Very delicious Biscuit Pudding

                                           Very easy and very delicious 'Biscuit Pudding'

This dessert is so easy, even a novice at cooking can make it and still earn more praises than a professional chef! The only thing it needs is some of your time and some very basic, easily-available ingredients! And still it looks (and tastes) as elaborate as the most elaborate of them! 

I fancy myself a good cook and I like preparing and eating fancy desserts but, this simple dessert is my son's absolute favorite! I strongly recommend it for EVERYBODY! 

You simply MUST try it!

Ingredients:-  (1) Parle-G glucose biscuits- 50-55 in no.;    (2)  Heavy cream or, 'malai'- 400gm.(+ 1Tbsp.)

(3) Cocoa powder- 15 gm.;    (4) powdered sugar- 100gm.;    (5) Vanilla essence- 1 tsp.;   (6) Instant coffee powder- 1 tsp., heaped;    (7) milk- 3/4 cup;    (8) 2-3 small squares of 'milk' or 'semi-sweet' chocolate (chopped) along with a tablespoon of cream for the top swirl;   (9) Jelly- 1 pkt. (any color and flavor);   (10) Custard made with 1/2 litre milk.

Method:-    1)-  First of all, beat cream, vanilla and sugar in a mixer, at medium-high speed, till it thickens slightly but is not stiff. Stop the mixer and remove abut 75ml. of the prepared cream to keep aside (or, in the fridge if the weather is warm) till needed later. To the rest, add cocoa powder and mix gently to make a smooth mixture. Keep this also aside (or in the fridge) till needed.

     2)-  Now, crush about 6 biscuits into a coarse powder, with the help of a roller pin ('belan').  








   3)-  Warm the milk with coffee and let it cool down to room temperature. Now you are ready to assemble the dessert. 

   4)- Divide the powdered biscuits into 4 parts and spread one part on the base of the bowl in which you want to set the dessert and then, spread a layer of biscuits over it after dunking each biscuit in the prepared coffee-milk. Don't let the biscuit become soggy; dip each of it just for a split second, only to moisten it.




   5)-  Once the base has been covered with a layer of biscuits, spread about1/5 of the prepared chocolate-cream over it. If there are empty spaces left in the bowl, you can cover them with pieces of biscuits, as I did. I needed about 10 biscuits for one layer and about 40 in all for the 4 layers, it'll depend upon the size of your bowl. You can easily make four layers of 12 biscuits each with this much cream (4 columns and 3 rows). After completing one layer, sprinkle another 1/4 of the biscuit powder. It helps in absorbing the extra moisture and keeping the layers separate.                                      

   








6)-  In the same manner, prepare all the four layers. Smoothen the cream on the top layer as best you can and put cream on the sides also, to fill-up the gaps. This filling of gaps with cream is not actually necessary. It is just for decorating the dessert nicely. Now put the remaining cream in a piping bag and squeeze out two rows of rosettes or, any pattern of your choice. You'll see that you have created a sort of 'well' in the center, for the remaining whipped cream ( the one without cocoa).  










7)-  Pour the whipped cream, that was kept aside, in the middle. Melt chopped chocolate and 1 Tbsp. cream in a double boiler or, by holding the pan on the mouth of another pan containing gently simmering water ( as I'd shown in an earlier blog, while making 'mascarpone'). You can add a tsp. of powdered sugar also, to this mixture before you start to warm it. Stir gently and occasionally till the chocolate is melted. Now pour this melted chocolate on the cream in a swirly pattern. Run the tip of a knife through it and you'll get a pattern resembling the one in the picture.

Note- This chocolate swirl is not necessary at all! You dessert will be just as tasty without it also so skip this step if you are discouraged by the chocolate-melting process!
   8)-  Now your pudding has been assembled. Put it in the fridge for a few hours (atleast 2 hrs.) to 'set' and then, in the freezer for half an hour to chill it nicely.
  9)- While the dessert is resting in the fridge, prepare jelly as per the directions given on the packet and, also prepare slightly thick, pouring custard, as per directions on the packet ( you'll have to use slightly more quantity of the custard powder to get a bit thicker pouring custard). When both the things come to room temp., put them in the fridge. You can put the custard-pan in a water bath for cooling it quickly. 
  10)-  To serve, cut wedges of the set dessert with a sharp knife and put a serving of jelly and custard each, on the side and see how your friends and family members relish it!










This is one of the 'easiest to make' desserts and yet, one of the tastiest to eat. I strongly recommend that you try making it and I'm sure you'll keep repeating it! 




                                                                             Enjoy!

Marzipan Fruits

                                                 Fruits made with homemade Marzipan. 

                                
             Marzipan is a sweet dough, used for covering the cakes as a base for icing or, making cake decorations or, for making sweetmeats too like small balls covered in chocolate etc.
            I made marzipan fruits two days back for which I made the marzipan at home only as it is  
not available in the market in my city. My marzipan was different as I did not make it in the traditional way. I am a bit averse to using raw egg-white which is used for binding the marzipan dough so, I thought of using dissolved gelatin instead. The end product is a little different but it served the purpose and, I found the dough more pliable though a bit sticky for which I had to wash my hands often.                                       
        This is how I made the marzipan dough and then, fruits with it--
                                                                                    
 1.    The first step is to crush the almonds (with skins) in the electric grinder. Give it very small pulses; don't grind for long in one go otherwise almonds start oozing oil. Every time you grind almonds, put them in a flour strainer and shake nicely over a news paper. You will get a small amount of very fine almond powder. Return the rest to the grinder, add some more almonds and pulse again. This process is time-consuming. 
        Remember, you'll get only 1/3 amount in powder form. Grind the rest some more to get a coarse powder, which will be slightly lumpy.
        The fine powder can be used to make very smooth fruits, flowers or, for covering the cakes. The coarse powder can be used for many other fruits and leaves ( as I have done) or, for making sweets also. 


2.    The second step is to dissolve the gelatin. I used 5 teaspoons of lemon juice, to give it a nice tang and mixed it with 7-8 tsp. of water. You can use all water instead. Now sprinkle 1 tsp. of gelatin over it ( in a small metal pan) and leave it to soften for 10 minutes after which time the gelatin will swell-up. Just held it over low heat, shaking slightly, till gelatin is dissolved.completely.

3.    The third step is to knead the dough. You should take equal amounts (by weight) of almond powder and icing sugar. I took 80 gms. each of the almond powder and icing sugar. Sprinkle 4-5 tsp. dissolved gelatin over it and mix with fingers. Also add 1 tsp. of edible glycerin and a few drops of almond essence. The dough will be sticky initially but as you keep kneading, it'll become smooth like children's modeling clay. If you find it too wet, add some more icing sugar and knead till smooth. You can keep this dough for a few days in an airtight container.  
4.    Now comes the fruit-making part. I've used only the coarse powder yet and made some strawberries, guavas and oranges. Here is how you've to go about it-
Take a lump of the dough and mix the desired color in it. I tried making straw-berries first so I mixed a few drops of strawberry color. Mix the color by folding the dough over itself again and again and then knead till you get a nice uniform color.












                                                          


      














In the same manner green and orange colors can also be made.
 (1)   To make strawberries, take a small lump of marzipan, roll it into a round shape and then taper it at one end. Cut a star shape from the green marzipan to make leaves.           

     Now apply some water on top of the strawberry with a brush, put the star on top and stick it by pushing with the back of the brush.                                                     






 

Use a toothpick to create the dimpled effect.  












  (2)   To make guavas, roll a portion of the green marzipan into a round shape roughly resembling a guava. Take a clove and remove the center bulb of it's flower. Insert the stem into the green sphere so that only the flower is visible. Insert the flower portion on the other end of the sphere to make the stem. Your guava is ready.

      












    (3)    Next, to make oranges, roll some orange dough into a perfect round and roll it softly over the slots
        of a grater (with small slots) to create the rough surface of an orange. Next, insert the flower-end of a clove
        on one end, to create the stem and your orange is ready. 








     To create the greenish effect on the skin, mix 2 drops of green color with one drop of orange-red and apply the resulting color very lightly with a brush, on some portions of the orange. It brings a very realistic look.

