Christmas themed cupcakes

Hey .
I've been busy.
Busy would be putting it nicely:)

Hwever,these days I've also been extremely happy.
Don't really have much to say today,so I;m going to let the pictures do all the talking!!!

All the topper are thumb size or smaller!!!!

There ain't no food here!!

If you're here to look at pretty pictures of baked stuff, You won't find anything here today.
I've had a bit of a disasterous day with the oven today and I really need something to pick me up.
Here is a list of 5 things that made me happy :)

#5
This journal thingy:) I love love love stationary and as of now I'm in the middle of making one of my own!!!
This one is from Polka dot Robot

#4
Chumbak!!
Chumbak is  my newest obsession :) I browse through their website almost every single day and look at the stuff over and over again. It just makes me happy! :)

 The stuff is so cute and ridiculously creative :)

#3
Strawberry-ish things

Christmas Tequila Cocktail

#2
Jack Johnson's -No Other Way

Selena Gomez- Who Says
:)

Love the video.It reminds me of lazy evenings,and beaches.....And the dress is beau-ti-ful!!

#1
Crazy dreams....

 

Chocolate macarons. Not quite there yet!

Today has been bittersweet.
Considering that it has been a really long time since I've had a whole weekend off and a lazy lazy sunday afternoon without having to worry about interviews or procrastinating studying ; spending all afternoon baking was nothing but pure bliss.

If good ol' chocolate chip cookies are like the girl next door, then french macarons are like the Diva that has an endless list of bossy demands.
Now I've made an attempted to make french macarons before,and I ended up with a flooded mess of macaron batter.Let me be honest here. I'm not really the kind to be called chicken.I mean,I can handle a few bumps and bruises and I've had my fair share of kitchen disasters.But french macarons scare the living daylights out of me.
Wait a second.


What exactly does it mean when people say "scares the living daylights " mean? Nothing in that phrase even makes sense.
I mean,what exactly happens after the living daylights have been scared out of you?Do you black out?
I googled it! here.  Knock yourself out!! (No pun intended!)



Anyway,as I was saying,it's pretty easy to be fooled by these gorgeous looking cookies.I mean ,how hard can it be right?
Just whip the egg whites,fold in the almond powder and sugar.Pipe.Rest .Bake.
Right?


Yup,I thought so too.
But apparently, life isn't that easy.
These little fellows turned out to be more moody than I expected..
When I piped them out they looked perfect.They spread just the right amount.They rested well.The shell formed.They got all shiny.And then I put them in the oven.
Kaput!
In less than two minutes,20 out of 25 macarons had cracked.
:(
Luckily I had 3 more batches resting, and everytime I baked them there was some fault or the other.
They cracked,they didnt have 'feet' they stuck to the butterpaper and what not.
So all in all,everything that could go wrong,DID!!!
Oh,I also discovered that you could burn french macarons!! :|
Anyway,I managed to save these two and filled them up :)

I'm still pretty darn scared of making these again,but hey,Third time's a charm right?








! 

Mini Banoffee Pie

"Make me something decadent" he said,"but not cupcakes,okay?"
It's easy to see that this boy was really pushing his luck.I mean,it really takes guts to demand that I bake you something and then add that they better not be cupcakes!! Hmphff!!
However,life is unfair and he managed to get away with it, ;) and right enough ,three days later,these mini banoffee pies were happily being gobbled up.

These banoffee pies introduced me to something so simple,so amazing,and so unbelieveably addictive:roasted,candied almonds
I first made a test batch of candied almonds the day before I made the banoffee pies,just to try them out.I left them to cool on the silpat and went to watch TV for a while and when I came back they were all gone and my mother was innocently (pretending?) to sleep !! :)
These are so easy to make (and kind of easy to burn too!! so be careful!)
Yes, I know random facts like that.
Anyway, Since Mr. Bake-me-something-decadent was asking I decided to make him something from the Jamie Oliver book he had picked up at a book fair.
I'll give you 3 reasons to make this pie:
1.Dulce de leche .check.
2.Coffee.Check.
3.Those  you-want-to-eat-them-all-the-time almonds.check.

