Malt cupcakes with malty buttercream

First and foremost a very big thank you to all the people who commented on my previous post.............I'm really touched by the kind words and feel really blessed to know such wonderful people..........I know I've not even met most of you........but you guys make the world a better place.

Onto this recipe.........a friend had asked me what to make chocomalt,well one recipe is the
  malty-walty-banana-cake..........and this would be another that I thought of ,when I should have been doing some other work!(for example studying!)Anyway I tried it out...and I'm sorry if I sound a little immodest when I say this...but they were superb!Do try out the whole thing NOT just the cupcakes...........it has to be with this yum buttercream...I completely agree that the icing is not going to win any beauty contest.....BUT..it has character....and character is good!
INGRDS
3 eggs
1 cup wholewheat flour plus1 cup all purpose flour sieved together with 1 tsp baking pdr
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocomalt(maltova,ovaltine,nutramul,horlicks..whatever)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM ICING
50 gms butter
2 tablespoons powered sugar
4 tablespoons choco malt(or any of the other malt products)
2-3 tablespoons milk
THE WAY TO DO IT!
1.Put ALL the ingrds for the cake(eggs etc)in a bowl,use your hand held mixer and beat till nice and smooth,3-4mins.
2.Put the cupcake wrappers into the muffin pan........now put spoonfulls of the batter into the wrappers till 3/4th way up(if you don't have the wrappers,simply butter the muffin moulds and dust with flour...then pour the batter 3/4th into each mould...........its easier and less messy with the cupcake wrappers)

after the heat treatment!

3.Bake in a preheated oven (180degC)for 20-25 mins.(put a shewer in /or a toothpick....if there is no batter sticking to it...your cupcakes are done)
ICING
1.Beat,with your hand held mixer the  softened butter and sugar,till light and fluffy,add the chocomalt and the milk...beat again....the texture should be spreadable.

2.Ice with a tsp.....put onto the cooled cupcakes.....decorate with whatever you have....I had mini marshmallows......I don't get malteasers in my neck of the woods....but if you can lay your hands on it ...then one malteaser on each cupcake would look awesome....grated chocolate would be nice too.sending this to http://www.alittlenosh.net/2012/08/tastetastic-thursday-89/#comment-8559..........tastetastic thursday.

lazy cooks everything innit cookies

You know those annoying people who keep cooing to their dogs,talking to them and then telling folks that the animal understands every word.The kind of people who call their pets "baby" and "dumpling".......the kind of people who give you dirty looks when you give dirty looks to dogs.........well I'M one of those!The only reason that I don't have one of my dogs as my profile pic...is ..because I'm SURE  some smartass is going to comment that they always knew I was a bitch!So to prevent unplesantness..the pic remains mine! But....my precious ones do manage to come into the frame now and again.
Sometime back I mentioned that Caspar (my white spaniel)had been put on a diet by the vet........anyway a couple of months down and our friend weighs the same ..if not just a wee bit more......Since our man couldn't have the regular cookies...I made these "healthy" ones for him n me!My kids stick to their chocolate chip and variations of chocolate chip....these were made for my baby n me!
INGRDS
1 cup wholewheat flour(atta)
1 cup oats
1 cup dates-chopped
1/2 cup milk pdr
1/2 cup grated coconut.
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
100 gms butter
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon pdr
1 tsp flaxseed pdr(optional)
METHOD
1.With an electric beater,beat the butter and sugar till soft and fluffy....add the egg...now topple everything else into the bowl.Beat till mixed.
2.Butter a baking tray,put spoonfulls of the mix,press down lightly with a fork.
3.Bake in a preheated 190deg oven for 12-15 mins.
4.Enjoy!
NOTE
This is not my own invention ....this is from an old magazine....and its really good....IT IS NOT A DOG BISCUIT.Its a regular cookie..:) 

lazy cooks neiman marcus cookies and award

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!
Hi all........please get the background of these cookies from here neiman-marcus-cookies....so, I tried them out and they are awesome!!!!!!!!the only thing I would do the next time is def. reduce the sugar...the kids thoroughly enjoyed the sweetness..I personally felt it needs to go down....I made 1/4th of the orignal recipe and I got about 38 cookies.(I think !..because while I was busy clicking pictures..some cookies from the other tray vanished into thin air!!!!!so my count could be a cookie or two out)

INGRDS

1/2 cup butter

170 gms chocolate chip(i used dark and white)

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup oats

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup chopped nuts(I used walnuts)

125 gms dark chocolate ..........grated

METHOD

1.In a bowl,beat the butter,essence and both the sugars with an electric beater..add the egg..beat again.

