Chocolate Lava Cake

Lately I have become an ardent fan of baking. And baking anything 'chocolate' is always welcome! The smallest of occasions is enough for me to pull out my mixing bowls, flour, chocolate chips etc n start experimenting. The problem is.... now I don't even wait for an occasion... at this rate I see another weight loss regime coming up in the very near future!! but lets not think about that now...

Lets talk bout whats been cooking in my kitchen... I think everyone I know absolutely adores the Molten Lava Cake you get in Chili's.... we do too... the problem is its too huge to finish aaand we don't always want to eat out and going all the way there just for desert is just too much work!!! On one such day I just thought of trying it out myself... none of my baking experiments have ever gone horribly wrong so I thought the cake will at the least turn out edible!! Plus Av is always up for experiments and the poor guy eats anything I make. SO... I made the cake just enough for two that day and now we will never go to chili's just to have that cake again!

Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Unsalted butter

1/4 cup (heaped) Chocolate chips (I used the Nestle semi-sweet ones)

1/4 Cup Granulated white sugar

4 Tbsp All-purpose flour

1 Tsp Vanilla extract
A pinch of instant coffee granules (optional)

1 Egg

How To

In a Microwave-safe bowl, put the chocolate chips and butter and microwave on high for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Check every 30 seconds, and if it is done, don't over-heat it.
Coat two small ramekins generously with butter and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Then add the sugar and coffee to the molten chocolate chips and butter and whisk till combined. Add the egg to this mixture and whisk till you get a smooth texture. Now add the vanilla and flour and whisk again... Do not over mix it!
Now, divide this batter equally between the two ramekins, place them on a baking dish and bake for about 15-20 minutes. When they are done the top usually looks cracked. It really depends upon your oven how much time the cakes will take to bake, so you might want to make the first attempt an experiment to gauge how much long you need to bake them to get that perfect gooey center with a nice cakey crust!

The cakes look like this when they are done. 

 Now after you get the cakes out of the oven, leave them in the ramekins for about two minutes to set, then loosen the sides with a knife and invert them into a bowl, add a big scoop of ice cream to the side n enjoy them piping hot!!!

Notice the gooey center!!! YUMMM!!!

Enjoy people!!!

Spinach Almond Pesto

I try to make almost everything at home.... from scratch!!! Not that I have to, I just love to. Challenging myself to make things I have never made and get them right the first time has become kind of an obsession, which needless to say Av highly appreciates :P And then to "encourage me" also keeps thinking of things I have never made before. As if i don't see the real motive lolz!!!!

Panini sandwiches are my go to dinner idea. Loved 'em the first time I had one and the next thing I did was get a panini press!!! They are super quick to put together and taste divine  Specially with a pesto. I had been avoiding making pesto for a long time now, just because I want to have at least few things which I don't make :P But on that fateful day... decided to make panini, got all the veggies I need and bread. I thought I had pesto in my fridge... I did... barely enough for half a sandwich **Sigh**

So finally I did make pesto at home and now there is one item less that I buy from the store!

Spinach-Almond Pesto

Ingredients:
A big handful of Cilantro .
A big handful of Spinach Leaves
1 Serrano Pepper (you can use any chili for that matter)
6 Cloves of Garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Chopped Almonds (I use the blanched, peeled and chopped almonds)
1 heaped tbsp Grated Parmesan
Salt as needed
1 tsp sugar

The Process:
Wash the spinach and cilantro leaves thoroughly. Preferably the leaves should be very tender as the pesto is raw, and the tender leaves give a good flavor as opposed to a strong one which can be quiet overpowering.
Put everything except the Parmesan in a blender and blend till smooth. I keep mine a bit on the grainy side... I find this is a better texture for the pesto, but you are free to experiment!

Remove the pesto into a container and then stir in the grated Parmesan. You are ready to go!

The pesto stays for up-to a month in the refrigerator so if you don't use it all up at once, you can always save it for the next time. This recipe yields pesto enough for at least 8-10 sandwiches... and I am generous with my pesto :P

For the panini, I buy/bake a ciabatta bread. I spread some light cream cheese on both the slices of the bread and spread pesto over it. I dry-roast onions and bell peppers in a saute-pan, slice a tomato, put them in the sandwich and grill it in the panini press till the bread is a nice golden color on the outside.
Delicious and filling as is or with a cup of soup for a heartier meal!!

Enjoy!

Baked Corn Fritters

Hello People! I am back.... after another bout of laziness. Well not all laziness this time. A lot has been happening in life, days have got a lot busier than before. So this blog took a backseat for a long time... not that I didn't cook anything new for all this while... No!! that will never happen :D

But I was doing a lot more things trying out new stuff... also I could not decide upon a recipe to post at all....   And now I finally did!!! So here is a very simple recipe which I hope you will make and enjoy!!

(As promised before this time I actually have a good picture :P )

Ingredients:

1 cup. Steamed sweet corn

1 cup. Rice flour

2 tbsp. Besan
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 cup. finely chopped spring onion

7-8 finely chopped mint leaves

1/2 cup. water

red chili powder, salt, sugar, cumin-cilantro powder as u want it... plus 1/2 tsp turmeric.

This will make about 12 medium sized fritters.

You will also need a big baking tray covered in aluminium foil. 

The Process:

Heat the oven to 475* F. Combine everything leaving aside the corn. Knead it a bit. Then add the corn and mix it into the batter. The batter must be thick enough to hold the shape when formed into patties, can be a little thinner, but not too much.) Form the patties, preferably thin, so that they cook all the way through in the oven. Spray the baking tray with some cooking spray, and bake the patties for 30 minutes turning once in between. Spray some cooking spray on each patty, to help them crisp up. Wait till they get a golden brown color. 

Done!! Serve hot with some chutney or ketchup!!!