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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White Chocolate Creme Brulee

The huss loves white chocolate. If I choose 85% cacao dark chocolate for my midnight snack, he would choose the straight opposite and go for white chocolate. I am not a hater, I love anything chocolate but I just prefer dark to white. I love making, serving and gifting sweet things to friends and family. And no dinner for us is complete without a scoop of icecream or a piece of homemade cake to share between the three of us. So when I had some white chocolate chips left over after making cookies for friends during the holidays, I thought I could make something for the huss exclusively. And with valentine's day coming up, I though it would be a great dessert option to share with you guys.

Prep: 15 min; Bake: 50 min; Makes: 3-4 servings ~*What U Need*~ Egg yolks - 3 Sugar - 6 tbsp, divided Heavy whipping cream - 1 cup White baking chocolate - 2 ounces Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside. In a small saucepan, combine the cream, chocolate and 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat. Stir in vanilla. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolk mixture to temper the egg yolk mixture; return the mixture to the pan, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens slightly. {I missed taking pics of this step but its very similar to making icecreams} Pour into ramekins. Place in a baking pan. Add 1 in. of boiling water to pan. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 50-55 minutes or until center is set. Remove from water bath. Cool for 10 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. To broil the custards, place ramekins on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Broil on the top rack of the oven for 4-7 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Keep an eye every 1-2 mins. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

Serve chilled!!!

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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!!!

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Fruit Trifle | Leftover recipes

I like putting together dishes from leftovers. You never know what would be the end product. You add whatever your heart tells with the mouth leading you in every step. This trifle happened just like that. I had some cake slices and about a cup of cool whip and that made me come up with this trifle. Pappu went totally gaga over the trifle when I took it for our after-dessert. He loves "staaawberry" and every bit of staaawberry on the trifle had to be his. The trifle tastes best when chilled overnight.

~*What U Need*~ Leftover cake - 1 cup Strawberries - 1/2 cup Nectarine - 1 Sugar - 2 + 2 tbsp Cook whip - 1 cup How I made it: Slice the strawberries and nectarines. Add the sugar to each and mix well. Refrigerate for 30 mins. To layer the dessert, arrange the cake slices, spoon the strawberries followed by the whipped cream. Layer the next set of cake slices. This time spoon over the nectarines. Repeat and finally spoon over the fruits.

Serve chilled!!!

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Tiramisu Trifle ~ Happy V'Day to all!!!

I had a plan devised weeks before to surprise the huss on valentine's day. We had never had a romantic candlelight dinner and so that was what I had planned for him. Right from starters to main course to dessert, I had visualized the menu, how I would set the dinner table and the whole thing. But then pappu fell sick and the temperatures started dipping as if another polar vortex had hit the state and shopping for the menu had to take a backseat.

Grocery shopping was left in Mr.A's hands and you know what happens when you let men pick cabbage and cereal for you, they pick other unasked stuff too. To name a few ~ pound cake and danish. Lets talk about pound cake, shall we??? I had always wanted to try pound cake but the amount of butter that I had to use set me down. So when the huss bought the loaf, I was keen on trying it. One bite, and I knew that no one would touch it a second time. It was dry, crumbly and nowhere near moist. The huss felt the same too and so he asked me to jazz it up... Born the Tiramisu trifle, just in time for the season. As for the romantic dinner, its still in my head and right now I am working my way through the fridge, thinking what can be done with the stuff in hand.

