Eggless Whole wheat Strawberry Muffins | Butterless Strawberry Muffins | Strawberry Cupcakes

My family exhibits varied emotions towards strawberry.. The hubby won't touch it, my son loooveeees it and I love it in forms of cakes and shakes and likes but not a great fan to eat it raw. My son loves the sight of it and is always happy to eat them as such. I should say as of now coz his interests change really quick ! Anyways, I had no difficulty in finishing off that box of strawberries thanks to Dhruv but I had been wanting to try this muffins recipe from Aparna's blog for quite some time and so this time I did it.. 

It is made of half all purpose flour and half whole wheat flour and so it is a bit dense. Deeps liked it and gave a thumbs up and that should actually translate to "great" coz he is not a cake lover.. And as for Dhruv he likes muffins so he too loved it.. It's so easy to put up, just mix the dry and wet ingredients separately and fold them together and bake.. Easy right? And if you too do not want to eat strawberries raw but want to try some cake out of it, here is the perfect recipe!!

Recipe Source: My Diverse Kitchen

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Makes : 12 medium sized muffins 

I Used:

Strawberry	-	1 cup (chopped) (around 200 gm)
All purpose flour/Maida	-	1 cup
Whole wheat flour	-	¾ cup
Granulated sugar	-	½ cup
Baking powder	-	1 ½ tsp
Salt	-	½ tsp
Milk	-	½ cup
Oil	-	¼ cup
Thick yogurt	-	2 tbsp
Vanilla essence	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Take all the dry ingredients - all purpose lour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and mix well

2. Add the chopped strawberries to the flour and mix gently. Ensure that the strawberries are coated well with the flour

3. In another bowl take the wet ingredients - milk, oil and vanilla essence and mix well

4. Add the wet mixture to the strawberry-flour mixture and gently mix together in a folding motion about 4 to 5 times

5. Do not over stir. The batter will be lumpy and floury. I had to add 2 to 3 tsp of milk extra to eat up all the flour. But that is fine. With whole wheat flour it will be like that

6. Fill the muffin tray with liners and fill the batter in the liners. This batter will not rise much and hence you can almost fill the liners with batter

7. Bake them at 190 degree C for about 25-30 minutes till done and the top turns golden brown. Then cool for 10 minutes and unmould and serve

Cheers,

Chitz

1 minute Vanilla Mug Cake | Easy Vanilla Mug Cake

 

Today's recipe is very simple and very quick to make. As the name suggests, it is a 1 minute microwaved mug cake. As it is a 1 minute cake, the quantity is less. So if you are a cake person whose cravings are difficult to satiate, I guess you would have to microwave 3-4 cups at a go ;) But this is a quick fix recipe for those sudden hunger pangs or craving callings. Today was one such day when I wanted to have a cake. I know this mug cake is best with chocolate, but I didn't have cocoa powder in my pantry, hence had to feel contented with the vanilla version. 

The best part is that, it looks like DD fell in love with this cake. He was coming back from his encounter with his toys every now and then for a nibble. When I wiped the ramekin clean, he leaned over and took a nice look at it. Made sure, it was empty and then returned back to his toys :D :D I feel I have a cake lover son. That thought does make me very happy indeed :D So, this recipe is to many more cake testing and eating together with my DD :) :)

Other Cake Recipes:

1 minute Vanilla Mug Cake

Cheesecake

Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake

Ultra Moist Chocolate Cake

Eggless Strawberry Banana Yogurt Muffins

Eggless & Butterless Vanilla Cupcake

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 minutes

Serves : 1 person

I Used:

Dry Ingredients:

All purpose flour/Maida	-	2 tbsp
Sugar	-	1.5 tbsp
Baking powder	-	¼ tsp
Salt	-	A pinch

Wet Ingredients:

Milk	-	2 tbsp
Oil	-	¾ tbsp
Vanilla Essence	-	3-4 drops (As much as you prefer)

The Way:

 1. In a bowl, take all the dry ingredients and mix them together. 

2. Add the wet ingredients to it and mix them well. The sugar should dissolve completely.

3. Now transfer the contents to a microwave safe ramekin or mug or glass.

4. Set the oven to microwave setting at the highest temperature for 1 minute. I set to 900 W.

5. Bake them. Check after a minute if a tooth pick inserted comes out clean or is without moisture. If not keep for a few more seconds according to how much the cake is moist at that point.

