Happy Birthday Vivek ~ Pineapple Upside Down Cake LOADED with RUM :-)

Happy Birthday, Vivek..... :-)

He's one of the pillars at Infoedge and one of my earliest mentors at Infoedge..... He's old wine that's been aging on the rack for over 10 years.....3rd March 1999 is when he joined Infoedge....

Isn't that ancient in an era where people change jobs at the drop of a hat.... Well am headed in a similar direction cause I've known Vivek for the last 7 years that we've been at Infoedge. He's one of the hardest and smartest working people I've ever known and learnt so much from and he is now the Business head of Jeevansathi.com after having worked his way up the techie ladder all the way to the top. Read more about his achievements here....

Readers, Long posts are boring... long posts are not read by most people..... So on n So forth...... But this is not a commercial website... This is my blog and I write about people n stuff I like..... This guy I like and revere a lot.... Brace yourself for a long post cause Vivek deserves this and a lot more......
His birthday deserved something special... He requested for 'Pineapple Upside Down Cake' and that's exactly what he got.... the bonus being LOADED with rum... :-)

That's his family.... Pushpanjali [did a Banofee Pie for her] and their darling princess...... n we all know who he adores more.... ;-)

That's Vivek with his favorite muse Pushpanjali in a 'Jab-We-Met' moment... They make such a lovely couple....

Vivek has this patent pose where he hides behind Pushpanjali...... like... alllllllllll the time....

The camera is his passion.... his work with it is just amazing... view some here.
This fabulous picture of mine is labeled ....'Vivek ke camere ka kamal'.... this was taken in office to try out his new flash and like WOW!!!!!!! The 2 guys jumping is Puneet M and Puneet C when we had gone to Tunganath.... What a trip it was, read about it here.

On the way to Tunganath we stopped over at a Dhaba outside IIT-Roorkie to have their favorite bread omlette and had quite an encounter with an extremely abusive owner... The hill top posing at Deveria tal was really worth the trek we did.

We have a blast at the parties at Vivek's place..... His favorite sorts of parties are those which have.... Booze and Cards. We've even played with plastic glasses n match sticks as money..... read more about beginners luck here. How hard all of them tried to tech me 3 patti [flash] but no avail.. I just can't deal with this game......

We played at a height of 8500 ft in Bir billing... first thing in the morning...... The view was amazing.

That's Vivek's feet dangling while parasailing in Billing, himachal pradesh at 8500 ft..... Check out more pictures of this awesome trip here. The dedicated guy to work that he is..... all of us are enjoying n Vivek's on the phone with Darshan in office checking sales reports and site performance...... poor Darshan.... ;-)

Camp Fires are his specialty.....
who even collects his own firewood... :-)

He's a deeply grounded guy who loves nature.....
These shots are spread out over Tunnganath, Manali, Leh, Rohtang Pass and Bali.... Yes, he driven to all these places and more..... Driving and Hills are something he's very passionate about....

This is his favorite picture of nature.... clouds rolled in within minutes of a clear sky to create this mystical shot.....

Pictionary is something Vivek n I both love... We've played pictionary in office n had really fun times...... We've even played in the train in the wee hours of the morning when finally the lady next door had to shush us up n break up our party.....

Pushpanjali is a great sport for themed parties and ensure that Vivek's also following the code.... That's us at my Red n White Theme birthday party..... Pl note he's in a red n white check shirt under the black jacket... :-)

His office cabin is right next to the conference room... people keep borrowing chairs for meetings and never return them.... what's the solution... he's got a notice pasted on his cabin door.... 'You can't take chairs from my room'.... and yes we love pulling his leg on it...... all the diwali party presentations feature this very prominently.....

The foodie that he is...... We gathered for the Gastronomical Tour of Chandni Chowk.....

We ate and ate ate and ate ate and ate ate and ate ate and ate ate and ate .......... till we were gonna burst........

