Snickerdoole Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Brown Sugar Frosting

     Happy Halloween!!!
     Happy Diwali & Prosperous New Year to all my Indian readers...!!
         Get up and give trick and treat (both) to your kids and love ones... A easy and sweet recipe on this Halloween!!! And of course a new modern sweet way to celebrate a Diwali with this delicious Cupcakes...

 
   Also my #foodiemonday #bloghop entry for #fallrecipes

INGREDIENTS::

FOR CUPCAKES:

* 1 and 2/3 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar, divided

* 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter, melted

* 1 large egg

* 1/4 cup (60g) yogurt

* 3/4 cup (180ml) milk

* 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For Cinnamon- Brown Sugar Frosting

* 1 cup (2 sticks or 230g) salted or unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
* 3-4 Cups Confectioners' Sugar
* 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream or half-and-half*
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* Salt to taste

* 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

* 1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

 

METHOD:::

*Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
* In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
* In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in 1 cup of sugar - mixture will be gritty. Stir in egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Batter will be thick.

* In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon together.  Set aside.

* Spoon 2 scant Tablespoons of cupcake batter into each cupcake liner.

 
* Top with 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
* Top with 1 heaping Tablespoon of cupcake batter, until the cupcake tins are about 3/4 full. Some of the cinnamon-sugar filling from the center layer may peek through the top layer of batter.

*  Top each cupcake with 1 teaspoon more of the cinnamon-sugar.
* Bake the cupcakes for 19-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 
* Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting;
* Beat softened butter on medium speed with an electric or stand mixer.
* Beat for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
* Add confectioners' sugar, cream, and vanilla extract with the mixer running. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes 
* Add more confectioners' sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if the frosting is too thick. (Optional)
* Taste the frosting and add salt if frosting is too sweet (1/4 teaspoon).
* Remove half of the frosting from the mixing bowl and transfer to a smaller mixing bowl.  
* Add 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and beat until combined, about 30 seconds to swirl the frosting.

* Spoon half cinnamon frosting into the piping bag and half vanilla frosting into the piping bag. (See below for a visual.)

* Pipe onto cupcakes as desired. 
* Simply frost the cupcakes with both the vanilla and cinnamon frostings.

* Sprinkle some Brown Sugar on frosting.

* Serve them or store them for later use too.

* Enjoy!

Happy Baking on these Halloween!!
 May every day of the New Year glow with good cheer and happiness for you and your family... Happy Diwali and a prosperous New Year....

Fada-Lapsi

               Happy, Healthy and Safe Diwali to all my readers!!!
       Diwali is incomplete without an authentic sweets and desserts, and so here it is.. A authentic dessert- Fada Lapsi....Fada Lapsi, a delicious Indian sweet, hardly needs any introduction!! Lapsi is a dessert, famous in western Indian especially in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The fada lapsi taste amazing as combination of broken wheat and cardamom and ghee.. Moist and soft old fashioned Lapsi oozes with the richness of desi Ghee..Often jiggery and milk is used in the preparation but I like simple old traditional recipe of adding water an sugar because this is Diwali Special:) It is always cooked on festival days like Holi, Dhanteras and Diwali and of course on some special occasions or for ritual(pooja)..

   My entry to #diwalispecialsweets on #foodiemonday #bloghop.. Happy Diwali to all my readers..

  As I was in rush when I made this recipe, I don't have step by step pictures. Sorry for that..:-)
Ingredients:::
1 cup fada (cracked wheat)
1 cup Sugar or as per your taste
1/2 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
4-5 cups boiling hot water
A pinch of Saffron
1 tbls raisins
1 tbls chopped or slices of Almonds
1/3 Cup Hot milk
1 tsp Cardamom powder
Method:::
* Heat the pan on low-medium flame.
* Add ghee in it.
* After ghee melted, add fada(cracked wheat)
* Keep flame on low-mediun.
* Keep stir ring the fada continuously.
* Keep cook till fada change the color to golden brown.(about 5-7 mintes on very low-med flame)
* Add 4-5 cups of boiling hot water and cook on medium flame..
* Add saffron and mix.
* Cook on a low-medium flame for another 15-20 minutes or till fada(cracked wheat) is almost done and well cooked,(fada should be proper soft) while strring.
* Add milk and let it stir till milk totally absorbing by fada.
* Add the sugar, once the water is totally absorb and fada is well done cooked. (if need more water add it before add sugar)
* Cook it again till all the sugar water is vapor.
* Cover and Cook on low flame or another 5-7 minutes till ghee separated on sides.
* Add raisins and almonds and mix well.
* Cover and cook on very low flame for couple of minutes.(stir in between)
* Turn of the stove and add cardamom powder.
* Mix well and serve hot..

