Banana,Chocolate Chip & Cashew Cake With Warm,Caramel Sauce And Cool,Vanilla Whipped Cream{Eggless}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY!: BANANA,CHOCOLATE CHIP & CASHEW CAKE WITH WARM,HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE AND COOL,VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM{Eggless}

INGREDIENTS
1 and 1/2 cups refined flour/all-purpose flour
2 bananas - preferably overripe
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped-roasted cashewnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
5 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup sugar - ground in a food processor to a powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
Generous pinch of salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter - softened
FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE:
240 gm sugar
60 gm unsalted butter
140 ml heavy cream/double cream
90 ml water
FOR THE VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM:
1/2 cup whipping cream - chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon sugar - ground in a food processor to a powder

METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees C/340 degrees F.
In the meanwhile,place a small sauce pan with the milk on high heat.Once fairly hot,reduce the flame to low,add the brown sugar and stir until it dissolves.Switch off the heat.
Now,in a bowl,sieve together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder,baking soda and salt.Add chopped-roasted cashewnuts.Keep aside. 
In another bowl,beat the unsalted butter and powdered sugar until light,fluffy and creamy.
Put the bananas in a blender and blend to a smooth,fine puree.Alternately,you may mash them or even use a combination,like puree one and cut into dices the other.Depends upon the texture you are looking for in the cake.Add these bananas to butter and sugar mixture.Pour in the sweet milk and vanilla extract.Beat together until combined.Tip in dry ingredients in two batches and beat again till all traces of flour disappear,and the batter is smooth.Do not over mix.
Fold in the morsels of deliciousness,the chocolate chips.
Grease a 7.5 inch or 8 inch round cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper.Pour the cake batter into the tin and place it in the oven.Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.A few moist crumbs on the toothpick are fine as well,wet batter is not.
Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool a bit in its tin for about 10 minutes.Then,while still warm,unmould the cake and transfer it to a serving platter.Poke some holes on the top using a metal skewer or an uncooked strand of spaghetti,about half way into the cake.Pour the warm,silky,luscious caramel sauce over and allow to soak for 5 minutes.Cut into slices and serve with cool,vanilla whipped cream.Can life get any better?

Read more »

Guest Post For #SpicyChat : Cardamom Kissed,Saffron Rice Pudding

Rice Pudding made the good old,traditional way!It is baked in the oven,at rather a low temperature,resulting in the rice swelling slowly and giving creaminess to the preparation unmatched by any stovetop method.

CARDAMOM KISSED,SAFFRON RICE PUDDING
"Hey u, would u be interested in a guest post for #spicychat ?"
Rashmi Primlani .The name brings three words to my mind - 'Ace Food Blogger'.I am sure you are well aware of her,and the beautiful ' The Primlani Kitchen ' she owns(And if you are not,where have you been?!) ,where love is her 'Secret' ingredient.From a very Indian Aloo Tikki Chaat to a Moroccon Aromatic & Spiced Chicken & Wild Rice Pie ,from a savory Achari Tamarind Fish Curry to sweet Lavender & Fleur De Sel Shortbread Cookies ,her site is a treasure of diverse recipes!
So,when she asked me if I would like to do a guest post for #spicychat ,I was naturally elated.The answer was a resounding yes!To do full justice to this honor,I made for her my Indian influenced,Cardamom Kissed,Saffron Rice Pudding.A lovely dessert!

Milky and lush,this comforting rice pudding combines the old fashioned European/American cooking method with the Indian love of spices and dried fruit.Rice is gently cooked in sweetened milk,infused and enhanced with flavors like raisins,almonds,cardamom and saffron!
It goes perfectly well with this week's #spicychat theme - 'Quick And Easy' Meals!While a traditional rice pudding may take as much as two hours,this one is done in less than half the time!Not only is the cooking time shorter here because of the combination of full fat milk and cream used,the pudding baked in individual portions acts as an added bonus.Also,baking the pudding instead of cooking it on gas range leaves one absolutely free to do whatever they want!The best part about this recipe - most ingredients used,like rice,milk and sugar are present in one's pantry,so there is no last minute rushing to the departmental store!

Continue to the recipe

Read more »

Quick & Easy: Nutty Chocolate Tart {Eggless}

Unlike usual tart recipes,the crust here is simply made of biscuit crumbs and butter,which means no hard work on a dough!

NUTTY CHOCOLATE TART
Is your sweet tooth acting up again?Trust me,ignoring it is one of the hardest things to do.Besides,why ignore it,when you can very easily honor it?
One of the most stunning chocolate desserts is surprisingly,also the easiest.A sure hit at parties,this inviting preparation is delectable,lush chocolate set over a biscuit base.Nuts add crunch,raisins add chewiness.

Whether you make it for yourself,or for family and friends,you will surely see faces lighting up in delight!

Cooking Time : 8 minutes
Servings : 6

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup digestive biscuit crumbs - digestive biscuits crushed using a rolling pin or briefly ground in a food processor to make coarse crumbs
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cream
2 and 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Nutella
5 walnuts - roughly chopped
5 almonds - roughly chopped
5 cashewnuts - roughly chopped
10 raisins
2 tablespoons cocoa powder(Optional)

METHOD
Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C/390 degrees F.
In the meanwhile,melt the butter in a microwave.Alternately,you may do it in a small pan over the gas range.Pour this golden,molten liquid on digestive biscuit crumbs,and mix well with a spoon to combine.Then,press this mixture,preferably with your fingers,into the bottom of a 7.5 inch or 8 inch springform cake tin.Place the cake tin in the oven,and bake for 4 minutes.Divine cookie-like scent will fill your kitchen.
Allow the cake tin to cool down to room temperature,as you stir cream and semisweet chocolate chips in a sauce pan over low heat.The chocolate will quickly melt,turning the contents of the pan into a smooth,luscious,dark sin.Now,switch off heat and add the remaining ingredients - Nutella,walnuts,almonds,cashewnuts and raisins.Give a good stir,and pour in cake tin,over the tart crust.
Let the tart cool down to room temperature,then refrigerate until serving time.Cut into wedges,dust with cocoa powder if desired,and honor your sweet tooth!

NOTE
1. Digestive biscuits used for making crumbs in this recipe,can be substituted with any other biscuits or cookies of one's choice.They have been used here to cut the richness of this dessert by adding lightness,and a different flavor.
2. Do not worry about the cake tin not being full.Large wedges of tart are not required,it is to be served in small portions.

In case not all nuts are available for Nutty Chocolate Tart,feel free to substitute them with others.

This work by Fahad Khan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Read more »