*Crazy Over Desserts

At the onset.....
Admit it....
I'm taller than you n that too by a good margin..... ;)

Now that, that's out of the way... let's get on with this post.....
Amit's been a member of the 99acres.com product team for long enough to be On-My-List and so much more. It's always a a bitter sweet moment when a colleague moves to another company. A friend is happy that a friend is moving closer to their goals.... what lingers is memories....

He's a great human being, with a great sense of humor and willing to extend support in the team and outside. Have really enjoyed working with him. His creative n writing skills are amazing amongst so many other skills :)

This is the collage we made to give him for his farewell.... It's got some very precious moments we've shared like Birthday's , Outings, Photo shooting trips, Rock Star trips, many days when tiffins n sweaters were left in office, Diwali/Independence day/ Christmas parties. He's even won a prize for my 'Aaj Mein Khush Hun' contest, was one of my first serious clients on Valentine's day. One was the memorable parties was at his place.... can't forget the hilarious fun we had playing pictionary and yummiliscious spread of bengali food laid out by aunty.

This is a Happy and Sad post... Sad cause my friend from work Gunjan will not be working with our company any more and Happy cause she's moving on and I'm very Happy for her n Happier for the awesome time we've had together.

Gunjan, G- great, U-understanding, N-naughty, J-jovial, A-awesome, N-nice and so many more fabulous qualities.....

With loads of confidence, I can say that she's God's own child and has a heart of gold with a joie de vivre so infectious that it's impossible to be glum while she's around..... Have admired her readiness to party-at-the-drop-of-a-hat.... Her presence lights up the room with a zillion watts.... Her sense of style is just fabulous :)

Her hardworking and dedicated self at work is going to be missed at lot... We've spent long hours at work and even longer nights at work for special projects, which won us a trip to Bhimtal....

Am sure by now all of you know that I bake only for people who are On-My-List and Gunjan is so On-My-List :) Gunjan is synonymous with Colour and hence her birthday cake last year had so much colour.....


Her farewell had to be something special... She loves Chocolate and Rum..... So I made her a Banana Chocolate Cake which has a layering of rum soaked raisins n chocolate... am so glad she enjoyed herself.


Gunjan Writes.....

Nachi as we call her is one of the kinds.She is adorable,she is beautiful, she is cute, she is crazy,she is demanding and what not!! Its been now three and half years that I have been frens with her. More I know her, more i like her. Always full of life and passionate about everything she does.Whenever I look back @ the moments spent with her, I feel proud to have her as my fren...special being - Nikhil's and her mom b'day celebration, her b'day party, drinking party after diwali party and I don't think list can ever end.

Stayed back at her home after late parties and not just parties, she made all those night-outs in office memorable ones.Your mom has been the part here. Whenever she knew I gonna be there, she would pre-arrange all the stuff from tooth-brush to next day clothes! She is the best

Nachi is such an amazing personality that she left her nachi factor even on my hubby in the first meeting itself... u can take a look @ some pictures clicked @ her b'day party...

BTW, she bakes amazing cakes with all those icing( earlier I used to think icing has something to do with ICE!! M really bad with this stuff). Can't thank her enuf for the valentine cake and the B'day cake she baked.I could see all her love and care in the presentation of the cake.So much effort in the name of love !
Now let's talk about my fav part - she has got a very gud sense of clothes and accessories. I get some gud advices and appreciation as well.Not to forget I like her jewellery collection(something I am very fond of but I don't think looks gud on me). She matches and carries them amazingly well !
Best I liked her in was orange saree - U looked show-stopper in that dress Nachi.

There is always an aura of confidence around her.You feel happy with her.She will advice you wenver she feels its important.I know Nachi, how u won't care about the receptiveness and keep giving them over and over again without feeling bad about it !

I can't forget all those moments from salsa classes to bhimtal trip to late work hours to midnight parties.I love you for whatever you are ! U r d best ....

One thing which is beyond explaination - "TRY FORGETTING HER B'DAY.. U WILL GO THROUGH SERIES OF EMOTIONS WHICH WILL BE BEYOND WORDS" ;-)

I Just love you way too much and yeah your mom as well...

All The Best... :)
Ps: Will treasure your note....

