Black Forest Cupcakes

A year passed away in a wink. And another is just standing in the doorstep to get welcomed with an open arm with lots of dreams and pending jobs to fulfill which remained untouched or unsuccessful this year. This year has seen many ups and downs, face offs and at the same time showered me with some precious friends without whom now life can't even think of breathing. This post is dedicated to that friendship, truly to those friends who are so near to my heart, my OXYGEN.......

And at the same time wish you all Happy New year 2014....

Ingredients:

(Yields 11 to 12 medium size cupcakes)

Flour- 1 cup

Eggs - 2

Butter - 100gm (I used Amul)

Icing Sugar- 1 cup

Cocoa Powder - 2tbspns

Milk - 1/2 cup (more or less)

Baking Power - 1 tsp

Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp

Mixed fruit Jam - 1 tbspn

Chopped Cherries - 4- 5

Cherries to decorate - 11-12

Whipped Cream - 1/2 cup

Water - 2tbspns

Method:

1. Add Flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder and sieve nicely at least from 4-5 times.
2. Beat the butter and the sugar in a smooth paste. Add egg one at time and  beat nicely. Add the flour mixture and fold nicely altogether. Slowly add the milk. When you will lift the spatula the batter will drop in a thick string.
3. Pre- heat the oven to 200 degree C for 6-8 mnts. (I baked it in to OTG).
4. Take a muffin pan and line the cupcake liners. Pour the batter in to each cups.
5. Bake for 25-30 mnts at 180 Degree C or until a toothpick pricked comes out clean.
6. Take them out and shift the cupcake into a cooling rack and cool.
7. Take a piping bag and pour the whipped cream in to the piping bag with a tip/nozzel inserted.
8. Dissolve the jam in the water.
9. Take the cupcakes and cut the top with the knife like a plus. Slowly soak the top with the jam paste and then top with chopped cherries.
10. Pipe the cream on the top of each cupcake and the decorate it with cherry and chopped chocolates or chocolate rice.

I made these Black forest cakes long back. Hope you will like them.

Sending this to the KFB Baking Palooza 2013 Event:

Pinwheel Cookies

Thanks to my daughter that this year to celebrate Christmas I was able to fulfill my dream of making Pinwheel cookies which were pending for so many years into my do to list. Lil K wanted this year to treat Santa with the Pinwheel cookies which she had seen in the picture and loved it. Christmas brings us joy and also a welcoming music to embrace a brand new year. So the whole month of December we pass with a joy of merriment and in a mood of celebration.  The streets, the homes all get lighten up and brighten up with the Christmas decors. The Christmas trees get ornamented from shopping Malls to Home. The kids wait since a long time and cross their fingers to open up their eyes with a bright morning of the day of Christmas to check how many gifts Santa has showered them. This expectation and the ritual have not been changed a bit. From my childhood to my daughters era Santa is welcomed with the Milk and cookies and a list of gifts that is wanted from him. Fest of Christmas brings joy at each individual’s heart which is now widely celebrated all over the world with a gala celebration. Let us now move to the recipe of Pinwheel Cookies.

{Recipe adapted from HERE. I have halved the measurement and it yields to 11-12 cookies}

Ingredients

Butter : 100gm (I have taken 1 tbspoon from it to use it later)

Sugar : 1/2 cup

Egg yolk : 1

Vanilla Essence: 2 tspns

Milk : 2 tbspn ( keep handy for more too)

Flour: 1 & 1/2 cup

Baking Powder : 1/2 tbspn

3 tbspns cocoa powder mixed with 1 tbspn melted butter and 1 tbspn milk..

