Lemon Lime Meringue Cupcake

Here at home my daughter and I love biriyani, but hubby is not that wild about it.
He likes it but he remarks what is the use in mixing the chicken and rice and then serving, instead isn't it better to serve them seperate.

Satuday I planned a biriyani evening, making biriyani just for three of use I think is a bit too much, so I asked my inlaws to come and enjoy the biriyani and also askes hubby's uncle and wife as anyway biriyani is made in bigger quantity.
So i serve them biriyani, cutlets, raita , papadom and then fried few curd chillies as that is something hubby is wild .

My in laws only started eating Indian food after me comming to the family.
So they are not that used to spicy food. So my MIL saw these fried chillies and she took one and took a huge bite ( almost half) you can imagine she was in fire and while she was hugffing and puffing she said ohh!!!!!!!!! I can't feel my lipp anymore and we all were laughingand laughing while she was suffering. Here face was like a fully ripe tomato. But after the whole commotion she told she loved the expirence of eating half a chillie.
This has nothing to do with the recipe I am posting, i just wanted to share the incident.

Now to the recipe.
From the time I saw this cupcake in Tartlette's I have been wanting to make this. As i fell in love with these cuties , I have to admit I always fell in love with the sweets she whipps up in her place.
You can find her recipe for the cup cake and the lemon curd here
After the disaster I had with my lemon curd , i used this time from a bottle.

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lime oil
½ cup buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
zest of one lime

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively to the butter/eggs mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add the lime juice and zest. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Lime Meringue Frosting:
1 cup egg whites
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. lime juice

Combine egg whites and sugar into the mixing bowl of your stand mixer and set over a water bath. Whisk by hand for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved or preferably until the mixture reaches 110F . Transfer bowl to electric mixer, beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Add lime juice Beat on high speed until stiff glossy peaks form, about 2 to 5 minutes more.

To fill the cupcakes: with a sharp knife cut a small hole in the cupcake, not cutting all the through. Fill the cavity with the lemon curd, and put the top back on. Spread the meringue and brown with a blow torch.

I make cakes for sunday and take them in boxes like this to my inlaws home

Friday night chilly chicken and beer

I am sure this is not the first time I tell you all how much we all like here our friday evenings. As it is the start of the weekend all of us are relaxed ..........Especially hubby and daughter.
Hubby who has been busy with his work and daughter who has been really busy with her school work.

Friday is one day she don't learn at all, she comes home after 17 hrs and then she have a biscuit or two and juice, and I am the victim as she bables to me abut what has been happening in her class that day ( this is our daily routine when she comes home from school in the evening) and I will be listening to what she is telling me.

It will be about which teacher was grumby, which one was nice, what all arguments they had in class then don't forget the importnat stuff who is with who at the moment.
I am now itself starting to feel the knot in my stomach thinking aobut this is the last school year i will have her as from next september she will be gone to University and I will only see her in weekends.

Then she is off to her violin lessons by Six for a hour, she comeback home and then by eight she is gone again for her youth orchestra rehersals and then she is only back together with her dad by 21:30 hrs.
And the moment I open the door they both want to know what the snack is for the night.

Living here, I can always buy some ready made snacks from the shops, and heat them up in the MW, but for me the home made snacks are far far better, and I prepare something and keep before they come.
So this is something I made for them.

They are simple fried chicken , jazzed up with chilies, soy sauce etc...........
The recipe you can find here in one of my earlier post.

Best Chocolate Sauce

One of the best things about living in Belgium according to me is, there is always good quality of chocolate there. Don't have to search for it, just go even to the smallest shop you will get them.

If you have visited belgium you will agree with me every city as so many chocolate/praline shops.
In out town there is a famous one, when ever we have to go for a dinner or there is guest I always go there to buy our chocolate. The moment you get into the shop the air you breath in is chocolate, I always tell I could just stay in that shop taking in this chocolarte air.
Last week when I went there, they had this letter hanging there wanted job students for working in the weekend and i came home and told my hubby what a shame i am not a student otherwise i could have gone and worked there and his remark was yeah...........you will be like a ball in a week.

Ingridients
200 ml cream
250 gm dark chocolate chop them up ( use the best quality)
60 gm sugar
250 ml milk

Add all the ingridients in a pan and bring it to boil and then cook in the low fire for 6 to 8 minutes till it thickens up.
One thing you should do is stir the sacu continuosly.
If it is too thick you can always add a bot more cream/milk to loosen it up.
I always serve this sauce hot poured over Vanilla ice cream.
You can freeze this sauce in portions and use it when ever you want, which i think is really handy.

This is one of the best chocolate sauces, you can use it with cakes, and especially with ice creams.

Methi Lobhia - Fenugreek perfumed Black eyed peas

I was lucky to win last year 660 curries by Raghavan Iyer and I must say the moment I opend the book I fell in love with it. There is such a variety of dishes in the book. I have made few recipes and every time loved it.

