Chocolate & Salted Caramel Tart

After a long break, I am back with something bittersweet!

I had been to a couple of Kala Ghoda food workshops this year as well. One of them was by The Sassy Spoon and they showed some really easy yet new things that one could try.
This recipe is adapted from there.

These tarts make for very convenient and bite sized desserts that can be made in advance for dinners, parties or just like that! Not to forget, it will be a hit with kids too!

By far one of the least fussy recipes I have come across for chocolate tarts. The salted caramel perfectly balances out the bitterness of the dark chocolate. For dark chocolate lovers, this is a must try!
My parents who are milk chocolate eaters, liked this too! So others can give it a chance too!

I made a small batch as I was trying tarts for the first time. So here it is:

Update: I made it again! This time with regular tart base. (Shown in Pics)

Makes: 6. Preparation Time: 30 mins. Cooking Time: 10 mins.

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Tart Dough:

65 gms Flour/Maida
10 gms Cocoa Powder
50 gms Butter (Chilled)
30 gms Icing sugar
15 ml Milk (Chilled)

For the Chocolate Ganache:

80 gms Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped, at room temperature
80 ml Fresh Cream

For the Salted Caramel:

80 gms Castor Sugar (or 40 gms Brown Sugar & 40 gms Castor Sugar)
80 ml Fresh Cream
20 gms Butter
a pinch of Sea Salt

For Garnish:

Silver Balls (Optional)

Method:
For the Chocolate Tart:

1. Sieve the flour, sugar and cocoa so they mix well.(Optional)
2. With your clean fingers, gently rub in the butter with the flour mix till it resembles a crumbly mixture.
3. Now add some chilled milk slowly and make a dough. Take care not to over-knead it.
4. Leave it in the refrigerator to cool for 20 mins.
5. Preheat your oven at 180°C for about 10 mins.

For the Chocolate Ganache:

1. Boil the fresh cream
2. Now, pour it over the bowl of roughly chopped chocolate.

3. Stir well till its combined into a smooth and glossy mixture.
4. Set aside.

Chocolate Ganache

For the Salted Caramel:

1. Mix the sugar, butter and cream in a bowl and let it melt on a slow flame, while stirring continuously.
2. Once melted, it will be a light yellowish-brown colour.
3. You may strain it if you see lumps.
4. Once strained, add sea salt and stir it.
5. Making sure this is not too hot, gradually fold it into the chocolate ganache. You may increase or decrease the quantity of the salted caramel as per your taste.
6. Keep aside.

Baking the Tarts:

1. By now the dough would be firm enough to roll out.
2. Roll out the dough as per the size of your tart mould bearing 2mm thickness.
3. Now, without greasing your moulds, gently press the dough onto your moulds, removing the excess.

4. Since these are to be blind baked, you may add rajma or baking beans and bake it at 180°C for 10-15 mins depending on your oven. Alternatively, you can gently prick the tarts taking care not to pierce them with a fork.

5. Once baked, wait till it has completely cooled down.
6. After it has completely cooled, just flip it upside down and it should pop right out! Voilà! your crunchy tart is ready!

Filling the Ganche:

1. In a piping bag, fill in the ganache and fill inside the tarts.
2. Arrange, garnish with some silver balls or however you like.
3. Let it refrigerate for at least 30 - 40 mins before its ready to be eaten!

Notes & Tips:

1. If you do not like caramel, you may completely omit it for a simple chocolate tart.
Alternatively, you can add orange zest or other fruit coulis to it for a different flavour.

2. In case, you wish to have a plain tart, just replace the amount of cocoa by flour while making the dough.

Strawberry Cheesecake

So it is my desserts phase.. And I experimented making a strawberry cheesecake.

In restaurants and cake shops, it looked & tasted so delicious! I always thought it would be so complicated to make..

I went through a number of recipes online and made my version of this cheesecake. 

It is very easy, yummy and everyone will love you for making it!

This cake hardly took a day to finish. My cousin loved it.. so did my neighbours.. My sister was kinda mad at me because at the end of the day only 2 pieces were left out of which I had one.. hehe.. I promised her to make an entire cake soon!

