amazingly soft and moist chocolate cake. This recipe is a keeper for sure and I will probably try it as a birthday cake with frosting the next time. I used a few variations and also added nuts to give it some crunch.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat Pastry Flour – 2 cups

Dutch Chocolate powder – 2/3 cup (I used the one sold in Sprouts Farmer’s Market but am sure you can use any chocolate powder)

Sugar – 1 1/2 cup

Baking soda – 1 1/2 tsp

Unsalted butter – 1/4 cup

Hot water – 1 1/2 cups

Bananas, mashed and pureed – 1 cup (Per Madhuram, use 2 bananas mashed and add water to make up th 1 cup amount)

Chopped walnuts – 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F

2. Mix the flour, chocolate powder, baking soda and sugar in a bowl.

3. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and add the vanilla essence at medium speed. Add the hot water. Now add the dry flour and chocolate powder mixture from the bowl to the mixer. beat for a few minutes at medium speed until all the ingredients are mixed well.

4. Add the mashed bananas while the mixer is running and beat again for a minute.

5. Add the chopped walnuts.

6. The mixture is quite runny which probably gives it the soft texture. Pour this in the bundt cake tin (I used the silicone mould and it turned out great) and bake at 350F for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

7. I did not frost the cake but you can if you like after it cools. Madhuram suggests that you reduce the sugar to 1 1/3 cup if you plan on frosting the cake.

Verdict: A soft and moist chocolate cake that was quite the hit with my son and nephew (you can tell they are my food critics, or rather the “guinea pigs”), as they tell me it’s good to the last crumb! That’s what’s left of it anyway!

I haven’t been baking much this year aside from the ones already posted here, the banana bread and the pistachio cookies, all the same tried recipes. I did get the idea once to bake a batch of different cookies and give them as homemade gifts this year, to add that personal touch. But like everything else, the time got away from me and I resorted to gift cards, once again, the tried and true method:) I know, sounds a little boring, but aside from looking up some delectable recipes on the web, I couldn’t get myself to actually shake things up a little this season. Until I went grocery shopping with my nephew and he told me he was craving cupcakes and wanted to buy some, from Walmart! Of all the places, I thought. I mean, Walmart is fine for basic groceries, but I don’t consider it to be a place to buy gourmet food.

Is vanilla cupcake considered “gourmet food”, probably not, but I had my biases with Walmart anyway. Of course, my actual response was, “I’ll make a better cupcake for you!!” There, I had said it. Now I had opened myself up to a challenge that I make better cupcakes than Walmart. Should have said “better than “Sprinkles” – the best cupcake-ry in town, but I had to start small:)

So we got home and I started on the challenge of making the cupcakes from scratch, the cake, frosting and all….I was not going to use a mix or frosting out of a box or can. That’s probably not a big deal for most, but it felt good, saying that at least;)

In case you’re curious, I got the recipe from here.

Vanilla Cupcakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of 1 large lemon (optional)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar (icing or powdered sugar), sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2tablespoons milk or light cream

Method:

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a food processor or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will look a little curdled. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.

3. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. If using the stand mixer, chage the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. If using a food processor, continue as is. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. You may scrape the top off a little to flatten the top of the muffin so the frosting goes on smoothly.

For the Frosting:

In an electric mixer, or standmixer, cream the butter until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.

Verdict: According to my nephew, he may not buy a Walmart cupcake again:) It turned out moist and just right, like the recipe said it would.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

I suppose I have an expensive hobby. Cooking and blog writing isn’t really expensive I know but in my case, I seem to fall into a lull often. This time my new Vita-Mix got me inspired. Ha, for how long do I hear you all say? Well, let’s not get too cynical . Instead, allow me to share my enthusiasm and the recipe for this apple raisin bread that I baked this Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Oh also I’m trying to use my wordpress app on my iPhone as I try to churn recipes and blog entries quickly. So this one comes to you straight from my phone. I know, two new gizmos to get me to get back into RKK mode…this IS an expensive hobby, don’t you think?
One neat and very healthy aspect of this recipe is that it has zero oil, zero butter and uses the natural juices from apples and dry fruits to moisten the batter making this a wholesome and nutritious bread. I’m sure you can make it without a Vita-Mix as well and it must have similar results. Do let me know if you do.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
1 medium apple quartered
1 thin slice lemon peeled and sliced
2 tbsp water
1 thin slice orange with peel
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp allspice
1 cup raisins, dates or other dried fruit

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8×8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Add the wheat flour and oats into the Vita-Mix container and secure the lid.
3. Turn machine on and increase speed to high till the mixture becomes a fine powder.
4. Remove lid and add rest of the ingredients.
5. Turn speed to variable and then to high.
6. Blend for 30 seconds until batter is smooth. Pour into greased pan.

7. Bake for 20-30 mins or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Verdict: The bread turned out quite soft and moist, with just the right amount of sweetness to it. The only thing I would consider adding are some nuts, walnuts or almonds to get the right crunch to it.

Got this nice note from Sheela, my dear friend from Hyderabad who also happens to be a regular RKK reader (she doesn’t have a choice sometimes when I also call her to tell her about it , RKK’s proof reader, critic and an eloquent freelance journalist in the very happening metroplex in India, Hyderabad. Here it is…

Read this in the Reader’s Digest.Thought I might share it with you.

