Almond Powder

Saturday mornings are special for us. It’s the only time we get to be  together, without having to rush for work/school. Though it is my day off, ‘getting up late or sleeping in’ luxury is not for me. The son ensures that. He loves to sleep in on weekdays, when we have to rush for school/work but on a Saturday he is up and shining at 6. Last Saturday was also the same and he insisted to go on a morning walk! He is mighty impressed by some superhero on TV and believes this is the only way to build up muscles!

I had planned Dosas for our post walk brunch but was not in the mood for elaborate chutney or Sambar to go with it. Wanted something quick and simple. I saw this recipe for Almond powder a few days ago at Talimpu. I had a pack of almonds which was threatening to get rancid and waiting to be used up! The recipe itself looked quick and simple and used all the day –to-day ingredients.

We enjoyed the delicate, nutty flavour of the lightly spiced powder on the hot dosa; a good variation from the usual Chutney powder. Thanks Raji for this lovely idea

I tweaked the original recipe to suit our taste. I did not use the recommended oil at all and added a pinch of jaggery powder while grinding.

Here’s the recipe:

~18-20 Almonds

4 Red chillies

½ tsp Cumene seeds

1” piece of tamarind

Salt to taste

Pinch of jaggery powder

(You can change the proportions to suit your taste)

Dry roast Almonds till you get a nutty aroma.

Similarly dry roast the Chillies and cumene seeds.

Add the other ingredients and grind together to a fine powder.

Sprinkle this on hot dosa (on the dosa tava itself) and top with Ghee/clarified butter if you like.

 Since I have used ‘Almonds waiting to be used up’ in this recipe the Almond Powder travels all the way to St.Louis for Blog Bites#4

Stone Fruit Tarts

Apricots, Peaches, Cherries, Mangoes, lychees; its the season for all these wonderful fruits. Usually, I enjoy my fruits in their natural form, as it is; with cooking or baking.A batch of peaches I bought some time back was very sour and was just lurking around in the fridge. I was thinking of ways to use-up the fruits when I saw Deeba’s post about these gorgeous tarts. The fate of my sour peaches was sealed; they along with a handful of cherries and apricots were baked to make these delectable tarts.

The other thing which attracted me to the recipe was the use of Buckwheat flour for the crust. Buckwheat Flour had been on my wishlist for quite some time. I happened to mention this in one of my comments on Deeba’s blog and Viola! my wish was granted! A few days later I received 2 packets of Buckwheat flour all the way from Gurgoan from this gorgeous girl! Thanks a lot Deeba for the BW flour and for all the inspiring recipes!

 Here’s the recipe for the Stone fruit tarts 

Original recipe on PAB here

For the crust

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used salted butter and skipped the addition of sea salt)
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp fine sea salt (skip if using salted butter)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 tbsps finely ground unblanched almonds

For the filling
200ml low fat cream (I used Amul Fresh Cream)
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tbsps vanilla sugar
1 1/2 tbsps cornflour
2 tbsps almond meal                                                                                                                500 gms fresh stone fruit, apricots & peaches, pitted and sliced                                                                                                                                         Fresh pitted cherries
Confectioners’ sugar

Method:

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 180^oC.

Grease 4 6” tart pans.

Mix together the melted butter and sugar and blend well.

Add the extracts and the flours. Mix well to form a soft cookie like dough.

Divide it into 4 dough balls.

Evenly press each dough ball along the bottom and sides of the tart pan.

Place the pans in the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy and set~ 15 minutes.

Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust.

For the Filling:

Whisk together the Fresh cream, egg, extracts and sugar in a bowl.

Whisk in the Cornflour and almond meal.

Carefully pour the filling on the baked pastry crusts.

Arrange the sliced fruits and cherries on top.

Bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown ~55 to 60 minutes.

Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Cool the tarts

Just before serving, sprinkle again with confectioners’ sugar.

