MINI AUNTY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

It doesn't usually happen this way...Jobin asking for a cake because there will be some cake at any point in our house,any time of the day. We ran out of cakes which means we were out of desserts after every meal! We don't need anything fancy, all the time but sometimes yes. When he asked me for a dessert the other day, I asked him what he wanted and he said that cake I made when newly-weds G &J came home for dinner. I knew it! He loves that cake and any cake made along that line.Finally we settled for a chocolate cake .

So Chocolate Cake, huh? Hmm,I have umpteen choices in that one thing. Which one do I bake? Which one is my all time favourite? Which recipe  needs another try? Whose recipe should I try? Cookbook recipes or family recipes? Yes! Family recipe, it is!

Mini Aunty,Tia's mother,is one of my most favourite aunts! She is a fantastic cook! I love her cakes, savory pies,manga pacchadi,moru curry,meen curry,cheemmen fry ,beef olathiyathu and oh! how could I forget her paper thin ghee dosa's and thenga chammanthi! She made me a Dosa convert!

She is Amma's brother's wife and all their kids and we were of the similar age,so we all got along very very well! Infact all our vacations were spent together, we still do if we get a chance. This time, in September, right after her daughter's wedding,we went to visit Jobin's sister in Kashmir. That way, I'm so happy to have spent some quality time with her, after one and a half years!

While I was studying in college, they lived in Bangalore for almost 3 years and I lived with them even though I was paying rent elsewhere :-) The power of lovely people and yummy food attracted me to their house. Mini aunty used to bake cakes once in a while and her chocolate cakes were really tasty. I got this recipe from her, long ago and she is very generous in sharing recipes, unlike a lot of other people who I personally know of! :-)

Mini Aunty's Chocolate Cake 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c butter, at room temperature
1 c warm milk
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla


Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and line a loaf tin.

Sieve flour, salt and baking soda together. Reserve.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 c warm milk with 4 tbsp cocoa.
In another big bowl, on high, beat together butter and sugar for a minute. Add the eggs and beat till light and fluffy.Add flour and 1/2 c milk alternately and beat until fluffy. Add the cocoa-milk mixture and vanilla and beat for a minute. Pour into the tin and bake for 45-50 mins or till done.

Enjoy!

So I'm finally back baking with our baking group : A Sweet Punch. I have been away for a long time now and I hope this cake bring me back to baking with the group regularly.

This is just a good old cocoa cake. I love it and infact I really think you all should try it sometime as it is going to be your favourite too! You can slice it horizonatlly into 2 or 3 and then sandwich it with some yummy chocolate fudge frosting and then cover it with some more. Sprinkle some sprinkles and then stick a candle or two to make it into a birthday cake! :-) Plus, if you are looking to give something exciting for your lil one this season, maybe you could take a look at these kids kitchen play sets!

COFFEE- CHOCOLATE TRIANGLE CAKE...for an 18th BIRTHDAY!

It's my little brother's birthday and he turned 18 today. He's grown up so much from the last time I saw him. He is 6'3" now but is still the same soft hearted little boy we know. He still irritates me the same way every time I bake a cake or every time he wants me to bake a pizza for him. I was doing the swirls on his birthday cake very calmly and there he comes asking for a big piece of the cake. I told him 'NO!, you can't today!' and he goes,'I want that cake today and not tomorrow, so give it to me!'. Argh! That irritating little brother! ;) He even warned me that he will be attacking the cake while I am fast asleep dreaming of all things possible. That ended my hope of sleeping peacefully last night :-D

Oh yes, in our house we all know what cake we are getting for our birthdays because we cannot hide it from each other as we have just one fridge which is raided by all of us for some goodies or the other every now and then!
This is a technique I've been waiting to try from atleast 13-14 years now and today was that day! It's a very very simple technique and I'm up for these things anytime! You would have seen that in my Checkerboard Cake  & Honeycomb Cake . Call me crazy but I love standing near the cake analyzing how to slice it so that I can get the design I have in mind. You will find me walking around the cake, bending down to get it to eye level, standing up scratching my head...as if it's an experiment. Oh yes! all these are my little experiments :)

I saw this cake many many moons ago for the first time in my favourite little town called Panjim, Goa. It was in my dream store called 'Pastry Cottage'. Me and my cousin,Tia, the newly-wed now, went there together and I was in a complete paradise. I must have stood there and gazed at all the different varieties it had to offer and the one thing which caught my complete attention was the 'Chocolate Pyramid' cake. I stood there and wondered how on earth did the baker manage to get those vertical stripes when Amma make horizontal ones.

