Tag: holiday baking

Baking | Traditional Panettone the Daring Bakers way!

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.”
Robert Browning

PanettoneTraditional Panettone … the December Daring Bakers challenge sounded like music to my ears, only that I wasn’t sure at all that I would get to doing the challenge. The year end has been quite a roller coaster ride, at times frustrating and saddening. The events around the world make the heart heavy, yet the very thought of food means comfort.

Back from an early Christmas cum birthday party a few days ago, I bit into a sweet rum fruit cake that was part of the goodie bag. That old comforting feeling flooded my senses. Sure enough, I was soaking fruit the next morning. A quick Christmas fruit cake was sure to lift the spirits a bit…

With the fruit soaking, the challenge played on the mind since I knew the panettone also used fruit, not soaked though. Pannetone is a sweet yeasted Italian bread served at Christmas. It is characteristically tall. Mine wasn’t. I misjudged the tins a little {read quite a lot}.

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina. Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread!

I really pushed myself to begin the challenge. One look at the recipe and you will understand. It looked long and daunting. I began early in the morning. Thankfully the Thermomix did all the kneading in minutes. It was the ‘rises’ that took all day, and my panettones finally got ready late in the evening.

So how was the Panettone born? A beautiful bread with a romantic tale. Traditionally it is eaten by the Milanese but now it is available all through Italy and in many parts of the world. There are many stories and legends of the Panettone. The one recounted by Carol Field, whose recipe we use today, is that of a rich young Milanese noble who fell in love with the daughter of a poor baker whose name was Tony (Antonio). The nobleman wanted to marry the baker’s daughter so he ensured the baker had at his disposal the very best ingredients – eggs, butter, flour, candied orange peel, citron and sultanas. The baker created a wonderful bread which became known as pan di Tonio (Tony’s bread). The baker found his fame and fortune and the nobleman honorably married the baker’s daughter.

Well thanks to Tony and Marcellina, {and the author of the recipe, Carol Field, of course}, we have this delicious traditional Christmas favourite delighting our palettes today. Rich, buttery, brioche like, studded with raisins, candied peel, nuts {and dark  chocolate chips in the mini ones}, the Panettone is comforting and addictive.

Of course I had no time to make a traditional panettone case, and sadly they are quite impossible to find in India. Mine were baked in parchment cases in 3 tiny cake tins. I made half a dozen in cupcake cases too.

So glad I made them. They were fabulous! I was unsure if the kids would eat them, given their love-hate relationship with fruit and nuts … but NOM NOM NOM were the words out of the daughters mouth. The first cupcakes vanished soon, followed by one small cake.

One bite of the Panettone took me back to the Dresden Stollen; a bread that had ‘stolen‘ my heart a few years ago. The Stollen is an amazing Christmas bread, one that can be made months in advance, and one that keeps really well. A traditional German holiday bread, the Dresden Stollen has yeast and quark as two of the key ingredients.

We also did a Stollen Bread Pudding with the Daring Bakers in December 2010; yet another amazing Christmas dessert. This year was getting very busy and my time management was rock bottom {so what’s new?}. The quintessential fruit cake was yet to be baked and it was already the 22rd!

Christmas at home is never complete without Fruit Cake. I made a twist to my regular fruit cake this year with a Christmas Garam Masala Fruit Cake. YUM! That was what I originally cut and soaked fruit for. Then figured I could manage the Panettone too.

Lofty ambitions as Mr PAB decided to hit ER running a temperature of 105C on the coldest day of this year. We shivered with cold while he raged with high fever that took us to hospital. Nothing a drip and a few shots couldn’t fix … and I raced home to my beloved Panettone. Talk about dedication to baking!

Don’t get daunted by the length of the recipe or the many ‘risings’ … or the amount of butter for that matter! This is good stuff, well worth the effort, and all the ‘risings’.

I didn’t get as far as the baked traditional glaze the recipe offered. The Panettone looked good without it too, until the boy saw a picture I was looking at and asked why mine had no glaze. Talk about added pressure. Low fat cream + raw powdered sugar + almond extract = good quick glaze. Good enough for some craisins and slivered pistachios to hang on to. Yummy as well!

I dressed the Panettone up in a collar of parchment paper with holes punched through, threading golden ribbon through. The little ones were baked in green Christmas cupcake liners that I placed in deep individual muffin tins like the ones you see in this Plum Fro Yo. The dough baked upwards quite nicely. I loved the way they came out.

Do stop by here and check out some the beautiful Panettone that the Daring Bakers have baked. Thank you Marcella for sharing the beautiful story and recipe with us. Thank you as always Lisa of La Mia Cucina and Ivonne of  Cream Puffs in Venice for hosting this fab kitchen!!