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Since I have used fruits lurking in my fridge and have followed a recipe from one of my favourite blogs, these Stone fruit tarts are heading over to Nupur’s blog for Blog Bites 4

Tiramisu Cake- A sweet punch

One of my resolutions (?) for the New Year was to explore baking beyond the simple basic cakes and cookies. This also meant an opportunity to try out different recipes from the several cookbooks I own; cookbooks which were just gathering dust on the shelves.Given my hectic schedule and the 6-7 hr daily power out(r)age I was getting nowhere near implementing my resolution.So when Ria, Maria and Divya announced –A Sweet Punch I could not resist the opportunity.

‘A Sweet Punch is a monthly baking event started by Ria, Maria and Divya, to make baking as simple as possible, bringing you a tried and tested recipe every month. It could be either from cookbooks or from other food-blogs.All we need to do is, follow the recipe and create magic!’

The recipe chosen for this month was Tiramisu Cake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home To Yours

There were quite a few ‘firsts’ for me:

• This is my first Sweet Punch
• This is my first recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home To Yours , which I bought months ago from Flipkart
• I made my first batch of Mascarpone at home! I have been eyeing this on blogs and always planned to make it.

 The Sweet Punch rule was simple: ‘try to stick to the recipe as far as you can but you can make changes to suit your religious/ dietary requirements’ and I did just that!

I followed the recipe to the tee. The only change I did was to bake a single cake and then cut it into two, instead of the recommended two 9”cakes.

My first try at making Mascarpone was very encouraging and I was quite pleased with the results, moreover it was so simple to make…making me wonder why I did not try this before?

I made the Mascarpone 2 days in advance and the cake a day earlier.

The only problem I faced was, when I mixed the Mascarpone with the other ingredients for frosting it changed its texture (I guessed the heat here was too much to keep the cheese firm, any suggestions to firm up the frosting are pls. welcome). I did not have the time to keep it back in the refrigerator to firm it up so I just poured it on the cake and inbetween the layers and let the frosting drizzle from the sides.

I used mini chocolate chips for the filling and dusted the top with dark Cocoa. I had a small bottle of Amaretto liqueur, which a close relative had gifted us many many years ago (another first) and I am glad I added it to the frosting. The rich burst of flavors from the coffee and the liqueur made the cake almost divine! I am glad I used the entire syrup to soak the cake even if I had some initial doubts.

Thank you Ria, Maria and Divya for the intiative, lovely recipe and most of all for the detailed explanation to make it look so easy and simple! 

Here’s the recipe for Tiramisu Cake:

Tiramisu Cake

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

 For the cake layers:

2 cups cake flour (I used All purpose flour +Cornstarch)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup buttermilk (I used homemade buttermilk)

 For the espresso extract:

2 tablespoons instant espresso powder

2 tablespoons boiling water

 For the espresso syrup:

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy

 For the filling and frosting:

1 8-ounce container mascarpone (store-bought or homemade) (I used 250 gms homemade from the recipe on Deeba’s blog here)

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon amaretto, Kahlua, or brandy

1 cup cold heavy cream

2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or about 1/2 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for decoration (optional) (I did not have these so I skipped it)

Cocoa powder, for dusting

 Getting ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F ( I baked at 180 degrees C). Butter two 9×2 inch round cake pans,(I used only 1) dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess, and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

 To make the cake:

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy.

 Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes,( took ~ 45 minutes for me) rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them, and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

 To make the extract:

Stir the espresso powder and boiling water together in a small cup until blended. Set aside.

To make the syrup:

Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside.

 To make the filling and frosting:

Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth.

Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

 To assemble the cake:

 If the tops of the cake layers have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected with strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, soak the layer with about one third of the espresso syrup. Smooth some of the mascarpone cream over the layer – user about 1 1/4 cups – and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the second cake layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup.

 For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so. Refrigerate the cake too.

With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want to decorate the cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans, press them into the filling, making concentric circles of beans or just putting some beans in the center of the cake.

 Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or for up to 1 day) before serving – the elements need time to meld.

Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.

(Though the cake recipe looks exhaustive it turned out to be quite simple when I actually made it)

Check out the roundup for more scrumptious versions of this cake at A sweet Punch