I Baked my Baby's First Birthday Cake!

I guess I'm the baking kind of mum. I love it :) I baked my baby girl's first Birthday cake. I knew I wanted a cake that would A) taste delicious and moist B) look elegant, girly and cute C) feed about 40 people. So I decided on a layered cake with classic chocolate and moist vanilla, with a light whipped cream filling. The frosting was something that had me thinking for a while. I wasn't sure if the whipped cream would hold in room temperature and since I was planning on making the cake the night before, I wanted something that would still look and taste as good on the morning of the party. I pondered over fondant, but somehow wasn't very keen on it. And then one morning as I woke up, the idea of a white chocolate ganache came to me, just like that :) Maybe because I always knew that I wanted  something white(ish) with a sprinkling of colour on it, or something. And I ended up making a (pretty) tall cake frosted with decadent white chocolate ganache and topped with Smarties in the colours of the party. I was rather happy with the result, although it did look very homemade, which I think is quite endearing :)

Ganache is not something difficult at all! I can say it quite confidently now. When I started looking for recipes on the Internet, I read a lot about how tricky it is, how it can go horribly wrong, etc. But I must admit, I found it actually very simple and foolproof. Either that or I was very lucky :) Here's how I made it -

I used -

• 1 part heavy whipping cream
• 3 parts white chocolate chips (roughly chopped so they melt quicker)

Method - 

• Place chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl (preferably either stainless steel or a microwave safe one)
• Heat cream in a saucepan on a low flame until you start seeing tiny bubbles around the edge.
• Pour heated cream over the pulsed chocolate chips and let sit for a minute or so.
• Using a spatula, gently stir in everything, until the chocolate and cream turn into a smooth paste. It will be quite runny at this stage. If you feel the cream wasn't hot enough to melt all the chocolate, stick the (microwave safe) bowl into the microwave for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the chocolate.
• Once you're happy with the mixture and there are no lumps, leave it (preferably uncovered) on the counter to cool down completely.
• Now you need to wait for this ganache to 'set' to a nice, soft spreadable consistency. If the room is cool enough, you could leave it out on the counter overnight. If not, simply cover with cling wrap and pop it into the fridge.
• When you're ready to frost your cake next morning, take ganache out of the fridge and reheat in the microwave in short 30-second bursts until the desired spreadable consistency is achieved.
• Frost away!

This mixture holds well and I did not have any problems with it considering the frosted cake was left on the table all day! You could even store remaining ganache in an airtight container to use later.

If you want to make a dark chocolate ganache, it's 1 part heavy cream to 2 parts dark/semi-dark chocolate. The procedure is the same.

Oh another thing I saw on the Internet, if you're using  heavy whipping cream, like I did, you could even whip the ganache just before frosting for an even lighter and creamier texture. I didn't this time, but maybe will try it the next time.

I'm still very much an amateur when it comes to cake decorating and I had quite a hard time trying to get a smooth finish on my cake and getting the sides 'straight'. I tried for a bit, but then decided I was quite happy with my homemade look :) The cake tasted good and that's all that mattered, well, to me!

Quick Little Celebration

Husby darling passed the driving test at one go, yippeee! That called for a sweet reward :) So Kalakand was quickly made and quickly devoured. So easy, so quick, so divine! Enough said...sorry I don't have great pics, so that should tell you how patient we were after it was made! I found the recipe at Showmethecurry.com, a fun and fab place for great recipes.

I think you should definitely try this. I mean, with only two ingredients and very little effort, every day can be a celebration, what say? *wink*

Sweet Heaven!

Gajar ka Halwa a.k.a Carrot Halwa is by far the most loved dessert in India. Thanks to the melodramatic mothers of Bollywood tinsel town who make the macho sons all mushy when they're offered a bowl of the orange gooey stuff oozing with desi ghee (clarified butter) and motherly love.

(Okay, so I did go overboard with the nuts! But believe me, there was heaps of halwa under that obsessive layer of dry fruit!)

We made this special dessert for some special guests at dinner one Sunday. I say 'we'. Husby darling, my sous chef  who tackled probably the hardest part of the recipe - the grand grating of half a Kg (or more) of carrots, truly deserves to be a part of this post :)

Recipe -

• a bag of carrots (approx 500gms) peeled and grated - baby carrots work really well, they're tender and moist
•  3/4 or 1 cup sugar (according to your sweet-o-meter)
• 1 cup ghee
• Approx 1 + cup of milk (enough to cook carrots)
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts - cashews, almonds and raisins
• 1/4 tspn cardamom powder