2.Add the rest of the ingrds.......butter the baking trays,then  spoon the mixture at equal intervals(it will spread on baking)......put into a pre heated oven(180 deg C)for 10 mins...let it cool down..then taste...DIVINE!!!!!!!!!!!!
3.Guys do try them out...Those in New York...do tell if the taste is the same as the famous(infamous????)Neiman Marcus cookies.:)

I have to thank Ambreen of simply sweet n savory.and Reena of achus amma s kitchen for passing on the award.....do check their blogs out..their recipes are simply great.......Thank you guys for thinking of me:) I have to pass it on.....I would love to name all my wonderful blogger friends...but I'm supposed to name 5...and two people have passed it on ..that makes10...so here goes 1) maayeka

2)http://konkanikitchen.blogspot.in/
3)priya easy n tasty recipes
4)aromatic-cooking.
5)noe lcollections
6)my italian kitchen
7)

Spice up the Curry

8)thoughts of paps

9)erivum puliyumm.
10)treat n trick
10)mahas lovely home.

Neiman Marcus cookies

Hi guys........I read this really interesting post at Melissa's blog..and just had to share it with all of you.I haven't yet made the cookies..but I will..right now I have the sniffles and don't feel like doing a thing(sniff!).....OK ...nuff said..read what the lady has to say.. . . .from-    baking makes things better ..(.people no matter how many times I've tried to correct and update the sequence of events ....blogger refuses to oblige.....the first two paragraphs are at the end of the post...then continue )
“This is a true story... Please forward it to everyone that you can.... You will have to read it to believe it.I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them that the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any POSSIBLE interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe - we absolutely will not refund your money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statutes which govern fraud in Texas. I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State's Attorney General for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, we dont give a damn, and we're not refunding your money." I waited a moment, thinking of how I could get even,or even try to get any of my money back. I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250.00, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun."
..
I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus... for free..She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this" I said, "Well you should have thought of that before you ripped me off", and slammed down the phone on her.. So, here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250.00 dollars for this... I don't want Neiman-Marcus to ever get another penny off of this recipe....”
This letter has been doing the rounds on email since 1996....I think it sounds authentic enough...anyway for me..the cookie recipe rules....its great....though when I  do mke this I would go  with 1/4 th the recipe.....if you try these out before I  do let me know how they turned out.:)
the recipe
2 cups butter
680g chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
500g chocolate, grated
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder, I used oat bran instead)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (optional, I used peanuts)

Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Cream the butter and both sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.  Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate and nuts.  Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.





My daughter and I had just finished a salad at Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas & decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus Cookie". It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown "I'm afraid not." Well" I said, "would you let me buy the recipe?"
 With a cute smile, she said YES". I asked how much and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I said with approval, "just add it to my tab".. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement from Neiman-Marcus and it was $285.00. I looked again and remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe - $250.00". That's outrageous!!!

lazy cooks chocolate salami

Hi guys...........howz you doing?Vegetarians.. .  ..stick around,there's no meat in this recipe..only lots and lots of calories....but we don't care..right?Whats a few calories between friends?I had done this for a friends daughter's birthday party...along with the birthday cake(pictured below)....long story short..my kids were shocked to see the entire roll of chocolate salami leaving the house..without them getting some..if not all!!!

doggy on a diet!not a happy fella:(

So here I am .....or rather here it is...I made it again.....there's another reason that I decided to do this today...my dog(casper)has been put on a diet by the vet.I told my hubby that the vet is an army officer used to army dogs..their levels of fitness differ.....but  NO..hubby doesn't agree and my poor dear is on a diet...no snacks for him,no biscuits...no baked goodies..just his food!How sad is that?.look at his sad ..sad face!.............
Onto the recipe...I normally would've used cashew biscuits...but since I can't give casper anymore digestive biscuits(he loves them)I decided to use these in the chocolate salami..that way I am not tempted to give him a tiny little bite ......chocolate is supposed to be like poison for dogs.
INGRDS
1 tin of condensed milk
200 gms of any rich biscuit
100 gms of butter
walnuts/cashewnuts(1/2 cup each)
 2 1/2 cups.dessicated coconut plus 1/2 cup more for dusting and rolling the chocolate salami
 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
METHOD
1.Put every thing in a heavy bottomed pan.....after roughly pounding the biscuits with a rolling pin....you can guess who i thought was at the other end of the rolling pin..........NO...not my hubby....the vet!

the butter has still not melted

the mixture 's come together

2.Heat it till the butter melts and everything sticks together....you keep adding the dessicated coconut..till the mix comes together.Now break off portions ,I normally go with half the mixture at a time.At this stage you need to knead(heh...heh)the mixture...spread some dessicated coconut on the slab and knead away..then roll it into a log shape.

after the kneading.

