Banana Cupcakes with Double Chocolate Chips

I will let you in on a secret.. I am not a great sweet fan. No, don't look at me like that. errrr.... I mean, I like certain sweets but not all. I am very picky. So, when came across this recipe, I wasn't too sure how it would turn out.. So I took out all my baking paraphernalia and took to baking it with a gusto. The first time, however, I somehow doubled the milk quantity in my excitement and realised it once I had added all the milk into the batter. Awwww, how is it that you realise the moment you make a ghastly mistake, not a second before! Hmm.. let me think about it for a bit! Okay, the taste was great, but the muffins were bit on the softer side.. I didn't like them much.

Two weeks back, I was wondering what recipe to try next and realised we had extra bananas at home. And a plan was made. How could I be content with an (almost) failed attempt? Right? And this time, they did come out perfect. You bite into the muffins and could feel the goodness of chocolate, delicate aroma of bananas tempting your olfactory senses and seducing them with its mellow, sweet taste.. And I was a fan.

My sister likes banana walnut cakes. Though I had made healthy banana walnut loaf for her before, I will make banana walnut cupcakes with loads of chocolate chips in it. Slather it with some yummy nutella and I guarantee you that you will find yourself in heaven! 

Banana Cupcakes with Double Chocolate Chips

The batter yields 6 large cupcakes and 3 mini loaves

Adapted from Shaheen's PurpleFoodie

1/2 cup / 100g butter

1 ¼ cups / 250g sugar

2 eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup / 225g bananas, mashed 

½ cup / 100 ml warm milk 

2 cups / 250g all-purpose flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

¾ tsp baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt 

¼ cup / 50g Dark chocolate chips 

¼ cup / 50g White chocolate chips

Method:

1.    Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F.

2.    Cream together the butter and sugar.

3.    Add the eggs, vanilla, mashed bananas.

4.    Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

5.    Add flour and milk in the following order: 1/3rd flour, ½ the milk, 1/3rd flour, rest half of the milk and finally the remaining 1/3rd flour till well combined.

6.    Stir in the chocolate chips and reserve some for the top.

7.    Bake for 20-25 (when using mini loaf pan or large cupcake mould, else reduce the time and check with wooden skewer) minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Coffee Panna Cotta | Dessert

Panna Cotta is an Italian desert of cooked cream. Coffee is a delicious flavour and you will fall in love with this dessert. The recipe is simple and the dessert so flavoursome that you will surely ask for more. The other flavour you can try is Saffron Caramel Panna Cotta.

I have heard people raving about the awesomeness of coffee flavour but hadn't quite understood until I made cakes and desserts at home. The delicate flavour and the smell just blew my mind away. Now, I am a convert.

This dessert took me hardly 15minutes to prepare, but couldn't resist opening my refrigerator again and again to check if it had set... Oh, the pleasure of digging into this delicious creation was just out of this world. Hey, don't just take my word for it. Try it for yourself and then tell me!

Coffee Panna Cotta Recipe
Adapted from Passionate About Baking

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes  {plus chilling}
Ingredients:

• 1ltr low fat cream, room temp
• 115g vanilla sugar
• 2.5 tbsp coffee powder
• 2 tsp gelatin
• 3 tbsp water

Method:

1.     Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and let stand for five minutes.

2.     Stir coffee into 30ml cream.

3.     Place the cream, coffee mix and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and gently bring to a simmer, but not a full boil. Stir often.

4.     Take off heat. Add 1-2 tbsp of this hot cream to the dissolved gelatin to loosen it further, and then pour the gelatin mix back into the hot cream through a sieve. Stir well.

5.     Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes, then distribute among your serving bowls/molds/ramekins/goblets.

6.     Allow to set for 6-8 hours/preferably overnight. Serve with chocolate shavings or chocolate ganache.

Garlic Pull Apart Rolls

Garlic pull apart rolls have become a staple at my house. When I first started making them, it would start out as an occasion. I would keep aside an entire evening so that I could prepare the dough, wait until it rose and then bake it until the heavenly smells of home made garlic rolls would waft through the house and make all of us REALLY hungry! Now that I have made them countless times, I know the consistency and I have made several variations too which have come out with flying colours, the whole process has become a breeze...

The most exciting thing about this recipe is that you can make the most mouth watering, delicious smelling, savoury rolls or if the mood suits you, you can use sweet fillings to make it sweet rolls and make say, cinnamon rolls. For example, you can use the same recipe to make Nutella rolls by switching garlic filling with nutella filling. Tadaaaa, how easy is that? For the savoury fillings, you can use cheese and mint, paneer and mint, butter and pizza seasoning, basil and cheese fillings.... Oh, the list is endless. Every time, like clock work, the rolls come out amazing and taste out of this world! Another variation can be found in Monika's blog. 

The only change I would do is to double the salt in the dough, since  I find that it could do with some more salt. Rest, I wouldn't change a thing!

Garlic Pull-Apart Rolls Recipe

Ingredients: 

Plain Flour - 3 cups

Warm Water - 1 Cup

Dry active yeast - 1tbsp

Salt - 1tsp (I recommend making this 2tsp)

Sugar - 2tbsp

Olive Oil - 2-3 tbsp

1 egg+1tsp milk - For basting before baking

For the filling:

Salted butter - 50 gms (1/3 cup approx)

Garlic - 6-7 finely chopped

Coriander leaves - 3tbsp chopped

1/2 tsp Chilli flakes

1/2tsp white/black pepper

Method:

1) Mix warm water, sugar and yeast together and leave aside for 10 minutes till it looks frothy. That's when the yeast has been activated. Note: If the water is too hot, you will kill the yeast, if too cold, it won't activate.

2) Mix the above starter with flour and salt mixture and knead lightly till everything comes together as dough. No need to over knead it.

3) Add oil to it and knead for 20-30 min until the dough starts springing back. (You can add neutral vegetable oil as well. olive oil is not a must. Hand kneading takes 30-35 min based on the pressure you apply. With dough hook, I kneaded for 20min and finished with 2-3 minutes of hand kneading). Use the window pane test here or here to see if the dough is ready.

4) Keep the dough for resting covered by cling film for about 30-45 minutes till it doubles. Depends on the weather, you may have to wait for an hour.

5) While the dough is proofing, u can make the garlic spread ready by mixing all the ingredients together at room temperature.

6) After it has doubled in size, knock down to remove the air and roll in to a half an inch thickness sheet. Use dry flour to prevent sticking.

7) Apply the garlic filling. Spread evenly and roll the dough from one end to another.

8) Use a knife or a thread to cut it into 8-10 rolls of equal size.

9) Line them in a loaf pan, spread the left over garlic spread on top and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. 

10) Leave it for proofing for around 30min - 1hr. (you know its done when you poke it and it doesn't bounce back).

11) Apply egg wash and bake it at 180C for 20-25min.

12) Pull them apart. Pop in your mouth fresh and warm.