No Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream

 

Hello everyone,

About 30 months ago, I took a break from blogging to pursue my dream of a Master’s degree in London. After returning to India and back to the nitty-gritty of life, the thought of reviving this space has crossed my mind every single day but I have been lazy procrastinating because Instagram made sure that I was still posting pictures, sometimes even recipes; of all the baked goods and smoothies (my new love) being whipped in my kitchen.

So you may ask why now? Well, there are few recipes which absolutely require they be documented because they’re too legendary to be forgotten as a mere Instagram post. They need to be made multiple times to be shared with your loved ones. Turns out I have accumulated tons of such recipes so it’s about time they get the recognition they deserve. Also, I am not a fan of long Instagram posts so I can’t bear my soul to you guys like I can here on the blog (think long future blog posts, not this though). For now nothing has changed around here as I am still clicking my pictures with iPhone (5s now, ancient I know!) and still want to share good food and things with you all. ❤

I posted a picture of this icecream on my Instagram and Facebook page and got so many requests for the recipe so this is the first recipe I chose to blog about. It’s summer and because last of the strawberries are still gracing the market, I don’t want you guys to not make this recipe at least once! This ice cream is THE BEST I have ever made and doesn’t require churning or icecream maker. It stays creamy and ice-free for about 5 days. The sweetest of strawberries give it an intense berry flavour without adding too much flavouring or colour (you could skip both). So get to it now, quick!

 

 

No Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream

Yields: 1 litre icecream | Serves: 6-8 people

Hands-on time: 20 minutes | Chilling time: 6-8 hours | Total time: 7-9 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream, chilled in the refrigerator (not freezer) at least overnight
• 1 cup (225 gram) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup powdered white sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp strawberry extract (optional)
• Couple of drops pink colour (optional)
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh strawberries
• Digestive biscuits, to serve

Directions:

1. Put one large mixing bowl and whisk of your electric mixer in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. In the chilled bowl, add the whipping cream and whip with the electric mixer on medium high speed until the soft peaks form (about 5-7 minutes). Keep it in the refrigerator till you finish next step.
2. In another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and powdered sugar until light, creamy and thick. On a low speed, whisk in pinch of salt, vanilla extract, strawberry extract and pink colour for about 30 seconds. Then whisk in strawberry pieces for another 10 seconds.
3. Slowly fold in whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and transfer the icecream mixture to loaf pan. Let it set in freezer for about 8 hours at least. Serve it scooped as is or topped with some digestive biscuit crumbs.

National Doughnut Day!!! #RecipeRoundUp

Whether you prefer doughnut over donut or fried over baked doesn’t really matter, because these glazed, filled, sprinkled, and all around glorious treats are uh-mah-zing no matter what you call them or how you make them! In honor of National Doughnut Day today, I’m sharing some of my favorites (which are all of them!) from the archives.

So, take out your donut-pans and get your sweet donut craving on!
Go get baking! 🙂

Baked Lemon Doughnuts with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Baked Banana Donuts & Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake Donuts

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Doughnuts

Baked Chocolate Banana Doughnuts

Baked Apple Cinnamon Doughnuts

Baked Banana Donuts & Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting ~ Healthier & Eggfree

Wow… It’s been  3 weeks since my last blog-post! I’ve really missed you guys. If you follow me on Instagram then you know of my shenanigans. Past 3 weeks were spent vacationing leisurely in beautiful Goa and finishing some important paperwork back home. If you don’t follow me there then you’ve missed out on some amazing pics of sunsets and not-to-be-missed eateries in Goa so I’d suggest you tap that blue button right away! We had a fabulous time spending our 5th wedding anniversary, relaxing and lazying around on beach. It had been ages (more than a year!!) since we took our last vacation (just us) so this 10 days break was much appreciated. But my sun-burnt self is definitely glad to be back and you’re going to love this recipe I have for you!

After our holiday to the tropics, I recreated the scene in the comfort of our home and made these uh-mah-zing banana donuts. Oh and I didn’t serve them alone. Oh yeh! These are topped with fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting. Yes, it is 2 recipes in 1 blog-post kinda day today. Anyway I can compensate my absence on this space 😉

These soft and fluffy whole wheat banana donuts are what dreams are made of! This is a healthier and eggfree version. Brown sugar has been used which used with bananas lends a caramelized depth of flavor. I prefer to use oil instead of butter in most of my cakes and cupcakes. Oil combined with yogurt gives moist and pillowy end product even when whole wheat flour is involved.

