NO BAKE CHEESECAKE!!! X'MAS SPECIAL

No Bake Cheeeeeeessssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeee Cakeeeee!!!

 
Ingredients:
 
For the Base :
Marie Biscuits - 15 nos
Butter - 40 grams
 
 
For the Middle part:
Whipping Cream - 1 sachet of dream whip (total of 500 ml of whipped cream)
Sugar - 1/4 cup powdered
Cream Cheese - 300 ml (any brand will do)
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Mango Puree / mango pieces - see notes
 
For the Top part:
Mango - 3 big
Gelatin - 1 tbsp

Preparation:
 
Powder the biscuits using chopper. Then add in the butter and again run the chopper in three pulses. Transfer equally to the glasses you plan to serve as base layer. Press lightly with spoon and place the glasses in the fridge to set.
 
Meawhile peel and chop mangoes roughly. Puree them in a grinder.
 
In a bowl beat the whipping cream tiff. Add in vanilla essence and sugar. Beat cream cheese in a seperate bowl till soft and fluffy. Add to the whipped cream and mix properly. Add in half of the mango puree to the mix and stir till all is mixed well.
 
Take the glasses out of the fridge. Now on the top of the biscuit layer, layer the cream based mixture on top (almost 3/4 of the glass) and keep it fridge to set for atleast 2-3 hours.

 
After 3 hours, prepare the gelatin as per instructions written (Boil required amount of water and add gelatin to it). Once the gelatin had cooled a bit, add rest of half  of the mango puree to the prepared gelatin. Pour over top of the set cream part filling all the glasses till top (every glass will have 1/4th of this mango part). Keep again fridge to set for about 4 hours. It would be best if kept overnight. Garnish with chocolate shavings, pista or almonds. (refer pics for layering)
 
Except for the setting time, this dessert is very delicious and easy to make. I can bet you will be a star in front of guests ;)
 
Cheers,
Neetz ;)
 
Notes:
The amount ingredients mostly depends on the amount of serving glass and its quantity. So adjust accordingly.
Add required amount of powdered sugar to the gelatin mix if mango is not sweet.
China grass can also be used in place of gelatin.
For the cream base, instead of mango puree you can even add roughly chopped mango pieces.

(The mix of ingredients i have found in many of my fellow bloggers and otherwise. So I really cant pin point the recpe from so and so :) )

COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES - EGGLESS

Cookie Truffles

Its VALENTINE'S DAY and obviously its a ritul type for me to make something sweet to share with all of you :). My SIL being in town made me even more eager to make this sweet. Its always better when you have an extra helping hand :) :).. I m so glad we tried this sweet out and sure was a super duper hit among my neighbours. We were floating around the whole day on ninth sky  with appreciation ;) :D

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour - 2 - 2.5 cups
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup (softened)
Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
Condensed Milk - 1 tin (395 gram)
Milk chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup

For the coating:
Semi-sweet choco chips - 1 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix brown sugar, butter and vanilla essence till creamy. I used a hand mixer for this. Then add in the condensed milk and mix again. Now start adding flour bit by bit till you get a dough. Once the batter starts thickening, start kneading with hand. Once you get a dough mix, add in the milk choco chips and knead nicely. Then keep in fridge for about 20 mins to harden the dough a bit so that its easy to roll into ball. Make small balls out of the dough, place them on butter paper and keep it in fridge again for a minimum of 2 hours atleast to harden the ball. Otherwise the balls will fall apart when you do the coating.

Now for the next step, Melt the semi-sweet choco chips by double boiler method and add butter to it. Once the chips have melted nicely remove and keep aside. now pick each dough balls and dip them in the melted chocolate, remove and place them on butter paper carefully. Sprinkle them with sugar strands in the end. Refrigerate overnight for best results and voila there you go! You have the best easiest cookie sweet you can make!!

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
You will perfect round balls. I had feew extra melted chocolate so used to stick the sprinkles at the end :)..
Use all Purpose flour in accordance to the need for thickening the dough.

I would like to send this over to Valentine Fest , Bon Vivant, Just for Fun

DEVIL FOOD CAKE WITH FROSTING

Devil Food cake

This is my first major frosted cake that i am making in my life. The frosting work and design has been little sloppy as i nearly lost my patience towards end :(.... But this also taught me a lesson that baking and to design a cake is no easy job and you need tons and tons of patience.

I wanted to make this for long but somehow always thought maybe some day during some occassion and dragged for long. But then finally i got a reason to make this coz its my BEST FRIEND VIDYA'S B'DAY!!.. HAPPY B'DAY SWEETHEART!!! She really is the sweetest devil in my life and have been with me through thick and thin. Now you all understood why i wanted to make this cake for her ;). As the name itself the cake is named Devil cake but when you eat its full of sweetness exactly like my vidhu is :) :)...
"Vidya, its sad that you are not near to have this share but we all will have on your behalf :) :)"

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour (Sifted) - 1.5 cups
Baking Powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Powdered white sugar - 3/4 cup
Unsalted Butter - 9 tbsp
Eggs - 2 nos (room temp)
Vanilla Essence - 2 tsp
Water - 1 cup (boiled)
Cocoa Powder (Sifted) - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 1/2 cup packed

For the Frosting:
Butter - 3/4 cup
Brown Sugar - 2 tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Semi Chocolate chips - 1.5 cups

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 180C/375F. Butter the pan in which you are going to bake.