(4)    Lastly, to make leaves, all you have to do is flatten small portions of the green marzipan between your finger and palm and, cut into desired shapes. The veins can be created by pressing the back of a knife on the leaf.  


(5)    Leave these fruits and leaves to dry for a few hours and then put in a flat air-tight container on wich a piece of polythene has been spread. cover with another piece of polythene and close the lid.


Note- As this dough is a bit sticky, keep you hands clean and dry by frequent washing and drying, if you want good results. 
I have not used the fine powder yet. That'll make another post! First you try making these easy fruits and enjoy eating them too!




                                                                                 Enjoy!






                                                             







                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Honey's Engagement cake (Orange cake)

                                                               The making of
                                                       Honey's Engagement Cake
                                                 ( Orange Cake; the Sicilian way)

It is a very refreshing cake, with all the flavor and freshness of Oranges. I'd made this cake for my nephew Honey's Engagement party. I'd added some raisins and candied peel too but I've made it without these ingredients also and it is superb every time! Here is how I made it for the engagement party --


Ingredients:- 
(A) Cake:    1.  Flour- 500 gm.;    2.  Butter- A)-salted-300gm, B)-unsalted-200gm;    3.  Castor sugar-500gm;    4.  Eggs- 8, medium;    5.  Buttermilk or curds- 100gm;    6.  Baking powder- 5 tsp. (level);    
7.  Finely grated orange rind-3 1/2 tsp.( I'm fond of orange flavor so I used 4tsp.);    8.  Freshly squeezed orange juice- 140 ml.    9.  Orange peel, candied- 50gm.(chopped);    10.  Golden raisins, big, chopped in half- 100gm. 
(B) Icing:    1.  White butter, unsalted- 250gm.(preferably fresh and home-made);    2.  Icing sugar- 375gm.;    3.  Almond essence- 1/2 tsp.;     
 4.  Orange essence- 11/2 tsp.;    5.  Fresh orange juice- 2-3 Tbsp.(may be required if the icing seems too stiff).

(C) Decoration: Some fondant roses and leaves that can be prepared a few days in advance 
and, some white butter-icing, as is used for icing the cake.














Method:- 
(A) CAKE:-  1. Set oven temp. at 165 c and, prepare a 10 inch tube pan and a 7 inch pan by greasing and double lining.
2. Sieve flour and baking powder together 3-4 times to mix nicely and, keep aside. Mix orange juice and curds and keep aside till required.
3. Cream butter (at room temp.) and sugar  till light and fluffy, for about 6-8 min. Add eggs, one at a time and beat for at least 1 min. after adding each egg. If the mixture starts curdling, add 1T of flour along with each egg to counter this effect.








4. Once all the eggs have been mixed nicely, add grated orange rind and then sprinkle flour and mix gently, alternating with juice-curds mixture, in 4 installments,
ending with flour. Lastly, fold-in the raisins and peel. 
5. Pour in the prepared pans ( filling them slightly over half) and bake in the pre-heated oven, on the middle shelf, till done. The bigger cake will take will take more than 1 hr. but the smaller one should be done in about 45-50 minutes. But it is always best to check by inserting a clean and dry skewer in the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done but if there is wet batter sticking to it, leave it in the oven only and keep checking aftr every 10 min.

6. Once the cakes are baked, leave them in the pans only, to cool.  
        












(B) Icing:- 1.While the cakes are cooling, prepare butter icing. Beat together fresh white butter and icing sugar till they are pale and smooth. Add almond and orange essence and mix nicely. 
2. Once the cakes are cool, take them out of their pans and remove butter paper and start the process of icing. First of all prepare the cakes for icing by leveling their surfaces with the help of a large bread knife.
3. After leveling, invert the cakes as the undersides are smoother and give a better finish to the icing. Invert the bigger cake on the serving platter itself but the smaller one on another flat plate as they have to be crumb-coated and iced separately and then put together.
4. For crumb-coating, apply a thin layer of the prepared butter-icing all over the cake with the help of a long-bladed broad knife or spatula, starting with sides and doing the top last of all. If any crumbs stick to the knife, wipe it with a paper towel; don't scrape it on the side of the icing bowl as the crumbs may get mixed in your icing and spoil the finish later.
5. After applying the crumb-coat, cover and refrigerate the cakes for 1-2 hrs. This is done to seal the crumbs so that you get a smooth icing later.
6. After 1-2 hrs. take out the cakes from the fridge and apply butter icing, at room temp. You can use cream icing also. I used butter icing because the cake had to be transported from Jhansi to Lucknow, a more than 7hrs. journey by road and, the weather was not very cold so I needed an icing that would not spoil.
   Start applying the icing with a big spatula or knife. Apply on the sides first and then on the top. Scrape the knife lightly all-over, on the sides as well on the top, to smoothen. 

