Bengali Sandesh

Ok I have been meaning to learn this recipe for a few years now from my aunts in New Jersey who are experts in bengali sweets. Finally this year during Thanksgiving break when I visited them I did learn it and tried it out. Needless to say this is the best we non resident bongs can do to make up for the gurer (jaggary) sandesh that we traditionally find in Kolkata in winter.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 gallon whole milk
• few spoons of vinegar to make chin / paneer
• 1/2 sachet of dry milk powder (substitue of maul milk powder found in India)
• Jaggary or Gud / sugar / Succanat (my discovery replacement of jaggary - i used this)

Direction:

• Bring milk to boil
• Turn of the gas and start adding white vinegar one spoon at a time only until the milk separates and curdles up to form chena
• Let it cool and then strain in a muslin cloth. Was under running tap to rinse off any tartness form vinegar. Squueze excess water and then hang for few hours till all water's drained out
• Now put it on a plate / bowl and add 1/2 sachet of dry milk powder and knead it well
• Put it in a food processor and knee further more till it's smooth
• Brush a little ghee in a nonstick pan and pour this. At this point add your sugar / jaggary / succanat and mix well in medium heat till it forms a lump and the sugar is melted.
• Let it cool for 5 mins. Brush ghee on your palm and make round balls or shape it in any sort of mould you have and Njoy!!

Succanat: http://wholesomesweeteners.com/Products/product-detail/PId/8/Organic-Sucanat

A friend introduced me to this wonderful thing and ever since I discovered it I realized it's nothing but tastes like ground jaggary and it clicked. Trust me no one who tasted it figured out that I did not use jaggary at all. So all your jaggary lovers here is your substitute

Peach Crumble Cake

Randomly made it for a warm summer party with fresh peaches that I found in our local farmers market. It was a super hit especially the flavor of peach and the crumble on top.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet white or yellow cake mix
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2 cans peach or fresh peach

Direction:

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• In a baking dish first layer the dry cake mix powder
• Drain syrup and dice and chop the peaches and layer them
• Sprinkle some water
• Spread 1 cup brown sugar on top
• Cut butter in small pieces and pat on top as the final layer spreading evenly on the dish.
• Bake for 45 mins or till top is brown. Sprinkle some additional warm water at this point if you think the cake powder still feels powdery in texture
• Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Christmas always reminds me of the fruit cake that my city's (Kolkata) then renowned bakery (Naoums) always made. Loads of fruits soaked in rum for months made into a cake. One word for it was YUM. This year I just decided to finally make it since in U.S.A. I have hardly come across that traditional fruit cake for christmas.

So here is to memories of Naoums my tribute to you:

Ingredients:

• Fruits (plums, raisins, apricots, crystalized ginger, apple, cherries, walnuts – optional)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup or 2 sticks butter at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• Real Plum Rum / Drak Rum / Rum artificial Flavor
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 2 Eggs

Direction:

• Chop to bite size pieces and soak fruits in ½ cup orange juice / dark rum / plum rum at least overnight or longer (for rum I would prefer soaking for almost a month)
• Preheat to oven to 350F and grease a baking pan and set aside
• Sift together flours , baking powder
• Blend together butter and sugar till soft and fluffy
• Add ½ cup oranje juice, eggs (rum additional if you making it with rum) and mix well. For virgin add artificial rum flavor if required.
• While letting the mixer run start adding flour slowly by a spoon and keep mixing till everything is mixed well and letting enough air to get in
• Stop the mixer and now with a spatula add the soaked fruits and mix well till all in incorporated
• Pour the mixture in a baking pan and bake for 2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Serve warm or stored.

Additional Steps for Rum Cakes:

•  Once out of oven poke some holes on the cake and brush some rum and molasses all over.
• Wrap is with a cheese cloth and then with a parchment paper and keep it for a day before serving.

Lavender Chiffon Cake

Jan - Hubby's birthday month and thus the frequency of baking invariably goes up. This year I got to choose the flavors I wanted to make and he was happy with them. So here it is for the birthday boy Lavender Chiffon Cake with Lemon Curd icing.

Lavender Chiffon Sponge

• 6 eggs, separated
• ¼ cup neutral vegetable oil
• 6 tbsp water
• 1 ½ cups  caster sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried edible lavender buds
• 1 1/3 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar

Method

•  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of two 8in any shape cake pans with baking paper; do not grease.
• Place 1 cup of the sugar in a food processor, add the lavender buds and process. Sift into a large bowl, discarding the excess lavender.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, oil and water. Set aside.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the sugar and whisk gently to combine. Add the yolk mixture and whisk to form a smooth batter.
• Place the egg whites in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment on medium-high speed until frothy. Slowly add the remaining ½ cup (100g) sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to whip until soft, droopy peaks form. Fold ¼ of the beaten egg whites into the batter, taking care not to deflate the mixture. Gently fold in the remaining whites. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.
• Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden and a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow layers to cool completely in the pans. To remove, run a blunt knife around the edges, invert each pan and tap out the cake onto a wire rack. Carefully peel off the paper.

