Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Hot Apple Crisps with Cold Vanilla Ice cream

For those of you who have tried this, by now you know what I'm talkin' about. This I had this one it at a friend's place and just wanted to come back home and try making it for myself.

For those of you who have not tried this, there are four parts to this dessert,  the fruit filling, the topping, vanilla ice cream and the caramel sauce that you pour over this ...








Preheat the over at 350 degree F.

Prepare the Fruit filling:

What you need for the fruit filling :

6 Baking Apples ( go for sweet juicy ones)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour

Peel the skin of the apple and slice them really thin.
Then mix all of the above and spread them on a baking pan, like in the pic below:


To prepare the topping:

What you need for the topping:

1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled out oats ( please use only rolled out oats, i used steel cut oats here as I didn't have                                            rolled out oats)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 stick butter ( make sure the butter is soft, then u don't have to use all ur muscle power trying to                                mix it with the other ingredients)


  • Mix all of the above, it will be of crumbly texture , like the picture below


( sorry about the picture quality, my hands were all messy and I'm definitely not an expert clicking a pic holding the camera in one hand )



  • Spread the topping over the fruit filling
  • Bake it in the over for around 30-40 minutes, when you see the fruit filling later bubbling, that's when you know its ready, like the picture below

  • Cut it into squares and serve it hot with cold vanilla ice cream and pour some caramel sauce over it and ENJOY !!!!!!
How to prepare Caramel Sauce

You can prepare this while the apple crisp is getting ready in the oven.

1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup half and half 
4 tbsp butter
salt - a pinch
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Mix together brown sugar, half and half, butter and salt and cook for 5-6 minutes . Gently whisk while cooking, then add vanilla extract and continue to cook, until you get it in a thicker consistency. This is how it looks...




ENJOY UR APPLE CRISP ;-)



















Monday, December 26, 2016

Carrot and Cashew nut cake

This is a super moist and tasty cake. If you are not a big fan of  the usual plum cake, this is definitely the one. I made a few of them during Christmas and gave it to a few neighbors and friends and I was so glad to find a cake tin to gift this in and I also had a cake pan that makes cakes that fits well into these " gift tins".

Here are a few pics...






Ingredients you need to get started

All Purpose Flour - 1 cup
Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp
Baking Powder - 3/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Vegetable/Canola Oil - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Egg - 2 large
Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
Grated Carrot - 1 cup
Chopped Cashew nuts - 1 cup

Caramel

Sugar - 3/4 cup
Hot water - 1/4 cup


Method:

1) First prepare the caramel and keep it aside to cool. For this, heat sugar in a dry pan on medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Make sure you don't use a spoon to stir the sugar.

2) Make the caramel dark, make sure it does not burn. Add hot water to the caramel and switch off the flame. The caramel dissolves well. Keep it aside to cool.

3)Prepare the cake pan, by lining it with a parchment paper, use the parchment paper so that the sides of the cake don't get hard. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F/ 180 degree C.

4) Prepare the dry ingredients. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Keep it aside.[ I do this in a medium sized bowl. I like to use the largest bowl I have for the wet ingredients for two reasons, one, so that the liquid won't splash out if you are using a hand blender and two, because you will eventually be adding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients bowl ].

5)Beat the eggs and the sugar well, then add oil to this and beat till you get a creamy consistency.

6)Add the cooled caramel and vanilla essence to the above mixture and mix well.

7) Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir, not too much but just until everything is mixed well.

8) Add a teaspoon of flour to the grated carrots and chopped cashews and add it into the mixture and give a quix stir with the spatula.

9) Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, till the cake rises well, but make sure you don't over cook it else it will lose the moisture and cake will be dry. When the cake is cooled, enjoy it, its a very moist cake and tastes so good !




Let me show you a pic of the same recipe cake which I made with a lighter caramel. So, you can decide if you want a lighter one or a darker one, both are really really good.



Also, I made this cake in all different sizes of cake pans, here are a few pics...






They make such beautiful gifts too...


HAPPY BAKING, ENJOY THE CAKE AND GIVE IT TO SOMEONE YOU LOVE !
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!