Serve hot. 

Notes:

• If you let them sit for long, they become hard or rubbery. If you need to serve it later, transfer to another cup or serving dish

• I doubled the measurements and made, as my ramekin is bigger in size. Hence I microwaved for 2 minutes

Cheers,

Chitz

Savory Semolina Cake | Savoury Rava Cake | Eggless Savory Rava Bread

So, here I am back with an easy recipe for all you lovely readers out there.. Am I going to be regular here from now on? I hope so.. So this is a very interesting recipe that can be served for breakfast or as a snack too ! I always have a soft spot for baked goodies & when I saw this interesting recipe with a twist at 'Erivum Puliyum', I decided I had to make it :) It is very easy except for the veggie chopping part. The rest is just whisk, whisk, whisk & bake !

Recipe Source: Here

I Took : 

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Baking Time : 30 minutes

Makes : An 8 inch loaf

I Used:

Semolina	-	1 cup
Carrot	-	1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Beans	-	6-8 no (finely chopped)
Ginger	-	1 inch piece (finely chopped or grated)
Green Chilly	-	3 nos (finely chopped)
Thick Yogurt	-	½ cup
Butter	-	1 tbsp
Baking Soda	-	½ tsp
Oil	-	3 tbsp
Water	-	As required
Salt	-	As required
Coriander Leaves	-	2 tbsp (finely chopped)

To Temper:

Mustard	-	1 tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	1 tsp
Sesame	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree C
2. Combine together the semolina (rava), salt & yogurt. Now add the chopped carrot, chopped beans, chopped ginger, finely chopped green chillies, chopped coriander & mix well
3. Heat oil in a pan. When it heats up, splutter the mustard. Then add the cumin seeds & sesame. Take care not to brown. Now add this tempering to the semolina batter & give it a mix
4. Grease the baking pan with butter
5. Add baking soda to the batter & give it a whisk
6. Pour the batter into the baking pan & garnish the top with some sesame seeds
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till done (A tooth pick inserted would come out clean)

Serve warm with chutney or ketchup & a smoothie of your choice :)

Notes:

1. Baking soda is for the bread to rise properly. So add it in the end just before putting it to bake in the oven
2. You can add veggies of your choice which can be baked easily like peas, zucchini etc
3. Do not use sour yogurt. It can compromise the taste

Cheers,
Chitz

Vanilla cupcake | Easy Vanilla cupcake (Eggless & Butterless)

I do not want to start the post with yet another apology for being away ;) as it is just the beginning of another fabulous year & also I am in a happy happy mood to share with you all the arrival of our bundle of joy - Dhruv. He is nearing his 4th month now & so you would all be understanding my busy schedule & lack of time to concentrate on other affairs :D But many a times I had been wanting to visit this another baby of mine as well, but you see, Dhruv takes precedence :D :D

I was planning to post this cupcake recipe on his 100th day as a celebration but was not able to. This cupcake stays close to my heart for another special reason as I craved for it the most during my pregnancy time. Weird or cute, you guys should say, but this muffin stays top on my list still ! It is super easy to make with quite a few calories loaded as it has no egg & no butter. And it is fluffy soft and moist and just melts in your mouth and you can relish it absolutely fine without any topping or frosting or icing. So I am sure you would want to try this out today eve itself with your coffee & do let me know how it turned out :) 

I Took : 

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Baking Time : 40 minutes

Makes : 20-25 muffins

I Used:

