Vols-au-vent – Daring Baker’s September Challenge

“After one bite we could die and go to heaven” thats what Vols-au-Vent is all about”.

I seem to have been regularly irregular.This Summer has kept me really occupied.I will surely get back soon with a “Bang”,for now its gona be another Daring Baker’s Challenge.I just enjoy being a part of it,the recipes are so perfect and also very challenging.Puff Pastry makes life alot easier,variety of appetizers can be made in a jiffy.I have always wanted to make the pastry dough from scratch.Thanks to Steph for making this happen.These sheets are not available in all the places,atleast am pretty sure its not available in India.So people take out your rolling pins and get ready:)

Never did I realize that it was so easy to make them all by myself.From now on its gona be “No No to ready made Pastry sheets”!!!

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge has been chosen by Steph of a whisk and a spoon. Steph chose Vols-au-Vent, which we are pretty sure in French means, “After one bite we could die and go to heaven!”

She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

Puff pastry (aka pâte feuilletée) is something most of us usually buy at the grocery store, but in order to be really daring, we should make our own at least once in awhile, right? Kitchens should be getting cooler in the northern hemisphere, and are hopefully still cool-ish in the sourthern hempisphere, so I’m hoping you will all join me in making homemade puff pastry from Michel Richard’s recipe, as it appears in the book Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. With our homemade puff we’ll be forming vols-au-vent cases to fill with anything we chose.

Puff pastry is in the ‘laminated dough” family, along with Danish dough and croissant dough. (In fact, if you participated in the Danish Braid challenge back in June 2008, then you already know the general procedure for working with laminated dough.) A laminated dough consists of a large block of butter (called the “beurrage”) that is enclosed in dough (called the “détrempe”). This dough/butter packet is called a “paton,” and is rolled and folded repeatedly (a process known as “turning”) to create the crisp, flaky, parallel layers you see when baked. Unlike Danish or croissant however, puff pastry dough contains no yeast in the détrempe, and relies solely aeration to achieve its high rise. The turning process creates hundreds of layers of butter and dough, with air trapped between each one. In the hot oven, water in the dough and the melting butter creates steam, which expands in the trapped air pockets, forcing the pastry to rise.

Once we have our puff pastry dough made and chilled, we are going to roll and form a portion of it into vols-au-vent, which are little puff pastry cases designed to hold a filling. I chose vols-au-vent specifically because I think they do a beautiful job of showing off the hundreds of flaky layers in the homemade puff. They can be made large enough for a full meal, or made small for little one-bite canapés, the choice is yours. Vols-au-vent are typically served hot and filled with a creamy savory filling (often poultry or seafood-based), but cold fillings, such as chicken or tuna salad, work, too. Whipped cream or pastry cream with fresh or stewed fruit often goes into sweet versions. If you are stumped for ideas for your filling(s), a quick on-line search or a glance at a traditional French cookbook will give you plenty of things to consider. I have photos of the ones I made near the bottom of this post.

Mandatory parts of the challenge: You must make Michel Richard’s recipe for puff pastry (as seen below), and form at least part of it into vols-au-vent (instructions below).

Optional parts of the challenge: You may make your vols-au-vent large or small, and may fill them with whatever you choose (savory or sweet).

Equipment:
-food processor (will make mixing dough easy, but I imagine this can be done by hand as well)
-rolling pin
-pastry brush
-metal bench scraper (optional, but recommended)
-plastic wrap
-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-silicone baking mat (optional, but recommended)
-set of round cutters (optional, but recommended)
-sharp chef’s knife
-fork
-oven
-cooling rack

Prep Times:
-about 4-5 hours to prepare the puff pastry dough (much of this time is inactive, while you wait for the dough to chill between turns…it can be stretched out over an even longer period of time if that better suits your schedule)
-about 1.5 hours to shape, chill and bake the vols-au-vent after your puff pastry dough is complete
Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d’oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to “glue”). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).
Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough

From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that’s about 1″ thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10″ square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with “ears,” or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don’t just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8″ square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24″ (don’t worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24″, everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24″ and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you’ve completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.
Steph’s extra tips:

-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don’t want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough…you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don’t roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

Since I could come up with my own fillings,I made them into different shapes.

