Almond Crunch Ice Cream Cake

Nuts can do wonders to your recipes and in dessert, it adds a regal touch. Today's pick is supereme. The almond crunch, gives pleasure in every bite.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• Almond Sponge Cake/Plain Sponge Cake
• 4 pints vanilla ice cream, softened slightly
• Almond Crunch ( 1 1/2 cup chopped almonds cook with 3-4 tbsp sugar )
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Steps:

Place granulated sugar and water in a saucepan and cook on medium until sugar dissolves. Add almond extract and set the syrup aside to cool.

With a serrated knife, slice the two cake layer in half horizontally, forming four layers. Make crumbs of one layer by blending into the food processor and set aside.

Apply syrup n remaining cake layers. Beat ice cream until spreadable and apply on the first layer with almond crunch. Apply second layer and repeat. Set in freezer for about 10minutes to firm.

Place another layer over the set cake and repeat with icecream and crunch. Cover the sides of the cake with whipped ice cream and return to the freezer for 30 minutes.

In a chilled bowl, whip heavy cream with confectioner's sugar until soft peaks form. Apply to cake allover and stick the cake crumbs to side walls of the cake. Sprinkle some almond crunch on top of the cake and return to the freezer until completely firm or overnight.

Enjoy this heaven's delight!

Honey Cake

Honey is the symbol of something' good' coming your way. A sign of positivity. So does its sweetness brings in all recipes! :) Not all honey cakes are the perfect one all the time. After a number of trials i came across this one.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup honey

180 gms butter softened

1/4 cup freshly brewed strong coffee, cooled

2 large eggs

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Oil loaf pan well and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, in a small bowl. Whisk together honey, butter, and coffee in another bowl until well combined.

Beat together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low, then add honey mixture and whiskey and mix until blended, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Finish mixing batter with a rubber spatula, scraping bottom of bowl.

Pour batter into loaf pan (batter will be thin) and bake 30 minutes. Cover top loosely with foil and continue to bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes more. Cool on a rack 1 hour.

Run a knife around side of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack. Turn cake right side up and cool completely.

Voila!

 

Caramel Biscuits

Enjoy these crunchy munchy yummy bisuits! They are quite easy to make, fewer ingredients and perfect recipe.

Ingredients:

115g softened butter

1 cup brown sugar

2tbs honey

1/2 chopped nuts ( walnuts, cashews )

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted

Method:

Preheatt oven to 180*C.

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add honey and beat until fluffy. mix in flour until texture is such that you can roll it into balls.

Place on a paper-lined baking tray and alow for spreadng. Press each gently with a fork and bake in oven for 15min.

Chocolate Lava Muffins

These has to indulge with.. Thepleasure chocolate has no match available! i always love these molten chocolate anytime and moreover i have experianed that chocolate desserts are the best mood lifters for any reason:) i know most of you will agree to me..

Ingredients:

300 gms semisweet chocolate chips

90 gms butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup whipped cream

1 teaspoon espresso powder

Butter/Oil for greasing

Strawberrys for garnishing

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next. Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture.
Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter. Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess. Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle. Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.
While muffins are in oven, mix espresso powder in whipped cream and serve with warm muffins.

Fresh Blue Berry Pie

This is perhaps the most sweet cute and lovely tradtional dish associated with loving moms and grannys:) mostly forgotten but every time you create it or have it with your family, it gives happiness like nothing else. This one is from my fav Betty Crocker although i have altered it a bit to my taste :) 


Pastry

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter

2-3 tablespoon milk

4 tablespoons cold water

Filling

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

6 cups blueberries

4 tablespoons cornstarch

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoon butter or margarine

Heat oven to 425°F. 

Pastry Dough:
In medium bowl, mix 2 cups flour and the salt. Mix in butter and milk, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

Gather pastry into a ball. Divide in half; shape into 2 flattened rounds on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the butter to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky.

With floured rolling pin, roll one round into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

Filling:
In large bowl, mix sugar and 1/2 cup flour, cornstarch and nutmeg.Stir in blueberries. Spoon into pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over blueberry mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over blueberries. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, cool on rack for 2 hrs. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Jelly Cakes

These jelly cakes lasted about 5 minutes in my house. Everybody just loved them and i have picked this one from my fav collectiong, taste.com.au with a Bliss touch :) Very easy to make DELICIOUS....try out

Ingredients: 

• 60g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• 85g packet strawberry jelly crystals
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 cups desiccated coconut
• 1 cup double thick cream

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 12 x 2 tablespoon capacity patty pan.
   
2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, a little at a time, beating until well combined. Using a large metal spoon, gently fold in half the flour and half the milk. Repeat with remaining flour and milk.
   
3. Spoon mixture into patty pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cakes on a wire rack.
   
4. Stir jelly and boiling water together in a bowl until crystals are dissolved. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until cold and slightly thick.
   
5. Place coconut into a large bowl. Cut each cake in half horizontally. Sandwich halves back together using 1 teaspoon of cream. Using a slotted spoon lower cakes, 1 cake at a time, into jelly. Drain excess jelly. Toss cakes in coconut until well coated. Place onto a lined tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set.

Chocolate Cashew Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

12 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

12 tsp salt

1 egg

34 cup milk

12 cup cooking oil

1 13 cups semisweet chocolate (pieces)

1 cup cashews

cashews (coarsely chopped for topping optional)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and 1/2" up sides of an 8"x4"x2" loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture; set aside. In medium bowl, beat egg with a fork; stir in milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in 1 c of the chocolate pieces and the 1 c of cashews. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight. Before serving, in a small saucepan, combine remaining 1/3 c chocolate pieces and the shortening. Heat and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Drizzle chocolate mixture over loaf. If desired sprinkle additional coarsely chopped cashews on top. Let stand until chocolate sets.