[print_this]Recipe:  Traditional Panettone 

Summary: A delicious sweet Italian bread like cake studded with fruit, nuts and candied peel. The Panettone originates from Milan, and is traditionally made around Christmas. Panettone recipe slightly adapted from The Italian Baker by Carol Field. Makes 2 Panettone {I made half recipe} Candied Orange Peel from Use Real Butter

Prep Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours {plus resting and cooling time}
Ingredients:

  • Sponge
  • 1 satchel (2¼ teaspoons) (7 gm) active dry yeast
  • 1/3 cup (80 ml) warm water
  • ½ cup (70 gm) unbleached all purpose flour
  • First Dough
  • 1 satchel (2¼ teaspoons) (7 gm) active dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoons (45 ml) warm water
  • 2 large eggs, at room temp
  • 1¼ cup (175 gm) unbleached all-purpose (plain) flour
  • ¼ cup (55 gm) (2 oz) sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick) (115 gm) unsalted butter, at room temp
  • Second dough
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup (150 gm) (5-2/3 oz) sugar
  • 3 tablespoons (45 ml) honey
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla extract {I used 1 vanilla bean in half recipe}
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon essence/extract
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) orange essence/extract
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (6 gm) salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) (225 gm) unsalted butter, at room temp
  • 3 cups (420 gm) (15 oz) unbleached all-purpose (plain) flour; plus up to (2/3 cup) 100 gm for kneading
  • Filling and final dough
  • 1½ cups (250 gm) (9 oz) golden raisins or golden sultanas
  • ½ cup (75 gm) (2-2/3 oz) candied citron {I didn’t have this so I made it up with candied orange peel}
  • ½ cup (75 gm) (2-2/3 oz) candied orange peel 
  • Grated zest of 1 orange
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) (15-25 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
  • Note: I used about 3 cups of fruit & nut filling from my Christmas Garam Masala Fruit Cake
  • Candied Orange peel recipe 

Method:

  1. Sponge
  2. Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and allow to stand until creamy. That’s about 10 minutes or so.
  3. Mix in the flour.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size for about 20 to 30 minutes
  5. TM: I just placed everything in the Thermomix Speed 5, 10 seconds.
  6. First Dough By Mixer
  7. In the mixer bowl, mix together the yeast and water and allow to stand until creamy. Again, about 10 minutes or so.
  8. With the paddle attached mix in the sponge, eggs, flour, and sugar.
  9. Add in the butter and mix for 3 minutes until the dough is smooth and even.
  10. Cover with plastic wrap and allow double in size, about 1 – 1 ¼ hours
  11. Second Dough By Mixer
  12. With the paddle mix in thoroughly the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, honey, scraped vanilla bean, essences/extracts, and salt.
  13. Mix in the butter until smooth.
  14. Add the flour and slowly incorporate.
  15. At this stage the dough will seem a little too soft, like cookie dough.
  16. Replace the paddle with the dough hook and knead for about 2 minutes.
  17. Turn out the dough and knead it on a well-floured surface until it sort of holds its shape.
  18. Don’t knead in too much flour but you may need as much as 2/3 cup. Be careful the excess flour will affect the finished product. {I didn’t add any extra flour}
  19. First Rise
  20. Oil a large bowl lightly, plop in your dough and cover
  21. Oil a large bowl lightly, plop in your dough and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 2-4 hours until it has tripled in size. 
  22. Filling and Final Rise
  23. Soak the raisin/sultanas in water 30 minutes before the end of the first rise. {I used about 3 cups of fruit & nut filling from my Christmas Garam Masala Fruit Cake}
  24. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. 
  25. Now take your dough and cut it in half. Remember we are making two panettoni.
  26. Combine all your filling ingredients and mix well.
  27. Press out one portion of dough into an oval shape.
  28. Sprinkle over one quarter of the filling and roll up the dough into a log
  29. Press out again into an oval shape and sprinkle over another quarter of the filling.
  30. Roll into a log shape again.
  31. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
  32. Shape each into a ball and slip into your prepared pans, panettone papers or homemade panettone papers.
  33. Cut an X into the top of each panettone and allow to double in size. If it has been rising on the kitchen bench in a warm place it should be doubled in about 2 hours.
  34. Baking
  35. When you think your dough has only about 30 minutes left to rise preheat your oven to moderately hot 200°C
  36. Just before baking carefully {don’t deflate it!} cut the X into the dough again and place in a knob {a nut} of butter.
  37. Place your panettoni in the oven and bake for 10 minutes
  38. Reduce the heat to moderate 180°C and bake for another 10 minutes
  39. Reduce the heat again to moderate 160°C and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean.
  40. Cool completely.

