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!

LINZER HEART COOKIES & A FRENCH CONNECTION!

You must be wondering what exactly I meant by 'French Connection'. No, I am not talking about the movie, nor the big retail chain. But I am talking about my very sweet friend Jamie who live in Nantes, France.She is this perfect mix of the perfect wife, mother, blogger and a friend. For me, she is that 'friend' who fulfils the proverb 'A friend in need is a friend indeed.'

I tweeted  out to Jamie few months ago, to help me feed my hungry blog during my wedding days as I didn't have the heart to starve my dear bloggie. And she accepted it without thinking twice! Isn't she the best! Mwwwaahhhh!! And have a look at those perfect treats that she baked for me!

And let me warn you, she writes really well! So do not blame me if you get hooked onto her writing skills! ;)

LINZER HEART COOKIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY


RIA’S BIG ADVENTURE

LOVE & MARRIAGE
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary
Try, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusion
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one without the other

- Sammy Cahn & Jimmy Van Heusen

VALENTINE’S DAY AND A WEDDING

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Our hearts go pitter pat as the date approaches, florist shops fill up with lush red roses, heart-shaped chocolates tucked into delicate, pale tissue paper or tumbling out of boxes tied up in plump pink ribbon are displayed in every candy shop window and showcases of jewelry of gold and silver, diamonds and rubies, both elegant and gaudy, invite us to dream. Visions of chubby cherubim and putti, Cupid gently taking aim with his bow and arrow, the promise of romance and snuggling up with the one you love all are part and parcel of the magic that we call Valentine’s Day.


The month of February, cold and harsh, a blanket of white if we are so lucky, a breath of spring occasionally whispering in our ear, stuck unforgivingly somewhere between the rousing, festive end-of-the-year holiday season and the warming, welcoming arms of spring. February, rarely one’s favorite month, finds us impatient for the winter to end, dreaming of summer vacations in the sun, and escape. But for the romance of Valentine’s Day. So we strap on ours skis or snuggle down under blankets, our hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa or we dream of our knight in shining armor as we stir flour into sugar, rub in butter and scent with vanilla and cinnamon and wait for Valentine’s Day. For most of us, Winter respite comes in the form of a heart, that sentimental keepsake, that unlooked for display of affection, candlelight and a glass of champagne warming us up halfway through this otherwise cold, snowbound month.

And then some of us, the lucky ones, get married. Married in the month of February. How romantic is that? Like celebrating Valentine’s Day all month long, like having a special Valentine’s Day all to yourself. My darling friend Ria, far off in exotic India, has been stitching wedding favors, planning menus, putting together her trousseau and fitting the wedding dress of her dreams all in preparation for her February wedding. Darling Ria turned to me for a guest post and how could I refuse? Love and marriage and Valentine’s Day are food for a romantic like me, sentimental fool that I am, stirring up emotions and memories of my own special day so many years ago, a day followed by so many candlelit dinners, so many gifts slid across white tablecloths or placed in the palm of my hand, so many boxes tied up in satin ribbon, so many celebratory bottles of champagne, so many romantic getaways for two. And a near-perfect marriage (no marriage is perfect, my dear) is like the perfect Valentine’s Day: romance blended with joy and laughter, a mad mingling of serenity and excitement, the fusion of the exchange of serious sentiments and a wild burst of frivolity. It is a union of anticipation, worry and joy, hope and dreams.


Ria, I pulled out my years old, battered notebook, dug around until I found the perfect recipe, the perfect treat for this special day in your life. The page is torn and stained, the words beginning to fade, but this is the most romantic of treats that I have chosen for you. The perfect cookie, delicate and tender, a white, white heart, white as the snowy month of February, white as the pureness of love, a sweet, meltingly sweet cookie with a heart as red as love, as red as the passion of lovers, bursting forth on the tongue in a flood of tangy, fruity flavor, the flavor of cherries, deep and mysterious, as mysterious and flavorful as that wonderland we call married life. [ I SO LOVE YOU FOR THIS JAMIE! HUGS!!!!!]


A cookie, like marriage, is a mix of the choicest of ingredients in the perfect blend of just the right quantities: sweet, creamy butter, lots of butter to create something rich and smooth; sugar, powdery and fine, as ephemeral as fairy dust, gliding through your fingers, adding sweetness in just the right balance, in perfect harmony with the earthiness of the nuts; flour and cornstarch, both sturdy yet light, airy yet strong, something basic, clean and pure to bind all the other ingredients together in a perfect harmony, a necessary cohesion of flavor and texture until something beautiful is created, a delicacy to be handled with care so that it doesn’t break, something to be savored on its own yet enhanced by the stunning, passionate surprise of the cherry red preserves, that one exciting, secret ingredient holding all of the rest together. Share it, enjoy it, savor it.

A marriage will warm up the most blustery of Februaries. It will thaw the coldest of hearts as well as a blazing fire and a steaming mug of grog, as sure as a stunning young bride in all the glow of her love. Enjoy, Ria, and I wish you all the best!


LINZER HEART COOKIES

¾ lb/3 sticks (345 g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (125 g) powdered/confectioner’s sugar
1 egg
2 cups (250 g) flour
1 cup (120 g) cornstarch
3 oz (80 g) finely ground nuts (almond, hazelnut or walnut)
Cherry preserves (Red raspberry is the classic filling)
Powdered/confectioner’s sugar for dusting cookies (about ½ cup/ 65 g)


Cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat just until blended.

Sift together the flour and the cornstarch then add it to the butter/sugar/egg mixture beating in as much as you can with the electric mixer then stirring and folding in the rest by hand until homogenous and it pulls together into a dough.

Working quickly (the butter is melting as we speak!), scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead just until you have a smooth dough. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.


Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C).

Cut the ball of dough in half and wrap back up one half and stick back in the fridge to keep chilled. This dough gets very soft and sticky as it warms to room temperature. Roll the half you have kept out on a floured to a thickness of 1/8 to ¼” (don’t forget you will be sandwiching the cookies so it will double the thickness). Using heart-shaped cookie cutters of any size, cut out pairs of hearts. Place them side by side and, using either a tiny heart-shaped cutter or a round cutter (for the small hearts I used the small end of a pastry tip) cut out a center hole from ONE of each pair of cookies (this will be the top of the sandwich). Gently lift and place the cut out shapes on an ungreased baking/cookie sheet.

The center hearts will make tiny little individual cookies to pop into your mouth.

 [ I LOVE THIS PICTURE! ]

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until firm and just barely golden brown (lift one up and the bottom should be starting to brown). Remove from the oven, allow to cool a bit on the baking sheet until firm enough to lift and transfer onto cooling racks.

Repeat with the remaining dough.

Pair up the hearts with one solid bottom and one top with a hole cut out. Spread a dollop of cherry preserves on the bottom cookie of each pair. Place all of the top cookies on a rack on top of a plate or a piece of aluminum foil and very generously dust with a thick coating of powdered sugar. Top each bottom cookie with the preserves with a sugared top and press very, very gently so as not to break the cookies.


Now, now! I must admit I have never seen a Linzer cookie as pretty as this! And what a way to celebrate V-Day! Jamie, your JP is SUPER lucky to have you! :)

Thank you so much for this BIG help for me. And the saying 'actions speak louder than words' did come true in our case! Hugs!

It's tart time! ♥Buttery Jam Tarts♥

Jam tarts and my brother are the best friends! He can gobble up the whole batch in just one go...like how he did this morning :) I remeber baking a separate batch for him otherwise I would be left with just 1 or 2 to carry with me back to the hostel :P This has been an all time favourite with our family. Roshini, my cuz ♥ who is here with me for a week now wanted to learn to bake these jam beauties. And I am never hesitant to help someone with baking :P! And what you see here now is our effort ( LOL! it was a breeze making it actually) :)

These will melt in your mouth and they are so simple n easy to prepare. It hardly takes 20 mins right from preparation-cooking-eating time :)

And I have something very happy to announce today! This is my last day at work! Woo hoo!! So Ria will be an unemployed blogger from now on! :)♥♥

♥Jam Tarts♥

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Flour-115g

Butter-60g [chilled ]

Baking powder-1/2tsp

Water-4-5 drops

Jam

Method:

• Mix flour and baking powder together.
• Add the butter and rub it with your fingertips till it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Line the tart tins and fill 2/3 of the tart with jam. ( I divide the dough into 12, and spread in each tart tin separately by rotating the tin and spreading the dough at the same time)
• Bake at 180 degress for 15 mins or till done.
• De-mould when cooled (be careful, the hot molten jam with fall out on your hands otherwise! I had done it once! OUCH! )

If you are a jam-treat ♥ lover like me...be prepared to fall in love with these :) They are delicious to the last bite! Nom nom nom! :)

Happy weekend everybody!! It's the best weekend ever for me :) Just kidding! Love my work but had to re-sign so that I can start SHOPPING for my♥ wedding♥ which is on ♥15 Feb 2010 ♥

Cheesy affair - Cheese Straws

Have you heard/seen a nut who travelled for almost 600 kms with her swollen ankle ?? No??You are reading her blog then!!! :P I actually cancelled my plans due to my heavily swollen ankle ( I just couldn't walk a step) BUT I'm crazy about travelling & so when my cousins came home on their way to Alleppy, I joined them!! :) Must admit it was very hectic!! 2 days and 600 kms car journey ( with 3 boys in a jam packed Mercedes!!) Nevertheless it was awesome...as it included a relaxing house boat trip!!! More of it in the next post!! :)

When I got back yesterday, I checked my mails and my blogger. Felt kinda lazy to get back into full swing blogging...not because of not having anything to blog about BUT because of my crazy keyboard!! The 'w' 's' & 'spacebar' does not work!! So everytime I need to copypaste the alphabets from a word document and almost kick my space bar to work!! PHEW!!! It's very tiring!!

But when Divya Kudua scrapped me on orkut saying "Hey Ria..I am having a big smile on my face after reading Jobin's testimonial for you.I guess you two are hopelessly in love isn't it..:)??Good good.Btw..how was your Ekm trip..??No updates in Blogger and Twitter..??You are missed baby..:) " I realised I really need to get my laziness outta me!! And here I am!!! :) Thanks Divya!! :)

Today I am going to a talk about a melt-in-mouth goodie!! Yes! Cheese straws!! :) It might not look like straws but that's the size the recipe called for! :) This recipe will give you an amazing highly guilt-loaded result!! :D It's soooo cheesy!! :) It's real crisp and can beat any store bought cheese straws!!

Cheese Straws
Recipe adapted from 'The Cookery Year' by Reader's Digest

4 oz cheese pastry* (recipe follows)

Roll out the prepared pastry as thin as possible to a rectangle. Trim the edges evenly and then cut into strips, 1/4 inch wide and 2 inch long using a floured knife blade. Set the straws on a greased baking tray and bake just above the centre of a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them to cool in another plate ( wire rack was suggested but because they are small it will fall down through the space in between the rack)

*Cheese pastry
Ingredients:
4 oz plain flour
Salt & cayenne pepper (I used Red Chilli powder)
2 oz butter or margarine(I used salted butter)
2 oz Cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp cold water

Method:

• Sift the flour, a pinch of salt and a shake of cayenne into a wide bowl. Cut the fat & rub it into the flour with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
•  Blend in the grated cheese & stir in egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp of water to ensure even distribution. Add more water to give a stiff dough.
  
• Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface and chill for 20 minutes.
  
• Dust your work surface with some flour and roll out the dough into 1/8" thickness. Cut them into 2" x 1" strips.
•  Bake them on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 mins or till golden brown. Store it in air-tight tins.
  

Verdict: Munching on a crunchy cheese straw is heavenly! :) It can be your perfect companion while you watch TV or as a snack for tea! :) I have been making every now and then! LOVE it!! :)

Hope you all have an awesome week ahead!!

Jam Filled Cookie - My type of cookie :)

I love jam treats!! I love jam centres! :) So when I ate this for the first time I was madly in love with it more because it had butter too!! I love the sweet and salty combo of jam + butter! :) even if its on bread ....yummmm!!!!

I was 'hit' by fever last week and so I couldn't be active enough in the kitchen :P So the minute fever left me this was what I made! It was so relaxing! Usually I don't like cut-out cookies much because they take forever to finish with BUT this was an exception &I loved every minute of it!! :) Especially when you need to fill the cookies with jam and sandwich them! Bliss!!! :)

Jam Filled Cookie

Recipe courtsey: Southern Living Cookie Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

½ cup sifted powdered sugar

2 ½ cup all purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup raspberry/strawberry/mixed fruit preserve

Method:

• Beat butter at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until light & fluffy. Add flour and vanilla, mixing well. Shape dough into a ball.
• Roll out the dough and cut out rounds, equal in nos. (You need 2 types: one solid round, another round with a smaller round in the centre i.e.; doughnut shaped)
• Pierce solid cookies with a fork. Bake at 300 deg for 20 mins on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake till very lightly browned.
• Spread jam just before serving & sandwich one solid cookie with the doughnut shaped cookie.

Try this out & get addicted!!! I have seen these sometimes on the shelves of Ann's bakery BUT I prefer mine better!! :) More buttery,fresh & definately O-So-Moreish!! I usually sandwich them with store bought Mixed Fruit Jam... love it! :)

Eggless Hazlenut & Dates Cake... and a lesson learnt!

I never had the courage to make an eggless cake before until I saw Hetal & Anuja bake one at Showmethecurry.com. I just couldn't make myself believe that they will have the same texture as the ones with the eggs. I mean ...I was taught in my Food Science classes that eggs give body to the cake! BUT this recipe proved it otherwise :)

I must also not forget to mention that I have very lil patience when it comes to waiting for the food to be cooked :D I always fiddle with it...and you are seeing one such attempt of mine :D
The cake had a lovely crumb and it has a real rich flavour of the dates, nuts and the condensed milk. It can really capture your heart! This is going into my 'collections' list :D as I know this recipe is for keeps! :)
Eggless Hazlenut & Dates cake
Recipe adapted from Showmethecurry.com and they inturn recieved it from their reader Annam.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:

Dates - 20 (5oz or 150g)
Water - approx 1/2 cup, for soaking
Walnuts - 1/4 cup (30 g), chopped ( I used Hazlenuts given to me by my sweetheart Jobin)
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14oz can (396g)
Unsalted Butter - 1 stick (4oz or 113g) [I used salted]
Baking Soda - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
All-purpose Flour - 1 1/4 cups (183 g)

Method:

1. Soak the Dates in warm water for about 30 minutes just to soften them.
2. Sift the All Purpose Flour along with the Baking Powder and the Baking Soda.
3. Press down on any lumps.
4. Make a paste of the Dates using as little water as possible either in a blender or a food processor.
5. Melt the butter so it is soft and mix it to the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda & baking powder).
6. Mix in the Dates paste and the Sweetened Condensed Milk. Mix well.
7. Fold in the Walnuts as well.
8. Spray/Grease a baking pan and pour the batter into it.
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees C/350 degrees F) for 40 minutes in the center of the oven.
10. Once done, take the cake out and allow it to stand for 5 minutes before taking it out of the pan.
11. Loosen the edges and flip the cake onto a cooling rack.
12. Serve hot or cold.

Annam’s tips:
1. Replace the dates with fruit - pineapples (sounds good)!
2. If you are planning to frost the cake, allow it to cool all the way thru.
3.When the oven door is open in-between according to the temperature some oven will need 50min to bake.
4. When too much water is added to dates while grinding,ihe cake tends to sink.

It's incredibly nutty,rich and moist! :)
It is an healthy option too since dates are a rich source of Iron & fibre.
LOL! look what I made out of that cake!! I just couldn't wait for it to cool down! I had to see the results soon!! I knew that I would spoil the shape and I knew I would regret it later... but sometimes (in my case everytime :P ) we just can't resist the urge to get it out rite! :D

So the lesson learnt is - Try and have some patience atleast when it comes to getting the cakes out of the tin! :P

Hope y'all had a great weekend!!

-Ria

Molten Lava Cake ...gooey chocolatey goodness!

I love chocolate. I love cooking with chocolate. I love melting chocolate.

If you love all of the above 3 things then this is the recipe for you :) It is so very easy and you can pull it off in 30 mins flat! This is my 2 nd attempt in making this ( the first one was so successful that I din't get a chance to click a pic! ) and I know for sure there will be a 3rd , 4th,5th... :D

I never had ramekins before...bought them when I went to Bangalore 2 weeks ago! Had to actually hunt for it because no one there seem to know the name :) So found it in Arihant Plaza next to Commercial Street :)
I always cook/bake something everyday once I'm home from work :) And my parent's think I'm crazy! It's not that I'm saying that they are crazy... I admit that I am crazy about baking/cooking! I need to spend sometime in kitchen everyday :) I don't know whether I would still like it after getting married when you have so much of other housework to do :) But as I always say 'Make Hay While The Sun Shines '
I don't have a photostudio or any good 'tubelights' at home :( We love the colour of incandescent lamps so that's what we have at home :) So whichever pic I click... it always seem to have a yellow 'unwanted' tone! And recently we bought an emergency lamp...and I got a brilliant idea! I thought I'll use it along with the other lighting :) BUT it was even worse... full of shadows! So I got another brilliant idea!!! I held it up with my left hand (mind you! It's nothing less than 2 kgs!! ) and clicked with my right hand... O! NO! marco mode + shake = blured pics!!!
But nevertheless some were okay and I felt it was worth the trouble :)And as a fee for the whole trouble I let myself indulge in this absolutely gorgeous dessert!! :)I have to be OKAY with these lights because by the time I get home from work and finish cooking... it will be night! :( And I hate waking up in the morning! :P

Molten Lava Cake

Recipe adapted from Showmethecurry.com

Ingredients:

Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate - 4 oz (113g)
Butter - 4 oz (113g)
Eggs - 2
Sugar - 1/3 cup (75 g)
All-purpose Flour - 1/4 cup (40g)
Butter - for greasing ramekins

Method:

1. In a double boiler, melt chocolate.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, beat Eggs and Sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove pan from heat and add in butter. Mix until the butter melts fully.
4. Add chocolate/butter mixture into the eggs, add all-purpose flour and mix until well incorporated.
5. Butter bottom and sides of ramekins (small glass/porcelainbowls) and pour in mixture about 3/4 way full.
6. Place ramekins on a baking tray and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 C) for 10 - 15 minutes. Shorter for gooey (molten) inside, longer for stiff inside.
7. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

All I have to say is you will fall in love with this if you ever happen to make it :) It's so gooey inside and an absolute chocolate lover's delight!! :) So try and experience it for yourself :)

I am sending this post as an entry to the CLICK event hosted by Jai & Bee

Happy Friday!!!

-Ria