NOTES::
Make sure adjust sugar according to taste..
Cook on very low flame on last stage for longer if needed.

Enjoy!!
Happy Diwali!!!

Pomegranate-Apple Raita in Strawberry Yogurt

   A simple and easy-peasy raita recipe to go with any routine meal or fasting(vrat) meal.. A perfect recipe to include some proteins and vitamins-minerals in the fasting days. There are endless variation for this kind of Raita, but as I'm preparing this for Navratri Vrat, so I took care to use the spices which are allowed during fasting days. So this raita is just spiced up gracefully with minimum ingredients...let's have a look of this Strawberry flavoured, sweet-spicy and delicious Raita....

    My #foodiemonday #bloghop #navratrispecial contribution....Happy Navratri And Happy Dasera to all of you...

Ingredients::
1 cup Yogurt
2 crushed Strawberries
2 chopped strawberries
2-3 tbls Pomegranate seeds
2 tbls chopped Apple
Some chopped Mint leaves
1tsp oil
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/4 tsp Musturd seeds
1 tsp chopped green Chilli
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1-2 tsp Sugar
Sindhav salt (fasting salt) to taste
Method::
* Mix crushed strawberries and yogurt very well.

* Add chopped apple, chopped strawberries and pomegranate seeds in yogurt.

* Add cumin powder, red chilli powder, Chopped mint leaves, sindhav salt and sugar.

* Mix all again.
* Heat the oil for tadka.
* Add mustard seeds and chopped green chillies in oil and cook for 1-2 mins.
* Add Tadka to the yogurt and mix it well.

* Serve it cold with any Vrat Puri, Thepla or anything else..

Variation::
* You may add any kind of fruits in this Raita.
* Add regular salt if you using this raita on no fasting or vrat days.
* You may use any fruit crushed to make flavored yogurt besides Strawberry.

Happy Cooking!!!

Taco Chaat

      Lip smacking Taco Chaat recipe today.  Quintessential Indian Street food, the 'Chaat'- gets a morden makeover in this Taco Chaat recipe. A fashionable and Chatpati Chaat for typical NRI's.:) -- By the look of it, I'm pretty sure you'd agree it deserves making to the next party table..

 So, here is my entry for our #foodiemonday #bloghop..Of course today's challenge is #chaat..

Ingredients:
6-8 Taco Shells
2 Boiled and chopped med. Potatoes
1/2 cup Chopped Onions
1/3 cup Chopped Tomatoes
1-2 tbls Sweet corn
1 tbls Chopped green grapes
1 tbls Pomegranate seeds
2 tbls Chopped Cilantro
Chopped green Chilli  to taste
Chaat masala to taste
Red chilli powder to taste
1/2 cup Sev
1/3 cup Spicy Boondi
1/2 cup crushed Cheetos
1/2 cup Sweet yogurt
1/3 cup Sweet Tamarind Chutney
1/3 cup Spicy Cilantro(coriander) Chutney
2-3 tbls Spicy Garlic-Red chilli Chutney
Method:
* In a large mixing bowl take the chopped potatoes, onion, tomatoes, pomegranate seeds, chopped green grapes, chopped cilantro, green chilies and sweetcorn.

* Toss them and dress with some chaat masala and red chilli powder.
* Add all three Chutneys according to your taste in the mixture and mix them well.
* Add sev, spicy boondi and crushed Cheetos in mixture and toss them again.
* Adjust spicies and chutneys according to your taste.
* To assemble, scoop the mixture filling into each taco shell, then add about 1 tbsp curd on top.
* Follow up with little drops of green chutney, garlic chutnney and  tamrind sauce (Imli chutney),according to your taste.
 * Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and crushed Cheetos, sev and boondi.
* Sprinkle some chaat masala and red chilli powder.

*Serve them immediately.

Notes:
-Do not make this in advance and keep it, for it will go soggy.

-Adjust spices to your taste.

 You may want to check some other varieties of Chaat::

                                                      

Pop-corn Bhel

          

Cereal-Oats Bhel

                                                       

Chinese Bhel

                                                      

Thai Noodles Sizzler Chaat

                                                       

Spinach-Kale Pakoda Chaat

Happy cooking until next time......