Make Tiramisu without raw eggs| Easy Tiramisu Recipe

I love baking cakes. Simple, quick and easy frost-less cakes are my kinds. The bare minimum, one bowl kinds. Also, by that I mean, they should come together with least effort, have less frills, are presumably uncomplicated to make, like a simple chocolate cake, or a tea cake without having to fuss over any frosting; the one that you can nibble plain as a snack. A fresh baked fruit bread that goes into the oven and is out on the plate in under an hour, enjoyed with a slather of butter alongside a cup of hot beverage, or for that matter, a pound cake or coffee cake with strudel topping fits my list well too. They are the kinds you sink your teeth into when a sudden craving to savor dessert hits yours sweet spot at ungodly hours. That's my kind-a-cake.

Now, here's some word of truth. You see, I'm wary of baking tall towering cakes that have layers upon layers of sponge soaked in sweet juices and sandwiched with cream and fruits. Their surface embellished with delicate frosting of either whipped cream or fancy buttercream, topped with garnishes of fruits, chocolates and other fares make them elements of beauty, and treat to the eyes. Their delicateness is seen from the knee deep effort going into making them, hours sacrificed into adorning, an exercise of thought, patience and dedication. They demand attention and honor as they gleam tall on pedestal, deserving an applause. They mark a perfect score for being the right celebratory desserts to raise a toast to honor an occasion.

Such cakes are fantastic, but not the everyday kinds. Neither do I have such occasions to celebrate that often, nor do I have the immense amount of patience (read motivation) needed to dole out multi tiered cakes that can be my pride and my pal's envy. Even when few odd urges to bake such cakes trigger, I have flopped miserably, often ending up with torn crumbs, messy fingers and merely half the cream in my mouth, not to forget the mounting annoyance caused by the cake failing to abide by my whims and fancies. I end up in exasperation, it's vexation so palpable that I resolve not to bake a tiered cake in months to come. Patience is truly a virtue, for all those who have it.

But then there are cakes like this Tiramisu that go-betweens. They don't take much of an effort to put together, but are celebratory enough to grace an occasion and make it rave-worthy. They have all of charms of layered cake but with minimal labor. You can make them in wine glasses and serve individual helpings or have a free standing cake that beams layers of cake and cream. They are so simple to make and taste so darn luscious that it can put a elaborate cake into shame!

It was for Christmas eve party that I first made this Tiramisu cake and ever since then it has gone on repeat at home. You'll see them from the different photographs I took on two different occasions. Any why not! It's possibly one of the most easiest exotic looking dessert that tastes luxuriously rich, and indulgent and looks hours worth of effort, while it really isn't. This Italian celebratory dessert made by layering coffee spiked cookies, and sweet mascarpone cream, with a dusting of chocolate is a perfect dessert for any occasion or a celebration. Its simple, yet sophisticated. Put it on a cake stand, make it your centerpiece and it's sure to bring applause.

Traditionally, the cream for Tiramisu is made using mascarpone and zabaione (which is a custard made from egg yolks and sugar). This is a far simpler version where no raw eggs or alcohol is used, hence an ideal dessert for young kids too. Try this recipe at home and I bet you will love the ease of making it!

Easy Tiramisu (No Raw Eggs, No Alcohol)

INGREDIENTS

1 cup mascarpone cheese at room temperature (227 gm)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled (236 ml)
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tbsp. for the coffee brew
28 Italian ladyfingers or Savoiardi cookies
1 cup very strong brewed coffee
1 tbsp. cocoa powder or grated chocolate for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare a strong brew of coffee by mixing 2 tbsp. of instant coffee granules into 1 cup of hot water. Stir in 2 tbsp. of sugar and mix well till the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

2. Next, in a medium bowl, whip the chilled heavy cream and sugar with an electric whisk till near stiff peaks are formed. Carefully add in the mascarpone cheese into the whipped cream and fold gently till its uniform. Note - I added a tsp. of instant coffee granules into mascarpone cheese to intensify the coffee flavor. You can add a few tbsp. of coffee flavored alcohol instead.

3. Line the pan (either a cake pan or a loaf tin) with a plastic wrap so that it overlaps and hangs on the sides. This will help in easier and cleaner removal of the cake.

4. Pour the warm coffee decoction into a wide bowl. Dip each ladyfinger cookie one at a time, until soaked but not soggy and place them side by side on the bottom of the lined pan. Don't soak the cookies too long, else it will cause them to fall apart. I do this by dipping only the upper half of the ladyfinger (the sugar crusted side of the cookie) into the coffee decoction, placing the dipped side facing up. Consume half of the cookies in case you want 2 layers, and one-third of cookies in case you plan 3 layers. I do not suggest going above that as it can make the cake cutting quite flimsy and prone to dismantle. You can also layer the cake in a round film-lined tin, breaking the ladyfinger to fit the rounded sides as you go.

