Strawberry Two-tier cake

And yes!! I finally tried making a tier cake. Since, it was my first, I wanted it to be a success so went easy... made a two tier cake. I did a filling of fresh strawberries and grated chocolate. What can go wrong with strawberries and chocolate?!?! Nothing!!!

I used vanilla cake, followed my no-fail sponge cake recipe below :-
http://mariasmagicalmoments.blogspot.in/2013/03/no-fail-sponge-cake.html

 I added some red food color in my whipped cream because i loouuvve pink icing :) 
And yes I know the work looks a bit shabby but because of the heat in the kitchen my whipped cream was just melting away and not acting good, so I had to hurry!!

 Here's a slice of my first tier cake :)

And, the next images are of the cake that I made for the wedding of my neighbour. 

The experience was wonderful and the compliments, much better !!!

Till then,

Happy Eating :)

Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese is an Italian delicacy and is one of my personal favorites.

On the insistence of some of my friends, I have tried a step-by-step instruction recipe here. Well, it's my first, so here goes ...

All you need :-

• Meat mince
• Chopped onions
• Tomato sauce made by blitzing up tomatoes and fresh garlic
• Fresh garlic, chopped
• Chopped capsicums
• 1 cube chicken stock
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• Oregano
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Sugar
• Red chilli powder
• Grated cheddar cheese
• Spaghetti (boil and keep aside)

Step 1 :-

In a pan, add a little oil (olive oil, if you prefer). Add in the minced meat + onions + capsicums + salt. Cook on a high flame till the water released by the meat is dried up a little and the onions & capsicums have softened up a bit.

 

Step 2 :-

It should look something like below, now add the chicken stock cube.

Again cook a while till the cube has melted completely and the onions and capsicums have softened a bit more.

Step 3 :-

Now add the tomato sauce (that you prepared already) + red chili powder + sugar + oregano + pepper. Mix and saute it till everything is combined properly.

The final sauce should look something like this.

Now, all you have to do is plate it up!! Like this ...

It was fun, taking pictures at every step and also tiring !!!

Till then,

Happy Eating :)

Butter Cookies

I could never tire of these delicious cookies and can also never go wrong with them !! Try them out and make a huge of these cookies and store them. Because once you make them, they will disappear in just no time. 

All you need :-

• 2 cups flour (400 gms)
• half tsp baking powder
• half tsp salt (skip the salt if you are using salted butter or you can just add a pinch)
• 3/4th cup softened butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• half tsp vanilla essence

Whisk together flour + baking powder + salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter + sugar in a separate large bowl with an electric mixer @ medium high speed until pale & fluffy for about 3 minutes or if using a hand held mixer then for about 6 mins.

Beat in egg + vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour. Mix until well combined.

This turns out to be a very soft dough so you might want to refrigerate it for a bit before forming your shapes.

Bake @ 150-180 for 12-15 mins

Happy Eating :)

Chicken Lasagna - Home Version

What if you are craving for Lasagna but you don't have the sheets with you?? Does that mean you will not eat lasagna?!?!? scary thought.... and that's why I make lasagna sheets at home... well basically i don't 'actually' make them at home I just substitute the sheets with good ol' crepes. And when you put all the components together, it actually tastes better than an 'actual lasagna'!!

For the crepes :-
Mix flour + milk + water + salt + pepper. Mix it well and without lumps formation. The batter should be of pouring consistency. Pour and make thin crepes out of it.

The filling could be of anything that you desire ... chicken or meat or just vegetables.

Make the tomato sauce by simply blitzing up tomatoes and garlic and oregano with salt & pepper & red chili powder. Cook this sauce to thicken it up and dry up the water that the tomatoes tend to release.

Take a rectangular baking tray. Lightly spray the base with a little olive oil. Spread the crepes. Then your filling. Next comes the sauce topped with cheese. You can continue the layers till the number of layers that you want. Finally top the tray with lots of grated cheese. I use cheddar cheese for my lasagna.

Bake it till the cheese melts yummily all over !!!
Serve it hot!

Happy Eating :)

Creamy Chicken Malai Tikka

I personally can never tire off this recipe. Its non spicy, a bit sweet, a bit hot... I can even have it with just a fork!! A great and stomach-filly starter.

All you need is

• Boneless pieces of chicken (pricked with a fork)
• Cream
• Curd
• Cheese spread
• Ginger garlic paste
• salt
• pepper
• chili flakes

Marinate all the above, preferably overnight or for a couple of hours if you pressed for time. The amount of curd should be less as compared to the amounts of cream and cheese. More cream, the more better :)

Place the chicken in a baking tray. Bake till the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the top turns a warm golden. You can also stick the chicken pcs on a skewer and grill them on a non stick pan over the flame. The choice is yours!

