Home Made Chocolates

Yeah now time for sweetness. I know all of you love chocolates. Do you know preparing home made chocolates are so easy???Yes, it is!!!!  I got this recipe from one of my favorite cooking show. 

My little one like this very much and i love to see his smile when he chew it. He will tell as "chac, chac" with a lovely smile…heehee..ok story time over and here comes the recipe with my clicks...

Preparation Time: 15 min
Setting Time: 8 hrs in room temp/4 hrs in refrigerator
No.of Chocolates: 15(big)

Ingredients:

Cocoa Powder( i used Hershey's)	1 tbl spoon
Drinking Chocolate	5 tbl spoon
Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar	3 to 5 tbl spoon
MilkMaid/Condensed Milk	1/2 cup
Milk Powder	2 tbl spoon

Preparation:

(1) Take cocoa powder in a bowl. Add icing sugar to it and mix well with a spoon or spatula.

(2) Now add milk powder to it and mix well.

(3) To this add drinking chocolate and mix all the contents well using a spoon or spatula.To this dry ingredients pour condensed milk little by little. Mix well.

(4) Mix the dry ingredients with the condensed milk using hand. You will find it too sticky to mix. But be patient and mix well. Make a thick paste (Don't make it watery). Now leave aside for 20 minutes in room temperature to set well (You can also keep the same in refrigerator for about 10 min).

(5) Once it is set you will get a very thick paste. Take one bunch(lemon size) of prepared mixture in hand. Make ball shapes by rolling it using hands.

(6) Keep the ball shapes in a plate (keep space between each chocolates,preferably placed above a foil paper/wax paper to avoid stickiness, i didn't used).

(7) Now keep aside for more than 7 hours in room temperature or more than 3 hrs in refrigerator. Your home made chocolates are now ready (Ball shapes will slightly depress and form circle shapes).

(8) You can store this chocolates in a container or else cover each chocolates with a foil paper and store it. Store in refrigerator for short term use and in a freezer for long term use.

Prepare and enjoy your own chocolates
:)

Strawberry Bread

I made this bread on my hubby's bday instead of cake…. Enjoy this healthy dish in morning as well as in evening...

ingredients:

Maida	2 cup/260 gm
Egg	3
Butter(unsalted,at room temperature)	1/2 cup/110 gm
Powdered sugar	3/4 cup/150gm
Vanilla essence	1 tspoon
Strawberry	1&1/2 cup/360 gm
Nuts(i used almonds and walnuts)	1/2 cup/110 gm
Baking powder	1/2 tspoon
Baking soda	1/2 tspoon
Yogurt	1&1/2 cup/360 gm
Salt	1/4 tspoon
Ground cinnamon(optional)	1 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Chop strawberries into small pieces. Also crush the nuts. Keep both aside.

(2) Take a large bowl and add butter to it. Beat it with an electric mixer or hand mixer till it is softened. Now add sugar to it and beat well until light and fluffy.

(3) To this add eggs one by one, beating well after each addition. Now pour vanilla extract and beat well. Now the ingredients will be in liquid form. Keep it aside.

(4) In another bowl add maida after sieving two times. To this add baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Mix well. Keep this dry ingredients aside.

(5) Add this dry ingredients and yogurt to the beaten butter ingredients. Add it alternatively starting and ending with the dry contents. Now you will get a medium thick dough.

(6) To this dough add strawberry and nuts. Mix well. Dough for the preparation of bread is now ready.

(7) Mean while preheat your oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Spray the baking vessel with oil and pour batter into it. Bake it in oven for about 60 to 70 minutes or tooth pick inserts comes out clean.

Your strawberry bread is now ready.

Tips:

• Dark brown in bread is from the ground cinnamon. You can skip it if you want.
• Always fill the dough to half of the baking vessel since the amount of dough will rise while baking.

Vanilla-Butter Cake with Confectioners Frosting

This is our 2nd wedding anniversary cake. It came out too good,which i too did't expect :)

Ingredients for Cake:

Maida/All purpose flour	1&1/2 cup/350 gm
Butter	1 cup/225 gm
Sugar	1&3/4 cup 345 gm
Egg	4
Vanilla essence	3 tbl spoon
Baking powder	1 tspoon
Baking soda	1 pinch
Milk	1 cup
Salt	1/2 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) In a bowl sieve maida/flour two times. To this add salt and baking powder. Mix well using a whisk. Keep this aside. Also take the rest of ingredients. The below picture involves sieved flour,butter,sugar and eggs.

(2) Take butter in a another large bowl. Using electric mixer or hand mixer beat till it becomes soft and creamy.

(3) To this gradually add sugar and beat till it becomes fluffy.

(4) Now add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition till you get a smooth mixture.

(5) Pour vanilla essence to it and beat well till it is combined.

(6) Now add the dry ingredients and milk alternatively to the beaten batter little by little. Beat till you get a light batter(Don't make it too watery or thick. It should be of little dropping consistency). Now your cake batter is ready.

(7) Preheat your oven to 350 degree F. Spray the cake pan( i used a 9 inch pan) with oil and pour the batter into it. Keep in preheated oven. Your cake will be ready in 25 to 30 minutes.

(8) Allow to cool down for 10 minutes and carefully invert it in a rack. Now you can have your cake if you don't want frosting.

Tips:

• I used an electric mixer for beating. You can use a hand mixer or whisk. It takes more time.
• Mind to beat the batter well while adding each ingredients.
• Batter will rise during baking. So always fill batter to half of the pan.
• Keep an eye on the cake after 20 minutes. Avoid over baking.
• The cake will bake in 25 to 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserts come out clean or when you press the centre it will springs back or the side of the cake will get separates from the pan.

