ArtOfBaking – The Secret Ingredient

Baking

White Sandwich Bread with Tangzhong Method

By anshu November 8, 2017

I am completely hooked to Sourdough breads and its been a long time I have baked a commercial yeast Bread. But then someone told me about Tangzhong method. The secret ingredient is the tangzhong, or water-roux, a method used for Asian breads. It’s a mixture of 1 part flour to 5 parts water, cooked until the starches in the flour gelatinize and the mixture thickens ( this happens at 150°F, or 65°C). Once it cools, you simply add it to the other ingredients and knead.

When I tried this method the results were spectacular. It forced me to try baking with commercial yeast yet again. The crumb of the bread is to die for. The bread stays soft, supple and tender for longer than usual. The procedure is almost similar to White Sandwich Bread just that you require an additional ingredient which is water roux or tangzhong which can be made easily. I highly insist that you must try this out!

Directions:
1. Lets first make the water – roux for the bread dough. In a pan add All Purpose Flour and water. Mix it with a whisk so that no lumps are there.

2. Turn the flame on and keep whisking it on low till it begins to resemble a slurry. Turn the flame off and cover it and let it come to room temperature.

3. In a container take some lukewarm water. It should neither be hot nor cold, just hot enough to comfortably put your finger into it . The right temperature of the water is very important for yeast to activate. Put yeast into it.

4. Along with yeast add some sugar.

5. Give it a gentle stir with a fork and let the mixture sit and activate for 10 minutes or until you see some bubbles on top and mixture has become frothy and milky.

6. Take all purpose flour in a bowl and add salt and olive oil.

7. Add the roux at room temperature.

8. Add the proofed yeast to the flour little by little and mix till it comes together.

6. Bring the dough to a flat counter or your kitchen platform and knead for good 10 minutes till it becomes soft and supple. Read more about Bread baking techniques in “Basic Steps to Bake a Perfect Bread“

7. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl. And cover with a kitchen towel or cling wrap. Let it sit for an hour or so to double up in size.

8. Punch it down and deflate the dough. Knead for another 5-7 minutes.

9. Grease your bread pan with oil and dust with some flour.

10. Roll the dough into a circle using a roller pin.

11. Take one end and roll it together . Fold in the sides and pinch the seam.

12. Place the rolled dough in the baking pan with seem side down.

13. Cover the dough loosely with a towel or cling wrap or incase you are using pullman loaf pan you can cover with lid and let it rest again for 30 minutes till it rises again. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. Brush the top gently with glaze using egg or milk or cream. Sprinkle the top with Oat meal or seeds of your choice.

14. Bake it in the centre rack of your preheated oven for 35-40 minute. Change sides half way for even cooking. If you feel your bread is browning too fast tent it with aluminium foil and continue to bake. remove from Oven and let it sit in Baking pan for 10 minutes then remove from tip and let it rest on a wire rack and slice it when it is completely warm using a serrated knife.

Other bread recipes you can try :White Sandwich Bread, Vegetarian homemade Pizza, Russian Bublici, Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Chinese Black Sesame Steamed Buns, Cherry Focaccia Bread with Rosemary and Sea Salt, Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Beetroot Bread with Garlic and Thyme, Honey Oats Bread, Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks.

[whohit]WhiteBreadTZM[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’293′]

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Baking

Honey Dates Square – Historic Recipe | Vintage Honey Figs and Date Cake Squares Recipe with Gluten Free Flour

By anshu June 21, 2017

I have been a social science student and history has always fascinated me. I am good with dates and events which have occurred in the past. I always like to know how our society has evolved and what events have led to certain changes in it. The other day I was looking for Honey and Dates Cake recipe and by chance I stumbled on this recipe of Honey Dates Square, which said its a historic Recipe from 1940’s – the world War era when sugar was scarce and use of honey and maple syrup was the only thing used in bakes. There is a special charm to Historical Recipes. They not only make you understand the conditions and emotions of people but also invoke nostalgia. Therefore I was intrigued to try this recipe. More for the historic reason and less for the real recipe 🙂

This recipe is oil free and butter free. Now in the current scenario it has become a fashion or rather health awareness to go oil free and avoid using refined sugar.. This is a perfect tea time cake which can be made in 30 minutes. The result was spectacular with minimal efforts. Would you like to try this piece of history?

Directions:
1. Soak figs and dates in warm water for an hour and set aside till they become soft.

