Xmas Baking#3: Basil and Cinnamon Dark Chocolate truffles

I love making chocolate truffles. They sound pretty hard and are really tasty, but are about the easiest thing to make. Especially if you're not super anal about making cute little round balls, but opt for what I think is a more modern (and easier) presentation - cubes. I flavoured these by infusing the cream with cinnamon and basil, but your options are really limitless - Earl Grey tea, orange, lemon, chai spice, vanilla bean, chili powder, ginger..... see what I mean about impressive?

Seriously, these will take you mere minutes to make (if you don't count the slow simmering of the cream).

• 250ml (8 oz) whipping cream
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1/2 (sort of packed) cup bruised fresh basil leaves
• 2 x 2 inch pieces thick cinnamon bark (look in a South Asian grocer for this)
• 800 grams chopped dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Simmer the cream and water together with the basil and cinnamon covered, over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon bark. Use an immersion blender to roughly chop the basil into the cream using 2 or 3 short bursts. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for 5 more minutes. Strain the basil bits out of the cream and use two large spoons, nested together, to squeeze all the liquid out of the basil leaves back into the cream. Discard the basil leaves.

Transfer the cream to the top of a double boiler and add the chocolate. Melt the chocolate and cream together, stirring occasionally, over boiling water. Meanwhile, line an large 4" by 8 " loaf pan with cling wrap.

When chocolate and cream are fully melted, pour the mixture into the lined pan, taking care that the plastic doesn't flop over into the hot chocolate. The best way to do this is to tape the edges of the plastic to the sides of the pan. The chocolate should cover the bottom of the pan to a depth of about 1 1/2 centimetres.

Refrigerate the pan for an hour.

Mix granulated sugar and powdered cinnamon together in a shallow bowl and set aside. Using a knife dipped in hot water and dried, cut the chocolate into small cubes about 1 to 1 1/2 centimetres. You'll have to reheat and re dry the knife every 2 or 3 cuts. Roll each cube in the cinnamon sugar.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes about 70 small cubes.

Mini Lemon and Cream Tarts

More so than any other occasion during the year, Valentines day is an essentially discriminatory holiday....against people who don't LOVE chocolate that is. It's also the only occasion, aside from birthdays or anniversaries that a couple is likely to splash out on a nice meal and a special restaurant. And so they should. Despite my misgivings bout the commercial roots of Valentines day, there's something really nice about celebrating your love and commitment to your partner with a beautiful meal and a nice bottle of wine. Who cares if everyone else is doing it too!

Unfortunately, for those of us who prefer to give chocolate a miss at the end of a meal, at this time of year every restaurant seems to haul out the triple chocolate mousse cakes and molten chocolate cakes and bitter chocolate tarts for dessert. What if you or your partner (like mine) are more of a fruit dessert kind of person? It'd be nice to have something special and decadent all your own don't you think? besides, after a rich meal and some gorgeous wine, chocolate might be a bit heavy, especially if you've got activities planned for later, if you know what I mean...

Why not save the desert for your return home? These gorgeous little lemon tarts are sweet and tangy and not cloying or heavy the way chocolate deserts can be. You can make them ahead of time and pull them out of the fridge when needed. The little mound of puffy cream on top and the brilliant red berries dress it up for the occasion very nicely. All the better if you've got a little bit of food grade glitter!

No need for a professional pastry chef either. If you're not keen on making the pastry yourself, buy some of those tiny pre-made tartlet shells, or pop pre-made pastry into a mini muffin tin. If you are keen to make your own pastry any shortcrust or patee sucree will do, bearing in mind that a patee sucree will result in a sweeter finished product. I used plain shortcrust (premade from the freezer section, gasp!).

This recipe makes about a dozen small tarts, or you could save the extra lemon curd to serve over angel food cake, fill a layer cake, plop on a Pavlova or dip fruit slices in. Or, if you live in my house, you might just keep it in a jar in the fridge and slowly (or quickly) eat it spoonful by spoonful over the course of a few days. This curd recipe is also more forgiving, easier and less rich than traditional curd recipes as it replaces some of the yolks with whole egg and cooks in less steps, but turns out beautifully creamy nonetheless. Also, because I have a very fine grater, sometimes I don't strain the zest out of the curd, but if your grater produces coarser zest, you may want to, just make sure you do it while your curd is quite hot.