All purpose flour/Maida	-	1 ½ cups - 3 tbsp
Corn flour	-	3 tbsp
Sugar	-	¾ cup
Baking powder	-	1 tsp
Baking Soda	-	½ tsp
Oil	-	½ cup
Curd	-	1 cup
Vanilla Essence	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree C
2. Keep the muffin tray ready with the muffin liners or if you want to bake it as a cake, grease a 6 or 7 inch pan with butter & dust it with a tsp of flour
3. Sieve well the all purpose flour & corn flour in a bowl and ensure that they are evenly blended & mixed
4. In another bowl, mix well sugar & curd. Now add baking powder & baking soda into the mixture & mix well and allow it to rest for 2-3 minutes
5. Now to this frothy mixture add oil & vanilla essence & mix well
6. And then add the sieved flour, one tbsp at a time, and whisk well
7. Once all the flour is mixed, pour in 1-2 tbsps of the batter into the muffin liners (or the baking pan)
8. Bake them for around 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
9. Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes & serve with ice-cream or chocolate syrup or any dressing of your choice

Cheers,
Chitz

Halloween Special - Vegan Pumpkin Bread - Baking Partner Challenge #15

Come the month of October, it's festival time !! Dussera & Diwali here in India & the infamous Halloween in US. For me Halloween means kids in scary outfits & pumpkins carved in funny shapes ;) Actually I get reminded of the Harry Potter Halloween dinner scene :D Since pumpkin is such an inevitable part of Halloween, we Baking Partners decided to bake some Pumpkin bread for the occasion. So when Swathi announced the recipes & asked us to choose from among the three variants of pumpkin bread, my eyes & heart fell for the Vegan version. 

It is such a breeze recipe, just like a normal cake where in you combine all wet ingredients & dry ingredients separately & eventually mix them both & bake ! I was so much in love with the end result ! It was so soft & tender & tasty. I even took some to my send-off party (by the ladies gang ;)) back in Norway & all the ladies loved them. When they ask you for the recipe, you know that they too loved it to the core. So what you waiting for my pals, try this out soon & you too are gonna enjoy baking & eating them like us :)

Recipe Source: Here

I Took: 40 + 50 minutes

Serves: 1 loaf

I Used:

All purpose Flour	-	1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour	-	¾ cup
Dark Brown Sugar	-	1 cup (I used normal sugar)
Baking Soda	-	1 tsp
Baking Powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	½ tsp
Nutmeg	-	½ tsp
Cinnamon	-	½ tsp
Allspice	-	½ tsp
Cloves	-	¼ tsp
Pumpkin Purée	-	1 cup (Refer first 2 steps)
Oil	-	½ cup
Maple Syrup	-	3 tbsp ( I omitted this)
Water	-	3 tbsp
Walnuts or pepitas	-	½ cup - chopped (I used almonds)

The Way:

1. Peel the skin off the pumpkin & rinse them well. Cut them into big chunks and pressure cook or microwave with ½ cup water for 15 minutes
2. Allow them to cool. Then blender it to make a fine puree. If you want to remove the extra moisture, strain the puree using a cheese cloth. Set aside
3. For this recipe, you can also blend the spices along with the boiled pumpkin !
4. Preheat oven to 175 °C. Grease and flour a loaf pan
5. In a large bowl mix together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices (Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves & allspice)
6. In a small bowl whisk together pumpkin, oil, maple syrup, and water
7. Add wet mixture to dry, combine until just moistened. The batter will be very thick, it is not a problem!
8. Fold in nuts and pour the batter into the prepared pan
9. Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It took 50 minutes for me
10. Allow it to cool for 20 minutes. Use a butter knife to gently loosen bread from sides of pan & then invert onto a cooling rack

Cheers,

Chitz

Crouu-doughnuts | Kronuts - Baking Partner Challenge #14

 You know what is the latest sensation in the pastry or bakery world?? It's none other than the 'Cronut™' which is one of the most viral desserts of all time ! Developed by chef Dominique Ansel for Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City & launched in May 2013, this dessert has fans all over the world & the imitation versions are being tried all over US & Australia. So what is this dessert actually? You can say in simple words that it is a hybrid of a croissant & donut, but let's listen to what the inventor says about the delicacy (from the Dominique Ansel Bakery website)

Taking 2 months and more than 10 recipes, Chef Dominique Ansel’s creation is not to be mistaken as simply croissant dough that has been fried. Made with a laminated dough which has been likened to a croissant (but uses a proprietary recipe), the Cronut™ is first proofed and then fried in grapeseed oil at a specific temperature. Once cooked, each Cronut™ is flavored in three ways: 1. rolled in sugar; 2. filled with cream; and 3. topped with glaze. Cronuts™ are made fresh daily, and completely done in house. The entire process takes up to 3 days.

