Category: Summer


Jul
2013

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge Cake

categories: Baking, Breakfast, Cake, Cakes, Summer

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge-2

After the last post of SugarPlum Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake, many people wanted an eggless sponge cake. I knew I had to bake one immediately… hence this post.

This recipe is from my initial baking days… very simple and easy to make even for beginners… so naturally it never got posted on the blog. Not bragging but I thought it to be too simple to be posted here. But trust me, it is every bit delicious! This is my go-to recipe while baking for non egg-eaters and it has turned out perfect every single time so it is tried, tested and tasted recipe in a true sense!

Use this as your basic cake recipe and add any other ingredients you like to it. Cinnamon, chocolate, lemon… anything! Sky is truly a limit. Use any other fruit you like or even better, make it tropical (pineapple and coconut, anyone?) style! Getting ideas?! ?

This eggless sponge is moist, has tight crumb and relatively flat top which makes it perfect for a multi-layer cake for birthdays or for any other occasion. In past, I have successfully doubled and tripled this eggless sponge recipe to make a 2 or 3-layer celebratory cake. For frosting ideas and recipes, read the recipe notes at the end of this post.

Vanilla Buttermilk Eggless Sponge Cake-1

Previously I have always used fresh strawberries for this eggless sponge as seen in the picture above. This time I had Kiwi fruit on hand so I decided it was time for a change. I am not a fan of baked Kiwi fruit so I refrained from adding fruit pieces to the batter which I sometimes do with strawberries but if you have no such qualms then go ahead.

It is perfect for eating any time of the day!

Yup, even for breakfast!

It has yogurt and fruit! Totally acceptable, right?! 😉

Kiwi Buttermilk Cake - Eggless1

 

Recipe adapted from here

Print Recipe
 Vanilla Buttermilk Sponge Cake ~ Eggless
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Topping
Course Breakfast, Cake, Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
Topping
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Spray a 6 or 8-inch baking dish with vegetable oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar with electric mixer or hand whisk. Whisk in vanilla extract.
  4. Using rubber spatula, gently stir in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2-parts alternating with yogurt/buttermilk, ending with dry ingredients. Do not over-mix the batter.
  5. Spoon the batter in a baking dish and smooth out the surface with the back of spoon. Top with Kiwi/strawberry slices and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recipe Notes

*Stays fresh for 3-4 days if refrigerated in an airtight container.
*Want to add fruit within the cake batter instead on top? Mix together about 1/2 generous cup of chopped fruit and 1 Tbsp flour, fold into the cake batter.
*You may double/triple/quadruple the recipe to make layers for a multi-layered cake. Use vanilla bean buttercream, fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting, lemon cream cheese frosting or coconut buttercream frosting recipe to decorate.

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Jul
2013

Crust-less Zucchini Pie

categories: Baking, Dinner, Lunch, Summer

Crustless Zucchini Pie3

A wonderful savory pie made with zucchini, parsley, basil, onions, Cheddar and Parmesan cheese.

A simple recipe to make your meal exciting!

I had a wonderful birthday weekend and I am still in a weekend recovery mode.. (Can anyone blame me?! I think not!)

So I was just browsing throu my recipe folder, seeing what mess it is and found this unposted recipe. I had baked this pie almost more than a month back for taking to a party at friend’s place but forgot to post it here and wanted to do it ASAP before it gets lost in a huge mess that my laptop has become! (I need to organize everything into folders big time!!!) 😛

It is as easy as all the other recipes on my blog as easy is what we all love, isn’t it? The hero of this pie is my favorite zucchini which is available in abundance around this time of year. The flavors get a touch of refresh due to parsley and basil leaves. It is perfectly cheesy and oh-so soft and moist.

Crustless Zucchini Pie1

Be sure to squeeze all the liquid from grated zucchini otherwise the pie will stay uncooked at places and it will be sticky while slicing into pieces. So squeeze it down till its last drop, okay?!

Crustless Zucchini Pie2

Crust-less Zucchini Pie

Serves: 4, Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups shredded zucchini, liquid squeezed out
  • 1 large red onion, chopped finely
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh curled parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
  • ½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
  • 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp olive oil plus extra to grease the pie dish
  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Freshly cracked pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Shred zucchini, put it in a cheese cloth or muslin cloth and give it a good squeeze to remove extra liquid. Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C. Grease a pie dish with olive oil.
  2. Combine zucchini, onions, parsley, basil and cheddar cheese in a bowl.
  3. Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add milk, olive oil, beaten eggs, salt and pepper to it and blend well. Combine with zucchini mixture and pour it into pie dish.
  4. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 37 minutes. Let it cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

*Serve it with crème fraiche or fresh tomato salsa. Pairs well with soups too!