Heart shaped ones filled with roasted nuts and sprinkled with Chocolate sauce

Cream Cheese and Jalapenos filling

Larger size with stir fried beans and cheese topping

Stuffed with spicy vegetables

Verdict – As the names says,”After one bite we could die and go to heaven”.Its a perfect appetizer/snack for all occasions.It goes well with practically anything.I love it,love it,love it!!!!

Chocolate covered Marshmallow Cookies – Daring Baker’s Challenge July 2009

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole of Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This is my first experience at the Daring Baker’s Challenge and am looking forward to more of it.

Mallow experience –

I was very fascinated with the entire process.Though the time mentioned in the original recipe was very reasonable but it took a li’l long for me.I have never used marshmallows in my baking and this was the first time.I had some store bought ones which came handy.I had halved the quantity of the ingredients which means I should have ended up with 24 cookies but I ended up with 36 of them!

Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies) Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website
Prep Time: 15 min (cookies only)
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hours or up to 3 days (cookies only)
Cook Time: 10 min (cookies only)
Serves: 36 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 eggs, whisked together
Homemade marshmallows, recipe follows(However I used the store bought ones)
Chocolate glaze, recipe follows

1.In a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the dry ingredients.

2.On low speed, add the butter and mix until sandy.

3.Add the eggs and mix until combine.

4.Form the dough into a disk, wrap with cling film or parchment and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

5.When ready to bake, grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

6.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

7.Roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, on a lightly floured surface. Use a 1 to 1 1/2 inches cookie cutter to cut out small rounds of dough.

8.Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.

9.Pipe a “kiss” of marshmallow onto each cookie. Let set at room temperature for 2 hours.

10.Line a cookie sheet with parchment or silicon mat.

11.One at a time, gently drop the marshmallow-topped cookies into the hot chocolate glaze. Lift out with a fork and let excess chocolate drip back into the bowl.

12.Place on the prepared pan and let set at room temperature until the coating is firm, about 1 to 2 hours.

Note:If you don’t want to make your own marshmallows,you can cut a large marshmallow in half and place on the cookie base.Heat in a preheated 350-degree oven to slump the marshmallow slightly,it will expand and brown a little. Let cool, then proceed with the chocolate dipping.

Prep Time: 5 min (marshmallows only)
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours (marshmallows only)
Cook Time: 10-20 min (marshmallows only, includes cooking sugar & whipping marshmallow)
Serves: About 4 dozen cookies at 1 – 1.5 inch
Homemade marshmallows:
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup (168.76 grams/5.95oz) sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons cold water
2 egg whites,room temperature
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.In a saucepan,combine the water,corn syrup,and sugar,bring to a boil until “soft-ball” stage,or 235 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2.Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let dissolve.

3.Remove the syrup from the heat,add the gelatin,and mix.

4.Whip the whites until soft peaks form and pour the syrup into the whites.

5.Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff.

6.Transfer to a pastry bag.

Prep Time: 5 min (glaze only)
Inactive Prep Time: N/A
Cook Time: 5-7 min (glaze only)
Serves: Enough to dip about 4 doz. cookies at 1 – 1.5 inch

Chocolate glaze:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 ounces cocoa butter or vegetable oil

1.Melt the 2 ingredients together in the top of a double boiler or a bowl set over barely simmering water.

Verdict –

The cookies even without the chocolate glaze tasted very well.I didn’t use a cookie cutter hence my cookies were quite big in size and the marshmallow on top looked too small.End of the day,I am satisfied with my experience with the mallows.It was tasty and very chocolaty.Since I had used store bought marshmallows,I had to bake it for few mintues.Guess I had left it for a longer time and they turned completely flat.Had to redo it.

I love the Peperridge farm Milano Cookies,was too keen on making them.However due to time constraint I had to choose between the Mallows and the Milano cookies.Chocolate always comes first,hence I decided on the Mallows.Will need to plan ahead of time in the future.Am eagerly looking forward to the other Baker’s post.

Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake ….a celebration!

