Oh Kolkata Team
No meal is ever complete with a dessert that will stay in your taste buds for quite some time afterward. Irrespective of having a sweet tooth or not, most of us love desserts. And, here are some very easy ways in which mouth-watering DIY desserts can be prepared at home:
Ingredients: 2 cups plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2/3 cups cocoa powder, 1 ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup chocolate chips, 2 eggs, ¾ cup milk, 2 tsp. vanilla essence.
Procedure: Preheat oven at 350°F. Whisk plain flour with baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and chocolate chips in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla essence in another bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients gradually in the well, along with ½ cup melted butter; stirring to blend. Do not overbeat the batter or else the muffin would become too tight. Just make sure it is well-mixed. Pour into muffin pan up to the brim. Sprinkle with sparkling white sugar(optional). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow five minutes of standing time. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
2. Cashew Barfi (Servings: 20 pieces)
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup Water, 2 ½ cup Sugar, 1 tablespoon Milk, 1kg Cashew (finely ground), 3 teaspoons Ghee.
Procedure: Put water and sugar into a bowl and heat. Keep stirring. The mixture should come to a boil and should form a thick syrup. Just before it begins to caramelize pour in milk and stir. Mix in cashew powder and ghee. Heat until the mixture thickens and the fat separates. Continue stirring while cooking. Lightly grease ½ “ high trays and press the barfi mixture onto them. When cool, cut into diamonds or square shapes as desired. Store in airtight boxes.
Ingredients: 2 custard apples,1 teaspoon gelatin, ¼ cup water, ½ cup condensed milk, ¼ cup milk, 3 teaspoons butter, ½ cup biscuits (powdered), ½ cup cashews (powder), 2 sweet cherries
Procedure: Mix gelatin in water and cook till a glassy look appears. Remove from flame. Peel apple, deseed and make pulp. Mix the pulp and gelatin with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with cherries. Serve chilled.
Ingredients: 2 eggs, 2 cups milk, 2 tablespoons corn-starch, 1/3 cup sugar, 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
Procedure: Mix milk, sugar, and corn-starch over medium heat. Allow the milk to scalding. Whisk occasionally to prevent the cornstarch from clumping at the bottom. Remove from heat. Mix 2 tablespoons of the scalded milk mixture into lightly beaten eggs. Add this mixture slowly into the entire milk mixture, whisking constantly. Return to heat and whisk till the custard thickens. Do not boil.