That's Babaji and Radhika didi...... It was Radhika didi's turn to give parshad in Mall Rd.... She asked me to make it instead of ordering at a store.... Yippeee.... This is very very special for me.... Have done Parshad earlier for my birthday, had made 'Cappuccino Tiramisu Cheesecake' and 'Ragu and Olive Pasta Primavera'.
That's babji and me.... Making parshad is a difficult task as it needs lots of planning in terms of shortlisting what to make, it must be easy to transport, ingredients should be easy to get, should withstand the weather, easy to eat in a crowded place and most of all easy to make cause if there are too many steps then making 300 individual servings and keeping it fresh is a issue from a home kitchen....

Another aspect is to think of Sugarfree parshad too. Most diabetics crave chocolate as all the store bought things are done with fruit and custard or paneer based indian sweets....... My challenge was to make something chocolate with Sugarfree, with aftertaste of the artificial sweetner like splenda.

My belief is that while making parshad, if the attitude is 'I am the Doer' the obstacles are many.... if the attitude is 'I am the instrument', all obstacles are overcome.... Something which Priya didi taught me when i made parshad last time... It worked really well this time.....

To zero in on what to make, I made samples of To Die for 'Banana Chocochip Muffins' for Radhika didi, which would qualify all the criteria I mentioned above. She wanted them with walnuts and chocolate... made another sample batch, which had what she described[she wanted cocoa in them] and another with my version....... made her taste both without telling her which one was which...... She liked the improvisation which I had done... :)
Hence I came to the conclusion...

In most cases the consumer doesn't always want what they are saying... We need to know the strain of concern and then use our tasting/baking skills to create products which match their taste...... and sometimes be firm about the final product to work within the given deadline :)

These muffins were clearly 'Objects of Desire'..... given that they had no butter and very very little oil [I used sunflower oil, a healthier option without compromise on taste :) ]......
The monkey's totally tell my tale.... it was very hard for me to resist popping a muffin each from every lot I made. Very Very Tempting.......

My selection for the sugarfree parshad was 'Sugarfree Cherry Brownies'. Just that I made it loaded with cherries and used 1.5 times more chocolate.... worked like magic..... :)

I had taken over my sister's entire room for mixing and packing & drawing room for ovens as that's the only place which had high power sockets and noone would go in cause the room would be really warm due to the ovens running the entire day..... We worked on Friday from 7pm in the evening to 4am in the morning, Saturday from 10am to 2pm at night, Sunday from 11am to 3pm. By the end of it I had a bed full of 265 muffins[2 special ones for Daksayani with no chocolate n nuts] & 50 Brownies and 1 Bowl of eggless Mango Fool for Geetika[She's allergic to eggs] as parshad and lots of boxes of muffins to give for friends.... :)

These moist yummies have been a delight to make, it's such a forgiving recipe and not very exacting..... But the sheer hard, back breaking work for getting to the 300 mark was something else.....

Everyone really enjoyed them.... Babaji said they were really tasty. Vibha, Gunjan, Richa, Bhaskar, Sravanthi, Hitesh, Sukhpreet, Sumit, Nikhil, Kirti, Madhurima, Bhawna, Vibhore, Vivek, Pushpanjali, Anuraag, Rimjhim, Gunjan and lots more people said they were lipsmakingly delicious.....

Gunjan had a field day with chocolate.... :)

As long as she was unaware she's being clicked, I got natural pictures n the minute she was aware of the camera.... full on posing happened....

Verdict:
Vibha:
hey nachi,
tnx a trillion to u n neelu for the bonus brownies. I'm savouring them by putting a large chunk of my homemade choc fudge on top n microwaving it for 30 secs! Oh! It tastes like bliss! AWESOME!

Arunima: Thanks a ton...The muffins were just awesome :) Everyone loved those :D

Punee Bagai: nachi the muffins were awesome thanx a ton hope u got our sms too. The boys loved them...

Anjli:
Hey Nachi,
What a lovely surprise to get the yum yum muffins- monsoon showers, cool breezes and now this - our welcome to Delhi couldn't have been better!
Thanks much much,
love,
Anjli

There are so many recipes on the net for 'Banana Chocochip Muffins' but Nigella's just rocks..... I watch her shows like religion.... I may not end up making everything she cooks cause my household is vegetarian[as an irony, am a total carnivore] but her desserts, they look like a dream. Her kitchen... To Die for and which is why I guess these muffins were also 'T0-Die-For'.....

Meetu, a renewed baker had made these and made me taste them in office.... I loved them, but eating them out of the oven was just another feeling.... So Soft, So moist and calling out to me... E-A-T M-E........

