Who could be more special in my life other than my daughter. She agreed to prepare a recipe with me and she insisted on going with apple. After running through my cookbooks, we decided on this apple cake. We had a great time together baking and whole moments were captured by my husband, another guest for this special occasion. Here is the recipe for u -

Ingredients:

1. Self raising flour – 1 cup
2. Castor sugar – 1/2 cup
3. Butter – 110 gm, melted
4. Apple – 2 small, peeled, chopped into small chunks
5. Egg – 2
6. Icing sugar – to decorate

Method:

1. In a bowl, beat eggs and sugar at high speed till creamy and fluffy

2. Add melted butter and flour and beat at medium speed to mix well

3. Finally bind in apple chunks to the cake mixture

4. Preheat oven to 180*C and grease baking pan . Pour the mixture into pan and bake for 20-25 min or till golden brown and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean

5. Leave the cake in the pan for 10 mins and then cool it on a wire rack. Sift over a little icing sugar before serving

Note :

1. I used muffin pan for mini cakes and  it needs only 10-12 mins for baking

2. This time i didn’t line the pan with baking paper. I wanted the apple to melt with butter to give more flavour

3. Give enough time for the cake to rest in pan after baking. Don’t turn it down immediately or else u will end up with some portion of cake stuck at bottom of the pan. No worries in case if u r using spring-form pan

Sending this recipe to “ Bakefest ” event hosted by Sumee & vardhini and  “ I love baking“  event hosted  by Radhika

Packet of sliced button mushrooms from the store has now become compulsory in my shopping list ( after a successful taste check ) . If u r wondering the store name , its B.I.G – Ben’s Independent Grocers at the newly opened Publika mall in Mont Kiara.  I really don’t write about any particular retail product or brand, but this store is surely an exception. Every time , when my husband tastes mushroom recipe , he would definitely ask – how only mushroom from this store tastes so good .

Now coming to the recipe part, this one is a fusion recipe. Its more like Indian gravy but prepared in a continental way. Cook mushroom with salt and pepper and keep it aside. In the same pan with leftover mushroom sauce, add onions and fry. Add tomato puree and Indian spices for gravy and cook till it thickens. Lastly add the cooked mushroom and ur dish will be ready will 5 mins. Here we don’t do the initial tempering part as we usually do for Indian gravies. We just cook mushrooms and onions in olive oil. But taste wise, it will be similar to mushroom kadai recipe. Here is the recipe for u -

Ingredients :

1. Sliced button mushrooms – 125 gm
2. Onion – 1 large , sliced lengthwise
3. Tomato – 3 Large , chopped and pureed
4. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
5. Chilli powder – 1 tsp
6. Pepper powder – 1/2 to 1 tsp
7. Green chilli – 1 , sliced into half
8. Olive oil – 1 tbsp
9. Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp
10. Salt – as required

Method :

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mushroom. Sprinkle salt and pepper and cook till it leaves out water. At this stage, transfer the fried mushroom to a plate and keep it aside
2. In the same pan with the leftover mushroom sauce, add sliced onions, green chilli and cook till it becomes translucent. Once onion is done, add the tomato puree, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Cook for 8-10 mins at medium heat till all raw smell leaves out . U might see the color of gravy changing from initial pale red to dark red
3. Add the tomato sauce and cook for another 2 mins. Finally add the fried mushroom and mix well. Adjust salt accordingly and cook for another 2 mins or till the gravy coats over the mushroom well. Turn off the heat and serve hot with chappati’s

Note :

1. There is no need to add water while preparing the gravy
2. U can replace olive oil with butter for a different taste
3. This gravy can also be used as sauce for baked pasta recipes
4. Gravy will be quite spicy with pepper, chilli powder and chilli. U can adjust pepper and chilli powder accordingly

Ingredients :

1. Rava/semolina – 2 cups
2. All purpose flour – 1/2 cup
3. Rice flour – 1/2 cup
4. Water – 6 cups intially for batter preparation and another 1 cup for adjusting consistency as needed
5. Corriander leaves – 2 tbsp, finely chopped
6. Black pepper – 6
7. Ginger – 1 tsp , finely chopped
8. Green chillies – 2 , finely chopped
9. Curry leaves – 6, finely chopped
10. Salt – as required
11. Oil – as required

Method :

