Star Studded Chocolate Cupcakes (Eggless)

The only time that gets me rolling with ideas more elaborate is April. There is so much flutter and celebrations that all I want to do is feed people than sitting on a computer.

To start with, its my daughters birthday month and I try beat my best every year. Considering how she loves the sweet section of the party - it also becomes my area of concentration. To top that its also the month of our wedding anniversary.  ;)

This year I distributed cupcakes to her classmates instead of the usual candy bags. The kids were delighted. If 30 something bouncing kids around me to open the box faster was not enough, the shrilling yays was making the point very clear. It seemed the teacher was not very happy as I had her class turned into an amusement park within seconds.

The minute these kids sat down to taste their cupcakes, the hum and the quietness was enough proof that I had them all charmed.

These beauties were just perfection. Beautiful humped muffins with equally simple pink and purple stars.

The recipe was adapted from Dishes from my kitchen

Recipe follows:

3/4 Cup Cake Flour
3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Water

1 Tbsp Vinegar
1/2 Cup Granulated White Sugar
1/4 Tsp Instant Coffee Powder
1 Cup Whipped Cream

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 Degree F (180 degree C) and ready Muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a small bowl mix Olive oil with water, vinegar and coffee.

Mix wet ingredients into a large bowl of dry ingredients.

Do not over beat.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Makes about 6 muffins.

Bake for about 16 - 20 mins or until the toothpick comes out clean. 

Let the muffins cool at the room temperature before icing.

Prepare 2 icing bag with a large and a small star nozzle and decorate as per your idea.

Cinnamon Rolls & Babka Bread

Normally whenever I'm stressed or just under the weather, cinnamon helps me get back to my funk. I used to go to my all time favorite Banana bread and load it with cinnamon and sometimes dry ginger but ever since I have tried my hands on cinnamon pull apart bread, it is giving very tight competition to our good old friend.

They are not just easy to whip along and if you plan in advance which I rarely do, they become your best companion during high tea, midnight snack and the next day morning tea partner. You get the gist?

The only thing I really missed was the glaze. But since my family is right now going through overdose of sweetness in their lives, I tried to keep it calm and just kept them plain and simple.

And because I just could not have enough, I also made this amazing Babka bread which I saw on pinterest and was intrigued by its twisting design. And to add Ozzy's interest to it, I bought in Nutella's help and it worked really well! Like really really well!

The recipe was sourced from: Purple Foodie's Workshop

Recipe follows:

For the basic dough: 

794 gm Flour

9 gm Instant Yeast

425 gm Warm Milk
2 tsp Salt

80 gm Sugar

6 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 Egg for the dough

for Rolls:

30 gm softened butter
2 tsp Cinnamon
60 gm Caster Sugar

Icing sugar for dusting {or make a glaze}

for Babka bread

30 gm softened butter
2 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Nutella spread
60 gm Caster Sugar

Icing sugar for dusting {or make a glaze}

Procedure:

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk and keep aside for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl add flour, salt, oil, egg and sugar together. Make a well in between and add milk in the middle mixing slowly together. Once they are evenly mixed together, start kneading until it becomes soft and flexible.

Place the dough ball in well greased bowl covered with cling for about 2 hours or until it is doubled in volume. 

knock down the dough and divide it into 2 parts: for rolls and bread ( you could make all rolls too or just half the recipe)

for rolls:

Roll out the dough in rectangle for about half an inch of thickness.

Spread butter and sprinkle cinnamon and sugar uniformly.

Starting at one end, tightly roll the dough keeping seam down. pinch the seam lightly to make sure it does not break open in between.

With a metal scraper or a serrated knife, cut about 1 or 1.5 inch sections.

Arrange them in well greased pan and cover with cling to rest for about another 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 Degree F (180 degree C). Bake for 20 - 25 mins or until the top is beautifully browned.

For the babka bread:

Roll out the dough in rectangle for about half an inch of thickness.

Spread butter and Nutella. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar uniformly.

Starting at one end, tightly roll the dough keeping seam down. pinch the seam lightly to make sure it does not break open in between.

With a metal scraper or a serrated knife, cut in the middle to make two sections and leaving them joint at one end.

Roll each section outwards in a twist and and then twist them together in a braid formation.

Settle them in well greased tray or you could use loaf pan) and cover with cling to rest for about another 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 Degree F (180 degree C). Bake for 20 - 25 mins or until the top is beautifully browned.

Crispy Baked Potatoes

I can't say I have much to complain recently. I have so much to share but not enough time.