Sift the flour with baking soda and baking powder and keep aside.

Sift the cocoa powder and to this add brown sugar and keep aside.

Boil 1 cup water and add to the cocoa and brown sugar mix and stir.

In a bowl, add the softened butter and white sugar and beat till creamy and pale. To this add the vanilla essence and beat once again. Then add the eggs and beat till pale. Add in the flour little by little and whisk till all the flour has been mixed. Now fold in the the cocoa mix to the flour batter. Fold in nicely till all the ingredients are mixed properly. Pour the batter to the buttered pan and keep it in oven. Bake for 40 mins or till cake test is done.

Recipe courtesy - Nigella Lawson

Meanwhile we will start preparing for the frosting. In a pan add water, butter and brown sugar. Keep over stove and when it starts to boil switch off . Add the chips to it and stir continuosly till the chips has been dissolved. Then keep aside for the mix to cool.
When cake is done, keep for baout 40-1 hour to cool. By that time the frosting mix also will cool down completely and will be thickened nicely.

Remove the cake to a plate and cut through the middle. Spread the frosting generously in the middle part of both cut side of cake and place them back together to look the same as before cutting. Then apply frosting again on all over the cake and place it in fridge to chill for some time. Maybe 20-30 mins. Cut and serve :)

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes:
If you do not prefer to cut the cake in middle, then pour the batter in two 8"round pan.



I am sending this over for the KIDS DELIGHT event conducted by Kavi and Srivalli  and VALENTINES EVENT

POTATO KIBBEH

Potato Kibbeh

Potato kibbeh is basically a middle eastern dish with potato and carmellized onions sometimes stuffed with meat (chicken, lamb). I would prefer to make this dish veg and then serve with non-veg to go with it. I surely would make this several times as its very healthy and filling too.

Recipe Source : Discover Lebanon

Ingredients:
Potato - 1 large boiled and mashed ( roughly about 1 cup)
Wheat Bulgar - 1/2 cup
Garlic Powder - 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil - 2 -3 tbsp

Walnuts - 1 large handful
Onion - 1 medium chopped finely

Preparation:

Roast the walnuts in 180C pre-heated oven for about 55-7 mins till nuts turn slightly brown in color.
Roast the onions in 1 tsp of oil in a pan till lightly brown color.
Wash the bulgar and blend it in a processor.
Mix the mash potato, blended bulgar, garlic, salt and pepper.
Divide the mix into two parts. Place one part into the baking dish. Layer the onions and walnuts on top. Then layer with the second potato mix. Cut over the top into squares roughly and pour the olive oil so that it sweeps between the cuts.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 10C for 40 mins. You will see it will turn lightly brown in color.

Serve warm as it is or you can have with tuna (which i had and it tasted superb) or with cooked chicken mince.

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
You can add variations like cashew nuts, raisins or even cooked meat instead of walnut areas.

CREAMY SERRADURA (SAWDUST PUDDING)

Creamy Serradura - A Portugese Macanese Sweet Dish (Sawdust Pudding)

This is one of the easiest sweet dish you can prepare. The original recipe uses more complicated way of using gelatin and egg whites.  You can chill this after making too and then serve. It can be stored 1-2 days too :)

Ingredients:
(for an average 1 glass)
Whipped Cream - 125ml
Condensed Milk - 2 tbsp
Marie Biscuits - 5-6 nos
Cashew Nuts - 2-3 tbsp (optional)
Preparation:
In a bowl whip the cream and when it reaches just before the peak stage add in the condensed milk and whip till peaks are formed. Keep in fridge for an hour to chill.

Powder the biscuits and nuts coarsely in a chopper or by using the ziplock rolling pin method (you put in biscuits and nuts into a ziplock bag and close it. Then with a rolling pin start rolling them outside the bag to get powdered form).

How to arrange them:

In a glass, spoon in the whipped cream into the glass (you can use a piping bag if needed). Then carefully add in a spoonful of biscuits-nuts mixture making sure the corners are covered. Then again add in the whipped cream and then the bscuit mix. Repeat this process till you reach the top of the glass.

Optionally you can even decorate with chocolate shavings on top. I didnt have any chcoclate kept :(. Ya i gobble down any chcoclate kept at home.. a very sweeeeet person I m ;)

Recipe Courtesy : food channel

Cheers,
Neetz ;)

Notes :
The amount of cream and biscuits all depend on the size of glass and layers you want to create.
For a twist you can vanilla essence too.
Cashew Nuts is purely optional and I have added in this coz i love the extra crunchiness.

I would like to send this over to the event Christmas Delicacy . I am glad i couls send this recipe to a wonderful event.