Woman’s Day

Wishing the best to all the women who balance work, home, life, family and many more demands with such panache. On this special day I would like you all to try these amazing cupcakes that I tried with friends cause “Happiness is Homemade”.

Did you know? Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts…

After a long and draining week we all deserve to molly coddle our sweet tooth. Coming home to warm baked goods both healthy and yummlicious is like crossing two T’s with one stroke.

Being a connoisseur of desserts most of us leave no cake un-turned when it comes to checking out new bakery and cupcake shops. But in our eagerness and joy to try out th dense and decadent bites of heaven we overlooook the ingredients used in bakeries and confectioneries…

Its not about the extra sugar or butter I am talking about but the “hidden ingredients” that are weird not just to utter but also to eat. However, they are commonplace items in most bakeries…

Some of the tongue twitching items used are:

Gelatin– used in cakes especially cheesecake to make the cake set and bind well. Made from bone, skin and tissues of cows and pigs.
Xanthum gum – used as a gluten substitute ; gives the batter stickiness to prevent separation of ingredients. Although, not made from animal parts there are reports that go to show that it causes bloating, indigestion and stomach problems when ingested.
Carageenan – Known as Irish moss is extracted from red sea weed and used in making icing for cakes. Almond milk and other nut milk contain this gum. Carageenan is known to become carcinogenic when it interacts with stomach acid.

After the shocking revelation, my friends and I started asking for ingredients at bakeries and found that the cakes that looked most yummy (moist and fluffy) were the ones that had the above quirky elements 9/10 times. There are many more such compounds used freely but I do not want to delve further and take away the spot light from our harmless and gut -friendly baked goods.

We tried out these awesome, easy to make, low prep time mawa-khoya muffins and want to share the joy with you !

Khoya Cup cakes

Servings: 12
Time: 30 mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

Items needed (found in baking section of any department store) :

muffin tin (muffins) or baking tray (cake)
electric blender / kitchen aid
whisk
measuring cups
mixing bowl
spatula
oil spray

Ingredients

1 cup khoya (milk thickened by heating in an open pan) (or)
1 cup khoya/mawa powder (available in Indian grocery store)
1 1/2 cup maida or all purpose flour
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs organic cage free
1/2 cup organic whole milk
3 table spoon condensed milk
1 spoon cardamon powder
12 pieces pecans
1 small spoon vanilla essence (optional)
1 pinch salt
1/2 small spoon baking powder

Tips to keep in mind before starting :

Keep all items at room temperature before baking.

bake

Alternate adding the dry and wet items and fold the ingredients well to aerate the batter. Adds to fluffiness.

Cupcake Method

Spray muffin tin with oil and keep aside. Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend together maida, mawa powder, salt, baking powder, and cardmon powder. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed until a uniform texture is reached. kitchen aid Beat the eggs and keep aside and add the vanilla essence (helps beat egg odor). Now fold the wet and dry ingredients alternatively. Add the whisked eggs to the butter and sugar mixture. Then follow it with maida -khoya mixture from step 1. Add the condensed milk and whole milk and continue blending at medium speed.

Now fill each of the muffin tins with 3/4th of the mixture and top it with a pecan each.

Bake for 22 minutes and check with a toothpick if it comes out clean. Remove from oven and place the freshly prepared muffins on a wire rack and let it cool.

This recipe although easy to prepare is one of the oldest and long lost Irani recipe and a nostalgic sweet meat for all Mumbaikars. I encourage all of you to try it and I am sure it will not disappoint you or your tummy