Ingredients for Confectioners Frosting:

Confectioners sugar	2 cup/450 gm
Butter	1 cup/225 gm
Milk	4 to 6 tbl spoon
Vanilla essence	1 tspoon

  

for decoration(optional):

Cherry	8
Small candies	as needed

Preparation:

(1) Take butter in a large bowl. Beat till light and creamy.

(2)Now add vanilla extract and beat well till combined. Gradually add confectioners sugar into it and beat well till you get a soft and creamy mixture.

(4) Pour 2 to 4 tbl spoon of milk to it and continue beating. You should make it into a spreading consistency. If you need add more milk to obtain the desired consistency. Your frosting is ready.

(5) Now spread the frosting over the top and side of the cake. I spread it with a knife(It took some time for me to get a polished surface :p).

(6) Design the cake as your wish. I decorated by sprinkling small candies over the top and adding cherries.

Your vanilla-butter cake is now ready with frosting. Enjoy:)

Eggless Butter Biscuits/Eggless Butter Cookies

 Im preparing cookies for first time. The result was awesome:) and i fall in love with baking.

Ingredients:

Butter	1 cup
All purpose flour/Maida	2 cup
Confectioner sugar	3/4 cup
Vanilla Essence	1 tspoon
Salt	1/4 tspoon
Jam(optional)	5 to 6 tspoon

Preparation:

(1) Take a bowl and sieve flour two times. To this add salt. Mix well. Take required sugar in another vessel. Keep both bowls aside.

(2) Take butter (at room temperature) in a large bowl. Beat it until smooth and creamy using electric mixer or hand mixer. I used electric mixer and beat it for less than 1 minute.

(3) To this creamy butter add powdered sugar. Beat till it mix well. To this add vanilla essence and beat again. Now add sieved flour to this beat well until incorporated. Now you will obtain a thick dough. Make a round shape structure.

(4) Place this dough in a plastic sheet. Flatten it into a disk shape using hand. Wrap it with the plastic sheet and keep it in refrigerator for 1 hour(This will make the dough firm which helps in easy cutting).

(5) After 1 hour remove the plastic wrap and place the dough in a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into an even thickness(around .6  or .7 cm). Cut into your desired shapes. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough.

 (6)Preheat your oven to 350 degree F. Take an oven safe dish and line it with foil paper. Place the prepared shapes over the foil paper and keep it in oven for 10 to 15 minutes(You can also design the shapes with jam which is optional. For that make a slight dent on the centre of prepared shapes using your thumb. Pour 1/4 tspoon of jam over the dent. Now keep it in oven).

(9) Keep an eye after 10 minutes. Bake it till the cookies are very lightly browned. Remove from oven .Your butter cookies are now ready.

Store your cookies in an airtight container and enjoy….:)

Tips:

• You can use electric mixer or hand mixer to beat. Hand mixer takes more time. 
•  Chilling the dough in refrigerator will make it firm so that you can cut the cookies easily.

Choco Coffee Cake-Soft and Moist

 There were some guest  on last weekend to our home. This was our dessert. Got positive comments from them. Cake was too soft.The given recipe is from a cookery show that i saw some months ago.

Ingredients:

• Maida/All purpose flour-2 cup(500 ml)
• Cocoa powder(i used hershey's)-3/4 cup
• Coffee powder-2 tspoon
• Egg-2
• Vanilla essence-2.5 tspn
• Powdered sugar-2 cup
• Curd-1/2 cup
• Salt-1 tspoon
• Baking soda-2 tspoon
• Baking powder-1 tspoon
• Refined oil-1 cup
• Boiling water-1 cup

Preparation:

(1) Take a bowl and add all maida, baking powder and baking soda. Mix it and sieve it for two or three times. Keep it aside in a bowl.

(2) Add coffee powder and cocoa powder in another bowl. Evenly mix two powders in hot water with a whisk. Keep it aside.

(3) In another bowl add egg,salt and vanilla essence. Beat well with a whisk(you can use electric mixer instead of whisk-i don't have it) Keep the mixture aside.

(4) Now take a medium sized vessel. Add sugar,curd and refined oil. Mix well with a whisk or electric mixer . Mix till sugar dissolves completely and u get an even mixture.

(5) To this mixture mix beaten egg little by little using a whisk or mixer. After that mix maida mixture and cocoa mixture little by little to it. Do this alternatively and mix evenly. Make a fine evenly distributed batter. 

(6) Preheat your oven to 300 degree F. Grease your cooking pan with oil. I used a 9 inch pan. Pour batter to it. Tap the bottom of pan if u have any air bubbles.

(7) Bake it for 30 to 40 minutes in oven. To check if it is done insert a fork or tooth pick to the centre of cake. If it comes out clean your cake is ready or if you touch the cake it should lightly spring back. Take out from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in a wire rack. Carefully invert the cake by gently tapping on the back side of pan.  I inverted it on a newspaper :-p….Your choco-coffee cake is now ready…

I used half of the ingredients listed above to make this. Finally i want to give a touch up. That is the vanilla icing you can see over the cake. i bought it from market. Bad design eh???? Better luck next time:)

Tips for beginners in baking:

• Grease the pan with oil or butter. This will make it non-sticky.
• The batter should be watery. It will thicken during baking.
• Always pour batter to half of the pan coz it will rise during baking.
• Preheat oven according to the type of your oven. I baked it in 30 minutes with a temp of 300 degree F. Settings may accordingly. Keep an aye over the cake after 20 minutes.
• Don't turn over the cake immediately. Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes so that it will not break.