1. Combine all the above ingredients except for oil and allow it to rest it for 30 min to 1 hr
2. Batter tends to be very runny initially but after its sitting time , it gets thick. Dosa batter before pouring down on the pan should be of buttermilk consistency. Adjust salt and water accordingly every time before u make dosa

3.  Keep the flame at high heat and pour the batter on the hot pan. Starting  from edges of the pan, circle down to center  exactly opposite to the way we make normal dosa. Dont try to fill the gaps u see, then u would end up with thick lumps in dosa instead of being crisp

4.  Brush with oil as u would do for normal dosa and wait till the color changes to golden brown. There is no need to flip and cook on the other side , as its already thin and crispy on both sides. Dosa is now ready to be  folded and transferred to the plates. Serve hot with chutney of ur choice

Note :

1. I used non stick pan, so i got these crispy dosa even with less oil. If u use iron tawa, u need some more oil to get that crispness
2. Rava i used was extra fine. So i used it as such while preparing batter. If u feel they are bit grainy, u can soak them in water and grind it to fine consistency
3. No fermentation is required. Batter needs to have a resting time of minimum 30 mins
4. As this dosa had to be served immediately , i couldnt do justice to the photos. Hope i add better ones some time later

So when i found the fabric of my choice during my recent shopping here, i decided to stitch my very own kurta. Well, this is my first time stitching a kurta and was really happy with the results. Now i have gained little more confidence to design and try more outfits.

white kurta with embroidery patchwork

Stitched kurta getting ready for patchwork

design patterns and final finish

patchwork near neck part

Embroidery i did in this dress is kind of a patchwork because i like the heaviness it gives to the fabric. It gives a bold look to even a simple embroidery. I did embroidery for neck part and bottom of dress. Stitching was done in 2 hrs but embroidery took more hours and i spent whole day finishing it off.

patchwork done at the bottom part of kurta

I like this light green and blue combination very much and used them to add a distinct look to this white kurta. I did rough sketch of 4 patterns using this color combo and finally decided on polka pattern. Quite happy with the outcome  and really excited to stitch even more designs.

After picking up sauce, next thing for a pasta recipe is to choose the right shape of pasta. Pasta comes in different shapes – maccheroni (tubes or cylinders), fusilli (swirls), fettuccine ( flat thick ribbons ), linguini ( less wider than fettucine ) and lasagne (sheets). For pesto kind of sauce, linguini is the best option. Lastly for the topping , decided to go with mushrooms pan fried with salt and pepper. This recipe was a instant hit at home and my family loved it. Here is the recipe for u -

Ingredients :

1. Linguini – 120 gm
2. Sliced white button mushrooms – 1/2 cup
3. Olive oil – 5 tbsp
4. Cheese – 4 tbsp
5. Walnuts and pistachios – 10 each
6. Garlic  cloves – 2
7. Corriander leaves – handfull or 1/2 bunch
8. Pepper – 1/2 tsp
9. Salt – for taste

Method :

1. Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and fry mushrooms with little salt and pepper. Cook on both sides till water dries out and keep it aside
2. In the same pan, fry nuts for 2 minutes at medium heat. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool
3. Now grind garlic, corriander leaves, nuts and cheese with salt. Add rest of olive oil and blend into thick sauce
4. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook linguini until tender but still firm enough to retain its shape. Drain the water and blanch in cold water immediately to stop it from further cooking
5. Drain water completely from pasta and toss it gently with 1/2 tbsp of oil to prevent it from sticking together
6. In a seperate pan , add cooked pasta and gently toss it with sauce till its fully coated. Top it with fried mushrooms before serving

Note :

1. U can refer packet cover to check out exact cooking instructions for pasta
2. I used 2 tbsp each from mozzarella and cheddar cheese . U can use any cheese available at home
3. U can refrigerate this sauce and use it later

Sending this recipe to ‘ Say Cheese ‘ event and ‘ Gimme GREEN! ‘ event

I believe images can convey a greater deal of details. So iam restricting myself from giving away stitching details in words. Especially if the article tells u about straight stitch, overlock stitch, binding, face cloth etc it would scare u off. So just look, feel and enjoy if u want to create a similar one for ur princess. Here are few tips -

1. Always keep the best picked out dress for making measurements and keep it handy till u finish stitching
2. Go through the details on different dresses to know how they have stitched
3. Enjoy the whole process

Ingredients :

For filling

1. Cream cheese – 500 gm ( at room temperature )
2. Sour cream – 500 gm
3. Eggs – 5
4. Castor sugar – 2 cups
5. Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
6. All purpose flour – 2 tbsp

For crust

1. Choco chip cookies – 200 gm
2. Butter -  2 tbsp

For topping

1. Bluberry – 1 cup
2. Strawberry – 1 cup
3. Castor sugar – 2 tbsp
4. Water – 3 tbsp

Method :

Preparing pan

1. Cut the baking paper in the shape of your pan. For a round springform pan, u need one round paper to place at the bottom of the pan and a sheet cut in the form of long ribbon to cover the sides of the pan.
2. Apply oil to the sheets and gently use them to cover the pan from inside. Oil side of the sheet will smoothly stick to the pan.

