For me, tea time means coffee time (yeah, I am not a chai person, sue me!) A mug of hot whipped mocha latte, a slice of zebra cake, or maybe homemade pancakes, or or or chocolate chip blondiesss! And omg! What an evening that would be.

Ingredients

You need very basic pantry staples for this cake. Here are some notes on the ingredients:

• Eggs – They need to be at room temperature for the perfect cake.
• Castor sugar – Castor sugar or any fine sugar would work. If your sugar is particularly course, then you will have to grind it a little bit into fine sugar.
• Flour – This cake is comparatively denser and closer to a pound cake. Skip the cake flour and use the good ol’ all-purpose flour.
• Baking powder – Make sure your baking powder is fresh and within the expiry time.
• Milk – Any full fat milk would do. Room temperature milk works best!
• Vegetable oil – Any neutral oil would do. Coconut oil (without the aroma) works well too.
• Vanilla essence – Please always by the good stuff and not the imitation vanilla. And that goes for all recipes really.
• Cocoa powder – This recipe is very forgiving as it isn’t heavily reliant on the cocoa powder. So you can use any cocoa powder at hand, the Dutch-processed one, dark or light one.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Step by Step

Here’s a simple pictorial to show you how to create the Zebra pattern.

Step 1: Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla essence together.

Step 2: Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Step 3: Add oil to the batter and beat for 1 minute.

Step 4: Add all-purpose flour and baking powder to the batter and beat until fully combined.

Step 5: Add milk to the batter and beat for another 1 minute.

Step 6: Divide the batter into two halves and add cocoa powder to one of the halves. Beat to get a smooth mix.

Step 7: Use equally sized ladles on spoons to pour batter into a lined round baking tray.

Step 8: Drop The batters alternatively into the cetnre of the pan.

PROTIP: Pouring the batter from the TIP of the spoon will give you even concentric circles.

Step 9: Repeat until all the batter is used up.

Step 10: Bake the cake at 170 C for 50 minutes of until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Love how this cake is just the proper amount of soft and dense. Its dense enough, that it can be frosted and covered if need be, while also being soft enough to be eaten just as it is. Serve it with tea, fruits and icing sugar sprinkled on top.

Expert Tips.

• Using ingredients at room temperature ensures a light and fluffy cake. Bring out the eggs and milk on the counter before you start preparing for baking.
• Use identical spoons or ladles for both batters so you automatically pick up equal amounts of batter everytime you are pouring.
• Through trials and errors I’ve realized, that adding cocoa powder to one batter makes it slightly denser. So now I also add an extra tablespoon of flour to the vanilla batter to balance both the batters. This trick helps in an even pattern.
• While most recipe calls for equal batter distribution, I have found through multiple testing that the lighter batter should always be slightly more in quantity. So the vanilla batter can be just a little over half.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Desserts on the Blog

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Zebra Marble Cake

This recipe of Zebra Marble cake gives you the lightest marble cake ever possible. It is soft to eat and easy to bake!

Course CAKES, Dessert

Cuisine International

Diet Halal

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 295kcal

Author Wajiha

Equipment

• 1 electric mixer

Ingredients

• 4 whole eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup castor sugar or fine sugar
• 2 cup all-purpose flour + 1 tbsp extra at the end
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk at room temperature
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• few drops vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoon cocoa powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven at 175°C. Prepare a 9-inch cake pan by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
• In a bowl, combine all purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.
• In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla essence together for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the mixture is light and fluffy.
• Add oil and beat again for 1 minute.
• Gradually add the flour mix to the egg mixture and just beat until flour is mixed well, do not over-beat at this point.
• Add milk and beat only enough till the batter is combined.
• Divide the batter into two roughly equal portions.
• Add cocoa powder to one portion and similarly add 1 tablespoon flour to the other portion. Beat with an electric mixer seperately until well combined.
• Using large spoons or ladles, pour 1 spoonful of vanilla batter in the centre of the prepared cake pan. Add a spoonful of chocolate batter right on top of the vanilla in the centre. Continue this process alternately till you have eventually used up the entire batter.
• Bake for 50 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick in the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean, remove the cake and let it cool down.
• Serve plain or top off with icing sugar and fruit

Notes

1. Presentation – Finally, serve it freshly whipped cream and fruits or just have it warm with your evening tea.
2. You can freeze this cake covered in cling wrap or an airtight box.
3. You can experiment with flavors and use food color instead of cocoa powder to create different color zebra pattern. 
4. This cake can last for upto 10 days in the fridge. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 295kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 65mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g

The post Zebra Marble Cake appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

You guys know by now that I am borderline OBSESSED with frozen desserts. Just ask my Lotus Ice cream cake and Pineapple ice cream. Poor things are terrified of my experiments on them!

Ironically, it’s usually the most popular and easiest recipes that are HARDEST to nail! You know? Everyone has their own preferences and opinions.

Chocolate ice cream is on top of that list. Which is why I was super careful before putting this recipe up. I wanted to get it JUST right! The perfect balance of sweet and bitter that comes through from chocolate, and the smoothness to die for.

Ingredients

The ingredients, as you can see, are super basic! But before I move ahead, here are a couple of things I wanted to highlight.

• Milk and Heavy Cream: Use good-quality full-fat whipping cream and milk.

• COCOA POWDER: The right cocoa powder makes or breaks a recipe. For this recipe, I recommend the Dutch-processed Cocoa powder. Dutch-style cocoas are alkaline and impart a more intense color to the recipe. They have a flavor that’s earthy and deep. Recommended brands would be Hintz and Cadbury. If you can’t find these specific brands, just look for words like “Dutch processed”, “Dark”, or “Alkalized”.
  
• CHOCOLATE: This one I leave to you. I prefer dark chocolate for that rich, bitter taste. You can use semi-sweet or milk, chocolate chip or bar. Really, there is no preference. For the ultimate luxurious experience, go for the Belgian Dark Chocolate.
  