Sharing was the only way we would get to taste all that was on offer in Chandni Chowk..... That's Vivek, Pushpanjali, Hitesh and Shalab sharing 1 glass of Nimbu Soda [Lemon Squash]

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients

For Topping:

1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored

3/4 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For Batter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 to 3 ground cardamom seeds

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon dark rum [I used 4 caps full, which is why this cake was LOADED with rum :-)]

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make Topping:

Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces.

Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly. in a dusted cake tin.

Melt butter in a pan.

Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes till the sugar caramelises.

Remove from heat and pour over the arranged pineapples in the dusted tin.

Make Batter:

Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt.

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in vanilla and rum.

Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. [Better still just fold it in]

Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.) [Better still just fold it in]

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Let cake stand in the tin 5 minutes. [wait it it's slightly warm and not completely cold else the caramel may stick to the pan and not invert evenly]

Invert a plate over tin and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and tin firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet.

Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

Verdict: The caramel was awesome and the cake vanished in minutes.....

Happy Birthday, Vivek.

Chocolate Butterfly Cake ~ For a Sweetie Pie, Mishti

9pm, No electricity on Sunday nite after a totally tiring weekend... am weary to the point where my eyes hurt if I close them, I lay down on the bed, close my eyes... n WHACK the thought hits me.... I promised my friend at work Komal, that I would do a cake for her daughter Mishti's birthday..... I sit ramrod straight in bed.... What do I do????
Call Komal, tell her no electricity n no enegry, so no cake..... Now I'm not getting thru Komal's number.... Total Panic attack in my head.... What do I do NOW????? How can a kid have a birthday party without a fancy cake......
My conscience got the better of me..... Started thinking what cake to do..... Thoughts whizzing thru my head..... just let me put a chocolate cake into the oven n be done with it.......

Awww... Come on nachiketa... The kids been asking for cake from 'Nachiketa'..... Can't make this any less special for her..... The butterfly formed in my head..... Went hunting for my cake base.... and chart paper... Got out my baking stuff... fired up the oven and finally finished by midnight.....

That's Mishti with her cake..... She loved it.... Was so lovely to see her eyes light up at the sight of the cake...... The effort was so totally worth it....

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cake:
1+ ½ Cup All purpose Flour [Maida]
1+ ½ Cup Sugar [Powdered]
½ cup Refined Oil
4 Eggs
½ tsp Vanilla Essence
½ tsp Baking Powder
½ Cup Cocoa Powder

Icing:
3 Cups Icing Sugar
40 gms Soft Butter
Few drops of Pink and Blue Food Colour

Method:
For Cake:
Pre-heat the oven.
Sieve All purpose Flour [Maida], Cocoa n baking powder together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl beat eggs till fluffy, slowly adding the sugar beat well.
Add the maida and oil alternatively, using the dry-wet-dry method.
Stir in. Do not over mix.
Grease a baking dish, and pour in the mixture.
Bake at 175 degree centigrade for about 30-40 minutes or till an inserted toothpick comes clean.
Cool on a wire rack


For Icing:
On slow fire, heat butter and icing Sugar till butter is soft.
Take off heat and stir till incorporated.
Add a few drops of water to get pouring consistency in the mixture.
Divide icing into half.
Add food colour to get the shade you like, Red and Blue to the divided mixtures. [I used a few drops of red... red n white makes pink ;-) ]
Pour the pink mixture over both the cakes and smoothen.
Fill the blue in an icing bag and pipe away.
Decorate with sprinkles.

Happy Birthday, Mishti :-)

Amit Guzzles ALL His Beer inorder To Get 'Chocolate Black Out Cake'

Met Amit, while doing a play with 'Living Room Theater' called 'Urban Tadka'. We hit it off instantly in a group of 4 Amit, Vikram, Dipali[had done the Caramel Cake for Dipali's Anniversary ] and me. We use to have a blast during practices.

