Chocoflan

This can be a quick yet delicious recipe for dessert when you are running short of time but still wants to make something truly splendid. I made it only once but it instantly became a family favourite. Please try it.

Ingredients

cake

1 (18 1/4 ounce) box chocolate cake mix, or (prepare as indicated on package)
3 eggs
3⁄4 vegetable oil
1 1⁄3 cups water, or

Flan

3 eggs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla

Caramel Topping

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter according to instructions on package. Do not bake, set aside.
Flan: In a blender, mix eggs, condensed milk, cream cheese and vanilla til smooth.
On a small pan over the stove top pour the 1/2 cup of brown sugar til it melts to make the caramel topping.
On a greased  pan pour the caramel to cover the bottom of the pan following pour prepared cake batter then on top of cake batter add flan mixture. It might seem everything is mixing together but once baked both will cook separately and it'll look beautiful. Bake 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove and cool. Place on a serving dish best when served cold.

Red Velvet Cake

I made this cake exclusively as a Valentines day special treat. It came out even better than expected and my husband said that it was my best ever home baked cakes. What more should I ask for!!

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for the pans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely. Enjoy.

Chocolate Microwave Cake in a Cup

This is a superb and super easy cake recipe. The highlight is that it takes only a maximum of 2 minutes to be baked with the least of efforts. It can be called as a Kids favourite recipe. So surprise your family with this easy cake. Please  note that the time needed will vary according to the temperature setting of your microwave.

Ingredients

5 tbsps All purpose flour
1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp oil (I used olive oil)
2 tsp  Apple cidar vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp water
2 tbsp Milk

Instructions

In a microwave safe bowl or cup, add all the dry ingredients and mix. Now add all the wet ingredients and stir until evenly mixed.
Place it in your microwave and cook for 1 mins 30 seconds.
It will rise and it will be super fluffy and chocolatey. Enjoy!

Chocolate Avocado Muffins

This is a surprisingly tasty chocolate muffin recipe.There is an avocado in it, but it doesn’t taste like avocado at all,  it is only there for the texture. Avocado is used as a substitute for butter. This is dense, thick and a sweet muffin and hence can be considered as a regal breakfast dish.

Ingredients

1 ripe large avocado
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup milk
¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare muffin tin by putting liners in and spraying them with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat the avocado and sugar until as smooth as it will get. Its okay if there a few small chunks of avocado. They will mush in as you add the dry ingredients.
Add the vanilla and the eggs, mixing until well incorporated.
Mix the dry ingredients.
Alternate adding dry ingredients with the milk until they are well mixed. Do not over mix, but also make sure to smush up any remaining little specks of avocado. Mix in the mini chips.
The batter is pretty thick and dense. Fill the muffin cups about ⅔ full. I used an ice cream scoop to do it easily and cleanly.
Give the pan a good couple of taps on the counter to level them out a bit. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until set, a bit puffed and a toothpick comes out with some moist crumbs.
Let cool completely. These will store well covered on the counter, or freeze to keep them fresh longer.

Mango Cheese Cake

This is the ultimate dessert recipe for everyone with a sweet tooth. Easy melt-in-the-mouth dish that brings sheer ecstacy to everyone who tries it out. The same can be made with strawberries or blueberries or any other fruit but there is nothing that can outsmart the sweetness of a ripe juicy mango. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling
3 large very ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
3 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Sliced peeled pitted mangoes

Direction

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a  pan. Stir biscuit crumbs and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Puree mangoes in processor until smooth. Set aside 2 cups mango puree. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 2 cups mango puree and beat until well blended. Pour filling over crust in pan.

Bake cake until set and puffed and golden around edges (center may move very slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 25 minutes. Cool cake 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. (You can also pour some slightly boiled mango puree over the filling after it is baked  and beforekeeping keeping it in the fridge overnight. I did it.) Run small knife between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Cut into wedges and serve with sliced mangoes.

Eggless Semolina Cake

This is a tasty kid-friendly recipe that you can give your toddler even. It is easy to be made with the ingredients easily available in your kitchen pantry. Can be eaten as a quick tea time snack too. Though it is simple to make, it has a unique taste and texture unlike the usual flour cakes.

Ingredients

1 cup suji/Rava/Semolina
1 cup curd
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp ghee
1 tsp baking soda
Vanilla essence few drops
A handful of dry fruits chopped(raisins,cashew nuts,almonds,walnuts)

Method

Mix suji and powdered sugar in a bowl
Add curd and mix properly.
Now add ghee and mix.
Add baking soda and vanilla essence.
Mix all the ingredients well
Add dryfruits.
Pour the batter in a greased tin.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
Bake in the oven at 180deg.
Bake till the edges start to brown and a tooth pick comes clean.

Easy microwave marble cake pie

For all those who want to try your hand at baking for the first time,  pease try this easy microwave marble cake or marble cake pie. No professionalism needed, no baking expertise needed.  A perfect teatime snack which can be made without all the usual headaches like "will my crust be smooth, is it evenly cooked" etc etc. This one is exclusively for the new and amateur bakers out there.