I got out of the store with a vision in my mind...If I ever open up a Cake shop, this is how it would be. Really, it was my wonderland. I wanted to go there this time when we went to Goa but we were so hard pressed for time with all the wedding preparations, rehearsals and above all, meeting all my family on Amma's side. We all stayed at the Panjim Inn and had a gala time. We are quite large with 75 members and still counting so you can imagine what fun it would have been to get together and stay under the same roof. I pity the neighbours! ;-)

The beautiful crockery you see in the photographs are my Grandmother's .Appan came up with this brilliant idea of searching through her crockery collection to match the cake for today :-) She has this amazing collection of the best crockery possible and this is just 1/5th of it. I inherited her craze for crockery and cooking :-) The one you see above is handpainted and Made in England and they were bought by her in late 60's early 70's.There are plenty more in her collection and some of them are so exquisite that we can never find such pieces now.I'm sure she would have been gleaming if she was alive to see this here. I bet she is the one who is pushing me into all these things that lead me to winning the title,'Pachakarani '. Even Amma believes the same :)

This cake was made in a jiffy with a sponge cake & a ganache recipe which is engraved on my brain. Wake me up at whatever time of the night  you want and ask me to bake a cake for you, I'll bake you this one :-) I must have baked this sponge some 100 times and it's worked for me always! Just make sure you beat the batter on high continuously for 12 mins...no breaks for phone calls please ;-)Let me not try and explain and then confuse you with the how-to for the 'triangular' part of the cake. I learnt this by reading a lot of material from the library all this while and finally found a link online which will make things a LOT easier for you :) I should have checked for it online instead of all the work I made my brain do :-)

COFFEE - CHOCOLATE TRIANGLE CAKE
You will need:
1 large Coffee sponge cake (Recipe source  -Amma)
1 large portion of Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
For the Coffee sponge cake:
6 large eggs
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour/maida
2 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 tsp instant coffee powder

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180C .
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar on high for 12 minutes resulting in a very thick mousse like batter. Sift the dry ingredients over it and fold it in.
Pour the batter into a prepared rectangular cake tin and bake for 30-35 mins or till the skewer inserted comes out clean. Let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then flip it over onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Once cooled, cut the cake into half horizontally and then into 3 which will give you 6 small rectangular pieces of cake.

Ingredients
For the Chocolate Ganache:
250 ml fresh cream/heavy whipping cream
250 g dark chocolate

Method:
Chop the chocolate into equal sized pieces and reserve them in a heatproof bowl.
Bring the cream to a boil and then pour it over the chocolate pieces. Let stand for 3-4 mins.
Stir till you get a nice chocolate-y cream. You can chill it for 15-20 mins to get a thicker consistency which is what I prefer.

Verdict: This cake was superb! I know it's just a plain coffee sponge and a good ganache, but it was really really good. That's because the cake layers were super thin and every layer was sandwiched with a thick layer of ganache which resulted in the melt-in-your-mouth texture. I will not recommend soaking the layers for this kind of a cake because it will be super messy to cut to form a triangle. Therefore use a cake which is not dry.

We loved it! Appan said,'This cake is awesome!How did you make it so good?'. Amma asked for a second piece and knowing the cake-hater that she is, it sure must have been good. Ritchie, the birthday boy, a man of very few words stood there and gobbled up 2 pieces in a row. I had my share of this cake after the photo session was over and Ritchie found me smiling and he asked me why :-) The entire cake was cut and devoured in less than 20 mins!

I'm pleased with the photographs here because none of them were edited! :-)

CHOCOLATE - the star!