2. Deseed the dates and chop figs and dates into small bites.

3. Also chop a mix of nuts, I have used almonds, cashews and pistachios and set aside.

4. Lightly whisk eggs. You dont have to form stiff peaks. Look how beautiful and fresh is that yolk. I have used organic eggs from Eggee.

5. Add chopped nuts, figs, dates and honey and mix with the eggs.

5. Stir in Gluten Free flour, you can even use Whole Wheat Flour All purpose flour if you like. I have used SOS organics Gluten Free Flour which you can order at our online store, The Gourmet Shop.

6. Also add Baking Powder and Salt and mix. Do not over mix just till everything is moist.

7. Line a 9×9 baking tin with some parchment paper that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. I have crushed the parchment paper and then opened and placed it, this trick will help it sit better. Isn’t it genius 😛 You can buy Parchment Paper at our online store, The Gourmet Shop. Also preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven Temperature and Conversion)

8. Pour the batter in the baking tin and smoothen the top with spatula.

9. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

10. Remove it from the tin along with parchment paper. When the cake cools down slice it into squares.

11. Serve with your favourite Cup of Coffee or Tea.

Other recipe with some history behind it were Anzac Cookies . If you are also tuned on by history you must read this post.

Other Gluten Free Recipes you can try : Amaranth Herbed Crackers, Gluten Free Chocolate Ragi Brownies, No Bake Amaranth Granola Bars, Apple Crisp, Besan & Corn Flakes Cookies, Instant Ragi Dosa

If you are looking for other Cakes and desserts with fresh fruits you can try: Peach Upside Down Cake. Fresh Apricot and Almond Cake, Apple Crisp, Mango Vanilla Cake, Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake, Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Vanilla & Pomegranate Cake, Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake, Mascarpone Cherry Compote Cheesecake Glasses, Eggless Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Persimmon Rum Cake, Mango Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream .

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Baking

Peach Upside Down Cake | Eggless Part Wheat Peach Cake

By anshu June 14, 2017

I woke up one morning to find a mail in my mailbox saying that my blog has been listed under top 100 Indian Food Blogs by Feedspot. First I dint take it seriously because the link said I shared the space with Masterchefs like Sanjeev Kapoor and knwon faces like Nishamadhulika and Manjula’s Kitchen. But then by evening the word spread to Facebook and my friends started tagging me that my blog name is actually in top 100 Indian Blog list. I was numb for a moment but then I was jumping with joy. I want to thank you my readers , my family and my friends who have encouraged me and supported me in this food journey. What would I do without your love!

My family wanted a cake to celebrate the occasion and I though of baking this Peach upside down cake. This cake was baked in a cast iron skillet and uses no refined flour or sugar! It was moist and held the peaches so well. The flavour of jaggery gave it that earthy feel. What a healthy way to celebrate the occasion.

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash ripe peaches and slice them into wedges and discard the stones.

2. Place a 8-9 inches cast iron skillet* on stove and add butter. You can buy a 6 inches Cast iron skillet from our online store The Gourmet Shop . Let the butter melt and spread crumbled jaggery all over the surface. Instead of jaggery you can also add brown sugar. Let the jaggery melt and form a caramel like syrup. Turn the flame off.

3. Place peach wedges all over the skillet. Set aside. In the meanwhile preheat the oven for 10 minutes on 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven temperatures and conversions)

4. In a vessel add milk and Apple Cider Vinegar**.

5. Stir to mix and also add oil. Heat the milk oil mix in a microwave for 2 minutes.

6. Add brown sugar or jaggery powder, salt and vanilla extract.

7. Also add cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder to the wet ingredients.

8. Give everything a good mix and set aside.

9. In another bowl add whole wheat flour and All purpose flour.

7. Also add baking powder and baking soda. Combine all the dry ingredients.

11. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix everything till everything is moistened. Do not over mix for you do not want a tough cake.

12. Pour this batter over the peaches in the skillet. Level up with a spatula and pop it in the oven for 30 minutes or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

13. Bring the skillet outside the oven and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes and only after that invert it on a serving plate carefully. If you do it before ten minutes the cake will spread everywhere and if you wait too long the caramelized peaches will stick to the skillet and will refuse to move. Therefore, invert the plate right after 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Other recipes with fresh peach you can try are: Peach Lemonade and Eggless Fresh Peach Cobbler.

