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 .

Pizza From My Garden

I am really proud of this dish not that this is something  fancy ,but because all the ingredients I have used here are from my small veggie garden . The place I moved to recently has a little space to do my vegetable gardening . I was not very fond of gardening , but now I am so excited to do it , every morning when I wake up the first thing I do is go and have a look at what has grown . Except for the cheese and olive oil everything on here is home made . I know you guys can't see me but I am beaming with pride ear to ear : D . so here goes....................

INGREDIENTS

for the base 

1 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 and 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 and 1/2 cup of wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast

for the topping

1 cup of cherry tomatoes
a handful of mint, basil, rosemary, thyme and parsley
2 tbsp olive oil ( good quality )
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese


METHOD

Mix all the ingredients for the dough and set aside in a greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap to rise for about 1 hour . Knock back the dough again and leave to rise for about 30 min. If you have a bread machine , then add the ingredients in the order given and set it on dough cycle.
Halve the cherry tomatoes and add it in a bowl .
To this add the oil , salt and pepper and the herbs and set it aside for half hour .
Divide the dough in half , you can save it in the fridge .
Use one half and roll the dough into any shape you want . Stretch it as thinly as possible , it will be much crisper.
Spread the tomato mixture evenly on top .
Crumble the feta cheese and sprinkle it all over .
Top with the parmesan cheese .
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 15 min .

P.S : I forgot this , it tasted super !!!!!!!!!!!! ;P

Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Whewww!!!!!! That is one long name for a little thing and I am tired from typing it ;) . These cupcakes are soft , moist , chocolatey , caramely ...... I could go on and on and on describing it coz it's just that good and the frosting is just yummy . It's just chocolate ganache whipped up to give a nice fluffy smooth frosting , it's just too good so here goes..................

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1 and 3/4 baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup canola oil or any flavorless vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup nestle caramel treat or caramel topping

for the frosting

200 gms dark chocolate chopped
1 cup whipping cream

METHOD

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl .
Mix all the wet ingredients together except for the caramel topping .
Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix it well till you get a smooth mixture .
Now fold in  the caramel topping into the batter . Don't over mix it .
Grease or line the cupcake tin.
Bake in a preheated 180 c oven for about 15-20 min or till the tops are springy to the touch .
Meanwhile make the ganache by heating the whipping cream in the microwave for 1 min .
Add the chopped chocolate in the hot cream and stir it till you get a smooth mixture.
Now keep it aside to cool.
When the ganache is cooled whip it using a beater till stiff .
Pipe the whipped ganache onto the cooled cupcakes and enjoy :D.

Chicken Manchurian

I know I have been MIA for a while now , but lemme tell you something , I finally unpacked my stuff ( yay me !). I actually wanted to bake a cake to celebrate but I am just too tired from all the unpacking so went through my photos and found one that I hadn't posted . This is a very easy and tasty recipe which I make all the time . It's very flavourful and spicy , I like it very spicy but if you want it mild , you can decrease the amount of chillies used  , so here goes....................

INGREDIENTS


500 gms boneless chicken cut into cubes

for the marinade

1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1 egg
salt to taste

for the sauce

2 tbsp garlic minced
2 tbsp spring onion chopped
6-8 green chillies chopped
1 tbsp celery chopped
1 tbsp ginger minced
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 4 tbsp water
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

METHOD

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and add the chicken cubes in it and set it aside for half hour.
Fry the chicken pieces till they are crisp and done .
In a saucepan , heat a couple of tbsp of oil and add the ginger , garlic , spring onions and celery and saute it for a few min.
Now add the rest of the ingredients except for the cornflour and bring it to a boil .
Reduce the heat and add the cornflour and stir it till it thickens .
Now add the fried chicken cubes and mix it up .
Turn off the heat , garnish with chopped spring onions and corinader leaves if you like .
Serve hot .

Crispy Calamari

Who doesn't like crispy calamari , I haven't met anyone who does not like it . This is a family favourite , it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside but  frying this is a big nightmare (it splatters all over ) , you have to be really careful , we should really make a suit out of the oven mitts to do this , trust me it's that bad but it is so worth it so here goes.........

INGREDIENTS

1 kg calamari / squid cut into rings
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp pepper
salt to taste
1 egg with a little water to make egg wash
1 cup or more of panko breadcrumbs

METHOD

In a plastic bag , add the flour and the spices and shake it up to mix well .
Then add in the calamari and shkae it till it flour mix coats .
Shake off the excess flour and dip the rings in the egg wash and then the bread crumbs .
Deep fry it till crispy and golden in medium to hot oil .
Serve it with chilli sauce or Mayo tahini dip.

NOTES

You can use normal breadcrumbs but panko really gives you that crunch .

Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Fool Filling

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes. Remember my last post where I said I was taking a break for a couple of days from all the unpacking , well I am still on it . Never got back to unpacking , just dumped everything in the garage and waiting for some magic where the cartons will unpack by itself ( still crossing my fingers and hoping for it ).
While I am waiting for a genie to grant my wish , I thought I would sneak in a post fit for this month  .Sweet and moist lemony cupcakes with a tangy and tart raspberry fool filling , so here goes..............

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe lemon cupcakes

for the filling

3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup or more icing sugar
1 cup liquid whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

Make the lemon cupcakes according to the recipe given  and leave it to cool .
Using a fondant heart cutter , cut out in the middle .
Now for the filling , mash the raspberries and icing sugar with a fork .
Whip the cream till stiff .
Fold in the mashed raspberries .
Fill the cupcakes with the raspberry cream and sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy.