Malli Chammanthi ~ Roasted Coriander Chutney with Coconut | A guest post by Nags of Edible Garden

Nagalakshmi or Nags,as she is popularly known as,who blogs at Edible Garden is not stranger to the blogging community.In fact,when I started out,hers was one of the blogs I looked up to(still do!)and get inspired.So when she offered to do a guest post for this humble space of mine,I was doubly delighted.Without further ado,here's the recipe in her own words.

Malli Chammanthi - Roasted Coriander Chutney

First of all, a huge thanks to Divya for giving me this opportunity to share a guest post on her site. This is my second guest post - I don’t do many of them, clearly - but I am happy to do it for Divya who is one of the first people to completely wow me with a post back in 2009 when she featured many dishes she cooked from my site all in one post.

This malli chammanthi is special to me for a number of reasons. It holds many memories, the best one being many train rides and lemon rice packed in banana leaves. Amma always made this to go with lemon rice and I just love that combination. Even today, if I make lemon rice, I always make this chutney to go with it. My chithappa’s wife Vimala aunty makes the best malli chammanthi in our family, in my opinion. She makes a generous mound and I often request for it when I visit them in Alleppey. Maybe the coconut is sweeter in my dad’s hometown, who knows.

There’s nothing radical or different in this chammanthi. It’s the usual suspects with a generous amount of roasted coriander seeds. Always roast the seeds fresh and use the freshest coconut you can find. Mine is usually about 2 weeks old but it still works, still brings back those lovely memories. Oh, and if you have a dusty old ammikkallu in your backyard, use it for this chammanthi. You won’t regret it.

Malli Chammanthi

Ingredients

Fresh grated coconut - 1 cup

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Shallots/ulli - 3

Garlic - 1 clove

Red chillies - 1-2

Tamarind - one small piece

Coconut oil - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add the coriander seeds

On low heat, roast them until the colour lightly changes and the seeds begin to turn fragrant

Add the shallots, garlic and red chillies. Roast for a few seconds until the shallots begin to char and the chillies turn shiny

Turn off the flame and add the coconut and tamarind. Stir well to combine

Grind to a smooth chutney consistency with salt. Don’t add water

Goes great with rice and rasam or lemon rice.

Thank you Nags for the sweet gesture :)

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Double Chocolate Brownies & Microwave Baking FAQ's

Some time back,Maria asked me to do a guest post on her blog.I start panicking when someone asks me for a guest post.Reason being,it has to be on par with the posts on that particular blog and it should entertain the readers in a similar way(if not same)like the author's own posts.Now that is a difficult thing to achieve,right?Especially with a blog like Maria's!

 Maria,of Mariasmenu is more than a fellow blogger to me.We've studied together in the same college for 5 years without knowing that few years later,we'll connect again through food blogging.I'd been following Mariasmenu much before I started blogging without knowing that she is actually my fellow college mate!

For the same reason,I am hoping that she'd forgive me for taking so long to do this for her.I hope I can do justice to your blog readers Maria.

 Hop on to Maria's blog  Double Chocolate Brownies and some Microwave FAQ's.

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Sreedevi's Rice Kondattam

There are many foodie groups on facebook of which I am a part of.So my facebooking also involves checking out what people(sometimes friends,sometimes family too)are cooking in their kitchen and what experiment turned into disaster and which one tasted out of this world.

Sreedevi,a dear friend's wife is someone who clicks and posts everything she cooks in her kitchen on her facebook profile.She is a very pleasant and enthusiastic girl who replies within seconds when I ask her for a recipe and I love her for that.I've been telling her to start a blog of her own since she has such an array of dishes,but (it seems)she is content with her facebook album.


So I invited her to share her recipe for Easycooking readers and she readily obliged.She has prepared Rice Kondattam from scratch,something which even I have not attempted till date.Kudos to you Sreedevi!


Rice Kondattam

Ingredients


Raw rice/Pachari - 1 cup
Boiled rice/Puzhungalari - 1 1/4 cup
Salt - approximately 3 spoons
Green chilly - 3-4
Black sesame seeds - a handful


Method


Soak the raw rice and boiled rice together for 4-5 hours.
Blend together everything except the sesame seeds to a smooth paste adding enough water.
Add 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water to the batter and mix well.
Cook this batter on medium flame stirring continuously till the batter starts turning thick.
Keep stirring till the batter attains a wobbly consistency-thicker than dosa-idli batter.Take care not to overcook after this stage which would make the odi/vadi dry.
Switch off and add the sesame seeds.Mix well.