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Jun
2013

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta & My Random Thoughts

categories: Dinner, Life, Lunch, Quick Fix, Summer

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
– Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist

And it really happened to me! Something really tiny, to prove it right. But it did happen and now I have altered perspective.. Of course you would have read about this in the book ‘The Secret’ but it is hard to believe anything till you experience it personally.

Let me come straight to the point and tell you what exactly happened. There is a place close to my house where my friend once saw a snake and after she told me about this incident when ever I used to pass from that place I used to think about a snake crossing my path. I am pretty scared of snakes and I mean who isn’t! So that anticipation, that fear was always there in the back of my mind. I used to imagine about snake coming out of nowhere and crossing my path every single time! It was and is crazy till now! So this thinking continued for around 4-5  months. And on one rainy evening finally my vision came to life! Instead of one I saw two snakes, intertwined with each other, dancing at tunes being played by rain gods. Oh yeah, there it was! In front of my eyes! I stared in bewilderment! I thanked my lucky stars fervently that I was not on foot and was protected by my car. And even till date, whenever I pass by I still think about the snakes crossing my path. You know how human mind works (or at least mine seem to!)… I try not to think about it but it’s there! So much that I have started skipping that area altogether!

So if you are still with me on my randomness (WOW, you are!) let me ask you something.. Is it only me or does it happen with you too? You would want to know why I am writing about it on my blog today?!! As mentioned in my last post I am turning 28 tomorrow and I was just reflecting on what all happened in last year and how I want my life to be in next year.. If our mind and thoughts have power to make it real, why not use it positively? I can constantly think about good things to happen and shape my life accordingly! Isn’t it just genius?!… Things to ponder!

So I’ll stop talking now about random stuff (Finally!!!). I sincerely thank you for being there in front of the screen and I love you for reading this post (longest till date!). I really do! 🙂

 It’s my birthday week so I am cooking all of my favorite things and you all know how much I LOVE pasta! So I made this simple pasta dish with peas and mushroom.

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta1

I used Conchiglie pasta in this recipe but you can use any other short pastas you have like Fusilli, Orecchiette or Farfalle.

Peas have been mildly blanched so you get the crunchy texture. Tad bit of Cheddar is added to make it perfectly cheesy. Addition of lemon zest just takes it to another level! It is light, buttery and perfect for quick lunch/dinner.

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta2

Lemony Peas & Mushroom Pasta

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 cup Conchiglie
  • 1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
  • 1 cup button mushrooms, diced
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 Tbsp grated Cheddar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • fresh parsley, chopped finely, optional

Directions:

  1. Cook pasta as per the manufacturer’s instruction. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Pour the remaining pasta water over the peas in colander so that peas will get blanched and pasta will get drained. If you want more tender peas then add them to the pasta pot 1-2 minutes left of cooking time.
  2. Heat the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan and add minced garlic. Saute it for about a minute, then add mushrooms and saute it for 4-5 minutes until tender.
  3. Add onion powder, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Then add 1/4 cup of pasta water and cooked pasta and peas to the pan. Add little more pasta water if required. Turn off the heat.
  4. Finish it off with grated Cheddar and lemon zest. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
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Jun
2013

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebabs with Corn Salad

categories: Dinner, Quick Fix, Summer

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebobs with Corn Salad4

This week is going to be fun, though I will have to wait for the weekend for really good stuff to begin. I am celebrating my 28th birthday this Friday! I think birthdays should be a month-long celebration but we are all time-pressed in life! Not that it’s any excuse to ignore the small joys life brings our way but sadly, that’s the cruel reality!

Still nothing can slow down the excitement which is coursing through me! Another year has passed by and this year I am feeling more grown-up than ever! It is true that at the moment I am amongst the mayhem in my life as career transition and so much more is happening. Life is a mess right now.. nonetheless a beautiful mess!

Let’s leave it at that and talk about our today’s recipe. It is a very simple yet delicious way to include so many veggies in your dinner. A light yet filling. I made this last week for dinner and it was so gratifying to get to eat it between the all-week ice-cream madness happening in the house!

