Mawa Cake and Masala Cookies for Daring Bakers Challenge

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen was our August 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and she challenged us to make some amazing regional Indian desserts. The Mawa Cake, the Bolinhas de Coco cookies and the Masala cookies – beautifully spiced and delicious!

I've been making and eating desserts from all over the world since a year especially french. This challenge has bought me back to my roots (Sounds cliche but totally true) . The challenge wasn't difficult but had various elements which needed some pre-planning. It was well worth the wait.

Mawa Cake is a cake found in Irani cafés in India. Mawa is basically Khoya and my favourite indian mithai is the white barfi made from Khoya. Khoya is made by reducing milk on a medium-low flame till we get a crumbly texture of milk solids. It's this mawa and cardamom which gives this cake it's signature flavor and texture of a pound cake.

Mawa Cake
For the Mawa: 1 litre (4 cups) full fat milk

For the cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) unsalted Butter (soft at room temperature)
3/4 cup (180 ml) packed crumbled mawa
1-1/4 cups (300 ml) (10 oz) (280 gm) castor sugar
3 large eggs
5 to 6 cardamom pods, powdered, (about 1-1/2 tsp powdered cardamom)
2 cups (500ml) (9 oz) (260 gm) cake flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract (optional)
Cashewnuts (or blanched almonds) to decorate (about 18 to 20)

Method:
1. First make the “Mawa”. Pour the milk into a heavy bottomed saucepan, preferably a non-stick one. Bring the milk to a boil, stirring it on and off, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Turn down the heat to medium and keep cooking the milk until reduces to about a quarter of its original volume. This should take about an hour to an hour and a half.

2. The important thing during this process is to watch the milk and stir it frequently to make sure it doesn’t stick to the sides or bottom of the pan and get burnt. The danger of this happening increases as the milk reduces and gets thicker.

3. Once the milk it has reduced to about one fourth, 1/4 quantity, lower the heat to low and let cook for a little while longer. Keep stirring regularly, until the milk solids (mawa) take on a lumpy appearance. There should be no visible liquid left in the pan, but the mawa should be moist and not stick to the sides of the pan.

4. Remove the pan from heat and transfer the mawa to a bowl and let it cool completely. Then cover and refrigerate it for a day or two (not more) till you’re ready to make the cake. It will harden in the fridge so let it come to room temperature before using it. You should get about 3/4 to 1 cup of mawa from 1 litre (4 cups) of full-fat milk.

To bake the cake: Pre-heat your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F.
1. Beat the butter, the crumbled mawa and the sugar in a largish bowl, using a hand held electric beater, on high speed until soft and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium speed till well incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat till mixed well.

3. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt onto the batter and beat at medium speed and well blended. If you cannot find cake flour, place 2 tablespoon of cornstarch in the bottom of your 1-cup measure and then fill it with all-purpose (plain) flour to make up to 1 cup.

4. Grease and line only the bottom of an 8 inch (20 cm) spring form pan. Pour the batter into this and lightly smooth the top. Place the cashew nuts (or blanched almonds) on top of the batter randomly. Do not press the nuts down into the batter. A Mawa Cake always has a rustic finished look rather than a decorated look.

5. Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 1 hour until the cake is a golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Do not over bake the cake or it will dry out. If the cake seems to be browning too quickly, cover it will aluminum foil hallway through the baking time.

6. Remove from oven and allow it to cool for 10 min in the tin. Release the cake, peel off the parchment from the base and let it cool completely.

The Masala Biscuits were a surprise packet for me. Being a first, I was a bit apprehensive about how they'll turn out. These are bound together with yogurt. One must be careful of how much yogurt is added as too much of it makes the dough very fiddly to manage. I didn't use sesame seeds as i didn't have any at hand and I'm not a huge fan either.

Masala Biscuits

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cup (420 ml) (9 oz) (250 gm) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 tablespoons (30 ml) fine white or brown rice flour (optional)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (or according to your taste)
1/2 cup (1 stick) (120 ml) (4 oz) (115 gm) chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
3/4 inch (20 mm) piece of ginger, finely grated
1-1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorn, crushed coarsely
1-1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed coarsely
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (½ oz) (15 gm) granulated sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped curry leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander/ cilantro
3 to 4 tablespoons (45 ml to 60 ml) cold yogurt
1-1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (or white sesame seeds)
A little oil to brush the tops of the biscuits/ cookies

Method:
1. Put both flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda into the bowl and add the pieces of chilled butter.
Pulse until the mixture takes on the texture of breadcrumbs. Now add chopped green chilies and ginger.

2. Then add crushed peppercorn and cumin, sugar, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Pulse a couple of times.Then add 2 tablespoons of yogurt and pulse again. Add one more tbs of yogurt (or two, as much as needed).

3. Pulse again until the dough just comes together and clumps together. Do not over process or knead.
The dough should be just moist enough to bring everything together to shape into a rough ball.

4. Flatten it into a disc and cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least hour. You can also leave it overnight (up to about 24 hours). Pre-heat your oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

5. Line your baking trays with parchment or grease them with oil. Lightly dust your working surface.
Roll out the dough to 1/8”(3 mm) thickness, not more or your biscuits/ cookies will not be crisp.

