Yummy Desserts

“Great things come in small packages” and there is no doubt about it. Sometimes it really makes me ponder what is a cake if I cannot have all of it at once. Have you heard of the yummy cupcakes that like the big cakes contain frostings, sprinkles and decorations? The plus point of a cupcake is that it is a small-sized cake that I can comfortably consume in one go. Thus, my wish of having a cake completely comes true. This way I can sample and enjoy a host of flavors and varieties of cakes until my taste buds feel gratified.

Now if the cup cakes are packed with two most desirable food elements - chocolate and strawberry, then your taste buds are sure in for a treat. So, go ahead, try the following recipe of delicious chocolate and strawberry cupcakes and pleasure your taste buds.

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
All purpose flour - 1 ¼ cup
Soft butter - 1 cup
Dark chocolate (chopped to pieces) - ¾ cup
Strawberry jam - 2 cups
Castor sugar - 1 cup
Eggs (beaten) - 2 large
Cupcake tins and papers - 12 nos.

For the frosting:
Dark chocolate (chopped to pieces) - ¾ cup
Thick cream - ¾ cup

Method:
For the cupcakes:
1.) Preheat oven at 180C.
2.) In a double boiler soften the chocolate. Pull off the stove and to this add the butter. Mix well so that no lumps of chocolate or butter remain.
3.) Now fold in the sugar and eggs. Mix well.
4.) Next add the strawberry jam and again stir well to get a smooth batter.
5.) Now fold in the flour and mix well. The batter for cupcakes is ready.
6.) In each tin place the cupcake paper and spoon the batter into the paper until about 3/4th of the tin is full.
7.) Bake these for about 20-25 minutes. Cool them for a few minutes.

For the frosting:
1.) In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Pull off the stove.
2.) To this add the chocolate pieces and mix well until all of chocolate melts.
3.) Continue stirring this mixture until it gains a thick consistency.

Once the frosting is ready and the cupcakes have cooled down a bit, spoon the frosting on the cupcakes until the top of each cake is evenly covered in a thick layer of frosting.
Now go ahead and indulge yourself.

Image
Source: Ditzyspice, Nigella

The traditional elegant custards of Italy are world famous. But the aura around them makes us believe that it might be very difficult to make. Well, it actually is not so. Though there are a wide variety of custard preparations, the simplest ones are easy to attempt.

Lemon and buttermilk are good for health and also easy to digest. And, the custard made of these ingredients has an unique flavour which will be hard to resist anytime. So, go ahead and enjoy the new custard flavour.

For 8 servings
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (coloured portion of peel)

2 cups low-fat buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place lemon juice in small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over lemon juice. Let stand 5 minutes to soften gelatin.

Place the cream, sugar and lemon zest in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to simmer stirring until sugar dissolves. Then remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture. Whisk until dissolved. Then whisk in buttermilk and vanilla till it blends well.

Pour the mixture into a mould and loosely cover with plastic wrap; chill 4 hours or as long as overnight.

Just before serving, cut around the edges with a knife to loosen. Set the mould in a shallow bowl of hot water for 10 seconds. Immediately invert onto a plate.

The gracious Italian custard is ready to be served!

Source

Ice cream, a word that conjures up images of tempting, yummy frozen desserts available in myriad of flavors. I love my food particularly desserts and ice creams figure at the top of the list of my favorite desserts. There is no doubt that the ice cream is easy to obtain at any local store but the real satisfaction of relishing something seeps in only if you have labored hard to prepare it. With reasonably priced ice cream makers on sale in the market, making your very own ice cream at home becomes a very simplified task.

So, are you ready to churn out a special ice cream in your very own kitchen? Now if you are searching for a recipe to get started at this task then just scroll down. Provided below is the recipe for lip-smacking caramel ice cream adapted from Matthew London’s recipe in print in a letter to the Gourmet magazine. This ice cream when prepared is sure to make your loved ones very happy and you their favorite person.
Here is how the recipe goes!

Ingredients:
Milk (whole) - 1 cup
Thick cream - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 1 cup
Egg yolks - 6 nos.
White corn syrup - 2 tbsp
A pinch of salt

Method:
1.) In a mixing bowl beat yolks and corn syrup together until they blend well. Set aside.
2.) In a saucepan add sugar and salt and allow sugar to caramelize on medium flame. Do not allow the sugar to char.
3.) Pull this off the stove and add the cream. Mix well quickly and put it back on the flame stirring constantly.
4.) Keep stirring until all the caramel melts into the cream. Once this is done add milk to the mixture. Keep stirring until milk is about to boil.
5.) Pull off the stove and gradually add this mixture to the yolk mixture. Mix well.
6.) Put this yolk-caramel mixture into a saucepan and cook on low heat stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Do not boil this mixture.
7.) Once this is done, pull the mixture of the stove, cool a bit and sieve it. Now cool the sieved mixture to room temperature giving it a stir occasionally.
8.) Now cover and refrigerate this mixture overnight. The next day pull it out of the refrigerator and process it as per instructions in the ice cream maker manual.
9.) After this, put it into the freezer until you get an ice cream that is well set and firm.

