Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So how was your Christmas? Mine was great filled with loads of fun, lots of gifts and cartloads of happiness and love and we are all set to receive the new year with the same spirit. Last two weeks were super busy with pappu's holiday party and Christmas baking and then followed by his Christmas holidays. This week has been a rollercoaster ride, first it was pappu down with the flu and then it came down to me. Boy O Boy, how I wish I was resistant to the cold.
Its been simple rasam saadam for the past one week and only today did I make something yummy, something simple and something that reminded me of my mom, childhood and nagercoil.

Coming to this recipe, I made these for my son's Chirstmas party. The kids enjoyed these totally diving in head first into the frosting. I don't know what but there is something about carrot cupcakes and cream cheese frosting that makes it totally divine and irresistible. This recipe is a keeper and it makes the softest of the soft cupcakes and the smoothest frosting that pairs perfectly with these cupcakes.

Adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cups Baking powder - 1/2 + 1/8 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon - 1/2 + 1/8 tsp Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp Ground cloves - a pinch Salt - 1/4 tsp Carrots - 1/2 lb, peeled and grated Granulated sugar - 3/4 cups Light brown sugar - 1/4 cup Large eggs - 2 Vegetable oil - 3/4 cup For the frosting: Cream cheese - 6 oz, not softened Unsalted butter - 4 tbsp, room temperatue Vanilla extract - 1/2 tbsp Confectioners' sugar - 2 cups How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line one cupcake pan with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt; whisk together and set aside. Add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside. In a stand mixer, whip the sugar and eggs until light and frothy. Add the oil with the mixer at medium speed. Beat till the mixture is light. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Scoop evenly into the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for about 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, add milk to bring to the desired consistency and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Serve with love!!!

So thats it Folks... With Love,
Vimitha
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Tofu Masala

I am still not out of my slumber. I have an urge to blog but my laziness is way on top of that. And I still haven't got the hang of my dslr. And thats kinda depressing. Added to the fact that I hate to take pictures with my iphone now that I have a high-end dslr on hand. And then it is the whole story again. That put aside, it was a wonderful day today. The weather was at its best and I stepped out after what seems like decades in my spring clothes. It was rejuvenating. The weather is helping me and rekindling me back to form... Hope I will be on track soon.
Coming to today's recipe its a very simple one which I make often to go with our chapathis.

~*What U Need*~ Extra firm Tofu - 14 oz, drained and cut into cubes Greek yogurt - 1/2 cup Onion - 1 Tomatoes - 2 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Bay leaf -1 , clove - 3, cinnamon - 1, cumin seeds - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Green chilli - 1 Kasuri methi - 1 tsp Oil - 2 tsp Salt Coriander Leaves - 1 tbsp How I Made it: Shallow fry the tofu in a skillet. Set aside. Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet. Add the onion and fry till transparent. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes, green chilli and fry till it forms a masala. Add the spice powders and fry for 3 mins. ONce done cool and grind to a smooth paste. Heat remaining oil. Add bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, star masala and fry for 1 min. Add cumin seeds and allow to crackle. Add the ground paste and fry for 2-3 mins. Set the heat to low and add the yogurt stirring continuosly. Allow to boil. Add water to bring to the desired consistency. Allow to boil. Add Add Fried tofu and fenugreek leaves and mix well. Let it boil for another 3-5 mins. Remove from flame. Add coriander leaves.

Serve with rotis or rice of choice!!!

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Christmas Fruit Cake | Kerala Fruit Cake

I made this cake two days before Christmas, stored it carefully feeding it with rum every day and then on the D day, I shared it with friends, devoured it to hearts content and then totally forgot about it. Today when I was going through my food pics, I found this and I came to realize that I had missed posting this for Christmas. Well now that I have found it, I am not going to spare another moment to share this recipe with you. Its the best and just like all other christmas cakes it gets better and better. I have been following this recipe for the past 2 years but each time I use a different pan and do not flour it believing that the non stick coating would do its job but finally I would end up with the cake sticking to the pan. So this time I made it a point to grease the pan, line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the pan too. And look how neat and yummy the cake looks!!!