If you are looking for other Cakes and desserts with fresh fruits you can try: Fresh Apricot and Almond Cake, Apple Crisp, Mango Vanilla Cake, Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake, Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Vanilla & Pomegranate Cake, Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake, Mascarpone Cherry Compote Cheesecake Glasses, Eggless Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Persimmon Rum Cake, Mango Tart with Vanilla Pastry Cream

[whohit]PeachUpsideDownCake[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’282′]

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Apricots

Fresh Apricot and Almond Cake

By anshu June 3, 2017

The advantages of living on the hills are plenty. One of them being you get to taste the fruits first which grow around us everywhere. When I saw fresh Apricots, I bought them greedily. Yes I am a compulsive buyer. I end up buying so much produce and which all ends up in my bakes or I have to gift them to my friends. But yes I dont mind doing that because the pleasure of buying is always greater 😛 I hope my husband is not reading this or else I know a big lecture is coming my way 😛

I love to play around with fruits. I find excuses to bake with them or make something fabulous with them. I feel fruits give a lot of character to the dish. It makes them special and so very fresh and vibrant. In the past I have used pomegranate, papaya, peaches, apples, black grapes, persimmons, oranges, cherries, bananas, blueberries and what not in my food and recipes. This time I knew its going to be apricots and when I looked for this recipe with Almonds and Apricots in a cake the idea kinda clicked and then there was no looking back. I was here baking a cake with these pretty little apricots. The cake was moist and very spongy I loved its dark crisp crust which was perfect for tea time.

Directions:
1. Wash some ripe apricots and deseed them and cut them into quarters and set aside.

2. In a blender add some almonds and grind them into a powder. Set aside.

3. In a saucepan add milk and sugar.

4. Also add zest of a lemon and vanilla extract. Bring everything to a simmer till sugar dissolves in milk. Do not boil. Remove from the stove and let it cool down.

5. Grease a 9 inch Springform baking tin with oil and sprinkle some flour all over. You can buy this tin at our online store, The Gourmet Shop. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven temperature and Conversion).

6. In a bowl sift All purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda.

7. Also add salt and almond meal which we had reserved before. Keep the dry ingredients aside.

8. In another bowl add some eggs and whisk them till they are light and fluffy. And add oil to them and whisk again.

9. Add the egg and oil mix to the dry ingredients. Also add the cooled sugar milk we had made before. Combine everything together till everything is moist. Do not over mix for you will end up making a chewy cake.

10. Pour this cake batter on the greased tin. And tap couple of times to remove any trapped air bubble.

11. Randomly place apricot quarters all over the surface of batter. It may not be in a designed pattern because eventually nothing will show and they will spread all over the cake. Add some almond flakes over the batter.

12. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minute or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If at any stage you feel the cake is getting too browned tent it with an aluminium foil. Once baked remove it from the oven and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and keep it on the wire rack till it has come to room temperature. You can dust it with some confectioner’s sugar, slice and serve.

Other cakes you can try are: Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, Fresh Mango Cake with Vanilla and Chocolate Collar, Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake, Vanilla Cake with Pomegranate Syrup, Lemony Pound Cake with Lemon Frosting, Eggless Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Apple Raisins Streusel Bread, Persimmon Rum Cake, Eggless Mediterranean Semolina Cake, Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake, Eggless Black Grape Cake with Strawberry Jam Glaze, Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake, Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake, Surprise Heart Inside Cake, Pumpkin Cake Rolls, Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake.

[whohit]ApricotAlmondCake[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’280′]

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Baking

Mango Vanilla Cake | Fresh Mango Cake with Vanilla and Chocolate Collar

By anshu May 5, 2017

Yesterday Morning I woke up to a call from a friend who also is a client. I had 5 of her missed calls. It turns out she wanted to order a cake which needs to be ready in 3-4 hours. As you all know I dont do cakes on a regular basis and I live in a place where ingredients aren’t readily available. So i was in a dilemma but then I took this challenge. She left me to decide whatever I wanted to make.

I had to quickly make a decision as to what can be made in jiffy and still looked pretty. You know when such cakes are ordered specially for wedding Anniversaries they need to have a wow factor not just in taste but also the way they look. For a second all the good looking cakes I had done in the past zapped right in front of my eyes and I had to choose one. Because this wasn’t a time for experimentation. I had made a Mango Tart a while back and it had turned out pretty and then I also had made a Vanilla Cake with pomegranate Sauce which was yummy. So I decided to fuse the two.