Method -

1. First of all, if you're not feeling particularly patient or if you're generally annoyed about something, make this another day! Believe me, it takes some patience and a sense of peace to accomplish this sweet heaven ;)
2. So, once you've decided you're quite saintly, then heat about a tbspn of ghee in a wide, shallow pan. Non stick works wonders.
3. Toss in the mixed nuts and fry until lightly toasted and aromatic.
4. Drain and set aside. This will later be sprinkled on the prepared halwa.
5. Into the same pan, tip in the grated carrot and mix well. Don't forget to appreciate your sous chef (if there is one) with a smile at this stage :)
6. With the flame on medium, add enough milk to just about cover the carrot and cook until soft. Don't add too much lest it turns out to be carrot porridge.
7. Once you're completely satisfied that the carrot is soft 'n' cooked, add in the sugar and mix well. If you add sugar a tad too early, then the carrots won't cook further and you'll end up with crunchy bits. What did I tell you about patience before? It does take a while for the carrot to cook completely. And remember, all this on medium or low heat. We don't want the whole thing to burn.
8. Once the sugar has been added, it's only a matter of minutes until everything amalgamates well.
9. Oh, before I forget, keep adding a spoonful or two of ghee during the entire process in well spaced intervals until you finish the 1 cup of ghee you started with.
10. Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well again.
11. Continue on medium heat for another 10 minutes or so, taking care not to let it burn.
12. Remove from heat and garnish with fried nuts.
13. Best served warm with lots of love!

This can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. Just stick it into the microwave before you serve.

P.S: Special hugs to my dear friend for the super efficient and super cute grate! Love it :)

Thankful you were born!

It was M's birthday yesterday, yay! But poor him, he was working all day :( He had been really busy the whole weekend and so there wasn't anything special planned for his special day. I thought I'd make something sweet to say 'thank you' to God for making him especially for me :) So I made kesaribhath/suji ka halwa/shira. It's really simple, gets done in a jiffy and tastes great. Here's the recipe -

1 cup semolina (rava/sooji)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 tbspns ghee
1 small banana, chopped
a pinch of cardamom powder
a handful of raw cashews and sultanas

• Heat about 1/2 a tbspn of ghee in a non-stick wok/pan. Roast cashews and sultanas until the cashews turn a light brown. Remove and keep aside.
• With the ghee in the wok, tip in the semolina and roast until light brown and toasty.
• Meanwhile heat the milk on HIGH in a microwave for about a minute. You could even heat it on the stove top.
• Once the semolina is roasted, turn down the heat to low and pour in the hot milk. Please be very cautious as you do so - apparently the roasted semolina and hot milk are long lost friends who get really excited when they see each other! Jokes apart, the hot steam from the hot milk and the hot wok (wow! that's a lot of 'hot')...so please be careful, don't burn yourself!
• Keep stirring to avoid lumps. The idea is to cook the semolina in the milk and it happens quite quickly, in about 2 minutes.
  
• When the mixture kind of begins to turn dry, add the sugar.
• As you mix everything, you'll notice that the mixture begins to turn liquid-ey again. Now work quickly and throw in all the other stuff - chopped banana, cashews and sultanas, cardamom powder and the remaining ghee.
• Stir it for a couple of minutes until it all amalgamates well and turn off the heat.
• Serve hot!

It's best you stash it in the fridge if you've made lots and reheat it just before serving.
I'd earlier posted a recipe for kesaribhath, but I'd made it with chopped pineapple and it's a slightly different recipe in that I used water instead of milk.

So, no fancy cake or cocktail party snacks for M's special day this year, just a humble and yummy sweet dish, which he thoroughly enjoyed. And that's exactly what I wanted, after all :)

The Festival of Lights!

The flame danced gently, washing the room with a soft glow. It whispered stories of faith and strength. It was as if it coaxed us to look deep inside ourselves and seek the pure light within...

Sigh! That's the magic of Deepavali. The humble light reminds us of much greater things in life than petty issues like wealth, material possessions and the like.

Yet, the heart refuses to forget the sweets and there's nothing 'light' about those! A sinfully generous dose of sugar and an extravagant use of ghee takes us to 'sweet heaven' almost instantaneously! I made Doodh Pedas (milk based sweet cakes) and 7 cups (no points for guessing the recipe).

Both were pretty easy to make, except I had to stir the 7 cups for quite a bit and I had NOT expected that :) Anyways, they turned out quite well, thank God for that! In fact, mum always says if something is made with a warm heart and good thoughts, it can't go wrong. Plus I had my confidante Ganesha's watchful eyes over me as I stirred and stirred over the hot stove. Exactly like I'd asked him to, he must've sprinkled in some magic sugar of his own :)

I found the recipe for the Pedas on www.showmethecurry.com and it was as easy and delicious as it looked there. Thanks to Hetal & Anuja!


And 'thanks mum' for the 7 cups recipe - 1 cup milk, 1 cup besan (chickpea flour), 1 cup coconut, 1 cup ghee and 3 cups sugar - voila! Although, I used only 2 cups sugar and just a little less than a full cup of ghee. Simply combine everything in a heavy bottomed pan and keep stirring. Work those arms until the whole mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Pour into a greased square cake tin and cut into desired shapes. Mine looked like little bricks, rough and rustic, although I would have preferred a smoother finish. Well, who cares anyways...it still promises to take us to sweet heaven, in every single bite!