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebobs with Corn Salad1

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebobs with Corn Salad2

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebobs with Corn Salad3

It was kind of cleaning-my-refrigerator day so whatever I had on hand I put that under the marinade and I was glad I did! You can also throw in whatever you have at home. Button mushrooms would be a great addition! I prepared the marinade the night before so the flavors were super-intense. But you can do this at least 4 hours before grill time. It makes a super-quick week-night dinner!

I don’t own a grill so I used my convection oven which came with rotisserie. Veggies could not get charred at all in the oven but they cooked perfectly. Nice and juicy! But if you own one (needless to say in that case, I’m totally J), it will make a great recipe for a BBQ party and the veggies will char beautifully!

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebobs with Corn Salad5

Skinny Basil Veggie Kebabs with Corn Salad

Serves: 2-3

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1 and 1/2 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup yogurt (I used home-made)
4-5 cloves of garlic
salt and freshly cracked pepper, as per taste
1 tsp garam masala powder
dash of lemon juice

Kebabs:

1 zucchini (medium sized)
1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
1 large red onion
1 large tomato (de~seeded)
200 gm cottage cheese

Corn Salad:

1 cup boiled sweet corn
1 small cucumber, diced
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dry basil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp yogurt

Directions:

  1. At least 4 hours before, blend all the ingredients for marinade to a smooth puree. Adjust the seasoning as per your taste. Cut veggies into 1″ cubes and toss with marinade in a bowl. Cover it and refrigerate until ready to cook.
  2. When ready, light grill. Using the wood or skewers, insert the veggies. Place on grill and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes till the veggies are uniformly charred.  *I don’t have grill so I used rotisserie function of my convection oven and cooked as per the instruction manual. Hence the char was missing but kebabs were cooked beautifully.
  3. While veggies cook, mix the ingredients for corn salad in a bowl and toss thoroughly.
  4. Serve skewers topped with remaining marinade (if any) alongside the corn salad.

*You can make this recipe vegan – by replacing yogurt with soy yogurt in marinade, replacing cottage cheese with tofu and in corn salad, omit mayonnaise and use soy yogurt instead.

 

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Jun
2013

Caprese Ice-cream

categories: Entrée, Ice-creams, Summer

Does the title of this post shock you? Do you think it’s a typo? Nope… It is exactly what you read it is. Caprese Ice-cream… It has tomatoes, basil, Mozzarella cheese and whatever else an authentic Caprese Salad is supposed to have!

Caprese Ice-cream1

 

A perfect summer entrée for your guests!

It is the last day of the week-long ice-cream marathon going on here and I wanted to come up with an out-of-the-box flavor! A unique ice-cream which you have never read about on any other blog or probably (I’m just guessing) have never had it at any of the sophisticated restaurants! A treat I have specially created for you!

Our favorite summer salad made into an ice-cream!

It is actually a mix between ice-cream and sherbet.

It’s beautiful pink color will be a complete deception for your guests till they take a first bite of it!

It has a very refreshing kick from basil and is light on palate due to tomatoes.

We cook the tomatoes and basil leaves with olive oil on low-heat thus extracting basil flavors completely. The sieved puree is then mixed with Mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper, sugar mayonnaise and whipped cream.. Freeze it overnight and just before serving blend it to a smooth consistency like how we made our frozen whip and serve immediately!

You can even add roasted~peeled~pureed red bell paper to add a different dimension to it!

Trust me it is a perfect start to your elaborate dinner party. Just double the recipe if serving a larger crowd.

Caprese Ice-cream2

Caprese Ice-cream

Serves: 4 | Serving: 1 scoop | Yields: 4 scoops

Ingredients:

  • 15-17 cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4-5 basil leaves
  • salt and freshly cracked pepper, as per taste
  • 1 Tbsp finely grated Mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 tsp mayonnaise
  • A dash of lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp caster sugar
  • 3 Tbsp fresh Medium fat cream (40%)

Directions:

Add tomatoes, olive oil and basil leaves in a saucepan and cook it covered on a low-flame for about 4-5 minutes till the tomatoes have soften, stirring occasionally. Pass them through sieve to remove the skin, seeds and leaves.

Season the puree with salt and pepper. Add grated Mozzarella, mayonnaise and lemon juice to it.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream and sugar together till you get a soft peak. Fold in the tomato mixture in a cream mixture and scoop it in a airtight container. Freeze it overnight.

Just before serving, add the frozen ice-cream to your blender and process it till you get a smooth consistency. Scoop and serve in individual glasses topped with basil or mint leaves.

*The last step of blending before serving is MUST as the tomatoes have high water content and therefore the ice-cream straight out of the freezer will be icy.

Enjoy!

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