Papaya bar

French Opera Cake

Strawberry shortcake - traditional and northern American

strawberries and whipped cream filled scones and sponge cakes

Kinnathappam

A childhood favorite, this steamed rice cake is another Kerala staple. But while many make this flavored with cumin or cardamom, I always prefer the one that my grandmother and mother used to make -- with pieces of banana on top. you will need the sweet naadan Kerala plantain to make it awesome.

Puff pastry heaven!

This holiday season it  has been a puff pastry invasion in my kitchen. I have made puff pastry from scratch a while ago, when I made chicken vol-au-vents and sausage rolls during my Betty Neals phase. but this time I used store-bought for the various sweet and savory snacks. And it made it all so convenient. Youtube has a few expert videos for easy recipes using puff pastry, so does the websites. And then there is puffpastry.com by Pepperidge farm, the maker of the commonly available pastry sheets and shells. This versatile pastry lends itself to making any number of  flavors and forms.

Kerala egg puffs

Kerala egg puffs

with beef and potato filling

Palmiers

raspberry-cream cheese- white chocolate filling

creamy mushroom filled shells, beef tomato and onion and gruyere tartlets

apricot pinwheels

strudel bites with strawberry -cream cheese- white chocolate filling

Thanksgiving 2018

Starters/Appetizers: corn fritters, cheese ball with homemade chips, Kerala/ Nazrani style meatballs, lil sausages, marinated olives

Thanksgiving 2017

 Everything was new for me back when I was a newcomer to this country from where we did not have anything like this, starting with the equipment. I started with roast chicken and a couple of sides a year before my first Thanksgiving dinner. I had my first taste of roast turkey at my mother in law's. I remember cutting some  celery for the stuffing, for that dinner. Nothing else registered. In the meantime, I had found some recipes in a newspaper. I had never tasted those before, by the way. But I had written all the recipes down -- cranberry relish, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, candied yam, cauliflower casserole, pumpkin pie. I got hold of a copy of Joy of Cooking, and it became my encyclopedia. I started studying roasting and baking techniques. And thus it began. My first official  Thanksgiving dinner was served around 18 years ago, using those recipes.

Most of the items that I served on that day, in our little apartment to family and friends, are still here.  With the arrival of the internet, things got more fun. I found that I enjoyed finding out the stories behind recipes, about cuisines of the world, about the parallels among different cuisines. And over the years, the menu has grown. so has the technique and equipment. For instance, I started brining the turkey, then dry brining. Now the turkey is roasted in claypot, and it has sprouted a few more legs!

When I think about it, I find that, for good or bad,  when things get easy, I have this urge to make them hard, and harder. I realize I like to challenge myself. It is as if I haven't done anything, that I did not put an effort, if I didn't almost  kill myself in the process, with stress and worry and work! Kidding! There is some stress at some point, but all in all, it s rather fun and invigorating. So the menu gets bigger. For me, that is. The fact that my family enjoys it is the bonus. Still, I do worry that I am raising expectations, and that I will let them down, let down myself. Well, that is me. Meanwhile, I have fun planning, scheduling and executing my menu. And I enjoy the sense of accomplishment once I have completed my work. I take pride in making everything from scratch, including the pie crusts and the bread or rolls. I am not sure how much longer I can pull it all off , as I get older. And when that day comes, sooner or later, I will have these as cherished memories. A record of a foodie.

Thanksgiving from around 18 years ago

Thanksgiving 2017

appetizers: cheese-spinach squares, marinated olives, spicy szechwan cabbage, nazrani meatballs, devilled eggs, lil sausages

pecan pie, pineapple snow, lemon meringue pie, apple pie

turkey roasted in claypot with a few extra legs, gravy, green beans with bacon, stuffing, cranberry relish, roast vegetables, mashed potatoes, waldorf salad, candied yam

and the bread

apple pie, creme chantilly, pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, pineapple pie, pecan pie

Thanksgiving 2016

I was very pleased to have made the mini rose apple pie! Lots of recipes on the internet.

mini rose apple pie

Filippino fruit salad, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, mini rose apple pie

apple pie from leftover apple bits and pie crust

mini rose apple pie

Chocolate dome cake with fresh strawberry filling

I made this cake for Valentine's day this year. Inspired by various online sources for pinata and dome cakes. Naturally, it is a fusion of all those.

chocolate dome cake with fresh strawberry and whipped cream filling

For the chocolate cake, I used my usual chocolate cake recipe, (Ina Garten's) - the one for an  8 inch round double-layered chocolate cake. You may use any other moist chocolate cake recipe you have, as long as you have enough batter for:
 1. an 8 inch dome pan/bowl and 2. a regular 8 inch x 2 inch round cake pan.
Wilton has a dome cake pan set which makes it all easier, but really we don't need that. It would be good to have one of those stainless steel trivets to hold the dome pan in place, both while we pour the batter in, and while we bake it in the oven.

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease the pans liberally. Line the regular round with parchment too, after greasing. Grease the parchment too.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans. The dome pan should just be  three quarters full, leaving enough room for the batter to rise as it bakes. Pour the remaining batter into the round pan.

