Holiday Treats - Part I : Plum Cake

Its that time of the year, when you bake n bake until you drop, and that's exactly what I did :))

While in the US, I used to love the holiday season. Everywhere you go, you see christmas lights..switch on the radio, hear those wonderful chrismtas carols...switch on the tv (used to love watching food network shows during the holidays) - you see chefs baking cookies, cakes, pies, puddings and so on....I did miss that festive spirit here in bangalore.


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!


Plum cake:



Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
Cloves powder - 1/4 tsp
Dry Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Dates - 1/4 cup
Plum, Cherry, Cranberry, Tutti Frutti - 1/4 cup
Gold Rum - 1/4 cup(optional)
Cashewnuts(chopped) - 1/2 cup
Butter - 1/4 pound/4 oz/1 stick
Sugar - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup (To make caramelized sugar)
Eggs - 3
Salt - 1 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Almond extract - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Slice the dried fruits and coat them with 2 tbsp of flour. Mix the fruits with rum and keep this closed at room temperature for one day. Chop cashews and smear them with almond extract and keep them also closed for one day. Next day,sieve flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, cloves powder and dry ginger powder together. Add fruits, nuts to the flour and mix well.

Caramelizing sugar:

Use a heavy-bottom steel pot or saucepan with a handle. Place 1/4 cup sugar(distribute sugar in pan,not heaped) in the pot and add 2 tablespoon water. Turn the stove to high and place the pan on the stove and let it boil. Don’t stir the contents at all. As sugar melts and caramelizes, you may swirl the pan a bit once or twice. Within 7 -10 minutes, a cherry wood colored caramel forms. See that all sugar is melted completely.Remove the pan from the stove and very carefully add 1/4 cup HOT water to the caramel. Carefully hold the pan above the sink, and slowly add the water to avoid splashing. Stir the contents well . Keep aside to cool.



Beat the butter and sugar and until it is creamy. Add the egss, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add vanilla and caramelized sugar to this and mix again. Add flour ,a little a time,to the batter and mix thoroughly.

Grease a pan and line with parchment paper. Pour batter till half the pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 35-40 minutes. (please check after 30 minutes. Cooking time depends on the oven used and the depth of the pan)
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. When cool, smear with 2 tsp of rum. Cover the cake completely with wax paper and then with aluminum foil. Keep in the refrigerator. Use after a week or two.



Serves 6

NOTE: The cake can be made without rum - it still tastes delicious with all the fruits and nuts.

Holiday Treats - Part II : Pistachio Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
1 lemon zest
2 large eggs
2/3 cups slivered almonds
1/3 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1/4 tsp anise extract or 1 tbsp anise seeds

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest and beat just until combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well. Add the anise extract and mix until combined. Add the nuts and mix with a spatula. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a 12-inch-long log. Transfer the log to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until pale golden brown. Cool for about 30 minutes.



Using a serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into 1/2 -inch-thick slices. Place the biscotti cut side up on the lined baking sheet and bake for an additional 14 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store the biscotti in an airtight container.

Makes 30 cookies

Bread Pudding

This is a good recipe to make if you have lots of leftover bread at home. A good choice when entertaining a crowd as it can be prepared ahead of time.

Ingredients:

8 bread slices with edges cut
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped nuts(cashews,walnuts,raisins)

For custard:

1 tbsp custard powder dissolved in a tbsp of cold milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Method:

For the pudding:

Blend the sugar, milk, essence and egg in the blender to get a smooth liquid. Grease a rectangular deep pan with butter and place 4 slices of bread to cover the bottom. Sprinkle one tablespoon of the nuts on it. Now pour the blended egg/milk mixture on top of it. Place a second layer of the remaining 4 bread slices, sprinkle the remaining nuts and pour the remaining mixture on it. Bake it in a oven for about 35 minutes(approx,may vary depending on the oven) at 375 deg F till done.


When tested with a thin knife(toothpick), the knife(tothpick) should come out clean. Take it out and cool for 10 minutes.

