Eggless Nutella Cake during lockdown

This cake is surprisingly simple and easy compared to other cakes that take enormous amounts of time in  preparing, baking, and then finally getting to eat. I have been visiting blogs and vlogs to find the perfect recipe to make for my nephew's birthday. And finally landed on this recipe link.
https://bakingcherry.com/fluffy-and-moist-nutella-cake-egg-free/.  Finally I had ended my search after I found the perfect recipe that matched the ingredients in my pantry. Hooray!


Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 cups
baking powder - 4 tsps
oil - 1/2
nutella - 1 cup
milk - 1 1/2 cups

Toppings
Crushed almonds - for garnish

Frosting
Nutella - 1/4 cup

Recipe
1. Whisk together all-purpose flour and baking powder .
     Add milk and oil into the mix and stir enough to make  a smooth paste.
2. Add nutella and combine to make a smooth paste. Do not over mix.
3. Pour into a greased 9 inch round cake pan.
4. Bake at 350F oven for 30 min.
5. Cool cake and apply nutella on top of cake when the cake is slightly warm.
6. Garnish whole cake with crushed almonds. Cake is ready to be served.

Rotini - White Sauce Pasta

Oh wow, this recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks to Hebbar's Kitchen for posting this recipe, I am very glad I tried this! I could easily scale up the recipe to a pound of pasta. To scale up the recipe for a pound of pasta, I just increased the amount of butter, plain flour and the milk. Also for the veggies, I used a mix of sweet peppers, instead of the usual green bell peppers. I used red onions and also the mixed veggie bag that I usually purchase from BJ's. I certainly did not want to increase the spice level of the dish, because the spice tolerance in my family ranges from mild to medium to hot, so I just wanted to keep it simple and not spicy!

Ingredients

For white sauce
butter - 4 tbsp
all purpose flour - 6 tbsp
milk - 4 cups
chili flakes -1/2 tsp
basil - 1/2 tsp
oregano -1/2 tsp
salt- 1/2 tsp
crushed pepper -1/2 tsp

For veggies
garlic cloves - 4 finely chopped
onions - 3/4 cup chopped into squares
sweet peppers -1/2 cup chopped into squares
mixed veggies - 1 1/2 cups (beans,carrots,peas,corn)
salt -1/2 tsp
black Pepper -1/2 tsp finely crushed

For pasta
tri color rotini - 1 lb or 4 cups of uncooked pasta
water - 6 cups
salt - 1 tsp

Recipe
1. Cook the pasta for 8-9 min in salted boiling water. The pasta does not need to be completely cooked. It needs to be al-dente. Strain the pasta and keep it aside.
2. For your veggies, heat some oil, add garlic to the oil, and sauté till the garlic turns brown. Add your onions, sweet peppers and mixed veggies and sauté for just 3-4 min. Add salt and pepper. Keep it aside. The veggies need to have a crunchy texture, so there is no need to saute it for more than 3 or 4 min.
3. For your white sauce, heat butter and add flour. Mix really well until the mixture turns aromatic. Incorporate the milk one cup at a time and stir it until it thickens. Now add the seasonings mentioned and mix well. Add your sautéed veggies to the sauce and mix well. Finally add in your cooked pasta and mix well.
4. Serve your pasta with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese.

Pizza - No Yeast

My very first attempt at making Pizza was quite exciting  and  quite nerve racking too. But I can say with a smile that all my effort at making pizza was very well worth the effort and something I will certainly love to do again. I wish I had tried this much sooner. Well it is never too late to learn something new :-) Anyway here goes my very first attempt at making pizza..

My very first Pizza !!!!!

Pizza Dough
yogurt - 1/4 cup
all purpose flour - 2 cups
water - 1/2 cup
baking powder - 1/2  tsp
baking soda - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
sugar - 1 tsp
oil - 2  tbsp

Pizza Sauce
onions - 1/4 cup finely chopped
garlic - 3 cloves
tomatoes -5(blanched)- make puree of 3 blanched tomatoes and chop remaining finely.
tomato ketchup - 1 pkt
hot and sweet tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
oregano - 1 tsp
basil - 1 tsp
chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
salt - per taste
sugar - 1 tsp

Recipe
1. For the dough - Add yogurt in a bowl, add in sugar,baking powder, baking soda, salt,oil and mix        well until frothy. Now add in the flour and mix well to a crumbly texture. Add water and knead to a smooth dough. (Tip: This step is critical. You can add couple more spoons of water to make it even more of a smooth to a sticky dough). But I went with 1/2 cup and it just turned out fine. Grease dough with oil and rest the dough for 30 min.

2. For the sauce - Heat oil in a pan, add in the onions, garlic and saute well. Add chopped tomatoes. Saute well. Add the puree, ketchup, hot and sweet tomato sauce, all the aromatics and saute really well. Your pizza sauce should be ready.

3. Time for Pizza - Roll out your dough nice and round , then prick the rolled out dough all around and then transfer to a baking sheet(mine is a rectangular baking sheet ) ,spread your pizza sauce, top with your favorite cheese(I used Mexican), add your favorite toppings(I used onions and  jalapeno)and fold your dough at the edges to resemble a folded crust, and bake your pizza at 425 for about 8 - 12 min or until your  crust is firm. 

Wholesome No-Yeast Bread Recipe

Hello Bloggers,

I  am so happy to be back here in my blog after a very long gap. I just don’t know how these last 7 years have  passed. Lots of things have happened in the past 7 years . I don’t know if it is my kids, if it is my work, or just about anything, I just  couldn’t find myself to sit and write down a recipe. Over the years I have tried too many recipes off the Internet. Some of them have turned out really well and some not that much. Today is such a recipe that has turned out adequate enough , both my kids gave a thumbs up to this recipe which makes me think that this recipe will live a little longer.. :) . OK for bloggers who are wondering what I  have tried, here it is... it is a simple loaf of bread .. A bread that has no yeast. Well I had to try this bread for two reasons, one being the unavailability of yeast during this quarantine period and another trying to find an alternative for making bread without yeast. Here we go...





Ingredients

Wet
oats - 1 cup - can be old fashioned or quick cooking ones
oil - 1/4 cup( I used sunflower oil)
egg- 1 whole
yogurt - 1 cup
milk - 1 cup
honey - 1/4 cup


Dry
whole wheat flour - 1 1/3 cups
all purpose flour - 1 cup
baking powder - 2 1/4 tsp
baking soda - 1/4  tsp
salt - 1 1/4

Recipe
1. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan sufficiently with butter and set it aside.
2.For the wet ingredients, in a medium bowl, mix together the oats, yogurt, milk, oil, honey, and egg until well blended. Set this mix aside for at least 45 minutes to allow the oats to hydrate.
3.For the dry ingredients, in a separate large bowl, stir together the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4.After 45 min stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until combined but not over mixed as minimal mixing results in a light bread. I did have to add an extra 1/4 cup milk because it seemed like it needed it.
5.Pour the batter into the pan, spreading evenly to the edges and sprinkle a few more oats on top.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F and bake the bread in the middle rack for 55 minutes or until golden brown.
7.Remove from the oven and place the loaf on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
8. You could also store this bread at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerated up to a week. Also this bread can freeze well for an amazing toast.


https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/hearty-no-yeast-bread-recipe/ - Original Recipe