Mississippi Mud Pie Ice cream Churned in an Ice cream maker

It's vacation time and my kids were bored of doing nothing. They were bored of playing in the pool, watching television even going out. So one fine day my daughter got this idea of making ice cream rather than sitting idle. As the ice cream bowl was already frozen, she wanted to try something different rather than making a vanilla or chocolate ice cream. So when she was searching for ice cream recipes she stumbled on a website which has lots of different varieties of ice creams. She read about this and told me what all ingredients are required. I bought all the ingredients and we started making the ice cream.

This recipe is so easy that if you have an ice cream maker at home kids can make this on their own. This website has not only ice cream recipes but also milkshakes, sorbet and so on. We thought this is a perfect thing to make and enjoy during a hot sunny day. 

This is a Philadelphia style churned ice cream which is very easy to make and can be made within minutes. In this recipe we are adding chocolate in 3 different forms and adding oreos will take this to another level. Hope you all will like this and please try this out before the summer ends.

Ingredients:

Adapted from: Ice Cream From Scratch

1. Heavy cream- 2 Cups
2. Whole Milk- 1 Cup
3. Sugar- 3/4 Cup
4. Cocoa Powder- 1/4 Cup
5. Hershey's Chocolate syrup- 2 tbsp
6. Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
7. Oreos ( crushed)- 1 Cup
8. Instant Coffee powder- 2 tbsp
9. Chocolate Chips- 1/2 Cup

Method:

1. Freeze the ice cream bowl for 24 hours before making this ice cream.
2. In a sauce pan pour heavy cream, milk, sugar, cocoa powder and coffee powder, mix well and heat it up on a low flame till everything gets blended well.
3. Remove from flame and add the chocolate chips in the hot mixture. Whisk well and add the vanilla extract.
4. Transfer to a mixing bowl, press a cling film on top of the mixture and chill in the refrigerator for about 2-3 hours.
5. Take out the ice cream mixture and add the Hershey's chocolate late syrup. Churn this in the chilled ice cream bowl according to the instructions and until the mixture turns to a softy consistency.
6. When it is done, transfer it to a glass bowl and decorate with chocolate syrup and crushed Oreos and enjoy to your hearts consent.

Opera Cake- A scrumptious French Dessert

I made an Opera Cake!!!! I was thinking of making this cake from many months and I thought our anniversary is a perfect occasion to bake this cake. This cake surprisingly came out perfect though this was a little time consuming. The delicious taste of coffee and chocolate make this opera cake recipe well worth the time investment. 

This cake has different layers of almond Joconde with buttercream and chocolate ganache which is topped with chocolate glaze. The effort you put into this showstopper is well worth the result. Authentic opera cake has opera piped on top of the cake but as this was our anniversary, I left it plain. This cake is a super hit among my family and friends and can be made in any occasion. This cake would be liked and loved by all. Here is the recipe, try this out and please let me know.

Ingredients:

For the Almond Cake:

1. Eggs White- 4
2. Sugar- 2 tbsp
3. Almond Flour- 2 cups
4. All Purpose Flour- 1/2 Cup
5. Sugar- 2 Cups
6. Whole Eggs- 3
7. Butter- 3 tbsp

Method for Almond Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat the egg whites slightly and add the 2 tbsp sugar. Beat till they form creamy and holds stiff peaks.
3. In another bowl, beat the almond flour along with the whole eggs and confectioners sugar till they become creamy.
4. Add this into the above made egg mixture, gently fold and add the melted butter at last. Mix and pour this in a greased square baking pan and bake till done, for about 30 minutes or a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Coffee Syrup:

1. Instant Coffee Powder- 4 tbsp
2. Sugar- 3 tbsp
3. Water- 1/4 Cup

Method:

• Add the coffee to the boiling water and add sugar. Mix well to incorporate. Keep this aside.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

1. Confectioners Sugar- 1 1/2 Cup
2. Butter- 2 sticks (1 cup)

Method:

• Beat the butter and sugar with a tbsp of coffee syrup. Beat till smooth, fluffy and well incorporated. Add little cream or milk if the buttercream is thick.

Chocolate Ganache:

1. Chocolate- 1 Cup
2. Cream- 1 Cup

• Heat the cream and pour this onto the chocolate chips. Keep this for 5 minutes and stir well to form ganache. Keep this refrigerated until lightly set.

