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Summer Lemon Sponge Cake

 

Hello my wonderful readers!

How have you all been? As you can see, I haven’t really had much time to blog and cook as I have been spending time at the school and after with my little one. I stay at the school along wth my baby and once we are back we continue with activities etc together. Not cause blogging is not as interesting, its just that it really feels nice to spend time with Adi. In the last few weeks, as a mother there are so many changes in my little one and its just the best. I couldn’t imagine not sharing these changes with him. The perks of staying home with your baby, I guess 🙂

For March – April the temperatures are soaring like crazy and apparently they are only going to get worse. So I decided to make a little lemon sponge cake for the evening tea. The cake is light and spongy and so so delicious. Paired with a cup of tea this makes the perfect summer evening tea.

As the days go by there is this reality that hits you that these moments, hot, cold, summer or rain, will never come back. Little precious moments with the little boy and as a mum the only thing you want is for your little one to be able to make decisions on his own with a sensible head. As a parent we are so so weak. Some times even if its for his good, it takes a lot out of me to keep a straight face when I am trying to explain why he should do some thing . Or when I ask him if he wants to go to school and he replies with “OR THE MALL? ” like its really an option .. lol…. secretly I think he enjoys the car / auto ride to and from the school more than anything. He holds the railing behind the auto driver and pretends to be driving the auto with all the expression and sound effects the auto and its driver. Once we are home, everyday he makes a fuss to enter home. Cause he knows its time for lunch and then his afternoon  sleep which is such a struggle!! But in all its the best feeling to see his little black straight hair flutter gently when he runs to jump, his little look from the corner of his eye when I ask him to keep back things or when I say “What did Amma say?” and he says ” No Skweeeeming ” … These little moments make my heart warm and every moment worth living. Oh my there I go again about how I love my little honey bee.

Ok back to the recipe. You want all the ingredient at room temperature and do not forget to butter and dust the pan WELL!

Ingredients :-

1. Flour – 1 + 1/2 cups
2. Butter – 1 cup
3. Eggs – 3
4. Butter milk – 1 Cup ( whisked well)
5. Caster Sugar – 1 + 1/4 cup
6. Vanilla Extract – 1 tbsp
7. Lemon Zest – from 2 lemons / 1/4 cup
8. Lemon Juice – from 2 Lemons
9. Baking Powder – 2 tsp
10. Extra butter and flour to grease and dust the pan
11. Extra powdered Sugar for dusting

 

Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat the oven to 180C
2. Grese and dust a pan with butter and flour. Make sure to tap out the excess flour
3. Now in a large bowl, add the butter and sugar . Cream till pale and fluffy
4. Then add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to cream the mixture well and incorporate as much air as possible.
5. In a large pan, mix the flour and baking powder. Sieve the mixture thrice to incorporate air and to distribute the Baking powder well in the flour
6. Now into the butter and egg mixture, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract and mix well ( if you are using a hand whisk this is easy, the same can be done with a hand held whisk)
7. Next add the butter milk to the lemon egg mixture and mix well
8. With a spatula divide the flour mixture into 3 and slowly fold the flour into the  buttermilk butter egg mixture ( wet mixture)
9. Once you have added all the flour to the wet mixture, your batter is ready! ( do not over mix the batter)
10. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and tap to release bubbles
11. Pop the cake tin into the pre heated oven and bake for 45 – 50 mins or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean
12. Cool completely on a cooling rack and then turn it out onto a plate
13. Finally dust with powdered sugar and lemon slices !

 

Enjoy your summer Tea party ❤

Strawberry doughnuts with Honey and Lemon sugar

Hello My dear wonderful readers,

How are you all doing today? So it was cheat day the other day and I had one of these and OMG I had to give them away cause these doughnuts are so so addictive. Strawberry season is here and I think I would use it in everything and anything. This is my second strawberry recipe for the season and let’s be honest, I can never have enough of these ruby red beauties. These doughnuts are baked and not deep fried so they are more cakey than fried but trust me when I say this, one bite and you wont be able to go back evaaaa!! These pink rings of heaven are the perfect mix of sweet, tart, fresh and  “munchy”. Those little red spots on the donuts are the finely chopped strawberries. The key is to dunk them in honey when nice and warm and therefore the lemon sugar melts into the doughnuts and OH MY GOD., the magic is insane!

