Pinwheel cookies

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 tbsp of Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 tsp baking powder

DIRECTIONS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c85-4fe8bek 


TIPS:
Tip #1: I have halved the original recipe and also made some changes according to my needs. It made around 22 cookies with the half measure recipe.

Tip #2: I used chocolate syrup instead of the cocoa powder in the original recipe as I had ran out of it and hence the light brown color in the midst of the cookies. If you use the cocoa powder you will get very nice chocolate color.If your dough is too much sticky when you add the chocolate syrup, add flour to get to the firm consistency of the dough.

Tip #3: My roll was slightly elongated unlike the circular one in the video. That is why my cookies look oval shape than perfect round.

Eggless Date Cupcakes

Looking for healthy snack for your kid?? Muffins and cupcakes make a good snack and especially if they are made from dates!! Dates are the delicious treats which have a high amount of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. If your child or you for that matter dont prefer eating dates as it is, might as well mix in some flour to make these delicious cupcakes out of it!! A big thank you to http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/05/27/date-cake-eggless/ who has shared this recipe on her blog. I have made a very few changes to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
18 seedless dates
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the standard muffin pan with greased cupcake liners. (use nonstick oil spray)

Take the milk and dates in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for around 1 minute and let it stand for another 10 minutes (If your dates are refrigerated, you may need to soak them for 2-3 hours to help them soften). After letting the dates and milk stand for few minutes grind it into a smooth paste. If you like the date chunks you can grind it coarsely too. Pour this mixture in a large bowl and add sugar and oil and mix it with a hand mixer on medium till it is well incorporated. Add the flour and baking soda and mix it till the batter is formed.

Pour this batter with a scoop into the prepared muffin pan. Try to spread the batter evenly in the cups. I made around 10 cupcakes of standard size with this batter. Heat in oven at 350 degrees F for around 25-30 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean. Take out of the oven and let them cool for about 1/2 hour. If you want to frost them, make sure they are completely cooled down. I frosted mine with whipped cream. They taste divine!!

TIP:
You can add chopped walnuts or cashews if you like to the batter. My son does not like it so I left them plain.

Strawberry Shortcake

INGREDIENTS:

Sponge cake:
3 eggs seperated (yolks and white)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla essence

Strawberry mousse
1 pack of instant strawberry mousse ( I used Dr.Oetker's strawberry supreme)

Filling and Garnishing:
2 cups of whipped cream icing ( you will find the recipe in earlier blog posts)
1/2 lb fresh strawberries thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix flour and baking powder in a bowl and keep aside. Beat 3 egg yolks in an electric mixer at high speed for about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup sugar, beating constantly till the egg yolks are thick. Then add vanilla and 1/4 cup water with it, beating at low speed till it blends well. To this, add flour mixture and blend well at low speed. Keep it aside.

Beat egg whites in a bowl at room temperature at high speed till they are foamy. Slowly add rest of the sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Slowly stir the egg mixture into the cake batter gently folding with a rubber spatula moving in the same direction until the mixture is well blended in the batter. Dont stir too much as it will take out the air out of the cake batter and the cake wont spring up much. To make the sponge cake fluffy, retain the air in the mixture as much as possible. Pour the batter into a greased 10 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes till cake springs back when touched lightly in the center. Let it cool down.

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE:
Till the cake cools down, prepare the strawberry mousse as per the instructions on the pack and keep it ready. Cut the cake in midway and put the strawberry mousse over the lower half of the cake spreading it with the spatula reaching over to the sides. Arrange half of the cut strawberries over the mousse. Put the upper half of the cake over this layer and frost it with the whipped cream. For the borders I used the star tip (#22) and created some shells diagonally all over. Add the reamaining cut strawberries to the top of the cake. Let the cake chill for around 4-6 hours before serving. Overnight chilling gives the best results.