Method for assembling the cake:

1. Cut the cake horizontally into 3 thin layers of cake using a floss thread.
2. Separate the layers. place the bottom layer on a cake board, soak the coffee syrup all over the cake using a brush, so that the cake layer absorbs the syrup well.
3. Spread the buttercream on top of the layer using a spatula, Place the second layer on top of the buttercream and soak it with coffee syrup, spread the chocolate ganache in a smooth layer.
4. Place the last layer of cake over the chocolate ganache, soak this layer with the remaining coffee syrup, spread a thin layer of  buttercream frosting properly . Even if it drips to the sides no need to worry.
5. Chill the cake till you make the chocolate glaze.
6. For Chocolate Glaze, melt 1/4 cup of butter and pour this into the remaining chocolate ganache. Mix well.
7. Take the cake out of the refrigerator and pour the chocolate glaze on top of the cake. Spread evenly and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
8. After 30 minutes, take the cake out of the refrigerator, cut the side using a warm knife and enjoy a rich and delicious opera cake.

Chocolate Truffle Cake- A birthday treat...

Chocolate Truffle cake is the birthday cake which I made for my husband's birthday. We all like chocolate a lot and so I planned to make this. This cake was pending from so long and because of  my busy schedule I couldn't try it out. Birthdays are best to try new cakes and so here it is today in my blog for all my dear readers.

A chocolate layer cake is a dense and moist cake with a silky whipped ganache filling. this cake is to die for. Totally melts in your mouth. This chocolate cake is perfect for the chocolate lover in your life. It is seriously so good, nicely balanced and not super sweet. this cake is ultra chocolaty. Head on over to bake this cake.

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
2. Baking Soda- 1 1/2 tsp
3. Baking Powder- 1 1/2 tsp
4. salt- a pinch
5. Cocoa Powder- 3/4 Cup
6. Sugar- 2 Cups
7. Milk- 1 Cup
8. Egg- 2 nos
9. Oil- 1/2 Cup
10. Instant Coffee- 1 Cup
11. Sugar Syrup- 1/2 cup water and 4tbsp sugar.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" round cake pan.
2. Make instant coffee by adding 1 cup warm water and 1 tbsp of coffee. Keep this to cool.
3. In a bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt along with cocoa powder. Mix well.
4. In a mixing bowl, crack the eggs and blend it well. add the wet ingredients like the oil, cooled coffee, milk and mix well till everything gets well blended.
5. Add the sugar and let it mix till dissolved. Pour this into the flour mixture little by little and fold well using a spatula.
6. When everything gets mixed well pour this in the greased baking pan and bake for about 20- 30 minutes or till a skewer poked comes out clean. Let the cake cool.

For the Whipped Chocolate Ganache:
Ingredients:

1. Chocolate Chips- 1 cup
2. Whipping cream- 1/2 Cup

Method:

1. Heat the cream on a low flame and pour this hot cream onto the chocolate chips and after 5 minutes mix well till everything gets blended.
2. Let it cool for an hour. Blend the mixture using a hand blender till the mixture doubles.

Assembling the cake:

• Take out the cake from the cake pan, Place the cake layer on a serving plate, spread with half of the filling and top with the remaining cake half. spread ganache on top and sides of the cake
• Decorate it as you like. I have used roasted almonds.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

It's slowly becoming cold during night time and a better way to enjoy cold weather is by making a warm, richer, creamier soup that will be liked by all in your family. This mushroom soup was rich without being heavy and delightfully earthy. I suggest pairing this with warm oven toasted bread. That's how I like to slurp my soup.

To make this delicious soup , I used 3 portobella mushrooms, they give nice flavor and the lovely color to the soup. This is a chunky soup, if you want your soup to be more pureed, just use the immersion blender and blend well. As the mushrooms are roasted along with garlic, it gives an amazing flavor to the soup.