After I announced my new venture, I haven't really done much to share more interesting news.
We participated in a lifestyle mela ~ All That Jingalala last month and to do so I realized that I have to up my game from just being a home baker to home based bakery. Which also meant that I had to buy new things - a lot of them! YIPPY!

And in the middle of this craziness, I have to feed my little one too. Something minus sugar please for my sanity. Her oven instincts are now developing, each 'ding' means a new cake and her spoon's out.

So I did some pinterest soul searching and created this beautiful plate which was finished as soon as I returned with some mayonnaise. It's a very versatile recipe. You can add anything over it and create a mini meal.

Recipe follows:

2 Medium Potatoes
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Sea Salt - to taste
Black Pepper - to taste
1/2 Tsp Dried Sage
Mozzarella Cheese, grated
Greens from Green Onion (Optional)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400 degree F (Approx. 200 degree C).

Wash  and scrub the potatoes clean leaving the skin on. Slice them very thin.

Mix Olive oil, salt, garlic, black pepper, dried sage in a large bowl.

Put potatoes in the same bowl and make sure each slice is coated. Place them on a plate in a circular overlapping pattern. ( I used pizza tray)

Bake them for about 20 - 25 minutes until they are crispy on outside and soft on inside.

You can add shredded mozzarella or cheddar and green onions 5 minutes before the oven says ding. :)

Spiced Apple & Pear Loaves

After years I'm again back in Delhi and loving the winters. I've always been winter lover and my craze for hills starts from here. Majority of my days goes in planning our next trip before Ozzy's school start and our vacation gets limited. All I want to do is to go to The Himalayas without a return ticket...

While we all love to day dream, there are still some things to line up. Its a part of moving cities woes.

And meanwhile that's been done, I made these amazing loaves and used the left over batter for muffins. The spices worked so well with Apple and Pear, it was the perfect winter blend with hot cuppa of tea.

This recipe was sourced from The Kitchn.

Recipe follows:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup White Castor Sugar

1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
2 Eggs

1 Stick Softened Butter { I used with salt Amul butter and not added Salt}

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder

1/2 Tsp Instant Coffee 

1/2 Tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 Tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Milk

2 1/2 Cup Pear & Apples, cored, unpeeled & diced

1/2 Cup Roasted Nuts / Chocolate chips (Optional)

Cinnamon & Sugar to sprinkle on top

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 425 Degree F (220 degree C) and grease 9 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, coffee powder, walnuts and chocolate chips.

In another bowl beat butter and sugar on a medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs one by one beating lightly. Mix in vanilla extract.

Lightly add dry ingredients to the batter, alternating with warm milk until mixed. (Alternate in batches so that you always start and end with flour) Do not over-mix.

Fold in diced apples and pear with a spatula to incorporate them to the batter. Divide the batter between loaf pans. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top. 

Turn down the temperature to 400 degree F (200 degree C) and bake for about 20 - 25 minutes.
they are done when the top looks cracked and crusty, and the toothpick comes out clean.

Let it sit on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

#NovemberRoad - Corn, Red Pepper and Cheese Roulade

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” ― Carlos Castaneda

I'm munching on the leftover of this beautiful and yummiest stuffed bread I've ever eaten.
I may not have taken beautiful pictures because I was exhausted by the time this came out of the oven but it is YUM.

Melting cheese oozing out from cracks on the sides, this wasn't supposed to happen according to the recipe but gave it ever more the temptation to eat as fast as I could.

Can you imagine baking nonstop for NovemberRoad on the last day and being hungry? The aroma of corn mixed with melting cheese getting crispy on a hot baking tray...

Nope! Can't wait to get the pictures done and dive onto that tray...

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Five and Spice

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Classic Apple Pie

"I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyway." -Taylor Swift

I did it! I did it!
You wont believe what I did today!

For years and years of reading the same recipe in almost all the cookbooks and blogs, I know it by heart now. The only thing was the fear of not getting the crust right.

I have heard too many comments about 'not flaky enough' or 'a soggy shell' that the scare of being a failure stopped me from even trying it once. Especially when I'm living with a pie lover. He must have eaten Apple Pie in almost every bakery its available. Even when I'm not around, he makes sure to send me a picture of the one saying "I'm still waiting for the right one!"

I guess I'll assume it was the right one as all I hear about is having one more slice before sleeping. 3 slices in a day is good right? And a major block lifted!

To think of it, this project has given me freedom from fifteen mind blocks and I am loving it. I would be loving it even more if I complete it on time. With moving cities, and Ozzy at home watching videos on my laptop instead of me writing my post, it just seems to be getting bigger challenge than expected.

I have 2 days left and 4 more recipes to go...sigh! 