And it is so Cold..so very Cold. Its time for Summer and here am still feeling cold.The temperature is about 52 F and doesn’t seem to get any better. I am irritated to get back to the same old warm clothes..poor me! It was drizzling thru out the weekend too.Oh god, I wish I had a magic wand and change the weather the way I want it to be:)

In spite of the weather being bad,we didn’t compromise on our plans,especially on the Saturday. Weekends can be really quixotic and inspiring .P & I had a lovely day, “we” being formally dressed had a quiet and romantic Dinner at a classic American Restaurant, actually this is one of the finest restaurants here. Being a foodie I have been to all the kind of restaurants,have tried most of the cuisines and tasted best of the best foods, I guess very soon I should start blogging about my food and travel experiences too:-P.The restaurant pretty much had limited veggie entrée,but we were able to adapt a pasta dish (which was made veggie for us) called Linguini with fresh tomatoes (the original one had shrimp),we were happy to manage very well with the little that we could order.We also had Creamed Spinach which was served with Asiago cheese & some hand cut Idaho Potato fries,Bruschetta(grilled crostini rubbed with garlic and Virgin Olive oil topped with Roma Tomatoes,fresh Basil and Herbs).The dessert section was to die for – I had a Chocolate Lust cake ie., sinful layers of Devils food,Chocolate cheesecake and Rice Chocolate Truffle cake topped with Fudge Icing and Chocolate cookie crumbles…ummmm it was SINFUL!.

Well coming to the recipe, this is something I tried baking this weekend (Recipe taken from – the book “Taste of Home Desserts” along with my li’l variation) for something special…a celebration. I love cheesecakes and here is my endeavor with Apples and Cinnamon!

Preparation time – 15mins
Start to Finish – 1 hour(excluding the refrigerating time)
Yield – 12 Servings

Ingredients:

Butter – 1 stick/1/2 cup(softened)
Brown Sugar – ¼ cup
All Purpose flour – ½ cup
Wheat flour – ½ cup
Quick Cooking Oats – ¼ cup
Pecans – ¼ cup(finely chopped)
Ground Cinnamon – ½ tsp

Filling:

Cream cheese – 2 packages( 8 ounces each)
Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 ounces)
Apple juice concentrate – ½ cup
Eggs – 3 (lightly beaten)

Topping:

Apples – 2 medium( peeled and sliced,I used Pink Lady Apples)
Butter – 1 tbsp
Cornstarch – 1 tsp
Ground Cinnamon ¼ tsp
Apple Juice concentrate – ¼ cup

Method :

In a small mixing bowl,cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.Gradually add Flour,Oats,Cinnamon and Pecans until well blended.Press onto the botton of a greased baking sheet(1 ½ in. up the sides).Bake at 325F for tem minutes or until set.Cool on a wire rack.
In a large mixing bowl,beat cream cheese until fluffy.Beat in Condensed milk and Apple concentrate until smooth.Add eggs beat on low speed just until combined( the batter will be thin).Pour into crust.Bake at 325F for 40-45min or until centre is almost set.Cool and carefully run a knife on the edges to loosen.Refrigerate over night.
In a pan cook and stir in apples in butter over medium heat until crisp and tender.Cool and arrange over cheesecake.In a small sauce pan,combine cornstarch,cinnamon and apple juice concentrate until smooth.Bring to a boil.Reduce heat;cook and stir for a minute or until thickened.Immediately brush over Apples.Refrigerate for an hour or until chilled.

These cakes have to be consumed at the earliest(I mean it cannot be stored for long),else they turn a li’l harder. The original recipe doesn’t call for wheat flour,I wanted to reduce the intake of A.P Flour,hence used wheat flour .

Bourbon Biscuits and am back!!!!

Okie…am back,not that I ever left,am back to the blogging world! I thought I would take a moment today to welcome myself back from a long and a wonderful vacation.Am I happy or sad???? Well,I have mixed feelings,feeling bad coz am missing my family,happy coz am back to my space,my sweet home. It was a long long….very long vacation,huh and its over now!

As it is said,”If you come as happy as you leave,you have had a good vacation”.I am thoroughly happy to get back,whatever it is end of the day you really wana get back to your den!. Have you heard this one too – “No one needs a vacation more than the person who just had one”.So am ready,P wat say,eh?

Few bloggers thought I disappeared, few kept checking on me…felt nice with all responses.Thanks a lot for stopping by my blog even in my absence. To kick off,I decided to make something sweet, which is actually both P’s & my favourite – Bourbon Biscuits.Does it ring a bell??? Yeah this is the one which is like a sandwich biscuit consisting of two thin dark chocolate biscuits with a chocolate cream filling.This one was one of my all time fav as a kid,I remember licking the cream inside first and then have the biscuit. It surely is a hit amongst kids.The chocolaty color makes this all the more appealing:)

This is P’s cousins recipe, I believe she learnt baking before her wedding and his Aunt collated all the recipes n gave it to me during my visit this year.I did change a li’l as per requirement.