6. Sprinkle the sesame seeds uniformly over the dough and use your rolling pin, very lightly, to press them in.
Using cutters of your choice (about 2-1/4 inch (55 mm) to 2½ inch (65 mm) in size), cut out biscuits/ cookies.

7. Place them on lightly greased baking trays. Brush a very thin coat of oil; this will help them brown while baking.Bake in a preheated moderate oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or till they’re done and golden brown on the top.

8. Cool on the trays for about 5 minutes and then on racks. Once they’re completely cool, they should be crunchy.
Servings: Makes about 2 dozen masala biscuits/ cookies that are 2 1/4” (55 mm) to 2 ½” (65 mm)wide.

Set the cake to my neighbors. The kids and adults both enjoyed it over tea. Children are just so honest in their expressions. If it's nice, it's nice else they just won't have it. The biscuits were all over in just 2 days. Anyone who crossed the jar would have a few.

For cakes and cookies made by the Daring Bakers this month, check out the Daring Kitchen.

Le Bistro du Parc ~ Bloggers Table

An invitation to a newly opened French bistro style restaurant in Delhi, treading cautiously I said yes to give the evening a fair chance after non satisfactory experiences with french food in Delhi. To be honest, after my visit to France earlier this year, I was looking for a fix of some nice french food(not just desserts from school). Attending Chef at Large Delhi Bloggers Table at Le Bistro Du Parc, New Delhi.

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Le Bistro Du Parc is the newest french restaurant in town. Conceptualized by Naina de Bois Juzan(of French and Punjabi origins) and established in partnership with Olive. It embraces the casual and comfortable philosophy of ‘Bistronomy’. Its location is quite central at Moolchand market, facing the park. It has the traditional French Blue and White decor with accents of Yellows and Oranges.
It does have a bistro feel with Naina out in the front help everyone with what to order, managing things and making everyone comfortable. The bistro has 25 covers with a somewhat open kitchen.They are awaiting their liquor license before serving more covers on the first floor. 

Chef Stéphane Mathonneau, has been trained in traditional and modern French cuisine.  He has worked in hotels and restaurants in London, Switzerland, Sussex, Brighton, Kent, Savoy, Paris, Corsica, Chef Mathonneau has worked in several avatars. He has worked at Corrigan’s Mayfair and Gordon Ramsay’s The Maze, at La Trouvaille (now l’Antidote), Rothschild Group’s L’Auberge de la Cote 2000 and several other restaurants in Paris and London. With a chef like this, I'm looking forward to a very very french meal.

The salad course served was pleasing. The salads were fresh and the ingredients were doing exactly what the chef would have wanted them to do... Appetize and Tantalize....

Salade Céladon Celadon salad is a green salad of fruits and vegetables. The salad had Grape, Pistachio, Green Apple, Zucchini, Cucumber and Green peas with a dressing of Green pea purée and mint oil. Céladon is very French, céladon is from the character named Céladon, who wore pale green ribbons, in the novel "Astree" by Honoré d'Urfé.
Salade Midinette Midinette salad has warm grilled chicken on a julienne of green apple and celery, pomegranate and light parsley mayonnaise. In French, a midinette is female salesperson, a shopgirl, especially in Paris; a vacuous but fashionable young woman.The celery and green apple combination in juliennes gave just the right crunch, bite and flavour. Vegetables cut this way are sometimes said to be “frenched,” and the cut is also known as a matchstick cut, since the vegetables may be cut short so that they strongly resemble matchsticks.
Parfait de Foie de Volaille Chicken liver parfait was served with a balsamic reduction and confit onions. Liver parfait should be rich, silky and meltingly delicious, but somehow this parfait didn't quite measure up for me. It's not really anyone's fault, after having had the meat fruit, a chicken liver mousse made to look like a textured mandarin orange at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, I wasn't able to enjoy the parfait here.
Fricassee de Calamars Pan fried calamaris were served with garlic, baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes, black olives, red chilly coulis. Fricassee is an old term, dating back to at least the 15th century. It is a French word, theorized to be a compound of the French frire (to fry) and casser or quasser (to break in pieces).

For our main course we had Agneau Grillé, Legumes Verts Grilled lamb leg, green vegetables like
Green peas, snow peas, potatoes, with a mint, coriander and mango chutney.
Volaille Fermiere, Courgettes Roties, Tapenade The marinated chicken, roasted zucchini, olive tapenade was average i would say. Nothing wrong with the lamb or chicken but neither spectacular.
Rouget Poele, Legumes du Soleil, Nuage de Citron Pan fried red snapper, ratatouille vegetables, lemon foam. The fish was cooked just right and the lemon foam complimented all the flavours very well on the plate.
Choux Fleur Comme un Risotto Cauliflower magic risotto Grated cauliflower, cream of cauliflower, green peas and vegetables. No rice!!! This was the one dish that was most disappointing after such a lovely sales pitch. All I could taste was peas, peas and more peas, wish i could find more of the cauliflower to actually taste the risotto in question.

