Cinnamon Bun

These Cinnamon buns are a family favourite. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did! 

Ingredients
Bread Flour 390 gms (3 cups)

Instant yeast 1 pkt (7gms)
Sugar 50gms (1/4 cup)

Salt 1 tsp

Butter 57gms (1/4 cup)

Egg 1

Warm milk 3/4 cup

For the cinnamon layer

Butter 57gms (1/4 cup)

Brown Sugar 55gms (1/4 cup)

Cinnamon 1 tbsp

Method

1. Add flour, yeast, salt and sugar to a bowl and mix well. 

2. Add the wet ingredients - soft butter, warm milk and egg.

3. Knead till it comes together. Then knead till is soft

4. Place in a buttered bowl and rest for 2-3 hours till it doubles

5. Roll it to a 10*15 inch rectangle, spread the butter on top. 

6. Mix cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle on top of butter. 

7. Roll from the shorter side to get a 10 inch log

8. Cut into 10 * 1 inch pieces. Lie it on a rectangular greased pan

9. Cover and let rise for another 30-45 min

10. Preheat oven to 170C and bake for 15-17 min or will it starts to brown. 

Vegan Starbucks Style Banana Bread

Ingredients 

Flour 2 cups (260 gms)
Sugar 1 cup (200 gms)
Baking Soda 1 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Banana Mashed 1 cup (about 2-3 bananas)
Pecans (or use Walnuts as in Starbucks) 3/4 cup divided
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp
Oil 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 175 C (350F). Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (9*5*3 inches). Dust with FLour

2. Add all the ingredients to a mixer and beat well.

3. Pour into the pan.

4. Now the baking time is a little tricky. It depends on your banana, flour, oven etc. I have seen recipes saying from 45 min to 70 min. Mine baked for about 65 min. So please check occasionally and figure out what works best for you. 

Chocolate Chip Blondies

A super easy to make Blondie recipe. You wonder what a blondie is? Well its kind of similar to Brownie, but blonde :-). It is made without the cocoa powder. The dough has a very cookie like texture. And the finished bake is crumbly on the top and edges, and soft in the middle with an overload of chocolate chips. I had this recipe written down in my book for a while and have made it many times. Wonder what the source was. It was definitely from a TV show.

Coconut Cardamom Chocolate Cookie

To me, winter is a time to bake. You know, like mad. Friday nights as I mentioned before are soup and bread in the winter. Its so dark and gloomy outside. A bit of baking is all I need to cheer me up. I have been away for so long, it feels like I don't belong here. Am sure once I connect with fellow bloggers and friends like old days, I will feel at home.

Olive and Fennel Focaccia - Vegan

One of the things I learned and became confident as a result of my blog was baking, especially breads. I am not claiming to be Bake off standard baker. I am far from it. But I know the basics now, which I did not know a few years ago. Bread is probably one of the things I love baking the most. The beauty of kneading the dough, the rising of it, shaping and finally the smell of warm bread fascinates me.

I have been away from my blog for way too long. I almost assumed this journey was over. But then life takes many twists and turns. And today I needed to be here. I needed to bake a bread. Today's bread was served with this Butternut Squash Soup. With Autumn on full swing, and winter slowly creeping in on us, I am sure this will be an amazing dinner.

Vegan Olive Bread - Olive Loaf

Winter has arrived. In our house, this means Soups and Breads on Fridays. As much as I love making breads, I am always happy with a simple bread recipe. This one is very easy to make and will be ready in no time at all. It is packed with flavours  from Olives. Bake it and let me know how you like it.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake - King Arthur Flour Recipe

Pineapple Upside Down Cake is an American Classic. The light cake married with the sugar and butter topping is all you need to enjoy the sticky sweet dessert. Pineapple and cherries add an amazing flavour to the cake.

I may say this about a lot of cakes I make, but trust me this is by far one of the best I have baked. I baked it for the first time for my Husband's birthday a few months back. I have baked it a few times since and it has been a winnner always. If you like yours less sweet, do reduce the sugar in the topping a little. We loved it this way.

Almond Chocolate Chip Biscotti

A little taste of Italy made in your own kitchen. It does take a little time to bake this cause of the double baking, but the processing time is quite less. Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. 

Ingredients (Makes about 18-20)

Large Eggs 2
Sugar 2/3 cup (135 grams)
Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

All Purpose Flour  1 3/4 cups (225 grams) I added about 40gms more of flour
Baking Powder 1 tsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Almonds Toasted and chopped 3/4 cup (110 grams) 
Chocolate Chips 2/3 cup (110 grams)

Method of Preparation

1. Beat the eggs and sugar along with the vanilla in your mixer for about 5-10 min till it is pale and silky.

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. 

3. Add that to the mixing bowl. Combine.

4. Add the almonds and choc chip and mix well. At this stage you should have a very sticky dough. Mine was quite wet, so I added the extra flour. 

5. Transfer to a well floured work surface. Shape into a log about 12" long. Transfer to a lined baking sheet.

6. Pat down and make it about 4" wide. 

7. Preheat oven to 180 C (350F). Bake for about 25 min till it starts to have a slight colour but the top is still soft to touch.

8. Take out of the oven and cool for 10 min. Reduce the oven temp to 165 C (325 F).

9. Slice the log into about 20 pieces. Place on a lined baking sheet with the cut side facing up.

10. Bake for 8-10 on each side.

11. Let it cool on a wire rack and then store in an airtight container. 

Mummy Pizza - Halloween Recipe

Halloween is just round the corner. So I thought I will post some recipes that will be a big hit with kids and adults alike. This Pizza can be made with the kids. So a great party idea. They can make their own Mummies. How cool is that. Give it a try!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie

When it comes to cookies almost nothing can beat a Chocolate Chip Cookie. But what happens when the base is also a chocolate. Yumm. I would have baked a double chocolate chip cookie. That was the initial plan. But then I bought some peanut butter chips when we were in US. Ok. Now I  love the combination of Chocolate and peanut butter. What's not to love?