• Flavor Enhancers: Salt, coffee both work to enhance the chocolaty-ness of this dessert.
  
• Sweetener: Sugar works perfectly for this recipe. For an added layer of creaminess, you can also use sweetened condensed milk in the same quantities.
  

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Instructions

This ice cream is made in 2 parts: The chocolate Ganache and the Ice cream base.

PART 1 – Making the chocolate Ganache

Step 1: Add milk, a portion of the cream, salt, coffee, and cocoa powder to a saucepan.

Step 2: Let it simmer for 4 to 5 minutes at medium heat, whisking occasionally.

Step 3: Remove ganache from the heat and add chocolate chips. It will take roughly 5 to 7 minutes to fully melt.

Step 4: Keep the saucepan back on the heat if your chocolate requires some assistance to melt. Your ganache should be smooth and silky. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with a lid. Let it sit out till it gets to room temperature. Then refrigerate the ganache for 4 to 5 hours.

PART 2: Ice Cream base and assembling

Step 5: Whip the remaining heavy cream in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

Step 6: Add in your cooled ganache to the cream and use a spatula to fold it in. Hold back 2-3 tablespoons of ganache.

Step 7: Transfer the ice cream base to a loaf or a container and use the leftover ganache to create swirls on top with a knife tip. Cover the loaf with cling wrap and freeze overnight.

Serve with any toppings of your choice, like chocolate shavings, chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, or nuts!

Top Tips

• The thing with a good ganache is patience. Don’t increase the heat or else you’ll end up splitting your ganache, or it may become too grainy.
• NEVER KEEP HOT GANACHE IN THE FRIDGE DIRECTLY. Sorry for yelling, ok 😛 Hot Ganache in the fridge will become grainy or split. Always allow the ganache to come down to room temperature before you refrigerate.
• While cooking the ganache, you may see lumps of cocoa powder. Simply pass the ganache through a sieve to remove them.
• Cover the ice cream with a cling wrap such that it touches the ice cream base and no air comes in contact with the ice cream directly. THEN add the lid and freeze overnight.

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream version

I know that half of the charm of making your own ice cream at home is the ability to control the ingredients. Here are substitutions you can make to make a dairy-free, sugar-free vegan ice cream

• Milk – Use nut milks or soy milk instead of regular milk. Ideally, almond milk or coconut milk is best.
• Cream – Use coconut cream. Chill it in the fridge and remove the heavy, thick layer of cream on top of the can and whip it in a cold steel bowl. It will whip up beautifully just like a regular whipping cream.
• Sugar – Use coconut sugar instead of regular sugar.
• Chocolate – Use 100% Dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet.
• Use cocoa powder, which is gluten-free, like Hintz

FAQs and Troubleshooting

Putting together the most common questions I got on TikTok and IG when I posted the recipe there.

More Ice Cream and Desserts!

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Chocolate ice cream

A home-made rich and decadent chocolate ice cream recipe.

Course Desserts

Cuisine Continental

Diet Halal

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 350kcal

Author Wajiha

Equipment

• 1 electric beater

Ingredients

• 250 gm dark chocolate
• 3/4 cup full fat milk
• 550 ml heavy whipping cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup Dutch processed Cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp instant coffee powder

Add ons (optional)

• 1 cup chocolate shavings.

Instructions

• In a saucepan, prepare the chocolate milk for ganache. Add cocoa powder, milk, sugar, coffee, salt, and 1/3 cup of the total 550 ml of cream.
• Let the mix simmer at medium low heat. Whisk it for 5 to 10 mins or until everything is dissolved. Pass the chocolate milk through a sieve just to be sure there are no lumps.
• Put the chocolate milk back in the saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Add chocolate chips or chunks in the chocolate milk and allow them to melt
• Simmer for 5 mins or until the chocolate is fully melted and you have a smooth chocolate ganache.
• Turn off the heat and cover the chocolate ganache. Allow the ganache to come down to room temperature. THEN place it in the fridge for at least 4 to 5 hours to cool down.
• In the meantime, in a large bowl, add the remaining whipping cream and whip it until the cream is light and fluffy. Refrigerate.
• After 5 hours, bring out chocolate ganache and fold it into the cream with a spatula. Leave a little ganache behind to use as chocolate topping later.
• Pour the ice cream base into a container. Add leftover chocolate ganache in between layers or on the top.
• Cover the container with cling wrap over the ice cream. Make sure the cling wrap sticks to the ice cream base. Then use a lid to cover it.
• Freeze overnight.
• Serve the next day with any toppings of your choice.

Notes

Read blogpost to find out how to fix a ganache that splits or becomes grainy.

Also substitutes for a dairy free ice cream available on the blog post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 134mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 31g

The post Easy Home-made Chocolate Ice cream appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

What is Sooji ka Halwa?

Halwa means “sweet” in Arabic, and the same in South Asian culture. Halwas can be made from carrots, eggs, or nuts. Sooji ka halwa is made with fine semolina. There is more than one type of halwa that can be made with Sooji. There are Sooji bars and caramelized Sooji halwa. This halwa recipe is of the dhaba-style halwa that is commonly eaten in desi brunches.

Sooji ka halwa is a pet favorite in every brown household and one of the easiest Pakistani desserts to master. Ironically, we South Asians eat it for breakfast with puris (fried bread), aloo tarkari (potato curry) and chanay(chickpea curry). But of course, on occasions, we’d consume it as is, which is a dessert.