5. Spread one-third of the sweet mascarpone cream over the ladyfingers. Repeat with a second layer of espresso-dipped ladyfingers, this time arranging them in the opposite direction. Top again with another one-third of the sweet mascaporne cream. Repeat again if you want to go another layer, spreading the remaining mascarpone cream on top. Finally dust with the grated chocolate.

6. Cover with Tiramisu cake with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 4-5 hours or preferably over night.

7. To serve, remove from the refrigerator, undo the plastic wrap and dust with grated chocolate powder.

How to make Tomato Three Cheese Thin Crust Pizza Recipe

Another month has gone by and boy, October is here! I had promised myself to get out of the cocoon and post atleast couple of more recipes before the end of September, but I failed myself again.

The changing months remind me how blessed the second part of the year has been, particularly this year with some long weekends falling back to back over the past 3 weeks. We had Ganesh Chaturthi fall on 18th Sep, the Friday, followed by Bakrid on 24th, the Thursday last week. It came as an advantage when the leave on Thursday was called off and pushed to Friday. As an unplanned holiday, we decided to make the best of a long weekend break, stayed home, sewed some teeny-weeny clothes for the little girl's barbie, napped well in the noon and baked some delicious pizzas for our dinner.

For a long time now, making pizza at home has not just been a menu of convenience and break from the usual course, but very therapeutic when made from scratch. Its a joy to watch the yeast act it's way through the dough, rise and double it up. Intimidating it may sound. But there's hardly anyway one can go wrong with a pizza flatbread if the yeast has played its part well.

Making the dough and sauce from scratch indeed calls for some pre-planning and can end up being time consuming if you are time crunched, but this is what makes the most delicious pizza, with slices that are endearing and smell of freshly baked bread, topped with molten lava of cheese to boast.

So, I've made pizzas several times at home. Combinations vary. Toppings change. Each time they evolve. Yet, every time they sing of freshness and subtlety. The flavors burst and melt with each bite. At times they are made quick, simple and unpretentious, on other occasions they can be fancy with a varirty of vegetable toppings. I decide toppings on a whim, unplanned and unprepared. But they hardly matter. When you have good cheese to camouflage, you always have sumptuous and satisfying slices on your plate and lips that curve into a smile. Don't forget, a well made crust and good cheese is the key, and you have a winning recipe.

There are several recipes available for a good pizza dough, but this recipe always works like charm for me, especially when I prefer to use whole wheat flour. It may seem unusual to use milk based bread recipe in a pizza dough, but I prefer it for the soft, supple and airy results it provides to a dough base that holds the sauce, vegetables and cheese well, yet doesn't lose its texture. The whole wheat flavor adds a healthy twist with a nice nutty backdrop to whatever toppings you want to layer on.

One of the reason why I love keeping the crust on the thinner side is that the dough doesn't require time to rise after proofing nor requires par-cooking. As the dough rests and doubles, you prepare the sauce, cook, simmer, season it and let it cool. Then you roll out the dough and let it rest on the counter while you prepare the toppings. For a recipe like this three cheese tomato pizza, all you need a good dough base and a fresh tomato basil sauce with three variety of cheeses you can get your hands on. Remember, mozzarella is a must for that gooey-stringy mess. The others are much upto your choice. I suggest you get the best fresh mozzarella possible. I chose a combination of cheeses with high, medium and low melting points. Ricotta has a low melting point, and I paired it with cheddar and mozzarella with medium to high melting points. That helps avoid this pizza disintegrate into a cheesy mess.

Tomato Basil Pizza Sauce

INGREDIENTS

8-10 pods of garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup tomato puree
1/4 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves, torn
1 tsp. dry oregano (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Paprika to taste

DIRECTIONS

Saute finely chopped garlic in oil for 2 mins till they turn transparent. Add the tomato puree and stir well. Simmer and cook for atleast 15 minutes or till it reduces and leaves oil from the sides of the pan. Add in the tomato sauce and stir well. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the freshly torn basil leaves, dry oregano herbs (optional), paprika and salt to taste. Stir well. Turn off the flame and set aside to cool. Use this sauce to spread over the pizza base.

Three Cheese Tomato Thin Crust Pizza

INGREDIENTS

For the dough base:

Follow the recipe here or use a store bought thin crust pizza base

For the homemade sauce:

Homemade (recipe above) or store bought pizza sauce

For the toppings:

1 large tomato, de-seeded and sliced in rounds
1 onion, sliced
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 slices of cheddar cheese, torn
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning / Italian herbs

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heated oven at 200 deg C.

