Cream Cheese Marble Brownies

Brownies with a twist ! Slightly salty-tangy cream cheese layer topping over a regular gooey fudge brownie layer. This recipe is adapted from joyofbaking.com, I reduced the sugar content a slight bit. Serve this warm, with vanilla ice cream.


Ingredients (makes about 8 squares)

Brownie Layer:
75 gms salted butter, cut into pieces

125 grams dark cooking chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup granulated white sugar,powdered

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup   all purpose flour

 

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 ounces (227 grams) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup  granulated white sugar,powdered

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2.For the brownie layer- In a double boiler , melt the chocolate and the butter. Whisk the chocolate and butter till smooth. Beat in the egg (no need of an electric beater).

3. Beat the sugar and flour and vanilla essence till all the ingredients come together into a smooth batter.

4. Put all ingredients of the cream cheese layer in a separate bowl and beat all the ingredients together till the batter is smooth

5. Take a greased tray (roughly 6 X 6 inch) , lined with butter paper.

6. Pour the chocolate layer first, over that pour the cream cheese layer. Make swirls with a fork to get a slightly marbled effect

7. Bake on the middle rack till the top layer become slightly brown and a toothpick comes out almost clean ( a few particles should stick to the toothpick), roughly 30 minutes

8. Cool completely. Remove the tray and cut into squares.

 

 

Coconut Cake with Mango Cream Cheese frosting

For all the times I miss mango when the season is over, someone gave me a brilliant idea to freeze fresh mango pulp for such recipes. So next time when the king of fruits is just about to bid farewell for the season, make some fresh mango pulp and freeze it for cheesecakes etc. Mango and coconut is anyway a beautiful combination :)

Ingredients

1/2 tin condensed milk
50 gms butter
50 ml milk
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut

For the frosting
200 gms cream cheese
1 cup mango pulp
1 cup whipped cream
1/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup sugar (adjust more or less as per sweetness of the pulp)

Any fruit juice for soaking the cake

 1. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees (this temperature will be reduced later)
2. Beat the condensed milk and butter for 3-4 minutes till thick and creamy.
3. Beat in the milk at speed 1.
4. Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
5. Add the flour mixture in two parts, beating continuously till folded in. Beat for further two minutes.
6. Add the vanilla essence,coconut. Mix well with the batter.
7. Pour into a 5/6 " diameter tin and place in the oven center rack. Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees C
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. When done, cool and remove from tray.
10. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese till smooth. Fold in the pulp ,sugar and whipped cream gently.
11. To assemble, cut the cake horizontally in half.
12. Sprinkle fruit juice over each half to soak the cake with the juice, but not oversoak as the cake might break,
13. Sandwich the layers with half the frosting and spread the remaining the frosting over the cake.
14. Chill and serve

 

Tom Yum Thai Dip

A Thai twist to a regular yoghurt dip. Very healthy, low fat and a sure hit at your next party!

Ingredients (makes one medium bowl)

1 cup hung curd
1 cup grated raw papaya (or raw cucumber)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon light soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon lime juice

To grind into a paste
1/4 cup peanuts
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 medium garlic pods
1/2 inch piece galangal (or ordinary ginger)
1 teaspoon palm sugar (or regular sugar)
1 green chilli


1. Sprinkle a little salt on the papaya/cucumber and leave aside for half hour.Squeeze to remove extra water content.
2. Grind all the paste ingredients in a mortar pestle (preferably)
3. Add the paste and the papaya to the curd. Add the salt ,lime juice and soya sauce.
4. Serve with chips/salad, garnished with peanuts/basil

 

Eggless Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

Been wanting to try these for a while. Most recipes with pumpkin use canned pumpkin puree, these are made from fresh puree. I steamed the chopped pumpkin (with the skin on) in a pressure cooker with a steamer basket ,removed the peel and then just blended the pumpkin to get a smooth puree. These are eggless, but you can  add one beaten egg to the batter to make these even fluffier. Great tea time treat! These are without a frosting, but would work great with a cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients (makes 12 regular muffins)

3/4 cup curd
3/4 cup pumpkin (kadoo) puree
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups maida
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup oil