Ingredients

You need very few ingredients to make this recipe

• Semolina
  I use fine Semolina for Sooji ka halwa as a personal preference. Coarse semolina will taste pretty much the same, differing only in a more grainy texture that it will have.
• Ghee
  Ghee is the main fat used in all Pakistani halwas. You can use good quality butter if you don’t have ghee.
• Cardamom pods – The green cardamom is the Western equivalent of Vanilla essence. You’ll find it in most of the desi desserts. It adds aroma and a subtle flavor characteristic of Pakistani/Indian food.
• Full-fat Milk powder – This secret ingredient at the end of the halwa makes all the difference between a good and an EXCELLENT halwa. It adds depth of flavor to the halwa without any excessive liquid. If you have none, use evaporated milk or heavy cream instead.
• Food color – The restaurant-style suji halwa has a characteristic amber-yellow color. I use regular powder food coloring (which I use for biryani) for this halwa. You can use bloomed saffron too, or skip coloring entirely if you like.
• Other aromatics (optional) – This recipe doesn’t need it but some people like adding rose water, or saffron to the halwa.
• Garnish – Nuts! Any halwa is incomplete without a good garnish on top. Chop or slice your favorite nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc, or add in whole as well.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to make Suji ka halwa?

Traditionally, this halwa is made by preparing a sticky sugar syrup separately and roasting the semolina separately. But through trial and error, I realized, hey it can be wayyy simpler than that! Here it is, my one-pot Suji ka halwa.

I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.

STEP 1: In a thick base cooking pot, add ghee and cardamom at medium heat.

STEP 2: Reduce the heat to low and add semolina.

STEP 3: Roast the semolina till it absorbs all the ghee. Now saute for 5 mins making sure the semolina doesn’t burn.

STEP 4: Add 1/2 cup of water to the semolina and saute until fully absorbed.

NOTE: We don’t want semolina to change its color to brown (that gives you a different kind of Suji halwa). So avoid over-roasting for more than 5 minutes.

STEP 5: Add another cup of water, stir well to avoid clumps.

STEP 6: Let the semolina fully absorb the water and break any large clumps if you see any.

STEP 7: Add the remaining water.

STEP 8: Add sugar.

STEP 9: Add orange food color.

STEP 10: Stir to combine everything well.

STEP 11: Cover the pot and let it simmer at medium heat for 5 mins. Turn the heat to low and cook for another 5 mins.

STEP 12: Uncover and stir the halwa around for about a minute.

STEP 13: Add milk powder. Stir for another 2 minutes.

STEP 14: Turn off the heat, and sprinkle chopped pistachios, almonds, or walnuts.

NOTE: When you stir your halwa at the end, you’ll notice that it leaves the sides of the pot and sticks together cohesively. That’s how you know your halwa is done.

Serve your halwa warm. Top it off with almond shavings or pistachio crumbs and serve with either puri in breakfast or as a dessert.

Expert Tips

• This is a very forgiving Sooji halwa. If you do a taste test at the end, and you feel like its not as sweet as you like, simply add more sugar, and cook for another 3 minutes.
• You can also add more food color (if you are not happy) in the end by mixing color in a little bit of milk and drizzling it all over.
• Sooji halwa always thickens up as it cools down so if you feel your halwa is too runny, just wait it out. And avoid the urge to cook it down more. We also want the halwa to be a little runny to be eaten with puris.

Frequently Asked Questions

I posted this recipe on Instagram and tiktok first, which is great! because now I can put up questions here that I generally go with this recipe.

More Desi Desserts for you to try

I respect the time, ingredients, and effort you spend on cooking. On my part, I’ve tested and tried my recipe over 20 times before giving it to you, these dessert recipes are fool-proof.

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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sooji ka halwa

A traditional Pakistani / Indian sweet semolina halwa or pudding, eaten as a dessert or paired with puris (fried bread)

Course Desserts

Cuisine South Asian

Cook Time 18 minutes minutes

Total Time 18 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 278kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

• 1 cup semolina sooji
• 1/2 cup ghee or clarified butter
• 4 to 5 whole green cardamom
• 4 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar or to taste
• 2 tbsp full fat milk powder
• yellow food color optional

Instructions

• In a thick base cooking pot, add ghee and cardamom. Keep at medium-low heat on the stove for 2 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low and add semolina. Roast the semolina till it absorbs all the ghee. Now roast for 5 mins making sure the semolina doesn't burn or change color. If it starts to change color sooner than 5 mins, proceed to the next step immediately.
• Add 1/2 cup of water to the semolina and saute until fully absorbed.
• Add another cup of water, stir well to avoid clumps, and let the semolina fully absorb the water.
• Now add the remaining water, food color and sugar. Mix to combine everything well.
• Cover the pot and let it simmer at medium heat for 5 mins.
• Turn the heat to low and cook for another 5 mins.
• Stir the halwa around for about a minute and add milk powder. Stir for another 2 minutes.
• Turn off the heat, and sprinkle chopped pistachios, almonds, or walnuts.
• Suji halwa is served hot with breakfast or as dessert.

Notes

• Milk powder is the secret ingredient creating depth of flavor. If you have none, use evaporated milk or heavy cream instead.
• This recipe doesn’t need it but some people like adding rose water, or saffron to the halwa.
• We don’t want semolina to change its color to brown (that gives you a different kind of Suji halwa). So avoid over-roasting for more than 5 minutes.
• This is a very forgiving Sooji halwa. If you do a taste test at the end, and you feel like it’s not as sweet as you like, simply add more sugar, and cook for another 3 minutes.
• You can also add more food color (if you are not happy) in the end by mixing color in a little bit of milk and drizzling it all over.
• Sooji halwa always thickens up as it cools down so if you feel your halwa is too runny, just wait it out. And avoid the urge to cook it down more. We also want the halwa to be a little runny to be eaten with puris.
• This halwa stays fresh in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and reheats in the microwave very well.
• You can freeze the halwa for up to a month. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 5mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g

The post Sooji ka Halwa (Semolina Pudding) appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

Traditionally you get Kulfi in Pakistan/India on the street in a clay pot or a stick, which looks just as cool. We will set ours in a loaf pan to make it look like a classy dessert. I love how Ice creams look set in a bar/terrine style serving. I made my delicious crunchy Lotus Biscoff ice cream cake the same way.