I make this soup once in two weeks as my family loves it a lot. My daughter is a big fan of this soup and likes a warm soup after coming back from school. She is like me, I like mushrooms a lot. As a kid, I remember, my dad used to bring lots of tiny mushrooms on the way back home after a morning walk. He plucked fresh mushrooms from the woods that used to pop up after a rainy day. My mom makes amazing dishes out of them. Feeling very nostalgic. In my native, we see these mushrooms in our backyard. They grow after a stromy night. They are edible and are so tiny. They used to grow in a large groups.
Ingredients:

1. Mushrooms (chopped)- 2 Cups
2. Onions(chopped)- 1 no
3. Garlic (crushed)- 2 nos
4. Flour- 2 tbsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Pepper Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Dried Herbs-1 tbsp
8. Water/ Broth- 3 Cups
9. Cream- 1/2 Cup
10. Butter- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan, add the crushed garlic, stir for a min on a high flame.
2. Lower the flame and add the chopped onions along with chopped mushrooms. Stir well and let this cook till all the water gets evaporated. Mix in between.
3. When the mushroom becomes soft, add the dried herbs, in another bowl mix the flour, salt, pepper powder and water. 
4. Add this flour mixture into the cooked mushroom, mix well till everything gets well blended. Bring to a boil, stir and cook until thickened.
5. Stir in the cream, simmer until the flavors are blended, approximately 15 minutes. Switch off the flame and enjoy with oven toasted bread.

Saag Paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens

Saag paneer/ Cottage Cheese with Greens is a classic favorite dish for most of the  Indians across India. This is a very popular dish in North India. Traditionally this dish is made of mustard leaves, spinach, and fenugreek leaves. The recipe is a combination of different varieties of greens with the perfectly browned paneer cubes which are infused with Indian spices and are stewed together in the rich cream or coconut milk till done.

Recently, while I was talking to my friend, who is Polish, but is a big fan of Indian food, she mentioned how she loves Saag Paneer. So I tried making this dish when I invited her home, she liked it a lot and this was a big hit at my house too. So from then on, this dish is prepared once in a week, which we eat along with chapatis or rice. It is so easy to make and not time-consuming.

This recipe requires an incredible amount of spinach, feel free to use any amount of spinach. Here in the US, I tried making this along with kale, spinach, fenugreek leaves, broccoli. Whatever greens, they are, all tastes perfectly good. Paneer is available abundantly nowadays. Some people will use homemade paneer, which tastes amazing. I fried the paneer lightly as I love the soft crumble texture of paneer. Some love it crunchy and can be done golden brown. The spices will add a nice flavor to the dish and last but not the least, the cream is added to make the dish more rich, creamy, tasty and flavorful. Instead of cream, we can also use coconut milk. A delicious, amazing dish will be ready to enjoy, by adding all the above ingredients and with a little bit of love. Hope you will try to prepare this and will like it. Please let me know.

Ingredients:

1. Paneer/ Cottage Cheese- 2 Cups (cubed)
2. Oil- 3 tbsp
3. Spinach- 3 Cups
4. Fenugreek Leaves- 1/2 Cup
5. Onions (chopped)- 1 no
6. Tomatoes(chopped)- 1 no
7. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
12. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
13. Salt- as required
14. Cream- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop the spinach and fenugreek leaves using a hand blender. Keep this aside.
2. Fry the cubed paneer pieces on a slow flame in 1/2 tbsp of oil. When they turn a light golden color, keep them aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil, saute the onions till translucent. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Fry for a min on medium flame.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add all the spice powders along with required amount of salt.
5. Add the chopped greens, stir for about 2 minutes. In this add the lightly fried golden colored paneer, mix and pour the cream on top. Stir lightly and enjoy naan/roti dipped in hot saag paneer.

Chicken in fenugreek leaves and Cream/ Methi Malai Murgh (MMM)

Methi Malai Murg is a creamy chicken, curried in yogurt and cream with a punch of dried fenugreek leaves. This is popular Indian cuisine, which comes from the Mughals and is a perfect side dish for rotis, naan, rumali rotis.

This creamy, silky chicken gravy is a perfect show stopper for any parties. This is stunningly tasty, super quick and a perfect winter dish to keep you warm. This dish will be liked by all.

The chicken gets cooked well with all the spices along with yogurt and cream and the addition of kasoori methi will give an amazing aroma and flavor to the dish.

Kasoori methi is dried fenugreek seeds, which is used in most of the Indian cooking. These leaves are slightly bitter and are crushed to enhance the flavors before adding to a dish. These are easily available in all the Indian stores across the US. I loved the flavor of these dried fenugreek seeds when I first used them in Rara Chicken- a Punjabi dish. Try making this dish at home and I am sure that everybody will fall in love with this dish.