Cote de Boeuf a Partager, Tomates a la Provencale, Frites Maison, Sauce aux Morilles Rib of beef for two, roasted tomatoes, home made french fries and morel sauce was a dish which we discussed and debated a lot on the table. It's a main dish suggested for 2 people. The steak was done on the bone and bought to our table, following which Chef Stéphane sliced it up into smaller portions making it easier for us to enjoy.  The meat was very nice, a little too raw for us at first which was immediately fixed by the Chef. It was succulent, juicy and a great combination with the morel sauce.
The fries... We are all adults, we all know what fried potatoes do to our waistlines..... We ate every single one of what was on the plate, (despite having eaten so much in the earlier courses) is testimony for the fries. All of us clearly enjoyed the morel sauce enough to have asked for more.

Mousse au Chocolat Chocolate mousse, strawberry coulis and pomegranate was rich, creamy and luscious, complimented very well by the fruit coulis.
Charlotte a la framboise Raspberry Charlotte has the textures executed very well.
Paris Brest a la pistache Pistachio Paris Brest, choux pastry, filled with pistachio home made cream was interesting to see in Delhi but missing some of the bite, for me. This I feel was a function was the very very humid weather in Delhi right now. Any choux pastry product served would not be at it's best.
Tarte aux Prunes et aux Amandes The plum and almond tart was a balance of the tart and sweet, flavours doing the tango in my mouth.
Tarte au Citron Meringuee The lemon tart with meringue was tangy, sweet, creamy and citron heaven. From now on, whenever I don't feel like going into the kitchen yet feel like having lemon tart, this will be the first place I shall turn too.
A little something on lemon tarts and their history with me.... Lemon tart was and is one of my favorite desserts since childhood. On the foodline of Delhi, ever since Nirula's opened.... As kids were were allowed to take home only 1 dessert from the pastry shop... My brother always chose the chocolate tart and I always chose the lemon tart. It had the short crust party shell and lemon curd filling swirled (now I 'm little wiser to know, with the star tip icing nozzle) and no meringue. I made lemon tarts for many people in many variations but the best one hit me in school at Le Cordon Bleu in my basic term as my exam dish.  It was just delicious, I couldn't stop eating it despite knowing how much butter and sugar went into it.... all the calories in the world couldn't keep me from that tart at school.

I just have to go back to the bistro and try the Poire Belle Helene (Poached Pears In Vanilla Syrup Served With Almond Biscuits And Dark Chocolate Sauce), Tarte Landaise (Apple Baked With Brandy, Butter And Sugar, Wrapped In Filo Pastry And Served With A Brandy Sauce) and Crème Brulee A L’anis (Classic Crème Brulee Infused With Star Anis)

Le Bistro Du Parc for me feels a lot more authentic in it's ambiance, food and culture over the other french restaurants in town, definitely going back for the salads and desserts. The others at the table that night were  Sid of Chef at Large, Charis of Culinary Storm, Sushmita of My Unfinished Life.
Thank you for being such a great hosts Naina and Anjali.

Jenny's Date Cake ~ A Personal Touch

Was on holiday in Bangalore with family and loads of friends to catch up with. How can any holiday be complete for me without baking. Mami(the sweetheart that she is) had kept a recipe for me to try out. I was a bit skeptical about a date cake..... You'll read below about how wrong I was. Mami n I had such a fun time making this cake..... :)

The cake turned out amazing. Had taken it along when I visited Suma of Cakes and More and Madhuri of Cook-curry Nook. Both of them flipped out. Suma's kids wanted seconds and thirds..... Anytime children ask for seconds on a non chocolate cake..... preserve the recipe forever. Kids are the best critiques of comfort food and taste :)
Madhuri wanted the recipe to try out.... another testimonial..... A really cool fellow baker who takes classes in baking is asking for the recipe.... The recipe is a keeper, people....

Date Cake
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Cups Flour (sifted)
2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
2 Teaspoon Grated Ginger
6 Tablespoons Butter
1 Cup Gur

Date Sauce:
3 cups Chopped Dates
3 Cups Water
1+1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Caramel Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter [you can add more butter if you prefer a thicker sauce]
1 Cup Cream

Method:
Date Sauce:
1. To make the date sauce, boil the water and chopped dates till pulpy and squishy for about 20-30 minutes. As soon as you get a thick sauce add the baking soda and stir well.
Tip: Be sure to have a vessel thrice as large in volume as the sauce, the mixture will bubble up quite a lot. Put it aside to cool till room temperature
Cake:
2. Cream the butter and gur, till well incorporated.
3. Add 1 egg at a time and beat till incorporated.
4. Stir in the room temperature date sauce.
5. Fold in the sifted flour with Baking powder and spices.
Tip: Jenny's secret to this amazing cake.... mix it by hand. She says it adds the personal touch to the cake.

Caramel Sauce:
[am shamelessly picking up the steps from simplyrecipes.com as they've written it exactly like I wuold have done it along with instructions :) ]
1. First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2. Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on.
Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.

3. As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4. Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat. Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.

5. Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.


Another noteworthy tip would be to use the best dates that you can get. The dried up ones won't do much for this cake but the semi moist ones will take the cake's flavor and consistency to a different level. We arrived at this conclusion after making the cake twice with different dates each time.

Note to Self: Am in love with Mr. Faber after making this cake... Total convert.......

