Tag: vegetarian


Aug
2017

Peach Banana Breakfast Cake ~ Eggfree & Whole Wheat

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Cake, Cakes, Desserts, Summer

Peach Banana Breakfast Cake-1

Peach season has almost ended around here but if you are still able to get your hands on some fresh or even canned peach for that matter, that could turn your breakfast into major awesomeness. Yes! This banana breakfast cake could be made with either fresh or canned peach. I have used the fresh ones here but I would use canned variety in a heartbeat if need be.

I first made this cake with strawberries back in the strawberry season days in February but didn’t get a chance to blog hence I decided to bake it again using peach this time so that you all could try it during stone-fruit season but alas, I am late again. Surely you guys have come to expect this erratic behaviour from me by now and I don’t even have any silly excuse to back me up here anymore. ?

Peach Banana Breakfast Cake-2

Coming back to the cake, as the title suggests, this cake here is eggfree and the batter is made using whole wheat flour, smidgen of oil and little cane sugar. You could replace cane sugar with powdered jaggery to make it refined sugar-free. Totally wholesome breakfast material. But there’s more. You could also make it vegan by using a vegan variety of yogurt or buttermilk. Win-win for everyone!

This recipe has lots of cinnamon which is my most favourite flavour to bake with after vanilla. Also, in my book, banana, peach and cinnamon go hand in hand and I love whole teaspoon of ground cinnamon here to enhance the banana flavour but if you don’t like then skimp down on cinnamon by adding half a teaspoon and a pinch of nutmeg if that’s your thing. If plums or apricots are available to you, use them on top in place of peach. Apart from strawberries, I have tried the plum version as well and it works beautifully. Basically, switch things up as you fancy and still the end product would be this gorgeous looking CAKE you’d want to devour in seconds.

Topping the cake batter with fruit instead of layering the fruit at the bottom makes demoulding this cake a breeze, definitely not as tricky as an upside-down cake. It also eliminates the chance that part/s of fruit would get stuck to the bottom of the cake pan. Topping it with granulated sugar before baking makes peach reach jam-like consistency while cooking in the oven. This in turn enhances the sweetness of peaches and helps in keeping the total added sugar to the minimum. Make this cake ASAP as it is just what your breakfast table needs alongside a cup of coffee.

Have a lovely rest of the week folks!

PS : If you’re in Mumbai, stay safe!

Peach Banana Breakfast Cake-3

Print Recipe
 Peach Banana Breakfast Cake
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC/350ºF. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with oil and set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
  3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together oil, mashed banana, cane sugar/powdered jaggery, vanilla and buttermilk.
  4. Gently fold in dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Be careful not to overmix. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan. Top with the peach slices (as shown in the image) and granulated white sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Stays fresh for 3 days stored in an airtight container in refrigerator.

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Jul
2017

Orange Cherry Baked Donuts ~ Eggfree, Low-fat

categories: Baking, Desserts, Doughnuts, Summer

Oh hello donuts! How I missed thee. I baked these lovely orange cherry donuts couple weeks ago and because it’s been way too long since I baked any donuts, you can imagine my excitement.

Life here has been a bit of mumbo jumbo lately and I am falling short of words on how to describe my current disposition so instead let’s talk about the awesomeness that these donuts are. Summer (or any season for that matter) makes me crave citrus desserts and if you know me you know I prefer lemony desserts over chocolate almost every single time. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love chocolate and there are times when nothing else will do. But on most days, I crave lemon and orange comes close second.

The combination of orange and fresh cherries is just sublime. A delicate cake bursting with orange zest and citrusy notes, soft and pillowy, with a piece of cherry in each bite to make you swoon. The ingredient list is short with no funky stuff and the method no fuss. The recipe doesn’t even call for any oil or butter, isn’t that awesome? Yogurt and orange juice lends soft and fluffy interiors to these donuts. You can have them ready under 30 minutes flat, totally foolproof! You could totally make the recipe vegan by using vegan yogurt. Win-win for all!

So don’t wait until weekend to bake these. Get on them now! ?

Print Recipe
 Orange Cherry Baked Donuts ~ Eggfree, Low-fat
The combination of orange and fresh cherries is just sublime. A delicate cake bursting with orange zest and citrusy notes, soft and pillowy, with a piece of cherry in each bite to make you swoon.
Course Desserts, Donuts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
donuts
Ingredients
Course Desserts, Donuts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings
donuts
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC / 350ºF. Grease 12-count donut pan with oil. Set aside.
  2. In one bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, add orange zest and sugar and rub together with finger to release oils from the zest. Whisk in yogurt, orange juice and vanilla extract until the mixture formed is completely smooth.
  4. Slowly fold in dry ingredients into wet ingredients using rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.
  5. Arrange 3 pitted, fresh cherries in each mould of the donut pan. Do this for 9 moulds. Divide the batter among 9 donut moulds (let 3 moulds empty). Be careful not to overfill the moulds, 3/4th would be just fine.
  6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a center comes out clean. Let cool in the baking pan over a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then carefully turn out doughnuts onto the rack to cool completely. Tastes best the next day, chilled in the refrigerator. Keeps well 3-5 days stored in an airtight container in refrigerator.
Recipe Notes

Don't own a cherry pitter? No problem, a chopstick will do the job! ?

