LAVA CAKES WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

The first thing I look for on any dessert menu is lava or molten chocolate cake. It’s one of my favorite desserts, and now it can be easily recreated in less than 20 minutes.

The mini lava cakes are easy to make, bake in a flash, and best of all, have warm, overflowing centers. I've also included my recipe for raspberry sauce, which provides a fruity balance to the rich chocolate flavor. 

INGREDIENTS:

For the raspberry sauce:
1 cup raspberries
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons sugar

For the lava cakes:
2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
5 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

For the raspberry sauce:
Combine the raspberries, water and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

Bring the mixture a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently to break apart the raspberries.

Once the mixture has thickened, set it aside to cool while you make the chocolate lava cakes.

For the lava cakes:
Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil.

Place the butter and chocolate chips in a smaller saucepan then melt the ingredients by holding the smaller saucepan over the pan of boiling water, forming a double-boiler. Stir the ingredients constantly until smooth then set the mixture aside to cool slightly.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs, sugar and salt until the sugar dissolves.

Quickly whisk the egg mixture into the melted chocolate, and then whisk in the flour.

Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake cups coated with cooking spray.

Divide the batter equally among the 12 cups and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, just until the edges of the cakes are firm and the centers and still liquid.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the cakes cool for 5 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the muffin tin, remove the paper lining and serve topped with raspberry sauce.

with icing from Cake$ and Bake$..!!

FACTS ABOUT CHOCOLATE :)

CHOCOLATES are the world best thing for desserts , in every dessert a chocolate had to be involved so that the dessert will become tasty . Chocolates helped us to have a holiday on sunday.It has some amazing facts and figures which are :-

Chocolate can be bittersweet, and we don’t mean literally. Although chocolate has many benefits to your health, some facts about how chocolate is made may make you want to munch on a different snack, or at least lower your chocolate intake.
 

1. Dark chocolate has more cacao (the beans that chocolate are made from) and less sugar than other chocolates, so it is considered healthier than milk and white chocolate.
2. Dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants that help the cardiovascular system by reducing blood pressure
3. Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by one third.
4. Flavonoids found in cocoa products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting effects that can reduce the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.

I will hope that after reading this everyone will have a hershey dark kisses or a ferrero rocher in their mouth everyday ..

BEST WESTERN BREAKFAST - the pancakes

These basic pancakes are perfect for a weekend morning or holiday breakfast, along with sausages or bacon and your favorite toppings. Serve these delicious pancakes with plenty of butter and maple syrup, or use your own favorite syrup or fruits on them. 

Pancakes gives us the boost and energy for the whole day . It consist of lots of calories  so avoid eating it regularly

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:

Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1 1/2 cups of milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter. If the batter seems too thick to pour, add a little more milk. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side. Recipe for pancakes serves 4.

This is a very simple recipe but you can make variety of pancake like red velvet ,, chocolate pan cake ..

I  prefer maple syrup and hazelnut spread over pan cakes ..

with icing from Cake$ and Bake$

 

TOP 5 PLACES IN THE WORLD FOR ICE CREAM

Although I am not a food journalist but still i like to explore best place in the world for ice cream and chocolates because it just makes me feel good about thinking an writing about them.. In India we have AMUL, mother dairy and all .  I will hope that some day these parlour may come to india for business ..

TOP 5 PLACES IN THE WORLD FOR ICE CREAM PARLOUR

1. Capogiro Gelato, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

   Made with the freshest ingredients (such as milk from Amish grass-fed cows), the artisan gelatos and sorbettos handcrafted each day at Capogiro Gelato include flavors not seen anywhere else—Madagascar bourbon vanilla,melograno (pomegranate), nocciola Piemonte (hazelnut), Saigon cinnamon, Thai coconut milk (with a dash of rum), and zucca (long-neck pumpkin).
   Planning: Capogiro has four cafés in Philadelphia.

2. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, St. Louis, Missouri

   Made from fresh cream, eggs, and sugar, frozen custard is a midwestern dessert that looks, tastes, and acts like its close cousin, ice cream. The stand on Grand Boulevard has been open since 1931, serving frozen custard in cones, shakes, root-beer floats, and house specialties, such as Hawaiian Delight and Crater Copernicus.
   Planning: Drewes has several locations in St. Louis.

