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I made these gluten free brookies for the first time as a thank you gift for someone who helped me with a sourcing problem I was facing. She was someone I knew through Anubhav, but thanks to these brookies we became friends. She loved them so much she actually wanted me to place an order for a wedding she was curating. So you know these are that good.

Over the years, I have experimented with the sugar amounts, and also played a bit with the gluten free aspect of the brookies and now I have a version of these gluten free brookies that I can happily share with you all on the blog.

What are brookies?

Brookies are a cross between a rich, fudgy brownie but in a cookie form. I first learnt about them in a Masterchef episode where Nigella lawson was judging an episode on midnight snacks. Harry from season 8 made these brookies and they were an instant hit.

These brookies are naturally gluten-free and while, the original recipe calls for corn starch (or what we know as corn flour in India), I have recently been using jowar (sorghum flour) and making these slightly healthier. I have also reduced the sugar called for in the original recipe – and now these are sinfully dense, deeply chocolatey, and perfectly balanced.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The Flour Base: Corn Starch vs. Jowar (Sorghum Flour)

Depending on what you have in your pantry and the exact texture you are craving, you can build this recipe with either flours. Corn flour yields a slightly lighter, traditional texture, while jowar offers a subtle earthiness and great structure. The jowar ones are less fudgier than the corn starch one but nutritionally better. So choose your battles accordingly

• Jowar Flour / Sorghum (The Earthy Upgrade): If you love a dessert with a bit more depth and a slightly rustic feel,  jowar is an absolute revelation for chocolate baking. It provides an incredible, sturdy structure that gives the cookie dough a fantastic chewiness. Because it absorbs moisture well, it helps create a dense, deeply satisfying bite that doesn’t crumble apart, adding a subtle, nutty sweetness that pairs beautifully with dark chocolate.

• The Corn Starch Element: If you want a lighter, melt-in-your-mouth delicacy, corn starch is a brilliant addition. Additionally, adding a bit of corn starch softens the proteins in alternative grains, helping you get an even softer, velvety texture in the cookie base.

The Regional Name Confusion (UK & India vs. US): In the US, “corn starch” is the fine, chalky white powder used to thicken sauces, while “corn flour” is the yellow, finely ground whole cornmeal. In the UK, India, and parts of Europe, the white thickening powder is actually labeled and referred to as “cornflour.”

For this specific recipe, we are using the fine white thickening powder (labeled corn starch in the US, and cornflour in India/UK). Using whole yellow maize flour instead will completely alter the moisture balance, so double-check your packaging!

Use Real Chocolate (Skip the Compound!)

Since there are such few ingredients, the quality of the ingredients matter a lot. When you are working with a lower-sugar, gluten-free recipe, there is nowhere for low-quality ingredients to hide. Because we aren’t masking the flavor with cups of sugar, the quality of your chocolate is the flavor of your brookie.

Please, do yourself a favor and avoid compound chocolate entirely.

Compound chocolate replaces expensive cocoa butter with cheap vegetable oils (like palm or hydrogenated oils). While it’s easy to melt and doesn’t require tempering, it leaves a waxy coating on the roof of your mouth and lacks that deep, complex cocoa flavor.

For the ultimate fudgy texture and rich taste, look for real couverture chocolate or high-quality baking bars where cocoa butter is listed as a primary ingredient. A good dark chocolate will melt smoothly into the batter and give you that luxurious finish that vegetable-oil alternatives simply cannot replicate.

Why My Brookies Have a Matte Top (The Low-Sugar Trade-Off)

Since I have adjusted this recipe to include less sugar, the brookies come out with a rustic, matte top instead of that classic paper-crinkle skin. It’s a trade off I am willing to take for a less sweet cookie that suits my taste buds. It’s still rich, still indulgent, just not a brookie with a classic shiny top.

That super-crinkly top relies on a high volume of dissolved sugar creating a meringue surface. By cutting the sugar back for a better balance of flavor, we trade a bit of that gloss for a much richer, less-cloying chocolate experience.

Also, if you replace corn starch in the recipe with jowar (sorghum flour)- that too will effect the shiny top. To mimic the effect of cornstarch, you can replace a small portion (about 15% – 20%) of the sorghum flour in your recipe with a pure starch like tapioca or arrowroot powder, or even the corn starch.

Pro-Tips to Get Some Crinkle Back (Without Adding Sugar)

If you still want to coax a little bit of that shine out of your lower-sugar batter, you can use these technical styling tricks:

• Whisk the eggs and sugar aggressively: Before adding anything else, whip your eggs and sugar together for a full 3 to 4 minutes until they are pale, thick, and voluminous. This forces what little sugar you have to fully dissolve and form a stronger meringue structure.

• Melt your chocolate and butter hot: Add your hot, melted chocolate-butter mixture directly into the egg and sugar paste. The residual heat helps dissolve the sugar crystals even further.

• The Chocolate Chip Trick: Sprinkle a handful of high-quality chocolate chips or chunks on top of the brownie layer right before it goes into the oven. As they melt and bake, they naturally create beautiful, glossy pools on the surface, making up for the missing sugar shine.

Make it Your Own: Fun Add-Ins & Flavor Twists

The beauty of this brookie recipe is that it serves as a perfect canvas for different textures and flavor pairings. While they are incredible plain, adding a little extra crunch or warmth takes them to a whole new level:

• Toasted Walnuts: The classic choice. If you want a crunch layer in your brookies there is nothign more classic than walnuts. You could also use pecans or almonds as well. (Pro-tip: Always toast them in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes first to wake up their oils).

• A Dash of Cinnamon: Adding a generous pinch of ground cinnamon to the cookie dough base creates a gorgeous, subtle warmth. It gives the brookies a slight Mexican hot chocolate vibe that pairs beautifully with the earthiness of jowar flour.

• Sea Salt Flakes: Right after the brookies come out of the oven, hit the top with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt (like Maldon). It makes the chocolate taste ten times richer and elevates the whole look. I always do this!

Make ahead: Shape and freeze

If you want fresh-baked brookies on demand without making a whole mess in the kitchen every time, this recipe handles freezing beautifully. I do this constantly, and it is a total game-changer.

How to freeze and bake:

1. Line and Layer: Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Scoop out the cookie dough with an ice cream scooper or a cookie scooper and line the scooped out portions on the baking tray. Wrap the tray in clingfilm.

2. The Flash Freeze: Place the entire pan flat in the freezer for about 2 hours until the brookies are completely solid.

3. Wrap Securely: Remove the frozen scooped out brookie dough portions and place in a freezer safe ziploc bag.  It will keep beautifully for up to 3 months, but I generally bake them before that.

4. Bake from Frozen: When a chocolate craving strikes, drop the frozen cookie dough scoop back into your baking pan. Bake it directly from frozen—just lower your oven temperature by about 10°C (around 50°F) and add an extra 2-3 minutes to the total baking time to ensure the center gets perfectly fudgy without burning the edges.

Serving Tip: Enjoy at Room Temperature

These brookies are at their absolute best when served at room temperature. The original masterchef recipe calls for serving them with some Chantilly cream but I generally take the classic route of serving these with some vanilla ice cream.

These brookies are best enjoyed at room temperature.  If you eat them cold from the fridge, the fats from the chocolate and butter solidify, making the texture feel overly dense, hard, and muted in flavor.

Allowing the brookies to come completely to room temperature softens the cocoa butter and lets the alternative grains relax. The result? A perfectly fudgy, velvety bite where the subtle nuttiness of the flour and the warmth of the chocolate fully open up.

If you do store them in the fridge to keep them fresh, just set your cookie on the counter for 20–30 minutes before serving, or give it a quick 10-to-15-second zap in the microwave to wake up those glorious chocolate pockets.

Brookies: Gluten free recipe

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Can’t decide between a rich brownie and a classic cookie? This ultimate brookie recipe delivers the best of both worlds, featuring a deeply fudgy, crinkle-top brownie texture baked into the perfect chewy cookie shape. And these brookies are gluten free!

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: dessert

Serves: 12-13

Ingredients

• 350g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
• 45g butter (I use salted)
• 120g caster sugar
• 80g cornflour (you can substitute with 75gm sorghum flour, OR do 70 grams sorghum flour and 1 tbsp cornflour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 100g dark chocolate chips (use some for mixing in and some for dotting on top)
• Sea salt, for sprinkling on top (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C and line your baking trays with baking paper.
2. Place the 350g of 70% dark chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir occasionally until completely melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Beat the sugar and eggs till light and fluffy. Add the warm dark chocolate butter mixture and vanilla and mix well.
4. Add the dry ingredients- cornflour and baking powder.
5. Mix until just well combined. You can add half of the chocolate chips in at this point.
6. Using an ice cream scooper or a spoon, add the scooped out dough onto your prepared baking trays, leaving plenty of space between each cookie as they will spread. Gently press a few of the dark chocolate chips into the top of each mound of dough. Sprinkle sea salt on top, if using
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 13 minutes ( be careful not to over bake if you want a fudgy texture). Remove from the oven and let them cool completely on the trays to set. (In my oven the perfect texture comes when I bake them at 165°C for 13 minutes. If I take them out of the freezer, I add 2 more minutes to the bake time.)
8. Serve warm with Chantilly cream or ice cream or enjoy as is!

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So… its been a while.

More than a year. 

I have been irregular for a while on the blog, but I still would wake up after a few months to post. But to not post an entire year (the last post was January 2021), that’s a first.

I have no excuse except I did not feel like writing. The convenience of posting a picture and sharing a recipe if someone wants it on my instagram page was more tempting. Not that I was doing that often either. My postings on instagram have not been very consistent- the addition of reels to the platform hasn’t helped, even though I do like making videos. I started making videos in 2013 and making food videos is what started my career in photography when I moved back to India in 2016. But that was when there was no one making it. And while I am thoroughly entertained by reels (pet reels are my stress buster), I hate that most of the feed is the same song played repeatedly with people dancing on the same steps. Not to say there is not good quality content on that platform. Instagram was always aspirational, but it did come to become a little overwhelming for me. Content creators churning new content every day. And that too video content- which to my old school brain takes time to conceptualize, shoot, edit, find music (!). For someone who has always been used to working alone, it became overwhelming to manage everything and delivering so much.

