Chocolate Crinkles

This is our first christmas in Ahmedabad. Christmas in a new place is always hard for me. It means, beginning all over again with new customs, traditions, piecing everything together, both the old and new. When the season of advent began, I felt pretty low. I had the same feeling when we moved to Germany 4 years ago, so I knew that such feelings were normal. All the pictures of the christmas markets popping up on Facebook made me yearn for the european charm of the season. The only consolation was that I did not miss the harsh season of winter and once we opened our boxes of decoration, our home began to resemble a litte christmas market. 

First week into December began the questions as to when preparations would begin in the kitchen. I was not yet in the mood, not yet ready. Moreover, the kitchen was only fifty percent set up. Boxes were half opened and my utensils and gadgets were waiting patiently for a place to call their own. Last weekend, hubby and I pulled our sleeves together and gave both the kitchen and pantry a make over. And monday, the ball got rolling. 

Living abroad has certainly taught me to think out of the box and look for new recipes to brighten up our platter. When these crinkles popped up on my computer screen, I knew I would bake them. These are so very easy to bake and when they begin to slowly crinkle in the oven, there itself lies the satisfaction that you have done it right. They have turned out to be a complete winner in my entire set of goodies prepared this season. With another day to go before christmas, you can surely whip out a batch or two!

Source: Simply recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar(see notes)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup confectioners sugar

Method:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or a wooden spoon) beat together the cocoa powder, white sugar and vegetable oil until it comes together into a shiny, gritty black dough.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds each. Add the vanilla and beat thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.  Slowly mix into the chocolate mixture on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat. 
4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill the dough for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Preheat the oven to 160C(See notes). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the confectioners sugar in a wide bowl. Take clumps of the chilled dough and roll them into 1 inch sized balls using your hands. Roll the balls in confectioners sugar and place on the baking sheet. 
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool a minute or two before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes:

1. Adjust the amount of sugar according to your liking. We needed it to be a tad sweeter and hence I used 2 cups of sugar. Also, since the sugar available here is pretty thick in size, I gave a whizz in the mixer to make the grains a bit fine(but not powder).
2. No two ovens are the same. Since I am back to my oven of the past which was in storage for 4 years, it has taken me time to get accustomed to it. The above temperature and time is best suited for mine. The crinkles turned out crisp on the outside and chewy like a brownie on the inside.

One pan Eggless Chocolate Cake.

I had made plans for this weekend. Since the kids were to have an entire week's holiday thanks to the German carnival, I wanted to make the best of it. Attend a carnival parade, a visit to a museum, maybe squeeze in a german town too. Our girl had different plans though. Wednesday she returned home from a two night choir trip from school. She looked happy and content with the good time she spent with her friends. Towards evening I recognised the nagging cough of hers and something told me that a fever was on its way. True to my thoughts, she woke up with a burning forehead and body too. Today is day 3 and we are nowhere close to respite. Since the doc has recognised it as a viral fever we are to expect it to last for a total of 5 days. 

Today being day 3 of playing nurse, I am close to wanting to run away somewhere. But that, I cannot do. In between preparing meals for the healthy us and sick man's food for her, I also desired to have a sweet treat. Only that I wasn't prepared to slog myself away in the kitchen for a few more hours. Call it good luck or what, I bumped into this recipe last night during my time spending next to her. It's a no fuss, no frill cake. The best part being that you dump all the ingredients in the pan you will be baking in, mix it all together with a spatula, bake and voila, you are done!!

The perfect recipe for today!! While I did have my doubts about the end result, it has turned out to be a super soft and moist cake. Also got the thumbs up from sonny boy.  So when you are tired and wanting a sweet treat with zero effort, I suggest you to bake this cake. You won't be disappointed.

Source: Better Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 and a quarter cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 and a quarter cup cold water
• 1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C.
2. Take an un greased 12" round baking pan.
3. Place flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt in the pan.(see above pic)
4. Stir till the mixture is well combined.(see above pic)
5. Pour water, oil, vinegar and vanilla to the above and stir well till you have a smooth batter.(see pic above)
6. Place the pan in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Enjoy the no frill, no fuss cake..:D

Notes:

• The original recipe has measures for an eight inch square pan. I wanted a slightly larger cake, hence increased the proportions accordingly.
• I sieved the flour and baking powder together though it was not mentioned in the original recipe.
• I had a doubt whether the cake would be stuck to the pan as it was not greased. It comes out perfectly. 

Chocolate Truffles

Want to gift something home made that looks pretty and tastes equally good too? How about some truffles? Last year I baked the rich Indian plum cake and gifted them to all the german friends we had made over time. Not only were they stunned with the gesture, they were equally appreciative of our christmas tradition and relished the same. In return, one of the families gifted us with home made truffles. While we live in the land of Lindt and Nestle, the world famous European chocolates, I was taken aback by how delicious home made truffles tasted. Honestly, as I mentioned, we need no reason to make them at home cause when it comes to chocolate, we do get the best. But curiosity got hold of me and I was more than tempted to give a shot to making them myself. 