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Before I go, I am happy to announce the winner for the giveaway of the beautiful retro scale and worktop saver from Zansaar. Put your hands together for Kajal @ For the Love of Food. Congratulations Kajal … will mail you soon! BTW, your blog is beautiful!

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Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala …. Joyeux Noel 2012

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala ... anticipated, enjoyed, relished. December is never complete without this quintessential favourite, yet it nearly didn’t ‘happen’ this year. Yet for some reason the joy of the season, the light headed feeling, the warmth is missing. The heart feels heavy with the mindless violence that seems to raise its ugly head right across the world … be it New Delhi or New England.

The restlessness was getting overwhelming. Yesterday I needed to get into the kitchen, grab a dose of baking therapy. I have not baked for the past week. The insensitivity of the grotesque attack on the 23 year old girl in New Delhi has completely shattered us. The heart breaks that someone should have been subject to such animal behaviour.

Yet the strength of the human spirit of the victim is unbelievable. She has returned from near dead to prove just how strong a woman can be, still fighting death every passing minute. The tale of this strong young lady will go down in the history of India.

Yesterday I baked with her in my mind. I also gave the teen some ferns and tangerines from the garden to make me a wreath. With a little help from her brother, and none from the dog, she made me a pretty one! She managed to get Coco to wear a Santa hat too …

It’s a simple fruit cake, one which shows up across the globe around this time. Often referred to as Christmas Cake, there are millions of recipes for fruit cake, in some regions every family hanging on to their own traditional recipe. Mine is a twist to our family recipe.

My Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala has evolved from a traditional recipe handed down from my mother. Hers was the Garam Masala Christmas Cake. The one I baked this year follows the same basics of garam masala and orange juice to soak the fruit {overnight or for a few days/weeks}, some brandy thrown in if you like. I also continue to use a caramel coffee syrup to lend colour and deep flavour to the cake.

Everything was done in a hurry as usual. No planning other than soaking a bunch of dry fruits and nuts the night before. I had plenty of bright oranges on hand, so decided to make candied orange peel. A recipe on Use Real Butter has stayed in my head forever.

The effect of the colour itself was therapeutic, mood uplifting and before I knew it I was soaking fruit in the orange juice. I threw in 3 tbsps of garam masala. Don’t worry, it doesn’t end up too strong. Nor does it make your cake smell like curry! It is beautiful. If you do have time, make your own.

It adds deep flavours of cinnamon, spice and all things nice; reminds me of gently mulled wine. Ties the season in nicely, warm and comforting in a deeply pacifying sort of a way.

The daughter hates nuts, and the son hates raisins and fruit. Their taste buds always unite for Christmas Cake … right down to the last crumb. She says its all ‘mine‘, while he bitterly complains to me, naive enough to believe her… and life goes on!

Joy, Peace, Warmth, safety this holiday season dear readers.

Thank you for stopping by.

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Recipe: Christmas Fruit Cake with Garam Masala

Summary: Rich, fruity, nutty and deeply flavoured fruit cake for Christmas. The flavours of garam masala lift it to new heights. 

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes {plus soaking the fruit}
Ingredients:

  • 1000g dried fruit and nuts {250g tutti frutti, 100g cashewnuts, 200g walnuts, 100g almonds, 3050g raisins, 50g currants}
  • 100g candied orange peel {recipe here}
  • 240ml orange juice
  • 150ml brandy {or orange juice}
  • 3 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tbsp coffee
  • 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1tbsp vanilla extract

Method:

  1. Fruit & nut mix
  2. Chop the walnuts, cashews, almonds and candied peel. Mix with the rest of the fruit.
  3. Pour the juice and brandy into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the garam masala, followed by the fruits and nuts. Mix well. Cover tightly and leave to soak overnight or for longer. Stir the next morning, and a couple of times more.
  4. Coffee Caramel Sauce
  5. Heat the granulated sugar in a saucepan and cook until it caramelises. Once it turns a golden brown, gently add almost all the water {be careful it will splutter} and continue to mix until it all comes together. If it is still thick, add some more water. ake off heat and stir in the coffee. Cool. {Once cool, the consistency should be like flowing honey. If not, add some more water and heat gently again}.
  6. Cake
  7. Preheat the oven to 150C.
  8. Line a 22cm square tin and 2 mini loaf tins with four layers of baking paper.
  9. In a large bowl, toss the fruit with the plain flour until all fruit well coated.
  10. In a LARGE mixing bowl, beat the butter with brown sugar for a minute or so.
  11. Beat in the eggs one by one, followed by the vanilla essence, and then the coffee caramel.
  12. Now add the dry mix and stir well to combine.
  13. Ladle batter into prepared tins. Drop from a height of 15cms to get rid of any air bubbles.
  14. Bake at 150C for 2 hours {for the small ones} and 2 1/2 to 3 hours for the large one.
  15. Cool completely in tin. Either slice once cool, or wrap in clingwrap until required.

