Sumtuous Strawberries
Strawberry cheesecake truffles by Archana Raja
Ingredients
> Cream Cheese – 200 grams
> White Chocolate – 100 grams
> Icing Sugar – 3 cups
> Strawberry Jam – ¼th cup
> Lime iuice – 2 tbps
> Vanilla extract – ¼th tps
> Pink food colouring (optional) – 1/4th tps
> Marie biscuit – 10
Method
Chop white chocolate into small cubes and place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds until it melts. In a medium bowl, mix softened cream cheese, strawberry jam, lime juice, vanilla extract and pink food colouring. Add the icing sugar cup by cup, and whisk until it forms a smooth paste. Gently mix in the cooled white chocolate until thoroughly combined. Cover and chill the mixture in the refrigerator for about two to four hours. To make the balls, scoop out two teaspoons of the mixture, roll into a ball and place it on a foil-lined plate. Refrigerate for an hour.
Crush the Marie biscuits into coarse crumbs. Remove the truffle balls from the fridge and roll each ball in the biscuit mixture until fully coated. Sprinkle biscuit crumbs into a cupcake wrapper and place the ball in it. Sprinkle biscuit crumbs over the truffles. Chill until ready to serve.
Dunk the Donuts
Baby Donuts by Shiki Ranasinghe
Ingredients (For the Donuts)
> All-purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
> Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/2 cup
> Baking powder - 2 tsp
> Salt -1 tsp
> Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
> Large eggs, at room temperature - 2
> Canola or vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
> Milk - 3/4 cup
> Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
> Semi sweet baking chocolate - 2 oz
For the Chocolate Glaze
> Powdered sugar - 1 cup
> Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
> Milk - 2 tbsp
> Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
> Chocolate sprinkles
Method
Preheat oven to 325° Fahrenheit. Spray a donut pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and set aside. Mix cream sugar, eggs, oil and add milk and vanilla extract. In a heat proof bowl, melt baking chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave and add to the egg mixture.
Once wet, mix the ingredients, along with dry ingredients. Spoon some batter into a medium-sized ziploc bag and seal. Cut off one corner of the bag and fill the donut cups until they are 3/4 full. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 12-14 minutes or until donuts are slightly golden. Remove from oven and let them rest in the donut pan until they have cooled. Invert donuts onto a wire rack and continue to cool and prepare glaze. In a small saucepan, set on medium-low heat, whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla. Glaze should be heated , but does not need to boil. Remove from heat. Dip donuts in the glaze, return to the wire rack and add sprinkles. Donuts will be ready to eat as soon as glaze sets in 3-5 minutes.
Edge out the egg
Eggless banana cake or bread by Smitha Kalluraya
Ingredients
> Maida/All purpose flour – 1 1/2 cups (refer note 1)
> Banana puree/mash– 3/4 cup (about two big over ripe bananas)
> Sunflower oil – 1/2 cup
> Honey – 1/2 cup
> Baking powder – 1 1/2 tsp
> Choco chips – 2 -3 tbsp
> Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
> A pinch of salt
> Almonds, chopped – as many as required.
Method
Without adding water, puree (a smooth cream of liquidised fruit) the over ripe bananas. Preheat oven at 180 ° Celsius for 10 minutes. Add honey, oil, vanilla essence in a mixing bowl along with the banana puree. Sieve maida, salt and baking powder, add to the wet ingredients and mix well to make a batter. Add the choco chips / nuts . and mix well. Don't overbeat. The final dough will be thick. Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin, tap slightly to level and to release air gaps. Place the loaf tin in the preheated oven and bake it for 30-35 minutes or until the top crust becomes golden and a tester comes out clean. Transfer the cake on a wire rack and allow it to cool. Once cool, relish yummy banana cake or bread with a glass of milk or coffee.
Mad about Mangoes
Sugar free mango oatskulfi by Smitha Kalluraya
Ingredients
> Quick cooking plain oats - 4 tbsp
> Milk - 2 cups
> Mango puree - 1 cup
> Jaggery (optional ) - 1 Tbsp
> Honey – 3 tbsp (depends on your preferred sweetness)
> Cardamom/ elaichi - 1
> Almonds, pistas, cashews - as required you want
> Few strands of saffron (optional but preferred)
Method
Powder oats, cardamom and half the quantity of half the nuts in a mixer. Puree the chopped mangoes and chop remaining nuts. Soak saffron in warm milk, pour the milk in a thick bottomed vessel. Add the oats and nut powder and mix. After two or three minutes, add jaggery, honey and mix. When the mixture starts to thicken, add mango pulp, chopped nuts and saffron. Mix well and allow it to cool. Pour the mixture into kulfi moulds and freeze. In four to six hours, the kulfis will be ready. unmould mango oats kulfi from the moulds and relish them guilt free
Note: Instead of plain oats you can use any flavoured oats that is available. Adding mango puree is optional. You can make plain kesar pista, saffron or any other fruit flavour. If you don’t add mango puree, increase the quantity
If you don’t have kulfi moulds, you can pour it in any air tight box and serve as ice cream .