Verdict:
The end was just mindblowingly fantastic... [pardon the grammar but this cake really deserves this praise n more]. The firm crust and soft moist insides with flavors which just have to be eaten to be believed. The caramel sauce packs-in-a-punch, by adding body and multiplying the flavor by 100.
This recipe is definitely a keeper forever :)
Talking about this cake has made me drool again..... I need another slice... running to the kitchen.....

Chocolate Baklava Laced With Tequila ~ Rolling Phyllo with Daring Bakers to get compliments

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. I just have to make some departures and add a twist. This month's twist was Cocoa, Raisin n Apricots in the filling with the nuts. In the soaking syrup I used Golden syrup instead of Honey for extra warmth. The high twist came from a few capfuls of Tequila in the syrup :)

Baklava is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia.

In Turkey, Gaziantep is famous for its baklava and regarded there as its native city, though it only appears to have been introduced to Gaziantep from Damascus in 1871. In 2008, the Turkish patent office registered a geographical indication certificate for Antep Baklava.

Baklava from Aleppo is made with the local pistachios and samna from Hama.

In Iran, a drier version of baklava is cooked and presented in smaller diamond-shaped cuts flavored with rose water. The city of Yazd is famous for its baklava, which is widely distributed in Iran. Persian baklava uses a combination of chopped almonds and pistachios spiced with cardamom and a rose water-scented syrup and is lighter than other Middle Eastern versions.

In Azerbaijan, pakhlava is mostly prepared during the Novruz festivity. After preparation the pakhlava is cut into diamond shapes and each piece is garnished with an almond or a walnut.

In Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina baklava is generally rich in nuts and filling.

In Afghanistan and Cyprus, baklava is prepared into triangle-shaped pieces and is lightly covered in crushed pistachio nuts.

In Albania - baklava is the most popular dessert. Homemade dough is sometimes used. The typical traditional ingredients are flour and egg yolks for the dough, and walnuts and butter for the filling. The syrup is prepared by boiling water, sugar and, optionally, vanilla powder.

In Armenia, baklava is made with cinnamon and cloves. [Source: wikipedia.com]

If you’re thinking baklava is easy, just layering phyllo, you’re right, but not so fast. We will be making our own homemade phyllo; we are, after all, the Daring Bakers. Phyllo, which means, "leaf" in Greek, is tissue paper-thin like sheets of dough. Homemade phyllo is a lot of work to roll out but is worth it, its delicious! Baklava is quite simple to make but is a little time consuming.

Blog-checking lines: Erica of Erica’s Edibles was our host for the Daring Baker’s June challenge. Erica challenged us to be truly DARING by making homemade phyllo dough and then to use that homemade dough to make Baklava.

Dough:

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups (320 ml) (185 gm/6½ oz) unbleached all purpose (plain) flour

1/8 teaspoon (2/3 ml) (¾ gm) salt

1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon (105 ml) water, plus more if needed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil, plus additional for coating the dough

1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) cider vinegar, (could substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, but could affect the taste)

Directions:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour and salt

2. Mix with paddle attachment

3. Combine water, oil and vinegar in a small bowl.

4. Add water & oil mixture with mixer on low speed, mix until you get a soft dough, if it appears dry add a little more water (I had to add a tablespoon more)

4 This is the texture you are looking for, sticks together:

5. Change to the dough hook and let knead approximately 10 minutes. You will end up with beautiful smooth dough. If you are kneading by hand, knead approx. 20 minutes.

6. Remove the dough from mixer and continue to knead for 2 more minutes. Pick up the dough and through it down hard on the counter a few times during the kneading process.

7. Shape the dough into a ball and lightly cover with oil

8. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest 30-90 minutes, longer is best ( I let mine rest 2 hours and it was perfect)

Baklava Recipe

Adapted from Alton Brown, The Food Network

Ingredients ~ 30 servings

For the syrup:

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) honey [I used Golden syrup as it's lesser sweet and has a warm flavour to it]

1 1/4 cups (300ml) water

1 1/4 cups (300 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 (2-inch/50 mm) piece fresh citrus peel (lemon or orange work best)

a few cloves or a pinch or ground clove

1 capful of Tequila [this was my twist and bless my soul it really was :)]

When you put your baklava in the oven start making your syrup. When you combine the two, one of them needs to be hot, I find it better when the baklava is hot and the syrup has cooled

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar has dissolved

2. Boil for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.

3. Once boiled for 10 minutes remove from heat and strain cinnamon stick and lemon, allow to cool as baklava cooks.

Rolling your Phyllo

** Remove all rings and jewelry so it does not snag the dough**

Use whatever means you have to get the dough as thin as you can. You may also use a pasta machine if you have one, or a normal rolling pin whatever works for you.

1. Unwrap your dough and cut off a chunk slightly larger then a golf ball. While you are rolling be sure to keep the other dough covered so it doesn’t dry out.

2. Be sure to flour your hands, rolling pin and counter. As you roll you will need to keep adding, don’t worry, you can’t over-flour.

3. Roll out the dough a bit to flatten it out.

4. Wrap the dough around your rolling pin/dowel

5. Roll back and forth quickly with the dough remaining on the dowel (see attached video for a visual, its much easier then it sounds)

6. Remove; notice how much bigger it is!

7. Rotate and repeat until it is as thin as you can it. Don’t worry if you get rips in the dough, as long as you have one perfect one for the top you will never notice.