Recipe adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ For soaking the dried fruits Dry fruits - 1 1/2 cups ~ Raisins, dates, pineapple, apricot, cranberries, dried papaya, dates, almonds, cashews Rum - as needed (I used CaptianMorgans. U need to immerse the fruits completely in rum and then refill as and when you find the amount reducing) Caramel syrup - 2 tbsp (2tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp water) For Caramel Syrup to be used in cake Sugar - 3/4 cup Water - 2 tbsp Hot water - 6 tbsp For the cake: Butter - 1/2 cup, room temp Powdered sugar - 1 1/4 cups Eggs - 2, separated All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cups Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - a pinch Coarsely powdered nuts - 1/2 cup(almonds and walnuts) Orange Zest - 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp Clove powder - 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp Jeera powder - 1/4 tsp Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Heat 2 tblsp sugar with 1 tsp water on medium heat until the sugar melts and browns up. Take off the heat and carefully add the water and stir well. Atleast 2 weeks in advance , chop all the dry fruits and place them in an airtight container. Pour the rum on top of it, add the caramel syrup and allow to soak. On the day of baking, heat 3/4 cup of sugar with 2 tbsp water in a saucepan. The sugar will start melting. COntinue heating till the syrup turns brown or almost black in color. Take it off the stove and add the hot water and stir well. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350F and grease your cake pan. Sift together all the dry ingredients with the spices. Add the powdered nuts, mix well and keep aside. Beat the butter with powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolks one at a time and mix well until well incorporated. Add in the dry ingredients slowly and mix until combined. Add the Vanilla essence, orange zest and Caramel syrup and combine everything together. Strain the rum soaked fruits (save the rum), and coat the fruits with some all-purpose flour and add the fruits into the cake batter. Fold the fruits into the cake evenly. Beat the Egg Whites until soft peaks form, add powdered sugar and continue to beat until the peaks look stiff and glossy. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter. Pour the cake batter into the cake pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the cake center comes out clean. After taking the cake out from the oven, immediately pour 2-3tblsp of the saved rum over the cake. Allow the cake to cool for 15 mins and then flip the cake pan onto a wire-rack. Once cooled brush the sweet rum all over the cake. Keep the cake covered with aluminium foil/plastic wrap and brush the cake with more Rum everyday until you cut the cake.

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Gingerdoodle Cookies

Ginger is one among my favorite spices. A warm cup of ginger tea with some goodday biscuits is what I always crave on a chilly evening. It is memories of those days that made me make these ginger spiced cookies to go with our tea. The molasses adds a very unique flavor to these cookies and pairs perfectly with the spices added. Ginger is a very strong spice and if ginger tea or anything with a strong ginger flavor is not your thing then these cookies are not for you. But to me these were the perfect accompaniment for our evening tea.

~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 1/4 cup, softened Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup Brown sugar - 1/4 cup, packed Egg - 1/2, beat an egg and use half of it Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Molasses - 2 tbsp Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp Cloves - 1/16 tsp Nutmeg - 1/16 tsp Ground ginger - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp All purpose flour - 1 cup Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Granulated sugar - 2 tbsp, for rolling How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, vanilla and molasses. Beat for 2 mins. Stir in remaining ingredients and mix until dry ingredients are just combined. Roll 1 tbsp of dough into a ball and coat in granulated sugar. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until outside looks cooked but inside is still soft and gooey. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Serve with some milk!!!

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Pumpkin Pie for two | Small batch baking

When it comes to baking, I always try to scale down the recipe. Its because a)it is just the three of us and b)if it goes the wrong way then I dont have to ditch a whole lot of ingredients. That being said, I had always wanted to try my hands on homemade pumpkin pie but something told me that this will not be sold that well in the house. And so I made pumpkin pie for two.

Let me talk about the batter first and then lets move on to the pie itself. The recipe that I have here makes more filling than needed. So I made another batch of the dough and made mini pumpkin pies for pappu's preschool. Moving on to the pie, if you are a lover of spices then pumpkin pie is your piece of cake. Its not that sweet, its not overpowering and the spices kinda tingle your palate. Allow the pie to cool completely and then stick it into the fridge overnight to get neat slices. And as for the decorations, they are totally optional but since I was in the mood I made small leaves and flowers and baked them separately and then stuck them onto the pie.

For the Crust: All purpose flour - 3/4 cup Cold butter - 2 tbsp, cut into cubes Cold vegetable shortening - 2 tbsp, cut into cubes Salt - 1/4 tsp Granulated sugar - 1/2 tbsp Ice cold water - 2 tbsp For the filling: Eggs - 1 + 1 egg yolk Pumpkin puree - 7.5 oz Whipping cream - 1/4 cup Light brown sugar - 1/2 cup Ground cinnamon - 1/2 tsp Ground ginger - 1/4 tsp Ground cloves - a pinch (1/16 tsp) Salt - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Lets make the crust first. Mix flour with salt and sugar. Work the butter and shortening into the flour until it resembles pea sized peas. Add the water by tbsp just enough to bring the dough together. Form a ball, put into a ziploc bag and refrigerate for 30 mins. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together all the pumpkin filling ingredients until well combined. Grease a 6" pie plate with non stick cooking spray and set aside. Roll the dough out on a floured surface, crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. And set aside. Pour filling into the prepared pie shell and bake for 30-35 mins or until set, the center might jiggle a little. Cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. Then, pop it into the fridge overnight.

Slice and serve with some whipped cream!!!

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Chettinad Chicken Curry

Something about frozen chicken doesn't spell and taste chicken to me. It lacks taste and texture. I have even switched to organic farm fresh chicken but still its not the same. Bottom line is that whatever you do you just cant pull the flavors that you need to come out of it. Unless you make a spice laden flavor packed chicken curry like this chettinadu version. All that spices that you throw into the curry is what flavors the chicken and makes it succulent. As for this chettinad chicken curry, I wouldn't say that it is authentic and perfect but it tastes good with a whiff of that authentic taste. To achieve that perfection use small onions instead of regular onions.

~*What U Need*~ Onion - 1, finely chopped Tomato - 1, chopped Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp Chicken - 1 lb, cleaned, bone-in Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped Mint leaves - 1 tbsp, chopped To roast and grind: Coconut - 4 tbsp Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Red chilli - 1 To grind to a smooth paste: Onion - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 1 Yogurt - 1 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tbsp To Temper Oil - 1-2 tbsp Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp 2 cloves, 1" cinnamon, 2 cardamon, 1 bayleaf Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Clean the chicken thoroughly and set aside. You can marinate this in yogurt, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and ginger garlic paste for 30 mins. Grind the ingredients under smooth paste. Roast and grind the coconut, cashew nuts, fennel seeds and chilli. Heat oil in a kadai, temper with fennel seeds, spices and curry leaves. Add the onions and saute well till brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell goes off. Add the tomatoes and cook till becomes soft. Add the curry leaves, ground onion paste and saute for 2 mins. Add the roast coconut paste and cook for another 4-5 mins till the mixture becomes thick. Add the chicken, mix well and cook till the chicken leaves water. Add 1/2 cup water and cook til the chicken is completely cooked. Simmer till you get the desired consistency and the mixture leaves oil. Add coriander leaves, mint leaves and season with salt. Remove from flame.

Serve hot with rice /idli/dosa!!!

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Apple Crisp | Apple crisp with cake crumbs| Leftover recipes

If you are into cake decorating or if you are a frequent cake maker for friends and families and if you are like me who hates dumping that excess cake crumbs then you would also be hunting for recipes and ways to use them. I generally make cake pops and gift it to kids in my apartment but the last time I made some butter cake I had very little crumbs leftover which led me to browse for recipes. Since nothing got me interested, I started putting things together randomly and this happened. Its perfect served warm with a dollop of icecream and a shot of amaretto. Tip: You can replace the apples with berries, peaches or seasonal fruits of choice.

~*What U Need*~ Apples - 2, cored, sliced Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp Brown sugar - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Cornstarch - 1/2 tbsp Salt - a pinch For the crumble Leftover cake - 1 cup Rolled Oats - 3 tbsp Butter - 1 tbsp, cut into chunks Sliced almonds - 2 tbsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-inch slices. Place apples in a large mixing bowl and toss with sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Pour into individual ramekins or a small baking dish. In another large bowl, mix together the oats and almonds. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, gently work in the cold butter until pea-sized lumps are formed. Toss in the cake crumbs. Top apples evenly with mixture and bake until apples are bubbly and topping is golden brown, about 45 minutes, rotating once halfway through cooking.