So when Swathi decided to challenge us with making Kronuts this month, I was very excited. Since I could not get to eat this delicacy from any bakeries here, I wanted to make it at home & see how it tastes :) I must admit it is a long process & has a lot of work to do, but it was fun learning something new & getting to see the end result. I would never dare to say that I nailed it. There were a lot of hiccups like wet dough & oozy butter & separated layers while frying. But each failure taught me something new, thanks to the guidance of Swathi, Archana, Suja (whose notes on the method helped me) & my fellow bakers :) And I know that next time, I would definitely make a better one :) 

So this is what I treated myself to, frying & eating kronuts when I turned a year older again yesterday ;) So let's see how it is made, do not get scared seeing the long steps & process & also do not omit reading any line, coz the tips & precautions are also listed along with the method :D Taste wise, they were great, crispy & flaky, but I did not use any filling or glaze to make them soft. And also I baked a few to see how it would turn out, but they were nowhere near the fried ones. They could not retain the shape & were falling apart & was also soft & tasted very doughy. So it is best to fry them to enjoy them :D

Recipe Source: Bootleg Cronut

I Took: 3 days/3-4 hours

Makes: 16 kronuts

I Used:

For Dough

All purpose flour	-	510 gm | 3.75 cups
Salt	-	7 gm | 1 tsp
Sugar	-	100 gm | ½ cup
Milk	-	150 gm | ½ cup+2 tbsp
Yeast	-	2 ¼ tsp
Eggs	-	2 jumbo | 3 large
Unsalted Butter	-	50 gm | 3.5 tbsp

For Butter Layer

Butter

-

295 gm | 1 ¼ cup+ ½ tbsp

For Frying

Canola Oil	-	2-4 cups
Water	-	200 gm
Cinnamon Sugar	-	400 gm sugar + 100 gm cinnamon

The Way:

Day 1: Prep the dough

1. Take out butter & eggs from the refrigerator half an hour before the dough preparation. This is to allow them to reach room temperature
2. Prep-ing the yeast                                                                                                                                                                            Fresh Yeast  - Mix with milk (at room temperature) beforehand to activate the yeast                                                                    Active Yeast - Heat half milk to lukewarm (around 110F / 43C) & add yeast. Set aside for 5-7 minutes to proof
3. Heat milk in microwave for about 30 seconds & add butter to it. This is for butter to melt easily. Keep aside
4. Combine all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, salt & instant yeast (if using) in a bowl of a stand mixer
5. Add the butter-milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Add yeast (if not instant) & eggs
6. Mix on low speed for 3 minutes or until everything is incorporated. Mix on high speed for another 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, as I did, knead well for about 10-15 minutes until you get a smooth shiny dough ! Do not over knead the dough
7. Remove the dough & tuck under edges to form a ball. Grease a bowl with oil or cooking spray & place the dough in the bowl with seams down. Cut a cross across the top of the dough with a knife to help the dough relax
8. Cover the bowl tightly with clear plastic wrap & make sure it is not in contact with the dough. Place the dough in a warm area & allow it to double in size, which would take about 60 minutes
9. Once the dough has proofed to double, refrigerate it overnight