Made some plain Banana Muffins for Daksayani as she's not suppose to eat chocolate.... This little monkey loves to bake with me and potter around in the kitchen... It was such a task to get her to eat anything at all. The milk went in with the condition that I would let her bake and that she would get to drink the milk with a straw..... Yes Missy... anything to get that milk inside you.... :)

Another batch was done for my school friends Arunima [in the picture] and Swati[not in the pictures]. am glad they enjoyed them :)

The first batch that I did was at the beginning of the month... [with a variation of adding butterscotch sauce as the topping] and what a disaster.... both my ovens stopped heating mid way and they entire batch was close to wasted... I was near tears..... Gave the oven for repairs. Got them back after 2 weeks and cooked up the courage to make the muffins again......

Am so glad I picked up from where I left off..... The 2nd batch of muffins I took to work... The reviews were really encouraging.

The third batch was for my neighbors and some family members.... yet again... rave reviews.....

Banana Chocochip Muffins
~ adapted from Nigella
Serving Size : Makes 12

Ingredients:
3 very ripe bananas - (2 cups of banana pulp)
125ml vegetable oil
2 eggs (I used 3 eggs)
250g flour
100g caster sugar (I used 150 gms instead)
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
150g butterscotch (or chocolate) morsels ( I used chocolate chips instead)
If your are eggo-phobic, put 1 teaspoon vanilla essence into the egg & oil mixture.


Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.
Mash the bananas and set aside for a moment. (spin them in a blender into a puree.)
Pour the oil into a bowl and beat in the eggs.
Put the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas.
Fold in the butterscotch morsels, then place equal quantities in the prepared muffin tin and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Enjoy :)

The other variations which you can do with these muffins that come to my mind are, add walnuts or hazelnuts, gives a crunch n goes well with both banana n chocolate.
You could use butterscotch chips instead of chocochips or give a center of caramel sauce or even ice the muffins with toffee sauce.

These muffins are really worth a try... Let the monkey in you free... :) The chocolate splattered muffin will surely make your hands reach for another one....

I have been a Banana n Chocolate fan from my schools days after I ate it at a quaint bakery shop in Sarojni Nagar market. They had icecream flavours in combinations available in a huge scoop for just Rs. 15/-. I was a convert for life..... I know Banana and Chocolate as a combination is not a hot fav with many people.... Trust me... This muffin will make you change your opinion......It's amazing :)
I've made David lebovitz 'Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake',It turned out well....It turned out well....This one was also appreciated widely.

Verdict:
Gauri: Hi! Sexy muffin. really gr8. My mom-in-law luved it and my husband rahul is asusual demanding more of them now. really apt taste, apt sweet. really nice. Thanks a ton.
Sravanti: yummy beyond words.

Got an alert on facebook that David Lebovitz has posted a 'Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake' reading thru it had me wanting to leave everything... run home and start making this cake instantly.... An added advantage was that the caramel was made from water and not butter.. :-)
Just before I left from work, Bhawna[a friend at work] called me to say that she's got me a gift... bless her soul... I love gift and nice surprises... even more....
First thing I did when as soon as I got home was rip open the gift pack...Can you imagine my delight when I saw 2 non stick baking pans with silicon handles.... Just the right shape for the Banana Chocolate Upside down cake, I have sitting in my head since the morning..... It was late when I got home... I put away the tins.... After dinner, one glance at them.... it seemed almost as though they were calling out softly to me in a ghostly voice.... 'Bake... Bake... Bake....' I just had to.... Got cracking in the kitchen...

Just after I took out the cake from the oven n put it on a wire rack to cool... was pleading with God.... pl pl pl let it come out clean and not stick to the bottom of the pan....... After it had cooled... I warmed the bottom a bit to make the caramel gooey so that the butter paper would peel off smoothly...... n that peeps was a stroke of a genius to me :-) It dropped out clean and I quickly peeled the butter paper off.... note, not without burning my fingers though....... Caramel is REALLY HOT people... pl use a pair of tongs or something..... Absolutely no contact with skin... unless u want to eat charred skin... Cutting out the gruesome....

The cake came out amazingly moist and perfectly in shape.... and turned upside down like a dream..... was dancing around the house with the plate totally excited n clapping my hands in glee.... Granddad just could fathom whats gotten into me....

That's Bhawana and her hub Vibhore. Bhawna's very selective about about the sweets she eats...She doesn't like chocolate... (can you imagine someone not liking chocolate but saving grace is that she likes it in the form of Brownies....) but I was told that her child must be introduced to Chocolate. Sure I will....
Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake was my introduction of Chocolate to their baby.... She really enjoyed it... Vibhore smsed to say "Awesome! esp the choco droplets"
She sent some across to her sister n smsed me "Hi! Sent some cake to Cheena since she was drooling over d pics i'd smsed her. She says tell Nachi didi, it was awesome :-)"
You guys are just so sweet... You make spending long, hot hours in the kitchen worth it...

