Healthy Baking: The Really Gingery Ragi Biscuit

Ragi, flaxseed, jaggery, ginger, sesame seeds - you might wonder what these utterly healthy ingredients are doing in a cookie! You might even think it's a complete madhouse of an idea. Ragi / nachni / mandwa / finger millets have been an Indian superfood well before everyone and their uncle started pestering relatives abroad to get them boatloads of quinoa for their daily consumption instead of rice. India, being the world's largest producer of millets, it's high time we showed some respect for our own grains, rather than scrambling after every latest food trend in the world. Ragi, like most other millets, formed a part of prehistoric Indian meals, then completely ignored and considered downmarket in the years that followed, where the rich ate rice, and now slowly the awareness of these prehistoric grains as being nutritional powerhouses is coming back. 

For those who haven't tasted ragi flour, it does have a coarse texture and wont feel as smooth as a refined flour in your mouth. The coarseness comes from the fiber content in ragi. Among all millets, ragi has the highest calcium content (370mg/100g). Its calcium content is nearly 10 times that of wheat (41mg/100g) and 35 times that of rice (10mg/100g). 

Sesame seeds, not only make these cookies look pretty, they are also rich in calcium and good fats, and with flaxseeds rich in omega-3, this is one uber-healthy recipe, perfect for your kid's lunch box treat or with your afternoon cup of tea. If you've baked cookies using traditional cookie recipes, you'd know that most of them call for 1-2 sticks of butter, upto 250 grams! Here, you get 20 biscuits with just 3 tbsp butter. You can, by all means, try substituting butter with ghee, for a richer, deeper flavour. 



Regarding flaxseeds, their nutrients are only absorbed if the seeds are powdered. You get powdered flaxseed in several supermarkets (Nilgiri's in Bangalore) and health food stores. If you don't find them, get the whole seeds, lightly toast 100 grams flaxseeds and powder it in the mixer. Keep in airtight container in the fridge. 

Recipe for Ragi - Ginger Biscuits
Makes 20
Time taken - Under 30 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup ragi flour
1/2 cup maida
2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
5 tsp powdered jaggery
1/2 cup crystal sugar
2 tsp flaxseed powder
1 tsp dried ginger powder (sonth powder)
1/2 tsp finely grated ginger*
1/2 tsp chai masala or 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
3-4 tbsp cold milk
1 tbsp black sesame seeds + 1 tbsp white sesame seeds (or entirely white)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 180 C.
2. Keep a baking tray ready, lined with silicone mat or a greased tin foil or parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except butter and milk, until well combined.
4. Add the butter pieces and with finger tips rub the mixture together until it feels like bread crumbs
5. Add milk 1 tbsp at a time and knead gently till it comes together like a dough. 
6. Divide into 20 equal balls, rolling each between lightly greased palms. Gently press each ball on the sesame seeds laid out on a plate, only on one side and place the flattened ball, sesame seeds side up, on the baking sheet, leaving a little space between each cookie, for they'll expand.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C until the tops are browned. Cool and store in air tight container.

Tip
*To get finely grated ginger for salad dressings, tea and ginger cookies, store the cleaned ginger roots in a ziploc bag in the freezer. They stay forever, don't get soggy and when grated, give finely powdered fresh ginger. 

Read More...

When we got grilling at Weber & Neetha's recipe for the best pizza ever

Bangalore weather, an open terrace and a grill when put together, the possibility of fun times are endless and that's what we were shown at the Independence Day celebration grilling workshop at the Weber Experience Center. 

My kinda play-doh :D

I 'grill' stuff in the oven, on the stove top grill pan, but grilling on an actual grill is a different ball game altogether. Lighting the charcoal, getting the grill to optimum temperature, where to position the food on the grill, how to clean the grill, safety precautions, there's a lot to understand and learn about this cooking technique.

The kitchen all set before the workshop

The fun part is grilling is not just about steaks or paneer tikkas. You can make delicious grilled pizzas, roast a whole chicken (or any other bird you fancy) and even make an apple pie on a grill. Once you know how to make the grill work for you, the possibilities are endless. 