Mini lemon and cream tartlets

• 12 blind-baked mini tart shells in a pan (you could blind bake these ahead of time and premake the filling and topping and then all you have to do is spend a few minutes assembling on the night!)
• 375 ml fresh lemon juice (or part lemon ad part lime)
• 4 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks plus 3 whole large eggs
• 1/4 cup butter, soft
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1.5 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• small punnet ripe raspberries
• food-grade glitter (available at cake decorating shops) or icing sugar for dusting.

Beat lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs together very well using an immersion blender, or standard blender on the highest setting.

Heat over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisking occasionally. When mixture starts to get hot, whisk in the butter. Continue whisking until mixture thickens significantly to the consistency of warm custard. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove the larger bits of zest. Chill slightly by pressing cling wrap to the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

While curd is still warm, pour into tartlet shells. Save any extra in a jar in the fridge.

Refrigerate filled shells until curd is firm.

Whip the cream and vanilla sugar together.

Top each filled tart with a dollop of whipped cream and a few berries. Immediately before serving, dust with food grade glitter or icing sugar.

Enjoy the love!

Saturday afternoon baking

It really feels like spring might finally be here. I can't wait for all the juicy berries and fruit of summer. In the meantime, it seems I've had my fill of apples and pears. And despite the grim news last month about the citrus crop in California, I sure haven't noticed a whole bunch of difference in the quality or price of citrus here. I can still get great big ruby red grapefruit and bags of lemons for the usual price. In fact, since I'd virtually without fail choose citrus over apples, I'm pretty happy to hang on until summer's bounty starts to appear.

Over the last couple weeks I've made My grandma's lemon sponge pudding quite a lot - I've made it with just lemons, lemon and lime and I made a red grapefruit one too (Use lots more zest and juice if you're using grapefruit as the taste is milder)! Seems like I'm not the only one that's been enjoying this recipe. I got a few emails recently from a lovely lady who runs a catering business in the UK who made the lemon sponge pudding for a client and got rave reviews. I'll have to remember to tell my Gram (who just turned 90 a few weeks ago. Happy Birthday Gram!)

For some reason this weekend (maybe the touch of spring?) I felt like baking and, although I LOVE chocolate, I really wanted something fresher and crisper tasting. After perusing the gourmet magazine collection at the local grocery store, and feeling not even remotely inspired, I decided that a citrus-y layer cake was in order. Just the thing to celebrate the first warm-melty days of spring.

This cake is REALLY lemony. We keep our cakes in the cupboard, not having a cake dome, and having 2 cats. Every time I open the cupboard I am greeted by a waft of sweet lemon fragrance. Pure heaven. So far, the cake has been around for almost 36 hours and we have only managed to scarf down 1/3 of it, which is pretty restrained for us.... The icing I used is a variation on another icing I have done. I really prefer it to traditional icing recipes which I find far too buttery and cloying. I imagine you could adapt this to just about any flavour as the recipe is essentially equal volumes whipped butter and cold custard. It's incredibly creamy without being greasy or sugary. Is spreads like a dream and sets up nicely. Due to the milk content it really does need to be refrigerated.

Citrus layer cake with lavender and vanilla icing

For the cake

3 Tablespoons citrus zest ( I used 2 lemons and one grapefruit - you could use 4 lemons, or 2 lemons and 2 oranges... whatever really)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2.5 cups flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons citrus juice (Again, I used 2 lemons and one grapefruit)

1/3 cup soft butter

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt

Grease and flour 2 8-inch round pans. Preheat oven to 375F.

Cream together zest, sugar and eggs. Beat on high speed. Add butter and continue to beat for several minutes. Beat in citrus juice. Beat in milk. Sift dry ingredients together. Beat until just combined.

Spread batter (which will be on the thicker side of cake batter) evenly into 2 pans. Bake at 375F for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 15 minutes and then remove to plates to continue cooling. I put mine in the freezer for 10 or 15 minutes to completely cool as I can't stand waiting!

For the Icing

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vanilla sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 egg

1 teaspoon lavender

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon lemon zest (split in two 1/2 teaspoon portions)

1/3 cup icing sugar

In a small saucepan combine milk, sugar, flour and egg. Beat with an immersion blender until completely blended and smooth. Place saucepan over medium-high and add lavender. Heat for 5 minutes. Strain out lavender. Return to heat, whisking frequently until mixture starts to bubble vigorously and thicken. Continue to cook, whisking continuously for a further 90 seconds. Remove from heat and set saucepan in a cool water bath.

In your stand mixer, whip butter for 5 or more minutes until very pale and fluffy.

