SPECULOOS CHOCOLATE FUDGE MERINGUE CAKE as we turn 3!

Valentine's Day is usually a quiet day here because we are eagerly waiting for February 15,our Wedding Anniversary. Even though we got engaged on February 14,we still prefer keeping the excitement all inside for the Big Day! Nevertheless,I made some lacy heart pancakes and  Kalakand for him yesterday,the latter being a pending request from him for almost a year now :-)

I cannot come in terms with the fact that it's been 3 years now,since we got married. And yes, we are blessed with a little boy who is sharing the happiness this year with us. Shhh...I think he has a humongous sweet tooth...he may have taken after his Amma.

Have you ever tasted Biscoff / Speculoos? If you haven't, you are missing out on some yummy things in life. I  have been hooked onto it ever since I tasted Biscoff cookies they serve on Delta,a few years ago. It changed my life. I am hooked onto those mildly spiced cookies. So imagine a spread which tastes exactly like that? Move over, Nutella!

This cake was like a jigsaw puzzle,to me. I pulled in and matched up a lot of flavours and finally built our Meringue Cake. I love how delicate it looks. It had super light Meringue layers ( recipe from here) with  Speculoos -Cream Cheese frosting ( recipe from here )& Chocolate Fudge Sauce (recipe from my friend Kamran's food blog) in between each  layer. Finally ,it was garnished with some extra meringue bits on top which were dusted with cocoa just before serving. It was seriously YUM!

SPECULOOS CHOCOLATE FUDGE MERINGUE CAKE

Ingredients:
Chocolate Meringue Cake
6 large egg whites
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 c granulated sugar
3 tablespoon cocoa powder

Method:Pre-heat the oven to 200F and line a baking sheet.
Beat together egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy.Stream in the sugar beat till peak starts to form.Then add in cocoa powder and beat till stiff. Spread the meringue on the baking sheet in four 6 inch circles and bake for 3 hours. Switch off the oven and let it cool inside the oven for 1 hour.Remove and cool completely on the pan.

Speculoos- Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 c heaped Speculoos/ Biscoff spread
1 8oz pack Cream cheese
1/2 c confectioners sugar
1 tbsp milk

Method: Beat the cream cheese on high speed until soft and fluffy. Add the spread and beat on high for another minute. Add the powdered sugar and milk and beat for 2 mins until fluffy and light.

Chocolate Fudge Sauce
100 g dark chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c corn syrup
1/3 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
a pinch of salt

Method: In a medium size bowl, melt the chocolate and cocoa powder together in a microwave for 1 minute or until the chocolate melts and becomes smooth when stirred. Remove and add the corn syrup followed by cream,vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until thick.

Assembly: Place a meringue cake on a cake platter,spread some speculoos frosting over it followed by chocolate fudge sauce. Repeat until the last meringue cake is used. Decorate the top as you wish. Chill the cake for a minimum of 8 hours,before serving.

Those little eyes had lots to watch and capture yesterday. From the loud noisy Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer making the meringue to checking the oven every now and then just to see if anything is happening (even though nothing will happen ,unlike other cakes). He just couldn't resist when I set up the cake on the platter to photograph it. He was scanning me and my movements in pin drop silence because I was handling many things that he has never seen in his past 6 months of life :-)

My tiny pea was super excited to hold the knife along with us as we cut into our cake this morning.I really don't know how he knew it but he brought his other little hand as well to hold the knife better! And of course, he stared at us as we ate our cake,with his mouth wide open. When he got his share, the slice was really big for his tiny mouth so he did have some chocolate stains all around his mouth...also on his pristine white clothes!

CAFE AU LAIT POTS DE CREME

Things are cool and calm here.We are doing fine and I am super duper lazy to get back into my old full swing blogging mode.Infact,I've been cooking a lot of new stuffs but never reaches out for my camera sitting in my closet to photograph that delicious thing I just made.Why you may ask? I am in that winter hibernation mode I think,all I feel like doing is...put our baby on his floor mat,just stretch my feet out over our black ottoman,grab the brand new phone of mine and What'sapp away to glory with my wonderful,wonderful hostel friends. There's no other better way to catch up with them,at the moment.

This soft set pudding was made over the weekend when Jobin's friend from college and wife came over to  for dinner. I made it a day in advance so that one thing is ticked off my To-Cook list before our friends came in.This is such an amazing make - ahead dessert and such a crowd pleaser,especially if they are big time coffee lovers like me. I have to tell you, I love my big cup of coffee everyday. A big cuppa in the morning and a small one in the evening.