White Chocolate Coconut Lime Cookies - Starbucks Copycat - Eggless

When I got my first oven, I dreamt of baking cookies for my child. Forget the fact that I did not have a child at that time. Or the fact that I did not know how to bake. Slowly over the years I have learned to bake, to get over the fear of baking.

Last week we were in Starbucks and there were some sample cookies to try. The moment my son and I ate those cookies we knew we were baking them. They were so refreshing, very tropical, super yumm. On the last day of holiday we got our acts together and baked these awesome cookies. Only problem with these cookies is that you cannot stop eating them.

Kummelweck Roll - Kimmelweck Roll - Rolls with Caraway Seeds - Vegan

Kummelweck Rolls are of German origin. They are hard crusty rolls with a soft inside. They are topped with Caraway seeds and coarse sea salt. It is quite famous in Buffalo Newyork where it is used in the Beef on Weck sandwich. I baked this as part of my Baking group We Knead to Bake. Do try this lovely bread and let me know how you like it. Can me made Vegan by substituting for Milk and Honey.

Vegan Double Chocolate Muffin - Chocolate Banana Muffin

Who does not love Chocolate? So when it comes to chocolate, the more the better. Don't you agree? Its been a while since I baked cake/muffin etc. Have been just baking breads/pizza etc lately. Last week it was half term holidays. My son and I decided to make something to enjoy, like old times. We used to do a lot of baking together last year when he was less busy with school, after school etc. It was loads of fun.

I have tried to make it as healthy as I can. Sugar used is lesser than I used before. I am thinking I can reduce it a little bit more next time. This did seem quite sweet. It came out moist and yumm. Note to self - Double to recipe next time :-)

Vegan Five Seed Wholewheat Pizza - Pizza gets a Super Healthy Makeover

Sometimes little things bring joy to life. For me baking and eating Super Healthy Pizza was the highlight of today. What can you say, I am a foodie and nothing can stop me from enjoying some good food and company on Friday.

My son loves Pizza. Another interesting thing is he loves Seeded bread A LOT! Yes, It had to be written in caps. So I decided to combine his love for seeded bread and pizza into one recipe. I have been baking with whole wheat flour for some time now and I have to say, I love it. It does not taste much different from plain flour and is healthier. So why not. I have baked with just whole wheat flour as well. Just takes a longer time to proof for me.

French Baguette - Vegan - King Arthur Flour Baguette - Vegan

French Baguette is just a dream come true for me. I have been meaning to make this for ages. You see the problem when you get freshly baked bread for less than £1, you sometimes end up just buying them. I then try breads that are not commonly available or breads baked as part of our baking group - We Knead to Bake. But the dream of just baking my own baguette just got better of me.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza - Vegan Version and Cheesy Version

When someone says Pizza, the first thing that comes to mind is the melted cheese on top and the soft warm bread. Growing up, we never knew Pizza. At some point in our lives, Pizza made a grand entry to our lives - for good or bad I don't know. We used to eat out a lot when I started working and pizza with friends was once a week affair. And the pan size pizza from the Dominos outlet in the office was a go to place.

After years of enjoying pizza, the food gods decided I had enough. Being lactose intolerant, I can't eat cheese. So I have devised methods of making the yummiest Pizza which will make you forget about the cheese. I have come to realize how easy it is to make your own Pizza from scratch. Once you make it, you will never order Pizza, trust me. You can customize Pizza for each person in your house. How cool is that?

Vegan Orange Poppy Seed Muffins - Eggless Muffin

Winter has finally arrived. The temperature here has dipped to about 4-5 C. But interestingly we had a warmer weekend. We had quite a busy couple of days. We watched the movie Paddigton on Friday. It is a hilarious movie about a bear from Peru coming to London and his adventures.

Saturday was even busier with Parkrun in the morning, School fair in the afternoon and Ice Hockey game in the evening. Sunday was another busy day with a birthday party and we also went out for a long walk yesterday in a local trail.

Vegan Dry Fruit Scones - 4 ingredient recipe

Scones are just Classic British. Growing up in India, whenever you read a book you would read about these wonderful treats. Though you get many things not commonly made in Indian home at some shops, Scones evaded us. When I realized how easy it is to make one, I had to try my hand at making some. Though I have made them with milk and eggs, I like this version a lot cause I can enjoy it too.

Star Wars Cake - R2D2 Cake - Vanilla Sponge Cake with a Vanilla Buttercream frosting - Step by Step pictorial

Happy 3rd Birthday to my blog! I am so excited that the little journey I began 3 years ago has brought me to this place in life. Though this year has been a little slow with respect to the number of recipes posted, it has been a wonderful year. The highlight of it is the Indian Food Bloggers Meet. I was able to meet some food bloggers who I have come to regard as some of my closest friends (and a little sad to have missed some of them).

When it comes to a birthday, there has to be a cake. I wish I could tell you that I am a big Star Wars fan and this cake is a dedication to that love. But no, the star wars fan is a my 5 year old son. And this cake was baked way back in July for his birthday. I traveled to India a couple of days after his birthday and never got to post it for you.

Garlic Eyeballs - Pizza Dough Balls with Olives

Halloween has come and gone. We had a fun celebration this year. Yes Yes. I know there are people asking why celebrate a pagan festival, why celebrate vampires, what has it got to do with Indians etc. Let me put all your thoughts to rest. We just had loads of fun dressing up, partying with friends, making and eating loads of food. My little one was dressed up as Spiderman for one and Mr. Bump for another. I was a witch in one and a robber in another. My H had fun as Wally (Where's Wally).