Mocha Fudge Cake

Ingredients :
(about 12 servings)

For the Cake

• All Purpose Flour - 1 cup

• Sugar - 2 cups

• Dark Cocoa - 3/4 cup

• Unsalted Butter - 1 & 1/4 cup (2 & 1/2 stick)

• Eggs - 4

• Pecan (finely chopped) - 1 cup

• Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

• Salt - 1/4 tsp

• Chocolate Curls / Shavings

Coffee Filling
(about 3 cups filling)

• Whipping Cream (cold) - 1 & 1/2 cups

• Light Brown Sugar - 1/3 cup

• Coffee (instant & powdered) - 2 tsp

Method :

• Melt the butter, either in a bowl in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the gas.

• To the melted butter, add cocoa and mix well to blend it perfectly. Let it cool slightly.

• Take the eggs in a separate bowl (large) and beat them until foamy. Add the salt and vanilla to it.

• Now add sugar and beat it well (preferably use a electric mixer).

• Add the cooled chocolate mixture and beat well to blend all ingredient thoroughly.

• Add the flour. Stir in the pecans (make sure they are finely chopped).

• Grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round baking pans. You may also use parchment / butter / wax paper to line the bottoms of the pans.

• Heat oven to 350 F.

• Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes and then check with a toothpick inserted in center which should come out clean. (Do not over-bake).

• Cool for about 5 minutes by placing the pans over wire racks.

• Now remove the cakes from the pans and place them over the wire racks and let them cool completely (take off the parchment paper now, if you used it).

• Coffee Filling - mix all ingredients and stir until the coffee is almost dissolved. Beat until stiff.

Assemble : 

• Spread the creamy coffee filling between the layers, over the top and sides of the cake.

• Garnish with chocolate shavings / curls (optional).

• Refrigerate 1 hour or longer before serving.

Recipe Source : Hershey's

Boston Cream Pie

Just came across this recipe and immediately wanted to try it. I had all the ingredients with me so on a normal weekday I went on to make the delicious Boston Cream Pie. And it was a great surprise fro Abhishek when he was back from office and I handed him this gorgeous piece of cake to eat!!

Boston Cream Pie is basically cake (not a pie) with a custard filling and chocolate topping..

All that I used :

(serves about 8 people)

For the cake - 

• All purpose flour - 1 & 1/4 cup

• Sugar - 1 cup

• Shortening - 1/3 cup

• Eggs - 2

• Milk - 3/4 cup

• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

• Baking powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp

• Salt - a pinch

Custard Filing -

Check the recipe here.

Chocolate Topping -

Check the recipe here.

How I made it :

• Take the shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large bowl. Beat them with a mixer (hand / stand) until it turns fluffy

• Add milk to this wet mixture and stir well.

• Now take another bowl and mix all the dry ingredients - the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well with a spatula.

• Add the dry mixture to the wet fluffy batter, in 2-3 small batches. Use the mixer to blend in all the ingredients in a smooth uniform batter.

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

• Grease a 9 inch cake pan. Pour the prepared batter in the pan.

• Put the pan in the oven and bake it for about 3-35 minutes, till an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

• Once done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

• Put the cake on a flat base (like your kitchen counter or a flat plate). Use a long serrated knife and cut cake horizontally into two even layers.

• Take the bottom piece of the cake and place it (cut side facing up) on a plate (normal flat or any other serving plate).

• Pour the custard filling over the cut cake layer. Use a bread knife or a cake spread knife  to spread the custard (on the cake) nicely and as uniformly as you can. 

• Put the other piece on top now (cut side down). 

• Pour the chocolate sauce on top of cake, allowing it to drizzle down the edges.

• Now put the cake in the fridge for a few hours for it (the custard and the chocolate sauce) to settle down.

• Take it out when you have to serve!!!!

Recipe Source : Hershey's

Chocolate Sauce (for Cake Toppings)

This is a simple and quick recipe to make some nice and syrupy chocolate sauce. You can use this recipe when you need to pout chocolate glaze over a cake  like Boston Cream Pie or any other dessert.

If not anything else, you can serve it on top of plain vanilla ice-cream and serve as a dessert, or use a spoonful in a glass of milk and give to your babies!!! They will surely like it....