While butter is whipping, whisk custard in water bath to cool. Once custard is cool to the touch, whisk in vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest.

While the mixer is running, dollop spoonfuls of the custard into the whipped butter. When it is all incorporated, whip in icing sugar.

Divide frosting into 2 portions.

Use one portion to sandwich between the layers, and the second portion to spread on top. Sprinkle top of icing with reserved lemon zest.

Slice & serve.

The World's Best Cookies!!!

I have a strange collection of little booklet-style cookbooks. Some are from the 40's or 50's. Some are the kind of cookbook that you could write away for off the back of a packet of baking soda. Some were clearly made and sold as a fund raiser for local community or church groups. In all, I'd say I have somewhere around 20 of these little gems. One of them is from the 1995 graduating class fund raiser from my law school. It contains, not just cheesy law-school humour, but cheesy, college student recipes in spades. Some are good. A lot of them use offensive amounts of mayonnaise or Velveeta. But one of the recipes has served as the basis for 12 years of amazing chocolate chip cookies for me.

In 12 years, I don't know that I've managed to stick to the recipe entirely even once, but the results have always been stellar. The trick, in my opinion, is the ground oatmeal which replaces half the flour. It makes for a cookie that tastes like a marriage between an chewy oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. Perfect!

The current incarnation looks something like this:

• 1 cup butter, soft
• 1/4 cup vanilla sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (whizzed into flour in your blender)
• a splash of milk
• 1 heaping cup walnuts
• 12 oz bag chocolate chips (minus a few chips to eat while you're cooking)
• 1 cup dried cherries

Whip butter and sugars together on high in a stand mixer until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. mix in eggs and vanilla. Sift together salt, cinnamon, flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and mix in to the butter mixture. If the dough is a little stiff (this will depend on the size of your eggs and the state of your brown sugar) add a little splash (maybe a tablespoon or two) of milk. Mix in the nuts, chocolate and cherries.

Drop by heaping teaspoons full onto a cookie sheet and bake in a 350F oven for approximately 10 minutes - until the edges of the cookies begin to turn a golden brown colour. Remove from oven and let cool on sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Graeter's Ice Cream

Graeter's is a local chain of the ice cream and also candy shops which originated in Cincinnati, Ohio in year 1870. They are premium; thick ice cream had been featured on Food Network, and also had earned them many dedicated fans including Oprah Winfrey. Their signature flavor is actually a Black Raspberry Chip.

"French pot" process

Graeter's ice cream is made in the French pot process. The ice cream was mixed is placed into a chilled, spinning this French pot. As the liquid freezes, a worker scrapes down the sides of the pot with the blade. For flavors that also include chocolate chips, liquid chocolate is then poured into the pot, and freezes into a very thin shell on top of the ice cream. A worker uses the blade to break up this shell and then mix it into the ice cream, resulting in Graeter's' famous huge and dark chocolate chips.

Despite being very labor-intensive, every batch of ice cream is the only about two gallons. The resulting ice cream is very thick that it must be hand-packed into the pints. The pints are normally sold at Graeter's stores, and also at grocery stores of Kroger, also a Cincinnati-based company. Because of a small batches and a very high amount of labor involved, Graeter's pints are even more expensive than all other brands of premium ice cream, such as Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Haagen-Dazs.

Graeter's locations

Graeter's have stores located around Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton in Ohio, and around Lexington, Louisville, and also at Northern Kentucky. A shop in Paramount’s Kings Island amusement park could open in the summer of 2006. (Graeter's has investigated opening a shop in Kings Island in the past, but dropped the idea after questioning their ability to keep up with the high demand.)

Sooji Halwa

Recipe to prepare Sooji Halwa :

. Add sugar to water and mix well. Keep aside.
. In a skillet (kadahi) take ghee and sooji and cook for 5 minutes.
. Add oil/butter and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat, till the sooji turns light brown.
. With the skillet on the stove,
. Add cardamom powder and raisins, grated almonds, then add water-sugar solution slowly,
. Stirring with a spoon and allow the water to evaporate.
. Garnish with a few grated almond pieces.
. Serve sooji halwa warm.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sooji (semolina)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2.5 cup water
• 2 teaspoon Ghee
• 1 tablespoon lowfat butter (heart foundation recommended) or canola oil
• Almonds (grated)/Raisins
• 2-3 Cardamom, coarsely powdered

Indian Sweet Recipes

Indian desert recipes are interesting either in sugar or other sugar alternatives. Sweets are considered auspicious and offerings to propitiate the deities. Kheer or payasam is the traditional milk condensation cooked with sugar and washed rice. Basundi and Phirni are also delights from Maharashtra. Garnishing is usually done with saffron, cardamom and dry fruits. Rosagallas originally hail from Calcutta, which is much famous for its variety in sweets. Sandesh, rasgullas, kala kand, chaler payash and sweetend curd called mishti doi as Bengali treats.

Rajasthani food is rich with dry fruits and the same is employed in the Rajasthani sweet dishes. There are no miserly tendencies while using ghee in all the sweets. A chakki is usually made with gram flour. Gevar is made with mewa or flour and condensed milk. Rabdi is made of sugar, cream, almonds and nuts and cooked with sugar. Churma is a mash of wheat flour bread (chapatti) with a lavish spoonfuls of ghee and sugar.

Laddoos or sweet balls are found in chick pea – besan laddoos or rava /semolina laddoos. Wheat flour laddoos are nutritious. Moti chur laddoos and Bundi laddoos are famous in marriages and rituals. The blending of ghee is mouth watering and wholesalers amaze us with the gigantic size of laddoos during Ganpati festivals. Rasmalai laddoos in creamy condensed milk is garnished with slightly grated pistachios for gastronomical delights.

Puran Poli includes stuffing of split chick pea and jaggery stuffed and flattened into a chapatti. Teamed with a generous spoon of ghee, this is a famous delight during Holi. The South Indian make of Puran poli is equally delightful though the process is slightly different. Halwas are Indian cakes coming in a variety like mung dal halwa, chikku halwa, dudhi halwa and carrot halwa. Winters are when gajrela or the carrot halwa becomes a household dessert.

A sweet chapatti is topped with sugar or jaggery and fried in the form of parantha which makes a hearty breakfast. Thandai is a regular drink during the festival of holi which is rich in dry fruits. Other drinks include rose syrups and lemonade crushes. Ready powdered dry fruit powders stocked in the kitchen, make instant milkshakes like badam milk, cardamom milk or a kaju milkshake.

Shrikhand is the thicker form of hung curd and available as cardamom, kesar and pineapple variety. Confectionaries in Indian remakes comes as shankarpali (maida in diamond shapes) and chiikis (dryfruit specials). Custards and fudges are also Indianised to suit the Indian taste buds.

Love Ice Cream

I really do not love ice cream. I can remember great ice creams like the elementary school era Moonglow flavour at the village of Morden on the Bay of Fundy shore or, during high school, the candied ginger root ice cream at the Fundy Dairy Bar in Bible Hill on the road to Tatamagouch. I do not day dream, however, about Ben and Jerry's ice cream or other over-priced branded stuff that sells t-shirts and puts brand name candy bar into the mix. The skill has to be in the cone.

So, my hunt for frozen custard having failed in the Cayuga Lake area, due to New York State's incredibly localized rules for treat food loyalty, I tried the praised Purity Ice Cream Co. Ungabelieveable. First, I praise no chocolate. I find those tied to chocolate a sad and deficient group...except, of course, those to whom I am married. But Purity, it is reported to me from she the worthy, uses semi-sweet chocolate so you actually get that dusty layered effect that relies on the ice cream for balance as opposed to being yet another font of sugar.

As for me, I had three flavours over my two visits. Not appreciating the distinction between a sugar and a waffle cone, I had a mountain of coconutice cream on a small sugar cone the first night. It was a race. As I noted in a comment, it was like a frozen version the best coconut cream pie filling, again less sweet but richer, loaded with tiny coconut shavings. The next day, before lunch, I had both black cherry and green tea in sensible cups that allowed for pacing. The black cherry was great - not syrupy but clean and full. The green tea was a revelation. Light on the sweetness, it allowed the tea to stand up and ask me if I could handle the truth. Others tasted from the cones of those with me were vanilla, mint chocolate and Finger Lake Tourist - all displaying the slightly lighter hand with the sweetness to let the flavours come out. Note that the mint chip actually has tiny shards of chocolate as opposed to the Hersey's kisses sort of chip, which twelve to the scoop if you are lucky. Pervasive chiposity is better.

Nutritional Value Of Ice Cream

It is significant for adults and children to know the scientific fact about chocolate. Children are habitually denied this treat because of the myths that enclose it. It has been said that chocolate could cause tooth decay and acne and that it has no nutritional value. Most of the bad effects of eating chocolate have been overstated or even are false. For example, chocolate is not very high in caffeine.

