Egg less Chocolate Fudge Brownies

If you have been a regular reader of my blog, you must know I have a weakness for Brownies. I have already posted a couple of brownie recipes here: Chocolate Brownies, Nutella Brownies, One Bowl Egg less Brownies. My all time favorite of all these recipes is the first one. However, it is a cake like brownie. I was looking for a nice fudge brownie recipe and looks like I have got a great recipe. I can vouch for this one, it is a simple recipe, no fancy ingredients and the results are awesome. If you love brownies you have to try this. 

Also check the notes below the recipe to get the best results.

Recipe source: Adapted from 100 best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holcheck.

Egg less Chocolate Fudge Brownies

1 cup AP Flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter minus 2 tbsp, soft or melted at room temperature.

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup +2 tbsp yogurt

About 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped chocolate or choco chips, I used milk chocolate.

1tsp vanilla extract

Process

1. Preheat the oven at 175 C and line a 9x9inch brownie pan with parchment paper. Brush it with a little butter.

2. Shift flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, yogurt and vanilla together till well blended.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches and stir. Add water in batches till you get a condensed milk like consistency. Stir in the chopped chocolates.

5. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared tin and bake it for 35 minutes. A skewer inserted in the middle of the brownie will come out clean.

6. Let it cool down at least for 2 hours before slicing. You will get neat slices then.

7. Enjoy it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce.

Notes: 

- I have made this brownie a couple of times. First time I sliced it in just half an hour of cooling. The brownies didn't come out in neat slices. So, I make a point to bake it a day ahead for best results. Ideally, bake it in the evening, let it rest the whole night and have it next day.

- Do not skip adding chopped chocolates or choco chips, the melted chocolate adds another layer of taste and the gooey chocolate taste is awesome.

I am writing this post from India. I wanted to post this brownie recipe earlier but due to time constraint and last minutes tiny tasks, I wasn't able to. While I am in India, I might not be able to update this space as much as I like. Still, I will try to update this space whenever I can. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

 For Egg less Bakes this month Gayathri chose this Banana Muffin recipe. The recipe had eggs and all bakers had to try out the egg less version. As I have already tried a variation of banana muffin, I decided to play with the flavors. So, I added some cocoa powder and some choco chips and for a healthier option used whole wheat flour and oil. The muffins came out very moist and the flavour of banana was not very over powering.


Double Chocolate Banana Muffins:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1large banana mashed
3/8 cup sugar
4 tbsp oil
1tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp choco chips
3 tbsp yogurt
3 tbsp water

Process:

1. Sieve all the dry ingredients and set aside. Coat the choco chips with 2 tbsp of the flour mixture.
2. Preheat the oven at 175 C. Line a six hole muffin pan.
3.  Make a hole in the centre of the flour mixture and add the mashed banana, oil, yoghurt and water and mix with a whisk. Add lemon juice and choco chips and stir with a spatula. The batter is not runny but of whipped cream consistency.
4. Bake at 175 C for 12-15 minutes till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
5. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.

 Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

One Bowl Eggless Brownies

I had baked these brownies during the last weekend. It was a long weekend and hence a time for good food. I had been on a very plain diet for a long time due to my illness and now when I am feeling 100% fine, I wanted to indulge in my favorite thing - 'Chocolate'. What else is better than a brownie if you want something chocolate-y! Right, but I was not really in a mood to wash a sink full of utensils. That's when one bowl egg less brownies were born.

Long weekend also means some short trips, provided the weather is good. God must have heard my cribbing about the persistent bad weather and hence blessed us with a gorgeous sunny Saturday. We went for a day trip to Bray, a small seaside town in county Wicklow. Details about the trip will need another post but, I can't help sharing a picture of the day here.

Isn't it gorgeous?

Coming back to the brownie recipe, you will need:

One Bowl Eggless Brownies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup AP Flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar, powdered
1/4 cup sunflower oil
3/4 cup low fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
3- 4 tbsp chopped nuts( Optional, I used hazelnuts)

Process:
1. In a large bowl shift the AP Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk them till they are evenly mixed.
2. Preheat the oven at 180 C and grease and dust a 9x9 inch square pan.
3. Make a hole in the center of the flour mixture and add in the oil, yogurt, vanilla and half of the milk. Using a whisk or a spatula mix to form a spreadable batter. Add more milk if needed.
4. Pour the batter into the tin and spread it evenly. Bake it at 180 C for 35-40 mins. Cool it for 10 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Linking it to ShowCase - Dessert

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Egg less Vanilla Cake (With Condensed Milk and Coke)

It has been a while since I shared a cake recipe here. I do bake often but not all get posted here. I had clicked these pictures quite a while back. Only now it is making its way to this space. When ever I have a cake craving, it is usually for chocolate cake or a brownie. But, DH loves plain vanilla cake. So, when ever he requests me for a cake, it is plain vanilla only. Anything else should come with an icing.