While the first wave of covid saw me productive as never before, I soon could not keep up. So the recipes stopped. The personal projects stopped. And the silence took over. Photography, styling and video work for clients went on. But creatively I felt lost. I felt lost in general. I still feel do. 

I am trying to revive this space. While I had not been posting, I did discover some new recipes along the way. Some were shared on instagram, but I feel they all deserve a more permanent space too. Today I am sharing the recipe for these quick and easy to make mango jalapeño margaritas.

This spicy margarita drink was something I first tried at a restaurant in Dallas, and soon became a favorite. During the first lockdown, A and I worked on this recipe and while I posted the recipe for these mango jalapeno margaritas on instagram, it deserves a permanent blog space. 

Ingredients required for this spicy margarita cocktail:

• Tequila
• Cointreau (or any other orange liqueur)
• Lime juice
• Mango – you need the pulp and a few fresh pieces for the garnish
• Jalapeños (if fresh are not available, I have used the jar ones also successfully)
• Chilli salt- to rim your glasses (if you have tajin that works too, but make your own chilli salt with red chili powder/paprika and salt. I use pink salt, but regular will also do.

The steps are fairly easy and quick. Given that mangoes are in season, I do hope you get to try this summer perfect drink mango jalapeño margarita recipe.

P.S: We have some mangoes in the refrigerator, so guess we might make it for the weekend too. 

Mango Jalapeno Margarita

 

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A vibrant refreshing summer cocktail that perfectly balances sweet mangoes with a sharp kick of jalapenos and a clean tequila finish

Author: Shumaila

Serves: 3 glasses

Ingredients

• 1 cup mango pulp
• 3-5 slices of jalapeno
• Ice
• 120-150 ml tequila (depends on how potent you want, we use 130 ml)
• 30 ml fresh lime juice
• 30-45 ml cointreau
• 10-30 ml simple syrup (depending on how sweet you like your drinks- you can also skip the simple syrup if your mangoes are sweet and do not like your drinks too sweet)
• 1 tbsp red chili powder or paprika plus 1 tbsp pink salt OR Tajin for rimming the glass

Instructions

1. In a wide bowl (wide enough to dip your glasses in) mix the salt and red chili powder.
2. Rim a cocktail glass with lime. Dip the glass in the chili salt.
3. In a blender add the mango pulp, along with the jalapeños and 5-6 cubes of ice. Blend to a puree.
4. In a pitcher, mix all the puree with the tequila, cointreau, lime juice and simple syrup (if using) and stir.
5. Add crushed ice or a big cube of ice in the prepped glasses.
6. Pour in the drink.
7. Garnish with mango cubes and a slice of jalapeno
8. The recipe makes 3 glasses.

NOTE:

1. You can also strain the mango jalapeno mixture after blending it for a less texture drink, and then add the alcohol and lime juice. If you do that I would suggest to add a few cubes of chopped mango along with the ice in your prepped glasses for added mango flavor. I personally like the thick texture of this margarita but to make it a smoother sip straining helps.

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I have made this mushroom ravioli recipe so many times, but some how never been able to post the recipe for it. I have even shot it once before but never been happy with the images. Even now, since I was concentrating more on the mushroom ravioli recipe video, I was not able to shoot the image the way I wanted. Plus the day I shot this image for the mushroom ravioli I tried to make it with a swiss chard addition which gave a pink tinge to the ravioli. I loved the addition of leafy greens that makes the dish tad bit healthier, but yes it did take away from the focus of a traditional ravioli picture. And since we are trying to cut back our flour intake wherever possible, I do not plan to make the dough any time soon again which meant postponing the recipe post for mushroom ravioli on the blog. And I did not want to do that. Yet again.

I love ravioli and with a creamy mushroom filling it is so good. Homemade mushroom ravioli can be a slightly time consuming process. If you have a pasta maker it does help. I love mine, and even though it comes out occasionally, it does cut down the work tremendously.

While rolling the pasta dough might not be everyone’s cup of tea, making the pasta dough is not a difficult thing to do. I use eggs in the dough since that is the traditional way, and I do not have any dietary restrictions. But you could go with an egg free pasta dough and should find one online too. They mostly replace the egg liquid with water and olive oil and use semolina with the flour. I am sorry I can not help with an eggless recipe yet, but once I come across one I have tried and tested will surely update here.

TIPS FOR GOOD RAVIOLI

1. Roll your dough out thin. I go to 7 setting on the pasta machine. For a thin rolled out dough, you need to have the right liquid to flour ratio. I generally do not need to flour the dough much while passing it through the pasta machine, but feel free to if you are having difficulty rolling it too thin. Most flour egg pasta recipes and even the recipe I am using use only 3 ingredients- eggs, flour and a little salt (though I don’t use that and just salt my water). They also use the formula of 1 egg to 100 grams of flour. You could make it richer by adding a yolk to every 300 gms of flour.
2. Let the ravioli dough sit for atleast 30 minutes after kneading, covered in plastic wrap. The reason to rest pasta dough after kneading is to allow the flour to fully hydrate, which will aid gluten formation, and result in a dough that stretches easily.
3. Make ahead: The best part is you could prep the mushroom ravioli ahead on a free day, freeze it and then use it for a quick weeknight fancy meal. To freeze mushroom ravioli, place the uncooked filled ravioli in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze the ravioli for an hour or until they are frozen. Place them in an air tight freezer friendly container/bag. They can be frozen for up to 6 months. When you want to cook them, throw unthawed (straight from freezer) ravioli in boiling salted water until they are cooked.

I have served this mushroom ravioli with different sauces- sometimes its a tomato based sauce, most times its a simple butter sauce. This time though I served it with a browned butter sauce sauteed with some swiss chard to up the health quotient of the dish. I have used swiss chard since thats what I had in my fridge but the original sauce recipe that is inspired from here, uses spinach. Since the flavor profiles are similar I interchanged.

I also made a video recipe.

The video for this recipe has been in the works for the last 3 months. I shot the first part in late September but then wasn’t happy with a few of the clips, and was not able to reshoot till the last day of December.

This mushroom ravioli “recipe” video sums up how most of 2020 has been for us, with Anubhav and I cooking, shooting and then eating, with each other’s company.

I wouldn’t call 2020 a bad year for us, but it has been a difficult year being holed up inside our house with not being able to meet parents as often, having friends over for dinner, socialize and not being able to go out as freely as we could earlier. These are problems that come from privilege and I am aware.

Work wise, while 2020 has not been the best, we both have managed to keep afloat through it all and had some crazy busy months too. A and I had lots of plans to travel this year, something both of us wanted to do more of but unfortunately couldnt. We do hope we can do it in the years come. I am not sure if 2021 will be the year, but travel is one thing I really want to do. Not necessarily abroad, but within India too.

The biggest learning of 2020 is realizing what bare minimum is needed to survive but also finding joy in the fact that we worked towards a comfortable space that we did not mind spending an entire year in.  It took a few years of work and struggle which resulted in us being comfortable enough to see the non working months through with not much stress and that I am grateful for our own hardwork. Yes there have been unnecessary frivolous expenses over the years but some of them helped us enjoy the comforts of our house and being able to only spend on food/electricity for most of 2020 with no additional wants. 2020 also has made me more conscious that there is an income disparity and donating is a small way to fix it. Instead of spending on meaningless things time and again, if we could donate a portion of our savings/earning, or help someone in need we leave the world a slightly better place. It would be great if its lot, but it needn’t always be much. Just that it should be a regular habit, and not a one time affair.

In 2020 we, as a couple, tried to rectify some of our bad non green habits. We, the human race, have definitely burdened our planet, and we keep continuing to do so. In the months of lockdown, we saw clear skies, clean air and we were so happy with a relaxed laid back family life but once things opened we all went to our old ways. We are trying our best to be more eco friendly wherever we can and this is what we did in 2020 (some habits carried on from past years)

• Reducing plastic consumption- it’s everywhere so it is going to be a slow change (though time is not an option any more to make slow changes)- is definitely the biggest. We were using cloth bags as much even before, but now making sure to avoid the occasional slip ups.
• We switched to bamboo brushes (need to change our toothpaste for eco friendly options still), and
• Got into composting (we were segregating our waste earlier, but decided to compost at home itself).
• We also got on the bioenzyme bandwagon and are now using that to clean our surfaces. All our citrus peels are preserved to make the bioenzymes. This year we want to use our compost to grow a small vegetable/herb garden.
• We did manage some homegrown cherry tomatoes, basil, lemon grass and holy basil. 2021 we want to do more.
• We would also like to reduce our meat consumption. We had really reduced it, but the past month we saw an increase but hoping to minimize it again.