And the result was this gorgeous little Mango Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Collar! Aahh I feel soo happy after looking at it. The real icing on the cake was that the Client loved it I cant explain the social network has been going gaga over this. It was 1.4k likes on a single Facebook group and other 1k in other. Everywhere I post this its being appreciated. I am a novice cake baker but sometimes things happen like magic happens 🙂 I am Thankful to Almighty and you all for this love.

Directions:

1.In a bowl add Butter and castor Sugar. Cream them together. You can use hand held whisk or electric whisk.

2. Add eggs and combine till creamy and light.

3. Add Vanilla Extract.

4. In a bowl add All Purpose Flour, salt and Baking Powder.

5. Slowly add this to the wet ingredients and combine until moistened.

6. Pour this batter in a springform pan and smoothen the top with a spatula. You can buy the Springform pan with our online store, The Gourmet Shop. We ship pan India.

7. Bake in the preheated oven on 160 degree for 50 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let it cool down completely before removing it from the pan.

8. When the cake has cooled completely slice it horizontally into half using a sharp serrated knife. The motion of knife should be like a saw. Refrigerate for half an hour. I couldn’t because I had to finish the cake in 3 hours.

9. Add some whipped cream in a chilled bowl and whip it with an electric whisk till stiff peaks are formed.

9. Place a cake board on a rotatable Icing table and spread a little whipped cream on the board and place one slice of cake on it. This will ensure the cake doesn’t slip from the board.

10. Chop a fresh mango into small chunks and spread it on the surface of cake.

11. Spread a layer of whipped cream on top of mangoes and make it even using a palette knife. you can even use a spatula if you dont have a palette knife.

12. Place the other part of the cake on top of the whipped cream and mango mix.

13. Take some whipped cream and smear it on the sides all along its circumference and top. It has to be thin layer, doesn’t matter if its smooth or not. I am not good with smooth finish so I made this cake to hide my inadequacies 🙂 How I forgot to take picture of this step! 🙁

14. Now for the top mango garnish, take firm mangoes, peel the skin and cut it into half, removing the seed. Then further cut halves into thin slices. Set aside.

15. Once the cake has been iced from all sides. start from the top centre. Arrange the mango slices on top, starting in the centre and then taking it outwards to mimic flower petals. Don’t place the slices deep into the cream. The more they remain on top the neater will be the look.

16. Now the question was how to hide the sides and pretty pie it. I thought of a chocolate collar and found a tutorial which was quick and seemed easy but I had never done it before. But I had little choice. So I went ahead. You need is a bar of chocolate or chocolate chips. Place them in a microwaveable bowl and heat it till it melts. You need to stir it every 30 seconds so that it doesn’t burn. You can also use a double boiler to melt, whichever you think is faster.

17. Pour the melted chocolate in a pipping bag or ziploc without any nozzle and tighten the keep.

18. Now you have to measure the height of the cake, I used a ruler. It was 4 inches for my cake. Tear a sheet of parchment paper which covers the cake around completely and further trim its height matching to the height of your cake or a little taller, it was 4.5 inches in case of my cake. Oh look you have the view to my not so clean icing on the sides of the cake. yippy!

19. See it fits around the cake perfectly and also has the height i wanted.

20. Remove this parchment paper and place it on a smooth surface. You pipping bag with melted chocolate is ready, snip the end with scissors and make a small hole. Now spread the chocolate in circular motion, starting from one end and finishing the other, say left to right. Now repeat the same from right to left . You can make it as intricate as you want. The more layers you give it the more sturdy will be your chocolate collar.

21. Let it be like that for a few seconds till the chocolate sets partially. Now remove the strip of parchment paper carefully with both your hands. If you leave it for a longer time and it sets fully you will not be able to mould it around the circular cake. So eyeball the timing.

22. Place it around the cake with chocolate side inside, pushing it inside the cake carefully.

23. Once the chocolate collar has been placed around the cake, remove the parchment paper slowly without damaging the lace and breaking it.

24. Guess what the cake is ready. You can add anything more to prettify it. I think I was happy with the results and gladly my client also liked it.