1. Take about 1 cup roughly chopped pumpkin . Add  2 cups water to a pressure cooker and place the pumpkin in a steamer basket in the cooker. Cover the lid for one whistle, reduce flame to sim for 5 minutes. Once steam is released,open the lid and cool. When cooled, puree in the blender.
2. In a bowl, mix the sugar and curd. Add the baking soda and baking powder and leave for 2 minutes till frothy on the surface.
3. Beat in the oil ,ginger, cinnamon and vanilla essence. Beat in the egg (optional)
4. Add the puree to get a smooth yellowish coloured batter.
5. Fold in the sieved flour, in three portions .
6. Pour evenly into muffin moulds and bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees for about 25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Low Cal Bisi Belle Bhaath

Bisi Belle Bhaath is a meal by itself, a one pot dish . This south indian treat is the best remedy for comfort eating. Although the original is made with rice, this healthy version is made with dalia (broken wheat). Use as many vegetables of your choice to make this even more healthy. I will always be amused by the name of this dish !

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cup dalia (broken wheat)
1 cup arhar dal
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, brinjal, potato)
1 drumstick, chopped
Few curry patta leaves
3 tablespoons sambhar powder
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon heeng
1 tablespoon rai seeds
2 green chillies, chopped
1 dry red chilli
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon jaggery (optional)
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
5 cups water
1/2 cup tomato puree (fresh tomatoes pureed)
2 tablespoons ghee
8-10 cashewnuts (optional)

1. Soak the dal and dalia together in water for an hour
2. Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the heeng,rai, chillies, garlic, curry patta leaves all together for the tadka. Fry for a few seconds.
3. Add the sambhar powder and toss for a few seconds.
4. Add all the vegetables , drumstick and tomato puree. Cook on medium heat for a minute.
5. Add the dal, dalia and the water and salt to taste. Stir in the jaggery. Cover the lid and place flame on high. After one whistle reduce to sim for 7-8 minutes and turn off gas
6. Fry the cashews in ghee/oil or dry roast them meanwhile.
7. When the cooker releases its steam, open the lid, stir in the tamarind paste and the fried cashews.
8. Serve hot with curd and pickle/papad!

 

Banofee Pudding

Banofee = Banana + Toffee , a classic English dessert. Made originally as a pie, this version of mine just assembles layers in a glass serving bowl. The same can be made the original way, in a pie dish or a springform cake dish. The layers are of a biscuit base, topped with a toffee sauce and then finished off with bananas and whipped cream. I spiked mine with some Irish Bailey's liquor , just to break the slightly over sweet taste of this dish, optional of course. Super easy and loved by all, this one ought to be tried.

Ingredients (serves 8)

For the biscuit layer
200 gms powdered digestive biscuits
80 gms melted butter

For the toffee sauce
1 can (400gms) condensed milk
100 gms salted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar (necessary for the colour)
30 ml Irish Baileys liquor (optional)

For the topping
4-5 ripe bananas
20 ml Irish Baileys liquor (optional)
3 cups whipped cream
Grated dark chocolate (to garnish)

1. I used a rectangular baking glass dish, about 12 X 5 inches. You can make two medium pies if using a 9 inch pie base, divide the ingredients equally.
Mix the butter and the biscuits for the biscuit layer. Spread uniformly over the base of the dish (or along the base and the sides if using a pie dish) and leave to chill while the rest of the ingredients are prepared.
2. For the toffee, melt the butter in a non stick pan and add the brown sugar on a slow flame. Stir till the sugar melts.Pour in the condensed milk and mix well. Boil this liquid for a minute or two till it thickens and the texture appears like toffee (see picture below). Turn off the gas and add the liquor
3. If using a pie dish, carefully separate the pie from the dish and keep on a serving plate (requires some expertise) .Pour the toffee sauce uniformly over the biscuit layer.
4. Next layer the sauce with sliced bananas. Pour the liquor over the bananas and top with the whipped cream.
5. Finally top with grated chocolate. Chill for 4-5 hours before serving

Baked Mango Yoghurt

This is the quickest dessert I have ever made. So simple and still delicious. Once you get the basic curd mixture baked properly, you can choose any topping of your choice. I went with the obvious choice,being the flavour of the season - mango. Instead of making a mango sauce, just add chopped mango to make this even easier. Talking about flavour choices,I have once eaten a gulkand flavoured baked yoghurt at a wedding- was divine! Also, using curd made from full cream milk would make this creamier but at the cost of some extra calories:)