What is Kulfi

The world is no stranger to Malai Kulfi. If you’ve EVER visited an Indian/Pakistani restaurant, you’ve seen some form of kulfi on the dessert menu. It’s the South Asian equivalent of vanilla ice cream. And just like vanilla ice cream, Malai Kulfi is the most basic Kulfi recipe. You can adapt this recipe to create a ton of different flavors and variations (more on that later).

Traditionally, kulfi is made by slowly cooking sweetened milk until it is thickened and then frozen into molds. But honestly, that process is a little too long for my liking. And like I said when I found the quick rasmalai recipe, why spend more energy and time on something that already has an excellent shortcut, feel me?

Ingredients/Substitutions

You only need 6 ingredients to make this kulfi! Let’s go!

• Sweetened condensed milk
• Evaporated milk – I live in the Middle East and it’s pretty to get my hands on it. As a substitute, you can use milk powder and make a thick milk base.
• Thick cream – I use the tetra-pack cream for this recipe. You can use table cream, fresh cream or simply whisk double cream and make it thicker to use.
• Bread – The bread slice gives it the body and density of a traditional kulfi. A Brioche slice would taste awesome too!
• Aromatics – The main aromatic I use is green cardamom powder. But if you are feeling fancy, you can also use a little bit of rose water and saffron as well. Both are used in traditional Kulfis.
• Nuts – I use finely ground pistachio and coarsely chopped pistachio for this recipe. But feel free to substitute with any other nuts that you make like.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to make kulfi

To make the kulfi, we start with making the kulfi base.

Step 1 – Put all your ingredients in a bowl or a blender. (except for the nuts). Blend everything into a smooth ice cream base.

Step 2 – Cover the bowl and put it in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours or until half the ice cream has set from the corners.

Step 3 – Bring out the semi-frozen ice cream. It should be liquid from the center and frozen on the edges.

Step 4 – Use a hand whisk to blend the kulfi base. Break down the frozen chunks and whisk them all together.

PROTIP: If you want to add flavoring bits to your kulfi, now is the time. You can incorporate any elements you want, like chocolate chips or almond chunks. Just add in your components and beat for another 30 seconds.

Step 5 – Prepare a bread loaf pan by greasing it with butter or ghee. Now spread ground nuts to the bottom of the pan.

Step 6 – Pour the ice cream base into the pan and cover with cling wrap. Let it freeze for 8 hours or overnight.

Step 7 – Bring the kulfi out and let it thaw for 5 mins. Invert the loaf pan onto the serving tray and use a hot towel to wipe around the sides. Then knock on the base of your pan with your hand. Your kulfi should slide right out.

Step 8 – Cut the kulfi into slices and serve.

How to prevent ice crystals in a kulfi

This section is for all those who want to understand the science behind ice cream making a little bit more. The steps in my recipe already ensure a smooth crystal-free ice cream. But if you are a food geek like me, here’s some more info for you:

• Crystal formation happens when the time that an ice cream takes to freeze is very long. Double freezing the kulfi helps reduce the time it takes for the kulfi to freeze in the final step, as it is already at a lower temperature. The quicker the ice cream freezes, the lesser the crystal formation happens.
• Whipping the kulfi a second time also introduces air into the ice cream. This makes it more fluffy, and the texture becomes smoother.
• The second enemy of any good crystal-free kulfi/ice cream is air. Minimizing air contact once the kulfi is in the freezer is crucial to getting the perfect texture. The best way to do this is by covering the kulfi with a cling wrap directly on top of the kulfi so that the cling wrap sticks to the ice cream base.
• You have to keep in mind, however, that homemade ice cream that does not use a churner will only last for a month in the freezer. Over time they tend to deflate. Unfortunately, this is a reality for all homemade ice cream as they aren’t churned with a professional industrial-grade churner.

Flavors and Variations with a basic Kulfi recipe.

You can create these exciting flavors by mixing these add-ons into the ice cream base after the final whisking or by simply sprinkling them on top or base of the mold.

• Chocolate Kulfi – Add 1 cup of chocolate shavings to the Kulfi base.
• Almond / Pistachio kulfi (any nut kulfi) – Add chopped almonds/pistachios/walnuts to the ice cream base.
• Crunch kulfi – Add 1 cup of chopped-up hardened caramel to the kulfi base
• Rose kulfi – Introduce 2 tbsp of rose water in the kulfi base and some pink food color. Top it off with rose syrup (like rooh afzah or jam-e-shireen)
• Rose pistachio kulfi – Use my kulfi recipe and pour rose syrup all over it, it’s deliciousssss!
• Chocolate crunch kulfi – Chocolate shavings and caramel crunch bits.
• Toffee crunch kulfi – Toffee bits and caramel crunch bits.
• Kulfi falooda – Add the plain version of this recipe on falooda noodles and drizzle rose syrup on top.

Basically, anything you can chop and add to the kulfi base or sprinkle on top can become a flavor.

Expert Tips

• For clean edges, simply grease the pan with butter or ghee. If you are in doubt, you can line it with butter paper but know that it won’t give you smooth edges.
• For the nuts carpet at the bottom of the loaf pan, make sure your nuts are finely grounded to give you a sort of powder.
• The double freeze technique helps to give you a great ice cream texture. Whisking it introduces some air to an otherwise dense base and also reduces Ice crystal formation to give you a smoother end result.
• When doing the final freeze, make sure the cling wrap covers the kulfi entirely and is pressed down so that no air comes in contact with the ice cream.

Frequently Asked Questions

More ice cream and quick desserts

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Malai Kulfi Ice Cream

a contemporary no-cook take on the traditional Malai kulfi aka Indian / Pakistani ice cream.

