Whenever we have guests coming over, the best part is planning the dessert.  Last week, we had some guests. We wanted to prepare some dessert in advance. One recipe that fitted the bill was Chocolate Truffles. We had some homemade red wine that was added and the truffles came out great. Our guests enjoyed the truffles and we loved them too.


Chocolate Truffles are rich, decadent, bite-sized sweets made from chocolate, cream and butter to which nuts, dry fruits, spices or liqueur can be added to enhance the flavour and taste. Truffles are rolled into small rounds and tossed in cocoa powder. This way, truffles are made to resemble the real Truffle fungus that grows in France and Italy. Choosing a good quality dark chocolate ensures smooth truffles. Choose a dark, semi-sweet or bitter chocolate for velvety truffles. One can add a variety of nuts, coffee powder, spices, pureed fruits, dry fruits and liqueurs to the basic truffle recipe.


Dark Chocolate Truffles


Ingredients

  • ½ cup low-fat cream
  • ¼ teaspoon coffee powder
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
  • 225 grams dark chocolate (take good quality dark chocolate or bitter chocolate)
  • 4 tablespoons red wine (optional)
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder for coating the truffles

Instructions

  1. Break chocolate into small pieces.
  2. Put them in a heatproof bowl.
  3. Take cream in a thick bottom saucepan.
  4. Cook on medium heat till the cream begins to boil. Add coffee and sugar and stir well.
  5. Pour cream mixture into the bowl with chocolate pieces. Add wine.
  6. Stir until the chocolate melts and becomes smooth. If the chocolate has not melted, place the bowl over another pan with simmering water. Stir till the chocolate melts and mixture becomes smooth.
  7. Cover the bowl with a cling film and put in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
  8. With help of a spoon, scoop out some chocolate and shape into uneven walnut size balls.
  9. Roll truffles in cocoa powder.
  10. Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


A much awaited weekend arrived finally. A lot of pending chores were finished. The retreating monsoons do offer a pleasant shower every now and then. We are entering the beautiful Autumn. It seems to be a festival of butterflies. We love spotting them in our garden. 



We saw one on the fireball plant. 



Next morning, we saw another species in the  hedge

Rains have rendered the hills clean and green and colourful. A thousand specie of flowers don the landscape.



 We spotted some very tiny and pretty wild flowers in the hills.

A sense of accomplishment prevailed after winding up a lot of work. Next day we baked Kardemummabullar or the Swedish Cardamom Rolls.   




 Shaping the butter laden and cardamom sprinkled dough strips was fun. Our home smelt heaven as the rolls baked in the oven.


Beautiful and delicious Swiss Cardamom buns are served with Coffee for the afternoon for Fika. Kanelbullars are the quintessence of Swedish  FikaFika means “to drink coffee “in Swedish. It is a moment to take a break, hang with friends and enjoy a pastry.



Cardamom flecked rolls are soft and pillowy, fragrant, mildly sweet and delicious. They pair well with coffee and tea.

Kardemummabullar | Swedish Cardamom Rolls

Ingredients

Dough

  • ½ cup warm milk
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon instant dry yeast
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon green cardamom seed powder
  • 3 tablespoons soft butter
  • Oil to grease the bowl

Filling

  • 2 ½ tablespoons butter (at room temperature)
  • 2 ½ tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons green cardamom seeds powdered

Glaze

  • 4 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Topping

  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

Instructions

  1. Dissolve sugar in warm milk. Add yeast. Leave covered for 15 minutes.
  2. Whisk together flour, salt and cardamom powder in a large bowl. Add butter. Mix well.
  3. Add milk mixture and knead the dough. Add milk mix in parts. Knead for about 8 minutes till you get a very smooth, supple and slightly tacky dough.
  4. Transfer to a greased bowl. Turn around so that it is evenly coated with oil. Cover and keep in a warm place for 45 minutes or until puffy.
  5. To make the filling, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  6. To make the glaze, take all the ingredients in a pan. Boil till sugar dissolves completely. Cool.
  7. Punch the risen dough. Transfer to a floured counter. Roll out into a 10-inch x 18-inch rectangle.
  8. Spread filling onto the rolled dough with a spatula, covering entire area from edge to edge.
  9. Mark 6 inch sections on the 18-inch side. You will have three equal sections. Fold left side to the middle, then fold the right side over the left side. Turn the dough so that the longer side is facing you.
  10. Sprinkle some flour and roll out the dough slightly. With a sharp knife or a pastry wheel, cut one-inch strands.
  11. To make rolls, hold the end of the strand between thumb and index finger.  Wrap the strand around the tips of your thumb and fore fingers three times. Keep twisting the dough strand as you wrap. Slip the roll out gently and tuck in the other end of the strand under the roll.
  12. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  13. Place rolls on a greased baking tray giving enough space for dough to rise and spread. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
  14. Preheat oven to 220 degrees C during the last 20 minutes while the dough is rising. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or till the rolls become brown from the top.
  15. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the rolls with the syrup. Sprinkle topping.
  16. Cool on the wire rack. Serve warm.