• To be a better version of myself. I was always an impatient person especially with people who are closest to me. As I grow older I seem to lose more of my patience, and I want to work towards checking that. I also need to let go of things more easily, something I have always struggled with and never managed to do. It is a habit that has spoilt my health and I hope age would fix that but I keep over analyzing everything and let it affect me and question myself.
• To work on my own content more: I am not a multi-tasker. If I know I have a work shoot 10 days later – most of my energy and thought process is held up in that which means even if I am free to do something else I do not have the band width to work on a personal project. I want to change that and utilize my time better. No matter how good a commercial project is, personal ones are the ones I need for my own creative needs to grow. I want to do more videos especially like this homemade mushroom ravioli one. This is what got me into food videos back in the day- till date the khandvi video is one of my all time favorites and I have so many ideas to work on but do not take out time to do so. And its not always because I don’t have time.
• To cook more at home: With work and especially work projects that involve cooking, cooking for home does take a backseat. Before the lockdown Anubhav and I were ordering in almost every other day. During the lockdown we realized how much we saved by buying our own veggies and cooking at home. I want to cook more at home.
• Instead of ordering in, going out to eat: Of course when it becomes safer and with the necessary precautions. There is so much good food that chefs are coming out with, and while ordering in is safer, dining out has more charm. For one, you get out of the house, you dress up, you don’t sit in front of the TV and just eat. Instead you end up talking more and enjoy the company you are with. Plus you save up on plastic from ordered in food.
• To Experiment more with different flours: I want to get past the wheat fixation and include more of millets, ragi, amaranth and the likes in our diet. I know this mushroom ravioli recipe does not go in line with this but of course the occasional regular maida/wheat meal will also be there- just limited.
• To Experiment more with fermented food: During the lockdown, I started following Kobofermentry and experimenting more with fermentation for gut health is something I want 2021 to be about. I have already ordered this book on fermentation and though it does not have recipes I am looking forward to learning about the process more.
• To read more about food: Being in this industry, I want to know more. I want to expand my knowledge base and besides investing in cookbooks, I want to read more books on the science behind cooking, also about different cuisines, cultures and food habits in general.
• To Experiment more with natural sugars: Again in line with the overall eat healthier, use more natural ingredients.
• To Eat mindfully: I can be an emotional eater, and thats why when things were a little tough I took it out on food. Food needs to be enjoyed not stuffed. And that is one thing I want to do. Even when I am eating stuff that is categorized as non-healthy, I want to do it more mindfully. Enjoy the taste, and not just chomp through it. I do not want to deprive myself of anything, but be mindful of what is good for my body and what my body can do less with and portion control accordingly.
• To Exercise: I guess this is an every year resolution. Last year I was not kind to my body. I let it go. I actually struggled with motivation to do anything about it. I do not care for a thin body, but I do care for a healthy one. And 2020 I did not work on my health. While our meals were healthy for the most part, my snacking wasnt. Coupled with hardly any exercise, body wise it was a terrible year. I want to change that. Its only how I work on my body today, is how my will grow to be as I grow older. If I do not change that NOW, I will suffer in the future.
• To Dance: I love dancing, even though I am not great at it. I would like to join dance classes whenever it is slightly safer to do so. If not dance classes, just dance more at home. Its an instant mood lifter for me, and I should do it more often.
• Learn Photoshop, After Effects: I think this was something I wanted to do last year, but did not. I did start on after effects but just learnt the bare minimum. I would like to work on it more.

I am sure as the year moves forward, there will be more smaller goals and changes but I would definitely like to start work on the above first. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe for mushroom ravioli. If you do try it out let me know :).

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Homemade Mushroom Ravioli

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

Homemade mushroom ravioli: a meatless pasta dinner. Homemade pasta dough stuffed with a creamy mushroom filling. Learn how to make ravioli completely from scratch into a complete meal.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Main, dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the pasta dough:

• 200 gms flour
• 2 large eggs

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 box button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cream cheese (or ricotta)
• 2 tbsp parmesan, freshly grated
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Browned Butter walnut sauce:

• 3-4 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cups walnuts
• ½ tsp dried sage, (or use a few fresh leaves)
• a handful of baby spinach leaves (or swiss chard leaves), chopped
• ¼ cup pasta water
• Parmesan cheese, for grating on top
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Pasta dough:

1. On a clean counter, or wide bowl add the flour. Make a well and add in the eggs. Using a fork, whisk the eggs and gradually scoop in the flour to make a rough dough.
2. Knead dough for 8-10 minutes until smooth and pliable.
3. Wrap the dough in cling wrap and let rest on the counter for atleast 30 minutes. Make the filling.

Filling:

1. In a pan, heat the olive oil. Once hot add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Add the onions and cook on medium heat till translucent. Add in the mushrooms and let cook for a few minutes till the moisture evaporates. Add the salt and pepper. Mix well.
2. Let the mixture cool. Once cool, process with parmesan cheese and cream cheese/ricotta to a smooth thick paste.

Rolling out the dough:

1. Once the dough is rested, cut the dough in half, and roll it out to a thin sheet. You could do this by hand or on your pasta machine. On the pasta machine, I go as low as ⅞.
2. Start by flattening half of the dough with the palm of your hand, and rolling it out to a thickness that will fit through the first setting on the pasta machine, usually 0.
3. Pass the dough through the widest setting once then fold one side over the other, like a letter. Flatten the dough again so that it will fit through the widest setting. Pass it through your pasta machine.
4. Repeat this process folding the sides in and passing it through the widest setting 2-3 times.
5. Once done, pass the dough through each setting once from the widest to the second last setting (7 or 8). While rolling, make sure your surface is lightly sprinkled with flour or semolina to stop the pasta sticking to your work surface.

Shaping the ravioli:

1. Lay one sheet of pasta down on a lightly floured surface, and place around 1 heaped tsp of mushroom mixture in the middle of the pasta sheet 1 inch apart
2. Fold one edge of the pasta over the filling to meet the other edge. You may need to gently pat the filling down at this point so it folds easier. Using your fingers seal the sides of the ravioli filling, making sure there are no air bubbles.
3. There are several ways of making the shape- I generally prefer to cut rounds out and place the filling in the center and top the dough with another round of dough and seal the edges with a little water, if required (as shown in the video).
4. If you want to make traditional ravioli simply place the second sheet of pasta directly on top of the first and seal with your fingers. Cut the ravioli out either with a ravioli or pasta cutter, cookie cutter or fluted pasta wheel and set aside on a surface sprinkled lightly with semolina or flour whilst you make the next batch.
5. Once the mushroom ravioli are ready, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli to the water and cook for around 4 minutes.
6. Meanwhile make the sauce.

For the sauce:

1. In a thick bottom pan, heat the butter till it starts to sizzle and foam up.
2. Add the garlic, and chopped walnuts. Stir on medium low heat for 3-5 minutes till butter looks browned and slightly caramelized.
3. Remove from heat and add the dried sage/fresh sage.
4. Add the chopped spinach or swiss chard leaves along with ravioli water.
5. Return to low heat and cook till the leaves are wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Add in the salt (since you have already added salted pasta water, add the salt accordingly).
7. Add in the ravioli and toss. Transfer to serving plates.
8. Dust with parmesan cheese and pepper.

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One day to Christmas and I finally have a gingerbread house cookie recipe for you. Ever since I started this blog I have on most christmases made gingerbread cookies. But I never got around posting a recipe. This time I have just about managed to post this recipe of gingerbread cookies.

These gingerbread cookies are bursting with spices and a subtle hint of orange zest in them. They are sturdy enough to be made into gingerbread houses but still have a slight soft chew in the center. While I love the grandiose vibe of a gingerbread house, I think these cookies in the shape of a house and decorated with royal icing are a great substitute for the house, and definitely not as much effort or planning that gingerbread houses generally requires. You can add a hole on the top and these gingerbread cookies would be lovely as edible ornaments for your trees, or to use to as gift tags, or even to put in place of napkin rings for your dinner table. If nothing else, just pick them and eat. No one is judging. Its christmas

GINGERBREAD HOUSE TEMPLATE

If you have a house shape cutter, go ahead use that. You could also use this dough to make gingerbread men, stars, trees, christmas ornaments and whatever your cute little christmas imagination thinks of. I made houses and trees. While I have one house cutter (which I only realised while I was typing this post), I wanted houses of different shapes and sizes, so I just made my own template.

I made the gingerbread house template in Microsoft word, and honestly if I can make it, so can you. I am uploading my template for the houses here but feel free to adjust sizes and shapes- or even add a chimney to your template to make it more fancy. I print the template on an A4 card stock so that it is a bit sturdier and stick parchment paper to the side that will be touching the cookie dough. That ways you are sure to be using a food safe template to cut your gingerbread shapes.

For the design with the royal icing, I was inspired by this pinterest vector image. And that’s what I went ahead for the houses. There is plenty of inspiration online, or if you are an arty crafty person I am sure you can think of one in your head.

This dough is sturdy enough to make gingerbread houses too. Hopefully next year I will have a proper tutorial for that as well.

SUBSTITUTES, TIPS and TRICKS

Here are some tips and tricks to make sure you get the perfect gingerbread house cookies.

• Molasses substitute: For the molasses, I actually used this easy substitute made from palm jaggery. I used this for my christmas cakes too, and it worked well here as well.
• Egg substitute: While personally I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs, you can easily use any of the traditional egg substitutes like flax/chia egg, or even cream to bind it all together. It should work. In case it doesn’t please let me know.
• Rest your dough before rolling out: I used to do this step always because most recipes say to do it, but only recently understood why. The primary reason to rest your cookie dough, is so that you give the flour time to hydrate and soak up the liquids in the dough. Cookie dough is generally dry and thick fats like eggs take time to be absorbed by the flour. This resting period helps in better flour hydration, yielding cookies that will bake and brown more evenly. For this gingerbread cookie dough a 1-2 hour rest in the fridge is sufficient, but for the chocolate chip cookies on the blog I prefer atleast a 24 hour rest period for a slighltly more complex flavor. If you have the time, these gingerbread cookies will definitely benefit from an overnight rest too.
• Rolling your dough: I always roll my dough out between two sheets of parchment paper. This way I do not need to add any additional flour to the dough. Also keeping to chop sticks on each side while you are rolling out, will help in the rolled out dough to have even thickness. This video where I am rolling the air dry clay explains it better how I use the chop sticks.
• Making windows: While I did not cut out any windows and made them with royal icing once the cookies were baked, in case you want to Tip No. 5 in this article, sounds quite helpful.
• Chill your dough once you have your cut out shapes ready: Chilling the dough allows for the fat (butter) in the cookies to chill and firm up. Cold fat will melt slower while baking, preventing the cookies from spreading too thin and losing its shape. So once I roll out the dough, I like to chill it again for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. In colder seasons 30 minutes refrigeration is enough time, but if you are in a warmer climate you might need little more. The cutouts should be firm to touch before you start baking.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes:  The biggest size of cookies (in my template) took no more than 10 minutes to bake, so keep an eye out. Depending on your oven you might need to move the tray once so that all cookies are baked evenly. DO NOT lift the cookies from the tray as soon as you remove them from the oven. They will still be slightly soft. Let them cool a bit on the tray till you can easily lift them without breaking them. Then let cool completely on a wire rack before you ice them.
• To make ginger cookies crisp, you can leave out the baking soda. The main difference between soft and crispy ginger cookies has to do with this leavening agent. I like the centers to be a little soft, so add a bit of baking soda to it.
• Make ahead: The dough will stay good in the fridge for about 2 days wrapped in plastic wrap. Let it come to a pliable temperature before you roll it out. The dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months, thaw at room temperature before using. If the disc feels super stiff, just let it be on your counter for a bit until it’s more pliable.The cookies can be made up to 1 week in advance, cover tightly and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Homemade Gingerbread House cookies