In fact I baked 12 of these but only 11 got to the photos 🙂 cause these donuts, my friend, are just so awesome!! lol

So while I was baking these my little munchkin decided it was time for him to play in the kitchen as well. So when I was whisking and piping, my little boy was sitting on the kitchen mat, making “rice, mutta (eggs) and cheese ” which is when I was reminded about how I went to the toy store to see if I could get him a kitchen set or a toy oven but to my surprise all the kitchen toys were only in this hideous bright pink with photos of little girls making food. So what I couldn’t understand is – why is that only girls like these kind of games? I mean some of the best chefs in the world are men and they are respected all over the world, then why is it that boys cant be allowed to play with the same kind of toys. Also why is it pink?? I have never come across a pink kitchen my entire life! And no working real kitchen can ever function to its fullest if it where white or pink! Why not have a kitchen that is the same colour as the real thing! Anyway the bottom line is, I decided if he wants to play he can play with the stuff in my kitchen and when he is old enough I will help him learn and understand that there is no job that was either reserved for men or for women. Girl or boy we all deserve equal opportunity and equal respect for the choices we make.

Now back to the doughnuts, just like all my bakes, (unless otherwise specified) make sure the ingredients are at room temperature and the baking tray is well prepared. Try not rushing this step cause these doughnuts will just pop out easily if you do so. Now for the recipe

Ingredients :-

1. Butter – 1 tsp
2. Flour – 2 cups + more for dusting the pan
3. Baking Powder – 1 tsp
4. Oil – 1/2 cup
5. Sugar – 1/ 2 cup + more of dusting
6. Eggs – 2 large eggs
7. Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
8. Apple Cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
9. Salt – 1/2 of 1/4 tsp
10. Nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
11. Butter Milk – 3/4 cup
12. Strawberry – 1 cup ( chopped fine)
13. Red food colour – 1 small drop ( optional)
14. Lemon Zest – from 2 limes
15. Honey 2 tbsp

Instructions :-

1. Pre-Heat your oven to 180 C
2. Prepare your doughnut pan by brushing butter on the inside of your baking pan. Make sure to butter the hole in the centre too . This recipe makes 12 doughnuts
3. Now lightly dust the buttered pan with flour. Invert the pan and shake of the excess flour. Set aside
4. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sieve twice
5. In another bowl, add the oil, eggs, apple cider vinegar , vanilla, sugar and butter milk. Whisk together till the sugar has mixed well with mixture
6. Then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in 3 batches. Make sure to mix well at every addition of dry mixture to the wet
7. Once you have all the dry ingredients mixed, add the chopped strawberry and colour
8. Mix well to combine
9. Now pour the mixture into a piping bag. Snip the bottom and pipe the batter into the prepared doughnut pan
10. Fill till 80 % of the hole
11. Pop into the oven to bake for 20 mins or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean
12. While that is baking lets make the lemon sugar
13. In a plate, zest the lemons. Then add 1/2 cup of caster sugar. Now with dry hands, mix the sugar and lemon zest. You will see the sugar turn a light green colour
14. Once the doughnuts are done, let them cool for 5 mins
15. Then when the doughnuts are still warm, using a pastry brush, brush honey on the face of the doughnut
16. Then dunk the doughnuts into the lemon sugar
17. Place on a cooling rack to dust of the excess sugar
18. Your strawberry doughnuts with honey and lemon sugar are ready

 

Strawberry, Thyme and Caramel Brioche Sticky Buns

 

 

Hello my dear wonderful readers!