Other Cake recipes you can try are: Eggless Black Grapes Cake, Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake , Eggless Almond Vanilla Cake, Eggless Orange Cake with Candied Orange Peel Filling, Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze, Persimmon Rum Cake, Pumpkin Cake Rolls, Surprise Heart Inside Cake, Vegan Chocolate Banana Cake, Vanilla & Pomegranate Cake, Wacky Vegan Chocolate Cake, Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake, Mediterranean Eggless Semolina Cake

[whohit]MangoVanillaCake[/whohit]

[yumprint-recipe id=’273′]

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Baking

Eggless Black Grape Cake with Strawberry Jam Glaze

By anshu February 27, 2017

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American Cuisine

Festive Orange Blueberry Pound Cake

By anshu December 20, 2016

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Its almost Christmas and time for us to move our base from the hills to the plains till the winter break is over. This is the time of the year when our school shuts down for almost two months and we get a good time to spend with our family and loved ones. My bags are packed and I am about to empty my pantry. Last few days I am baking with whatever fruit is left in the fridge. Therefore, the productivity of Oven is at its peak. When I saw oranges and blueberry in my freezer compartment I knew I have make this cake which has been on my to do list for such a long time. I wanted a simple Orange Pound cake which makes everything just right.

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And when the cake came out of the oven it was simply to die for. So moist, flavourful with orange zest and the cake was screaming eat me up! So that’s what I did 😉 If you are planning to do something for this holiday season its highly recommended that you include this in your bake list. You will surely thank me 🙂 Until next time…

Directions:

1. In a bowl add All purpose Flour, salt and Baking Powder and combine. Set aside.

2. Take zest of two oranges and juice them. Set aside the zest and fresh orange juice aside.

3. In another bowl add add butter at room temperature. Also add sugar and whisk it till everything is creamy.

4. Add eggs and continue to whisk till everything is light and fluffy.

5. Add Orange Zest and combine.

6. Now add dry ingredients to the wet and also add orange juice. Combine everything.

7. Add blueberries and fold inside the batter.

8. Grease a bundt pan or any pan you fancy. Dust it with dry flour. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius for ten minutes.

9. Pour the batter in the baking pan, remember to fill only 3/4th of it. Because you need to give it room to rise. Bake in the oven for 45- 50 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. If the cake is getting brown too fast tent it with aluminium foil and continue to bake at the same temperature.

10. While its baking in the oven you can prepare a glaze to pour. Add whipping cream in the bowl lightly whisk it add icing sugar, if its not sweet already and add some orange zest. Combine together.

11. Add the glaze in a piping bag and make a very small cut in the tip. You dont need a nozzle for this.

12. When the cake has baked take it out of the oven and let it cool down completely before taking it out of the pan. When it’s at room temperature drizzle some glaze on top and serve.

Other festive things you can try: Gingerbread Man Cookies, Greek Traditional Christmas Cookies , Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake, Persimmon Rum Cake, Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

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[whohit]OrangeBluebberyCake[/whohit]

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Baking

Sorghum and Wheat Flour Persimmon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting | Jowar and Gehun Atta Ramphal Cupcakes

By anshu December 9, 2016

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Last year when I saw Kaku or Ramphal or as it is called as Persimmon in english in my local market I was thrilled to try them. We get Hachiya variety of Persimmons in our hills which is a sweeter variety but tannic and astringent in taste if you eat them unripe. By ripe I mean they should be almost squishy and the pulp should almost run out of the fruit. Surprisingly the locals dont like the taste of the fruit. But the Persimmon Rum Cake I made last year was amazing. This year I wanted to take my experiments to a next level. I tried to make a healthy bake by adding Organic Sorghum Flour and Whole Wheat Flour. I made these gorgeous and delicious cupcakes with these enriching flours. I picked up Sorghum Flour or Jowar ka Atta from Conscious Food. Their products are absolutely top notch. We are proud to have partnered with them and now you can buy them on our online store The Gourmet Shop.

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I sent this recipe for the 2nd Anniversary Ovenderful Mom Bakers Community Annual Contest . With the grace of God my recipe got a consolation prize as one of the healthy bakes. So if you have persimmons on hand and healthy cupcakes is on your mind this is a winning recipe, well literally 🙂

Directions:
1. You need to peel the skin of Persimmons and spoon out its pulp. If you are using the Hachiya variety make sure its squishy ripe. Remove seeds if any. With the help of a potato masher mash the pulp and set aside.

