Flashback !!!

Hello All... its been a while i haven't updated this blog due to mainly 2 reasons-

1] My parents were visiting me here in USA for the very first time
2] I moved into a new apartment

But that doesn't mean i didn't bake...rather i baked a lot.... tried lot of things... below are the pics..i'm wondering which recipes should i post.. Can you all help me - which ones would you like to see?

Orange-Cranberry Cookies

Chocolate cake with Chocolate Ganache

Homemade Chocolate bars

Banana cupcakes

Chocolate Wine cake for my Birthday

Cranberry Blondies

Ginger Cookies

Chocolate Linzer cookies with sugar-free Raspberry filling

Chocolate cake with whipped cream strawberry filling

Valentine's Day gifts for my friends

Earl Grey Chocolate Cake

Dark Chocolate Coconut Blondies

Vanilla Cake with Whipped cream strawberry filling Cake

Chocolate Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day!

Isn't it a big list :P
Hope you liked all of them ..... I will try to put recipes for most of them but i would love to hear the top ones so i include them first....

C ya!!!
Richa

Dark Chocolate Truffles

February a month of love...Love is in the air ~ that's what people say :)
Well for us its a month of Birthdays, anniversaries and ofcourse Love ...... I'm a BIG fan of chocolates - i simply love them and can eat them almost anytime, but since last few years have been gaining control over them to check my weight..... I know there are many of you who will say ... "Richa you don't need to loose weight"...and when i say "I was fat once" there are many who will say "You are joking".... Well my old friends who have seen me they will agree that yeah i was fat once :) :)

Anyways coming back to the topic of truffles - i simply love them, they are creamy and heavenly in taste and as a matter of fact they are very easy to make so here goes the recipe for the yummiest truffles.... which you can make on Valentines Day for your loved ones....I'm thinking of making few around Valentines Day for my friends....




Ingredients:
for filling-
1 cup - Bitter-sweet chocolate chips
6 tbspn - Heavy Whipped cream
1 tspn - Butter or shortening

for coating-
1/4 cup - Bitter-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup - Heavy whipped cream
1 tspn - Confectioner's sugar

Method:
Filling
1] In a bowl put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan bring heavy whipped cream to boil. Add butter. Mix well and sieve in the bowl of chocolate chips.
2] Mix with a fork and let the chocolate melt till you get a smooth paste. Dont whisk too much. Stir and refrigerate overnight.

Coating
1] In a bowl put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan bring heavy whipped cream to boil. Add butter. Mix well and sieve in the bowl of chocolate chips.
2] Mix with a fork and let the chocolate melt till you get a smooth paste. Dont whisk too much.

Final Step
1] Take a cookie sheet and place parchment paper (butter paper) on it.
2] Take out the filling from refrigerator and make small balls with hand.
3] Dip the balls into the coating mixture and pick them with a pair of fork. Place on the cookie sheet. Repeat the steps till filling mixture lasts.
4] Refrigerate the truffles for 15 mins. Take them out and decorate the way you want and refrigerate again. Take them out just before serving.

I decorated my truffles with Pink buttercream as i had one and chocolate shavings which again i had tried at home. They looked good and tasted even better ... Yumm Yumm Yumm !!!! So next time you want truffles you know whom to call :P :P
I loved them from the bottom of my heart :) :)
Enjoy !!!

Chocolate-Orange Ganache sandwich cake

Ganache ~ creamy, chocolaty, lustrous thick liquid when comes in front of your eyes - one is bound to say Yummmm!!!! I have been reading a lot about Ganache lately and wanted to bake a cake in which i can use it as well as add some extra variety to it...

Its been a crazy week lately, I'm down with severe headache since last 7 days, my lil one and hubby are down with flu.... its very depressing to see your lil one sick and not smiling.... Finally today i thought of baking a cake which is my recipe (based on my experience now in baking cakes have reached a level of mixing ingredients i like and creating a new one) ... This cake came out really well - Light, chocolaty with hint of orange and not very rich in calories :) I used the Ganache in between two layers and not as icing on the cake, but you can use it the way you want....



Ingredients:
for Cake:
1 cup - All-purpose flour
1/2 cup - Sugar
1/2 cup - Butter
1 tspn - Baking powder
1 tspn - Baking Soda
2 tbspn - Cocoa powder
2 oranges - peeled and pureed (Take the zest and keep it aside)
2 Large eggs
1 tspn - Vanilla extract

for Ganache:
1/2 cup - Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup - Heavy whipped cream
1 tspn - butter
2 tbpsn - Orange Zest (Use the orange zest for Ganache and orange pulp for cake)

Method:
1] In a container, put chocolate chips and keep aside. In a pan, add heavy whipped cream and bring it to boil. Add butter and mix it well. Sieve it in the chocolate chips and mix till chocolate melts completely. Let it cool. Add Orange Zest and keep it aside. Your chocolate-orange Ganache is ready.
2] In a food processor, whip the eggs and keep them aside.
3] In a food processor, mix butter and sugar and whip it. To this add all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, orange puree, vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Mix it nicely till you get a light and fluffy mixture.
4] Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F and pour the batter in a baking pan. Bake it for 40 mins or till the skewer comes out clean.
5] Once the cake is cooled, cut it in two parts horizontally. Spread the Ganache in between. Add nuts if you like and put the top layer on this.

Your cake is ready.... Its easy and tastes great with anything... You can enjoy this with tea/coffee as its very light or as a simple light dessert... It is a perfect dessert when you want to eat something nice but not very rich and creamy..... We simply loved the cake.... and i'm gonna make it again :) :) what about you???