12 Mini Chocolate Cupcakes | Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, a delicious and mildly sweetened chocolate cupcakes which are perfect for your kids snack box as well as tea time snacks. 

In general, i'm not a big fan of icing so i never used it here. But you're making this for a party or birthday celebration, then you can decorate them with some icing and it would be a perfect treat!

I have been making this chocolate cupcakes regularly at our home for over a year now. It's always been a such a huge hit with my kid. He loves this chocolate cupcake and ask me to bake this often so at alteast once in a month i make this. 

During this year's spring break, i made these chocolate cupcakes twice in a week and he eagerly did all the mixing and patiently waited till it got ready :-)

For the given measurement in the recipe index, it makes exactly 12 mini cupcakes. But you can also use the same batter to bake it in a 6 inch cake tin as well as 5*7 inch loaf pan. It all turned out good. 

As i said earlier, this chocolate cup cake is mildly sweetened and that's how we like it in our home. For more sweetness, i would recommend to add 2 more tbsp of sugar and use milk chocolate chips (instead of semi sweet chocolate chips).  That's what i do when i bake this cake for friends :-)

So now let's check out how to make these simple and delicious chocolate cupcakes. 

12 Mini Chocolate Cup Cakes

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 12 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mini cupcakes, Chocolate cupcakes, cupcakes, chocolate,12 mini cupcakes Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, a delicious and mildly sweetened chocolate cupcakes which are perfect for your kids snack box as well as tea time snacks.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - 1/3 cup

Cocoa Powder - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1/4 cup

Salt - a pinch

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp

Vanilla Extract - 1/4 tsp

Milk - 2 tbsp

Egg - 1

Semi Sweet Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup*

* Add more or less of chocolate chips as per your liking.

Procedure

Preheat the oven @ 350F .  In a bowl, crack open a egg, whisk it gently for 30 secs and then add the sugar.

Next add the vanilla extract and the oil. Whisk it all well together. Then shift the dry ingredients(flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder) into the egg mixture.

Next add the add and mix it all well until it become a smooth batter. 

Then add half of the chocolate chips into batter and mix it gently.  Line the cup cake tray with the liner and pour the cake batter into each mould and sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top of each mould.

Put it in the preheated oven and bake it for 12-15 mins. 

Delicious and soft cupcakes are ready.

Related: Chocolate Banana Bread

Notes:

• Instead of the liner, you can grease the cup cake tray and bake it.
• Adding oil makes the make moist even when store it in refrigerator.

Continue Reading »

Burger Bun | Easy Burger Bun recipe

Burger Bun, a delicious and soft bun that's mainly used for making burgers. Making burger buns at home is so easy and it tastes so delicious and flavorful.

In our home, we use burger buns for sandwiches or as pav in pav bread and many more. After a couple of trail and errors, i found this recipe and it yields such a soft and flavourful buns every SINGLE time.

If you're looking for a fool proof  burger bun  recipe, then do give this recipe a try and let me know how you like it. 

I love baking buns and breads at home more than cakes or muffins. This is one of the buns that i have been baking for a year or two now. Couple of months ago only, I took the picture and it's in the draft for a while. Finally today, i found the time to edit the post and post it here. 

Though i have been cooking like before or even more at home nowadays, posting a recipe has somewhat reduced for the last few years. I wish that  at least this year would be different :-)

All purpose flour

First thing first, to make  bread you need the flour. Here for this recipe, i'm using the unbleached all purpose flour. 

I have tried this bread with a couple of brands of all purpose flour including the Walmart brand and i didn't find any noticeable difference in the taste and texture of the bread.  So go ahead and use whatever you have  in your home. 

Yeast

Next, to make the bread, you need the yeast. I switched to instant yeast a long time ago for all my baking that needs the yeast because it's so easy to use and you don't need to worry about proofing the yeast.

If you're a beginner in baking, i highly recommend to use the instant yeast over the dry yeast. So far i never experienced the proofing failure in using the instant yeast.

Sesame seed

You can make this bun without sesame seeds too. But i love adding sesame seeds and it gives such a nice finish to the bun.

Finally don't let the buns bake for a longer time than the mentioned time, it makes the bun hard and dry.

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Burger Bun.

Burger Bun

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Buns | Recipe Cuisine: American
Burger Bun,Eggless Burger Bun,Easy Burger Bun Burger Bun, a delicious and soft bun that's mainly used for making burgers.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 3 cups

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Instant yeast - 2 tsp

Water - 1 to 1&1/4 cups

Melted Butter - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp

White Sesame Seed - 2 tsp(optional)

Procedure

In a large bowl, measure and add the flour(don't press the flour while measuring ), next add the sugar and salt. Mix it well with the flour.