2. In an another bowl add vegetable oil and sugar.

3. Whisk the sugar and oil till sugar is dissolved. Slowly whisk in eggs and make the mixture cremier.

4. Add the persimmon pulp and combine. Also add milk , vanilla extract and whisk well.

5. In another bowl add Wheat Flour and Conscious Food Sorghum Flour and combine them.

6. Add pumpkin pie spice and Baking soda to the flour and combine.

7. Sieve the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine till everything is moistened. Do not over mix.

8. Preheat your oven to 180 degree C (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions) and if you are using muffin liners, line your muffin tray with the liners. I am using stand alone bakeable cups. You can buy them at The Gourmet Shop. Pour the batter in the cups and fill only 3/4 of the cup. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden in colour and the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

9. While these are baking make the cream cheese icing by whisking Cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Add a little milk to make the icing a little loose.

10. Once the icing is whisked add powdered sugar or icing sugar and continue to whisk.

11. Once the sugar has mixed well set the icing aside. Line a pipping bag with a pipping nozzle of your choice. and cut the top edge with a pair of scissor.

12. Place the bag in a glass and pour the icing in it. Squeeze it to go further down. Now fold the top of the bag to avoid icing from flowing back.

14. Ice your cupcakes after they have cooled down completely. If you like you can top the icing with a half slice of persimmon. Enjoy.

You can even try Persimmon Rum Cake.

Other Cupcakes and Muffins you can try : Papaya Chocolate Muffins and Vegan Eggless Chocolate Muffins

persimmoncupcakes_featured4 [whohit]PersimmonCupcakes[/whohit]

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Baking

Pan De Muerto | Mexican Traditional Bread of the Dead for Dia De Muerto

By anshu November 6, 2016

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Being a mother of a Mexican boy, I hold the burden to keep his Mexican traditions alive. October 31st – November 2nd is observed as Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead in Mexico. Its an ancient Aztec Festival where the deceased are fondly remembered. Its very similar to Sharaad in India. Each household decorates an Altar called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

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One such food being offered is Pan de Muerto which means ‘Bread of the dead’. It’s a delicious sweet bread with flavours of Orange or Anise or even cinnamon. The bun shaped bread is decorated with bone shaped phalanges. The bones represent the deceased and there is a ball on top of the bread which is like a teardrop representing Aztec goddess Chimalma’s tears for the living. The bones are represented in a circle to portray the circle of life. When we were in Mexico we used to relish. A person from our office would collect money from everyone and get each one of us a loaf of this bread around the festivity. Those memories are so fresh in my mind and make me nostalgic.

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And this year when Dia de Muerto returned I so wanted to eat it. So I decided to make it at home. After reading many recipes in Spanish I managed to make this gorgeous loaf . It tasted just the way we found in Mexico. I just cannot contain my excitement. This is dedicated to all my friends in Mexico who gave us so much love. You must try this delicious bread and become a part of the tradition.

Directions:
1. In a jar add some lukewarm milk and add instant yeast.

2. Also add some sugar and a spoonful of flour.

3. Combine everything using a spoon and let there be no lumps. Let the mixture proof for 5-10 minutes. There will be bubbles and froth all over the top.

4. On a counter place the All Purpose Flour and make a well in the centre.

5. Add the proofed yeast liquid in the centre of the well.

6. Now using your hand start taking little flour from the side and keep mixing with the water. Don’t do everything in one go. Little by little is the key. Add sugar in the well and combine till the sugar has mixed.

7. Add eggs in the well and continue to add little flour little by little. Also add vanilla essence.

8. Keep mixing flour and then knead everything together. The dough will be very very sticky. Do not panic! That’s how it should be.

8. You can use a bread scraper to scrap out sticky dough. Spread it like a disc and add butter at room temperature.

9. Also add zest of an orange and and continue to knead. The dough will still be sticky but you just have to keep kneading for good ten minutes.

10. At this stage add just a little flour to make it less sticky and keep kneading til you get a pliable dough. Do not add a lot of flour. Add a few spoons first then knead and see if you need more.

11. Place it in a greased bowl which has room for rising. Cover with a cling wrap and let it rise for an hour or so or until it has doubled in size. The time will vary on how hot or cold is your kitchen.

12. After 1 and a half hours the dough looks doubled. You need to place it on the counter and deflate it and knead it for a few minutes.

