We keep having pot lucks at work and trust me they keep our morale so high 🙂 Most of the people have reservations about the eggs in baked goods. Hence I mostly stick to eggless versions as often as I can.
You shall need:
1.5 cup… All purpose flour
1 cup… White granulated sugar
1 tsp…Baking soda
1 tsp… Salt
1.5 tsp… baking powder
1 tsp… Vanilla essence
1/2 cup… melted butter
3/4 cup… Buttermilk (Add 1/2 tbsp vinegar to milk and let it stand for 5-10 min)
For Topping:
1/2 cup… chocolate shards (thinly sliced)
1/3 cup.. Almonds (chopped)
Method:
Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl and keep aside.
In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
Make a well in the center of dry ingredients and add the wet half at a time.
Mix slowly until well incorporated.
Pour in a lined pan.
Sprinkle the chocolate and almonds on top lightly.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 180C for 25 min or until the skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
My first reaction to the invite was “Let me google the brand- Royce” the more i read about it, the more the chocolate invited me. I landed on this newspaper article as well. I did raise a brow but my recent trip to towness was all organic and imported, all I did was a SIGH!!
On reaching the venue, JW Marriot, I was ushered to Bengaluru Baking Company. The wide, open welcoming space was a treat. After delicately picking the wine glass, I landed in heaven.
There was an assortment of chocolate available on a round table with a neat bowl to keep the wrappers in.
Let me list down them all and my comments about each:
Potato Chip Chocolate- Storage Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 1 month | Content: 190g {I absolutely LOVED this one. Topped my chart for the day}
Chocolate wafer: Storage Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months |Content: 12pcs (This one didn’t catch my fancy much as I am not a fan of wafer chocolate. However the nutty bar was a hit among others who were present}
Source: Royce Website
Nama Chocolate Ghana Bitter: Storage Temperature: 10°C or below | Shelf Life: 1 month | Content: 20pcs (190g) {This was my second favorite among the lot. The delicate pieces of chocolate were melt in the mouth.}
Source: Royce Website
Nama Chocolate Ecuador sweet: Storage Temperature: 10°C or below | Shelf Life: 1 month | Content: 20pcs (190g) { A little sweet for my palette but it had a clean cacao finish as an after taste}
Source: Royce Website
Nama Chocolate Mild Cocoa:  10°C or below | Shelf Life: 1 month | Content: 20pcs (190g) {Unfortunately I didnt get to taste this one as it was over. That definately says a lot 🙂 Must have been a charmer}
Source: Royce Website
Chocolate Education Set- It was a lovely box with information about the Royce chocolates (It was all in Japanese)
Royce Pure chocolate- Creamy Milk and White: Cacao 37% & 37%Storage | Temperature: Below 25°C  | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 40pcs (20pcs each) {I am a sucker for white chocolate too, apart from the bitter, oh Good Lord I was in paradise. The milky white chocolate circles of goodness were impeccable and full bodied}
Royce Pure chocolate- Ghana Sweet and Venezuela Bitter: Cacao 60% & 69%Storage |Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 40pcs (20pcs each) {The first thing that came to my mind when I tasted the Venezuela was, Oh I want to make a gorgeous mousse with this one 😀 The combo box is a bitter sweet harmony}
Source: Royce Website
Criollo Chocolate- Bitter: Cacao 65%Storage | Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 24pcs {Criollo are rare cocoa beans and Royce has a couple of variety to offer.- Butter and Sweet}
Baton Cookies- hazelnut and cacoa nibs: Storage Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 25pcs {The cacoa nibs were the winner for me, the batons were of a well made shortbread consistency}
Source: Royce Website
Baton Cookies- Coconut:  Storage Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 25pcs  {Naah not a fan of coconut in chocolate, excused myself politely}
Source: Royce Website
Nutty Bar chocolate: Storage Temperature: Below 25°C | Shelf Life: 3 months | Content: 18pcs {These gorgeous bars were full of macadamia, almonds, pecans and rice crisps. The kiddo invitees could not stay away from these. I thoroughly enjoyed myself too}
Source: Royce Website
Apart from this I got to interact with Chef Jolly, who jokingly pointed out that he always thought that Royce chocolates were the Rolls Royce of all the chocolates. Well in a way I would say he was kinda right. When the average price is on the higher side, one might believe him to be true.
