Eggless Vanilla Cake with Christmas Special Icing

There's a chill in the breeze and Christmas prep everywhere. Christmas really rings the holiday bells and reminds me of the time when I was a kid in school and eagerly waited for the winter holidays; not much has changed in that regard. It is still the best time of the year and one cannot help but be enveloped in the much awaited joy that spills all around Christmas time.

With less than 10 days to go, the homes, the streets, the shops are all decorated in the familiar red and green, white and gold. Meanwhile the blogosphere too is abuzz with Christmas greetings, holiday ideas, Diys and my favorite of all Christmas special recipes. There is a whole lot of awesome Christmas special recipes being posted by food bloggers all over the world and I wanted to be a part of it, too.

Traditional Christmas recipes are numerous and fabulous, however, sometimes a simple idea can give your year round favorite recipe a Christmas flavor. This post today is in that spirit. For my Christmas celebrations, I decided to go for my easy, simple, fail proof vanilla sponge cake recipe and dressed it up for Christmas in white, red and green.I didn't really have to make much effort but the beauty I had in the end was remarkable. For a while I didn't even want to slice my cake, but what needs to be done needs to be done, right?

Eggless Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

What's better than the smell of a cake baking in the oven? It's the smell of a chocolate cake baking in the oven.

I have taken to consuming too much chocolate lately, especially in caked and baked goods. This eggless chocolate cake recipe today is a result of that slowly shaping addiction. I had been craving a chocolate cake since I was sick last week. I waited until my sister came home for her semester break and then we baked this cake together as I measured, sifted and mixed ingredients together, preheated the oven and put the cake to bake and she sat in the kitchen watching the latest episodes of Castle on my laptop. She is usually a sweet little help, but this time she said that she would help only if I let her do the batter mixing and pouring it in the cake pan and not just fetching me the whip or greasing the pan. I weighed my options and let her stare on the laptop screen.

I caught a whiff of my chocolate cake after about 20 minutes of baking. I excitedly asked her if she could smell it too. She cringed her nose and shook her head. Finally I went to take the cake out of the oven and that was when she said that she could smell it. And I thought the one who cooks is generally the last to smell his dish.

The cake was beautifully risen and spongy. I let it cool and set about making arrangements to click it. I always have to overcome the temptation of trying to take the cake out of the pan before it cools down. There's nothing like warm cakes, and this one was a chocolate cake of all things!

I think no matter how many cakes I bake, I will always feel the same excitement while taking a knife to it. It is an unspoken reward to find your cake perfectly baked, soft and stiff at the same time. No gooey thing sticking to the knife. It is satisfaction on a deeper level than just having a cake. I understood this when I started baking.

This is an easy recipe to remember and to put together. Enjoy this cake.

P.S. This one was all gone before I began writing this post!

Ingredients:

Flour- 1 and a half cups
Baking soda- 1tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Cocoa powder- 3 tbsp
Sugar- 1 cup
Water- 1 cup
Oil- 1/3 cup
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Recipe:

Preheat oven at 180 degree C.

Sift first four ingredients together in a bowl, twice.

In another bowl, dissolve sugar in water. Add oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir well.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to form a batter. Do not over mix. Avoid lumps.

The batter will not be very thick.

Pour batter into a greased 7" cake pan and tap it on kitchen counter to remove any bubbles.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Take out  of the oven and let cool in the pan before removing it.

Apple Cinnamon Smoothie

I don't drink tea in the morning, like most Indians do. I don't drink coffee in the morning, like most Americans do. And I stay miles away from drinking milk too, during any time of the day. So last week when I was supposed to catch an early morning train home after I had stayed the night at my aunt's in another town, she didn't know what to make me have before I left. I told her that I didn't need anything and that eating so early in the morning makes me kind of sick. But she would hear none of it. She wanted me to have parathas of all things! After some more resistance from my side, finally she sternly asked me to wait for 5 minutes and then have whatever she gave me without speaking a word, or she wouldn't let me go. I had no choice but to oblige.