Ingredients (serves 2-3)

1 cup hung curd (Read here how to)
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 mango, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon custard powder (or cornflour)

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degrees Celcius
2. Whisk together the curd and condensed milk
3. Pour into a ceramic bowl or individual ramekins. Sprinkle the cinnamon and the grated lemon rind on top of the curd.
4. Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes till the curd mixture looks set. The edges will turn a light brown and the mixture will wobble very slightly.
5. Dissolve the custard powder in the milk. For the mango topping, heat the mango pieces in a pan with the custard powder and milk paste on a low flame . Turn off the gas when the mango looks cooked and the paste thickens, roughly 2-3 minutes.
6. Pour the mango sauce over the curd and serve. This dessert tastes as good warm as it does chilled.

 

Lebanese Pizza

After Tex-Mex Bruschetta (Read recipe here) , tried a variation on the pizza to combine Italian with
Lebanese, and this worked too! I soaked the vegetables for the topping in vinegar for an hour , to give them a slightly pickled flavour. A small bit of cheese retains the pizza bit of the taste. Try this at your next dinner party!

Ingredients (for 1 base)

1 pizza base (I used a whole wheat base)
1/2 cup hummus (Read recipe here)
2 tablespoons grated cheese
1 small onion,finely chopped
6-7 pitted olives
1 cup sliced bell peppers
Salt to taste
Few basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon paprika(or chilli flakes)
Olive oil
Vinegar for soaking the vegetables

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius.
2. Lightly grease both sides of the base .
3. Spread the hummus uniformly over the base. Sprinkle the cheese over the hummus
4. Place the vegetables over the hummus and cheese layer. Top with olives.
5. Finally, sprinkle salt and paprika. Put chopped basil over the vegetables.
6. Before baking, pour about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the pizza.
7. Bake on the top rack till the base becomes crisp and the vegetables are slightly browned.

Brownie Cupcakes

This is a really easy brownie recipe that can be made as it is in a rectangular baking tray. I just borrowed the idea from joyofbaking.com and made these cupcakes to take to a friend's housewarming party. I love gifting cupcakes - the expressions they generate when the box is opened is usually worth all the effort in the kitchen. For these cupcakes, I did not make and frosting - just had some left over plain chocolate in the fridge which I melted,added a little milk and drizzled over the cupcakes. Feel free to use any frosting of our choice or just serve them plain.

Ingredients (makes 12 medium sized cupcakes)

125 gms dark cooking chocolate
3 eggs
100 gms butter
1 and 1/4 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup maida
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius
2. In a pan ,add the chocolate and the butter. Place this pan over another one with water and bring to a boil to melt the chocolate and the butter. When melted whisk together and remove from the gas.
3. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, just till beaten together with the mixture
4. Add the sugar and the vanilla essence and mix.
5. Next, fold in the flour and salt. There is no need for an electric beater for this recipe, just whisk in all the ingredients together with a hand mixer/whisk
6. Divide the batter among 12 paper lined muffin cases and bake on the center rack of your oven for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. The brownies will deflate a bit on cooling.
8. Drizzle with melted chocolate or dust with icing sugar.

 

Tex -mex Bruschetta

Combining my two favourite cuisines (Mexican and Italian) into one yummy antipasto.
I used left over rajma for this recipe, you can boil fresh rajma or use any canned beans instead. Also, instead of using store bought sour cream, you can just mix hung curd and any cooking cream like Amul. For even lower calories, skip the cream and just add some lemon juice to the cream.

Ingredients (makes about 16 pieces)

1 french loaf
Olive oil for brushing

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup cooked rajma
1 small onion , finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 tablespoon paprika (or chilli flakes)
1 tablespoon jeera
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon ajwain seeds
1 tablespoon ketchup
Salt to taste

For the toppings

1/2 cup hung curd Read here how to
1/4 cup cream

Salsa (Bell pepper salsa (omit the bell pepper salsa for a regular salsa recipe)
Crushed nacho chips
Grated cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees
2. Diagonally cut the loaf into 1/2 inch thick slices
3. Brush the slices with olive oil and place on tray. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes till the bread is toasted well and crisp.
4. In a pan, roast the jeera,coriander and ajwain till brown. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
5. Heat the oil. Fry the garlic for a few seconds. Toss in the onion and cook till soft.
6. Add the roasted powders and fry for a minute.
7. Mix in the rajma,salt ,paprika and ketchup. Cool to room temperature.
8. To assemble, place a spoonful of the rajma mixture on the bread. Top with 1 teaspoon of the salsa, then 1 teaspoon of the sour cream.
9. Finally garnish with the nacho chips and grate a little cheese over each bruschetta.

