Bolo de Cenoura (carrot cake)

Posted on April 19, 2024 by delhigrl

This is the ultimate carrot cake in simplicity (you use a food processor for everything) and taste (it’s reminiscent of gajar ka halwa- a taste very familiar to desi people). My recipe is modified from the NYT one.

Heat oven to 350 and prep a 8×8 inch square pan.

In a food processor – chop into tiny pieces – 300g of carrots, add a cup and 1/4(270g) of granulated sugar. Process till pieces are small. Add 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of sour cream and homogenize everything.

Add dry ingredients to food processor (260 g or 2 cups all purpose flour , 1 tablespoons of baking powder – it’s a lot and 1 tsp kosher salt).

Pulse till everything is combined- add to pan and bake till a skewer comes out almost clean. It took me about an hour and 10 min.

Make the fudge topping while the cake is baking. 1 can of condensed milk (14 oz), 1 tbsp butter and 3 tbsp good cocoa. Heat til it just starts bubbling.

I added the fudge topping to the hot cake in the pan and let everything cool together

This cake is amazing

Japanese fruit sandwich with raspberry fool

Posted on February 21, 2023 by delhigrl

I’ve never been to Japan but I love reading about their food. Japanese milk break is the most delicious sandwich bread I’ve ever had. It’s softer than brioche but still sturdier if that makes sense. When you get Japanese milk bread – you make Japanese sandwiches. I’ve shared my egg sandwich recipe before but today we make a fruit sandwich. Japanese sandwiches have whipped cream and strawberries or kiwis between slices of milk bread. I decided to try my raspberry fool recipe as a sandwich filling.

Whip up 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup sugar you get soft peaks. Take 1/2 cup of frozen raspberries and blitz them in the food processor till they form tiny ice shards of deliciousness. Fold into cream. This is raspberry fool and a delicious desert in itself.

Today however, we will spread a generous portion between 2 buttered slices of milk bread straight from the Asian bakery. Cut off crusts if you wish and enjoy. This is an outstanding treat.

Best ever cocoa brownies

Posted on February 7, 2023 by delhigrl

Unbelievably it’s been a year since I’ve written up a recipe. That’s sad. Ah well- here is a tried and true favorite for my comeback.

Alice Medrich is brilliant and everyone should buy Bittersweet. Her recipe is super forgiving and I’ve made it easier (microwave rather than double boiler) and I’ve replaced APF with whole wheat pastry flour (nuttier and yummier and I’ve forgotten which blog recommended that substitution)With all due respect to the master, I like my recipe more.

Firstly- oven on at 325F

Second – chop 2/3 cup of walnuts to bits (as small as you’d like) and microwave them in 30 sec installments till you start smelling the oils. If you can smell them, they are toasted just enough. Let them cool

Third- melt 10 tbsp of butter in the microwave. Cover the bowl, the butter will sputter.

Add 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp of good dark cocoa (all kinds work but the more expensive ones will lead to a better brownie) and 1 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and salt. Mix well with a whisk. The original recipe calls for melting the butter in a double boiler and cooling the mixture but in my recipe we are now ready for the eggs. Add 2 large eggs and whisk them in – the grainy mixture should be nice and smooth now

Next add 1/2 cup of whole wheat pastry flour (the original calls for 1/2 cup of all purpose flour) and beat it in with a silicone spatula till no white remains. Alice recommends doing this 40 times. Add the walnuts and stir to mix. You’d remembered to prep an 8 inch pan right? Pour mixture into said pan.

Bake for 30 min and make sure the top has set. The whole wheat flour adds an extra 5 min to the bake. Bake an additional 5 min if you’d like your brownie firmer. We like ours fudgy.

Cut into tiny bites or larger pieces. These spread happiness wherever they go.

Ottolenghi’s Beet and Ginger cake

Posted on February 27, 2022 by delhigrl

My Ottolenghi fandom has been well documented. All his recipes have worked for me – every single time. But this one from his book Sweet is spectacular. The frosting with its hint of ginger, the color of cake, and the taste (slightly earthy with a pop of ginger). As I said- spectacular.