I have used a lot of ready-made ingredients in this. 

But I am planning to make it from scratch the next time I make it. Ill update this recipe accordingly.

Unlike normal cakes, where we demould by turning it upside down, Cheesecakes cannot be demoulded. For this recipe you need a springform cake tin (6"). I got mine from Arife, Mumbai. Its available accross all  Arife stores.  This will help you cut into pieces as seen outside. 

Alternatively, you can make this in ramekins, dessert glasses or bowls. Just that you cannot demould.

I don't think that is really a problem. In fact you could use this in parties or while hosting dinners. It looks elegant and serves the purpose of many servings too. 

Cutting may get messy!

So here it is then:

Preparation Time: 30 mins. Setting time: 4 hrs min. Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

220 gms cream cheese (1 packet 'Philadelphia' cream cheese)

100 ml whipped cream (unwhipped)

½ cup powdered/castor/icing sugar

1/3 cup (80 gms) salted butter, melted

1 cup digestive biscuits, coarsely crushed ( I used Marie biscuits)

3-5 tbsp of strawberry crush

1 tsp red food colour

For Garnish:

Fresh strawberries, sliced, as required

4 tbsp Strawberry Crush
½ cup water
1 tsp (5gm) agar - agar/ china grass/ vegetarian gelatin, powdered

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits coarsely and place them in your cake mould. Pour in the melted butter and mix it well with your fingers. Now, gently press it into an even layer. Place this in the deep freezer for about 30 mins.

2. In a separate bowl, whip the whipped cream as per packet instructions. Keep in the refrigerator.

3. In another bowl, take the cream cheese and whip it till it looks smooth. About 3-5 mins. 

4. Now add the strawberry crush and whip for about 30 seconds. 

5. Now mix in the sugar. Do not add all since the crush & whipped cream will have its own sugar. Whip for about 30 seconds to a minute. Check for sugar. Add and whip if required. 

6. Now add the colour and whip for about 15 seconds. It may seem a little dark, but we are yet to mix the whipped cream. 

7. Take the whipped cream and gently fold it into this mixture of cream cheese. DO NOT STIR OR WHIP. 

8. Get your mould out from the freezer and pour this mixture on top. Tap it slightly and even out the surface using a palate knife or any flat knife. 

9. Put it back into the freezer for another hour. 

10. After an hour, heat the ½ cup water and dissolve the powdered agar - agar. Stir it continuously while it is hot. Don't let the water cool. Once dissolved, it will resemble a hazy and little thick liquid. Get it off heat. In another bowl, get the desired amount of crush,  and pour this water and china grass mixture into it. Mix it well. Spread this mixture immediately on top of the cheesecake. Move around so it spreads evenly.

* This will ensure that the strawberry crush sets as against my first attempt and picture shown above.

11. Place it back in the refrigerator now for 2 hrs.

12. Now, demould it. Just before serving, garnish it with sliced strawberries.

Cut and enjoy! Remember to share! :)

Notes & Tips:

1. You may put it in the refrigerator instead of freezer. the total duration will increase to 6 hrs. 

2. The crush meant for garnishing, will drip eventually.

 So I made many more cheesecakes after this. And finally figured how to get the crush to set using china grass. I have updated the same above!

Incase, the water and china grass mixture sets before mixing the strawberry crush, do not worry. Heat it again and if required add little water. China grass melts when heated but cools quickly at room temperatures. So one needs to be quick. Yet avoid the possibility of reheating.

Also, ensure, your crush is at room temperature and not from the fridge.

3. This can be replicated for different fruits. So experiment and let me know! I tried with blueberry and fresh strawberries. It works equally good!

4. The butter has to be enough to mix well with the crushed biscuits. So you may reduce the quantity or use a low fat butter too! You will need minimum 4 tbsp of any butter for this recipe.

5.The next time I make it, I plan to make cream cheese at home. I will update it accordingly!

 

Vanilla Cupcakes

I made my first vanilla cupcakes.. Finally! And they turned out to be awesome! Really!

