Lychee Heart Cake

Some recipes are a complete fluke and some recipes are born out of disaster. This recipe is  the latter category. I was trying to cook something and it turned out bad, but I just couldn’t give up and throw away. Instead I came up with these amazing burfis, which weren’t just a life saver but also tasted delicious. Not to forget, a great invention too.

I have always loved Lychee. They are one of my most favorite fruits. Every Lychee season, my father would make sure he gets more than enough for me to enjoy and I believe the whole season I wouldn’t touch any other fruit besides Lychee. With so much love for a fruit, its pretty evident that once I start cooking and inventing my own dishes, I will give something with Lychee a try.

This is how the story goes. So, during my Kulfi making season, I thought of trying to make Lychee Kulfi. And, it was one of those times when after successful attempts made me over confident and without thinking of the consequences I went on with the process resulting in failure. The milk mixed with lychee and its syrup [I used canned lychee] curdled the milk.

There was this milk in front of my eyes, that had Khoya and sugar added to it and gone sour and I was left in a puzzle and guilt of throwing away this food. As they say that Necessity is the mother of all inventions, I believe some inventions are failure/ guilt driven too. The feeling of not succeeding also makes you think outside the box and attempt harder.

I decided to hang the curdled milk, as what we do in the process of making paneer. Later I added some sugar and dry milk powder to it and whisked the whole mixture really well. Further, crushed some butter cookies and layered it as a base and put the mixture on it and bake.

The cake came out fabulous. Since I start taking pictures of the process from the first step, I have the pictures from the time the milk went bad while boiling. You could add the syrup from canned lychee and it will surely do the trick.

If not, add 2 tsp of vinegar, but in that case wash the curdled milk with ice cold water while you hang it in muslin cloth.

This cake has mild Lychee flavor and the cookies add a little crunch to the cake as well.

 

Lychee Burfi

Some recipes are a complete fluke and some recipes are born out of disaster. This recipe is  the latter category. I was trying to cook something and it turned out bad, but I just couldn’t give up and throw away. Instead I came up with these amazing burfis, which weren’t just a life saver but also tasted delicious. Not to forget, a great invention too.

I have always loved Lychee. They are one of my most favorite fruits. Every Lychee season, my father would make sure he gets more than enough for me to enjoy and I believe the whole season I wouldn’t touch any other fruit besides Lychee. With so much love for a fruit, its pretty evident that once I start cooking and inventing my own dishes, I will give something with Lychee a try.

This is how the story goes. So, during my Kulfi making season, I thought of trying to make Lychee Kulfi. And, it was one of those times when after successful attempts made me over confident and without thinking of the consequences I went on with the process resulting in failure. The milk mixed with lychee and its syrup [I used canned lychee] curdled the milk.

There was this milk in front of my eyes, that had Khoya and sugar added to it and gone sour and I was left in a puzzle and guilt of throwing away this food. As they say that Necessity is the mother of all inventions, I believe some inventions are failure/ guilt driven too. The feeling of not succeeding also makes you think outside the box and attempt harder.

I decided to hang the curdled milk, as what we do in the process of making paneer. Later I added some sugar and dry milk powder to it and whisked the whole mixture really well. Put the mixture in molds and put them in the refrigerator to set. They came out fabulous. Since I start taking pictures of the process from the first step, I have the pictures from the time the milk went bad while boiling. You could add the syrup from canned lychee and it will surely do the trick. If not, add 2 tsp of vinegar, but in that case wash the curdled milk with ice cold water while you hang it in muslin cloth.

This dish was so good that it was an instant hit. The burfis are creamy, soft and melt in the mouth. The sweetness of lychee and richness of Khoya make an excellent combination. Its a must try if you like to impress your guests with something different from usual.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Ice creams are my first love. I love ice creams so much that I can wake up at 2 AM for this awesomely delicious frozen treat. Never imagined as a kid that one day I would making my own and loving them so much. When I started making bread at home, Mr. Parveez couldn’t bear to see his dear wife struggle with the dough to make it perfect for the bread and got me a Kitchen aid dough maker. Now I am so lazy that even if I have make chapati dough, I use my Kitchen Aid.