Day 2: Incorporating butter to dough

Prepping butter

1. Cut the cold butter lengthwise into ½ inch thick slabs. Arrange the slabs on a piece of parchment/waxed paper to form a 5 or 6 inch square, cutting the butter crosswise as necessary to fit. Cover it with another piece of parchment paper
2. Using a rolling pin, pound the butter with light even strokes. As the pieces begin to adhere, use more force
3. Pound them until it's about a 4x6 inch rectangle. Then trim the edges & place the trimmings on top of the rectangle & pound again lightly. When done, place the butter in refrigerator for 2 hours
4. Do not over work with butter. If the butter starts to leak, try to put it back in the refrigerator

Laminating the dough

1. Unwrap & place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a 10 inch square. Brush excess flour off the dough
2. Unwrap & place the butter at the centre of the rolled dough square
3. Fold one flap of the dough over the butter, stretching it slightly that the flap just reaches the centre of the butter. Repeat the same with the 3 other flaps to form an envelope
4. Press the edges together to completely seal the butter inside the dough

First turn

1. Lightly flour the top & bottom of the dough. With a rolling pin, firmly press the dough to elongate it slightly & then start rolling to lengthen the dough and keep the edges straight
2. Now turn the dough so that the shorter end faces you. Roll again to expand the length of the dough. Make sure the dough does not stick to the work surface. Add flour if needed
3. When the rolling yield you a rectangle of 21x9 inches, mark the rectangle into 3 equal columns. Fold the right third of the rectangle into the centre third. Fold the left third of the rectangle into the centre third like a business letter. This is the first turn

Second Turn

1. Try to do this right away after the first turn, but if the dough is too warm, wrap in film (aluminium foil) & place in refrigerator
2. Repeat rolling just like the First Turn and make sure to lock the unsealed edges of the dough & roll over the dough to form a rectangular shape
3. Again, as in first turn, mark the rectangle into 3 equal columns. Fold the right third of the rectangle into the centre third. Fold the left third of the rectangle into the centre third
4. Marking the dough allows you to track your progress, and ensure that the orientation of the dough is correct when you remove it from the refrigerator
5. Cover the dough in parchment paper & refrigerate for at least an hour

Third Turn

1. The dough will be hard, so gently pound the dough to warm the butter. If it is too cold the butter will separate and not spread as it should
2. Repeat the previous steps, and turn again, marking the corner with three fingerprints
3. Cover dough with parchment paper and plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour

Fourth Turn

Make the final turn, repeating the steps from turns 1-3. Refrigerate overnight

Day 3 - Kronuts frying day:

Rolling out the dough

1. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll out the dough to approximately the size of a sheet pan, ½ inch thick
2. The dough should stay cold, without sticking to the surface. If it starts to stick, place in the refrigerator and roll again when cool
3. Transfer to a sheet pan with parchment paper and chill before use

Punching out Kronuts

1. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper & greased with oil  
2. Remove dough from fridge and take two ring moulds, with the larger mould around 3½ inch and inner around 1½ inch 
3. Make sure that the dough is really cold while you punch out the holes. Or else the kronuts will not fry straight
4. Transfer the punched kronuts to the sheet pan, leaving enough space between them to allow them to proof. Brush the top of the kronuts with water and set aside  
5. Leave in a warm area until they have proofed which would take about 30 min
6. Once it is proofed keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or in the freezer for 15 minutes before frying

Frying the Kronuts

1. Heat canola oil in a pot over medium temperature. about 3 inches high
2. Once the oil is ready for deep frying, turn heat to low and place Kronuts in oil to fry (1-2 at a time to avoid overcrowding) 
3. Turn and flip the kronuts often so that they brown evenly. Fry them in a low temperature otherwise outside become too dark soon and also the inside will not cook properly. Also if the temperature is very low, the layers would start to separate out in the oil & you would not get a full kronut
4. Once golden brown throughout, remove from oil and strain them on paper towels

Once it is no longer shiny transfer to a container with sugar and cinnamon and toss. Enjoy with some icing sugar dusting or with a glaze of your choice.

Notes:

• Eat them immediately as they have a short shelf life 
• Do not refrigerate them as the humidity from the refrigerator will cause them to go stale and soggy 
• If filled with cream or glazing, avoid serving them warm

Cheers,

Chitz