 

Strawberry and Lemon Curd Trifle

Trifle is one of the easiest and most glamorous desserts to serve at a dinner party. Let your imagination run with what layers to make for the trifle, choose a big deep glass bowl and layer up- You can never go wrong with any trifle!!
This summer heat is only for fresh,chilled and fruity flavours. While I had made this when strawberries were in season, it will be an even better treat with the king of fruits -mango, plenty abundant now.
The lemon curd recipe is adapted from joyofbaking.com and it serves as a creamy,tangy custard like filling for trifles/pies/tarts/cakes.  For the cake layer, I used sponge fingers (originally used for Tiramisu) which can be substituted by any sponge cake.


Ingredients (serves 6-8)

20-24 sponge fingers (or 1/2 kg sponge cake)

For the lemon curd
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
50 gms butter
1/4 cup lemon juice(freshly squeezed)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup light cream (optional)

For the strawberry sauce
18-20 medium strawberries, cut into big chunks
3/4 cup sugar

To garnish
Strawberries, sliced
Walnut halves

1. For the lemon curd, in a steel bowl placed over a pan of simmering water , whisk together all the ingredients (except the butter and rind). Keep whisking till the mixture begins to thicken (about 10 minutes) and you get a sauce like texture (see pic below). Turn off the gas and whisk in the butter and the rind. Let it cool, covered to prevent a film from forming. If a film forms, then re-whisk till there are no lumps. Whisk in  the cream when the lemon curd has cooled.
2. For the strawberry sauce, heat the sugar and the strawberry in a pan on a slow flame just till the sugar melts and the strawberries soften (see pic below) . Cool the sauce.
3. To make the trifle, first layer the dish with the strawberry sauce. Place the crumbled sponge cake/fingers over this sauce. Next pour the lemon curd over the cake.
4. This recipe makes one layer only, for a larger gathering you can double the quantity to add another layer.
5. Garnish the top layer with strawberries and walnuts.
6. Chill for 5-6 hours before serving.

 

Cucumber and Dill dip

This is a very popular Greek dip , known as Tzatziki. I have been meaning to try it for a while now, turned out surprisingly creamy and delish. Omit the cheese and use low fat yoghurt - you have guilt free indulgence. Originally best with warm pita bread, this can be served with good ol' chips or veggies or as a side with any grilled dish.



Ingredients (makes a medium sized bowl)

2 cups hung curd (Read here how to make hung curd)
1 cucumber, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped dill (locally known as 'shepu' or 'soya')
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1/4 cup grated cheese
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil

Whisk the curd till smooth and free of lumps. Then whisk in all the remaining ingredients till mixed together. Transfer to a bowl and serve chilled.

How to make ' hung curd '

To make hung curd, you need almost double curd of the actual quantity required. So if the recipe says '2 cups hung curd', you need about 3.5 to 4 cups to begin with

The quantity varies as different curd types have varying water content.

Next, take a large sieve and place it over a deep bowl . The diameter of the bowl should be the same as the sieve so that the sieve does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

Pour the curd into the sieve and place the sieve along with the bowl , into the fridge for 2-3 hours. The water will collect in the bowl and the thick 'hung' curd will remain in the sieve.

The water can be used for making buttermilk, so don't throw it away.

Chocolate Fudge Ladoo

Happy Holi to everyone ! Decide to take a break from the annual Gujiya routine on Holi and try something different for a change. Very pleased with the results of the experiment which took all of 15 minutes to make :)

Ingredients (makes 18-20 small ladoos)

50 gms butter
5 tablespoons besan
1/2 can condensed milk
2 heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
1/3 cup crushed walnuts
12 powdered digestive biscuits (or marie biscuits).
Dessicated coconut powder (to garnish,optional)

1. In a non-stick pan or heavy bottomed kadhai, melt the butter. When melted , add the besan and stir continuously to avoid lumps. Keep the flame on sim.
2. Keep stirring till the besan is nicely roasted and turns ochre brown in colour(approx 5 minutes)
3. Turn off the gas. Add the cocoa and mix well.
4. Add the condensed milk and mix.
5. Next add the biscuit powder and the walnuts and mix till it all comes together into a lump.
6. When slightly cool enough to be handled, roll into small ladoos.
7. Garnish with walnuts or roll on dessicated coconut powder for garnish and an added flavour.