Reason for preparing pan is to get smooth sides for the cheesecake. When u actually run down the knife on the sides of cake after its done , some of the cheese gets stuck onto the knife and it distorts the shape of cake. If u prepare the pan , there is no need to run down knife, u can simply remove the latch and lift the pan up.

Preparing Crust

1. Finely grind choco chip cookies with butter and add them into the prepared pan. First gently spread the crust mixture in the pan and then later firmly with hands till a even layer is formed. U can use a spoon to press the crust at the edges of pan
2. Bake the crust in the preheated oven ( 180*c) for 10 mins. Allow it cool completely before u add the cheese filling

Preparing filling

1. Add the cream cheese to the bowl and beat at medium speed till its smooth and creamy
2. Add sugar to cream cheese and beat well for 5 mins. Add vanilla and beat for another 2 mins
3. Now add eggs one by one to above mixture and beat well after each egg is added
4. Pour in the sour cream and beat well for 3-4 mins. Finally add the flour to the cream mixture and mix well

Preparing topping

1. Add sugar and water to the pan and boil for 2 mins.
2. Add strawberry and boil for another 2-3 mins
3. Finally add blueberry and boil till the syrup thickens.

Preparing cake

1. Pour cream cheese filling into the springform pan over choco crust
2. Carefully place the pan in the preheated oven . First bake at 170*c for 10 mins, then at 150*c for 20 mins and finally at 125*c for 2 hrs
3. Once done, allow the cake to rest for 4-5 hrs till it has completely cooled down
4. Wrap the pan tightly with clingfoil and refrigerate for another 5-6 hrs
5. Remove the cake from the refrigerator, 30 mins before u serve.
6. Open the springform latch and gently lift the pan up.
7. Carefully remove the baking sheet from the sides of the cake and your cake is ready
8. Add the topping to the cheesecake slice before u serve

Fondant is made from sugar, water and gelatin. It will be very sweet and can be molded into any shapes. It will be snow white in color. Its cheap and is readily available at stores.  Marzipan is made from ground almonds and sugar. It is less sweet, tastes much better than fondant and it can also be molded into any shapes. It is usually in cream color .  Only problem with marzipan is u cant get snow white color . It is expensive when compared with fondant and not much familiar around in stores. But u can easily prepare marzipan at home than fondant.

So now coming to the point , why choosing fondant for this cake. I always prefer marzipan over fondant and the earlier cakes which i have done is fully from marzipan. Reason is it tastes better, can be kept at room temperature for 3-4 days and it doesnt require much sugar. But for this portrait cake , i wanted that snow white covering for cake top which is not possible with marzipan. Any other covering would not do justice to the cake. So bought this fondant from store and used it. For those who cannot buy , they can prepare at home by looking at prema’s thaligai blog on how to prepare fondant .

Now after deciding the covering , lets move onto the next one – cake flavour and filling. I got a new book  on pastry a day before and was looking for a different cake recipe. Found a cake recipe which had no butter and baking powder. Out of interest, i decided to try this cake. For filling the cake layers, i wanted to go for less sweet frosting as fondant already had lots of sugar. So decided to go with dark chocolate filling. Here is the recipe for u -

Ingredients:

For preparing cake

1. Eggs – 6
2. Castor sugar – 1 cup
3. Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
4. Plain flour – 1  1/4 cups
5. Cornflour – 1/2 cup

For filling

1. Dark chocolate – 150 gm
2. Cold milk – 2 tbsp

For decoration

1. Fondant – 500 gm
2. Edible colors – black, red and brown
3. Portrait in black and white – 2 copies
4. Brush
5. water

Method:

For preparing cake

1. Preheat oven to 180*C. Grease cake pan with oil and cover it with baking paper
2. Seperate the eggs. Beat the yolks, half of sugar and vanilla extract till foamy and fold in plain flour and cornflour. Mix well the mixture and keep aside
3. Whisk egg whites at high speed till they form soft peaks and add rest of the sugar. Continue whisking till the mixture becomes glossy and forms stiff peaks
4. Add egg white mixture to egg yolk-flour mixture and mix well . Pour the batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 30-40 mins. Turn the cake to rack and let it cool for 2 hrs

For filling

1. Cut the dark chocolate bar into small pieces and microwave it with cold milk for 1 min.Mix well the melted chocolate with milk to form thick chocolate filling
2. Cut the cake into half. Take the cake base and spread chocolate filling on top. Place other cake layer on top and spread remaining chocolate filling on top and sides of cake

For decoration

1. Cut the portrait papers to the bottom size of cake pan. From one of the template paper, seperate out the main features from the portrait – hair, eyes, nose etc.
2. Prepare colored fondants by mixing  necessary color with the white fondant. We would need black fondant, pinkish red fondant, brown fondant and pink fondant
3. Dust the working area with cornflour/icing sugar and roll out white fondant into thin sheet
4. Cut the fondant into large strips and use them to cover the sides of cake
5. Roll out the white fondant again and use the potrait picture to mark a circle. Cut the circle part of fondant and use rolling pin to wrap it around the cake top
6. Now roll out black fondant and use the features template from step 1 to get eyes, nose, mouth and hair pieces. Position out these pieces carefully and stick them to the white fondant circle which we used to cover cake top. U can use water to stick them to the face
7. Pick black color with brush and draw other features like outline, little shadows near eyes etc similar to the one in reference portrait
8. Roll out pinkish red and brown fondant into small balls and stick them to sides of cake alternately
9. To make hearts and flowers, mix gently pink fondant with white fondant so than thin white lines are visible in pink fondant. Create flowers and hearts and stick them on top of cake with water. I will write a seperate post on creating edible flowers with fondant

Note :

1. Fondant gets very sticky while working at room temperature. I moved this cake decoration part to room with aircon and worked there. Else u can stay in kitchen and move back and forth things to refrigerator
2. Always dust the working area with cornflour or icing sugar before rolling out fondant
3. I could not take photos for the last illustrations with fondant as it had to be done fast

Inspiration for this cake came from bakerella.com and foodlovers book on ‘something sweet’. After going through bunch of cake recipes , i decided to go with simple vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. To decorate i decided to create a picture of ravi in fondant and then decorate the top of cake with flowers and hearts.

Vanilla cake recipe which i took it from the book is a very different one . Its purely a no butter/oil recipe. Well, i wasn’t initially sure of how the cake would turn up with no butter and baking powder, but it seems the extra eggs have done the magic.

For the chocolate frosting, i melted 2 bars of dark chocolate in little bit of milk and used it. Though the actual frosting calls for chunks of butter, i left it as my family is totally against that butter cream icing.

Most important part of the cake was to create portrait of ravi on top of the cake. I took out one of his recent photos, did some photoshop editing work and created the portrait of ravi in black and white . Then took few printouts of this image and used this to make necessary markings on rolled out fondant.

Happy valentines day Ravi ..

A little touch up with black edible color finished off the portrait. Lastly, added some pink flowers and hearts to finish off the cake decoration. Look out for next post on more details about this cake.

Sending this recipe to ‘ dish for loved ones‘  event hosted by Srav’s culinary concepts blog , ‘ valentine’s day ideas ‘ event hosted by Food corner blog and ‘ valentines day ‘ event hosted by Teenz yummy delight’s blog

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken – 500gm , cut into 1 inch pieces
2. Chilli powder – 2 tsp
3. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
4. Corn flour – 2 tsp
5. Rice flour – 1 tsp
6. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
7. Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
8. Vinegar – 1 tsp
9. Egg – 1
10. Red and orange food color – 1 drop each
11. Salt – for taste
12. Oil – for frying, 1/2 cup is preferred to start with

Method:

1. Wash and clean the chicken pieces. Add all ingredients except for oil and mix well
2. Marinate chicken pieces in fridge for minimum 2 hrs to 3 hrs
3. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the chicken pieces. Dry the excess oil in tissue and serve them hot as starters or as side dish for rice varieties

Note:

1. Use of color is optional. Not healthy but people are not ready to accept it as chicken 65 unless it looks red
2. Boneless chicken is always preferred when preparing for kids