Course Desserts

Cuisine South Asian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Freezing time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 380kcal

Author Wajiha

Equipment

• 1 electric beater
• 1 loaf pan 12'' x 4' inch pan or a standard 9 x 5 inch pan.

Ingredients

• 400 gm Condensed milk 1+1/3 cup
• 400 gm evaporated milk 2 cup
• 400 gm thick cream 1+3/4 cup
• 2 slices of fresh bread with corners cut off
• 1 tsp green cardamom powder elaichi powder
• 2 tbsp rose water optional
• 1/4 cup PIstachio powder
• 1/4 cup Chopped almonds and pistachio

Instructions

Preparing the Kulfi Base

• In a bowl add all the ingredients except pistachio powder and nuts.
• Blend everything together with a hand blender to get a smooth kulfi base. (you can also do this step in a blender).
• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.
• Put the bowl in the freezer for 6 to 7 hours. (the corners of your bowl should be frozen and the centre still liquid)
• Preparing loaf pan.
• Put your pistachios in a chopper and make almost like a pistachio powder.
• Take out your non-stick bread loaf pan size and sprinkle the base the pistachio powder generously.

Assembling the Kulfi

• Take out the kullfi base and whip the base with an electric beater. Break all the ice crystals properly and cream a smooth base again. You can also add chopped nuts, etc at this point in your base if you want to.
• Pour your kulfi base into the prepared loaf pan.
• Place a layer of butter paper or cling wrap directly on top of the kulfi to avoid any air contact. Make sure to seal all the corners of the loaf properly.
• Place the load back in the freezer and let it chill overnight.

De-moulding the Kulfi

• Remove the frozen kulfi from the freezer and remove the cling wrap.
• Place it inverted on the tray you want to serve your kulfi in.
• Dip a kitchen towel in hot boiling water. Run the towel all around the loaf pan, including the sides and base for 2 to 3 mins.
• Lift the mould up (it is still inverted) and press the center of the base with your thumbs. This should release the icecream of the pan and drop it onto your serving dish. If the ice cream doesn’t drop, repeat the wet towel procedure once more and try again.
• Once your ice cream is released, sprinkle some more chopped nuts of your choice on top and serve immediately. You can also drip some rose syrup on top.
  

Notes

To place the kulfi back in the freezer, cover it with cling wrap and place it back directly in the serving tray. OR transfer to an airtight container and freeze again.

You can also use the same recipe to make individual molds kulfi.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 153mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 28g

The post Easy Malai Kulfi Ice Cream With Condensed Milk appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

Living away from home, you don’t always have access to your favorite childhood cultural delicacies. For me, Rasmalai, Gajar ka halwa or Shahi Tukrey are all love letters from home, that I want to open, again and again. And when the craving hits….oh man. But, the lazy ass that I sit on, makes me find a shortcut recipe for all those cravings. But Exhibit A – This Rasamali recipe!

To make this shortcut happen, I’ll admit I had to go through a painstakingly long journey, with tears, burst rasmalais, and failed experiments. Some feedback from family and my wonderful family over at IG, I can finally say I have a recipe that is as fool-proof as it gets.

About Rasmalai

Rasmalai is known by various names in South Asia, including rossomalai, or rasa malei. The traditional Rasmalai involves making cottage cheese (paneer) from scratch, shaping it into flattened discs, and dipping it in sweetened milk syrup, seasoned with spices like cardamom and saffron.

This version of Rasmalai that I use is a popular shortcut method, where you use milk powder mixture instead of making cottage cheese for the milk balls. It’s quicker, easier, and ready in 30 mins! That literally checks all my boxes: something quick, fancy, and yum!

It is one of the “quicker” South Asian desserts and if you follow the tips in this post, no one will EVER believe your Rasmalais are homemade. I will also troubleshoot the common problems that you face when making rasmalai with milkpowder.

Notes on Ingredients

You do require a couple of special ingredients that aren’t readily available in the pantry. But, you’ll find most of these in any South Asian grocery store.

• Milk Powder – You need full-fat milk for for this recipe. It is crucial! Skim milked powder or “less fat” powders will not work and your milk balls will likely burst. (ask me how I know) I’ve used Nido, Almarai. And some of you on IG have sent in your remakes with other brands like Olpers, Deep and Carnation with amazing results.
  
• Sweet milk Syrup – The syrup needs milk, sugar, and green cardamom powder. As a substitute, you can use whole green cardamom pods. You can also add saffron strands if you are feeling fancy.
  
• All-purpose flour – Called “maida” in Urdu, you only need a teaspoon of this. It helps with binding the milk balls together.
  
• Ghee – Ghee is clarified butter, and is found in most South Asian stores. You can buy a small tin of ghee, or make ghee at home with butter using my friend Henna’s Homemade Ghee recipe. Ghee is solid when cold and liquid when warm. You need ghee at room temperature where it is semi-solid.
  
• Egg – You need a large cold egg. It is important you use refrigerated egg for this recipe, this hack will help you with crack-free milk discs. (Yes, this is different from most baking recipes which require room-temperature eggs.)

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Step By Step Instructions

Rasmalai has two components. One is the milk powder discs and the other one is the sweet milk syrup. The common thing to do is to put the syrup on the stove to cook, and in the meantime prepare the milk discs.

• Cooking the sweet milk syrup
• Making the milk ball discs
• Cooking the milk ball discs in the syrup.

STEP 1 – Boil milk, sugar and cardamom powder in a wide base pot at low heat and let it simmer on the side.

STEP 2 – In a bowl, add dry ingredients to make the milk balls and mix.

STEP 3 – Make a well or a ditch in the center of the dry mixture

STEP 4 – Add an egg and ghee to the ditch and beat.

STEP 5 – Use the palm of your hands to mix the ingredients and knead them just long enough until everything is combined well. The dough will be sticky and shiny.

