MY TRIP TO ITALY - PART I

It’s been almost a month since I am back from vacation to Italy, France and Spain.  I am going to share few of my exploration in those places through my upcoming posts for few weeks.  In these posts you will be seeing beautiful Italian streets, historical buildings and off-course food.  Here are few samples from the wonderful Place in Northern Italy a city known for its art, music and gastronomy....

The first place we landed in Italy was Parma. 

Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its prosciutto, cheese, architecture and surrounding countryside. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world.  Parma is a city which is true to its culture and heritage and it does not have western influence.  English is not a dominant language in Parma.  If you really want to see, feel and breathe Italy this is one of the place to go.

Parma, one of Italy's top gastronomic cities is famous for its delicious cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano), mouthwatering ham (prosciutto di Parma) and is also known for its delicate stuffed handmade pastas (tortellini, cappelletti and anolini) and outdoor markets.  The local sparkling red wine is called Lambrusco; great on its own and perfect with many of the local cuisine. 

Parma is a magnificent place to eat.   Even a small pizzeria serves top notch quality Pizza and Pasta.  Writing of Icecream here makes me scream for eating Italian Icecream.  Every street, nook and corner has gelateria and Cremeria.  The unique icecream flavors are mind blowing.  I ended up eating icecream everyday.  Parma gives the unique experience and opportunity to treat your taste buds, by teaching how to try genuine Italian food.   

Parma also has two food multinationals, Barilla and Parmalat.....Stay tunned

Palazzo del Governatore, Parma

Baptistery of Parma

Train Station in Parma 

Vintage Market

 

Loved the streets of Parma..it was absolutely beautiful.  Each and every place in Italy was so artistic that cannot be described in words.
 

 

CATHEDRAL
 

WEEKEND STREET FOOD MARKET had lots of local produce of cheese, chocolate, Jewellary etc truly enjoyable :)

Beautiful Doors Oh my god !!!!! I just fell in love with all rustic doors. 

STAY TUNED TO ENJOY FOOD IN PARMA .....

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ROSE PETAL JAM ICECREAM / GULKAND ICECREAM - EGGLESS !!!

Wish You All A Happy Tamil New Year and Happy Vishu !

Gulkand is a sweet preserve of rose petals.  Gul means flower (Rose) and Kand means sweet (sugar).  Gulkand is an Ayurvedic tonic and it is the most delicious Ayurvedic preparation known to mankind.  The National Institute of Ayurvedic Medicine provides a list of the benefits obtained from eating Gulkand.  This includes reduction of pitta and heat in the body, a reduction in eye inflammation and redness, strengthening of the teeth and gums, and the treatment of acidity etc.  There are so many other medicinal properties for Gulkand.  

 

Gulkand is used in various ways, I am listing a few

1. It commonly used as an ingredient of Paan (Betel leaves), which is served after meal and claimed to be chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener and for digestive purposes.

2. Because of its unique taste and flavor of the rose they are used for many sweet preparations. 

3. You can also enjoy Gulkand on its own like Halwa :) I love this :)

Back home in India, I use to have this Gulkand with Vanilla ice cream which tastes so yummy.  That is the main inspiration of this Gulkand ice cream and it tastes soooo fresh, aromatic and flavorful.  This ice cream is so easy to make and it is perfect dessert to beat the heat... We enjoyed licking the ice cream and I am sure you too..

 

I am glad to share that this is my first post with my new lens which I won here, thanks Siri :) .  You not only did an awesome job, you also gave us a wonderful opportunity to help the cute little kids.  

In this recipe I am using 2 important ingredients, off course one is Gulkand and another one is Rose syrup.  You can buy this in any Indian grocery or even you can order through Amazon.

Click here to see another Rose flavored dessert using the Rose Syrup "Jigarthanda - A popular one from southern part of India"

ROSE PETAL JAM ICECREAM/GULKAND ICECREAM

Ingredients:

Heavy cream - 2 cups (well chilled)

Whole milk - 1 cup (well chilled)

Sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Gulkand - 5 tbsp

Rose syrup - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. In a bowl whisk milk and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Stir in the heavy cream.