Happy Eating :)

Caramalised Figs with clotted cream

This is a very simple & quick dessert, very useful when you have those last-minute announced guests. Very classy and soft tastes at the same time. So, go on! Impress those guests!

First Step -- Get some yummy figs :)
Wash and strain them. Just cut the fig in four wedges. Caramelize it on a high flame with sugar. Continue cooking till the figs are beautifully caramalized but also havent turned mashy (they should retain their shapes).

Now for the clotted cream, I dont get off-the-shelf clotted cream where I stay. So, I decided to make my own clotted cream. After a lot of brainstorming and failures, I finally figured it out. Pour your Amul/Nestle cream in a bowl and double boil it. Firstly it will thin up, no panic here because slowly and steadily it will start thickening. This will take 15 mins or so along with your whisking from time to time.When it has reduced to your liking, just take it off the heat, add some sugar or honey (depending on what you like) and fresh lemon zest. And your clotted cream is ready to be served. You can prepare this in a batch & store it in the fridge and can serve it with practically anything. Your fruit pies/tarts, cakes, cupcakes...anything! A cream pack of 200 ml gives you clotted cream for around 3-4 servings.

Happy Eating !! 

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry with Caramalized bananas and cherries

To tell you the truth, I was always intimidated by the entire process of making a tart or a pie. But this amazing shortcrust pastry recipe will never let you down !! (this is the one mentioned in below)
http://mariasmagicalmoments.blogspot.in/2013/02/fig-tart-wit-pistachio-crumble-and.html 

Once your tart is ready you can fill it up with any filling of your choice. What I did was caramelize some bananas with sugar and arranged them on the tart. Then I sprinkled some sugar over a bowl of fresh cherries and refrigerated them overnight. In the morning, I had lovely cherry syrup. I took just the syrup in a pan, added a cinnamon stick and some butter and cooked the syrup till it turned into a delicious sauce. Take it off the flame and gently stir in the cherries and pour this over the bananas and bake the tart till the filling is set. That's it !! And so far, I believe this is the most beautiful thing I ever made !! Feel a bit haughty eh?!

Happy Eating :)

Chocolate Tiramisu

I had previously posted the recipe of Tiramisu.

http://mariasmagicalmoments.blogspot.in/2012/08/tiramisu.html

I just used chocolate cake instead of a plain vanilla sponge cake and it made a really huge difference. Atleast it did to me, considering the fact that I am a huge chocoholic !!!

So, heres what it looked like.

Happy Eating :)

Thyme Grilled Chicken with Tropical Lychee Salsa

This tropical salsa is actually a kind of salad, best eaten in the summers as its a very fresh, non-greasy salad. I paired it up with the thyme chicken because again this chicken has almost no spices in it at all... again very ideal for summers. For that matter, you can have the salsa just as a meal or pair it with any grilled chicken or fish or even plain ol' boiled eggs!!

Tropical Lychee Salsa :-

• half cup diced lychees
• half cup diced mangoes
• half cup diced cucumbers
• half cup red bell peppers
• 3 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley
• 4 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• salt
• pepper

Mix all the above. Season well. Refrigerate till further use.

Thyme Grilled Chicken :-

• 1 kg boneless breasts
• salt
• pepper
• fresh thyme or dried thyme
• parsley
• oil
• butter

Season the chicken pieces well with the marinade. Cover. Keep aside for 2-3 hours

In a pan, heat oil + butter. When it becomes smoking hot, fry the chicken pcs in it till they are a delicious golden brown, app. 3-4 mins each side.

lower the flame, cook till the chicken is cooked properly.

Now, place the cooked chicken in the centre of your serving plate. Pour over the butter from the pan and now add the salsa generously over the chicken.

Happy Eating :) 

Sausage Rolls

Sausage Rolls !! Can't get enough of them !!! Very simple to make and is a very good accompaniment. Either with soup or even great as a munching. No one can complain about it :)

The Dough :-

• 4 cups flour
• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 tsp yeast
• A quarter tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 4 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp milk powder
• A quarter cup warm water

Sieve the flour. Add the milk powder + sugar + yeast + salt. Give it a mix.

Add the oil + butter + egg. Now mix well.

Add the milk. Knead well.

Gradually add the water (or you might even need the water) Remember the more you knead the softer your buns will turn out. (yes! thats good excercise for those arms of yours!!)

Oil the dough. Cover. Keep aside for 40-60 mins.

Roll out a portion of the dough. Spread cheese all over and place sausages in it.

Roll it like a swiss roll and cut into thick slices.

Bake @ 180 for 20-25 mins. Generously brush with butter & serve hot.

Happy Eating :)