Ingredients

2 eggs separated
160 ml milk
80 ml oil
300 ml cake flour
15 ml baking powder
Pinch of salt
150 ml powdered sugar
5 ml vanilla essence
15 ml sweetened cocoa mixed with 30 ml boiling water

Method

Spray and line a microwave ring tin.
In a dish add all the ingredients to except egg white and the cocoa mixture and mix well.
Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form and fold into cake batter.
Turn half the batter into prepared tin. add cocoa mixture and remaining batter in alternate pattern one after the other to the centre of the cake.
Place tin in microwave on high for 6 minutes, leave to stand in microwave for 10 minutes . Turn out on wire rack.
Allow to cool.

Vanilla Cupcake

 A very common cupcake recipe. Cup cakes are a good substitute for actual cakes when you dont want to bake it in bulk.  Heres a  tip from my first trial. Please make sure that you fill the cups only three quarters full. Otherwise it would spill over.  When I first poured the batter into the cups, threequarters looked very less and I filled it up a little more. The result was a mess. So be cautious. So get ready to enjoy these simple and yummy cupcakes.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup whole milk, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low; beat in half of the flour mixture, then all of the milk, then the remaining flour mixture until just combined.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.

Easy Sponge Cake

A very common type of cake that would taste awesome if it comes out perfectly and sometines be an epic failure too. So dont take this one lightly. Confront it with a lot of patience and the rest is luck.  I like the egg flavour in a sponge cake the most. So I always try to put more eggs in it. The same can be made without eggs too. So get set. Cook.

Ingredients

3 large eggs
170gm self rising flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar)
3/4 cup margarine or soft butter
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
Few drops vanilla extract

Method

Whisk together sifted sugar and margarine/butter with an electric whisk until soft and creamy

To the butter and sugar mixture add all other ingredients (sifted flour and baking powder)
Whisk the mixture again until it has all come together, forming a thick creamy batter. If your mixture does not fall off the back of a spoon easily - add a few drops of milk or water to slacken it to a thick but pourable consistency.
Pour the mixture into a pre-lined pan, level the top roughly
Place the cake in the middle of the oven at 170 celsius  for 30-35 minutes - Do not open the oven before thirty minutes.
If the cake is ready it should spring to the touch if you press it lightly on the top with one finger. If not, return to the oven for a few minutes then check again.
Take the cake is out of the oven, wait a few minutes for the tin to cool down. Carefully turn it out of its tin on a cooling rack until cool.

Classic Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1  cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

Directions

In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating until smooth after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured pan.
Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool on a wire rack. When cake is cool, dust with confectioners' sugar or frost with your favorite frosting. Can be served with vanilla icecream.

Molten Lava Chocolate cake

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 Bar of White chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the bitter chocolate . In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins.Bake for 2 minutes and then insert the bar of white chocolate towards the crntre of the cake. Bake again for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Cinnamon Shortcakes

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup butter, cold
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 egg
1⁄4 cup milk
Cream filling- 3 tablespoon
Banana-1
Honey-2tbsp

Method

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl.
Grate the cold butter into the flour and mix 3 tablespoons sugar in lightly with your fingers.
In a separate bowl, mix the egg and milk together.
Add to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
Make round balls and place onto a baking sheet.( or in cupcake moulds)
Brush with a bit of milk and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Cool slightly, split, and fill with the bananas or other fruit and cream. Pour honey over it.

Coffee Muffins

Ingredients

250g plain flour
75g sugar
75g dark brown soft sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
225ml milk
110ml vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Grease a muffin tin.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, coffee granules, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just moistened - do not overmix! Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from tin to wire racks.Enjoy!!

Mango shortcake delight

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
Mango sliced and made into a smoothie(as much as needed)
2 teaspoons baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sugar
½ stick saltless butter
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla

Instructions

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Add butter.

In a separate bowl, mix together egg, vanilla, and mango smoothie and pour into dry mixture.
Stir until well combined.
Separate batter into 4 parts and drop each one onto greased cupcake pans.
Bake untill done. Let cool.

Take two shortcakes and join together with smoothie and butter mix(or cream)
Sprinkle mango pieces on top.

Banoffee pie

Ingredients

Biscuits, crushed( I used goodday pista and almond biscuit)
Butter, melted
condensed milk
2 small bananas
Whipping cream
Grated chocolate and almonds, to decorate.

Method

Tip the biscuit crumbs into a bowl. Add the butter and mix in. Spoon the crumbs into the base and about halfway up the sides of the tin to make a pie shell. Chill for 10 minutes.

Melt the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring all the time until the sugar has dissolved. Add the condensed milk and bring it to a rapid boil for about a minute, stirring all the time for a thick golden caramel. Spread the caramel over the base, cool and then chill for about 1 hour, until firm or until ready to serve.

Carefully lift the pie from the tin and place on a serving plate. Slice the bananas, fold half of them into the softly whipped cream and spoon over the base. Decorate with the remaining bananas and finish with the grated chocolate and almonds.