Cake Pops

Ingredients :
6 vanilla cupcakes( I used left over cupcakes, which feel a little dry after a couple of days, or you may refer to vanilla cupcakes recipe in older posts)
3 table spoons of strawberry crush
200 gms milk chocolate
100 gms desiccated coconut( grated)

Directions :
Crush the vanilla cupcakes with hands, and then put them in a mixer to get a fine blend. Add the strawberry crush and knead a little with your hands. Make a roll and keep aside for sometime or put in the fridge for 10 minutes to let it firm up a bit.
Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or microwave for a minute.
Make small round balls of the cake mix, and again refrigerate them for 5 minutes.
Insert a toothpick in these cake pops and dip them in the melted chocolate, then roll these pops in grated coconut and let them set in the refrigerator, and voila..you await yourself a yummy sweet surprise..!!

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream topped with Black Currant Crush and Raisins

Ingredients for the cake:

12 heaped spoons flour
60 gms salted butter
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 spoon baking powder
A pinch of baking soda
3 spoons curd
1 spoon vanilla essence

Directions
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, add sugar and butter and mix them well. Now add the dry ingredients to this wet mixture, put curd and vanilla essence, mix nicely. Add the eggs one by one to the mixture. Grease the cake tin and pour the mixture into it. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 170 degrees C or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After the cake is done, let it cool for sometime, then remove and let it completely cool on a wire rack.

Other Ingredients 

3 tablespoons black currant crush

2 scoops vanilla ice-cream

handful of raisins

some coloured beads(edible)

Plating

Cut a slice of cake, put 2 scoops of vanilla ice-cream, with just a bit of it drooling on the top of the cake. Now take the black currant crush and drop dollops of it over the cake and the ice-cream. Sprinkle the raisins and some coloured beads and a finger licking good dessert is ready to serve.

Fish Shaped Cake with Strawberry Filling

Ingredients for the cake:
12 heaped spoons flour
1/2 cup oil
1 cup castor sugar
3 eggs
1 spoon baking powder
A pinch of baking soda
3 spoons curd
1 spoon vanilla essence

Directions
Sieve together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, add sugar and eggs and beat them lightly. Add oil to this mixture. Now add the dry ingredients to this wet mixture, put curd and vanilla essence, mix nicely. Grease the cake tin and pour the mixture into it. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 170 degrees C or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
After the cake is done, let it cool for sometime, then remove and let it completely cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for the Icing:
1 1/2 cup whipped cream
1/2 cup strawberry crush
100 gms icing sugar
2-3 drops of blue gel colour
1 drop red gel colour

Directions
In a large bowl, whip the cream until soft peaks are formed. Add icing sugar and whip some more. Add 2 drops of blue gel colour Use the cream to do the base coating of the cake, for piping bag add another drop of colour in the raining cream to give it a little darker shade.

Arranging
Transfer the cooled cake to a turn table, cut a triangular piece to be used as a tail of the fish, and giving the cut a look of open fish mouth. Then cut the cake pieces in half from the centre. Moist the cake by sprinkling some water on it. Gently spread the strawberry crush over it and then spread the blue coloured whipped cream icing Cover the cake with the top piece and repeat the process. To decorate the cake fill in the piping bag with whipping cream of a slightly darker shade of blue and make wave patters on the fish cake. Position the tail piece carefully and place it next to the main cake. For the open mouth, take some red colour in your hand and softly dab it on the cream, to give it a red mouth feel. Sprinkle some coloured balls and its good to go.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Blackcurrant Icing

Ingredients for the Cup Cakes:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup castor sugar

1/4 cup oil

3 table spoons curd

1 spoon baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

1 spoon vanilla essence

2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the eggs and sugar until its light and fluffy. Add the oil,  and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with curd and beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  
Ingredients for the Frosting
125 Ml Whipping Cream
100 Gms Icing Sugar
75 Ml Blackcurrant Crush


Directions
Take the whipping cream in a bowl and using an electric mixer, whip till soft peaks are formed. Add icing sugar and whip agan till firm peaks are formed. Fold in the blackcurrant lightly. Fill in the piping bag with the nozzle of your choice and frost the cupcakes. Decorate with a drop of blackcurrant crush on the top and some coloured stars.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Kiwi Cream Icing

Ingredients for the Cup Cakes:

