Yummy Vanilla Cupcakes

Iam back from a month long break...We had three good weeks of vacation in India, and then back here I had to prepare for my kids second birthday.It went on very well last week, though hard to believe that my tiny one is growing so fast.Will post the pictures of the menu in the next post.But before that I wanted to publish this post that was sitting in my drafts for a long time.The auto scheduler didnt work for me !!!

Have tried several recipes for vanilla cupcakes from diferent sources, but didnt quite turn out well. So I stopped making them for a while until I saw this recipe from "Passionate about baking" . Made it thrice since then , and every time it baked beautifully and was yummy.

Without taking much of your time here is the recipe:

I didnt make any changes to the original recipe, just made them with large muffin pan instead of the mini ones. Made 12 cupcakes.

Source: Passionate about Baking

Ingredients:

Flour – 2 cups

Baking Powder – 2 tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Butter – ½ cup

Sugar 1 ¼ cup

Eggs – 2

Milk – 1 cup

Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp

Method:
Preheat the oven to 190deg C.
Grease well muffin trays.
Sift together flour + baking powder + salt 3 times. Keep aside.
Cream the butter and sugar well on high speed until light and fluffy.
Beat in vanilla essence, followed by eggs beaten in 1 by 1.
Now beat in flour and milk alternatively till well incorporated.
Put about a tsp full in each muffin casing, about ¾ full, as it will rise.
Bake at 190deg C for 10-15 mins till golden brown.
Remove immediately and cool on racks.

Apple cinnamon muffins

I had bookmarked this recipe from Baking bites long back but didnt get to it.Whenever I think of trying this recipe either I will be short of apples or the apples will not be fresh.Since Iam travelling to India on a three weeks vacation Iam planning my menu everyday such that no vegetables or fruits are left out in the refrigerator.Veggies I can manage, but fruits ! with only three days left there is a lot of fruit (peaches,cherries, pears, apples)to be finished thanks to the visit to the farmers market..So dont be surprised if there is an other post on something with peaches.(ya I have a bookmarked recipe of peaches too..)

I didnt use the recipe as such, made a few changes like avoided eggs and used milk instead of buttermilk.I also used whole wheat pastry flour.The result was soft moist and delicious muffins.

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract ( I used vanilla sugar)

1 cup milk

2 cups diced apple

3 tbsp coarse sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnomon

Method

Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar , melted butter, vegetable oil and vanilla.

Working in two or three additions, alternately stir in flour mixture and milk, ending with an addition of flour and mixing only until no streaks of flour remain visible in the batter.

Stir in diced apple.Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups filling each to the top, or slightly over.

In a small bowl, stir together coarse sugar and additional 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.

Sprinkle generously over muffins.Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool muffins on a wire rack.

Mine made 9 large Muffins.



The theme for this month's Think Spice event hosted by Sunita herself being "Spiced sweet treat" these gorgeous Apple Muffins spiced with cinnamon and ginger makes their way to the event.



Sending these healthy muffins to the "Show me your muffins " event by Divya at Dil-se

Easy breezy salmon curry

I try to cook fish almost twice a week.Mostly it is salmon and rarely it is some other white fish. We all know that Salmon is one of the richest source of omega 3 fatty acids and it reduces bad cholestrol.

But Salmon doesn't fit in the usual south Indian 'meen kulambhu ' that we prefer (somehow it makes the fish rubbery) I reserve that dish for some trouts or any other fish from the market. So I always make this quick and delicious curry to be relished with white rice or roti's.

Its a must try recipe for people who love to eat salmon.Even if you dont like (like I used to be ) you will start liking it after this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 - (15 oz) salmon strips cut into cubes.(you can also use frozen ones)

3 cloves of garlic finely chopped.

1 onion finely chopped

1/2 cup of tomato paste

1/2 tsp turmeric power

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp whole peppers

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds(optional)

1/2 tsp fennel seeds/powder(optional)

curry leaves

Method:

Take 2 tblsp of olive oil in a flat bottommed vessel.

Add the curry leaves, whole pepper, fenugreek and the fennel seeds when the oil is hot.

Add the chopped garlic and onions and fry till the onion turns translucent

Now add the tomato paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder , chilli power and salt.

Add half cup of water and mix well.Close with a lid and allow it to boil for 10 mins in a medium flame.

After the raw smell o the tomato paste disappears, add the salmon pieces , gently give it stir, reduce the flame to low , cover and cook for 10 more mins.

Note:

The gravy should be thick. So cooking in the low flame after adding the fish is a must to avoid burning. Adjust the salt and spice to your taste, before adding the fish.

Other Salmon Receipes:


Salmon Curry with Coconut

Baked Salmon Cubes


Meen Kuzhambhu - Tamilnadu style

Cherry cake

Baked this beautiful cake past weekend with some leftover cherries from the farmers market.

Browsed a lot of recipes from the net and finally settled on the one from Joy of Baking.

I followed the recipe as given, but had to replace the sugar with brown sugar, as I realised that I ran out of white sugar, after beating the eggs.

But the cake baked beautifully and was delicious.I made this in the evening and the cake plate become empty by the time we had tea.

Ingredients:

1 pound (454 grams) fresh cherries, pitted
1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (150 grams) brown sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

Butter and flour an 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
Rinse, dry, and pit all the cherries. Cut the cherries as desired.

Take about 1/4 (about 15) of the cherries (to be placed on the top of the cake during baking) and cut them in half.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl , beat the eggs and sugar until thick and lemon colored (about 3-5 minutes).

Add the melted butter, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat just until incorporated.

Add the flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Gently fold in the whole pitted cherries.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula.
Bake for 15 minutes then remove from oven.

Quickly arrange the remaining cherries, cut side down, on the top of the cake.

Return the cake to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of softly whipped cream.
Makes 8 - 10 servings.

Source : Joy of Baking

Eggplant curry with Peanuts for JFI

This is a delicacy which my mother makes often.I relish this dish just with plain rice and a tsp of ghee.This is also a great side dish for any spiced rice such as pulav, biriyani, jeera rice etc.,

Here is the recipe

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 handful of roasted peanuts , ground into a coarse powder.

1 medium onion chopped

1 small tomato chopped

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd (optional)

1 tsp whole pepper

1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp urad dhal

1 tsp channa dhal

1 tsp tamarind paste dissolved in 1/2 cup of water

curry leaves optional.

salt and oil to taste.

Method.

Wash and cut the brinjal or eggplants into 1 inch long strips.

Take 2tblsp of oil in non stick kadai/pan.

Add the mustard and wait till it splutters.

Now add the urad dhal, channa dhal, pepper , jeera and currey leaves.

Once the dhal is brown, add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the eggplants and fry nicely till it shrinks in size, now add the tomatoes, chillipowder, turmeric, and salt. Sprinkle some water, reduce the flame and close the pan with lid.

Allow it to cook for 8 10 mins, and then add the tamarind juice(1tsp paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water).

Increase the heat and stir well till all the juice is absorbed.

Now add the coarse peanut/groundnut powder , chopped coriander leaves, stir well to combine and switch of the stove.

Note:

• Always add the peanuts, only when all the water is absorbed and the curry is almost dry. Otherwise the dish will become very soggy.
• As a variation you can also add 2tblsp of shreded coconut with or without the peanuts .
• Roasting the brinjal in more oil (20r 3 tblsp more) and allowing the brinjal to cook in the oil will definitly enhance the taste even better i.e. if you are not worried about the extra calories or fat that bringa along with it :).

This is a great dish to prepare for potlucks, get together's or any party for that matter.

Iam sending this to ths months JFI conceived by Indira hosted at 'The cooks hide out'