To prepare the odi/vadis

Drop spoonfuls of batter on a plastic sheet or baking paper and dry in sunlight till the vadis get dried completely.Anywhere between 2-3 days depending on the weather.

Tip-Spread baking paper on a thick cardboard sheet so that it becomes easier to take the sheets in and out while drying.


Heat oil in a kadai and fry the odi/vadis till crisp.It takes less than a minute to fry up one batch.


Happy Cooking!

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Fruit Tarts - A guest post by Sanjeeta

Sanjeeta of Lite Bite needs no introduction.Her blog is a treasure house of healthy(and tasty!)recipes and I believe that is the secret behind her youthful appearance.I met Sanjeeta of Lite Bite's a while back and we hit it off instantly.She agreed to do a guest post for Easycooking readers at a very short notice and I am so thankful to her for that.Over to you Sanjeeta--

Thanks Divya for letting me share this recipe with all your lovely readers, hope they like this treat fro Lite Bite!

These crisp and scrumptious looking Oatmeal tarts with fresh fruits & yogurt

filling was our weekend dessert and must say that its filling and yummy till the last bite. Oatmeal added in the recipe to make the crust gives a lovely texture and makes the base healthier. I used hung yogurt to make the filling, you could use a filling of fresh cream and fruits for more exotic tarts.

Ingredients;


For crust;
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. or more milk
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder
• A pinch of salt


Filling;
• Thick yogurt/curd
• 1 cup diced Fresh fruits
• 1/2 cup castor sugar


Method; 


Lightly roast the oats for a few minutes and grind it into fine powder along
with sugar in a food processor.
Take a large vessel and combine ground oats, whole-wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, cinnamon powder and mix well with a fork.
Add olive oil and mix all the ingredients together using a fork or your fingers.
Pour milk a teaspoon at a time and combine the mixture till all the ingredients come together and make hard dough.
Turn the dough on a floured surface and knead it lightly for a few minutes. 
Take a small ball of dough and roll it into a small circle if you are using mini tart shells, or make a large circle for a single pie dish.
Grease the mini tart shells with oil and line the small circles of dough in it, pressing it to fit perfectly all around the corners. Trim the edges if you wish, I like rugged looking tarts and did not trim mine.
Make small slits (cuts) in the crust using a fork. You can blind bake these tarts with dried beans for crispier base. I did not use any and baked the tarts for 15 minutes at 200°C.
Remove form oven and let the tarts cool completely.
Mix all the ingredients for filling, fill the oat tarts with it and chill them before
serving.

Notes;
1. Use very thick yogurt which is completely devoid of whey.
2. Srikhand made with curd is a yummy and healthy filling for this tart.
3. You can make the filling with cream by beating it lightly and mixing all the
fruits to fill the tarts.
4. Make sure to fill the tarts just before serving, else it will make the base soggy
and less crispy.
5. Sliced fruits will release water when mixed with yogurt thereby making the
filling quite runny. Add fruits to the thickened yogurt just before serving.

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No Knead Cheese & Garlic Flatbread - A guest post by Suma

When I look into my archives every once in a while,I know one area which lacks posts is in the bread section.I've baked very little breads and I really don't know why I am apprehensive when it comes to baking it.I've got good quality yeast with me and foolproof recipes too,but something is lacking somewhere.So when I asked Suma of Cakes and More for a guest post,I was kinda hoping that she'd bake bread and Voila,she did!


Suma,a fellow blogger,a keen baker and a good friend,agreed instantly when I asked her to do a post for Easycooking readers,though it was at a very short notice.Check out her recipe for a simple no knead bread.Over to Suma.
 
I am extremely happy and honored to be guest-posting for Divya, one of my favorite bloggers and friends. I am also very excited as this this my first ever guest post! Thanks so much Divya, for giving me this opportunity to share a recipe, connect with the readers of Easycooking. Oh! I think I forgot to introduce myself first - This is Suma, I blog at Cakes And More,a blog which is basically about baking, some desserts and a bit of traditional cooking thrown in as well. Like most of us, I am obsessed with food, baking particularly. I started writing my blog when I was making all of  2 desserts and baking 4 3 2 cakes which summed up my baking world, hence had given my blog the name.  