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Here are some items I used to make today’s recipe.

                    

Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Cook By Book.

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Jul
2017

No Bake Mango Coconut White Chocolate Cheesecake

categories: Cheesecakes, Desserts, No-Bake, Summer

On a lookout for a can’t-believe-you-could-pull-this-off Sunday brunch dessert? I have this stunner of a cheesecake for you guys!

Mango season is sadly at its end and this might be the last weekend you’ll be able to enjoy these ambrosial fruits (three cheers for frozen mangoes!). This cheesecake would make the most perfect Sunday brunch dessert as it truly lets mango shine. So easy to put together, it requires no baking or cooking, hence comes together in about 20 minutes. This cheesecake is also egg-free and does not require gelatin or agar agar for it to set. It doesn’t get easier than this people, truly a fool-proof recipe!

The cheesecake has a ginger biscuit base which pairs so well with mangoes, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The cheesecake filling is made up of white chocolate, coconut cream, lime and mascarpone cheese. These four ingredients combined with mango are truly a match made in heaven. Simple yet so elegant looking and packs a punch. This one is surely going to be a favourite among your friends and family, trust me!

Don’t have fresh mangoes? Fret not. I have tons of customisation options for you to try. Read the recipe notes below.

Have a fabulous Sunday! ?

Print Recipe
 No Bake Mango Coconut White Chocolate Cheesecake
Course Desserts
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0
Passive Time 4-8 hours
Servings
slices
Ingredients
For base
For cheesecake
Course Desserts
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 0
Passive Time 4-8 hours
Servings
slices
Ingredients
For base
For cheesecake
Instructions
For base
  1. Blend ginger biscuits and coconut oil in a food processor till fine crumbs form. In a 9-inch loose-bottom tart pan, place the crumb and press towards the sides and down firmly. Press down with flat bottomed glass for a uniform base. Let chill in the freezer till you prepare the filling.
For cheesecake
  1. Without tipping, take out overnight chilled pack/can of coconut milk from the refrigerator. Gently scoop out the thick coconut cream from the top and put it into a large mixing bowl. Store this bowl in the refrigerator till you finish the next step.
  2. Place the reserved liquid from the coconut milk pack/can to a medium-sized, microwave safe glass bowl. Add roughly chopped white chocolate to this bowl and microwave on low-power in the burst of 30-seconds 3-4 times, whisking in between, until the chocolate completely melts. You could also do this step on a double boiler. Whisk in vanilla extract at the end. Let the mix cool on counter and proceed with the following steps in the meantime.
  3. Take out the bowl with coconut cream from the refrigerator. Add mascarpone cheese, zest and juice of a lime, confectioners sugar and salt to it. Whisk on medium-high speed using the beater of the electric mixer until soft peaks form and the mixture is firm for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Decrease the speed to low and slowly whisk in melted chocolate mix to it, until just combined. Do not overmix.
  5. Take out the tart pan from the freezer, top the ginger base with the cheesecake filling and refrigerate covered with cling film overnight for 4-8 hours.
  6. An hour or so before serving, peel and thinly slice 2 chilled mangoes. Arrange the mango slices in a circular, overlapping fashion (as seen in picture) on top of the cheesecake and return to refrigerator to rest until serving time.
  7. The cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator, stored in an airtight container, for about 3-4 days but tastes best on first day.
Recipe Notes

*You could a create number of variations using this recipe as a guide.
*Ginger biscuits could be replaced with digestive biscuits for a more subtle flavour profile.
*You can easily swap white chocolate with the good quality dark chocolate + some cocoa powder (sans the lime).
*Mango could be replaced with any other seasonal fruit of your choice. Fresh strawberries (or any other berry!), peaches, cherries and kiwi would be especially lovely or combination of fruits to create a beautiful fruit medley!

So many possibilities guys!

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Jun
2017

Mango Strawberry Semolina Cake {Eggfree}

categories: Baking, Cake, Cakes, Desserts, Summer

I can tolerate summer only because it’s a mango season and I get to eat my weight in mangoes until next summer. It does more harm than good for my waistline but we all have our weaknesses, don’t we? Having said that eaten at right time it has numerous benefits like high in fiber, antioxidants, potassium and Vitamin A to name a few. Having mangoes for breakfast is the best time due to it’s high sugar and calorie content so I usually add them to my morning smoothies and chia puddings and this cake is another way to have mangoes for breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee.

The cake uses semolina for a regular all purpose flour substitute but rises beautifully and has got good crumb. Pairing of mango and strawberry is absolutely divine and one for the books. The cake uses few simple ingredients and mango is the hero here so be sure to use good quality, sweet mangoes for best tasting cake, I have used Alphonso mangoes. The cake batter comes together in minutes and is super easy to whip up even for a novice baker but looks oh-so-fancy because of strawberries on top. It’s an eggfree, vegan recipe which makes it suitable for all kinda palates and diets. So if you are still on a look out for a cake to bake for Father’s day, your dad will be ecstatic with this one.

