Semolina Bread

Semolina Bread

Today on the last day of the BM #52 I am paired with Mir and I wanted bake a bread. I had my eye on the bread that Mir had set out for us in Taming the Yeast; it was a whole wheat bread. You know me I cannot leave them alone so I tried it. The bread had a mind of its own; it did rise to the occasion.

My discussion with Mir gave me an understanding of the reason.  The whole wheat flour in India has greater protein content  lesser protein content so it does not rise as much as the bread made with the whole wheat flour made in US. The solution is to add vital wheat gluten. 

Since I do not have access to gluten I decided to make this Semolina Bread.

The bread flour was what Kalyani gifted to me.

Family of course loved the bread.

Semolina Bread, 

Semolina Bread

Recipe Source: The Schizo Chef

Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

Semolina Bread, 

• 2 cups warm water
• 1 tblspn instant yeast
• 1 tblspn sugar
• 1 tblspn salt
• 3 ½ – 4 cups bread flour 
• 1 cup semolina
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tblspn milk
• 2 tblspn til/ sesame seeds

Method:

• Dissolve the sugar in the water.
• In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of the flour, salt, yeast and water, with an electric mixer, mix for a few minutes.
• Add semolina, 1 cup of flour and olive oil.
• Mix well and using the dough hook attachment, start to knead the dough.
• Add flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough wraps itself around the dough hook.
• Knead for 5 minutes. Dough will be elastic and slightly sticky.
• Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl.
• Cover with greased plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.
• Leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
• On a floured board, knead dough for a few minutes, sprinkling a little flour on top as needed.
• You can shape into a rustic round loaf. But I preferred to make it in a loaf. I rolled it in a thick rectangle and rolled it up from the narrow end in the thick roll.
• Sprinkle a greased loaf pan with rava/semolina or corn flour.
• Cover with kitchen towel and leave to rise another 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 190°C/375 F.
• Brush the top with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
• Bake for 45 – 50 minutes, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
• Cool and slice.
• I served it with a delicious  mushroom dip. 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

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Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

April'15 for Baking Partners we were to bake one delicious cake that I knew the girls will love.

 An amazing molten lava cake… but I postponed making it as I knew my younger daughter who was out of station will love it. Plus she was to come back with my niece another chocolate crazy kid!

Plus given the fact that I was totally lazy and barely in the kitchen it made sense right?

This amazingly delicious cake that fell on the kitchen platform as I was transferring to the rack. I called my elder one, her solution was to fetch a spoon and finish it straight from the platform....:)

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Anyway here is awesome cake that will wow your family and guest alike.

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

Recipe Source: Death by Chocolate Cakes: An Astonishing Array of Chocolate Enchantments by Marcel Desaulniers

Ingredients:

Chocolate truffle:

• 227 grms semisweet baking chocolate
• ¾ cup heavy cream

For the chocolate cocoa cake:

• 142 grms butter cut into pieces +2 tsp melted
• 2/3 cup Maida/All purpose flour
• ½   cup Unsweetened cocoa
• 227 grms Semi sweet baking chocolate
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Egg yolks
• ½ granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

To make the truffles:

• Place the chocolate in a bowl.
• Heat heavy cream in a small pan over medium heat and bring to boil.
• Pour boiling cream over the chopped chocolate.
• Let it sit for five minutes and whisk until smooth.
• Pour the mixture onto a non-stick baking sheet and slightly spread it with a spatula.
• Place this in the freezer for 15 minutes.
• Divide into two and roll into balls.
• Place the truffles into paper lined plates and place in the freezer.

To make the chocolate cake:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degree F.
• Lightly coat the inside of muffin tin (3 inch diameter cups) with melted butter. Set this aside.
• Sift combine flour and cocoa powder keep aside.
• Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler or in a microwave and stir until smooth.
• Place egg, egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium high heat with an electric mixer.
• When it is frothy add the butter chocolate mixture and beat for 15 seconds.
• Fold in the dry ingredients along with vanilla extract.
• Fill three forth of each muffin cup with the batter and bake for about 5-6 minutes.
• Remove the truffle from the freezer. Quickly take the muffin tray from the oven and press one truffle each to the centre of the muffin. Immediately return the baking pan into the oven and continue baking until a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the centre truffle portion but the edge of the cake) comes out clean.
•  It will take 15-17 minutes.
•  Cool in room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Run a knife around each cake to loosen it and then gently pull the baked cake out of the cup.
• You can serve while still warm with whipped cream or ice cream but we had it plain.

Chocolate Heart of Darkness Cakes

What else do we have?

Well come back on the 10th to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Pound Cake

Pound Cake

This month for Baking Partners we were to try a Pound Cake.

Simple and beautiful!

This recipe is different from that I follow here & here.

The main points that surprised me was that we were to bake in a cold oven, that is the oven is not be pre-heated and the batter after mixing is to be beaten after all the ingredients are mixed. 

Since I was baking this cake for my daughter’s birthday I pre-heated the oven but I did beat the batter and the cake rose beautifully.Also I used my regular 150°C/302°F and not the recommended 190°C/375°F.

Coming to the birthday cake since the theme my younger one had chosen was childhood, she wanted me bake a rabbit cake.

She got out my old book and showed me what she wanted. The book had asked for coconut flakes but she did not want the flakes. Personally I feel the cake looks like a cat the girls were satisfied so who am I to complain…

Also I forgot to take pictures of the pound cake and the cake also in my setup. So this is what you will get for I do not think I will be making this shape again. 