I make the plain vanilla cake in a couple of ways, sometimes with yogurt, sometimes with vinegar. But, my favorite way is with condensed milk. So, if I have condensed milk can at home, I go this way.
There are many recipes floating around the web for a cake with condensed milk. Even, I remember my mom making  cakes with condensed milk. I can say it is the most traditional way of making egg less cakes. For the liquid content of the cake, I like to use coke or soda water. It really makes a difference to the texture of the cake. However, it can be replaced by milk or water if you don't have aerated cold drink at hand.

Eggless Vanilla Cake (With condensed milk and coke)

11/2 cup AP Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup soft butter
1 tin sweetened condensed milk (400gm)
2/3 cup coca cola at room temperature.
2 tsp vanilla extract

Butter and flour for greasing and dusting the pan

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 C. Line a 9" square tin. Please note that baking time may vary if you choose a smaller or larger tin. So, adjust accordingly.

2. Shift the flour, baking powder and baking soda twice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl whip the condensed milk and butter till the mixture is creamy.

4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in 2-3 parts. Keep stirring while adding flour mixture. Add the coke in the end and whisk for another 2 minutes. The batter will have a pouring consistency.

5. Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake it in the preheated oven for 15 minutes at 180 C. Then lower the temperature to 160 C and bake for another 25- 30 minutes.

6. The cake is done when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for at least 15 minutes before turning the cake out of the tin. Slice and enjoy!

Notes:

1. Add the aerated drink at the end only and be fast in pouring it into the greased pan and get baking.

2. Aerated drink can be replaced by room temperature milk or water. But, I find aerated drink gives a lighter texture to the cake.

3. If you are using a smaller pan, it make take longer to bake it. Similarly, if using a larger pan, it will get baked quicker. So, adjust accordingly and keep an eye.

Linking it to Bake Fest #6. This event is the brain child of Vardhini.

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Chocolate Cornets

For Egg less Bakes this month Gayathri chose this Chocolate Cornet recipe. The recipe had eggs and all bakers had to try out the egg less version. The cornet is made of bread dough and is filled with chocolate custard. For the dough, I substituted eggs with a mixture of yogurt and milk and for the chocolate custard I used corn flour.

These Chocolate Cornets will be great for kids. I filled four of them with chocolate custard and rest with a savoury samosa filling. However, I am giving the measurement of custard need for 12 cornets here. Baking them was fun. though it seemed a lengthy process as I had to make the cornet's molds from scratch.

Recipe Source:  CookingWith Dog

Ingredients:

Makes 12 Cornets:

For the dough:

300gm flour +1/4 cup flour for dusting

1 tbsp milk powder

2tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

7 gm Instant Yeast

140ml warm Water

2 tbsp yogurt

2 tbsp milk

30 gm butter

For The Chocolate Custard:

350 ml silk

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

3/8 cup chopped chocolate (I used a combination of dark and milk chocolate)

1 tsp vanilla extract

For The Cornet molds:

Please refer tothis video to check how to make them

For The Bread Cone:

Process:

1.  In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and milk powder. In lukewarm water add the sugar and then sprinkle yeast over it and let it sit for 5 minutes to rise.

2. Make a whole in the flour mixture and add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture. Add yogurt and milk and prepare soft dough.

3. Knead the dough for 5 minutes and then flatten it on the counter dusted with flour. Place the chopped pieces of butter in the middle and cover it with the dough.

4. The dough will be very sticky at this point, use extra flour and knead it for another 5-7minutes until the butter is well incorporated and the dough becomes soft and elastic.

5. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a plastic wrap.

6. Keep it in a warm place to rise till it is double in volume.

7. When well risen, punch the air out of it and divide it into 12 equal portions.

8. Roll each portion into a ball and keep it covered on the counter for 15 minutes.

9. Grease the cornet molds with butter

10. Flatter each ball and shape them into a long rope such that it is thin at edges and thicker in the middle.

11. Wrap it around the cornet molds. Start from the bottom to the top of the mold and then pinch the end of the rope to close it.