 

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The perfect christmas tradition of making gingerbread cookies is complete with this spice loaded homemade gingerbread cookies recipe with tips and tricks to get them perfect. Template for your own gingerbread cookie houses included.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Cookies

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 3 cups (385 gms) all purpose flour/maida
• 2 tsp mixed spices ( I have a ground cake spice mix of cloves, all spice, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, but in case you do not then use ¼ tsp ground cloves, ¼ tsp all spice, a pinch nutmeg - you could also use garam masala but use only ½-1 tsp since that is generally stronger )
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground ginger (I like a gingery taste, but if you would prefer it slightly milder then you could use 2 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup molasses
• 85 gms brown sugar
• 125 gms butter, softened
• Zest of 1 small orange (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp milk (as requiredl)

Instructions

1. In a bowl whisk the dry ingredients- flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, spices.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl till its light and fluffy, around 5 minutes.
3. Add the egg, molasses, vanilla and the zest. Mix it thoroughly, scraping the sides.
4. Add in the flour mix and fold everything together. If the mixture is too crumbly add 1-2 tbsp of milk. Start with 1 tbsp and add another if required. The mixture should be firm, but should also not crumble when rolling out.
5. Divide the dough into two halves. Wrap in clingwrap or beeswax paper. Let the dough rest for 1-2 hours. If its too warm then you can let it rest in the refrigerator. In winters, I let the dough rest on the counter, as its cool enough outside too. That ways its the perfect temperature to roll the dough out as opposed to straight out of the fridge.
6. Once ready to roll, take two long pieces of parchment paper. With the help of chopsticks on either side roll the dough out a uniform thickness. I roll it to ¼ inch thick.
7. Place your template on the rolled out sheet. Using a small knife, carefully cut the dough into the gingerbread house template shapes. Place on a parchment lined baking tray. Chill the cut out shapes for another 30 minutes to chill the dough out. In winters you could directly bake them, but if I have time I like the added reassurance of a chilled dough especially when it comes to shaped cookies.
8. Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F.
9. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or till edges are lightly browned. Depending on the thickness and size of your cookies, you might need to adjust the baking time.
10. Remove from the oven and allow shapes to cool completely on the baking sheets, before transferring to a wire rack.
11. Decorate as you like.

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Since the thanksgiving tablescape was such a hit on social media or more importantly with me- it came out exactly how I envisioned it to (which does not always happen), I was under immense pressure for the Christmas tablescape. And since I had already announced I will be sharing it on the blog and social media channels there was no turning back. I would have liked this post to have gone live middle of last week, but by now you know how I delay things. The cold did not help either. Neither did final cut pro freezing on me several times while editing the videos. Nor did my mood (details on the instagram post). But here we are today, live with my Christmas decor DIY post.

For Christmas, I wanted to be a little more hands on with the decorations. I took to pinterest to find inspiration and found so much. Which can be a blessing and a curse. I wanted to do it all. But then there’s only so much one can do. I narrowed it to Air Dry Clay Ornaments, Clay candle houses, DIY White Yarn Trees and a christmas wreath.

The best way to finish off a Christmas tablescape is to place edible items for grab around the table. Think gingerbread houses or cookies, candy canes, chocolate barks. I completed the tablescape with these walnut christmas tree and chocolate bark that Bruijn.in sent, that worked so well with the entire natural and homemade theme. If you are looking for a cute edible christmas gift and are in Delhi, do check them out!

Breaking down my Christmas DIY Projects:

WINTER FOLIAGE CHRISTMAS WREATH

The first thing was to make a christmas wreath. I debated between artificial leaves and fresh, especially since fresh winter greens here in the plains might not be easily available. Also, I was not sure about the shelf life. But then I saw this video, and the final wreath and I wanted to attempt it. I am so glad I did. I managed to get most of the winter greens I wanted. The week I brought all of them home, my house smelled like the hills- a hint of eucalyptus, cedar, pine in all my rooms.

There are pros and cons of doing a fresh winter green wreath. While you eliminate plastic by using fresh greens, unless you were wise enough to pot these plants in your balcony or backyard for such instances, or are lucky enough to be staying close to a forest where you could forage these winter greens, you will most likely have to buy them off from someone who will be cutting these off commercially. Basically cutting from a forest, if they have not planted it themselves for commercial purposes. Its a decision you need to be aware of, and figure out a conscious decision for yourself.

The flower market that I generally go to when I need to source fresh flowers for shoot or otherwise, had many of these greens available but some I had to specifically ask for.

Things you will need to make your Winter Christmas wreath:

1. Fresh evergreens: Good winter greens to use that can be sourced here in India when making a wreath are princess pine, eucalyptus, juniper, araucaria and cedar. You can always mix fresh and faux greens if you like, or even use dried cones.
2. A wire base: You get these wreath wires abroad, but I was not able to find them here. Instead I used wooden embroidery frame for the project. For the size, choose depending on how big you want your final wreath to be. Mine was a 12 inch loop.
3. 22 gauge wire: I used this one.
4. Oven dried oranges, some faux berries, pine cones
5. Glue gun or wire to attach the embellishments.
6. Water spritzer or Wilt pruf/wilt stop

STEPS TO MAKE YOUR WINTER GREENS CHRISTMAS WREATH

1. Before you start making the wreath, lay out your clippings in a loose form around the wire frame to determine how much of each green you will need. This step isn’t necessary but it will make your job more smooth.
2. Create each individual bundle and keep aside. For each bundle, create layers with the different evergreens you are using. I liked using the pine as the base as it is fluffier and then added each of the others. The pine that I got was the princess pine and it is quite big, so I made two small pine bases out of one (shared how-to below).
3. Start making your christmas wreath by first attaching the 22 gauge paddle wire to your wreath frame. Wrap the wire tightly on 3-4 times and make sure it is secure.
4. Taking the same wire that is attached to your wire loop base, attach your first bundle. Make sure you go around the bundle at least 3 times to secure the bundle tightly to the frame.
5. The next bundle will be attached to the base of the first bundle again making the wire go 2-3 times to tightly secure.
6. To ensure that the wreath is fluffy when you attach the bundles make sure you alternate each bundle in opposing sides. The first bundle goes in center- the next will go slightly inwards, while the one after that goes slightly outwards. Like a slight zig zag.
7. Do this all the way around to make your wreath.
8. At the end fill the final gap with smaller bundles.
9. The last bundles can be tricky to add- you might need to lift the already secured bundles and tuck the new ones in to fill any gaps.
10. Once done take end of the wire and loop it around, and close it tightly to the frame.
11. Spray the wreath with water or wilt prif/wilt stop.
12. Attach your embellishments with a wire or hot glue. I used dried oranges, pine cone and some faux red berries.

How to use princess pine available in India for this wreath:

• Do see this video by Garden Answer. She explains the whole process very well.
• Since you are using fresh greenery, overtime the leaves will shrink so make sure each bundle is tightly secure with the wire
• Try to use one continuous wire. It ensures that everything is tightly tied together.
• Wilt pruf/wilt stop helps to retain the moisture. We dont get it here, so I have been spritzing it with water.
• Another way to make sure your fresh wreath stays green longer is to hydrate the foliage in water overnight before starting your wreath. You could do this step even after your wreath is made and before you add any dry elements. Fill a shallow wide container with water and place your wreath in it so that the backside of the wreath is in water for a couple of hours. Remove and let the excess water dry off before hanging the wreath.
• Make sure your wreaths are away from direct sunlight. Best is to hang your wreath outside in shade so that it keeps getting some moisture. Inside, fresh wreaths and greens tend to last no more than a couple of weeks. If you are using the heater, the wreath will dry out quicker.
• While this wreath is amazing on the door, or as I placed it between my window mirrors, this would be great as a centerpiece or even hanging from above your dining table with some battery operated candles.

AIR DRY CLAY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

After Rukmini of Trumatter opened my eyes to air dry clay, it has become some sort of an obsession. Its not that bad, but yes I love using it for DIY decor pieces. Not everything comes out how I want, but I like the whole process of using hands to create something. When I was working on The Pink CakeBOx I would make a lot of model figurines with fondant and while time consuming, I enjoyed that process quite a bit. I am glad some of the tools I got for that are now being used for these air dry projects since the concept and technique is similar. Fondant yields edible results, air dry clay stays for much longer.

For my christmas decor, I made christmas tags that I used as napkin rings. I also made some christmas trees that I hung from dried branches to make my neutral decor centerpiece. Both the merry christmas tags and the clay christmas trees can be used as ornaments or even gift tags. You could add color to them with acrylic paint/ or colored markers, or leave as is for a white neutral decor theme.

