May 2013 ~ Cash Back shopping Online

Friday, 31 May 2013

Of Pink Frosting,and Eggless Victoria Sponge Cake and Sarcasm

Posted on 10:01 by Unknown

School...
And Summer...
Two things ,like oil and water...just don't mix.
Too hot to study,to difficult not to...such a vast syllabus to cover...
And then the trials of dealing with teenagers who seem to know much more than they should. They do what they should not be doing, while not doing what they should.
Is that a universal problem?
So we resort to Sarcasm.

And at the staff room table,there are those who speak sarcasm...those who I prefer to converse with primarily because we speak the same language...
Those like me ,who are few and far between.
So when one of my species moves away to warmer(stickier )climes...pun unintended-One needs to wish them well.
This cake was for a colleague...who is now moving to Kolkatta-hence stickier climes-Nothing could be warmer than Jalandhar City at this time.
To Mrs Punam Kapoor...thank you for all the help and for your excellent company.
We'll miss you in the staff room...the conversation will not be as piquant...or interesting...
All the best ,and we wish you enjoy your stay in Kolkatta.

So this Victoria Sponge cake was in your honour!Made at night...when I discovered my stock of plain flour was severely diminished and I had no neighbour called Kanchan Bhartari to ask from...so I had to use custard powder.
Early morning, I have to leave home by 7 10 am to ensure that even if the rail road crossing is closed...I can still make it to school before the bell rings.
So,up at 5 40am...I hacked the non dairy cream from is frozen state and managed to whip it into this pretty pink fluffy concoction...
Why pink...because white it too plain...
And I felt like a pink frosting today...
That's why!

Quick to make ...
Difficult to transport ...
And quick to finish...
That's how I like food!

for the

Pink Frosting,and Eggless Victoria Sponge Cake...

you need

One recipe of the eggless sponge from here
250 mils non dairy rich cream
125 mils mixed fruit jam
drop pink food colouring

The cake...
Follow the instructions...
I made two recipes as I had to make cup cakes for sweet child,his vacations have begun..only the teachers have to trudge and sweat it out till the end of next week...to counter his woes of nothing to eat at home.
While sifting,I realised that I was a half cup of flour short...so I substituted with custard powder...
I so miss you Kanchan...I have nobody to call when I need stuff in the middle of the night.

So 12 cuppies and 1 cake later...

I packed up for the night...covered the cake with film of course...
Early next morning...I had to hack out the frozen non dairy cream and whip it up...
Tinted pink...

I whisked the jam too...
Jam is not an aberration...it is compulsory in a Victoria sponge.
Victoria Sponge Cake is a simple tea cake,made with a sponge ,sliced and filled with fresh fruit preserves-I used mix fruit jam and topped with fresh cream.
Sliced...And a wee bit of milk poured in...

Topped with the whipped jam...I never bothered to clean the whisk blades,so the jam was full of cream...

Topped and prettified.
And now the cuppies...
I dug a hole(in the evening-I may be superwoman-but I am not mad...I need to get to work on time!)

Filled the holes with melted chocolate...

And topped with the left over cream...
And check out my sunflowers...
From my garden...
Sunshine and yellow go together...

Pretty...
The frosting was melting under the crazy heat 43C here...

So sweet and yummy...
But I'll miss the sarcasm...

All the best Mrs Punam Kapoor...we'll meet again some time soon...
If all else fails ...there is face book and Whats App!

So what are you baking today???

Posted in amul UHT cream/non dairy cream, cup cakes, desserts, eggless, school tales, yogurt/curd | No comments

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Chocolate Mousse Cake-Real Chocolate and Real Mousse and Melt in your mouth "Mousse"ness!

Posted on 07:59 by Unknown

Stress!

And some more...

You read about the stories of Marie Antoinette and how the teenagers in my class only remembered her for her faux statement of "Let them eat cake!"

Well ,now its payback time!!!

They paid me back!

Hence,the overdose of chocolate!

After Marie Antoinette and all her shenanigans...it was time to talk about how Poland became a democracy....Yes grade 9,Social Science!!!!
Solidarity...
Solidarity is more than just a word here...
It was a complete movement ...
That helped place democracy in Poland...
And after spending more than 12 classes on that ,I get "Solidarity is a group of sailors." in a test...
I mean What the f@#%#@^#$& !!!
Argh!

Hence the double dose of chocolate!
Something firm under the soft and silky chocolate mousse!
Pure and blissfully simple chocolate mousse...
Made with dark chocolate, whipping cream and whipped egg whites...
Something to take away the pain...
The pain of those emotional speeches of and about Lech Walesa and the awe on the face of the (now that I know) almost recalcitrant children...
Awww...
What a waste...

So we let this land on our waists...
A wee bit of sweetness,a touch of the bitter...and the almost there quinelle( a pretty shape made with two spoons) of chocolate mousse on the tiny square or the soft One bowl eggless chocolate cake with water ...
Thank god for small mercies!
Thank god for dinner parties!
To serve 8 people...

for the

Chocolate Mousse Cake-Real Chocolate and Real Mousse and Melt in your mouth "Mousse"ness! and a compensation...

you need

One 1/2 cake http://baketitude.blogspot.in/2013/05/one-bowl-eggless-chocolate-cake-and.html
250 mils non dairy whipped cream
250 gms dark chocolate
5 egg whites
a few drops of lemon juice
3-4 tbsp icing sugar -if needed

Start with the half cake...
Sliced and placed on the serving platter...