Ingredients –

All Purpose Flour/Maida – 1 cup
Sugar – 1/3 cup
Butter – ¼ cup
Baking Soda – 1/4tsp
Honey – 1tsp(optional)
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Cocoa – 3 tsp
Vanilla Essence – 2tsp
Cold milk – 3-4 tbsp

For Filling(Butter icing)-

Butter – 1/4cup
Icing Sugar – 1/3 cup
Cocoa – 1 tsp
Vanilla Essence – a few drops

Method:

Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add essence,honey and Baking Soda and blend well.Sieve the Flour with Cocoa and baking powder.Mix the Flour to the creamed mixture and form a soft dough.Add cold milk to this dough.Roll out the prepared dough on a board(You may use a li’l flour for dusting) and cut with a biscuit cutter(I cudn’t find mine,hence used a knife to cut into rectangles).Prick on top of the cut shapes with a toothpick and sprinkle sugar.Place on a greased and floured baking tray and bake at 355F for 8-10mins.Cool it for 2mins before using the filling.

For the filling:

Mix all the filling ingredients to a smooth paste.Sandwich the biscuits with this chocolate butter icing.

Brown is one of my fav colors too,hence this recipe perfectly fits in for FIC:Favourite.So here it goes to Curry Leaf who is hosting this event originally started by Harini of Tongueticklers.

Except for the baking,which is less than 10min this one is an easy stuff to make.So off it goes to 15 minutes cooking,hosted by Mahima of the Indian Vegetarian Kitchen.

I have missed alot of awards,i did see messages from alot of them about the same.Am yet to check and accept,however would like to thank each and every individual for having thought about me & passing it to me.Thanks a bunch!

Litchi Cinnamon Custard Bar and Awards!

Social networking sites/social media – tell me who is not addicted? This is something that has caught up with youngsters and elders alike. While at work, never did I have a chance to indulge in such activities,now that I have all the time in the world I got lured into it too. Just a couple days back in Facebook, a friend of mine tagged me for something called – 25 things you have to say about yourself and keep passing the baton. It was funny, yet intriguing. Once done, I decided to do something similar in our very own blogging world ,at least this would give us an opportunity to know our fellow bloggers better other than their culinary expertise. Instead of 25 things, I thought 5 to 7 was good enough to kick start.Coincidentally,Varsha proposed something similar too and tagged me. “Great minds think alike”,don’t they? Let me not bore you much,I am just writing seven of them,will leave the rest to your imagination 😀

1.Kitchen is my exclusive paradise, an area where I pursue my culinary endeavors , no one gets to cook..It’s MY SPACE!

2.I am a cleanliness freak, particularly Kitchen & Bathroom. Utensils lying in the sink is a good enough reason for me to lose my temper.P bares the brunt most times.

3.I drink gallons of water,so I use the loo a lot:-P My friends always take a dig at me for this!

4. I believe,am not only good in making friends but keeping them too,still in touch with folks I’ve known since I was 5yrs old. Touchwood!

5.As a kid I’ve been told” books are like god”,if your feet happens to touch it,take it immediately and hold it close to your eyes (actually its like saying sorry god).Just for fun,my Dad and bro torture me by actually taking a newspaper,touch it to my feet,hide it & make me run around the entire house,I would be relieved only when I find it. Its quite funny but I still believe in this.

6.I don’t claim to be a Master neither a geek,but certainly good at excel and numbers, after all that’s been my bread & butter for long.

7. I drool over Death by Chocolate & Tiramisu,the latter being my fav one.Am crazy to the extent of naming P’s number on my mobile phone as “Tiramisu”

I would be happy to see your responses too, however I leave the choice to you.I am tagging seven of them – Asha,Mahimaa,Supershef,Vidhya,Alka,Hema,Malar

This is also going to be my last post before a long vacation to India.Whenever I get time,I will surely try and check all your blogs.If not,I will catch up with all your posts once am back.I thought to wind up with a sweet dish using any fruit and the soft gui gui Litchi is the fruit that came into my mind first.Its also spelt as “Lychee” and called “Litchu” or “Laichi”.The original recipe was called “Pear Custard Bar” from the book “Taste of Home Desserts”.Instead of Pear, I used Litchi and also tweaked the recipe a li’l and made this gorgeous looking dessert. So here it is….

