Shocks and Shoes

Recipe for the Week – Devil’s Food Cupcakes

6:57:00 pm

You know there are some things that you keep coming across and you always feel like you’ve got to try it out someday. Like a particular dress, hairstyle, craft, recipe, place to visit etc. I have many recipes in my ‘Got to try one day’ list. You can see Brown Eyed Baker’s ‘bucket list of kitchen conquests’ here, which includes many in my list too J

One dessert that always makes me drool is Devil’s Food Cake. Ever since I saw Nigella Lawson effortlessly bake her way to what must be heaven on taste buds, I was hooked. My eyes went rolling round and round in circles and I wanted to taste it then and there. (Just a small example to describe the effect Nigella can have on you from continents away).

Anyways, I love anything to do with chocolate and was wondering what chocolate recipe to post as a Valentine’s day special. All the more, since Foodelicious is hosting an event ‘Cooking for my Valentine’, which..wait for it….is also accompanied by a giveaway by Cuponation!! The winner of the event gets a Flipkart voucher worth Rs. 1000. Isn’t that awesome!!

So then I thought why not Devil’s Food. However, though Nigella Lawson’s recipe is my inspiration, I went with Martha Stewart’s recipe and shamelessly adapted it to make it slightly easier and less sweet. The basic elements of a Devil’s Food Cake – cocoa instead of chocolate and hot water to mix – were present, so I didn’t deviate much J. The result was more than satisfactory. A moist, chocolaty cake, ideal for chocolate fanatics like me. If you ever try this, don’t you dare skip the ganache – makes all the difference!!

Note1: With the quantities mentioned below, I got 12 small cupcakes and an 8” cake. You can go with more cupcakes or make a double layered 8” cake (Yum!!!).

What you’ll need:

3/8 cup of unsweetened cocoa

90 ml of hot water

1.5 cups of flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp coarse salt

3/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature (see alternative below)

If you don't have sour cream, use the following recipe to substitute for 1/2 cup sour cream:

1/2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

90 ml of milk, at room temperature

40 ml of melted butter, at room temperature

Add the vinegar to the milk and let sit for about 5 minutes, till it starts to curdle.

Add the melted butter and mix well.

What you’re going to do:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Whisk together cocoa and hot water until smooth. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-low speed, till creamy.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

5. Add vanilla, then cocoa mixture, and beat until combined.

6. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the sour cream, and beating until just combined after each.

7. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three quarters full.

8. Bake for about 20 minutes, rotating tins halfway through. Test by inserting a toothpick in the centers and see if it comes out clean.

9. Cool in tin for 15 minutes, then turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.

10. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.

Frosting:

125 g dark chocolate, chopped

1/3 cup cream

Heat the cream and turn off the heat as soon as it starts to boil. Pour over chocolate pieces and stir till completely melted and glossy. Cool and spread on cupcakes/cake with a spatula. If you spread while still a little warm, they’ll drip down the sides. If you want it to stay put, refrigerate for some time. Either way is yum!!

Note2: For a cake, the baking time will increase considerably. It took me about 40 minutes for the cake and 20 for the cupcakes.

Garnish to your heart’s (pun intended) desire!!

These cupcakes keep well overnight at room temperature. If refrigerating, take them out in advance and allow to come to room temp. I’ve tried this and trust me, they taste just as luscious J. I am so glad I made these – I’ve now found my go to recipe for chocolate cake!!

Do try this out and let me know how it turned out for you. Is there any dish that you’d really like to try out someday??

This recipe is a participant in the following events:

'Celebrate Love' event hosted by The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen from the 'Series of Celebrate' organized by Jagruti’s Cooking Odyssey

'Cooking for My Valentine' event at Foodelicious

This also includes a giveaway by Foodelicious and CupoNation, with Flipkart Vouchers to be won!

'Sweet Luv' event at Cook’s Joy

'Valentine’s Treat' event at Cuisine Delights and Spotlight at Recipe Junction.

‘I Must Make That’ event at A Cook @ Heart

This is also a recipe contest, where you can win Flipkart Vouchers from CupoNation!

Fashion

Pre-Ban Haul and Some News :-)

5:48:00 pm

So, you must be wondering where I disappeared off to. I didn’t disappear anywhere but had a few health issues to deal with, so I decided to take some time off to relax.

I had been feeling really lethargic and tired for some time, and I was finding it hard to complete my workouts. I was sleepy ALL. THE. TIME. And I wasn’t feeling up to doing anything at all. So after some tests, my thyroid levels were found to be high, i.e. hypothyroidism. That explained a lot, including my stubborn weight gain J. And then I went and banged my head against a wall (accidentally, I’m not psycho) and then went and got a scan for it. Sigh!!

