Valentine's Day Special - Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hiii...
So its Valentine's day again and this time its a Sunday.. This day celebrates 'Love' so I think on this day each one of us should do the things we love with the person we love..Yes I know its getting too lovey-dovey here!!
Well since 'Red' is the color of Love, there is nothing more perfect than surprising your loved one/ones with a gorgeous and delicious 'RED VELVET CAKE' with some equally mouth watering 'Cream Cheese Frosting' .
Without wasting any further time and I will jump to the recipe.. (I have adopted this from my favourite Stephenie's Joy of Baking)

RED VELVET CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Makes: A two layer 9 inches Cake

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake:

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour (I made my own cake flour - one cup sifted cake flour (100 grams) can be substituted with 3/4 cup (85 grams) sifted all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (15 grams) cornstarch.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

100 grams cream cheese, room temperature

100 grams of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature (If you cannot find Mascarpone then just double the amount of Cream Cheese)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

70 grams  confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

200ml cups cold heavy whipping cream


Procedure

1. In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

Cake Batter Preparations

2. In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

3. In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.

Red Food Coloring

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Batter ready for baking

5. In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. (I baked 1 cake at a time, so I took half of the required vinegar and half of the required baking soda and mixed it and folded it quickly to half the batter, once one of the cakes were baked I did this step for the rest of the batter. If your oven can hold both cakes together then you can do this step once for the entire batter)

6. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Cooling off the Cake

7. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Whipping the cream

8. Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth.

Starting with Frosting

9. In another bowl, take the heavy cream and place the bowl over a ice bath and whip until peaks. Fold this cream with the cheese mixture. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Frosting the cake completely

10. Assemble: Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting.  Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish the cake with cake crumbles or chocolate shavings (I used Chocolate Shavings). Serve!

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and garnished with Chocolate Shavings

Wishing all of you a very very HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! Keep Loving!

The Super Quick Indian-style Blackened Chicken

Indian-Style Blackened Chicken

Hii..
On a cold winter evening when you really don't want to do anything else but just snuggle up in your quilt, this is one of the tastiest and easiest things to cook. It matches perfectly with a bowl of hot soup and some bread. The best part it can be prepared in such a short time. I found this one while browsing the net.Its a recipe by Ruchi Airen from her blog Foodfellas. (I have made a minor modification here n there)
So without wasting much time I ll straight jump to the recipe..

INDIAN STYLE BLACKENED CHICKEN

Makes: Around 8 Chicken Legs (Serves 4)

Ingredients

Ingredients

Chicken Legs - 8pcs
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1.5 tablespoons
Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Soya Sauce- 2 tablespoons
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoonful
Garam Masala Powder - 1.5 teaspoonful
Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoonful
Salt - to taste
Refined Oil - 1 tablespoon

Procedure

1. Prick the Chicken Legs with a fork on all sides

2. Marinate the Chicken with all the above ingredients (Except for the Oil)

Marinated Chicken

3. Keep Aside for 30-35 minutes
4. Heat the Oil in a Wok and put the marinated chicken (along with the left over marinade) into the wok.

Stir Fry

5. Fry for a few minutes, then sprinkle a little water and cover and cook until done (around 20mins)
6. Once the chicken looks done, Remove the cover and stri fry on high heat to dry up all the liquid.
7. Serve Hot (You can garnish with some sliced onions and lemon wedges)

Enjoy the Blackened Chicken

Thanks for taking out time to read this!! Ciao Ciao!

The perfect Home-made Focaccia Bread

Focaccia Bread

Hii..
Bread Baking is extremely addictive, especially if you start getting successful results. After baking the White Loaf successfully a couple of times I was dying to try my hands at something different when I suddenly got reminded of the 'Focaccia Bread' and obviously I jumped at the thought!!
After some RnD on the net I found a a couple of recipes which were easy (yes I always look for easy) and doable so I combined a couple of them. The major part of the recipe was adopted from the 'Herbivore Cucina' with some minor modifications from my end.
Before we start, few of you might be wondering what is Focaccia Bread.Well it is an Italian flat bread with toppings and it is an extremely soft and melt in the mouth kind of a bread. It goes extremely well with some soup. I made some Tomato Basil Soup to go with it.

Few Important Points

I. Proofing the active dry yeast is THE most important thing while baking a bread, you surely need to proof the yeast .

II. While proofing the yeast the water should be just the correct temperature. If its too hot then the yeast will die n if its not warm enough then the yeast will remain inactive. I test by putting a drop of water on the back of my wrist. It should feel warm. (Technically the water should be around 45 degree Celsius or around 110 degree Fahrenheit, if you have a food/kitchen Thermometer you can measure it).

III. After proofing the yeast should rise and foam up (not just bubbles but like a creamy foam)..if it does not then THROW and start afresh.