Ingredients:

1. Chicken- 1 1/2 Pounds
2. Oil- 1 tbsp
3. Whole Spices (Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon) - 1 tbsp
4. Bay Leaf- 1 no
5. Onions and Green Chilies (chopped) - 2 nos
6. Ginger & Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
7. Tomatoes (chopped) - 1 no
8. Yogurt- 1/2 Cup
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Coriander Powder- 1 tbsp
11. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
12. Cumin Powder- 1/2 tsp
13. Garam Masala Powder- 1 Tsp
14. Salt- as required
15. Fresh Cream- 1/3 Cup
16. Kasuri Methi (dried Fenugreek Leaves) - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Clean, wash and drain the chicken pieces. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and green chilies. Saute till the raw smell disappears. Add the ginger- garlic paste. Mix well.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and when they turn mushy, add the red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, and the garam masala powder.
4. Stir well, add the yogurt along with chicken and salt. Mix till everything gets well blended.
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and close with a lid till the chicken gets cooked well. Once the chicken gets cooked, add the cream and adjust the consistency of water.
6. Sprinkle with the Kasuri Methi to the cooked chicken and cook for about 2 more minutes and switch off the flame. Serve the hot MMM along with rotis/ pulav.

Oven Baked Naan and Butter Chicken without Butter

My all time favorite combination of naan and butter chicken. As Ramadan fasting is going on, I will be searching for a variety of dishes for iftar, rather than having regular food. I came across a youtube video, in which they were making chicken korma along with this naan. First I thought of making the same chicken korma which they showed in the video, but then I changed my mind to butter chicken.

In the butter chicken, the chicken is usually baked along with marinated spices and cooked in the sauce. Here the marinated chicken pieces are cooked directly in the silky and creamy gravy. Thinking about this butter chicken, when we visited my elder brother in the UK, my SIL prepared an amazing restaurant style butter chicken. The taste is still lingering in my mouth. This one, which I made is almost the same. I am glad that I tried it and it tasted incredible.

You may be surprised that butter is not added in the butter chicken. The buttery flavor of this dish comes from the cream, which we are adding at least.

After making the butter chicken I came to know that this is the easiest curries which can be prepared within no time. With just a few ingredients we get lots of flavors.

Every curry needs a bread to scoop up the sauce, So I made naan to go along with butter chicken. Usually, naan is made on a direct flame, but here it is made in the oven and within minutes this will be ready. Naan is a soft, puffy, airy bread. This is a fail- proof recipe, which you can try at any time. Try this out and let me know...

Ingredients:

For Naan:

1. All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
2. Yeast- 2 tsp
3. Butter- 2 tbsp
4. Warm Milk- ½ Cup
5. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Take a tbsp of flour, yeast and 2 tbsps of warm water in a small bowl. Mix using a spoon and rest for 1 min.
3. In a stand mixer bowl, add the flour and butter. Mix well till the butter incorporates well.
4. In this add the yeast solution and slowly add the milk. Don’t add fully, add little by little and a bit of salt.
5. Mix well till it forms a soft dough. Take it out and grease a bowl with oil. Keep the dough cling wrap for about half an hour to an hour.
6. When it is time, take the fermented dough and punch it well. Make about 8- 10 balls and roll it using a rolling pin in an oval shape.
7. Spread water using a brush on top of the rolled dough and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and press slightly.
8. Place on a greased tray and repeat with the remaining dough and bake them for about 8 minutes and then broil them for about 2 min or till the top becomes slightly brown.
9. Serve them along with butter chicken.

Ingredients for Butter Chicken:

• Chicken- 1 Whole Chicken

For Marination:

1. Yogurt- 1 Cup
2. Ginger and Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
3. Tomato Puree/ Paste- 1 tbsp
4. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
5. Turmeric Powder- ½ Tsp
6. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Kasuri Methi- 1 tbsp
8. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
9. Paprika powder- 1 tsp
10. Garam Masala- 1 tsp
11. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp

For the Gravy:

1. Oil- 1tbsp
2. Ginger and Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
3. Tomatoes- 2 nos (ground to paste)
4. Cream- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Marinate the cleaned and drained chicken using the marinade and keep this for about 1 hour.
2. Heat a pan with oil, add the ginger and garlic paste, when the raw smell disappears add the ground tomatoes.
3. Saute well till the oil separates, add the marinated chicken and mix well. Cover and cook till the chicken get cooked well.
4. Add the cream, simmer for a minute and switch off the flame.

