Lemon Yoghurt Cake with Lemon Basil Syrup

Every time  a new year begins , I always wonder whether that year will be happy or crappy .Well so far, its been a teeny bit of happy and a bucket load of crappy and at the rate it's going it seems the bucket is going to overflow . The only way I find my worries melting is by baking cakes , which I haven't done lately .So to make up for my happy , I decided to make one .This is a simple lemon yoghurt cake with lemon basil syrup .It's a very moist and zest cake and I hope you guys like it , so here goes..............

INGREDIENTS

150 gms butter room temp
1 and 1/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 1/2 cup flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/4 cup milk
zest and juice of a lemon

for the syrup 

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
zest and juice of a lemon
a handful of basil chopped

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy .
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well .
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Mix the yoghurt and milk .
Now add the wet and dry ingredients to the batter ending with the dry .
Stir in the zest and juice of a lemon .
Grease and flour a bundt pan and add the batter in it .
Bake in a prehated 180 c oven for about 30-35 min .
For the syrup add all the ingrdients except for the basil in a saucepan and bring it to boil .
turn off the heat and add the basil .
Cool the cake and pour syurp over it and garnish with extra basil leaves .
Serve and enjoy .

Cheesy Potato Bites

Hey all , it's been one  hectic and busy month with house guest , chores , chores and more chores , didn't have time to post anything . It was fun though and for all my well wishers out there I want to let you guys know that I have lost a teeny bit , well something is better than nothing right ( I am a positive person ;p) . The recipe I am posting today is something my kids love and I am sure most of the kids love . It's really easy to make so her goes..........

INGREDIENTS 

2 large potatoes 

1 tbsp plain flour

2 -3 tbsp milk 

2 tbsp butter 

salt and pepper to taste 

100 gms of mature cheddar cheese cubed 

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup plain flour

1 tsp dried mixed herbs 

salt to taste 

1 egg mixed with a little water to make eggwash 

oil for frying 

METHOD

Microwave the potatoes on high for 5 min and then turn the potatoes and microwave on high for 5 min.
Now remove the skin and mash the potatoes and add the butter , milk , 1 tbsp flour and seasoning .
Now make small balls of the mashed potatoes , flatten it in your palm , add the cubed cheese and roll it into a small ball .
In a bowl , combine the flour , mixed herbs and salt .
Dip the potato balls in the flour mix , dust off excess , dip it in the egg wash and then the panko breadcrumbs .
You can make 12 - 18 pieces .
Now pop it in the fridge for half hour .
Deep fry it in hot oil and serve and enjoy .

Strawberries and Cream Cupcake

 Why can't 'fat' be the new 'fit' , why can't 'shape' zero be the new 'size' zero , why god .....why ......These are the rantings of a mad fat woman , that is ME . I have a wedding to get to in a couple of months and need to lose a few pounds ,well more actually but I can settle for a few now ( if that is possible) . So for the time being  I thought of sealing my lips shut from all the gorgeous treats out there of my fellow bloggers ( keeping my fingers crossed ) and also I apologize for not visiting and commenting on your blogs coz I am trying to lose some fat , which seems to have fallen in love with me , fat and I are BFF's , we are that close ;p . This might be my last post for sometime on sweet treats . These are moist , soft , full of strawberry flavour cupcakes topped with sweet whipping cream and fresh strawberries ( OMG !!! that was quite hard ) . Here goes enjoy ................

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup frozen strawberries thawed and mashed through a sieve
1/2 cup milk approx
1 and 1/2 cup all- purpose flour
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt

for the frosting

250 ml whipping cream
2-3 tbsp or more if you like icing sugar

fresh strawberries for topping

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy .
Add the eggs and the vanilla essence and beat well .
Meanwhile mix all the dry ingredients together .
When you mash the strawberries through the sieve , you get 1/2 cup of strawberry puree approx and then add in enough milk to make it one cup .
Now add the dry and wet ingredients alternately ending with the dry ingredients .
Grease or line a 12 hole muffin pan .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min .
Cool on a wire rack before frosting .
Whip the cream with the icing sugar till stiff peaks form .
Swirl onto cupcakes and top it with fresh strawberries and enjoy .

The Perfect Cheesecake !!!

I finally made Lizzy's cheesecake and boy , what a cheesecake it was . Creamy , tangy , sweet , delicious and above all very ...very easy to make . This was so easy to put together and so delicious that I am gonna make it again .( Btw , all her recipes are just so simple and perfect ) It baked beautifully and perfectly and it was so pretty to look  at so here goes ..................

You can get the recipe here
I halved the recipe and made it coz I just cannot trust myself around cheesecake . 

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 .

Avril Lavigne Cake

So many things to do in so little time  , really how fast is it going . When I looked at my last post , I realized more than 10 days have gone since I posted so here I am . I was busy making cakes for the past couple of weeks and the one I am posting today was made for my niece who is a huge Avril Lavigne fan . The cake is Chocolate caramel cake with whipped cream and cream cheese frosting . The cake is covered in marshmallow fondant so here goes ...................

Pinacolada Cupcakes

Whewww!!!! What a hectic week I had  , I  wanted to make Lizzy's cheesecake but did not get time to do it , I am still salivating over her cheesecake , hopefully this week I can try it out , but in the meanwhile , I was browsing through my food photos and found out that this recipe was not posted . these are soft , moist coconut cupcakes with bits of pineapple topped with a delicious coconut whipped cream and pineapple pieces coated with toasted coconut . These were an instant hit in my house so here goes...........................

INGREDIENTS

100 gms butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup of light coconut milk
1/4 cup of syrup from the canned pineapple
1/2 cup of chopped pineapple

for the frosting 

350 ml whipping cream
2 tbsp coconut milk powder
5 tbsp or more icing sugar
pineapple pieces dipped in toasted coconut for garnish ( optional )

METHOD

Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy .
Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat again .
Sift the dry ingredients together .
Mix the coconut milk and the syrup .
Now add in the wet and dry mixture alternately in the batter ending with the dry ingredient.
Fold in the chopped pineapple .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 20-25 min or till the tops are springy to the touch .
Now for the frosting , whip the cream , icing sugar sugar and coconut milk powder till stiff .
Pipe swirls onto the cooled cupcakes and top it with the pineapple pieces .