Then add the yeast, mix it well with the flour and make a well in the center of the flour.

Add the water(make sure that the water is lukewarm) and butter(2 tbsp). 

Mix it all together with the spatula. Once it all comes together as a single mass, transfer the dough into the counter top.

Start kneading the dough with the kneel of your palm , fold and then knead. Repeat the same for about 10 mins. After 10 mins, you can able to stretch the dough thinly without tearing and see through it. It's called window pane test and the dough should pass it or else knead little more.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and then apply a little bit of melted butter on top of the dough.  Cover the bowl with a lid and set it aside in a warm place for about 50 mins to 1 hr.

After 1 hr, the dough should be doubled. Punch the dough to release the air and then transfer the dough on to the counter top and divide the dough into small balls.

Then take each dough and place in between the palm of your hand and roll it on the working surface in a circular position until the surface of the dough is smooth.

Place it on the baking tray. Do the same for all the dough and then place it on the baking tray with gap in between them. Let it sit aside for 30 mins for second proof.

Meantime, preheat the oven @350 F. Once the dough is doubled again, brush the top with milk and sprinkle sesame seed(if you're using) and put it in the preheated oven and bake it for 22-25 mins. Apply some butter on top of the bun when it's warm.

Delicious Burger Bun is ready. 

Related:How to make Pav Bread 

Notes:

• It stays well for 2-3 days at room temperature.
• This bun freezes well too. So you can freeze them for later use.

Continue Reading »

White Bread, the good old fashioned bread made without any preservatives. This is my go-to white bread recipe that yields such a soft bread. It tastes so much better than any store bought bread. 

I have been baking whole wheat bread for years at home. But i never tried my hands on this classic white bread until a year ago. Ever since i had started baking this white bread at home, it's become our family favourite. My kid loves this bread so much and eats as it is without anything on it.

If you're looking for an easy yet fool-proof recipe for white bread, then look no further, here it is ! Do give it a try and i'm sure that you love how incredible it is.

All purpose flour

First thing first, to make  bread you need the flour. Here for this recipe, i'm using the unbleached all purpose flour. 

I have tried this bread with a couple of brands of all purpose flour including the Walmart brand and i didn't find any noticeable difference in the taste and texture of the bread.  So go ahead and use whatever you have  in your home. 

Yeast

Next, to make the bread, you need the yeast. I switched to instant yeast a long time ago for all my baking that needs the yeast because it's so easy to use and you don't need to worry about proofing the yeast.

If you're a beginner in baking, i highly recommend to use the instant yeast over the dry yeast. So far i never experienced the proofing failure in using the instant yeast. 

Tips for beginners 

1. Don't tightly pack the measuring cups with the flour. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup while measuring the flour. Too much flour makes the bread so dense.
2. Depends on the quality of the flour, you may need 1 to 1& 1/4 cups of water. Start with 1 cup and if needed add more. 
3. Kneading the dough is highly important to make soft bread. For kneading the dough, you can use either the dough machine or simply your hands. In this recipe, i have used my hands for kneading and it still yields perfect bread loaf. So don't worry if you don't have a dough kneading machine, still you can make this bread without any compromise in taste and texture :-)
4. Make sure to mix the sugar in the flour before adding the yeast in the flour. Sugar helps to grow the yeast and makes the dough proof. Instead of sugar, you can also use honey.
5. Make sure to use the lukewarm water to make the dough. It helps to activate the yeast fast.

That's it ! Now let's check how to make this incredibly delicious white bread.

White Bread | White Sandwich Bread

Preparation Time : 2 hrs | Cooking Time : 40 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Bread | Recipe Cuisine: English
White Bread, White Sandwich Bread White Bread, the good old fashioned bread made without any preservatives.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 3 cups

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Instant yeast - 2 tsp

Water - 1 to 1&1/4 cups

Melted Butter - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp

Procedure

In a large bowl, measure and add the flour(don't press the flour while measuring ), next add the sugar and salt. Mix it well with the flour.

Then add the yeast, mix it well with the flour and make a well in the center of the flour.

Add the water(make sure that the water is lukewarm) and butter(2 tbsp). 

Mix it all together with the spatula. Once it all comes together as a single mass, transfer the dough into the counter top.

Start kneading the dough with the kneel of your palm , fold and then knead. Repeat the same for about 10 mins. After 10 mins, you can able to stretch the dough thinly without tearing and see through it. It's called window pane test and the dough should pass it or else knead little more.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and then apply a little bit of melted butter on top of the dough.  Cover the bowl with a lid and set it aside in a warm place for about 50 mins to 1 hr.