 Easy Lemon Curd

I bought lemon curd from store. It can be made at home as well. But preferred buying for ease of it.

Whipped Lemon Curd Cream Frosting

•  700ml low fat cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, scraped
• 1/2 recipe lemon curd
• 2-3 tbsps sugar

Method

• Whip the cream and sugar till firm peaks hold. Gently fold the lemon curd through, about 2/3rd to being with, and taste for sweetness, tartness etc. Add the rest if desired, and add sugar if required.

Lemon Sugar Syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup water
• Juice of 1 lime.

Method

Place all ingredients in a pan, bring to a boil, stir until the sugar is dissolved. take off heat, and allow to cool.

To Assemble the Cake

• Slice both sponges horizontally to get layers. I got 2 layers
• Reserve 1/3rd whipped cream for top and sides.
• Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate, brush with lemon syrup and spread 1/3rd of the cream for filling.
• Repeat with the other layers.
• Top with the third cake layer, and frost the top and sides with the remaining cream.

Coco Mocha Flan Cake

Fri Night 10 PM as I lay in bed lazying the baker inside started screaming please let's make something. It's been ages since we made something. Without wasting much time I had to jump out as if I did not then I wouldn't have made something in another few months. Voila hit the 24 hours grocery store, come back, get started and 1 AM this is the result and I am off to sleep satisfied tucking the flan in the fridge to be explored for breakfast.

Here is the recipe to the sinful coffee lovers version of non traditional Flan.

Ingredients for the Flan:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup caster (that is superfine or refined) sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk (use any kind. I use 2%)
• 1 cup coconut milk (For a much more pronounced coconut flavor, increase coconut milk to 1 1/2 cups and reduce 1% milk to 1 cup.) 
• 2 tsps vanilla extract

Method for Flan:

• Put sugar and water in small saucepan and heat without stirring until it turns a deep, golden brown color. Remove from heat and immediately pour into a large glass baking dish or casserole. Tilt the dish so that the caramel coats the entire bottom surface before it hardens;
• In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs and egg yolks until foamy. Gradually add caster sugar and beat until thick and light;
• Heat milk and coconut milk, then add gradually to the egg and sugar mixture, beating constantly. Stir in vanilla
• Set aside while preparing the chiffon batter

Ingredients for Chiffon Cake:

Chiffon cakes are known to be the softest cakes. They are fluffy and thus makes the best base for any layered baking needs.

• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup strong black coffee (make it with only a tsps of coffee powder if you don't want the cake to be too strong in coffee flavour)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method for Chiffon Cake:

• In one bowl, whisk cake flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined;
• Whisk in egg yolks, oil, coffee and vanilla until batter is smooth;
• In a separate bowl, beat egg whites almost to stiff peak stage. Fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture in two additions

Assemble the Flan Cake:

• Preheat oven to 325ºF;
• Strain flan custard into the caramel-coated dish. 
• Carefully pour or spoon out the chiffon batter over the custard;  don't worry - batter will float on top! Use only enough so that the cake will not overflow the pan as it rises during baking;
• Place dish in a water bath bu putting the baking dish on top of a bigger dish filled with boiling water. The baking dish should be at least half way submerged in boiling water. This prevents the caramel and flan from burning while baking.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, testing for doneness by inserting a knife to check. When knife comes out clean, remove cake from oven and let cool.
• When cooled down, cover with foil or plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator, preferably overnight

Mango Tapioca Pudding

Tapioca reminds me of my moms religious fasting days when they would fast for the whole day and then eat tapioca mixed with milk and banana. Yum yum I would wait the whole day just to get portion of that to eat. This lead me to come up with mango tapioca pudding a tribute to all those religious fasting days that I so terribly miss now.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup big pearl tapioca
• 2 cup milk (I use fat free milk)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• Mango pulp

Method:

• Soak big pearl tapioca in water for 4 - 5 hours. Drain and keep aside.
• Mix milk, heavy cream and sugar and bring to boil. Add tapioca and boil for 10 - 15 minutes.
• Beat eggs on the side. When the milk and tapioca comes to boil take some milk out of it and add in the beaten egg and mix well.
• Pour the egg mixture back in the boiling tapioca and milk. Add vanilla essence and combine well and stir in medium heat for 5 minutes.

