Peach and Cherry Crumb Bars

I ate my very first crumb bar from a famous coffee house and needless to say I was extremely disappointed. The filling was hardly there, the biscuit was nothing to write home about.

 Then I started seeing these Peach  crumb bars all over the Internet (August is National Peach Month) and my interest was piqued. Surely, there must be something good abut them if so many bloggers have written about it. I also had three luscious peaches sitting in my fruit basket along with some plump cherries. I gathered my supplies and baked these gorgeous bars which are tart and sweet and so good when warm I must have eaten three pieces straight from the pan (maybe more, my mind is blank).

I halved the original recipe and made them in a smaller pan because it's only the two of us. You can make the original recipe with any fruit like blackberries, raspberries etc.

Recipe Source - Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

For The Biscuit base

1 1/2 C All Purpose Flour

1/2 C Sugar

1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

A Pinch of Salt

1 Tsp Lemon Zest

8 Tbsp (1/2 C/113 Gms) Cold Unsalted Butter

1 Large Egg Yolk

For The Filling

1 Cup Peeled and Chopped Peaches (I got this from 3 peaches)

1 Cup Pitted and Chopped Cherries (About 250 Gms)

2 1/2 Tsp Cornflour (Cornstarch)

1/3 C Sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 175 Degree C or 350 Degree F. Grease a 6X10 baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, add all the filling ingredients and mix gently. Keep aside.

3. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest in a bowl, stir with a whisk.

4. Add the butter and egg yolk. Cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or folk till you get pea sized crumbles. No loose flour must remain.

5. Press half the dough lightly into the bottom of the baking pan.

6. Add the filling mixture. (If there is too much liquid use a slotted spoon and leave out the liquid.)

7. Crumble the remaining dough on top.

8. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool Completely before cutting.

P.S - The excess liquid from the filling can be thickened in the microwave or stove top and used as a topping, Yum!

Happy Eating!!

White Chocolate, Pudding and Pistachio Cake

Eid Mubarak everyone!  I know I am three days too late but better late than never right?

Well, I will make it up to you by telling you how to make this cake. Coz this cake is what you need to make right now. This was our dessert on eid day and I was really worried about how all the components would work together. Turns out, there was no need to worry as it was fabulous.

Now, I took some shortcuts and used a box mix for the cake and filling because I was fasting and did not have the patience to make everything from scratch. But if you do go that route I am sure it'll only taste even more fantastic. I wanted to do a tuxedo effect on the top because I had seen it before on Annie's Eats and loved it. A previous attempt had turned into a disaster so I was very careful this time and almost nailed it. Because the cake was cold the ganache would firm up on top itself and not actually pour down the sides. Next time I'll bring the cake to room temperature before pouring the ganache.

There are four parts to this cake: Cake, Filling, Frosting and Topping. The cake and filling can be made one or two days ahead and stored in the fridge but the frosting and topping are better made the same day of assembly.

Recipe

Ingredients

For The Cake

1 Box (500 gms) White Cake mix with egg whites, water and oil called for on the box

For The Filling

1 Packet (4 serve) Vanilla Jello Instant Pudding and Pie filling with milk called for on the box

For The White Chocolate Whipped Cream

113 Grams / 4 ounce White Chocolate (Use a good quality, I used Lindt)

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (Chilled)

For The Topping (Ganache) - From Annie's Eats

56 Grams/2 Ounce Semi Sweet Chocolate (I used Lindt)

1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup

1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

100 Grams Toasted Pistachios (Hulled and Roughly chopped)

Make The Cake

Prepare and Bake the cake as directed on the back of the box in three 7 inch pans. Cool completely and cover with plastic wrap till required.

Make the Filling

While the cake is baking, Prepare the pudding according to the instructions on the jello pudding box. Cover and refrigerate until required.

Make the Frosting

1. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt on a double boiler or in the microwave.

2. Place 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.

3. Immediately add the cream to the melted chocolate and mix very well. Keep aside to cool completely.

4. Place the remaining 3/4 Cup cream in the bowl of your stand mixer and whip till soft peaks form.

5. Add the white chocolate cream mixture (it should be completely cooled) to the stand mixer and whip till it holds firm peaks. Be very careful not to over beat.

6. Cover the bowl (I used the bowl of my stand mixer itself, you can transfer to another bowl if you like washing dishes) with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream. Refrigerate for two hours.

Make the Ganache

1. Break the chocolate to small pieces and place in a bowl.

2. Bring the cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute then stir completely.

3. Add the corn syrup and vanilla. Mix well.

4. Keep aside to thicken, meanwhile start assembling your cake. (If you take a long time to assemble a cake then make the ganache after the cake is assembled)

Assemble The Cake

1. Level the tops of all the cake layers. Dab a smear of the frosting on a cake board and place one layer bottom side up on the board.