7. To do the final smoothing of icing dipa steel knife in warm water, wipe it and then run it all over the cake. When all the icing has been applied, put the cakes back in the fridge, covered, for another half hour to let the icing 'set'.














Decoration:-    Put the smaller cake on top of the bigger one. Smoothen the icing around its bottom edge if required and then,use the same butter icing and an icing gun to decorate as per your choice. After that arrange the flowers and leaves and the cake is ready! 

     I'd had to take the cake to Lucknow by road so, I packed the iced cakes in boxes and carried the butter icing, icing gun, flowers and leaves etc. along and did the re-touching to icing and decorated the cake after reaching Lko. in the evening.
    I'd made the flowers a few days in advance; baked the cake on 24 Nov. evening; crumb-coated and iced it on 25 Nov. as we had to start on the morning of 26th. The Engagement was on 26th evening.
    The cake was an instant success and, after I'd spent so much time making roses in white and different shades of pink, it was difficult to see it being demolished within 5 minutes! But the compliments I received were enough to make me forget all that!

   














If you are not extremely short of time, try making it to celebrate some occasion and see the joy on the faces of eaters! 




                                                                            


                                                                           Enjoy!
  

A delicious Pineapple Chiffon cake.

                                                         Pineapple Chiffon Cake

This is the cake I made for my husband's Birthday last month. It is a simple pineapple-chiffon cake, layered with chocolate ganache, covered with mascarpone + whipped cream icing and decorated with home-made

fondant roses and butter cream icing.

I knew this cake could not fail and, everybody who tasted it confirmed it! It did pose difficulties as, first of all the oven was not behaving! Not that there was anything wrong with it but, it's just that I've purchased a new OTG and haven't got the hang of it yet. This cake is  best baked in a round oven. But still, ultimately it was done!(though not to my satisfaction). The second problem came when I chose a combination of mascarpone and cream for icing instead of only cream. I am very fond of mascarpone and in my eagerness I mixed 2/3 parts mascarpone and 1/3 parts cream to do the icing, which proved to be a mistake!

Mascarpone becomes thick on beating but it never stiffens! The result was that the icing tended to slide down again and again and I had to keep returning it to the fridge. I should not have used more than 1/3 parts mascarpone. The ultimate result was a very uneven icing and I had to do a lot of hodge-podge decoration to cover it up! But it tasted 'Great'! So, 'all is well that ends well!'. So, here is how to go about it-

Ingredients:- 

(1)- For the cake-

    1.  Flour, sifted- 260 gm.;    2.  Sugar, ground- 280 gm.;    3. Baking powder- 3 tsp.level;    

 4.  Salt- 1tsp.;    5. Veg. Oil- 100ml.;    6. Egg yolks- of 6 eggs;    7. Egg whites-of 7 eggs;    8. Pineapple juice-150ml.(tinned juice can be used);    9. Cream of tartar- 1/3 tsp.;    10. Pineapple essence- 1 tsp.

(2)- For icing-

1. Mascarpone cheese-150 gm.;     2. Whipping cream- 300 gms.;    3. Icing sugar- 100 gm.;    4. Vanilla essence- 1 tsp.

(3)- For layering- Chocolate Ganache is to be made with the following- 

1.  50 gms. dark, semi-sweet chocolate, chopped;    2. Heavy cream-100 gms.;    3. Sugar-2 heaped tbsp.;    

4. Vanilla essence-1/3 tsp.

(4)- For decorating-  Butter-icing is to be made for it as-

1. Butter-icing-  made by beating together 150gm. unsalted butter, 100 gm icing sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla essence.

