With My Afternoon Tea: Scones!

Scones are known as single served cakes. It differs from the regular buns as it does not have any yeast in it but baking powder instead. The perfectly baked scones are very light and airy, can have or have not a glazed surface. It goes well as your morning meal or with the afternoon tea. I personally fell in love with them at KFC (they have a version of scones, named as biscuits there) and now-a-days I love their biscuits more than the chicken, haha! 

The amazing thing about scones is the ingredients which are used to make scones are readily available in every kitchen. Moreover they take only 30 minutes altogether to get prepared and bake. Let's have a look at the ingredients first and then we will explore the recipe! 

                                        Scones

Ingredients: 

1. All purpose flour- 3 cups

2. Sugar- 1/2 cup

3. Salt- 1/2 teaspoon

4. Unsalted butter -3/4 cup

5. Baking powder- 5 teaspoons

6. Milk- 1 cup

7. Egg-1

Process:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 400 F. 

2. First mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and baking powder). 

3. Take butter, beat an egg and add milk onto it. Mix this into the flour mixture slowly. 

4. Make a dough and place it on a flour dusted surface. 

 

5. Knead and roll the dough into 1/2 inch thickness and with a cookie cutter make round shapes. Place them on a greased tray. 

6. Bake the scones for 15 minutes. Check when they are turning golden brown. That's how you want it!

7. Next, place them over a kitchen towel and rub a bit of butter. (Avoid if you are on diet...;)

8.  You can eat the scones all by itself or add your personal touch by using cream-cheese, jams or nutella as fillings. I have also added some generous drizzles of chocolate syrup as that's how I like it! 

See, now that was easy! I can't wait to hear your choice of filling to go with your version of perfectly baked scones! Happy baking!

Weekend Baking Bliss: Black Forest Torte!

Hi friends, hope you all are having an amazing time! This week, I had a very hectic schedule and when I came back home and had a fabulous weekend ahead of me, I was thinking of baking a Black Forest cake (Deshi style, Sumi's hot cake). Being decided to bake one,  I came up with the idea of using strawberry infused syrup instead of traditional cherries. During the weekend, I had a very fun night with my friends here in Purdue and had great reviews on this one! Hope you will like the recipe too. Let's start then!

Black Forest Torte 

 

Ingredients: 

For cake: 

- 2 all purpose flour 

- 1 cup cocoa powder

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 cup milk

- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil 

- 3 large eggs (room temperature) 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence

- 1 cup brewed coffee (hot)

For Strawberry glaze: 

- 10-15 fresh Strawberries 

- 2 teaspoon white sugar

- 2 tablespoon water 

For whipped topping: 

- 2 cup heavy cream 

- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 tablespoon confectioner's sugar 

Process: 

1. Preheat the oven at 350 F. 

2. Stir together all the dry ingredients listed for the cake and keep that aside. 

3. Now in a separate bowl,  add milk,  oil, eggs and vanilla and combine them all.  Next, add the dry ingredients (step-2) slowly into this mixture.  Add the coffee. Don't worry if the batter is thin. 

4. In a greased 9 inch pan, pour the batter and bake for about 30-35 minutes. Baking time varies on the pan size so keep an eye when 25 minutes are over. Insert a toothpick and if that comes out clean, your cake is ready. Rest is aside to cool. 

5. Now when the cake is cooled down, slice is into half (horizontally). Make a syrup of strawberry, water and sugar. Spread it over one slice of cake. 

6. In a bowl, beat heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. Now add vanilla and sugar. Don't over beat it, then it will become like butter. Spread half of the whipped cream over the strawberry glaze. I know what you are thinking, we can just dig onto the cake at this stage, haha you are absolutely right then! Isn't it looking amazing? 

7. Last but not the least, close the lid (with the other half of cake). Spread the remaining whipped cream over top of the cake with a spatula. 

8. Refrigerate the cake for an hour to set.  

When it's time, slice a generous piece out and devour in. It remains edible for 3-4 days but I bet it won't last in your fridge for that long! Enjoy!  

Breakfast Special: Sunny side Eggs topped with Hollandaise sauce & Pancakes!

Now this morning I thought lets play with our regular breakfast pattern. Weekdays are not meant to be special (:P) but as I had no class today, thought of making a breakfast platter for Mr. Him. I wanted to try making pancakes on muffin trays rather than the regular practice of making them on skillet. At the same time, it popped in my mind that I can bake the eggs in muffin tray too. The best thing about it is, there is almost no oil (just a drizzle at the bottom of the pan) and it's super yummy!

The recipe is given below. Hope you will enjoy trying these out during weekends! Happy baking, peeps!

Sunny side baked eggs topped with Hollandaise sauce & Buttermilk-Chocolate pancakes! 

Ingredients: 

For eggs:

1. Eggs- 2

2. Salt & pepper- taste wise 

For Hollandaise sauce:

1. Egg yolks-2

2. Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)- 1 tablespoon

3. Butter- 1/3 cup (unsalted)

4. Salt- to taste

For Pancakes:

1. Pancake mix- 1 cup

2. Egg-1

3. Milk- 1 cup 

4. Cocoa powder- 1-2 teaspoon (for chocolate pancakes) 

5. Butter- 1 tablespoon (melted, optional)

*There is no strict rule for pan cake mix : milk ratio, when you feel it's a right consistency batter ( not too runny or too think, it should work fine). 