~*What U Need*~ Sponge or Pound Cake crumbs - 1 cup For the espresso syrup: Instant coffee powder - 1 tbsp Water - 1/4 cup Sugar - 3 tbsps For the filling and frosting: Mascarpone cheese - 4 oz, I used homemade Icing sugar - 1/4 cup, sifted Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Heavy whipping cream - 1/2 cup Grated chocolate - 1/4 cup, I used Hershey's special dark Cocoa powder - to dust How I Made it: Take two clean trifle or normal glasses. Make the espresso syrup by heating the sugar and water till the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and then add the coffee powder and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature. Next lets make the filling, take the mascarpone, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth. In another bowl, using a hand held mixer, whip the cold cream until it forms stiff peaks. Stir about 1/3 rd of this into the mascarpone and then lightly fold in the remaining cream. Add half of the grated chocolate and fold gently. Keep refrigerated till assembling. To assemble the trifle, layer the cake crumbs and spoon over the espresso syrup on top of it. Be sure to get every spot of the cake. Spoon over the mascarpone filling and dust with cocoa powder and shaved chocolate. Repeat one more layer and give a generous dusting of cocoa powder. You could garnish with some chocolate covered espresso beans too. Chill overnight.

Serve chilled!!!

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Chocolate Strawberry Trifle | Leftover recipes

There are days at home when the cake that I bake becomes an overdose and it is left on its own to go stale. On those days I have to resort to other ways to feed the family that final piece and nothing can jazz up a humble piece of cake like a good trifle. I love a good trifle and I love surprising my huss with a good one too. That awed look he gives when he digs into the dessert exploring each layer as he goes deep into the trifle is precious to me. The huss loved the look of it and grabbed his share before I could take decent photographs and the one you see is my share standing alone with no company. :(

I generally make him some yogurt parfaits with granola for snack and add in chopped fruit to make it healthy. But at times I like giving him a treat too and that is when I make some easy leftover desserts like this. I had some frozen strawberries and it was time to take them out to give the dessert a tang. Strawberries add color and the needed tanginess to cut off the sweetness from the chocolate cake and pudding. The below mentioned quantity serves just two but it can be easily doubled or tripled for a larger quantity.

~*What U Need*~ Chocolate cake crumbs - 1 cup Strawberries - 1 cup Sugar - 2-3 tbsp Water - 2 tbsp Milk - 1 cup Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp Egg yolk - 1 Sugar - 3 tbsp Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp How I Made it: Wash and hull the strawberries. Chop them up and take them in a pan. Add sugar and water and boil them till you get a chunky sauce of chutney consistency. Set this aside. Heat milk in a pan, add the sugar and whisk till hot and combined well. Pour this slowly into the egg yolk and whisk well tempering the egg. Return this to the pan and heat till thick and coating a spatula, whisking the whole time. Cool completely. Layer your serving bowl with cake crumbs, then the strawberry sauce and finally the chocolate pudding. Repeat till the dish is full ending with the pudding.

Serve chilled with a dollop of whipped cream!!!

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Fresh Strawberry Galette | Strawberry Mini Galette | Strawberry Crostata

The berry season has come to an end and it makes me sad. I have not enjoyed the berries to the fullest as I came here mid-season. However I had my fair share of cherries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries and not to forget the peaches, plums and nectarines. I had them in juices, milkshakes, smoothies, yogurts and then there were days when I simply popped them as a snack. Only when I saw them fading slowly from the market aisles, did I bother to browse for recipes.

The other day I bought some strawberries and when I was cleaning them I found that they were not that good. Some had gone bad and some were nearing that stage. I wanted to use them all in one go and was thinking of dishes when this galette struck the bell. Galette is nothing but a free form pie. You don't need a pie tin and so it is friendly. Making a galette has always been in my mind and the half-wilting strawberries was the perfect excuse.

Right from the time I started making the galette to the minute I put it into the oven, the kid was going haywire. He was restless every minute and was like a timer going on every minute. Whenever I left the oven unattended, he would be there by my side, pulling my hands to check the status. He wouldn't even let me take pictures, see there his baby hands sneaking to grab a piece. Only after he got a mouthful of this flaky tarty galette, was he under control.

