Brownie lovers! Put your hands up.

Brownies are eaten by hand, often accompanied by milk, served warm with ice cream, topped with whipped cream, or sprinkled with powdered sugar and fudge. In North America, they are common lunchbox treats, and also popular in restaurants.

The legend about the creation of brownies is that of Bertha Palmer, a prominent Chicago socialite whose husband owned the Palmer House Hotel. In 1893 Palmer asked a pastry chef for a dessert suitable for ladies attending the Chicago World’s Colombian Exposition. She requested a cake-like confection smaller than a piece of cake that could be included in boxed lunches. The result was the Palmer House Brownie with walnuts and an apricot glaze.

 

BROWNIES

Ingredients:
Flour – 150gm
Butter – 150gm
Sugar – 265gm
Egg – 2½Nos
Baking Powder – 1gm
Sweet Dark Chocolate- 225gm
Walnut – 130gm
Vanilla Essence – 3ml

Method:

1. Chop the walnuts and set aside. Cut
Chocolate into chunks and melt it in double
boiling method and set aside to cool.
2. Prepare the tray or baking mould with
baking paper.
3. Sift the flour with baking powder and set
aside.
4. Whip the egg, sugar and vanilla at high
speed until light and fluffy. Fold into the
cooled chocolate mixture.
5. Add flour to the chocolate mixture and
add 100gm of walnut in the mixture.
6. Turn the mixture into the baking tray or
mould and spread the batter evenly and
sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the
top.
7. Bake it at 205°C for about 30 minutes and
let it cool.
8. Decorate with dark chocolate Ganache.
9. Slice it into the desired size and serve.

 

Note :

For a vegetarian version of this, instead of eggs use beaten hung curd(150g)

As Tiny Tim said “God bless us, everyone”

Hope this Christmas be a merriest one and this New Year be the happiest one for you and your family. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

 

Stollen  is a fruit bread containing dried fruit and often covered with powdered sugar or icing sugar. The bread is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German bread usually eaten during the Christmas season, when it is called Weihnachtsstollen (after “Weihnachten”, the German word for Christmas) or Christstollen (after Christ).

Early Stollen was different, with the ingredients being flour, oats and water. As a Christmas bread stollen was baked for the first time at the Council of Trent in 1545, and was made with flour, yeast, oil and water.

The Advent season was a time of fasting, and bakers were not allowed to use butter, only oil, and the cake was tasteless and hard.In the 15th century, in medieval Saxony (in central Germany, north of Bavaria and south of Brandenburg), the Prince Elector Ernst (1441–1486) and his brother Duke Albrecht (1443–1500) decided to remedy this by writing to the Pope in Rome. The Saxon bakers needed to use butter, as oil in Saxony was expensive, hard to come by, and had to be made from turnips.

Others were also permitted to use butter, but on the condition of having to pay annually 1/20th of a gold Gulden to support the building of the Freiberg Minster. The ban on butter was removed when Saxony became Protestant.

Over the centuries, the bread changed from being a simple, fairly tasteless “bread” to a sweeter bread with richer ingredients, such as marzipan, although traditional Stollen is not as sweet, light and airy as the copies made around the world.

CHRISTMAS STOLLEN

Ingredients
Flour – 250gm
Yeast – 25gm
Lukewarm Water – 110ml
Caster Sugar – 25gm
Egg – 1/2no
Vanilla Essence – few drops
Lemon Rinds – 1no
Salt – 1/4tsp
Butter – 100gm
Raisins – 80gm
Blanched Almonds (chopped) – 25gm
Candied Lemon Peel (chopped) – 25gm
Candied Orange Peel (chopped) – 25gm
Rum – 1tbsp

