Tag: food styling

Carrot Orange Turmeric Soup … staying warm this winter!

Carrot Orange Turmeric Soup for cold winter days as these. They say we’re experiencing the coldest winter in North India in decades & so that calls for endless soups, stews & hot chocolate! I’m trying my hand at things I’ve never made before & this brightly coloured delicious soup is one of them.

This Carrot Orange Turmeric Soup is almost stupidly simple yet packs quite a punch! It also has some of my favourite ingredients like garlic greens & fresh turmeric.

I do love soups like these that require literally no work but still taste and look like a million bucks! This one is silky smooth too!

I despised soups as a kid. Soup at home was the usual suspect – either a tomato soup , else bone broth. That put me off for a while because it was like a chore spooning the same predictable soup time after time. Add butter or croutons to them, but the same uniform taste remained.

“There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can.” Laurie Colwin

Cut to now. Life is more interesting and it’s easy to find inspiration. A couple of other favourite soups on the blog is this earthy Mushroom Cashew Rosemary Soup and the Quick Tomato Coconut Soup Also, a food blog is perpetually hungry, & I’m trying to keep this one well fed for now at least!

What’s your favourite soup? I’d love to hear.

Catch me on Instagram if you’re there. Do tag me on  passionateaboutbaking on Instagram if you try a recipe, or follow me if you like! I’d love to connect with you.

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Carrot Orange Turmeric Soup

This Carrot Orange Turmeric Soup is almost stupidly simple yet packs quite a punch! It also has some of my favourite ingredients like garlic greens & fresh turmeric.
Keyword eggless, gluten free, no bake, soup
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp clarified butter/ghee {optional}
  • 3 carrots sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • garlic greens chopped
  • 1/2 inch piece "fresh turmeric
  • 1 cup vegetable stock/ or water { I use the water I blanch beans/broccoli in}
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Juice of 1/2 orange

Instructions

  • Sauté all the vegetables in 1 tbsp ghee + evoo for 5 minutes until lightly coloured & fragrant.
  • Add the stock / water, orange zest and salt to taste.
  • Simmer until carrots are soft. Blend until smooth.
  • Squeeze in juice of 1/2 an orange. Adjust the thickness as desired. Reheat gently before serving.
  • Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and scatter over roasted pumpkin, melon seeds etc.

Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles… perfect for the dessert platter, for gifting this season!

Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles … dried prunes soaked in fresh orange juice with a dash of zest, toasted walnuts, crystallised ginger powder, then a sprinkling of Grand Marnier; and we have these little beauties. Perfect for the dessert platter, for gifting too. Also, they are vegetarian & gluten free & SUPER EASY to make.

When Zoe talked about Caprunes recently, I remembered dark chocolate prune truffles I had made ages ago. It was definitely time to make them again, and this time they seem even better. How could I have forgotten this goodness!

So I made a batch yesterday, made them simpler than earlier, added some festive flavour & couldn’t stop eating the ‘dough’ as it chilled. That good!

They are pretty darned good just rolled twice over in good quality cocoa powder, but I had sprinkles & dragees sitting on the counter, so some dressing up happened. I have to say I really enjoyed doing this!

Absolutely love these red & green Wilton dragees I picked up from Michaels in NY a few weeks ago. They are so versatile & fun!

I’ve used them so much in my kitchen this winter. They are perfect for just about everything Christmas & festive like the cookies above, and worked so well especially on these Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles.

Sharing the recipe for the Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles on the blog this evening so you can quickly rustle up a few too. Since they need few ingredients, make sure you use the best quality!

Fun fact: Prunes pack a powerful punch of important vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. How do you use prunes in your recipes?

Oh, also made a quick batch of Stove Top Cinnamon Walnut Granola this morning. It’s just fab for this time of the year especially. Let me know if you’d like the recipe.

Catch me on Instagram if you’re there. Do tag me on  passionateaboutbaking on Instagram if you try a recipe, or follow me if you like! I’d love to connect with you.

