Christmas is almost here and is ready for my new batch of soaked dry fruits for next year's Christmas. Once I learned to make a perfect plum cake, I always have a batch of soaked dry fruits in my pantry. As you all know, the more we keep the dry fruits soaked, the tastier. This is 2017 Christmas and is sharing my this year soaked dry mix batch. This year I just have very few ingredients on hand, so will start with it. And later add more when I buy them. I have 2 batches of fruit cake mix as you can see in the picture. The left batch I bought from Walmart and right side tutti fruiti mix and orange marmalade I bought from India. This year we traveled to India for a 1-month trip. And I had a big list of items to buy from Bakeshop which I usually visited about each month when I was in India. I bought multi-colored tutti fruiti, orange marmalade, mousse molds, cupcake cups etc. I was in search of such bake shops in the US, but I didn't find one here which only sells baking items. So as you see here I just have multi-colored tutti fruiti 2 batches, orange marmalade, and dry raisins. Am adding equal portions of all into a Pyrex glass bowl with lid. Last year I did add chopped dry raspberry and blueberry. You can add them later on when you buy them. There are no strict rules that you have to add everything at once. I am using spiced rum to soak my dry fruits. We usually buy the cheapest rum available in store. This time we went to BJ's and found this spiced rum, which I thought will be perfect for my plum cake. Now that all my dry ingredients are mixed, add rum until it covers the dry mixture. Cover and keep in your pantry. Whenever you come across them, just give it a stir and add more rum if needed. You are all set for next Christmas or whenever you feel like having a good plum cake.
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I made these simple potato wedges on a snowy day and enjoyed with a cup of tea. You can make this with just salt and pepper. Potato wedges are the easiest recipe you can make for tea.
Ingredients 1. Potatoes - 3, Cut into wedges 2. Paprika - 1/2 Tsp 3. Garlic - 2 cloves, grated 4. Mixed dry herbs - A pinch 5. Pepper - 1 Tsp 6. Salt - to taste 7. Grated Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup to 1 cup (any cheese will do) 8. Olive oil - 2 tbsp Method 1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 2. Wash the potatoes properly. You can also peel off the skin. I prefer skin on. 3. Cut the potatoes into wedges, each half into 4 pieces. 4. In a bowl, mix together garlic, olive oil, paprika, pepper, mixed herbs, and salt. 5. Pour the mixture into potato wedges. Coat well. 6. Line a Sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the potatoes on the tray. 7. Sprinkle cheese over the potato wedges. 8. Bake for 20 - 25 mins at 400 F, Or bake until golden brown. 9. Sprinkle more cheese over hot potato wedges. 10. Serve hot with ketchup. When it comes to making some veg dish with chapatti, its always either cauliflower or potato for me. I made this recipe when I had some friends coming over for dinner. It's a very simple and easy to make recipe, if you have some go-to sauces like tomato sauce, chili sauce, Soy Sauce this is the best recipe to make. I usually have these sauces in my fridge, so when I had a guest coming over for dinner I thought this would be the perfect recipe to make. Ingredients For the Florets 1. Cauliflower - 1 small 2. Flour - 2-3 tbsp 3. Cornstarch - 1 - 1/2 tbsp 4. Water - 1/4 cup 5. Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 Tsp 6. Soy Sauce - 1/2 tbsp 7. Black pepper - 1/4 tsp 8. Red chili powder - 1/4 - 1/2 Tsp 9. Salt to taste 10. Oil to fry For Gravy 1. Ginger-Garlic - 1 tbsp 2. Green Chili, finely chopped - 1 3. Onion, chopped finely - 1/4 cup half a medium onion 4. Spring onion, finely chopped - 1/4 cup 5. Capsicum, finely chopped - 1/4 cup 6. Soy Sauce - 1/2 tbsp 7. Vinegar - 1 Tsp 8. Green Chilli Sauce - 1 Tsp 9. Tomato/Red Chili Sauce - 1/2 Tsp 10. Salt to taste 11. Black Pepper as required Method 1. Boil water with salt, then add cauliflower florets to the water. Let them blanch in the salt water for around 10 mins. 2. After 10 mins, drain the water off. 3. Make a batter using the first set of ingredients. Mix everything together to make a smooth paste. It should neither be too thick nor thin. 4. Add the florets to the batter and coat them evenly. 5. Heat oil in a pan and dry the florets until golden brown 6. For Gravy, In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil and add ginger-garlic paste, onion, green chillis, capsicum and green onion. Saute on high heat for 3-4 mins.
