Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake

Today's recipe is my favourite one.  Its a basic sponge cake that tastes so amazing that you would not miss any kind of icing with this (unless you are making it for a party).  Its so soft, spongy and delicious that it would just melt in your mouth. 

This is a Nita Mehta recipe which I found in her Cakes and Chocolates cookbook.  I just love the simplicity of her recipes.  The ingredients are easily available and method is so quick and easy that baking just becomes a breeze.  I had tried to modify this recipe a few times but didn't get any better taste than the original one.  

Now this is the recipe that I always end up making whenever I want a sponge cake base.  Its so perfect that now I do not even think of trying any sponge cake recipe on my own.  Its a fail-proof recipe so just don your aprons and start making it.  Happy Cooking:)

Makes - one 8" cake

Cooking time - 45 minutes

Temperature - 300 F / 150 degree

Recipe source- Cakes & Chocolates by Nita Mehta

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/maida	1 cup
Corn flour	¼ cup
Condensed milk	Half tin (I used half of a 379 ml tin)
Milk	½ cup
Butter / oil	½ cup
Powdered sugar	4 tbsp
Baking soda	½ tsp
Baking powder	1 tsp
Vanilla essence	1 ½ tsp

My 1 cup measures 250 ml

Method:

• Sieve together all purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.
• Grease an 8” baking tin with butter or oil and dust with flour.  Set aside.
• Preheat the oven at 150 degree.
• In a big bowl, take condensed milk and sugar and beat well till fluffy.  Add oil and vanilla essence.  Beat again.
• Gradually add flour mix to the wet mixture and beat.  Add half milk and beat again.  Finally add the remaining flour and beat.  Add remaining milk and beat again. 
• Pour the prepared batter into the greased tin and bake for 45 minutes.
• Check if the cake done by inserting a clean knife into its center.  If the knife comes out clean the cake is done.  If it doesn’t then bake for another 5-10 minutes.
• Once done, remove from the oven and let it cool down for 5-10 minutes.
• Remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack.
• Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1. If you like, you can add your choice of nuts and dried fruits to the batter.  Before adding to the batter, coat them with some flour to avoid their sinking at the bottom of the cake.
2. If you find that your cake is getting darker from the top but undone from inside, cover the tin with aluminium foil and bake till the given time.  I always use this trick and it works very well.

6 min. Microwave Rava Coconut Laddoo

I am running in a microwave mode since the day I got my new microwave J
I simply love the way it cooks.  It gives so fast results and at the end you get no mess to clean.  I have made lots of dessert, sweets and snacks in my microwave and got excellent results every single time.  But thanks to my laziness and frequent power cuts, I could not post those recipes yet.  
As it is said "better late than never", I am starting to post all those microwave recipes from today.  So stay tuned for some wonderful microwave desserts, sweets and snacks.

Today I am going to share my so quick and delicious Rava Laddoo recipe.  They were simply mouth melting.  It took me just 6 minutes to make these yummy laddoos.  Isn't it great?  yes it is.  The cherry on the cake is that the fat content in this recipe is very low as I used only 1.5 tbsp ghee/clarified butter.  With simple ingredients and even simpler method you too can make these laddoos.  It can be a good option for kids tiffin and your festive menu.  So lets start making these quick Rava Coconut Laddoo.  Happy Cooking :)

Makes - 10 laddoo

Cooking time - 6 minutes

My 1 cup measures 250 ml

Ingredients:

Rava                               - 1/2 cup

Fresh grated coconut      - 3 tbsp (I used frozen coconut)
Condensed milk             - 1/2 cup
Cardamom                     - 2 (powdered)
Almonds (chopped)       - 1 tsp
Raisins (chopped)          - 1 tbsp
Cashewnuts (chopped)   - 1 tsp
Ghee/clarified butter      - 1.5 tbsp

Desiccated coconut        - 1 2 tbsp (optional)

Method:

• Take 1/2 tbsp ghee/clarified butter in a microwave safe bowl and add in chopped cashews and almonds.  Mix well and microwave on high for 1.5 minutes.  Add chopped raisins and microwave for 10 seconds more. Shift to another bowl and set aside.
• In the same bowl, add remaining 1 tbsp ghee/clarified butter and add Rava.  Mix well and microwave on high for 2.5 minutes while stirring after every 1 minute.  Add grated coconut and microwave for another 30 seconds.  Add condensed milk and powdered cardamom.  Mix well and microwave for 1.5 minutes or less if mixture gets dried.  Add fried nuts and mix well.  Let it cool down a little.  Pinch a small portion from the prepared mixture and shape it into a ball by rolling between your palms.  Likewise, make more laddoo with the remaining mixture and serve.  
• Optional - u can roll these laddoo in desiccated coconut.
• Store in an airtight container.  Consume within 4-5 days.

Notes:

1. I used thick rava in the recipe but if you do not like a bit grainy texture, you can use fine rava too.
2. Do not add more condensed milk than given in the recipe else it would be too sweet.
3. You can use your choice of nuts and dried fruits in the recipe.  If you wish you can totally skip adding nuts.
4. If you find the mixture a little wet, let it cool down for 5 more minutes and roll the prepared laddoo in desiccated coconut.
5. These laddoos can be made on stove too.  

Chhenar Payesh / Paneer Kheer

Chhena/Paneer is a versatile ingredient. You can make endless things with it.  Be it different kind of starters, snacks, main course or desserts/sweets, you can never go wrong with Chhena/Paneer.  

Today's recipe is a Bengali dessert called Chhenar Payesh or Paneer Kheer.  I like quick desserts so tried to make an instant version of this dessert too and it came out to be so delicious.  I loved the creamy and melt in mouth texture of it.  
Its a no fail recipe that is so quick to make.  It was my first attempt to make this dish and I was so happy with the results.  Would love to make it again and again.

Here is the recipe for you.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Fresh Chhena/Paneer	¾ cup (crumbled)
Milk	¼ cup
Condensed milk	2 tbsp
Sugar	3 tsp
Thandai powder	2 tsp
Milk powder	3 tbsp
Desiccated coconut	2 tbsp
To decorate
Honey	¼ tsp
Brown sugar	1 tbsp
Almonds	1 chopped lengthwise
Choco drop	1

Method:

• In a non-stick pan take condensed milk, milk, milk powder, desiccated coconut and sugar.  Mix them well and put the pan on stove.  Keep the heat medium.  Cook for 2 minutes and add crumbled chhena.  Mix well and cook till it gets a bit thick.  Add thandai powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  You can adjust the consistency by adding some more milk.
• Remove from flame and let it cool down.
• Meanwhile take the bowl/glass you want to serve the dessert in.  Brush the rim of the glass with honey.  Spread the brown sugar in a plate and dip the glass rim in it.  Coat it well with brown sugar and set aside.
• Take the prepared Chhenar Payesh and carefully fill the decorated glass with it.  Garnish the top with chopped almonds and choco drop.  
• Chill for 1-2 hours and serve.

Notes:

1. You can use packaged paneer too but for best results use fresh chhena/paneer.  
2. Instead of thandai powder you can use 2-3 crushed cardamoms or saffron.
3. Sugar level you can adjust as per your taste.
4. Desiccated coconut is optional but it gives a nice texture to this dessert.
5. You can also add your choice of nuts in it.

Instant Coconut Laddu

I am back with one more Laddu recipe :D  Its my favorite coconut laddu.  I love coconut and anything made with it.  Be it coconut chutney, coconut kheer, coconut burfi, coconut muffins, coconut cakes and so on.
Coconut laddus are very common.  Most of you must be aware of its different recipes. Here I made an instant version with condensed milk.  Its insanely easy and quick to make.  Those who are new to cooking can easily start with this amazingly delicious sweet.

