All posts filed under: Bakes & Cakes

Triple Chocolate Cupcakes – for that Festive Feeling!

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    Featured in TasteSpotting.com – 5th Jan 2012 and Yummly.com – 23rd Jan 2012 Deck the halls with boughs of holly (fa la la la laa, la laa la la), Tis the season to be jolly (fa la la la la ….and thereabouts)! Yes, there is definitely something festive in the air this time of the year! Better TV programming, people getting drunk on home made wine, Brigade road lit up with fairy lights… Oh yes there’s something festive! I’ve always had a double whammy during this time, Mom’s birthday is on the 24th and then comes Christmas! The co-resident insisits on buying me presents and who says no during the season of giving 😉 So it’s only fair to say, it’s my favourite time of the year! (Apart from my birthday of course, which I always thought should be declared a national holiday…No? Ok fine… half a day? No?… Grinches!) Anyway this brings me to the Triple Chocolate Cupcake. Yes, you heard me right – it’s Triple = Three = Tres = more the merrier! It’s a …

Orange-Raisin Muffins

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Winter in Bangalore (if it can be called winter at all!) is a lovely time. We have a crisp chill in the air but the sun shines brightly and the sky is a gorgeous blue with dots of white clouds. What is also wondrous at this time is Oranges. One of my favorite fruits. Orange juices in cartons might have all but killed the joy of eating one, but there is nothing like a sweet citrusy orange to add that zing to your morning brekkie or evening snack or dinner time…you get the drift! An orange is one fruit that I eat with utmost care, not because it’s delicate but because my grandmother (bless her soul) had fed us with scary stories. She claimed that if we swallowed an orange seed, an orange tree would grow in our stomach and sprout leaves from our ears! Yes, she was quite the graphic storyteller! In such circumstances, my sisters and I all but spat the seeds out as soon as it touched our tongues. And since we …

Baked Beans and Pasta Hot Pot

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I am always trying out new recipes that I fish out of the internet or my gazillion new cookbooks. I almost forgot how much I love the good ole recipes of yore. No, I’m not talking about the medieval times, just rewinding to school. One of my first cookbooks was one that I stole from mom. The free cookbook that came along with the Preett Pressure Cooker! It had a ‘how to use a pressure cooker guide’ as well as ‘101 recipes from India and Elsewhere’. (with pictures!!) I was hooked. J I came across it, while cleaning my bookshelf last week. Yellowing, tattered along the edges, a few pages coming loose of the thread binding – but there it was, waiting to exhale. I picked it up gingerly and spent an hour reading it cover to cover. (Yes, I read cookbooks.. . how many times do I have to say it?). I zeroed in on the Baked Beans Pasta recipe. It was considered very international in those days. I know… we were easily impressed! …

Sweet Cinnamon Rolls and Savory Dill Rolls

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Featured in Tastespotting.com – 14th Jan 2012 Now that I think I can bake bread, I have ventured further into this magical world of yeast. Yes, I know it sounds corny, but it’s becoming an addiction. Somehow knowing that this little growing organism holds the key to a perfectly turned out loaf, makes me feel completely ensnared by it. Like a little slave, I wait for the yeast to make its presence felt and grace my little loaf with the air and water it needs to grow. Amen. This week I made rolls. I used the basic bread roll recipe and decided to twist the dough around – literally. In the end I had these pretty looking swirls enclosing raisins and cinnamon for the sweet lovers and dill and onions for the savory tongues. If you are going to have someone over for tea, I suggest serving a couple of these. Very very fun and tasty. Or have them for a fantastic breakfast – beats the crap out of store cereal anyday! Cinnamon Rolls and …

Baking Bread – In all shapes and sizes

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The warm yeasty smell, the soft fluffy touch, the chewy satisfying taste, the golden yellow sheen – it can only be Bread!! I love bread. I love it so much that I want to sleep on a pillow of freshly baked bread… Sweet dreams for sure. Of course no one really bothers to try to bake bread – not without a bread machine. It’s too cumbersome, when you can just run out to the bakery that’s been making it for generations and pretty much knows how to earn their dough from it! But everyone wants to ‘try’ to bake bread. This attempt was one to scale my personal Everest of the year. Yes, some climb mountains; I make mountains of a mole hill challenge! Anyway I was mighty impressed with the results. *Patting myself on the back*. Just thought I’ll gloat to you guys as well 🙂 Basic Bread Recipe Prep time: 15 mins Sitting time: 2+2 hrs Baking time: 30 mins for loaves; 15 mins for buns/ rolls Makes: 2 loaves or several fun …

Nutella Cupcakes

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Here’s a little treat for my sweet tooth! One – it’s a cupcake, Two – it’s got frosting, Three – Its nutella frosting. I nicked this recipe off the official nutella website – not promoting them, but boy was it worth it! You can’t really replicate the taste of nutella with anything else. Am I glad my supermarket had a buy one get one free offer. Considering the co-resident finished one whole bottle by just digging in a spoon and licking it all off, I needed to use up the other in more productive ways. So yes, this is an attempt at productivity – though it resulted in sheer indulgence! Nutella Cupcakes Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 25 mins Makes: 12 What you need: 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil 3/4 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature What to do: In a medium bowl, beat the …

Chicken Lasagna

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Lasagna was always one of those things on the menu that I was in awe of. Considering I dint know how to pronounce it when I looked at the spelling!  Oh puleez, stop raising your eyebrows and shaking your head in disbelief. That was eons ago! I know how to say it now ‘La-zan-ya’. There. Can we move past this now? Layers of pasta, cheese, meat and sauce – looked complicated! (Ok Ok … NOW I know its nothing but assembly line work). If you have all the components in place you really just need to stand there and go into a trance like state where you slop on pasta, meat, white sauce and cheese in a never-ending sequence. (Again I exaggerate – till you have reached the top of the baking dish is more like it). It does give you a very satisfying feeling at the end of it … mindless repetitive work always takes me into zen mode. (Ask me more about that meditative technique later). For the time being it’s safe to …

Everyday Chocolate Cake

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What is it about chocolate cake that makes men go weak in the knees? (Women as well… excuse the gender bias!). I am not the biggest chocolate fan… though my friends would beg to disagree. But I can honestly tell you, you can get away with murder if you offer someone a slice of chocolate cake. (OK, maybe not murder but a parking ticket for sure!). I won’t wax eloquent about the awesomeness of chocolate… some things are better experienced. This recipe is for the ‘easiest chocolate cake’ that you can whip up, to receive praise from one and all. Trust me, I have husband, siblings, friends and collegues who have fallen for its charm. My weapon of choice. Everyday Chocolate Cake Prep time: 20 mins Cooking time: 30 mins Serves: 6-8 What you need: 1 cup Flour 3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder ½ cup Butter ¾ cup Sugar 2 Eggs 1/3 cup Milk 1 tsp Baking powder ¼ tsp Soda Bicarbonate 1 tsp Vanilla essence a pinch of Salt Chocolate sauce to serve What to do: …