8. When you get it as thin as you can with the rolling pin, carefully pick it up with well floured hands and stretch it on the backs of your hands as you would a pizza dough, just helps make it that much thinner. Roll out your dough until it is transparent. NOTE: you will not get it as thin as the frozen phyllo dough you purchase at the store, it is made by machine

9. Set aside on a well-floured surface. Repeat the process until your dough is used up. Between each sheet again flower well. You will not need to cover your dough with a wet cloth, as you do with boxed dough, it is moist enough that it will not try out.

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 (5-inch/125 mm piece) cinnamon stick, broken into 2 to 3 pieces or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (8 gm) ground cinnamon

15 to 20 whole allspice berries ( I left these out)

3/4 cup (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) blanched almonds

3/4 cup (180 ml) (155 gm/5½ oz) raw or roasted walnuts

3/4 cup (180 ml) (140 gm/5 oz) raw or roasted pistachios

2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm/ 5 1/3 oz) sugar ( I left this out)

2 tbsp Cocoa (Optional, I loved the depth they bought to the filling)

2 tbsp chopped dry Apricots

2 tbsp chopped Raisins

phyllo dough (see recipe above)

1 cup (2 sticks) (240 ml) (225g/8 oz) melted butter ** I did not need this much, less then half and you can use clarified butter ie Ghee instead**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.

2. Combine nuts, sugar and spices in a food processor and pulse on high until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor chop with a sharp knife as fine as you can. Set aside

3. Trim your phyllo sheets to fit in your pan

4. Brush bottom of pan with butter and place first phyllo sheet

5. Brush the first phyllo sheet with butter and repeat approximately 5 times ending with butter. (Most recipes say more, but homemade phyllo is thicker so it's not needed)

6. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

7. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

8. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

9. Continue layering phyllo and buttering repeating 4 times

10. Sprinkle 1/3 of the nut mixture on top

11. Continue layering and buttering phyllo 5 more times. On the top layer, make sure you have a piece of phyllo with no holes if possible, just looks better.

12. Once you have applied the top layer tuck in all the edges to give a nice appearance.

13. With a Sharp knife cut your baklava in desired shapes and number of pieces. If you can't cut all the ways through don’t worry you will cut again later. A 9x9 pan cuts nicely into 30 pieces. Then brush with a generous layer of butter making sure to cover every area and edge

14. Bake for approximately 30 minutes; remove from oven and cut again this time all the way through. Continue baking for another 30 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary, you are looking for the top to be a golden brown, take close watch yours may need more or less time in the oven)

15. When baklava is cooked remove from oven and pour the cooled (will still be warmish) syrup evenly over the top, taking care to cover all surfaces when pouring. It looks like it is a lot but over night the syrup will soak into the baklava creating a beautifully sweet and wonderfully textured baklava!

Next morning all syrup is absorbed

16. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once cooled cover and store at room temperature. Allow the baklava to sit overnight to absorb the syrup.

17. Serve at room temperature

Making Baklava was quite an exercise for me as I have never made rolled n layered pastry ever... Using a regular rolling pin wasn't a bright idea, it's not wide enough... Then I moved to using the cardboard on which cling film comes wrapped.... Worked like magic, gave me nice n thinly rolled phyllo, giving super light flaky pastry on top despite the syrup being soaked in :)))

Ergo Chef are giving away a fabulous 13 Piece Guy Fieri “Battle Station” 13 piece block set. If you’d like to win it, do stop by soon as the contest ends 4th of July.

Aren't you in love with this layered delight of flaky goodness..... Don't count your calories in this one..... You'll be happy to hit the cycle like my neighbour did after he had it.... yet came back for seconds.... So folks, cycle, run, jog, work out all you want but don't miss out on this delight....

On Demand Chocolate Tiramisu ~ Walk Down Memory Lane

Chocolate Tiramisu, the dessert of Decadence was the post which set my naniji[Grandmother] ticking and she asked me to make this when I visit her. So on this trip to Hyderabad for mom's birthday, I made Chocolate Tiramisu especially for naniji and nanaji. I just had to use the cute glasses they had, didn't I :)

Shared some of the Tiramisu with the Vir's (special family friends... nah... Family )... Sudha aunty, Ashok uncle, Aarti didi, Diwakar, Gautam and Madhavi. This little bundle is Meher... Aarti didi and Diwakar's daughter.... such a sweetheart she is..... pl don't miss the cupcakes in her top ;)

The Hyderabad home is full of memories from our childhood.... forgotten bit n bobs which have a way of popping up and filling us with nostalgia. This is one of the 2 embroidery designs I've ever made..... Strange but true... have done embroidery for very few special people...

For the recipe you can ready any of these posts, You Know.... It's For YOU, Tiramisu..., Chocolate Tiramisu ~ Amrita's Birthday, Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake for Baking Queen ~ Deeba's Birthday, Flying Tiramisu Cupcakes.

These coasters were Jenny mami's idea for naniji n nanaji's 50th wedding anniversary, where all the grandchildren made their own designs and a set was given to all the guests at the party... and now very proudly displayed at their bar.