A typical 1.4-ounce chocolate bar has the corresponding amount of caffeine found in one cup of decaffeinated coffee. (Coe, 1996) Chocolate has not been confirmed to cause cavities or tooth decay. Dentists agree that the cavity- causing possible of food is not necessarily related to sugar content, but rather to how frequently a food is eaten, the sequence of foods eaten and the amount of time the food left overs in the mouth. Chocolate often has been linked with hyperactivity particularly in children.

Description	Quantity	Energy (calories)	Carbohydrates (grams)	Protein (grams)	Cholesterol (milligrams)	Weight (grams)	Saturated Fat (grams)
vanilla, regular 11%	1 cup	270	32	5	59	133	8.9
vanilla, regular 11%	1/2 galon	2155	254	38	476	1064	71.3
vanilla, regular 11%	3 fl oz	100	12	2	22	50	3.4
vanilla, rich 16% fat	1 cup	350	32	4	88	148	14.7
vanilla, rich 16% fat	1/2 galon	2805	256	33	703	1188	118.3
vanilla, soft serve	1 cup	375	38	7	153	173	13.5

French Pot Ice Cream

Graeter's ice cream is made in by a French pot ice cream process. The ice cream mix is placed into a chilled, for spinning French pot. As the liquid freezes, the worker scrapes down the sides of the pot with the blade. For flavors that include chocolate chips, liquid chocolate is poured into the pot, and freezes into the thin shell on top of the French ice cream. A worker uses a blade to get break up this shell and mix it into the available ice cream, resulting in Graeter's' famous huge dark chocolate chips.

Despite being labor-intensive, each batch of the ice cream was only about two gallons. The resulting ice cream was so thick that it must be hand-packed into the pints. The pints are sold at all Graeter's stores, and at grocery stores of the Kroger, also a Cincinnati-based company. Because of the small batches and very high amount of labor involved, Graeter's pints were even more expensive than other brands of any premium ice cream, such as Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs.

The New York Times had run an article a few years ago on this ice cream industry. It pointed out that for reasons of the chemistry, not yet been understood, ice cream bar made in small batches is very superior in taste to factory-made premium brands like Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. This article went on the say that “...the ice cream most connoisseurs feel to be the most best in the world, Graeter’s of Cincinnati, is made in two gallon batches." The same article pointed out that Graeter’s has less butter fat than others. Mr. Graeter was quoted as saying “Butter fat just makes it greasy and is used to compensate for air content.” On her show in July, year 2002, Oprah Winfrey said: "You haven't had ice cream till you've had Graeter's. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." The company were then overwhelmed with phone and Internet orders.

Graeter's stores had also received full two-gallon tubs of any ice cream, which they scoop to make this ice cream cones, ice cream sodas, and also milkshakes. Usually, ice cream sold in the stores will be in a few hours old. Graeter's also sells its ice cream for those who do not live in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Cincinnatians have long known for about Graeter’s fresh baked-goods and also hand-dipped chocolate, which they claim are "the best on the planet". Their brownies are only available on Thursdays, the day they are baked.

Eggs Gelato Ice Cream

Ice cream the typical cold Italian treat which is quite famous the world over, that has very high nutritional value; soft and thick at the time, flavorsome, refreshing and also genuine and,especially if it is homemade fresh daily, is a joy for the eyes and palate,its right for persons of any age.

It's made up of a blend of various ingredients in the stable solution suitably balanced,pasteurized, homogenized,with cold cured and churned, then held at an adequate freezer temperature.

The mixture represents the first phase that consists in a putting together the ingredients which also come together to make ice cream during times and methods which will be explained, the basis for each specific flavors.

This important result, necessary to obtain the good texture of the ice cream, is achieved with the rights amounts of the ingredients and also with the various operations which consist by heating the liquid parts and subsequent dispersion in sugar, fats, and all other necessary solids, and to keeping them amalgamated and equally distributed i all of the subsequent phases in the process. This is the function of the milk protein, egg, fruit, stabilizers and emulsions.

When approaching making a gelato, think "Egg Custard" because that's what you're essentially going to be putting into your ice cream maker. You're skill at making egg custards will determine your skill at making gelato.

Ingredients

1 qt. whole milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
The peel of 1 organic lemon (i.e. un waxed)
8 extra large egg yolks
In a medium saucepan, bring the milk,1 1/4 cups of sugar and the lemon peel to a boil.

Steps

Take the pan off of the heat and allow cooling.

Combine egg yolks and sugar in mixing bowl. Beat at medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow in color. Remove the lemon peel from the milk, and ladle one scoop of the milk into the egg yolk mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the remaining milk 1/2 cup at a time, mixing the egg custard base after each time you've added milk.

Then pour the mixture into another sauce pan, and cook over medium to medium-low heat. Cook until it thickens, stirring constantly, until mixture coats back of spoon.

Remove from heat. Pass mixture through a fine strainer into medium bowl set over an ice bath to chill.

Pour into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions. Freeze in freezer for 6 hours. Scoop and serve.

Chocolate Heart Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
• 6 squares Unsweetened Chocolate (melted & cooled) • 8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened) • 1 cup Butter (melted) • 2 lbs. Powdered Sugar (sifted) • 1-1/4 tsp Baking Soda • 2 cup All-Purpose Flour • 1-1/2 cup Milk • 1 -1/2 tsp Vanilla • 1 tsp Salt • 3 Eggs
How to make Chocolate Heart Cake:
• Take a big bowl and combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup butter and vanilla; beat well. • Add sugar, 1/4 cup milk and 4 squares melted chocolate to the above-made mixture; mix properly. • Keep aside 3 -1/2 cup mixture for frosting and let it cool. • Now add 2 squares of melted chocolate into the remaining mixture, while stirring. Combine 1/4 cup butter and the eggs with it. • Take another bowl and combine flour, soda and salt. • Add this flour mixture with chocolate mixture along with 1-1/4 cups of milk. • Pour this mixture evenly into 2 greased and floured heart shaped pans and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for about 30 to 35 minutes. • Allow them to cool for about 10 minutes in pans. • Transfer them on wire racks and let them cool properly. • Now frost the cake with 3 -1/2 cups mixture and let it cool. • Chocolate Heart Cake is ready

Aloha Ice Cream

Aloha!
Lappert Gourmet Ice Creams and Coffees are generally made up for the person looking for only the best.

Aloha! Tropilicious makes delicious ice cream and the sorbet in a wide variety of all the flavors, many having a very distinctive tropical taste. All Sorbet and Ice Cream is handcrafted are Honolulu and available in Hawai'i supermarkets, restaurants, and also service vendors such as Japan Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Paradise Cruises. You can you taste of aloha at many of the locations. We hope you will enjoy visiting our web site as much as we would also enjoy making it for you!

Rich "super premium" ice cream is how ever Lappert's first earned its reputation. They offer at a wonderful selection of classic ice cream as well as at some of the inspired island recipes such as Guava and good Mango ice cream. But Lappert's is just not limited to ice cream; they also offer number of variety and flavorful coffees and fresh baked goods, baked from scratch also every day. Lappert's "Original Aloha Ice Cream and Coffee" could be found at many of Hawaii's great restaurants, stores and even at resorts.

Kashmiri Biryani Recipe

Ingredients:
• 750 gms Mutton • 1 kg Chicken • 1 kg Basmati rice • 200 ml Milk • 2 tsp Curds • 1 tsp Dry ginger powder • 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder • 150 gms Ghee • 1/4 tsp Kewra essence • 2 gms Saffron • 2 tsp Red chilli powder • 1 Pinch asafoetida • 1 tsp Garam masala powder • 2 tsp Fennel seed powder • 1/4 tsp Sugar • Salt to taste
How to make Kashmiri Biryani:
• Fry asafetida and mutton pieces in ghee. • Add curds to the mixture and fry till pink. • Pour water and add salt to taste. Mix well. • Add chilli powder, ginger powder and bay leaf. • Fry for a few minutes and add 1/2 litre water. • Add 1/2 tbsp garam masala and 1tbsp fennel seeds. • Simmer the mixture till well cooked. • Remove mutton pieces and keep them separate. • Boil 2 litres of water with 2 tbsp salt. • Tie garam masala and remaining fennel seeds in a piece of cloth. • Put it in the boiling water. • Now add rice and cook on low flame till half done. • Separate water from the rice. • Alternately arrange mutton and rice layers in a baking tray. • Add milk and ghee. • Cook in a preheated oven till well done.

Homemade Ice Cream Honey Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
1 pint (500ml) milk
1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Steps

Beat together the egg yolks and honey in mixing bowl. Heat the milk in a saucepan until it reaches boiling point, then simmer. Whilst it's simmering stir in the egg yolks/honey mixture. Continue to stir until it thickens.