Now go ahead and enjoy the sweet fruits of your labor with your loved ones!
(Serving: 3 cups)

Image
Source: Thestar.com

Chocolate Brownie is a rich, lip-smacking dessert that by its sheer appearance can set many people drooling. With a deep brown color, delectable flavor, mushy texture and packed with crunchy pecans or walnuts, the chocolate brownie is bound to tempt even the most resolute person on a diet to break his resolve and savor it. To make it an even more sumptuous treat, you can serve a large piece of chocolate brownie drizzled with hot chocolate sauce, dollop of whipped cream and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you want to make this alluring dessert at home, then you can easily follow this recipe.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 100 gms
Castor sugar - 300 gms
Salted / unsalted butter - 200 gms
Cocoa powder - 50 gms
Bittersweet chocolate (chopped) - 150 gms
Eggs - 4 nos.
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Walnuts (chopped to small pieces) - 125 gms
A dollop of whipped cream
A scoop of vanilla ice cream

For the chocolate sauce:
Bittersweet chocolate (chopped) - 2 cups
Thick cream - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup

Method:
1.) Preheat oven at 180C.
2.) Set up a double boiler and melt the chocolate. Pull off the stove and to this melted chocolate add butter and mix well.
3.) Now add the sugar and mix well.
4.) To this chocolate mixture add eggs one by one stirring constantly. Add vanilla essence. Mix well.
5.) Sieve the flour and cocoa powder. Fold this into the mixture.
6.) Dust the walnuts with some flour and fold these into the mix.
7.) Now take a 8 inch square baking dish. Grease the dish well with butter and lightly smear it with flour. Pour the entire mixture into the baking dish.
8.) Bake for 40 minutes at 180C or until done. To check if done insert a knife blade into the brownie, if the blade comes off clean, then the brownie is done.
9.) Cut into medium-sized pieces.

For the chocolate sauce:
1.) In a saucepan add the cream and bring to a boil.
2.) Now add the chocolate and sugar. Keep stirring continuously till both melt making sure that chocolate does not stick to the pan. Pull off the stove.

Take a piece of brownie in a dessert plate. Drizzle it with hot chocolate sauce. Top it with whipped cream. In addition, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream beside the brownie before serving.

Image: Whatscookingamerica
Via: BBC, Joyofbaking

This cake is in many ways a quintessentially Italian dessert–simple, filled with fruit, and not too sweet or rich. Try it out and I am sure you will love the delicious taste of it.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• Grated rind of one lemon
• 1/2 cup seedless red or green grapes
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/3 cup, plus 3 tablespoons, sugar
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sifted flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place apples in greased 9″ oven proof glass pie plate. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar and lemon rind over apples. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Cream butter with 1/3 cup sugar and then add egg. Sift flour and baking powder together and blend into butter.

Remove apples from oven after 20 minutes and mix in with grapes and pine nuts. Spread batter over fruit and bake until cake is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Notes: Many European cultures have an apple cake but the pine nuts and grapes make it uniquely Italian.

Enjoy the delicious Italian Apple Cake.

Image: Lepain

Via: Cdkitchen

If you are a shake lover then try out this simple method of making and great tasting, Strawberry Shake. It’s healthy and as you make it with real fresh Strawberries it gives you more benefit to your health. Check out the ingredient below, I am sure you will love it.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh Strawberries
4 cup Milk (Doodh)
To taste Sugar (Cheeni)
Ice -cubes

Method:

How to make strawberry shake:
• Wash strawberries properly and remove the stems.
• Blend strawberries and little milk together in a blender until crushed properly into a smooth paste.
• Add the remaining milk, sugar and crushed ice.
• Blend again for another 30 seconds or so.

Served chilled in glasses.

Note : If strawberries are not available, strawberry essence can be used but better use real strawberries.

Image: theartofstylingfood

Via: cdkitchen

Tired of run of the mill cakes, then combine ingredients you thought never could be combined. How about including your favorite soft drink in a cake? The following recipe of Coca-Cola cake is a wonderful one to try and yields a spongy delight that you would enjoy. Now, get started with the recipe without wasting much time and give yourself an unusual sweet treat.

