Vanilla cookies

Next on the baking agenda today were simple vanilla cookies, to be packed into the gift boxes. Thoroughly enjoyed making these, as it was soooooooooooooo simple!!!! And I used some cutters to get cut outs of stars, flowers, hearts and diamonds :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup soft butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 2 cups plain flour
• few drops of vanilla essence

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees centigrade.
2. Beat the butter soft.
3. Add the sugar and mix well. Add vanilla essence.
4. Add the flour and mix to form a soft dough.
5. Divide the dough into large balls.
6. Roll out each ball till about 3mm thick.
7. Cut out into desired shapes and place on a baking tray.
8. Bake at 170 degrees centigrade for around 10 mins.

I had just finished baking these by the time the kids were back from school. P2 was so excited to see the cookies and all her favorite shapes! It all so worthwhile just to see that excitement on their faces :)

Vanilla chocolate cupcakes

I can't believe a year has passed by, and I am totally out on updating my recipes :(. SO much cooking has happened, but no time to get them updated. Finally I felt it was time I started recording the recipes that I really want to keep for the future, recipes that someday, hopefully, my daughters will go through too :)

P2's fifth birthday is tomorrow, and was racking my head as to what to pack for some gifts for her classmates. The usual trend these days is to give a stationery box with toffees. I decided to give them small pretty boxes with a cupcake, cookies and a Perk. So spent a good part of the afternoon baking the cupcakes and cookies.

I wanted something different, not the usual cupcakes. So come up with this idea of a layered vanilla chocolate cupcake. It looked awesome! Will put the pics up shortly......

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients :
Chocolate cake layer:

• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup cooking oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup curd 

Vanilla cake layer:

• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
  
• 2/3cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade.
2. Follow the same procedure for both the batters separately. 
3. For the vanilla batter - 

• Mix the sugar and oil well. Add vanilla essence.
• Add one egg at a time and mix well
• In  a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Divide the flour mixture into 3 parts. Add one part to the oil batter, followed by half of the milk. Mix well.
• Add the second portion of the flour mixture to this batter. Mix well.
• Add the remaining half of the milk and continue to mix well.
• Add the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Do not over beat. 

Follow the same procedure for the chocolate batter. Mix in the cocoa to the flour mixture and proceed as above.

In the muffin tray, add a spoonful of vanilla batter and over that, add a spoonful of the chocolate batter. Do this for all the muffin moulds.Bake at 170 degrees centigrade for around 14 minutes.
Check if cooked and let them cool on a grill.

Simple, isn't it!

Orange Cake

Another cake created to utilise some of the leftover food in the house :)
This time, its oranges! I had 3 oranges, which nobody wanted to eat...........so off they went into this cake and were devoured in no time :)

Again, this recipe is courtesy - joyofbaking.com.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs, separated plus 1 (30 grams) additional egg white
2 1/4 cups (225 grams) sifted cake flour (or you can use 2 cups of maida and 1/4 cup of cornflour)1 1/2 cups (300 grams) superfine white (castor) sugar (sugar grounded in a mixer)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) vegetable oil or safflower oil
3/4 cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (2 - 3 large Oranges)
2 tablespoons (10 grams) orange zest (grate the skin of the oranges to get the zest)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or you can use a few drops of lemon juice)
Method:
Separate the eggs and place the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and have ready a baking tin (ungreased) ready.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (I used the food processor), fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour, sugar (minus 3 tablespoons), baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Beat about one minute or until smooth.
In a separate bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar/ lemon juice and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 3 tablespoons (42 grams) of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
With a large rubber spatula or wire whisk, gently fold the egg whites into the batter just until blended (being careful not to deflate the batter).
Pour the batter into the ungreased baking tin and bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (When lightly pressed the cake will spring back).
Immediately upon removing the cake from the oven invert the pan and place on a flat surface so it is suspended over the counter. Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours).