Remove from the heat, strain and leave to cool.

Stir in the cream and the vanilla essence and then transfer the entire assortment into an ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Homemade Ice Cream Banana Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

3/4 pint (375ml) milk or cream or a mixture of both (according to taste)
4oz (100g) sugar
3 ripe bananas (to purée)

Steps

Puree the bananas place in a combination bowl. Pour in the milk/cream and sugar, mixing in well as you do so. Transfer the whole blend into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.(It is simple and quick - ideal to make for the kids!)

Homemade Ice Cream Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

3 egg yolks (beaten)
1/2 (250ml) pint milk
1 pint (500ml) double/heavy cream
4 oz (100g) sugar, 2 cups of strawberries
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/4 teaspoon salt

Steps

Take the strawberries and crush them in with half the sugar (i.e. 2oz or 50g). Place to one side. In a separate saucepan, mix the egg yolks with the milk, salt and the residual sugar. Place over a medium heat just to boiling point (stirring all the time). Do NOT let it boil.

Transfer the mixture into a chilled bowl to cool - refrigerate for up to 3 hours, remembering to stir the combination from time to time. When cool, stir in to the mixture the cream and vanilla essence and then put in to this the strawberry/sugar mixture.

Transfer the complete mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Homemade Ice Cream Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

5 egg yolks
1 pint (500ml) milk
1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream
2 oz (50g) sugar
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder

Steps

Create a custard base (see instructions from the vanilla ice cream recipe) - and at the point where you take away the saucepan from the heat to allow the mixture to cool, add the cocoa. Then cool the custard until it's really cold, once chilled, mix until slushy. Add the cream (whipped) and make sure it mixes in well. Transfer the mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Homemade Ice Cream Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

4 egg yolks
1/2 pint (250ml) milk
1/2 pint (250ml) double/heavy cream
4 oz (100g) sugar or caster sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or according to taste - everyone's different!)

Steps

First of all blister the milk (bring slowly up to boiling point in a saucepan). Separately, mix together the egg yolks and sugar pending thick. Pour into this the hot milk, whilst continuously stirring. Then pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens - DO NOT BRING TO THE BOIL OR IT WILL PROBABLY CURDLE.

When you can see a film form in excess of the back of your spoon it's time to remove the saucepan from the heat. Leave to cool.

This is the custard base and one you can use in a lot of other recipes.

When the custard base is cold, stir in the ice cream and vanilla extract, then transfer the whole combination into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Orange Chicken

Simple name, but the dish is extraordinary. It takes a little effort to prepare the sauce, but it is well worth it.

Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 for chicken; 10 for sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 small chickens
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 3 oranges
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 teaspoons arrowroot
• ½ cup sweet sherry
• ¼ cup orange liqueur

Method:

Cut chickens in half. Spread with butter and salt lightly. Bake with the cut side down in 375-degree oven for 45 minutes.

Sauce: Squeeze juice from oranges. Strain pan drippings from chicken and set aside. Cook sugar and vinegar. Do not stir. When the sugar turns light brown, add pan drippings, water, orange juice and lemon juice. Boil until volume is reduced by half. Stir arrowroot into sherry and add to sauce slowly, stirring until sauce thickens. Stir in liqueur and spoon over chicken. Serves 4.

Tomato Chicken

This dish is not for the calorie-conscious. It's rich and cheesy and full of flavor. This Italian favorite is worth the splurge.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 18-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 skinless chicken breast fillets
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons chunky spaghetti sauce
• 2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, grated

Method:

Cut fillets in half lengthwise. Beat eggs and set aside. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Mix well. Dip fillets into egg and coat with breadcrumb mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken in a single layer until it's golden brown and tender. This should take about 8 minutes per side. Pour spaghetti sauce into skillet and sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Cover tightly and heat until sauce bubbles and the cheese is melted.

Southern Fried Chicken

Fried chicken grew popular in the southeastern United States in the 19th century. Chickens were affordable and the crispy crust made the meat keep longer and easy to carry. Not to mention of course, that it tastes great!

Preparation Time: 25 minutes including soaking

Cooking Time: approximately 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. chicken pieces
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• Dash pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 ½ cups SR flour
• 3 cups lard or canola oil

Method:

Beat eggs and pour into a shallow container. Add milk, seasoning and chicken pieces. If the chicken isn't covered with the mixture, turn often.

