Daily Archives: August 7, 2014

Cake pops

Share Button

image (18)

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes if using store brought cakes

 Serving : 6 members

Description

Cake pops . Some thing I got to know by mistake , when I was in search of a good red velvet cake recipe in the google . Was so surprised and wanted to try it then and there as it looked and sounded so interesting . As this dish needs a lot of imagination , creativity which will for sure put people served spoilt of choice . Having no equipments needed for making the cake pops  , still went ahead making sure I will manage and bring the pops out in flying colours . My first problem was not having pop sticks . Just got some lollipops and chopped the sticks alone . I did use some tooth pick for some pops as the lollipop sticks were not enough . Then I had to make a  cake pop stand . Came up with an idea using thermocol sheets . Then for embellishments used chocolate chips , coloured cheery bits , coloured balls and coloured cumin sweets ( jeeraga muttai ) . The out come was so satisfying . I learnt a lesson that never ever complain about not being able to source ingredients at your place . Instead just go ahead substitute it with easily available ingredients locally which makes things much more easy. I made this when my kids were not around so wanted to share the calories . Sent it over to my friend Reshma as she is blessed with 3 lovely children and adding calories to her too  :-))))

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Lollipop sticks ( I got some lollipops and chopped out the sticks alone )
Pre- made cake( any flavour of choice , I used vanilla sponge cake and red velvet cake . Just go ahead and cheat with ready made cakes ... No harm )
Cake pop stand( I made one at home with thermocal sheets, my craft classes at school was put into use ) ,
Icing of choice ,
Embellishments( I made use of all the locally available embellishments )

Step 1

          Break the cake up and whiz it in a food processor to creat small crumbs .

Step 2

  1. For 2 cups of cake crumbs add 1/2 a cup of icing which is creamy like cream cheese frosting or butter cream .
  2. Mix well to get it well combined . Add more cake or icing until you have a sticky mix that holds together but isn’t wet .

Step 3

  1. Roll balls using your hands or a small ice cream scoop to get a smooth finish .
  2. Place the balls on a tray lined with foil paper and pop in the freezer for 30 minutes to get firm .
  3. I placed a small ball of red velvet cake mixed with butter cream frosting in between the sponge butter cream mixture cake to add a surprise and more colour to some of the cake pops .

Step 4

  1. Melt chocolate of choice in the microwave or double boil .
  2. Place the melted chocolate in a deep mug or jar so that the cake pop can be dipped into the chocolate .
  3. Dip the end of the lollipop stick into the chocolate and push it into a cake ball .
  4. Dip the ball into melted chocolate , allow the excess to drip off and then place it into the styrofoam to dry .

Step 5

  1. Decorate cake pops with embellishments as follows . Drizzle melted chocolate over in a contrasting colour . Sprinkle edible glitter , chocolate shavings , silver balls , colour bits , coloured cherry bits over the top of pops . Roll pops in sprinkles , chopped nuts etc …
  2. Serve in a styrofoam , craft foam or in a designated cake pop stand . Can wrap each pop in a cellophane bag and tie it with a piece of ribbon .

Cauliflower shezwan stir fry

Share Button

image (17)

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4members

Description

Cauliflower shezwan stir fry . No idea from where I learnt this dish or the source of the recipe but the inspiration was drawn from the Chinese restaurant Kowloon in Coimbatore . The shezwan fried rice and chicken shezwan stir fry served there is ultimate . My misconception and sense of gap in understanding Chinese food was cleared at large through this restaurant as i got to know that even Chinese food has regional food according to their own province through out china . This dish has a deep umami flavours of sweet , sour , salty and spicy together . The key is to achieve  a balance of all these tastes together stir fried on high heat so it adds a caramelised flavour .  This dish can very happily be eaten on its own , strait from the served bowl .( I end up doing this strait from the wok  always :-))  )

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Cauliflower florets 2 cups
Garlic 1/2 teaspoon chopped
Ginger 1/2 teaspoon chopped
Green chillies 1/2 teaspoon chopped
Capsicum1/4 cut into cubes
Spring onion with whites 1 teaspoon chopped + little to garnish ( I have used onion cubed as I didn't have spring onion whites in hand here )
Schezuan sauce3 tablespoons
Oil1 teaspoon + to deep fry
Saltto taste
Sugar1/4 teaspoon

Ingredients for batter

Ingredients
Quantity
Flour / maida1/2 cup
Corn flour1/4 cup
Oil 1 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Make a thick batter mixing all the above mentioned ingredients along with little water and set aside .

Method

  1. Dip the cauliflower florets in the batter and deep fry over a high flame until crisp .Drain and keep aside .
  2. Heat oil in a wok on high flame , add garlic , ginger , capsicum and green chillies and stir fry for a few seconds .
  3. Add the spring onion whites and sauté for a few second .Add the schezuan sauce and bring to boil .
  4. Add  fried cauliflower florets , salt and sugar mix well .Serve immediately garnished with spring onion greens.

Ingredients (for 3/4 cup sauce)

Ingredients
Quantity
Garlic (finely chopped)1/4 cup
Ginger (finely chopped)2 tablespoons
Sesame oil3-4 tablespoons
Dry red chilli10 to 12
Soya sauce1/2 teaspoons
Pepper powder1/4 teaspoons
Tomato ketchup1/2 teaspoons
Vinegar1/4 teaspoons
Saltto taste
Water1/4 cup

Method for the shezwan sauce

  1. Soak the red chillies  in water for an hour.
  2. Take out the seeds and grind it into a smooth paste. ( I prefer my sauce hot , so i omit removing the seeds ) Add a few teaspoon of water if necessary while grinding.
  3. In a pan heat  the oil and add the finely chopped ginger and garlic . Saute for few minutes till the garlic turns golden brown colour in a low flame . Add the ground red chilli  paste .
  4. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes till the oil oozes out. Add soya sauce ,pepper powder, tomato ketchup , vinegar and salt .
  5. Keep in mind that the sauces(soya and ketchup) contains salt.Add 1/4 cup of water to this and cook for few minutes till it reaches a saucy consistency.
  6. Add little extra water if you want, but do not add too much.Sauce is ready.

Notes

  1. The easier way to take out the seeds is in the dry red chillies for the sauce is to  take it out before soaking. this makes the job easy.
  2. The shezwan sauce can  be stored in a clean bottle for 10 days in the refrigerator and used in other dishes .
  3. This same recipe can be followed and done by swapping  paneer , mushrooms , baby corn , prawns , squid , chicken or boneless fish strips instead of cauliflower .