Nutella Crepe Cake, for his 30th!!!

If you follow me on instagram and facebook you would have got a glimpse of the cake that I made for the huss for his 30th birthday. I wanted to surprise him and I was browsing for ideas in pinterest and the crepe cake kinda caught my attention. Its something that I have never tried before and I knew that the 30 layers would definitely surprise him. I first thought of using white chocolate ganache because the huss adores white chocolate but since the crepes are plain I was doubtful on the flavor combination and so I settled for nutella.

I wouldn't say that the cake is a breeze to make cos you have to make 30 perfect crepes then layer it with a thin coating of frosting taking care not to break the fragile crepes and then frost the whole thing patiently. But trust me its worth all the effort. The melt in the mouth crepes with that smooth and creamy ganache is definitely gonna bowl over the person for whom you are making this and not to forget the surprise that he is in for when cuts through the cake.

~*What U Need*~ For the crepes ~ adapted from Alton Brown Large eggs - 2 All purpose flour - 1 cup Milk - 3/4 cup Water - 1/2 cup Butter - 3 tbsp, melted Sugar - 2 1/2 tbsp Vanilla - 1 tsp For the Nutella Gananche ~ my own recipe Nutella - 118 g Semi sweet chocolate - 82 g Heavy cream - 110 g How I Made it: Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for 10 seconds. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour. Heat a small non stick skillet on medium high and butter the pan. Pour 1/8 cup of the batter into the centre of the pan and swirl to spread the batter evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds. Remove the crepes and leave them to cool on a wire rack. chopping board. Once cooled, you can stack them in ziplock bags and store it in the fridge for several days. For the ganache, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat till the chocolate and nutella melts. Cool and use it in between the crepes like frosting and cover the sides of the crepe cake. Let the cake chill till needed and decorate as needed before serving.

Cut and serve!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Blueberry Buttemilk Pancakes

I love making pancakes for breakfast. They are easy to whip up and makes for a yummy breakfast option. Now with the munchkins on board, pancakes seem to be becoming a must on weekends. When I serve him some soft, fluffy pancakes drizzled with honey, he eats them without a fuss and he enjoys them all the more than dosas or idlis. And so Saturdays are becoming "Pancake Saturdays" for us.

Last week when I visited the local bulk store, I saw some blueberries on sale. Don't get me wrong, but I am proud to accept that I am a berry addict. Ripe, juicy berries attract me like an ant to sugar. So I bought them, prepped them, stored them in ziploc bags and threw them into the freezer. Now I have 10 packets of berries all measuring 1 cup which will definitely last me for the next 2 months.

Weekends sees us only for brunch. I give a glass of milk for the kid early morning and then we hug and sleep tight till atleast 10. So we generally go for a heavy breakfast like this sooft fluffy pancakes loaded with blueberries and soaked in honey. You can make this healthy by substituting half or full amount of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I used only 1/4 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of baking soda as I wanted to feed this to the kid. Even then the pancakes were so soft, thanks to the buttermilk. However, I have given the original measurements below.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Makes - 9 four inch pancakes ~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 cup Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Egg - 1 Buttermilk - 1 1/2 cup Butter - 2 tbsp Blueberries - 1/2 cup or more Oil/butter - to grease Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp How I Made it: Heat ur griddle till hot. Melt the butter and allow to cool. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the egg. buttermilk, butter and whisk till just combined. Brush the griddle with some butter, pour 1/2 cup of batter, arrange blueberries on top. When the pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around the edges, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with honey or maple syrup.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Wholewheat Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes with Dates Syrup

Sometimes it so happens that me and the kid play till 12.00 am into the night and it mostly happens on Friday ~ the happiness that the next two days are holidays and the thought that we have two whole days to spend quality time together clings to both of us and its just non-stop playing. And once we fall asleep, it takes a big deal to wake us up... And waking for breakfast is generally out of question... Its usually a simple brunch for Saturdays and Sundays.

Lazy me, I usually make a simple toast with sunny side up egg for me and scrambled eggs with toast for the huss. But these days, I prefer trying something new, something that is simple and something that can be whipped up in a matter of minutes.. like these pancakes. They are soft, moist and fluffy that you will never believe that all you need is simple, pantry staple ingredients. And if you are out of pumpkin puree or if it is not in season, then replace it with other fruit purees like strawberry, banana, dates or fruits of choice.

The batter is easy to whip up~ measure, whisk, pour and your breakfast is ready. I prefer making them healthy and so I use whole wheat flour or atta. But you can use all purpose flour too. I however prefer the wheat version, it gives that nuttiness which makes a difference. Serving it with the dates syrup gives enough sweetness and so you can even skip adding the sugar.

Soft, moist, fluffy pancakes with sweet dates syrup

~*What U Need*~ Whole wheat flour - 2/3 cup Quick cooking oats - 1/3 cup Baking powder - 1 tsp Baking soda - 1/4 tsp Cinnamon - a dash Egg - 1 Vanilla - 1/2 tsp Pumpkin puree - 1/3 cup + 2 tbsps Buttermilk - 1 1/3 cup Sugar - 2-3 tbsps (optional) Dates syrup: Water - 1/4 cup Dates - 10, pitted

How I Made it:
In a bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. In another bowl, whisk egg, pumpkin puree and vanilla together.

Add the buttermilk and sugar and beat well. Slowly combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Fold gently.

Heat a griddle, pour 1/4 cup of batter. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbly then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. To make the dates syrup, soak the pitted dates in warm water for 10 mins. Blend to a smooth syrup.

Serve the pancakes warm with honey and dates syrup.

** My Notes:
** You can skip the egg and make it eggless
** Since I served it with dates syrup and honey, I skipped the sugar.
** You can add some chocolate chips or walnuts too.
** You can replace the buttermilk with skimmed milk or normal milk too.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes WITH Peanut Butter Sauce

Adapting world cuisine for our breakfast has become common these days. What with the bread being a staple in my pantry or the life-saver oats porridge which we have every alternate days or the kellogs which we have with fruits and nuts. You know I have advanced by getting the family pack of Kelloggs x2 for a month these days. Thats how often we have that. But its not only with my household, I have seen many friends of mine who stack breads, jams and peanut butters to have a fuss free breakfast.

One such thing that has been adapted by most of the Indians are Pancakes. I thought that Pancakes were quintessential to the Americans only. But wikipedia proved me wrong. They have been roaming around as early as the 5th century BC. How ancient is that!!! Read more here if you are interested.
Pancakes are easy to make and makes up for a tummy filling breakfast... you can make them with eggs or eggless, use whole wheat flour or oats to make them healthy and flavor them anyway you need depending on what your pantry holds. I had some wilting bananas in my fruit basket and the banana bread seemed to repeating a lot, I have made them twice in two weeks time. So I settled for these pancakes. They were flavorful, protein packed and made up for a filling morning breakfast.

~*What U Need*~ Bananas - 2, large Sugar - 2tbsp Egg - 1, large Milk - 1 cup Whole wheat flour - 1 cup Baking powder - 1 1/4 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp For peanut butter sauce Creamy peanut butter - 2 tbsp Heavy cream - 1 tbsp Brown sugar - 2 tsps Milk or cream - to bring to sauce consistency

How I Made it:
Blend the bananas along with sugar. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, milk and banana.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry into wet mixture until the batter is smooth.

Drop by 1/4-cupfuls onto an oiled skillet. Cook until brown underneath and dry on top with tiny bubbles. Flip to brown the second side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Mix everything mentioned under sauce till smooth. Pour over pancakes.

Serve hot with peanut butter sauce & honey.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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