Ingredients:
For the cake:
All-purpose flour - 250 gms
Castor sugar - 250 gms
Cocoa powder - 50 gms
Coca-Cola - 125 ml
Butter - 125 gms
Eggs (beaten) - 2 nos.
Buttermilk - 60 ml
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

For the frosting:
Butter - 60 gms
Cocoa powder - 15 gms
Coca-Cola - 90 ml
Castor sugar - 500 gms
Almonds (chopped) - 50 gms

Method:
1.) Preheat oven at 180°C.
2.) Take a 9 x 13-inch pan. Grease and flour it. Keep aside.
3.) In a large mixing bowl, bring together the flour and sugar.
4.) In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla essence, buttermilk and baking soda.
5.) In a saucepan, add cocoa powder, butter and Coca-Cola. Bring this mixture to a boil. Pull off the stove and add to the sugar-flour mixture. Mix well.
6.) Now add the egg mixture to this and mix well.
7.) Pour the batter in the greased and floured baking pan. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes or until done.
8.) For the frosting, heat the butter, cocoa powder and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring this mixture to a boil and then add sugar to it. Stir continuously until all blend well.
9.) Pull off the stove and add the almonds.
10.) Evenly spread the frosting all over the cake.
Now dig into the cake as soon as possible!
(Servings - 16)

You can use soft drinks of your choice to churn out cakes that will suite your taste buds.

Image
Source: Southernfood

I love it with strawberry jello and garnished with fresh strawberries. The Cool Whip makes such a pretty pure white and creamy frosting. Try this jello frosting, as this is one of my favorite one.

Ingrident:

31/2 tbsp. Jello (any flavour)
1/2 cup hot water
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 egg whites unbeaten
dash of salt

Method:

Dissolve Jello in water in top of double boiler. Add sugar, egg whites and salt. Beat mixture for about one minute with rotary or electric beater until well mixed. Place over rapidly boiling water.

Beat constantly about 7 minutes or until frosting stands up in peaks. Transfer to another bowl and beat about one minutes or until thick enough to spread.

Image: sixuntilme

Via: lynnescountrykitchen

Falooda, a milk-based yummy drink popularly consumed as dessert is a sight to behold. It is a culinary spectacle that consists of not only an array of beautiful colors but also numerous flavors and textures owing to the variety of ingredients that go into its making. A gastronomic delight thought to be introduced to the lands of India by the Parsis, today the falooda is in great demand and relished by many people of different communities.

Thinking of feasting on a falooda? Then go ahead and prepare yourself a glass of delicious rose-flavored falooda using the following recipe.

Ingredients:
Falooda seeds (sabza/ tukmaria/ basil seeds) - 2 tbsp
Rose syrup - 2 tbsp
Milk (chilled) - 3/4 cup
Falooda sev (arrowroot vermicelli) - 2 tbsp
Strawberry-flavored jello (crushed coarsely) - 2 tbsp
Almonds (roasted and chopped) - 1 tbsp
A scoop of strawberry ice cream
(For preparing saffron/kesar falooda replace the rose syrup, strawberry-flavored jello and strawberry ice cream with kesar syrup, pineapple-flavored jello and kesar pista ice cream respectively.)

Method:
1.) In a bowl take falooda seeds and add enough water to just cover them completely. Refrigerate these for at least an hour so that they swell.
2.) In a pot, boil water and to this add the vermicelli after breaking it into small pieces. Cook until done. Cool and refrigerate until chilled.
3.) Take a tall, broad mouth glass. To this first add the rose syrup, then add the falooda seeds and then the vermicelli.
4.) Pour the chilled milk gradually so that the layers are not disturbed.
5.) Top it with a scoop of strawberry ice cream, jello and almonds.
6.) Serve immediately and give it a gentle stir before you start relishing it, so that all ingredients blend well.

Image: Static
Via: Foodforthought

Gulab Jamun is a dessert item and prepared less costly and can be made with easily available materials. The thought of making them at home never occurs to any of us – the reason being the dreary, strenuous procedure involved in it. But these gulab jamuns are not just easy to cook but also delicious to taste.

Ingredients:
Bread
Milk
Cardamom
Sugar
Water as desired

Method:
For the sugar syrup, add one cup sugar and 2 powders cardamom in one glass water and boil till it becomes thick syrupy in consistency. For the balls, cut out the brown edges of the bread and mix with milk till u get a dough consistency. Make it into small balls and fry in oil till golden brown. Put these balls in sugar syrup. Serve when cool. It is a good dessert.

Image Source - Wikimedia

Via - Zeenews