After 1 hr, the dough should be doubled. Punch the dough to release the air and then transfer the dough on to the counter top. Roll the dough into a rectangle(8*12 approx) with a rolling pin.

Next start rolling the dough from one side to the other and then pinch the edges so that it sticks together.

Place the dough in a loaf pan and keep it aside for another 30-40 mins. In the meantime, preheat the oven @350 F.

Once the dough is proofed again into double. Apply a little bit of butter on the top and bake it in the preheated oven for 35-40 mins. After 40 mins, take the loaf pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. 

Once the bread is cooled  down a bit. Cut into slice and enjoy a warm slice of  bread with bread. Yep! That's my way of treating myself for making the homemade bread :-)

Related:How to make Whole Wheat Bread

Notes:

• It stays well for 2-3 days at room temperature.
• You can also freeze this bread. It freezes well and tastes fresh once thawed.

Continue Reading »

Coconut Macaroons, delicious and flavorful cookies made with just two main ingredients such as dried shredded coconut and condensed milk. 

It's one of the easiest bakes that i have made so far. If you have been following me for a while then you may already know that how much i love coconut or anything with coconut. I had been wanting to make these macaroons for a while and finally made them a couple of months ago. As expected, the cookies are so delicious! 

Ever since, i have been making these macaroons regularly at home and it's been my favorite now. It tastes and reminds me of the coconut cookies from the Indian bakeries. If you like coconut flavor then do give it a try !  

Life has been so busy with running around the toddler lately. So everything takes a back seat and i have been struggling to post a recipe in a month :-) But i love to cook/bake with my little one and he's so curious about mixing, pouring and everything that i do in the kitchen. 

Though it takes time and a lot of energy to bake along with the kids, sometimes i do love it. Lastly, he happily poses for the pictures whenever i ask him to hold the food :-)  The below picture has my whole heart ❤️  It's always the little things that make the most beautiful memories, right?

Now coming back to today's recipe, let' see what type of coconut to use 

Coconut Flakes vs Shredded Coconut vs Desiccated coconut. 

All these varieties are dried versions of coconut that's usually available in packets under the baking section in the grocery stores. These dried versions are available as both sweetened and unsweetened. I have used unsweetened coconut. 

Also for this recipe, we want finely shredded coconut. Both finely shredded and desiccated coconut works but desiccated coconut may need little more of condensed milk for the below mentioned quantity in the Ingredients section. 

If you find only coconut flakes that are thick or long stripes then pulse it for a couple of times in a blender/mixie that will help to shape the macaroons better. I have used dried finely shredded coconut flakes  in this recipe.

Ok, now let's check out how to make these delicious macaroons. 

2 Ingredients Coconut Macaroons | Coconut Macaroons with Condensed milk

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Coconut Macaroons,Coconut Macaroons with Condensend milk,2 Ingredients Coconut Macaroons Coconut Macaroons, delicious and flavorful cookies made with just two main ingredients such as dried shredded coconut and condensed milk.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Dried Shredded Coconut(unsweetened) - 1 cup

Condensed milk - 1/4 cup*

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Candied Cherries - a few(optional)

*You can use up to 1/3 cup for more sweetness

Procedure

Preheat the oven at 350 F 

In a bowl, add the dried shredded coconut(unsweetened), condensed milk and vanilla essence.

First mix it all with a spatula and then switch to your hands and mix it well until it all combines together.Check whether you're able to make balls from the coconut mixture. If not, add a couple of tsp of condensed milk at a time and check again. Do this until until you're able to form the ball. Even with the same brand of all ingredients, sometimes 1/4 cup of condensed milk is enough for 1 cup of coconut and sometimes it needs more. So depends on the ingredients, you may need more or not.

Next cut the candied cherries into half and keep it aside. Make a small ball out of the coconut mixture and flatten it a bit in your palm.

Place it on the parchment lined baking sheet and then place the cherries on the center for each macaroon. Candied cherries is totally optional. So you can skip it if you don't have it.

Place it in the oven and bake it for 18-20 mins.

Delicious Coconut Macaroons are ready. Let them cool completely and store it in airtight container.

Related: How to make Almond flour Cookies

Notes:

• Macaroons would be soft when they are out of the oven. It firms up once it's completely cooled.
• These macaroons stay crispy for a day or two, after that it became soft. 
• Cherries are totally optional, so you can skip that if you don't want to use them.

Continue Reading »