Vanilla Cream cheese Cake

Not much of a baker myself, I need a strong reason to bake a cake at home and what better than my little one 6 month birthday or half birthday. I wanted to make it special for us and had a little celebration with papa mumma and baby. Some balloons, Mexican Enchilada for dinner and the Cake of course. Little one enjoyed playing with the balloons, while Papa and mumma enjoyed the delicacies.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Cake

A simple eggless vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting was a simple one to bake. I actually enjoyed it and am going to try more baking and improve my skills. You can use the ready cake mix for the base if lazy, but baking it from scratch gives another level of satisfaction.

Ingredients

For the cake base

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tbsp Melted Butter
• 1 can of Condensed Milk
• 1 tsp Vinegar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Vanilla Essence

For the frosting

• 1 packet of plain cream cheese
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Melted Butter
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp Red Food Color

  

  Vanilla Cream Cheese Cake

  Method

• Grease a baking pan with butter and keep aside
• In a mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, butter, condensed milk, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla essence, vinegar and mix well with an electric mixer. Make sure no lumps are formed
• Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake the cake mix well for 30 mins. 
• Insert a toothpick to see if cooked well and let it cool completely once baked
• Meanwhile, in a bowl add all the ingredients of the frosting and beat well with an electric mixer for the desired consistency
• Add the filling to a piping bag and refrigerate
• Pipe in the desired shape you want and decorate the cake

Vanilla Cream Cheese Cake

 

Strawberry Kheer Parfait

With the little one being more active day by day, I get little time to myself for blogging and hence the delay this time. Recently we started solids for her and I wanted to make a sweet dish for this auspicious start My hubby and I both don't have a sweet tooth but prefer it once a while. 
Come summer, delicious and fresh strawberries are available all over the market and I thought let me modify an Indian sweet and that's how I came up with the Strawberry Kheer Parfait. Parfait is a layered dessert with fruit/ice cream or any other sweet of your choice.





















Ingredients

• 7-8 fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup Basmati Rice, washed and soaked
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 tbsp Elaichi powder / Cardamom Powder
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 1 tsp Saffron Strands
• Water as needed

Method

• Take a saucepan and add milk, sugar, soaked rice and bring to a boil
• Meanwhile, take 5-6 strawberries, add water and grind to a smooth paste or juice like consistency
• Add this to the milk and rice mixture and mix well
• Add the elaichi powder and saffron strands and mix well
• Bring to a boil until the mixture is nice and thick
• Once cool, take a glass and layer the kheer and yogurt and garnish with fresh strawberries.
• You can create multiple layers depending on the size of the glass, however, make sure to have a 3:1 ratio with the kheer and yoghurt

Three Berry Smoothie

The Berry Smoothie is a regular breakfast item for hubby and me, loaded with berries of course, walnuts and almond milk. As the name suggests, it is a combo of my favorite three berries and lots of milk. As soon as spring arrives, I love the sight of strawberries and other berries on the aisles at the supermarket. Try this quick berry smoothie which is also a huge hit with the kids. I also like to add a banana once in a while. You can also use regular milk, however based on Ayurveda, an ancient science from India, it is recommended not to mix fruit with milk. This was an eye opener for me and I thought I should share it with my readers.

You can also try this smoothie with the Hershey's strawberry syrup, when fresh strawberries are out of season.

Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

Three Berry Smoothie

• 1 Banana, optional
• 4-5 Strawberries, diced
• 4-5 Blackberries, whole
• 3-4 Blueberries, whole
• 1 glass of Almond Milk
• 4-5 Walnuts, soaked overnight

Method

•  In a blender or bullet, mix all the ingredients and your smoothie is ready.Simple, isn't it?

A very berry smoothie! Fresh, vegan a great grab and go option.

Three Berry Smoothie

Creamy Oreo Cups

Hubby and I dont really have a sweet tooth, but once in a while we like to indulge in a dessert. I mostly store buy sweet treats for the family, simply to minimize the effort it takes to prepare one.

However, this year on Valentine's Day, I decided to try something myself at home and surprise him. Inspired from mason jar desserts, Creamy Oreo Cups is a quick (ten minutes to be precise) preparation. Needs limited ingredients, this dessert is a great option for a last minute preparation.

Creamy Oreo Cups

Ingredients

• 10-12 Oreo Cookies
• 5-6 Wholewheat Biscuits
• 1/2 cup Condensed Milk
• 1/2 cup Cream Cheese
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Essence
• 1 tsp Hershey's Strawberry Syrup
• Mint leaves for garnish
• Blueberries for garnish

Creamy Oreo Cups

Method

• Separate the cream from the oreo cookies and keep aside.
• In a food processor, crush the oreo and whole wheat biscuits to a crumb and keep aside
• In another bowl, mix the condensed milk, cream cheese, vanilla essence, strawberry syrup, oreo cream (removed from the cookies) and beat well with an electric beater.
• Before serving, take cups / glasses of your choice and freeze them for five mins in the refrigerator
• Add the biscuit crumb, cream mixture, mint leaves and repeat this process twice or more depending on the size of your glass
• Garnish with blueberries, mint leaves and drizzle a little strawberry syrup on top.
• Freeze for 15 mins in the refrigerator and serve cool.

Creamy Oreo Cups

Creamy Oreo Cups

This goes very well as a small portion dessert on a pizza night. Enjoy a casual evening with this yummy combo.

Chocolate Cake

To celebrate the festivities, I decided to try baking a cake for the first time in my life, and what better day than Christmas Eve for that!
My husband and I usually don't have a sweet tooth and enjoy sweets as much as savory, but I wanted to try my hand at baking for a long time now. 
With a quick drive to the supermarket and IKEA, I was all ready to bake a Rich Chocolate Cake. Coincidentally, we also had a friend visiting us who was just back after his wedding from India, and hence this called for double celebration.
Try this cake that takes an hour to be ready, this Christmas.

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Chocolate Cake

• 2 cups of All Purpose Flour 
• 1 cup Cocoa Powder
• 1 tbsp Coffee Powder
• 1 tbsp Milk
• Warm Water as required
• 5-6 tbsp of Sugar
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 1cup Chocolate Frosting (Can be store-bought or melt a bar of chocolate at home until liquid consistency)
• 3 tbsp Icing Sugar
• Berries and Mint Leaf for garnish.

Method

Rich Chocolate Cake

• For the base, mix the all-purpose flour, sugar, 1 tbsp of butter, cocoa, coffee, milk, and mix well. 
• Add warm water as required until the batter has a semi-liquid consistency.
• Pour it into the baking tray and bake for 30 mins at 180c/350F.
• Meanwhile, whisk icing sugar and butter together until solidified to a spreadable consistency. Freeze in the refrigerator.
• Once the cake is baked and cool, cut three equal rounds from the base. 
• Take the lower base and spread the chocolate frosting over it. Add the other bases and continue the same. On the last base, add the remaining frosting and spread evenly.
• Pipe the icing sugar frost over the cake and garnish with berries and mint leaves.

Relish this chocolate cake on your Christmas evening!