STEP 6 – Use a teaspoon to portion out the milk discs.

STEP 7 – Place the roughly portioned milk balls onto a plate

STEP 8 – Wash your hands and completely dry them. Now roll out the portions into flat discs in the palm of your hand.

STEP 9 – Make discs of all the dough portions. The discs should be smooth, shiny, and crack-free. (see tips)

STEP 10 – Drop the milk balls gently into the simmering milk.

STEP 11 – Your milk balls will initially sink and then rise on top of the milk

STEP 12 – Cover the ras malai with a lid and let it cook at low flame for 15 mins. Checking in at 5 mins intervals.

PROTIP: Do not stir the milk with a spoon after you’ve added your rasmalai discs. Your spoon should only enter the pot once you are ready to take the rasmalais out.

STEP 13 – Once you see the milk balls have expanded and turned whitish in color, cover the lid again and let it simmer at medium flame for another 5 mins.

STEP 14 – Turn off the heat and let the ras malai cool down.

Gently transfer the rasmalais onto the serving dish. Garnish with sliced pistachios and almonds. Refrigerate for about 6 to 8 hours and serve cold.

Tips for Perfect Rasmalai Discs

Making the sweet milk syrup is a straightforward beginner level task, so that is never the issue anyone runs into. But yes, making and shaping the rasmalai milk discs does require a couple of pointers. The goal is to make smooth crack free milk discs to create as perfect a rasmalai as possible.

• MOISTURE CONTROL
  The bowl you make your dough in should be completely dry and moisture-free. Remember to dry your hands completely before kneading or shaping the discs.
• QUALITY INGREDIENTS
  Use good quality full fat milk powder and good quality baking powder (more often than not, expired products are the culprit of bad results). I say it again here to emphasize, you need FULL FAT milk powder for both, Rasmalais and Gulabjamuns.
• SIFT THE DRY INGREDIENTS
  Sifting the dry ingredients avoids any clumps or impurities from passing through. and gives you more uniform rasmalai
• TEMPERATURE
  This recipe requires the rasmalai dough to be cold. To achieve this, once you mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl, keep the bowl in the freezer for 5 mins. And use refrigerated egg as well. This will give you a sticky dough which is crack free when shaped into discs.
• A WIDE BOWL
  This will help you mix the dough ingredients, and make it easier for you to knead the dough with your palms.
• MILK SYRUP TEMPERATURE
  And lastly, make sure your sweet milk syrup is simmering at low flame when you add your rasmalai discs. Adding rasmalai to very hot milk will make the eggs in the dough curdle and break your rasmalais.

Recipes FAQs

Similar Desserts

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Rasmalai

A quick version of the traditional South Asian dessert, made with milk powder discs, cooked in a sweet milk syrup and garnished with nuts.

Course Desserts

Cuisine Indian, pakistani, South Asian

Diet Halal

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 35 minutes minutes

Servings 15 rasmalais

Calories 51kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

For the Milk Balls

• 3/4 cup good quality milk powder I used Nido
• 1 tbsp ghee clarified butter
• 1 tsp Maida or White flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg cold

For the Millk mixture (ras)

• 1 Litre full fat milk
• 1/2 tsp elaichi powder green cardamom powder
• 1 cup sugar
• Sliced almonds and pistachios for garnish

Instructions

• In a wide saucepan (pateeli), add milk, sugar and cardamom powder. Keep it on low heat and allow to simmer. Cover it with a lid, and let it simmer on the side.
• In a bowl, add milk powder, baking powder and white flour. Use a spoon and mix well. Put the bowl in the freezer for 5 mins.
• Take the bowl out, and make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Now add ghee and a cold egg. Beat the egg with a fork.
• Use the palm of your hands to knead the dry ingredients into the egg and form a dough. Your dough will be sticky and thats fine.
• Use a teaspoon to roughly portion the dough into 1 teaspoon servings on a plate.
• Now use the palm of your hands to roll the dough into discs.
• Drop the discs in the simmering milk at low heat and cover the pan with the lid. Let the rasmalai cook for about 15 mins.
• After 15 mins your rasmalai balls would have doubled in size. Increase the heat to medium and cook for another 5 mins.
• Turn off the heat and let the rasmalai sit in the pot till it comes down to room temperature.
• Gently transfer the rasmalai onto the serving dish and chill it in the fridge.
• Garnish with sliced almonds and pistachios. Serve cold

Notes

The goal is to make smooth crack-free milk discs to create as perfect a rasmalai as possible. Here are a couple of tips to help you with that (for detailed tips, see post)

• The bowl you make your dough in should be completely dry and moisture-free. Remember to dry your hands completely before kneading or shaping the discs.
• Use good quality full-fat milk powder and good quality baking powder (more often than not, expired products are the culprit of bad results). 
• Sifting the dry ingredients prevents any clumps or impurities from passing through. 
• This recipe requires the rasmalai dough to be cold. To achieve this, once you mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl, keep the bowl in the freezer for 5 mins. And use refrigerated egg as well. This will give you a sticky dough that is crack-free when shaped into discs.
• Use a wide bowl to mix and knead the rasmalai discs
• Use a wide base pot to cook the rasmalais to avoid crowding
• And lastly, make sure your sweet milk syrup is simmering at low flame when you add your rasmalai discs. Adding rasmalai to very hot milk will make the eggs in the dough curdle and break your rasmalais.

Nutrition

Serving: 1rasmalai | Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 114mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 80IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 0.1mg

The post Rasmalai Recipe with Milk Powder appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

What is Kheer?

Kheer is essentially a South Asian milk-based pudding. Rice kheer also known as chawal ki kheer (in Urdu) is made with rice. But other variations of kheer exist, like the lesser-known tapioca kheer.