3. Bombay Ice Creamery, San Francisco, California

   Some of the planet’s best Indian ice cream can be sampled here, in the Hispanic Mission District. On offer are flavors such as chiku (sapodilla), cardamom, chai-tea, saffron, rose, and ginger, rarely found beyond the Indian subcontinent. Traditional kulfi (a frozen milk dessert) is also on the menu, pluslassi (yogurt drinks).
   Planning: The opening hours change with the seasons, so check before planning a visit.

4. Devon House, Kingston, Jamaica

   Built in the late 19th century as the home of Jamaica’s first black millionaire, Devon House is a masterpiece of Caribbean Victorian architecture and home to the island’s most celebrated ice-cream stand. The 27 flavors run a broad gamut from traditional cherry and pistachio to exotic island treats like mango, coconut, and soursop. There is even an offbeat, beer-based ice cream called Devon Stout. Grab a cone and recline in the sprawling gardens.
   Planning: Devon House is in central Kingston. Admission includes a tour of the house and access to the gardens.
5. Helados Scannapieco, Buenos Aires, Argentina

   

6. This tiny, no-frills shop seems little changed from 1938, when Italian immigrants Andres and Josefina Scannapieco first opened the doors. Members of the Scannapieco clan still make ice cream the way the family have for 70 years. The menu runs 50 flavors deep, from chocolate and vanilla to other delights, such as durazno (peach), canela (cinnamon), lemon champagne, andcaipirinha (a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça and lime).
   Planning: Helados Scannapieco is at Avenida Córdoba 4826 in the Palermo district         
7.   http://travel.nationalgeographic.co.in/travel/top-10/ice-cream-parlors/
8. with icing from Cake$ and Bake$

Buttermilk chocolate chip waffles

As being an Indian it doesn't mean that you cannot taste a dutch's exotic desert . All you have to do is to get a waffle pan in India and leave all rest to me . SO start searching in the super markets nearby your house and taste the crunchy softness of waffles every morning .

RECIPE

 INGREDIENTS

For this recipe you will need:

A waffle iron lol

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of buttermilk

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda 

1 free range egg

1/4 cup of plain choc chips

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

METHOD 

In your bowl beat your egg and pour in the buttermilk and vanilla paste. Next sift in the four and bicarbonate soda. Once your batter is smooth and frothy.

Slowly ladle in a small amount of the batter into each waffle section and close the iron down. When its ready the light will go off on your iron, I was able to get six waffles from this mixture which is amazing and extremely cost effective!!!

I dusted these bad boys with some icing sugar...DELISH...

although  I have not tried it yet cause of the bloody pan ... lol 

with icing from Cake$ and Bake$..!!

Classic cake recipe - THE GOLDEN VANILLA CAKE

This cake batter recipe is the standard recipe I use for all of my baking. It can be altered in an endless number of ways to make everything from bundt cakes to cinnamon coffee cakes to mini cupcakes.
 As this is my first recipe on blog i hope you guys will love to try this at home....

RECIPE 

Golden Vanilla Cake

INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar, preferable baker's sugar (which is a finer than regular granulated sugar)
3 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour 
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed and at room temperature
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs

1. Bring butter, milk, and eggs to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line pans with parchment paper. 
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, measure out sugar, flour, baking powder and salt.  Using the paddle attachment, mix until combined.
4. Add the butter and mix on low until mixture looks sandy.  (It should look like bisquick or cake mix.)
5.  Combine the milk and vanilla and add to flour mixture.  Mix on low speed 30 seconds and increase to medium and mix another 30 seconds.
6. Add egg one at a time mixing on medium for 30 seconds after each addition.

7. After the last egg, scrape down bowl and mix another 30 seconds.
8. Transfer batter into baking pans.  Drop pans on counter a few times to release air bubbles.  Bake until golden and toothpick inserted comes out clean.  (I didn't read the instructions carefully and baked the batter in two 8" pans instead of three.

with icing from cake$ and bake$ .. !!

Cake$ and Bake$ - the ultimate sweetness

Thank you for visiting Cake$ and Bake$ , where I bring you the flavors of life, in small bites. Here you’ll find inspiration for all things i.e of cakes  and ice cream with endless recipes, step-by-step from all around the world .

I'm a foodie who loves to eat a balanced diet but at the same time I prefer cakes and ice cream over egg plant and beans . I hope Cake$ and Bake$  will inspire you to explore your life through food and to remember that there is always room for dessert!!!..

with icing from Cake$ and Bake$ !!