For the DIY clay christmas trees and clay christmas tags,  you will need the following:

1. Air dry clay: I used this air dry clay brand that I got from amazon.
2. Permanent marker : While I used black sharpie, you could use any color. You could also use acrylic paints if you like and go crazy.
3. Round cutter: I got mine from the US. The round cutters were a fluted set from ateco brand. They are super expensive right now on amazon india’s website, but any round cutter will do. You could also use the top of a steel glass, or steel katori or canning bottle cap in your desired size.
4. Fresh juniper needles or any leaf of your preference for stamping your design on the clay tags
5. Alphabet stamp embosser: This was a buy from before, but a similar one is available on amazon here.
6. Tree cutter: Again a buy from before, but these are easily available online, or cake decor shops. Worst case scenario make your own template on a thick card stock paper, and use that to cut your desired shape.
7. Small star cutter: I used this to attach to the top of my clay tree, on which was also where I also pierced the hole to hang the ribbon/wire from
8. Floral wire/ ribbon or twine
9. Toothpick/thin needles/ chopsticks or invest in these clay shaping tools if you plan to work with air dry clay a lot. I had my set from before.

Steps to make the DIY clay christmas tags/ napkin rings:

1. Knead the air dry clay.
2. Roll out the clay between two chop sticks for an even thickness.
3. Using a round cutter, stamp out a circle.
4. Make a hole with a chop stick on top.
5. Make your design: For the top leaf design, I used needle juniper pushed inside the clay, and removed it with the help of a needle. With the same needle tool I also made some dots to look like berries.
6. Stamp out your message. I used a similar alphabet embosser to write Merry Christmas. If using as placecards or gift tags you could add names as well.
7. For the beads, I made small clay rounds of two different sizes and right after shaping, I a passed a toothpick through them to make space for a wire or thin ribbon to go through. You could use wooden beads of two sizes as well to create these tags that were originally inspired from here.
8. Use a ribbon/twine or thin wire to pass through the round tag- tie it at the top before adding the beads so that the beads place perfectly on top. Use the ribbon/wire/twine to tie around the napkin.

Steps to make the DIY Christmas Tree

1. Knead the air dry clay.
2. Roll out the clay between two chop sticks for an even thickness.
3. Using a tree cutter or template, stamp out a tree.
4. Add a tiny star on top with the help of little water and your finger or flat edged tool.
5. Make a small hole on the star.
6. Let dry flat overnight.
7. Once dry, using a marker draw out your design.
8. Hang it with the help of a wire/twine/ribbon.

DIY CLAY HOUSE TEA LIGHT HOLDER

I love those white scandinavian type house tea light holders I have been seeing everywhere. I looked at a few blog posts on them online and set off to make my own. I used this template for the house shown in the video (but tweaked the dimensions to make the house slightly shorter and wider).

The taller one was actually my first try and I just winged it with that one, since I did not expect much from it (and it shows). The next one, which features in the video I have shared was slightly better and cleaner. There is still room for improvement but certain tricks and tips I learnt from the first try helped. Sharing them below.

Tips and tricks while making your clay house tea light holder:

1. Roll the clay slightly thick. With the first clay house, I went too thin, so I am guessing that when it tried it became a little wobbly.
2. Having two chop sticks on the side while rolling out helps in keeping an even thickness and getting better results.
3. Make sure you dry with a weight on since they can sometimes bend while drying. I place a parchment paper below and above the cutouts, and then place a weight over it while drying. That way they retain the flatness in their shape. With the clay trees also you should do this. Placing something over did lengthen the drying time but at least my pieces came out flatter.
4. Use your finger dabbed with some water to smooth the edges out. Keeping a small piece of sponge handy to smooth the clay also helps.
5. Sand the house once it is completely dry for a smoother finish.
6. Score your dried cut outs, and use slip to stick the walls of the houses to each other. Slip is basically watered down clay to make a slurry kind of paste. Once you apply your slip and stick the walls, use a sponge or your hands to smoothen the surface out.
7. These clay shaping tools help, but your fingers and sponge do too.
8. While I have used tea lights in the ones I made, I would suggest to use the battery operated ones since I do feel that these are not that fire resistant. Also next time I would make windows on the side walls as well for an added 360 degree glow.

DIY WHITE YARN CHRISTMAS TREE

I saw these yarn trees on several DIY pages and just loved the look of the white neutral christmas theme decor they fit perfectly into. They are super simple to make. Having a glue gun helps since it does stick everything quickly and securely. My first try was the tallest of the tree and thats why you can see some gaps in it. The next couple I was careful as to be super tight while wrapping the tree and making sure there were no gaps. They were better.

While you get readily made styrofoam cones abroad and some craft stores here, but its super easy to make your own too. This tutorial on making your own cones helped me to make mine.

What you will need:

1. Poster board or slightly thick paper that is sturdy yet bendable.
2. Glue gun
3. Scale and pencil: While a protractor compass set would be ideal but I do not have one. A scale and pencil will do just fine to creat your quarter circle
4. Yarn:  Find a natural fibre yarn- its more expensive but natural wool gives a better result than the synthetic kinds. You could go for any color really, you could mix and match. I wanted a neutral color theme, so I chose white. I would recommend buying the chunkiest yarn you can find. It give a more fuzzy feeling and the result is definitely better.
5. Scissors

Steps to make your DIY Yarn Christmas Tree

1. For your cone base, trace out a quarter circle. Remember the desired height of your cone will be the radius of the circle.
2. Heat up your hot glue gun 
3. Stick the edges of your quarter circle with hot glue to make a cone shape.
4. Starting at the bottom of the cone, add a dab of hot glue and stick the edge of your yarn.
5. Add a ring of hot glue around the bottom, and immediately wrap the yarn around the bottom and press.
6. Circle the yarn around the cone, placing a small dot of glue every few rings to hold the yarn in place.
7. Create a few different sizes to create your white winter wonderland.

And that’s it folks. 6 DIY videos. A super long post. And a very tired me. I wanted to do much more- candle DIYs, scandanavian paper decorations, more wreaths and well lots of recipes but I ran out of time. I will definitely be sharing a recipe for gingerbread cookies soon. I also had a bunch of other christmas recipes planned but lets see how much I can post, else well there is New Years and also next year! Wishing you all very happy holidays. Take care and stay safe! And if you do try any of these DIYs please do let me know

The post DIY Christmas Tablescape appeared first on The Novice Housewife.

It rained yesterday, because of which this post that should have gone live yesterday got pushed to today. The rain got with it a slightly grey, wrap yourself in blanket with good coffee, music and movies kind of day. I did get around to doing some baking in the evening. The soaked dried fruits needed to get in the cake batter to be ready in time for Christmas. I am already late in my plum cake baking but my oven has been giving some trouble and the guy who was supposed to come to fix it did not show up last week. I thought I would let him look at it before starting the bakes, but since that was not happening did my first trial bake.

But today we are not talking about plum cakes. We are talking about this insanely good Chocolate cake with salted caramel ganache frosting. I first saw this whipped salted caramel ganache on The Boy who Bakes instagram page. I love salted caramel. I love chocolate. I love this salted caramel ganache. And then you add a rich and moist chocolate cake to the mix, you have a winner dessert, my friends. One bite, and you are in heaven. In Chocolate cake, salted caramel, ganache heaven.

While I go through a ton of recipes, there are some that are bookmarked to be my go-to recipes. They are my fail safe recipes and this  chocolate cake with salted caramel ganache frosting is one of them. I have made it a few times now. I have passed on the recipe to a friend too, and this recipe is a keeper. Make it. Make it for yourself. Make it for your guests. And trust the winter woollen layers to cover the extra weight you put on after you cant stop at one bite. Or exercise. Or portion control. Or eat mindfully most of the time with an occasional binge here and there. Do you. Always do you.

So what makes this cake? Let’s break it down for you, shall we.

The Chocolate cake Layer

The recipe for the chocolate cake is adapted from this one bowl chocolate cupcake recipe that I keep returning to. Its also the recipe where I first tried the divine combination of chocolate with salted caramel. I have tweaked the chocolate cake since then and am sharing that chocolate cake version here. I probably should do a separate chocolate cake post. Hopefully some time in the future. You know me. I promise a lot of things, procrastinate, then don’t deliver- so do not hold your breath on this.

The chocolate cake recipe yields a nice chocolatey cake that is moist (yes, I use that word to describe cakes that are moist- I do not know what else to use.  None of these words make the cut ). It is also fairly easy to put together. One bowl, people. One bowl. No creaming. No fuss. And good results. That’s what you want!

The cake is NOT eggless. But since I know a lot of you will ask me about an eggless version, do not worry. I have you covered. You could sub the eggs with yogurt or even cream. For every egg replace with 1/4 cup yogurt -just make sure it isn’t too tart. If you have access to greek yogurt use that. For a vegan version try my vegan chocolate cake.

I use two 7 inch cake pans, and then tort each cake in half for the layers. I generally end up with a few scraps which are so perfect to dunk in the leftover syrup and ganache and make a pudding. This chocolate cake with salted caramel ganache frosting recipe actually makes a lovely pudding too. If your cake breaks- DO NOT FRET. Make the pudding. Your guests will love it still, or even more.

The Whipped Salted Caramel Ganache Frosting

The salted caramel ganache is the star. That salty, caramel-y chocolat-ey goodness. So good. Caramel can be sweet but with a touch of salt it becomes a mix of sweet and salty and if you are the kinds who is always struggling in the vicious circle of sweet-then savory-and back to sweet and then wanting something savory to keep the balance in your mouth then salted caramel is for you. To that you add chocolate. Mix. Whip. And get something so luscious. You have to restrain yourself from licking the entire bowl. We do need to frost the cake, remember.

And while the salted caramel ganache is the star it is also the trickiest part of the cake. Caramel always is. I was watching an episode of Nigella the other day, and she was making caramel. Her advice was to never have anyone in the kitchen when you are making caramel. Any distraction and you could go from the perfect rust penny color to bitter tasting burnt sugar and will need to start again. You can not rescue burnt sugar. So pay close attention. The moment you see that rust penny color, remove from the gas, give the pan a swirl so that the heat spreads across and then add the butter. This is the next crucial step. If you do not mix the butter well you could end up in a separated caramel and you do not want that (you can recover from it, but its not always a smooth sail). Stir the butter well, bring it back on the stove and then add the cream in two additions.  Once the cream is added and mixed well, you remove the caramel off the heat. Add the vanilla and salt. Then pour it into the chopped chocolate. Post that you wait for it to thicken to be able to whip it to spreadable consistency.