Charcoal ready to be put into the grill

Our cooking instructor, Neetha and the grill expert, Shiva were our teachers for the afternoon. We started with some of the basics like how to fire up the grill, safety mechanisms etc. Weber not only sells grills but also everything you need for grilling such as uniformly shaped charcoal made from coconut fibre, the cakes to light the grill with just a matchstick, the steel wool grill cleaners and so on. Armed with a few of these accessories, it seemed like quite a breeze to light, cook and clean up. 

Pizzas going into the grill

We started by making the pizza dough - a regular one and a multigrain base with flaxseeds (which I loved). Neetha also showed us how to make a cheese burst pizza, which most of the participants were happy to upgrade their pizza to, but their wait to get their pizza out of the grill was somewhat longer than us regular pizza folks, as a thick pizza takes longer to get done. There was also a whole roast chicken with delicious mushroom stuffing, I could almost eat the stuffing raw, it was that good. 

One of the show stoppers of the session was the paneer & veggie skewers. Big chunks of paneer, squares of bell peppers in all colours and mushrooms, marinated in a special mix of spices, skewered and grilled to perfection, these were absolutely divine. 

Apple pie-fresh off the grill

The other show stopper of which we could not stop taking pictures were the apple pies made on the grill. The tops turned stunningly golden brown and glossy and insides were melt in your mouth. The others also made a chicken skewers sizzler with barbecue sauce. By this time, so much food had been consumed inhaled  eaten that the choco lava cakes which were the last thing on the menu had to be looked at with 'sorry-i'm-too-full' eyes!

Top 4 tips about grilling

1. Add the fat / oil to the marinade to the food and not on the grill. This will ensure food does not stick to the grill and it gets a nice golden colour on grilling.
2. Wait for the grill to heat up to the required temperature before placing the food, or it will stick to the grill.
3. Foods that need to be cooked over longer period like a whole roast chicken or apple pie need to be placed away from the hot charcoal and not on top of it. This is indirect grilling. Foods like vegetables, paneer etc which get cooked in no time, they can be kept on the grill directly over where the charcoal is burning- this is direct grilling. 
4. Do not keep opening the covering lid to check the progress of the grilling. Each time you open the cover, the temperature drops and takes time to come back to the optimum temperature, resulting in a longer time taken to get the food cooked / grilled.

Grilling workshops at Weber (Bangalore) There are 3 kinds of workshops conducted at the Weber Experience Center. The basics of grilling which is free for all, an intermediate and an advanced session. Complete details available here. It's also a fun quality time for couples to learn grilling together.For regular updates on workshops, you could follow them on Facebook here.

I'm sharing with you Neetha's pizza recipe, which I made the following day at home and it turned out to be the best pizza I've made in ages.

For the multigrain base 

Makes 3 medium pizzas (medium thickness crust)

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp instant (or active dry) yeast or 2 1/2 tsp fresh yeast, crumbled

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbsp flaxseed powder (grind flaxseeds to a coarse powder in the chutney jar)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp olive oil

For pizza sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

200 g tomato puree (tetrapack is fine)

1 tsp chilli flakes (or less)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp dried herbs of choice (basil, oregano)

1 tsp sugar (the recipe says 2 tsp, but it was a tad too sweet)

1/2 tsp salt

For base:

In a large bowl, mix the water, sugar and yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 mins until frothy. This means that the yeast is active. Add the flours, flaxseed, milk, salt and knead until it comes together. Add the olive oil and knead till the dough is smooth (around 5 minutes). Cover and keep aside until doubled in volume. This could take 30 mins-1 hour depending on the weather.

Divide into 3 or 4 balls and keep aside.

For sauce:

Heat the oil, saute the garlic and onions until soft (around 3-5 mins), do not brown the onions. Add all remaining ingredients, and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Remove into a bowl and keep aside. You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate in air tight container.

Keep the toppings of your choice and mozzarella cheese ready.

Preheat the grill to around 200C / oven to 180C.