.On some clingfilm...spread dessicated coconut again,put one log in..and roll tightly...put in ther refrigerator to cool down.........at least for 2 hours.

going into the refrigerator

the cake.

for a very sweet little girl.

4. Thereafter take it out of the fridge,remove the clingfilm..and cut into thin slices.. that's all.All those who asked for the recipe yesterday...here it is..do tell me when you try it out:-).

lazy cooks butter cake

I seriously need to meet Mr. Kapil Sibal and tell him his idea of making education stress free for the children has worked.................my kids are in a school which has adopted the system proposed by him and they are completely STRESS FREE.They have their exams.............their finals if you please..but looking at them you aren't going to think that....heck ..even right now..they are out playing with their other stress free friends.....I in the meantime(I belong to the old school...of studying..when there are exams)am going "greyer" by the second,my blood pressure is up and MY stress levels are through the roof!...........but not the kids...they are happy..not to worry!
I decided that the only thing that's going to help me is to find a new recipe for butter cake....so after looking through the recipes on the net...this particular one seemed just right.this is the easy butter cake recipe by Bella on bestrecipes.Its a really good recipe......the taste is simply super,the only thing that went wrong (in my case )was that it was a little crumbly...but that was probably because I did not have self raising flour..and used baking pdr..get self raising flour and make this cake.you wont regret it.
INGRDS
2 eggs
125 gms butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups self raising flour
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
METHOD

eggs,butter,flour,sugar,milk and essence

going into the oven

1.Couldn't be easier......simply put everything(yes..yes..everything)in a bowl....beat with an electric beater...pour into a prepared tin(greased and floured)..bake in a pre heated oven (180deg C)..till a skewer comes out clean..........about 30 mins.

oh!the aroma.....yum!so close..yet so far!

given up waiting! there's no hope when the lady is busy clicking snaps instead of feeding us cake.

2.Cut and serve with tea,or coffee.....or simply have it plain...the buttery taste is just heavenly.
sending this to http://anjali-cooklog.blogspot.in/2012/02/announcing-my-first-event-cakes-cookies.html

lazy cooks fig newtons

Hi there folks...I love fig newtons.I have always bought them..this time I thought that I would try and make them at home(the fact that they are not available here,goes a long way in convincing to make my own)Anyway after going through a hundred recipes on the net...I decided to combine a few and came up with this!They don't look very professional but......WTH they're homemade..right?BTW..they taste just the way they should
INGRDS

1. 2 cups flour(1 cup wholewheat and 1 cup plain flour)
2. 2 eggs
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar
4. 100 gms butter
5. 1/2 tsp baking powdr 
6. 1/2 tsp cinnamon powdr
7. 1 tablespoon honey
8. grated orange rind-1 tsp.
for the figgy mix
1. 12 dried figs
2. 3 tablespoons of brown/white sugar
3. 1/2 cup orange juice
Put these three ingrds in a pan and boil till the liquid gets absorbed by the figs....then grind to a paste and keep ready.

METHOD
1Sieve the dry ingrds together(flour,baking pdr,cinnamon pdr).
2.Beat the butter and sugar together,add the eggs,honey.Add the flour...the mix will come together.

3. Now divide the mix into 4 parts,spread a little flour on a clean surface and roll out long cylinders,then use a rolling pin to flatten it.Spread the figgy mix on one rolled out piece,put the other one on top of it and press down lightly..........transfer to a greased baking tray.Repeat with the other couple.
4.Into a hot(preheated )oven they go at 180deg for 12-15 mins.
5.Take it out of the oven and cut them into 1/2 inch pcs.Store in an airtight container.
sending this to...http://vardhiniskitchen.blogspot.in/2012/02/zesty-palette-series-4-sweet-luv-event.html

and toLinking to Kid's Delight hosted by Edible Entertainment