2. A few mauve and yellow fondant roses and some leaves. In India these things are not available in the market so, they have to be made at home.

Method:-

(1)- For the cake- 

1.  First of all sprinkle baking powder over flour and sieve 3-4 times so that the two are nicely mixed. Now sprinkle salt over it and mix nicely with fingertips.Keep aside.

2.  Take egg-yellows in a clean bowl, beat lightly , add 2/3 sugar and beat till thick and light in color. Add oil, beat some more and add pineapple juice along with essence.

3. Turn the oven 'on' at this stage. This cake should be baked in a slower oven. The recommended temp. is 160 C but I prefer baking it at 140 to 150 C. 

4.  Take a clean and dry mixer bowl, put egg-whites in it, sprinkle cream of tartar over it and beat for half a minute on medium and then on high till whites become quite fluffy. Start adding sugar, a little at a time, beating continuously till egg-whites are quite stiff and sugar has dissolved.

5.  Sprinkle the flour over egg-yellow mixture and mix with a spatula to combine nicely so that you get a smooth batter. Now add 1/4 of the egg-whites into this batter and mix gently to make the whole batter light.

6.  Tip this whole, lightened batter on top of the remaining 3/4 egg-whites and mix very gently by cut-and-fold method, taking care not to deflate the egg-whites and yet mixing evenly. Scrape the bottom of the bowl also otherwise, some batter  may be left sticking to the bottom as it sinks down, being heavy.

7.  Take one 9 inch round baking pan and one 6 inch, round pan, nicely cleaned and dried ( not greased or lined) and, fill them approximately half with the batter, not more as it needs a lot of space to expand.

8.  Bake one cake first, at 140 C. It may take anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes. It is done when a clean skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and immediately hang it upside-down on a wire rack to cool completely otherwise it sags in the middle. In the same manner bake and cool the second cake also.I'd made 2 small cup-cakes also which were not used in this cake.

9.  Cooling the cake completely will take more than 2 hrs., after which time, with the help of a sharp knife, loosen the edges from the pan and , with the help of a blunt table knife or a spoon handle, try lifting it's edges from the pan- bottom slightly and gently. Once you've loosened the cakes from the pan, let them remain in the pan and put in the fridge, covered with foil, till they are needed for icing. 

(2)- Preparing the ganache for layering-   

1.  Take chopped chocolate pieces in a heat-proof bowl. Bring cream to a boil in a sauce pan and as soon as it reaches the boiling point, pour it over the chocolate pieces, cover with a lid and leave it for 2-3 minutes. The cream would've softened the chocolate in this time so stir to make a smooth paste of chocolate and cream. Mix-in sugar and vanilla also. Let cool a bit.

2.  Take the cakes out of the fridge and slice both the cakes into two layers. The chocolate ganache would've cooled to only slightly warm by this time. Spread it on lower slices of each cake (do not let it drizzle down over the sides).Let the Ganache cool down completely before covering with the second layer of each cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate again till you prepare the icing.

(3)- The Icing-

1.  Beat mascarpone with 2tbsp. sugar in the mixer bowl, till it thickens (it will not become stiff like icing cream).

2.  In another bowl, beat the cream with remaining sugar and vanilla and, beat till it thickens and starts stiffening slightly. Stop immediately for if you over-beat, it may turn into butter. 

3.  Now mix cream and mascarpone, with gentle strokes. Your icing is ready. Take-out the cakes from the fridge and spread a thin layer of icing all around it and refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour. This step arrests the loose crumbs which, otherwise, may spoil your icing. Take out the cakes once again, place the larger one on your serving platter and cover with icing on all the sides, with a broad knife and place the smaller one on top of it. Ice the smaller cake also.   Here I must mention that the consistency of your icing should be correct. I added more mascarpone and less cream so my icing kept sliding down as you can see in this picture. Don't repeat my mistake and your icing will stay on the cake.