Grease a large square of tin foil with olive oil. Place the ball of dough and with fingers stretch it out by pressing, into 7-8" diameter circle. Brush with oil and allow this to rest for 5 minutes. Spread the pizza sauce (2 tbsp) evenly over this. Top with cheese (sliced or grated) and then with the toppings of your choice (olives, jalapenos, bell pepper, onions etc.). Bake for 25 minutes at 180C or grill for 10-15 mins (not directly over the coals), add more time for a stuffed (cheese burst) pizza.

Cut into wedges and eat immediately.

I'd like to thank Weber India for inviting me to this very useful and fun workshop.

Read More...

Eating out in Bangalore: Karavalli - A trip down the West Coast

"Karavalli has been around in Bangalore for the last 23 years with 80% of the menu remaining the same from the times the restaurant started"says Executive Chef Naren Thimmaiah. He has every reason to be proud. Any restaurant staying around a city's food scene for so long speaks volumes about its good food and service.

Chef Thimmaiah

Some of us were invited to sample the new additions to the Karavalli menu. The new menu aims to cover a few more regions along the West coast of India, which weren't represented adequately in their menu earlier. They've also added an outdoors grilling section where there's a variety of fresh fish & seafood along with a selection of marinades which you can choose from, making it a seafood lover's delight.

There's a slight modification to the lunch menu too, the number of dishes have been reduced to the regularly ordered popular ones and there's a typical South Indian lunch box 'set' in which lunch is served.

Captivating colours of the chutneys

The evening started with some of the bloggers getting behind the burners under the chef's guidance and grilling the marinated fish two ways, one of them being the black pomfret grilled in banana leaf pockets. I love this technique of grilling food wrapped in banana leaves. It makes sure the food doesn't get over grilled, and the leaves impart a delicate flavour to the food wrapped in it.

The vegetarians were served three kinds of starters. The Kaju Kothimbir Vadi (cashew and coriander seeds dipped in batter and deep fried until crunchy and golden) was seriously addictive. My favourite was the Pachakai Varuthathu (Plantain slices coated in spices and deep fried). It was seasoned just right and when paired with the three chutneys on the table, it tasted even better. The other dish was Oggaraneda Aritha Pundi, which I'm told is a Tulu community specialty. This tongue twister of a name is nothing but steamed rice dumplings tossed with a tempering of cumin, mustard seeds and spiced with curry powder and topped with coconut. We usually make these with the left overs of the rice dough used to make 'kozhakattai' or modaks. Personally, I prefer the Tambrahm version better, plus this is more of a tiffin item than a starter.

The mains

The mains were dedicated to wood fired dishes cooked in clay pots. There was a spicy seerfish curry and a South Canara lamb curry. Us vegetarians had a Kadala Gassi, which is the black chana cooked in South Canara style, where the gravy is made from roasted spices and coconut. My favourite here was the 'Havyaka' style Preserved Mango Curry, this was similar to the Mango Moar Kozhambu we make, but using preserved mango instead of fresh. [Read more about Havyaka cuisine here] I prefer the fresh mangoes in this preparation, but the curry flavours were really mouthwatering. The curries were served with a choice of Malabar Paratha, Aapam, Idiappam or Kuttanad Boiled rice, which is the red rice from Kerala.

Desserts

The desserts were a unique mix of flavours, perfectly paired with each other. The sharp, tanginess of the tamarind ice cream, to the rich yolky - nutmeg intense taste of the Bebinca and the burst of sweetness from the jaggery of the Ada Pradhaman. The tamarind ice cream is the chef's own creation. After tasting the black sesame ice cream in Hong Kong, the wasabi ice cream at a local Asian restaurant, it was lovely to try out an ice cream made using a very Indian ingredient like Tamarind. The bebinca is a multi-layered 'cake' made in Goa and Ada Pradhaman, of course is a Kerala sweet-dish made for all festive occasions.

It was a lovely evening, sitting outdoors, aromas of food wafting around us and sated with some good food and conversations. Chef Thimmaiah was a pleasure to interact with and discuss all things food with us foodbloggers. The only thing missing was a warm shawl around my shoulders as the even turned really chilly.

The outdoor section, softly lit is quite perfect for a romantic evening. Even better if you are a seafood lover.

