Sponge cake with condensed milk

Another version of  Sponge Cake.
It can be made in cupcakes,  24 servings cupcakes.
In case you smaller, one layer cake just use half of the ingredients and bake in only one baking pan.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
16 oz can condensed milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 Tablespoons butter, softened
3 Teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Oil two 9 inch round pans.
Beat the egg, butter and condense milk until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Mix flour and baking powder. Add vanilla and flour to the eggs and continue beating for 4-5 more mins.

Bake for 25 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool down the cakes for 15 mins and then take them out from the baking pan. Let it cool completely.
At this point you can spread strawberry jam or frosting on top of one of the layers and place the second on top of it. Cover with frosting or leave it as it is and enjoy!

You can use almond, rum or coconut flavors, chocolate frosting, cream cheese frosting or any other flavor you prefer. Fresh berries go well with this cake and can be combined with cream cheese frosting to compliment the sweet and moist texture of the  cake.
Very easy recipe and open for modification in terms of flavor and presentation,

Enjoy!!!

Grilled veggies salad with chicken

Its warm here already and it's grill season :). Love how fast everything gets cooked on the grill and  not to mention the mess free kitchen !
This salad was made in the "what is in the fridge" style, so be free to modify the ingredients in the same manner :)

Ingredients:

4-5 leaves from Roman, iceberg  salad or spinach( use one or the other )
3 radishes

1 cup broccoli
1  cup cauliflower
2 big carrots
4-5 mushrooms
1 onion
3-4 small potatoes

2-3 chicken breasts

Dressing:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinaigrette (balsamic, red or any other you have) or lemon juice
salt and black pepper on taste


Directions:

Wash all veggies. Cut the onion in half and peel the top layer of the skin. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower in big pieces. The mushroom, potatoes (if using big you will need to cut them in 4 big chunks) and carrots can be grilled as they are and will cut them afterwards.

Wash and season the chicken with 2 tablespoons oil and some salt.

Once the grill is ready place the chicken, veggies and grill them until ready. The mushroom, broccoli and cauliflower will be done first, then check the onions and carrots. Potatoes will need some longer time, make sure you turn them and grill on both sides, same with the chicken.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile wash, dry and cut the romaine or iceberg salad and mix them with cut radishes. Season with some of the dressing.

Once all is ready, cut the whole vegetables in big pieces and combine well. Season with remaining dressing.

Slice the chicken breast.

To combine the salad, place some of the salad leaves on a plate, top that with some of the grilled veggies and  then arrange the chicken pieces. Add some fresh herbs and enjoy a healthy meal !

Chick peas with samosas (Samosa Chat MY WAY)

I don't like to eat much fried food, but some Indian snack make exception any time, like a good samosas or kachori! Samosas are best for me with chic peas and lots of chopped onion, tomatoes, and top that with tamarind chutney, oh i'm getting hungry already....
Over the years I've tried following many recipes to make the chick peas, but never found one that I really like :(. Still in search for the best one for my taste!
Yes, when I'm in a restaurant I get to eat a good one, but somehow I can't make it same way home..So if you are reading this and have a recipe for this dish, please send it to me!!!! I will get back to you with the result :)

 Ingredients:

2 cups boiled chick peas
1 big onion (or 2-3 small) it should come to a cup of chopped onions
2 Tomatoes ( aprox a cup)
1 Table spoons ginger-garlic paste ( I love ginger-garlic and add 2 tablespoons, but most people like it with just one or one and half, so I would suggest start with one spoon and try later with more)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala ( I use just 1 as of the kids, they wont eat if its too spicy, but later I add chopped chilies to mine)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
salt to taste
oil

Ingredient for the chat: 
This is really very personal, less of this, more of that...as per your taste:
samosas
chopped red onions
chopped tomatoes
chopped cilantro
tamarind chutney
yogurt
chat masala
sev -optional

Method:

Pour 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and heat on med heat, add cumin and mustard seeds.
Wait until few mins and add ginger-garlic paste. Mix and let cook for 4-5 mins, be careful not to burn. Add chopped onions and mix well again.
Let the onions cook for around 10 mins and add masala and turmeric.

Cook for additional 3-4 mins and  chopped tomatoes. Cook again for 5-6 more mins and add chick peas, salt and some water to cover the chick peas.
 Increase the heat and let it come to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for some time until the water is reduced half way. Check salt and add more if needed.

Assembly:

Place some of the dish in a bowl, place the crushed samosa on top, add tamarind, yogurt if using, chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, chat masala and my personal favorite thick sev or any type farsan!

Sometimes I am out of one or two of the ingredients, but still taste yummy!