Meanwhile heat lard or oil in skillet.

Pour flour into plastic bag (it's probably a good idea to check for holes) and add chicken pieces, a few at a time. Shake gently until covered.

Place pieces into hot oil. Thighs and legs should be cooked first as they will take several minutes longer. Once all pieces are in the oil brown on high heat for five minutes on each side. Reduce heat and cook for a further fifteen minutes on each side.

Remove from oil and drain on paper toweling. Serves 4.

Fried Chicken

Chicken can be deep-fried like the traditional Southern fried chicken, or it can be fried in a covered skillet. Skillet frying uses a lot less fat and is especially delicious when served with an assortment of sauces.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: approximately 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. chicken pieces
• ¼ cup flour
• 1/1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Dash of pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Method:

Rinse chicken pieces. Pat dry. Combine flour and seasonings in a paper bag and shake well to mix. Add chicken pieces a few at a time and shake gently to coat meat.

In a heavy skillet with a tightly fitting lid, heat the vegetable oil. Add chicken, placing the meatier pieces near the center. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes. Turn frequently until chicken has browned evenly. Cover skillet and cook for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook a further 15 minutes until chicken is done. Juices will run clear when pricked with a fork. Drain pieces on paper towel before serving. Serves 4.

Chicken and Dumplings

Dumplings are basically small parcels of dough. They can be wrapped around fruit and cooked as a sweet treat or they can be cooked in chicken or meat broth to be eaten as a savory morsel.

Preparation Time: 20-30 minutes

Cooking Time: 40-50 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lbs chicken pieces
• 8 cups water
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• Dumplings:
• 2 cups flour (more for the board and your hands)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ cup butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup water

Method:

Cook chicken pieces in water with bouillon cubes. This should take about 30 minutes. Remove pieces from water and cut chicken into chunks. Return to pan.

To make the dumplings:

Combine dry ingredients. Cut cold butter through flour with food processor or two knives until mixture is similar to breadcrumbs. Add a little water and knead a few times. Keep adding water until your dough forms a smooth ball. If the dough gets too sticky, you may have to add more flour. Roll onto floured board to 1/8" thickness and cut into 1" squares.

Bring chicken and stock to a full boil before dropping in squares. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until dumplings are done.

Pista burfi

Hey people, read out the sumptuous recipes of burfis, especially for all you sweet lovers. I am sure you all would love these mouth-watering recipes. Pista burfi
Ingredients for preparing pista burfi:
8 cup milk, ½ tsp kesar, 100 gm chopped pista, chandi vark, 200 gm sugar, ¼ tsp phitkari paste, ½ tsp crushed cardamom

Method for preparing pista burfi:
Mix kesar in some warm water.
Bring milk to a boil and add phitkari to it. Cook on high flame.
When mils turns to thick consistency, add kesar, pista, cardamom powder and cook on low flame.
Pour the mixture on thali. Cover the top with chandi vark.
When it gets cools down, cut them into desirable shapes using knife.
Pista burfi is ready.
Serve.

Badam burfi
Ingredients for preparing badam burfi:
250 gm badam, 250 gm sugar, ½ tsp cardamom powder, chandi vark

Method for preparing badam burfi:
Soak the badam in water whole night.
Next morning, peel off their skin and make a nice paste in blender.
Prepare chaashni using 1 cup water and sugar in a pan. When chaashni turns thick, add badam paste and cardamom powder to it. Mix well.
Grease thali with ghee and pour the above prepared mixture on it.
Top it with chandi vark.
Let it cool don for sometime.
Cut into desirable shape using knife and serve.

Chaina gola
Ingredients for preparing chaina gola:
500 gm sugar, 500 gm chaina

Method for preparing chaina gola:
Make small pieces of chaina.
Prepare 2 tar chaashni in a pan using sugar and water.
When chaashni turns thick, add chaina pieces in it. Stir with spoon.
When both gets mix well, take out the pan from flame.
Pour it in a thali and let it cool down
Cut into desirable shape using knife.
Serve.

What is Taste

While philosophers and socialites have long pondered this question, there is a simple answer: Taste is a wine shop and European-style grocery in the heart of the burgeoning Jarvis Square neighborhood of Rogers Park. Owned and operatedby a close-knit group who is deeply rooted in the European tradition, this little shop maintains a friendly and accessible attitude towards wine. Wine should not intimidate, it should be enjoyed. Taste offers good wine at a good price and a knowledgeable staff of good people.