All that I used : 
(Makes 1 cup sauce, enough for topping up 1 cake)

• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 3 Tbsp

• Butter - 2 Tbsp

• Powdered sugar - 1 cup

• Water - about 3 Tbsp

• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

How I made it :

• Take a non-stick saucepan and put it n medium heat.

• Put the water and butter in it. Mix it well and bring it to a boil.

• Give it about 2 minutes then remove from heat. 

• Now add in the unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's). Mix well, making sure to remove lumps, if any.

• Now add the powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar) and the vanilla extract.

• Mix it all very well so that it is a smooth sauce.

• Let it cool and then use it as you like.

Custard Filling (for Cakes)

This is a simple and quick recipe to make some thick and creamy custard. You can use this recipe when you need a filling for any cake like Boston Cream Pie.

If not anything else, you can serve this as a dessert all by itself, may be sprinkle some chocolate shaving to top it or may be just add some strawberry / chocolate syrup.

All that I used : 
(Makes 1 medium bowl, enough for 1 layer filling of any cake)

• Milk - 1 & 1/2 cup

• Sugar - 1/3 cup

• Egg yolk - 2

• Cornstarch - 2 Tbsp

• Butter - 1 Tbsp

• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

How I made it :

• Take the sugar and cornstarch in a non-stick pan, put it on medium heat. Stir and mix well. The sugar will start melting so keep stirring continuously.

• Add the milk in a minute or two.

• Beat the egg yolks slightly. Add them now. Stir nicely to blend all the ingredients nicely.

• Keep stirring it on medium heat till it comes to a boil. It would be about 5-7 minutes. Now switch of the gas.

• Add the butter and the vanilla extract.

• The consistency should like any custard - check picture below.

• Take it out in a container with a cover or a bowl and cover it. Let it cool down to the room temperature.

• Refrigerate it so that it thickens up and can be used later.

Chocolate Smash Cake (Egg-less) for Baby Boy's 1st Birthday

It was my son's 1st birthday in April this year and I wanted to bake a cake for him, all by myself. He had not had eggs till then (was waiting for his first year vaccine). So I had to do an egg-less cake for him. I went on a search and tweaked the recipe into amounts that would make a baby cake for my baby. When I say cake I mean a tiny one, made just for him, for his consumption..I would give him the cake and he could do whatever he likes to do with it - that was the idea!! 
This basically is called a ''Smash Cake''.....I had got this idea from my sister-in-law Shweta (brother's wife)..She had done the same thing (of course a cute pink one though!!!) for her daughter's 1st birthday and I had really liked the idea...

What is this Smash Cake?
It is a concept where you bake your one year old baby his very own cake, and he can do whatever he likes with it...Babies at this age mostly smash the cake with their hands, and hence the name. Massive destruction and splattering of the cake and a big mess is what results..But trust me it is worth every moment, and all the effort..

I did this thing for my son and seriously it was quite fun and enjoyable...We put him on his high chair and let him play around with his cake - he definitely took some time but eventually came around it...Some babies in fact eat the whole cake..
Also not to forget the lovely pictures we took which will definitely be treasured for years to come..By the way, if you are interested in the thing but not in making it yourself, you could go ahead and buy it too - most bakeries in USA make those...I guess any bakery could, as it is nothing but a tiny very of any normal cake!!!

All that I used :

(Serves - The 'One' birthday boy)

• All purpose flour - 6 Tbsp (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp)

• Sugar - 1/4 cup

• Unsweetened cocoa powder - 1 Tbsp

• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

• Salt - a pinch

• Vegetable oil - 2 Tbsp

• Water - 1/4 cup

• Vinegar - 1 tsp

• Vanilla extract - 2-3 drops

• 4'' * 2" round cake pan - most important

For the frosting - 

• Cream cheese - 3 oz

• Unsalted butter - 3 Tbsp

• Vanilla extract - 2 drops

• Confectioner's sugar - 1/4 cup

• Blue food color - 2 drops (optional)

• Icing set - Star tip (number 32), disposable bag, tip coupler

How I made it :

Cake

• In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt.

• Warm up the water (just about boiling). You could do it in the microwave - in a cup for about a minute, or boil it in a pan on the stove for about a minute.

• Now take another bowl and put all the liquids in it - oil, hot water, vinegar, vanilla extract. Mix well and let them blend nicely.

• Now add the liquid mixture to the dry powdered mixture till they are combined well.

