No icing on the cake

It's my son's birthday today . But he is away in USA pursuing higher education . At this critical time of global lockdown he is all alone . Dearest   Neil It is your special day, May all your dreams come true today and always A special person you are to us You deserve the best of everything So may this birthday and the coming years be One that offers you the best that life can bring  Happy birthday Love 💕 u loads 😘😘 Many many happy returns of the day dear Neil 🎂🎈🎂🎈🎂🎂 Stay blessed, stay safe ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Layered Steamed Cake INGREDIENTS Whole wheat flour (Atta) _ 1.5 cups Baking powder_ 1 tsp Baking soda_ 1/2 tsp Oil _ 1/4 cup Sugar (powdered)_ 3/4 cup Vanilla essence, dry fruits Method Wet ingredients Cream oil and sugar till light and fluffy Add essence and mix Dry ingredients Sieve atta, baking powder and baking soda Add to wet ingredients and make a smooth batter Had read n heard that water makes atta cakes lighter than that ma...

MALAI COOKIES IN THE AIR FRYER I had some milk cream / malai in the fridge . I was contemplating whether to bake a cake or few few cupcakes. But while measuring out the ingredients I realized that I had only about 1/3 cup of malai . So I thought of baking a few cookies . After browsing through the internet,I came across a few recipes of malai cookies . I decided to try out this one as I had all the ingredients for it Multi grain flour 1/3 cup Sugar (powdered) _ 1/3cup Malai or milk cream _ 1/3 cup Vanilla essence Cocoa powder for the Chocolate cookies Chocolate powder for the Chocolate lines on the vanilla cookies Milk 1_2 tsp to make dough Preheat airfryer at 180 degree celcius for 5 minutes Mix all ingredients Make soft dough as shown in picture Divide dough into two parts Spoon small balls of dough on greased tray Flatten slightly with fork dipped into Chocolate / cocoa powder ( I dipped in chocolate powder) Keep tray in air fryer and bake for 10_12 minutes Mix coco...

COCONUT JAGGERY MUFFINS The versatile coconut , fresh , desiccated , powdered or flaked can be used in variety of savory and sweet dishes . I  Made these delicious and healthy cutees in my favorite toy . Yes friends ,  you guessed it right . These yummy coconut muffins are just out of the airfryrer. To make them healthier I have used Jaggery ( gur) instead of sugar. This is an oil less, butter less  and eggless recipe . So you can call it a guilt free yet delicious recipe 😉 Atta _ 1/2 cup Maida 1/4 cup Suji 1/4 cup Apple 1 Jaggery_ 3/4 cup grated Baking powder _1tsp Baking soda_ 1/4tsp Coconut ( fresh or dessicated) _ 1/2 cup + 2tbsp for topping  I have used grated dessicated coconut Dry fruits , milk Method Preheat the airfryrer at 180degree celcius for 5 minutes Puree apple in blender Add the jaggery to the apple  puree .  Add some warm milk and blend Pour the pureed apple and Jaggery in the mixing bowl Add rest of t...

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY RED VELVET CUPCAKES I always wanted to bake the RED VELVET CAKE and impress my valentine . So this year I decided to do this cake . A search for a perfect recipe for an Eggless RVC began Seeing the  various videos and posts of Red velvet cakes on various cookery sites on my phone,I had always wondered how they got that rich red color . I had always thought that red velvet cakes have some special ingredients for that vibrant color . But after going through the recipes I realized that it was a cake tinted red with artificial colours .     As I am not in favor of using artificial colors , I again began to search for options to bake this cake without the artificial color . My food group and google came to my rescue , as they suggested I use pureed  beetroots . According to one of the stories about the use of beetroots to make this tinted cake ,it's said that beetroots came to be used after world war 2 due to shortage of cocoa and vinegar, both i...

SEMOLINA AND CUSTARD LAYERED MANGO CAKE As  my mother was a heart and dementia patient ,I didn't want to do a heavy cake with cream . So got my brain racking .       As my mother's birthday was in June , it was the time for the 'king ' of fruits . So decided to use it to make a cake using mangoes to pamper the 'Queen ' of the house  .  SEMOLINA AND CUSTARD LAYERED MANGO CAKE BISCUIT CRUST Glucose Biscuits _ 15_20 crushed in a grinder Melted butter 3_4 tbsp Vanilla essence Mix the ingredients in a bowl  Press it into a spring bottom cake dish Refrigerate to set FOR THE SEMOLINA PUDDING Semolina 1 cup Milk _ 1.5 cups Water _ 0.5 cups Sugar 3/4 _ 1 cup  Green cardamom powder Clarified butter ( ghee) 1 tbsp Dry fruits METHOD Heat ghee  Add Semolina and roast till there is no raw smell  Heat water , sugar ,green cardamom powder and  milk Cook till the sugar dissolves Add it to Semo...

MANGO CHOCO MARBLE CAKE            Mangoes are king of fruits .It's the national fruit of India . It's popular world wide for it's unique flavor , taste and aroma .  Summer is synonymous with mangoes . Though summers in India are dreadful and hated due to the sweat and grime it brings , mangoes make up for it .                The mango is one of the most delicious seasonal fruits grown in India . Mangoes are very versatile and can be enjoyed as it is or as desserts , ice creams and cakes . Even in raw form , this delicious fruit can be enjoyed as pickles, chutneys or savory dishes .              I have used raw mango to make chutneys ( dip) , lentil ( dal), chicken . So I thought of using mangoes to bake a cake . I paired it up with chocolate and made it as a marble cake .  I must say,it was one of the most amazing cakes I have baked . The subtle hint of chocolate , the ...

TIRAMISU This is a sofisticated coffee flavoured layered Italian dessert . Tiramisu means ' cheer me up ' . Indeed it lives up to its name . It's comfort in every bite . A bite into it  , will pepp you up .        The kick of the coffee from the biscuits dipped in it  and the luscious  creamy texture of the cheese are incorporated beautifully together in harmony.           Tiramisu can be served in individual bowls, glasses or set in a shallow dish . Traditional Tiramisu is made savoiardi  sponge biscuits , eggs, sugar, mascarpone cheese  flavoured with cocoa and  alcohol .             It's important that the biscuits don't become too soggy or they will crumble and fall apart . You need to be able to taste  the coffee , but not make the dessert bitter at the same time.            As I feel that there is no end to experimentations and playing a...