Linking to Bread Bakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
This month, the Bread Bakers are making International Breads, a theme chosen by Wendy of A Day in the Life on The Farm. Thank you, Wendy, for the interesting theme. 

These are the recipes from our group- 

·  Apfelpfannkuchen (Apple Pancake)from A Day in the Life on the Farm  
·  Auvergne Crown from Karen's Kitchen Stories  
·  Bauerbrot from All That's Left Are The Crumbs 
·  Bialys from Spill the Spices  
·  Boule from Bread Therapy  
·  Chilli and Coriander Scones from Sizzling Tastebuds  
·  Dallas Pulla from The Schizo Chef  
·  Dutch Tiger Bread (Tijgerbrood)from Baking Sense  
·  Eggless brioche bread from I camp in my Kitchen  
·  Epi di Pan from Sara's Tasty Buds  
·  Franzbrotchen from Gayathri's Cook Spot  
·  German Soft Pretzels (Laugenbrezel) from Hostess At Heart  
·  German Soft Pretzels from Herbivore Cucina  
·  Kardemummabullar from Ambrosia 
·  Pita Bread from Sneha's Recipe
·  Pletzel from Cook's Hideout 
·  Pretzel bites from  My Cooking Journey 
·  Savoury Kugelhopf from The Mad Scientist's Kitchen 
·  Slovak Bread Rolls(Rozky) from Mayuri's Jikoni 
·  Whole wheat Pitta bread from Sonlicious 
·  Yemeni Kubaneh from Food Lust People Love


If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].











Another beautiful week comes to an end. It is raining but not every day. Autumn is almost here. Luxurious vegetation invites birds and butterflies. We spotted a very colourful butterfly in our fireball plant. 


Morning glory is blooming profusely. 


It is a blessing to see a variety of flowers in the morning.
As we reach the end of the week, we plan to bake some muffins. We have plenty of bananas and apples at home. Some of the bananas and apples will go into the muffins. Kids feel hungry in the evening and would love to have the healthy muffins.


Banana makes the muffins really soft. Oats give a chewy texture. The muffins are delicious and addictive. Enjoy the muffins with tea. You may pack them in tiffin also. The muffins are filling, healthy and delicious with the goodness of oats, apple and bananas


Oats Apple and Banana Muffins (Eggless)

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup all- purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon soda
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/2 cup thick curd
  • 1 cup unrefined cane sugar
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ripe bananas (pureed)
  • 1 medium apple peeled and grated
  • 1 tablespoon chopped figs/strawberries

Instructions

  1. Grease one 12 cup muffin tray. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
  2. Whisk together first five ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. In another large bowl, mix curd, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
  4. Add banana puree. Mix well to get a smooth mixture.
  5. Add dry ingredients little by little. Mix well.
  6. Fold in grated apple.
  7. Pour batter into cup cake tray. Fill till 3/4 level of the cups.
  8. Add chopped figs /strawberries on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
  9. Cool on the rack.



Rains have draped our hills in myriad shades of green. There is a profusion of ferns, flowers and fruits. We spotted some very beautiful but very small flowers dotting the landscape. A large variety of ferns are flourishing on the ground while some ferns prefer to grow on oak trees. We loved the sweet cold air echoing with the songs of the birds.


Whenever we go to the hills, we prepare some healthy snacks to take along. After walking for miles, it is very gratifying to satiate hunger by eating something healthy. This time, we prepared Oats Honey and Almond Bites. We added lots of candied strawberry pieces for added sweetness and flavour. In the other batch, we added dried figs. Either way, it is a beautiful combination.


These energy bites are ideal for journeys, picnics and even for gifting.

Oats Honey And Almond Energy Bites

Ingredients

  • 1 cup oats
  • 3/4 cup peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup almonds
  • 1/3 cup dehydrated strawberries/cranberries/figs (chopped into small pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup Honey

Instructions


  1. Roast oats on low heat. Remove from the heat before the oats begin to change colour. Keep aside to cool
  2. Roast peanuts in the oven at 150 degrees C for 10 minutes or until golden and fragrant. Cool and remove skin.
  3. Chop almonds into small pieces.
  4. Powder the oats in a food processor.
  5. Powder the flaxseeds.
  6. Grind the roasted peanuts till they begin to release oil, till you get a peanut butter like consistency.
  7. Take all the ingredients in a bowl. Add chia seeds and chopped strawberries. Add honey. Mix well till all comes together and the mixture becomes like dough.
  8. Pinch small portions of the mixture and roll out walnut size balls.
  9. Store in an airtight container

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