Chocolate Chip Almond Pound Cake for a new begining !!!

Dear All,

Change is always very painful especially if you are changing from your very first company to another. First company is like your first love which one really cannot forget! You all must be wondering what the hell I am talking about....well I recently switched from my previous and first company to another details of which I have already updated on my FB :-) Honestly there is lot of excitement as well as little sadness as I really miss my old company. The beautiful campus, my colleagues, my friends and each and every moment I have spent in my last 4 years here brings tears in my eyes. But I am happy that I am moving ahead in my career to take on new opportunities and challenges!

During my last week in my previous company, lots and i mean lots of people expressed that they will miss me a lot but more than me they will miss my bakes! Now that really is a compliment!! Yes and for all my colleagues and well wishers I prepared this cake which was till date on of my best cakes I have ever made! I was so impressed by the taste and texture of this cake that I have already made it twice in a week!

Chocolate Chip Almond Pound Cake
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar or white sugar
2 tbsp coco powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 medium eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk
90 ml vegetable oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped finely


Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
• Grease and flour a pound cake tin.
• Sieve together flour, coco powder, baking powder and baking soda in a vessel.
• In a measuring cup mix milk, oil and eggs. Mix with a spoon until well blended.
• Mix together flour mixture, sugar, almonds and 1/4 of chocolate chips.
• Add the liquid mixture and fold the batter together until well blended. DONOT use a beater, a wooden spoon or a spatula is perfect.
• Pour the batter in the baking tin and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chip on top.
• Bake the cake for 40 to 45 mins until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from oven and let is cool completely atleast for 20 mins.
• Once completely cooled, cut into pieces and serve.
• Enjoy with a coffee or even with some vanilla ice cream!

Verdict? Trust me and go and make this cake right away!!! Its so easy to prepare and hardly require any extra preparations, just mix the dry and liquid ingredients and you are ready to go! Everybody in the office loved it and I too managed to gobble down 3 pieces all by my self..hehehe :)

So what are you waiting for, rush into your kitchen and make this special treat for your loved ones! In case of any queries pls feel free to email me anytime and I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge!

Thank you and take care!

Anzac Bicsuits for my 100th post !!!

Dear Foodies,

Finally I have reached my 100th post. The journey till here has been quite a roll-a-coaster ride sometimes slow and sometimes with lots of bumps but I cant complain as this has been one of the most beautiful and enriching journey for me and my blog. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you who have supported and encouraged me, a very big heart felt thanks to all of my readers!

If you have been following my blog closely you would know I am not a big cookie person in fact the only cookies I love to munch are Chocolate Chip Cookies and very recently I have fallen in love with Anzac Biscuits. Anzac biscuits are very popular in Australia, made with oats, flour, sugar and golden syrup, it has been said that wives of soldiers used to make these biscuits during the WWI. These biscuits are extremely easy to prepare and taste extremely delicious, if you like your cookies eggless, mild in sweetness and chewy then these little drops are for you!

Recipe adapted from here
Recipe yields 24 cookies
Ingredients:-
1 cup (240 gms) all purpose flour
1 cup (90 gms) rolled oats, I used quacker
1 cup (85 gms) dessicated coconut, I used 100 gms
3/4 (155 gms) cup brown sugar
1/2 cup + 1tbsp (125 gms) unsalted butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp water

Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 160°C, line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Sieve the flour in a bowl, add in oats, coconut and sugar, mix well.
• Put butter, honey and 2 tbsp water in a pan, stir over medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add in baking soda.
• Pour the butter mixture on the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
• Roll a tbsp of mixture into small balls and place on the baking tray 5cm apart from each other.
• Using a fork, flatten the top of the cookies lightly.
• Bake for 12 to 15 mins until lightly browned. If you like your cookies crunchier than bake them for 2 to 3 mins more than the specified time.
• Remove the cookies from oven once done, let them cool down for 5 mins and then transfer them to a cooking rack. After 20 mins store these in air tight containers.

Verdict? These cookies were fantastic in taste, not over sweet and just perfect for some tea time munching. I did not have golden syrup so i substituted honey and it worked like a charm! I love my cookies a little crunchier so I baked these for close to 17 to 20 mins or until the top was golden brown. I shared these cookies with my friends and colleagues and got great reviews, everybody loved these! 

These were so easy to prepare, no heavy beating or mixing required, just fold in all the ingredients and you are ready! I urge everyone to try these wonderful cookies once, do share your experiences with me and you can always email me if you have any questions or doubts and I will try to answer them to best of my knowledge! Until next time thank you an wish you all a wonderful week ahead!

Eggless Strawberry Cupcakes/Eggless Strawberry Muffins

Dear Foodies,

Hello everyone! I know I have been away for quite sometime but last two weeks have created quite a stir! First of all there is this never ending assignments and work in office, on top of this monsoon has finally hit India. Last couple of days have been a complete mess. It rained quite heavily here in Pune, with strong winds blowing there was quite lot of destruction. Several trees have fallen, cables wires have been uprooted, infact we almost had an accident in our office with the glass doors bursting due to strong winds! Thank god no one was hurt! With electricity gone for 2 days and maid not turning up for work I was really frustated!

So when V asked me if i could bake a batch of muffins for her office party I got the much needed break! She wanted something other than the usual chocolate and vanilla flavors. I had strawberry extract in my pantry, so thought of making some Strawberry cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing. She loved the idea and she wanted to use the same color combination which I had used for the cake which I made for my parents anniversary.

This is off to Bangalore Baker's Bake-Off event!

Eggless Strawberry Cupcakes/Muffins
Recipe yields - 9 muffins
Ingredients:-
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tin (200 gms) sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp strawberry essence
1/4 cup limca or plain aerated soda water

Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 180 degress C, grease and flour 9 muffin moulds.
• Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda together.
• Beat butter, condensed milk and icing sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the strawberry essence.
• Alternatively add flour and limca and beat well after each addition.
• Fill in the muffin cups to 3/4 full and bake the muffins for 15 to 18 mins until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and cool them completely before going ahead with icing.

Buttercream icing, recipe here

Verdict? I got great reviews on these cupcakes and everyone in the office loved them! As compared to other eggless recipe, i like this one the most as I have always got fantastic results! Muffins were light and fluffy, perfectly baked! With vanilla buttercream icing it was a winner! Do try these and let me know, you can replace strawberry essence with any other flavor and it will still work like a charm!