3. If you are using the ice cream maker pour the mixture into the freezer bowl through the ingredients spout. (Note: Refer to your manual for instructions pertaining to your ice cream maker)

4. When it starts to thicken, add the Gulkand and rose syrup.  Once they are well blended and thicken further, transfer them to the airtight box and freeze them for another 2 hrs for scooping.

Creamy and flavorful ice cream will be ready to scoop now.....

 What if you don't have an ice cream maker...

1. Follow the first 2 steps mentioned above.

2. Take a bowl full of ice cubes.

3. Keep the milk mixture inside the bowl filled with the ice cube.

4. Now whip it using electric egg beater until it is thicken.

5. When it starts to thicken, add the Gulkand and rose syrup.  Once they are well blended and thicken further, transfer them to the airtight box and freeze them for another 2 hrs for scooping. 

Enjoy Home made delicious ice cream!!!!

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CANTALOUPE SORBET

Cantaloupe is one of our favorite fruit. Cantaloupe is also known as cantaloup, mushmelon, muskmelon, cantalope, rockmelon .Cantaloupe in milkshake, juice, ice cream or even as a fruit without  any sugar tastes great.  Try this cardamom infused cantaloupe sorbet, I am sure you would love this. Difference between sherbet and sorbet take a look at this post.

Also take a look at the posicles, sherbet, icecream ideas

Chocolate Popsicle

Chocolate Banana Popsicle

Zesty Avocado Sherbet 

Eggless Mango Icecream 

CANTALOUPE SORBET

 Ingredients :

Cantaloupe - 1 ( cubed)
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Cardamom infused sugar syrup - 3/4 cup

 

 

 

Method :

1. In a bowl mix the cantaloupe and sugar keep aside for few minutes.
2. Puree the cantaloupe and transfer to a container.
3. Refrigerate for few hours.
4. Now stir in the cardamom infused sugar syrup and chill it for 3 to 4 hours or even overnight.

Cardamom sugar syrup

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of water
10 cardamom pods crushed

Method :

1. In a small pan bring the water, sugar and cardamom.
2. Let it be in the flame until the sugar dissolves.
3. Remove from heat. Close with the lid for 1/2 hr.
4. Strain the mixture and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before we add to the cantaloupe mixture.

 

 

If your using Icecream follow the instruction as given in the manufacture's guide.

Else Follow this

1. Freeze the above mixture, when it is frozen slightly , churn it in the blender.  Repeat this one moretime.
2. Then freeze it for 6 to 7 hours.
3. Keep the frozen mixture for few minutes, before serving.

Scoop it !!!  Beat the heat and enjoy the fragrant/fresh sorbet !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note :

1. You can prepare the cardamom syrup and cantaloupe mixture ahead of time.
2. If you are using the ice cream maker, make sure the mixture is chilled for atleast 3 to 4 hours minimum, overnight would be good.
3.Keep the frozen sorbet out for 10 minutes before scooping.

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SWISS SWIRL ICECREAM CAKE - DARING BAKERS CHALLENGE JULY 2010

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

What I did

This was quite interesting challenge. I almost followed the same procedure except these

1. I omitted the chocolate fudge part.

2. And instead of 2 swiss rolls I made one large swiss rolls coz of shortage of pans.

3. Instead of bombe shape I made rectangular shape.

4. I did not use whipped cream for swiss rolls, instead I used the Vanilla icecream which came out so delicious.

THE SWISS ROLLS

Ingredients:

6 medium sized eggs

1 C / 225 grams caster sugar /8 oz + extra for rolling

6 TBS. / 45 grams/ 3 oz of all purpose (plain) flour + 5 TBS. /40 gram / 2.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted together

2 TBS. /30 ml /

1 fl oz of boiling water a little oil for brushing the pans

For the filling:

2 C / 500 mls/ 16 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla pod, cut into small pieces of about ½ cm (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

5 TBS. / 70 grams / 2.5oz of caster sugar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven at 200 deg C /400 deg F approximately. Brush the baking pans (11 inches by 9 inches) with a little oil and line with greaseproof baking paper. If you have just one pan, bake one cake and then let the pan cool completely before using it for the next cake.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and sugar and beat till very thick; when the beaters are lifted, it should leave a trail on the surface for at least 10 seconds.