Now Edd insists on using milk chocolate for this frosting else the salted caramel flavor would get lost. But I did not. In fact I use dark chocolate and honestly I wont change a thing. Milk chocolate to me would be too sweet. And if you do not like your desserts overtly sweet, I would suggest stick to the dark chocolate.

The Assembly

If you follow my layered cake recipes and actually read through these long drawn blog posts you might probably remember how I like to soak my cake layers in a little syrup. I do it to get an added assurance that the resulting cake will be moist (yes, moist) and delightful. I also do it as an opportunity to add some liqueur. Yes, I love boozy desserts. And so do my friends. So why not! For this cake I used Cointreau. I think the slight hint of orange liqueur adds to the whole cake. I do not add too much, just a hint and it does the trick. We still want the salted caramel and chocolate to be the star. And they are. This is just to elevate it. You could choose to add whiskey too. I think it would do well here.

I hope that helps in demystifying this recipe. And in case it doesn’t feel free to ask your questions/doubts in the comments in the below. And I will try my best to answer. Also have a look at The Boy Who Bakes blog post – he has a video and you can see the exact color you would want your sugar to reach before adding the butter. If its not dark enough your caramel will be too sweet. If its too dark, your caramel might taste burnt.

So without any more delay, here is the recipe for this chocolate cake with salted caramel ganache frosting. Make it, tag me, share pictures, spread the love

Happy Sunday!

Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Ganache frosting

 

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Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour

 

A one bowl chocolate cake layered with whipped salted caramel ganache. A great crowd pleaser. Perfect as a layered cake, but for a fuss free version turn it into a layered dessert/pudding.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 225 grams flour
• 225 grams granulated sugar
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup minus 1 tbsp lukewarm milk mixed with 1 tbsp vinegar)
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 75 ml oil
• 1 cup hot water mixed with 1 tbsp instant coffee

For the salted caramel ganache

• 200 gms dark chocolate ( I used 75% this time but 60% will also do)
• 400 ml heavy cream
• 100 grams sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp flaked sea salt
• 50 grams unsalted butter, cut in cubes

For the simple syrup

• 8 tbsp sugar
• 10 tbsp water
• 1-2 tbsp cointreau

Instructions

For the salted caramel ganache

1. Make the ganache first as it needs a few hours to chill before whipping it.
2. In a medium sized bowl, keep the chocolate chopped and ready. You will be whipping in this bowl, so keep that in mind when choosing your bowl.
3. Place the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer.
4. Place the sugar in another saucepan and place over medium heat and cook until melted and caramelized to the colour of a rusty penny as Edd describes it.
5. Once caramelized, remove off heat and add the butter and salt and stir to combine. Put it back on heat.
6. Add the cream in two additions, being careful as the cream will splutter a bit. If the cream is not hot enough you may have a couple lumps which will melt if you just pop it back over low heat and stir for a couple minutes.
7. Add in the vanilla. Mix.
8. Pour the hot caramel over the chocolate. Set aside for 3-5 minutes. Stir to form a smooth ganache.
9. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or until thickened. Do not leave it in the refrigerator for too long since it might become too firm to whip up.

For the chocolate cake

1. Grease and line 2 7 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
2. Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F.
3. In a bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the sugar and mix. Make a well, and add in the eggs, oil, buttermilk. Beat for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the hot coffee. Mix well.
5. Distrubute batter between the two pans. Bake till tester comes out clean. For me it bakes in 18-20 minutes (but my oven temperature is off, so I would suggest check at the 20 minute mark if you are using 7 inch cake pans or needs to bake more).
6. Let the cake cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan till its cool enough to handle. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. If not frosting immediately, once the cakes are completely cool wrap them in cling wrap and keep in an airtight container till ready to use. The cake can be made ahead 2 days in advance, and kept in a dry cool environment till ready to frost.

Simple syrup:

1. In a saucepan add sugar and water.
2. Bring to a boil and stir until all sugar has dissolved. (1-2 minutes)
3. Allow the syrup to cool, then add the cointreau.

Assembly:

1. Remove the ganache from the fridge and use a hand mixer to whisk until pale and fluffy. This will take a couple of minutes, but be careful not to overdo it as whisked ganache can sometimes go grainy.
2. Divide each cake layer in half.
3. On the plate/cake stand you plan to serve, put a small dollop of the whipped ganache and spread it a bit. Place the first layer. Using a brush, brush 2 tbsp of the syrup on the cake. Spread a part of the ganache. I generally eye ball this so excuse if I can not give an exact measurement for the ganache layer.
4. For the second layer, brush 2 tbsp of the syrup on the side that will go on top of the ganache. Place the layer on top of the ganache, and then brush another 2 tbsp of the syrup on the top side of the cake layer. Repeat with ganache and the second cake layer halves.
5. Once layered, frost the top and sides however you like and let set for 1-2 hours before serving.

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The plan was to have this fall inspired thanksgiving tablescape go live at least a week earlier, but well things did not go as planned. We were not at home half of November, and before that work had kept me busy so the shoot got delayed and hence the post too. I do hope the post still gives you some idea/inspiration about how to set your table, or at least you get to save it for applying the tips next year. Thanks to 2020, things have been smaller in scale but just because its going to be a small gathering does not mean you can not make your place festive enough.

I know you might not believe it, given this last minute post, I actually started prepping for this year’s festive season last year. Last season I realized in terms of festive props, I did not have many, and as a stylist that can be a big problem. Especially since most festive shoots happen way in advance when festive decor stuff is not on the retail shelf yet. Also, since thanksgiving/halloween is not that big here in India, it means traditional decor stuff needs to be ordered online or DIY’ed which might take time. That in turn means either tell the client they will have to make do with what’s available or beg/borrow/steal from other stylist or prop houses (which in Delhi are not many and can be out of the client’s budget).

While the prep did start last year, the month of October is generally busy with client shoots since festive season shoots are at a peak. I had all plans to make content around Halloween and then Diwali but work kept me super busy last month. And even though I had planned out and prepped for the Thanksgiving tablescape way in advance, I just made it in time with the blog post. For Christmas though I am hoping to be better – not only with the tablescape but also with the recipes.

Although late, I still wanted to do this tablescape post mainly because I want to highlight some Indian brands plus brands available in India that are doing really good stuff in the decor department. As a stylist I am always looking for recommendations and thought this post might be helpful if you are ever in my position. Delhi people can avoid shipping time and actually visit the stores, but with Covid cases rising ordering the stuff online and getting delivered to your doorstep might be a better option. This post is not a sponsored post , but more of an appreciation post that thanks to them I was able to set up a fall inspired thanksgiving tablescape that I had envisioned.

TABLE DECOR BREAKDOWN

Table Cloth, Napkins, placemats:

For the tablescape, I had decided fall colors- orange, brown, cream with a bit of gold and subtle green. I bought linen from a local Delhi store (HP Singh, Nehru Place) to use for the table cloth. 2.5 mtrs of cloth for my size of table was enough but you might need to check how much you would need for your table. When buying do consider the width of the cloth since different materials have different widths and you would need to keep the width of your table in mind along with extra measure for the overhang. I got my tailor to neaten the edges and voila I had an earthy tone table cloth.

Note: Linen can be stiff, unless it is pre treated. With frequent washes linen softens, but in case you need to soften it more quickly you can let it soak in half a bucket of water with 1 cup baking soda for 24 hours. Rinse and let dry and you will find the cloth significantly softer. With time and more washes you will see the linen soften more.

For the napkins, initially I was going to use these linen blend napkins that I had ordered from an online store but the color did not fit with the overall look I was going for. I had to make a second trip to HP Singh and found this beautiful linen silk in rust orange color that I knew would be perfect with the overall color scheme I was going for. While linen silk feels and looks beautiful, if you were to pick napkin material for regular use I would go for a more stain resistant material in either cotton or pure linen. Oil stains on linen silk would be a pain to clean up but for me, these will mostly be used for shoots so its not an issue.

The jute placemats were a purchase from Westside, Lajpat Nagar. I had initially got 4 thinking of using them as trivets but then I liked them as placemats too, so ended up getting 4 more (they came in a set of 4). If you are a prop collector like me, Westside  carries some amazing stuff at a decent price.

Dinnerware, Cutlery and glasses

The dinnerware set I used in the tablsescape is from Gigi and Chakra, near Sultanpur Metro, MG road Delhi. While I love this set, the only issue I have is that when we bought it, they only had 2 side/salad plates left. Since I was doing a table for 4, I decided to leave the salad plates out, and used soup bowls instead since I do love serving soups when I have guests over. The cutlery is a Kishco hand me down from mom. The glasses were a buy from Oma when they were on sale and we got a decent deal on them. I have seen similar shaped glasses at Artistico as well (but in a different color).

The small Thankyou Notes (that could be used as placecards too- you could personalize with a handwritten note too) were a buy last season from Origin One Store. They have some unique stationery and great gift wrapping accessorie .

image credit: Anubhav Sood 

Table Runner Centerpiece

This was completely Pinterest inspired. I had seen DIY runners for Thanksgiving/Fall inspired dinner tables made with leaves and actual pumpkins and I wanted to recreate it. I got whole pumpkins from my veggie guy in INA (Ahuja Vegetable Store). I chose different sizes and also made a point to have two different colors.

For the leaves, last year I ordered some artificial vines from Aliexpress for decor purposes which on other days hang on my door, but for the tablsecape made their way to my thanksgiving tablescape. While getting flowers for the hanging arrangement, I did see some eucalyptus type of fresh leaves at the Chattarpur market and my plan is to get them for some Christmas theme DIY.

