Crème Caramel

Crème Caramel, Flan de Leche or Caramel Custard whatever you call, it won't change the deliciousness of this extremely melt in mouth dessert. Each country whether its America, Spain, France, India or any Asian has its own recipe for this caramel coated custard. 

The variation of names and recipes is self explanatory that how much this dessert is appreciated internationally. Whatever you call it or whichever recipe you follow the taste of this silky smooth custard always pleases your taste buds.

Crème Caramel is said to have a French connection which requires very few ingredients which is easily available in our pantry. It has two main steps:

• Making the Caramel
• Making the Custard

Once you master the first step then you'll always get your Crème Caramel perfect. It is a perfect dessert for any party. For parties we usually make multiple dishes in maincourse but when it comes to dessert we search for something quick and easy. This dessert is the answer to all your search queries.

So let's get started:

Ingredients:

1. Evaporated Milk: 1 cup

2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup

3. Sugar: 1 cup + 1/2 cup

4. Eggs: 3

5. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp

6. Hot Water: as required

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Place a pan full of water on medium heat.

3. In a pan add half cup of sugar with 2 tbsp of water and place it on medium heat. Let it boil. Don't stir the caramel otherwise the sugar will crystallize. If required rotate the pan occasionally. As the sugar changes it's color to golden turn off the heat.

4. Now carefully pour the caramel into individual ramekins or baking dish to coat the bottom. Keep them aside.

5. Crack the eggs in a separate bowl and beat them well. Add the evaporated them and mix well until well combined.

6. Add sugar and vanilla extract into the eggs and evaporated milk mixture. Mix well until well incorporated.

7. In the mean time beat the heavy whipping cream until you get soft peaks. Add the cream to the mixture and mix very gently.

8. Pour the custard into the caramel coated ramekins or baking dish. Place the ramekins into the baking tray so that it has enough space in between the ramekins.

9. Add hot water into the baking tray and place the baking tray very carefully into the oven. Bake the custard for around 30-40 mins until set (If you are using baking dish then it will take 50-60 mins).

10. Take the tray out of the oven and let them cool down. Flip the custard into the serving tray and pour the caramel on top of the custard.

11. Enjoy the silky smooth Crème Caramel.

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Raspberry Pannacotta......A perfect dessert for your Valentine

Love is in the air as Valentine's Day is here. We all know this day is celebrated as the day of love and romance all over the world. Being a foodie the best way to celebrate this special day is making something special for the love of my life. So, I decided to make one of my all time favorite desserts - "Raspberry Pannacotta".

Pannacotta is an Italian dessert which means cooked cream. Traditionally it is made from milk, cream, sugar and gelatin. It is generally served chilled and topped with chocolate, caramel sauce or fruits of your choice. You can enjoy this dessert as it is just spoon up and indulge yourself in it's silky smooth texture.

These days we can easily find gelatin in our local grocery stores unlike earlier; people would use egg-whites instead. So, if you are not in favor of using gelatin you can always replace gelatin with egg whites but in that case you need to bake it. Having gelatin in your pantry makes your life easy and you can make really gorgeous looking desserts instantly.

I used Raspberry but you can always use fruit of your choice or replace it with chocolate the options are endless! So let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Milk: 1 cup
2. Cream: 1 cup
3. Sugar: 1 cup
4. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp
5. Fresh Raspberries: 1 cup
6. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packet

Method:

1. Dissolve one packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet and keep it aside.

2. In a separate pan pour the milk and boil it on low-medium heat. Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick to the bottom. Add the cream and mix well.  

3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the milk-cream mixture and cook it for 5-6 mins. Check the sweetness and adjust accordingly. Pour vanilla extract and give a nice mix.

4. Add the gelatin to the mixture and stir continously until the gelatin gets dissolved completely.

5. Pour this mixture into individual glasses or ramekins and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until it sets.

6. In the meanwhile take the raspberries and sugar in the blender and puree it. Strain it through a strainer to discard the seeds.

7. Once the milk-cream mixture is set completely take them out of the refrigerator.

8. Dissolve the other packet of gelatin in water as per the instructions.

9. Mix gelatin with the raspberry puree and pour the mixture into the glasses. Refrigerate it for 2-3 hours.

10. When you are ready to serve garnish it the way you like.

11. Enjoy.

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Palmiers.......Cute Little Hearts Cookies

Palmiers is a French Pastry which is also known as Elephant Ears or Angel Wings because of its shape. It is extremely light, flaky, caramely and buttery. Each time I bake Palmiers, I just fell amazed that how effortless and painless its recipe is. It's a perfect snack to munch on when you want something to eat during those odd hours of the day. 