Mariel Hemingway:

” I learned that less can be more, that pulling back is good, that slowly is okay. These beliefs are all contrary to our way of life where life is so full, busy and fast. We think that if we’re not doing something, we’re not valuable. Not true! I learned that making time for myself was vital to good health.
My other solace is Nature.
I’ve retained an appreciation for good food, but I’ve learned to serve meals from a place of love. We should cook good food because we care about the people we’re doing it for. It’s not about playing the gourmand.”

She suggested that she wanted to send this for the RKK anniversary but this was probably the best time for it.

Couldn’t have been more apt. For the last month, I’ve been nagged by guilt – the guilt of procrastination. I realize I haven’t been as prompt as I should in writing, as recipes and pictures keep piling up, waiting to get some life of their own. As much as I love poring through other blogs, this guilt has led me to almost be a little fearful to look at the other gourmet creations, fearful that the guilt will haunt me even more.

The words mentioned above make me take a deep breath and realize that this hobby of mine is more than recreating Amma’s recipes or visiting Anusuya’s kitchen or even packing Nikhil’s lunches…it’s about the satisfaction of dishing it out, on the table and in words, with love. It has to come from the heart and sometimes that only happens once or probably two or three times a month. It’s okay to stop and smell the roses, or the food once in a while.

Enough pontificating. This recipe is one that I’ve tried for many months with many variations and I finally think that it deserves to be shared here. I added the quotes to Nana since this recipe is adapted for one. The other reason is that Nana obviously means Grandma and I don’t call my grandmother “Nana”. She is “Paatti” to me. So maybe this should be renamed “Patti’s Banana Bread”. But my Paatti never really made banana bread. And so it will remain in quotes as an adapted recipe.

I’ve used eggs in this recipe after many attempts at making eggless kinds. Though I have to say one recipe from “Understocked Veggie Kitchen” penned by another good friend of mine is probably one of the best eggless variations I’ve tried.

This particular recipe calls for eggs and substituting it with Egg replacer or flax seeds or other variations doesn’t really give you the same results. If you do stick to the measurements and the ingredients, you get a really moist, flavorful bread.

Ingredients:

5 tbsps butter

1/2 cup organic natural sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (here I used half measure white flour and half measure whole wheat flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional, you can also use milk)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the bottom of a loaf pan with nonstick cooking sprat.

2. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer set at medium speed until light and fluffy.

3. Add sugar, brown sugar and beat well. Add egg, egg whites and vanilla; beat until well blended.

4. Add mashed banana, and beat on high speed for 30 seconds.

5. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with cream, ending with the flour mixture. Add walnuts to the batter and mix well.

6. Pour the batter evenly into the loaf pan. Bake until browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This will take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

7. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove bread from the pan and cool completely. You can also wrap it in plastic wrap after it cools and leave it out overnight. It always tastes better the next day!

It’s not the Holidays yet, you say? I say the season’s already begun. For us Indians in the US, Diwali is kind of the harbinger of the Holiday season, isn’t it? And while Amma used to make boondi laddoos, rava laddoos, badhusha, halwa for Diwali…I could go on and on…I compare it to the different kinds of cookies that we bake here in the US for the Holidays. It also happened to be Nikhil’s birthday this past week, so I shouldn’t really say that I baked these cookies for Diwali.. the timing just happened to coincide. Also, the chocolate chip cookie needs eggs, and they for sure weren’t made with Diwali in mind, as cooking with eggs for something as auspicious as Diwali could be considered blasphemous in the home I grew up in.

The result of baking those cookies? Let me just say that Diwali isn’t even here yet, but the cookies are long gone! I baked three different kinds of cookies and made almost 100 of them in all (I know for many Daring Bakers out there, this isn’t a big deal, but it was for me to share) and it wasn’t just the kids that loved them.

Chocolate Chip Cookie

I got this recipe from a Martha Stewart video show where she was demonstrating how to bake crisp chocolate chip cookies, not the chewy kind (which are also not my favorites anyway!).  I made one batch with 36 cookies and they turned out so good that I made 2 more batches.

The only variation was that I used a little less sugar and kept the oven temperature at 350F instead of 375 as she suggests. The cookies get done very quickly and I personally don’t like them too sweet as well.

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and salt) and set aside.

3. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes)

4. Add vanilla, egg and egg white to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat for a few more minutes in low speed.

5. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Now add the chocolate chips and run the mixer once quick so everything gets mixed well.

6. Take an ice cream scoop and add one heap of cookie dough on the baking sheet. Add the remaining dough in a similar fashion placing them about one inch apart from each other on the sheet.

7. Bake for about 15-16 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Rotate the sheet halfway so the cookies get browned evenly. Cool on a wire rack.

Pistachio Icebox Shortbread

Ingredients:

1 cup or 2 sticks unsalted butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups all-purpose flour (plus additional for tolling the dough)

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Method:

1. Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth and fluffy for about 3 minutes.

2. Add the flour now while keeping the mixer at low speed, and mix until combined and it forms a dough. Mix in the chopped pistachios.

3. Divide the dough into two halves. Place each half on a piece of floured or wax paper. Take some flour in your hands and roll the dough until a 1 1/2 inch log forms. Wrap the logs firmly in the paper and refrigerate until firm for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The logs can be refrigerated for upto 4 days or frozen for upto a month.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. remove the logs from the refrigerator, and using a serrated knife, slice the dough into 3/4 or 3/8 inch slices. Arrange the slices about 1 inch apart on the sheet.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes until lightly golden brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheets or transfer to a wire rack.