12. Place the prepared cornets on a greased tray and allow it to rise for 15-20minutess.

13. Preheat oven to 200C and bake the cornets for 10-12 minutes. When done place them on a wire rack to cool. Unmold the cornet and store cornets in an airtight box until needed.

Chocolate Custard: 

I prepared the custard in microwave.

Process:

1. Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat it in the microwave till it is melted. It will take 2 minutes.
2. Mix the corn starch, sugar in a large microwave safe bowl and add in the milk. Whisk to remove any lump. Microwave it for 2 minutes. Whisk again. Add the melted chocolate and vanilla essence. Whisk. Microwave it again for 3-5 minutes whisking after every 1 minute.
3. The custard is done the mixture comes thick and creamy. Time may vary from microwave to microwave. So, keep an eye on the process.

Assembling the Chocolate Cornets:

1. Fill the custard in a zip lock bag and make a small hole at one of the edges.

2. Place the tip inside the cornet and squeeze the bag to fill the cornet with the custard.

3. Repeat the same with other cornets. Serve with tea or coffee. Enjoy!

Linking it to Yeast Spotting

Eggless Coconut Cake

Egg less Bakes is a group started by Gayathri and for the first edition she chose a egg based coconut cake recipe. All the participants had to try out an egg less version and post it on their blog on a specified date. To know more about it and participate, check this.

I have made a lot of changes to the original recipe. I have halved the recipe and have substituted half of the flour with whole wheat flour, butter with oil and have used a combination of yogurt, baking soda and coconut milk to substitute the eggs. Lets hop to the recipe to see how I have made it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup AP Flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 dessicated coconut
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 175 C and grease and dust a 7" square pan.
2. In a large bowl sieve the flours, baking powder, baking soda.
3. Add sugar and dessicated coconut and whisk such that the mixture is uniform.
4. Make a hole at the centre of the mixture and add all the wet ingredients one by one and whisk till the batter is well incorporated. Do not over beat. The batter consistency is on the thicker side, yet of pouring consistency.
5. Bake it at 175 C for 35- 40 minutes till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
6. When baked, let it sit over 15 minutes and then invert it on a wire rack. When it cools completely slice and serve.

The cake had a slight crust, but was soft inside. The coconut flavour was good although freshly grated coconut will give a more prominent flavour. All in all I am satisfied with the results as far as texture is concerned. But the cake was a little less sweet and the coconut flavour was not as prominent as I would have liked. So next time I make it I would like to use 1 cup of freshly grated coconut and increase the sugar to 3/4 cup.

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!

Eggless Moten Lava Chocolate Cake ~ To Please Your Valentine!

February is associated with love often and why not when Valentine's day falls in this month. We are not valentines-day-kind-couple and do not fuss over it too much. The only thing I like to do on this day is to bake a special cake. When it comes to cakes, DH, who is otherwise an ardent choco-holic, loves vanilla flavored ones and I prefer chocolate! So, I am still in a dilemma what to make but I have my eyes on this one, may be I can combine vanilla and chocolate in one!

I made this molten lava cake a few days back when I was craving for a chocolate-y dessert. Paired with a scoop of vanilla, it was awesome. If you want to make something simple yet delicious, try this simple recipe this Valentine's Day.

I first came across this recipe while watching Master Chef India. I didn't make a note of it at that time but later found the video on you-tube. I have tweaked the recipe a bit and have halved the recipe to yield 2 servings.

 Click here for the printable version

You will need:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup AP Flour
2 tbsp cocoa flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4cup yoghurt
1/4 sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk
3 standard size pieces of chocolate chopped.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Process:
1. Grease 2 ramekins and dust it with flour.
2. Seive the flour. baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder together and set aside.
3. Mix butter, sugar, yogurt and vanilla extract, till well incorporated.
4. Now add the flour mixture into the butter mixture half at a time. Add milk and whisk to get a smooth batter.
5. Fill the ramekins a little less than half and place the chopped chocolates in the middle of the batter equally. Now cover it with the remaining batter, filling it a little lower than the brim. I still had some batter left and I poured it in a small greased ramekin.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 13-15 minutes.
7. After removing it from oven, wait for 10 minutes and let it cool, run a knife round the edges of the ramekins and invert it on a plate. Chocolate lava will ooze out! Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Note: Do not be too generous with chocolate, otherwise you will end up with too much of lava and the cake will not come out of the ramekin. I had done that when I had baked it for the first time :-)!