For the custard:

Heat the sugar and milk. When sugar is dissolved completely, add the custard and keep stirring. When the mixture thickens, take it off the fire and let it cool for 10 minutes. Pour this custard mixture on top of the baked dish and let it chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Cut it into slices and serve.



Serves 4

Semolina Burfi (Rave Burfi)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup semolina or fine rava(chiroti rava)
1/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup powdered cashews
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1-2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
saffron strands(optional)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except cardamom powder, in a pan. Cook on medium high heat until the mixture comes together like a ball, without sticking to the pan. Swtich off the heat and add the cardamom powder. Spread on a greased plate and allow to cool. Cut into pieces and serve.

Makes 10-12 pieces

NOTE: Cashews can be substituted with almonds.

Deepavali Special - Paneer Burfi, Kaju Burfi & Paneer Pista Rolls

Deepavali was just around the corner. I was looking to make something new that was quick and tasty. Found two recipes - Paneer Burfi and Paneer Pista Rolls. Both the recipes have similar ingredients, and you can make them in a jiffy. Since my kids love kaju burfi, I decided to make some of those. I have posted the recipe for kaju burfi in my older posts.

Wishing you all a happy and fun filled deepavali!


Paneer Burfi:

Ingredients:

200 gms(7 oz) crumbled paneer/cottage cheese
3 tbsp crumbled fresh khoya/mawa
5-6 tbsp powdered sugar
2-3 drops yellow food color(optional)
1-2 drops rose essence

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the yellow color in a bowl, knead it till the mixture becomes smooth. Add a tbsp of water if required. Divide this mixture into 2 equal portions. Add yellow colour to one portion and mix well. Keep aside. Spread the white mixture on a greased plate. Spread the remaining yellow coloured mixture over the white coloured mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and just before serving cut into pieces.


Serves 4

NOTE: You can also add almond extract instead of rose essence and garnish with slivered almonds. Adjust the amount of sugar as per your taste. I prefer it not too sweet, so added 5 tbsp of sugar.


Paneer Pista Rolls:

Ingredients:

7(200 gms)oz crumbled paneer/cottage cheese
3 tbsp fresh khoya/mawa
6 tbsp/3 oz powdered sugar
4 tbsp roasted ground pistachios
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1-2 drops of rose/kewra essence(optional)
finely chopped or powdered pistachios for garnish

Method:

Knead the paneer, khoya and sugar very well until smooth. Add the ground pistachios, cardamom powder and essence. Shape the paneer dough into small rolls. Roll into chopped nuts and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Serves 4

Bread Basundi

I saw this recipe on television and gave it a try. It uses very few ingredients and is a good way of using leftover bread.

Ingredients:

~5-6 slices of bread(1 1/4 cup bread crumbs)
1 cup milk
1/2 tin condensed milk(14oz tin)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
sliced almonds (optional)for garnish
1 tbsp ghee

Blend the bread into a coarse powder and keep aside. Heat milk until warm. Heat ghee, add the bread powder and fry until golden brown. Add this to warm milk and mix well. Add the condensed milk. Turn off the heat, add the cardamom powder and allow to cool. Garnish with almonds.

Serves 4

Banana Halwa

Hi all,

Greetings from Bangalore! Its been close to three months since we moved, these last couple of weeks has been crazy. My kids started school and we are slowly settling into the routine. I finally managed to find some time for myself and couldn't wait to get back to my blog world.

A few days ago, I heard about this recipe from my aunt, tasted it and loved it. It is very similar to banana sajjige (popularly known as satyanarayana prasada)that we make, but uses wheat flour instead of rava/sooji. Easy to prepare, tastes good and makes a great quick snack for the kids.


Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup ghee
2 ripened bananas
cashews and raisins for garnish

Method:

Cut the bananas into thin slices and keep aside. Roast the wheat flour on a low flame until light golden brown. Roast the cashews until golden brown and keep aside. Add the remaining ingredients to the flour and mix well. Cook until the mixture comes together in a halwa like consistency. This takes around 10 minutes. Switch off the flame and serve warm.

Serves 5

NOTE: Bananas can either be sliced, cut into small pieces or mashed. The wheat flour has to be dry roasted on a low flame until you get a good aroma.