Karavalli
66, Ground floor, The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road.
Phone: 080-66604545


[Pictures courtesy: Saina Jayapal - Pixel Platters]

Read More...

The recipe for my best salad ever - Grilled paneer salad with edible flowers

I love cooking for friends. They bring out the best dishes from my kitchen. Ajit & Nandini are always generous with their praise for my salads, often telling me to either open a salad bar or start taking salad making classes. While I've done neither, I love to up my game when I'm making salads for them. You see the effect of positive reinforcement right there :-)

Last weekend, they were planning to get an Asian starter and main course for dinner, so I promised to make an Asian inspired salad. I had made up my mind to use the edible flowers from my garden. Edible flowers are quite the current culinary rage with chefs using them as garnishes in salads, drinks to making whole dishes using them. I wanted to use the beans flowers, rocket flowers, basil flowers along with the baby leaves of Malabar spinach, cinnamon basil (tastes similar to Thai basil), regular spinach and baby bok choy leaves.

I collected the flowers in a little bowl, soaked them in cold water to refresh them and dried them on a tea towel. The baby leaves were washed delicately in cold water and dried on towels. The bigger lettuce, rocket leaves were washed, chopped into bite sized pieces and dried on towels. So yes, salads mean more work than other dishes. Leaves need to be carefully washed and dried, which is half the battle won. You could say that a salad spinner could simply this process so much. I whole heartedly agree, but somehow I haven't got myself one yet. I guess this is why salads are so overpriced in fine dining restaurants - the work that goes into the leaves.



And yes, I used paneer in this salad. Purists can turn up their noses saying "HUH Paneer in an Asian salad"! But hey, it's better to use paneer instead of not-so-good tofu and marinated in Asian flavours, it could beat the pants off any tofu.

Grilled paneer salad with edible flowers
Serves 4-5

Salad ingredients
6 big handfuls of mixed salad greens (prepared as explained above- baby leaves left whole & bigger leaves chopped into bite size)
1 large green bell pepper, very thinly sliced
1 small onion or 3 shallots, finely sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and thinly shaved
2 plums, thinly sliced
200 grams paneer, sliced thickly into 8 long pieces

Edible flowers (optional)
Coriander flowers, beans flowers, rocket flower, basil flowers - soak in cold water, drain and dry on towels. I also used rocket pods.

Marinade for paneer
1 tsp finely grated ginger
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
big pinch of chilli flakes or chilli sauce as per taste
pinch of salt (if needed, as soy sauce has lots of salt)
2-3 lemongrass leaves, crushed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Toss all the above in a large bowl and gently toss the paneer slices in this. Keep covered for 15-30 mins.

Marinade for salad - add all the following ingredients to a jam jar and shake well until you get an evenly mixed dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp honey
chilli flakes
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
freshly ground black pepper

Grilling the paneer
Grease hot stove top grill pan / grill / tava. Once the pan is very hot, place the marinated paneer slices (after removing the lemon grass stalks from marinade) in a single layer, press gently with a spatula and do not disturb for 1 minute or so, until the grill marks appear. Turn and grill other side similarly. Remove from the grill pan and keep aside.

To assemble salad
Place the prepared salad greens in a large bowl. Scatter the bell pepper, carrots, plums over the leaves. Pour 3/4th of the dressing and toss gently. Arrange this on a platter. Place the grilled paneer and top with edible flowers. Pour any remaining dressing & marinade over the top.

Verdict
The paneer was the star of the dish, marinated in those Asian flavours and the stunning grill marks. The others lent an excellent supporting role and the dressing brought the whole dish together. A small note of appreciation for the cute flowers who added a lot of prettiness to the dish. We LOVED this dish and wished there was more :)

Read More...

{Coming up} A new series on Kitchen Gardening

Picture this -- a wide pot with fresh baby spinach, a tomato plant that gives you sweet cherry tomatoes, fresh mint and basil always at hand for that fresh mojito or to garnish your pasta dish, trays of lettuce from which you can make freshly plucked salads. Kitchen garden is never about having a big farm or a large garden space. Well, if you do, then you can be entirely self sufficient, but a small kitchen garden can even start on a window sill. All you need is sun, decent soil and a little time of your day and in no time you will be addicted. 