Ingredients:

Sugar – 1/3 cup
All Purpose Flour – 3/4cup
Vanilla extract/essence – 1 tsp
Pecans – ½ cup
Cashewnuts – ½ cup
Macadamia nuts – ¼ cup(optional)- Ididn’t add this

For the topping:

Cream cheese – 1 package (8 ounces),softened
Sugar – ¼ cup
Vanilla extract/essence – 1 tsp
Litchi – 1 can (this had about 18 pieces),drained
Sugar – ½ tsp
Ground Cinnamon – ½ tsp

Method:

1.Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Add Vanilla extract,gradually add flour to the creamed mixture.Mix well and stir in the nuts.
2.Press into a greased 8-in square baking pan.Bake at 350F for about 20min or until lightly brown.Cool it.
3.In a small mixing bowl,beat cream cheese until smooth.Beat in sugar(1/2 cup),egg and vanilla.Pour over the crust.
4.Cut the litchi into half,arrange in a single layer over filling.Combine sugar(1/2tsp) and cinnamon;sprinkle over the litchi.Bake at 375F for 30min.Cool on a wire rack for an hour.

5.Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hrs before cutting.

Once its done,the centre will be soft set and will become firmer upon cooling.Store in the refrigerator.

Its time for Awards – Superchef and Malar has passed on these awards to me….thanks so much.

.Also Jaishree has passed on the above mentioned award and the Yumblog award.Thanks so much.

I want to take time,appreciate and thank each of the bloggers,you truly make a difference to the blogging world.Hence,am passing on all these awards to-Varsha,Asha,Mahimaa,Vidhya,Trupti,Alka,Hema,Rajeshwari,Malar,

Jaishree,Priya,Paru,Harini,Usha,Mangala,DeepaHari,

Rekha,Superchef,Dershana,Daily Meals,Ujwal,Preety,

Pavithra,Vani,Redchillies,Cham,Madhu,Madhumitha,

Priya,Lubna,Uma,Lavanya,AnuSriram,Sia,

Navita,Shama,Aparna,Madhuram,Chitra,Ashwini,Vibaas,

Jayasree,Indhu,Akal’s SaapaduLG,Maya,

Veggiebelly and Sowmya.

Have fun blogging:)

Lemon Raisin Chocolate Cake and an award!

It’s the month of romance,day of exchanging chocolates,flowers,gifts between loved ones all in the name of St Valentine.He was one of the most popular priest/saint in Rome .One of the kings (I seldom remember his name) decided that single men made better soldiers than the once with families. Valentine disagreed, fought for this injustice and secretly got young lovers married. What a thought!! And finally the King got to know about his deeds and put Valentine to death. I believe V-day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of his death.There are many other stories regarding this day,whatever it is,I suppose Valentine is undeniably a romantic figure. I bet most of the men would have loved to beat this guy who made this day possible coz they wudn’t have to buy flowers/chocolates/expensive gifts everytime:-P. Don’t you think women get more stuffs all the time????? They even have a day for themselves “Women’s day”.I think it’s time to have a “Men’s day” and appreciate all men who have made some difference in our lives:)

I had a wonderful time yesterday,thanks to P. I never knew he cud surprise me so well…very thoughtful of him.We had a lovely dinner at a Lebanese restaurant,my first tryst with Tabouli and it was yumm! And not to forget the belly dance there,which was surely a coincidence. The way we were seated,P was facing the dancer,I ensured we exchanged seats once the program started.Am sure Varsha might say “you too Brutusii” again:D. Post dinner it was Icecream time at Coldstone and then we watched Pink Panther 2 which I din’t enjoy much,felt it was a l’il slow.I somehow didn’t find Aishwarya Rai Bachan all that great,she wasn’t very appealing in this movie,age was showing up on her!

I guess liking “Chocolaty” stuff is a girl thing. A lot of men don’t prefer chocolate. As a matter of fact, P doesn’t prefer it much too,so I baked a “Lemon Raisin Chocolate Cake” for him. Though it was for him,knowing the “meanie wife” I am ,I had to ensure that it suits my taste buds too,thus added li’l bit of chocolate chips which he din’t mind:-P

Ingredients:-

All Purpose Flour – 3cups
Sugar – 2 cups
Eggs – 3
Butter – 2 sticks(1 cup melted)
Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp
Lemon Zest – 2- 3 tsp
Raisins – ¼ cup
Chocolate chips – just a li’l (I used ¼ cup)
Milk – 1 cup
Baking Powder – 2 tsp

Method –

1.Sift Flour and baking powder together. Keep aside
2.Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.Add eggs and vanilla essence.
3.Continue beating, add the flour l’il by l’il.Add milk accordingly to get a batter like consistency.You may increase the quantity of milk based on the requirement.Add in the lemon zest.Mix well.
4.Transfer the batter to a greased pan,sprinkle raisins and chocolate chips.