Dunkin Donuts

What's not to love about these feasts for the eyes and the tongue...age no bar! I have earlier been making eggless ones with yeast but have always found them cumbersome to make! Came across this super easy recipe from joyofbaking.com, tweaked it slightly and voila ! a gorgeous finished product.
I made a chocolate glaze as these were for a kiddies' treat, but just dust them with plain sugar or use your favourite jam as a glaze or even nutella... a world of options!

Ingredients (makes 8 medium sized)

1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
30 ml milk
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
Oil to fry

For the glaze
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa
2-3 tablespoons milk

1. Sift the flour,baking powder and the salt together
2. Add the butter to lukewarm milk
3. Beat the egg with sugar till pale yellow in colour.
4. Beat in the vanilla essence.
5. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and the milk mixture in two portions each, the dough will come together and become tougher to beat! So you can eventually mix the ingredients with your hands till you get a soft and smooth dough, will be sticky though (see pic below)
6. Cover and leave for half an hour.
7. Dust your hands with flour and take out the dough and roll on a floured surface with a rolling pin till about 1/4 inch thick .
8. Cut out the doughnuts with a doughnut cutter or two cookie cutters of different sizes. Re-roll the scraps and cut out the shapes again.
9. Heat oil in a kadhai or any thick bottomed pan. Not too much oil is needed . Do not overheat the oil, to test drop in a piece of the dough and see that it does not brown immediately. If it does, turn off the gas for a minute or two and re-start on slow flame .
10. Fry the doughnuts one at a time , turning over each side so that it is uniformly browned all over. Remove when the colour is short of a deep brown, but keep the flame slow at all times.
11. For the glaze mix all the ingredients in a double boiler till you get a smooth glaze (I added a small dairy milk bar while heating the glaze)
12. Dip the doughnuts while still warm in the glaze and top with your favourite sprinkles.

Serve fresh!

Amla chutney with mustard oil

For all the health benefits of olive oil, my favourite oil flavour-wise still remains mustard oil ! Learnt this chutney from my childhood friend's mom. We grew up together and I have so many memories of all the super delicious food her mother used to stuff us with - who can match the appetite of teens anyways !
So after a decade nearly, relived almost every food memory with lunch again at her house- this time with a new addition to the menu..this super versatile chutney, packed with the Vitamin C goodness of amlas.You can reduce the quantity of mustard oil and/or jaggery to your taste.

Ingredients (makes one medium sized bowl)

4 medium sized amlas (Indian gooseberry)
1 small onion
2-3 green chillies
2 cups chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
3 teaspoons mustard  oil
1 tablespoon jaggery powder

1. Wash the amlas and cut into pieces, discarding the seeds
2. Peel and roughly chop the onion
3. Grind the amlas and onion with the remaining ingredients in the mixer till you get a smooth paste.
4. Store the chutney in the fridge . Use with parathas, sandwiches, burgers etc....

Strawberry Phirni

Another one of the strawberry experiments ! My most favourite so far though..the only thing missing was the mitti ka kulhadh (earthen pot) to set the phirni in :( and yes! some rose petals for the garnish would have added so much glamour to this super easy and really worth trying dessert.

Ingredients (serves 4-5)

1/2 litre milk (I use regular toned milk)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup rice
8-10 ripe medium strawberries
1/2 teaspoon rose water (or kewra essence)
1 teaspoon elaichi powder

To garnish
Saffron threads
Pista

1. Soak the rice in water for half an hour. Drain most of the water and grind the rice into a coarse paste, it should feel grainy to touch.
2. Bring the milk to boil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the rice paste and reduce the flame to sim,keep stirring so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan.
3. Continue to cook till the milk becomes really thick and the rice is cooked, roughly takes 15 -20 minutes. You can taste the rice to check if it is cooked.
4. Add the 1/2 cup of sugar and the elaichi powder. Cook for another 5 minutes and turn off the gas.
5. Cool completely.
6. In another pan, chop the strawberries into small pieces and add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and keep the pan on a slow flame. Keep cooking till the strawberries turn soft and the mixture has a sauce like texture (see photo below)
7. Cool the strawberry sauce completely.
8. Mix the cooled phirni with the strawberry sauce. Add the rose essence.
9. Pour into the serving dish and garnish with saffron and pistas..for a greater effect, pour into individual pots.