For a thin crust pizza, roll out the pizza dough as thin as possible, about ¼ inch thick. Prick all over the pizza dough using a fork. Allow it to sit on the counter for 10 mins.

Place the pizza on the pizza tray. Top with homemade tomato sauce and slather it evenly. Top with sliced tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle drained ricotta cheese, followed by cheddar and topped by generous amounts of mozzarella cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C for 20-30 minutes or till the cheese melts and the edges of pizza brown. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.

I have taken longer than imagined to pen down this post, that I almost assured myself if I may even let go documenting it here. I mentioned about being at IFBM (Indian Food Blogger Meet) here a while ago. Exactly about 3 weeks ago I was at Aloft, Cessna Business Park being a part of the first-of-its-kind food blogger meet that was beyond any scale I had expected it to be. It was hosted in all splendor and grandeur in true sense. True to its intentions, it brought together the like minded us from various parts of the country and across the globe, with an agenda to meet, greet, learn, share and build a stronger food blogging network. Beyond all, it was meant to break free from our friendships and acquiantances in the traditional virtual world and translate to a real one, which in every sense was truly accomplished.

Its hard to sum up the two days that went by in utter frenzy. If you followed me on Instagram you probably have witnessed the IFBM craze over these 2 days. Its hangover still hitting hard weeks after it's over and settled. I am quite certain that all the bloggers present over this meet may have experienced these hangover and withdrawal symptoms! It had me reeling.

IFBM had way too much to offer that it would be impossible for me to weave them into words and cover it all on a single post. Even tougher would be to justify the depth of effort the organizers had put in. The fabulous ladies Aparna, Nandita, Revati and Arundati deserve a huge round of applause for the length and breadth at which they have gone to put this show together and make this meet a grand success. To sum it up all, there were crazy 50+ fabulous food bloggers packed into a well-decor conference hall of a star hotel with high projectors, a fabulous host (Arundati) and many esteemed speakers nailing interesting substantial topics covering food photography, styling, writing, SOE, self-publishing, social networking and live cooking demos over a well carved program. Interspersed with awesome food, shutterbugs, media coverage, hugs, handshakes and loads of goodies from generous sponsors, IFBM was a one hell of an experience that will stay rooted in our memories for long.

I walk you through a couple of photographs snapped at this event, in a bid to capture as much I could and etch it in my memory for years to be cherished. They cover mainly food, a yet another highlight of this event. It was amazing to see how the team at Aloft had carefully crafted their menu over these two days, each following a theme and artistically put together in place. I've refrained posting photographs of individuals here in due respect to their privacy. However, if you follow me on Facebook, my timelines are currently tagged and loaded with all the action and happenings of this event that you can witness. Walk over to my Instagram feeds for more of its mania.

IFBM ended on electric high notes, positive vibes and ravishing raves garnered from the fraternity of us like minded blogger folks. There was so much to learn, explore, socialize and motivate oneself to better as a blogger that it will take me some time to put all of it into practical use. I came back with a hope that there will more of these interactive sessions packed with fun, learnings and new friendships in the years to come.

Before I close, I bring to you this Garden Fresh pizza that happens to be an all-time favorite of mine. That for the number of times I have baked at home, I presume it should feature here. I am a huge fan of peppers, mushrooms, baby corn and olives on a pizza and when all these feature on a single pizza how can it not taste delightful. This pizza is baked with a whole wheat mixed flour base, slathered with fresh tomato sauce and generously topped with fresh-sliced baby corns & green peppers, mushrooms and black olives. The base is made out of aashirvaad multigrain atta that's popular in India. I suggest you keep the pizza base thin since multi-grain flours have lower gluten in them and hence a thicker base can be less soft and springy as compared to the all-purpose flour counterparts.

Garden Fresh Pizza

INGREDIENTS

For the pizza dough:

1 cup + 1 tbsp. multi-grain flour (I used Aashirwad aata)
½ cup lukewarm water
1 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. olive oil

To assemble:

½ cup pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought
1 Green pepper / capsicum, sliced to wedges
6-7 Mushrooms, chopped to quarters
6-8 Baby corns, slit vertically to quarters
5-6 Black olives, halved
3-4 tbsp. mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, blend yeast in lukewarm water along with a teaspoon of sugar. Allow this to rest for 10 mins. This should be frothy by now. Heap the multigrain flour into a large bowl and make a pit in the center. Pour the yeast mixture, salt and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Knead gently to form a smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for an hour like an oven until almost double in size. About 20 minutes before baking, punch down, knead a minute or two and then form into a ball. Roll out thin crust pizza base, about ¼ - ½ inch thick. Allow it to sit on the counter for 10 mins.

