How to: Make a Strawberry Tiramisu

Tiramisu, or "pick me up" is the royal dessert for any meal and one of my favorite desserts! After attempting the alcoholic version, I wanted to try out the non-alcoholic type. So this is my version of the "Strawberry Tiramisu".

Ingredients:

    1 cup strawberries
    1 cup confectioners' sugar
    1 cup mascarpone cheese
    1/2 cup heavy whipped cream
    2 tablespoons milk
    ladyfingers (as needed)
    1 cup chilled espresso(I used the freshly brewed)
    1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Procedure:

1. Clean and chop the strawberries and blend these with 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar. Set aside the blended puree.
2. Beat the mascarpone cheese, whipped cream, sugar and milk for 2 minutes until the mixture is uniform.
3. Dip the ladyfingers in the brewed espresso and place them in a cake pan.
4. Spread the cheese mixture (as in step 2) over the ladyfingers and then with the strawberry puree.
5. Repeat the above procedure with ladyfingers, cream and the strawberry puree.
6. Top the layers with the remaining cheese mixture.
7. Dust cocoa over the completed dessert and serve chilled.

Hope this helps to satisfy your cravings of this fabulous Italian dessert in my style. :)

My first floral arrangement with sugar flowers!

Thanks to my new passion of making sugar flowers, I have started looking at cake decorating in a totally different view! The classes that I enrolled this month have helped me so much that I am grateful to the instructors!

And so, here is my first floral arrangement that I have put together. This includes the Open Peony, Hydrangea flowers and buds, Stargazer Lily, Garden Rose, Briar Rose and Filler flowers.

So, what is your favorite sugar flower?

How to: Make the Open Peony Gum paste flower?

This weekend has been a busy one for me with all sugar flowers in the making! I had been busy making filler flowers (learnt from Jacqueline Butler's Craftsy class) and few more flowers (learnt from Wilton's Advanced gumpaste flowers). But one of the flowers apart from this list is the open Peony which I have fallen in love with!

I had been browsing through many online pages trying to find a tutorial for making this gorgeous flower but failed to find an informative one. Deciding to make one on my own, I started observing flowers from various artists online and incorporated some techniques that made it easy for me to make the peony. So here goes the tutorial which I hope will help all those in love with an open peony.

Necessary Items:

Gum paste (Made pliable by working on it)
Petal craft gum paste cutters - Peony Cutters and Veiners
9" rolling pin
Gum paste storage board
Foam pad
Ball tool
Flower forming cups
26-gauge wire and floral tape
Fuchsia and peach color dusts
Cooling grid (I use this for drying the flowers)
Styrofoam disk
Yellow pointed stamens

Step by step instructions:

1. Use the gum paste of your desired color and work on it to make it really pliable. I found out in my experience that "the more you work on the gum paste, the easier it is to make a realistic flower".

2. Roll out the gum paste on the storage board (on the hard side of the board). Roll it in such a way that the lower portion is thicker. (This enables the wire to be inserted into the petal)

3. Use the peony petal cutter and cut the petal. Note the thickness on the lower side of the petal.

4. Using a foam pad and the peony veiner,  press the cut petal onto the veiner so that the veins are imprinted onto the gum paste petal.

5. Insert a 26 gauge wire through the thick lower portion (to almost 1/2" into the petal). Thin the edges of the petal using the ball tool. Make sure the petal looks natural by this process.
Note: I used green wire and green floral tape since I did not have white. White color would be apt in this case for petals.

6. Cup the center of the petal using the ball tool and the foam pad. Let the petal dry overnight on a flower forming cup.

7. Make around 10-15 petals(as in the previous steps and let them dry overnight.

8. Make three carpels (or pistils) in green color and dust them with fuchsia petal dust on the top portion. Dry these on a styrofoam disk.

9. Use the stamens and the dried carpels and wrap the floral tape around all of them to form the center of the flower.

10. Make the first layer of the flower using four petals and wrap all of them using the floral tape.

11. Use the remaining petals to form the next two layers. Make sure you wrap all the petals firmly and let them set for a while. The petals will be brittle and so extreme care is needed while assembling the flower.

The finished flower:

Hope this tutorial is clear enough. Please leave your comments/ feedback and any questions.

How to: Bake a cake in microwave convection mode?

So one of the questions that I recently received from my readers is : How to bake a cake in microwave convection mode?

This is something new to me as I have been accustomed to the electric ovens. So after a lot of research, here I am with my findings which I hope will help those with the microwave oven!

What is a microwave convection oven?
A convection microwave is the combination of two kitchen appliances: a convection oven and a microwave. A convection oven is just like a conventional oven except that no heating elements are exposed and the heat generated inside the oven is recirculated by strong fans. This rapidly moving hot air cooks and bakes more evenly and, usually, more quickly than the still air inside conventional ovens.
Convection ovens can offer up to three modes: microwave cooking only, convection cooking only or a combination of the two. Sometimes this is called a "mix" feature.

