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Gingerbread Cupcakes

As the autumn fades into winter, not only does the weather changes, but also ones frame of mind!. Christmas appears to be around the corner and one starts getting the festive and holiday vibes early on!  To quote the Santa from the movie Miracle on 34th Street, “Christmas isn’t just a day. Its a frame of mind”. And I get into this frame of mind very fast ! I l simply love the smell of cinnamon and ginger that wafts through the house when you bake Christmas goodies, especially the gingerbread cookies and cakes. Continue reading “Gingerbread Cupcakes”

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Vinegars

It is the sour that makes you appreciate the sweet, isn’t it? All citrus fruits are naturally occurring sour agents. There are many other sour agents like tamarind, berries etc. But here I am going to talk about the most popular sour agent used in food industry both for the flavour, pickling and as a preservative. Yes you guessed it right! I am talking about the vinegar.
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Almond Circles

Cookies are joy bundled in a bite! I hardly know of anyone who dislikes cookies. They are pretty much bite sized and very personal. They could be crispy, crunchy, soft or chewy. They can be of variety of shapes, sizes, texture and flavour creating a plethora of possibilities! Essentially cookies are like cakes except with less moisture content, smaller size and hence less baking time.  Continue reading “Almond Circles”

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Basbousa – A Middle Eastern delicacy

For me a semolina cake is reminiscent of my childhood! Mom baked it often to celebrate our small  successes or on joyous occasions. What set this semolina cake apart from the flour cake was its distinctive texture as a semolina has a coarser texture than the all purpose flour. 

I wanted my daughters to have the semolina cake and decided to tweak the recipe a little bit to make it more exotic. Actually, this semolina cake is really a take on the Middle Eastern cake made with semolina called Basbousa. In fact it is found in Middle East, Balkans and North Africa under different names : in Arabic it is called as Basbousa or Basboosa or Nammoura or Hareesa, in Armenian it is Shamali, Greek and Turkish it is Revani.  Continue reading “Basbousa – A Middle Eastern delicacy”