I started watching food network shows while I was pregnant and found it really lousy except for certain shows.But this time around, I find another set of shows which are interesting.I found this recipe from one such show,Melissa's Ten Dollar Dinners. I watched her make this on her show and immediately made a note in my mind to try it out as soon as I could. We,as a couple,love entertaining so I didn't have to wait long for a chance for me to try it out.

CAFE AU LAIT POTS DE CREME
Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks

Method:Preheat the oven to 325 F and prepare a water bath.
In a medium saucepan,mix together milk,cream,sugars,coffee powder,vanilla and salt. Bring to a slow boil on low heat stirring ever so often.In a medium bowl,beat together the egg and egg yolks. Drizzle in some hot milk-cream mixture to temper the yolks and then add the remaining stirring all the way. Divide the batter into four 100ml /4 oz ramekins and bake for 22 mins or until the egdes are set and the centre is still wobbly. Remove them from the water bath immediately and cool completely.

When I took a bite of this wonderfully soft set pudding,it really melted in my mouth. While I was doing so, there were a pair of tiny eyes eyeing my action. Vaava's eyes are always eyeing our mouths . I am sure he will steal and eat if we don't give him food ;-) So after seeing the way he was looking at me, I gave him some to taste. Oh boy! I should have known what I was getting into! :-) His mouth was wide open for more ...gave him another bite and his mouth was open even wider,drooling big time this time!!

A big thanks to all who have been visiting this little corner of mine on the internet! It's been a pleasure having you here :-)

UNNAKKAYI / PLANTAIN COTTON PODS

I am pretty sure most of you,Malayali's, would have seen this atleast once in their lifetime. Or am I wrong? If that's the case,you really have to try it. It really is delicious.Since I was brought up in the Malabar region of Kerala, this was a very common snack sent across by our Muslim friends and neigbours.It used to be the snack in my school friend's tiffin box.The later was slightly different from the ones I had tasted before,interms of the filling.

'Unnakkayi ' literally means 'cotton pods'. Have you seen a cotton tree with cotton pods on it? Cotton is called as 'Unnam' therefore cotton pods gets translated into Unnathinte Kaaya / Unnakkayi.

This tea time snack (for us) is always filled with grated coconut,cashewnuts,raisins sauteed in pure ghee.Like how I've mentioned before,this snack has another filling which is made of scambled eggs. Oh! wait! Before you make that funny face,let me tell you ,it's really tasty. I have eaten it many times but we cannot think of making and stuffing that filling into our plantains,so we usually stick onto the coconut one.

When I say plantains here,I am talking about the 'Ethakka'/ 'Nenthrapazham' and not the Puttu-nte pazham. I used to call the 'Ethakka' as banana and the Puttu-nte pazham as plantains until we went to America. Then the light dawned upon me!

UNNAKKAYI /  PLANTAIN COTTON PODS
My own recipe

Ingredients:
2 half ripe plantains (Nentrapazham / Ethakka)
2 tablespoon granulated sugar or as needed
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tablespoon cashew nuts,chopped
1 tablespoon golden raisins
2 teaspoon ghee
Coconut oil,for frying

Method: Cut the plantains into two,leaving the peel on and steam till cooked and fork tender.Grind them to a smooth paste without adding water.Keep it aside.
In a small pan, melt ghee and fry the nuts to golden.Add the raisins and wait till it has plumped up.Add the coconut and sugar and cook till the sugar melts.Keep aside.
Divide the plantain dough into golf ball sized balls. Smear some oil in your palms and take one such plantain ball. Fatten it and fill it with some coconut mixture.Carefully seal it by pressing the plantain mixture together.Shape them as you saw above.Repeat.
Deep fry in coconut oil. Drain excess oil and serve.

This is best served on a rainy day,like all deep fried goodies! :-)
FYI, I'm a lot more active on my Facebook page these days,where I update our day to day stuffs along with Vaava's photographs.It's much easier than blogging,no cooking involved! :-D So join the bandwagon,if you feel like it!
Happy New Year,everyone!

PASSIONFRUIT ORANGE WHOOPIE PIES

There are some fruits that I like to eat and some in the form of drinks. Passionfruit is one such fruit. I liked it only in the juice form,until I baked these chubby pies. Daisy Mummy is our unlimited supplier for passion fruit juice. It's so tasty and addictive. This time when we reached India , we visited her and she sent us home with 2 big bottles full of it. Appans sister , my Mammaie,also served me enough to fuel myself for those days we stayed in Kothamangalam .

One of the first sweet something I ate after reaching America was a whoopie pie.A pumpkin flavoured one from a mall in Virginia.I ordered it for it's name.It called out to me. Jobin bought it for me and I really liked that tiny cross between a cupcake and a cookie. The filling was so delicious that it haunted me every now and then.

