Home-made Ice cream, from scratch.

Hello friends <3  We are going to witness the making of Vanilla Ice-cream, from scratch.  One of our viewers have requested for the same in our Facebook page, and this recipe is dedicated to her.  The most common ingredients used are Condensed milk and whipping cream.  I have tried recipes from Youtube videos that suggests almost equal parts of these both for this dessert.  Often, these were too sugary and I had to thrown them away to the bin.  Finally I gave a try to two parts whipping cream to one part of condensed milk and this ratio worked like a charm.
 

Yesterday we had a few guests at my home, so I had prepared a good amount of vanilla ice-cream with Dairy whipping cream.  They were not only smooth and delicately textured, but also had a rich, milky taste to them.  All the credits goes to my Almarai dairy cream which whipped like a charm.  

 

Now, off to our recipe.  I will mention cup measurements, as you guys find them easier to deal with.  My cup has 200 ml capacity, and the ingredients needed are 

• 13/4 cup or 300 grams of Almarai whipping cream
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Icing sugar (You can skip sugar if you are using Non-dairy/sweetened cream)
• 3/4 cup or 150 grams of Nestle condensed milk
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract 

This recipe utilizes proper whipping of cream till stiff peaks comes, for those who are new to this cream  or find them unavailable at your place, don't worry I will drop a few links  for Dairy/Non-dairy/Instant cream.  Depending upon the availability, you  could use them in the recipe.

Whipped cream from Dairy cream

Whipped cream from Amul tetrapack

Whipped cream from Non-Dairy cream like Tropolite

Whipped cream from Commercial Powder like Bluebird

This recipe utilizes three main steps, for your conveniance I have included a video.  Please watch them after reading every step.  This could help you to understand how they are made.

STEP 1 - Chill your whipping cream and beater blades for minimum of three hours.  Pour your dairy cream to the blender.  Add in Icing sugar and vanilla.  Keep them beating, and gradually increase the speed.

STEP 2 - Whip them till they get beautiful stiff peaks.  In the video, I have shown you a close-up look of how stiff peaks looks like.  You could also go through some of my links above, that gets you step-by-step pic of how stiff peaks are achieved.

STEP3 - Add condensed milk and beat them on highest speed for not more than 5-7 seconds.  You will note that they have turned soft, transfer this mixture in a plastic container and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.  After that, you could scoop them in and enjoy.

 I just added dark chocolate syrup (2 parts of dark chocolate with 1 part of cream and heat them on a double boiler till chocolate melts)  with a touch of sprinkles.  You could serve them plain as well, it will be very tasty. 

This is the basic version, you could also add on your own flavors like Coffee, Chocolate/Chocolate chips, Butterscotch etc.  Do try them at home and let us know how it turned out.  Good day to all <3

Chocolate Caramel cupcakes

Chocolate is an all time favorite flavor.  Having made caramel sauce earlier, I regretted each day to let it sit idle.  That's when I came up with these Chocolate cupcakes.  These are so soft and moist that they literally melt in your mouth, even when had straight from the refrigerator. These are eggless as well.

CHOCOLATE + CREAM + CARAMEL = HEAVEN!

Need I say more <3  <3

Ingredients required

For chocolate cupcakes
Dry ingredients

• 1/2 cup All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Wet ingredients

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tbsp curd
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

others

• 1/2 tsp instant coffee powder
• 1/4 cup of hot boiling water

Topping

• Dairy whipped cream
• Salted caramel sauce

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180-degree celsius.  Take your wet and dry ingredients in two separate bowls.  Sieve dry ingredients once and give them a good stir.

Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add in our wet ingredients.  

Whisk them gently to combine.  In a separate bowl or cup, mix hot water with coffee.  Add this hot coffee to our batter and whisk them vigorously for a minute.  

And our batter is ready!  I poured them on 11 small cupcake liners

Bake them for fifteen minutes.

TA-DA our cupcakes are ready, let them cool completely for about an hour. 

Meanwhile, I attached my nozzle to Icing bag and filled them with cream using the  spatula.

Giving them a gentle squeeze, I got a beautiful swirl on the top of each cupcake.  Note that the cupcake should not be warm if it was cream will melt right away and won't hold its shape.

After swirling, melt few teaspoons of salted caramel and using a spoon, gently drizzle on the top of iced cupcakes.  

Enjoy!

Happy Baking <3  <3

Whipped cream from Dairy whipping cream.

       Hi friends, today's post is about Dairy whipping cream and how to whip them correctly to get those beautiful STIFF peaks.  Though lots of people prefer non-dairy version over dairy, because of the stability the former offers, nothing can beat the delicious taste of Dairy whipped cream.  I already have posted whipped cream from Amul tetrapack.  Likewise, for Instant cream from powder and non-dairy cream.  Please feel free to check those links.  I have included step-by-step pics for the cream, and yes look at those beautiful swirls below, aren't they gorgeous?  <3  <3

When it comes to Baking, it is a constant practice that leads us to a mouth-watering treat.  And yes, when I first made a batch, I flopped.  Following which, I made my second batch to get those beautiful swirls.  I have included my flopped attempt in my content as well so that you guys can be cautious and need not repeat the same.  

Dairy whipping cream - attempt#1

Ingredients used are
1/2 cup of Dairy cream (I used Saudia brand)
2 tbsp caster sugar

Before whipping cream, I refrigerated my bowl and blades for an hour.  In the chilled bowl, I added the cream.

And yes started to whip, whip and whip.

After a minute or two, gradually I added sugar while beating.  