Tell me readers, which are your most cherished memories with your grandparents?

Happy Birthday Chocolate Tarts for Suma of Cakes and More

This is a very special post for my blogger friend, Suma of Cakes and More from Bangalore. She did an amazing guest post for me... Egg-less Coffee Walnut Cake Trifle. Her blog has turned 1.... Happy Birthday my dear friend.......

She's hosting a birthday event and also has a giveaway announcement, she calls it Bakeomania! What a cool name for this event. The give away is this wonderful book, which every baker would love to own 'The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum!'.
Since her blog is a vegetarian blog.... I had to rack my brains very hard at what can I bake without eggs... an eggless cake... nah... that's the first thought everyone will have........
Chocolate n Coffee at Suma's birthday event is essential cause I know she loves them both and since she's so careful with the look for her desserts.... mine had to look desirable too.....

So, My Chocolatey baked goodie is this Chocolate Ganache Tarts..... No eggs in the pastry shells, They are baked, There's hmmmmmmm goooooooeeeeeeey molten Chocolate n cream and some Coffee added for extra flavour to the Ganache........

As she says.... Three Cheers to home-baking and may the passionate home-bakers tribe increase!
Suma: Am certainly a +1 on your list, hope i get the book to keep up my crazy baking :)

What's the similarity between a Sincere Kiss and Chocolate Tiramisu?

The 3 very special people in my life....... Babaji, Upma mom and Mom.....

Is this special or what....... Yes making parshad is always special for me.... the effort is huge cause I need to make it for about 350 people (including the sugarfree version) in 1 weekend and transport it to North Delhi from South Delhi ;) I can Proudly say that divine grace has always been with me and the task at hand gets done despite the challenges.
That's Shobha didi and Sudha aunty distributing, Manish eating :) , Tarush and Nikki helping out.....

That's my POSERS INC... Sadhika, Geetika, Disha, Shrishti, Shinky and Mom :)

My earlier trysts with this dessert..... You Know.... It's For YOU, Tiramisu..., Chocolate Tiramisu ~ Amrita's Birthday, Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake for Baking Queen ~ Deeba's Birthday, Flying Tiramisu Cupcakes, Chocolate Tiramisu, the dessert of Decadence. You can use any of these recipes.... they all worked like magic for me..... :) *really smug grin*

What actually made me decide that this is what I'm going to make as parshad.....
Had made this for Vivekji's Promotion party and everyone loved it..... I had loved the taste of this dessert myself[very evident with the number of times I've made it and loads of posts on it :)] The encouragement which I got from everyone at the party and support from Vibha had me decided.... :)
The after party smses made my day... was feeling so so Happy... :) :) :)

Vivek ji: Mummy aapka desert party ka oasis tha n u looked beautiful....

Vibha: Hey! N thanks to u for such awesome dessert man! It was perfectly done n u excelled yourself totally! Your being there made the party fun :)

Madame you have totally taken the cake this time! Ur dessert wuz simply purrfect, the rite sweetness, body, silkiness.. I ve bin pigging on it today n hv bi sittin n appreciating all day..

Sorry to put u on such a high :)) but both my sisters have totally freaked on ur dessert wch i call choc tiramisu, n they think its the best that they've ever eaten! Now that u r an established best in the field, i hv prasad on diwali. Do u want to do the dessert on totally professional basis? I thot better to ask u before i explore my next choices.. By the way, the food critic is also at work.. In ur dessert u ve to reduce the quantity of rum n spice it with little tini mini sugar n sm cinnamon. Rite now, the overpowering taste is taking away the sinful pleasure.. Which has to come subtly and gradually, not as a bolt in ur mouth..

The dessert was a major hit with gunjan n all the other darbaris who came yesterday.. Ran short.. Got polished off in 5 secs flat!

The next person to taste some was Amitabh who shared his feedback...

Amitabh :Whatever it was, it was yummy :-)
Nachi: Thanks.... Was a tiramisu variant..... Chocolate tiramisu.... :)
Amitabh : Did it have some spirit in it as well?
Nachi: Yo! Rum in d cake n baileys in the mascarpone n cream layer :)
Amitabh: That explains that extra sting at the end.....mmm. Repeating soon? With more rum?
Nachi: Was it sting or shot of flavour?28th parshad....
Amitabh: :-) Had to have a quick bite to give a precise answer: the liquor is strong enough to tickle your nostrils and slightly overpowers the other subtle flavours of the tiramisu.....fine for people like me but may get the more sensitive Durbar gentry a bit tipsy.....;-)

So I took out the Rum Soaked raisins from my earlier preparation... and there we have it..... To-Die-For 'Chocolate Tiramisu'[excuse my immodesty but I really enjoyed it... :)]. The luxurious nature of this dessert just takes my heart away.... read more about it at Chocolate Tiramisu, the dessert of Decadence.

A big thank you to all my tasters for making me grin like a Cheshire Cat :)


While making the dessert... I would lick the remains of from the mixing bowl.... I was in L-O-V-E with it..... and totally ignored all the love handles it would give me... When we melted the chocolate to make the Chocolate Ganache... the aroma in the house was like a chocolate factory....... just sheer B-L-I-S-S.....