 

6 Layer Chocolate, Vanilla layers of cake with Salted caramel sauce covered with Cream Cheese and whipped cream frosting:

My daughter turned 9 on may 27th and like every year I was very excited to bake her birthday cake. The preparations for the cake started 6 months back. We were looking for a different variety of cakes as last year she wanted a gravity defying cake for the birthday party and a mango cake at home and for her 6th birthday it was Barbie cake.

The cakes which I made last year for her birthday..

This time she didn’t prefer anything particular. She wanted a chocolate and vanilla layered cake with white frosting and golden sprinkles on top. As there was nothing particular, I thought of making it little special by making it a lego cake as my daughter is a big lego friends fan.

So I first started searching for some lego cakes and got ideas from different cakes. First I ordered silicone Lego mold from Amazon. Then when it got delivered, I started making the Lego by melting the white chocolate, adding the desired color, pour into the mold and when it becomes hard stored it in ziplock pouch. I made two different colors of Lego blocks as the Lego friends are mostly purple and pink. For purple Lego blocks, I melted purple colored candy melts.  I made a bowl full of legos to cover the cake.

Two days before the birthday I prepared salted caramel sauce from sally’s baking addiction. It came out perfect and I stored it in the refrigerator. The day before the birthday, I started preparing the cakes and layering and filling with caramel sauce. I made the cakes in a rectangle cookie tray so that I wanted a sheet cake and I can cut the cake in half and place the half on top. Like that, I prepared two chocolate cakes and one vanilla cake.

Once the cake layers are done, I made the frosting and did a crumb coat on the cake and then refrigerated the cake for about half an hour. Later I covered the cake using the remaining frosting and kept it in the refrigerator overnight.

On the big day, I decorated the cake with the legos on the sides and on top sprinkled the golden sprinkles. I used some of her real Lego miniatures on top and at last, an amazingly delicious, super soft, moist birthday cake was ready for the party. My daughter was really stunned to see the colorful Lego blocks on the cake, which she never expected. The guests who came for the party enjoyed. Hope you all will like this. This cake looks tedious but worth making this lego cake to surprise your family or friends.

Ingredients:

Eggless Chocolate Cake

• I made 2 chocolate cakes and cut into half.

Eggless Vanilla Cake

• I made 1 vanilla cake and cut into half

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Sauce:

1. Sugar- 1Cup
2. Butter- 6 tbsp
3. Cream- ½ Cup
4. Salt- 1tsp

Method:

1. Melt the sugar in a nonstick deep bottomed saucepan till golden brown color. Take cake not to burn the sugar. Don’t worry when the sugar forms lumps when it melts, stir in between and it will start melting.
2. When the sugar reaches golden brown color, stir the butter slowly till it gets melted using a whisk.
3. Slowly add the cream while stirring. Allow the mixture to boil for about 1 minute. Switch off the flame and add the salt. Mix and allow to cool completely, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese and Whipped Cream Frosting:

1. Cream cheese- 1 packet (8 oz)
2. Heavy Whipping Cream- 1 ½ Cups
3. Sugar- 1 Cup
4. Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

1. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth.
2. In another bowl, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold this whipped cream into the above-made cream cheese mixture and keep this in the refrigerator.

Decoration:

• Golden Sprinkles
• Chocolate Lego Blocks (see below)

Assembling the cake:

1. Place one layer of the chocolate cake on the base, spread 2 two spoons full of salted caramel sauce evenly on the cake layer, place the half vanilla cake and spread evenly 2 spoons full of caramel sauce.
2. Over this place halved chocolate cake and repeat with caramel sauce, chocolate cake, sauce, vanilla cake, sauce and at last with chocolate cake.
3. Crumb coat the 6 layer cake using cream cheese- whipped cream frosting and keep this in the fridge for some time, around 30 min.
4. Cover the cake using the remaining frosting and decorate with chocolate lego blocks and golden sprinkles.

Chocolate Lego Blocks:

1. Melted the white chocolate and add the pink and purple color. Pour this into silicon Lego molds and refrigerate till it becomes hard.
2. Repeat making legos till you need to cover the cake.