I adapted the recipe from here. I had attended Pooja Dhingra's workshop this year at Kala Ghoda Arts Festival and she shared some really useful techniques. I combined both and made this.

Since I was trying, I kept the quantity to the minimum.

This is a versatile recipe and can be used to make other flavours as well. I am certain this will be loved by kids as well as adults!

Makes: 8 - 10 Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 15 mins.

Ingredients:

¾ cup (100 gms) all purpose flour/maida

¼ cup (60 gms) butter (at room temperature)

¼ cup (60 ml) milk (room temperature or lukewarm)

1/3 cup (80 ml) unflavoured curd/yoghurt

½ cup (70 gms) powdered sugar

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of baking soda

1 vanilla bean or ½ tsp vanilla essence.

For Chocolate Ganache:

60 gms dark chocolate

2-3 tbsp milk or fresh cream

Method:

1. Sift the flour along with baking powder and baking soda twice. Also sift the powdered sugar. Preheat the oven at 180ºC for 10-15 mins.

2. Mix the milk and curd in a separate bowl with a spoon or a fork ensuring there are no lumps. (Do not blend)

3. In a separate bowl, take the butter and sugar and whisk until creamy and fluffy. Do this for about 2-3 mins or until you feel its light.

4. Now you can slit the vanilla bean and scrape the extract and mix it into this mixture. Alternately, you may add the vanilla essence. Incorporate the flavour into this mixture by whisking for another 30 seconds. 

5. Now, add just 1/3 of the flour mixture to this butter-sugar mix. Whisk to ensure its mixed well. Then add 1/3 of the milk and curd mix. Whisk until the lumps disappear. Now add the flour, whisk, milk-curd, whisk, Repeat. 

6. The batter should be smooth and thick consistency. 

7. Now fill about ¾ of the cupcake mould with the batter prepared. 

 

8. Let it bake at 180ºC for 15 mins approx. 

9. Meanwhile for the chocolate ganache, cut the chocolate into small pieces or grate them in a small bowl. Heat the milk or cream to simmer and pour it on the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 mins and stir. This is our chocolate ganache. You can use a piping bag to make swirls etc or simply spread it. 

10. The cakes should be ready by now! :) Enjoy the yummy cupcakes!

Notes & Tips:

1. To check if the cake is done, you may insert a toothpick or knife in the centre and if it comes out clean its ready. If not, bake a little longer.

2. Baking time differs from oven to oven. My oven took exactly 15 mins! 

3. Alternately, you can make this as a cake too in a bigger mould.

4. Also, if you do not have an oven, you can make it in the pressure cooker without the whistle. Just put it on low heat for 40-45 mins. Open after the cooker has cooled.

5. You may add different flavours to this like nuts, chocolate chips, non-citrusy fruits, dried fruits etc. 

6. You can make a different icing of butter and sugar by whisking them. Add in the colour of your choice and pipe it onto your cake.

Apple Crumble

A few days back I had a thai soirée at my cousins place and she delighted us with this delicious dessert in the end!

I am sure you would love to try this as a quick, easy and sinful dessert!

Makes - 3, Cooking Time: 10 mins. Preparation Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

2 Apples
2 chocolate brownie
1 bowl whipped cream
3 scoops vanilla ice cream
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cinnamon powder
chocolate sauce as required

Method:

1. Peel the apples & chop them 1/2" sized pieces. 

2. Now sprinkle the sugar, lemon juice & cinnamon and microwave for about 3-5 mins until a little cooked and soft but not mashy.
Alternatively, this can be done on the normal stove in a small pan too.

3. Once cooled (5-10 mins), we can start serving. 

4. In a separate bowl, crumble the brownie coarsely and mix  in with the apples. We use about 1 to 2 tbsp (depending upon how juicy the apples are) of the liquid retained after heating.

5. In the serving bowl, place a spoonful of this apple mixture. Top it with the whipped cream. Now place a scoop of vanilla ice cream and garnish with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.
And there its ready!! 

Enjoy this yummy dessert!

Notes & Tips:

1. For diabetics, omit the sugar. Even otherwise, if the apples are quite sweet & juicy you can skip the sugar and adjust the lemon juice accordingly.