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Baking | Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Smoked Sea Salt and Fluted Pistachio & Craisin Cookies … cookie l♥v

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”
Robert Fulghum

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Smoked Sea Salt and Fluted Pistachio & Craisin Cookies … Cookies Cookies Cookies. The events of the past week asked for something comforting … the call was for cookies! Last months Daring Bakers challenge was meant to awaken the cookie monster in us, which it did. Sadly,  I never did get down to posting them.

Excuses? Plenty and thankfully not too lame. Exams! Then the internet has played truant. The service provider refused to acknowledge the basic problem. A month later, after trying every solution under the sun, they finally agreed to redo the wiring {which is what we asked for in the first place}. Frustrating but true, like so many other things in life. I am happy to be back to blogging with less stress.

Of late, I’ve been bitten by the brownie monster and it was just  a matter of time before I hit cookie mode. Daring Bakers in November set me off. Made two lots {downgraded from an ambitious 5-6}. Then the posting date passed by with intermittent internet and these poor cookies went into drafts. With the net now up and racing, I thought I’d better get them out before the bells begin to jingle louder. When the kidlets were younger, December always woke up the cookie monster in me. The jar was never empty. I was always elbow deep in dough {well almost}. My days {and often nights} would go in backbreaking baking, frosting cookies, doing stain glass cookies, hanging dozens onto the tree, making dozens more for the kids, their friends, for orders etc.

Then the ‘forever hungry for pretty Christmas cookies’ kids grew up. I fell to easier and more practical cookies to make. I hardly ever do cookies that need dressing up and fussing over. Wholewheat Gingerbread Men Cookies are an exception though; I really enjoy doing these. {Ceramics courtesy Urban Dazzle}

Now I consider myself lucky if freshly baked cookies even get a chance to ‘cool completely‘! Before I know it, dirty grubby teen ‘lad’ fingers hesitatingly come forward to grab a few, while the older sister bites gently into them. The two are ALWAYS game for cookies.

I started off pretty early in November. First out of the oven were Fluted Pistachio & Craisin Cookies. Simple, crisp and delicious with craisins and pistachios adding beautiful flavour. The craisins were orange flavoured, so slight hints of orange teased the palette! Good beginning!

Then I happened to see these chippers on a beautiful blog  Reclaiming Provincial. I instantly knew they were about to happen in the near future, pretty near future. I mentally ticked off everything I loved about them …

They are from a book I long to own {read yet another book} Good to the Grain, Kim Boyce. Wholewheat flour only. Brown sugar too. Seemed like a good deal! They certainly were! Watch them as they bake though … they can go from brown to dark brown in a heartbeat.

My cookies didn’t flatten like the ones I saw. Maybe because our Indian wholewheat is heaps different from the American whole wheat pastry flour {I presume the original recipe uses wholewheat pastry flour}. Maybe the egg I used was a tad small. Whatever, but these are darned delicious cookies!

I did add a drizzle of honey; maybe I could have added another. There’s plenty of time for experimenting because these are good cookies and are going to show up more often! Sorry for the delay in this Daring Bakers post Peta.

Holiday season is the time for sharing and Peta of Peta Eats is sharing a dozen cookies, some classics and some of her own, from all over the world with us.

[print_this]Recipe: Fluted Pistachio & Craisin Cookies

Summary: Simple cookies to enjoy holiday baking this season! Enjoy these crisp, light and delicious cookies with a cup of tea or coffee! Makes 2 dozen

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 75g raw sugar
  • 1 egg yolk {reserve the white}
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 25g almond meal
  • 175g plain flour
  • 25g pistachios, chopped
  • 25g craisins, chopped

Method:

  1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the yolk and zest and beat again.
  3. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well and bring together into a smooth dough. {In case the dough doesn’t come together well, add a little egg white to bind it}
  4. Roll out to 1/8″ 4mm thick and stamp out with fluted cookie cutters. The cutters need to be sharp to cut through the craisins and pistachios.
  5. Place on the prepared sheet and bake at 180C for 13-15 minutes until light golden brown.
  6. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, and then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.


