4th of July Granita | Berry & Yogurt Granitas

I had never thought of making a 4th of July dessert. But all the desserts out there had always got me hooked to the screen. So when the people from Raise.com asked me to write a blog on fourth of July desserts, I got into thinking. I wanted to make it colorful but healthy at the same time. The berries of the season came to the rescue. Raspberries and blueberries made the colors of the flag and a simple yogurt granita or Indian lassi inspired granita made for the white layer.

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~*What U Need*~ For the raspberry granita: Raspberries - 1 cup Water - 2-3 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp How I Made it: Clean and pat dry the raspberries. In a blender, blend raspberries, water and honey until smooth. Pass through a sieve to remove seeds. Pour into an aluminium loaf pan or a plastic airtight box. Freeze for 1 hour. Scrape with a fork, you will get flakes of ice. Return to freezer. Repeat the process every 30 mins. When there is no remaining blocks of ice, u are good to go. For the blueberry granita: Blueberries - 1 cup Water - 2-3 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp How I Made it: Clean and pat dry the blueberries. In a blender, blend blueberries, water and honey until smooth. Pass through a sieve. Pour into an aluminium loaf pan or a plastic airtight box. Freeze for 1 hour. Scrape with a fork, you will get flakes of ice. Return to freezer. Repeat the process every 30 mins. When there is no remaining blocks of ice, u are good to go. For the yogurt granita: Greek Yogurt - 1 cup Water - 2-3 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp How I Made it: In a blender, blend yogurt, water and honey until smooth. Pour into an aluminium loaf pan or a plastic airtight box. Freeze for 1 hour. Scrape with a fork, you will get flakes of ice. Return to freezer. Repeat the process every 30 mins. When there is no remaining blocks of ice, u are good to go.

To serve layer the granita in shot glasses as shown in pic and serve immediately. Healthy granitas are ready.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Cheesecake sourcream Cupcakes | HBC #10

I first thought that I would skip this month's challenge. But the cheesecake cupcakes looked so cute to be left out. This month's HBC challenge was set by Siri of the brave cook and it was quite an adventurous collection from whoopie pies to macarons to layered neapoliton cakes to this cheesecakes. The huss and I are suckers for cheesecakes and we have our fair share from the Cheesecake factory or bakers square every month.

So these cheesecake cupcakes are not exactly the ones from the challenge but improved to accommodate that ingredients which I had in my pantry. The cream cheese had somehow skipped my mind during grocery shopping and all I had was only half a block of cream cheese which was actually the remnants of a dip that I had made. I knew that running to the grocery store was out of question and so I decided to replace the lost amount with some sour cream. I added the zest of an orange cos I love the sweet note that orange gives to anything baked. As for the topping, all I had was some orange jam which I have been saving for the couronne thats been long time in my mind and so I made my own jam. Thanks to the freezing that I did in summer, I still have loads of blueberries, raspberries and cherries on hand.

Adapted from here ~*What U Need*~ Philadelphia cream cheese - 4 oz Light sour cream - 1/3 cup Granulated sugar - 1/4 cup or more Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp Grated orange zest - 1/2 tsp Egg - 1, room temperature Vanilla wafers - 6, I used nila For the raspberry jam: Raspberries - 1/2 cup, I used frozen Sugar - 3 tbsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each of 6-cup muffin pan. Place a vanilla wafer, flat-side down, in each muffin cup. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. I used my stand mixer. Add sour cream and beat well. Next in goes the granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Beat till smooth. Add the egg beating well after adding. Add the orange zest and mix well. Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. In a medium saucepan, take the raspberries and sugar and cook till it reaches jam consistency. Cool completely and top each cheesecake with 1/2 tbsp of the jam.

Serve chilled!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Raspberry Lemonade

Let me apologise first cos I had promised that I would open up the blog to 2014 with a classic dessert. But here I am breaking it. And so I am sorry. Not that I didn't make the dessert, I did make it and we did indulge in it. The whole plate was licked clean in one sitting. I made the classic apple pie for our New year dessert and it was perfect in every bite. The pie crust turned out beautifully flaky and melt in the mouth, the apples were soft but firm and cooked to perfection and the filling was to die for with the perfect blend of cinnamon and spices and a hint of orange. On the whole it was absolute perfection. I did save a slice so that I could click pictures the next day but thanks to the clouds it was snowing non stop. Thinking that the sun would never show up, I gorged on the piece for breakfast... And did you know what happened, the sun came out shining bright by mid-noon... I really messed it up and I was sulking around the whole day. But no worries, the pie was a great hit with the huss and so it is gonna show up atleast once a month so I will share it with you the next time I make it.

Till then lets enjoy this cooler. I know that it is cold here and I know that this drink is not for this weather. But it is perfect for me. Yes, when everyone prefers hot chocolate for the dipping mercury levels I love to sip on ice cold Mochas and freezing cold ice creams. So when I saw fresh raspberries in the market, I knew that I would pick them up and make this. Since it is just for me I made a small batch but this recipe could be easily doubled or tripled.

Prep time: 5 mins; Cooking time: 10 mins; Serves: 4-6 ~*What U Need*~ Fresh Raspberries - 1 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1/4 cup Sugar - 1/3 - 1/2 cup Water - 1/2 cup How I Made it: Clean raspberries and pat dry. Heat water in a saucepan and add the sugar. Allow to melt. Add the lemon juice and mix well. Add the raspberries and cook till soft. Remove and cool down. Blend till you get a smooth mixture. Sieve to remove the seeds and store in a clean container. To serve add 2 tbsp syrup or more in a glass, top with ice cold water and serve with more icecubes.

Serve topped with ice!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off!!!

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