If you have any questions for me on kitchen gardening, please leave a comment below, and I shall try and answer those in the forthcoming series - which as of now, I think will be a fortnightly affair. I don't claim to be an expert in gardening. Far from it, actually! I would love to explore this topic and encourage more people to grow little somethings in their homes and gardens. It is an extremely fulfilling experience and I just want to share it with you! So please write back to me on what you would like to hear about :)

Read More...

Making a healthier Idli using Foxtail Millet

Idli and dosai are two dishes which can be easily experimented with, with a variety of whole grains. If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you'll know that my whole-grain find of this year is Foxtail Millet- you'll find a couple of recipes featuring them already. It's thanks to our online grocery store that stocks a lot of these ancient grains and greens that you won't find in supermarkets that they end up finding their way in many new dishes I experiment with. While I've been using the millet grain in salads, patties, upma etc, this time I bought the foxtail millet idli rava to try making idlis. It turned out reasonably soft, definitely denser than white rice idlis- but that's the whole grain effect- the end products always turn out denser. The advantage of this being you can't eat as many idlis as you can of the regular ones. Initially you could try substituting 50% of the rice / idli rava with this millet rava and then go to a 100%. 

In India: Tinai, chamai, kavalai, kambankorai are some of the names for millet in Tamil. Nuvanam is millet flour. The gruel made from millet, the staple of Ancient Tamils, is called kali, moddak kali, kuul, and sangati. Korralu (Telugu), Navane (Kannada) [Source: Wikipedia]

An idli is a healthy dish as it is, being a combination of a rice and lentil (udad dal), makes a complete set of amino acids, resulting in a good quality protein. So you can alternate between regular idlis and those made using millets, to get more fiber and a variety of nutrients.

A healthier version of Idli

Foxtail Millet Idli
Makes roughly 32 or more idlis, depending on the size, you could use this batter over 3-4 days for a variety of dishes such as dosai, uthapam, kuzhi paniyaram etc.

1 cup whole or split udad dal (without skin)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
2 cups foxtail millet rava (or use 1 cup millet rava and 1 cup rice)
2 tsp salt
Optional
finely chopped veggies to add to idlis
1/2 tsp Grated ginger, mustard seeds, chana dal, red chillies tempered in oil to add to batter before steaming

Soak the udad dal + fenugreek seeds in plenty of water. In another bowl, soak the rava in water that covers it completely.
After 3 hours- drain water from udad dal and grind to a fine paste in the mixer or wet grinder. Remove in a big bowl.
Squeeze all the water from the millet rava and grind this to a fine paste too. Add to the udad dal paste and mix well, adding salt. Add upto 1/2 cup water if batter is very thick. 
Place in a large container with a fitting lid. This will expand to nearly double volume over 8-10 hours, so keep accordingly in a sizable container.
Once fermented, you can either use this immediately to make idlis / dosa or place in refrigerator immediately and use when required (within next 3-4days).

Remove the required quantity of batter 
To make idlis, lightly grease the idli moulds with oil, pour batter into each mould (not more than half capacity), top with any chopped veggies if required, close the pressure cooker lid but remove the weight so that this steams and doesn't pressure cook. If you have a special idli maker, then use that. Keep the flame on high and then reduce to medium once the steam is in full flow. Steam for around 12 minutes on medium flame. Open the cooker after 10 minutes or so, removing the idli stand. Sprinkle some cold water on top of each mould and with a sharp edged steel spatula or a knife, unmould each idli cleanly.

Serve with any chutney or your choice, or molagapodi or ketchup for the kids. 

Other recipes using Foxtail Millet
Salad with nutrition facts included
Millet-Basil Patties

Read More...

