Best Ever Chocolate Mud Cake

Best Ever Chocolate Mud Cake

Everbody loves Chocolate  !! This Chocolate Mud Cake is a very simple and yet a delicious cake  that you would like to make it again and again.. ....With One bite you can taste the smoothness of Chocolate and with another bite the grainy texture of almonds hits your tongue !!....

Recipe adapted  from Taste .com

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup sugar
125 gms dark chocolate
125 gms butter
2/3 cup strong coffee( 2 tsp cofee powder mixed with hot water)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup almond flour *
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1. In a Pan Heat butter, chocolate, sugar and coffee conoction.
2. Sieve Baking powder along with flour and cocoa powder. Add almond meal and mix  properly.
3. Beat eggs and yogurt . Add in vanilla essence.
4. Add in  the chocolate mixture and the flour mixture alternatively.
5. The mixture will be a very liquidy batter with no lumps.
6. Grease a  7" Springfoam pan with butter and pour the batter into it. 
7. Bake it at 180 o C for about 1 hr and 15 mins till a crust is formed outside. * *
8. You can cover it with the foil so as not to over brown it.+
9. Cool it and before serving Sprinkle some cocoa powder or icing sugar on top.

 * Grind  almonds in a grinder and use that as almond flour.
** This batter will be very liquidy and hence will take more than one hour to bake.

Classic & Buttery Croissants

We Knead to Bake #2 : Classic Croissants

This month's challenge was to bake Croissants . Lovely, Buttery, Chocolaty.........Croissants. When I saw the text I felt I would not be able to do it. Though I have made Croissants before also ( a shortcut method) , this was the CLASSIC CROISSANTS.....But when I read the doc twice sent by our group leader, everyone's Fav ..  Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, I knew that though its going to be a lengthy process, I'll be able to do it...... and I DIT IT !! Aparna has taken all the pain to write such a lenghty process in such a manner that everything is clear...with the help of her pics and the video it made simpler.....Hats Off to her for teaching us in such an easy way !!. I felt She was with me all the time guiding me.....After making these Lovely Croissants, I felt I have become a better Baker and a lot more confident..!!

I have followed the recipe as it was making no changes....I just halved the final dough made some 8 big croissants and a few small ones from the sides.....Kept the other half dough in the freezer for about a week... and made some more using chocolate and jam preserve for the filling this time..... They also tasted awesome though I was not able to take pics of those as something went wrong with the battery of my camera.....and they just vanished by some guests coming over who enjoyed then thoroughly.!!

 For the detailed recipe, pics and tips I think U should follow the link as I did.....

http://www.mydiversekitchen.com/2013/02/we-knead-to-bake-2-classic-croissants.html

and must try making these.........!!

Ready to go into the oven

Freshly Baked

My helping Hand

Buttery Croissants

Another useful resource which you can follow is by Fine Cooking.


Happy Baking !!

Mocha Strawberry Cake

Mocha Strawberry Cake

This cake was bookmarked quite a long time back but it was lost in hundreds of other bookmarked ' Must Try ' recipies. Recently I saw  fresh, red and beautiful strawberries on 'Chef At Large' posted by a member asking what we can make. That immediately brought me back to this cake which I had fallen in love no sooner than I saw it.  I knew that I had to make this cake now  with a cup full of fresh strawberries lying in my refrigerator. And believe me , it was so so Yum. .......The moment I took out the first piece, I just could not wait and take the pictures .....wanted to have a bite....and the first piece was gone....then took the second piece plating it for the pic.....hurriedly took the pic..as my son had come back from the school and wanted to have a bite too.......another piece gone......

/

It is perfect for the coming Valentine Week....with fresh aroma of coffee....and digging into strawberries in between....

(Recipe adapted from 'Joy The Baker')

Ingredients

For the strawberry pulp

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons water

For the cake

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large  eggs

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp instant coffee powder

100 gms thick yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping

3 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Method

1. To make the strawberry mixture:

Combine strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, water and cornstarch in a small saucepan.  Cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is thickened and strawberries are soft and somewhat broken down.  Set aside to cool.

2. To make the topping:

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly.  Set aside.