TOPPING
Melted Butter – 50gm
Icing Sugar – 50gm

Procedure
1)    Line a baking tray with buttered greaseproof paper.
2)    Sift the flour into a large bowl & make a well in the centre. Cream the yeast with little milk then gradually add the remaining milk. Stir in a little sugar, pour into the well & sprinkle with a little of the flour. Cover & leave in a warm place for 15 min, until frothy. Mix the rest of the sugar with the eggs, vanilla, lemon rind & salt, add to the yeast mix & work in with the rest of the flour to give dry firm dough. Knead until smooth then cover & leave to rise for 1 hr.
3)    Work the butter & the remaining flour together, knead into the risen dough, cover & leave to stand for a further 15 min. Meanwhile, mix the raisins, almonds & chopped peel together, sprinkle with rum. Cover & leave to steep. Then quickly work this fruit mixture into the dough, cover & leave to stand in a warm place for a 15 min.
4)    Divide the dough into three portions & roll each piece into a 30-cm/12-inch length. Roll gently so that the dough is thinner in the middle than at the ends. Fold the dough over lengthways, making a 15cm/6 inch length-this gives a typical stolen shape & place on the baking tray. Repeat using the other two pieces of the dough. Cover the loaves & leave to stand for further 20 min, until increased in size. Preheat the oven to moderately hot (200degree C /400 degree C).
5)    Bake the loaves for 25-30 min. While still hot, brush with the melted butter & dredge generously with sifted icing sugar

 

Please, be responsible and leave only a glass of milk for Santa, this Christmas. He’ll be driving all night, you know. Happy Holidays! And hide the liquor, if necessary.

What do you call a Spanish apple pie???

Apple cake is a popular dessert produced with the main ingredient of apples. Such a cake is made through the process of slicing this sweet fruit to add fragrance to a plain cake base. Traditional apple cakes go a step further by including various spices such as nutmeg or cinnamon, which give a unique flavour. Upon the addition of spices the batter can also be accompanied by crushed nuts, the most popular being walnuts and almonds.

Dorset apple cake, Devon apple cake and Somerset apple cake are traditional forms of this cake, respectively from Dorset, Devon and Somerset, England. They may include apple juices local to these counties as part of their recipes, but are not necessary.

Apples are also used in other cakes, including chocolate cake, where their water-retention can help a normally-dry cake to stay moist. In this case they may be either dried or fresh.

PASTEL DE MANZANA (SPANISH)

 

Ingredients

Flour – 120gm

Powdered sugar – 60 gm

Chilled Butter – 60gm

Baking powder – ½ tsp

FILLING

Apples – 400 gm

Mint leaves – 5 gm

Cinnamon – ½ tsp

Margarine – 20 gm (for greasing the cake tin)

 

 

Procedure

1)     Preheat the oven at 350 degree F /175 degree C.

2)     Grease a baking dish with butter.

3)     Mix together chopped mint leaves & cinnamon. Add apple slices & toss until all the slices are evenly coated.

4)     Arrange apple slices overlapping in the greased baking dish.

5)     Spread the flour mix over it & press it gently so ensure that the apples are completely covered.

6)     Bake for 45 min until the surface is crusty.

7)     Remove from the oven, cover with a foil & set aside to cool.

8)     Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Stay cool this Christmas

Granita ) is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, it is available all over Italy in somewhat different forms. It is related to sorbet and Italian ice; however, in most of Sicily, it has a coarser, more crystalline texture.

Food writer Jeffrey Steingarten says that “the desired texture seems to vary from city to city” on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals.

Although its texture varies from coarse to smooth, it is always different from that of ice cream, which is creamier, and from that of sorbet, which is more compact; this makes granita distinct and unique.

MELON GRANITA

 

Ingredients

Sugar – 50gms

Honey – 2tbsp

Lemon juice – 1tbsp

Melon – 1no

Water – 200ml

 

Procedure

1)     Cook sugar, honey & lemon juice with water till sugar has dissolved.

2)     Leave it aside to cool.

3)     Divide melon in two halves, ball one half & place in glasses & puree the other half.

4)     Add the puree to the syrup.

5)     Pour on the tray & refrigerate.

6)     When frozen scrape with a fork.

7)     Fill the glasses & serve chilled.

Note:

Can be made with any fruit.

Sorpresa!Delizioso Panna Cotta

Gelatin or gelatine  is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), flavorless food derived from collagen obtained from various animal body parts. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceutical drugs, vitamin capsules, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing.

Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar way are called “gelatinous”. Gelatin is an irreversibly hydrolyzed form of collagen, wherein the hydrolysis results in the reduction of protein fibrils into smaller peptides, which will have broad molecular weight ranges associated with physical and chemical methods of denaturation, based on the process of hydrolysis. It is found in most gummy candy, as well as other products such as marshmallows, gelatin desserts, and some ice creams, dips, and yogurts. Gelatin for recipe use comes in the form of sheets, granules, or powder. Instant types can be added to the food as they are; others need to be soaked in water beforehand.

Panna Cotta
Ingredients:
Milk – 300 g
Heavy cream – 300 g
Sugar – 125 g
Gelatin – 7 – 9 g
Vanilla extract – 10 ml
Method:
1. Heat the milk, cream, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes and melt it in double boiling method.
3. Add the softened gelatin to the hot milk mixture and stir until dissolved. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Pour into the molds (90- or 125-ml). Chill until set.
5. Unmold and decorate cream and sauce; then serve.

 

Note:

If you are a vegetarian , then you can use china grass/agar-agar.

Melt china grass/agar-agar in hot water till completely dissolved and then mix into milk.

If you want to flavour it , you can use artificial flavourings (results in stronger flavour)/ natural ones.

(If using chocolate , melt chocolate with heavy cream  and then use 50-100g milk to adjust consistency.)

Here I come Florida Keys…

Key lime pie is an American dessert made of Key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a pie crust. The traditional Conch version uses the egg whites to make a meringue topping. The dish is named after the small Key limes (Citrus aurantifolia‘Swingle’) that are naturalized throughout the Florida Keys. While their thorns make them less tractable, and their thin, yellow rinds more perishable, Key limes are more tart and more aromatic than the common Persian limes seen year-round at grocery stores in the United States.

Key lime juice, unlike regular lime juice, is a pale yellow. The filling in Key lime pie is also yellow, largely because of the egg yolks.

During mixing, a reaction between the condensed milk and the acidic lime juice occurs that causes the filling to thicken on its own without requiring baking. Many early recipes for Key lime pie did not require baking the pie, relying on this chemical reaction (called thickening) to produce the proper consistency of the filling. Today, because consuming raw eggs can be dangerous, pies of this nature are usually baked for a short time. The baking also thickens the texture more than the reaction alone.

Despite its tart center, the top juxtaposes it adding more sweet flavors in some pies.

Key Lime Pie

Baking Temp: 170 degree C                                                               Portions: 01 nos

Baking Time: 40 minutes

 

Ingredients

Marie biscuit: 100 grams

Almonds: 50 grams

Butter: 80 grams

Eggs: 3 nos

Condensed milk: 200 grams

Cream: 200 ml

Lime: 4 nos

Procedure

1)     Pre heat the oven

2)     Crumb biscuit, almonds, butter, lime and line the base and edges of the pie mould.

3)     Refrigerate till set.

4)     Whisk egg, condensed milk, cream, lime juice and rind.

5)     Pour in the pie mould and bake at 170 degree C for 40 minutes.

6)     Cool and serve

Pick -me -up!!!!

Tiramisu  is a popular coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts.Its origins are often disputed among Italian regions such as Veneto, Friuli–Venezia Giulia, Piedmont, and others.

 

TIRAMISU

Ingredients

Gelatine/agar-agar – 10-15gm

Chocolate fatless sponge of 4 eggs

FILLING

Mascarpone Cream Cheese – 200 gm

Cream Cheese – 300 gm

Rich Cream – 300whipped

Eggs – 2 no

Sugar – 150 gm

Nescafe – 1 tsp

Rum – 30 ml

Sugar syrup of 100 g of sugar

 

Procedure

1.      Prepare the fatless sponge in advance & allow to cool.

2.      Beat up eggs & sugar & hydrate gelatine& keep aside.

3.      Beat up rich cream & keep aside.

4.      Beat up mascarpone cheese & cream cheese. Line the tin with the prepared sponge soaks it with the syrup.

5.      Blend the cheese mix with the beaten eggs fold in the rich cream & add the hydrated gelatine, pour this mixture over the soaked sponge &layer  again with the sponge & filling.