Is it Thursday already???? Some times I cannot believe how the days go by. My little monkey a.k.a my son 🙂 is also growing up so fast. Let me tell you why I say that. My little boy has a cold and till yesterday what comes so easily to us, was the hardest thing for him. What is that one thing that we often do when we have a cold? we blow our nose! But my little 2 year had no clue how to blow his nose. All he would do is a “kaaaarrkkkkkkkk” sound into a tissue if I ask him blow his nose. Yesterday some how, I asked him to do the same and guess what?? it worked!!! He actually blew his nose!! Now I know you are thinking OMG what is this woman talking about! So here is something, parenting is such a roller coaster, that every single minute you learn and you grow. You do not have to be a parent to a human, it could be a cute little pup or cat or any animal you want to appreciate what i am saying. When they are tiny they are so fragile that once they start showing signs of growing up, every step calls for a celebration. At least I do. Your child is a celebration of your life. The joys I have found as a mum are unparalleled and can never be forgotten.

Now coming back to this recipe. It was actually a test recipe but given that I made quite a few yesterday and only 4 remain, I think it would be apt to share the recipe with you all. So I asked my dear husband to buy some fresh thyme for a dinner I was making and he got this huge packet of thyme so needless to say, you might see a lot of “Thyme” based recipes coming your way 🙂

Strawberries and thyme are a match made in heaven. So if you wanna make a fun snack with fresh strawberry jam or even store bought organic jam then this is just the one. When I was a little girl my mum would always make me have a jam sandwich and a tall glass of milk on the table just before I went out to play. This recipe reminds me so much of those days.

The bread is not just any bread. It is the most fluffiest, softest, tastiest bread ever. Because of the addition of butter and eggs this bread is just delicious just by itself too. The little thyme adds a certain mystical, lemony smell and taste. Winter mornings with a cup of tea and these buns are the perfect breakfast in bed option too.

Ingredients for the bread :-

1. Flour – 2 cups
2. Sugar – 5 tbsp
3. Yeast – 2 tsp
4. Salt – 1/4 tsp
5. Milk – 2/3 cup (warm)
6. Water – 1/3 cup
7. Eggs – 2 (lightly beaten)
8. Butter – 105 gms (softened and at room temp)

Instructions :-

1. In a bowl combine milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside till frothy and bubbly
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the flour and butter. With the hook attachment mix till a bread crumb consistency is achieved
3. Then add the eggs and mix well
4. Next add the yeast mixture and milk in a steady stream with the mixer on low
5. Once you are done, add the salt and let the dough mix for 10 – 12 mins on medium speed
6. Mean while oil a glass bowl with 1/2 tsp of oilve oil and set aside
7. Now you will notice that the dough is quite wet but that’s ok, continue mixing till the dough is nice and elastic
8. Finally tip the elastic dough into the prepared bowl
9. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place till the dough doubles in size ( 1 – 3 hrs)
10. During that time. Lets assemble the ingredients for the filling

Ingredients :-

1. Strawberry Jam – 2 cups ( depends on how thin you roll out the dough)
2. Fresh Thyme – 4 tbsp
3. Caramel – 3 tbsp ( or as required)
4. Egg – 1 (whisked well)
5. Butter for greasing

Instructions  :-

1. Pre Heat your oven to 200 C and grease a cupcake tray with butter. Set aside
2. Flour your work counter with flour and dump the flour into the counter. Make sure to deflate the dough in the bowl first
3. Slowly knead for 1 min till it forms a ball. Divide the ball into 2 equal halves
4. Then using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle 40 cm x 20 cm
5. The using a pastry brush, evenly spread the jam over the rolled out dough ( if it very thick pop it into the microwave for 30 sec)
6. Once you are done with the strawberry layer, sprinkle the thyme leaves
7. Then drizzle the caramel over it
8. Now slowly starting from the longer side roll inwards. Flour your hands, if you find the dough is sticky
9. Once you have a nice long roll, cut into equal circles. I used a thread for this. Slip a thread under the log, come around it from both side, make a tiny knot just once and pull tight through
10. As you make the circles place it in the prepared cupcake tray
11. Once you are done with all of the dough in the same manner, using a pastry brush, lightly coat the tops of the rolls, with the eggs wash
12. Pop into the oven for 30 Mins or till golden brown. Once done, remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack
13. Allow to cool till warm to touch, then pop them out of the cupcake molds and place on a cooling rack to cool completely
14. Serve with hot milk or tea

Easy Gulab Jamun

 

Hello My Dear Wonderful Readers!