Easy recipe for a simple, all-purpose chocolate cake

What's the connection between a little black dress, a good pair of blue jeans and a chocolate cake recipe? Like the importance of a good pair of jeans or a little black dress (okay, may be not) in the wardrobe, everyone needs a good, reliable chocolate cake recipe in their cooking repertoire. A chocolate cake that is soft and springy, with nothing fancy-schmancy about it, something that tastes good just as it is with a cup of coffee or tea - that's the kind I'm talking about. While I have complete respect for the creativity and patience of bakers who make these epic cakes that look like masterpieces, I must confess that my love for all things simple & minimalistic extends to cake. Serve me a simple, no-frills cake and I'm a happy girl. Just one small confession here- I HATE cakes that reek of baking powder. That's the one thing that completely murders a cake for me.

I often love to add carrots, beets, zucchini, pumpkin, lots of citrus zest to my cakes to give them body, flavour and colour. But sometimes I stick to a plain vanilla or chocolate cake. Of course, you always have the option of adding walnuts, cherries, roasted almonds into this batter, dressing it up with fresh cream and berries or splitting it in half and turning this into a black forest kinda cake. This recipe has a lot of potential. But if you are like me, or simply a new baking enthusiast, a slice of this cake as a treat in your kid's lunchbox or in a hamper for your friends will make them a happy camper.

I've made this cake entirely with powdered jaggery, which is simply jaggery sold in powdered form. If you get big chunks of jaggery, run it in a food processor / mixer to powder and then weigh it for the recipe. If you don't have access to jaggery, feel free to use caster sugar. Jaggery gives this a deeper colour and of course there is the advantage of using an ingredient in a less refined form. I've used this recipe quite a few times and the result is an absolutely soft, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate cake AND it doesn't reek of baking powder. 


I've adapted from a recipe I found in BBC Food, halved it, because I didn't want a two layer cake. It's usually better to weigh out ingredients like flour, sugar etc. because it gives a more accurate quantity than measuring out using cups which have a wider margin of error. In case you don't have kitchen scales, then by all means use the metric measurement I have given alongside the weights. It is completely a beginner friendly cake as it uses oil, no creaming of butter required. It's a one bowl cake so no washing up of too many pots and pans. You don't need any fancy electric beaters or stand mixers. A wooden spoon will do. So I hope you are sold out on this recipe!

Easy chocolate cake

Makes one 8" round cake

Less than 45 minutes (just the cake minus ganache / any decorations)

Ingredients

• 112g plain flour (maida) (~1 cup minus 1 tbsp)
• 150g powdered jaggery (~3/4 cup)
• 42g cocoa powder (~1/2 cup)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 125 ml milk (~1/2 cup)
• 60 ml vegetable oil (~1/4 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

    125 ml boiling water (may not need all of this)

Directions

Preheat the oven at 180C.

Grease and line the bottom and sides of an 8" round cake tin with aluminium foil or parchment paper.

Weigh out all the ingredients or measure them out and add everything to a large bowl except the boiling water. Mix with a wooden spoon for 3-4 minutes, until well combined.

Add the boiling water to this mixture little by little with repeated stirring. The batter will get considerably thin. If you find it getting too watery, then no need to add all of the water.

Scrape this batter into the greased and lined cake tin. Push some of the batter from the center to the sides so that it is a little indented in the center. This will ensure your cake rises uniformly and not doming up in the center.

Place in the center rack of the oven and bake for around 25-35 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the tin out and insert a skewer / dry spaghetti into the cake to see if it comes out clean. If not, bake for another 5-10 minutes until the cake is thoroughly baked.

Remove from oven, cool for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the tin carefully and cool on a wire rack thoroughly before slicing

Plain chocolate cake not fancy enough?

If you want to do a little bit extra for this cake like for an occasion, you can make an easy chocolate ganache by heating up 100 ml cream and 100g of plain chocolate bar broken into pieces. Keep stirring with a wooden spatula on medium heat until glossy and chocolate is fully dissolved. Let this cool outside for 2 hours during which it will become thicker and spreadable. Once the cake has completely cooled, pour ganache all over the cake and smoothen out with a palette knife all around and on top of the cake. 

You can fill this same batter into cupcake moulds and use the above ganache similarly to top the cupcakes. Add some colourful sprinkles on the top and you have a soft delicious cupcake that could even be better than store-bought ones!

Read More...