6.      Chill for 3-4 min & serve.

Cheese and cake in one…

Smooth fresh unripened cheese sweetened with honey must be almost as old as cheese-making itself, and “land of milk and honey” is a deep-rooted idiom. An ancient form of cheesecake may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece even prior to Romans’ adoption of it with the conquest of Greece.The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus (5th century BCE), who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes (πλακουντοποιικόν σύγγραμμα—plakountopoiikon suggramma). The earliest extant cheesecake recipes are found in Cato the Elder’s De Agri Cultura, which includes recipes for two cakes for religious uses: libum and placenta. Of the two, placenta is most like most modern cheesecakes, having a crust that is separately prepared and baked.

Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an “unripened cheese” that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently.^[10]

Modern cheesecake comes in two different types. Along with the baked cheesecake, some cheesecakes are made with uncooked cream-cheese on a crumbled-biscuit base. This type of cheesecake was invented in the United States.

Baked Cheese Cake

Baking Temp. 160 degree

                                                   

Marie biscuits – 50 gms.

Cream Cheese – 400 gms.

Castor Sugar – 125 gms.

Lemon Juice –  25 ml.

Eggs – 2 nos.

Lemon Rinds

Vanilla Essence –  ½ tsp.

• Grease a 4” spring form tin & line it with aluminium foil.
• Press crushed Marie biscuits on the base.
• Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, rinds, lemon juice & vanilla essence & beat well.
• Beat in one egg at a time & pour it in a tin.
• Set the tin in a larger baking tray & place in the oven. Pour hot water into the outer tray & bake at 160 degree Celsius till golden brown for about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Cool in the tin & run a knife around the edges to loosen & remove from tin.
• Chill it at least for 4 hrs. before baking.

Note :

Can be eaten with all most any thing sweet like fresh berries, melted chocolate, marshmallows, Marzipan  and anything else that takes your fancy…

The name’s chestnut… water chestnut!

water chestnut is a grass-like sedge native to Asia, Australia, tropical Africa, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is grown in many countries for its edible corms.

The water chestnut is not a nut at all, but an aquatic vegetable that grows in marshes, underwater, in the mud. It has stem-like, tubular green leaves that grow to about 1.5 m. The water caltrop, which also is referred to by the same name, is unrelated and often confused with the water chestnut.

Crunchy Water Chestnut in Coconut Milk Syrup

Ingredients

40 grams water chestnuts (cut into small dices)

40 grams tapioca flour

40 grams coconut milk

20 grams sugar

¼ teaspoon food colouring (pink)

1 leaf pandanus leaf

3 tablespoon water

Method

1. Dice water chestnuts. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl: add pink colour to diced water chestnuts, coat well.
3. Coat coloured water chestnuts with tapioca flour.
4. Strain water chestnut to get rid of excessive flour.
5. In a saucepan or a big wok: boil water, and put coated water chestnuts in. Wait until they float, then bring them out and put them in cold water immediately and set aside.
6. In another saucepan on medium heat: simmer water with sugar and pandanus leaf. Once it turns to syrup, add coconut milk. Take out and allow to cool.
7. Transfer water chestnuts to a serving bowl, then add coconut milk syrup and serve with ice.

Note:

Adjust the sweetness if required.

High on Mousse!!!

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. It can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick, depending on preparation techniques.

A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Dessert mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites or whipped cream, flavoured with chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert, or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin.

Savory mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese or vegetables. Hot mousses usually get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Yield- 10-12 serves

1 serve- 600 calories

Ingredients

• 120 g -Egg yolks
• 105 g -Fine granulated sugar
• 90 g – Water
• 480 g -Bittersweet chocolate, melted  
• 900 g – Heavy cream/whip cream

PROCEDURE

1. In a round-bottomed stainless steel bowl, whip the egg yolks until pale.
2. Make a syrup with the sugar and water and boil to 244°F (118°C). Whip the hot syrup into the yolks and continue whipping until cool.
3. Melt the chocolate and fold into the egg mixture.
4. Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Whip one-third of the cream into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining cream until well incorporated.

5. Pour into serving moulds & freeze the prepared chocolate mousse till it is firm.

 

Note:

Garnish with chocolate shaving/choco-chips/rainbow sprinkles etc.

for the vegetarian version-

Mix only stiff peak beaten whip cream and liquid dark chocolate.(same measures as above)

You can also add a little rum/ whiskey.(about 30ml for this recipe-only for the veg version)