And this is one of those recipe from the book.
Ofcourse If the fresh fenugreek leaves were available here i would have added them, but alas I am not that lucky. And in the book he had written if you don't get fresh leaves we can use dried ones.

1 cup dries black eyed beans
1 red onion corsley chopped
6 medium size garlic cloves
4 fresh chillies
2 tbsp oil/ghee
125 gm diced tomatoes (i used tinned tomatoes)
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen fenugreek leaves (thawed if frozen), or 1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves soaked in a bowl of water and skimmed of before use.
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp garam masala ( my addition)
Salt to taste
Preassure cook the black eyed peas .
Combine the onion, garlic, and chillies in a food processor and pulse untill minced.

Heat the ghee/oil in a pan. Add the minced blend to the pan and stir fry untill it is caramel brown.

Add the tomatoes, and the fenugreek leaves, salt and turmeric.
Simmer uncovered stirring occaisionally, untill the tomato has softened and the fenugreek leaves are cooked, about 5 minutes.
Add the cooked black eyed peas. Simmer over medium heat, uncovered, stirring occaisionally, untill the peas have absorbed the flavours,about 5 minutes. Add the garam masala cook for a minute and serve.

Sending this to which is hosted by Sra of When my Soup came alive, a event which is started by Susan of The Well seasoned Cook.

Upside down pear cake

Here the only people who just loves chocolate is my daughter and I.
If I am honest there was a time when I survied on chocolate and sweets, that was when I came here after getting married.

I am talking about more than 18 years ago , when there was no easy access to Indian spices or food unlike now.
My chocolate love have lessed compared to that time, still I do love them. Ofcourse i think the main reason for lesser love withchocolate for me now is well you all guessed it, these days i just have to smell a piece and it striaght just goes to my hips :-)

My hubby has been complaning that I am only making chocolate cakes ( which i think is a bit of a exageration from him)
So I thought why not make this cake with pears ( this one was made last week, but didn't had time to post)


Before I go to the recipe, I would love to tell you about Deeba's blog Passionate about baking actually I don't think you all need any introuduction to her place, but if you have missed this post you should check it out.
She has posted a video for how to decorate cake which i think is so so fantastic.

Now to the recipe, you can make this with different fruits like apple, cranberries, pears etc......... the recipe is from the Rachel Allen.

50 gm butter
300 gm Sugar
225 gm pears sliced
200 gm plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 eggs
200 ml butter milk
75 ml sunflower oil/vegetable oil


To serve
Softly whipped cream

Click the pic for enlarged image

Preaheat the oven to 180° c.

Melt the butter in the ovenproof pan. Stir in half the sugar and cook over a gentle heat for approximatley 2 minutes. Add the pears and set aside.
I melted the butter in a pan and then poured it on to my baking pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add the remaining sugar, the butter milk and oil and mix together.
Pour this mixture into the dry ingridients and whisl to form a liquid batter. Pour the batter over the pears in the pan.
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or untill the cake feels firm in the center.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning the pan and plate over together in one quick movement. Serve warm or at room temperature with the whipped cream.

Pannacotta with coconut and melon

Pannacotta simply means "Cooked cream" it is a dessert from Northern part of Italy.
This creamy dessert is made by cooking, cream, sugar, milk and agging gelatine for setting.
I can be serves with a coulli of fruits or beries, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, well what ever you fancy ............
The end result is always great, you have this silk dessert which just slides down you throat while you eat them ;-)
And if you are a regular reader of my blog you will know that I am a passionate about this Italian dessert. They are easy to make and it always impress my guest for dinner.

Like the time I made this delicous Bluberry pannacotta, or when I made this delicous Espresso Pannacotta from Deeba's place Passionate about baking , or why not give a try with this

Espresso flavoured Milk chocolate one or the Orange pannacotta with caramalized oranges, or the Mango pannacotta which i tried from Meeta's place What's for Lunch Honey orthe one with balsamic berries now with all these variety of pannacotta you can understand how i love this easy to make delicous smooth silky Italian dessert.

I loved making this one ,especially when my guest were curious how i got the slanting effect , if you look to the step by step pictures you will see how i achieved thate beautiful look.

Serves: 6

Ingridients
1/2 l coconut milk ( used tinned ones)
60 gm sugar
3 gm gelatine leaves
1 cavaillon Melon
200 ml sweet white wine
6 glasses

Warm the coconut milk with the sugar don't let it boil.
Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for five minutes and squeeze oout the water before you use them.
Tale the warm coconut milk and add the gelatine and mix well. Let the mixtue get a little bit cool.
Now take a empty egg box and place the glasses in a slanting way and pout the coconut mixture so you will get the slanted effect. Place them carfully in the fridge for atleast 2 hours till it is set.

Cut the melon , remove the seeds and scoop the fruit out.
Mix the fruit pieces with the sweet wine with a mixer and keep them also in the fridge for cooling.
Before you serve just pour the mixes melon mix on to the pannacotta and serve it .