Since this was a layered dessert, had started preparations much earlier... like baking the sponge happened during the week and much needed hand-at-work was invited over... My sweet little Sous Chef for this task was Tarini, She was so helpful and such a delight to work with. Vibha and Vivekji also pitched in......

At the Durbar we have Bunty Bhaiya, Veena bua, Charu Aunty n Oditi immersed in various tasks....
Nikki, Gulla, Shrishti, my sweetie Ciona, Geetika and Sadhika... all of having a rollicking time....

How can I miss The imp.... Gunjan, Radhika Didi, Anjali, Yogita, Nikhil, Sonal and Lily..... Am so glad everyone enjoyed the Chocolate Tiramisu....

My specials.... Neha Didi, Nivritti[She was instrumental in getting the stickers on the lids...], Amitabh[one of my Sushi partners], Gaurav, Mini Didi and mom :)

Verdict:
It was just Fabulous... Mind blowing and we all enjoyed it..... What I enjoyed the most after all the hard work was so many of us coming together.... Letting go the ego of 'I made it' to feel grateful for all the wonderful people I'm blessed to have around me. The feeling is truly liberating. Would love to make this over and over again to see their eyes close and smiles wide on their faces.....
What's the similarity between a sincere kiss and sinfully yummy dessert.....
Most people enjoy them with their eyes closed...... and are always left wanting More.... :)

Shinky:
Hey Nachi, missed telling you this yesterday, tiramisu was just amazing ! You're just too good !! :) enjoyed every bite.

Meetu:
It was the most awesomelicious tiramasu I have had..... Great work Done :)

Daring Baker Challenge - Pasta Frolla Crostatas

Aren't I crazy..... take up so much more than I can chew..... Challenge says make a crostata.... I must experiment with flavours.... I make 2 sweet and a savoury one, Pineapple topped with Black Grapes,Dates n Walnuts and Spinach Crostata.
All this started at 9.30am, I have the DB challenge to complete, A train to catch for Lucknow at 9pm[still haven't packed] to attend Bhaskar's wedding[Colleague at work], Sugarfree, walnut n black current brownies to bake/cool/pack for Bhaskar's parents, Pack my bags for Lucknow and to top it all.... I decide to do 3 mini tarts with different flavours instead of making 1 tart n being done with it........
Certified Crazy...

The 2010 November Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Simona of briciole. She chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ to make pasta frolla for a crostata. She used her own experience as a source, as well as information from Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.
Pasta Frolla [Download the printable .pdf of the challenge HERE!]
By Simona of briciole [I halved this quantity to make a savoury n another sweet dough]
Ingredients:
* 1/2 c. minus 1 tablespoon [105 ml, 100 g, 3 ½ oz] superfine sugar (see Note 1) or a scant 3/4 cup [180ml, 90g, 3 oz] of powdered sugar
* 1 and 3/4 cup [420 ml, 235 g, 8 1/4 oz.] unbleached all-purpose flour
* a pinch of salt
* 1 stick [8 tablespoons / 4 oz. / 115 g] cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
* grated zest of half a lemon (you could also use vanilla sugar as an option, see Note 2)
* 1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten in a small bowl

Note 1: Superfine sugar is often also referred to as ultrafine, baker’s sugar or caster sugar. It’s available in most supermarkets. If you cannot find “superfine” sugar, you can make your own by putting some regular granulated sugar in a food processor or blender and letting it run until the sugar is finely ground.

Note 2: There are different ways of making vanilla sugar. I keep vanilla beans in a jar half-filled with sugar until I need to use them, for example, to make vanilla ice cream. After I remove the split bean from the custard that will go into the ice cream maker, I rinse it, dry it and put it back in the jar with sugar.

Making pasta frolla by hand:
1. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Rub or cut the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs. You can do this in the bowl or on your work surface, using your fingertips or an implement of choice.
3. Make a well in the center of the mounded flour and butter mixture and pour the beaten eggs into it (reserve about a teaspoon of the egg mixture for glazing purposes later on – place in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to use).
4. Add the lemon zest to your flour/butter/egg mixture.
5. Use a fork to incorporate the liquid into the solid ingredients, and then use your fingertips.
6. Knead lightly just until the dough comes together into a ball.
7. Shape the dough into a flat disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours. You can refrigerate the dough overnight.

Making pasta frolla with a food processor:
1. Put sugar, flour, salt, and lemon zest in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
2. Add butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture has the consistency of coarse meal.
3. Empty food processor's bowl onto your work surface
4. See step 3 above and continue as explained in the following steps (minus the lemon zest, which you have already added).

Some tips from Audax, which really helped:

How to make sweet short crust pastry
The least handled dough is the best made dough.
The most important points while making pastry by hand is to
1. keep everything as cold as possible – I place the mixing bowl, the boards, the cutting utensils, the sifted flour/sugar/salt, the grated cold butter, whole egg and egg yolk for 15 minutes in the freezer to get all ingredients the same very cold temperature.
2. be quick it should only take about 2-3 minutes at most. I prefer to make the crust dough by hand so I can control the final consistency, I find using a machine is a little hit and miss.
3. use your fingertips (and only your fingertips) as little as possible (I place my fingertips into ice cold water and dry them with paper towels so they will be cold and won't melt the fat)
4. use as little liquid as possible
5. don't be delicate just quick when rubbing in the butter and you don't need a smooth dough at the end
Sift together flour, sugar and salt and place into the freezer (15 minutes) make sure you sift from a height this allows air to be incorporated into the mixture and trapped air is what makes pastry light.