Mystic India: Ganesha Chathurti

'Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakoti Samaprabha Nirvighnam Kurumedeva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada'

Mum and dad always taught me to say this little prayer - I've said it before the much feared exams, before I walked into the mantap on my wedding day, before we boarded our first flight overseas...and a million other times, and I know the power of this simple sanskrit shloka (hymn/prayer). It fills me with an immense calm, gives me confidence and spills in an abundance of positive feelings.

The endearing elephant God Ganesha has been my protector, my guide and my confidant. I have the greatest faith in Him. And on this special day, Ganesha Chathurti, I wanted to cook Him a special meal, as He loves to eat!
(You can read some interesting stories at Wikipedia)

Here's what was on the menu -

karjikai/kadubu (sweet)
modak/kozhakatai (sweet)
semiya payasa (sweet porridge)
vadai (deep fried urad dal patties)
ambode (deep fried chana dal patties)
hesarubele kosambri (salad)
kadale usli/sundal (spiced chickpeas)
vangibath (spicy rice with vegetables)
rasam/saaru (lentil soup)
beans palya (mildly flavoured beans)

I am not posting all recipes today simply because there were too many things! I will, however, share the recipe for my favourite, and I'm quite sure, Ganesha's too :)

Karjikai - it's sweet, it's crispy and it's filled with sugary goodness!

• 2 cups fine semolina (chiroti rava)
• 1 cup plain flour (maida)
• 2 tbspn ghee (clarified butter)
• a pinch of salt and turmeric
• oil/ghee for deep frying
  

For the filling -

• 1 cup grated coconut - use fresh coconut for best results, but you could use desiccated coconut as a substitute
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup mixed nuts - sultanas/raisins, cashews, almonds and pistachio, lightly fried in a tspn of ghee
• 1 tbspn roasted poppy seeds
• 1/4 tspn cardamom powder

1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the filling and set aside.
2. In another large bowl, combine semolina, flour, salt and turmeric and rub in 2 tbspns of ghee.
3. Using water, knead into a stiff dough. Be careful not to use too much water.
   
4. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside for about 5 mins.
5. Heat oil/ghee in a wok/kadai on medium flame.
6. Take small portions of the dough, roll, fill with a spoonful of the filling, fold over into a crescent and seal the edge by pressing with a fork.
7. Deep fry until lightly brown.

Being several miles away from home, we missed our families, and the excitement and laughter of the festival. But we did our best to recreate the mood here - prayers, good food and friends to share it with, after all, that's what most Indian festivals are all about, a celebration of life!





So, I end my post with a sincere prayer -

"Oh Lord Ganesha, please bless us and watch over us at all times.
Shower the world with peace, good health, happiness and prosperity..."

Besan Ladoo

Quick Fixes...some recipes were meant to rescue us from our misery - be it a lazy Sunday afternoon when a certain someone has a sweet craving or the jitters when guests arrive, these easy and quick recipes can be a life saver, especially when they don't demand any fancy ingredients. A quick dig in the pantry and you're all set to start. Phew! What a blessing! Well, one such recipe is for Besan Ladoos, quickly made and quickly devoured! I had actually stumbled upon this recipe on a blog a long long time ago, so I don't really remember...but would certainly like to say 'thanks' to that blogger :-) She (I'm most certain it is a 'she') made it so simple -

2 cups besan/kadale hittu (chickpea flour)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)
a handful of chopped nuts - cashews, almonds and sultanas
1/4 tspn powdered cardamom

Pour all of the ghee into a heavy bottomed pan/wok and leave on low flame until the ghee dissolves and gets some heat.

Now tip in the chickpea flour (you could sift it before if you wish) and stir well to avoid lumps. Initially it will form into one big lump, but slowly it will start loosening and will finally arrive at a semi liquid consistency, like a thick porridge. Continue to stir on a low flame until the flour is well cooked/roasted in the ghee.

Add the powdered cardamom.

Stir until it turns a nice toasty brown and gives a nice aroma. DO NOT over cook as it will end up in a burnt mess with a very charred flavour.

Take off the heat and allow to cool (it will still be liquidy, which is fine, it will all come together finally). While still a wee bit warm, add the powdered sugar and nuts and mix well. Now take small portions of the mixture and roll into balls. Ideally, the ghee in it should be enough to hold the mixture in a tight ball. I notice that the ladoos tend to hold on to the surface and stick to each other a bit when placed on a plate/box. So I used muffin liners to separate them.

This is great for festivals and poojas as naivedyam (an offering made to God) as well. For M & me, who have a real sweet tooth issue (err), this is easy, delicious and quick!