How are you all doing? Today, I finally got my Diwali lights out on the balcony and my son was super excited! He ran out onto the balcony saying “Wooow..so pretty! “. He was in his PJs and his little eyes twinkled in the reflection from the fairy lights. Hey do you follow me on Instagram? Cause if you do, then you can see the live photos of what I describe here. Search for A cupcake for love and you will find me. I share most of my day meals or finds on my Instagram handle and I would love to hear from you.

So Diwali is a few days from now and I did make a few sweets but I have been procrastinating and not putting up the recipes on the blog. To make amends I am starting with my ‘easy peasy’ Gulab Jamun. Now as we go move along you will notice that most of my Diwali sweet recipes include Milk Powder. This is the lazy mum’s easy way to make home made sweets, satisfy sweet tooth’s, not spend too much time in the kitchen and also enjoy the holiday. So I am not saying these are authentic in anyway, but you know what, they taste just as good and they guarantee satisfaction 🙂

So here is the recipe for my Milk Powder Gulab Jamun

Ingredients for the sugar syrup –

1. Sugar – 1 cup
2. Water – 1 + 1/2 cup
3. Cardamom Powder – 1/2 tsp
4. Saffron – 8 – 10 strands

Instructions :-

1. In a heavy bottom pan, combine water and sugar
2. With the heat on medium, slowly mix the water and sugar till it dissolves
3. Then add the cardamom and saffron
4. Now bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the flame and let it simmer till the mixture begins to thicken (around 10 mins)
5. Continue stirring till the sugar and water mixture thickens ( dip a ladle into the mixture and see it it coats the back in a nice thick layer )
6. Set aside

Ingredients :-

1. Milk Powder – 1 cup
2. All purpose Flour/ Maida – 2 tbsp
3. Baking Soda – 1/4 tsp
4. Oil – for frying (depends on the vessel)
5. Milk – 1/3 cup
6. Butter – 1 tbsp (melted and cooled)

Instructions :-

1. In a large bowl, combine milk powder, maida, baking soda and mix well
2. Then add the melted butter and combine well with the flour
3. Finally add little milk at a time and slowly knead the flour to form a nice ball ( may be a little sticky but that’s ok)
4. Leave it to rest for 10 mins
5. During that time heat a heavy bottom pan with oil on medium ( use enough to deep fry)
6. Finally make tiny lemon size balls with the milk powder mixture and set aside
7. Slowly fry these balls on medium till golden brown
8. After you have fried them, drop it into the prepared sugar syrup ( its best if the sugar syrup is warm)
9. Let it soak for an hour and they are ready!

Dark Chocolate covered Chocolate Cookie hearts

Hello my dear wonderful readers!!

Its been so long and there has been so much happening, I do not know where to begin! We finally moved to our own place and I am so excited cause there is so much sun light and space in the form of big balconies! lol. So to start our sweet journey at the new place, I decided to make these simple yet decadent cookies. Hey you know what I discovered, if you want to get rid of the smell of paint in a new place, all you need to do is bake some thing nice! I made these cookies and the paint smell reduced considerably. The next day I made some biryani and that sealed the deal.  hahahahaha…

These cookies are super easy to make and are perfect if you want to make chocolate cut out cookies.

