Saffron White Chocolate Cornflakes Tart … #eggless #glutenfree

Saffron White Chocolate Cornflakes Tart… basically ‘everything but the kitchen sink‘ in here again. A relatively free day meant clearing the pantry. Had bits & bobs of leftover ingredients, the main culprit was cornflakes!

A half bag of cornflakes meant I could bake ‘everything but kitchen sink‘ cookies. It’s an interesting concept that helps you use up leftovers to make something fun. Those cookies are real easy and a great way to use up half bags of pantry essentials like cereal etc.

Yet I craved to do something more fun, prettier perhaps, maybe more ‘picturesque‘. I wanted to bake a tart. Turned to a set of my favourite flavours – saffron, rose & pistachio. I find the pairing truly charming, so whimsical and beautiful!

This tart is inspired by a recipe on Better Homes & Gardens. I used saffron infused clarified butter/ ghee to bind the crushed cornflakes together, threw in some finely chopped nuts etc. I love using clarified butter/ghee instead of butter while baking. I also love infusing my ghee. I’ve infused it with tea, cinnamon, and coffee in the past.

The saffron made the cornflakes shine! While the base was baking, I rummaged through the fridge for ideas to fill the crust. Once my eye caught the bars of white chocolate, every other thought was history! The colours were already playing in my head!

Inside: A saffron white chocolate ganache filling topped with saffron strands, pistachio slivers and organic rose petals … flavours after my heart!

Left it to set for a couple of hours and it was delicious, such an interesting pairing of flavours and textures. The smoothness of the filling going really well with the golden crisp cornflakes, saffron creating magic all around.

Here’s the recipe for all those who asked on Instagram. I hit a 100K followers on Instagram the day I made this tart, which is HUGE for me, so the Cornflakes White Chocolate Saffron Tart is obviously is very special. I got just under 10k likes on the tart post too!

Small note: Different brands of white chocolate have different proportions of setting. I used a Lindt truffle white chocolate here which is slightly softer than white baking/bar chocolate I think. So your tart might set earlier f you use another brand, or you might need slightly varying quantities of cream. However, deliciousness is guaranteed, no matter what!

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Saffron White Chocolate Cornflakes Tart

Saffron White Chocolate Cornflakes Tart with saffron infused ghee to bind the crushed cornflakes together. The filling is a saffron white chocolate ganache topped with saffron strands, pistachio slivers and organic rose petals.
Keyword baking, chocolate, dessert, eggless, gluten free, glutenfree, homemade, sweet
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Saffron Cornflakes Tart Base

  • 2 1/2 cups cornflakes crushed
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds pistachios
  • 1/2 cup saffron infused ghee

Saffron White Chocolate Filling

  • 350 g white chocolate {I used Lindt}
  • 150 g whipping cream {I used Amul}
  • 50 g clarified butter {ghee} melted
  • pinch Generoussaffron strands

Garnish

  • Fresh organic rose petals
  • Pistachio slivers
  • saffron strands

Instructions

Cornflakes Tart Base

  • Preheat oven to 170C.
  • Crush the cornflakes well by hand.
  • Toss the crushed cornflakes, dry fruits and ghee to mix. Transfer to loose bottom baking tart pan. Work up the sides and to cover the base.
  • Place onto a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Cool completely.

Saffron white chocolate filling

  • Place white chocolate, cream and clarified butter/ghee in a heatproof bowl. Heat in bouts of 20 seconds until melted.
  • Sprinkle over saffron and whisk until smooth.
  • Cool completely. Once beginning to thicken/set, pour over the cool tart base.
  • Garnish with pistachio slivers, saffron strands and rose petals.
  • Leave to set in the fridge for about 4 hours, or best, overnight.
  • Gently unmold. Slice & serve.

2 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse … here’s to good beginnings!

2 Ingredient Chocolate Mousse … a simple beginning to a year that appeared out of nowhere, too fast perhaps. A Heston Blumenthal recipe this is, one I’ve made often. It needs all of two ingredients – a good quality couverture chocolate and filtered water! Magically it becomes mousse.


Chocolate and water are enemies but if treated right they become best friends! The recipe was created by Heston Blumenthal who basically combined water and chocolate to create a stable mousse. The underlying concept was invented by a French chemist, Dr Hervé This, whose specialism is the ‘science of cooking’.

The basic recipe for the 2 ingredient chocolate mousse uses 270 ml water to 350 grams chocolate. I’ve reworked mine to make a slightly smaller quantity. Be sure to use a high quality chocolate, at least a 70%+ dark couverture to get good results. Practice makes this better & better!

I’ve made the 2 ingredient chocolate mousse several times with small changes here and there. Sometimes with orange zest, once with instant coffee powder, once with filter coffee instead of water, and then again with orange juice. Oh, and once with a dash of Grand Marnier too!