• Grease your tiny cake pan with little butter. Pour the cake batter in it.

• Preheat the over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the cake (on lower rack of the oven) for about anywhere between 20 - 25 minutes. Mine took 24 minutes. Make sure you do a quick check at 18 minutes, with a toothpick and see if that comes out clean when you poke it into the cake.

• Wait for about 5 minutes, then take the cake out. I used a spring-foam pan so it was easier for me to take the cake out!!

• Allow the cake to cool completely and then do the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Get the cream cheese and the butter to room temperature.

• Take the cream cheese and mix with the butter, until creamy (about 2 minutes on low speed of a hand mixer).

• Add the vanilla extract and the sugar and mix till a smooth paste is formed (another 2 minutes on low speed of a hand mixer).

• This mixture was now an off-white shade. Since it was my baby boy's birthday I added blue food color to make it a perfect boyish cake!! Mix well, so that it is a uniformly colored blue frosting.

• The design of the frosting on the cake was just spontaneous and random. You could anything you like. I had couple of tips and I picked up the star tip (number 32) and used it.

• I filled up the icing bag and then just went on squeezing it out of the cake. I let it cool in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This is what the end result was. 

A close look on the frosting!!

Recipe Source : Barbara Bakes

Gobi Fry

Yet another easy peasy recipe. Actually I was planning on making something else and hence fried the gobi (cauliflower) but somehow time did not permit and I was left with fried gobi. So instead of waiting to make my originally thought of dish I took a detour and this quick and simple yet amazingly tasty recipe out of the fried gobi sitting on my kitchen counter. I admit it was a bit time taking (due the deep frying of the gobi) but the taste at the end was too delicious that on demand I had to make it the very next week again!!

All that I used :
(Serves 6)

• Cauliflower - 1 big

• Onion - 2-3 medium sized

• Green chilly - 2-3

• Oil - for deep frying

• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

• Tawa fry masala powder - 1 Tbsp

• Salt - to taste

How I made it :

• Cut the cauliflower into small to medium sized pieces.

• Wash and clean those cut cauliflower pieces nicely. Let it dry on its own for some time and let all the water drain out.

• Heat oil in a deep pan for frying. By now the cauliflower must have dried also.

• Deep fry the cauliflower in the hot oil, in batches, keeping the heat on medium to high.

• Set aside all the fried gobi on a flat plate.

• Once all the gobi has been deep fried, take another wok / kadhai and heat it.

• Drain out the oil from the plate where you put the fried gobi onto the wok you just put on stove.

• Slice the onion into thin long pieces. Chop the green chilly.

• Once the oil is warm add the cut onions and the green chilly and fry them for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat. The onion needs to be crunchy.

•  Add in the fried gobi and toss it well.

• Now add turmeric powder, the vegetable tawa fry masala powder and salt to taste.

• Mix well. We need not cook the gobi for long  on the wok as we want the pieces to be intact and crunchy.

• So about five minutes in total for the gobi on the wok on medium-high heat and we are done with this delicious dish. This five minutes will let the masala powder sink into the gobi pieces.

We ate with garma-garam (hot) phulka (Indian wheat bread)..And everyone just loved it!!! 

Well you could serve it as a starter dish too...

Note:

• I use the Tawa Fry Masala made by MDH company.

Colorful Mushroom

Does the name sound too catchy?? I couldn't help but call it this :)

Actually when I was done cooking this and I saw this on my plate, all I could think of was, 'colorful mushrooms'. It is this way because I have used red, yellow and green pepper (capsicum) and seriously  no other stunts. Pretty basic and simple recipe, which came out more of necessity rather than any other reasons. I had mushrooms and some red, yellow and green  pepper (leftovers from the day when I had made Tortilla Rolls) and somehow I had to use them. So I cooked them all together without adding no spices whatsoever and what came out was really nice and tasty, best part being - it was done with so quickly.

All that I used :

(Serves 3-4)

• Mushroom - about 20

• Red pepper - 1 small

• Yellow pepper - 1 small

• Green pepper - 1 small

• Onion - 1 medium sized

• Green chilly - 1 or 2

• Oil - 2 tsp

• Salt - to taste

How I made it :

• Chop the clean mushrooms into small squared shape pieces. Use the stems as well.

• Chop the peeled onion into small squared pieces.

