eggless malt cupcakes with malt buttercream

Hi guys........back again with the eggless version of the malt cupcakes..I  had a few enquires on how to make these malt-cupcakes-with-malty-buttercream.  eggless.........so after experimenting ........here it is ..ta da!

INGRDS
1 cup wholewheat flour(atta),1/2 cup oats.1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup curd(yogurt)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup malt(chocomalt,ovaltine,horlicks etc)
1/2 tsp baking soda.1/2 tsp baking powder(I will reduce the bakng soda to 1/4 tsp next time)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup oil
FOR THE BUTTERCREAM ICING
50gms butter
2 tablespoons powered sugar
4 tablespoons choco malt(or any of the other malt products)
2-3 tablespoons milk
METHOD
1.Since this comes from my kitchen..you know we are going to take the easy way out!Seive the dry ingrds and keep ready(the flours,and the b.p and b.s.add the oats )
2.In your blender,add the curd,sugar,oil,essence,blend.....then pour onto the dry stuff.mix.
3.Preheat your oven,and pour this mix 3/4 th way into the cupcake wrappers(which are sitting in a muffin pan).Bake for 25-30 mins at 180degC.

4 Now....heres the thing....these guys were awesome 15 mins into the oven..all rounded tops...like a cupcake should be...infact they could've gone for cupcake modelling...then they decided to flop down...sad...sad!......bUT.......once cooled and iced..they tasted pretty good.

ICING

Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy,add the milk and the chocomalt,beat again.........then ice generously the waiting...cooled cupcakes.

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 orange cake with sticky marmalade glaze

Hi guys....howz the heat treating you?Its become unbearably hot out here...and to top it all I'm playing "college student".I have to go to Jammu which is 60 kms from here.....the distance is not much...but the terrain is mountainous ....and I travel by rickety buses,which are, at times,driven by suicidal drivers......so I travel for 2-2 1/2 hours,attend practical classes for 3 hours,then get back to Udhampur.By the time I get back I'm incapable of liftingeven a pencil.This is going to continue till the 12th of June(I'm bunking today....YAY!)...so guys I'll be posting the recipes(mango cake,focaccia,coookies)post that and visiting all your blogs after the 12th of June.......unless I skip another day (which is veeeeeeerrrryy possible!)or I simply drop out of the course which is also very possible!
This is ,sadly ,the only photograph that was worth putting up(can you imagine the state of the rest of them).....but beauty is only skin deep..remember that.The cake is really nice.Its the regular pound cake, modified.You can also juice and zest fresh oranges..I just took the easy way out...I used tetrapack juice and maramalade.
INGRDS
2 cups flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tblsp orange marmalade
a couple of drops of orange colour(optional)
1 tsp of orange essence
GLAZE
4 tblsp orange marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
METHOD
1.Sieve the flour,baking pdr and salt.
2.Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy,add the eggs..one by one..beat well.Now would be the time to add the essence and colour(if adding)
3.Alternate the flour and juice into the butter mix.....lastly add the orange marmalade.....pour into a prepared tin(greased and dusted with flour.......I'm not big on lining tins with butter paper...but if that what you like then please stick to that)
4.Bake in a preheated oven at 180degC for 35-40 mins(till a skewer comes out clean)
5.Take it out of the oven,once it cools down,take it out onto a seerving plate.Poke holes (with a skewer)all over the cake.Now pour the hot glaze(I used a spoon)over the cake.The cake is ready.
GLAZE
Put the orange marmalade and juice in a pan and heat till the marmalade melts(you need to keep stirring)......glaze ready!
NOTE

You will need to refrigerate the cake.........this heat is not good for anything left out on the table.Inc....I put up more pics....the colour in these is washed out due to the over efficient flash..please look at the first pic for the colour of the cake.
Like I mentioned earlier..I used a tetra pack juice and orange marmalade.....please feel free to zest and juice 2 oranges.
If you're still in the mood for something more orangy try out   lazycooks-orange-sponge-drops

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.

lazy cooks kheer(creamy rice pudding)

Hi guys..I was all set to try out those cookies(neiman marcus)but I had to buckle down and concentrate on completing an order for cake and chocolates,which is when I decided to make kheer....because its the easiest thing in the world......and soooo very tasty!