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers! xx

 

Print Recipe
 Mango Strawberry Semolina Cake {Eggfree}
Course Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Course Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Grease a round 8-inch cake pan with oil. Preheat the oven at 170ºC/350ºF.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together fine semolina, baking powder and salt.
  3. In another mixing bowl, whisk together coconut oil, mango purée, castor sugar and vanilla extract.
  4. Gently fold in flour mixture to the wet ingredients until just combined using rubber spatula. Do not over-mix.
  5. Pour the batter in the cake pan. Top with the strawberry halves (cut-side down) in circular fashion and sprinkle raw sugar on top. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Let cool for 5 minutes on a cooling rack before unmoulding the cake. Serve as is or topped with fresh whipped cream, plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Keeps well for 3 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes

Feel free to substitute fresh peaches, apricots or cherries for strawberries as per seasonal availability.

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Jun
2017

No Churn Dark Chocolate Cherry Ice cream

categories: Desserts, Ice-creams, Summer

 

Hello beautiful people!

Hope you all had an excellent weekend. I have FINALLY exported all the content from wordpress blog to my own website (yayyy!) and I am ecstatic to be writing this first, fresh blogpost from here. There was a hiatus of 2 months over here due to all the work involved with the website building and understanding all the technical nitty-gritty for a novice like me (using wordpress was definitely a piece of cake!) along with my day job. Please bear with me for days to come (in case you face any technical issues around here) till I work on aesthetics and fine-tune the works. A lot of you had messaged asking for this ice-cream recipe I am sharing today after I posted this picture on my Instagram. So I decided to abandon beautifying the website for now and share the recipe with y’all immediately. So let’s talk about dark dark chocolate, shall we?

This Instagram-fame chocolate ice cream is abso-freaking-lutely delicious. Rich, creamy, decadent, not-over-the-top sweet and most importantly super-simple, no-churn piece of work. Yes sir, no ice cream maker required, just like all the other awesome recipes I have shared with you in the past. No churn does not mean the ice cream is not smooth or forms ice crystals upon freezing but makes utterly good-looking scoops too.

The base of this ice cream is made with the trio of coconut cream, Mascarpone cheese and fresh cream. To this, we add chocolate ganache made with 75% good-quality dark chocolate. Together it forms a fluffy, mousse-like mixture and trust me, you will want to eat it as is, even before it freezes so patience is a key here! Every bite of this over-the-top-chocolatey ice cream is bursting with fresh cherries which are first simmered with dark rum. A-M-A-Z-E-B-A-L-L-S! I urge you to make this ice cream at least once before Summer and cherry season pass you by. Pretty please?

 

Print Recipe
 No Churn Dark Chocolate Cherry Ice cream
Dark, decadent no churn chocolate ice cream bursting with fresh cherries in each bite.
Course Frozen Treats
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 6 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Boozy cherries
Chocolate mix
Ice cream base
Course Frozen Treats
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Passive Time 6 hours
Servings
people
Ingredients
Boozy cherries
Chocolate mix
Ice cream base
Instructions
Boozy cherries
  1. Heat a medium sized fry pan on a medium-high heat and add cherries, rum/water and sugar to the pan. Let simmer for about 20 minutes until syrupy.
  2. Take it off the heat and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes on the counter and then refrigerate until cold, for about 2 hours at least.
Chocolate mix
  1. Put one large mixing bowl and whisk of your electric mixer in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
  2. After 10 minutes, take out the mixing bowl from the freezer. Without tipping, take out overnight chilled pack/can of coconut milk from the refrigerator. Gently scoop out the thick coconut cream from the top and put it into the chilled mixing bowl. Return the bowl to the refrigerator (not freezer this time).
  3. Take the reserved liquid from the coconut milk pack/can to a microwave safe glass bowl. Add milk, chopped chocolate, cocoa powder to this bowl. Microwave on low-power in the burst of 30-seconds 3-4 times, whisking in between, until chocolate completely melts. You could also do this step on double boiler instead. Whisk in vanilla extract at the end. Let the mix cool and in the meantime, proceed to the following steps.
Ice cream base
  1. Take out the bowl with coconut cream from refrigerator and whisk from freezer. Add Mascarpone cheese and heavy cream to the mixing bowl. Whisk with the electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy for about 2 minutes.
  2. Add confectioners sugar and whisk on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, for another 3-5 minutes.
  3. Decrease the speed to low and slowly whisk in chocolate mix to it, until just combined. The ice cream mix will have mousse consistency at this point.
  4. Gently fold in syrupy cherries to the ice cream mix.
  5. Transfer the ice cream to a loaf pan and freeze. Freeze for couple of hours for softer consistency. Freeze overnight for firmer consistency.
  6. Set out for at least 25 minutes prior to scooping and use a scoop warmed under hot water for proper scoop.
  7. Ice cream will keep in the freezer for a week but tastes best when fresh.
Recipe Notes

If you are using water instead of rum to make syrupy cherries, then strain the liquid before folding the cherries to the ice cream base in step-4 (and discard the liquid) as it may form ice crystals after freezing.

 

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