• Chop the washed red, yellow and green into small squared pieces.

• Chop the green chilies.

• Heat the oil in a skillet.

• Add the chopped onion and the green chilly pieces. Toss and stir them for a minute on medium heat.

• Now add the mushroom. Keep the heat on medium to high as the mushroom might leave water and we want that to evaporate soon. Keep mixing well.

• Since mushroom is cut in tiny pieces, it will not take much long to cook them. So cook them on medium heat now for about 3-5 minutes till they start getting softer.

• Add the cut colored peppers.Toss nicely. We want the pepper to be crunchy so we won't be cooking them for long and the mushroom is almost done now too.

• Add salt to taste. Mix well.

• About 2 minutes and we should be done. Switch of the gas. If you want the peppers to be little more soft, cook a little while more.

Serve it with hot roti or plain paratha.

Note:

• You could do this with just any one kind of (colored) pepper. I used all three colors as they were readily available with me.

Baked Salmon (with lemon pepper garlic)

Abhishek had been wanting me to bake Salmon since like ages!! And every time I end with Catfish ;)

So this time he took matters to his hands, went to the shop on his own last to last weekend and got 1 big fillet of Salmon and gave me an ultimatum that I better bake it...What did I do?? I was not able to make up my mind on how to bake it so I put in the freezer for about till this Sunday. Weekend was kind of busy so Abhishek kind of forgot about the fillet of Salmon. Finally today when the guilt feeling set in, I pulled it out and decided to make something with it finally. 

Tell you what, we both enjoyed it thoroughly!!

 

All that I used :
(Serves 1- 2)

• Salmon fillet - 1 (about 8 oz / 200 gms)

• Garlic - 2 pods

• Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp

• Black pepper - 1 tsp

• Salt - about 1 tsp

• Olive oil - 2-3 Tbsp

• Baking dish / tray

• Aluminium foil

How did I make it :

• The fillet was clean so there was no time needed to get the fish ready.

• Mince the garlic very finely.

• Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

• Preheat the oven to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit (should take about 10 minutes).

• Spread the aluminium foil on the baking dish / tray.

• Place the salmon on the foil (on the baking dish / tray). Put the mixture all over the salmon, making sure its covered on all sides properly.

• Wrap the foil and get the salmon closed nicely.

• Put it in the oven for about 15 minutes.

• Take it out carefully (remember the tray is very hot), open the foil, take a fork and make small pokes on the salmon. Turn it upside down and repeat.

• Wrap the foil again and put the salmon inside for baking for another 15 minutes.

• It should be done after about 30 minutes of baking. Just check with the fork to see if the salmon flakes easily. And also the salmon would have changed its colour.

What else...The salmon is baked to perfection, in the most simple way..Eat it hot!!!!

Note:

• You can use any cooking oil, just in case olive oil is not handy.

• Once the salmon is baked and you open the aluminium foil, there will be some juicy gravy. If you don't want the juice, you may drain it. But try it before you discard it, I surely liked it, tangy and garlicky it was..

Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushroom

Yet another mouth watering appetizer and my love for mushroom got me there..I was looking at making some stuffing for mushroom and kind of liked this idea i came across..I would say this is the western way of having a mushroom, with baking, cream cheese etc..I find the idea of baking appealing as I can prepare rest of things before hand. So that when it is time to eat I could just put the baking tray lined up with mushroom in the oven and not bother much with things like stirring, mixing etc. etc.

All that I used :

(a dozen bite sized mushrooms)

• Button mushroom - about 12

• Cream cheese - 8 oz (1 pack)

• Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup

• Garlic - 2-3 pods

• Vegetable oil - 1 Tbsp

• Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

• Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp

• Onion powder - 1/2 tsp

How I made it :

• Wash and clean the mushroom nicely. Let the water dry off naturally.

• Get the cream cheese to room temperature (we want it soft).

• Break the stem of the mushroom. Mince those stems.

• Chop the garlic finely.

• Heat the oil in a a pan. Add the garlic and minced mushroom stem and fry for about 5 minutes on medium heat till it is completely dry and smell of garlic is gone. Take it out in a big bowl and let it cool.

• Once the garlic mushroom mixture is completely cool, add the cream cheese, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper and onion powder. Add almost all of the cheese, leaving a little bit to sprinkle on top of the mushrooms.