Housewife's Hobby: Carrot Walnut Cake

Housewife's Hobby: Carrot Walnut Cake: "This post is being long overdue.......... with my friends asking me for this recipe since I had uploaded the pics on FB :) This cake is m..."

Carrot Walnut Cake

This post is being long overdue..........with my friends asking me for this recipe since I had uploaded the pics on FB :)

This cake is my favourite.........and my family's too. It is just too irresistible! The beautiful mix of the sweetness and softness of carrots with the nutty crunch of walnuts, makes it an absolutely mouth watering cake!

I picked up this recipe from joyofbaking.com. And please follow this recipe to the dot.....this does not need any experimentation or substitution.

Ingredients:

1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts
3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.


• Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
  Peel and finely grate the carrots.
  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.
  In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer, I used the hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute).


• Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes).


• Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract.


• Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated.


• With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts.


• Pour part of the batter into a previously greased baking tin and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Trust me, this is one of the simplest recipes as well. I usually do not put icing on my cakes, hence I add a cup more of sugar. Else, the cake would be a little less sweet.

Happy Baking!

Maida biscuits - Mom's recipe

These were the biscuits Amma used to make when we were kids - and I totally loved them! They were so delicious - soft and yielding - they just melted in your mouth. Now that I have kids of my own, I felt they deserved some home made biscuits as well :)

Once I baked them, I realized this is one of the simplest baking recipes so far! It is sooooo simple! Can be made anytime, and its vegetarian :)

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 cup

Sugar, powdered - 1/2 cup

Dalda - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

• Mix the dalda (not melted, just soft at room temperature) and sugar well.
• Add in the maida and baking powder and knead into a soft dough.
• Roll out medim sized balls and flatten them a bit by pressing in between your palms.
• Place on a baking tray. I used my mom's method and used the idli moulds to place the biscuits.
• 
Bake at 170 degrees centigrade for 10-12 mins.
• Cool for 5 mins before biting in!!

These measurements make around 16 biscuits.

Mushroom Pie

My first few attempts at baking a pie.....and it was gooodddd :))))

Lets get down to the recipe right away, before I forget any details!

For the pie pastry:

200gms butter

250gms maida

135ml sour cream

For preparing this pastry, I searched high and low for sour cream, but just couldn't get it in any decent store. So finally had to make it at home itself. For making sour cream, just add a teaspoon of curd/ dahi to 135ml of fresh cream (I used Amul fresh cream, and it turned out quite good) and let it stand for about 24 hours - Your sour cream is ready to use!

To prepare the dough, the butter has to be chilled. Place the butter and the maida in the food processor and grind them till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Then add the sour cream and form a dough. Once the dough is ready, fold into a rectangle and wrap in a plastic film and place it in the fridge for a minimum of 15 mins.

For the mushroom filling:

1 packet of button mushrooms

3 small onions

3 green chillies

5 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons maida

1 cup milk

salt to taste

pepper to taste

coriander

olive oil

1. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add in the garlic. Saute for a few seconds.
2. Add in the finely diced onions and green chillies and saute till soft and transparent.
3. Chop mushrooms into big pieces and add them to the onions. Cook till the mushrooms are done.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Add maida, fry for a few minutes.
6. Add milk and cook till it forms a thick sauce.
7. Add finely chopped coriander and get off the flame. Allow to cool.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll out into two 3 mm discs. Measure the container in which you would be baking the pie and make one circle a couple of inches larger than the base, as it needs to cover the sides as well. The second circle needs to be the exact diameter of the container, as it forms the lid of the pie. Place these two circles in the fridge till the filling is ready and cooled to room temperature.

Place the larger circle in the container and let the extra part hang off the sides. Pour the mushroom filling into this. Place the smaller circle on this filling and seal the ends with the extra ends of the first circle. Brush the top of the pie with a mixture of egg and milk to give it a lovely glaze on baking.

Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Bake the pie for around 16-20 mins. Done!