Education Recipe For Better Life

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Kaju Pista Cookies/Cashew and Pistachios Cookies

Cashews and pistachios cookies are yet another mouth melting cookies flavored with cardamom powder.I have bookmarked the recipe from here but altered slightly and made it according to my family's taste.

The cookies came out so good with the crunchiness of nuts and the cardamom flavor.The nuts need to be chopped very finely and added to the dough.The dough can be rolled out and cut with cookie cutter.But I sliced the chilled dough and baked.Either way it turned out good.My kids enjoyed it to the core.Off to the recipe.................

Kaju Pista cookies/Cashews and Pistachios Cookies

Basic Information

Preparation time 15 minutes
Chilling time 30 minutes
Baking time 15-18 minutes

Makes 22-24 cookies

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1.5 cup
Butter/vennai	3/4 cup or 1.5 sticks
Custard powder	2 tbs
Icing sugar or powdered sugar	1/2 cup+1 tbs
Salt	a pinch
Baking powder	a pinch
Cashews(finely chopped)	3 tbs
Pistachios(finely chopped)	3 tbs
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/4 tsp
Milk(if needed)	1-2 tbs

Method

Mix in all purpose flour,custard power,baking powder and salt in a bowl and keep it aside.
In a bowl take the butter and powdered sugar.Cream it well,to this add the all purpose flour mixture and chopped nuts.Mix it to form a dough.If the dough is too crumbly then add some milk and knead it to a smooth dough.

Now divide the dough into 2 equal parts and shape it to a square or round shaped log..Wrap it in a cling wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.Now preheat the oven at 350 F and take out the chilled dough and slice it with a sharp knife.Arrange the slices on a lined baking tray.Bake it for 15-18 minutes or till the edges turned brown.Remove it and cool it on a cooling rack.

Store it in an air tight container after its completely cool down.

The cookies will be crispy once its completely cool down.Do not bake it more than 18 minutes.
Instead of icing sugar,regular sugar can be powdered and used.
Use a sharp knife and slice the dough.Don't slice it too thin.
The butter should be in room temperature.
If salted butter is used then no need to add salt.
Some chopped nuts can be topped after slicing the dough for extra taste.But do not add more nuts in the dough,otherwise slicing will be difficult.

Enjoy...........................

Bake-a-thon 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Eggless Honey Cake/Indian Bakery Style Honey Cake

Honey cake is a popular cake available in most of the bakeries in South India.This cake is my childhood favorite and mom used to get in from the local bakery.The jam coated on the top and the desiccated coconut makes the cake even more tastier.In this cake no honey is used but a simple syrup is used to moisten the cake hence the name honey cake.
Coming to the recipe,for the base I made a simple eggless vanilla cake with few variations.Also used some freshly squeezed orange juice as the cake available in shops are orange in color.Off to the recipe......

Eggless Honey Cake/Bakery Style Honey Cake

Basic Information

Preparation time 15-20 minutes
Baking time 30-35 minutes

Makes 10-12 pieces

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1 3/4 cups
Corn starch	1/4 cup or 4 tbs
Neutral Oil or olive oil	6 tbs
Brown or white sugar	2 tbs(optional)
Sweetened condensed milk	1 cup
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	1/8 tsp
Salt	1/8 tsp
Orange juice	3/4- 1 cup
Vanilla	1 tsp

For the sugar syrup

Ingredient	Quantity
Sugar	1/2 cup
Water	1/2 cup
Food color(orange or yellow)	few drops

For the topping

Ingredient	Quantity
Mixed fruit jam	4-5 tbs
Desiccated coconut	2-3 tbs
Whipped cream(optional)	as needed (for garnishing)

Method

Take all purpose flour,baking soda,powder and salt and mix it well.Sieve it for couple of times.Grease the baking pan with baking spray or oil and dust some flour.Keep it aside and preheat the oven in 350 F.
Now in a bowl take the oil,sweetened condensed milk and vanilla,whisk in an electric hand blender or whisker until it becomes creamy and smooth.Now to this mixture add in the 1/2 of the sieved flour.

Add half of the orange juice and mix it well,Now add in the rest of the flour and orange juice alternately and mix it well.

Pour the batter into greased pan. Keep it in the preheated oven.Bake it for 30-35 minutes(mine took 29 minutes) or until a tooth pick comes out clean.Let it rest it for couple of minutes and invert the cake to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.