IV. If you are using INSTANT yeast then I guess it doesn't require proofing but I have never really tried that so can't comment . I have always used Active Dry and proofed it first.

V. The bread dough needs to be kept in a warm place. But never keep it under the sun because the temperatures might go up unexpectedly and the yeast might die due to the heat.

FOCACCIA BREAD (Italian Flat Bread)

Makes: A 11" Dia x 1" height Round Loaf

Ingredients
 
For the Bread
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 3 cups (Around 450gms)
Active Dry Yeast - 2 and 1/2 teaspoonful
Warm Milk - 3 tablespoons
Warm Water - 1 and 1/2 cups
Refined Oil - 3 tablespoons
Butter (at room temperature) - 1 teaspoonful
Sugar - 2 teaspoonful
Salt - 1 teaspoon

For the Toppings
Onions - sliced
Green Capsicum - 1/2 sliced
Red Capsicum - 1/2 sliced
Tomato - 1/2 sliced
Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - 2 teaspoonful (optional)
Black Olives sliced ( I didn't use since I and N are not fond of Olives)
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 teaspoonful
Italian Seasoning’s/ Dried Herbs (Oregano,Basil,Thyme) - 1.5 teaspoonful

Procedure

1. Take a Big bowl and add 1 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon Sugar .Mix Well
2. Add the Yeast and Mix, now Sprinkle 1 more teaspoon of sugar.
3. Cover and keep for 10-12 mins, it should Foam (if it doesn't then throw and start again)

Proofing of the Yeast

4. Add the Oil, Salt, another 1/2 cup of warm water, Milk, Butter in the foamed up Yeast

Dough Preparation

5. Mix in the flour (in batches) in the bowl and keep mixing till it looks like a dough.

6. Take out dough on the counter and knead for 7-8 mins (Not more than that)

Dough ready for 1st Rise

7. Place dough in greased bowl, cover (with food wrap or damp towel cloth and keep in a warm and humid place.
Now since it is winters and its difficult to find a warm and humid place so I do the following. I use a microwave-convection oven so I Heat little water in the microwave (micro mode) and take out the container. Now I place the dough container in the switched off microwave.After 30 mins Take the dough container out and reheat water and place the dough container again.

8. Dough should double in volume in 1 hour or so (more than the time the volume is important)

After 1st Rise ..........................................Toppings

9. Punch Down the dough and knead for another 3-4 minutes

10. Grease your baking dish and flatten the dough and place it on the dish. Cover and keep for second rise for another 45 minutes.

After 2nd Rise

11. Once the flattened dough has risen, uncover the dish and make dimples softly with your finger tips on the top surface

12. Sprinkle the Chilli Flakes and the Italian Seasoning on top.

Adding the toppings

13. Now top it with the slices vegetables (softly press the vegetables)

14. Preheat Oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

15. Once Preheated change the temperature to 180 Degrees Celsius and Bake for 25 minutes.

16. Cool for 10 minutes then slice and serve with some warm soup.

Slice Up and Enjoy with some Soup

Thanks for taking out time to read.

A slice of Fresh White Bread

White Bread Loaf

Hii..
Baking is something which has always intrigued me..Being from a Science background (in fact Physics to be specific Oh Gosh!!), baking always gives me that exciting feeling which we used to have during our lab experiments. Sometimes even when I am extremely tired, the mere idea of baking fills me up with energy.. Well I had tried my hand at Cakes, Muffins, Cheesecakes so it was high time I tried baking a simple White Bread Loaf.. Yes something so basic yet so wonderful. After browsing through quite a few recipes I settled for this one. (no specific reason just an intuitive feeling that this should be good). And Boy it did turn out to be delicious.. One thing is for sure.Once you start baking breads at home, you won't feel buying one from the market!!

Before jumping to the Recipe which is actually very simple I would like to point out a couple of things which needs to be kept in mind while baking Breads!

Few Important Points

I. Proofing the active dry yeast is THE most important thing while baking a bread, you surely need to proof the yeast .

II. While proofing the yeast the water should be just the correct temperature. If its too hot then the yeast will die n if its not warm enough then the yeast will remain inactive. I test by putting a drop of water on the back of my wrist. It should feel warm. (Technically the water should be around 45 degree Celsius or around 110 degree Fahrenheit, if you have a food/kitchen Thermometer you can measure it).

III. After proofing the yeast should rise and foam up (not just bubbles but like a creamy foam)..if it does not then THROW and start afresh.

IV. If you are using INSTANT yeast then I guess it doesn't require proofing but I have never really tried that so can't comment . I have always used Active Dry and proofed it first.

V. The bread dough needs to be kept in a warm place. But never keep it under the sun because the temperatures might go up unexpectedly and the yeast might die due to the heat.