Bake the dome cake for 45-50 minutes. Check to see if it's done in the center. Depending on your bowl and your oven, you may have to bake it longer, till a thin skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. The other round cake was done in 15 minutes in my oven.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Then invert the cake onto the rack. Let it cool completely. Overnight if you want. Don't put away the dome pan yet - we have use for it later. Once the second cake is done baking, invert that onto another rack, and remove that parchment off it. Let it cool too.

While it cools, we make the frosting for the outermost decoration. I used buttercream frosting for that.

Buttercream frosting recipe

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter
2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
a pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp vanilla
upto 3 tbsps heavy cream or milk

Beat butter. Add 2 cups of the sugar. Add the salt, vanilla, 2 tbsp of the cream or milk. Beat well. Add  more milk or sugar little by little according to get to the consistency you want.


Once the cake is cooled, get that dome pan( washed and dried) and line it with plastic wrap, with enough wrap hanging out - very important! :)
Now place the cooled cake back in it, and leaving about 2 inches on the outside, score a circle in the cake using a sharp knife. An offset spatula comes in handy to scoop out some of the cake - cut it in pieces with the knife, use the spatula to lift the pieces- leaving a depression which you will fill later with that filling. When you scoop out the cake, be careful not to go too deep. Now I don't know if this helped, but I applied a thin layer of the buttercream frosting into that depression so as to seal it. Then I covered the pan with plastic wrap and chilled the whole thing for over an hour. Cut a very thin layer in a circle from the other cake too.

Now is the time to clean and dry the strawberries. And to make the whipped cream frosting or as they call it creme chantilly.

Creme Chantilly recipe:

1 cup cold, heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp granulated sugar

Beat until stiff peaks form. 

Slice the strawberries in half, and mix them with the whipped cream.
Fill the cavity of the dome cake which by the way is still inside the lined pan. Smear some of the buttercream frosting along the edge of the dome, so that it acts as a sealnt,  and invert the other (round) cake  onto the dome cake, like a lid. Press down gently and firmly. Cover again with plastic wrap. Chill. Chill. Chill. Preferably overnight. (You can make some cookies while it chills, or do something else or nothing :)

Now, make the chocolate ganache.

Ganache recipe:

5 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp butter

Chop the chocolate finely into a mid size bowl. Bring the cream and butter to a boil.  While still hot, pour it gently  into the chocolate and stir well till smooth and shiny.


Bring out the chilled pan with the cake in it. Carefully invert it onto a rack . Take the plastic wrap off the cake carefully. Pour the silky still a little warm ganache on top of the cake, making sure it coats the whole cake. Let it set for a few minutes. At this point you may decorate it with truffles or strawberries. Gently transfer the cake onto a cake circle.( I chilled the cake at this point, loosely covered with aluminum foil, for an hour or so. )

Now fill a decorating bag fitted with a Wilton #3 plain round tip, with that buttercream frosting and do whatever design you want on the cake. Or you could just leave it plain  or with that  garnish of  sliced or whole strawberries.

chocolate dome cake with strawberry filling

The whole cake can be made a day ahead. Just has to be kept chilled. Just be sure to take it out of the refrigerator a half an hour before serving .

chocolate dome cake slice

double-layered chocolate cake with caramel filling

This is one moist chocolate cake with a gooey caramel filling. I found this recipe on the internet, on various sites. One of the recipes for chocolate cakes, that I have used, and liked.

For the chocolate cake:

 -- Ina Garten's recipe:

1. 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 2 cups sugar
3. 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 2 teaspoons baking soda
5. 1 teaspoon baking powder
6. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
7. 1 cup buttermilk
8. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
9. 2 large eggs
10. 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
11. 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed.

In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla.

Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.

Source for recipe: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/double-chocolate-layer-cake

for the caramel filling:

makes 2 cups

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream, lukewarm
2 tbsp butter
14 cup heavy cream, lukewarm

optional -- 2 tbsp rum
1/4 cup corn syrup

Sugar + water in saucepan on med- high heat. When the color of the melting sugar changes around the outer edges to an amber-brownish color, remove from heat. Stir well using a wooden spoon.

Now it will be a golden brown colored syrup. While stirring this, pour in the 1/2 cup of lukewarm heavy cream and butter. Will bubble. Keep stirring.

Then add the rest of the cream, and stir till the sauce is smooth.

Transfer to heatproof jar. Allow to cool covered with plastic wrap, for an hour or so. For this cake you will need only half of the caramel sauce. The remaining can be stored in the refrigerator.

Before using chilled sauce, it can be warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Source: http://savorysweetlife.com/

For the chocolate buttercream frosting



1 cup unsalted butter, softened
31/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp milk or cream

Cream butter with paddle of mixer.
Sift sugar + cocoa. Mix.

Add vanilla, salt, milk. Beat well - 3 mts.

Thicken with sugar, if needed.

Thin with milk.

Frosting and filling the cake


Place one cake flat side up on the cake board. Make a dam/ridge along the edge using some of the frosting, using a decorating bag attached with a regular wide, round tip.
Pour in the caramel sauce.
Place the second cake, flat side up, on top of this . Press down gently.
Now using an offse spatula, coat the cake with the frosting, just to cover it thinly.
Let it set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Apply the rest of the frosting evenly all over the cake.
You may make gum paste shapes to decorate, or just some sprinkles or sugar pearls.
Let set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.