Eggless Custard Powder Cupcakes

Few days back I came across this recipe on Easy Crafts and wanted to try it. So when my son asked for a cake I knew exactly what I was gonna bake.
After looking up for more similar recipes, I decided to go with this one made by Nithya of 4th sense cooking. I followed the recipe closely, the only difference is I baked my cupcakes at 375F for about 15 mins.

I tried an eggless cake recipe for the first time and I did not miss the eggs at all, infact I forgot to cream the sugar with the butter and added it to the flour mixture, the cakes still turned out to be super moist, but my muffin tops were dry, I guess I should have baked them at a lower temperature or for less time.

(Recipe by Nithya of 4th Sense Cooking)

Ingredients:

11/2 C All purpose flour(maida)
3/4 C Custard powder(vanilla flavor) 
3/4 C powdered sugar 
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder 
3/4 C butter, at room temperature
1 C Milk


Method:

Sift maida, custard powder and baking powder together.

In a bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the sifted flours to the butter sugar mixture and mix well. Add the milk gradually and beat slowly until everything comes together.

Preheat oven to 375°F . Line the muffin tray with liners.

Fill muffin cups with batter up to 3/4th and bake it for 15-20 mins at 375°F or 190°C. 

Check if cooked by inserting a skewer in the center. Once done, allow it to cool on a wire rack for a while.

Sending this to Srivallis Kids Delight - Easy to make Snacks under 30 mins. event hosted by Rujuta

P.S. Check out my other blog "the halal foodie " ,  subscribe and follow to keep in touch. I look forward to see you there :)

Quick Strawberry Cheesecake

This is one of those quick , no - fuss, simple recipes that never lets you down. Each spoonful of this is sheer pleasure. I think its ideal for entertaining as it can be made ahead of time and does look cute. It does not contain eggs which practically makes it a "no bake cheesecake" and who doesn't love that !

Since strawberries are in season now , do try this recipe, or substitute it with your favourite berry .



Ingredients :

6 strawberries
12 oz. softened cream cheese, 1 1/2 (8-ounce) bricks
2/3 C sour cream
1 C confectioners'/powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 individual mini gram cracker crusts.




Directions:

Hull and coarsely chop 6 medium sized berries and place in food processor. Add cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract and process until smooth. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour or overnight. Spoon the cheese mixture in the pie tins. Garnish cheesecakes with slices of remaining berries. Serve chilled.

I am sending this to the following events :
Lets Celeberate hosted by Ria and "Strawberry Feast " at My Kitchen Treasures.

Tropical Cake

Biting into a warm slice of a tropical cake and sipping a strong brew of coffee alongside ....what a pleasure !

Though the year that's gone wasn't much of a blogging year for me , its good to see fellow bloggers reaching out, helping individuals , communities, making a difference. I would personally like to Congratulate Cynthia on her fabulous book release "My Caribbean Cookbook" and wish her all the success. :)

This year ( hopefully ) you will see more of quick and easy n of course tasty recipes being featured here at Lazzat .I would also like you to please excuse the "not so great" pictures that I some how manage to click .

This cake is sure to remind you the freshness of the tropics. The combination of flavors like pineapple and orange works really well. I decided to add yellow food colouring to it at the very last minute , but if you want to I would suggest to first pour half of the batter into the pan , add the coloring , do the swirls n then add remaining batter n bake .

Ingredients:

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 C) unsalted butter, softened

1 C sugar

1 whole large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp grated orange zest

1 1/2 tsp Pineapple essence

3/4 C whole milk

Garnish: Confectioners sugar(optional )

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle.

Butter a loaf pan, lightly dust it with flour.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy,for about 5 minutes. Add whole egg, yolk, zest, and pineapple flavouring and beat 1 minute. At low speed, mix in flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, starting and ending with flour.Spread batter in the loaf pan and bake until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.

Individual Cheese Cakes

Ramadan is over ....n left us in its anticipation for the next year, a joyous day of Eid n you don't want the time to fly.... as it does.

Meanwhile I see I've missed out lot of action and interesting events esp. the Weekend Herb Blogging - two yrs already and still rocking...good going :)

Nevertheless, lets talk cheese cakes, even better....individual cheese cakes , this way you avoid cleaning your knife , wiping it every time you take a slice etc etc :).



I like this recipe because apart from being delicious, it can be made ahead , looks good, easy to serve and clean up too... great for a party !

This recipe also uses many shortcuts , like using Nilla wafers for the base , instead of making individual ones , n using store bought pie filling for the topping. If you don't find the Nilla wafers, go ahead and use any sweet cookie which will fit in the base of your muffin pan. Don't go for the sandwich cookies though, it will be too thick for the base. You can also make your own topping by just using some fresh berries n kiwis or soaking some fresh fruits in simple syrup, or using any home made fruit preserves etc. The options are many , so go ahead , be creative !



Ingredients:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened,
1 cup sugar,
1 tsp. vanilla extract,
2 eggs,
12 vanilla wafers,
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling or other pie filling (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of muffin pan. Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lay a vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each muffin cup. Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Serve with cherry filling on top, or pie filling of your choice.

P.S : Refrigerate the cheese cakes for few hours before serving / overnight for a better taste .

Apple Tatin - A crowd pleaser :)

The history of how tatin (tah-tan) was first made is very interesting. It's hard to believe that it was an outcome of a mistake...but once you taste it you know exactly why people did not mind.

You can use any variety of apples, preferably Granny smith or Golden delicious . The lemon zest n the caramel ....yumm... it is a must try.
So next time you want to please a crowd (or yourself)...go ahead and try this recipe...it looks, tastes and even sounds very impressive... (The photo does no justice to its actual beauty:))



Ingredients:

6 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature,
1 1/4 Apples, cored,peeled and sliced
1 cups granulated sugar, for the caramel
3/4 cups granulated sugar, for the cake batter
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla essence
Sift together:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting (optional)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch glass pie dish or any oven proof 9 inch dish with butter and arrange the apples in the dish, so as to cover the dish .

Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color (about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. ...for the ones who have one .....I just use the color of the caramel as my guide). Do not stir this mixture, it cooks on its own .

Once the caramel is cooked swirl the pan and pour the caramel evenly over the apple slices.

In a different bowl cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined. Pour the cake batter evenly over the apple slices and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If you have greased your dish generously and allowed the tatin to cool for its given time, it will come out without sticking if in case an apple slice sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake.

Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

If you like it warm as I do , just microwave it for few seconds and you get the same oven fresh taste everytime.

My first post !

Hi...and welcome to my blog. Basically it is a collection of recipes tried and tested (found on the net, magazines, recipe books,TV shows, shared by family, friends etc..) ......the keepers :). I hope that I will learn the "art" of blogging gradually.

The sour cream tea cake is a moist cake, tastes good with or without the tea ......I normally tend to use less sugar so it is not very very sweet .The recipe calls for sprinkling the walnuts between layers, but i think mixing them in the batter would be much better.

Sour Cream Tea Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 C walnuts finely chopped (or roughly powdered)

Whisk together:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Whisk in another bowl:

1 cup sour cream
½ teaspoon baking soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour a 9-inch nonstick pan.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes(I used electric mixer). With mixer on low speed, add 1/3rd of the flour mixture , let mix , then add half of the sour cream mixture , let mix , again 1/3rd of flour , let mix , add remaining sour cream , let mix , finally add the remaining flour mixture. Mix just until moistened.

Spread half of the batter in pan; sprinkle with walnuts. Spread remaining half of the batter over the walnuts.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 60 to 70 minutes.

Cool in pan 30 minutes before turning the cake out on a rack. Cool .

Enjoy with tea or coffee !