Prep Time: 20 mins; Cooking Time: 30 mins; Serves - 3; Makes - one 6-inch Galette ~*What U Need*~ For the crust Unbleached all purpose flour - 3/4 cup Salt - a pinch Cold unsalted butter - 3-4 tbsp Yogurt - 2 tbsp, plain or flavored Ice cold water - 2 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tsp Egg - 2 tbsp, crack open an egg, beat and use 2 tbsp For the Filling: Fresh strawberries - 250 gms Almonds - 1/4 cup Cornstarch - 1 tbsp Sugar - 3 tbsp Egg wash - as desired How I Made it: In a bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, water and lemon juice. Put the almonds in a ziploc bag and bang with your rolling pin. Take the flour and salt in a largish mixing bowl and combine well. Dice the butter into smaller cubes and put this into the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon or with your hands till it resembles coarse crumbs. You could do this is in the food processor too. Add the egg mixture into the flour and gather to form a dough. Put this in a ziploc bag and freeze for 20 mins. Meanwhile clean, hull your strawberries and pat dry. Slice them and set aside. Combine the strawberries with the almonds, cornstarch and sugar. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Roll the chilled dough on the parchment paper into a 6-inch circle, trimming edges until smooth. Place the strawberry mixture in the middle of the dough leaving some space to fold the dough. Fold over the edges of dough, pleating to make it fit. Brush the sides with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes until puffy and golden brown.

Serve warm out of the oven with some whipped cream!!!

** My Notes:
** I used roasted and salted almonds, u could use slivered almonds too
** I used berry yogurt but you could use plain yogurt too.
** The recipe can be easily double for a 13-inch galette.
** It tastes best on the same day, the bestest when warm out of the oven with some vanilla ice-cream
** Take care to leave enough space when piling on the strawberries. I made the border thin and it started opening up when it was baking. So leave atleast 2-inch gap.

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Chocolate Tart with Eggless Shortcrust Pastry

Life has been getting pretty busy here and so blogging has started taking a backseat. It might take some time to be back to normal and I will update you on the recent happenings once everything takes the right path. Am not doing any blog hopping like before nor am I setting aside time to edit photos, compose and finally put up a post here. But that doesn't mean that I am not cooking. In fact am cooking more and to be specific I have been baking a lot. Since appa is here, I have a guinea pig in hand and that kicks me to bake more. He tastes everything I dish out and its always positive comments that I get and that encourages me to bake more. I will be back with all those recipes and with more zeal. Don't get me wrong, I am not announcing a break but there is going to be some lag here so bear with that and do keep visiting the old posts.

Moving on to this tart, this is what I made for the munchkins monthly birthday. Something sweet, something new and something totally addictive. The smooth, perfectly set chocolate custard with that crunchy melt in the mouth biscuit was a delight to have. "Anything is good if it's made of chocolate ~ Jo Brand" and if you like anything with chocolate then you will surely love this tart. Munchkins had his fair share and I knew he loved it when he came for seconds.

The tart shell was so flaky and just melted with a bite. You could go for some savory filling if you are not into sweet fillings (..which I highly doubt). Lemon curd, caramel with praline or 1/2 a cup of plain nutella are some other ideas.

~*What U need*~ Makes a 4 inch tart For the Shortcrust Pastry dough: Flour - 1 cup Butter - 50g/ 1/4 cup, chopped in cubes Salt - a pinch(skip if using salted butter) Sugar - 1 tbsp Ice cold water - 2-3 tbsp For the filling: Semi-sweet chocolate - 1/2 cup Heavy cream - 1/4 cup Milk - 2 tbsp Egg yolk - 1 Salt - a pinch Sugar - 1 tbsp How I Made it: In a mixing bowl add flour, salt, sugar and mix well. Add in the cold butter and rub with your fingers till it forms coarse crumbs. Now add water to form a dough. Cover it with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 mins. After 30 mins, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Carefully lay the dough inside a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the pan so it fits tightly and then press the edges into the sides of the pan. It is important to press the dough evenly into every nook and corner of the ring, especially the scalloped edges. Shave off the excess with a knife. Put the tart in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to relax. Preheat the oven to 175C. Line the tart with aluminum foil and add dried beans dried beans and bake for 30-35 mins. To make the filling: Heat the heavy cream and milk in a pot over medium-low flame, until u see bubbles in the sides. Remove from heat, add the chopped chocolate and set aside for 2 mins. Stir till the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the sugar and salt and whisk. Beat the egg yolk in a bowl and slowly add the chocolate mixture. Whisk well. Pour the filling into the cooled tart shell and bake at 170 C for 20 mins or till the surface is non-sticky and glossy.