So try it and share your feedback.  Happy Cooking :)
Also try my other Indian sweets -
Ragi Laddoo
Phirni
Roti Laddoo
Chana Dal Burfi
Lauki Halwa
Sweet Potato Gulab Jamun
Pineapple Rava Kesari
Sweet Corn Kheer/Payasam
Custard Powder Halwa/Karachi Halwa
Coconut Kheer

Makes – 7 laddus

Ingredients:

Fresh coconut  (finely grated)	1 cup (tightly packed)
Condensed milk	Little less than ½ cup
Cardamom	2 (finely crushed)
Ghee	1 tsp
Cashews (finely chopped)	4-5
Desiccated coconut	½ cup (for rolling)

My 1 cup measures 250 ml.

Method:

• Heat ghee in a non stick pan and add coconut.  Fry for 2-3 minutes on medium low heat till it gets a little dry.  Add in condensed milk and mix well.  Add crushed cardamom and chopped cashews. Mix again. Keep stirring and let this mixture cook on medium heat till it starts leaving the sides of the pan.   Remove from the flame and shift to a dry bowl.  Let it cool down.
• Take a large plate and spread a thick layer of desiccated coconut on it.  
• Pinch a little amount from the mixture and roll it between your palms and shape them into laddus.  Likewise make laddus with the remaining mixture.
• Roll the prepared laddus in desiccated coconut and roll again between your palms to remove the excess coating.
• Serve.

Notes:

1. You can make these laddus with desiccated coconut too.  
2. If using desiccated coconut to make these laddus, do not roast it.  You can directly cook the mixture.
3. You can add your choice of dried fruits and nuts but use them in little quantity to maintain the coconut flavour.
4. Do not overcook the mixture as it may get a little hard after cooling down.  A little moisture should be there to get the soft laddus.
5. You can keep these laddus on room temperature for one day and after that keep them refrigerated.  I recommend to not to store them for long as there is fresh coconut in it.

Banana chocolate ice cream

Banana is a very versatile fruit. You can convert it into a shake, cake, bread, muffin, pan cakes or anything your imagination allow. Whenever I find some over ripe bananas at home I make any one of the aforementioned goodies.  Anything made with banana can never go wrong (atleast I feel so :) )

This time I wanted to make something new and after searching on internet I came across some innovative banana ice creams.  Its a very flexible recipe so you can add in your choice of ingredients (with banana of course) as I did.  Here I added dessicated coconut, condensed milk and my chocolate frosting.  I was not sure at all what it would be like but to my surprise it came out very nice.

The best thing in this ice cream is that it does'nt need any cream or gelatine or any fancy ice cream machine.  You don't even need to freeze it overnight or whip it on frequent intervals to avoid the formation of air bubbles.  Just freeze it for 2 hours and its good to go.  Trust me its worth trying atleast once.  Its a nice dessert for kids parties too. 

I had made this ice cream a few weeks back and today I am going to try it again but with some variations.  If this experiments too comes out nice then I will post the recipe soon.

Here I am sharing the recipe of this wonderful ice cream.  Do try it.

Happy Cooking :) 

 

Ingredients:

Banana	1 (small)
Chocolate frosting	1 tbsp
Dessicated coconut	1 tbsp
Condensed milk	1 tbsp
Glazed cherry	1
Sprinkles to garnish

Method:

• Take the banana and peel it off.  Chop it into round slices and shift to a zip-lock bag.  Put it in the deep freezer for at least two hours.
•  Take the frozen banana and put it in the blender.  Blend it till smooth and creamy. 
• Add dessicated coconut, chocolate frosting and condensed milk.  Blend again for 30 seconds.
•  Shift the mixture into an airtight container and freeze for 1-2 hours.
• Serve chilled, topped with glazed cherry and sprinkles.

Notes:

1. Always use ripe, clean and firm bananas for this ice cream.  Use of over ripe bananas would make it taste sour.
2. If not using chocolate frosting then sugar would need to be added.
3. You can add nuts too.