Method:

1. First make the cocoa powder mixture. Melt 1 tbspn butter in 1 tbspn milk for a few seconds in the microwave.
2. Add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder and mix well and reserve.
3. Sift the flour together with the baking powder.
4. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Add egg yolk  beat well.
6. Add vanilla, then 2 tablespoons milk beating until well mixed.
7. At low speed, gradually add the sifted dry ingredients and mix well. Then increase speed to medium and beat until the dough leaves the side of the bowl. Use your hand and knead in to a nice dough.
8. Divide the dough. Remove about ¾ of the dough and set aside. That portion will be the vanilla dough.
9. To the  other dough add the chocolate mixture and knead nicely. This forms the chocolate dough.
10. On a sheet of waxed paper, roll vanilla dough into a rectangle . Repeat with the chocolate dough in the same manner in to another wax paper.
11. Flip rolled chocolate dough onto vanilla dough and peel off waxed paper. Lightly press the surface with a rolling pin to adhere both the vanilla and chocolate dough.
12. With the short end facing you, roll the dough tightly into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
13. After about 30 minutes take the logs out of the refrigerator and roll on the counter to retain the circular shape and prevent one side from flattening.
14. Wrap tightly again in plastic wrap, place in freezer-safe container and freeze for about an hour or store in freezer and bake as needed.
15. When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 160 decree C.
16. Thaw cookie log just slightly and slice to about ¼ thickness with a sharp knife.
17. Place cookie slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
18. Remove cookies from pan and place in cooling rack to cool and then serve.

Note:

Before you slice the cookies putting it in the freezer for at least one hour is a must. Otherwise the the design of the cookies will not come out neat. Please see my cookies. I was in hurry, so I have kept it only 15 mnts in the freezer and got specks of chocolates on the white part.

Sending this to the "Baking Palooza 2013" by Kolkata Food Bloggers:

Egg less Orange and Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake topped with Caramel Sauce

That day when Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary posted the picture of her Egg less Orange and Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake in a food group, everyone drooled over the picture like anything. I was not able to sleep properly that night as in intervals the sight of the sumptuous cake popping up in front of my eyes. The next day was my SIL's birthday and got a very good reason to hit the cake without wasting any more time. And no need to say when it came out it became so tasty that I myself finished a good big portion of it.  

Before I move to the recipe I would also like to tell my readers that we Kolkata Food Bloggers are having the "Baking Palooza2013" event on our page. So don't miss to visit to get some awesome recipes on baking goodies. Now off to the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the cake:

Flour - 2 cups

Baking Powder - 2 tsps (2 pinches less)

Baking Soda- 1/2 tsp (1 pinch less)

Butter- 100gm (I used Amul)

White oil- 1/2 cup

Condense Milk- 1 can (I used Milkmaid)

Drinking Soda- 1/2 cup (More or less)

Orange Juice out of 2 large oranges

Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsps

Sweet Orange Flavour- 1/2 tsp (Optional)

For the caramel Sauce:

Amul cream- 1 small tetra pack

Brown Sugar- 1/2 cup

Butter- 2 tbsp

Method:

First make the Sauce:

1. Heat a pan and melt the butter. Add the sugar and stir till it melts. Add the cream and continuously keep on stirring. Let it change the colour and the consistency thickens. Take it off the flame and reserve.

Let’s make the cake:

2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda altogether 3 to four times.
3. In a separate pan beat the butter nicely. Add the condense milk, Orange juice and the oil. Beat nicely. I didn't use an electric hand beater. A normal hand beater works great here.
4. Now add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and the soda too. Fold gently altogether in a nice batter. The consistence should not be runny but fall in drops. If you think the batter should me more soft add soda more.
5. Now separate the batter in to two halves.
6. Take one portion and add cocoa powder and mix nicely so that it gets incorporate in the whole mixture.
7. Pre- heat your for 8mnts at 200 Degree C. (I baked it in an OTG)
8. Take a Bundt pan. Grease it nicely with oil and dust with flour.
9. Pour the two halves haphazardly on each half's side and top but be careful don't mix the two portions.
10. Now tap the pan in a smooth surface to level the batter.
11. Take a knife or a skewer and in a round motion insert it in the batter and bring it out. Do it in the whole area so that it should create a swirl texture of white and dark colour when it will get cut.
12. Bake it for 40-45 mnts or until the knife inserted comes out clean at 180 Degree C.
13. Bring it out of the oven and cool it. Take it off the pan and then Pour the caramel sauce over the cake and serve.

Sending this to the ongoing baking event by Kolkata Food Bloggers: