Pineapple n Cottage Cheese Cake(eggless)

As you might have noticed i  am not active for the past few weeks on my blog due to my health reasons. Hopefully, will be more active from next month. Its time for Potluck Party Cyber Style. i got this opportunity to make this wonderful yet very different cake. If you ask me, i would never have thought of this combination. Cottage Cheese and Pineapple in a cake, unique isn't it. Thanks to Rachana Shah for this wonderful recipe. I made few changes to the recipe. I added store bought pineapple preserve and did not make it at home. Also used wholewheat flour instead of all purpose flour.
Click here for original recipe.
So lets check the recipe.... Happy cooking...

Ingredients:

Cottage Cheese(Paneer) - 3/4 cup
Wholewheat flour - 3/4 cup
Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter - 60 gms(unsalted)
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Preserved pineapple - 3/4 cup
Pineapple essence - 1/2 tsp
Pineapple syrup - 2 tbsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Vinegar - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Sieve wholewheat flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. 

Beat butter till creamy and add grated paneer to this and beat till smooth. Now add sugar and beat till fluffy.

Now add sugar and beat till fluffy.Add milk, vinegar and pineapple essence. Mix well.  Now add the flour mixture with a spoon and mix well. Do not over mix the mixture. 

Now add pineapple syrup and preserved pineapple pieces and give it a final mix.

Line a 8" cake tin (round or square). Arrange few pineapple slices in the tin and pour the batter in the tin.

Bake for 40 minutes. Check with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Allow the cake to cool down and serve.

Sieve wholewheat flour, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Beat butter till creamy and add grated paneer to this and beat till smooth. Now add sugar and beat till fluffy.Add milk, vinegar and pineapple essence. Mix well.  Now add the flour mixture with a spoon and mix well. Do not over mix the mixture. Now add pineapple syrup and preserved pineapple pieces and give it a final mix. Line a 8" cake tin (round or square). Arrange few pineapple slices in the tin and pour the batter in the tin. Bake for 40 minutes. Check with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Allow the cake to cool down and serve.

 PCPS...

Eggless Almond sponge cake

It is very difficult to make my little one nuts and dry fruits. So this one was for him. 
I never tried to make egg-less cake before but i have been wanting to from a long time. So I thought why not at least give it a try. So instead of using eggs, i used condensed milk. Also that is the only sugar element that I used, no extra sugar added. However if you wish to add you can go on to add sugar. Also I haven't used any essence, just roast the almonds and chop them roughly, roasting releases flavors in almond. This one is super healthy and can stay for about 5 - 7 days without refrigeration. So here goes the recipe... Happy cooking...

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Condensed milk - 150 gms
Milk - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Almonds - 100 gms

Method:

In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk and oil and whisk. 

Now add the flour slowly. Whisk till it is combined. 

 Now slowly add milk into flour mixture milk is combined, then stir in the chopped almonds(keep some aside for sprinkling on the cake).

Put the mixture in the baking tray, sprinkle the remainder almonds. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes at 180 degrees or till the cake is done.

Grease the baking tray with oil/butter and sprinkle some flour and keep aside. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Roast almonds and chop them, keep aside.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda and combine them. In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk and oil and whisk. Now add the flour slowly. Whisk till it is combined. Now slowly add milk into flour mixture milk is combined, then stir in the chopped almonds(keep some aside for sprinkling on the cake). Put the mixture in the baking tray, sprinkle the remainder almonds. Cook for 20 - 25 minutes at 180 degrees or till the cake is done.
Remove from the oven and let it sit in the tray for 5-10 minutes and invert it over a wire rack to let it cool completely. 

Chocolate Biscotti

I first had Almond Biscotti in Hyderabad. There is a famous sweet store Almond House. The biscotti were to die for. I never thought back then that I will be baking them at home... I mean NEVER. I went to my in laws place a fortnight ago and thought to bake something different for them. I googled for biscotti recipes. I found this recipe on www.joyofbaking.com. I tweaked it little to suit my style. So here is the recipe... Happy baking...

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 250 gms

Butter - 125 gms

Sugar - 125 gms

Eggs - 2

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp(heaped)

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees c. 

In a bowl mix butter(at room temperature) and sugar to a smooth paste.

Now add eggs and essence and beat until well blended.

Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough.

Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your baking tray. Place roll onto the prepared baking tray, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

In a bowl mix butter(at room temperature) and sugar to a smooth paste. Now add eggs and essence and beat until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your baking tray. Place roll onto the prepared baking tray, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

These can be stored in an air tight container and can stay fresh for 10 - 20 days.