Treat it right and it surprises you! There are plenty of videos online, so it might be a good idea to see one if you are unsure of how to whisk this etc. The technique is very straightforward, though you need to stop whisking at the right time, and then transfer / pipe the chocolate before it hardens.

I’ve heard that this combination of chocolate with water has been long used by pastry chefs to make piping chocolate. Quite fascinating if you ask me! Intriguing too!

Have a great new year!

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2 Ingredient Dark Chocolate Mousse ... here's to good beginnings!

This 2 ingredient dark chocolate mousse is perhaps the best way to begin the year. It's a Heston Blumenthal recipe, one I've made often. It needs all of two ingredients - a good quality couverture chocolate and filtered water, and magically it becomes mousse.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 270 g 70.5% dark couverture chocolate {chopped/pellets}
  • 230 ml filtered water

Instructions

  • Place the chocolate pellets and water in a heavy bottom pan. Simmer whisking constantly until melted. Transfer to a glass bowl.
  • Place ice cold water in a larger bowl and place the bowl with the chocolate mixture over it. The bottom should touch the cold water.
  • With a balloon whisk, whisk continuously for 5-7 minutes until you see the chocolate thickening up like a custard.
  • Stop the minute it becomes mousse like, else it will harden.
  • Transfer to a piping bag and pipe into serving glasses.
  • Best served immediately in cold weather like this!
  • In summer, I keep it in the fridge to set. Top with berries if you like. I had a few frozen berries in the freezer!

Fruit Cake & Caramelised Walnut Trifles

Fruit Cake & Caramelised Walnut Trifles…when chocolate spice cake loaded with fruit mince and fresh, crisp, sweet walnuts from California Walnuts India meet a softly whipped vanilla orange spice cream, magic happens.

Top the trifles with some more walnut halves roasted in ghee, then caramelised, and dig in! Dessert just right for this season!

Have you baked with walnuts this season? It’s my absolute favourite dry fruit to bake with, has been for years. I love the value walnuts add to a bake, both by way of nutrition and taste.

I also love that you can add them to about any bake and they pair well with almost all ingredients! In fact, I can’t think of any they don’t pair well with!

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Fruit Cake & Caramelised Walnut Trifles

...when xmas chocolate spice cake loaded with fruit mince and fresh, crisp, sweet walnuts from @californiawalnutsindia meet a softly whipped vanilla orange spice cream, magic happens. Top the trifles with some more walnut halves roasted in ghee, then caramelised, and dig in! Dessert just right for this season!
Prep Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit & Walnut Cake

  • Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit & Walnut Cake

Fruit mix

  • 150 g fruit mix {raisins berries apricots, orange, ginger etc}
  • 150 ml rum
  • 2 tbsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut sugar

Dry Mix

  • 1/2 cup all purpose our
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Wet mix

  • 75 g clarified butter {ghee}
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped vanilla orange spice cream

  • 300 ml 20% cream chilled
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • Few drops orange extract
  • ½ vanilla bean scraped

Ghee Caramelised Walnuts

  • 1 cup ½walnut halves
  • 1 tbsp Ghee/ clarified butter
  • 2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

Fruit & Walnut Cake

  • Soak the fruit in the rum, 2 tbsp coconut sugar & garam masala for 2-3 days {or more if possible}. Check daily and top with more rum if required.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cocoa, garam masala, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together dry mix with walnuts and chocolate chips.
  • Preheat oven to 160C. Line the bottoms and side of a 6″ round tin with baking parchment.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the clarified butter/ghee and coconut sugar until light and moussey. Beat in eggs plus vanilla extract, followed by the Greek yogurt.
  • Toss the fruit into the dry mix, then fold it all into the butter mix.
  • Transfer to prepared tin, even out and bake for 50-60 minutes until done.
  • Cool completely and rest for a day

Whipped vanilla orange spice cream

  • Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whip until light.

Ghee Caramelised Walnuts

  • Heat the ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Add the walnut halves and gently roast over low flame until light golden.
  • Add the sugar and continue to cook unil caramelised tossing to coat the nuts.
  • Immediately turn out onto a steel plate or parchment paper/silpat in a single layer, and allow to cool.

Assemble

  • Crumble some moist fruit & walnut cake to line the base of the trifle glass. Top with whipped spice cream, some caramelised walnuts. Repeat. Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Garam Masala Cake with Garam Masala Orange Vanilla Whipped Frosting …& Garam Masala Gingerbread House #GetSmartWithAlexa

Chocolate Garam Masala Cake with Garam Masala Orange Vanilla Whipped Frosting and Garam Masala Gingerbread House. The holiday season always gets me into a fast track mode of baking. Of late I have been getting numerous requests both on the blog and on social media for baking recipes, especially cakes and cookies that don’t use eggs.