 

Linking it to Srivalli's Chocolate Mela,  Vardhini's Sweet Love , Sizzling Tastebuds' Valentine Fest Served with love, Valentine day special at Annzcafe and Radhika's Lets Cook - Sweet Something

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Heartiest Christmas Wishes with Chocolate and Dates Cake (Eggless)

At the very outset my heartiest wishes to all who celebrates Christmas. Wish you a very merry and fun filled Christmas!

Whether you celebrate this festival or not, you can't miss the festivity in the air and of course good food is all a part of the festive spirit. As everybody, I can't miss the opportunity to indulge in something delicious and of course baking comes to my mind.

I made this cake for a small get together at a friend's place. I was received well by my friends and in fact my DH also gave a thumbs up to it even though he is not a very big dates fan. The taste of dates is very subtle and in this particular cake it helps to accentuate the chocolate flavour. This recipe actually comes from one of my friends. I have only experimented a little by adding cocoa to it. 

 

Without much ado let's hop to the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup minus 2 tbsp AP Flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup castor sugar

1/2 cup pitted dates(About 15-18 soaked in water for 2-3 hours or overnight).

1 tsp baking powder.

3/4 tsp baking soda.

1/4 cup melted butter.

1/4 cup water used for soaking dates.

1/2 cup milk.

Process:

1. Grease a 6'' square cake tin and preheat the oven at 180C.

2. Churn the dates along the water and milk to make a smooth paste.

3. Shift flour, baking powder, soda 2-3 times together so that it is well blended.

4. Cream in the sugar and butter till well incorporated and fluffy.

5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients whisking all the time.

6. Whisk till the batter is smooth, around 2-3 minutes.

7. Pour into the pre greased tin and bake at 180 C for 20 mins and then lower the temperature to 160 C and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8. Let it rest in the tin for 5-10 mins before turning it on a wire rack to cool.

9. Cool completely and slice. Serve.

Thank you for stopping by! Merry Christmas! Cheers!

Eggless Nutella Brownies

I have recently become an ardent 'Nutella' fan. I look forward to having it with toasted bread, or in my shake or in cold coffees. Even sometimes, I have the urge to have a spoonful of it by itself, licking the spoon to polish it off any trace of it. I know it is not all good, but sometimes I really want to indulge myself with whatever I like. For a long time I had set my eyes of these brownies and finally I did bake them. In this festive season when everyone seems to be on baking high, when the blogging world seems to be flooded with baking recipes, I simply couldn't resist myself baking one. Just to make sure I do not end up eating all by myself, I shared them with a few people at work, and the way they came to thank me for these delicious brownies, I knew it was a hit.

I have tweaked the original recipe to lower the fat ingredients and also to suit it to my taste. Without much ado let check the recipe:

Adapted from: US Masala
(Click here for the printable version of the recipe)
Ingredients:
200 gm Nutella
1 cup AP Flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup low fat yoghurt
1/3 cup oil, I used sun flower oil
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup dry toasted chopped hazelnuts
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp instant coffee powder
a pinch of salt.

Process:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease and dust a 9X9 inch square pan. Heat Nutella in a microwave safe bowl till it is runny in consistency.
2. Shift all the dry ingredients. Add nuts to it and stir.
3. In another bowl, whisk oil and milk. Add yogurt and sugar and whisk for another minute. To it add Nutella and vanilla extract and stir again. Pour it into the dry ingredient mixture and stir till well incorporated.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake it at 180C for 25-30 minutes, till the top looks done ans skewer inserted comes clean.
5. After 30 minutes, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before taking them out. Slice and serve them warm with vanilla ice cream for that ultimate treat!

 

Linking it to Suma's Cookie Fest, Bake Fest #2 started by Vardhini hosted by Sangeeta of Spicy Treats,

 Kavi' Jingle all the way and Radhika's Let's Cook#10 Baked Goodies

 Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Nan Khatai ~ The Indian Cookies ~ For Sweet Punch

For Sweet Punch this month, the bloggers were given the choice of baking anything of their choice. After some thought I decided to bake these Indian cookies, Nan Khatai

It is December already and in less than a month we will step into the new year.The air is festive and you can feel Christmas all around. What better time to share this easy cookie recipe. Bake these goodies to gift it to your friends and family.

