Going away donuts

One of our brothers recently came back from the Philippines where is he working on a project to help tsunami victims (check out his blog here). His departure had coincided with the weekend of our parent's anniversary and my recent addiction to baking. So I decided the best way to send him off was to bake him some donuts.

I have never fried donuts at home. Something in my heart tells me I would mess it up. I rationalize my fear by telling myself that baking is healthier anyways. These donuts have a wonderful cakey texture and come together pretty easily.  An added bonus is that this recipe helped me conquer my culinary fear of brown butter. Guys, brown butter is amazing. It adds so much depth to the spicy apple flavor of these morsels. Also, don't skimp on that glaze. Although lovely on their own these babies glory that extra sweetness. Can you tell I love this recipe? I have made it so many times now.

Apple Cinnamon baked Donuts with Brown Butter Glaze (adapted from Joy the Baker)

Dough:
1 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground corrainder
pinch of ground cumin
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp butter
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup peeled, grated apple

Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon
3-4 tbsp whole milk

1. Preheat over to 350 and lightly grease donut pan
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spice, salt and brown sugar with a whisk and set aside
3. Place a small saucepan on medium heat and melt all the butter (including what is needed for the glaze). Once the butter has melted reduce the flame to low. The butter will crackle as the water evaporates and then start to brown. Once it begins to smell nutty remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Keep a close eye on the butter. My first time it took me a few tries to get this right as it brown quickly.
4. In another bowl whisk together the egg, vanilla extract and 2 tbsp of brown butter
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mix
6. Gently fold in the grated apple
7. Fill the donut pans using a spoon about 2/3 of the way full (about 2 tbsp per cavity)
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes
9. Place donuts on a wire rack to cool while making the glaze
10. Whisk together the sugar, salt and cinnamon
11. Add 2 tbsp brown butter, vanilla extract and milk
12. Frost the donuts by dipping them in the bowl and then pulling them out using a twirling motion
13. Put the donuts in the fridge for 10-15 min to harden the glaze

Cooking Countesses: Mango Banana Smoothie

Drink up!

It had been my intention to bake a banana chocolate chip cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. I have recently been all about baking cakes for no apparent reason. However, the weather had other plans. Turning on the oven in the middle of a heat wave when your air conditioner doesn't work and your sister thinks you are a hillbilly family because you roam around in your underwear is just so unappealing.

The ingredients

But, I had bananas I had been saving for my cake. They were perfect mushy brownness. Then I remembered I recently bought chia seeds and mango, and Maria reminded me that quick things are always best during Ramadan. So an idea was born. This makes a delightfully thick shake that fills you up and makes sure you get all sorts of good nutrients. I suppose you could thin it out by adding more milk but we like spoonable shakes around here.

~T

Toss it all into the blender

Mango Banana Smoothie (makes 1 jug: 5-6 glasses)

1 1/2 cups greek yogurt
2 tbsp chia seeds
4 medium ripe bananas
1 mango
1 tbsp elderflower syrup
1/2 cup milk

1. Toss all the ingredients into a blender.
2. Pulse for a minute and then shake the canister so the liquid settles on the bottom
3. Blend for 3-5 minutes until the mango chunks disappear
5. optional: add sugar to taste (we thought it was sweet enough on its own)
4. Let sit for about 30 mins so the chia seeds have a chance to soak up some of the liquid to really thicken the shake 
6.  Enjoy!

My baby is a fan of this smoothie

Cooking Countesses: lemon raspberry cake with coconut frosting

It is a milestone birthday for our Momma this year but she explicitly told Maria we weren't allowed to throw her a party. I, however, decided to ignore that (just a little).

A few days before her birthday, I hosted family club. For those who are unfamiliar with the Pakistani social construct of club it is essentially a group of people (friends, family, couples etc) that decide to meet on a regular basis so that we can make sure we get to spend time together in person and catch up.

Since Maria arrived a few days before club I was able to enlist her help in preparing my home and our meal. She was even kind enough to make this fun banner for decoration.