Serving Tips:

• To assemble the pudding I use small desert bowls if serving at a party. 
• First put some mango pulp around the wall of the bowl to coat it lightly. 
• Pour desired amount of pudding and chill in the refrigerator until it's time to be served.
• Just before serving take out the bowls. 
• Drizzle some more mango pulp and decorate with chopper strawberries / mango / blueberries or any other fruit of desire.

Pear Mousse Cake

This was yet again my husband's one of the several demands for his birthday cake. It has now become a ritual where he looks forward to Jan when he can go wild with his thoughts of flavors he likes and wants. I still don't understand why I give him the leverage to choose the flavors. He always ends up with weirdest combinations with high expectations. And then here I am trying to figure out what to do and how to put it all together.

So this year he wanted the combination of pears and walnut. He wanted pears for sure in the whole cake and not just as a topping. So after deliberating for a while I decided to go for Pear Mousse on Walnut biscuit topped with caramelized pears. The result is as you see.

Needless to say it was a ManU themed cake and a ManU themed birthday. My husband is a huge ManU fan and thus my brother who now lives in London decided to send him a ManU jersey for his birthday. On receiving the parcel I got the idea to convert the birthday into a ManU birthday and thus the logo.

Ingredients: 

Walnut sponge:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 80g / a little more than 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup almonds, peeled
• a little less than 2/3 cup icing sugar (or caster)
• 1/2 cup castor sugar

Pear mousse:

• 2.2 lbs pears (make sure the flesh is firm)
• 2 and 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 2 and 1/2 Tsp. gelatin powder (if you are not sure about the firmness use 3 Tsp. Gelatin powder)
• 1/2 cup confectioners / castor sugar
• 1/2 tsp. butter

Method:

1) The Walnut Sponge:

• Preheat the oven to 340 F. Line the bottom of a 20 cm spring form pan with parchment paper. 
• Chop walnuts coarsely. You want to make sure they are big enough but they can go through the hole in your piping bag. Grind almonds finely with icing sugar (if you don’t have icing sugar, just whizz quickly some normal sugar, then add the almonds to it until everything is a fine powder). Whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold in the remaining castor sugar and whisk for a couple more minutes until well incorporated. Mix the flour with the ground almonds, the walnuts and a pinch of salt. Add one tablespoon at a time to the whipped egg whites, mixing gently in order not to lose too much air. When the meringue is uniform, put it in a piping bag (or use a big zip lock bag with a corner cut off) and spread it on the prepared spring form pan. Cook for about 20 minutes until the outside is golden and they are soft but dried. Leave to cool.

2) The Mousse:

• Peel, core and chop the pears in small cubes. Add sugar and butter to a wide pan, and when they are melted and caramelized add the pears. The caramel will first solidify and then melt with the water released from the pears. Let it cook until they are soft but still retaining their shape. Make sure they don’t burn: if they are particularly unripe, you may need to add a few tablespoons of water. Let cool slightly, meanwhile soak gelatin in 1/4 cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes or more. Let it cool. 
• Process about 3/4 of the pear cubes together with all their juices to a smooth pure. Put processed pears back to the pan and add the gelatin mix. Mix until the gelatin has dissolved, then let it cool off completely. When the pear puree is cold, whip the cream, and then gently combine until uniform. (This is where my husband had a drooping face since the mousse wasn't the color he thought it would. He was under the impression that Pear Mousse will be green is color since pear is green. But he forgot that inside the pear is white in color. So the mousse was light brownish. So to make him happy I had to add green food color to make the mousse green)
• Put the cooled mixture in the sring form pan on top of the walnut sponge.
• Leave to cool in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or possibly overnight.

3) Caramelized Pears:

• Peel, core and cut 1 pear in four quadrants and then slice each quadrant thinly.
• Add 1 cup sugar to a heavy bottom pan along with 1/2 tsp. butter. Let is caramelize
• Add pears and let the pears caramelize well. Keep coating the pears so that the caramel is not burnt and all pears are cooked and well caramelized.
• Put this in a mixing bowl and coat the pears well again. Now start assembling the pears in a circle to cover the top of the cake (I did it the next day morning after the mousse was well set and almost 5 hours before serving)
• Add 1/2 tsp. gelatin in the remaining caramel and drizzle it on top of the pear decor.
• Put it in the fridge and let it cool and set before serving.

4) Serving Tips:

• Take the spring form pan out of the fridge and wrap the side of the pan with a warm towel.
• Run a knife around the cake to loosen it a little.
• Open the spring form pan and serve the cake.

Njoy!!!!!