Laced with cardamom and saffron, these little cookies are rich and have a melt in the mouth texture. The whole house will be filled with fragrant aroma as they are baked in your oven. Without much ado, lets hop on to the recipe:

Recipe Source: Joy of Cooking

Makes 35-40 pieces

Ingredients:

250 gm AP Flour( About 11/4 cup)
200gm ghee, clarified butter or use unsalted butter
110gm caster sugar
4-5 cardamom pod seeds finely powdered
A pinch of saffron, 6-7 strands.
2 tbsp gram flour
1/4 cup semolina
1/4 tsp baking powder.
Handful of nuts of your choice, chopped or pounded roughly(I found a few cashews and pistachios in my pestle and mortar)

Process:

1. In a large bowl add sugar and ghee and whisk till sugar is dissolved in the ghee and the mixture is light and fluffy.
2. In a separate bowl, add AP flour, gram flour, semolina, cardamom powder and baking powder and sieve it. Add saffron and nuts to the flour mixture. You could also punch these nuts on to the cookies but I like them inside.
3. Now add the flour mixture to the sugar and ghee mixture and stir. Use your hands to make a soft pliable dough.
4. Make 35-40 even golf sized balls and place them on two large prepared baking trays, keeping some space between them. Flatten them slightly with your fingers. You can also bake them in batches.
5. Bake them at 175 C for 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they may turn burn if over baked.
6. Once out of oven let them cool in the tray for 5-10 minutes or they will crumble.

When completely cooled store them in an airtight container. Enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee.

Linking it to Suma's Cookie Fest, Kavi' Jingle all the way and Radhika's Let's Cook#10 Baked Goodies

Enjoy! Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Celebrating one year of 'Pages' with Eggless Black Forest Cake!

Time flies. It really does. Some times this realization hits me with a bang and makes me nervous as each seconds trickles away. On other occasions, it is a time to rejoice, to celebrate. Today's occasion falls in the later category. It is my blog's birthday! It was sometime in November last year I created this blog but, it was the 22nd of November when I wrote the first post. So that is the day for me.

So here are my wishes- 

Happy Birthday Blog! I am so glad I created you. 

Through you, I am able to show case to the world what I love to do,

Through you, I have come to know so many like me,

Who like to seek happiness in the simplest things,

Like sharing thoughts on books, food or everyday tales,

Through you I have discovered a new world. 

So, thank you dear blog and I hope we continue on this journey for years to come.

To celebrate this special occasion, I have something special to share today! Black Forest Cake! I had prepared it for by DH birthday, but didn't get to post it. Today is the perfect day to share this sinfully delicious cake. To know a little history of this German dish read THIS. This is off course not a very traditional recipe as it is tweaked to be made egg less. I have made it a couple of times and have  followed the recipe from a Nita Mehta's cook book.

Typically, Black Forest cake consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream decorated cherries, and chocolate shavings. So first we need to prepare a chocolate cake.

Eggless Chocolate Cake:

Ingredients:

400gm condensed milk.
1 cup milk.
2 cup AP flour.
½ cup powdered sugar.
½ cup cocoa powder.
1 cup oil.
2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp soda bicarbonate.
2 tsp vanilla essence.

Process:

1. Grease a 9 inch round baking tin and dust it nicely with flour. Preheat the oven at 175 C for 10-15 minutes.

2. Sieve flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda bi-carb together. Keep aside.

3. Beat oil, sugar and essence till well mixed. Add condensed milk and milk. Beat well till well incorporated.

4. To this mixture add flour mixture in 2-3 batches, mixing well all the time. Beat well for 4-5 minutes till the mixture is light and fluffy and of a soft dropping consistency. Add a few spoons of milk if needed.

5. Transfer the cake mixture to the prepare tin. Level it.

6. Bake it at 175 C for 50-55 minutes.

7. Insert a clean knife in the middle of the cake to check if it is done. If it comes out clean, switch off the oven and take the cake out. Remove from tin after 10-15 minutes, by inverting on the wire rack.

For the black forest cake we will need.

1 chocolate cake (From above).
150 gm glazed cherries.
1 tbsp rum (Gives the flavour, I encourage to use it or use rum essence).
2-3 tbsp sugar.
¼ cup water.

Cream Icing:

300ml double cream- chilled.
4 tbsp sugar or to taste.

Chocolate Decoration:

200 gm milk or semisweet chocolate, as per your taste.

Process:

1.   Chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and place them in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes in 4 steps of 30 seconds each. Stir every 30 seconds just to make sure chocolate doesn’t get burnt at the bottom and is evenly melted.