And was I glad I did! As I waited, all I heard was a blender whir in the background for only a few seconds and then a glass being placed on the kitchen counter. A moment later she appeared in front of me holding a tray with a glass full of what looked like milk to me from afar. I pulled a long face. I mean a really long face. And then she smiled and handed me the glass. I reluctantly took it and looked at what I thought was milk. It was then that I saw it wasn't milk. Well, I mean there was milk in it but it was a smoothie. Made me a little happy. Then I took a sip. I was happier. It was an apple smoothie. I grinned at her. She looked smug.

I am not much for fruits or milk but together they are my thing. Having that apple smoothie then I decided to make this post. Now, my aunt's version was different than this one. It was a humble, delicious smoothie made of only apples and milk, some sugar may be. For mine, I decided to take it a level further.

Those who know me know that I love cinnamon. So it shouldn't be a surprise that I added cinnamon to my apple smoothie. Then there's vanilla. And that's about enough for and come to think of it , about a healthy breakfast apple cinnamon smoothie.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Full cream milk- 1 cup
Peeled and chopped apples- 1 cup
Sugar- 1 tbsp (optional)
Vanilla extract- 3-4 drops
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp

Recipe:

Take all ingredients and blend together smooth,

Sprinkle some cinnamon powder.

Pour into a glass and serve.

Dry Fruits Kheer

Fasting is something of a Catch 22. On the one hand you learn to resist temptations and on the other it's the time for indulgence. While you are allowed only a limited food items, those allowed are the richest and the best. Take for instance this dry fruits kheer. It's what's you are supposed to be eating when observing a fast. It is a popular Navratri special recipe and includes loads of dry fruits, your favorite ones, is very nutritious too. And talk about flavors! It's thickened, sweetened milk with your favorite dry fruits. Thank the Navratras!

What I like best about dry fruits kheer is that I can easily adjust the sweetness of the dish. I prefer mine less sweet than most I believe.It may reflect in the quantity of sugar I have used in the recipe. But like I said, adjust it to your liking. 

Since I wanted to do this post early in the day so you guys can prepare it tonight, I actually had it for breakfast. It made my day! And do you know what the best part is? I am not even keeping these fasts and yet getting to eat all these delicious things. Guilty!

You guys enjoy this kheer while I go and look if some of it is remaining in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Milk- 2 cups

Mixed dry fruits (almonds, walnuts, pista, raisins, etc.)- 1/2 cup 

Makhana- 1/2 cup

Rajgir- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 5 tbsp (adjust)

Green cardamom- 2-3 nos

Saffron- a few strands

Ghee- 3 tbsp

Recipe:

Heat ghee in a pan.

Add dry fruits and makhana and roast.

Let cook. Chop/slice dry fruits as desired.Slightly crush makhanas.

In a pan, warm milk and add dry fruits, makhana, rajgir, sugar, crushed cardamon and saffron, saving a few strands for garnishing.

Bring to a boil and let simmer for 7-8 minutes until thickened to your likeability. Not too thick though.

Garnish with a few strands of saffron and serve hot.

Biscuit Cake Trifle

Almost all of the recipes in my Friendship Week Featured Recipes run are traditional Indian recipes, well, with one exception from Jordan. But when I approached Kusum aunty with a recipe request, I knew it had to be different. I couldn't have been more right.

No less than I uttered the word dessert, aunty suggested we prepare this Biscuit Pudding and I did not need further convincing just because it was her who told me it was absolutely delicious. Such is her talent in the kitchen. I bow low to her when it comes to cooking and presenting food. She almost always has some new creative recipes with the simplest ingredients that you feel you are on the sets of Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Sheer Khurma

Today's recipe, Sheer Khurma, is special in so many ways. It is the first in my Friendship Week Featured Recipes series and is most appropriate for the eve of Eid to be celebrated tomorrow. Another reason that makes this post so special is that this recipe comes straight from the kitchen of my childhood friend Khadija's mom.

It's been 20 years that we have been friends and not without our ups and downs. We were inseparable in school. We used to be a popular duo and our Principal called us Appu-Khatti, as did other teachers and many of our friends. She was the sane one of the two of us, I was totally crazy (psst...I still am!).