Now after 2 years, along with a couple of other new things, yeast is my new, big time, growing obsession. I am discovering how magical, rewarding and satisfying, not to mention delicious, baking bread at home can be. But then, I can be really lazy at times. But again, good food, and good food in a hurry, is a bare necessity of life! No knead breads come as a savior as they can be put together with minimum fuss and effort. And your home will be smelling of freshly baked bread in no time at all. Its even more fun as you could play around with the recipe and create breads with different flavors.  

The flat bread or focaccia here is one which I have previously made a few times. A versatile recipe, this can be made with the flavors of coconut and lime,just some Italian herbs and garlic or with a couple of tablespoons of tomato puree, chopped fresh coriander and green chillies if that is your flavor. Or even sun dried tomatoes or jalapenos or olives if you love them. Made with just some herbs or with the additions, this will taste good. I must repeat, at the cost of boring you, breads are versatile and baking with yeast gives a very different high altogether. A high every home baker must absolutely experience...

Here is another variation with roasted garlic and cheese, Cheese and Garlic focaccia from the King Arthur Flour site, a site I love for all their fabulous recipes, reviews and very useful tips. This is a variation of the No fuss Focaccia .The idea is a mildly garlicky, soft, slightly chewy, herbed  flat bread with bits of cheese in between bites. I have added a bit of pizza sauce to the batter to give it a hint of tomato and pizza flavor of course (doesn't taste the same as pizza though). You could omit the sauce and use the rest of the ingredients if you wish it to be tasting only of herbs, cheese and garlic. 

This is half the original recipe, which I have baked in a 9'' round tin. You normally do not need to line the tin to bake a focaccia as you want the bottom crust to be crispy. After reading the reviews about the melting cheese making someone's bread stick to the pan, I thought its better to line the tin and sacrifice the crispy crust ...for the joy of getting the bread out of the tin in its whole..sorry, full glory!

Here is what we need  

Ingredients:

For the batter 
All Purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons / 210 grams
Warm water - 1/2 cup
Pizza sauce - 2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons water (to make a total of 1/4 cup liquid, please read notes)
Dried thyme (or your favorite dried herb) - generous heaped 1/2 teaspoon 
Chilli flakes - 1 teaspoon or to taste
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Instant yeast or Active dried yeast - 1 1/2 teaspoons ( I use instant)
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1 1/2 TBSP plus more for greasing the pan 

To mix in 
Roasted garlic pods - 3, medium sized (not more, as yeast doesn't love too much garlic, says the KAF site), mashed or chopped fine
Mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2'' cubes - 100 grams or more (I use Amul) (Recipe suggests cheddar, Monterey Jack or flavored cheddar)

For the topping
Oil - 1 1/2 teaspoons (I used olive oil)
More dried herbs for topping 
Basil leaves - a few 

Procedure: Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 9'' round tin. Grease again. Sift the flour, salt, chilli flakes and dried thyme to mix well. Keep aside. In a large bowl, take the sugar and the yeast. Add the warm water ( If using active dried yeast, you would need to proof it first using the warm water, yeast and sugar, let it stand for about 5-10 minutes till frothy and then proceed with the next step). Add the sauce mixed with water and the oil.  Mix. Tip in the flour mixture . Stir with a wooden spoon till all the flour is incorporated. Then beat 20 times with the spoon. The batter will be sticky. Mix in the chopped garlic and the cheese cubes. Transfer the batter to the greased tin. Push gently with greased hands to cover the entire pan. Spread some oil lightly over the surface. Dimple the dough with your fingers. Cover with a greased aluminum foil and let rise in a warm place for an hour. The dough will be puffy (not necessarily double the volume) at the end of one hour.

Towards the end of the rise period, pre-heat oven to 190 degrees C / 375 degrees F. Drizzle oil on top. Remove the foil, sprinkle the herbs and the basil leaves. I do not think it would be a good idea to top with cheese as it will get almost burnt by the time it bakes. Bake for 35 -40 minutes or till light golden brown on top. The bread will not brown a lot as there is very little sugar in the batter. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped. It should read between 200-210F on an instant read thermometer. Cool on the wire rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, place on the rack and cool further.