To smoothen the sides and top you will have to wipe the knife again and again and, dip it in water.

If you are still not satisfied with the smoothness, put the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes or so, to harden the icing a little and then try smoothing by dipping your knife in warm to scalding water (not boiling). 

4.  Once the icing is to your liking on both the cakes, put them in the fridge again till you prepare butter icing for decoration.

(4)- Decorating-  

1.  First make butter icing by beating 150gm. unsalted butter, which should be beatable and not melting, with 100gm. icing sugar (you can add more if you like it sweeter) and vanilla essence. When you get a smooth and 

light butter icing, stop beating it.

2.  Now take-out the cakes and gently put the smaller cake on the bigger cake, fill you icing gun, put a nozzle of your choice and make shells or rosettes or whatever you prefer, on the margins and all over the cake making a design of your choice.

3.  Arrange the fondant roses in a pattern of your choice and lo! your cake is ready to eat!

It is a very light, moist and tasty cake! You may go wrong in icing and decorating but this cake still never, ever goes wrong!

Enjoy!

        

Very Easy 'Vegetable Pulao' ( vegetable-rice)

                                                  Vegetable Pulao: the easy way. 

This is one method by which children can be made o eat vegetables with ease! It is also a very good dish to try for beginners as, there is almost nil chance of it coming out bad. It is very tasty in spite of being so easy. Try and see for yourself!

Ingredients:-

1.  Long grained rice- 120gm.( approx 1 1/4 cup);    2.  fresh shelled peas- 80gm.;    3.  Cauliflower- about 120gm;     4.  Potatoes - 2,medium (200-250gm.);     5.  Onions- 3 medium;    6.  Tomatoes-  3 medium (about 150gm.);    7.  Ginger- about 1-inch piece;    8.  Fresh coriander(hara dhania)- a small bunch;    9.Green chillies-3-4 or more if you like it spicy;     

10.  Cumin seeds (jeera)- 1 tsp.;    11.  Desi ghee or veg. oil- about 70 ml +2 Tbsp.;   12.  Salt- as per your taste. 

Method:-  

1.  Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets; peel wash and chop potatoes into small pieces; skin and slice onions lengthwise; wash and chop green chillies and fresh coriander; peel, wash and grate ginger; wash and chop tomatoes into small pieces.

2.  This pulao is prepared by cooking the vegetables and rice separately so first of all you have to make the 'sabzi'. Heet ghee or oil in a kadhai or big fry-pan, add cumin seeds and when they turn slightly brown, add sliced onions. Stir-fry till onions become pink and add grated ginger and chopped chillies. Keep stir-frying till onions are pinkish-brown and then add peas, fry a bit more and add cauliflower and potatoes. Mix-in salt also. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and let cook, turning from time to time with a spatula, till vegetables, specially potatoes are almost cooked. At this stage, add chopped tomatoes and coriander reserving some coriander for final garnish. Cover and let cook for some more time, turning every few minutes. Once the vegetable is nicely cooked, check for seasoning, i.e., salt and chili.  

3. While the vegetable is cooking, wash rice 3-4 times and boil in plenty of water. When cooked, strain  and keep the rice aside, without lid, to cool slightly.

4.  Once the vegetble has been cooked and rice are also ready, add about 2 tablespoons of oil/ghee to the vegetable, about 1/2 tsp. of salt and 1/4 tsp. of chili powder, mix and then add cooked rice. Toss rice and vegetable with light hands, to mix thoroughly without breaking the rice-grains. Check for seasoning again and if you have to add anything, sprinkle it over the pulao and toss lightly with a wide spatula.     

5.  Your pulao is ready to eat! It tastes divine with 'mithi sonth' i.e.'Imli ki chatni' ( sweet and sour tamarind sauce), tomato ketchup or 'Raita'.

Note:- Any other winter vegetables like carrots and french beans can also be added to this pulao, by reducing the quantity of other vegetables slightly. You must remember though that, the quantity of carrots and beans should be lesser than that of peas, cauliflower and potatoes as in smaller quantity they add to the taste by creating variety but, in larger quantity they become too overpowering, thus spoiling the taste.

                                                                            Enjoy!