We all went out a lot, did crazy stuff, Morning walks at Lodhi Garden, Humayun's Tomb, All American Diner, Sagar, Cafe Coffee Day, Stone, Movies, ran the Airtel Marathon........ We can chat for hours.

We use to have impromptu dance sessions at the play practice cause Dipali and Amit are both wonderful dancers. Going to Big Chill was a SUGAR HIGH for all of us.... :-) Tonino's had us asking for more..... Cheers at The Chinese was very cheery....

We went on a neemrana property spree and visited Patudi, Neemrana n Kesroli. The long drives use to be so much fun... not to forget the aweaome music in Amit's car.... Amazing collection ;-)



The play was held at gymkhana, we were quite nervous about it.... It went of well....

I was busy baking apple crumble n apple pie for neha didi's birthday....[that's another post coming up, Update: it's here] when Dipali called n said the doctor's[vikram] planned a surprise for Amit........... It was Amit's birthday. We[Dipali n I] would meet him at the venue whereIVikram was taking Amit and surprise him... by ringing in his b'day at midnite... interesting......
How much time do I have to make a cake.....after I get back from mall road....
2 hours to be precise... This included getting all the stuff prepared to bake, doing the cake, allowing it time to cool so that i could ice it AND get ready for the dinner....

Decided to do a cake I love[for it's moistness] n chocolate is a favourite with most men... :-) and I had a very very short span to make the cake in..... hence KISS..... Keep It Short n Simple..... Hence I made the Chocolate Blackout Cake...Hmmm.... am already drooling...

We went to one of our favourite places to celebrate after much venue changing... The Shack in Defence Colony... It was a fun filled evening with Amit finally drinking up all the alcohol he ordered.... no left overs this time....

Then came cake cutting time... The 'Foodus Bloggerus' awoke in Miss Chandra and I went crazy clicking pictures of the cake.... n even put an icing flower on Amit's nose... :-)

Hope you have a great time ahead and may we all cherish the wonderful memories....

Apple Crumble and Apple Pie for the Apple of our Eye ~ Krishna's Favorite Neha Didi

Happy Birthday Neha Didi....
She's one of the sweetest, loving and most sincere people I have ever met..... remember sharing my Nancy Drew books with her... have learnt so much from her... her patience is amazing.... She was the one who lost lots of weight and inspired me to get on track aswell.... If it wasn't for her... this post on 'Minus 17 kgs', would never have been possible.
The loveliness of golden apples.... tart yet sweet in their own way.....

My bua[my dad's sister] is an awesome baker [who needs post entirely dedicated to her] was over and i just had to learn something from her while she was over. This is her recipe...

Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
6 cups peeled and cored apples chopped into 1/2-to 3/4-inch pieces (about 6 large apples)
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresah ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
5 Cloves

Crumble Topping (Makes about 3 cups crumbs)
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 table spoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

Mix the Topping
Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and use a large spoon to stir them together.
Add the butter pieces, stirring to coat them with the flour.
Rub the butter pieces and flour between your thumb and fingertips or cut them together with a pastry blender until coarse crumbs form that are about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in size, there is no loose flour, and the mixture looks pale yellow rather than white and crumbly.

Prepare the Filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Put the apples in a glass or ceramic baking container.
Either an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish or a 9 1/2- to 10-inch diameter round pie dish, both with 1 3/4- to 2-inch high sides, works well.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the sugar mixture and lemon juice over the apples.
Stir the mixture to combine the ingredients, spreading them in an even layer in the baking dish. Set aside.

Spread the crumbs evenly over the apple mixture.

Bake and Serve the Crumble

Bake about 40 minutes until the crumb topping is golden but with a few spots of light brown, and the apples are tender when tested with a toothpick.

Let the crumble cool about 15 minutes before serving.

Spoon the warm crumble onto individual plates and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if desired.