5.Bake at 350F until a needle pierced in the centre comes out clean/till it turns brown. Allow it to cool and then serve.

At the end,it was a gorgeous looking cake:)

Generally, after baking because of the weight,raisins/chocolate chips would have resided in the bottom of the cake,so l’il bit of flour is mixed along with it before sprinkling on the batter. However, I didn’t do this, the raisins and chips were evenly spread in the cake.

Yasmeen of the Healthnut blog has passed on this award to me. Thanks so much Yasmeen:)

Cinnamon Rolls

Every other day I’ve been going out and things keep me busy. Jes got some time time now, thought to blog and also see what my fellow bloggers are up to!

I got to attend the Midwinter Feast at the International Institute of this state. It was well attended by people from different countries (around 20 different countries).We along with three more friends represented India. P along with his friends started identifying the flags of different countries displayed….Algeria,Lebanon,Denmark,Somalia,Hungary,Indonesia….…etc and that’s when I realized how bad I was.(huh!).For entertainment,there was a belly dance called Shaka Shaka Shaka by two beautiful girls(not sure from which country) and not to forget the soothing Carnatic music performance by our very own Nirmala Rajasekhar,she is definitely a great singer.

Being a foodie,I thoroughly enjoyed the different cuisines.For starters – Hummus & Pita(Lebanese),Piiraka(Finnish) this was new to me,it was something like a pie – a nice crust with mashed potatoes and for non veggies Martabak(Indonesian) and Eggrolls(Thai). Veg options in the main course- Lasagne(Italian),Bean Cake Moi-moi(Nigerian),Pad Thai(Thai) and Spicy Veg Biryani(Somalian) ,Green Bean Salad(Lebanese),Mediterranean Salad(Egyptian).And the best was the Desserts – Apple Turnovers(Swiss),Sweet Potato Pie(African American),Cookies(Tibetan) and Baklava(Egyptian).Ahhhh what a feast:-P. The icing on the cake was the $100 gift coupon(For one of the finest restaurants here) which I won there. I was overjoyed!

Coming to my recipe, I relished my first Cinnamon roll in Las Vegas Airport and haven’t forgotten the taste till date. The flavor that it brings to any food is incredible.P has a sweet tooth and made this for him yesterday.Its usually a li’l soft but I like it to be a li’l crunchy munchy 🙂

Ingredients & Method:

For the dough
All Purpose Flour – 3 cups
Granulated Sugar – 5 tbsp
Salt – a pinch
Vanilla Extract – 1tsp
Butter – 1 stick(1/2 cup)
Baking Powder – 2 tsp
Milk – ½ – ¾ cup

For the filling

Cinnamon powder – 2 tbsp
Brown Sugar – ½ cup
Granulated Sugar – ¼ cup
Pecans – 2 tbsp chopped (optional)
Butter – 2tbsp
Flour –for rolling/dusting

Mix all the above filling ingredients together and set aside.

For the icing-
Granulated Sugar – 1 cup
Vanilla Extract – ½ tsp
Milk – 5 tbsp
Cream – 3tbsp

Method

1. Mix all the dough ingredients to form soft dough.Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk depending on the texture of the dough.
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle(use flour for dusting).Evenly spread the filling on top of it. Carefully roll the dough and seal the ends(you may use milk to help you with sealing). Cut the roll into pieces (thickness to an inch or more).

3. Place the rolls on greased baking sheets and Bake at 375F until brown. It took 35mins for me. Allow it to cool for just few minutes.
4. Prepare the icing by mixing all the ingredients and drizzle it on top of the cinnamon roll.Let it set and enjoy the rolls!

I placed few pecans on top of the rolls,which is optional.Serve it hot or cold.

Since this was for P,I am sending this to Alka of Sindhirasoi who is hosting the “Just for You” event.

And also to Varsha of Will-O’-the-wisp who is hosting the event “Desert for the rest of us” originally started by Ramki of One Page cookbooks.

