Tag: saffrontouch

Categories
American Cakes chocolate dessert

Bourbon Cherry Chocolate Upside-down cake

I love California, beautiful weather, amazing nature and abundant produce. Spring time is just awesome here. Wild flowers everywhere, air is crisp and there is a feeling of newness in the air. Farmer’s market starts getting more produce and as the month of May rolls around, you start seeing cherries in the market. A few types of cherries like Brooke, Rainer and more.

We love going cherry picking, so much fun to pick the beautiful ruby red fruits right off the tree. It’s very close to where we live, we go there to pick not just cherries but even peaches & corn. We go early, pick the fruit and have a picnic whenever we go. I will be doing a quick video soon to show you all how awesome it is.

May is very special because its my daughters birthday.

She is sophisticated, beautiful, smart, confident, loving, content, full of love and empathy, I must have done something right in my previous life to have such a wonderful daughter.

In fact I thank my stars everyday and count my blessing that I am a mom to two most wonderful children. Very understanding, no attitude, pure love.

Since I make an effort to cook with whats in season, I thought why not make a cake with these gorgeous cherries for my baby’s birthday. She loves chocolate, she loves fancy desserts and love cherries.

I decided to make a Cherry Upside down cake. I wanted to make something a little more decadent, sophisticated so decided to roast my cherries with the Bourbon before baking with the batter. The bourbon adds a very distinct & complex flavor to the cherries and the roasting intensifies the flavors.

I know its a pain to pit cherries one at a time so I decided to buy this from Amazon, and I love it. You can pit 6 cherries at a time, the juices don’t go all over the place and the pits also stay in place.

The cake batter is the same as my chocolate cake, I made only 1/3 of the batter since we did not want a huge cake. Cherry and chocolate is such an incredible combination, and with the addition of the whipped cream, it comes very close to the ‘Black Forest Cake’.

We loved how it turned out and it looks gorgeous too, a little less than my daughter though 🙂

Cherry upside down cake
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Bourbon Cherry Upside Down cake

Decadent chocolate cake with boozy caramelized cherries

Course cake, Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate, dark chocolate
Author Anagha

Ingredients

Ingredients

For the Cake: This batter makes three 8inch round cakes

  • 340 g Unsalted butter about 3 sticks; 340g
  • 1 1/2 cup brewed black coffee alternatively take 4 tbsp of instant coffee with hot water
  • 90 g Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 175 g Dark chocolate roughly 72%
  • 450 g light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tsp salt
  • 6 large eggs cold from the fridge
  • 3 large egg yolks cold from the fridge
  • 250 g All-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon Baking soda

Cherry topping

  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp Water
  • 6 Tbsp Butter
  • 25 Pitted Cherries

Instructions

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 375 F

  2. Line , three 8 inch round cake pan line with parchment paper

Cherry Topping

  1. Mix the cherries , sugar and butter together

  2. Pour in the bottom of the cake pan

  3. Cook for 10 min till the sugar is little caramelized

  4. Take out the pan and add the bourbon & salt

Cake

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
  2. Combine butter and coffee steel pot over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat, then mix in cocoa and chocolate, followed by brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix in eggs and yolks, then sift in flour and baking soda.
  3. Mix well till you see no dry flour spots

  4. Pour the batter in the prepared pans

  5. Bake until cakes are firm for about 30 minutes (a toothpick inserted into the center should come away with a few crumbs still attached)
  6. Cool cakes directly in their pans for 1 hour, then invert onto a wire rack, peel off parchment, and return cakes right side up.
Categories
Cakes chocolate dessert Not sure

Triple chocolate cake

I am not a chocolate person, I know I know that sounds completely absurd , who can not like chocolate etc etc. I do like to have a bite of good quality dark chocolate but not crazy about chocolate cookies, cakes, brownies etc. So I don’t end up making a lot of things unless kids want it or some guests are coming over.

So today is my very good friend’s birthday. Last year for her birthday her husband brought a really nice mango mousse cake, but she kept looking for chocolate. It was so funny when he hubby said well there are chocolate curls that are on top of the mousse cake, and you should have seen her face. Anyway to say the least I knew that I had to make a special chocolate cake for her this year.

Until I tasted the chocolate in a museum of chocolate when I visited Antiqua Guatemala a couple of years ago. Antigua is a beautiful city in Guatemala. I fell in love with its cobbled stone streets, to beautiful architecture to lovely doors and so much more. I loved that however small the homes might be, each of them had a courtyard, and you know I am a sucker for courtyards. My dream home will have a large wrap around porch with a beautiful courtyard.

  • Courtyards of Antigua

The chocolate museum was just fantastic It was fascinating to read about the history of cacao beans and how it was used as a currency in those days, and how the chocolate was made.

A stone on which the cacao beans are ground

So I started my research my focus was to make sure that it has rich chocolate flavor and also that I need to incorporate coffee in this. Based on what the man at the chocolate museum told me, coffee helps enhance the chocolate flavor and vice versa. I also had watched an episode of Pati’s Mexican table where she added a cup of boiling water in her chocolate cake to make it moist. So all of that combined and settled on this recipe very close to a recipe by Stella for the cake. Instead of using the Swiss buttercream, I decided to make a simple ganache frosting and it worked really well.

What I like about this recipe:

  1. The cake batter comes together in one pot
  2. You can make both the cake and the frosting base a couple of days ahead, and put it together on the day of the party
  3. Its rich, decadent and yet not overly sweet

So if you have a special occasion or you are in a mood for chocolate cake, this is a perfect recipe.

I also have a video for the recipe, check it out !

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it 🙂

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Bourbon Cherry Upside Down cake

Decadent chocolate cake with boozy caramelized cherries

Course cake, Dessert
Keyword cake, chocolate, dark chocolate
Author Anagha

Ingredients

Ingredients

For the Cake: This batter makes three 8inch round cakes

  • 340 g Unsalted butter about 3 sticks; 340g
  • 1 1/2 cup brewed black coffee alternatively take 4 tbsp of instant coffee with hot water
  • 90 g Unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 175 g Dark chocolate roughly 72%
  • 450 g light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tsp salt
  • 6 large eggs cold from the fridge
  • 3 large egg yolks cold from the fridge
  • 250 g All-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon Baking soda

Cherry topping

  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 6 Tbsp Water
  • 6 Tbsp Butter
  • 25 Pitted Cherries

Instructions

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 375 F

  2. Line , three 8 inch round cake pan line with parchment paper

Cherry Topping

  1. Mix the cherries , sugar and butter together

  2. Pour in the bottom of the cake pan

  3. Cook for 10 min till the sugar is little caramelized

  4. Take out the pan and add the bourbon & salt

Cake

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F
  2. Combine butter and coffee steel pot over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat, then mix in cocoa and chocolate, followed by brown sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix in eggs and yolks, then sift in flour and baking soda.
  3. Mix well till you see no dry flour spots

  4. Pour the batter in the prepared pans

  5. Bake until cakes are firm for about 30 minutes (a toothpick inserted into the center should come away with a few crumbs still attached)
  6. Cool cakes directly in their pans for 1 hour, then invert onto a wire rack, peel off parchment, and return cakes right side up.

Tools used :

KitchenAid Standmixer

Wilton Cake pans

Categories
dessert Drinks & Coolers Fat Free Fusion Gluten-free Indian Italian Vegan Vegetarian

Kokum Granita

Summer is almost here  and I have all these amazing memories of different summer vacations I have taken.

I remember waking up to beautiful mornings with the birds were chirping, and scent of various flowers filled the air. One of the birds was called Tambat, which translates to Coppersmith. It makes a sound of a hammer beating down a sheet of copper, I guess that’s where it got its name from. After waking up we would wash up, I still remember those big copper earns filled with water.

My Mami a typical woman from Konkan, unadulterated love, simple life and always a smile on her face that’s how I remember her. She would make beautifully scented rice porridge  which would be served on a giant leaf of a Moochkund tree, which is also called ‘dinner plate’ tree. It was simply dressed with a touch of ghee and salt.