• Mix all the ingredients nicely into a thick paste.

• Now take spoonful of the mixture and start filling up the mushrooms, making a heap on each one. Sprinkle little cheese on top of each mushroom.

• Line up the baking tray with aluminium foil and grease it lightly with cooking spray or butter.

• Put the mushrooms on the tray, evenly spaced out.

• Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Bake the mushrooms for about 20 minutes, till they are slightly brown.

Serve the piping hot mushrooms right out of the oven!!

(Sorry for not posting a picture now as as I am not able to trace it. I will do it asap)

Recipe Source : Allrecipes

Garlic Focaccia Bread

I have been wanting and thinking of baking a bread since long. Even the yeast packet I had brought had got tired of sitting in my kitchen racks. This is the first bread I baked, finally. It came out really well and we all liked it too..The only thing I wish is that I had baked it with fresh basil leaves rather than the dried packaged one, the taste would have been really much different and better!!!

This could be such a appetizer for any party that you hold have. Keep it ready before your guests arrive, put it in the oven once they are settled in and take it out fresh in about fifteen minutes. Cut it into bite sized pieces and serve warm with some nice dip... 

All that I used :

• All purpose flour - 2 cups

• Basil - about 2 Tbsp

• Active dry yeast - 1 tsp

• Black pepper - a generous pinch

• Olive oil - 2 Tbsp

• Unsalted butter - 1/2 stick

• Garlic - 6-8 pods

• Salt - 1 tsp

• Water - about a cup

How I made it :

• It is definitely better to use fresh basil leaves but I used dry and crushed basil leaves (I decided to make it in a jiffy and basil was the only thing I did not have so I went ahead and used the packaged dried basil). If you are using fresh leaves, chop them nice and fine.

• Take the all-purpose flour in a big bowl. Add about 1 table spoon of the chopped basil, the yeast, salt and black pepper. Mix well.

• Add the olive oil to the flour mixture.

• Warm about a cup of water.

• Using the warm water, knead the flour mixture into a soft and nice dough. It should take about 5 minutes.

• Take a pizza pan and grease it lightly with some butter and flour (it is a general thing to do for any baking).

• Take the dough and flatten it on the pizza pan, making a circle of about 9 inch.

• Cover it (with some other big bowl or utensil) and let it rest and rise. Leave it for about 30 minutes.

• Now preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Use a butter knife and make about 4 lines on the flattened dough. (see pic below to get a fair idea what I mean).

• Melt the butter. Mince the garlic. Add the garlic and the remaining chopped basil. Mix well.

• Spread the butter mixture on the dough.

• Now put the tray in the oven and bake it for about 15 minutes. Check if it is done and cooked fully.

Cut in desirable pieces and serve warm....Tasty soft fresh and warm garlic bread is ready to melt in your mouth...The aroma is what will pull people..

Note :

• Definitely use fresh basil..I used the dry one so my pic doesn't look all that great, and the basil looks a little bit too much.

• I kind of like garlic so I can use it a little more. Adjust the amount of garlic you want to use depending on your taste.

Chocolate Cherry Treat

I was inviting few of my friends and their families over for dinner. And these friends of mine, each of them had 2 kids. So it got me thinking that no matter what I should have some exciting dessert for the kids. I kind of started surfing the net until I came across this one. This was easy, simple and straight forward and did not need much preparation or time. Kids like jelly (gelatin) stuff (I for one like it...) and chocolate is everyone's all time favorite...I was also intrigued how the combination of chocolate and cherry would turn out. So I made these and it so turned out that the kids really liked it. One gulp and one down!!

What I used :

(makes about 12-14 treats)

• Cherry flavored gelatin - 3 oz (1 pack)

• Semi-sweet chocolate - 2 oz (1/4 cup)

• Evaporated milk - 6 oz

• Water - 1/3 cup

• Cherry - about 12-14

How I made it :

• Boil about 1/3rd cup of water.

• Pour the whole packet of cherry gelatin powder in a bowl. Add the water to it. Mix well (for may be about 2 minutes) till the powder is dissolved well. Keep it aside

• Pour the evaporated milk in another microwave safe bowl. 

• Coarsely crush the chocolate and add to the bowl with evaporated milk.

• Microwave it on high for about 2-5 minutes, till it is completely melted. Stop and check in between each minute to make sure it is melted and stir each time.