And what do I say about the frosting! It is super cool. Spread it on donuts or frost some vanilla or chocolate cupcakes with it. Yes, the recipe below will frost about 12 cupcakes and will frost 12 donuts even more generously with a spoonful or two extra for licking! The frosting naturally is pink without addition of any artificial color and it is flavored with real strawberries and just a bit of strawberry extract. Perfection indeed!

Happy Baking!
xx

Baked Banana Donuts with Fresh Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting ~ Healthier & Eggfree

Makes : 12 donuts | Prep time: 20 minutes | Bake time: 13-14 minutes | Total time: under 30 minutes

Ingredients:

For donuts:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 + 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 3 large)
• 6 Tbsp yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For frosting:

• 2 large strawberries
• 4 ounce / 110 gm plain cream cheese spread, at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 tsp strawberry essence
• 1/4 tsp strawberry essence
• 1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted (or more as per preference)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC / 350ºF. Grease 12-count donut pan with oil. Set aside.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together oil and sugar until completely incorporated. Whisk in banana, yogurt and vanilla extract.
4. Gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Divide the batter equally and fill the molds no more than 3/4th. Bake for 13-14 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then carefully turn out doughnuts directly onto rack to cool.
5. Preparing frosting: Wash, hull and pat dry 2 large strawberries. Cut them in small pieces and mash them using fork. Add cream cheese spread, butter and strawberry essence to the bowl and whisk using your electric mixer. Add sifted sugar to this mixture and whisk until completely incorporated and frosting is firm. On completely cooled donuts, spread a thick layer of this frosting. The donuts will keep well in refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Orange Strawberry Spritzer For Two ~ Valentine’s Special

 

It’s been ages since I posted any recipe for a drink. When I had a refrigerator full of sweetest, fresh strawberries last week, I had to oblige and make you(essentially I mean, me & hubby) this lovely spritzer. It is such a simple concoction that I am sort of embarrassed to even post it as a recipe. But it was so refreshing, I knew it had to make an appearance here!

It being a month of LOVE, this seemed just perfect for the celebration! Make your evening special with this recipe scaled down for just the TWO of you! Quick to make and oh-so-delicious to taste. Sparkling water lends such a delicate touch but you may use club soda as well. Not over the top yet an elegant, low-cal, non-alcoholic drink. It is just great for unannounced guests/friends and you may use frozen berries for such emergencies. You’re sure to impress everyone!

Enjoy!

 

 

Orange Strawberry Spritzer For Two

Serves: 2 | Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 7-8 fresh strawberries, hulled (You may use frozen)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 medium orange, juice squeezed
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Sparkling water/club soda
• Strawberry slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a blender jar, add strawberries and sugar and purée smooth. Pass it through fine cotton mesh or sieve to get rid of the seeds(totally optional!).

Stir in orange and lemon juice to it. Pour sparkling water/club soda on top. Add 3-4 ice-cubes to each serving glasses and pour spritzer to it. Garnish with strawberry slices.

Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa

 

This salsa is so so good. I made it the other night when few friends came over and I knew after the first bite that I had a winner. Thankfully I had clicked few pics beforehand (food blogger problems!) so I decided to make it a post.

Actually, it is quite silly of me to be presenting this as a recipe with strict measurements because, really, you can just chop, drop and taste as you go! So consider this as a rough guideline. You may substitute orange juice in the recipe with lime or make it using pineapple instead of strawberries. Summer on your plate!

 

 

This recipe here works so perfectly and you can use it on chicken, fish, meats, tacos, bruschetta, or just scoop it up with chips! Pretty versatile. Bring it to a pot-luck or a party and I bet no one has had it before! It is sweet, tangy, spicy and has a lot going on. Strawberries are in abundance right now, so go for it!