 


Mini Banoffee Pies
 Adapted from Jamies Kitchen-Jamie Oliver

Makes 6

150 gms Whole almonds(blanched or with the skin on)
180gms   Icing sugar

For the shortcrust pastry:
150gms   Flour
50gms     Powdered Sugar
100 gms  Butter

400gms   Dulce De Leche
6             Bananas
300 ml     Double Cream
 1 Tbsp     Instant Coffee Powder+ 1 Tsp Warm water




Method:
1.Preheat the oven to 180oC.Rinse the almonds,Drain them a little and mix them quickly with the icing su
 gar in a bowl until they are really sticky.
2.Place on a baking tray(I recommend you put them on a sheet of silver foil just to make the cleaning easier!!) and toast them for about 15 min, in the oven until they are golden and crispy,turning them every couple of minutes.Keep a close eye on them as they tend to burn pretty easily!!
3.Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Happily roasting in the oven.

Ta-dah!!

Shortcrust pastry:
1.Sift the Flour and Powdered sugar together.
2.Make sure the butter is absolutely chilled.
3.Quickly pulse the flour mixture along with the butter in a blender,in short pulses. Do not allow the machine to heat at up
4.Once,the mixture resembles the texture of wet sand,empty it out onto a clean work surface and bring it together by adding the chilled water to form a dough. Do not knead it !!!
5. Wrap it in clingwrap and allow it to chill in the fridge for about 20 min.
6.Take out the shortcrust pastry and rool it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Line the mini silicon moulds or loose bottomed mini pie dishes(If the moulds are not silicone,make sure to grease them with a little butter!!).Blind bake the shorcrust cases at 150'C and allow them to cool.

Bring it all together!!!
1.Spread the Dulce de leche as thick as you like across the base of the pastry in each mini pie case.
2.Slice the Bananas and place it on top of the toffee.
3.Whip the chilled double cream,till soft peaks form,and swirl the coffe mixture through it.
4.Dallop the cream on top of the sliced bananas.
5.Finish it with the roasted almonds on top of the banoffee pie and serve immediately!!!

What I like about this,is that it's the perfect thing to make on days when you feel like just pottering around the kitchen. Except for the shortcrust pastry,nothing else in this banoffee pie really needs any measurement and you can add as much or as little or all the different components.
Don't chill the banoffee pie because the dulce de leche will harden and there is a risk of losing a few teeth in the process. :)



This is comfort food.I mean its gooey and its topped with a big dallop of whipped cream.
Plus,it makes people very very happy :)
Next time I think I'll substitue the banana slices with chocolate chunks,or even bits of chocolate chip cookies.
:)

Trade test 101

The last few weeks have been slightly crazy.

Welcome to Campus interviews. 

Here are a few things I've learned over the last few weeks.

#1.When they tell you life in college will get hectic once campus interviews start.They were being nice.It get 10 times as crazy.

#2.The girls locker room before an interview is like a warzone. There is compact powder,blush  lipstick, hairpins and make up items I never even knew existed flying all over the place.God forbid you get in the way!!

#3.Just when you decide to put on you blazer,Mother Nature will turn up the heat by atleast 10 degrees.,your make up will literally melt off your face, and then it's back to the warzone for you.

#4. People will say the darnest things during the group discussions. If you manage to keep a straight face through it ,you are definatly blessed with a tremendous amount of willpower.

#5.If they ask you to draw a pretzel,it's not a trick question. They actually want you to draw a pretzel!!

#6.The fridge will never be as cold as you expect it to be during a trade test.

   

#7. NEVER EVER open the kitchen table drawer before a trade test.Nothing good comes out of it :S

#8.Keep your knife close ,and you fingers closer :)Otherwise,your fingers might go under someone else's        knife :)

#9 ALWAYS always,wear.Comfy.shoes. Unless of course you prefer swollen ankles.

#10. Dont take it too seriously :) If you say the capital of Gujrat is Vadodra in your nervousness and the interviewer thinks your blonde, just smile :)  You'll make it through :)

I managed to take a few pictures during out trade test for ITC Hotels

    Garlic and Chilli Rice with Chicken in pepper sauce ,and glazed carrots with mint and lemon.