Ingredients :-
1. Flour – 2 cup
2. Baking Powder  – 1/4 tsp
3. Cocoa Powder – 4 tbsp
4. Demerara Sugar – 1 cup
5. Butter – 100 gms
6. Milk – 4 tbsp
7. Salt – one pinch

 Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat your oven to 180 C – Using your baking paper or silpat mat, line your cookie baking tray
2. In a bowl combine butter and sugar. Beat well for 2 – 3 mins
3. Then add the baking powder, salt, flour, cocoa powder. Then slowly add the milk to flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon and once the dough comes together use your hands and bring it all together
4. Finally you will reach a nice thick doughy consistency
5. Lay a baking paper over your kitchen counter and place the cocoa dough in the centre
6. Then place another piece of paper over the dough ( the same size as the paper underneath (40 cm x 40cm)
7. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a nice thin size
8. Then remove the paper over the dough and using the cookie cutter, cut out the desired shape
9. Slowly place the cookies over the prepared baking sheet. These cookies do not expand so its ok to not leave too much space between the cookies 
10. Bake for 20 – 25 mins ( do not wait for the cookies to turn dark brown)
11. Once they are ready , place them on a cooling rack and they are ready for their dressing 🙂

For the glaze
1. Micro wave, 50 gms of dark chocolate in spurts of 30 seconds each. Make sure to put out the bowl every 30 seconds and mix with a spatula. This will help prevent the chocolate from burning
2. Dip the cooled chocolate cookies in the melted chocolate and place over a wire rack to let the excess drip down
3. Sprinkle with your favorite kind of topping / sprinkle!!

Healthy Flax Seed and Oat, Raisin Thins

 

Hello my Dear Wonderful Readers!!

How have you all been? Its been a long time since I got down to blogging and trust me when I say, the last week has been such a life changer! Have you ever looked down from a flight that is just about to land? That moment when you see tiny cars and thin trees and wormy roads? That’s the moment you realize how small you really are! We have been travelling a lot for the last few days and I have come to the firm belief that, no matter how hard you try, some things cannot be controlled. Its sad when people who drink and smoke their whole lives, live happy without a care are fit as a fiddle while people who are so cautious about their physical and mental health might have the worst medical condition. I guess what I am trying to say is that, what really matters, is that you live each minute of each day to its fullest and you do your part. There is no point living a vegetarian life when our mind is full of vengeful thoughts. There is no need for an argument with your spouse when life itself is full of challenges thrown at you every day. Every time I have fought or scolded some one its makes me feel like all I did was bring negativity into the room and nothing stands a chance to improve.

While such tumultuous thoughts run through my head, my cup of hot green tea was beckoning for a little some thing to go along with it. Much to my dismay, reaching for the cookie jar had only resulted in a depressing after thought of how many calories I have to burn the next day or why my greedy tongue has not been able to make its peace with 3 cookies undoubtedly made with much more sugar than flour or butter 😛 . So here was my answer!

A simple #NO GLUTEN! NO FLOUR, REFINED SUGAR FREE COOKIE- ( OH! did i mention no butter too)

These are so really simple to make all you need is a fork and two bowls. So lets get to it ….

 

Ingredients :-

1. Instant Oats – 2 cups
2. Raisins – 1/2 cup
3. Flax Seed – 3 tbsp
4. Virgin Coconut Oil – 1 cup
5. Egg – 1
6. Palm Sugar – 1 cup
7. Cinnamon Powder – 1.2 tsp
8. Vanilla Extract – 1.2 tsp

Instructions :-

1. Pre-heat your oven to 150 C and line a baking tray with parchment paper
2. In a bowl, mix oats, flax see, raisins, palm sugar, cinnamon powder and give it a good mix with a fork ( make sure you do not have any lumps of sugar)
3. In another bowl, crack open the egg. Add the coconut oil and vanilla extract. Give it a good whisk with the fork
4. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the oat mixture and set aside to soak for 10 mins
5. Then using the same fork give it a good mix once again to coat the oats well with the egg mixture
6. Now using a small ice cream spoon or a normal spoon scoop out even portions of the oats and egg mixture and place on the baking tray
7. Then with the back of the fork press down to flatten
8. I like these nice and thin, so they snap when I bite into them
9. Bake in the pre heated oven for 10 – 15 mins (till they turn light brown )
10. Once they are done leave to cool completely – remember they will be soft when they come out of the oven but leave to cool completely and they will crisp up soon!!
11. Store in an air tight container once cooled

Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberry compote and cream

 

Hello Everybody!!