13. Separate 1/4th section of the dough and keep it aside for making bones and tear.

14. Divide rest of the dough into more or less six equal parts for shaping them in a bun. Place the rolled buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper leaving gap between each of them for second rise.

15. Make small six balls which represent tears with very little dough from the reserved dough and we will utilize the rest of it to make bones. Cover these balls with a kitchen towel till we use them.

16. Divide rest of the dough into more or less 12 equal parts, you need two bones per bun. Start making thin cigars shapes with your palms with each one of them.

17. Using your three fingers as in the picture make indents in the cigar shaped dough to represent a bone.

18. Place this bone shaped dough over a bun and another one across making it a cross.

19. Press the cross section just a little and place the ball on top.

20. Repeat the same with rest of the buns. Cover the baking tray with a lint free kitchen towel for second rise. This should again take about 45 minutes to one hour depending on the environment.

21. After they have doubled in size preheat the oven for 10 minutes to 180 degree Celsius (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversions). Bake them in oven for 20 minutes or until you see them turned golden brown.

22. Let them come to room temperature and now brush each one of them with melted butter and ghee roughly sprinkle on them castor sugar.

23. Pan de Muerto is ready to be served. You can use them for the offering if you are following the tradition or just eat it like a pan dulce or sweet bread. Goes best with a hot cup of Coffee. Thats exactly I remember eating it in Mexico.

Other Mexican dishes you can try are: Chilies en Nogada, Fresh Mexican Black Bean and Mango Salad, Huevos en Cazuela, Sopa De Frijol.

If you are looking for more bread recipes you can try: Vegetarian homemade Pizza, Russian Bublici, Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, Chinese Black Sesame Steamed Buns, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Beetroot Bread with Garlic and Thyme, Honey Oats Bread, Domino’s Garlic Breadsticks, Garlic Rosemary Focaccia Bread and Focaccia Bread with Fresh Cherries, Rosemary and Sea Salt.

pandemuerto_featured6 [whohit]PanDeMuerto[/whohit]

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American Cuisine

Halloween Special Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts | Spiced Pumpkin Puree Donuts Recipe

By anshu October 20, 2016

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Halloween is celebrated in the western countries with pomp and show. While I was in Mexico they celebrated this day by the name Dia de Muerto which means Day of the dead. On this day all departed souls are fondly remembered. However this has become more fashionable now and losing its correct relevance. But Yellow Pumpkin is something which symbolizes Halloween. They make Jack O lanterns and even make dishes with Pumpkin. I get into a festive mode when I see yellow pumpkin.

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Last year I made Pumpkin Buns using Pumpkin Puree and last to last year I made Pumpkin Cake Rolls for the halloween. This year I was looking for healthier recipes which uses Whole wheat flour and of course my homemade Pumpkin Puree. Nothing was better than to make these baked Pumpkin Doughnuts.These Doughnuts were full of flavour and icing on the cake was the cinnamon sugar topping. They simply melted in the mouth. This was the best doughnut recipe ever. What are you making for Halloween?

Directions:

1. In a bowl add All purpose Flour or Whole wheat Flour. Add Baking Soda and Baking powder.

3. Also add Pumpkin Pie Spice. You can make your own pumpkin pie spice at home, find out the recipe here. Also add Brown sugar and castor sugar and combine. Set aside the dry ingredients.

4. In another bowl add pumpkin puree. You can make your own pumpkin puree at home. Find out the recipe here. Also add an egg and whisk everything together*.

5. Add milk, melted butter and vanilla essence.

6. Whisk everything together and add the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine. Do not over mix. Just mix till everything is moist. If you feel the batter doesn’t have a pourable consistency add a little more milk and combine.

7. Spray a donut mould with oil and preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius. (Learn more about Oven temperatures and Conversion).

8. Fill 3/4th of the cavity with batter. You can use spoon or transfer the batter in a pipping bag and squeeze out the batter in the mould. Bake it in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. When it comes down to room temperature remove them doughnuts from the mould using the back of a knife.

9. For the Cinnamon sugar topping you need to add castor sugar in a bowl and add ground cinnamon to it. Mix them together. Brush the top of the donut with some melted butter and dunk the buttered face in the cinnamon sugar.

10. Serve them with your favourite cup of Coffee and enjoy the deliciousness.

You can even try Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts. You can even make Pumpkin Cake Rolls and Pumpkin Buns using the same Pumpkin Puree.

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[whohit]PumpkinDonuts[/whohit]

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