 Zahabia 's Zabaglione :)
I think it's safe to say that this isher favourite dessert :) She might even be able to tell you the recipe in her sleep..!!! Its amazingly light and immediately after taking this photo I finished off half of it in a few seconds.

                   
                                                          Zahabia's Starter :)

                                      Mine:Chilled tomato and basil soup :)
                          Really really easy. Ill post the recipe soon!!

                                 Dhruv 's Apple crumble.
  Dhruv is someone who distinctly reminds me of Mr. Burns from Simpsons. :) He is'nt one of those dessert people but I cannot describe how amazing this apple crumble is.This apple crumble just goes to show that you don't have to make something fancy for it to be yum :)

                         Dhruv's Tomato and Olive salad

Sereena's Chocolate mousse: Just the right balance of dense and light .Ah-mazing!!

The Aftermath:

C'mon you didn't really think that restaurant kitchens look all shiny and peaceful now, did you?

Two and a half hours might sound like a lot of time to make a four course menu and an omelette with all the accompaniments but somehow time just seems to go by so fast once you start , and all of a sudden you hear someone yell "10 minutes to presentation!" and the panic sets in.

Stress,Panic,madness,failed recipes,last minute missing ingredients and ofcourse cuts and burns are a regular but in the end it's a lot of fun .

Oh,just a bit of advice,

ALWAYS.CHECK.FOR.SALT.

:)

Mini Bread and Butter banana Puddings with cherry glaze.

I made these mini puddings on a whim.
Was'nt really expecting to make anything that afternoon,but Boredom combined with new lime-green silicon mould got the best of me.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of bread and Butter pudding.I mean,plain ol' slice bread and butter..how much can you really do with that?
But then again ,when you are bored and hungry I guess anything goes :)

This is an easy-peasy recipe and the size of these little puddings is really convienient. Also,adding a layer of cherry preserve in the middle really gave these puddings a kick !!

For the pudding:

Bread Slices         10 Nos.

Butter                   50gms

Bananas                2

Eggs                      1 no

Powdered sugar    50 gms

Milk                       100 ml

Fresh Cream           60ml

Icing sugar             (for dusting)

Cherry Preserve     100 gms (optional)

For the cherry glaze:

Cherry Preserve      100 gms

 Warm water           40 ml

Lemon juice            5 ml

*Preheat the oven to 160' C.

1.Cut off the crusts from the slice bread and keep them aside.Flatten each slice as much as possible and butter both sides of all the slices.

2. Cut each slice bread into 3 strips or accoriding to the size of the moulds and keep aside.

3.Prepare the custard:lightly beat the egg with the powdered sugar in a bowl.add in the milk ,cream,and vanilla essence and whisk till properly blended.

4. Slice up the bananas and keep aside.Do this at the last minute or else the bananas will start to turn brown !!

4. Place one strip of the bread in each mini mould. Top this with a layer of sliced bananas.Place another strip of the bread over this,and then bananas once again.If you want to add the cherry preserve layer ,now is the time to do it!!Continue till almost at the top and then rub some butter on the bread crusts that you had cut off, and press then right on top. Make sure there is a little space till the top of the mould so that the custard does not overflow.

5. Once you have finished layering each mould pour the custard slowly into each mini mould and allow it to fill all the spaces.You may move the bread around a little bit to make sure the bread soaks the custard properly.

6. Leave the mould to stand for a few mintutes and then top up the moulds with custard again.

7. Finally,dust the tops with icing sugar and put it in the preheated oven for 10-15 min ,or till the top turns brown.

8.You can bake it till the center is fully cooked(toothpick should come out clean) or leaving the center slightly gooey.

9.to make the cherry glaze,whish the cherry preserve,Warm water and lemon juice together till smooth.

