Sweet Bread Pudding

Somehow I have escaped making puddings. Today I made pudding for the first time ever. A group that I am a part of, had mentioned pudding as the weekly target. So pudding struck me maybe there. Also when you have never made something and you are trying to avoid it, it keeps coming back to you. The more you try to avoid it, the more it will cross your paths. And why do you need to avoid something? I ask myself a lot of time. Shouldn't you be more excited and open towards the things you have not tried? Well, ideally yes. But I am not a perfect being. I never was. In fact, I feel that I am a highly imperfect one. So much more room to improve and do things in a better way. Cooking is one of the mediums which tells me the same. Everyday whenever I cook or I see what other people have made, I realize the importance of learning and to the extent I still have to learn. 

Be always open to learn new things from whom so ever. This is what is going to shape your present and future and will later become your past. 

Yeah, so the post is about bread pudding. Puddings have always sound inviting to me. I started with a simple sweet bread pudding. I modified the recipe as per my liking and the result was very nice.

Bread pudding is a good way to use up lying around stale bread. So if you have some, get going with this simple and delicious pudding. It is very easy to make it and you can enjoy it in breakfast, dessert or to calm down your midnight hunger pangs. You can also add dry fruits, fresh fruits, rum, lemon zest, orange zest, brown sugar etc for extra taste and flavor. 

Bread Pudding

Baking Equipment: 9X7 baking tin/pan

Recipe adapted from: Sweet Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1. 9-10 pieces (6 cups) of whole wheat bread (You can use any kind of bread that you like. Sweet buns, cinnamon rolls etc would add some distinctive taste and flavor. I though cooked with normal bread as I did not have any saved up bread)

2. 2 tsp vanilla extract

3. 1 tsp cinnamon powder

4. 4 eggs

5. 250 g granulated sugar

6. pinch of salt

7. 2 tsp coffee powder

8. 500 ml milk

9. butter for greasing

Steps:

1. Grease a pan with butter

2. Cut or tore the bread pieces into bite sized chunks

3. Place/arrange the bread pieces in the pan

4. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon powder, sugar, salt, coffee and milk together in a separate bowl

5. Pour over the milk mixture into the pan over the bread

6. Cover and refrigerate the pan for an hour or overnight so that the mixture is well absorbed by the bread

     (I kept it overnight)

7. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius

8. Bake the pudding pan in the oven for about 45-55 minutes

    (Toothpick inserted shall come out clean)

Keep aside for sometime so that it cools down a bit. Serve hot. 

Absolutely warm, delicious, homely and comforting pudding. You may reduce the amount of sugar if you take desserts a bit on the lower side of sugar. 

Have fun baking and eating guys :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

When you live with a five year old you need to make cookies. I am making it sound like a punishment but it was so much fun. I made two different types of cookies and my niece helped me. I put a chair for her in the kitchen and she was standing on it through out. We had lots of fun. When you are doing something that the kids like they become very generous with kisses, hugs and what not. Do remember to take out time from all the cooking to take full advantage of the situation. ;)

I had made these cookies even before Christmas but getting a chance to post them now. These cookies fall into the category of soft, chewy and thick cookies. I don't know about you but I am the one who likes soft and chewy cookies. No other kind of cookies can please me. Maybe that's the reason the other chocolate filled cookies couldn't win my heart. They were not chewy, less softer than these and one could easily break them. I would put up the recipe for the chocolate filled cookies as well very soon.

I shaped the cookies differently this time. I made the cookies jagged head. The cookies had a rough and cranky surface which added to the texture and the looks. The softness and the texture of the cookie was enhanced by the melted butter, extra egg yolk and the brown sugar. I absolutely love the brown sugar texture in all the dessert. Be precise with the measurement and the shaping steps and these cookies will surely rock your world.

Lets hear out the recipe for these cookies and let them be their own judge.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24 large cookies

Recipe Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1. 300 grams all purpose flour

2. 1/2 tsp baking Soda

3. 1 1/2 stick butter or 170 grams butter

4. 200 grams dark brown sugar

5. 100 grams granulated white sugar

6. 1 egg + 1 egg yolk

7. 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8. 150 grams semi sweet chocolate chips

Steps:

1. Mix in the dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking soda) together and keep aside.

2. Melt the butter and beat in the brown and the white sugar in it either by hand or an electric beater.

   I do it by hand and that's why I powder the white granulated sugar before putting it in the butter. 

   It takes much less time to blend in the powdered sugar in the butter.

3. Now add in the eggs and vanilla extract and blend well.

4. Add the dry ingredients to this mixture. Also add the chocolate chips.

5. Make a dough out of this mixture.

6. Pre heat oven to 165 degree celsius. Cover a baking tray with parchment paper.

7. Take about 50 grams of dough in your hand. Make a ball out of it and break the dough ball into half from the center. 

   Rotate both the halves by 90 degrees to bring the rough surface upwards. Join both the halves at the bottom by sticking them together

   and make them into a single ball. Make sure that you don't even out the surface while doing this.

8. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes until they start to crisp out on the edges. They will be 

   golden brown in color, edges would have started to harden out and the centers would still feel soft.

9. Take the baking parchment out of the oven. Let them cool. If you try to take the cookies off the parchment paper

   when hot, the cookies would break. Take them off once cooled.

10. Serve with milk or just like that.

These are my most favorite cookies. I still remember their taste in my mouth. Make them and keep them in an air tight container. 

Have fun baking and eating :)

Eggless Carrot cake

Today I knew I had to make dessert. My sister is so fond of sweets. Carrot cake has been on my list for some time now. It sounds so inviting. When I imagine carrot cake it already starts melting in my mouth and I reach another world. I am not a big dessert lover so you can imagine that carrot cake is really something.

It is the eighth day of Navratri, a nine day festival of Hindus in which each day a form of the Hindu Deity Durga is worshiped and celebrated. Worshipers don't eat non vegetarian food during this festival so I could not use egg. I had to cook egg less carrot cake. I searched around and landed on a beautiful carrot cake recipe. The cake turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. So here you go :)

Recipe:
Serves 6
Recipe Source: Sharmis Passions

Ingredients:
1. 4 medium size carrots (grated carrots measured a little more than a cup)
2. 1 1/2 cup Yoghurt
3. 4 tbsp + 4 tbsp Milk
4. 1 cup sugar
5. 1/2 cup olive oil
6. 1/2 tsp cinnamon
7. 1 tsp vanilla extract
8. 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
9. 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
10. 1 tsp baking soda
11. 1 tsp baking powder
12. 1/2 cup cashew nut and raisins
13. 1 tsp salt

Mix both the flours, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix 4 tbsp milk, yoghurt, olive oil and sugar. Keep mixing till the sugar dissolves. Now add cinnamon and vanilla extract to this mixture and mix well. Add in the carrots now. Finally add the flour mixture to this mix. I felt that the batter was thick at this point so I added 4 tbsp milk slowly into the mixture. Now add the raisins and half crushed cashew nuts. Heat the oven to 180 degrees. Take a baking tin and grease with olive oil. Pour in the batter and keep inside the oven. Set the timer to 30 minutes. It actually took 25 minutes to cook the cake.
To check whether it is cooked or not put a toothpick/knife inside and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. You can also garnish with chopped cashew nuts.

It turned out extremely moist and delicious.  I was waiting for the cake to cool down a bit. My niece and her friend was playing and I gave them the side crunch of the cake. They liked it so much and could not stop eating. So when you can't use egg or are out of egg, feel free to replace it with yoghurt.

Bake and enjoy :)