Pound Cake

Recipe Source:Gourmet | September 2005

Ingredients:

• 1/2  cup unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
• 1 ½   cups sifted cake flour, sifted before measuring plus additional for dusting
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 and 1/2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Method:

• Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour, line the bottom  of the pan with parchment paper.
• Once you sifted the homemade cake flour for 5 times, then add salt and sift together once again.  If using cake flour then you need to sift only 3 times.
• Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.
• Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition.
• Scrape down side of bowl, and then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.
• Transfer the batter into pan and tap the pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles.
• Place pan in pre- heated  oven  at 150°C/302°F.
• Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering.
•  Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes.
• Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, and then invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Pound Cake

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Round up of “#FireUpYourOven" Mega Marathon this April'2015

April is a busy month as we have Mega Marathon. Mega means we choose a theme and follow the theme entire month. This time around we are
Baking!!
These are my bakes
Day 1

• Banana and Burnt Butter Pudding

A delicious pudding with over-ripe bananas and burnt butter.

Day 2

• Baked Bread Pudding

A bread, stale bread  that gets a makeover...

Day 3

• Malva Pudding

A delicious Pudding that the girls have named as Alpineliebi pudding.

Day 4

• Self Saucing Chocolate Pudding

A chocolate pudding that is gooeyly delicious,

Day 5

• Benne Wafers

I did not expect these cookies to be liked at home. Was I wrong...?

Day 6

• Karachi Bakery Biscuits

Day 7

• Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Day 8

• Gingerbread Cookies

Day 9

• Samo Rice Savoury Cookies/ Varya Tikhat Biscuit

Day 10

• Chocolate Chip Cookies

Day 11

• Focaccia Pugliese or Potato Focaccia Pugliese

Day 12

• Focaccia Caprese

Day 13

• Cauliflower Cheese with Walnuts and Bread Crumbs

Day 14

• Roast Garlic

Day 15

• Spinach Cheese Empanadas

Day 16

• Empanada Vegetariana (Vegetarian Empanada)

Day 17

• Plum and Apple Cobbler

Day 18

• Egg-less Date and Walnut Cake

Day 19

• Orange Marmalade Scone Ring

Day 20

• Melon Pan (Japanese Melon Bread)

Day 21

• Apple Upside Down Cake

Day 22

• Sweet Potato Pound Cake

Day 23

• Fresh Strawberry Cake with Decoration Basics

Day 24

• Victoria Sandwich Cake/ Victoria Sponge Cake

Day 25

• Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Day 26

• Marble Cake

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

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Marble Cake

Marble Cake

I mentioned when I shared the Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze my friend’s daughter, Saavani, loved the cake and wanted me to bake a cake for her. I decided to “#FireUpYourOven" to make the same cake.

Disaster struck in the form of “NO COFFEE”! 

Being Dhulivandan or Rang Panchmi the day we play colours, all the shops were closed. That is when I decided to make a Marble cake.

A slight change in the ingredients and method gave me such a delicious and soft rich marble cake quite unlike the once I have eaten in the past.

Made me wonder why on earth I used to think that making a Marble Cake is beyond my capabilities.

This last month has been a wonderful journey with my friends, who like me have been preparing for this beautiful Mega Marathon that we have had. With a heavy heart I bid adieu to this series only to be back with more delicious bakes that I will make from my friends blogs.  For if I thought I will shrink the size of my bookmark list I am mistaken its grown by leaps and bounds!

Marble Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Maida/APF
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 12 tblspn butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cup milk
• 2 tblspn cocoa dissolved in 1 ½ tblspn hot water

Method:

• Grease an 8 inch pan.
• Preheat oven to 350⁰F/180°C.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and soda, salt.
• Combine butter and sugar at medium speed till pale and fluffy.
• Add the sour cream and beat well.
• Add 1 egg at a time and beat after each addition.
• Add vanilla essence.
• Add the flour alternating with milk the last addition should be flour.
• Divide the flour in 2 parts.
• In one add cocoa mixture and mix well.
• The third will remain as vanilla.
• In the   pan add vanilla batter the add chocolate next and with a knife mix the batter.
• Bang the pan on the counter 3-4 times to settle the batter.
• Bake for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the cake come out clean.
• Transfer the mould to a wire rack for 10 minutes then unmould and cool.

Marble Cake

Day 26

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

 

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

For my younger ones birthday I wanted to order a cake for her.

Hubby and she were adamant that I should make the cake not order it.

That is when I, “#FireUpYourOven"  (d)  to bake 3 cakes.

One was a Date and Walnut Cake,  A Pound Cake that I covered with ganache the third one was this delicious cake that was appreciated a lot.

In fact one of my friend's daughter asked me for a full cake for her.

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Recipe Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

• 2 cups Maida/APF
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 12 tblspn butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tblspn cocoa dissolved in 1 ½ tblspn hot water
• 2 tblspn coffee dissolved in 1  tblspn hot water

Glaze:

• 1 ½ tblspn coffee dissolved in 2-3 tblspn water
• ¾ cup powdered sugar

Method:

• Grease an 8 inch bunt pan.
• Preheat oven to 350⁰F/180⁰C.
• Sift flour, baking powder, soda, salt.
• Combine butter and sugar at medium speed till pale and fluffy.
• Add 1 egg at a time and beat after each addition.
• Add vanilla essence.
• Add the flour alternating with sour cream the last addition should be flour.
• Divide the flour in 3 parts.
• In one add cocoa mixture and mix well.
•  in the second add the coffee and mix well.
• The third will remain as vanilla.
• In the bunt pan add a scoop of coffee, add vanilla, the add chocolate next to one another.
• Bang the pan on the counter 3-4 times to settle the batter.
• Bake for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the cake come out clean.
• Transfer the mould to a wire rack for 10 minutes then unmould and transfer to a serving tray.
• Pour the glaze over the cake and let the cake cool completely before serving.

Mocha Coffee Cake with Espresso Glaze

Day 25

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!