Process: 

1.Eggs: Preheat the oven at 350 F. Crack the eggs gently on a cup cake tray (don't forget to grease it) and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. 

2.Pancakes: Mix all the ingredients of pancake. Now separate half of the batter and cocoa powder. Pour 1/3 of the batter in the greased cupcake tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Check after 10 minutes to see if the pancakes are cooked or not. You can add a thin slice of butter on top for the last 5 minutes. Also, it depends on how you want the eggs to be baked (soft or hard). 

3.Hollandaise sauce: Whisk the eggs yolk and lemon juice with a firm hand until it doubles in volume. Next, put a bowl over a saucepan with slight boiling water (you can also use double boiler). Please remember the bowl should not touch saucepan. Also, if the water it too hot, eggs will be cooked. Now, add melted butter gradually and continue whisking (you may ask for a helping hand, haha). Keep whisking until it thickens . Add some salt and pepper. Taste, and gently keep it in a warm place (until use). If the sauce becomes too thick (for resting), add a drop or two of warm water to recover the consistency. 

Place the pancakes on a plate, drizzle some maple syrup or honey over it.  Add your choice of fruits. For the baked egg, cut a pancake in half, place the egg and top with a generous amount of hollandaise sauce and chopped parsley. And... we are DONE! :)

Now, the reason I told you to have these kind of breakfast specially in weekends because it's a bit time consuming and contains A LOT of eggs (:P)... Make sure you hit gym occasionally to stay healthy! 

Note: Don't have pancake mix at home? No problem! Hit this link to make of your own: http://www.rachaelray.com/blogs/index.php/2014/05/24/make-your-own-myo-pancake-mix/

Have a lovely weekend with your loved ones, and if you are making something special for you loved one today, do share with me! It will be such a joy to share the happiness! Take care. 

Birthday Special: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake with Buttercream Frosting!

Birthday Special: Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake with Buttercream Frosting! 

Hi dessert lovers, I am back after having a superb vacation back home, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Now that I have joined Grad school from this Fall, I don't get time for baking like I used to get before. But I always look for a chance to bake! Yesterday it was one of our senior brothers' birthday here in Purdue, and on behalf of us (my fellow Purdue mates), I decided to bake him a birthday cake. I got to know about his birthday in the late afternoon, so didn't have much time in hand (bare me for my amateur frosting skills over this one), and as he is the lead guitarist for our local Purdue band here (The only Bangladeshi Band we have), I tried to make a small guitar out of the cake (Had no time to experiment with fondant)! I was very happy to see everyone's reaction to that guitar and on top of it, along the Birthday boy, when all of my friends said, it tasted divine, what more can I ask for? Here is the recipe for the cake and also for the frosting. Let me know if you have any feedback or improvisation ideas! 

Ingredients: 

For cake:

1. 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2. 1 cup cocoa powder
3. 1 teaspoon baking powder
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 2 cup milk (I prefer buttermilk)
6. 1 stick unsalted butter (if you are using salted stick, omit any additional salt from the recipe)
7. 1/3 cup oil (if using butter, omit oil)- I have used oil for this recipe.
8. 3 large Eggs
9. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
10. 3 mixes of chocolate chips/chunks (I used milk, semi-sweet and dark)- 1/3 cup of each
11. nuts of your choice, I used walnut (optional)

***The cake pops (round cheesecake truffles are store bought as I didn't have enough time. But they can be made at home. For recipe, please google: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-truffles-recipe.html ***

Process:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degree.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients first, mix with a fork, Now add oil and one egg at a time. Beat at a medium speed. Do not over beat it.

3. Now brush the 9'' cake pan with a bit of butter. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes. (Depending on the oven).

4. After the cake is being baked, rest it for frosting. You can even cut it into halves and spread your choice of frosting. After spreading the frost, close the cake lid and rest it sometime before you frost the whole cake. "Always frost a cooled cake", preferable at the room temperature.

Note: 1. If you want a cake without frosting, please add 1.5 cups of sugar (approx. adjust to your taste), to the cake mix. If you are using any kind of frosting, please avoid this note.

           2. Always set a timer when you are baking a cake in the oven. It really helps!

Buttercream Frosting: 

Ingredients: 

1. 1/2 stick butter (softened)
2. 4 cup of confectioners sugar (For BD, you might want to blend your sugar until it forms like powder)
3. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4. 4-5 tablespoon milk (low-fat preferably)

Process: First beat butter until it's creamy.  Add sugar, essence and milk and beat until you get your choice of consistency. That was easy, isn't it? Well, not for your hand though.. haha!

It will yield 2-3 cups of frosting.

Tired of regular frosting?

Add orea (crushed) or any kind of nuts (almond, pista etc), you can add a bit of lime juice to bring a tangy flavor. Don't worry, keep playing with the flavors! That's the fun and freedom to bake, ain't it?

Happy baking!