For me, Chocolate is the star ingredient in Desserts. How about you? Even though I'm not a Chocoholic, I'd love to have a full slab of Cadbury's Dairy Milk all by myself. Whenever we got any 'foreign' chocolates, it was my job to divide it equally amongst the four of us. My brother, Ritchie would eat his share as fast as possible because he doesn't know to chew but to gobble. Later, he would come and try to get a good portion out of my little share of chocolates. In the beginning, I would fight with him, later I give in :-) Off late, we have been having some bars of Chocolate that our Uncle got for us. Amma saved some for me so that I could have it while I come to India for my holiday, which is what I'm enjoying now much more than that saved bar of Chocolate :-)

To see all my Chocolate Recipes, go here !

GIVEAWAY : FROM ME TO YOU -3

Where did July go?! Do you all feel time flies fast these days or is it just me and Amma? Remember our school days when we longed for the Summer holidays to arrive? It would take forever!Now, it's just the opposite! Well, the last month was quite a busy one for me with the packing and re-packing and then flying half  way across the globe to come to my nest :-)

I am enjoying every bit here. So while I get busy conducting the Let's Bake  (baking class) , let me give you all a chance to win some awesome CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES . These cookies will be baked by me and will be sent to any Indian address! Just in case you live in another country but know of someone who would love to get some cookies in their mailbox, leave a comment for a chance to win! I'll be picking up a winner on 31 August :-)

The winner for the last month's giveaway CINNAMON ROLLS  is Divya Kudua. Congratulations!!! Please send me your postal addy to airmathew AT gmail DOT com and the rolls will be on it's way!! :)

A CAKE FOR A BABY SHOWER

Iam mighty pleased with what I have done with this cake.This cake kept me awake for many nights and finally now that I am done with it, I can sleep in peace. Zzzzzz (not really!).This is for a couple here in Minneapolis and everything was left upto me to decide. All they wanted was a chocolate cake with a chocolate frosting. So after a few days of brainstorming session with Jobin & myself, I was able to decide how I wanted the cake to look like in the end.

So what do you guys think about my cake? I really don't think my heart can bear to see that being cut :-)
And for your kind information, I'm not a Wilton Cake Decoration class product :-)

My blog is loading very slow for the past 2 weeks and that's why you are not able to see the comment section. Can I request you guys to please wait for the blog to load completely so that you can tell me how you like this cake? Pretty please? Thanks so much! I am working on getting it back to normal soon!

A reminder: I am giving away some cookies, so don't forget to claim it!

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Hmmm...what shall I begin this post with? Sometimes I feel I should have blogged anonymously and never let go of my identity here. I'm not a secretive person at all hence you know a lot of stuff about me including my real name and how I look to the colour I like the most and what keeps me up dreaming all night!

Now, the situation is if I want to write my heart out here...I cannot. That's because my entire family including my extended family and their relatives and their neighbours and my neighbours and all their friends and family reads this...reads whatever I write here. When people meet me at parties, they identify me saying 'Hey, you are that Ria of Ria's Collection!'.They discuss with me the things that I have written over this space. It is indeed a proud moment for me and I will never deny that fact! Infact my cousin Tia was telling me that she introduced my blog to her neighbour and whenever her neighbour meets her, she tells Tia that she is addicted to my blog and that she even browses my blog randomly before going to sleep! Now that is something...I mean if my blog is becoming a bed-time story book it does mean something to me. I have some cookbooks piled up on the floor next to my bed and I browse through it before I sleep...just simply flip through, see the photographs and get the idea of how things are done and how people manage to keep their spirits up even when the most beautiful thing turns into a disaster and how many pounds of butter goes into one small piece of cake etc.

I consider that to be a book's success. I am not sure how many of you think that way.So I am very happy if my blog is becoming a bed time story book! :) At the same time, everyone knows about what I think, what I do. It's part of being out in the public.I know it but I never knew what I was getting into when I got into this whole thing called blogging! So I don't know if people can tell me, 'You should've known!'.

There have been days when I wondered that I should just quit and stop everything. Yes, stop blogging. Stop dreaming about food. Stop thinking about food. Stop taking pictures of what I cook. Stop blogging, completely. If you noticed, I never said, stop cooking . That's not possible because I have to feed the two of us and it's me who has to do that.