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Sprinkle Bakes

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Rainbow Thumbprint Cookies

For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. - Matthew 7:14-16New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Do you remember eating thumbprint cookies when you were just a kid? These cookies were the highlight of my day after school. I used to come back home to a glass full of milk (meh) and cookies like a ritual and I always would start with scratching the jam first.

When I told Sid about my ritual, surprisingly he used to scratch the jam first too. It seems like a universal act to do because I noticed Ozzy doing the same! Wah!

I may have confessed to many things on my blog but I don't think I have ever spoken about my fear of baking cookies. They never seem to come right.

But now they do! Maybe because I'm baking more frequent or maybe its just the letting go of the frustration and doing it without thinking about its failure. whatever it is, it seems to be working.

These cookies came out so pretty. Ozzy could not wait to get her hands on!

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Love and Olive Oil

I just rolled them in a bowl full of sprinkles to create Rainbow effect.

Also used homemade Plum preserve in the middle of these pretty cookies.

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Almond Coconut Chocolate Scones

“Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey" -  Michael Josephson

Scones on my list! oh yeah! I love breakfasts, fancy breakfast but only at hotels. I don't make them at home but if served to me, I take the largest portion thinking I'll skip the lunch (sometimes I do, don't judge).

they only problem is that we at home have very limited options when it comes to breakfast. scrambled, french toast, omelette, did I say scrambled?

You get the gist?

This is why I'm trying to check out newer options. Scones were bookmarked because I am forever thinking of changing our breakfast menu and it never happens. Maybe now we look towards adding one more thing to 'limited ways to eat an egg'.

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Joy The Baker

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Pizza Pockets

“You will find that it is necessary to let things go; simply for the reason that they are heavy. So let them go, let go of them. I tie no weights to my ankles.”  ― C. JoyBell C.

The other day someone from office wanted to know the reward I would get after completing NovemberRoad. It got me thinking...

There is none! If you don't count the fact that I would be much happier and confident about my future endeavor. But yeah, its no competition. Its just plain old me trying to get some grease back to old aching joints.

Seven days left and I am still left with 9 recipes from The List. Sometime during the week I will be updating two recipes as I'm very determined to complete this project before November ends.
Not to forget that I would be leaving Pune in a few days and movers will be picking and packing my kitchen first, leaving me with just my laptop and camera.

Now onto the recipe, pizza dough is a mixture of good and bad if you will. I have used it several times at home for Pizza nights and Pizza pockets were just the nicer way of saying that I Love Calzones! And it feeds veggies to Ozzy without her suspecting much.

Recipe follows:    

The Pizza Dough recipe was sourced from Joy the Baker

Pizza Sauce recipe was adapted from Kitchen Treaty

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Apple & Pear Crisp

"All Great changes are preceded by chaos" - Deepak Chopra


I thought I was prepared for the challenge, had it all down to the letter T.
I downloaded an interactive calendar thinking if I plan right, dedicate recipes to the day, it will be easy and fast. I completely overlooked the fact that it was my last month in the city and meeting friends threw that calendar out of the window.

Now I am left with 11 recipes from the list and 10 days to go.
I'd say, the actual challenge has started now. I was just testing the water earlier...

Why is this recipe on the list? Its simply because anything with the combination of Apple & Pear brings childhood memories. I love pears and my dad used to love apples. You see a pattern here...since I was not a fan of an apple a day concept, I always tried to bargain with having 2 pears instead of an apple. He never budged and I was always stuck with both...

This recipe is very versatile. You can add your combination of spices and make it yours. This is also a perfect after dinner dessert during the onset of wintry evening. And best to have it with wine after the little one has gone to sleep. Late night baking has its advantages too :P

The recipe was adapted from Sugarcrafter

Recipe follows:

For the filling:

2 Ripe Pear (peeled - cored - diced) 
1 Apples (peeled - cored - diced)
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/2 Cup + 1/2 Tbsp Flour

For the crumble:

1/2 Cup All purpose Flour
1/4 Cup Classic Oats
1/4 Cup Butter (melted)
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F (180 degree C) and grease ramekin dishes

In a bowl add diced Pear, Apple, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and flour. Toss to coat.

In another bowl mix flour with oats, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add melted butter to it and mix.

Transfer fruits mixture to the greased pan and Spread the crisp to cover.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until its golden and bubbling. Serve warm.

#NovemberRoad - Zebra Bundt Cake

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” ― Dr. Seuss

When I started working on my November list I had a couple of bookmarks to choose from. So I went around asking family members about what would they like to add to it.