Pre-heat the oven on 220 deg C. To assemble the pizza, spread the pizza sauce over thinly rolled out pizza crust. Layer green peppers, mushrooms, baby corn and black olives. Top generously with mozzarella cheese and season with salt and pepper. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 220 deg C for about 20-30 mins. Cut into wedges and serve hot with Italian herbs.

I am not entirely a bread lover. Given an option I prefer Indian flat breads or rice on any given day. But considering the number of bread recipes I bake, I see myself being a convert, probably soon. Baking them is entirely fun. There's a profound joy in kneading, proofing, watching it rise, punching it down, rise again and bake to golden hues. There's immense satisfaction one gets out of home made bread, the joy only a home baker knows best.

This recipe in particular comes from my drafts, long standing in nature that was baked late noon to satisfy the urge to bake bread couple of weeks ago. Clicked late in the evening and hence my dissatisfaction with its photography, it went into hiding for sometime into my drafts. But then that doesn't rule out the fact that this herbed bread is delicious and can jazz up any meal. This bread has a nice tang from homemade sun-dried tomatoes and herbed flavors from dill leaves. Pair it with soups, salads or pastas, they'll make a meal complete.

Sun-dried Tomatoes and Dill Focaccia

INGREDIENTS

250g plain flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried yeast
1 tbsp. olive oil
Approx. 160 ml. warm water
1 tbsp. sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp. dill leaves, chopped
1 tsp. red chilli flakes

DIRECTIONS

Dissolve the yeast in half a cup of warm water and teaspoon of sugar. Stir well and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. By then the yeast will activate and bubble up. Place the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add in the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to form a dough. Gradually add the remaining water and bring the dough together. Knead it for a 4-5 minutes. Place it in an oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and place it in a warm place to rise for a 3-4 hours. The dough will rise and double in size. Once risen, give the dough a punch, deflate it and knead it on an oiled surface for five minutes. Place the dough on a baking tray, shape it to your desire and press dimples on top of the bread dough. Mix a tbsp. of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, chopped dill leaves and red chilli flakes in a bowl. Top the dimpled bread with this topping, spread it gently and allow the bread dough to sit in a warm place for an hour to rise. Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg C. Bake the bread at 200 deg C for 30 minutes, or till the edges crisp and the bread is golden brown.

I called off a day yesterday, pushed aside several other routines and decided maybe I should neaten up my home a little. For a long while things have been messy, stuffs piling up, cobwebbed corners overlooked, clutter sidelined, wardrobes stuffy with my kiddos toys accumulating by numbers and I have just been ignoring them all. Then couple of days ago I walked into my kitchen in sleepy eyes to fetch some water and got alarmed seeing some creepy little creatures invading my kitchen. I spent that night attacking them and fighting through. So I spent an entire yesterday to rip my kitchen in fit of cleaning every bit of that mounting mess. Oh yes, I get such bouts of springing into a cleaning freak once a while and I do that job quite well!

I put an incredible amount of effort to wipe the dusty corners spic and clean, scrubbed the chimney vent to eternity, unsettled the jars and bottles, refilled and stacked them neatly and discarded all the expired stuff. Before I knew, it was noon already and I realized I hadn’t even got half way through. I started off with the kitchen and had plans to neaten my entire apartment before the evening, but I had spent more than half the day just settling the unsettled things in my kitchen. Then there was the refrigerator that needed a thorough scan. I pulled out several stuffs, of which came some cheeses, flours, yeast, left over baby corns from our last grocery shopping, bottle of black olives, few sachets of sauces, seasonings, etc., etc., etc… all perfect for a pizza I think. After a quick check for expiries, I put them to submission for a pizza I had on my mind for our late lunch. While the dough was left rising, the refrigerator was wiped clean and there was the happier me.

Thanks to that spring-cleaning, I have this skinny pizza for you today. Skinny, because its thin crust and par-baked on low heat on an Indian tava and then topped with homemade sauce, vegetables and cheese and baked to finish. It has good dose of vegetables with onions, baby corn and black olives, but is scanty on cheese (I told you right about the cleaning!), not really how a traditional pizza should be, but then who cares if it’s delicious and it’s healthy.