Muchkund Leaves

There were bounties of summer like Karvande, Jambhul, but best part about that vacation used to be mangoes, mangoes for breakfast ,Mangoes for lunch, mangoes for snack Mangoes for a drink, what more can one ask for. I still remember very vividly the room full of mango is layered beautifully on a bed of hay. My aunt would tell us to go look for the ones that are ripe and then the party started.

We would wander around in the village, on the paths paved with Chire, a red stone from that region, leading up to the temple. There was a small pond near the temple called Ban Ganga, we would explore around and head home when the stomach started growling.

Mami would have a drink ready for us, made from the Kokum or ratamba as its called in that region. Gorgeous garnet, ruby color, delicious taste and thirst and heat quenching, this used to the the perfect treat after a walk in the village.

Kokum Sherbat

Fast forward to 2018 when I went to Sicily with my family. I fell in love with Italy and would love to live there some day. We enjoyed some amazing foods and a few of the favorites originated in Italy. Cannoli, Arancini to name a few. One of those dishes is Granita, a refreshing icy treat that comes in all kinds of flavors. It so reminded me of the Barf Gola we get in India.

Gelato

The best part was that the granita is enjoyed at breakfast with brioche, dessert for breakfast, what more can one ask for.

So today’s recipe is my summers relived, Kokum granita showcases two of my favorites, konkan and Sicily.

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Kokum Granita

A refreshing summer dessert with tangy and sweet flavors

Servings 4

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Kokum Agal without sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups of water
  • 1 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp Cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Method

  1. Bring 1 cup of water and sugar to a boil. Keep stirring till sugar dissolves.
  2. Keep aside. Stir in the rest of the water. Taste and add more sugar if needed
  3. Add cumin powder and salt and stir.
  4. Put this mixture into a baking tray, keep it in fridge for 2-3 hours. The mixture will start freezing around the edges slowly. Take the tray out and scrape the frozen part with fork, and put it back in the freezer.
  5. Keep repeating till all of the mixture is frozen into fine ice.

Serve it in a bowl.

Recipe Notes

You can make this a couple of days ahead, just make sure to scrape it with a fork right before you serve

You can also serve it with cream or ice-cream 

You can serve it at breakfast with brioche 

Categories
Bihari Drinks & Coolers Fat Free fibre Gluten-free Low GI Protein Vegan Vegetarian Whole Grains

Sattu Ka Sharbat & Banaras

Growing up in Maharashtra, India I had not heard much about this ingredient. My mom used to ask us to eat ‘Saatu’ but it did not quite register as a special thing.

Fast forward many years and I remember my first visit to Varanasi, I fell in love with this place. I know people talk about the dirt and filth but all I could see was the peaceful ghats, a tremendous sense of devotion, and one becoming aware of one’s mortality and of course the food.

Every corner you turned there was some amazing delicacy to be devoured. We feasted on Jalebis, Kachoris, Lassis and so much more. I don’t know if its the water, air or the fact that many of these places have been there for generations, but each thing tasted amazing. I don’t remember having bad food in that town.

A lot of the food eaten was Satvik, which means there was no onion and garlic in the recipe, honestly I did not miss it.

I am a Chai addict and I must say some of the best chai I have had was in Varanasi, I think its the milk thats pure and fresh which makes all the difference. I loved roaming through the lanes and exploring because I feel ‘Banaras happens in the gallis’

I just loved how chilled out people were here, taking there own time to read a news paper, chat with a friend over a plate of kachori or even get a haircut, everything had a sense of calm. I went on a boat ride every morning that I was there, just the sound of water and the oars, some bells in the background and bliss.

Ghats have a lot going on, different ghats decorated in different styles. If you just observe, you get to learn a lot.



I will never get tired of this city, its fascinating on many levels. I feel that even meditating here was very powerful and peaceful.

On our way to the airport we stopped for a cup of chai, I mean everyone knows what kind of chai you get inside the airport 🙂 . On the same stall this man was making litti chokha, and man that was some delicious preparation. He was roasting them on open fire and the best part was that the litti was stuffed with some tasty mixture called Sattu.