Slice and Serve with whipped cream!!!

** My Notes:
** Chilling the dough is very important to get that flaky crust.
** Also do not over work the dough.
** You can strain the chocolate-egg mixture to remove lumps.
** You can also add the zest of an orange when heating the cream.
** If you see any bubbles or cracks forming on the surface, take the tart out right away - that means it is beginning to become over baked. Mine got a wee bit overbaked.
** I used the fresh cream that I get at my place, it worked well too.

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Banana Bread Pudding with Nutella Swirl & Chocolate Sauce

Bread puddings are one dessert which are easy to put together and tastes sensational when served with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream or vanilla mascarpone cream. My first attempt in baking a bread pudding was long back, when I was newly married. Quite a novice Armed with zero baking skills, I tried the pudding just because we had a microwave-convection oven in our in-laws house. I had a 13-inch baking pan and just one cup of pudding batter to fill it. Donot imagine till what level the batter was in the dish. And to those who imagined, it just peeped from the floor of the pan. That was not the only mistake that I did. I baked the pudding for the time the recipe called for and with such a big baking dish and such little batter I should have cut down on the time but I didn't. I didnt check for doneness in the middle, I simply and blindly baked. Thanks to god it didn't burn. And I don't want to talk about how the pudding tasted. It was good in taste but the texture ~ not soft neither hard... it was rubbery. End result ~ I vowed that I would never bake in my life.

But now I am happy that I changed my decision. Baking soothes me and my soul these days. I bake when I am happy, I bake when I am sad and these days, I don't need a reason to bake. I had my own downs when it comes to baking, never an up in my early days. But lessons have been learnt and I am starting to understand the science behind baking.

Now this pudding, its a simple one if you follow the recipe to the 'T'. I would say its a beginner's keeper. Its just making the custard, soaking the bread slices, putting em together and then baking. We had it for our weekend breakfast brunch, a lazy late morning breakfast and it was just perfect ~ not too sweet and not too bland. 'A' skipped the chocolate sauce but I would say donot skip it if you need something chocolate in everything you eat ~ 'like me'

~*What U Need*~ Milk - 1/2 + 1/4 cup Demerera Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp Cinnamon - 1/8 tsp Egg - 1 Day old bread slices - 2 cups, cubed Ripe banana - 1 / Mashed Banana - 1/2 cup Nutella - 2 tbsp Butter - 1 tbsp For the chocolate sauce Dark chocolate - 50g Fresh cream - 3 tbsp Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp Milk - to bring it to consistency

How I Made it:
Soak the bread slices in 1/2 cup milk. Mash the banana with a fork. Take cinnamon, demerera sugar in a bowl. Add egg and combine well.

Add 1/4 cup milk and banana and whisk well.

In a greased pan, arrange the soaked bread slices. Pour the custard over the bread slices.

Heat the nutella with butter over double boiler. Pour this over the bread and swirl with a knife. Bake @ 175 C for 30-40 mins till the top turns brown.

For the chocolate sauce, microwave all the ingredients for 30 secs. Whisk till smooth and shiny. If its too thick, then whisk in some milk to bring it to pouring consistency. When serving pour the chocolate sauce over the bread pudding and serve.

For best results, serve warm out of oven.

** My Notes:
** Once out of the oven, the pudding looks so puffed up but it falls once it starts to cool. Don't panic or don't get put off ~ that is how it works.
** You could add some dark chocolate chunks too
** Nuts, they give a good crunch too

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