These cookies are made up of puff pastry which is a dough wrapped around butter so the butter gets completely enclosed within the dough which is then rolled and folded over to double the number of layers and then the whole process is repeated. The number of times you repeat this process the more flaky your pastry will become. But making puff pastry at home is a very time consuming process and needs a lot of elbow greasing. Thanks to the frozen puff pastry sheets available at the supermarkets these days.

Making Palmiers at home becomes super easy if we have frozen puff pastry sheets in our freezer. You just need to thaw them, roll them, sprinkle granulated sugar and bake them. Ta-dah you're done! I know it's very difficult to resist until they cool down. I myself can't stay away from them for long. 

So let's get started:

Ingredients:

1. Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet: 1

2. Granulated Sugar: 1 and 1/2 cup

3. Crushed Green Cardamom (optional): 1 tsp

4. Egg: 1

Method:

1. Thaw the puff pastry sheet as directed.

2. Sprinkle some granulated sugar on your kitchen counter and unfold the puff pastry sheet.

3. Roll the puff pastry sheet to approx 1/8" thick. (If your pastry sheet gets sticky sprinkle some more sugar and roll it until you get the desired thickness)

4. Sprinkle sugar and crushed cardamom (if using) on top of the sheet. 

5. Fold one edge of the pastry sheet into the midle. Fold the opposite edge to the middle. At this point both the edges will touch the middle of the pastry. Continue this process until you can't fold anymore. By now it will take the shape of a log. 

6. Break the egg in a bowl and whisk it with a fork. Brush the log with this beaten egg.

7. Wrap the log with a cling wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

9. Take the log out of the freezer. Cut it into 1 cm thick pieces. Sprinkle granulated sugar on top of each piece and place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

10. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes. Flip the cookies after 7 and 1/2 minutes or until they become golden brown on each side. 

11. Take them out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack. 

12. Enjoy them with your evening tea. 

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Skinny Mango Cheesecake.........A Cheesecake Without Cheese

By now you all know that I have a ginormous sweet tooth. My dinner is not complete unless I have a bowl of anything sweet. But whenever I eat anything sweet I always get a guilt feeling that how much calories its been adding up! This feeling turns me upside down and muddle up the state of bliss.

There was a time when we would gobble up everything without even giving a second thought. That was the time we never thought how would we look like in our profile pic. Well, time changes so do our thoughts. 

I'm a huge fans of Cheesecakes, aren't you? But we all know that cheesecake adds a lot of calories in your waistline.......Sigh :(. So, I decided to cheat these "Caloricious Cheesecakes" without any "Cheese" content in it. Yes, you heard it right: "A Cheesecake Without Cream Cheese". It not only helps you to get rid of that "guilt" but it does full justice to the taste of an original Cheesecake. Isn't that great!

This recipe is very easy and requires very few ingredients. It is also a party pleaser which can be prepared in advance. So let's dig into this recipe of making my version of "Skinny Mango Cheesecakes":

Ingredients:

1. Mango Puree: 1 cup
2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup
3. Fat Free Yogurt: 1 cup
4. Powdered Sugar to taste
5. Unflavored Gelatin: 2 packets
6. Graham Crackers: 5-6
7. Unsalted Butter(melted): 1/2 cup
8. Vanilla Extract: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Making the crust:

1. Using a food processor or blender grind the graham crackers into fine crumbs. You can substitute graham crackers with digestive biscuits too.

2. Take the graham crackers crumbs in a separate bowl and add the melted butter. Mix it well. 

3.Now take individual greased ramekins or a cake pan and add a layer of graham crackers. Press well and place them in the refrigerator for 15 mins.

Making the filling:

1. Dissolve the gelatin in water as per the instructions on the packet. Mix well and keep it aside.

2. In the meanwhile take heavy whipping cream and whip it until you get soft peaks. At this point add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat it again for a minute.

3. In a mixing bowl take the yogurt, whipped cream and sugar. Mix well until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. It will take around 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the gelatin in this mixture and mix well until everything is well combined. 