So, I’ve started medication for my thyroid and am feeling better now. I had stopped my workouts because of all this, but I might restart them next week, albeit slowly.

And some news from my family – my brother is getting engaged this weekend!!! It was actually kind of sudden, which was another reason I was occupied the past week J.

For those of you who don’t know: my brother is a doctor, currently doing his Post Graduation in Surgery at Kozhikode, Kerala. His bride-to-be is also a doctor, a House Surgeon at Mangalore, Karnataka and she’s also a distant relative. The wedding date is not fixed yet, though it’ll probably be in the latter half of the year. Boy, I can’t describe how excited I am!!

Anyway, coming to the present. I had an okay time during the sales, didn’t go crazy or anything. Cub and his Dad actually did most of the shopping. Reading about Tanvi’s shopping ban, I was mentally already cutting down!!

So I’ve decided to join the shopping ban along with Tanvi and many others, and I start from today, Feb 1^st, and plan to continue till March 31^st. I’m planning to follow Tanvi’s rules with two exceptions:

a. I’ll probably get new specs

b. I’ll have to get my sis a birthday gift next month

Also, I have a couple of orders pending delivery, so I’m not counting them. Considering the ban, I got myself some basic stuff from the sale season:

Pair of black jeans from Lee:

I love the stretch material – so soft and comfortable. I honestly think a pair of black jeans is a must in everyone’s wardrobe!

A traditional wooden bangle stand to organize my bangles:

If you have the space for it, this is another must have in my opinion. After stacking up my bangles, I was shocked at how many I have!! After this exercise, I still have a box full!

Some dull metal bangles and shiny stone earrings from Sweet Meat Street (S.M. Street or Mittai Theruvu) in Kozhikode:

Mittai Theruvu is a cool place for street shopping in Kozhikode, you get pretty stylish accessories for half the price as in stores!! There are loads of Anarkali-type salwar suits too, but the footwear isn’t much to write home about.

I also got some cotton tunics for the coming season:

These two from Westside:

And this floral one from the online store Koovs:

Koovs has some pretty decent stuff at extremely affordable prices. They also ship quickly and the product arrives well packed. The sizing is a bit off, however. This top was almost two sizes too big for me and I had to get it altered. Along with all this, I got a pair of comfortable black sandals and a pair of beige wedges.

So I’m all set for the shopping ban J. I’ve made a list of outfits I would like to try with the clothes already in my wardrobe. If you’re planning to do the same, Imogen’s FABruary challenge might help. There are themes for every day of February, starting with ‘Arm Candy’ for day 1. This is a great idea to start thinking creatively about our clothes!!

Another helpful hint is to organize all your stuff – yes, every single thing – clothes, bags, jewelry, watches, makeup. You’ll be surprised at how much stuff you own, like I was after getting my bangle stand!! Not to mention the joy of rediscovering old, forgotten pieces J

Any of you participating in the shopping ban?? Tanvi hosts a weekly link up on her blog, so you can read about how others are faring too. Don’t forget to grab her ‘Shopping Ban’ Button!!

Food

Recipe for the Week – Apple Pie (Baking Partner’s Challenge #6)

11:34:00 am

Time for the next Baking Partner’s Challenge!! This month’s theme was pie, which is something I’ve been wanting to bake for ages! I’m totally loving the Baking Partner’s group J.

We were given a choice of two sweet and two savory pies, of which I selected the Apple Pie recipe from Taste.com as suggested by Gayathri of Gayathri’s cookspot. Since this was a completely new thing for me, I did some research on the web and made a few modifications accordingly. The resultant recipe is what you see here J.

Note:I didn’t have a pie dish, so I baked it in a regular cake tin. Pie dishes usually have slanting sides and can be made of many materials including metal and glass.

For the Pie Dough:

Ingredients:

335g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp caster sugar
Pinch of salt
185g unsalted butter, frozen for 1 hour (or at least 30 minutes)
Ice cold water, about a cup

Steps:

1. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together.

2. Take frozen butter and grate quickly on the big holes of a grater. Toss into flour mix.

3. Stir together with a fork till well mixed and the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Use your fingertips if you find it difficult using only the fork.

4. Start to bring the dough together by cutting the liquid into the dough with a blunt knife or spatula, then form into a smooth ball with your hands, adding a few tbsps of ice water at a time.