Brighten up your Monday with this simple yet cracking dish!
Have a great week ahead! 🙂

 

 

Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa

Serves: 3-4 | Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
• Zest and juice from 1 medium orange
• Around 20 fresh strawberries, chopped into small even dice
• Fresh cracked black peppers
• Handful of cilantro, rinsed and finely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl, let onion, jalapeño, orange juice and zest steep till you prepare strawberries.
Add strawberries, pepper, cilantro and toss. Chill until ready to serve.

Note: Don’t make this much more than an hour or so before serving. Like all salsas, it will wilt and the fruit may get a little mushy. An hour is the optical amount of time for the flavors to meld and the juices to start flowing. Longer than that salsa will slowly start to lose its fresh appearance.

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins ~ Eggfree

Skinny breakfast for your honey on Valentine’s day coming right up! It has lots of strawberries and just the right amount of dark chocolate… Match made in heaven! Indulgent yet skinny. Celebratory yet healthy. Befitting, don’t you think?

While posting these Skinny Muffins last week, I realized that I have few recipes posted here and wanted to set that right. Now that this sappy, lovey-dovey day is just round the corner, I had a perfect excuse to whip up this breakfast treat for the blog!

There is nothing better than a warm muffin served with a hot mug of coffee. It gets better if served in bed! This muffin is a flavor bomb! Bits of strawberries and chocolate chips in each bite is blissful. These muffins are soft, moist and surprisingly skinny. So flavorful and fluffy. No dry crumbs in sight here.

They need very few and simple ingredients. One of the most magical ingredient of them is applesauce. Unsweetened of course. Applesauce will make sure that you don’t need to use any oil or butter! I wanted to keep the refined sugar to the minimum without making them taste cardboard-like. So I used combination of brown sugar and honey to sweeten them. I’m glad to report they were perfectly sweet!

The batter comes together quickly and so easily! No mixer required. The batter is going to be quite thick but don’t worry. You will be able to scoop it easily in the muffin pan with ice-cream scoop. Do not use muffin liners as muffins may stick to the liners. I filled the muffin moulds to the brim and got 6 large muffins but you may fill them till 3/4th mark and get about 8 regular-sized muffins. Do as you please. Just make them already as they certainly don’t need an occasion! 😉

Skinny Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins ~ Eggfree

Yields: 6 large or 8 regular-sized muffins | Prep time: 15 minutes | Bake time: about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used homemade)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries (you may use frozen berries)
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 180ºC/350ºF. Spray 6-count muffin pan with oil*. Set aside.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together applesauce, sugar, honey and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until *just* combined. Fold in the strawberries and chocolate chips.
4. Divide the batter evenly between 6 muffin cups. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Mine took exactly 18 minutes. Let them cool for about 5 minutes before releasing from pan.

*Do not use muffin liners as muffins may stick to the liners.

Note: Do not use whole wheat flour entirely as the muffins may not be turn out as soft.

Good Morning with Strawberry Swirl Sweet Rolls

 

Heya!

Hope you all had an amazing Christmas & got to spend time with family, friends and your loved ones! I had a fantastic day which started with a breakfast of these delicious Blueberry Pancakes. I used this recipe with the addition of frozen blueberries in the batter. Nibbled on some cheese, chocolate and Fruit Cake which had time to age for more than 3 weeks. Took a walk with hubby. And spent the rest of the day watching Miracle on 34th street & It’s a wonderful life, cozying up in a blanket. It was indeed a wonderful day!

Today I have got you a perfect holiday entertaining recipe. Ring the morning of 2014 with these juicy, sticky and sweet strawberry rolls. They are tender and puffy, utterly soft and buttery. Totally melt-in-your-mouth-experience! Plenty festive too!

 

 

This happened to be a big win for me before the end of 2013. I finally concurred my fear of handling yeast and got these rolls right at first attempt! Woohooo!! They are that easy people! Just read the recipe carefully before starting the prep and follow all the steps, you are halfway there! The wait time of 4 hours is a bit tedious but if you do not have that kind of time at a stretch then you can do all the work at night. After the 1st rise in a warm place, let the rolls rise overnight at room temperature to bake in the morning. That way you don’t have to wait till noon to eat them! Convenient, isn’t it?! 😉

 

 

Double this recipe if you’re serving a larger crowd. You can freeze the extra rolls sans the glaze and reheat them in micro when sweet roll cravings hit. Also, I do not have pictures with the glaze but it is absolutely necessary to top these with glaze. Okay, it is up to you to decide (Nope, glaze is MUST!). Not that I am pushy but the glaze makes them sweeter and better!