2. Add half the pudding filling on the cake and spread evenly. Do not spread till the edges.

3. Add 1/4 C of the chopped pistachio pieces.

4. Repeat with a second layer of cake, pudding and pistachios.

5. Place the last layer and do a crumb coat with the frosting. Place in the fridge till it sets.

6. Remove from fridge and frost completely.

7. Pour the ganache slowly over the middle of the cake giving it time to gently drip of the sides. If it sets spread gently with an angled spatula.
8. Garnish the top with pistachios. Place in fridge till cake is set. Store leftovers (If any) in the fridge.

Happy Eating!!

Daring Bakers July 2012 - Baked Puris or Crackers

Ramadan has started and it has already been a week of fasting. This year I am actually trying to avoid unhealthy fried food that is on the menu at every iftaar. On my quest to eat healthy we make Fruit Chat every day along with one other snack that is not fried. So far I have made Chicken Cutlets, Aloo chana chaat and dhokla, all easy and relatively healthier.

Blog Checking Lines: Our July 2012 Daring Bakers’ Host was Dana McFarland and she challenged us to make homemade crackers! Dana showed us some techniques for making crackers and encouraged to use our creativity to make each cracker our own by using ingredients we love.

When I made the chat I was supposed to buy puris from the market to use in it. But then inspiration struck and I thought why not make a cracker from the challenge and use it instead? The crackers are extremely easy to make and hardly took any time. Moreover since they are not deep fried I can easily snack on them!

Recipe Source - Tarla Dalal

Ingredients - Makes 25 Puris (crackers)

100 Gms Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tsp Vegetable Oil
A Pinch of Salt
1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 Tsp Roasted Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Aamchoor Powder (Dry Mango Powder - Optional)
Water To Knead The Dough - As required

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except the water and stir well.

2. Add water a little at a time until the dough comes together. Do not add too much water as the dough should be stiff. Knead well and keep aside for 10 minutes.

3. Grease a baking tray slightly and pre heat the oven to 200 Degree C/ 400 Degree F.

4. Take a little dough at a time and roll it out as thin as possible. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles and prick them with a fork Place on the baking tray.

5. Continue till all the dough is used up.

6. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool and store in an air tight container.

Happy Eating!!

Pumpkin Roll

This was the first time I ever attempted a roll and I got a lot of Aah's and Ooh's when my cousins saw it. The recipe could not be any easier with very few ingredients and simple steps. It's the after baking process that is nerve wracking. I was out of parchment paper and had to make do with wax paper. Luckily since all the paper was covered with the batter there was no smoking. I prepped everything before hand as you have to really work fast once the cake comes out. Luckily the cake didn't crack on me and I had a nice yummy roll to take to my cousins place.

The only thing I would change in the recipe would be the filling. I think the Whipped cream cheese frosting from my birthday Pumpkin cake would taste outstanding with this. As I still have half a can of puree left guess whats coming next?

Recipe Source - Given as is from My Baking Addiction with my changes in red.

Ingredients - Makes one 10 inch roll - serves 10

For the Cake

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice ( I used 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder and 1/2 Tsp Nutmeg Powder instead)
1/4 Tsp Salt
3 Large Eggs
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (I used vanilla essence)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
2/3 Cup Pure Pumpkin Puree
For The Filling
1 (8 ounce) Package Cream Cheese, Softened
1 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Make The Cake

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle a clean tea towel with powdered sugar. Set pan and towel aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon and nutmeg) and salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs, vanilla and sugar until thick. Add in pumpkin and mix to combine. Stir in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

Make The Frosting
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract until smooth.

Assemble The Roll

Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.

Happy Baking!!

Daring Bakers June 2012 - Battenberg Cake

Do you know the story about the Battle of Battenberg?

 The one where I was defeated by the evil marzipan?

Well, I had great dreams for my battenberg and everything was going smoothly until it was time to cover it with marzipan. You see, I was a little over ambitious and tried to make a cube with a zillion little pieces instead of the usual four. Needless to say I fell flat on my face (or rather the Battenberg fell) and all was lost. In the end I just took a quick pic with my iphone and proceeded to enjoy the spoils of war. Coz even though I lost the battle I got to eat my tasty oponent. Win Win!

Oh and I finally got my hands on some vanilla beans which were so cheap (0.80 paise) from India!!!! I used them in the cake and loved to see the little flecks of vanilla throughout the delicious cake.

Blog Checking Lines - Mandy of What The Fruitcake?! came to our rescue last minute to present us with the Battenberg Cake challenge! She highlighted Mary Berry’s techniques and recipes to allow us to create this unique little cake with ease.

Recipe - Makes one cake to serve 8.

Ingredients

3/4 Cup (1½ Sticks) 175gm / 6 oz Unsalted Butter, softened & cut in cubes
3/4 Cup / 175gm / 6 oz Caster Sugar
1 1/4 Cups / 175gm / 6 oz Self-Raising Flour (1 Cup All Purpose Flour + 11/2 Tsp Baking Powder + 1/4 Tsp Salt)
3 Large Eggs, room temp
1/2 Cup / 65gm/ 2 1/3 oz Ground Almonds (Can be substituted with ground rice)
3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Vanilla Bean
Red Food Colouring, paste, liquid or gel

To Finish
1/3 Cup (80 ml) 100gm /3 ½ oz Mixed Fruit Jam
1 cup / 225gm / 8 oz Marzipan, Natural

This is how I made the cake because I didnt have square pans, for the other method please check the Daring Bakers Website.