Now, after writing all this, I feel I should just delete everything I just wrote but no, I won't do that. That's the problem with me.I don't like to delete and type sentences because it wouldn't be the way it comes from my heart...it would be my brain's work then :) I admire people who think with their brains first simply because I can never do that!

Okay,now that's enough of rambling for the day. So by now you all know that I have a sweet little brother and that he scored some awesome marks for his 12th board exams!He joined college today and he is leaving home. I was sad when I spoke to him because all my life when I think of him,I know he is at home...walking the way he walks ...swaying his arms and never smiling (especially when he sees me) even though he has a great smile ;-) Now he won't be at home but away in a hostel. Anyhow, he is joining college and I wanted to bake him his favourite Chocolate Cupcakes that he used to ask me to bake  after I once baked it for him long long ago...almost 14 years ago. I found this recipe on Hindu (newspaper) and didn't know it would be this good. I was just 12 years old then so I cut that part out and stuck it onto Amma's recipe Diary and she still has that copy! When I grew up, I wrote it down in my own Diary . I don't know how he remembers it as he was just a 4 yr old but he used to ask me always 'to make those chocolate cupcakes' which I never did...until 2 days ago. So this is for you Ritchie Kutta, have a fun time in College! Study hard and not hardly ;-)

RITCHIE'S FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
250 g all purpose flour
350g sugar
375 ml yogurt
75 g cocoa powder
100 g unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:
Pre heat the oven to 180C/350F. Line 2 regular sized (not mini)cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In a bowl,beat all the ingredients together on medium-high speed for 2 mins. Pour 1/4 c of the batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 30 mins or till a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Verdict: Delicious soft chocolate cupcakes which are super easy to make and please :-) I don't think there are many recipes which can give you 24 cupcakes with just 100g of butter! Isn't this recipe a winner??

He always asks me 'Did you try out anything new?' whenever we speak over the phone and I list out all what I tried and he just asks 'Hmm,Nallatha (did it taste good)?'. I know he misses my experiments at home( inspite all the wonderful goodies Amma makes ) which he used to gobble up once he gets back from school...Amma confirms it :-) So this time when I am home, I am baking this for him :-)
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The giveaway is extended till Monday as some of you wrote to me saying there is a problem commenting on my blog. Till then, go through the wonderful stories you all came up with! It's hilarious!


Happy Friday guys!

RE-VISITING CHOCOLATE BISCUIT PUDDING

Isomehow just cannot get enough of this pudding. This has been one of my firm favourites due to ease and taste. It's not that I have't blogged about it, it's just that I have improved in photography over the years and I wanted to give this pudding a better look and share it with you all so that this deliciousness wouldn't go unnoticed! It needs attention :-) I have plenty of time in my hands when it comes to dessert and I want it to look as pretty as it can even if I am standing on one leg in my messy kitchen :-)

This recipe comes from my Aunt Beeji. She is my dad's cousin and I remember asking her for some recipes a  long time ago, easily 10 years ago. She said she has this yummy biscuit pudding recipe which she shall send me once she gets back home, which she did. I love recieveing letters especially in this world of everything electronic.There's something about fresh ink and paper, it's so personal, so touching that makes you want to treasure it.

I still have that copy she sent me. She sent me some fabulous icing recipes too, along with it. I have used her 'Fudge Frosting' recipe on my Mahogany Cake and it is a winner. You need to work fast with that icing because it might dry out otherwise and be a bit crackly.

So here's is the recipe (once again!) for my favourite easy pudding as I celebrate the success of my little blog having 600,000 hits!

MY FAVOURITE CHOCOLATE BISCUIT PUDDING
Recipe source: Beeji Aunty
Serves 6-8 depending on the size of your dish.

Ingredients:
200g Marie biscuits,crushed
100gSalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 c milk
1 c sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp Vanilla/Rum

1 c heavy cream, whipped

Method:
Mix together crushed biscuits and butter till they are soft and sand-like. Spoon in half of it into wine glasses and press it with a spoon and level it.Reserve the remaining biscuit crumbs aside.
Make a thick sauce by boiling together milk,sugar, cocoa powder & cornflour.Whisk constantly to obtain a smooth sauce .When cooled, add vanilla/rum. Divide this among the wine glasses.
Top it with the remaining biscuit crumbs and then put a blob or two of whipped cream in each glass.
Let it set in the fridge for 4 hours. Serve cold.
You can decorate with a cube/square of chocolate like I did :-)

Verdict: I can eat this for brekky, lunch, tea time and dinner! I love this pudding so much that I convinced Amma to add it to her 'Cookery Class Menu'. There is nothing to go wrong with this recipe, so it's simply fool proof! Go ahead and try it for yourself and if you do, please let me know how you liked it :-)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I made his childhood favourite, Lamingtons as his 1st cake for the day. The 2nd cake for the day will follow :)

For the recipe,click here

YEASTED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE...as we host the DB this month!

Yes, you read it right. Jamie and myself hosted the Daring Baker's Challenge for the month of March 2011. It was a fun ride all the way (for almost a year! )discussing recipes,calling up each other across continents and worrying about how we are going to finalise on everything when we wanted to do something with an Indian-American twist and put up the recipe on the forum. I think we worried much more than what was needed as it was not that difficult. Lis and Ivonne , the backbone of this baking group made everything seem like a dream! When you have the best people to work with, you don't have to worry about anything! Simple! :)

This month's challenge was a 'Yeasted Coffee Cake' with a meringue filling which almost melts into the bread and makes it a very moist treat! It was really delicious and you can use it with a filling of your choice. I went ahead creating an Indian twist using 'Garam Masala' and Chocolate for the filling and I am so glad I did it because it is a deadly combo...we loved it! I also added a pinch of saffron to the dough which lends the dough a nice pale yellow colour and amazing fragrance!


The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

YEASTED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE 
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter.The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake

Ingredients
For the yeast coffee cake dough:

4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature

10 strands saffron 

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar

For the filling:

1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips ( I used Ghirardelli)

Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

Method:

Prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted.Add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.

With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.

Place the dough in a lightly greased (I use vegetable oil) bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.

Prepare your filling:In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.

Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:

In a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assemble the Coffee Cakes:

Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper

Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).

Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.

Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.

Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.

Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Brush the tops of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Verdict: Will I sound partial if I said this is one of my fave DB challenges so far? :) It is, really! The dough is silky smooth to work with and the filling complements it very well.  I can see myself using this dough with a savoury filling in the future.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES...for the cookie monster

' I don't drown my sorrows; I suffocate them with Chocolate Chip Cookies. '

~Author Unknown~

Iam a cookie monster, yes, I really am! I love cookies,especially Chocolate Chip Cookies. Not those that you get in the packaged form, but the freshly baked ones. The ones which have a soft centre and caramelised edges. The ones that have melted chocolate chips inside. The ones that are so good that you can eat a bagful in one go! These cookies are exactly all that I just described above.

There's a cookie shop in the Skyway close to our apartment. I've tried their cookies once and that was when I went Christmas Shopping for Jobin , a few hours before we took off to Virginia to celebrate Christmas .I knew I would be late and he would be home by the time I got home with the gift and he would see it in my hands...but I had no choice, so I bought a cookie & munched on it while I shopped .

When I reached home, I tried to open the door as quietly as possible but he was right there...as in right there...standing there right opposite to where I was standing! I put on the best acting suit that I had and pushed the gift into the closet and closed the door.He smiled a very broad smile and acted as if nothing happened. Later he asked me where I had been all this while. I told him that I just went for a walk in the Skyway (and he knows how much I hate to walk!) and ate a cookie. He smiled even more this time and said,' You walked all the way for a cookie? Someone went to buy me a gift!!'. Uh-oh! He knew it! Ummm...it's okay...it was obvious! I couldn't help it :-)

Since then that Cookie Shop fascinated me and I wanted to bake those cookies at home.Therefore the hunt was on and almost after a month, I found these cookies and didn't let them go. I tried it and was very pleased with the results. No more Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe hunt for me :) If you like the slice and bake types, you can try my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie...those were really good too!

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Recipe Source: Alice from Sweet Savoury Life
(I halved the recipe and got 9 large and 9 medium sized cookies)

Ingredients:
1 c unsalted butter
1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 c (12 oz) all purpose flour. Please weigh if possible.
1/2 tsp table salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 360 F and line 2 cookie sheets.

Cream the butter and sugar on medium high (for Kitchen Aid) or high (for hand held mixer) for 3 mins.
Add both the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 mins.
Add the dry ingredients and beat well to incorporate.
Add the chocolate chips and mix till well distributed.
The cookie batter should be somewhat thick, that is, you can shape it with you fingers easily.
Drop about 2 tbsp of cookie dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet with 1.5" gap between each .
Bake for 12-14 mins until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let the cookies be on the sheet for 2 mins. After that transfer them to a cooling rack to cool.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

Verdict: I think everyone should give this recipe a try, it's really good. The brown sugar plays an important role in the taste and texture of this cookie. As I said before, this cookie has a soft centre and caramelised edges which makes you want one more, everytime!

Just wanted to tell you guys how happy I am with my Christmas Gift, my camera, that I have not been editing photos at all! Is it just the camera or is it me taking better photographs? Whatever it maybe, I'm happy :) Happy Friday!

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BROWNIES

Thank you all so much for your precious comments on my Interview in Women's Era Jan 2011. You guys rock!! Now let me get my feet firm back on the ground! :-) It still feel so surreal! Anyhow, I baked a batch of brownies  before 'the' news broke but I wanted to share that  with you more than the baked goodie, so the brownie post had to wait.
There's something with me and brownies. I just cannot let go off a single recipe! I read through it and try to compare to what I have made before. And I bake a batch of 'em. This happens all the time including this time :-) Jobin doesn't seem to get fed up with it, so it's kind of OK with me baking brownies every now and then. This one is again from Alice's new book and is definately a delicious one.I just realised that I should tell you about my 'certain' food problems.

Whenever something (obviously food!) catches my fancy,I have to make it at home,whatever it may take and however long I have to wait! Initially it was the Joconde Imprime on the Chocolate Mousse Cake I found in Bangalore then it was Brownies and now I have many many more to add to my list and all of them are WIP (Work In Progress). I hunted for the perfect homemade brownie and made an American Brownie using my friend's mom's recipe.But now, my taste has definately refined over the years and I am looking for much more intense flavoured, chocolate-y stuff. Of course, I have my go-to recipe for a good brownie...but I still love that anxiety,that excitement, that wonder, the pressure of getting the crackly crust and the perfect texture inside it. That makes me go on and on baking brownies one after another!

Now, I have laid my eyes on a few things which I really want to try at home and someday I will. Till then, let me leave you with yet another intensely chocolate-y brownie recipe :)

CHOCOLATE ALMOND BROWNIES
Recipe:Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich. Pg 225


Ingredients:
4 tbsp unsalted butter
11 oz (approx.300g) chocolate chips
2/3 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 large eggs,cold
1/3 c plus 1 tbsp  unbleached all purpose flour
1 c almonds

Method:
Line an 8-inch square tin, the bottom and all 4 sides with foil.
Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F and position the rack in the middle.

Melt the chocolate and butter together, till smooth.
Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla, if using.
Add 1 egg, stirring until it is incorporated. Repeat with the second egg.
Stir in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon or spatula until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the bowl; it is critical that the batter pulls away, so do not stop mixing until it does.
Pour into the baking tin,spread it evenly but with lots of raised swirls and ridges and top with almonds.
Bake for 30-35 mins, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs, not totally gooey.
Cool on rack, lift the foil ends to transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares.

Verdict: Just like any other Alice's recipe, this one is equally good. It has a deep chocolate-y taste and the crunch provided by the almonds add to the delicious-ness! Gosh, I really hope somebody comes up with a rule of no more new brownie recipe ever again! ;-) This is a temptation which I find hard to resist. I mean, look at those soft-bellied chocolate squares...how can you just take your eyes off them ??