The crumble can be baked a day ahead, cooled, covered, and stored at room temperature. Warm it, uncovered, in a preheated 250°F oven for 15 minutes.
Apple Pie
Use all the above ingredients to make the fruit filling.
Rub some more butter to the crumble and knead it into a dough by adding ice cold water.
Let the dough chill for 30 minutes.
Pre heat the oven.
Roll it out into a disc 1/4 of an inch thick.
Place it in the pie dish and flatten it out.
Poke a few holes with a fork or knife.
Blind bake for 15-20 minutes, remove from oven.
Add the filling and seal the pie.
Bake for about 40 minutes or till the pastry is golden brown.


Neha didi is a huge fan of Lord Krishna.....

Love your smile Neha didi.....

My friend says...

Only EYES can speak the TRUTH...neither the lips nor the mirror....The person who really loves you can see the pain in your eyes while everyone else will believe in your smile...

Liberation Party with Chocolate Blackout Cake

12th August was Shalvika's B'day and she decided to have a party on 15th August [India's Independence day] and gave it a theme of Liberation....

We planned the menu, decor, guest list and lots of other nitty gritty for the party. I offered to do the cake and dip as it was a holiday and how could a 'Foodus Bloggerus'.[ Click here to know what a 'Foodus Bloggerus' is.] like me let this pass.....

Happy Birthday Shalvika.......



The brief was chocolatey chocholate cake.........Hmmmm set my brains ticking........ Thought of the 'Chocolate Blackout Cake'.... warm moist n awesomely chocolatey.....

I had found this treasure at sundaynitedinner.com and just loved it. This time I made it without the pudding.

Had a really good time making the cake. Have made it once before for Babaji and then for Surbhi n Mohit in Hyderabad. So I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Just that I've not posted cake before. It has a story of it's own...... Will do a separate post on that and how Deeba[yet again :-)] came to my rescue the first time I had done this cake.

Since I was baking for a party of 20 people, did 2 cakes.

Am glad to report, the cake was a hit. I loved it too. I can generally not eat what I cook on that day. I eat the dishes/cakes cook/bake, the next day. This cake was different, i stuffed myself on it after a couple of shots :-)




Chocolate Blackout Cake Recipe

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa (preferable Dutch processed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup brewed coffee, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 dozen chocolate wafer cookies

Directions To make the cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Lightly butter 2 (8-inch) cake pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment and flour pans, shaking out the excess.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.
• In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in vegetable oil.
• Alternately add dry ingredients with buttermilk, scraping the bowl once or twice.
• Add the coffee and vanilla to form a thin batter.
• Divide between prepared cake pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks, peel off paper and cool completely.

I didn't follow the next teps for the cake this time. I used chocolate glaze instead.

• When cool, split each cake in half with a serrated slicing knife.
• Spread bottom layer with 1/4 of the reserved chocolate pudding.
• Repeat with remaining layers, ending with pudding on top.
• In a food processor, pulse the cookies into crumbs. Sprinkle on top of the cake.

Makes 12 servings
[Adapted from Sweet Stuff: Karen Barker's American Desserts]

Aa Raha paas ya door mein ja raha, Janu na mein hoon kahan pe ~ Ye Dooriyan, Love Aaj Kal

Aa Raha paas ya door mein ja raha,
Janu na mein hoon kahan pe

Ye Doorian ( Lyrics )
Movie: Love Aaj Kal
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Singer(s): Mohit Chauhan
Lyricists: Irshad Kamil

Yeh doorian
Aaann….
Yeh doorian

Yeh doorian
In raho ki doorian
Nigahon ki doorian
Humraho ki doorian
Fanna ho sabhi doorian

Kyun koi paas hai, door hai
Kyun koi jaane na , koi yahan pe
Aa raha paas ya door mein
Ja raha janoo na mein hu kahan pe

Yeh doorian
In raho ki doorian
Nigahon ki doorian
Humraho ki doorian
Fanna ho sabhi doorian
Yeh doorian
Yeh doorian
Yeh doorian…aaaa.….