Bundt cake was not there in the bookmarks because of the simple fact that its been done at home earlier. Mostly marble swirls. I stumbled upon one of the pins on Pinterest while looking for a surprise inside cake and was absolutely mesmerized by the colorful pattern. We had to add this to the NovemberRoad.

I didn't think I could pull it off until I reached YouTube looking for fondant cake tutorial and realized that its not as difficult as I made it up in my head.

And the best part?
No two slices are same. Surprise!

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Home Cooking Adventure

Along with Chocolate and Vanilla batter from the recipe, I made Yellow batter by adding 2 Tsp of Yellow color to 3/4 cup of vanilla batter in a small bowl. (You can add less color depending on the product you are using)

How to create the pattern, I followed the method as shown in this video

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Red Velvet Brownies

"I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red."

Maria Sharapova

There's something about the color Red that keeps us enchanted. No matter how many forums and baking groups tell us about how Red Velvet has been done to death but come on, its Red! Its different!

Do you see Yellow behind the brownies? That is Ozzy's duck. She insisted her duck liked them the best and has to sit on the table. Umm..okay! 

These brownies were soft and crumbly and tasted awesome! They weren't very gooey like other brownies but they passed the yum test! So yay for me! 

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from How Sweet It Is

{Please note that I've cut down the sugar to 1 cup but the rest of the recipe remains same}

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad - Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread

“Dream big dreams, but start small. A journey of thousand steps begins with a step.”  
― Israelmore Ayivor, Shaping the dream


Working with yeast has been my biggest fears. I have worked with no knead pizzas breads but they are no biggie. even if the yeast doesn't behave, thin crust will still be crusty!
But making a bread...wooo that's something I need to get over with!

I have downloaded Bread Bible on my kindle taking it to office often, reading on my way, but never got to try it. The simple things stop me...and that's just a single step towards it that I was scared to take.

This NovemberRoad project is just a means to overcome my mind blocks. And I can assure you that its working just fine.

My first attempt at Cinnamon Sugar Pull apart bread looks soo damn beautiful. I do not want to take apart the pieces and serve. I think I'll keep the loafs just like this...forever!

This bread is the easiest to make keeping in mind that you have enough patience to let the dough rise and rest. 

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Annie's Eats

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

#NovemberRoad ~ Almond Shortbread Bars

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. ~ Mark Twain

The first recipe I successfully completed for #NovemberRoad. This project is now giving me confidence that I can actually nail it. Should I add more to the list?

Well, let's not go over the board, I still have 14 more recipes to go...

These Almond shortbread have been my favorite. Everyone says that simple things are the most intimidating and this one was it. And it passed my Ozzy's yummy test, everything is on track I see :P

Recipe follows:    

The recipe was sourced from Love And Lemons

P.S. For NovemberRoad Project, all the recipes will be displayed as a link. I will not be writing about them until I make any changes to the same. Thanks.

Chocolate ~ Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you believe in destiny or fate?

I think I have started believing in cosmic energy. This universe has its way of giving you signs and considering the amount of rubbish and doubt that's filled inside one's head, we just simply choose to ignore it.

My cousin told me a while back that if I really need something, I NEED to believe that I need it!

I laughed at it, of course because for me it has always been me fighting for something and never getting it or finally receiving a call only when the needs over.

And the reason why I'm writing about my insight exploration is that I NEED that belief to make my dreams come true. 

Do I want them to come true? 

But its never this easy. Nothing is easy and for that its time to prove that I'm over easy and need to win. From my doubts. From Me!

Its time to make the changes and these chocolate ~ chocolate chip cookies ;)

The recipe was adapted from VeryBestBaking

Recipe follows:

1/2 Cup + 1 Tbsp All Purpose Flour

5 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

85 Gms Butter, room temperature

1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar

1/4 Cups Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt ( if using unsalted Butter)

1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Eggs

1/2 Cup White Chocolate Chips

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375 Degree F (180 degree C)

In a large bowl beat butter with sugar until mixed. Add egg and vanilla mix well.

In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and chocolate chips and add to butter mixture.

Mix well to get rid of any lumps.

Drop a rounded scoop on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake to 10- 12 minutes. Let the tray sit for 2 minutes and remove the cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Mulberry Crumble Cake

I was totally surprised to see these purple beauties during grocery shopping the other day.

Ozzy had never tasted them but instantly connected it to the rhythm she watches every evening "Here we go around a Mulberry bush".

Roasted Almonds & Strawberry Bars

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” — Walt Disney

Almost year and a half ago I shifted back to Pune thinking this baker city will give me a head start towards my dream. And I am glad with each passing day I take a step forward.