Decadent Chocolate Loaf

Before the world ends I though that I would get in a post ;) . This has one of my favourite ingredient Chocolate . This is a very rich , decadent , moist , intense chocolate cake . It will just melt in your mouth . Seasons Greetings to all of you out there and here goes...............

INGREDIENTS

200 gms butter ( room temp )
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup caster sugar
100 gms dark chocolate melted
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
1 cup chocolate chips ( optional)


METHOD

Cream the butter and sugars till pale and fluffy .
Add in the egg one at a time and beat well .
Add in the vanilla .
Sift all the dry ingredients together .
Mix the coffee and the dry ingredients alternately ending with the dry .
Grease or line a medium loaf tin .
Pour the batter in the tin and add the chocolate chips if using any on top and bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 40-45 min or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean .
Cool on a wire rack .
Top it with ganache if you like an make it more chocolatey :D

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookie

The hubby and the kids are big cookie lovers , their fav is chocolate chip , but I was bored of making them so I thought of putting in a bit of Nutella into the batter ( more of it went into me ;p ), I love... love.... love Nutella , I simply cannot  resist them so I only bought a  small bottle of it to use it for the cookie . I gotta tell you the cookie dough was more delicious than the cookie itself . The hubby and kids gave it a big thumbs up so here goes..........

INGREDIENTS 

200 gms butter room temp 

1/2 cup caster sugar 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar 

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

2 eggs 

2 and 1/2 cups of all- purpose flour 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking soda 

1/3 cup Nutella

1 cup or more chocolate chips 

METHOD 

Cream the butter , sugars and vanilla essence till light and fluffy .

Add in the eggs one at a time and beat well 

Sift the dry ingredients together and fold it in .

Fold in the nutella  and the chocolate chips .

Chill the mix in the fridge for an hour .

Roll the dough into medium sized balls and place it 2-3 inches apart in the a lined baking sheet .

Bake it in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-23 min .

Quick and Easy Prawn and Egg Fried Rice

This is something I make when I am short on time , this is very quick to put together and tastes really fantastic . It only has quite a few ingredients , you can make it with leftover plain rice so here goes................

INGREDIENTS 

2 cups of cooked Basmati rice
2-3 spring onions chopped
3-4 garlic finely chopped
1 inch pc of ginger finely chopped
1 cup of chopped french beans
1 carrot chopped
10 prawns washed and deveined
2 eggs beaten
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cube chicken stock
2 tbsp of oil

METHOD

In a saucepan or wok , heat a tbsp of oil and add the white part of the spring onions , garlic and ginger .
Add the prawns and cook it till done stirring it frequently .
Now add in the remaining vegetables and the chicken stock cube and stir fry it for about 5 min .
Add the cooked rice in batches along with the soy sauce , salt and pepper .
Toss everything together till it is all mixed well .
Now add in the beaten egg and the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and mix it all well .
By doing this the rice will be coated with egg .
Garnish with spring onion and serve hot .

NOTE

You can use frozen mixed vegetables . Also for more flavour cook the rice in chicken stock if you wish .

Nigella's Chocolate Banana Muffins

By now , you all must know that I am a huge Nigella fan , I just love.....love.....love her recipes , they all turn out so well , never has it not worked for me . I have so many things going on right now that I have absolutely no time to think or create some new flavours and recipes . I am in the middle of moving house and the kids have their hands full with their exams and stuff that it is an absolute mess around here . I thought I better get at least one new post in before I move because who knows when I will get the net connection and also get settled in .
I had a couple of bananas rotting here and was bored of making the stuff I know so I thought why not give this recipe a try , it sounds simple and delicious and as usual Nigella does not disappoint , these muffins were just too good , they were so moist and delish so here goes ................

INGREDIENTS

3 very ripe bananas
125 ml vegetable oil
2 eggs
100 gms light brown sugar
225 gms plain flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda

METHOD

Mash the bananas well .
Add the oil and mash it and then add the eggs and sugar and mix it well
Sift the dry ingredients together and then add them to the wet mixture and mix it up .
Grease and line the muffin pan and spoon the mixture into the muffin moulds till 3/4 full .
Bake in a preheated 200 c oven for about 15 - 20 min or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean .
Makes nice round and shiny 12 muffins .