Recipe: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Smoked Sea Salt

Summary: Rustic, earthy and delicious wholegrain chocolate chip cookies … worth every bite! {Minimally adapted from Good to the Grain, via Reclaiming Provincial}. Makes 2 dozen

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 225g whole wheat flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 100g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 60g dark brown sugar
  • 60g raw sugar {bura}
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 tsp smoked sea salt

Method:

  1. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Reserve.
  3. Beat the butter with both sugars in another bowl on low speed. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again for a minute.
  4. Add the sifted flour mix and incorporate on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
  5. Fold in the chocolate chips {on low speed, with a wooden spoon, or your hand}.
  6. Drop walnut size scoops of dough about 1.5″ apart onto the baking sheet. {I rolled mine into balls and flattened them slightly}.
  7. Sprinkle over with sea salt if desired.
  8. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the cookies are evenly dark brown.
  9. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, and then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

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Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake … a splash of pink in December!

“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”
C. JoyBell C

Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake … a very simple cake made in the Philips AirFryer a few days ago. 15 minutes was all I could manage that day. There have been no desserts of late and the kids were beginning to make strange unhappy sounds. There’s been barely any ‘free time’ what with final exams on for both teens which are well underway. The cake came out surprisingly nice. Didn’t take pictures of it once made as it was slightly domed and I didn’t have time to pretty it up. One bite down and I thought it was really nice. Lime and strawberries pair well. The second round of the strawberry season has finally begun here in North India. Can’t have too much of this delicious fruit.

The sponge was soft but not moist as always because I whisked in the flour instead of folding it in G E N T L Y. So I didn’t get a ‘light as air’ sponge. Still it was quite soft. Interesting!

The easiest way to get cake moist is to give it a good soaking with a simple sugar syrup. Love doing that when I make my pineapple cream cake. If you are doing a black forest cake, you can always reduce the syrup the cherries are canned in, and add a dash of Kirsch or lime juice to it to moisten the sponge.

I thought the Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake was nice enough to share, a quick easy cake, make ahead, light and delicious. A slice was hidden away for a picture opportunity while the rest of the cake was devoured by the happy family. Then late that evening the bell rang. It was the courier with the Samsung Netbook that I had won at the Del Monte recipe contest hosted at Indiblogger.  My entry was the Tropical Cream Pie. Much excitement followed and we found a candy pink gizmo. Even though I’m not a pink person, the netbook is really pretty and very handy! I ♥ it!!

Seems to be an early Christmas over and over again. I am feeling quite pampered … maybe too pampered! First the Philips AirFryer, then Finla spoilt me silly, next Mr PAB got me a Samsung S3. My sister sent me more stuff as her better half was visiting … and just when I thought I had everything and more I could ever ask for, PINK came into my life!

December’s here already. A clutch of days to fly through, a year that’s been packed to the gills. So much happening in this foodie world. Oh, I forgot to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised with some fabulous tea from a beautiful tea company in China. Yes China! And yes tea! It’s funny because I am a 100% coffee addict and never drink tea. My first foray into tea was at the Aussie MasterChefs breakfast meet where Sangeeta talked me into sipping some lavender tea. It was wonderful. Then she got me some beautiful green tea from Darjeeling from a recent visit. This herbal and green tea from Teavirve was a nice coincidence. In the bag were samples for green tea, and for Blueberry Fruit Tea and Apple Awakening Fruit Tea. The green tea was similar to others that I have recently sampled, but it was the Blueberry Fruit Tea that was amazing, and stole my heart. Beautiful aromas and subtle flavours of blueberry, black currant, roselle and grapes. The teen is in love with this tea!

The Apple Awakening Fruit Tea is really refreshing too … teasing the palette with an intriguing combination of apple and lemon.  With such an extensive selection which can be shipped across the world, Teavirve is a great gifting option. Green, white, black, Oolong, Pu-erh, herbal, fruit, ice, organic, flavoured … the variety is endless.To make the range complete, Teavirve offer a stunning range of teaware too. {They offers worldwide free shipping for orders over $30 … you should check out there collection.}

[print_this]Recipe: Lime & Strawberry Cream Cake

Summary: An almost fatless sponge cake layered with a whipped raspberry cream with strawberries within … light, moist, flavourful and gone quick!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour Ingredients:

  • Sponge Cake
  • 3 eggs
  • 75g raw sugar {or powdered sugar}
  • 75g plain flour
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt
  • 2tsp extra virign olive oil
  • 1tbsp 2% milk
  • 1tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp lemon extract
  • zest of 1 lime
  • Simple sugar syrup
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Juive 1 1 lime
  • Raspberry Cream
  • 300g low fat cream, chilled
  • 3-4 tbsp raw sugar {increase if required}
  • 80g Del Monte rapberry fruit filling {chilled, from feezer}
  • 250g strawberries, chopped, some saved for topping