Last year when I had trouble sourcing white pumpkins, I ordered them through Ali express. I finally got to use them this year. I also made some small white pumpkins with air dry clay inspired by Trumatter’s instagram. I ended up using this tutorial for the clay pumpkin DIY. You can source air dry clay from Amazon here. I also saw some interesting pieces by curiocitybyLidwin on instagram and although late to order for Thanksgiving, I am looking at that page for Christmas.

image credit: Anubhav Sood 

For the glass pumpkin lanterns I lucked out with the pumpkin collection Suite No. 8 launched recently. They are beautiful and add elegance to the entire decor.

To add some color I used some orange candle votives from Artistico Decor in GK 2 M-Block market. The silver candle holders are also from the same store and gave the entire table certain height that was missing without them. Besides that I added candles of varied sizes all across using wooden coasters to place them on. To give additional height, I used mini patisserie glass holders from amazon. I have seen the same at the Wishing Chair as well.

To keep the fall inspired theme, I added pine cones, dried leaves (I had collected from the street) and some dried oranges. I also added some fresh yellow mustard flowers and some fresh green foliage. A few more candle votive holders (from Gigi and Chakra) with height were used to add some layers to the entire table.

image credit: Anubhav Sood 

Hanging floral Arrangement

The reason I did not want a big centerpiece and opted for a center runner as described above is because I planned to do a hanging arrangement. I have seen them on instagram (most particularly on our Food Stories account). For the arrangement, I used pampass grass from Rosebuck life. I also had some pampass grass that I had foraged on our trip to Corbett. Bloom Bombs is another company that carries dried flowers and you can check them out too.

This tutorial from Crate and Barrel for the pampass grass hanging arrangement was helpful to figure out how to get the arrangement to hang. I got the chicken wire from amazon (link here). It came with wire clippers so that was great. I used fish net wire (bought from a stationery shop) to hang the entire arrangement to the ceiling. Since we stay in a rented accommodation and we did not want to put holes on top, I used masking tape to stick the wire to the top. If you find self adhesive hooks, those would work perfectly.

Note: Pampass grass sheds- I made the arrangement with the table removed so that I could clean up once done. Using hair spray once the arrangement is done helps in keeping everything together.

GENERAL FLOW

I gerenrally start the tablescape with doing the center and placing the bigger items. Once they are placed, I lay the dinnerware, glasses and napkins. This gives me an idea of how much space is left and needs filling. Then I add the smaller items. This tablescape was done mostly as a styling exercise but if I was styling it with dinner in mind, I would remove some of the side elements and leave some more space for the dishes to be kept.

To make this tablescape more budget friendly you can look at only one statement piece and for the rest look around your house for items that will give varying height, or repurpose them to fit the theme. While I did purchase a few items for the tablescape, I did have most other items from previous shoots, or lying around the house. You can check out Lajpat Nagar/Banjara market in Gurgaon for crockery as well as decor items at a steal. Getting your own napkins and table cloth can be cheaper (not always) and you get unique pieces that are truly yours. Instead of artificial vines (although they last long) go for more natural leaves. Forage in your neighbourhood, or give business to a local flower vendor. It always helps to build a rapport with them, and you can share images of what you would like and generally they will be able to source what you want.

Let me know if you have any questions. Hopefully I will be posting more for christmas. You can follow me on instagram to keep updated.

Disclaimer: While this is not a sponsored post, some of the links in the post are affiliate links. If you click on them and buy the product I will earn a small commission. Its not much (believe me) but it does help in paying a part of the bills and as a result make me able to create more such content. 

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I have shared the recipe for this tomato basil soup before on the blog as a part of my roasted tomato pasta sauce. That recipe is a a great base for so many different dishes. Its great as a tomato sauce for pizzas. Add a little pasta water/ veg or chicken stock and it makes a great base for pasta. You can also use the base recipe like I do to make this roasted tomato basil soup.

Every time I make this soup (and I have made it plenty times) and post pictures on social media, I just direct people to the sauce blog post and thought its high time that I have a dedicated post for the soup. With August here, soon its going to be daily soup weather, and this tomato and basil soup should definitely feature in the must-know soup list.

SLOW ROASTING THE TOMATOES

This recipe benefits from the oven doing most of the work here in developing the flavors. Slow roasting the tomatoes releases the sweet juices in them and imparts a lovely flavor. Roasting a red bell pepper along with the tomatoes gives the final sauce that lovely red color you see in store bought sauces, without adding any canned tomatoes to the sauce. And to it, if you add roasted garlic, the sauce becomes absolute perfection in terms of flavor.

You can cook the onions separately in the pan and then add the roasted tomatoes, and occasionally I have done that too for my sauce, but these days I just roast the onions along with the tomatoes and then blitz everything in the blender. So much more convenient, and I do not have to pay attention to the stove in the kitchen heat.

CUSTOMIZING THIS TOMATO BASIL SOUP

I used to make tomato soup by first boiling the tomatoes, then peeling the skin off and then cooking it again. This method of roasting the tomatoes with the skin on is so much more convenient. Also the recipe is easily customizable to your taste and preferences.

This soup is great without any addition of cream, but a little cream/milk never hurt. I generally add a generous shaving of parmesan cheese, but if you are keeping it vegan you can skip that. This soup also goes well with addition of coconut milk for a creamy vegan tomato basil soup.

A point to note is that I do adjust the seasonings and herbs according to taste each time. I would advise you to do the same and adjust the seasonings according to your taste preferences.

I find the soup to be sweet enough, but you could add a little sugar if that’s what your preference is. A trick I use when making it for guests, is to add tomato ketchup instead. It has sugar in it plus is tomato-ey enough.

MEAL PREP

You can make this tomato basil soup ahead and store it in the refrigerator in air tight containers for 4-5 days.

When I make a lot of the roasted tomato paste, I sometimes end up freezing some and using the rest for the recipe. The paste then can be used whenever you want to make the soup next.

Tomato Basil Soup from scratch

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Full of flavor homemade tomato basil soup recipe made with roasted fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil,  and onions. It uses no canned stuff, and is perfect for a vegan, gluten free meal.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Dinner, soup

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 8-10 tomatoes, halved (about 1 kg)
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large onion, quartered
• one entire bulb of garlic
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1tbsp butter
• 1.5 cups fresh basil
• 2-3 cups chicken or veg stock, depending on how thick you want the soup
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• ½ tsp dried oregano

Optional add ins:

• Cream/whole milk for a creamy texture (sub with coconut milk for a vegan version)
• generous shaving of parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp tobasco

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/ 180 C.
2. Line a baking tray with foil, and grease it with some olive oil. Add the tomatoes and onions and make sure you coat them well with olive oil. Rub some olive oil on the red bell pepper and put that on the tray too. Drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
3. Chop the top off the garlic bulb, and drizzle some oil and salt on the top. Wrap the garlic bulb in a piece of foil and put on the baking tray with the tomatoes and red bell pepper.
4. Roast the tomatoes and bell pepper for about 40 minutes, or till the tomatoes begin to caramelize and bell pepper seems roasted, shaking the tray half way so that the vegetables roast properly.
5. Remove from oven.
6. Let cool a little. Remove skin of bell pepper. To easily peel off skin after I remove the tray from the oven, I wrap the bell pepper in some foil. Once cool, I remove the foil and find its easier to peel of the skin. You can also remove the peel off the tomatoes in this step. I generally don't.
7. Peel removed, put the bell pepper, roasted tomatoes, onions in a blender. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from its skin and add it to the blender. Add in the basil. Blend till you get a smooth paste.
8. In a saucepan heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Add in the roasted tomato paste, stock, crushed red pepper, and the dried oregano. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes on medium low flame. You can add some grated parmesan cheese. Check seasoning and adjust.
9. Serve the soup warm, with a drizzle of cream, and garnish of fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

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The recipe for the Paneer Makhani Pizza should have been posted last week. Last week and most of this week has been a little stressful and as a result I could not. I also missed my 10 year blog anniversary which was on 27th July. Yup, its been 10 years of blogging on novicehousewife.com ! I was supposed to do an update post which was not going to be a recipe post but more personal. Instead life came in the way and I could not get the post up. I will definitely do that post but it will take a few days to have it live.

We had to go to Chandigarh for my passport work last week. It was great seeing my parents after 5 months, the longest I have gone without seeing them after I got back from the US. I also got to see a few of my Chandigarh friends and family after a very long time, and it was nice to get a glimpse of how life was back when things were normal. We still took our precautions but I didn’t realize how much the both of us had been missing company and the joy of a small get together.

We have done absolutely no socializing the last 5 months. With the exception of Anubhav’s brother and dad, it has just been the two of us in the house day in and day out. And while there were issues too personal to talk about on the blog during our Chandigarh visit, it was nice meeting our family and select friends. I also got to meet my darling niece who is staying with my parents, and we baked cupcakes together. These chocolate cupcake recipe with vanilla frosting, and it was so much fun.

Once back, we learnt that Anubhav has got a kidney stone.  Since the pain was so severe the first day, we were scared it could be appendicitis. Fortunately it wasn’t but not that having a kidney stone has been any better. And its been a constant worry for both of us as he is not sleeping at all during the night. In the midst of all this I had my first outside shoot after 5 months of working from home.

Since Anubhav still is experiencing pain, mentally it has been exhausting. Pain killers help but once their effect wears out the pain returns. I am reading up on home remedies that can help break the stone- lots of water of course is one. Adding lemon juice in the water, basil, pomegranate juice plus working on including horse gram in our diet.

Meanwhile the house is in a mess.

I haven’t been able to unpack and sort out all the props. The shoot was a tiring 10 hour long shoot with only a small lunch break in between. Styling jobs even though for the client might seem like a one day job, in reality even with limited sourcing/pre production are 3 day jobs for the stylist. One day before the shoot goes in sourcing ingredients, sorting props and packing them. The day after the shoot goes in unpacking props and placing them back. Shoot day, besides the 8-10 hour on set shoot, 2 hours go in packing and unpacking the props, and another hour or so goes in loading and unloading the car. Traveling time is additional. Effectively it becomes a 12-14 hour day. And in some cases, not only are you styling the shoot, you are also donning the cap of the art director for the shoot.