Cooking food with the convection mode means you can brown, broil, crisp and bake. To speed up cooking times, users use the microwave-only mode to heat through the food, then use the convection-only mode to crisp a pizza's crust or to brown a meat's skin. Like the microwave-only mode, the convection-only mode can cook an entire food item. It will just take a bit longer than using the microwave mode.

Convection microwave ovens that use the microwave mode and the convection oven mode together use the energy of a microwave and power of a convection oven. Food cooks faster, and users enjoy the browning/crisping that results.

Baking a cake using Microwave
A convection oven is almost similar to an electric oven when it comes to baking a cake. The Convection feature in the Microwave enables the features of a regular oven when you choose the option. In simple terms,when you set the temperature of the oven in Convection mode, the Microwave literally transforms itself into a regular baking oven.

Type of Baking utensil to be used in the oven
When the convection mode of the microwave is activated, you have to use metal/aluminium/non-stick pans the same as you would use in a regular oven. However,some ovens have combination cooking modes like Microwave-Grill or Microwave-Convection, Here you have to use Pyrex/Borosil utensils as they are safe for Microwave as well as Convection/grill mode.

Pre-heating in a microwave
Some recipes ask for preheating of the oven for few minutes.But in Microwave,it works differently. In electric oven,after the set time,the oven beeps and you could continue with the recipe.But in microwave convection ovens,you do not have to set any time,just set the temperature you would want to bake the stuff and press start. For example,if the recipe requires 180C heat,set that temperature and press start.The microwave would start preheating and beep when it is of the required temperature and it usually takes only 3-4 minutes.

Can a microwave be preheated empty?
When you are using the Convection mode,the microwave ceases to be one and becomes like an electric oven.So there is absolutely no problem if you run it empty.In solo microwave mode,it should not be used if it is empty.

Can I use a microwave immediately after baking a cake?
No,you shouldn’t use the oven in microwave mode after baking a cake.The reason being,the oven would be quite hot after baking and if you use the microwave mode with micro proof utensils, there is a risk of the food as well as the utensils getting burnt.

How to set the temperature for baking in Convection mode?
In most Microwave[Convection] ovens, there is a button which says Convection and when you press that,it displays temperatures starting from 110C to 200C as and when you press it.If you want to bake in 180C,stop pressing when it reaches 180C and press start. It will start preheating and will beep when it finishes preheating-usually after 3-4 minutes. At this stage,you can open the oven and put the stuff inside for baking and again start from setting the temperature.Enter the time you want it to be baked and it starts baking!!

Can I use Aluminum Foil in my Microwave?
Aluminum foil should[ideally] not be used in Microwave and Convection mode as there is a risk of burning. However,in grill mode,you could use a minimal amount,ie place it below the grill plate/tray to collect drippings etc, but not more than that and not anywhere near the heating coil.There are some cake recipes calling for covering with foil after a few minutes. But do it at your own risk.

Do Cakes/Baked stuff prepared in Microwave taste as good as those baked in electric oven?
This is something that my readers have to let me know since I am new to microwave baking! :)

Specific tips for Samsung CE104VD:

* Do not cook using the combination setting. If so the cake will be hard due to increased microwave energy. Reduce the microwave energy on the Samsung unit when using the combination setting.

All the above information are solely from research done online and not from personal experience. Would be adding more info as and when I find something new related to this topic. Would also love to hear from readers who use convection mode for baking cakes.

Happy Baking!

How to: Bake a "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake

One of the cakes that I have tried to master and succeeded in it is the chocolate cake. Inspired by the Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate cake, I have tried this quite a few times now and have loved the taste!

The Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake is a delicious chocolate cake which is chocolatey, rich and moist and is a perfect start for beginners. It is so easy to make and demands just a little less than an hour for preparation and cooling! And it will surely make you wonder why you have been searching around for good chocolate cake recipes!

So here goes:

Adapted from Hershey's back of the Box recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar (I use 10x ground)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (Even 2% works fine for me)
1/2 cup canola oil( I usually omit this and there is not much difference in the taste)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; With a mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Carefully, stir in boiling water. The batter will be very thin. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with chocolate frosting.

10 to 12 servings.

Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Tips:

* Do not forget to tap the pan once or twice to get rid of the air bubbles.

* I use the Bake even strips from Wilton to get the cake to bake evenly throughout!

* Cool the cake completely before icing it.

* Cocoa has a drying effect on cake batters, causing them to bake more quickly. Be cautious. Get to know your oven, whether it under- or overbakes. Use a kitchen timer or write down the exact time the cake went in the oven. A dry chocolate cake will not taste as delicious as a moist chocolate cake.

* You cant be sure if your cake is done just by visually seeing it. With the chocolatey color of the cake, there is no good tip to find it if it is perfectly baked just by the sight of it. You will need to press lightly with your finger to test the done-ness. The cake should spring back in this case which indicates that the baking is complete!

Happy Baking!