Now mix the sugar and water in a pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sugar dissolves.Add in the food color and put off the flame.Now trim the edges and top crust of the cake.Once the sugar syrup cool down a bit,gently sprinkle in on top of the cake.Also on the sides and the bottom of the cake to get soak.

Take the jam in a bowl and mix it well.Now gently apply the jam on top the cake and sprinkle the desiccated coconut on top f the jam. Slice the cake carefully and top each slice with some whipped cream if needed.

Serve it.

The sweetness was just perfect with 1 cup of condensed milk,as again the cake is drenched with sugar syrup.
The amount of sugar syrup used is just perfect to drench the cake.If you want the syrup to ooze out from the cake,use around a cup of sugar and water.
Instead of orange juice,milk can be used to mix the batter for the cake.
Slice the cake once its completely cool down.
Here I sprinkled the desiccated coconut only on the top but in some of the shops,even the sides are also coated.If you want the sides to be coated then,keep some extra syrup and dip the sides in sugar syrup and roll it in coconut.

Enjoy.....................................

Bake-a-thon 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Friday, December 16, 2016

Butterflake Rolls

Butterflake rolls are soft rolls where butter is applied in between the layers and bake it in a muffin tray.These rolls are so soft and buttery with a rich taste.
The shaping of the rolls can be done in 2 ways either you can make strips out of the dough or make slits on top of the rolled dough.I tried the later version and it came out so good with a cute shape.I made these rolls with plain butter but flavored butter such as garlic,coriander or any other flavor can also be made.Off to the recipe.....................

Butterflake Rolls

Basic Information

Recipe Source Karenskitchenstories

Preparation time 20-25 minutes
Proofing time 2 hours

Cooking time 25-30 minutes

Makes 6-7

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Bread Flour or maida	1.5 cups+1 tbs for dusting
Instant yeast	1 tsp
Oil	2 tbs
Sugar	1 tbs
Salt	1.25 tsp
Luke warm milk	3/4 cup+2 tbs for brushing
Melted Butter/vennai	3 tbs (for brushing)

Method

Take all purpose flour,instant yeast,salt,oil and sugar in a bowl.To this add the lukewarm milk and mix it to a slightly sticky dough. On a floured surface knead the dough for at least 7-8 minutes till it becomes smooth.If you are using a stand mixer,knead in a low speed for 3-4 minutes.Cover it with a damp cloth and keep it in a warm place for raise for an hour.

After 1-1.5 hours the dough would have doubled.Punch down the dough and flatten the dough.Divide the dough into 6 -7 equal portions and keep the roll in a greased muffin tray.Keep each roll in each cavity of the muffin tray.

Now with the help of scissors make 4-5 cuts on the rolled dough.Make sure not to cut until the bottom.Brush each layer with the melted butter.

Keep the buttered rolls in a warm place for 30 minutes for the second raise. Before 10 minutes of the second raise preheat the oven at 400 F.Brush the rolls with butter if needed.Bake it for 20 minutes or till the roll turned golden in the preheated oven.Remove it carefully from the tray and cool it on a wire rack.

Serve it warm.

Instead of bread flour,whole wheat flour or all purpose can also be used.
If you want the roll to be on the sweeter side you can use up to 3 tbs of sugar.
Grease the muffin tray with oil or butter.
Make 5-6 cuts on the top of the rolled dough.

Enjoy...................

Bake-a-thon 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Monday, December 12, 2016

Eggless Fruit and Nuts Cake/Fruit and Nuts Snack Cake

For this week Bake-A-Thon,I am sharing a simple,eggless snack cake with nuts and tutty frutty.I have already shared a version of tutty frutty cake.But this version I tried from Pavani's blog,which I have bookmarked last year.I made this cake couple of times after she shared in it the blog but I never get a chance to click the pictures.Finally I made the cake yesterday and clicked it for the blog.
In the original recipe oil is used but here I used both oil and butter,also used the brown sugar.This cake is a perfect for kids snack box or evening snack with a cup of tea or coffee.This cake doesn't need any special preparation and its so easy to make.Off to the recipe...........

