Dec 31, 2012

Easy Mango Ice Cream


Hi Guys,

I was looking for some simple dessert recipes and found this easy to make recipe for Mango Ice cream. It took just 15 mins for me to whip up the entire thing. Something light, summery and easy to make.

To make this you will need:

2 ripe Mangoes
1 + 1/4 cup thickened cream
About 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
handful of pistachio nuts, to sprinkle while serving.

1.Peel and chop the mangoes and puree that.
2.Take a wide pan and add the thickened cream to it.
3. Add the mango puree to the thickened cream and blend it until it is mixed well.
4. Add the condensed milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
5.Freeze it for 6 hrs or more
6. Take it out and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving,
7. I served mine with some chopped pistachio nuts sprinkled on top.


Notes:
1. Heavy whipped cream in US is the same as thickened cream in New Zealand/Australia
2.Adjust mango puree/condensed milk for your taste
3.I do not have an ice cream maker, So i depended just on freezing to make the ice cream, I took mine out of the freezer after the first two hrs, stirred it very well and put it back so to avoid ice crystals being formed.
4. If the ice cream is frozen way ahead of your time to serve, take it out of the freezer and put it in the chiller section 2 hrs before serving. This way you will get perfect scoops, and no ice chips.



Dec 29, 2012

Chocolate mini cupcakes with caramel frosting

Hello you guys,

Hope you all are having nice time enjoying the holidays.. I made these chocolate mini cupcakes with caramel frosting for some friends and us..And I m having so much fun eating these.. I love these mini cup cakes, these are like mini pieces of heaven.. yum yum.. :)



To make these you will need:

For the cake:

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 of 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp flour
1/8 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch salt
1/2 egg beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/8 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup boiling water

For the icing:
1/6 cup butter
3 - 5 tbsp cup milk [adjust until you get a spreadable consistency]
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/3 cup brown sugar + 1/3-1/2 cups white sugar

This amount makes about 15-20 mini cup cakes, depends on whether you want muffin top.




To make the cake,

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir all dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla then beat well together until combined.
Add the boiling water and mix until just combined.
**Batter will be quite watery unlike other cakes, dont be alarmed
Pour batter equally into each of the cupcake tims
Bake for roughly around 20-22 minutes
Cool the cake well before icing it.

To make the icing:

Bring brown sugar, 3 tbsp milk and butter to a boil and remove from heat after 2 minutes.
Add vanilla essence.
Cool it until it gets to luke warm temperature and then add the white icing sugar and stir well.
Spread the icing on the cake when the cake is cool. I also added some sprinkles and a dark chocolate chip on top of each cake.

And this is how it looked inside.. so chocolaty...I was a bit greedy and added loads of icing, if you want to go easy on the sugar or would like to have more chocolate then reduce the amount of icing to suit..




And yes, If you do not want to eat too much, just eat one and then take the rest and run..... run fast to your neighbors  :)





Dec 28, 2012

Orange Mini Cupcakes and A New Year wish!.

Hello you guys,

Wish you all a very Happy new year 2013! Hope all of us have a fantastic year! :) I made these cute orange mini cupcakes for my husband's work colleagues this holiday season. 



This is one cake recipe that will never let you down! I got this recipe from this wonderful blog here. The first time I tried this recipe, it came out so wonderful that I went back to the blog to leave a comment and found this interesting bit..


This Sicilian Orange Cake is the famous orange cake from the once popular CaféAgostini (this cafe has closed on 22 July, 2005) owned by Margie Agostini, in the heart of Sydney ’s suburb for the rich and famous, Woollahra. Customers have often been heard to say that “Margie’s orange cake is to die for”.

I found this recipe on Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escape Cookbook a while ago but was surprised to find out how this recipe was linked to Australia:

Rick Stein: "To be accurate, I suppose this cake should be known as Margie Agostini'sorange cake. It was her signature dish at her greatly missed Caffe Agostini in Woollahra in Sydney. It seemed to me to be just made for Sicilian oranges. The recipe came from an article in the Times by Jill Dupleix, although I had eaten the cake at the cafe a few years earlier and I thought it was amazing. As Jill says, it has to be the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world." 

Well, no wonder it tastes sooooo good. And yes, from then on, I have made it quite a few times, and every time it has turned out perfect and its veru quick and easy to make as well, (and my basic sponge recipe too, minus the orange juice!) So thought of sharing this with you all today.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the cake:

125 grams lightly salted butter.
125 grams brown sugar
2 medium eggs
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
125 grams standard white flour
50 ml fresh orange juice
1/2 tsp baking powder

For the icing:

1/4  cup softened butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
A pinch of salt
2 tsp ofresh orange juice 
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together butter and sugar. 
Add one egg at a time, Beat well after each egg and add a tsp of flour after each, if necessary to prevent curdling. 
Beat in Orange zest.
Add all flour at once, mix well.
Add baking powder.
Slowly mix in orange juice.

Grease cake pan, pour the batter and bake @ 170 degree cs for 25-30 mins. I used a mini cup cake pan, and made 12 mini cup cakes and also had some better remaining which I used to make 2 small four inch cakes, for some friends (That is if I do not gulp it! :()

Once the cake is done, cool it completely before icing.



For the icing, mix all the ingredients for icing well until you get a spreadable consistency and ice the cupcakes, I also added some sprinkles on top of the icing... And then enjoy...




Adios!

Mar 31, 2012

Savoury Spinach Muffin

                             


      The original recipe is here. That is actually a cup cake recipe, I added salt and pepper instead of sugar and added shredded carrots and chopped walnuts instead of pine nuts.

       This one is ideal for evening snacks. The measurements in this recipe make 8 muffins which can be stored in an air tight container for a few days, and is quite satisfying for an evening snack, especially for people like me who raid the kitchen every evening! :(
                   
                                          

11/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 tsp of salt (adjust as you like)
1 tsp of black pepper (adjust as you like)
1 tbsp baking powder
11/4 cup milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lighly beaten egg
2 cups chopped uncooked spinach
1/2 cup chopped red onion 
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts



 Preheat oven to 175 degree celcius.Mix together, chopped spinach, carrots, red onions,baking powder, flour, salt and pepper. Make sure the flour is coated over all the chopped veggies. In a separate bowl whisk together egg, oil and milk.

Pour the wet ingredients slowly over the dry mixture and fold everything together. Grease a muffin pan. Pour the mixture onto 8 cups in the pan, add the chopped walnuts on top and bake for 25 mins.

Once done, (till a knife inserted comes out clean), let it sit for 5 minutes and cool before serving.