Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse

This lovely recipe is mainly by Tarla Aunty and I did my own little changes because I had liked the light coffee flavor in it when I had it somewhere :)
My cousin, Mohit Gupta was my taster for this recipe & he gave me a Thumbs Up for it :D

Ingredients (serves 4)

For The Hazelnut Praline
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnut
1/4 cup castor sugar

For Mousse
1 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (nutella) , readily available
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups whipped cream
1/2 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tsp water

Method
For the hazelnut praline
Melt the sugar in non-stick pan on a medium flame till it turns light brown in colour.
Add the hazelnuts and mix well to make a praline.
Pour the prepared mixture on the greased rolling board or butter paper and roll it with greased rolling pin so as to get a thin layer.
Once set, crush the praline coarsely with a rolling pin and keep aside.

For Mousse
Combine the chocolate with milk in a pan and melt it on double boiler.
Add the chocolate hazelnut spread, vanilla essence & coffee and mix well.
Add the sugar and whipped cream and fold gently.

How to proceed
Pour equal quantities of the mixture into 4 individual bowls / glasses and refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours or till the mousse sets.
Garnish with prepared hazelnut praline.

Tips
You can make a layer of crushed biscuits (and butter) first and freeze it to set and then pour mousse over it.
Instead of praline you can garnish with whipped cream and a chocolate cigar.
You can mix praline in mousse too.
Instead of hazelnuts, you can use equal proportion of walnuts.
If you are using readymade whipped cream, check if it is already sweet or not.
You can also use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate.
While making hazelnut praline, do not touch the praline with your hands at any point (till its cold) as it is really hot and can cause serious burns.
You can also melt the chocolate-milk mixture in microwave.

Cherry Vanilla Bread

Fruity bread can be enjoyed with tea and coffee. Cherries go well with bread and are a rich source of vitamin C and fiber.  

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour  
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
200 grams condensed milk (1/2 tin)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup crushed cherries with juice
1 tbsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup chilled milk 

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
In another bowl, mix condensed milk, butter, crushed cherries, vanilla & whisk together.
Slowly add milk and sifted ingredients, alternately and fold.
Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.
Cool for 10 minutes; turn out bread, slice, and serve.

Tips
It is not a very sweet bread so if you want it to be more sweet you can add sugar with condensed milk, but I would recommend that you enjoy it less sweet :).
Always remember if it's written FOLD then you should always FOLD it and not BEAT the batter.

Gnocchi di Patate

Gnocchi (pronounced: 'nyoki') are various thick, soft dumplings. They may be made from semolina, ordinary wheat flour, flour, egg and cheese, potato, breadcrumbs or similar ingredients. They are generally home-made in Italian households. They may also be bought fresh from specialty stores. Packaged gnocchi are widely available refrigerated, dried, or frozen. Common accompaniments of gnocchi include tomato sauces, pesto, and melted butter with cheese.

Ingredients (serves 4)
For Gnocchi
6-7 medium potatoes freshly boiled
1/2 cup rice flour (little less or more)
1/2 tsp salt (according to taste)

For Tomato Sauce
4-5 medium tomatoes chopped
1 onion chopped
1 pod of garlic (optional)
1 tsp butter/olive oil or any oil
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
1 tbsp basil leaves chopped
Salt to taste

Method
For Gnocchi
Peel & mash/grate the potatoes as soon as you can after boiling. This helps mashed potatoes to loose more moisture while cooling after being mashed.
Mix the mashed potatoes with rice flour & salt and work the mixture into a dough. Try not to use too much flour.
Make long rolls of the dough and cut into small pieces.
Now either flatten the balls with the back of a fork or use a ridged board, to give gnocchi their shape.
In a separate pot, boil water with salt. When water starts boiling, put the gnocchi in & as soon as they starts to float, take them out with slotted spoon. Keep aside.

For Tomato Sauce
Heat the butter in a pan, add the onion & garlic and sauté till the onion turns translucent.
Add the tomatoes and sauté till very soft.
Cool this & blend in a mixer. Strain the mixture to get a thick purée.
Put the purée back on fire. Add basil, salt, chilli flakes & 1/2 Parmesan and mix well. Bring the sauce to a boil. Keep aside.

Plating
Just before you want to serve, mix the cooked Gnocchi with sauce and serve it with remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Tips
Test one gnocchi by boiling it in water. If the gnocchi breaks, you may need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour in the gnocchi dough.
Cooked gnocchi can be stored in freezer for later use.
You can use same amount of maida or plain flour in place of rice flour, while making gnocchi.
You can add 2 tbsp of spinach purée in gnocchi dough to make spinach gnocchi.
You can also toss the gnocchi in any other sauce of your choice.

Chocolate Pound Cake With Tofu

Lovely recipe from chefinyou.com .... Pureed tofu not only blends so well with this pound cake but also adds protein ... I’m going to bake it very often as everyone in family loved it ... Thank you DK of chefinyou.com :)

Ingredients (serves 12)

2 cups maida (Plain Flour)

1 cup sugar

1 cup + 1 tbsp butter

5 tbsp cocoa powder

1 cup pureed silken tofu (firm)

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla essence

½ cup milk (as required, to adjust batter to dropping consistency)

1 tbsp white chocolate chips

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Grease & dust the pan and keep aside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder & salt thrice.

Cream the butter & sugar. Add vanilla essence & beat well.

Add pureed tofu & beat well till the mixture is well mixed.

Now add sifted flour mixture & milk alternately little by little and gently mix till well blended. Always end with flour.

Pour batter into pan, sprinkle white chocolate chips & bake for 35 to 40 minutes or till done.

Tips

-Measure the pureed tofu & NOT regular tofu and then puree it.

-Pureeing the tofu well until completely smooth is very important. A lump will spoil the texture of the end product.

-I pureed the tofu along with vanilla and ¼ cup milk.

-The cake in the picture has cracks on top so when I baked second batch I poured little water in a baking tray & then kept my cake tin in it & baked. The cake was smooth from top & only cracks visible were due to chocolate chips that I inserted in it.

-One of the things I have learnt in baking is never to over beat a batter, so I just mixed the flour gently but well. This gives the cake a soft & spongy texture.

-If you are making muffins then baking time will be less.

Cherry Cream Cheese Muffins/Cake

These are soft & sweet and are very light, with a crumb so small and so moist that they melt in your mouth.  Enjoy with a cup of tea or a mug of coffee, to brighten up your morning.

Ingredients  (12 muffins)
3/4 cup maida
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil (or any vegetable oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp white vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
1/2 cup cream cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a muffin tin with baking cups.
Mix together milk, oil, vanilla extract, and sugar until sugar dissolves.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add to milk mixture & mix well.
Fold in the fresh cherries.
Divide batter evenly between baking cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Dollop a small spoonful on top of each muffin and swirl.
Sprinkle the tops with granulated sugar.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips
I made cream cheese at home by churning home made fresh cottage cheese (without whey) in mixer.
The muffins don't keep very long because they are so moist, so aim to consume them within 2 to 3 days.