He also mentioned that how the proprietor of the Chocolate giant, was at first exporting chocolate making machines to Belgium. Later they started making their own version of chocolates. It was a story of rising above and doing that extra bit.
Chef Jolly lives upto his name and was extremely cordial and welcoming.
What also caught my fancy was the way the delicate chocolates were packed. The Nama especially come with a dry ice bag that maintain the temperature till the time the customer puts them in the fridge/ at a cooler place.
The evening was complete with wine, Chicken on Skewers and Vegetarian Tempura bites. My only complain shall be for the food that was ice cold. Royce made up for the lags in more ways than possible.
Price: Avg 800
Rating: 4.5/5 (Only for the chocolate and wine)
Where: JW Marriott Bangalore, Bengaluru Baking Company
After a long time, I cooked for a challenge where there was secret ingredient swap between a pair. Priya made this beautiful group pf like minded individuals and called it  Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge.
I am paired with Anitha for this month. She gave me Oats and Mangoes to cook with. To be frank I had never cooked with oats and I hate their taste anyway. What better way than to make it work in a dessert and even better, a dessert pizza. 🙂
You shall need:
For the base-
2.5 cup… classic rolled oats
3/4 cup… Castor Sugar
2 tbsp… Olive oil/melted butter
1 tsp… dry active yeast dissolved in 4 tbsp warm water with a pinch of sugar
1 tsp.. Salt
1/4 cup…. warm milk
For the topping-
100 gms… cream cheese
50 gms… butter
1 cup… icing sugar
1… mango (peeled and cut in slices)
1 tbsp… butter
A pinch of freshly ground nutmeg
Method:
For the base-
In a processor/mixer, add the 2 and a 1/4 cup oats with the sugar and whiz until it has a powder consistency.
Tip it in a bowl.
Add the yeast, oil/butter, salt and mix well.
Add the milk, a tbsp at a time and mix it well.
The dough shall not be very cohesive like that with the all purpose flour.
Butter a baking tray properly and spread the base mix evenly.
Bake in a pre heated 180C oven for 15 min or until baked and nice golden brown
Keep aside to cool
For the Topping-
In a non stick pan, heat butter.
Add the mangoes and a tbsp of sugar.
Let them caramelize well.
Now add the nutmeg and let it cool down to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, add the cheese, butter and cream well.
Add the icing sugar and mix until well incorporated.
To Assemble-
Once the base is cooled perfectly, put a thin layer of the cream cheese mix on top
Now add the mango strips as you please.
To note-
I didn’t take the base out of the tray. It was served from the tray itself.
Yes yes I know Babka is a sweet yeast cake but who said there cant be exceptions 😉 I made these bites based on this reference from the Baking Partners. Swathi is the brilliant blogger behind the group.
For the dough: I made the eggless version
1/2-3/4 cup …. whole milk, warmed 110 degrees
1/4 cup… white sugar
1.5 teaspoons …Active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2… teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons…. unsalted butter at room temperature
For the Filling:
1/2 cup… chocolate chips {I used bournville rich cocoa)
1/4 cup… brown sugar
1/4 cup…. Complan/bourvita
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
For the wash:
1 tbsp.. oil
1 tbsp… Sugar
1 tbsp… cream/milk
Method:
Add the yeast to the warm milk with a pinch of sugar.
Let it stand and dissolve and froth.
Tip the dry ingredients for the dough in a pan, mix with a fork.
Make a well in the eventer and tip the milk-yeast mixture.
I used hand mixer with dough attachment to bring it all together.
Add butter one tbsp at a time.
Once it has all come together, tip it on the work bench and work the dough by the heel of the palm by pushing it away and then bringing it back.