5. Pour this mixture into the ramekins or cake pan. Let it set for 3-4 hours. 

6. In a separate bowl take the mango puree, powdered sugar and add the remaining gelatin mixture. Mix well.

7. Pour this mixture into the ramekins and let it refrigerate for another 3-4 hours.

8. Now hold the ramekins in warm water for 10 seconds. Demold the ramekins on the serving plate.

9. Garnish it the way you like. 

10. Enjoy these skinny cheesecakes without any guilt :)

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Cream Horns

From past one and half month I'm just roaming around my oven. I know that but I'm so addicted to it that I become helpless when it comes to baking. The aroma of freshly baked cakes, cupcakes and cookies pulls me towards my oven. 

Whenever I go to my nearby grocery store I always get stick to the bakery section those cute little cupcakes, beautifully decorated cakes, freshly baked breads magnetize me. I can fell the magnetic properties of that section. My husband literally drags me out of there. Anyway enough of rambling lets come back to today's recipe.

Cream Horns or Kremrole is a pastry made with flaky or puff pastry and filled with flavored whipped cream. My husband love them but the saddest part is we don't get them in our local grocery store. We get them in an Asian Store tough. I'm not a big fan of these cute little pastries, last time when we bought it , they somehow invited me and compled me to try one; that day I decided to try them at home. But I was not having molds or funnels for making the cream horns then I "Googled" a little bit and got the idea to make these cutie pies without molds.

So let's start making these Cream Horns without molds:

Ingredients:

1. Puff Pastry Sheet:1
2. Heavy Whipping Cream: 1 cup
3. Powdered Sugar: 1/2 cup
4. Granulated Sugar: 1/2 cup
5. Vanilla Essence: 1/4 tsp
6. Egg: 1
7. Flour: for dusting
8. Ice cream cones: 5-6

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. Prepare the ice-cream cones by wrapping it with aluminium foil and lightly greasing it with butter.

3. Thaw puff pastry sheets as directed. It's absolutely okay if you see some cracks in it, seal it with help of water by just wetting your fingers.

4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour and roll out the puff pastry gently.

5. Cut into equal long strips (2 cm wide approx).

6. Take a strip and roll onto the prepared ice-cream cones, push down and overlap as you go. Repeat the process for rest of the strips.

7. Crack the egg in a bowl, add 1/4 tsp of water and beat it with fork. Brush the prepared puff pastry with the egg and sprinkle granulated sugar.

8. Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake the pastries in the oven for 15 mins.

9. In the meanwhile beat the heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and vanilla essence until you get stiff peaks. Keep it aside.

10. Take the pastries out of the oven and let it cool down.

11. When the pastries are completely cooled fill in the whipped cream with the help of a cream bag or a ziploc bag.

12. Enjoy !!

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Gajar Ka Halwa.......A quintessential dessert of Indian Winters

A very Happy New Year to all my readers. May this new year flourish with new discoveries, wonderful inspirations and happiness to fulfill all your desires. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed with your near and dear ones.

I know last week I was bit irregular in posting since there was so many things going on at my end. It was my husband's birthday so we hosted a small party at our home followed by a Christmas potluck, a dinner invitation at our friend's place, prepping for the new year celebrations and finally welcoming the new year.

There are few food items which are specially prepared in winters and without which the winters are incomplete; "Gajar Ka Halwa" is one of them. Back in India, marriages and parties during winter are incomplete without it. Such is the influence of this delectable dessert.

There are many variations of this recipe like microwave version, pressure cooker version, sugar free version blah...blah...blah but this tastes best when it's made in a traditional way, where grated carrot is slow cooked in milk and then a generous amount of ghee, khoa and dry fruits are added to it. This makes the recipe very rich in calories. I need to confess here that I'm not that much calorie conscious but yes, I do care about my waistline.

During winters those red, sweet and long carrots can be found copiously and my mind starts drifting shall I have them in salads or make some Gajar Ka Halwa out of those. After having a prolonged dilemma I manage to convince myself to indulge into this sinful bowl of Halwa. Whenever I have a bowl it makes me feel guilty :( So, I tried to keep this recipe low in calories as much as I can. 