1 1/3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup castor sugar

1/4 cup oil

3 table spoons curd

1 spoon baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

1 spoon vanilla essence

2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda.
Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the eggs and sugar until its light and fluffy. Add the oil,  and then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with curd and beat well. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  
Ingredients for the Frosting
125 Ml Whipping Cream
100 Gms Icing Sugar
75 Ml Kiwi Crush


Directions
Take the whipping cream in a bowl and using an electric mixer, whip till soft peaks are formed. Add icing sugar and whip agan till firm peaks are formed. Fold in the kiwi crush lightly. Fill in the piping bag with the nozzle of your choice and frost the cupcakes. Decorate with a drop of kiwi crush on the top and some coloured stars.

Devil's Chocolate Truffle Cake

A simply delicious and finger looking good cake especially for chocolate lovers, its filled with caramel crunch and topped with chocolate ganache and white chocolate dribble. You just cannot ignore it..!!


Ingredients:


10 heaped spoons flour

1/2 cup oil

1 cup castor sugar

3 eggs

1 spoon baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

3 table spoons milk

3 table spoons cocoa powder


1 spoon vanilla essence


Directions:

·      Sieve together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.

·      In another bowl, add sugar and eggs and beat them till pale in colour and fluffy.

·      Add oil to this mixture followed by vanilla essence, beat a little more.

·      Now gently fold in the flour and cocoa cake mix in this batter.

·      Line a 10 inch cake tin with baking sheet and pour the mixture into it, spread it out evenly using a spatula and then tap it against the stand to release any air bubbles.

·      Bake for 30-35 minutes at 170 degrees C or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

·      After the cake is done, let it cool for sometime, then remove and let it completely cool on a wire rack.

Ingredients for filling:


Sugar 75 gms


Directions:

·      Add sugar in a pan, and on a medium heat melt to caramelize it.

·      Remove it from heat when the sugar is all melted and you see a dark brown colour, but more not to burn the sugar.


·      Take a piece of foil paper or parchment sheet, grease it and pour the caramelized sugar over it.

·      Let it cool to harden.

·      Once the sugar is hardened, remove it from the foil paper, fold it in a newspaper and press it hard with a rolling pin to crush it in small pieces. It should be coarsely grinder with small chunks of caramel( not too fine and not too big either)


Ingredients for icing:

200ml fresh cream


200 gms dark chocolate

50 gms white chocolate


3 table spoons strawberry crush

Some raisins

Directions:

•  Using a double boiler or microwave, melt the dark chocolate. 

•  In a pan, take 200 ml fresh cream and bring it to a boil. 

•  Add this cream in the melted chocolate and keep folding till it becomes a thick dropping consistency mixture. 

•  Let it cool a bit.

Arranging:

·      Transfer the cooled cake to a turntable and cut in two equal parts from the centre.

·      Moist the cake with sprinkling some water on it. 

·      Now spread the strawberries crush on the bottom half of the cake, then generously spread dark chocolate ganache on it and sprinkle raisins and the crushed caramelized sugar all over it. 

·      Keep the top layer on cake and moist it once again with water, now cover the layer generously with chocolate ganache covering the sides as well. 

·      Melt the white chocolate and dribble all over the cake...feel free to garnish with some chocolate sprinklers..

Pasta Chinese Style

So here is a recipe that speaks volumes about integrating cuisines and tastes and it comes out as a perfect fusion. An Italian Pasta with Chinese flavours.

Ingredients:

100 gms Macaroni

2 table spoons oil

1 table spoon ginger garlic paste

1 capsicum shredded

1 tomato diced

1 table spoon soya sauce

1 table spoon red chilli sauce

1/2 table spoon vinegar

1/2 tea spoon ajino moto

salt to taste

Onions, Carrots , Baby Corns can also be used as per taste and choice.

Directions:

Boil the macaroni in water till the time its done. Drain the water and wash the macaroni under cold water in order to reduce starch. Add some old to avoid stickiness and keep this aside.

In a wok, take oil and saute the ginger and garlic paste. Then add the vegetables and saute some more. Add vinegar, soya sauce and chilly sauce to the vegetables. Mix gently. Now add the macaroni and mix in the prepared sauce. Add ajino moto and salt to taste. Toss is for a couple of minutes. Serve hot.