So, I decided to make a fun Christmas bake and tried to go eggless. After much thought, I figured a chocolate cake might be a good place to begin. Do you know how to make life simpler when you have a million and more things to do?


SIMPLE! Turn to the Echo Spot {or Alexa} of course! Since I had so much more to do that morning, I let Alexa find an eggless chocolate cake recipe for me. #GetSmartWithAlexa… and this is what I got!!

From asking Alexa for an eggless chocolate cake recipe, to deciding what to make, I took about 30 minutes. That included quickly checking the pantry, reading out a list which was quickly jotted down by the smart device.

Amazingly enough, on asking it to shop the list, it got onto Amazon and scanned the store for items I needed. Alexa first looked up Prime listed items, just what I always do. I was sorted. Coconut sugar, flour, cocoa powder, parchment paper!

The cake was soon in the oven, from this recipe for an Eggless Chocolate Cake found by Alexa. I made  a few changes of course which is quintessential me. I added garam masala to spice the cake, used some whole wheat flour, coconut sugar instead of normal, and threw in a handful of chopped walnuts! The Echo Spot has a snappy digital touchscreen that works great in the kitchen. Simple to figure out and most handy too.

The timer was set, songs were played, the timer went off, cake was done! What a breeze!

And then, what’s Christmas without carols. Good old Alexa belted out some of my favourite Christmas music that is making our home so warm and fun this holiday season. White Christmas , Hallelujah, Last Christmas, Joy to the World, It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, This Christmas, I’ll be home for Christmas. Thanks to the touch screen, I constantly replayed Hallelujah till I knew every lyric by heart ... 

I worked the poor Echo Spot to the bone! Decided to get the sourdough going as well, which meant a second timer as it needed to be proofed for 2 hours. Loved how easy this is to do, and so clear on the screen. I even named this  timer ♥! Multiple timers are the best thing ever!

That barely took any time, so I decided to make an eggless version of my own Christmas Wholewheat Gingerbread Cookies for good measure. Turn to Alexa for substitutes/alternative ingredients.   “Alexa, what is a substitute for eggs in baking?

Such a great resource, and SO CONVENIENT especially when you are knee deep in batter! So much you can ask too. Spot on!

“Alexa, how many calories in a banana?”
“Alexa, add atta to my shopping list.”
“Alexa, can you buy chocolate chips on Amazon?”

Also leaves you time for so much more.  Like adding a sweet gingerbread house to top my cake!

Think of how handy this little device can be! Packs quite a punch …and is happy to sing all the time too! Whaaaaaat???

I decided to push my luck further. Since I’ve been baking for years, I’ve done some complicated baking, so more often than never, my recipes are in grams. Cut to now, some people have limited time, want hassle free quick to make recipes.

I jotted down the recipe telling Alexa what I was doing, then remembered later that might as well ask Alexa to convert it to cup measures! So here you go, an eggless Christmas Garam Masala Gingerbread recipe! #AskAlexa

Oh and if you’d like to know about the frosting, it’s a whipped cream Filling & frosting and you should try it for sure. I added orange extract, a scraped vanilla bean and 1 tsp of garam masala with about 3-4 tbsp icing sugar to a cup of whipping cream. The flavours screamed Christmas!

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Chocolate Garam Masala Cake with Garam Masala Orange Vanilla Whipped Frosting ...& Garam Masala Gingerbread House #GetSmartWithAlexa

These 100% Whole Wheat Garam Masala Gingerbread Men bring cheer to the cookie platter and make for great gifts. They are crisp, sweet, spicy and keep well in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks in a cool place. Garam Masala adds great unexpected addictive flavour to these!
Keyword baking, chocolate, dessert, eggless, homemade, sweet
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 30 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour/aata
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 cup ghee/room temperature
  • 1/2 cup, scant brown sugar
  • 3-4 tsp Greek yogurt as required to bring the dough together

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  • Sift the whole wheat flour, garam masala powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  • In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour mix to the clarified butter & pulse briefly to mix.
  • Tip in the sugar, pulse. Then add the Greek yogurt, a spoon at a time, and pulse briefly to make a firm yet pliable dough. Allow to rest for 30 minutes wrapped in cling wrap.
  • Roll out to ¼” thickness & cut with desired cookie cutters.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes till they smell done and the edges start turning golden-brown.
  • Cool on cookie racks.

Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit Cake … a winter warmer this holiday season

Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit Cake … my first winter fruit cake with chocolate and not the last by far! I make a fruit cake every year during the holiday season. Each year I have a special spice to flavour my cake, the garam masala.

This year there are two things different. One, I’ve added the charm of chocolate to my fruit cake, and second that the fruit were soaked exclusively in rum. More specifically soaked in Captain Morgan Rum, resulting in a drop dead addictive fruit cake! Oh, and another twist, coconut sugar. YUM!