My better half, Mr. Parveez loves shopping for his wife. I know, I am really fortunate. So, he love shopping for add ons too. Like when he buys me a dress, he would look around to see if there is a jewelry piece that might look great or a pair of shoes. He kind of does something similar with Kitchen gadgets as well. The appliance was originally bought for mixing, whisking and kneading. The add ons brought in attachments for salad chopping, meat grinder and an ice cream maker.

Mr. Parveez and I loved having the frozen desert every night. I don’t remember a single night not enjoying the yummy treat while I was pregnant. In fact, I ate my hubby’s share too and the poor guy never complained. And, then came the kids loving the treat as much as us.  The boys were always branching out to whatever new flavor was at the our favorite ice cream store. So when I got my first ice cream maker, I knew I could push my frozen treat boundaries even further and experiment my heart out. To start with, Vanilla had to be the base. I just had to make sure that I knew the basics correctly.

My first try with the vanilla Ice cream was something with eggs. Now, I am not too sure ho many people enjoy vanilla ice cream with eggs, but being from India and eating ice creams that are basically vegetarian, and I could smell the eggs in my ice cream and I wasn’t too happy with experiment.

I then started out with a simpler vanilla ice cream recipe, egg less. Its made with heavy cream and sugar. You can substitute the Heavy cream with milk if you are calorie conscious, but I recommend going all out, after all its a dessert.

Hot Milk Cake

Cakes are an integral part of our life. No matter which community, which country you belong to, cakes make a special place in our celebrations. I am not sure if I have mentioned in any of my earlier cake posts, but I belong to a house where baking kind of never existed. My mom never baked and always preferred the store bought cakes.

There was a local bakery that made super delicious cherry cake and Kaju cakes, which was very close to some branded cakes. We kind of always liked the locally made cakes better than the branded ones, reason was always the surety of freshness and not consuming preservatives. The bakery also made some wonderful plum cake for the month of December, making it a Christmas and New Year special. I have always loved all of them.

I admired some of my friends moms who would bake cakes at home. I still remember a friend whose Mom would bake cake for her birthday and she actually baked using a pressure cooker. As much as a lot of friends  felt that it is a money saving way, I always  felt that it added a very personal touch to the celebration. I always loved the idea of home baking. I believe they are fresh and taste delicious when warm with tea or coffee.

Bangalore has some lovely Iyengar bakeries and the cookies and cakes, also the buns that they make are equally scrumptious. After I got married, I was just in love with the wonderful goodies Mr. Parveez introduced me to. The wide variety offers everything for every taste bud and I have never met a person who has tried products made in those bakeries and not loved them. Hot Milk Cake happens to be one such recipe. Soft, scrumptious, not too sweet and just very airy and light. Its a perfect tea time snack.

So, With all love I have for home baked cakes, after trying the simpler cake, it was time for me to take a second step and nothing would be better then trying out one of the best recipes from an Indian bakery. And that how the Hot Milk Cake made its way to my Dastarkhaan.

The recipe is simple. Please follow the notes too before you start trying it out. There are ingredients that can be used for enhancing flavors but, using them would modify the recipe. Once you master this skill, please feel free to contact me for recipe modifications.

Anjeer Kulfi

Figs / Anjeer are a big part of dry fruit family. Sweetness of their own they are a splendid source of fiber while they taste great. After making lovely Kulfis with Almonds, Pistachios and saffron, I felt that figs would be a great choice for the next flavor.

Figs are sweet, healthy and rich in vitamins and minerals. Doctors suggest that consuming figs with milk is an excellent source of nutrition. I am not a big fan of figs by themselves, but trying them for Kulfi was one of the best decisions I ever made. It really enhances the flavor and as much as I was apprehensive at first, I was proud with the finished product.

One thing that you need to pay attention to is adding sugar. Figs are sweet and the longer they cook in milk, they keep oozing their sugar out, bit by bit and I always advise to add sugar towards the end, since you will get a perfect sweetness.