Happy World Chocolate Day! Now I was so tempted to make a nice chocolate brownie with lots of gooey frosting and stuff, but I decided I did not wanna play with flour.  Pavlova has always been my nemesis! Smaller version of the same are easier to make, but the tricky part is not till you get it in the oven, its when you have to pull it out of it. Make no mistake, if there were ever a fight between a tiramisu and pavlova, the tiramisu would win, but if I wanted to keep it light a pavlova is the way to go.   When I say “light” I mean “lighter” 😛

The perfect pavlova should be crunchy, gooey, chewy in the center, not too sweet and just right. The first time I made a summer pavlova, with kiwi, fresh cherries , passion fruit and lots of lemon curd. It was really good. But it was not really a looker and after repeated attempts I realized two things. Firstly – a Pavlova is not a cake! – so do not expect it to be nice and puffy like a cake. And Secondly, Time it! Time your baking time and after the baking time, leave it inside the oven to cool till it comes down to room temperature. Texture is everything when it comes to this dessert. What makes this dessert, much craved for is that wonderful crunchy exterior and then that gooey, chewy, marshmallow center. The cream over the Pavlova is just for additional creaminess and to balance out the sweetness of the pavlova itself. I strongly recommend that when ever you make a Pavlova, use a strong pungent flavor to top it off.  That just makes this dessert a ride on a roller coaster. You could use fresh raspberries too, but I took the liberty to make a concentrate with the raspberries, added a little honey and made it a little more dramatic. But like I said, using fresh raspberries would do well too. Needless to say, the last time I made it, it was over within a day. So if you are the one cutting into the pavlova, make sure to save some for your self too!

 

Ingredients for the pavlova base:-

1. Egg Whites – 6
2. Sugar – 300 gms
3. Coco Powder – 3 tbsp
4. Balsamic Vinegar – 1 tsp
5. Chopped Dark Chocolate – 2 tbsp

 

Instructions :-

1. Pre Heat you over to 180 and line two baking tray with parchment paper. Draw two discs the size of a quarter plate on the lower side of the paper
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, pour in the egg whites and whisk on medium speed
3. Once the whites are double in size and are nice and glossy, add one spoon of sugar at a time
4. Now increase the speed and whip on high speed till nice firm peaks are formed
5. Take off the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the coco powder, balsamic vinegar and dark chocolate
6. Make sure to only fold in the ingredients or you will knock out the air from the whites  ( which you really do not want)
7. Now divide the batter equally and pour over the two circle you drew earlier on the parchment paper
8. Using a spatula or a butter knife, level off the top
9. Pop the baking tray into the oven and reduce the temperature to 150
10. Bake for 1 hour and 15 mins
11. Once you hear the ding of the oven, DO NOT OPEN IT AJAR! slowly pop a wooden ladle between the door of the oven and let it sit till the pavlova had completely  cooled and reached room temperature
12. Mean while get on with the raspberry goo 🙂

 

Ingredients :-

1. Frozen Raspberries – 100 gms
2. Honey – 3 tbsp
3. Whipping Cream – 300 ml

Instructions :-

1. In a sauce pan, combine the raspberry and honey
2. Cook on medium flame till the mixture begins to boil ( stir occasionally)
3. The let the mixture reduce to half on the same flame
4. Once it has reduced by half, take it off the flame and let it cool down
5. Whip the double cream to stiff peaks and set aside

 

• When you are ready to assemble the Pavlova, first use one pavlova as the base, add cream and spread evenly
• Then add half the raspberry goo and sprinkle some chocolate chips
• Then place the next pavlova over the first layer and repeat the same step
• Your Chocolate Pavlova is ready!