As with any Ottolenghi recipe , this one begins by collecting the ingredients and prepping them. I suggest weighing them (Ottolenghi’s recipes all have weird cup measures because his recipes are devised by weight)- sugar is added to the dry ingredients here. No mixer needed except for the frosting

Preheat oven to 350 and prep an 8 inch round tin with parchment

Dry: 1 2/3c (200 g )All purpose flour, 3/4c (150g) sugar , 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt- whisk all together or sift

Wet ingredients: 1/4c (60g) sour cream, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup sunflower oil- whisk till well combined. Ottolenghi suggests adding 1500 mg of vitamin C crushed to a powder for color. I did this and it worked

Other: 260 g coarsely peeled and grated beets ( I needed about 3 small ones), 1/2 c (100g) finely chopped crystallized ginger (steeped in boiling water for 15 min and drained), 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest ( 2 medium oranges), 2/3 c (75g) finely chopped and toasted walnuts- mix all well

Add all ingredients together and mix till it all comes together without any dry flour with a large silicone spatula

Bake at 350 F for 50-55 min. Cool to room temp (about 30 min)

Frosting- 160 g cream cheese , 1/2 c confectioners sugar, 1/3 c heavy cream and juice from finely grated 2 inch ginger piece- add all together to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on medium for 4-5 minutes till light and fluffy. Spread on cake

Eat copious amounts of cake

Jeni’s star anise ice cream with candied fennel seeds

Posted on February 27, 2022 by delhigrl

Before Jeni’s was everywhere – I loved it in Lexington KY where the Whole Foods would stock pints with hand written labels. Their goat cheese with cognac figs rocked my ice cream belief system. Naturally I bought her cook book as soon as it was released. Her genius is to use cream cheese in her ice cream -no eggs , no fussy thermometer readings- just the creamiest gelato style ice cream you will ever eat. Her recipe is precise, it is designed for home ice cream makers and gives results every single time.

This one is my favorite recipe from her book and is a show stopper at dinner parties. The candied fennel seeds (which every Indian adores and are the end to every Indian meal) are from Amazon or your neighborhood Indian grocery – they dissolve into gorgeous rainbow puddles.

I have modified her recipe a tiny bit since I only use 2% milk. In a saucepan – measure out 1.5 cups 2% milk, 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tbsp light corn syrup and a pinch of salt and 5 star anise pods. Separately in 1/4 cup of milk- make a cornstarch slurry with 1 tbsp and 1tsp of cornstarch and measure out about 3-4 tbsp of cream cheese.

Heat the milk mixture over medium heat till it comes to a rolling boil and then boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in the corn starch slurry. Heat again till mixture boils and then time the boil for 1 minute till the mixture thickens. Remove from heat – whisk in the cream cheese till it melts completely and is homogenous and creamy. Let the mixture steep in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours. Strain out the star anise and make ice cream in your favorite ice cream maker. My kitchen aid attachment takes about 20 minutes and ends up as soft serve consistency. Remove into container and layer with 1/2 cup of candied fennel seeds. Add parchment paper on top and freeze for at least 3-4 hours.

This is delicious with a cheese course and wine after dinner or just as an afternoon treat with tea.

Dulce de Leche Chocoflan

Posted on February 22, 2022 by delhigrl

A combination flan and chocolate cake and the layers flip during baking – no wonder this cake is called “il pastel impossible”. This cake has been on my to-do list for a while and it was quite delightful. The flan was creamy and milky and the cake was dark and dense but not dry. This recipe was from the NYT and is by Esteban Castillo.

This cake needs some prep work. First buy a can each of Dulce de leche and one can of evaporated milk. If you can’t find Dulce de leche – you can make it from condensed milk as I did (link here). Also this cake takes 1.5-2 hours to cook and 2-3 hours to chill before it can be unmolded – so plan accordingly or else your family will be disappointed during dinner and have the cake for breakfast the next day (like mine did).

Flan: in a blender – 1 can (13 oz) dulce de leche. 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk, 4 oz cream cheese, 1.5 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt and 5 large eggs- Blend for about a minute

Cake: measure the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer (160g all purpose flour, 200 g granulated sugar, 50 gm unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon , 1/2 tsp kosher salt.)