Easy Coconut Macaroons and awards

While making Coconut Macaroons yesterday, I was thinking about my Dad.After a good meal,he would go to the kitchen and ask my Mom “ Wats there to eat”? He actually meant something to munch or savories. We call it “Norukuthini” in Tamil.I wud ask “ Wats there to Norukufy”? (jes a modernized way of calling it).Mom used to get wild at times as we would have jes finished our dinner.My Bro and me wud end up laughing:).The funniest part are the things that he would enjoy eating – If he din’t find anything like a Muruku,Mixture or cookies, he would scrape li’l coconut and eat it with sugar,Toasted Peanuts/Cashewnuts/Pistachios or even as simple as milk powder. Things haven’t changed even now!

Similarly,once P gets back from work he looks around in the kitchen to “norukufy” something:-P.I try and make different stuff for him and this was the easiest I could think of making yesterday.

Ingredients:

Shredded coconut – 2 ¾ cup (I used sweetened coconut)
Sweetened condensed Milk – ¾ cup
Vanilla extract/essence – 1 tsp
Salt – a pinch

Method :

1.Mix all the ingredients together
2.Use an Ice cream scoop or spoon to drop the mixture onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 325F (preheated)for about 15 min or until golden brown. Cool it before munching:-D

Prep Time – 5 mins apart from the baking time.
Serving – Makes around 25-30 small Macaroons.

I also used Hershey’s Chocolate syrup on top of the macaroons.P doesn’t prefer this much,so jes made a few for myself.Few even add eggs to the recipe.Let me know if anyone has tried that.

Varsha of Will–O’-the–Wisp has passed on this award.This is my second one,feels so good!

Also, Mahimaa of the Indian Vegetarian Kitchen has passed on the above mentioned award.Thanks Mahimaa!
And I would like to pass on both these awards to Ramya of Maneadige,Mangala of Recipes24x7,Vidhas of Appetizing recipe,Trupti of Trupti’s Food Corner,Nags of Edible Garden,Varsha of Will-O’-the-wisp,Hema of Adlak’s Kitchen,Asha,Harini of Sunshinemom and Lubna of Yummy Food.

This goes to the “Just for you” event organized by Alka of Sindhirasoi.

Last but not the least,this is also off to Varsha of Will-O’-the-Wisp event Recipe for the rest of us – Dessert originally started by Ramki of One Page Cookbooks.

Fruitcake

After a much needed break…am back again, but I wonder where the long weekend disappeared???

When it comes to Christmas….the main “must eatable” stuff would be the “Christmas Fruitcake”.The amazing combination of loads of nuts and cherries in the spongy cake makes it all the more tempting. To ensure I don’t miss much of Christmas here…I baked a Fruitcake too.

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour/Maida – 1 ¾ cup
Granulated Sugar – 1 Cup
Dark Brown Sugar – 3/4th Cup
Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Eggs – 5 ( medium )
All spices grounded – 1 tsp ( 2 Cloves, Cinnamon and 3 cardamon)
Pecans – ½ cup (small pieces)
Candied fruit – 1 ½ cup (This is nothing but preserved fruit that has been dipped in sugar syrup for long – this is similar to the Tutty Fruity that we get in India)
Cashewnuts – 1/4th cup
Raisins – 1/2 cup (I used California seedless raisins)
Vanilla Essence/Almond Essence – 3 tsp
Milk – ½ cup
Unsalted Butter – ½ cup/1 Stick
Rum – 1/4th cup (optional)

Method –

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter ,sugar (both)and eggs till fluffy. Sift Flour,Baking Soda & Spice powder(I jes grounded all the spices together to a fine powder) and add it to the mixture. Stir until well combined.
2.Being heavy, the candied fruits might settle down in the bottom of the cake……to avoid that sprinkle 1 tbsp of Flour onto it & toss well.
3.Add all other ingredients except for the candied fruits and nuts. Beat at low speed until blended;beat at high speed for 3mins ,scrapping the bowl occasionally.
4.Gently fold in the fruits & nuts.Stir well.
5.Scrape the mixture onto a well greased pan. Bake in a preheated 250F until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.It took close to 40mins for me.
6.Cool for few minutes before removing from the pan.

The authentic Fruitcake as far as I know does have some form of Alcohol. If using Rum(this is optional),mix the candied fruits along with it and leave it for about 3 hrs before using it. I also dusted powdered sugar on the top, this is again optional.You can also add more milk to get the batter like consistency.