Slice when it is still a bit warm (not when hot). You do want to eat the bread when the cheese is still a bit gooey right? It doesn't taste all that bad either when its completely cool too. Ever heard of cheese tasting terrible at room temperature? But melting cheese is something I have no complaints eating whatsoever. How about you?  
Please note: If you not wish to use the sauce, omit it and use water instead. You will be using a total of 3/4 cup of water for the entire recipe. Do not add more sauce unless you want the bread very tangy. Use good quality dried herbs for maximum flavor. 

Ooops!  when I introduced myself, I forgot to mention, I do tend to go a bit overboard when I talk!  Thank you for reading my post, hope to see you again! Thanks again Divya, it was fun doing this post for you!

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Vanilla Pound Cake - A guest post by Sharmilee

I've been getting a good amount of e-mails from all of you asking about my absence here.Well,as I kept replying to all,everything's just fine and I'll be back with a bang soon,hopefully.Till then,I am inviting a few popular food bloggers(and friends)to do guest posts here so that I can feed the blog as well as keep you updated.


Here's the first one from Sharmilee,who blogs at Sharmi's Passions.As you all know,her posts are gorgeous,filled with step by step pics and pics of dishes which leave you drooling.She has aptly chosen a Pound cake for Easycooking readers,so go on drooool:))).Over to Sharmi-
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I was really happy and excited when Divya approached me for a guest post. Whenever I see her blog, the first thing that strikes me is her awesome baked goodies and cake decorating skills. Thank you so much Divya for giving me an opportunity to do a guest post. This is my first guest post too :)

I had few drafts and the first recipe that came to my mind seeing her mail was the pound cake.This is one of the nofail baking recipes so thought to share with you all. I got the recipe of basic vanilla sponge cake from my cousin long back and tried it here. I modified the same recipe a bit to get this pound cake. The cake has a slight crusty top and the very soft inside, sure one of the best cakes I've baked so far.

Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• Maida - 100 gms
• Butter - 100 gms (at room temperature)
• Granulated Sugar - 100 gms
• Eggs - 2
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Baking powder - 1 tsp
• Milk - 2 tbsp (optional)
• Salt - 1/8 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Sieve maida and baking powder twice for even distribution. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat the eggs until fluffy. 2. Then add the eggs, milk to the butter sugar mixture and mix well. Add vanilla essence, salt and give a quick stir. Then add maida baking powder mixture in batches. 3.The batter should resemble like the one shown below(very creamy batter). Preheat the oven at 176 deg C for 10mins. Meanwhile grease the pan with butter and sprinkle little maida over it. Then tap to remove the extras. Now pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake at 176 deg C for 35-40mins or until the top turns golden brown.
You can insert a tooth pick and check, if it comes out clean then your cake is ready. Keep aside for 10mins then invert. Cool down completely then cut into slices and enjoy.

This is the first time I used my bundt pan though I got it 2months back. I was thrilled to see the cake beautifully unmould from the cake pan. This time I just greased with butter and maida, didnt use butter paper.

My Notes :

• I read in an article that for easy unmoulding : Once the cake pan is taken from the oven, keep a wet cloth under the pan for 10mins then invert , the cake comes out clean.
• You can even lay butter paper or grease the pan with butter / oil. 

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Deepa's Pudina Pulao

Apart from us food bloggers,I find people who garnish and decorate day to day food and click pictures of it and post it on facebook truly out of the world.I find so many of my friends and relatives who post pictures of what they cook and post it on facebook daily that no sooner I asked them to do a guest post for my blog.


I was so happy when Deepa,my bro's friend's wife replied immediately in positive.She very quickly clicked a pic of this yummy Pudina Pulao and sent me a mail replete with the picture and a full post!Thank you so much Deepa!


So here's the whole thing,in Deepa's words.

First let me thank Divya for inviting me to do  a guest post...Thanks Divya.It is my pleasure to do something for your blog..Divya,your blog JUST ROCKS!!!!!!  I  met  Divya after my marriage .She is my hubby’s close friends sister.