3. Add the flour mixture, in three batches and fold in gently with a spatula. Fold in the water.

4. Divide the mixture among the two baking pans and spread it out evenly, into the corners of the pans.

5. Place a pan in the center of the pre-heated oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or till the center is springy to the touch.

6. Spread a kitchen towel on the counter and sprinkle a little caster sugar over it.

7. Turn the cake on to the towel and peel away the baking paper. Trim any crisp edges.

8. Starting from one of the shorter sides, start to make a roll with the towel going inside. Cool the wrapped roll on a rack, seam side down.

9. Repeat the same for the next cake as well.

10. Grind together the vanilla pieces and sugar in a food processer till nicely mixed together. If you are using vanilla extract, just grind the sugar on its own and then add the sugar and extract to the cream.

11. In a large bowl, add the cream and vanilla-sugar mixture and beat till very thick.

12. Divide the cream mixture between the completely cooled cakes.

13. Open the rolls and spread the cream mixture, making sure it does not go right to the edges (a border of ½ an inch should be fine).

14. Roll the cakes up again, this time without the towel. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge till needed,seam side down.

VANILLA ICECREAM

Preparation time: 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients:

2 and ½ C / 625 ml / 20 fl oz of whipping cream

1 vanilla bean, minced or 1 tsp/ 5 ml/ .15 fl oz vanilla extract

½ C / 115grams/ 4 oz of granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Grind together the sugar and vanilla in a food processor. In a mixing bowl, add the cream and vanilla –sugar mixture and whisk lightly till everything is mixed together. If you are using the vanilla extract, grind the sugar on its own and then and the sugar along with the vanilla extract to the cream.

2. Pour into a freezer friendly container and freeze till firm around the edges. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

HOT FUDGE SAUCE

Cooking time: 2 minutes

Ingredients:

1 C / 230 grams / 8 oz of caster sugar

3 TBS. / 24 grams /1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

2 TBS. /15 grams / 1 oz of corn flour/cornstarch

1 ½ C / 355 ml /12 fl oz of water

1 TBS. /14 grams/ 1 oz butter

1 tsp/ 5 ml / .15 fl oz vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, corn flour and water.

2. Place the pan over heat, and stir constantly, till it begins to thicken and is smooth (for about 2 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and mix in the butter and vanilla. Keep aside to cool.

CHOCOLATE ICECREAM

Preparation time- 5 minutes + freezing

Ingredients:

2C/ 500 ml whipping cream

1 C/230gms/8 oz caster sugar

3 tblsp/ 24 gms/1.5 oz of natural unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:

1. Grind together the sugar and the cocoa powder in a food processor .

2. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients and whisk lightly.

3. Place the pan over heat and keep stirring till it begins to bubble around the edges.

4.Remove from heat and cool completely before transferring to a freezer friendly container till firm around the edges. If you are using an ice cream maker, churn the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s instruction, after the mixture has cooled completely.

5. Remove from the freezer, beat till smooth and return to the freezer. Do this 3-4 times and then set completely.

ASSEMBLY

1. Cut the Swiss rolls into 20 equal slices ( approximately 2 cms each ).

2. Cover the bottom and sides of the bowl in which you are going to set the dessert with cling film/plastic wrap.

3. Arrange two slices at the bottom of the pan, with their seam sides facing each other. Arrange the Swiss roll slices up the bowl, with the seam sides facing away from the bottom, to cover the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till the slices are firm (at least 30 minutes).