3. To make the coffee cake:

•  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
•  Add the egg, beating well . Add vanilla extract, 
• Sift all the dry ingredients together.  
• Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter in 3 parts alternating with the yogurt in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat just until combined.
• Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan.  
• Spread the cooled strawberry mixture over the batter.  
• Spoon the remaining batter onto the strawberries and spread evenly.  
• Top with streusel topping and bake in the at 200 o C for approx. 45 - 50 mins. or  until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Herbed Bread with Caramalised Onions

Herbed Bread with Caramalised Onions

This bread was quick to make and very delicious to eat.  The herbs inside it filled the whole house with its magnetic aroma (.as  soon as it started baking in the oven.) ..and every one just couldn't wait to taste it...  Bread making is very infectious.  As you start baking some home made breads you want to try out more. I hope you all would also try out these easy and simple recipies....

Ingredients

For the Dough

Flour/ Maida 3 cups

Wholw Wheat flour 1/4 cup

Dry  yeast  1 tbsp

Salt  1½ tsp

Sugar 3 tsp

Olive oil 2 ½ tbsp

Mixed herbs 1 tsp

Chili flakes 1 tsp

To caramelize onions

2 medium sized onions (thinly sliced)

1½ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

Method

1    1.   Mix dry yeast with warm water and sugar. Keep it for 5 - 10 mins.
2.    Sieve both the flours and salt together. Keep them aside.
3.    Make a dough using all the ingredients.
4.    Keep the dough covered with a cling wrap for about ½ an hour.
5.    Roll  the dough into a rectangle of about 9" by 6".
6.     Spread the caranalized onions on the top.
7.   Roll the dough in the shape of a loaf.
8.   Place it into a well greased laof tin of 9" X 4".
9.   Keep it again for about an hour and a half.
10. Brush it with egg wash or milk wash.
11.  Bake it in a preheated oven for about 35-40 mins at 200 o C.
12.  Rub some butter on the whole loaf as soon as you take it out from the oven.
13.  Cut into slices and serve with some hot soup.


To carmalize onions, Take a pan and put 2 tsp of oil and saute onions for a few minutes. Add sugar to give it a deep brown colour and then add salt . Keep aside to cool down.

Herb & Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

Herb & Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

The moment I saw   Aparna 's invitation on the facebook for bread baking every month, I knew I had to do this. Though a baking enthusiast, otherwise being a lazy person, the list of bookmarked recipes ( to be tried )go on piling. This was the best opportunity for me to come out of my shell and bake with others. Making  Herb & Cheese Pull-apart Loaf  was so much fun. I absolutely enjoyed it. Though I have baked quite a few breads earlier also, but this was differrent. 

The recipe was quite easy to follow and I used Food processor to knead the dough for the bread first time. It was not sticky and came out very well. I followed it the recipe making very few changes. The most important thing everybody at home loved it too.

Herb & Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

 Ingredients

For the Dough:

1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 3/4 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
25gm butter, soft at room temperature
3/4 to 1 tsp finely chopped garlic 
3/4 cup milk (+ a couple of tbsp to brush over the bread)

For the Filling

15 - 20gm melted butter
2 tsp dried mixed herbs/Oregano
Crushed black pepper/ red chilli flakes 
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 

Method:

1.Dissolve the sugar and the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm milk. Keep it aside for about 5 -10 minutes till the yeast mixture bubbles up.

2. In the food processor  bowl, Put 2 3/4 cup of flour, salt, softened butter, and chopped garlic  in the food processor bowl (or a large bowl) and pulse a couple of times to mix. 

3. Add the yeast mixture and the 3/4 cup of milk and knead till you have a soft, smooth and elastic/ pliable dough which is not sticky. Add a little extra flour if your dough is sticking, but only just as much as is necessary.

4. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it completely with oil. Cover and let it rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until almost double in volume.

5. Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Punch  the dough, shape it into a square and roll the dough out into a larger square that is about 12’ by 12”. Brush the surface of the square with the melted butter. 

6.Sprinkle the herbs, pepper/ chilli flakes and then the grated cheese. Use a rolling pin to  lightly press the topping into the dough so that the topping doesn’t fall off. 

7. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough from top to bottom into 6 long and even strips. Lay each strip on top of the next, with the topping facing upwards, until you have a stack of the strips.

8. Using a sharp knife, cut straight down through the stack dividing it into 6 equal pieces (6 square stacks).

9. Grease and lightly flour a 9” by 4” (or 5”) loaf tin. Layer the square slices, cut sides down into the loaf tin. 

10. Cover the loaf tin dough with a cling and allow the dough to rise for an hour or so. You can put a little grated cheese at this stage if you want it to be more cheesy kind. Lightly brush some milk or egg wash over the top of the loaf.

11. Bake the dough at 180 C (350F) for about 30 to 40 minutes until it is done and the top is golden brown.