7. Add soy sauce, Vinegar, green chili sauce, tomato sauce, black pepper and, salt. Stir for 1-2 mins. 8. Add the fried cauliflower toss until well coated with the sauce. 9. Gopi Manchurian is ready to serve. Hi Friends, this is the second time am making Boston Cream pie. First recipe I tried, was a more traditional one, and this one is a different version with a cream cheese layer, which I saw on Facebook. As always, I wanted to try it as soon as possible. As expected, it's an awesome pie, which melts in your mouth. I made half the recipe because I just had 1 cream cheese pack in my fridge and used a small 5 inch spring form pan. But am definitely ready for a bigger if there is a big crowd coming over. Ingredients a] For the white cake 1. All purpose flour - 1 and 3/4 cup 2. Baking Powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp 3. Salt - 1 tsp 4. Whole Milk - 3/4 cup 5. Butter - 1/2 cup room temp 6. Eggs - 3 large 7. Sugar - 1 cup 8. Vanilla - 1 tsp b] For the Cheesecake 1. Gelatin - 4 tbsp 2. Boiling water - 1 cup 3. Sugar - 1/2 cup 4. Cream Cheese - 4 cups, softened at room temp 5. Vanilla - 2 tsp 6. Lemon Juice - 1 tsp c] Pastry Cream 1. Egg yolks - 2 2. Sugar - 1/2 cup 3. Cornstarch - 2 tbsp 4. Salt - 1/2 tsp 5. Whole Milk - 1 cup 6. Heavy cream - 1/4 cup 7. Butter - 1 tbsp 8. Vanilla extract - 1 tsp d] For the Ganache 1. Dark chocolate/ semi sweet chocolate chips - 3 cups 2. Heavy Whipping Cream - 1 and 1/2 cups Method Making White Cake 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a 9-inch cake pan with baking spray and parchment paper. 2. In a medium saucepan, bring milk and butter to simmer. When butter is completely melted, remove from heat. 3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. 4. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar, until pale yellow color. With the mixer running, slowly add the warm milk, until well combined. 5. Finally, combine dry ingredients and vanilla. Beat until well combined. 6. Pour into greased pan and bake for 30 to 35 mins. Set aside to cool. Making Cheesecake 1. Line a 9 inch springform pan / mousse ring line with parchment paper. 2. Combine gelatin with sugar and boiling water. Mix until gelatin is completely dissolved. 3. In a bowl, beat cream cheese until completely smooth. Add vanilla and lemon juice, beat on medium high speed until well incorporated. 4. Slowly add gelatin mixture, once incorporated pour into the spring form. 5. Set in fridge to firm for up to 4 hours. Making Pastry Cream 1. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well combined. 2. Whisk in cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk, cream and butter. 3. Cook mixture using double boiler/ medium heat until it starts to thicken. 4. Add vanilla and mix until well combined. 5. Strain and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly onto the surface. 6. Chill for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. Make the ganache 1. Microwave chocolate and cream, until it reaches a smooth consistency. 2. Stir after every 30 seconds and microwave again to avoid burning the chocolate. you can also use a sauce pan on medium heat to melt the chocolate. Assembling 1. Here am cutting the cake into 2 equal halves and just using one layer. 2. Here and using 5 inch mousse ring. So am trimming the cake to fit the mold. 3. We start assembling by placing cake layer first. 4. Place the set cheesecake layer on top of the cake layer. 6. Cover the cake with parchment paper/transparent mousse edge wrapper. 5. Spread a thick layer of pastry cream. I used piping bag. 6. Fill in the last layer with chocolate ganache and place in the fridge to set.
7. Remove the parchment paper before serving. Chicken liver fry is one of my favorite, specially Kerala style. This is a very simple recipe and it goes well with rice and chapathi. If I see chicken liver while grocery shopping it will be in my cart for sure ;-) Posting this for all the chicken liver lovers out there. I always clean chicken liver by putting it in turmeric water for about 10 mins and then clean it well before cooking. Last time when I did goat liver fry, it had a bit more penchant feel. So I put it in water mixed with vinegar and butter milk. Recipe for that, another time. Ingredients 1. Chicken liver - 1/2 kg 2. Red Onion - 1/2 a medium ( chopped small) 3. Ginger - 1/2 inch 4. Garlic - 2 big cloves 5. Black Peppercorns - 6 to 7 nos or Black Pepper powder - 1/2 tbsp 6. Coriander powder - 1 tsp 7. Curry Leafs - as required 8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp 9. Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp 10. Salt - as required 11. Oil - as required 12. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp 13. Green chilli - 1 small chopped small pieces ( optional) 14. Dry red chilli - 1 Method 1. Cut the liver into medium size pieces. Wash liver using turmeric powder and drain off the excess water. 2. To make marinate, grind ginger, garlic, pepper, red chilli, turmeric and salt. 3. Marinate the liver with ground mixture for 30 mins. 4. After 30 mins, fry the liver pieces in oil. 5. Do not over do, else it will start breaking. 6. Fry all the pieces and when done move to a plate with tissue to drain off excess oil. 7. In the same pan, add chopped onion, curry leafs, dry red chilli and green chilli. Add more oil if necessary. 8. When it turn slightly brown, add Garam Masala and fried liver.