• Add the melted chocolate mixture to the cherry gelatin mixture and mix well to blend it properly.

• Lightly grease a mini cup cake tray or an ice cube tray using a cooking spray.

• Pour the mixture into the tray and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

• Take it out and add a cherry topping to each mold. Press down gently so that the cherry sticks.

• Put it back in the refrigerator for another 20 minutes.

• Take out of the molds and serve.

Serve it out on a platter for your guests to pick each one up and gulp it down!!

Note :

• You may try it with any flavor of gelatin. Make sure to top it with that fruit (and may be not with a cherry!!!)

• You could use semi-sweet chocolate chips or bars. I used chips so i did not have to crush them much. If you using a chocolate bar, crush it coarsely before microwaving it.

• You could use small paper cups as molds if you do not have a ice-cube tray or a mini cupcake tray.

• I used the preserved cherries (maraschino cherries). You could use fresh ones, ones with the stems as it adds nice look to the treats.

• The size of these depends on you, but make sure not to make them too big as they are best in a small shape.

• This can stay overnight in the refrigerator.

Recipe Source : Kraft

Burnt Cheesecake (Oriya Style) : ''Chena Poda''

Happy Ram Navami to everyone!!

As Navratri ends and to celebrate Ram Navami, my friend Himanshi has invited us for dinner tonight to their place to savor prasad - puri, chole and sooji haIwa. I told her I would bring some dessert and since its a puja celebration I had to do something without eggs. Long back my aunt from Texas had told me how to make Chena Poda, the typical and very famous Oriya sweet. I decided no better day to make it. It is really very easy to make and is done with very few ingredients.

Chena Poda is my all time favorite Oriya sweet. Chena means paneer and Poda means burnt. So it is basically a sweet made out of paneer (cheese) and baked to an extent where its slightly burnt. And for me those burnt edges are the tastiest portion!!

Back home we don't buy this sweet in pieces but rather in quantities of kilos (kg)..That is how  much this sweet is loved. 

What all I used :

(makes about 25 pieces)

• 16 oz Ricotta cheese (2 cups)

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup half and half (or whole milk)

• 1/4 cup Sooji

• 3-4 pods of cardamom

• Little butter or ghee for greasing

Optional

• Few raisins

• Few cashew nuts

How I made it :

• Mix the ricotta cheese, brown sugar, sooji and milk together in a big bowl. You can use a hand mixer or else do it with your hand. Make sure all of the ingredients are mixed well.

• Break down the cardamom pods and crush them a bit (you can use a mortar and pestle). Add them to the mixture.

• Taste the mixture. If you feel it is little less sweet then add some more sugar to suit your taste buds.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

• Take a stoneware baking dish. Grease it nicely (by spreading it all over) with butter or ghee (1/2-1 teaspoon should do it).

• Pour the mixture in the baking dish and cover it tightly with aluminium foil.

• Bake it (on the lower rack of the oven) for about one hour (60 - 70 minutes). Check with a knife or a toothpick if the center is baked properly or not.  If not, give it another 5 - 10 minutes in the oven. Once done take off the foil of the baking dish.

• Now turn the oven into the broil mode. Put the dish on the top rack of the oven and broil it for 5 -10 mins, until the top is nice golden dark color. Definitely check it at 5 minutes and if you want it to brown up further leave it for another 3-5 minutes.

• This is how it looks once you take it out finally.

Let it cool don and cut it into small pieces to savor.!!

I put in the refrigerator for some time and used it.

Note :

• I usually pick my Ricotta Cheese from Walmart. It is a pretty common thing and you will find it in most other stores too.

• You can use fresh paneer if you can make it or fetch it from somewhere. Make sure you have drained all the water out of it. (Here is USA it is easier to use Ricotta Cheese ;))

• You can use packaged cardamom powder too. Take 1 tsp. But best will be to use fresh crushed cardamom.

• Adjust the level of sweetness to suit yourself by adding more or less of sugar.

• I did not use (this time) raising / cashews but it surely brings out good taste. You can chop them into smaller pieces and add them to the mixture before baking.

• I personally love a little extra burnt Chena Poda (after all that is the Poda meant for). To suit your liking and taste keep a check on the broiling part.

Recipe Source : Rina Misra, My aunty who lives in Lubbock (TX)