Egg less Red Velvet Cake

Past few days in India has been hectic. I had been hoping to be able to blog from here, but was caught up with so many different things that, in the end blogging took a back seat. Today, I decided to give my blog a visit and found there are a few drafts which could be posted with a little effort. Of course, I do not want you guys to forget me while I am away from this space.

While I know I am posting two decadent sweets one after another, I really cant help it. The cake I am sharing today is the one I baked for my DH's birthday last month. I was hoping I would be able to post it sooner, but couldn't. I decided to post it on my birthday which was a couple of days back but, couldn't.really manage to do even that. So, today to break my long absence from blogging, I want to virtually treat you all with this Red Velvet Cake!

Birthdays are special. So, I like to bake something special. This Egg less Red Velvet Cake is also a result of such efforts. The cake was not as red as I would have like and I later felt I could another table spoon of the red colour. But, after it was iced and cut, the red looked reasonably good in contrast with the white icing. I actually forget to take a picture of a slice, so pardon me for that.

This article on wiki gives a synopsis of the history of this special cake. Since this cake is egg less I have deviated a lot from the way that cake is traditionally make. But for an egg less cake, the results were pretty good. Lets see how I made it.

Ingredients:

11/2 cup + 2tbsp plain flour +1tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1tin condensed milk
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup yogurt + 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp red colour (add another tbsp for a brighter red colour)
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp apple cider vinegar

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 160 C. Line a 9" round 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. Add the red food colour and whisk again.

4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture in 2-3 parts. Keep stirring while adding flour mixture. Add butter milk, vinegar and whisk for another 2 minutes. The batter will have a pouring consistency. Don't over do it

5. Pour the batter in the prepared tin and bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes at 160 C. Then lower the temperature to 150 C and bake for another 15-20 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.Cool completely before icing the cake.

Mascarpone Cream Icing:

280 gm mascarpone cream
225 gm whipping cream
3/4 cup icing sugar

Pour all the ingredients in a large bowl and whip it till it is creamy and has a soft peak consistency. Chill it in the fridge for half an hour.

Assembling the cake:

Slice the cake in 3 layers. In a cake plate place the top most layer and spread the prepared icing in an even layer. Top it with the second and third layer in the same way and cover the whole cake with rest of the icing. Get creative with decorating the cake. I used piped border, glace cherries and chocolate hearts. You can do it the way you fancy!

I will definitely try to blog more often. I have read a few books and I will post the reviews soon. Stay tuned.
Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

The Ultimate Eggless Chocolate Fudge Brownies | Best Eggless Chocolate Fudge Brownies Recipe | Brownie Recipes

The Ultimate Eggless Chocolate Fudge Brownies #Recipe

This is by far the best eggless chocolate fudge recipe. A simple recipe, no fancy ingredients, yet awesome results. If you are looking for that ultimate chocolate fudge brownies, this is the one for you.

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 Eggless Brownies. My all-time favourite 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. If you love brownies you have to try this.

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

Adapted from 100 best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holcheck.

Eggless Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Ingredients:

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 yoghurt
About 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped chocolate or choco chips, I used milk chocolate.
1 tsp vanilla extract

Process:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C and line a 9x9inch brownie pan with parchment paper. Brush it with a little butter.

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

3. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, yoghurt and vanilla together until 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.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Maakhanya Lassi ~ Buttery Lassi

There are many dishes that one can associate with some special memories. Some can be associated with childhood - food prepared by mom. It can make you nostalgic and flood your mind with sweet anecdotes. Some dishes can be related to events - a special sweet dish or a cake that was meant for special occasion. And some are linked with a particular place - 'nukad ka chaat wala' (road side vendor) who makes the best Papdi Chat or a particular place known for their mouthwatering kulfi.

One such dish for me is this Maakhanya Lassi,  maakhanya literally means buttery.

I brings back to me the memories of visiting Jodhpur, Rajasthan. There is a snack shop (unfortunately I don't remember the name. I will update this if I remember) which is famous for this Lassi. All day long people throng to this place to enjoy a glass or two of this cold Lassi. In summer it sells like hot cakes! 2-3 years back when I had been to Jodhpur, my FIL had taken us to this shop. One sip of the Lassi and I was in heaven. One will be tempted to buy a second glass, but let me tell you, it is very filling. Two glass of this Lassi and you can forget about lunch!

When I had prepared this butter, this Lassi was the first thing I thought of making. I tried to replicate the taste from memory, so, I am not sure if it tastes exactly same, but it is definitely near.