Because of the simplicity of the recipe, it is popular for both, regular weekend dessert nights and for elaborate festivities like Eid, Diwali, and dinner parties. Kheer Puri is also a popular Sunday brunch option, where cold kheer is served with crispy fried puris. My mom also loves adding khara masala keema to this Sunday brunch.

If you follow me on Insta, then you know your girl loves a good silky smooth dessert in summer. And a cold nice kheer, malai kulfi, and rose honey milk cake are my top 3 go-to heat-killers!

Ingredients

The traditional stove-top Rice kheer uses only sugar, rice and milk and is simmered at low flame for hours to allow the milk to cook down and give it depth and flavor. I use sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk to achieve the same depth of flavor but in less time.

• Rice – I use regular basmati rice for kheer. Long grain and other variations don’t matter for this recipe.
• Green cardamom – I add whole pods but you can use 2 to 3 pinches of green cardamom powder instead if you want.
• Three milk sources – Full-fat milk, Sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. (more on substitutes down below)

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Substitutions

So the basic trio of milk, rice, and sugar is of course mandatory for this recipe. Let’s talk about the other 2 milk sources.

Sweetened Condensed Milk – Use a combo of more sugar and heavy cream instead.

Evaporated milk – I use evaporated milk to adjust the thickness and the sweetness of the kheer once it’s cooked while enhancing the flavor. You can use any milk alternative that you have at hand. The following are great substitutes for evaporated milk:

• Milk powder mixed with milk to make a thicker milk alternative
• Regular milk mixed in with chunks of khoya, or Indian mithai like barfi, kalakand
• Unwhipped Heavy cream
  

PROPTIP: Simply use heavy whipping cream and sugar and skip the evaporated milk and condensed milk entirely if you are out of one or the other. You will need 500ml of heavy cream for the recipe quantities mentioned on the card.

Instructions

Since this is a one-pot recipe, there aren’t any complicated instructions to follow. But I’ve put together a pictorial to show you what the kheer looks like in different stages of cooking.

STEP 1 – In a wide pot, boil the soaked rice at low heat in the water. This will take about 10 mins, during which time you don’t need to stir the rice

STEP 2 – Use a hand whisk to stir through the rice once the water evaporates and the rice has doubled in size.

STEP 3 – Add in milk and green cardamom and let the rice cook in the milk at medium to low heat.

STEP 4 – Your milk will form a crusty top while it’s boiling. This is normal. Whisk occasionally but you can leave the milk unattended for 5 to 6 mins at a stretch.

STEP 5 – After 15 to 20 mins, you will see a thick porridge-like consistency of the kheer.

STEP 6 – Add in your sugar.

STEP 7 – And add in your condensed milk. Now the kheer will liquefy again a little bit. This is normal. Let it cook for another 10 mins at medium to high heat. Whisk occasionally.

STEP 8 – Turn off the flame of the kheer and let it cool down. Now add evaporated milk as much as you like for your desired thickness and consistency.

Expert Tips

• Most recipes will ask you to either break the rice by hand after soaking them or grind them in a food processor. But my favorite hack is to use a hand whisk instead while cooking, which naturally breaks the rice grains and reduces an additional step.
• I used these cool clay pots that you see in the pictures to serve the kheer because that is how they are traditionally served. But the authentic clay pots need to be soaked in water overnight. If you use them, make sure you soak them overnight, or else they will absorb all the liquid from the kheer. Don’t ask me how I know that.
• Cooked Kheer might splutter slightly towards the end of its cooking, so just be mindful of that while stirring.

Garnish and Serving

Rice kheer is served cold. As the cooked kheer cools down, it forms a thin milky crust on top as it reacts with air. I personally am not a fan of this and I usually cover the kheer with a lid once its done cooking. But some of my family members like the crust, so they usually pour the hot kheer into a serving bowl immediately and allow it to cool in the bowl with the crust on top.

The best garnishes for kheer are chopped or sliced pistachios and almonds. I also like to add rose petals for a little pizazz. You can incorporate the nuts into the kheer itself and then some more for toppings, or only as toppings.

Equipment

In traditional South Asian kitchens, kheer is usually made in aluminum pots because they are usually heavy bottom and the milk doesn’t burn easily in aluminum pots. You can also use any heavy bottom pot made with stainless steel or Dutch Ovens. You can also use a girdle or a tava underneath the pot if your pot isn’t heavy base.

How to make Dairy-Free Vegan Kheer

As you can see this dessert heavily relies on multiple milk sources for flavor and cooking. You can easily make a dairy-free kheer by using milk substitutes like nut milk and soy milk. Use coconut cream in place of the evaporated milk and condensed milk. You may have to adjust your sugar quantities as this recipe uses sweetened condensed milk.

More Pakistani and Indian Desserts

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

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Rice Kheer – Rice Pudding

A one pot traditional South Asian dessert, made with rice, sugar and milk. Garnished with nuts and served cold.

Course Dessert

Cuisine pakistani, South Asian

Diet Halal

Prep Time 0 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 405kcal

Author Wajiha

Equipment

• 1 heavy bottom stainless steel pot Or use a flatpan beneath your existence normal bottom large saucepans
• 1 hand whisk

Ingredients

• 1 cup Basmati rice soaked in water for atleast 20 mins
• 2 cup water
• 1 Litre full fat milk
• 2 cup white sugar or to taste
• 1 can condensed milk 375 gm
• 1 can evaporated milk (add more or less according to thickness preferred)

Garnish

• 2 tbsp sliced or chopped pistachio and almonds or any nuts you like
• rose buds or petals optional

Instructions

• In the pot, add rice and water. Simmer at medium flame until all the water evaporates and rice doubles in size. Use a hand whisk to stir the rice
• Add green cardamom and milk and let it simmer at low flame. Whisk with your hand whisk from time to time. This will take 20 mins
• Add sugar and condensed milk and cook for another 20 mins. Whisk to make sure the rice grains don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
• You will see the rice grains will have broken down into smaller bits and the rice and milk would now be in a pudding consistency. Turn off the flame and let the kheer cool down.
• Now add evaporated milk. Add as much as you like for the consistency you prefer.