I did a dry run with the recipe to figure if I was on track. It was amazing but maybe needed a few changes. The second time around it turned out perfect. It’s a simple recipe that has a fruit mix, and wet mix, then a dry mix. Line up the ingredients, get organised and you’ll have this baby baking in under 30 minutes.

My holiday baking through winter has increasingly been flavoured by garam masala, a spice my mother used to lace her fruit cake with year after year. It comes as a surprise to many since they associate this quintessential Indian spice with curries, kebabs and savoury food.

However, if you take a leaf out of my book, or many if you desire, you will see a splattering of recipes using this flavourful and common Indian spice blend. If the West is famous for its pumpkin pie spice, the East is known for garam masala, quite literally ‘hot spice mix‘!

Hot it is not and that is pretty much a regional thing. While it is much ‘spicier’ down south, the North Indian garam masala is gentle, flavourful and extremely pleasing. Just a sprinkle completely changes the mood of any dish, so you can imagine what it did to my cake.

One bite of the cake and you get transported to winter wonderlands where warm spices, chocolate and rum embrace you with their warmth. The flavours come together really well, and each crumb screams HOLIDAY SEASON! 

To finish the cake, poke holes through it as soon as it steps out of the oven, and drizzle over the warm cake with a little more Captain Morgan Rum. Then let this beautiful, fragrant bake sit back and mature a little bit. Slice and serve once cold…

Or add another level of indulgence by drizzling over with a rum spiked chocolate ganache, top with candied orange slices and frozen berries! Dust with cocoa…

… and you have a show stopper!

ENJOY!

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Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit Cake ... the right winter warmer this holiday season

Spicy Chocolate Garam Masala Fruit Cake ...One bite of the cake and you get transported to winter wonderlands where warm spices, chocolate and rum embrace you with their warmth. The flavours come together really well, and each crumb screams HOLIDAY SEASON!
Keyword baking, chocolate, dessert, fruit, homemade, sweet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Fruit mix

  • 150 g fruit mix {raisins berries, apricots, figs, orange, ginger etc}
  • 150 ml Captain Morgan Rum
  • 2 tbsp garam masala powder
  • 2 tbsp coconut sugar

Dry Mix

  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Wet mix

  • 75 g clarified butter {ghee}
  • 1 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp Greek yogurt
  • vanilla extract

To top

  • 30 ml Captain Morgan Rum

Instructions

Fruit mix

  • Soak the fruit in the rum, 2 tbsp coconut sugar & garam masala for 2-3 days {or more if possible}. Check daily and top with more rum if required.
  • Preheat oven to 160C. Line the bottoms and side of a 6" round tin with baking parchment.

Wet Mix

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the clarified butter/ghee and coconut sugar until light and moussey.
  • Beat in eggs plus vanilla extract. Beat in the Greek yogurt.

Dry Mix

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • Stir together dry mix with walnuts and chocolate chips.
  • Toss the fruit into the dry mix, then fold it all into the butter mix.
  • Transfer to prepared tin, even out and bake for 50-60 minutes until done.

To finish

  • Poke holes into the cake as soon as it comes out, and drizzle about 30ml of rum over it.
  • Cool completely and rest for a day.

#SwiggySuper … for times when you need a backup or break!

December has turned out to be a whirlwind month, almost a struggle to keep my head above water. A month where the biggest hit for me is that I am out of home at a shoot, or traveling. That just means fresh food on the table becomes a challenge. For me since I get back home from work quite famished and in no mood to get into the kitchen, and for the family where everyone eats at odd times.

For times like these, Membership Swiggy Super has been a blessing, like a gift from someone who was listening to me. It’s a little pressing on the wallet to constantly order meals, but that is a necessity and a happy one! Yet what pinches is extra delivery charges each time you order. Swiggy’s Super is a solution to that pet peeve, a membership program that offers unlimited free deliveries from the restaurant on orders above Rs.99!

Unlimited free delivery, No surge fees, Exclusive offers… and more

The freedom to order unlimited meals without worrying about delivery charges. The freedom to order lunch dinner and dessert too. Breakfast is mostly taken care of, but gladly with Swiggy Super even those early morning hunger pangs are guiltfree.

You know what I mean!! Order thrice and if delivery charges are Rs20 per delivery, that’s already a saving of Rs 60. The kids love that! The milkshakes from my childhood are a HOT favourite. Delivered home so easily is luxury! 

And the good thing is that Membership Super Swiggy travels with you across cities. Late night cravings in new cities, and Super Swiggy is always there! And the fun thing is that while I enjoy the savoury goodies, I can order sweet nothings for the kids back home in seconds too. Super Swiggy has me covered!

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