You will need:

2 tbsp of fresh butter at room temperature. You can also use store bought unsalted butter
1 cup yogurt
1/4 cup water or more
1cardamom, pounded
4-5 saffron strands
2 tbsp sugar, more of less, adjust to taste
4-5 ice cubes

Process:
1. Rub the saffron with a few drops of water to bring out the colour.
2. In a blender jar, add yogurt, water, saffron, cardamom, sugar, ice cubes and half of the butter.
3. Blend it for a few seconds. Pour it into a tall glass. Top it with the remaining butter and serve immediately!

Notes:

1. The butter which is added while blending will be in bits and will float on top. So, you will have a buttery, creamy top layer. You can add more butter to have a thicker creamy layer if you like.
2. Add more water if you like thinner Lassi.

It tastes best when served cold.

Enjoy! Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Jyoti's Pages on 'Scene of the Blog' and other Books update

Have you ever wondered about the work space area of bloggers around the world?

Ever wondered how their creative corners look like, where they sit and churn out beautiful posts..

Cathy of Kittling Books was intrigued by this question which led her to start a meme -Scene of the Blog where every Wednesday, she features a blogger from any part of the world to share their scene of blog.

This Wednesday, my space is being featured in Cathy's Scene of the Blog series. Wondering how my creative space looks like, go check this out.

Coming back to the books update, about two months back I had made a list of books I wished to read before my India visit in September. Well, in a line I can say that was an ambitious list, These are the books from the list that I have read:

My Friend Jesus Christ by Lars Husum
1Q84 Book 1 & 2 by Haruki Murakami
A Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir
Prince of Ayodhya by Ashok K. Banker
Ninepins by Rosy Thornton
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Apart from this I also read Skid Marks of Logic by Divya Diana Dias and 1Q84 Book 3 by Haruki Murakami

I will read the rest of the books from the list after coming back from my India visit. To tell you the truth, I don't really feel like reading a book now. Give it to my excitement of visiting my home country and meeting family and friends or to the numerous chores I have to do before that, I am unable to concentrate on reading anything. So, I am giving my books a rest while I deal with other things in life.

By the way any books you would like to suggest to pick up in India. Suggestions welcome.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

How To Make Butter At Home From Cream

There are certain things we can learn from our mistakes. That holds good for life in general. But, here I am talking about learning from cooking disasters. Most stories of kitchen disasters doesn't see the light of the day. Dishes than doesn't turn out as expected often finds it way to the dustbin and the memories of an unpleasant experience is shoved to the back of our mind. But, sometimes we learn certain things by mistake.

Here I am talking about churning butter from cream.

Quite a while back, one of my friends had asked to give her a hand in baking and decorating a cake. That was the time, I was a new bee in cooking and had found my new love for baking. I agreed and we set out to bake a nice, gorgeous cake. But that was not the case to be. Something went wrong! Still, we did manage to salvage our cake and produce something presentable.

The thing that had gone wrong was with the cream icing. While whipping the cream, we realized that it had curdled a bit. Now I know that it was over whipped and the butter and the whey had started to separate. But, back then I wasn't sure. Recently, DH said he felt like having fresh homemade white butter on cream cracker biscuits. It had been ages since he had those and I was wondering what brought them to his memory. 

The thought of making butter at home was constantly there in my mind for a while. I have seen my mom make ghee. For that she collects thick cream from the top of homemade yogurt patiently, over a number of days and when she has a good amount of it, she churns butter out of it which is then used for making ghee. All these made me think of my icing disaster and I googled about 'making butter from cream' and landed on this WikiHow page. Confidently I decided to try it on my own and you can see what I got.

 

Ingredients:

250 ml heavy cream

A hand whisk or an electrical one. I used electrical one as one has to whisk a lot.

A few ice cubes

Process:

1. In a cold container pour the cream and start whisking. The cream will go change texture as you continue whipping. Don't stop even when you get the soft peak consistency and continue whipping. At some point in next 5 minutes the cream will start curdling and chunks of butter will start floating in whey and soon your mixture will look something like this.

 

2. Separate the butter from the whey. Add ice cubes to the whey so that any remaining butter solidifies. Once you have collected all the butter, make sure there is no buttermilk left in it. Wash it with cold water as stated here until you get clear water. Save all the butter and shape it. Store it in an airtight container.

I got about 120 gm butter from 250 ml of double cream. Enjoy homemade butter on toast, on cream cracker biscuits, in soups etc. I also made Makhanya Lassi with it. I will share it next here.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!