I know I will get some mixed reviews from all of you custom with Indian food, but this is how I like mine chat, so tell me about your way :) and please share your recipe, Im still looking for the best one!
And yes, I've made samosas from scratch, will add to the recipes sometimes in the future :)
Enjoy!

Cottage Cheese and Pesto Dipping

There are times I go the store and try to get something you wont find very often in my fridge and hope kids will get to eat it :). Well, few weeks back I picked up cottage cheese. Offered kids and hoped they will like it.. but no, they didn't even wanted to look at it. The name didn't sound like something yummy, not to mention they are not big fans of eating anything from a plastic container...this is another story to tell...
After a while, I was determine to finish the cheese before it gets bad and came up with an idea that changed even my kids minds :) I made a dip with the cottage cheese and all time favorite pesto! The dip finished in seconds and all agreed we should get more of that cheese!!

Ingredients:

4oz cottage cheese
3 table spoon pesto
1 Table spoon olive oil
salt

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend well - mine was ready in less than a minute.

Optional:
 You can try adding black olives or roasted red pepper. I did experiment on this little and loved the result with the roasted pepper.

Garnish with fresh herbs you have on hand and get some fresh veggies to tip in :)
Enjoy!

Basic Sponge Cake

Sponge cake can be made ahead of time and once cooled and firm we can cut it or mold to a desired shape. Decorate with favorite frosting or eat with warm jam and  a touch of whipped cream.

You may notice,  the cake on this pictures is little greenish :), well this is my little princess touch. She just have to experiment with the food colors... she was mixing a lot of blue and little bit red....we expected more of a purple color, but this is what we got :)..The cake on the pictures is made with half doze of the ingredients, as I was short on eggs, it was baked in 9'' round cake form. It was perfect portion for two days for the kids only!
I let kids choose their frosting, sprinkles and fruits every time they want to eat a slice. Believe me, the chances of finishing everything on the plate it higher when they do it "in their own way";).

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

Separate the yolks and egg whites.
Beat the yolks in a big mixing bowls until light yellow in color and thick in texture.

Add the sugar gradually and keep beating until the color turn even lighter yellow.

Add water and vanilla extract.

Mix in the flour as well.

In a second bowl beat the egg whites until frothy and add salt and cream of tartar. Beat the mixture until stiff.

Fold the whites in the egg yolk mixture slowly.

Bake in a preheated oven to 350 Degrees F. for 30 mins or until done.

 I helped little bit here to make the frosting in a way kids wanted it to be :)

TIPS:

You can use any flavor other than vanilla as per your taste. Serve with whipped cream or a topping of your choice.

Basic Sponge Cake - version 2

This is another basic recipe for sponge cake using milk and salted butter.
This cake can be sandwiched with jam and cream cheese frosting in between both parts, melted chocolate and/or and fresh strawberries :). Very easy to adjust to your favorite flavor :)

The secret to any good sponge cake is to beat the eggs well until they are pale yellow in color and have thick consistency. Take your time to do this and you will have moist and rich sponge cake.


Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lightly salted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F.( 165 degrees)

Heat the milk and butter ,on a low heat, just until the butter is melted ( you can also warm it in the microwave, as I did to save time ;) ). Cool it down, if you use hot milk and butter it may curdle the eggs and the cake wont come out good at all.

I had it  in the microwave for 1 min and then let the butter melt completely and cool down until I work on the eggs.




n a large bowl beat all 4 eggs for about 5 mins:

Then add the sugar and continue beating for 6-7 more minutes or  until light yellow and thicker.

Add the vanilla and stir just to combine it with the egg-sugar mixture.
In a separate bowl, stiff together the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, salt.
Add this to the eggs and beat on a low speed until well combined.

Now add the milk and butter to the rest of the batter and beat well.
Pour in two greased and floured 8 inch round cake pans, or one big like in the picture below.
Bake for around 35-40 mins or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake come out clean, not sticky with the batter.

Cool down for around 10 -15 mins  and take the cakes out of  the pan to cool down completely.

At this point you can spread any of your favorite jam on top of the first and place the second one on top.
You can spread store bought frosting or make your own one and use it. Add sliced  fresh fruits on top of it and enjoy a fresh homemade sponge cake.
Chocolate frosting goes well with this cake as well and all time favorite with kids. :).
Enjoy!!!
TIPS:
To make lemony cake add the zest from 1 lemon along the vanilla.
For orange flavored - 1/2 teaspoon orange essence with the vanilla, or omit the  vanilla for it completely.
I've tried also using almond flavor and using cream cheese frosting with sliced roasted almonds to decorate.
Fresh strawberries or raspberries goes very good with it as well. We are big fans of fresh fruits :)