4. Soften the vanilla ice cream. Take the bowl out of the freezer, remove the cling film cover and add the ice cream on top of the cake slices. Spread it out to cover the bottom and sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze till firm ( at least 1 hour)

5. Add the fudge sauce over the vanilla ice cream, cover and freeze till firm . ( at least an hour)

6. Soften the chocolate ice cream and spread it over the fudge sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours till completely set .

7. Remove the plastic cover, and place the serving plate on top of the bowl. Turn it upside down and remove the bowl and the plastic lining. If the bowl does not come away easily, wipe the outsides of the bowl with a kitchen towel dampened with hot water. The bowl will come away easily.

8. Keep the cake out of the freezer for at least 10 minutes before slicing, depending on how hot your region is. Slice with a sharp knife, dipped in hot water.

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DEVIL'S FOOD CUPCAKE WITH VANILLA CREAM FILLING - FOR SWEET PUNCH

The Second Sweet Punch - Devil's Food Cupcake with Vanilla Cream Filling with Chocolate butter cream frosting. Here is delicious Chocolate decadence cupcake and the Vanilla cream filling recipe.  The filling was different and it was so yummy!!! The frosting is  Chocolate Custard Frosting which I make for Chocolate fudge cake. So here is the recipe.....

DEVIL'S FOOD CUPCAKE WITH VANILLA CREAM FILLING

Ingredients :

Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1 stick at room temperature
Flour -1 1/4 cups
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Boiling Water - 1 cup
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 1/4 cup
Baking Soda - 1 tsp
Egg - 2 at room temperature

Method:

1.Pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder.  Whisk in buttermilk and brown sugar.
2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
3.Using a hand held or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, one at a time and continue beating until light and fluffy.  Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
4.On low speed, add 1/3 of the dry mixture, followed by 1/2 of the wet, 1/3 of the dry and then the remaining wet and dry in that order.
5.Scoop batter in 18-20 cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the cupcakes bounce back when poked.

Vanilla Cream Filling

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)

1/2 cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

1. Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes.

2. Stir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil.

3. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.

4. When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until light. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large zip lock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Chocolate Butter cream Frosting

Here is chocolate butter cream frosting if you want so.. But i did not use this instead i used chocolate custard frosting...

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method :

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a thick, but not stiff, frosting that is easy to spread. Add additional milk, if necessary, to thin the frosting if it gets too thick.

Assembly :

Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

Take the cream filling and squeeze a tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling the hole up to the top with filling. Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.

Using a butter knife or a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a layer of chocolate butter cream frosting. Place a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake (on top of the cut out circle of cake) and spread from the center to the sides of the cupcake.

If you have leftover filling, transfer it to a fresh Ziploc bag and cut a very small opening in one corner. Pipe a swirly line down the center of each cupcake.

Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes 2-dozen.

Chocolate custard Frosting

Sugar - 60 gms

Gelatin( I used Vegetarian one) or Instant Jelly(unflavoured) - 1/2 tbsp

Water - 200 ml

Salt a pinch

Milk - 125 ml

Custard powder - 30 gm

Chocolate chips( I used semi sweet) - 60 gm

Butter - 1 very little piece

Method :

1. Boil the first 4 ingredients in the microwave until the sugar and gelatin is dissolved.

2. Parallely cook the custard and milk in the gas top to thin consistency.

3. Mix both and cook in the microwave for 2 more minutes stirring once every minute.

4. Now take this out, add the chocolate and butter.

5. Once it is cooled( stir in between). Then you can dip the cupcakes in this frosting . Set aside for a minute and do this again to get thick coating on the top.

Enjoy !!!! One more interesting part of this is below....

Note :

1.The butter we add to the frosting is to give glossy effect...If your making popsicles increase the sugar according to your taste. The above measurement will be perfect for the cake.

2.The quantity which I have given for the frosting is more. You can half the measurement for 12 cupcakes. But I do more because it tastes sooo delicious if you make chocolate Popsicles.. just pour the remaining frosting in the Popsicle mould, freeze and enjoy them!!!!!

Here is the picture for the Chocolate Popsicle.....

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