1. Preheat oven to moderate 350°F/180°C/160°C Fan Assisted/Gas Mark 4
2. Grease two small loaf pans with butter.
3. Place the flour, sugar, ground almonds and baking powder in a bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and remove the seeds by runnning the knife along the bean.

4. Add the vanilla, butter and eggs. Beat together just until the ingredients are combined and the batter is smooth
5. Divide the batter equally (I used my new digital weighing scale!!) and add a few drops of red color to one half to color it pink.
6. Spoon the pink batter into one loaf pan and the other half to the other pan.
7. Smooth the surface of the batter with a spatula, making sure batter is in each corner.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake is well risen, springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out clean (it should shrink away from the sides of the pan)
9. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out to cool thoroughly on a wire rack
10. Once completely cool, trim the edges of the cake with a long serrated knife
11. Cut each coloured sponge in half lengthways so that you are left with four long strips of sponge

 Neaten the strips and trim as necessary so that your checkered pattern is as neat and even as possible
12. Gently heat the jam and pass through a small sieve

Brush warmed jam onto the strips of cake to stick the cake together in a checkered pattern (one yellow next to one pink. On top of that, one pink next to one yellow)
13. Dust a large flat surface with icing sugar then roll the marzipan in an oblong shape that is wide enough to cover the length of the cake and long enough to completely wrap the cake
14. Brush the top of the cake with apricot jam
15. Place the cake on the marzipan, jam side down
- Tip: Either in the middle or to the one side of the marzipan
16. Brush the remaining three sides with jam
17. Press the marzipan around the cake, making sure the join is either neatly in the one corner, or will be underneath the cake once turned over
- Tip: If you put the sponge to the one side of the marzipan, I found it easiest to "roll" the sponge over and over onto the marzipan instead of lifting the marzipan up onto the sponge
18. Carefully flip the cake over so that the seam is under the cake and score the top of the cake with a knife, you can also crimp the top corners with your fingers to decorate
19. Neaten the ends of the cake and remove excess marzipan by trimming off a small bit of cake on both ends to reveal the pattern.

Happy Eating!!

Daring Bakers April 2012 Armenian Nutmeg Cake

Armenian Nutmeg Cake.. sounds fancy right? This cake is a twist on the traditional coffee cake with the addition of fresh nutmeg which gives it an interesting flavor. It is simply wonderful and I have already made it twice this month.

Blog Checking Lines - The Daring Bakers' April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry  with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a nutty, fragrant coffee style cake.

While I didn't make the nazook this month I did make the cake twice and it was quickly gobbled up both the times. The pictured cake is a 6 inch one as I halved the recipe when I made it the second time. Latif polished off four slices coz he couldn't wait for dinner anymore!

Recipe Source - Adapted from The Commonsense Cookery Book

Ingredients - Makes one 9 inch cake

1 Cup (240 ml) Milk
1 Tsp Baking Soda
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
2 Tsps Baking Powder
2 Cups Brown Sugar (Firmly Packed)
1 1/2 Sticks (180 ml) (170 gm/6 oz) Unsalted Butter (cubed)
1/2 Cup Walnut pieces (I also used pistachios and almonds)
1/2 Tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon Powder
1 Egg

1. Pre heat the oven to 175 Degrees C (350 Degree F). Have ready a 9 inch round pan.

2. Place the flour, baking powder and brown sugar in a bowl and whisk to mix evenly. Toss in the butter cubes and crumble the mixture with your fingers. It should resemble coarse breadcrumbs.

3. Take two cups of the mixture and press it evenly in the bottom of the cake pan to form the crust.

4. Mix the baking soda to the milk and keep aside.

5. Add the egg to the remaining cake mixture and mix well.

6. Add the milk, nutmeg and cinnamon powder. Mix well. The batter should be a little lumpy.

7. Pout the batter over the prepared crust in the pan. Scatter the nuts on top and place in the oven,

8. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes till a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan on a wire rack and then invert on a serving plate. Have a slice and enjoy!

Happy Eating!! 

Daring Bakers March 2012 - Dutch Crunch Bread

This month we visited the zoo to see all the wild animals like tigers, giraffes and zebras! Not really, but if you see all the wonderful results of the challenge you will surely think so too.

Blog Checking Lines : Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!

Though I did make the bread I couldn't make a sandwich as I was really pressed for time and we had them as dinner rolls. The recipe is very easy and within two hours you can have fresh baked bread out of the oven.

Recipe Source -  The recipe for the Dutch Crunch topping came from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Bread Bible. The recipes for the breads we’ve suggested came from The Bread Bible and an adaptation of a recipe found on Bakingbites.com

Check out the Daring Bakers website for the recipe!

Happy Eating!!