A Little Delectable Chocochip Brownie

Life gives us small surprises or we need to create them !! A brownie is the perfect american dessert. The most popular story about the origin of the brownie is about a housewife in Bangor, Maine. It says that the house wife forgot to add baking powder to a chocolate cake she was making. The cake did not rise but it was still delicious

They are either fudgy or cakey, depending on their density, and this version uses chocochips

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 115 gm butter
• 115 gm chocolate bar
• 100 gm chocochip
• 1 tsp vanilla
• a pinch of salt

Procedure
Preheat the oven to 180 C,line a butter paper in a square pan.

Heat the chocolate with butter on double boiler,once chocolate melts fully keep it aside.

Beat the egg and sugar together with fork till it blends properly then add the melted chocolate and vanilla,salt and mix smoothly,now add the flour slowly and mix till all the flour blends with the mixture fully.Don't over mix this mixture.Now add the chocochips to this batter.

Shift the mixture to the prepared baking pan and bake it in pre heated oven for 30-40 min till its done.

Note:

1.Don't over bake the brownie otherwise it will end up with crumble n chewy

2.Don't over beat the batter as if you beat more then more air will get incorporated brownie texture will become like cake and not be dense and become fluffy instead

The Ultimate Devil's Food Cake With a Chocolate Glaze

Contrary to it name it is one of the most heavenly cakes I have tasted.The crumb is tender, the filling and frosting luscious. It is dark, rich and yet not so sweet. And it is butter free so you enjoy it with a guilt free spirit : )

I bookmarked this recipe recently when I saw on Sangeeta's Spicy Treat blog. It is the perfect cake to prepare for this occasion of my in-laws 50th marriage anniversary.!!.

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup powder sugar
• 1 egg
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup oil(I used sunflower oil)

Procedure

Preheat oven 180 C 

Grease the baking pan, I used a 9 inch square pan.

Sieve the flour,cocoa powder, salt, baking soda 3 times together.Beat the eggs and sugar well with a beater approximately for 10 min or till it becomes fluffy. Add vanilla essence,butter milk,oil.coffee and beat for another minute.Now gently fold it with sifted flour and mix softly so that air does not escape. Now shift this batter to the baking pan.


Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes in 180 C, check with a toothpick till its done. Once done let it sit for 5 min then remove the cake from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. In the meantime we will prepare the chocolate glaze.

For Chocolate Glaze:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the glaze combine the butter,chocolate,milk and vanilla extract in the top of the double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over hot water,until melted.

Place a piece of greaseproof paper under the cake, then pour spoonfuls of glaze along the edge to drip down and coat the sides.

Place the remaining glaze on the top of the cake.

Eggless Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

With a moist creamy texture and a enticing flavor of chocolate this cake would be the perfect weekend treat or potluck take-along and maybe a perfect treat for a deepavali get together as it is eggless !! .Its very light on the stomach and you can enjoy every soft bite. So here is it ...

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup hot milk

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.Grease the 8 inch round baking pan and keep aside. Sieve the dry ingredients,all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder together 3 times.

In another bowl add sugar,sourcream,butter and hot milk. Beat till sugar melts.Combine with the above dry ingredients and mix nicely until all lumps dissapear. To mix this you can use the hand blender with minimum speed.

Pour the batter in the greased pan, tap it for all air bubbles to escape. Bake it in the preheated for 30 minutes or test it with a toothpick until it comes out dry and smooth.

Take it out and keep it on a cooling rack. Once it cools overturn it on a plate.Decorate it with a little icing sugar sieved through a stencil.

Note:You can make your own sour cream at home by mixing 1 tsp yogurt with 1/2 cup low fat cream and keep it in a warm place for 3-4 hours to set. And you can use in your recipe as a sour cream.

Irresistible Peanut Butter Cups

I love peanut butter and chocolate so when I suddenly came across a recipe with a combination I couldnt stop myself to try this out. I used small paper cups to have small heavenly bites. I adopted the recipe from here. So here is the recipe
Ingredients

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar or superfine sugar

 

Pour the melted chocolate into small muffin cups to 1/3 rd and refrigerate it for 15 min. In the meantime mix peanut butter with sugar and butter till it forms a smooth paste.

Once the chocolate has set pour another 1/3 of cup with peanut paste and again refrigerate it for ten minutes.

Once the peanut butter is set add the remaining part of cup with chocolate and again refridgerate for 30 minutes. You peanut butter chocolate cups are ready.

Note:
Melting chocolate in double boiler: Fill a pan with water and let is boil once it boils put the flame in sim and place another bowl on top of this pan with the chocolate. The steam of below pan would melt the chocolate slowly.This is the safest method to melt chocolate.

Melting chocolate in microwave: If you want to melt you chocolate in microwave then put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Mix it then microwave again for 10 seconds repeatedly and stir every 10 seconds till it melts. If you are not alert the chocolate will burn.

The Iconic Black Forest Gateau

Do you want to make someone special to really enjoy a delicious cake.A cake filled with whipped cream and luscious red cherries for that perfect celebration ?
Yesterday was my hubbys birthday and I made this cake for him.It was a moment to cherish ... here is a recipe that can make any girl win her man's heart ...

Ingredients for the cake

• 125 gms all purpose flour
• 150 gms powder sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt

Baking
Preheat oven 190 C .Grease the baking pan, I used a 9 inch dia pan. Sieve the flour,cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and corn flour 3 times together.
Beat the eggs and sugar well with a beater approximately for 10 min or till it becomes fluffy. Add vanilla essence and beat for another minute.Now gently fold it with sifted flour and mix softly so that air does not escape. Now shift this batter to the baking pan.
Bake first ten minutes at 190 C and and reduce to 180 C.Bake for 30-35 minutes, check with a toothpick till its done. Once done let it sit for 5 min then remove the cake from the pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. Cut horizontaly into 2-3 layers.

For filling

• 1/2 tin canned cherries
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 600 ml whipped cream (I used 3 packs of Blue bird whipped cream)

Whisk the 3 packs of blue bird whipping cream with cold water as per instructions. Refrigerate it. Reserve half of the cherries for decoration and the remaining half can be finely chopped.
Mix 1 tsp of corn flour in 2 tbsp of cherry syrup and keep aside.Bring a  half cup of cherry syrup to boil and the above corn flour mix and boil till it thickens. Remove from the flame and add the add lime juice and keep aside to cool.

Assembly
Reserve half of the cream for icing the top, take the remaining half add the chopped cherries and mix nicely.
Place the bottom most layer of sponge cake on the serving plate, sprinkle 1/3 of prepared syrup and spread 1/3 of the cherry mixed whipped cream over it.Repeat the same with the remaining layers. Spread the remaining cream with the cherries on the top and sides.

Decoration

• 1/2 cup grated semisweet chocolate / dark chocolate
• reserved cherries

Sprinkle and pack the sides with the grated chocolate.Fill the whipped cream in a piping back with your choice of tip.And make small swirls on the edge with a 1/4 inch gap.Top it with cherries.Sprinkle the remaining grated chocolate on the center. Chill well before serving.Note: Adding corn flour to cake makes the cake texture lighter.
And the special midnight celebration when I wished him with the cake : )