Once it has become nice and springy, add to an oiled bowl and cover with the cling film.
let it rise to double the volume or let it stand for 1.5 hrs or so.
For the filling, coarsely chop the chocolate in the mixer, add the complan and sugar.
Now mix in the butter. Keep aside until further use.
Once the dough has risen, flour the work surface and roll it out in a rectangle of about 1/2 inch thickness.
Well I am doing the Blogging Marathon after ages and boy I am glad to be back 🙂 This week I am doing 3 variations of naan’s. I thought let me start by doing something sweet.
I got a reallly wonderful exotic ingredients box on my last birthday 🙂 My fav girlfriends gave it to me. Since the anniversary was around the corner, I wanted to make use of them (With a heavy heart). I used the dried rose petals to make make these lovely truffles which then were topped on the cake. Slurrpppp.
You shall need:
200 gms… Dark chocolate
1 tbsp… Butter
150 gms… Heavy cream [I used amul]
1 tps… Rose water essence or 1/2 tsp Rose extract
1 tbsp or 15 gms… Rose petals
Almond Praline, Badam milk powder, hot chocolate with cinnamon powder and cocoa to roll them into.
Method:
Heat the cream and butter until they come to a simmer.
Pour the mix over chopped chocolate.
Let it stand for 5 min.
Stir the chocolate and cream mix and mix gently until the chocolate is melted.
You might want to heat it in the microwave for very few seconds in case the chocolate is not melting.
Once the chocolate is melted completely, add the rose essence/extract and the petals.
Let the mix cool to room temp. and pop it in the fridge [cover with cling film] for atleast 3 hours.
After it comes out from the fridge, using a teaspoon, make small balls of the same size from the solidified ganache.
Be little quick as once you start rolling out the ganache, the chocolate shall start to melt.
Once all the mix is used and rolled, pop the tray in the fridge for 30 min.
Roll them in nuts, crazy mixes and serve with love.
Rose Truffles with StrawberriesSacher torte topped with truffles and strawberries.
Every wondered how a small idea can become a riot? These cupcakes were such a hit at the forums where I shared that people made repeats 🙂 Makes me happy.
Caramel cupcakes with dark chocolate centre.This post is a part of Desserts theme for BM#35.
You shall need:
For the cupcake-
1.5 cup Maida/All purpose Flour
3/4 cup and 3 tbsp Light brown sugar [Or white castor sugar]
1/2 cup Butter
2 large eggs
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Vanilla essence
3/4 cup Butter milk [in 3/4 cup milk add 1 tbsp vinegar and let it stand for 10 min]
few tbsp water
few tbsp of frozen dark chocolate ganache [Melt equal qty of heavy cream and chocolate in a pan with little butter. Once all the chocolate is melted, let it cool to room temp. Put it in the fridge to add in the cupcakes]
Method:
In a bowl beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Once they are light and fluffy, keep them aside.
In a nonstick pan, heat 3 tbsp sugar with 5-6 tbsp water. Once they sugar changes color to amber turn the gas off.
Swirl the pan to cool it a bit.
Add it to the butter and sugar and beat for a few sec.
Add egg one at a time and beat until pale.
Add the vanilla as well.
Now add sifted flour, salt and baking powder alternatively with butter milk.
Once it is nice and fluffy the batter is ready to be poured in the liners/moulds.
Put little batter in the liners [so as to fill it 1/4th] add 1/2 tsp of the frozen ganache in the center and fill some more batter on top of the ganache.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 min.
The cupcakes are done once when a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Ooh I am so late with the posts that I dont have enough sorry smilies left. But them what have I been upto? I celebrated my 29th birthday this month, have been practicing for the dance performances, entertaining friends and family and dealing with maid’s personal crisis.
Well anyway I shall finish it for sure even if it take too long 🙂
This post is a part of Blogging Marathon. For the first week of BM#32.
Share with family and friends 🙂
Thou Shalt Cook!! 