Method:

  1. Sponge
  2. Preheat oven if using to 180C. If using the AirFryer, you can preheat it to 160C just before you begin folding the flour mix in as it requires only 5 minutes to preheat. 
  3. Line the base and sides of a 7″ round cake tin with baking parchment. {Please check first if the tin fits into the AirFryer}
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Reserve.
  5. Beat the eggs with raw/powdered sugar, pure vanilla extract and lemon extract in a big bowl over a pan of simmering water until tripled in volume and mousse like, about 7 minutes. {Thermomix: Butterfly insert, Speed 4, 37c, 7 minutes}
  6. Preheat the AirFryer to 160C at this time …
  7. Gently add the flour mix and fold through, followed by the olive oil and milk.
  8. Transfer batter to prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes in conventional oven, OR 15 minutes in the AirFryer until light golden brown
  9. Cool in tin for 5 minutes, and demold and cool completely on cooling rack.
  10. Raspberry Cream
  11. Whip cream with sugar until medium peaks form. Add the fruit filling and whip again until smooth and firm. Taste & adjust sugar if required. The cream will be thick enough to spread.
  12. Assemble
  13. Slice cake into 2 horizontal layers. If the top is slightly domed, you might like to level it. {Reserve the trimmings and run in processor to make cake crumbs. I left mine domed}
  14. Moisten both the layers with the simple sugar syrup.
  15. Sandwich with about 1/3rd of the whipped cream. Scatter the chopped strawberries uniformly and top with second layer.
  16. Frost the sides and top with the remaining cream. Top with quartered strawberries. Allow it to sit for about 30 minutes for the flavours to mature {chill in the fridge if the weather is warm, else leave on counter}

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Baking | Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream. Happy Thanksgiving!

“Foodie friends – Rosa, Helene, Alessio, Deeba, Vidya, Jamie. Love learning new stuff from you now and then! Whether it be your blogs,inspiring tweets or delicious FB posts. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and thank you! :-)”
Fahad Khan via FB

How beautifully can sentiments be conveyed. The lines above are a reflection of everything the inspiring food blogging  community and foodies share with large hearts. It’s a humbling feeling. Two small words like Thank You that can make the day shine! ‘Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate’. Thank you for being here. It’s Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream to celebrate the day!

Thanksgiving? There are some days which hold great significance in the Western world yet go largely unnoticed here. Every culture and every country however has a day they hold dear to say thank you for good deeds. For the baker in me, today is incomplete without baking a pie with a pumpkin, an opportunity to use this humble vegetable in a more fun way!

As aromas of pumpkin pie spice waft through the house, the lad will come sniffing the air hungrily. Pumpkin pie? YUM! I think I make this just because of him and his love for pumpkin {in dessert form}.This is also the only way both kids will eat the yellow veggie, rather hungrily devour it! This time of the year drives me to grab some pumpkin and roast it for puree.

It’s a humbling feeling to know that such a simple vegetable can give you such stunning end results. Since we are not a ‘pumpkin in the can’ country, the prep is always from scratch  Pumpkin or kaddu is extensively used in cooking on the subcontinent as it is cheap, grows abundantly and is nutritious. It sometimes sneaks into Indian desserts as well like halwa and barfi too.

Adding pumpkin pie spice to puree energises the taste buds into reaching for higher ground, into appreciating how much more worth this humble yellow gourd can be! It’s simple to roast and make your own pumpkin puree, yet I find myself only ‘walking the roast the pumpkin plank‘ every Thanksgiving!

I wonder why? The Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream were really enjoyed by the family. The son gobbled his tartlet in a matter of seconds. Mmmm, these are GOOD!! They are simple to put together. I enjoy doing a walnut tart shell, inspired by the Whipped Strawberry Curd Cream Tartlets with Walnut Shortbread Crust.

Back to the TG moment. I have to say a big Thank You to Finla for these very charming and ‘so me’ ceramic ramekins she sent me {with ALL the other stuff} when her rockstar hub visited Delhi last month. I’ve been impatient to use them, and this seemed a good time to do so.

I love them; the colours and the feel full of rustic appeal. I wasn’t sure they would work well with tartlets. As you can see, luck was my friend {So was parchment paper. For that, gratitude to a sweet reader, now friend, Komal in Mumbai who continues to feed the ‘parchment monster‘ in me}. Big thank you!

On the topic of ramekins and parchment paper, a word about pumpkin pie spice. The spice is simple to make at home. It’s a mix of powdered cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. A good blend can be made in the 2:1:1 proportion i.e. 2tsp cinnamon powder, 1 tsp ground ginger and 1 tsp ground nutmeg.