After the sugar got over, my whipping continued for few minutes, but there was no sign of stiff peaks.  

The blades when taken out, went flat indicating no peaks.  I had no other way than to discard this batch and start fresh.

Dairy whipping cream-  attempt#2

This attempt, I ran out of time, so instead of refrigerating bowl, I froze them for 15 minutes.  But, please be patient enough to refrigerate the bowl for a minimum of 4-5 hours.

Ingredients I used are
3/4 cup of Dairy whipping cream (I used Almarai brand)
1/4 cup of icing sugar
1 tsp of vanilla essence

I added all three ingredients in a bowl and along with blades, I froze them for 15 minutes/

Wrapped the bowl with foil and this goes into the  freezer.

After 15 minutes, remove the foil and start to beat.

Within 3 minutes, I got beautiful stiff peaks, see the blades when removed gives us stiff peaks.

And yes, one more test is that if you tilt the bowl upside down, the cream should not fall down.

Yayy.... I nailed it.  

DON'T USE THE CREAM RIGHT AWAY TO PIPE.  Refrigerate them for an hour at least before piping.  And yes, look at that beautiful swirl.

So, what went wrong in my first batch.  I could come up with following reasons

1. My bowl and blades were not chilled properly, it's best to refrigerate them overnight.  Temperature plays a crucial role.
2. Icing sugar helps in stability way better than regular granulated sugar does. 
3. During my first attempt, I used a regular dairy cream.  During my Second attempt, I bought a Dairy whipping cream, so the specification of the cream also should matter.

Once you make them, you will fall in love with the milky taste of this cream.  Please feel free to drop your comments and I hope you do try them at home.  

Eggless Red velvet cupcakes

   Hi, friends!  With the shifting ahead, I completely lost track of my blogging.  And yes, we are  based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  My new home just got set and for the upcoming festive mode, I dedicate you my eggless version of Red velvet cupcakes with Cream cheese frosting.

Red velvet cupcakes are slightly cocoa flavoured and the mix of baking soda and vinegar are added to help the cake rise and retain the moist texture.  Since I didn't have vinegar at home, I replaced them with lime juice and it worked fine.  Super-moist cupcakes with a creamy, tangy frosting  were a total yum!   My family loved it.  Do try this and let us know your feedback.  

Tiramisu cupcakes

  After making Mascarpone cheese, I didn't want to make this winner dessert right away.  I took some time to go through what I wanted.   With guests at home and my kid waiting to get pampered, I could not have settled less for the cupcake.  Yes, super soft and moist coffee cupcakes paired with Mascarpone cheese icing, with a hint of coffee on top.  I got this super-soft sponge recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. With coffee flavour infused, they were great even when had straight away from the refrigerator.

So, what's this Tiramisu?  What makes them so special and so romantic?  Tiramisu meaning 'pick me up' or 'lift me up', is a popular Coffee-based Italian dessert.  It is assembled with ladyfinger -(a sponge cake in a shape of a finger) dipped in coffee syrup and arranged with a layer of mascarpone cheese and whipped eggs, topped with cocoa.  It's this beautiful combination of coffee, cocoa, and cream that can light up the romance in the air.  <3  <3

So, let me hope that you agree with  the same and bake them for ur better half's ;)  ;)

Cream cheese - from scratch

Cream cheese is a soft cheese made from full-fat milk.  The following recipe yields 130 grams of cream cheese with a balanced taste, ending on the tangy note.  They are used in making Cheesecakes, dip or spread, and cookies.  Cream cheese frosting goes very popular with Red Velvet Cake.  Though they can be easily spotted in Market, it is still better to make them at home, as it brings out the fresh flavour and is quite cheap as well.

Ingredients required

• 1/2 litre Full fat milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 11/2 tsp lime juice
• 11/2 tsp curd

Don't use normal milk,  Cream cheese is best made using full-fat milk.  

Method

Combine the milk with salt  and let it boil in a milk pan. 

As soon as it bubbles up and rises above, simmer the flame and add lime juice.  

Mix them well with a spoon, the milk will slowly start to curdle.  

Pour them over muslin cloth lined bowl and tie them up on the counter.  

Let it drain for 15 minutes.  

After 15 minutes, you will end up getting a soft cheese.

Add in the curd and fold them into the cheese using a spoon.

Let this mixture drain again for 10 minutes.  Store them in an air-tight container and use within a week's time.  

You can blend them if you want, and TA-DA , within an hour we have our super-cool Cream cheese ready!

Happy Baking :)  :)

Mascarpone Cheese - from scratch

   Mascarpone cheese is a soft, creamy cheese.   Originating from Italy, this cheese is the main ingredient in Tiramisu.  They are also used in other recipes like Cheesecake and pasta.  Provided they are very costly and are very rare to find, it is best to prepare them at home.  So, given below recipe is my interpretation, as derived from Wikipedia.

Ingredients required

• 200 ml Amul fresh cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice

This batch yielded me about 125 grams of mascarpone cheese, 

Method

Heat Amul cream in a milk pan, till they bubble up on the sides and is hot to touch.

Add in lemon juice and stir them well using the spatula.

Simmer the flame, You will notice that within few seconds, the cream will get thick and start bubbling.  This will coat  the back of the spatula.  

Pour them on muslin cloth lined bowl.  

Tie the muslin cloth and hang them over the counter.  

Let it drain for 2 hours.  You can use the whey for cooking purpose.

Store them in  an air-tight container and use within a week.  

Happy Baking  :)