Cupcakes Without A Muffin Tray

I love eating cupcakes. I remember as a child my grandfather used to always get me a box of goodies when he returned home from work and in that box cupcake was a constant goodie!

Yesterday when I went to bake some cupcakes I couldn’t find my muffin tray anywhere and I was craving for them so badly and I had to make them at any cost. You know how they say ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’, well I found out that you could actually bake cupcakes without using a muffin tray!!

This recipe is the simplest way of making classic cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Butter – 125gms (melted & cooled at room temp)

Egg – 1 (beaten)

Milk – ¾ cup

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Self raising flour – 2 cups

Tea cups – 12 to 13

Note: you can make self raising flour at home. For every 1 cup of all purpose flour add 1 ½ tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of salt.

Method:

Preheat oven to 200C

Sift the self raising flour couple of times. Add the flour to a bowl. Make a well in the center. 

Add the butter, milk, egg and vanilla essence to the flour and mix well with a spoon until well combined without any lumps.

Place the cupcake liners on top of the tea cups. Add dollops of the batter into each liner. (Every time you pour the batter be careful as the liner will sink into the tea cup coz of the weight. So pour it carefully.)

Arrange the tea cups with cupcake batter onto a tray and bake it for 15mins or until when a skewer inserted comes out clean. When done top it up with frosting.

Well they might not be pretty but tastes good!

Simple Frosting:

In a bowl mix 1 cup of icing sugar with 1 to 1 ½ tbsp. of water and a drop of color of your choice (if you want). Spoon it over the cupcakes.

This is a great technique for those of you who bake cupcakes only occasionally don’t want to spend money on buying a muffin tray.

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Tutty Fruity Choc Chip Cake

Baking this cake is so simple, as it doesn't require you to pull out your electric beater! All you need is a whisk and you are ready to bake this simple cake with no fuss at all. This is by far the simplest cake I have baked.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Granulated Sugar - 1 1/4 cups

Tutti Fruity - 1/2 cup

Choc chips – ¼ cup

Unsalted butter - 2 tbsp

Milk - 3/4 cup

Egg - 2 at room temperature

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Vanilla essence - 3 tsp

Chopped Cashews - 2 tsp (or any other nuts of your choice)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda and keep aside. Combine the butter and sugar; it will look somewhat like breadcrumbs.

Mix tutti fruity and the choc chips with little flour say 1-2 tbsp, set aside.

Add eggs one at a time to the sugar butter mixture and beat well.

Add in vanilla essence and mix well. Now add in the milk beat well till all is combined.

Next add the flour, baking powder, soda mixture. Mix until a creamy batter is formed without lumps. Fold in tutti fruity – choc chip mixture. Grease your cake pan with butter and flour, tap to remove off excess. Pour the batter in the pan.

Add in the chopped nuts on top. 

Bake for 35-40 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once baked leave it in the oven for 5mins. Then leave the cake upside down on a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely and then slice it.

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Homemade Butter

Since I love baking, I always make sure I never run out of butter or ghee. When you make them both at home, why buy them from outside? It’s cheaper and without any preservatives. It’s very simple and easy.

Ingredients:

Malai – 1 cup

Cold Water – 2 cups

Method:

When you cool boiled milk, a thick layer of cream is accumulated on the top. This is ‘malai’. Collect this malai everyday until your container is full. Now you are ready to make the butter.

Transfer the collected malai to your mixer. Add the cold water. Blend it for a while until the malai curdles and it gets collected on top.

Once the malai has been collected on top, squeeze out the excess water and collect it in a bowl of chilled water. This makes it easy to handle as the butter gets thick. Wash it with some more cold water. That’s it! Homemade unsalted butter is ready. You can use it for all your baking needs!

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Doughnuts

Doughnuts come in 2 varieties; the glaced ring doughnuts and the filled versions. These yummy doughnuts are super soft and you can use the dough to make either of the 2 mentioned above. However, here I am showing the glaced ring version.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 2 ½ cups

Milk – ¾ cup

Yeast – 2 ½ tsp

Butter – 2 ½ tbsp

Warm water – 2 tbsp

Salt – ½  tsp

Sugar – ¼ cup

Vanilla essence – ½ tsp

Egg – 1 (beaten)

Method:

Add yeast to warm water and set aside for 10-15 mins for fermentation.

Sift flour & salt. Add sugar, yeast solution, melted butter, beaten egg & milk to it. Knead to form sticky dough for 4-5mins. The dough should me sticky but still manageable. (Don’t worry about the stickiness; you can adjust it later once the dough has risen)

Cover with a cling wrap and keep in a warm place until it rises in double. I usually keep it in the microwave to rise.