I am not a person who has a great passion for cooking.I first tasted Pudina pulao when I happened to go to my friends place for lunch.The pulao,she prepared was just awesome.That was the first time I got the opportunity to get a taste of pudina/mint...I immediately fell in love with the flavour.I had no second thoughts on the menu when my hubby invited one of his friend home for dinner...It came out quite well and the second time i made it,was even better..So,here goes the recipe.

Pudina/Mint Pulao


Ingredients 

For the pudina juice-( I use a watery juice instead of pudina paste)

• Pudina(Mint)leaves  - 1 cup loosely packed
• Coriander leaves- Half a bunch
• Grated coconut-Half a cup      
• Cinnamon-1 big
• Cloves- 4-5
• Bay leaf-1
• Green chillies- 2  or (as required)
• Ginger-Garlic – 1 small piece of each ( I did not use garlic)

Other ingredients

• Basmati Rice- 1 Tumbler( I use the regular steel tumbler)
• Onions – 2 big
• Carrot -1 big
• Fresh peas- Half a cup
• Beans- 10 -12 in number
• Ghee-1 tbspoon
• Oil- 1 tbspoon
• Jeera-1 teaspoon
• Water- 1 and a half tumbler...(Water has to be adjusted with the amount of pundina juice obtained)
• Salt to taste

Method

For the pudina juice

Grind together the required ingredients[mentioned above,for the juice] with enough  water.

Strain it to get a clear green pudina juice.Keep it aside.

For the Pulao

In a pressure pan add the ghee and oil.

Add jeera  and sauté it till u get the aroma of jeera.

Then sauté the onions till golden brown.Add  the rest of the ingredients and sauté for a few seconds.

Now,add the washed basmati rice.Stir well and add water (water has to be adjusted with the pudina water obtained)  

I used 1 tumbler of pudina juice and half tumbler of water.Add salt to taste.

Close the lid.After 1 whistle,simmer it for 2-3 minutes. 

Mix it well.Garnish the pulao with roasted cashewnuts  if required.

Cucumber or onion raita,and Lijjat papad can be served as a side dish.

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Chocolate Mud Cake ~ For Suma & Blogger Meet[s] !!

They say excuses are a waste of time,your friends don't need them and your enemies won't believe them.I definitely consider Suma as a dear bloggie pal and I hope she doesn't mind this long over due post.

It was a while back[more than 2-3 months I guess] that Suma e-mailed me and requested me to do a guest post on her blog.She even kept the window open asking me to post anything which fancies me,though I couldn't ignore the *hint* on Cake.Now come on,for some one whose blog is named Cakes and More,what else can you bake??

Many things kept me from posting this on time.But I wouldn't get into all that,better late than never.I wanted the Cake to be Chocolatey and believe me,this one's full of it.Fudgy and gooey,this one could almost pose as a Brownie and you wouldn't know the difference!!Perfect with a scoop of Chocolate Ice-cream with some Chocolate sauce on top with some toasted nuts.And the colour..ah the colour.Oh,I could grab that plate and go into Chocolate Nirvana.Suma,here it is for you and I hope with this one I've made up for being such a Late Lateef!! I almost felt guilty eating this on my own when I actually made it for you!!

Hop on to Suma's blog for the recipe and more!

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Photo courtesy - Srivalli

It is fun meeting people who share the same enthusiasm[some even more] as you when it comes to clicking pictures of food rather than people,who don't feel offended when you ask a recipe before asking pleasantries and those who don't mind by being known by their blog names rather than their own.Yes,I am talking about meeting fellow food-bloggers.I first met few of them personally back in June when we had an out of the moment mini-bloggers meet at a restaurant.But this time Oh boy,it was nothing close to mini and as named by us,it was a Mega blogger meet with a whooping 16 of us turning up.

Some of us were meeting each other for the first time but it didn't feel like so.We were giggling and clicking pictures and eating from each others plates at the same time,much to the chagrin of the floor manager who asked us to leave!!!Yeah,Veena,even threatened to sack him and hence was proclaimed the official security of Chennai Food Bloggers.And then the person whom we thrust our cameras and asked to take group photos.He looked a bit iffy in the beginning but a few snaps later,he joined in the fun!!