Kabhi hua yeh bhi, khali rahon pe bhi
Tu tha mere saath ,
Kabhi tujhe milke, lauta mere dil yeh
Khali khali haath
Yeh bhi huwa kabhi, jaise huwa abhi
Tujko sabhi mein paa liya

Tera mujhe kar jathi hai doorian
Satathi hai doorian
Tarsathi hai doorian
Fanna ho sabhi doorian

Kaha bhi na main ne, nahin jeena main ne
Tu jo na mila
Tujhe bhule se bhi, bola na mein yeh bhi
Chahu fasala
Bas fasala rahe banke kasak jo kahe
Ho aur chahat yeh jawan

Teri meri mit jani hai doorian
Begani hai doorian
Hat jani hai doorian
Fanna ho sabhi doorian

Kyun koi paas hai, door hai
Kyun koi jaane na , koi yahan pe
Aa raha paas ya door mein
Ja raha janoo na mein hu kahan pe

Yeh doorian
In raho ki doorian
Nigahon ki doorian
Humraho ki doorian
Fanna ho sabhi doorian
Yeh doorian yeh doorian yeh doorian…

Dede mujhe zindagi meri,Tenu dil da vasta ~ Ajj Din Chadheya, Love Aaj Kal

Manga jo mera hai, Jata kya tera hai
Mene kaun si, tujhse jannat manga li

Kaisa khuda hai tu,Bas naam ka hai tu
Rabba jo teri itni si bhi na chali
Chahiye Jo mujhe,Kar de tu mujhko ata

Jeeti rahi saltanat teri,Jeeti rahe ashiqui meri
Dede mujhe zindagi meri,Tenu dil da vasta

Ajj Din Chadheya ( Lyrics )
Movie: Love Aaj Kal
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Singer(s): Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Lyricists: Irshad Kamil

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga
Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

Phul sa hai khila Aaj din
Rabba mere din yeh na dhale
Woh jo mujhe khawab mein mile
Use tu lagede abb gale
Tenu Dil da Vasta

Rabba aaya dar de yaar de
SAra jahan chod chad ke

Mere sapne sawar de, Tennu dil da vasta

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

Baksha gunaho ko
Sun ke duwao ko
Rabba Pyaar hai
Tune sab ko hi de diya

Meri bhi aahon ko
Sun le duwao ko
Mujhko woh dila mene jisko hai dil diya
Hoooo

Baksha gunaho ko
Sun ke duwao ko
Rabba Pyaar hai
Tune sab ko hi de diya

Meri bhi aahon ko
Sun le duwao ko
Mujhko woh dila mene jisko hai dil diya


Aasmaan pe aasmaan uske de itna Bata
Woh jo mujhko dekh ke hase
Pana chahun Raat din jise

Rabba mere naam kar use, Tenu Dil da Vasta

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

Manga jo mera hai
Jata kya tera hai
Mene kaun si
tujhse jannat manga li

Kaisa khuda hai tu, Bas naam ka hai tu

Rabba jo teri itni si bhi na chali

Haaanaaa

Manga jo mera hai
Jata kya tera hai
Mene kaun si
tujhse jannat manga li

Kaisa khuda hai tu
Bas naam ka hai tu

Rabba jo teri itni si bhi na chali


Chahiye Jo mujhe
Kar de tu mujhko ata

Jeeti rahi saltanat teri
Jeeti rahe ashiqui meri

Dede mujhe zindagi meri
Tenu dil da vasta

Rabba mere din yeh na dhale
Woh jo mujhe khawab mein mile
Use tu lagede abb gale
Tenu Dil da Vasta

Rabba aaya dar de yaar de
SAra jahan chod chad ke


Mere sapne sawar de
Tennu dil da vasta

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

Ajj din Chadheya, Tere Rang Warga

din Chadheya

Tere Rang Warga

Ajj din Chadheya

Deeba's 2nd Blogiversary

I've never written a Blogiversary entry for myself or even celebrated the 50th or 100th post [even though I meant to....] Just didn't get around to doing it.....