The strawberry sauce

Strawberry n Burnt Garlic Raita

Adapted from a magazine recipe I read on a food special for Valentine's Day..had me thinking though..Valentine's Day and garlic ?? not the best combination, I would think! The original recipe used black grapes, I tried out mine with strawberries and carrot..a really interesting twist for a side dish that everyone loves.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 cups curd
1 medium carrot, grated
8-10 strawberries, cut into medium sized pieces
Salt to taste (black salt preferably)
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic pods, chopped roughly (not crushed)

1. Whisk the curd to remove any lumps. Gently whisk in all ingredients except for the oil and the garlic.
2. Heat the oil in a tempering pan. Add the chopped garlic and fry on a slow flame till the garlic is brown in color.
3. Pour the tempering over the curd mixture and serve, garnished with 1-2 strawberry halves

Strawberry Muffins

With just a twist or two, sweet and savoury muffins are as fitting for an evening tea party as they are with morning coffee. Making the most of the season's favourite- strawberries! The lovely lemon flavoured butter icing just made them more perfect.
The muffins are super easy to make, don't even require a beater. The batter is a great basic muffin batter, can be tweaked with different ingredients such as berries, chocolate chips etc..

Ingredients (makes about 10 medium sized muffins)

For the muffins
1  and 3/4 cup flour (maida)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg (beaten with a whisk)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cup chopped strawberries (use firm strawberries)

For the frosting
50 gms butter, at room temperature
1 cup icing sugar
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
2. Mix the oil,egg,milk and vanilla essence in a bowl.
3. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Mix in the sugar. Toss in the strawberries.
4. Pour in the liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix gently just till all the ingredients come together. Do not overmix.
5. Line muffin cases with muffin paper cups. Divide the batter evenly amongst the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
6. For the frosting, beat the butter ,lemon zest and sugar till creamy.
7. When the muffins are cooled, top with frosting and strawberry halves.

Tiramisu

Happy New Year !
Beginning the year with an all time classic ! Tiramisu is an Italian classic pudding, layers of coffee infused sponge fingers and a coffee flavoured custard. My version is without Mascarpone (sort of takes the definition away from the original !) but is much lighter in texture and taste. No substitute really works for the sponge fingers (also known as ladyfingers ) which are sadly not so easy to find around in this part of the world :(
But once you do, give this a try ! This recipe is adapted from joyofbaking.com.. Make it a day before and the flavours really come out great.

Ingredients (serves 6-8)


25-30 Sponge fingers

For the soaking syrup

1 cup very strong brewed coffee (I use 3 teaspoons of instant coffee powder in 1/2 cup water )
1/2 cup sugar
50 ml Kahlua (or any coffee liquer)

For the custard filling

2 egg yolks
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
30 ml Kahlua

3 cups whipped cream

1. In a pan, whisk together all the ingredients of the custard (except the Kahlua)
2. Half fill another bigger pan with water and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, place the pan with the custard over the water and reduce the flame to medium . Keep whisking till the custard takes on a thick creamy custard texture. Remove the pan with the custard and whisk in the kahlua.
Let the custard cool to room temperature. Whisk again when cooled.
3. Mix all the ingredients for the soaking syrup.Heat till the sugar dissolves. Cool to room temperature.
4. In a shallow rectangular tray (mine was approx 12 X 5 inches) ,line the bottom of the tray with half the sponge fingers after dipping them in the soaking syrup for a second each. If you dip them longer, they tend to break.
5. Gently fold in the custard with the whipped cream. Pour half of this custard mixture over the sponge fingers.
6. Repeat with another layer of sponge fingers and then another layer of custard mixture.
7. If any syrup is left, pour that over the top layer of the custard.
8. Sprinkle with coffee powder.
Chill and serve (preferably the next day!)