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Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles

Dark Chocolate Prune Orange Truffles... dried prunes soaked in fresh orange juice with a dash of zest, finely chopped toasted walnuts {optional}, a dash of crystallised ginger powder, then a sprinkle of Grand Marnier ... & we have these little beauties. Perfect for the dessert platter, also gifting this season. better still, they are vegetarian & gluten free & EASY to make.
Keyword chocolate, dessert, eggless, fruit, gluten free, glutenfree, homemade, no bake, sweet
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 hour 6 minutes
Servings 12 truffles

Ingredients

  • 100 grams dark chocolate, 72% broken into pieces, room temperature
  • 100 ml low fat / single cream Amul
  • 100 grams pitted prunes/dried plums
  • 3 tbsp fresh orange juice
  • Zest of 1/2 orange
  • 1 tbsp crystallized ginger powder
  • 50 g toasted walnuts finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp Grand Marnier optional
  • Cocoa powder chocolate sprinkles, dragees, finely chopped walnuts, grated chocolate etc to decorate

Instructions

  • Place prunes, orange juice & zest in a bowl. Leave overnight to soak, else microwave for a minute. Stand for at least 30 minutes.
  • Heat cream in a heatproof bowl in the microwave for one minute. Add chocolate, stir & allow to stand for 15-20 minutes. Stir and repeat if required. Heat for 30 second intervals if required. Stir until smooth
  • Place prunes with any remaining liquid and 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate mix in a hand chopper {or blender} and process until blended. I used a small hand chopper.
  • Add back to bowl with melted chocolate with chopped toasted walnuts and ginger powder. Stir well with a spatula to mix.
  • Refrigerate for an hour or so until firm enough to roll into balls.
  • Drop teaspoonfuls, one at a time into cocoa powder {or sprinkles etc} shake to coat and roll into balls. Chill until firm, then toss in cocoa powder once again.

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart … because for me no celebration is complete without a hint of coffee! This is a simple tart. Also it’s a 100% wholegrain, eggless & delicious. Luxurious to put it mildly!

Sometimes the simplest of flavours taste best in dessert. For someone like me, this is where comfort food meets sensual smooth dessert. Mascarpone & coffee, or rather espresso, are great together. I have a homemade mascarpone recipe on the blog if you like. It’s very very simple to make at home & uses just 2 ingredients.

Use an instant coffee instead of espresso powder, your favourite shell recipe if you like, else a biscuit base but make this, you must!

This Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart shell is an adaptation of the eggless gingerbread man I made a few days ago. I’ve been playing with that recipe which has all the goodness of wholewheat flour, coconut sugar, honey, crystallized ginger & my favourite ingredient, clarified /ghee! What’s not to love!

And of course I had the most fun piping these free hand christmas trees with melted chocolate, then adding little dragees to them. Picked up a few dragees from Michaels in NY in November this year. Just makes me so happy to use them! Took me back to years ago when stuff like this was a regular every Christmas!

I also baked up loads of cookies a few days ago, an eggless fruit cake too. I loved the shortbread & linzer I made, one cookie dough that works for both. Will share that soon!

Sharing the Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart recipe today, blogging after quite long, all for the love of coffee! I’ll hopefully try & get more regular on the blog too. Thank you for being so patient.

I’m spending a lot of time on Instagram these days. Are you there? Please tag me on passionateaboutbaking on Instagram if you try any recipe, or follow me if you like! I’d love to connect with you.

Have a great holiday season!

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Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart

Wholegrain Espresso Chocolate Tart is a simple tart. Also it's 100% wholegrain, eggless & delicious. Use an instant coffee instead of espresso powder, your favourite shell recipe if you like, else a biscuit base but make this, you must! Serves 6-8
Keyword baking, chocolate, coffee, dessert, eggless, homemade, sweet
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Tart Base

  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp softened ghee
  • 1 tsp espresso powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour {atta}
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2-3 tbsp cream

Mascarpone Espresso Filling

  • 200 g mascarpone
  • 100 Amul cream
  • 30 g coconut sugar
  • 1 tbsp espresso powder

Chocolate Espresso Topping

  • 100 g 72% dark chocolate room temperature
  • 150 g Amul cream
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp espresso powder

Garnish

  • 50 g chocolate for trees

Instructions

Tart Base

  • Preheat oven to 180C
  • Line the base of a 13.75" by 4.325" rectangular fluted removable bottom tart mold with a strip of parchment.
  • Place the clarified butter/ghee & coconut sugar in bowl of stand mixer and whisk until smooth. Add the espresso powder, salt and baking soda. Whisk.
  • Now add the whole wheat flour and mix on low until just combined. Drizzle over the honey, then add just enough cream to bring the base together. The dough should hold when pinched between the fingertips.
  • Push into the tart tin, building up the sides first, then firmly pat into base.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes until firm to touch. Cool completely before filling.
  • {Tart shell can be made a day before}

Mascarpone Espresso Filling

  • Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk/beat until smooth. Don't overbeat. We're looking for a thick filling that holds well.

Chocolate Espresso Topping

  • Heat the cream in a large bowl for a minute.
  • Add the chocolate and leave to stand for a little while until the chocolate melts, 10-15 minutes.
  • Add the honey & espresso powder and stir until smooth. Cool.
  • Assemble tart by filling the shell with the mascarpone espresso cream. Spread it evenly, then top with the chocolate espresso.
  • Garnish as desired with melted chocolate shapes. Slice & serve in winter, chill for about an hour in summer.

Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Cream in a buckwheat nut base

Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Cream in a buckwheat nut base … when you have jars of salted caramel calling your name, imagine the possibilities!! That this is wholegrain, eggless with no refined sugar makes it better. Fruit in it? Yes, that too!

I had buckwheat flour {kuttu ka aata locally}, stewed apples and salted caramel on hand. That tart tin on the counter got me thinking, then this happened. It was fun, a whole lot of fun.

Do you use whole grains and non refined sugars while baking?

I began doing that several years ago when I had my eureka moment waiting for the kids at the bus stop {read several years ago}. I saw daily wagers buying empty calories/local snacks for their mid day meal and strangely that was my moment of awakening.

Raced back home and changed the way I baked forever. That day on, I looked at each recipe with new eyes. Anything that didn’t quite contribute on a nutritional scale was reassessed. My hashtag and driving force became #makehalfyourgrainswhole.

Slowly I began substituting half plain flour with a better whole grain flour. Also began using more pseudo cereals like buckwheat flour which is locally available as kuttu ka aata etc.

Basically it changed the way I looked at my food & in turn removed the monotony of expected results! Do you know what I mean …

Baking being quite fiddly & scientific, I was now really never sure of the taste, how the recipe would hold etc. That in turn gave me more reason to bake, to experiment, to shoot, to find meaning for my blog. I’ve had my share of failures yet, if you don’t experiment, how will you learn!

To cut a long story short, here’s a tart that reflects my way of baking now. Everything from scratch, beautiful natural flavours, inseason & a play of textures. Right from that first bite of the tart, you’ll feel the magic!

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Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Cream in a buckwheat nut base

This Caramel Apple Tart with Cinnamon Cream in a buckwheat nut base reflects my way of baking. Everything from scratch, beautiful natural flavours, local ingredients, inseason & a play of textures. Right from that first bite of the tart, you'll feel the magic!
Keyword baking, dessert, eggless, fruit, glutenfree, homemade, sweet
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Buckwheat nut tart shell

  • 1/2 cup 60g buckwheat flour/kuttu ka aata
  • 1/2 cup 85g walnuts {or almonds}
  • 1/4 cup 30g coconut sugar {or brown}
  • 2 tbsp 20g cornflour
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 1/2 cup 50g chilled butter cubed

Apple & walnut filling

  • 2-3 green apples cored, peeled, diced
  • 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar {or brown}
  • 1/3 cup walnuts chopped

Cinnamon cream

  • 150 g cream cheese
  • 100 g mascarpone
  • 1/3 cup icing sugar
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon powder

Instructions

Apple & walnut filling

  • Place all ingredients in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, until the apple is just cooked soft but still holds a bite.
  • Cool completely. You can make this a day or two ahead. Strain for an excess liquid {Add this to a smoothie, else reduce and pour back over to mix. Any extra moisture will make the base soggy.}