2.   Keep a parchment paper spread over a baking tray. Make sure it sticks to the tray, if needed use adhesive to make it stick. Spread the melted chocolate swiftly and evenly on the parchment paper. Let it rest for4-5 minutes is a relatively cool place so that the chocolate is firm enough to touch but not hard. Slice them into bars of equal sizes using a sharp knife. It is better to measure the height of the cake before spreading the chocolate and slicing it. Once sliced keep it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes till it is well set and gently take them off the parchment paper and store them in the fridge in an airtight container till needed.

Cream Icing and Assembling the cake:


Process:

1. Slice the chocolate cake evenly into 3 equal layers or more if you like. Place one half upside down on a flat plate.

2. Beat cream with sugar till the cream is thick and stands soft peaks. Keep it in the freeze till needed.

3. Dissolve sugar in water with rum. Thinly slice the cherries keeping aside 5-6 for decoration.

4. When the cake is completely cooled down, brush the sugar and rum syrup generously over the cake. The cake will soak it and will be moist. Spread a layer of cream over it evenly. Now spread a thin layer of sliced cherries.

5. Place the second layer of the cake. Brush with syrup generously and repeat the process of spreading cherries and then place the third and final layer and brush the syrup generously. Cover the whole of the cake with cream icing evenly.

6. Cover the cake sides with the prepared chocolate bars. Decorate the top with cream and cherries as desired.

7. Keep the cake in the freeze and take it out 15 minutes before serving

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes ~ Happy Birthday To Me!

The post title announces that it is a special day! Well, one's birthday is indeed special and I do not mind announcing it myself to the world.

I am on my India visit now and I am not really doing any blogging these days. To tell you the truth, I really do not feel like sitting in front of the computer when there is so many other things to do, friends and relatives to meet, shopping and 101 little things that time seems like flying. How ever, today is an exception. So, today I am sharing a very easy cupcake recipe. I have tried it a couple of times and I can tell you this much, this recipe is a keeper. With simple ingredients, it is so easy to make.

The best thing about cupcakes is that every body gets an individual cake and not just a piece of cake. Here I attempted to do the icing with double cream. However, it is as good without the icing. This is a basic recipe and you can add your own variations by adding choco chips, dried fruits, glace cherries etc.

Eggless Vanilla Cupcakes:

3/4 cup plain milk

11/2 tsp white vinegar

1 1/4 cups AP Flour

1 tsp baking powder.

1 tsp baking soda

 1/4 tsp salt.

3/4 cup powdered sugar.

1/4 cup oil.

11/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Yeilds 12.

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vinegar and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine.

3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the milk mixture. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

4. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready when a tooth pick inserted at the centre comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

250 ml double cream.
1/4 cup icing sugar or more.
1 tsp vanilla extract
a few drops of food colour, optional.
Glace cherries, a few.

Process:

1. Add all the ingredients and whip it with a beater till it get stiff peaks.
2. Fill it in a icing bag and keep it in refrigerator for half an hour.
3. When the cupcakes have completely cooled, ice the cupcakes as you like. I used a star nozzle to make stars and swirls and with a few I made butterfly cupcakes.

These cupcakes were soft and moist. Try it once and I am sure you will make them again.

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

Eggless Strawberry Banana Muffins ~ For Sweet Punch!

I am really excited to be able to participate in the August Sweet Punch. I hope it is going to be a regular affair on this blog from now on. This month Ria chose Strawberry Banana Muffins from the Joy Of Baking site. To tell you the truth, I was a bit apprehensive about the combination of Strawberry and Banana. I have used bananas in making chocolate cake. It has a mild banana flavour but I was not sure how I would like a prominent banana flavour muffin. So, I went for making a small batch and hence halved the quantities as given in the original recipe. Also I had to make it eggless. The results were good and I really enjoyed the moist flavourful muffins.

Strawberry Banana Muffins Recipe:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup yoghurt+1/4 cup water+1/4 tsp baking soda ( To replace 1 egg)
About 1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large ripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup fresh strawberries (cut into bite sized pieces)

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspooon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

I got 9 regular size muffins of these measurements.

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Line the muffin pan with paper liners.

2.In a saucepan melt the butter and let it cool down to room temperature.

3. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the yoghurt, water, baking soda, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter and stir to combine.   

4. In another large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently fold in the berries, making sure they are coated with flour. (This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking).

5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 

6. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups using an ice cream scoop. I got 9 with these measurements.

7. Place them in the preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes. They are done when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

8.Transfer into a rack and let it cool. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee.

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