This is a german recipe which I have tried from one of the many german magazines that I have begun to buy. What surprises me is the use of our spices in so many german christmas preparations. While cinnamon and cardamom are used on a regular basis in our Indian cooking, germans tend to use them more in their christmas baking. 

These truffles are easy to make, taste real good and when wrapped in delicate film with a catching ribbon to go, it does make for a great christmas gift. While the original recipe called for the truffles to be dusted with cocoa powder, we found it to be bitter, hence I used dessicated coconut to roll them in. 

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 175 ml whipped cream
• 2" cinnamon sticks
• 2 cardamoms
• 1 star anise
• 150gm white couverture chocolate
• 250 gm milk couverture chocolate
• 80 gm soft butter
• a bowl of desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Slit the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds carefully. In a thick bottomed vessel, mix the cream along with the vanilla seeds and bean too(after you have scraped the bean do not discard it). Add the cinnamon sticks, cardamoms and star anise. Bring the mixture to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and keep it aside so that the spices are infused into the cream well.
3. Meanwhile chop the white and milk chocolate into smaller pieces with a sharp knife. Place them in a deep bowl(preferably glass)
4. Strain the infused cream. Discard the spices, and bring the cream once again to a boil.
5. Pour the hot cream into the chopped chocolate. Keep stirring till the cream and chocolate are melted and mixed together well.
6. Wrap the bowl in a cling film and refrigerate it for 5 hours.
7. After 5 hours, add the melted butter to the chocolate mixture and stir well. If the mix is too hard, use your hands. Refrigerate it for another hour.
8. Line a flat tray with butter paper. Remove the chocolate mix. Scoop out small mounds of the mass and roll it against your palms to form small sized truffles. Roll the truffles in the dessicated coconut and arrange them on the tray. Use up all the chocolate mix. You should be able to make around 60 truffles.
9. They keep well for up to a week in the refrigerator. Before serving, bring them to room temperature.

Note: If you are unable to find couverture chocolate you can replace it with ordinary chocolate.

Choco Almond cookies

So the big fluffy flakes finally fell upon us or rather whole of Germany. Too bad for the kids who were eagerly waiting to go sleighing. The hubby and I have been taking turns falling ill with the normal fever and cold. I guess we are growing old hence our bodies are taking time to adjust to the onset of winter. For me this is just the wrong month to be even lying in bed. With the umpteen jobs to be done, I really had to get better soon. It was hard convincing the kids though that we needed to stay indoors. We had to be content watching the snow flakes fall gently. 

Today's batch of cookies is the one I first began my advent baking experiment with. According to the kids, they rate number one in the entire batch of baking I have done so far. The reason being the secret ingredient - CHOCOLATE. You really can't separate the two, Kids and chocolate, can you? Not only did the experimental batch get over soon, over the next few days, as they munched on the different varieties, a small question would be heard every now and then "When are you going to bake the chocolate ones again?". Bake I did, only to promptly store them all in my new christmas tins and hide them from the hungry mouths. This mommy needs a break, truly!! and the cookies will come out of hiding just in time for Christmas!! :D

Ingredients:

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 30 g cocoa powder
• 100 g hazelnuts with skin, powdered
• 100 g almonds with skin, powdered
• 50 g almonds peeled and chopped into fine bits
• 200 g powdered sugar + for rolling the dough(optional)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1/2 tsp clove powder
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp almond essence
• Halved almonds to garnish

Method:

1. Grate the chocolate fine.
2. Beat the egg whites till creamy(not until they are stiff peaks).
3. In a bowl mix the cocoa powder, powdered hazelnut and almond, chopped almonds, powdered sugar, cinnamon and clove powders. Add the grated chocolate and mix very well.
4. Add the beaten egg whites and almond essence. Knead well to form a tight dough. If the dough is not tight enough add more almond powder ( I didn't need any).
5. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
7. On a clean surface, sprinkle some sugar and roll out the dough. With the help of a knife cut into small squares( 1" x 1"). Place halved almonds on each square and line them neatly on the baking tray.
8. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
9. Bake the cookies on the middle rack for 8 to 10 minutes(At 8 minutes they are chewy which Ms A loves and a little more time makes them crisp and nutty which the remainder of us like).
10. Remove, let cool. Once completely cool, store them in an air tight tin.

With this, I am done with the german cookie recipes. Next on my to bake list is the rich plum cake and my heart desires to make the mangy kidiyos and neuris. Keeping my fingers crossed to achieve all of the above.

Choco-Chip muffins!!

Thursday is generally a busy day for the kids and me. What with the three of us having our respective music classes followed by Deutsch lessons late in the evening. Our tutor Frau Maria is a wonderful teacher and am glad that she is able to motivate and teach the children their german lessons well. Right from the start, Maria and I developed an instant rapport and i enjoy the small chats we have in between the classes.