Eggless Fruit and Nut Snack Cake

Basic Information

Preparation time 10 -12minutes
Baking time 35- 40 minutes

Makes 2 (6"x 3") loaf or one (8"x 5")loaf

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1.5 cup
Butter/vennai	1/4 cup or 4 tbs
Neutral Oil or olive oil	1/ cup
Brown or white sugar	3/4 cup
Sweetened condensed milk	1/2 cup
Baking powder	1 tsp
Baking soda	1/8 tsp
Salt	1/8 tsp
Tutty Frutty	1/4 tsp
Chopped nuts(cashews and almonds)	1/4 - 1/2 cup
Vanilla	1 tsp
Milk	3/4 - 1 cup

Method

Take all purpose flour,baking soda,powder and salt and mix it well.Sieve it for couple of times.Grease the baking pan with baking spray or oil and dust some flour.Keep it aside and preheat the oven in 350 F.
Now in a bowl take the butter,oil and sugar,, whisk in an electric hand blender or whisker until it becomes creamy and smooth.Add in the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk,mix it well.

Now to this mixture add in the 1/3 of the sieved flour and milk alternately and mix it well.Finally add the nuts and tutty frutty,fold it well.

Pour the batter in the greased pan. Keep it in the preheated oven.Bake it for 35-40 minutes(mine took 39 minutes) or until a tooth pick comes out clean.Let it rest it for couple of minutes and invert the cake to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.Slice it.

Store it in an air tight container.

The sweetness was just perfect with 3/ cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of condensed milk,if you want the cake to be on the sweeter side add around a cup of sugar.
Chop the nuts finely and add it.
Slice the cake once its completely cool down.

Bake-a-thon 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Friday, December 9, 2016

Custard Cookies/Custard Powder Cookies

Custard cookies are mouth melting cookies can be made in no time.These cookies are crunchy and melt in mouth with a perfect sweetness.These cookies are so easy to make,all you need is to cream the butter and sugar then add the flours and mix it.Bake the shaped dough,cookies are ready in 15-20 minutes.This cookies great as such but it can be sandwiched with vanilla butter cream or nutella.Off to the recipe.......

Custard Cookies/Custard Powder Cookies

Basic Information

Preparation time 10 minutes
Baking time 15-18 minutes

Makes 14 cookies

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1 cup
Butter/vennai	1/2 cup or 1 stick
Custard powder	5 tbs
Icing sugar or powdered sugar	5-6 tbs
Salt	a pinch

Method

Preheat the oven at 350F.In a bowl take the butter,salt and powdered sugar.Cream it well,to this add the all purpose flour and custard powder.

Mix it well to form a soft dough.Make a smooth ball out of the dough and keep it on a lined baking tray.Gently press each ball with a fork to create some designs on the cookie.

If you feel the dough is too soft,keep the tray in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.Bake it in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes.Remove it from the oven and cool it on a wire rack.

Store it in an air tight container.

The cookies will be crispy once its completely cool down.Do not bake it more than 18 minutes.
Instead of icing sugar,regular sugar can be powdered and used.
If you feel the dough is so soft,keep it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to avoid spreading.
Since I used the vanilla flavored custard powder I didn't add any extra flavoring agent.
The butter should be in room temperature.
If salted butter is used then no need to add salt.
Here I used 5 tbs of sugar and the sweetness was just perfect.But if you want a sweeter version use another 1-2 tbs.

Enjoy..................

Bake-a-thon 2016

An InLinkz Link-up

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Roasted Cashews/Oven Roasted Cashews/Masala Cashews

Oven roasted cashews is a simple yet easy to make snack,perfect for a party snack or starter.The oven roasted cashews uses only couple of teaspoon of oil and its guilt free.Since it has lot of saturated fat consume it moderately.
Here I have used the black pepper powder and salt to spice it up.But you can use red chilly powder and other spices and flavoring agents for variations.Make this roasted cashews with your choice of spices for the Christmas party and enjoy.

Roasted Cashews/Oven Roasted Cashews/Masala Cashews

Basic Information

Preparation time 2 minutes
Baking time 10 minutes

Makes 1.5 cups

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Whole cashews/mundiri	1.5 cups
Black pepper powder/milagu podi	1-1.5 tsp
Oil	2 tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4 tsp
Salt	1 tsp

Method

Preheat the oven at 350F.In a bowl take the black pepper powder,salt,oil and turmeric powder.Mix it well.To this add the cashews and mix it well it the spices coated well with the cashews.

Grease the baking tray if needed and spread the cashews in a single layer.Bake it for 5 minutes in the preheated oven.Take the tray out after 5 minutes and mix it well and return it to the oven back.Bake it for another 3-4 minutes.Remove it and let it cool down completely.