Happy Holidays!!!
Enjoy!!

Strawberry Swirl Sweet Rolls

Recipe & preparation minimally adapted from Food & Wine

Servings: Makes 9 rolls | Prep time: 30 minutes | Bake time: 25 minutes | Total time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients:

DOUGH

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 3/4 Tbsp instant dry yeast
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 and 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting/rolling

FILLING

• 3/4 cup frozen strawberries, sliced thick (NOT thawed)
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3 Tbsp white granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornstarch

GLAZE

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 and 1/2 Tbsp cream/milk

Directions:

1. MAKE THE DOUGH: In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until warm (No need of using thermometer but about 95ºF). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand electric mixer fitted with the dough hook and manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, egg, zest and salt. Scrape down the sides and manually stir as needed. Gradually add flour and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 10 minutes longer. *If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 2 minutes. *You may add little more flour if the dough is still too sticky to handle at this point. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

   Line the bottom of a 8×8 inch baking dish with parchment paper,leaving room on the sides. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 10×14 inch rectangle. I used a ruler for accuracy. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.

2. MAKE THE FILLING: In a medium bowl, toss the frozen strawberries slices with the lemon zest, sugar and cornstarch. Spread the cold sugared strawberries evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 14-inch-long log. Cut into 9 even rolls (about 1.5 inches in width each). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy, about 2 hours. The berries will release their juice at the bottom of the pan – this is OK.
3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF degrees. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for about 20 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
4. MAKE THE GLAZE: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and cream/milk until smooth. Add more sugar or cream, depending how thick you want the glaze. Pour glaze over the rolls and serve warm.

*Make Ahead: During the second rise, cover the sliced rolls and let sit overnight at room temperature before baking. Baked rolls sans glaze can be frozen up to 2 months and warmed up to enjoy at a later date. Glaze right before serving.

Strawberry Fool & DIY Chocolate Cups

I hope to write a small post! Is that even possible? Humph.. Let’s try and see..

I’m writing about this easiest dessert ever today… It is an English classic! I’m talking about Strawberry Fool.. The name says it all! It is so simple that any fool should be able to make it! No kidding 😀

The fool ~ this dessert is nothing but sweetened fruit folded into stiffly peaked and slightly sweetened whipped cream. THAT IS IT! Berries work perfectly for this dessert, especially strawberries. Kiwi and rhubarb would be a nice twist too.

For serving my fool, I made heart-shaped chocolate cups! Do you remember my post “Brownie Bombs“? I had mentioned in that post that even after coating all the cake pops generously I still had some left-over melted chocolate. I had to think on my feet… How to turn this left-over melted chocolate into something amazing and this impromptu idea came to my mind. Very easy to make. All you need is silicone cupcake liners.

Chocolate cups are so easy to make that once you’ve started, it is difficult to stop. You’ll find yourself stuffing them with all sorta yumminess out there! Imagine your favorite peanut butter, ice-creams, mousse and cheesecake served in these edible chocolate cups. Now no need to lick the plate!

DIY chocolate cup seated on my DIY cupcake stand!

Don’t overfill the cups with fool like I did! 😛

Chocolate and strawberries are match made in heaven. So serving strawberry fool in a chocolate cup makes for a perfect and elegant party-dessert. Chocolate cups can be made ahead and stored in refrigerator for months and strawberry fool is a no-cook, no-nonsense dessert. Perfect for last-minute dessert-fix or midnight-cravings!

P.S. I’m sorry but I do not have step-by-step photos for chocolate cups. As you can imagine my kitchen and hands were covered in chocolate. 😛 But do not worry. These are easy-peesy to make and you will not require my horrible photographic skills to show you that.