Cinnamon cream

  • Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high speed until smooth and firm peaks.
  • Chill until required. Transfer to piping bag fitted with a star nozzle if you wish to pipe it over.
  • 1 jar salted caramel sauce, room temperature. (Recipe link 1/2 quantity - https://passionateaboutbaking.com/salted-caramel-sauce-back-to-the-basics/)

Buckwheat nut tart shell

  • Place buckwheat flour, walnuts, sugar, cornflour & salt in jar of processor. Process briefly until you get a fine meal like mix. Add the chilled butter and process briefly to get a breadcrumb like mix. The crumb should come together when pressed together between the thumb and fingertips.
  • Turn into 7" loose bottomed tart tin and place in freezer for 10 minutes, while you preheat the oven.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C. bake the tart shell for 15 minutes, then cool completely and chill. At this point I usually loosen the shell from the base slightly and then put it back in.

Assemble

  • Pour over the salted caramel and spread uniformly
  • Spoon over chilled apple & walnut filling, then top with the cinnamon cream.
  • You can spread it over evenly or pipe if desired.
  • Chill for a couple of hours before slicing. Note: This not a crisp tart shell. It's a soft to bite shell which holds its form quite well.

Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake} … colours for Holi

Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake}, a recipe inspired by Holi, the festival of colour. The no bake cake is eggless, simple & based on ayurveda. It’s no bake and gluten free too, yet above all, very delicious!

When you get to work with brands you admire, there’s bound to be endless inspiration like the Thandai Latte above. That’s just what’s happening as I work with Forest Essentials to create some colourful content around the brand philosophy.

The recipes are inspired by Holi, the festival of colour which is here. They are simple, in season and based on the principles of ayurveda.

I’ve done a bunch of recipes, a few you can catch on my gallery on Instagram, and Forest Essentials as well. I love how easily they capture colour, look festive and inspire too!

This particular recipe of the Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake} is inspired by their Almond, Pistachio & Honey Paste, is a huge favourite and tastes like a bite of almond heaven! It’s slightly adapted from a recipe the brand team shared with me. You must try making it.

If you wish to make it tomorrow, please soak the almonds right away. The most work it takes is peeling the almonds, and it’s well worth the effort. This yields a small cake, about 4″ wide approximately, and a little goes a long way.

You can also set the Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake} in a thali/flat tray and cut it into diamond shape pieces like barfi. If you choose to do that, perhaps line the tray with parchment first, or grease the tray to keep things simple. Or simpler, should I say!!

Don’t forget to tag me if you make this – Instagram Facebook Twitter

There are some more Holi Recipes you can catch on my friend Monika’s blog at Sinamontales too! Have a HAPPY HOLI! Hope it’s filled with a lot of colour, joy & happiness.

And for those who’ve been asking, I’m finally trying to shoot videos on recipes and food styling tutorials too. I’ve added a couple here, so please follow me on YouTube if you’d like to learn a little about how I style my frames, bake etc.

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Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake}

Badaam & Gulab Cake {Almond & Rose Cake} - a recipe inspired by Holi, the festival of colour which is here. The no bake cake is eggless, simple, in season and based on ayurveda.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indian
Keyword dessert, eggless, gluten free, glutenfree, homemade, no bake, sweet
Prep Time 12 hours
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 13 hours 15 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 pinch saffron, generous
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
  • 1/2-3/4 cup water {or cow’s milk}
  • 4 tbsp cow’s ghee
  • Few drops of rose water
  • Pistachios, rose petals, saffron strands to garnish

Instructions

  • Wash and soak almonds in lot of water for 4 hours {or overnight}. Discard water, peel off the skins and rinse the almonds well.
  • Blend almonds, sugar, cardamom powder, saffron with water {or milk} to
  • a smooth paste {or a slightly rough grind depending on desired consistency}.
  • Heat a pital/brass kadhai/wok or heavy bottom pan, add 2 tablespoon of ghee to it.
  • Add the ground paste and constantly stir the mixture as it can burn easily.
  • Add an additional 2 tbsp of ghee and cook till the halwa thickens, stirring constantly.
  • When it reaches desired consistency, stir in the rose water. Transfer to a brass (kansa) container to set.
  • Garnish with almond slivers, pistachios, rose petals.

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.
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