The next time thi was baked when we went for dinner to a cousin's place.... My contribution was Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake and Sugar-Free Coffee Cheesecake. The girls couldn't wait for the adults to finish dinner before getting to the cake...... The girls were jumping up and down like excited jelly beans.... Whose Bithday is it? It's Nachi masi's birthday says her mom. Most obviously there was singing n cake cutting by the girls except it wasn't my birthday.... Didn't mind the kisses that i got from the girls on the pretext of my birthday.. :-)
The last time round, their mom had got the kissed n i got kisses from chocolate covered lips.. read the valentine story here.
This time round as well this cake didn't disappoint me..... Came out of the mould like magic.... Was appreciated by the kids and adults a lot.... How do I know? Everyone took second helpings... The girls wanted big pieces.... :-)

It was Julie and Vivek's House warming party..... Was going crazy thinking about what they would like.... He loves Pineapple Upside down cake and she loves Banoffee Pie... So it was best that I made Banana Chocolate Upside Down Cake, which would be liked by both... Had planned some Orange Cookies and made one for Princess too but alas, they burnt to cinders while I was on the phone making the evening program..... just didn't have the time to make another batch. It just has to be the cake then....

That's Julie, her mom, Pinakini[her sister, a total live wire] and Yashna[her niece].... The best part... they have a fabulously large kitchen.... amonst other awesome places in their castle.. ;-)

We had such a blast at the party.....
n why would you think the pool on the terrace would not be used by really HAPPY people to swim in and dunk others... n splash us dry people standing outside.....

Banana Chocolate Chip Upside-Down Cake Adapted from David Lebovitz's Recipe

One 8-inch (20 cm) square cake
When I originally developed this recipe, as mentioned, I was writing for a magazine that requested low-fat recipes, hence the single egg white. But if you're not all that concerned, simply add an additional egg, yolk and all, and reduce the sour cream by one tablespoon. If you live somewhere where sour cream isn't available, you can use buttermilk, plain whole milk yogurt, or fromage blanc. You'll notice that you can use either butter or water in the topping. If you're skeptical, I can honestly say that the non-butter version is really good. But for non-believers, go ahead and add a few tablespoons of butter instead.
Ingredients: For the topping:
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (100 g) packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water or butter; cubed, at room temperature
3-4 ripe medium bananas
a few drops of lemon juice


For the cake:
1 1/2 cups (210 g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (30 g) melted butter, salted or unsalted
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 cup (250 g) banana puree (about 2 bananas)
1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, regular or low-fat
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80 g) chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

1. To make the topping, place the brown sugar and water or butter in an 8-inch (20 cm) square cake pan. Warm the pan directly on the stovetop over low heat, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly moistened.
If using water, simmer the mixture for about 45 seconds. If using butter, stir just until the sugar is moist and bubbling, then remove from heat. (It won't melt completely smooth, and there may be a few bare spots, which is normal.) Let cool to room temperature.
2. Peel and slice the bananas in 1/4-inch (1 cm) slices. Arrange them in slightly overlapping rows over the melted brown sugar. Sprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
4. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Mix in the granulated sugar.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, egg, egg white, banana puree, sour cream, and vanilla.


6. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients until almost combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate pieces.
7. Scrape the batter into the pan over the bananas, then use a spatula to carefully spread the batter over the sliced fruit.
8. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake feels just set in the center when you touch it.
9. Cool the cake for about 20 minutes, then run a knife along the edges of the cake to help it release from the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving platter.

Serving: The cake is best served warm with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or by itself as a snack. If made an hour or so in advance, it can be inverted on the serving platter, and left with the cake pan over it, to keep it warm. Otherwise is can be rewarmed in a low over, covered with foil. Or enjoyed at room temperature.

This cake had me doing a monkey jig everytime... it's a Banana Chocolate Upside down cake after all.... ;-) The smokey flavour of the caramel is just divine..... It forces one to close their eyes with joy n go Hmmmmmm.....

This cake is a must try..... It's totally fabulous to sink your teeth into.... Turns the humble banana into something which is totally DIVINE....

They bore witness to all the craziness at Julie and Vivek's Housewarming party... Wishing the both of them all the best...