Recipe Adapted from Nigella Lawsons book

 

 

 

 

Strawberry, Pistachio and Rose Lassi

Hello my dear wonderful readers!

Did I tell you how awful last week was? And I am still hopeful that this week will be better. I haven’t started using my new camera. These photos are from the old one but I will write about the new camera soon. For now I am leaving you with this simple recipe for the perfect summer afternoon/ evening drink.

Ingredients :-

1. Fresh Strawberries – 3 cups
2. Thick Yogurt – 2 cups ( cold)
3. Water – 1 cup ( cold)
4. Rose Essence – 2 drops
5. Pistachio – 10 – 11  (half chopped fine)
6. Sugar – 2 – 3 tbsp ( according to taste)

Instructions :-

1. In the bowl of your blender add all ingredients  apart from the chopped pistachio
2. Blend for 5 – 6 mins or till the mixture is smooth and red
3. Pour into individual glasses and garnish with chopped pistachio
4. Serve cold

 

White Chocolate Persimmon Tartlets

 

 

 

 

Hello Wonderful readers!

It’s persimmon season and I just can’t get enough of this lovely fruit. If you follow me on Instagram you will see what I mean when I say ” I LOVE PERSIMMON” 🙂

So, we have been trying to stay healthy for three weeks now and I must tell you that it is not an easy task! Every time a “cake idea” strikes me, I have to remind myself how we have decided not to have too much butter and sugar. Yes, I know there are alternatives, but cake is best with eggs and butter and sugar and milk! Maybe it’s because we have been conditioned to like cake that way from the age of 1 (like on your first birthday).

Given the above circumstances, I made a batch of these amazing tarts and I had one! just one! So that I did not eat anymore I made sure they were left home (by home, i mean my parents home) that evening! Oh, how I cried the next day just for a little bit of that yummy filling and that soft crumbly crust 😦

Anyway, the fact is, its not easy to stay healthy with all those distractions in the super market. But you just got to try. So for me, weekends’ mean we can have pizza and biriyani. (in moderation). Yippee.

Today being a Friday, I plan on making pizza for dinner. I have the dough resting and my chicken marinating. I will share that recipe with you next week. Just to make it healthier I made the pizza dough in whole wheat flour :p. Yes an oxymoron! Healthy Pizza! Whaaaatttt r u saying????!!!

Ingredients for the tart shell

1. Flour – 500 gms
2. Butter – 250 gms ( cold)
3. Sugar – 5 tbsp ( powdered)
4. Cold water – a few tsps ( enough to bring the dough together)

Instructions :-

1. In a bowl of a food processor, combine cold butter and flour
2. Process on slow till the mixture resembles bread crumbs
3. Then add sugar and slowly add one tsp of water at a time while the mixture is on at a low speed
4. Stop adding water as soon as the dough comes together
5. Tip out the contents of the bowl onto a cling wrap sheet and ball up the dough with the cling wrap
6. Store the tart dough in the fridge till required

Ingredients for the filling :-

1. White Chocolate – 250 gm
2. Cream – 200 ml
3. Eggs – 2 egg yolks
4. Vanilla extract – 1 tsp

Instructions :-

 

• In a microwavable bowl, combine cream and white chocolate
• Heat at medium power pausing at one minute intervals to mix the ingredients
• Once the chocolate cream mixture has melted and combined take it out of the microwave and cool to room temperature

 

1. Then add the vanilla and eggs. Whisk well with a fork ( do not over whisk as it will curdle)

Assembling the tart :-

1. Roll out the cooled tart dough to the size of your tart pans.Butter your tart pan liberally and then line the tart pans with the rolled out dough
2. Bake in a preheated oven for 10 – 15 mins at 180 C
3. Once they are ready, take them out of the oven and let them cool down
4. Now slowly pour the white chocolate cream mixture into the tart shells
5. Bake for another 20 mins at 180 C. You will see the mixture start to rise a little and bubble. Once the sides of the tart shell are slightly golden, take them out of the oven and set aside to cool
6. Serve with fresh cut persimmon