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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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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Apple Cinnamon Swirl Bread

I often think that I am young and healthy.. young and dynamic.. young and energetic just as I was in my 20s. And I was... I used to walk for hours and never get tired. I used to stand for hours and never get worn out. I used to shop for hours and never get exhausted. But with time your body wears out too and adapting to that change is very important. Now why am I talking this, because I learnt this lesson a week back only. I was down with back sprain and all because I carried the grocery bag. Now donot ask about the grocery bag, it must have weighed at least 15+ kgs and its been ages since I carried anything heavy. If I am right, ever since I had my son, I have not carried anything heavy. So Lesson learnt!!! Sticking to the handbag only!!!

Coming to this bread, you will love this if you like the combo of apple and cinnamon. We are total suckers for anything cinnamon-y apple and so the bread was a big hit at home. And the walnuts adds that needed crunch. You will totally fall for this bread. One thing that I would like mention here is "roll the dough tightly". I missed this I guess. Can you see how open the second swirl looks? It makes it difficult to slice the bread. So be pretty careful when you roll the dough.

The dough is highly customizable. You could leave out the apples totally or you could add in some raisins or you could skip the walnuts, its all your choice.

Adapted from here Prep time: 20 mins; Cooking time: 55 mins; Serving size - 1 slice; Serves - 12 slices ~*What U Need*~ Bread flour - 2 cups, divided Active dry yeast - 1 package or Instant yeast - 1 1/2 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Sugar - 2 heaped tbsps Water - 1/2 cup Milk - 1/4 cup Butter - 2 tbsp, softened For the Filling or swirl: Sugar - 1/3, I used a combo of regular and brown Cinnamon - 2 tsp Butter - 1/2 tbsp, I used ghee Apples - 1 cup, diced Walnuts - 1/3 cup, chopped How I Made it: Heat water to lukewarm with the sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside for 10 mins and allow to froth. Combine 1/2 cup of bread flour, and salt in a large mixer bowl; Add the yeast mixture, butter and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add remaining bread flour 1/2 cup at a time, mixing just until combined. Switch out the flat beater for a dough hook, and knead dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic (if dough is sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time – I added an additional 1/4 cup). The dough is ready when smooth and tacky (dough will stick to the finger, then release). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray and cover with plastic. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 30 minutes). Punch dough down and cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Whisk together sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll each section into a 9 x 13-inch rectangle. Leaving a 1/2-inch border, brush sections with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon sugar. Divide apple pieces and walnuts evenly over dough; press gently into dough with rolling pin. Starting with a short end, roll each rectangle into a log, pinching dough to seal seam and ends. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and place dough seam-side down in pan. Cover loosely with plastic sprayed with nonstick spray and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake bread for 30 minutes, then tent with foil. Continue to bake another 25 minutes until loaves are deep golden and sound hollow when tapped. Cool in the pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; turn out of pan to cool completely. Calories – 175 (per slice); Carbs – 30

Serve warm for breakfast!!!

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Apple & Spinach Salad with Pesto Dressing

I always have a jar of coriander pesto in my pantry. Its so versatile ~ I spread it on toasts, I stir it into whole grain pastas or I use it to make salad dressing. All you need to do is stir 2 tbsp of pesto with some olive oil to thin it out and then season it as needed. You could add some grated parmesan cheese or if you are a fan of sour cream then a tablespoon of low fat sour cream will never harm you.

BTW, please do not get alarmed at the variety of salads that I am throwing at your face. This is the last of the lot and the next recipe that is gonna come is gonna be a show-stopper for sure. Well, atleast for hardcore non-vegetarians.

~*What U Need*~ Baby Spinach - 1 cup Walnuts - a handful Apple - 1, sliced Pesto - 2 tbsp Olive oil - 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar - 1 tsp Sour cream - 1/2 tbsp(optional) How I Made it: Rinse and pat dry the spinach. Chop the walnuts. Assemble the salad by placing the spinach first followed by the apples and walnuts. Mix the dressing ingredients and spoon over the salad.

Serve immediately!!!

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Apple Walnut Salad with Peanut Butter dressing

Falling in row with the cucumber coriander salad, here is the next one of the lot. Sliced honey crisp apples with a generous dose of chopped walnuts and peanut butter dressing.

Salads are my go to food when I want to detox my body. A bowl of salad, an exercise regime and gallons of water ~ I would call it a day. But since the onset of winter, my exercise routine has never been the same. I do aerobics but I have never been regular. So I make it a point to stick to the salad regimen atleast. This week is one such week where I am cleansing my body with kale smoothies and spinach salads. I felt like having something sweet and hence took a break from the regular salads and made this apple walnut salad.

Okay, so I thought that I could give you a glance of the pie that is the reason behind all this hooplah. *drum rolls* Here is the Caramel Pecan Silk Supreme which was gifted to me by the huss for Valentines day. I could best describe it as *heaven on a plate*. Look at that layers, how sinful does that look.

~*What U Need*~ Honey Crisp apples - 2 Walnuts - 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp Peanut butter - 2 tbsp Maple syrup - 1 tsp Chia seeds - 1 tbsp(optional) How I Made it: Mix peanut butter, maple syrup and chia seeds. Set aside. Slice the apples and coat with lime juice. In a serving bowl, place the apples and top with walnuts. Drizzle the dressing.

Serve!!!

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Apple Banana Breakfast Cake

I love having cakes for breakfast. A slice of cake with some orange juice is my piece of cake. And when it is ladden with fruits and with no hint of butter, it makes me all the more happier cos I know that I can always have a second helping without any guilt. Isn't that what food is all about!!! Eating to the heart, soul, mind and everything's content.