Beetroot Loaf

I have started enjoying homemade cakes and cupcakes. First it is very easy to make them and second and the most important factor, I make them guiltfree. If you have been thru my blog, you will realize I bake most of my goodies in different flours and seldom use refined flour. I also like to experiment them by adding veggies, I mean isn't that great, vegetable in a cake/loaf. I loved baking this one as it turned out quite moist and delicious. If you wish to add sugar, you can replace honey with the same quantity of castor sugar. Also, you can increase the quantity of honey depending on how sweet you like. You can make this loaf rich by adding nuts of your choice, I wanted to keep it really simple. If you want you can replace wheat flour with refined flour and the color of this cake will become red and looks almost like red velvet cake sans any food color. This is an amazing pair with your cuppa. So enjoy reading the recipe and happy cooking...

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Eggs - 1
Oil - 1/2 cup
Honey - 1/2 cup
Grated beetroot - 1 cup

Method:

combine the honey and oil and whisk.

Add eggs and whisk again. 

Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder and combine them. Now add the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined

 

Stir in the grated beetroot.  Put the mixture in the baking tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done at 180 degrees.

Oil the baking tin. Shred the beetroot. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees for about 15 minutes. 
Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder and combine them. In a separate bowl, combine the honey and oil and whisk. Add eggs and whisk again. Now add the flour mixture into the egg mixture until combined, then stir in the grated beetroot. Put the mixture in the baking tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done at 180 degrees.

Apple and Cinnamon Muffins

As a tribute to Tarla Dalal, decided to make this recipe. She is truly an inspiration to me. I mean she makes things so easy, if you follow her recipe to the T, you can never go wrong. This is a simple and easy recipe. However I made few changes. Changed this recipe to wholewheat and cornmeal recipe. Also replaced sugar with honey... being health conscious :-)
Do try it, and have it warm or with evening tea/coffee... this is just amazing... Happy cooking...

Ingredients:

Cornmeal/Makai ka aata - 1/2 cup
Whole wheat powder - 1/2 cup
Apple - 1(chopped)
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Honey - 1/2 cup
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Sieve the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder and combine them.
Combine honey, vanilla essence and oil and whisk.

Add chopped apples and mix well.

Add the flour mixture into the mixture until combined.

Finally add milk and mix well.

Put the mixture in the muffin moulds. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Preheat the oven to 220 degree for about 15 minutes.
Sieve the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon powder and combine them. In a separate bowl, combine honey, vanilla essence and oil and whisk. Add chopped apples and mix well.. Add the flour mixture into the mixture until combined. Finally add milk and mix well.  Put the mixture in the muffin moulds. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 180 degrees.

Baked Mawa Gujiya

I know i am posting this little late but what to do i was tied up with festive work and then tired to post this, anyways, better late than never. I wanted to minimise the usage oil in this festive season. Hence planned of baking Gujiya. Also known as Karonji in Maharashtra and Kajjikayalu in Andhra Pradesh. In Kajjikayalu, the filling is with semolina and coconut whereas Karonji and Gujiya has Mawa/Khoya filling. You can use your imagination to innovate the filling. Traditionally it is a deep fried sweet snack, but I baked it and yep made it healthy to an extent. So here is the recipe.... Happy Cooking...

Ingredients: 

For the dough:

Maida - 1 cup
Oil - 3 tbsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Water as required

For the filling:

Khoya/Mawa - 125 gms
Raisins - 1/2 cup( I used black raisins)
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Desiccated coconut - 3 tbsp(heaped)
Sugar - 2 tbsp(used powdered sugar)

Method:

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and oil. Start kneading while adding water until smooth and stiff textured dough.

Cover with a kitchen towel and keep aside.

In a heavy bottom pan/kadhai, add khoya and fry for a minute. Now add desiccated coconut and raisins. 

Now add sugar and cardamom powder and fry this mixture for about five minutes. Keep it aside to cool down.

Divide the dough in small balls. Roll these balls into small puris.

I used small  bowl to cut into perfect shape or use  gujia molds available in market. 

Put a tbsp of filling in the one half of the circle and brush water all over the along the side.

Fold one side of the round over the other. Pinch the edges to seal it.

Preheat the oven to 220c for 15 minutes. Place the gujiyas in an oven safe dish and bake the gujiyas for 10 minutes on each side until they are golden brown on both sides.

For the dough:

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and oil. Start kneading while adding water until smooth and stiff textured dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and keep aside.

For the stuffing:

In a heavy bottom pan/kadhai, add khoya and fry for a minute. Now add desiccated coconut and raisins. Now add sugar and cardamom powder and fry this mixture for about five minutes. Keep it aside to cool down.

Divide the dough in small balls. Roll these balls into small puris.  I used small  bowl to cut into perfect shape or use  gujia molds available in market. 
Put a tbsp of filling in the one half of the circle and brush water all over the along the side. Fold one side of the round over the other. Pinch the edges to seal it.

Preheat the oven to 220c for 15 minutes. Place the gujiyas in an oven safe dish and bake the gujiyas for 10 minutes on each side until they are golden brown on both sides.

Voila.... low cal gujiyas are ready.

sending this recipe for WTML event @ Sahasra recipes & Gayathri's Cook spot

 @ Nivedhanam & Pari's page