That's the cream and the chopped chocolate...
Yes,with the meat cleaver...actually it sliced through the chocolate like a dream...its 40C on an average day these days...

Bring the cream to an almost boil...I do it on a double boiler...and tip in the chocolate after you take it off the heat.Stir to blend well and then pop in the freezer to super chill for a few hours.
In the mean while let the egg whites sit out...
Add a few drops of lemon juice... And begin to whip ...till they quadruple in size and more.

After a few hours..the chocolate cream...

And the stiff peaks in the egg whites...
This is what will give the form to the mousse...so make sure they are STIFF!

Like wise,whip the chocolate cream...to about a a little more than what it was...it should be SMOOOOOTH!

Now fold in the whites...

And check if the mousse needs sweetening...ideally whip the sugar into the egg white...but this is not an ideal world...there fore the fact that solidarity is made of a group of sailors!

Pour over the ring mould...if you don't have a ring mould...use a glass bowl to set your mousse or...just use glasses!

About a small bowl full as leftovers...
And set in the fridge...

A Little bit of the chocolate fudge sauce I had in my fridge, I warmed and poured over.
Spread sprinkles...
And served...
No pictures of the slices ...as there were no leftovers...
So the remaining half of the cake and the left over chocolate mousse were used for the pics...

After doing the dishes...
Midnight desserts...

So aside from the teaching of social sciences and baking ,I am also a midnight dish washer!
Glass washer...

But chocolate always makes it worth your while...
Mwaah!

So what are you baking today???

Posted in amul UHT cream, amul UHT cream/non dairy cream, chocolate, desserts, frosting, ganache | No comments

Monday, 20 May 2013

Tribute to Mom...for her...

Posted on 06:11 by Unknown

My mom is a never-ending song in my heart

Of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the

words ...

But I always remember the tune.

- Graycie Harmon

Happy Mother's Day to my mum and all the other super moms in blogosphere!
I know ,for a fact that my mum is the best...I always manage to send her flowers -even though she pays the flower delivery boy most of the time-but this time...I wanted my words to bring a smile to my mums face...hey ma...you are smiling right??
My mum is super...always has been- I know that I could not have achieved so much without her prodding and pushing and constant support.
Mum...
You may have been unrelenting and persistent,
But that was only because you wanted me to achieve something.
You have been my inspiration and support...
I'm sure sweet sister will echo that...
We may have been stupid and may have sulked...but at the end of the day...
Mum YOU ROCK!
Your heart is like a bottomless pit, you are so forgiving and simple...and you have such an amazing capacity to love...
Even your grandchildren are always vying for the lions share of your love.

Nani!!!!!!!

I want to talk to Nani!!!!!!!!

Thank you for being you.Any time and every time!

I love you mum!

Always!
You are so,so happy at the smallest of our accomplishments....
Let this one be yours!

google

‘I am writing a Tribute to Mom in association with Parentous.com‘

Posted in contests | No comments

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

Berry Lassi/Smoothie And Hot days of Summer

Posted on 07:21 by Unknown

Summer...
Shivers of apprehension...
Not because of the temperature...
No way...
It is so warm 41C today...
And nothing cools like yogurt and lassi(Sweetened or spiced buttermilk).

Yes,different glasses...these were try outs...
And when you add to it the beautifully tart red strawberries...
Its like manna from heaven.

Cooling ,refreshing, nutritious,tangy and yummy...

Meets all requisite food groups.
As to why the tiny red rose is sitting pretty...we ate the leftover strawberries.
The guy who runs the cafeteria in school will vouch for that...
Sworn Coffee drinkers are now hooked to Amul Masti Spiced Buttermilk...

The heat saps your energy...
Your electrolyte levels.
You really need it...
I'm teaching the transition to democracy in CHILE,South America...
And I feel the need to be chilled...
Strawberries are almost on their way out...
And one needs to sweeten the lassi...Or Smoothie...
The berries are big.soft and squishy!
And are apt to make the yogurt a pretty pink...

So pretty please with sugar on the top...
Lets make the...

Berry Lassi/Smoothie And Hot days of Summer...

you need

1 punnet /200 gms strawberries
2 tsp sugar or honey
a few leaves fresh mint
200 mils fresh yogurt

The strawberries were large...and sweet ,but a little mushy...
So hull and quarter them...remove the top and cut into 2/4 pieces...

Like so...

Into the blender,with the powdered sugar...save a few berries to add in the end...
OK ,I used a wee bit more than 2 tsp...

Ahhhh....the pure puree...
So we can sorbet it, right here, right now...

Add in the thick yogurt...

With a few leftover strawberries for the texture

A few whizzes and we are done...

3 glasses...one down and the others in a steel bowl into the freezer...

To be had like frozen yogurt...

Or drunk to kiss away the sun and its heat...

PS,the darker drink is yet to come...