       Maria is a teacher in Würzburg, she teaches by day and tutors expat children till late in the evening. To get to us she needs to spend two hours on the road. I know how tiring it must be for her considering the fact that back home, i was in the teaching profession too, but not tutoring. She comes pretty tired, but her spirit is always high. She is cheerful and has the maximum level of patience with the kids. 

Most of the time I try to bake cakes on thursday knowing that she comes hungry after a tiring day, if not, we manage with some treats from the bakers. I made a simple choco-chip muffin today which she relished so much. I had to convince her that she would not put on any extra kilos if she ate a few!!

Ingredients :-

• 250 gm flour
• 100 gms cocoa powder
• 250 gms brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200 gms butter
• 1 and a half tsp baking powder
• chocolate sauce
• half cup chopped almonds 
• few choco chips

Method :-

1. Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder together and keep.
2. Beat the eggs till fluffy. Add sugar and beat well.
3. Add the butter to the mixture and keep on beating.
4. Add the sieved flour little by little and keep mixing well.
5. Grease a muffin tray and preheat oven to 150 deg celsius.
6. Drop spoons of batter into the muffin tray, sprinkle choco chips and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done

       

(This was the second batch, forgot the choco chips)

Let the muffins cool for a while. When ready to serve, drizzle some chocolate sauce and sprinkle chopped almonds. The above recipe makes 18 muffins. Enjoy!!

Rich Dark Chocolate Cake.

I am back to browsing through my Good Housekeeping magazines. This particular recipe caught my eye, because the ingredients didn't look like the usual ones we use. This recipe does not use any flour at all. I was curious to try it out and see the outcome. I followed the ingredients in the recipe to the T with an alteration in the baking time .....

Ingredients :

• 8 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp coffee powder
• 12 tbsp water
• 1 and a half tsp vanilla or rum essence ( I used rum)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 slices slightly stale bread
• 1 cup almonds
• 200 gm butter preferably white
• 300 gms sugar
• 8 eggs seperated

Method :

1. Mix together the cocoa, coffee, water, essence and cinnamon powder. Stir to a smooth mixture. Set aside.
2. Process the bread to fine crumbs in a grinder or mixer. Pour some boiling water over the almonds and slip off their skins. Process to fine crumbs as well but seperately.
3. In a bowl beat the butter and sugar till fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time. Add the powdered almonds and chocolate mixture. Stir in the breadcrumbs.
4. Beat the egg whites till they form soft peaks. Fold into the cake mixture.
5. Grease and line a large 14 inch cake or two smaller ones.(I used a large round tin)
6. Bake in an oven preheated to 160 degrees. Bake at 40 minutes or till done. The smaller cakes take less time.( This is where I made the change. I baked a good hour and a half since the centre of the cake was still undone after an hour too).
7. Before serving, pile on ice cream attractively at the top.
8. You may also add some chopped fresh or tinned fruit.
9. If you prefer, substitute the ice cream with fresh, whipped cream.
10. For an exotic touch, drizzle over some of your favourite liqueur - coffee flavour goes wonderfully          ( Thats what I did, I used cherry liqueur, though the kids preferred to have it as it is.)

 Note : The batter turns out to  be quite liquidish, so I was wondering if it would finally turn out to be a cake. I was relieved it did and it turned out to be one of the moistest cakes I had ever made.

Strawberries in Chocolate Sauce!!!

I know Valentines day is over, but I couldn't resist myself from buying these succulent strawberries at the market. Having read a lot about the health benefits of chocolate, it being considered a food of love and having seen umpteen pictures of strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce, I decided to get into action and surprise not only my loved one but also the little ones!!!!

                To make the sauce, take 200 gm cream and 100 gm sugar in a vessel and gently bring it to boil, stirring continuously. In a separate steel pan, take 500gm of bitter sweet chocolate broken into pieces. Pour the boiling cream onto the chocolate and keep stirring continuously till a thick sauce is formed. I also added a tsp of liquor(Grand Marnier) which otherwise is optional. The above sauce can be kept for 2 weeks in a refrigerator. Reheat over simmering water before serving. Enjoy and a BELATED VALENTINES DAY!!!!!

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients :-

1. 4 eggs
2. 250 gms brown sugar
3. 250 gms butter
4. 350 gms maida
5. 50 gms cocoa powder
6. 11/2 tsp baking powder
7. Sliced almonds for decoration.

Method :-

Beat the egg whites first till fluffy, then add yolks also and beat.Mix together butter & sugar in a bowl and keep. Sieve maida and baking powder together.Add beaten eggs to the butter and sugar bowl and mix. Add seived maida and baking powder, little by little to this mixture and keep mixing well till done. Now grease a baking tray with a little butter, sprinkle a little maida and keep.  Preheat the oven at 150 degrees. Pour the cake batter in this tray and bake for an hour. Check by inserting a tooth pick, if it comes out clean, the cake is done. On cooling the cake, decorate with sliced almonds and serve.