Almost 3 years flew past by and now,only after coming to Kannur did I bake a batch at home.It was just too good! The texture is definately cake-y. It shoudn't become crisp like a cookie(well,then where's the difference!).The filling that I've used here is a passionfruit butter/ curd. It's very quick and easy to make. You can sandwich these and store in an airtight container and they will stay good for 3 days.I was afraid if it would get soggy,but it didn't.

So have you all soaked your fruits for the fruit cake yet? I did a while ago and the cakes are now maturing. I love visiting our friends and family this time of the year in Kerala as we are almost always served a fruitcake,to munch on. What do you generally serve your guests at this time of the year?

PASSIONFRUIT ORANGE WHOOPIE PIES
Recipe from Taste.com.au

Ingredients:
100 grams salted butter,softened
1 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoon freshly grated orange rind
1 egg
2 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk

Passionfruit butter:
2 passionfruit
50 g butter,softened
2 eggs,lightly whisked
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Orange icing:
1 1/2 c icing sugar
2-3 teaspoon orange juice

Method: Preheat oven to 180C and line 2 cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl,cream together butter,sugar,orange rind until pale and creamy.Add egg and beat until well combined. Add flour,baking soda and buttermilk in alternate batches and stir until just combined.Spoon level tablespoonful of the batter onto the cookie sheet,5 cms apart leaving room for spreading.Bake for 8-10 mins,turning the sheets halfway to ensure even baking.Bake until puffed and golden.Set aside to cool for 5 mins and then remove from the tray. Repeat with the remaining batter.

For the passionfruit butter,add all the ingredients into a small saucepan and cook on low heat for 5 mins until it boils and thickens.Transfer it to another bowl,cling wrap it and chill for 30 mins.
For the orange icing,mix together the ingredients to form a thick paste.

Sandwich the cooled whoopies with the passionfruit butter and spread some orange icing over it. Icing will set as it cools.

I cannot let go of my favourite month,December without posting atleast one recipe on my blog! That too when I baked something so simple and delicious. Jobin is here with us and we are busy travelling right now,so there won't be much activity here until next year.
Wishing you all my dear readers a very Merry Christmas!

MOIST EGGLESS VANILLA CUPCAKES

I don't usually care for the amount of eggs in a recipe I am about to try because I love eggs,especially hardboiled eggs.When I say hardboiled,it should be perfectly hardboiled.No rubber like yolks for me,please!Okay,now lets get back to the topic. Well,Kannur is not a place where you can get wonderful ingredients for baking.I know it,so Amma and myself stock up really well. But on how on earth will we know that there will be shortage of eggs,especially in a place where there are atleast 3 bakeries on a street!

Well,it happened.Kannur town was out of eggs,for almost a week and that was too long for me to wait,without baking a cake of some sort. Our house is swamped with guests these days,to see our Ian vaava. So we need something,and when I say something,it has to be homemade because Amma & I cannot think of serving  anything storebought to our guests.

The hunt for something eggless started.I found way too many recipes online but only a few grabbed my attention. When I chose this recipe,it reminded me that I had tried out the same a few years ago and found the cake to be very oily.I thought of giving it a second chance and it worked just fine.

I had some buttercream with me,from the movie star's cake,so tinted it pink and used it to decorate the perfect cupcake tops.I usually don't go for such lavish decor on my baked goods for our daily consumption but since it's for the lovely folks who are visiting us,I didn't think twice.

MOIST EGGLESS VANILLA CUPCAKES
Recipe by Nita Mehta as seen on Recipe on Click


Ingredients:
300g all purpose flour
250 ml thick plain yogurt
150-180 g granulated sugar
125 ml oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method: Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350F. Line your 12- cup cupcake tin.

In a large bowl,beat the yogurt until smooth.Add granulated sugar and beat till dissolved completely.Add baking powder,baking soda and mix to combine.Leave aside for 5 minutes or until frothy.Add oil,vanilla and beat to mix.Spoon in flour little by little and fold it into the batter.Beat with beaters for 30 secs to make the batter smooth and lump free.Pour into tins and bake for 25-30 mins or till done.Cool in the tin for 5 mins,remove and cool completely before frosting.

For the Vanilla Buttercream recipe,click here.

Ritchie loved the frosting and mentioned that he likes cupcakes with eggs better.I found these to be really moist and perfect for eggless days!

A CAKE FOR A MOVIE STAR!

The past few weeks have been excitingly busy with baking classes,cake orders,friends and family calling by & me coming up with another original recipe for a cake.So in between these, I recieved an order for a cake for the newly married movie star,Samvritha Sunil. They wanted a layered chocolate cake with Vanilla buttercream,for the chocoholic star! She celebrated her birthday a day before her wedding day,October 31st to be precise.
So that's the cake,you just saw above :-)