The ladies arrived when the sun was bright and high for our luncheon. Ironically, our Momma was the last one to arrive due to some appliance issues that needed her attention. For the appetizers Maria prepared cheese and crackers with some honey while I baked zucchini fries and our guests sipped some homemade kiwi lemonade. Once everyone arrived we chowed down on beef peppercorn patties in a cream sauce with steamed green beans, spinach onion bread and mashed potatoes. Then Momma made us tea and Maria and I brought out the surprise birthday cake and gave her our presents.

We are pretty sure she knew the cake was coming since I had asked Maria over the night before to help me prepare but she had the grace to act surprised anyways.

The lemon cake was pretty easy to prepare and came out delightfully fluffy. And the raspberries paired wonderfully with the bright tartness of the lemons. We used this recipe for the lemon raspberry cake and made a coconut whipped cream frosting because I am still kind of intimidated by butter cream. I will definitely be making this cake again.


Coconut Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp sweetened coconut flakes

Directions:
Note: I used a stand mixer but this can easily be done with a whisk or immersion blender as well
1. Place the coconut milk can in the fridge overnight. This will help the water separate from the cream.
2. The next day scoop the cream out from the top of the can into a mixing bowl, make sure not to get any of the water as it will make the end result runny
3. Add the lemon juice, zest, whipping cream and sugar and using the whisk attachment on the stand mixer mix the ingredients on low til stiff peaks begin to form.
4. Using a spatula fold in the sweetened coconut flakes and ice the cake with a generous layer

~Tasneem

Cooking Countesses

Kitchen Fail

There really is nothing like a home cooked meal. Don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty good cook and when I go to my finance's family home, his mom's food is also really tasty. But at the end of the day, I really miss eating food cooked by my own mummy and sister. I miss those familiar smells and tastes. My soon to be family is African, they have some very different foods compared to my Pakistani family. I've had the opportunity to taste and learn about different foods, but I still miss the classics I'm used to. I even miss cleaning up together with my sister, we would take turns everyday doing different tasks so our mom could relax. After all, mummy did do all the cooking and preparation for dinner.

Moving away from home means the first time I have to properly cook for myself; and it hasn't exactly been easy. Not because I don't know how to cook, but because my apartment my kitchen really isn't the best. The basics are there, but they aren't the best quality-wise. Since September I have had to master the foreign-to-me ways of cooking on an electric stove top. Although it took some time to get used to, I think I have a good handle on it now. Which is a good thing since my new place will have one too. I am afraid to use the oven though. I honestly think it will blow up if I try. And this Fahrenheit to Celsius business is pretty annoying as well.

It's also difficult to have to share a small kitchen with 3 other girls. We have limited pantry storage and fridge/freezer space. There have been many times I was unable to cook when I wanted to because someone else already was. To make matters worse, up until January we had a fridge that stuck out into the small kitchen space we had because it wasn't the right size. It's been quite the experience learning to live on my own and cook for myself.

Hopefully in my new home my sister and I can try new recipes together when I have a nice spacious kitchen to work in.

~Maria

Cooking Countesses

Aloo Gosht

Growing up this was one dish I always looked forward to no matter how many times we ate it. So much so that I didn't feel like our new home was really home until I had made aloo gosht and roti for dinner. For those who are unfamiliar with Bohra cuisine aloo gosht is a savory stew-like dish made in a tomato based sauce with goat meat and potatoes. It is commonly served with rice or a flat bread such as naan or chapatti. This dish plays nicely with a lemon or mango pickle. I like to serve it with sliced cucumbers sprinkled with a little salt and pepper as a side dish.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs goat meat (bone in stew meat)
2 small tomatoes (diced)
1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
2 medium potatoes (cubed)
2 small cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp garlic (minced)
1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp gharam masala
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp oil

Directions:
1. Warm up the oil (on high flame) in a medium sized pot. Once the oil is warm, saute the onions.
2. When the onions start to go soft add the spices, garlic and ginger.
3. After about 30 seconds add the tomatoes and saute.
4. Once the tomatoes soften add the meat.
5. When the meat starts to brown add 2 cups water and turn the stove down to low.
6. Let simmer for about an hour, until the meat is cooked though.
7. Add potatoes. Note: Depending on how much water has evaporated during simmering you may need to add more. All the contents of the pot should be submerged in order for the potatoes to cook properly.

Enjoy!

~Tasneem