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

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Eggnog | Homemade eggnog | Boozy Chirstmas Drink

When it comes to eggnog you either love it or don't. If you are a spice lover then you will love it. But then if spices are not your thing then this drink is not for you. As for me, I love eggnog. Its creamy, its luscious and its comforting. This here is an adult version like the one where Jake drinks and sings "mammio daddio" in Two and a half men. Most of the eggnog recipes that I came across uses uncooked eggs and whipping eggwhites and folding it into the drink. Well I hate uncooked eggs and this recipe was just right for me. I referred lot many recipes and came up with my own version. As for the rum, you can totally skip it and add imitation rum extract or if you are one who doesn't love rum flavor then skip it.

Prep time: 5 mins; Cooking time: 15 mins; Serves: 2 cups ~*What U Need*~ Egg yolks - 4 Sugar - 1/4 cup Whole Milk - 1 1/2 cups Heavy cream - 1/2 cup Freshly grated nutmeg - 1/2 + 1/8 tsp Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Ground cloves - 1/8 tsp Cinnamon - 1/8 tsp Rum - 2 tbsp How I Made it: In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture doubles in volume and is a nice pale color{I missed including that in my step by step pictorial}. Add the cream, milk, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Add about half of the hot milk into the egg yolk stirring constantly. Add this into the saucepan with the remaining liquid and cook stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees or coats slightly the back of the spoon. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, add the rum and vanilla and place it in the fridge to cool completely, best if refrigerated overnight to allow the flavors meddle.

Serve chilled with a dollop pf whipped cream!!!

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Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Baking is something like an integral part of my life these days. Its like no day passes by without me cranking up the oven. Mostly its something for breakfast or to refill our cookie jar. And then there are potlucks and friends coming over. Coming to the breakfast part, I generally make banana breads when there are over-ripe bananas in the basket or some kind of yeasted breads with whole wheat flour. But this time we wanted a change and this baked banana oatmeal was what I made. Reheated the next day morning, dunked it into some milk, poured in some maple syrup and it was a yummy breakfast.

~*What U Need*~ Old fashioned rolled oats - 1 cup Chopped pecans - 1/4 cup Baking powder - 1/4 tsp Cinnamon - 3/4 tsp Salt - a pinch Maple syrup - 1/4 cup Milk - 1 cup Egg - 1, large Canola oil - 2 tbsp Vanilla - 1 tsp Blueberries - 1 cup, fresh/frozen How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease 8x8 cake pan. Spread half of the berries in the bottom of the baking dish. Sprinkle the dry oat mixture over the fruit in an even layer. In a medium bowl, mix the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the syrup, milk, egg, oil, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients evenly over the oats. Sprinkle the nuts and remaining berries over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the top is browned and the oats have set. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Serve warm!!!

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ABC Cake | Apple Banana Carrot Cake | Breakfast Cake

Well if you are looking for a bake which incorporates fruits, veggies, nuts and very little fat, then look no more, for I have a very simple breakfast cake for you today. Its filled with carrots, apple, banana and uses only quarter cup of sugar. Slice them up, toast 'em with some butter and serve it with some freshly squeezed orange juice or freshly brewed coffee and you have a delicious, kid-friendly breakfast to serve. So lets move on to the recipe.

~*What U Need*~ Whole wheat flour - 1 cup All purpose flour - 1/2 cup Brown sugar - 1/4 cup, packed Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Cinnamon - 1 tsp Canola oil - 2 tbsp Egg - 1 Honey - 2 tbsp Sour cream - 2 tbsp Whole milk - 1/4 cup Vanilla - 1 tsp Carrots - 1 cup, shredded Apple - 1, shredded Bananas - 2, mashed Walnuts - 1/2 cup Cranberries - 1/4 cup, dried How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine carrot, apple, sour cream, oil, egg, milk and vanilla; stir well. Add the mashed bananas and mix gently. Add honey and mix well. In a large bowl, combine all purpose and whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir well with a whisk. Add the cranberries and walnuts and mix. Fold wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Spoon batter into a bundt pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for about 40-50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.

Slice and serve!!!

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