I usually pick out one banana from our banana basket and then condemn it to solitary confinement so that it goes brown, speckled and absolutely ripe. Then I bake breads from that banana.

I made this cake when I had mushy ripe bananas and the urge to add another fruit so that I could make a wholesome breakfast cake for that week. When I browsed I came across recipes using apple in banana breads and it fit the bill just right. A dash of cinnamon completed the cake perfectly. Apple + cinnamon = bliss isn't it. If you are game for the equation then try apple+banana+cinnamon, you will love it. The only thing that I would change the next time is the sweetness, we felt it overly sweet, must be because of the banana and apple. Also instead of grating the apples I would opt for chopped ones, cos the grated apples led a dense texture to the cake. Other than that this makes for a hearty breakfast option.

~*What U Need*~ All purpose flour - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup, I used 1/4 brown sugar and 1/4 regular sugar Baking soda - 1 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Cinnamon - 1 tsp Grated apple - 2 cups, I used Honey crisp Bananas - 1, mashes Vanilla - 1/2 tsp Oil - 1/4 cup, I used canola Eggs - 1 Walnuts - 1/4 cup How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add sugar to the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well. Take the mashed banana with the egg and mix well. Add oil, grated apple to the egg mixture and mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold well. If using walnuts add at this stage and fold gently. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 30-35 mins or till a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Serve with milk!!!

** My Notes:
** I felt that adding 1/2 cup sugar made the cake overly sweet so next time I would keep into 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
** Also the cake was dense must be because of the fruits in the batter so next time I would try adding another 1/4 cup flour.

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Nutella Oatmeal | Happy Mother's day | Oats Recipes

What do you do when you have that last tablespoon of nutella??? you simply lick it off, atleast thats what I do... What do you do when you have that last tablespoon of nutella and your mum standing by the side ready to fight for that last serve??? You make a dish that could be shared between the two, like this oatmeal. Its easy, its too good and its a good way to sneak in nutella for breakfast.

BTW, advanced HAPPY MOTHER's DAY to all. I stay away for the system on weekends and so the early post. And do you know, I have started getting mother's day gifts too... from the huss ofcourse. It was a lovely glass cake pedestal last year which you have been seeing in many of my baking posts and this year some cookbooks which I have been eyeing for some time. And now to the hardest part, me gifting something to amma. There is nothing specific that she wants and that makes the gift-choosing part really hard. The only thing that she has been asking for, for a really really long time is the sizzling brownie from CCD and thats what am gonna get her and its definitely gonna be an eat-out night for us.

Now this oatmeal, I made this some time back when I made a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal for our my breakfast and amma refused her share. I had that final tbsp of nutella in my jar and so I made this for her. She loved it, to the core and said it was like eating dessert for breakfast and since then we have been making this. Not with the last tablespoon but with jars picked specifically for this. Amma loves having this for breakfast and this is what am planning for her mother's day breakfast.

And guys there's another news that I wanted to share... My apple walnut cake got featured in the Cooking doctor's first newsletter(it's a mother's day special too)... Thanks Jehanne for the mention, it is one of my proudest momemts. Friends, do check out her newsletter, its got some gorgeous pictures and awesome recipes.

~*What U Need*~ Quick Cooking Oats - 1 cup Nutella - 2 tbsp, heaped Milk - 1 cup Brown sugar or sugar - 3 tbsp Chocolate chips - as needed(optional) Nuts,apple slices, banana slices - to garnish

How I Made it:
Boil milk in a saucepan. Add oats and cook till done. Add sugar and cook till dissolved.

Add nutella and whisk till melted and combined. Once done, remove from flame. Pour into serving bowls and top with apple or banana slices, nuts or chocolate chips or another dollop of nutella when hot.

Serve hot or warm!!!

** My Notes:
** You could use almond or soy milk for a vegan version
** Some toasted almonds will add a great crunch.

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Apple Pom Salad with Sweet & Sour Dressing | Cold Salad Recipes

Its been a long time since I posted a salad recipe in my space. All credits to the huss. The huss has never been a salad person except for the Cold Apple&Candied walnut salad that I serve occasionally. But the salad sans the candied walnuts is a strict no for him. Says the only good thing in the salad is the crunchy sweet walnut thingies. Its just the opposite for me. I heart salads. I can have them any time of the day. The freshness and the crunchiness that you get without devouring the soul of the ingredients is what I love about salads. I don't prefer a fancy dressing, a simple olive oil or red wine dressing is all that I need.

Talking about the recipe, I made this when there were an overload of apples and the huss was fussing over the not-so-tasty lunch that I made for the day. He wanted something sweet, said he and that is when I made this salad. It was sweet, mildly tart and the crunchiness of the toasted pistachios and peanuts made him miss the candied walnuts. We had this for tea, skipping the tea part... and we loved it.

~*What U Need*~ Apple - 1, cubed Pomegranate - 1/2 Honey - 1 tbsp Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp Hung curd - 1/4 cup Roasted Pistachios, groundnuts - 8 each

How I Made it:
Cube the apples and put them in lemon water to prevent browning. In a mixing bowl, add honey, lemon juice, yogurt till smooth. Add the apple and pom seeds and toss. Pound the roasted pistachios and ground nuts coarsely. Place the salad in serving bowls, top with nuts.

Serve cold.

** My Notes:
** Use nuts and fruits of choice.
** U can skip the lemon juice.
** This is a guilt free salad but if you are serve it to kids then spoon over some melted white chocolate, chill to get a hard shell and then serve.

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