Experiments in the sun...trying to create a fire with a magnifying glass...and succeeding!

Summer...
And the ways to combat it...
We are being baked...literally ,when we have to wait at the railroad crossing for the trains to cross...to or from school...
Still reeling from the sun...

So what are you baking today???

Posted in baby food, breakfast, Child friendly, Desi, desserts, eggless, frosting, fruit, grain free, healthy, yogurt/curd | No comments

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Ignorance is Bliss WOW post for Blogadda May 10, 2013

Posted on 04:00 by Unknown

This post was judged WOW post!

“Forgetfulness is a form of freedom.” ― Kahlil Gibran

Sweat ran down her forehead...
Trickling into her hairline...
Eerie did not even come close to defining that dream...
But then, was it???
Yeah...
What was it?
Every morning ...that feeling of same old, same old...
Close but no cigar...
She felt around her bed side,yes she did need her spectacles!
Sometimes she even wondered if it would help if she slept with her spectacles on...
Maybe then, she'd be able to see and hopefully ,remember that bone chilling -supposedly eerie dream ,that always made her sweat...
Time for class!
Was it Monday or Tuesday...white or black shoes...
Aw ,she didn't want to be a defaulter again...
Mummmmy...
Where is my uniform???
Whack!!!
"What the f@#$?"
"Mummy is at home dear...wake up and make your bed yourself.The matron will pound you into pieces first thing Monday morning!"
Ah...one problem solved...
Monday ,it is!
What was it the counsellor told her??
Diary or a journal...
And a pen,to be her appendages 24*7...
But she'd rather hold a brush...
And not be slave to the alarm clock...
Blindly she followed the other girls out of the dorm ...she did not even realise that she was on auto pilot...she'd dressed and wore the right shoes...hallelujah!
But not the mess...she followed her nose to where the still fresh smell of turpentine lingered...
The mural...
She worried ,maybe the warden would have her expelled as she had apparently defaced school wall...
But that tree was just taking shape...
Maybe today...
She donned her smock...
That was the one thing she never forgot, and began...
The smoothness of the paint...
And its music as it walked on the canvas that was the wall...
Sometimes,she forgot that her hand was supposed to lead the brush...
But the forgeting allowed her to follow the colours...
The images danced and sang before her eyes and placed themselves in tune with the story the mural was destined to tell...
Suddenly she heard the cacophony...
The torch beams and the din...
They were taking her name...
Sunaina walked to the door of the attic and pulled it open,and called out to the general source of the noise...
What happened...
Suddenly the warden was running up...
Whack!
"What the f@#$?"
That was twice in a day...
"Where have you been all day...you never reported to the mess or to class...the entire staff has been looking for you here and in the grounds adjoining the forest ,we were now looking for the mangle remains of your body...What is this?"she whispered...the warden had never seen colours or images like this before...
Were they for real??
Was Sunaina for real...
So that was why she forgot...
The mural was breathtaking...
Suddenly she wished she could forget ...
And inhabit this unreal world...
Where time and classes and food did not matter...
And live this reality of psychedelic colours...
Maybe this was actually bliss!
To forget...and inhabit the world of colours...

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Posted in ramblings, wow post | No comments

Thursday, 9 May 2013

One Bowl Eggless Chocolate Cake And Water and some French History

Posted on 08:52 by Unknown

Marie Antoinette...

And all the gory details of the French revolution!

School!

And Cake!

Chocolate Cake ...
Moist and wet and dreamily yummy!
And egg less!
If you have been keeping track of my bio...you will know that I am now gainfully-as in an economically viable-y employed in a high school and that I teach history to senior school boys and girls.
Boys and girls who haven't the faintest interest in their own history...let alone the french revolution.
But then...some one has to do this dirty job...
Make the French Revolution palatable!

With chocolate cake...

Well what ever history says about Marie Antoinette and her air head comments ...about letting them eat cake...it is so not true.

But that caught their attention...30 ninth graders...

And me...

I went all out telling the stories of what all I have ever read and seen on celluloid...

And what should have taken only 15 classes took more than 22!

But the cake was not for them...

They got pearls of my wisdom-sic!

This was in honour of general happiness...

Missing friends and trying to fit into the new staff room..the staff room that has many pure no egg eaters.

So a small offering...and a display of my prowess...that water makes for a fantastic cake too...

yes!

for the

One Bowl Egg less Chocolate Cake And Water and some French History...

you need

3 cups plain flour

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp soda bi carb

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

2 tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp vinegar

For the frosting...

One recipe chocolate fudge sauce

150 gms semi sweet chocolate

50 gms butter

sprinkles

Simple...

Grease and flour a 10 inch square cake tin...

Pre heat your oven to 175C/350F.

Sift the dry stuff twice...

And keep your wire whisk ready.

Heat the water and add the sugar to dissolve...
You need tepid...warm to the touch- water.

Once the sugar dissolves ,Add in the oil, vanilla and the vinegar.

Pour the wet into the dry and whisk batter...

And pour into the tin...
pop into the oven for 35 minutes,check only when the cake comes away from the sides...If you want to poke with a metal skewer...clean out and its done.