5. Divide dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

Ingredients:

1.25 kg apples, of mixed variety
45 g unsalted butter
100 g caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Juice of 1 lemon

Steps:

1. To make the filling, peel and core the apples, and cut into chunks. Toss immediately with lemon juice in a large bowl, to prevent apples from discoloring.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. When butter has melted, add apples and stir to coat.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, till apples have softened.

4. Scoop out the apple chunks with a slotted spoon and mix with the spices. Set aside to cool.

For the Pie Crust:

1. Roll out the larger pastry ball on a floured workbench to a 30cm circle (about 2mm thick). You may use some cling film over the pastry to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.

2. Roll pastry around rolling pin, then unroll over a 22 cm metal pie dish. Gently press into corners and allow excess to overhang. Take care not to stretch the pastry.

3. Cut out the overhang, leaving behind ¼”. Brush the base with a beaten egg and place in the refrigerator to chill.

4. Roll out the small pastry ball to a 25 cm circle. Using a pizza cutter dipped in flour, cut out strips from the pastry.

Pie Assembly:

1. Take the pie base out of the refrigerator.

2. Take the filling out of the bowl with a slotted spoon and fill in the base.

3. Take the pastry strips and place them vertically next to each other on the pie dish, spacing equally between the strips. Do the same horizontally, creating a lattice pattern.

4. Cut off any overhang with a sharp pair of scissors. Crimp edges of pastry together with your fingers or a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 180°C, brush top of pie with remaining beaten egg and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Allow pie to cool for about 40 minutes before cutting. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Now, this pie turned out quite good. The apples had a wonderful flavor, being rightly spiced and the top crust was beautifully flaky and crisp.

However, in spite of my best efforts, the bottom crust turned out to be a bit soggy. Since this is my first ever pie-baking experience, I can’t pinpoint the reason, but my subsequent internet research brought up the following suggestions for a crisp bottom crust:

1. Blind bake bottom crust at 200-220°C for 5 – 10 minutes, with edges covered in aluminum foil

2. Sprinkle semolina/bread crumbs on base before filling

3. Mix corn flour with apples

4. Brush base with egg white

5. Don’t use Fuji apples

You can try any or all of the above (as I will be doing next time). Anyway, this didn’t stop us from enjoying the pie. The best part is that just a little piece will suffice as it is really filling. Be sure to have it with vanilla ice cream; cold ice cream melting on warm pie – heaven!!

Check out other bloggers' pies here!!

Personal

Weekly Goals Update – 13 January 2013

10:26:00 pm

Food

Recipe for the Week – Whole wheat Savory Crepes with Egg Filling

11:15:00 am

I love seeing pictures of crepes – stacked, folded, rolled, they look so pretty!! And of course, there are sweet versions and savory versions, with an endless variety of fillingsJ. But most of them require plain flour as well as lots of butter, which doesn’t make them an ideal choice for your ticker. So, I decided to health it up a bit and go the whole wheat route, hence presenting to you whole wheat savory crepes!!

What you’ll need: (3-4 servings)

¾ cup whole wheat flour

A little less than ½ tsp salt

1 cup toned milk

1 large egg or 2 small ones

2 tbsp olive oil

What you’re going to do:

1. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and whisk together till mixed.

2. Break in the eggs, add the oil and give it a mix.

3. Add in the milk slowly and whisk together to form a smooth batter. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

4. Heat a non stick pan, and on medium heat, pour in a ¼ cup measure of batter and swirl the pan around.

5. Let the crepe cook till the edges are browned and appear crispy.

6. Place your filling in the centre, fold up in halves or quarters and serve.

Now, you can use pretty much any filling of your choice, but my favorite filling for breakfast has got to be this scrambled egg one J.

For the Egg Filling:

What you’ll need:

5 eggs, beaten with salt and pepper

½ onion finely chopped

1 small tomato finely chopped

1 green chilly finely chopped (optional – skip if you have kids)

1 small zucchini (substitute with bell peppers, mushrooms or any other vegetable)

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

What you’re going to do:

1. Heat a pan, add some oil and toss in all the vegetables on low heat.

2. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir fry till soft.

3. Turn on the heat and add in the beaten eggs. Keep stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom of the pan as you go, breaking up the parts of cooked egg.

4. Stir in the coriander leaves. When the eggs appear to be completely cooked, turn off the heat.

Perfect breakfast recipe!! I can assure you that this is very filling and 2 crepes will make you feel stuffed and stay that way till lunch J. And if you have picky little eaters, just top with some cheese!!

Do you have any fool proof crepe recipes?? Do let me know!!