Before I start with the recipe..I must tell you,taday was the day I decided to start my new diet(I just want to lose a little weight....OK...make that a lot of weight).Starving..aka..dieting is beyond me...so I decided that I would have a late breakfast....an early dinner  and fruits for lunch.There I was .9am..breakfast for a king....1.30pm..lunch time..a big bowl of watermelon....and I walked off for my a'noon siesta(Horrid...I know)..3.30pm I helped myself to lunch....and I'm seriously looking forward to dinner!Why.....why doesn't praying help to shed the extra tyres???I promise to pray each and every day..dear god..please make me slim!BTW...........this kheer is great as a dessert............or even as a snack!
INGRDS
3/4 cup basmati rice...wash and soak the rice for atleast half an hour
2 l milk(full fat.....please I insist)
4-5 cardamom pods
12 teaspoons of sugar
a few saffron strands soaked in half cup of warm milk
1/2 cup of almonds(blanched)(dipped in boiling water..left for a while...then peel the skin off)
1/2 cup of cashewnuts(soaked in 1 cup of water)
a handful of raisins
METHOD
1.Put the rice and milk together in a heavy bottomed pan,stir once in a way..let it come to a boil..then reduce the heat and let it simmer away...........just remember to stir once in a while.
2.Grind the almonds and the cashew(without water)...I normally do not grind this smooth...keep it granular..with some biggish pcs.
3.After what seems like an eternity,the rice would've cooked and the milk reduced...we're looking for a nice and creamy kheer.....add the ground nuts,raisins and the sugar...keep stirring...now would be a good time to taste and see whether more sugar is needed or not...add the soaked saffron..stir again.
4.Refrigerate....and serve cold.Garnish with some almonds

Another garnish that looks really nice is some chopped up desi gulab(an edible and extremely fragrant rose variety)

 These are the cakes that I had done recently.

They are both dark chocolate cakes,sandwiched with whipped cream(with a hint of rum).....the icing on the first one is whipped cream sprayed with wilton's golden spray.............the second one is covered in truffle icing..and whipped cream..and golden spray.

One reason why this goes to this event ......because both the cake and the kheer were taught to me  by my mom!

sending this tosrav's culinary concepts

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 grape jam

Hello!I love making preserves..........as you can check out the apple and fig jam..here.. and the gajar,gobi shalgam ka achar..here..........so when I saw.la@foodslice's.....purple grape jam...in all its purple glory..I just knew I had to make it  ASAP!She had made a very nice loaf with it too.I got the grapes, guarded them with my life(I have grape thieves around)..and made the jam on the stormy Sunday morning!Its a really easy recipe...and the jam is simply superb........thank you so much..la@foodslice...THANK YOU.....I simply loved the recipe.....and the whole family freaked out on the jam.....its being had on toast,on roti..or simply in a spoon! 
INGRDS
1 kg seedless black grapes......washed..and removed from the stem
2 cups sugar
METHOD
1.Put the grapes in a blender and blitz for a few seconds(you do not want complete mush..a few pieces here and there is good)
2.Into a heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat ,heat till bubbles appear on the side.then put the sugar in .....stir.
3.Let this bubble away for about 25 mins,stir once in a while...with a wooden spoon.....,.then after 25 mins....check for doneness.......simply take the spoon out of the purple madness..and draw a line in the back of the spoon (use your finger)...if the two halves don't make any attempt to get together..then the jam is done!

4.On toasted bread.its beyond divine............yum...yum.

Atta halwa

Hi folks.....this halwa happens to be a hot favourite with my kids.I  am not calling it kadha prasad...because the basic requirment for something to be called a prasad is that it be offered to god first.Although the recipe is the same...but i'm going to go with halwa..
INGRDS
1. 1 cup atta(whole wheat flour)
2. 1/2 cup ghee(clarified butter)
3. 1 cup sugar
4. 2 cups water
METHOD
1. In a saucepan put the sugar and water together,heat it ..let it come to a boil ..stir so that the sugar has completely dissolved and put the flame off.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan(i use a kadhai),put the ghee..let it melt..then add the atta and now stir away.You got to keep stirring this or it will stick to the bottom of the pan...keep stirring till the atta turns a nice golden brown....its hard work..i agree....look on the bright side..you're burning calories and you're going to eat the halwa,which is'nt exactly fat free....so stir away.

3. When the atta turns a nice golden brown,add  the sugar syrup..stir like crazy...keep stirring the lumps will go away..i promise.When there are no lumps and the halwa comes together nicely(this happens pretty fast)...get it of the flame ,put in a serving bowl and serve!My kids were standing with spoons ready to dig in...i had to fight them off to the the pics!N'joy.