You can now see how the dough has risen! Now knead it again. Here you can add some more flour to remove the stickiness. Now roll them and cut into doughnut shapes. Leave them on a floured surface to rest for an hour.

After an hour fry on medium heat.  You can have them as it is or with toppings of your choice. I had it with choc topping. Simply melt some dark choc and dip the doughnuts and enjoy!

For sugar glaze:

Mix 1 cup icing sugar with a few drops of vanilla essence and some warm milk or water until smooth. Make sure you make this topping once you have finished making the doughnuts coz the glaze sets very fast.

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Mango Shots

Mango is one of my favorite summer fruits. Last night we went to cafe coffee day and had the mango shots. Gosh I fell in love with them and tried to make them. That is when I realized  why not make them the way I made the strawberry shots.
Its pretty much exactly the same method. I just replaced the strawberries with mangoes.

Ingredients:

Marie Biscuits – 4

Fresh mango – ½ cup chopped

Butter – 3 tsp (melted)

Thick curd – ½ cup

Fresh cream – ½ cup

Sugar – 4 tbsp (add more/less according to the sourness of the mangoes)

China grass – ½ tbsp (i used strawberry flavored coz I had left over from the strawberry shots I made earlier but you can use the plain version too)

Water – 2 tbsp

Note: In case you don’t find thick curd, take 1.5 cups of the normal curd, put it in a muslin cloth and hang it somewhere for an hour so that all the water drips off and you are left with ½ cup of thick curd.

Method:

Crush biscuits roughly and powder to a semi fine mixture. Then add melted butter to the powdered biscuits and mix well so that the mixture becomes moist. Fill this up as a base layer in your dessert bowl/glass and press firmly with the back of a spoon or fingertips. Leave this in the refrigerator while the other layers are getting ready.

Chop mangoes roughly and puree it with sugar. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, add curd and fresh cream, mix until they combine well.

Add strawberry puree (reserve 1/4 cup for later) to the above mixture and mix well. At this point check for sweetness and adjust according to your preference. If adding sugar, beat well until sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside. In a small heat resistant cup, add the china grass and water. Boil water in a pan and place the cup in the boiling water. Allow it to boil until you see a clear liquid when the china grass is dissolved completely.

Now add the china grass water mixture to the curd-cream-puree mixture, give a quick stir. Fill it up immediately in your dessert bowl/glass as a second layer reserving little space at the top. Chill it for 4-5 hrs or even overnight for best results. Then add the remaining strawberry puree as a third layer and serve chilled.

Just like the strawberry shots this pic too isn't pretty :( Will upload a pretty pic later :)

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Strawberry Shots

I love strawberries! When it comes to choosing an ice cream or milk shake or any desserts, I always go for strawberry flavor  After having the dessert shots at café coffee day, I so wanted to try them out myself. But they serve only mango and choc, so I was eagerly waiting for the strawberry season to approach so I could try out the strawberry version of the same.

Now this recipe is not exactly the same as the CCD version. But I’m sure you won’t regret these!

Ingredients:

Marie Biscuits – 4

Fresh strawberries – ½ cup

Butter – 3 tsp (melted)

Thick curd – ½ cup

Fresh cream – ½ cup

Sugar – 4 tbsp (add more/less according to the sourness of the strawberries)

China grass – ½ tbsp (i used strawberry flavored but you can use the plain version too)

Water – 2 tbsp

Note: In case you don’t find thick curd, take 1.5 cups of the normal curd, put it in a muslin cloth and hang it somewhere for an hour so that all the water drips off and you are left with ½ cup of thick curd.

Method:

Crush biscuits roughly and powder to a semi fine mixture. Then add melted butter to the powdered biscuits and mix well so that the mixture becomes moist. Fill this up as a base layer in your dessert bowl/glass and press firmly with the back of a spoon or fingertips. Leave this in the refrigerator while the other layers are getting ready.

Chop strawberries roughly and puree it with sugar. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, add curd and fresh cream, mix until they combine well.

Add strawberry puree (reserve 1/4 cup for later) to the above mixture and mix well. At this point check for sweetness and adjust according to your preference. If adding sugar, beat well until sugar is dissolved completely. Set aside. In a small heat resistant cup, add the china grass and water. Boil water in a pan and place the cup in the boiling water. Allow it to boil until you see a clear liquid when the china grass is dissolved completely.

Now add the china grass water mixture to the curd-cream-puree mixture, give a quick stir. Fill it up immediately in your dessert bowl/glass as a second layer reserving little space at the top. Chill it for 4-5 hrs or even overnight for best results. Then add the remaining strawberry puree as a third layer and serve chilled.

Yeah I know I have a pretty crappy pic of the dessert :( Will take a proper pretty pic of the same and upload it someday.