That was my introduction to this magical ingredient called ‘Sattu’. This is powder of sorts made with roasted whole chana in most part, however there are some variations that add barley as well as Jowar/sorghum to it. Its commonly seen in the Northern India, mainly Bihar & UP as well as Pakistan and Nepal. Simple sounding however a true superfood, Sattu can be used in multiple applications. Often times savory and sweet drinks are made using Sattu, and in Bihar you would get to taste delicious sattu stuffed litti or even parantha. I must tell you that parantha turns out amazing. I will share the recipe some day soon.

Not only does it taste good and easy to make but its a power house of health benefits. Super high in protein, fibre, gluten-free, vegan and perfect for the summer and it cools down the body.

So when I came back from Varanasi and was talking about it my driver was very happy. He is from Varanasi and an ardent Sattu follower. When he heard that I liked it, he brought two homemade sattu flours for me along with a recipe for the sattu savory drink. I made it and loved it.

I make an effort to make traditional recipes and follow whats good for you in that season, if you like that idea then try out this recipe. Its super easy

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Sattu ka namkeen sharbat

Cooling  

Naturally gluten- free & vegan 

Low GI

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cold water
  • 2 tablespoon gram sattu
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice like to taste
  • 1/4 T Spoon Sendha Namak
  • 1/2 tsp spoonful of cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp finely chopped mint
  • 1 tsp finely chopped cilantro
  • 3 tbsp peeled and grated Green Mango optional
  • 1/4 Tsp finely chopped green chillies optional
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Mix the sattu with a little bit of water, enure there are no lumps left

  2. Mix the rest of the ingredients along with the remaining water & stir

  3. Serve chilled 

Recipe Notes

You can also make a sweet version, mix a little bit of honey or Gud with water and sattu powder

Categories
Belgian bread Breakfast Brunch dessert

Real Belgian waffles

I love a good breakfast. When my family goes on vacation, I always look for hotels which have a breakfast buffet. You start your day right when you feed your soul and tummy with good food at the beginning of the day.I love a good breakfast. When my family goes on vacation, I always look for hotels which have a breakfast buffet. You start your day right when you feed your soul and tummy with good food at the beginning of the day.

I love this quote from Winnie the Pooh;

“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”

“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”

“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. “It’s the same thing,” he said.” 

See doesn’t it make complete sense?

I love Indian breakfast foods, like Pohe, Parantha, and Appe. And eggs are always classic breakfast candidates, I love them even for dinner. In fact, I do ‘breakfast for dinner’ more often than I probably should. Eggs Benedict are perfect when you are in a mood to indulge, and ‘Huevos rancheros’ when you want something spicy. I love good scrambled eggs, made the French way. A video on those will be coming soon!

When I am in a mood to make something special, waffles are always on the breakfast or brunch table. I love making different types of waffles: savory, plain or something so decadent that you can have it for dessert. Today’s recipe was introduced to me by my son, Mihir. He is not only a foodie, but my best critic and a great cook as well. He makes some mean pork and fish.

He ate these waffles at Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco and loved them. So obviously, as soon as he was back home, we started chatting about it and next thing we knew, we were planning brunch for the weekend.

What we might picture as Belgian waffles are very popular in the United States; typically, a waffle that is much thicker than the standard American waffle but made with the regular pancake batter. In the process of making these waffles, I learned that the true Belgian waffles are in fact more like a brioche dough, enriched and risen with yeast.

Look how gorgeous the dough looks with all that amazing yeast at work.

The yeasty dough and the pearl sugar is what make this recipe special.

So what is Pearl Sugar.

I did not about this until came across this recipe. I even found an article that shed a little more light on this. When I wanted to make this recipe, I searched on Amazon and found this. Sometimes its also called Nib Sugar.

If you don’t find pearl sugar, you can take the sugar cubes we get for coffee/tea, and crush them a rolling pin.

When the sugary goodness melts and caramelizes, its just divine. I love serving it with just freshly whipped cream and sometime some fresh fruit compote.

IMG_9614

I know its a dish that you need to plan ahead, but trust me its really worth all that planning and effort.

So give it a try and let me know how you liked it

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:5]

I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen who had heavily tweaked from the excellent Gaufre de Liège Recette Blog and the copious notes of Not Martha.

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