Skinny Olive and Baby corn Pizza

INGREDIENTS

For the dough base:

Follow the recipe here or use a store bought thin crust pizza base

For the homemade sauce:

Click on the recipe here or use a store bought pizza sauce

For the toppings:

4-6 baby corns vertically slit into quarters
½ cup black olives, chopped
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

For a thin crust pizza, roll out the pizza dough as thin as possible, about ¼ - ½ inch thick. Allow it to sit on the counter for 10 mins. Heat up the tava / iron griddle on lowest flame. Cook the pizza on each side, flipping over to ensure the pizza is par cooked on both the sides. Remove and let it cool.

Place the pizza on the pizza tray. Top with homemade tomato sauce and slather it evenly. Top with diced onions, baby corn slices and black olives. Sprinkle generous amounts of cheese and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15-20 minutes or till the cheese melts and the edges of pizza brown. Serve hot.

I’ll be silent for a week or so. We are off to Delhi for a short vacation. My dear brother in law is soon getting hitched for a lifetime. He'll be getting engaged in a couple of days, so we’ll have big fat engagement ceremonies to be a part of, several families to meet and great, some partying, rasta shopping too and, of course lots of good food to relish.

We've been eagerly looking forward to the roka ceremony, followed by a series of colourful and interesting occasions like shagan and chunni chadhana, so you can imagine how excited the entire family is. After weeks of crazy wardrobe shopping, we have our bags ready, all filled to brim, begging space for more to accommodate. It’s been a crazy week as you can see!

But before I leave, I have this simple recipe for Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, aka Garlic Spaghetti along with a dozen photographs for you to feast. I'll have this auto-post while I'm away enjoying the ceremonies, so I hope that makes up for my absence.

The recipe is so simple that even a novice cook cannot go wrong with this one. I stirred in some homemade Basil Almond Pesto and these were delicious! My little one scraped the bowl clean, licking every bit of the pasta and the sauce. The husband loved the simple, yet fiercely spiced garlicky spaghetti and considered to be made too often. In all the recipe was a clean winner.

Garlic Spaghetti - Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

250 gms spaghetti
4-5 cloves chopped garlic
1-2 tsp. crushed red chilli flakes
1/4 cup olive oil
A bunch of freshly chopped basil
Grated parmesan cheese

In a large pot with boiling salted water cook the spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain and drizzle a quick dash of olive oil. Meanwhile, place a large skillet over low heat and sauté chopped garlic, basil, and red chilli flakes with olive oil. I used dried whole red chillies and chopped them finely. Sauté till the garlic turns golden in colour. Toss pasta with garlic mixture and butter. Top it with a generous grating of parmesan cheese. Serve hot with a pesto of your choice.

The Garlic Spaghetti is delicious as is, but makes for a great meal if served with a salad and fresh pesto sauce of your choice. Simply toss the prepared Garlic Spaghetti in Basil Almond Pesto and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pesto, need I say what it means to me? Having been a lover for Italian food, I'm sure there should be no second thought that I love pesto. But strangely that wasn't how it started a few years ago when we first tasted it. Well, it was a love hate relationship that we started with. We did not really give into liking it till recently we acquired a taste for the famed pesto.

For a while we despised pesto or even the word of it. Probably, because I never made it the authentic way. My experiments with dill, coriander and other greens, except basil were not received well. I gave up for a while, feeling incredibly guilty about not tackling it and getting such a simple straight forward recipe right. So I stuck by other pasta recipes that were appealing our palate. Then recently we had it at our coveted Italian restaurant, Toscano and that's really when we took liking to it. The pesto sauce served with an assortment of breads had us a convert. It's chunky texture, mild flavour, fresh and oh-so-delicious when we smeared it on bread and even paired them with spaghetti had us love it thoroughly.

The core ingredients that make up a good pesto sauce are basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil. These days, getting basil in a supermarket here is not a worry, but then they are not always fresh. Hence the basil I used here are home grown in a pot, so that makes this recipe fresh and all the more appealing. Pine nuts are something I have never seen or tasted. A quick google search said walnuts or almonds make an equally good substitute. Far from fetching pine nuts here, I settled for almonds as an alternative, something that I always have a stock of. So, these were made, we relished it with simple garlic spaghetti and they tasted close to the original stuff we had the week earlier.

Basil Almond Pesto

Inspired by BBC GoodFood Magazine

INGREDIENTS

50g roasted almonds
A large bunch of basil
50g Parmesan (I used mozarella instead)
150 ml olive oil, plus extra if storing
2 garlic cloves

METHOD

Put all the above mentioned ingredients into a food processor and process until slightly chunky. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Pour the pesto into a jar and cover with a little extra oil, then seal and store in the fridge. It's known that the pesto will keep well in fridge for up to two weeks, although I recommend using them fresh.


Vegan version:

To make the recipe vegan, use vegan cheese or skip cheese altogether.