9. Toss until liver is coated with masala, about 1 mins. 10. Garnish with coriander and serve. Hey Guys, Christmas is almost here and my friends keep asking me for easy plum cake recipe. But to make a good plum cake, there are few steps which we have to do ahead and cannot be skipped, like caramelizing sugar and soaking dry fruit mix in rum/ orange juice. Since there was demand for simple recipe I kept searching for simple plum cake recipe and came across a very easy and delicious eggless wheat flour plum cake recipe. Since there is no butter and eggs, you don't have to do too much of mixing and whipping. Now talking about the taste, it's very moist and delicious. So for all my busy/lazy friends looking for simple plum cake recipe this is the one for you guys. Enjoy. Ingredients 1. Wheat Flour - 1 and 1/2 cups 2. Brown Sugar - 1 cup ( 3/4 cup If you are adding dates syrup) 3. Vegetable/Corn oil - 1/2 cup 4. Vinegar - 1 tbsp 5. Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp 6. Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp 7. Mixed Fruit / Pineapple jam - 1 tbsp 8. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp 9. Caramelized sugar - 5 tbsp Click here for recipe 10. Dates syrup - 2 tsp (optional) 11. Spices a. Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp b. Clove powder - 1/2 tsp c. Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp d. Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp 12. Mixed Fruit - 1/3 cup ( soaked in orange juice/ Rum for at least 6 hours) Click Here Your Preference a. Multi colored Tutti fruiti b. Raisins c. Orange marmalade d. Dates e. Dry Raspberry f. Dry Blueberry 13. Chopped nuts - 1/4 cup 14. Buttermilk - 1/2 cup Method 1. Preheat oven to 356 F/180 C. 2. Sieve all the dry ingredients - flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder. 3. Now drain the fruit from orange juice/ rum and add to flour mixture. Note - Doing like this will help the fruits to spread evenly in batter else will sink to the bottom. 4. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, oil, vanilla, vinegar, dates syrup and jam. Mix until well combined. 5. Alternatively add flour and buttermilk in small batches, until a thick batter is formed. 6. Finally add the caramel syrup and chopped nuts. Caramel syrup gives the dark color. You can add more for more rich color. 7. Pour the batter into a greased pan. Bake for 30 - 35 mins. Note - You can double the recipe for bundt cake if you want a bigger cake than mine (I didn't double) or perfect for 6 inch round cake. 8. After 30 mins check the cake using tooth pick/ knife. Note - The original recipe said 35 - 40 mins. Since I made in bundt pan 30 mins was enough. 9. Cool the cake in cooking rack for 10 mins. After 10 mins remove from pan and cool completely.
This is a very light and refreshing cake. I made this for my friends husbands birthday. She wanted a small strawberry cake which is not too heavy. Initially I thought of making a sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberry puree layer. But she wanted a pink cake, so I added the strawberry puree into the cake batter itself. Its a very simple cake to make, I want everyone to try this cake. Ingredients 1. Eggs - 2 2. Strawberry Puree - 3/4 cup (I used fresh strawberries) 3. Vanilla - 1/2 tsp 4. Strawberry Extract - 1 tsp or Strawberry flavored Jello - 1 tbsp 5. Pink Color - 1 -2 drops 6. Cake Flour - 1 1/2 cup ( In each cup add 1 tbsp cornflour and then fill with all purpose flour) 7. Granulated Sugar - 175 gms 8. Baking Powder - 1/2 tbsp + 1/4 tsp 9. Salt - 1/2 tsp 10. Vegetable Oil - 1/8 cup 11. Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup Method 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. For this cake we are doing Reverse cream Method. 3. Add sugar in mixing bowl, sift in flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder. 4. Add vegetable oil and butter into flour to form crumbs. 5. For making strawberry puree, chop strawberries into small pieces add 1 tbsp sugar, puree and strain them. 6. Measure it after straining. 7. Combine eggs and strawberry puree. When combined add strawberry flavored jello to get more strawberry flavor. 8. Slowly add the wet ingredient into flour mixture. 9. Slowly increase speed and form thick fluffy batter. 10. Pour into greased pan and bake for 35 - 40 mins. 11. Cool the cakes in cooling rack, after 10 mins remove from pan and cool completely. 12. When completely cooled I wrapped with plastic wrap and refrigerate for few hours. 13. Refrigerating makes it easy to cut the cake without crumbling. 14. You can also have this cake without icing. Just cool it completely and serve. Note : Here and using 6 inch and 7 inch cake pans. You can just use a 8 inch cake pan. Assembling 1. Cut cake into 2 halves. 2. Place first layer, soak with sugar syrup. 3. Layer with chopped strawberries and stabilized whipped cream.
4. Now place the other after of the cake, cover with whipped cream and decorate as preferred. |
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