Caramel , Apple and Pecan Nut Cake

This recipe came about when I was craving for something sweet  and  had only an apple and not even a handful of pecan nuts  in my house so decided to make do with them in the unhealthiest way possible ; p , if I hadn't made something then the apple would have been thrown out the next day and didn't want to do that . Surprisingly the cake came out really good and it was also simple to make , so here goes.........

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp water
1 apple
1/2 cup toasted pecan nuts chopped
50 gms butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup all-purpose-flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk

METHOD

In a saucepan , add the sugar and the water , mix it up and put on low heat till it just starts to turn burgundy .
Turn off the heat and pour the caramel in a 6 inch baking tin , spread it in the tin evenly .
Add the toasted pecans on it and set aside .
Cream the butter and sugar till pale .
Add the egg and vanilla and beat again .
Sift all the dry ingredients together and add it to the creamed butter alternating with the milk .
Slice the apples very thinly and arrange on top of the toasted pecans .
Pour the batter over it and bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min or till done .
Cool it in the tin for a while so that the apple topping sets and it will easily come out .
This cake best tastes while it is warm .

The Best Chocolate Cake Ever !!!

I have been so lazy since I had my vacation that I really needed to make something in chocolate to get me energized and what better thing to make than Nigella's Devil's Food Cake . I so LOVE Nigella , her recipes are so awesome , quick and delicious and also it always comes out just like it says . This is indeed Devil's cake coz this is so good that something this good is always bad for you . The cake is super moist and the frosting is to die for , you really have to try it to know . It's always better to make the frosting before the  cake coz the frosting takes time to set and also it does not set very hard but it is indeed the yummiest frosting that I have tasted  , it is light and not overly sweet , so here goes...........

INGREDIENTS

for the frosting 

1/2 cup water
2 tbsp brown sugar
150 gms unsalted butter
11 oz chocolate chopped coarsely

for the cake 

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup boiling water
165 gms unsalted butter room temp
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

METHOD

In a saucepan , add the all the ingredients for the frosting except the chocolate and melt on low heat .
Turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate and stir it into a smooth mixture and set aside.
In a bowl mix the boiling water , cocoa powder and the brown sugar and set aside .
Cream the butter and the sugar till pale and fluffy .
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Add the vanilla in the creamed butter and sugar .
Add eggs one at a time alternating between the dry ingredients .
Add the cocoa mixture in the batter .
Grease and line two 8 inch sandwich tins and pour the batter in this .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20 min or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean .
Sandwich the cooled cakes with frosting and spread the remaining frosting on the entire cake .
Enjoy to your heart's content .

Pineapple Delight

Hey all you guys , summer vacation is on the way and this is gonna be my goodbye post , I am going for a long.... long....... really long vacation for almost two months , so Kerala here I come , going to enjoy the monsoons and the fresh air and I am gonna be really busy so won't be able to post quite frequently as I do now but I will popping in to see all my blogger friends delicacies .
Now back to today's post , this is something my sister used to make way back  now she is too lazy  (ooooh!!! I am gonna get into so much trouble for that ) and I just loved this dessert and had forgotten about it for a long time , so decided to refresh my memory of it . This is sort of like a cheesecake but without the cheese , it is quite creamy ,crunchy ,tangy ,sweet from the pineapples , it has all the textures and flavours for a perfect dessert so here goes..........

INGREDIENTS

10 digestive biscuits
75 gms melted butter
600 ml whole  milk
2 eggs separated
300 gms cream
12 tbsp sugar
2 and 1/2 tbsp gelatin + 6 tbsp water to dissolve it
200 gms canned pineapple

METHOD


Crush the digestive biscuits.
Melt the butter and add the crushed biscuits and toast it till a nice aroma comes up.
Put this mixture in a loose based tin and pop it in the fridge to cool it.
Beat the egg yolks with sugar till light and pale .
Heat the milk on low and add the beaten yolks to it , cook it on low heat till the mixture coats the back of the spoon like a custard .
Set the custard aside to cool .
Meanwhile, dissolve the gelatin and mix it in the custard stirring till the gelatin is mixed properly in the custard.
Beat the cream with 2 tbsp of sugar till soft peaks form  and fold it in the custard.
Beat the egg whites till stiff and fold it in the mixture.
Now pour the whole mixture on top of the crust .
Add chopped pieces of pineapple and also before pouring the custard , you can add the pineapple slices for garnish and then pour in the custard .
Chill to set and then enjoy .