CHRISTMAS TREE BROWNIES POPSICLES

Hello everyone , hope you people are having a fantastic holiday weekend, since christmas is around the corner I decided to make the conventional bakes prettier with not having to do too much since I want to spend good quality time with family as well. Hope you enjoy them !!!!!

For the brownies I swear by my recipe which was my first post on the blog , I've tried multiple variations to a brownie recipe but none is as good as this one. It yields the best texture and perfect gooey-ness a brownie is supposed to have. The link to the recipe is attached below:

http://trystwithtaste.blogspot.in/2015/08/mondays-with-sweet-treat-perfect.html

Once you've made the brownies , allow them to cool completely and cut though the brownies using a christmas tree cookie cutter , if you don't have that cut the brownie in a triangular shape.

Insert sturdy skewers through the brownies .

ICING THE BROWNIES:

For icing around 12 trees you would require:

• 1 cup of whipped cream divided into 3 portions 
• 3 piping bags 
• Food colouring : Red and green 

PIPE IN A ZIG-ZAG PATTERN WITH THE GREEN GOOD CLOURING ON THE BROWNIES AND PIPE RED AND WHITE DOTS ON THE EDGES OR THE CENTRE AS YOU LKE THEM.

VOILA YOUR BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS TREES ARE READY !!!! IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! 

0

LYCHEE PANNA COTTA WITH POMEGRANATE JELLY

For all us  religious Masterchef viewers, Panna cotta is one of the most dreaded dishes, native to north of Italy the dish literally means cooked cream. Its probably the easiest dessert I've ever made but to be honest it is  as easy to go wrong with it as well. Panna cotta is known for its silky smooth texture it is  supposed to be just about firm with a wobble.  My dish here is inspired by the festive colours with the not so wintry flavours its a blend of seasons, the colours on my plate bringing out the festivity and the tropical flavours giving you the comfort of a warm summer day.
My cravings for tropical flavours doesn't seem to end even during peak winter here this time in India, where its almost impossible to get your hands on a bunch of fresh lychees. Casually shopping online for some bake ware I stumbled across this beautiful website delivering a whole new perspective to delectable gourmet flavours and fragrances  http://www.tenderlovingnose.com/gourmet-flavours.html and there ended my craving for biting into a lychee.
 Barely a few drops of the lychee flavouring from tender loving nose in my panna cotta gave my dish a fresh tropical burst without any aftertaste that most artificial flavourings are known for, it rather left a subtle lingering taste as if I bit into a plump lychee only soft and silky instead of juicy.

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PANNA COTTA: Serves 4

• 1 cup heavy cream/ whipping cream 
• 24 gms powdered sugar 
• 1/2 cup half and half ( if its not readily available add 2/3 cup of skimmed milk + 1/3 cup of heavy cream , this gives you one cup of half and half.)
• 1.5 leaf of gelatine or 1/2 tablespoon of powdered gelatine
• 1 tbsp cold water  
• 1/4 tsp of lychee flavouring from tender loving nose ( incase you are flavouring with a different brand of flavourings add as per your taste )

FOR THE POMEGRANATE JELLY: Serves 4

• 1/2 cup fresh/canned pomegranate juice 
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar 
• 3/4 th tsp granulated gelatin 
• 1.5 tbsp of cold water 

METHOD:

• Soak the gelatine leaf in a tablespoon of cold water and allow it to stand for about a minute until the gelatine is soft.
• In the mean while add the cream, half and half and sugar in a saucepan and cook on medium flame to just one boil. Remove from the flame.
• Add in the gelatine and mix well until the it is completely  dissolved.
• Mix in the flavouring and stir to combine.
• Pour the mixture in dessert glasses or ramekin moulds and allow them to cool for about 2 hour.
• Prepare the jelly, half an hour before you are about to check on your panna cottas.
• soak the gelatine in 1.5 tbsp of cold water and allow it to bloom, should take about a little more than a minute.
• Heat the pomegranate juice and sugar on low flame, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove form flame.
• Add in the gelatine and stir well until the gelatine is well dissolved.
• Pour it over the semi set panna cottas and chill for a minimum of 4 hours. For best results chill overnight.

Since my dish represents a blend of seasons, I incorporated winter and summer elements in my final plating, candied ginger bits giving the vibes of early christmas and lemon jelly bits echoing summer though the plate also balancing the sweetness of the lychee and the spice and pungency of ginger.

Wishing you a lovely weekend :) 

0

3 STEP CARROT CAKE

Carrots always remind me of a beautiful memory, as kids, during winter break I would bask in the warm winter sun chomping carrots and not a care in the world. My winter carrot cake is inspired by this memory its a blend of winter and carrots in a cake. Hope you all like it. Happy baking :) 

INGREDIENTS:

• 50 gms Plain flour
• 40 gms Brown sugar 
• 60 gms Carrot, grated 
• 30 gms Vegetable oil 
• 1.5 tsp Baking soda 
• 1 tsp Baking powder 
• 2 tsp Ground cinnamon 
• 1 Egg 
• 25 gms Almonds, chopped roughly
• 12.5 gms Raisins 

METHOD:

• Pre-heat the oven at 160 degrees celsius and grease a small cake tin (I used 3 large christmas muffin tins)
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. (flour, sugar, baking soda and baking powder)
• Add in the oil and egg to this mixture to the dry ingredients, use a hand whisk or electric whisk to combine the ingredients until just mixed completely. DO NOT OVER-BEAT.
• Into this mixture, add the carrots, almonds, raisins and cinnamon and combine until mixed properly.
• Bake for 15-18 minutes in the preheated oven at 160 degrees celsius.

• FOR THE ICING:  Place 1/4 cup  cream in a sauce pan and bring it to boil. Remove it from heat, add in 1/2 cup dark chocolate and stir vigorously to melt the chocolate in the cream , keep stirring until the mixture looks glossy and smooth without any chocolate lumps , allow it to cool, not completely as on this cake we have given the dripping effect (about 5-6 minutes )

0