DIY Chocolate Cups:

Yields: 4 cups

Ingredients:

• 50 gm dark chocolate*, melted
• 4 silicone cupcake liners, frozen for 5 minutes
• small sheet of grease-proof baking paper

Directions:

For detailed information on how to melt chocolate: Refer to this post

Method-1:

Dip the outer surface of the silicone liner into the melted chocolate. Remove the excess chocolate by giving the liner a slight shake. Ensure that the chocolate coats the liner evenly. Upturn the liner and place it on grease-proof baking paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Dip the liner again in the melted chocolate to get a thicker layer of chocolate and refrigerate again. Repeat these steps to make 3 more cups.
Once cool, separate the chocolate cups from silicone liners slowly and carefully. Refrigerate till the time of use.
Method-2: For this method a small paint brush will be required.

Paint a thin layer of chocolate onto the inside of each cupcake liner. Refrigerate them for 10 minutes.
Paint a second thin layer of chocolate on top of the first layer and refrigerate for another 10 minutes.
Carefully pop the chocolate cups out of the liners. Refrigerate till the time of use.

* Feel free to use white chocolate or mix of dark and white chocolate.

Strawberry Fool:

Yields: 4 servings | Prep time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 6 large frozen strawberries, hulled and thawed
• 3 Tbsp caster sugar
• 1 cup fresh cream (medium fat 40%), chilled
• For garnish: 2-3 strawberries, sliced or any cookie of your choice, crumbled

Directions:

1. Chill mixing bowl and beater in freezer for 5 minutes.
2. In a food processor, blend strawberries to a smooth puree. Mix 2 Tbsp sugar in the puree and set aside.
3. Remove mixing bowl and beater from freezer. Add fresh cream to the mixing bowl and whisk. Gradually add 1 Tbsp sugar to the cream and whip till you get stiff peaks.
4. Fold the strawberry puree in to a whipped cream until nearly incorporated, leaving a few streaks of whipped cream and strawberry puree. Divide the mixture among 4-chocolate cups. Serve immediately garnished with strawberry slices/cookie crumble or refrigerate for up to 2-3 hours.

P.S. Writing a short post requires a skill I don’t seem to possess! Have a happy weekend! 🙂

Skinny Strawberry And Banana Frozen Whip

Skinny ice-cream??!! Not joking guys!

A delicious, skinny, dairy-free, sugar-free, 2-ingredient breakfast treat!

Is that an oxymoron?! 😉 Not anymore!

It’s a Wednesday… Middle of the week… So I thought of giving my creamy ice-cream posts a break and present this totally guilt-free fruity treat!

Still can not believe your eyes?

Trust me guys… This ice-cream is magical! Totally melt-in-your-mouth kind!

Tastes totally rich (even if it’s not!) and decadent!

Make it either post-workout and gobble it up immediately (which is just what I did!) or make it pre-workout, chuck it in a freezer and polish it off once you’re back from sweating out!

Totally acceptable as a dessert too!

So how did I accomplish this? If you remember my Mango & Banana Oatmeal Smoothie with a hint of Basil and Peach, Apricot & Banana Minty Milk Smoothie recipe, then you know how I had used frozen banana chunks to get a silky smooth consistency for my smoothies.  Frozen banana chunks get a total make-over when they are whipped in a blender. If you don’t like bananas then this is even better because they don’t even taste like bananas anymore after freezing and whipping! Super-ripe bananas give the best of results! I always have frozen bananas sitting in my freezer waiting to be used! If you don’t then freeze the fruit for at least 2 hours prior to making this.

To whipped frozen banana goodness, I added frozen strawberries and the result is in front of you! Put on your thinking caps and start thinking of all the different flavors you can eat this way and that too guilt-free! Add cocoa powder or peanut butter or Nutella or frozen mango cubes or frozen peach cubes… Let me know what you would like to experiment with!

Skinny Strawberry & Banana Ice-cream

Yields: 4 scoops

Ingredients:

• 1 large overripe banana, cut in to chunks and frozen
• 4 large strawberries, frozen
• chocolate-chips for topping (optional)

Directions:

Add the frozen fruit in a blender or food processor bowl and whip for 30 seconds. Scrap down the sides and whip it again till you get a smooth, soft-serve kinda consistency.

Serve immediately topped with chocolate-chips (if using) or re-freeze any left-overs and let soften slightly before enjoying!

*This recipe is my entry for Event by Archana’s Kitchen – Summer Fiesta