Using your fingertips only (I used a pastry blender (or you can use a fork with a knife) for most of the process only using my fingertips near the end), and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles pea-sized lumps. As you lightly rub the fat into the flour, lift it up high and let it fall back down into the bowl, which again means that air is being incorporated all the time, and air is what makes pastry light, make sure all the flour is coated with fat. Set aside in the fridge.
You want small pieces of butter coated with flour showing.
Do not keep cutting and tossing the butter so that the butter chunks all become pea sized. The butter chunks should mostly remain a bit larger than peas and vary in size, ranging from lima bean size to pea size. This is where most people go wrong and 'rub' the butter too long until it starts to melt into the flour – the idea is to have separate particles of butter coating the flour this produces the flakiest pastry.

How can you tell if you are doing right – smell your fingers if they smell of butter you have melted the butter into the flour and not rubbed it in – this was the “test” that I had to pass by the person who taught me to make pastry I had to make pastry and not have buttery fingers. Try it.

Assembling and baking the crostata di marmellata:
1. Heat the oven to 375ºF [190ºC/gas mark 5].
2. Take the pasta frolla out of the fridge, unwrap it and cut away ¼ of the dough. Reserve this dough to make the lattice top of the crostata. Refrigerate this dough while you work on the tart base.
3. To help roll the crostata dough, keep the dough on top of the plastic wrap that you had it wrapped in. This can help rolling the dough and can also help when transferring the dough to your pan. You can also use parchment paper for this. However, you can also roll the dough directly on a work surface if you prefer.
4. Lightly dust the top of the dough and your work surface (if you’re rolling directly on a work surface) with flour. Keep some flour handy to dust the dough as you go along.
5. If the dough is very firm, start by pressing the dough with the rolling pin from the middle to each end, moving the rolling pin by a pin's width each time; turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat; when it softens, start rolling.
6. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/8th inch (3 mm) thick.
7. If you used the plastic wrap or parchment paper as rolling surface, flip dough over the pan, centering it, and delicately press it all around so the corners are well covered. Peel away the plastic wrap.
8. Trim the excess dough hanging over the edges of the pan. Press the remaining dough around the border into the sides of the pan making sure the border is an even thickness all the way around.
9. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places.
10. Take out of the fridge the reserved pasta frolla you had cut away earlier. Roll it with your pin and cut into strips or use cookie cutters to make small shapes (this is not traditional, but it looks cute); or roll with your hands into ropes.
11. Spread the jam or fruit preserves evenly over the bottom of the crostata.
12. Use the prepared strips or rolls of dough to make a lattice over the surface, or decorate with the cut shapes. (Note: You can use dough scraps to make cookies: see the Additional Information section for some pointers)
13. Brush the border and strips of dough with the reserved beaten eggs. You can add a drop or two of water to the beaten eggs if you don’t have enough liquid.
14. Put the tart in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
15. After 25 minutes, check the tart and continue baking until the tart is of a nice golden hue. (Note: Every oven is different. In my oven it took 34 minutes to bake the tart until golden.)
16. When done, remove the tart from the oven and let cool. If you have used a tart pan with a removable bottom, then release the tart base from the fluted tart ring. Make sure the tart is completely cool before slicing and serving.

Blind-baking is a process often used in baking. To blind-bake a tart shell, you line the unbaked tart (once you’ve placed it in the tart pan) with parchment paper or aluminum foil. You then fill the tart with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use dried beans. You pour these on top of the parchment paper or aluminum foil to weigh the paper down. You then bake the tart for a period of time to ensure that it is at least partially cooked. The weights help to ensure that the tart base does not bubble up during baking and that it bakes evenly. The blind-baked tart is then cooled and filled according to the recipe instructions. (Note that in the video, the dough is rolled to 1 cm [3/8th inch] thickness, thicker than than what I do.)

My Salted Spinach Crostata was made with Garlic, Onions, Spinach, Cheese and lightly beaten eggs.

After making sauteing Garlic, Onions, Spinach, cool the mixture. In another bowl beat cheese, 2 spoons of scream and eggs. Stir in the 2 mixtures and adjust seasoning to taste[had used Vibha's seasoning in the dough too along with grated nutmeg]. Fill this mixture in chilled salted tart cases. Bake in preheated oven till golden brown.

This is my fruit Crostata with sweet pastry[had added cinnamon to the pastry for the extra punch :) ], sliced Pineapples topped with Black Grapes. The citrus flavour was very well balanced by the sweet grapes... wish I had the time to make some vanilla pastry cream or custard to go with this one...

This is my mom's favourite Crostata.... Dates and Walnuts. Chop up soaked/softened seedless dates, fill in blind baked pastry shell, generously sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

My mamu[Mom's brother] came over to visit us as he was in town.... The timing was perfect..... The crostatas were just rolling out of the oven.....

They were polished off straight out of the oven..... After the pictures, even the crumbs were gone...

Thank you of Simona for this lovely challenge :)