And if you are making homemade pumpkin puree, make sure your puree is not too watery. You will not get a nice well set pie. The puree should be thick and can be cooked down if it’s too liquidy. If you add the pie spice to it while cooking down, the flavours will mature well. I added some freshly grated ginger juice to my filling. Nice!

To tie up all the warm flavours in the Pumpkin Pie Tartlets, I spiced the whipped cream gently with some powdered ginger. I did attempt to make some walnut caramel shards but the raw sugar did not oblige! Pumpkin, walnuts, ginger, cinnamon …warm, comforting, filling, delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving you beautiful readers. Thank you as always for stopping by! I leave you with a collage of random things that make me happy.

Don’t forget to tell me if you have something special you make with pumpkin!

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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Tartlets in a Walnut Shell with Spiced Ginger Cream

Summary: Walnuts pair beautifully with warm pumpkin, pie spice and ginger to make these simple little tartlets. A touch of gently spiced ginger cream and we have a winner! Serves 8

Prep Time: 30 minutes {extra if you are making the puree from scratch}
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes {plus cooling & chilling time}
Ingredients:

  • Pumpkin Puree
  • 600-700g slice of pumpkin
  • Walnut tart shell
  • 85g / 2/3 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 50g / 1/4 cup raw sugar
  • 100g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
  • 150g / 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Pumpkin Pie Filling {recipe adapted minimally from here}
  • 400g pumpkin puree
  • 2 eggs
  • 400ml {1tin} condensed milk
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1.5″ piece fresh ginger, grated, juice squeezed out through a strainer
  • Spiced Ginger Cream
  • 100ml low fat cream, chilled
  • 30g / 2tbsp powdered sugar
  • 5g / 1/2 to 1 tsp ginger powder {as per taste}

Method:

  1. Pumpkin Puree
  2. Remove seeds etc of pumpkin {I used one long slice}, wrap in foil and bake at 180C for about 45 minutes.
  3. Once warm enough to handle, peel and chop the roasted pumpkin, and puree. Yields about 425-440gms of pumpkin puree {approximately 1 15oz can}
  4. Walnut Tart Shell
  5. Preheat oven to 180C.
  6. Place walnuts and sugar in food processor; process to grind to fine meal in short pulses. {Thermomix: Speed 9, 10 seconds}
  7. Add the chilled butter and process until you get a breadcrumb like mix, 30 seconds. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 10 seconds}
  8. Add the flour and salt. Process again until it begins to come together. Bring together gently until smooth and pliable. {Thermomix: Speed 8, 10 seconds, repeat if required}.
  9. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. {if dough is too soft, chill for 20 minutes in refrigerator}.
  10.  Gently press dough to line the base and sides of eight 3-inch loose bottomed tart pans or parchment lined shallow ceramic ramekins {as pictured}
  11. Bake for 15 minutes until light  golden and firm to touch. Cool completely before filling.
  12. Pumpkin Pie Filling
  13. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well until smooth.
  14. Assembling Tartlets
  15. Preheat the oven to 180C. 
  16. Divide the filling equally between the cooled tart shells. Bake for 45 minutes approximately until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean, and the filling is firm to touch and glossy.
  17. Cool completely on a wire rack and chill if you like. Chilling heightens the flavours of the ginger and pumpkin spice. 
  18. Note: The warm walnut shell might be a tad crumbly so be careful if you are trying to demold it while warm. Suggest chill the tart before demolding.
  19. Spiced Ginger Cream
  20. Whip the chilled cream with sugar and ginger powder until medium peaks. Place in pastry bag with a 1/2″ round nozzle and pie over pie once the pie is completely cool, preferably chilled.

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Baking | Almond Digestive Chocolate Squares & Roasted Garam Masala Chickpeas … Diwali / Holiday Baking

“This is my advice to people: Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun”
Julia Child

It’s Diwali, the festival of lights, India’s biggest festival and one that literally lights up the length and breath of this beautiful country. That this time of the year is hectic seems an understatement; I race to keep up with holiday baking. For today, I went a little sweet and some savoury – Almond Digestive Chocolate Squares & Roasted Garam Masala Chickpeas

Oh, I bought some lamps. Actually got these lamps for myself after buying some for Finla {bottom of this post}. Her better half was visiting India for a music fest and I asked her what I could send. Her wishlist had Diwali lamps if possible! I ordered some for her, then got really tempted and got some for ourselves too. I loved the rustic metallic look!