But that’s enough of the reality check, and a small explanation why I have been away and why this post for paneer makhani pizza got delayed. Let’s get to the recipe then.

PANEER MAKHANI PIZZA

I have a recipe for butter chicken pizza on the blog already. The recipe for this paneer makhani pizza is based off that. I use the whole wheat pizza dough recipe for the dough, and while you could prep the dough and within an hour or so bake the pizzas, resting the dough for a day gives even better results.

The makhani sauce is a quick version makhani sauce that I use for this pizza. You can use the makhani sauce to make paneer makhani too. There is a more elaborate makhani sauce recipe on the blog using fresh tomatoes, but honestly for this pizza this sauce works beautifully and is quick to make. You could use the marination ingredients to just make paneer tikka too. Effectively this recipe is 3 recipes – pizza base, makhani sauce, paneer tikka that work great alone, but together give even more brilliant results.

I hope you get to try the recipe, and in case you do please let me know how it goes in the comments for you.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Paneer Makhani Pizza

 

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Prep time

2 hours

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

2 hours 30 mins

 

An easy from scratch paneer makhani pizza recipe with a homemade whole wheat crust. A great vegetarian option for pizza and paneer lovers.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian, italian, fusion

Serves: 2 pizzas

Ingredients

For the quick makhani sauce: (you might have some leftover)

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 pieces cardamom
• 2 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• ½ tsp haldi
• 400 gms tomato puree
• 2 tbsp cream
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp crushed kasoori methi
• ½ tsp garam masala

For the marination

• 200 gms paneer, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp yogurt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder

For the pizza

• 2 onions, sliced or chopped in rings
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• ½ portion whole wheat pizza dough (recipe in blog archives)
• Grated mozzarella cheese, as little or as much as your waist wants you to add

Instructions

Pizza dough:

1. Make the pizza dough according to the recipe, and let the dough double in size. In the meantime make the makhani sauce.

For the makhani sauce:

1. In a pan, heat the ghee on medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick and sauté till cumin seeds sizzle, careful as to not burn the whole spices.
2. Add the garlic and sauté for a few seconds. Add in the onions, and cook for 5 minutes till translucent.
3. Add the turmeric powder and red chili powder and mix.
4. Add the tomato puree. Cook on low for 10 minutes, till the oil separates.
5. Add the cream, sugar (optional) and ginger powder. Bring to a simmer. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Add garam masala and kasoori methi. Remove from flame. Let cool a bit and then puree to it.

For the paneer marination:

1. In a bowl mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, oil, red chili powder, kasoori methi, coriander powder, garam masala, cumin powder, turmeric powder.
2. Marinate the paneer with the mixture. Keep for 15 minutes. Broil in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
3. Alternatively you could also cook the paneer in a little oil till nicely charred on all sides.

Making the pizzas:

1. Preheat oven to the maximum temperature your oven allows, generally 550F/300C. Mine goes only to 250 F. Before preheating, place a thick baking sheet with the back side up. This way the tray also heats up as the oven heats up, acting like a pizza stone. If you have a pizza stone, use that.
2. Working with one portion at a time, roll out the pizza dough. Transfer the dough to a square piece of parchment paper.
3. Butter or oil the top a bit, and then spread the makhani sauce.
4. Add the broiled paneer, onion rings and bell peppers. Top with grated cheese. Add a dollop or so of butter/olive oil on top (optional, but lends a nice touch to the pizza)
5. Using a cookie sheet which has no lip, I transfer the unbaked pizza on the tray and using the sheet as a pizza peel slide it on to the preheated tray in the oven. Bake till the cheese melts and starts browning. For me, the pizzas are ready in 10-15 minutes. Keep in mind I roll my pizza dough thin, a thicker crust will take longer and you might need to cover the top, to keep the cheese from burning.
6. Repeat for the other pizza

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Recipes that are quick and easy to make are always welcome in my kitchen, especially in summers. When such recipes are dessert recipes, I never let go of them. Enter mixed berry coconut popsicles.

Popsicles as a dessert option are whimsical enough to impress your guests, and easy enough for you to whip them up without breaking a sweat. They are loved by kids and adults both and when made with healthy ingredients they can be perfect for breakfast too ;). These mixed berries coconut popsicles are just that- you can enjoy them as a dessert or eat them for breakfast too.

I love coconut milk. I love coconut in my savory dishes- like the pumpkin soup, khao suey from the blog but also use coconut milk generously in my desserts. Coconut milk has a hint of natural sweetness, it’s super creamy, and it goes well with most fruits, making it perfect for desserts. The chia seed pudding is a delectable dessert/breakfast made even better when using coconut milk. Today’s recipe is also a coconut milk recipe.

MAKING COCONUT MILK AT HOME VS STORE BOUGHT

Up until recently, I have mostly been using coconut milk from a can. Read: store bought coconut milk. Only because I thought it was more convenient than making it at home. But did you know you can easily make your own coconut milk at home with only two ingredients. Plus, when you make it at home, you end up with pure coconut milk without any preservatives, weird ingredients or any additional added flavors.

While quite a lot of recipes online use shredded coconut, I recommend using a fresh coconut as the flavor is more coconuty and creamy. If you have a good powerful blender, you can get creamy coconut milk by using very little water and fresh coconut. I use the Hamilton Beach JMG– and although expensive it has been worth it (disclaimer: this post is not sponsored, but if you click on the link to buy, I might make some affiliate money- its not much just enough to pay for an ingredient or two )

HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK AT HOME

For me, the hardest step when making coconut milk at home is breaking the coconut. I am not a pro, and always ask Anubhav to do it. Once you have carefully broken the coconut (reserving the liquid), take a butter knife or spatula and remove the coconut meat from  the outer shell.

You can use a peeler to peel the thin brown skin from the coconut pieces but since it doesnt affect the taste or consistency of the coconut milk, I let the skin be.

Cut your coconut meat into 1-2 inch pieces and add it to your blender. Again, I recommend a good high speed blender that can easily cut through the coconut pieces. Add hot water to the blender and blend for 1-3 minutes until you end up with a smooth consistency paste. You could also use the coconut water that you extracted to make the milk.

Remove the paste from the blender and pour into a cheescloth/kitchen towel, or strainer and squeeze out the coconut milk. And there you have it creamy coconut milk.

TIPS AND TRICKS

While easy to make, there are certain things I like to keep in mind when making coconut milk at home.

I do not like adding too much water to the coconut milk, especially if using for desserts as the result is more rich and creamy. You can always dilute the milk later if required.

In case you are making coconut milk specifically for this recipe, you could add in a date or two to sweeten your milk while blending the coconut meat. Minimalist baker does that.

When making these popsicles, I prefer to let the milk sit for a few hours in the refrigerator, so that the coconut cream can separate from the rest of the milk- resulting an even more rich and creamy popsicle. You could avoid this step, but I get better results when I do so.

You can check the video I made in collaboration with Hamilton Beach for these popsicles on my instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Shumaila Chauhan (@muddychoux) on Jul 23, 2020 at 7:22am PDT

MIXED BERRIES COCONUT POPSICLES

These mixed berries popsicles with coconut milk are a rich and creamy dessert that is healthy yet serves to satisfy those sweet cravings.  Berries are reportedly some of the healthiest foods one can eat, as they are low in calories but high in fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants.

You can make these mixed berry popsicles with any berries of your choice. I have used strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries but feel free to play around with whatever you have in hand. The recipe is easily adaptable to use any seasonal fruit that you want. Depending on the fruit and how sweet it is you might need to adjust the sweetness.

In case you don’t want distinct layers, you could also blend the coconut milk with the berries. I feel it tastes better when it is all blended together, but I love the presentation of the layered look. Try both and see which do you prefer.

These mixed berries coconut popsicles can be made vegan by swapping honey for maple syrup or agave or cane sugar. You could also probably try dates or coconut sugar. If your fruit is sweet enough, you could completely eliminate adding any sweetener and make this popsicle even more guilt-free.

Hope you get to try these super simple mixed berries coconut popsicles made with homemade coconut milk and mixed berries for a refined sugar free creamy frozen treat.

Mixed Berries Coconut Popsicles

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Super simple mixed berries coconut popsicles made with homemade coconut milk and mixed berries that make a great refined sugar free creamy frozen treat

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Ice cream, dessert

Serves: 4 popsicles

Ingredients

• 1 coconut, broken with coconut meat removed and cut into 1-2 inch pieces (in case using canned coconut milk- use 1 cup full fat coconut milk and don't add hot water).
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1-2 tbsp honey/agave/maple syrup
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Once you have broken the outer shell of the coconut, reserving the liquid, take a butter knife or spatula and remove the coconut meat from the outer shell.
2. Cut your coconut meat into 1-2 inch pieces and add it to your blender.
3. Add hot water to the blender and blend for 1-3 minutes until you end up with a smooth consistency paste. You could also use the coconut water that you extracted to make the milk.
4. Remove the paste from the blender and pour into a cheescloth/kitchen towel, or strainer and squeeze out the coconut milk.
5. I prefer to let the milk sit for a few hours in the refrigerator, so that the coconut cream can separate from the rest of the milk- resulting an even more rich and creamy popsicle. You could avoid this step, but I get better results when I do so.
6. In a bowl, whisk together coconut milk, vanilla and honey.
7. Pour the coconut milk into the popsicle moulds filling them ¾th of the way. Freeze for 10-15 minutes till set slightly.
8. In the meantime, puree the berries in the blender with a little honey until smooth.
9. Add the berry mix to the coconut milk filled popsicle moulds. Push in the popsicle stick, and let freeze till set, about 10-12 hours or overnight.
10. Run mould under hot water to easily pop the popsicles out. Enjoy.

Note: In case you don’t want distinct layers, you could also blend the coconut milk with the berries. I feel it tastes better when it is all blended together, but I love the presentation of the layered look. Try both and see which do you prefer.

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