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GARLIC BREAD

Who doesn't enjoy toasted garlic bread with bbqs and pizzas?? I love eating them when I bake pizzas, pastas, basically with anything! Here's a quick and simple recipe to make garlic bread without any fuss at all.

Ingredients: 

Bakery Bread - a loaf

Celery or coriander leaves - 1 tbsp (chopped finely)

Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

Butter - 3 tbsp

Method:

Cut the loaf of bread into slices. Make sure you dont cut it all the way through. In a bowl mix celery/coriander, garlic paste and butter. Apply this mixture all over the inside of the loaves. 

To make it more buttery, apply some butter on top of the loaf as well. Cover this loaf with an aluminium foil and bake it in a preheated oven on 180C for 10-15mins. 

If you want it more crispier then remove the foil and bake it for an extra 2-4 mins.

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Macaroni n cheese

Ingredients:
macaroni pasta - 1 box (8 oz.)
unsalted butter - 2 Tbsp. 
All-Purpose Flour - 2 Tbsp. 
milk, warmed - 1 1/2 cups
cheddar cheese - 1 cup grated

Method:
Cook the pasta in large pot of boiling water according to package instructions, about 8-9 minutes. Drain and set aside in large bowl.

Begin making the cheese sauce by melting butter over medium-low heat in a saucepan.  Once completely melted, add the flour little by little and mix with a whisk to prevent lumps.  Cook flour and butter mixture for about 3 minutes, but do not let brown. Remove from heat and slowly add milk; mix with whisk until well combined. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add grated cheese; stir until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth.

In a large bowl, pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta.  Mix sauce and pasta until well combined.  The mixture may appear a bit soupy but the pasta will absorb more of the cheese sauce as it sits. Once cooled, chop slightly in food processer for small babies or keep whole for toddlers. Serve immediately.

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Carrot halwa

Now this is one of my favourite veg desserts! I used to love eating it as a child. As a child I grew up in mumbai and everytime my friends invite me over for Diwali or holi or any other occasions, this particular dish was always served.

You can actually use the normal orange carrots that you get in the market, but it actually tastes best when you use the red long carrots.

Ingredients:

Carrots - 4 long ones (I used the red ones)

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Cashew nuts - 3 tbsp (optional)

Ghee - 4 tbsp

Method:

Heat a non stick pan and add the ghee. Now add the carrots. Cover and cook until the carrots are done.

Once the carrots are done, add the milk and cook until the milk is evaporated. Now add the sugar and simmer for another 2 mins. Add in the cashew nuts (if you are adding them).

Turn off the heat and serve hot or cold. 

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Tutty Fruity Wine

TUTTY FRUITY WINE

Every year for Christmas I have seen that my mom used to make delicious wine for the guests. She used to make and store them way ahead of Christmas so that by that time the wine is old and ready. That's the speciality about wines. The older, the better!!

So this year I thought why not I make one and surprise her! She usually makes with just one fruit. Either grape or ginger or anything she could get a hand on. But I thought why not be different? I tried to mix in a few varieties of fruits and make a tutty fruity wine instead!

Ingredients:

Mixed fruits - 1kg ( anything of your wild imagination )

Sugar - 3.75 cups

Active dry yeast - 3/4 tsp

Water - 4 litres 

Method:

Since this wine is called tutty fruity, you can actually use any fruits you like. Here i used strawberries, grapes, cherries, apple and oranges. 

Boil the water until it reaches a rolling boil stage. Leave it overnight until it cools down to room temperature. 

Wash and chop the fruits in small pieces. Keep aside. 

In a small bowl, combine little water, yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar. Keep aside until the yeast starts foaming. 

Take a container in which you are going to keep your wine mixture in. You can either use a 'bharani pot' or if you don't have one then use a plastic container. Add the chopped fruits and the sugar to this container and mix until combined. Add the yeast mixture. Don't mix once you add the yeast mixture. Finally add the boiled water. 

Cover the pot with a piece of cloth before putting the lid on. But if you are using a plastic container, make sure you don't close the lid too tightly. Leave some space for the air to pass or your container may burst!!! Watch out!

Stir this mixture once everyday for 21 days. Preferably the same time everyday. 

After 21 days, strain this mixture into a clean dry bottle or another container. Discard the solids. Place this bottle/container in a dark corner for 2 weeks. 

After 2 weeks, strain again. This time do it carefully coz we don't want to disturb the sediments at the bottom, so that now we have a clear wine to rack. Discard the hazy sediments at the bottom. 

If you are in a hurry you can use the wine straight away or rack it for however long you want. Like I mentioned earlier, with wines, the older the better!!

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