Add 6 tbsp of softened room temp butter and mix for about 4-5 min using the paddle attachment till the mixture appears as wet sand

Add the wet ingredients (1/2 cup brewed coffee , 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 large egg and 1 tsp vanilla) and beat on slow till combined. Then beat mixture on high for 2 minutes till the color lightens and the cake batter becomes fluffy.

Now the fun part – liberally spray a 10 cup Bundt pan with bakers spray – add the cake mixture and flatten it. Then very gently add the flan mixture on top. Cover with greased aluminum foil and place it in a large roasting pan. Add tap water to the roasting pan – about 2 inches or so. Bake at 350 for 1.5- 2 hours till a skewer comes out almost clean. This is where the instructions become a little iffy – my skewer came out almost clean at 90 minutes but my flan was a lighter color. But it tasted good

Cool on counter top for 30 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours till the flan sets. Next – loosen the edges a little bit using a thin flat palette knife and invert on a plate and hope for the best. Mine came out after 2-3 minutes of worrying.

Enjoy the flan-cake with some coffee

Dulce de Leche

Posted on February 19, 2022 by delhigrl

Dulce de Leche is a taste extremely familiar to Indians who grew up on a plethora of milk deserts. I needed it for a chocoflan recipe and didn’t find any at my local grocery store. I do live in Atlanta and the nearest mercado is just a few miles away but it’s easy to make dulce de leche at home if you have several hours.

To a pressure cooker – add a can of condensed milk (remove the labels or the glue makes a mess). Cover with at least 2 inches of water over the can. Cook on high pressure for 30 min. Let it cool all the way down without jostling the cooker. Open can and the pale white condensed milk has transformed into a dense complex caramelized jelly. Caveat – the internet warns of exploding cans but honestly if the water covers the can and you don’t open the can till it’s cool- the risk seems minimal. But you’ve been warned !

For the Indians – the closest approximation I have is Dharwad cha pedha. That slightly burnt milk taste – it tastes like home.

Strawberry jello cake

Posted on February 8, 2022 by delhigrl

Many years ago, when the food network had actual recipes – I saw this recipe on Trisha Yearwood’s show. It was so intriguing – the dry jello mix gets added to a box cake mix and it has real strawberries in it – so it’s practically a salad. This recipe has been a family staple ever since, it’s the only recipe I use boxed cake mix in but nothing else seems to work as well.

Step 1- buy a white box cake mix, 3 oz strawberry jello packet and some frozen strawberries in syrup (not the regular frozen kind) -defrost the strawberries

Step 2: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a wooden spoon – beat together the cake mix, jello , 2/3 cup of oil, 4 eggs, 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of the strawberries

Step 3: Divide batter into 24 cupcakes and bake at 350 for 20 min

Step 4: Make frosting- In a blender – make an emulsion of 4 tbsp butter, 1/2 cup of the frozen strawberries and 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar. This takes a while – at least 3-5 minutes.

Cool cakes, frost and eat many of them. They are tart and spongy and irresistible

Pista Srikhand

Posted on November 4, 2021 by delhigrl

Srikhand is every Maharashtrian’s favorite food. It’s tangy and sweet and irresistible. The trick to any good srikhand is good chakka (hung yogurt). Traditional srikhand starts with hanging yogurt in a muslin cloth for a day to remove the excess water. My shortcut is to use labneh – which is sour and thick and makes the best srikhand you will ever taste. Trust me- this one is better than what grandma made.

Start with labneh- I have friends over for Diwali so I used 2 lbs . This is the brand I used from the international market.

Add 1 cup of sugar to the labneh in the bowl of your stand mixer. Now for the saffron- for maximum flavor and color, I grind my saffron with cardamom (about a pinch of saffron and 1 tsp of cardamom seeds from pods). Add to 2 tbsp of cream, heat in the microwave for 30 sec and let it steep. After 15 min- add to the labneh and sugar mixture

Mix using paddle on low speed till sugar is dissolved or use a wooden spoon. Taste- is it too sour ? Add 1/4 cup more sugar if it is.

Roast about half a cup or so of pistachios. I use the microwave for about a minute. Chop! Fold half into the srikhand and use half to decorate the top.

Chill for an hour or so and enjoy !

Delhi Girl Meets Food

Vegetarian recipes in an Indian kitchen in Nebraska

Category Archives: Dessert