9. Serve hot!!!

* If you try this pudding with Vanilla Icecream ,Please please send me some :):)



Toffee and Mocha Brownie Torte for Mom's Birthday

Happy Birthday Momma!!
My mumma is the most determined person I've seen.If you see the stuff she makes,you probably would'nt believe that she has never taken a class .She learned everything she knows by reading up from the internet or from books whenever she can.And although she may make this cake making business look easy,don't fall for it. There are a countless number of late nights and non-stop hours of endless work that she puts into it.And trust me, there is no shortage to the number of times our house has been converted into a full -fledged chocolate factory!!!
Mom's birthday was a few days ago and I was looking for a cake to make.I knew this was a chance to go all out ,so after browsing through a few of the regular baking blogs a stumbled upon this one and it was love at first sight :)What better way to celebrate Momma's birthday than this it's-so-big-it-looks-like-a-UFO cake!!!


WARNING: If you are on a diet,I highly suggest,that you don't read any further. I take absolutly no responsibility for if you lose every ounce of self control after this. Thank you.

It's not often that I get a chance to make a big ,fancy cake,call it a "torte" and make it sound even fancier :p

If there is one word that describes this cake it would probably be "outrageous".

This is probably the biggest, baddest cake I've ever made.

Although the combination of flavours is very cliche', you know, coffee-toffee-chocolate...It's been done a million times before, yet somehow, one little slice of this cake will make you believe that there really is a heaven :)

  Now, midway,during the making of this cake I had pretty much figured out that it was going to end up much, much bigger than I had expected, But Hey,you can't complain when there is too much of a good thing ,right?

If you're planning to make the toffee and mocha brownie torte, make sure you have atleast 20 people to feed. I've lost count of how many people got sent a piece of this cake on the days following mom's birthday.I'm sure they were'nt complaining though!!

Toffee and Mocha Brownie Torte

Ingredients:

For the brownies:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter
16 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 cups sugar
8 large eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt


For the mocha frosting:

3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp. boiling water, chilled


For the filling:
16 oz. mascarpone cheese/
2 tbsp. instant espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp. boiling water
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup reserved frosting (above)


For garnish:
2 cups chopped toffee bits or finely chopped toffee bars



Directions:

Step 1: Make the Brownie Layers!

1. To make the brownie layers, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Grease and flour the edges of three 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Combine the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a few inches of simmering water. Continue heating until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth, stirring occasionally with a spatula. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside. You can also melt them together in a microwave,but in intervals of 30 seconds or the chocolate will seize.
2. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl. (If your heatproof bowl is very large, transfer to a new bowl is not necessary.) Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and glossy, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and salt, and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.
3. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared baking pans. Gently smooth the batter in the pans. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the brownies are just firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pans 30 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of each pan and invert the brownies onto the rack to cool completely.

Step 2:Don't fidget with the brownies while they cool!!Make the frosting!!!

1. To make the frosting, add the chilled heavy cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until medium-soft peaks form. Blend in the sugar, vanilla and espresso mixture, whipping just until combine. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Reserve and refrigerate 1 cup of the frosting for use in the filling. Set aside the rest of the frosting.

Step 3: You're almost there!!Make the filling:

1. To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the mascarpone, espresso liquid, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat on medium speed until well blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gently fold in the reserved 1 cup of frosting with a spatula.

                                             OR
*Salted Toffee filling:
300 ml condensed milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
75 ml milk

You can use this as a filling instead of the above.
Cook the condensed milk on a low flame till it thickens and turns a rich caramel colour.Add in the salt and butter and cook for a few more minuter,stirring with a wooden spoon continuously.Ture off the flam, and add in the milk to thin it down slightly to make it easier to spread.






Step 4:Put it all together!!

1. To assemble the torte, lay 1 of the brownie rounds to a large serving platter. Spread half of the filling mixture evenly over the top(or the salted Teffee filling,if you are using that.)Layer with another brownie round, and the remainder of the filling(If you are using the salted toffee filling,then use the mocha frosting as a layer for this stage) Top with the final brownie layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the mocha frosting. Garnish with the toffee bits to cover the top and sides of the cake. Use any remaining frosting to pipe decorative swirls around the top edge of the cake, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

There are a lot of variations you could use like white chocolate and cranberry or mint ,orange etc. the possibilities are endless.Also, you can warm the slice of cake slightly in a microwave before eating it,if you'd like.Just don't warm it up too much or the cream may split!!!

     

         Oh,and if you do make this cake,say thank you and send me a slice :P