Eggless Tiramisu with real Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

The excitement was palpable and the wait agonizing. When we first set out to make this dessert. My partners in crime this time were friends Ritu and Kanchan...and their children.

This is one dessert I have lovely memories of…rarely managed to eat it, not only because of the calorie count, also because with just an allowance that one tiramisu was E for Expensive.

I won’t say that this was cheap, it also took a lot of time, but the sheer joy, of it was awesome. The next tiramisu will be the real deal, with the lady finger cookies. Only can’t promise the Tia Maria. We’ll use brandy.

Well, with the cheese made, all that was required was the eggless sponge and the whipped cream and the eggless custard…not to mention coffee. Espresso if you can…otherwise plain instant will do! I used south Indian filter Kapi!

Now straight on, with the tons of gossip and excitement…the tiramisu became tastier!

The kids got a taste of the mascarpone and cream filling and the reactions were so much fun to watch!

The boys were ok ,couldn’t get what the fuss was all about Saturday evening ,but after the 24 hour wait and the addition of brandy…it was Oliver Twist once more. Was that all there was?Can I have some more??

Try this…not prohibitive anymore!

For the

Eggless Tiramisu with Real Homemade Mascarpone Cheese...

You need

1 perfect eggless sponge

Mascarpone made with 600mils of cream (about 350 Gms) Get it here...http://baketitude.blogspot.com/2012/01/mascarpone-chesse-home-made.html

200 mils whipping cream

250 mils thick vanilla custard (made with 225 mils milk and 2 tbsp custard powder and 5-6 tbsp sugar)

100 mils brandy

100 mils strong coffee decoction

Chocolate to decorate 

Start with the sponge…

1 ¼ cup plain flour

¼ cup corn flour

1 cup sour curds/yogurt (leave the yogurt out for a few hours)

½ cup refined vegetable oil

¾ cup ground sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Grease and flour a cake tin and pre heat the oven to 180C/350F.

Sift the dry ingredients.

In one bowl mix in the yogurt and the oil well.

Add to this the baking powder and the bicarbonate of soda. Let them bubble and add the sugar.

Then spoon by spoon add in the flour mix and then...

Pour into the baking dish and then into the oven 30 -35 minutes.

Test with a wooden pick. And wow! turned it out after 5 minutes. See how well done it is?

We didn’t wait too long…it was so well done…and so tempting…control karna करना

was so difficult.Still hot, cut out the size for the actual dish.And then slice into two halves.

This dessert is so deserving of this song…

First slice in...Pour over the brandy and the coffee (half of the amount available).

Ok the filling.   That's the thick custard.

The electric beater is only for the whipping cream- dairy or non dairy. Soft peaks only.

.

Nuke the mascarpone about a minute, not to cook it, only to make the whisk move through the mascarpone.

The mascarpone and the custard together, whisked-with a lot of love and care. Be extremely gentle. Mascarpone will split if you exert too much force.

Now combine it all together and taste for the amount of sugar.You can add some more brandy here too, if you believe in decadence!

On the plate that holds the second half, pour the remaining brandy and coffee over the slice of sponge. 

Slather some blended cream over the first layer.

Now turn the coffee and brandy layer on the layered cream. If you are in the middle of a heat wave, be sure to chill the dessert before you place the second layer.

Now the remaining cream, neaten the top and straight to the fridge.

First bowl we made,this was made with the scraps.

Same way…was over before we could realize it. The second was the piece de resistance!

The ganache I tattooed err piped on the next day, you can grate the chocolate or place curls of sift cocoa of pipe …whatever pleases you.
For the Ganache...check here.

It’s all about spreading the; love and happiness!

Get out all the stuff and start baking…come on, what are you waiting for?

Yum!

No more words…

So what are you baking today???

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Mascarpone Cheese- Home Made

Mascarpone Cheese…every time I saw Nigella Lawson use that in her luscious and delectable desserts…the only thought that crossed my mind…I’m in the wrong part of the world.

The Tiramisu -the focus of my attention...for the longest time!

Even a metropolitan city would do – but then occupational hazards play a vital,vital role here!

No point in ruing and ruing some more.

Research. Did you know that the Internet makes your IQ higher and that everything that is new makes you run to the computer. Info courtesy .Times of India..Sunday Times.

Then…voila..I found the goddess of all answers. Vera whatzername…with an obsession that she has channelized beautifully.http://www.bakingobsession.com/2009/05/02/homemade-mascarpone-cheese/

And she had homemade mascarpone…the relief and the bliss that that page made me feel…I cant describe.

Followed to the tee…only we have either non dairy cream or UHT cream here…and she said NO UHT.

No choice,but if you are lucky do what she says….

So easy ,that you’ll never want to pay the bombed earth for a tub of 200 gms of mascarpone from a gourmet food shop ever.

For the

Mascarpone Chesse- Home made...

You need A truck load of patience

600 mils cream

and

1 tbsp lemon juice.

Double boiler needed. A big sauce pan and a smaller bowl…stainless steel. Glass is a complete failure here so a normal steel patila works well

Opened out the three tetra packs of Amul cream at 25% fat and emptied them of every single drop.

Now on the pan and let the water simmer,ensure you stir right through the procedure.

Now when  the cream starts simmering-you’ll see the bubbles on the sides of the pan ,keep stirring and add the lemon juice.

At a very low flame,keep stirring for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile line a sieve with a thick cheesecloth and a pan under it.

Pour the cream mix into the cheesecloth and let the whey drain out.

After a couple of hours remove the cheese from the cloth and store in a covered container  and refrigerate. I tpped it with some cling film -just in case!

You can of course ,taste the mascarpone in the process…

The mascarpone firms up on chilling. Before using it the next day we had to slightly nuke it.

The next step is of course the tiramisu…and we made it egg less.

two cakes...one over the minute we set it ,the other...after 24 hours....no wonder its on the WANTED list every where.

The second...Make it, with directions from...http://baketitude.blogspot.com/2012/01/eggless-tiramisu-with-real-homemade.html

Hindustani Touch...not very good at henna patterns ,but could not resist...

still in the spring form tin...recipe coming up ASAP!

Baking!

This time that we spend together ,women and kids…is sure to cement friendships…and to try these out both Kanchan and Ritu are going to make the same pud for a dinner party…
 And another variation...with strawberry crush and chocolate sponge...

Too pink...but the taste was AWESOME!
recipe coming up....

Go ahead,bake with your family and friends...some day you may thank me for it.

So what are you baking today???

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Vegetable CUT”LACE” err Cutlets-Indian Railways Inspired .

Cut"lace"!
Cut"lace"!
Cut"lace"!
I did try ...no video on the cutlet sellers. Next journey...we'll make a guy pose and yell -promise!

Some memories are etched in our minds forever. Never to be parted from. Among these are the train journeys we undertake, to go on a holiday or to move to a different city,part of the occupational hazards.

After 14 years of marriage I realised why hubby dear loves to travel by train, not for anything else but a childhood fascination and awe for all kind of engines. Steam Engines, to be precise. I remember ,train journeys with the steam locomotive pulling the train along the western Ghats in India, meant that one reached their destination covered in specks of soot..

Today, the reason why I still prefer to travel by train-always end up  paying the charges for excess baggage at airports. My journeys are always eventful, and every so often, I’ve barely just managed to catch the train...by a hairs breadth. This summer, while returning from Delhi after a much needed vacation...hubby dear and I realised that we were travelling together after almost 9 years. Time had whizzed past, so many things had changed.
Indian Railway and no Video...can think of nothing other than Maliaka Arora Khan! dancing on th etrain...no cutlet sellers here.

We now travelled first class, ERGO...there was no vendor selling chips or magazines or the antiquated ,stinky, smelly soap strips(thank god for liquid soap)or the chai tea in the earthenware cups  called kullads, or the guy selling CUT”LACE”, CUT”LACE” ,CUT”LACE” in a nasal baritone.

Those two cutlets deep fried in god only knows how many years old vegetable fat, with two slices of bread and the “kaddu “ ka sauce!

Ring a bell!

The process of trial and error-rather trial by fire was initiated and we decided to recreate that same taste of the CUT”LACE”. We even tried deep frying the cutlets in a batch of oil n which many, many French fries had been fried...to try and create that taste. Close enough, only my hands are always clean!

I think we came close enough to that taste and now that I’ve made this sweet child’s snack, i omit the deep fat frying and lightly sear it on a non-stick griddle.

All my efforts went into stuffing the CUT”LACE” with vegetables and yet make them tasty.

Here goes...

Indian Railways Inspired Vegetable CUT”LACE” err Cutlets...

You need

500 Gms boiled potatoes

500 Gms shredded carrots

500 Gms shredded cauliflower

250 Gms shelled peas

250 Gms finely diced French beans

1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

1 tbsp pav bhaji masala

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves/Kasuri Methi

1 onion finely shopped

1 tbsp refined vegetable oil, a little extra to cook the cutlets

400-500 Gms bread crumbs-A day old works best

Hand full chopped coriander.

Salt, red chilli flakes to taste

1 tsp finely diced ginger

If I can get sweet child to eat this voluntarily, I’m a great mother. All my sins of stuffing him with vanilla butter cream frosted cupcakes are washed off.

See the amount of vegetables...really makes you happy. Pretty colours and prettier health benefits.                                                                           

Start with a big pan on the fire, and with the oil in it. Pop in quick succession, the cumin seeds and the onions.

Lightly sauté the onions and the ginger.

Add the kasuri methi -the dried fenugreek leaves. Almost like the swahaa into a puja fire.

Add to this the cauliflower, the carrots and the peas and beans...

Cook on a medium flame, when the veggies start leaving their juices add the  seasonings -That includes the pav bhaji masala.
This is the brand I use...

On a high flame, now dry out the veggies. You don’t want mushy veggies, bite is important.

Bring them out in a large dish, to cool; them out.

Once the veggies have cooled, add the boiled potatoes which are to be mashed and added to the veggies. Add in the coriander.

Bind this with the bread crumbs, use only what is needed.Check for taste...yum.

Heat up the gridle, make small patties and cook on medium heat till a nice crisp crust is formed. 

You can serve them with the bread, butter and sauce or make mini burgers with cheese and ketchup.

If you want the deep fried ones, dip the patties in cornstarch slurry and then bread crumbs and fry! Crisp, hot and yummy, this way or the other.

I made veggie burgers...sweet child is Happy!

So what if it is not baked, it warms your soul.

So, what are you baking today???

PS..the friends and I are off to make tiramisu...Eggless if you please.
Two puds!One without and the other with BRANDY!..Tia Maria,if it ever available will go straight -unpolluted into the mouth!

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