WHITE BREAD LOAF
Makes: One 9X5 Loaf

Ingredients

Active Dry Yeast

Active Dry Yeast - 2 and 2/3rd teaspoons
Water- 1 and half cups - Warm
Butter- 30gms (at room temperature-it should be soft)
Sugar- 3 teaspoons
Salt - to taste
All Purpose Flour / Maida (If you can mange to get hold of bread flour use that)  - 450gms (if using bread flour use 500gms)


Procedure for the bread
1. Take a Big bowl and add 1 cup warm water and 2 teaspoons sugar .Mix Well
2. Add the Yeast and Mix, now Sprinkle 1 more teaspoon of sugar.
3. Cover and keep for 10-12 mins, it should Foam (if it doesn't then throw and stat again)

Proofing

4. Add Butter, Another 1/2 cup warm water, Salt and Mix Well

Mixing the FLour

5. Mix in the flour (in batches) in the bowl and keep mixing till it looks like a dough.

6. Take out dough on the counter and knead for 7-8 mins (Not more than that)

Placing the dough for the 1st Rise

7. Place dough in greased bowl, cover (with food wrap or damp towel cloth and keep in a warm and humid place.
Now since it is winters and its difficult to find a warm and humid place so I do the following. I use a microwave-convection oven so I Heat little water in the microwave (micro mode) and take out the container. Now I place the dough container in the switched off microwave.After 30 minsTake the dough container out and reheat water and place the dough container again.

8. Dough should double in volume in 1 hour or so (more than the time the volume is important)

Cover and Rise

9.. Punch Down the dough and place in greased Loaf tin

Punching DOugh and Placing in Loaf Tin

10. Cover with damp cloth and let it rise (double up) in the microwave(switched off) for 40-45mins

Placing for 2nd Rise

13. Now take out the loaf tin and preheat oven (on convection mode) at 220 C (with some water in the baking dish) over the wire rack.

14. Once pre-heated replace the baking dish with the loaf tin on the wire rack.

15. Bake at 190 C for 30mins

Loaf ready and plced for cooling

16. Once done Cool the bread on a wire rack and then slice using a serrated knife.

Slice up

You can enjoy a fresh slice with some butter or jam. It is soft as a pillow.
NOTE: Best to consume it on Day 1 cause its ultra soft, but if consider having it the next day then you can toast/grill the slices!

Welcoming 2016 with Mini Lemon Tarts

MINI LEMON TARTS

Hii..
Yes it is the beginning of the new year so it gives me yet another reason to start the year with something sweet and tangy, just the way I want my whole year to be..fun adventurous and happy!! Lemon flavoured desserts have always been a favourite with me n N and it was high time I tried my hand at something lemony and fresh.. So on New Year's eve I decided that I will be baking the family favourite 'Mini Lemon Tarts' (or Tartlets as some call it).
This is a two step dessert, the first step being preparing the Lemon Filling / Lemon Curd and the second being baking the mini-Tarts. If you have guests coming over this can be made a day or two early and refrigerated. I made the Lemon filling/curd the previous day and kept it in the fridge.
For this recipe I totally relied on Stephanie's Joy of Baking!!

MINI LEMON TARTS
Makes: Around 25 Tart-lets

Ingredients

Lemon Filling/Curd

3 large eggs

180 grams (3/4th Cup Sugar plus 2 tablespoons) granulated white sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)

4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

Tart Shells

10 tablespoons (140 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Almond flour - 3 tablespoons

Procedure
Lemon Filling/Curd
1.In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.

2. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce (This will take approximately 7-8 minutes)

3. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.

4. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool.

5. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

Tart Shells

1. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about two  minutes).

2.Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat just until incorporated.

4. Divide the pastry in half and then roll each half between two sheets of parchment or wax paper until it is about 1/8 inch  thick. As you roll, periodically check the top and bottom sheets of parchment and smooth out any wrinkles.

5. Place the pastry on a baking sheet (along with the parchment paper) and place in the refrigerator until firm (about 1-2 hours).

6. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease your miniature tart shell cups.

7. Once your pastry has chilled, remove one portion from the refrigerator and peel off the top piece of parchment paper. Using about a 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) cookie cutter, cut out rounds of pastry and gently press them into the tart shell cups.

8. With a fork prick some holes into the pastry in the cups.

9. Bake for about 11 - 12 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

10. Once cooled, sprinkle some almond flour/meal inside the shells .

11. Fill the shells with around 1.5 teaspoons of the Lemon Filling/Curd.

12. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Serve chilled!

Wishing you A VERY VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Hope you have a joyous 2016!!

Happy New Year

Thanks for reading!! Ciao Ciao!!