All in all,an afternoon well spent.I am definitely looking forward to such meets in the future,we do have a few things planned in our heads regarding this,hope it materializes!!

Few of us met again on Monday since Bharathy was in town and wanted to meet us all.It was organized in a jiffy and we met for a casual lunch at Mathsya,a restaurant in T-Nagar.It really does feel nice when you spend time with someone whom you've known only through their blogs or facebook profiles.I am looking forward to more such meets in the future!!

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Baking in Microwave Mode

Image source

After my last post on DK's blog about Baking in Microwave Convection mode,many people commented asking queries about Microwave baking.So me and DK decided we need a sequel for the same.As I have mentioned before,I started my Baking lessons by cooking in the Microwave.Many hard cakes and soggy pizzas and uncooked cookies later,I tamed the beast,lol.

Hop on over to DK's blog where we have done a post exclusively on Microwave baking.Hope you find the post useful.

Baking in Microwave Mode.

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Devil's Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream filling - Sweet Punch for July!!

I had not realized how busy I would be,while signing up to host the Sweet Punch challenge for July!I had major plans in my head as to how to finish all my pending chores before leaving to my hometown for my brothers' weddings.The few days before I came here just whizzed past and all my plans of baking the challenge much ahead of time vanished in thin air.I did not give up hope,still.I had better plans,thought of baking it from here,in midst of all wedding drama while I didn't foresee that entering into the kitchen to get a glass of water too would be a big task!!

I am sure resuming blogging is going to be a tough task as I am sure I'll have trouble going back to my kitchen and cooking after one whole month of staying away from it!!

Coming back to Sweet Punch.I smelt trouble a few days back when I thought about how it would look if the host herself skipped the challenge.As always,my vanni came to my rescue and she has done the challenge on my behalf in such a short notice.I can't thank you enough for this vanni,you are a sweet♥!!

Introducing Lakshmi Kudua-

Many of you already know her through my blog posts and some through the wonderful cakes she makes,I got so many comments when her cake was included in this round-up.I am pestering her to start a blog of her own!!Over to her..

This is my first ever guest post and what a lovely way to start it with A Sweet punch. I've been baking cakes for a long time now and have been asked to start a blog by many a friends but I have been hesitant all the while...a request from Divya to feed her blog was something I couldn't say No to.So I went ahead and baked the cupcakes and hence this guest post in her absence. These cupcakes are dedicated to the loving sweet bond that we have between us and hope it continues the same way!!

I halved the recipe and got around 14 cupcakes.The cupcakes were supermoist which made it a tad difficult to fill them.I included some roasted hazelnuts in the filling which made it extra delicious!!Topped the cupcakes with Ganache and some sprinkles.

Devil's Food Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Filling

Recipe source - Baking Bites

Ingredients [for the Cupcakes]

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream (low fat or full)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2-oz dark chocolate

1 cup water, boiling

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease two 12-cup muffin tins.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by sour cream and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add half of flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla extract, followed by the addition of the rest of the flour mix. Stir well between each addition and mix until no streaks of flour remain.

Stir the cocoa powder and the dark chocolate into the boiling water (easiest in a large measuring cup). Pour chocolate water into the rest of the batter and stir until uniform.

Evenly distribute batter into prepared baking cups. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. (It’s fine if you can’t fit both trays into the oven at the same time, just wait until one batch finishes before putting in the second pan)

Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)

1/2 cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.

When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until lightl. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electrick mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a thick, but not stiff, frosting that is easy to spread. Add additional milk, if necessary, to thin the frosting if it gets too thick.

Assembly

Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

Take the cream filling and squeeze a tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling the hole up to the top with filling. Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.

Using a butter knife or a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a layer of chocolate buttercream frosting. Place a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake (on top of the cut out circle of cake) and spread from the center to the sides of the cupcake.

If you have leftover filling, transfer it to a fresh ziploc bag and cut a very small opening in one corner. Pipe a swirly line down the center of each cupcake.

Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes 2-dozen.

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Thank you so much Vanni.

Now it is my turn to apologise.I am sorry if I was not available to answer your queries[if any] regarding this month's challenge.I was held up with something so important and I promise it wouldn't be the same next time when I host the challenge:).Hope all of you enjoyed making Cream filled cupcakes and are gearing up for the next challenge!!

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