This is the best time of the year in North India. The nips in the air, winter is beginning to make itself felt. It’s time for soup, for breads, for baking; generally time to tuck into food without feeling too guilty. I was short on time as always yet wanted to bake something. These little squares hit the sweet spot without being too sweet or too buttery. Nice balance of flavours and quick, convenient holiday baking.

These got made FAST! They’re an adaptation of a simple recipe I’ve had scribbled for ages, passed down by a friend. Of course I added my little twist adding whole almonds to the digestive biscuit base. I love the texture that nuts add. Maybe hazelnuts would work nicely too.

Lack of time and I had to fast track. Instead of waiting for the bake to cool completely and then pour melted chocolate over the top, I sprinkled the chocolate chips over the warm bake. Worked well. I do this quite often when I bake Oat Energy Bars. It’s always a happy feeling to see how beautifully dark chocolate melts gently on warm bakes!

Nothing like a quick fine slicing of almonds and pistachios over the melted chocolate to dress up the bites. A slicer comes quite handy at times like this unless of course you have the luxury of sliced nuts on hands. I don’t!! It’s nice to think up something savoury to meet the sweet. Savoury is my weakness! The Philips AirFryer continues to call my name and fuel my imagination with creative ideas. I’ve done roasted chickpeas in the oven before, so thought  that they might come out well in the AirFryer too. Why ever not? Good idea! Great idea! I do chickpeas from scratch here {we are not a canned chickpea country}. It isn’t cumbersome though does require a little planning like an overnight soak. {At this time I would LOVE to be a chickpea … I’d give an arm and a leg for an overnight soak! Oh my weary bones…} Once you have cooked chickpeas, toss them in EVOO, then spice them as you like. I did one batch with garam masala, salt and a dash of lime juice. YUM! The second batch was with a mix of garam masala, dried mint, cinnamon, red chili powder and roasted cumin. I’d love to do a garlic or chipotle, or maybe a honey garlic. How about smoked paprika? These came out CRISPY good from the AirFryer in about 20-25 minutes, a few shakes in between. An oven would do the same job at 200C for about 45 minutes, with some shaking up too.  Both teens had a go at tossing them high in the air and playing catch with the mouth. The dog was obviously HAPPY as she got all the missed catches. She LOVES chickpeas – soaked, boiled and now crispy garam masala too! Hope you enjoy these recipes. Both are relatively fuss free and very quick, great additions to the holiday table! Do you have quick fun filled holiday baking recipes that light up your lives? I would LOVE to hear about them! Have a wonderful holiday baking season!

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Recipe: Biscuit, Almond & Chocolate Squares

Summary: These little Almond Digestive Chocolate Squares hit the sweet spot without being too sweet or too buttery. A quick holiday bake using staples from the pantry.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 250g digestive biscuits
  • 85g whole almonds
  • 75g butter, melted
  • 400g condensed milk {1 tin}
  • Topping
  • 100g dark chocolate, chips or chopped up
  • slivered nuts to garnish

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C.  Butter the sides of  a 8 X 8″ square baking tin, and line the bottom with parchment.
  2. Place the biscuits and whole almonds in the jar of a food processor and process until you get a sand-like crumb meal. {Thermomix: Speed 7, 20 seconds}
  3. With the processor running on slow, pour in the melted butter, followed by the condensed milk. It should all come together in a sticky glob … something like flubber. Don’t be tempted to taste it now, as the danger is that you might not stop eating. {Thermomix: Reverse Speed 2, 20 seconds}
  4. Transfer to prepared tin, level out with an offset spatula or butter knife, and bake for about 20 minutes / until slightly firm to touch. It will set as it cools.
  5. Leave for about 15 minutes, then sprinkle the chocolate evenly over the top. It should melt in 5-7 minutes. Smoother it uniformly over the top, scatter slivered nuts, cocoa nibs, sprinkles etc over the top and let it cool completely.
  6. You might need to refrigerate it for the chocolate to set.
  7. Cut into squares and serve.

Recipe: Roasted Chickpeas

Summary: Crisp, healthy and addictive, these are a great addition to holiday snacking!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

  • 250g chickpeas, soaked overnight , cooked, drained
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried mint leaves
  • 1/4- 1/2 tsp red chli powder
  • 1 tsp salt

Method:

  1. AirFryer
  2. Preheat the AirFryer to 200C for 5 minutes. 
  3. Toss the chickpeas in olive oil, then in the spices to coat well. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
  4. Transefer to wire mesh basket, set the timer to 20 minutes. Shake the basket after 10 minutes, then once again after another 5 minutes.
  5. Check to see if they are crisp, else give them another 5 minutes.
  6. For the oven, bake at 200C in a preheated oven for 40-45 minutes. Stir a couple of times}

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