So, let's relish this bowl of bliss:

Ingredients:

1. Carrots: 1 kg

2. Low fat Milk: 2 cups

3. Ghee (clarified butter): 2 tbsp

4. Green Cardamoms (crushed): 3-4 

5. Sweetened Condensed Milk: 1 and 1/2 cup

6. Dry fruits (Cashews, Raisins, Almonds): as required

Method:

1. Wash the carrots thoroughly and peel off the skin. Now grate them with the help of a vegatable grater.

2. Take the milk in a heavy bottomed pan. As the milk starts boiling add the grated carrots and stir it continuously on low-medium heat.

3. Once all the milk is absorbed by the carrots add the sweetened condensed milk (since I have used sweetened condensed milk so there's no need of extra sugar. But you can adjust it according to your taste buds) Let it cook for 10-12 mins or until is mixture is completely dry. Stir the halwa continuously to assure that it doesn't stick to the bottom.

4. In a separate pan add ghee and fry the dry fruits. Now add them to the halwa along with the ghee. 

5. Now sprinkle the crushed cardamoms and give it a nice mix.

6. Enjoy it hot or cold. 

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.

Strawberry Mousse Cake.........It's his Birthday

Yes, I know since last few posts I have been playing around Strawberries a lot. Strawberry Swiss Roll, Strawberry Shortcake Shoooters and now Strawberry Mousse Cake - they all have Strawberries in common. It's my husband's birthday and he loves strawberry flavor so I was treating him with desserts made with it.

I baked this cake for his birthday party but you don't need any special occasion to bake a cake. As we all know it must be someone's birthday somewhere so have a slice :) Moreover it's holiday season what else we need to dig into a slice of cake!

So, without any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the sponge cake:

1. All purpose flour: 1 cup

2. Unsalted butter: 1 cup 

3. Sugar: 1 cup

4. Baking Powder: 1 tbsp

5. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp

6. Milk: 1/4 cup

7. Salt: 1 tsp

8. Eggs: 4

For Buttercream Icing:

1. Vegetable shortening: 1/2 cup

2. Butter: 1/2 cup

3. Powdered Sugar: 4 cups

4. Vanilla Extract: 1 tbsp

5. Milk: 2 tbsp

For Strawberry Mousse:

Check out my recipe of Mango Mousse (http://flavorsofmyplate.blogspot.com/2014/11/eggless-mango-mousseno-cook-no-bake.html). I just replaced mango puree with the stawberry puree.

Method:

For making Buttercream Icing:

1.In a bowl beat vegetable shortening and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

2. Add vanilla extract.

3. Gradually add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to combine everything. 

4. If the icing appears to be dry add milk. Beat until the icing appears fluffy and glossy.

For making the sponge cake:

1. The first thing to keep in mind while make a sponge cake is that all your ingredients should be at room temperature. So bring all the ingedients to room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

3. Grease a 9 inch round pan with butter and line it with a parchment paper.

4. Sift together all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Keep it aside.

5. Take unsalted butter and powdered sugar in a bowl and beat well with your hand mixer on medium speed until it becomes creamy.

6. Crack all the eggs in a large bowl and beat them until it becomes light and fluffy. It will take 8-10 mins on medium speed. Add vanilla extract and again beat the mixture for a minute.

7. Add flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture and mix with the help of a spatula.

8. Gently add the beaten eggs to the flour-butter-sugar mixture and combine everything by using cut and fold process.

9. Add milk and mix well by using the same cut and fold process.

10. Pour this batter into the round pan lined with parchment paper and put it into the oven for 25-30 mins.

11. To test whether your cake is done or not, take a toothpick and insert it into the center. If it's clean your cake is done otherwise bake it for a minute or two.

12. Take out the cake from the oven and let it cool down for 10 mins.

13. Meanwhile prepare your strawberry mousse 

(http://flavorsofmyplate.blogspot.com/2014/11/eggless-mango-mousseno-cook-no-bake.html) 

14. When the cake is completely cooled cut it into two halves. Add a generous layer of strawberry mousse on one half and put the other half on top of it. 

15. Put the cake in the refrigerator for the mousse to set. It will take around 3-4 hours. Once done do icing as per your choice.

16. Enjoy your Strawberry Mousse Cake.

Note:

For regular updates just click the "Like" button on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flavors-Of-My-Plate/737185573034586?ref=hl

You can also follow me on:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/ananyabhowmick

Twitter: https://twitter.com/flavorsofmyplat

If you want the recipe in Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu (or any other language) click on the Google Translate button on the left side.