I saw Deeba's article A WALK THROUGH THE STREETS OF OLD DELHI...& A 2ND BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY!

She's celebrating 2 years of blogging.... and running a contest on the best comment.
Since I comment on most of her posts, this one warranted something special... started writing and then discovered that she deserved way more than a comment....

So here I am writing a post to wish her a HAPPY 2ND BLOGIVERSARY :-) Blog away girlie... Ure a joy to read....

So how did I meet her? I'm a part of the Delhi Blogger's society. When new member's join they sent a mail introducing themselves and their blog.

Deeba sent a mail sometime in August 08. Got interested in Deeba's URL http://passionateaboutbaking.blogspot.com now http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com. Clicked and entered a world of wonderful surprises and the most awesome stuff I could imagine.

The first post I read was "POPPY IN MY LIME COOKIES...COOKIES WITH ZEST!". They just blew me away. Her presentation was so immaculate.... I use to check her blog everyday.... :-)
Just check out a pic posted by her...

The next one was "MANGO MOUSSE CHEESECAKE TRIFLE...quite a yummy mouthful!" Mango is my favourite fruit :-) and when I saw it served so elegantly.... My heart skipped a beat....
Was totally addicted to the quips and quotes she puts in each post... :-)

She is a complete 'Foodus Bloggerus'. Click here to know what a 'Foodus Bloggerus' is.

Her yummy blog made me go back to the kitchen and try my hand at various things....I needed help one day, wrote to her and got an instant answer :-) We share phone numbers,from then on there was no looking back.....
Would call her whenever I needed help. she was always there for me at all sorts of odd hours.....

At first I tried some simple stuff You Can Kiss My Fingers. Slowly moved to more complicated stuff from her blog and started clicking pictures [no comparison to her awesome ones], did things like Mushroom Quiche with Daksayani and a Caramel Cake for Dipali's Anniversary which incidentally was a daring Baker's challenge.

We got talking sometime in October 08.

I was so excited.... to meet Deeba... Had been drooling all over her blog from so long and called her at odd hours for SOS advice about something or the other while baking....
She's fabulous.... gave me all the encouragement I ever needed.

Deeba and I - Passionately Variable

She graciously invited me over for lunch at her place Lunch at Deeba's, made a Zebra cake for them Zebra Cake for the Rajpals, We iced cupcakes together Cups of Magic ~ Vanilla Cupcakes @ Deeba's. It was such a nice day. Her kids are so wonderful.

Check out Deeba's account of the fun we had TRIFLE TALES...OF VISITING BLOGGERS & SWEET THINGS!

We exchanged notes on a non bake cheesecake recipe i had. Cheesecake ~ God's Way of Blessing Us, Deeba's is at STRAWBERRY REFRIGERATOR CHEESECAKE...Eggless

Some of her other goodies, I've made but still haven't published my experiences about [out of sheer laziness ;-) ]
CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY CAKE...Quite the Ultimate Combination!~ Made for babaji
COFFEE IN A TRIFLE....Simple & Impressive Dessert for coffee lovers! ~ Made for Mom n me.
COFFEE MOCHA GATEAU...& a hope for the future!~ Made for Gita Chachi's B'day
ESPRESSO CAKE...Can you smell the coffee??~ Made for Gita Chachi's B'day
ROLL BABY ROLL...The Daring Bakers make Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna [Didn't roll my own lasagne though ;-) ] ~ Made for babaji and some for home too when mamu n nani, nana were here.
ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS...STRAWBERRY CHOCOLATE SWISS ROLL~ Made for Shuchi, Anuj and Babu

Since the blogiversary post is about her visit to Chandni Chowk. Here are a few pictures of my visits to Dilli 6.









She's just way too wonderful. Haven't met many people who will part with the tricks of cooking with such an open heart... :-)

3 cheers to you and your blog.....