Another fact is about making a puree of the figs. Making a puree of half of the figs and chopping the other half to small pieces is better than making all puree. First reason being that all puree makes the milk extra sweet and second is that little chunks of Figs in your mouth while eating the delicious kulfi.

Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese icing

These cinnamon rolls aren’t just easy to make but, are also super fluffy and light, better than any store bought roll…Trust me. These would melt in your mouth and melt you heart too…

Honestly, yeast and I aren’t very good friends. It actually used to scare me to use yeast and I have had so many failures with yeast, that I have lost count. But then, I couldn’t give up my love for baking breads and decided to get to know “Yeast” better and learn to work cordially. We’ve been best friends since then….LOLzzz. I know my stories are sometimes too long and some of you might just want to jump to the actual dish than to play around and read the stories. But you know what, this is what would connect us. Every food has a story and mostly, its worth remembering and sharing, even if the dish is a disaster.

So, this is the story to this wonderful dish: I realized that would see cinnamon rolls EVERYWHERE. We go to the mall and Mr. Parveez would buy them. I see my boys head over heels in love with them. I see my little one craving for more….and sometimes all these are signs that you have to be on a mission and make your own. So, I start my search to get an authentic recipe  and found some wonderful recipes, all very different from the other. I decided to pick and choose and make my own. First Batch, a BIG disaster  and I made changes. Second Batch, a few more changes…a few more after the third. Fourth batch, the cinnamon rolls were perfect but the icing messed it up and finally, fifth batch, they came out perfect. This recipe is fool proof and something that you will save and love and pass on.

 

With regular cinnamon roll recipes, there’s so a lot of waiting time for the yeast to rise and to be sure that the dough would turn out perfect. Honestly, as much as I enjoy cooking, I do not have the time and energy to wait that long. I love making things that can be served in less amount of time. Something, that’s clean, cooked with love and effort without wasting too much time. But, that doesn’t mean I would try a recipe where cinnamon rolls are made within an hour. I like to give my food flavors time to mingle too.

I’ve managed to meet these soft cinnamon rolls in a little prep time with a faster procedure and made sure that they stay soft, fluffy and wonderful.

P.S. Don’t let the yeast scare you. It takes time to open, but once you know it well, you will love it just like me.

Waffles With Cream

Waffles are one delicious breakfast. Be it any type, Plain, Belgian, Chocolate or fruit. They are always so satisfying and delicious. My boys can do anything to get their favorite waffles. The American food kind of wins over my paranthas every time. I call that to be the blessings of settling down in USA…LOLzzz. The fact that my boys have huge variety to pick from is a delight in its own way and as a mom who loves cooking, I always find their food demands wonderful.

Waffles are super easy. The recipe below is for Belgian waffles. Basically, this recipe can be used for any waffle by adding your favorite fruit or chocolate and the flavors are always so delicious and warm.

I have even served my boys waffle as an after school snack. They always taste extra scrumptious during winters, they love the warm waffles drizzled with maple or chocolate syrup. You can also add some whipped cream and drizzle some chocolate sauce on it with some colorful sprinkles.

Choco Cookie Vanilla Shake

I have kids who happen to love Ice creams, because they are just like me…LOLzzz. I look for ways to make different flavors in Ice creams and milkshakes. A scoop of ice cream in your milkshakes not only makes your milkshakes taste better, but also more slushy and creamier.

Most times when we drink milkshakes at a restaurant, we feel that it never tastes the same at home. The difference comes from the milk and few other ingredients. Simple changes and few tricks make a big difference to the taste and you’d be surprised with how a simple switch can make a huge difference.

Generally, with fruit smoothies or milkshakes, fruits used are frozen. If you are using fresh fruits, try freezing them for 15 minutes before use. If you can’t, then make sure the milk you use should be very cold, keeping your milk in the freezer for 30 minutes should give you great results.

In this milkshake, I threw in a batch of chocolate chip cookies, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. I even spread some chocolate sauce on the glass for decorating a little more.