Notes

• To substitute Sweetened Condensed Milk – Use a combo of more sugar and heavy cream instead.
• To substitute Evaporated milk – I use evaporated milk to adjust the thickness and the sweetness of the kheer once it’s cooked while enhancing the flavor.  The following are great substitutes for evaporated milk:  a) Milk powder mixed with milk to make a thicker milk alternative. b) Regular milk mixed in with chunks of khoya, or Indian mithai like barfi, kalakand. c) Unwhipped Heavy cream
• Use a tava or pan below the pot if you see your kheer is burning at the edges
• Kheer which is near to completion, might splutter a little bit, just be mindful of that. 
• You can adjust how much-evaporated milk you want to add depending on how thick you want your kheer to be. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 431mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 70g | Vitamin A: 357IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 339mg | Iron: 0.3mg

The post Rice Kheer – Rice Pudding appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

I absolutely LOVE making freezable treats! Like my chocolate peanut butter bars, or the super-moist Zebra Cake. It helps me control my indulgence, and I always have a sweet-tooth fix in the freezer!

Ingredients and Substitutes

Here are a couple of pointers and notes about the ingredients.

• Roasted nuts – I used pecans, cashews, walnuts, and almonds. All of which were salted. Use any nuts you like.
• Toasted Rolled Oats
  You can also use instant oats or steel-cut oats. Toast them in the pan or oven to use for the recipe.
• Peanut butter
  I’ve used unsweetened smooth PB for this recipe. If you are using a sweetened one, adjust the honey accordingly. And as always, crunchy or smooth PB is up to you. Here’s a list of PB alternatives if you are allergic:
  • Almond butter or cashew butter
  • Coconut oil
  • Coconut cream (the thick part only)
  • Regular cream if you don’t have an issue with dairy
• Dark Chocolate
  I used special dark chocolate chips for this recipe. Use any that you have at hand! Bars, chips, buttons, go crazy!
• Honey
  Honey adds softness to the bars. Since all the other ingredients solidify in the fridge, I would recommend NOT skipping the honey completely. IF you don’t like the sweetness from the honey, add milk or a little cream cheese instead, but keep in mind, the shelf life will decrease.
• Add ons
  The beauty of such recipes is that they are totally customizable. You can totally build it to your taste buds. Fun add-ons can be: roasted flax seeds, orange zest, salted crushed potato chips, or, you know, go crazy!

Method

These super-simple bars come together in a matter of minutes. Here’s a pictorial to make it easy for you.

Step 1: Heat the peanut butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Step 2: Add your honey to a semi-mixed chocolate base and heat for another 30 seconds.

Step 3: Mix the chocolate base into a smooth mixture.

Step 4: Add your chopped nuts and oats.

Step 5: Mix the nuts well until fully combined.

Step 6: Pour the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

Step 7: Spread out the mixture evenly.

Step 8: Garnish the load with more chopped nuts and peanut butter. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting in.

Expert Tips

• If you are using the microwave to heat the chocolate, DO NOT do it for more than 30 seconds in one go. A longer heating time can cause the chocolate to burn.
• If your bars have been sitting for a longer duration (more than an hour) then allow them to thaw for 5 minutes on the counter before digging in.
• Sometimes I toast my nuts too when I toast the oats, and I love the intense nutty flavor the roasted nuts impart.

Frequently Asked Questions

More quick treats on the blog

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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No-bake Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

An easy guilt free chocolate bar made with dark chocolate, nuts, oats and peanut butter

Course Desserts

Cuisine Continental

Diet Halal

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 20 bars

Calories 237kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

• 2 cups Dark cooking chocolate 340 gm
• 1 cup rolled oats see notes
• 1 1/2 cup roasted assorted nuts chopped
• 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter see notes
• 1/4 cup honey
• a splash of milk if needed

garnish

• 2 tbsp chopped nuts
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp peanut butter

Instructions

• In a pan, toast whole oats until they turn golden brown. This will take around 5 mins. Set aside. (You can also toast them in a toaster oven)
• Add chocolate chips and peanut butter in the bowl. Heat it for 30 secs in the microwave. (see notes)
• Stir the peanut butter and chocolate around to mix them a little bit.
• Add honey and heat the mixture for another 30 secs in the microwave.
• Stir around everything until the chocolate is fully melted and you have a smooth mix. (do an extra 15 sec heat up if you need to)
• Add your assorted chopped nuts and toasted oats. Mix until well combined.
• Pour the mixture on a lined baking tray and spread out evenly
• Sprinkle chopped nuts all over the bars.
• Heat honey and peanut butter in the oven for 15 sec. Mix them together and drizzle all over the bars.
• Refrigerate for 30 mins at least.
• Remove tray from fridge and cut the set chocolate into bars or squares.
• You can even wrap them up individually to store them in the fridge.

Notes

• The nuts I used in the recipe are salted, so I didn’t add any extra salt to the mix. 
• You can also heat the chocolate, honey, and peanut butter in a saucepan if you do not wish to use the microwave. Keep the heat at a low.
• You can use any oats you have on hand, but I still recommend toasting them before use.
• If you are using sweetened peanut butter and milk chocolate, reduce the honey quantity to 2 tablespoons.
• A splash of milk is listed as an ingredient only if your mixture turns too thick and you need to loosen it up.
• You can store the bars in the fridge or freezer. Just thaw for 5 to 10 minutes before eating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 64mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g

The post No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

What is Anday ka halwa?

Egg halwa or anday ka halwa (where “Anday” means eggs) is a traditional Indian/Pakistani mithayi or sweet that is made using eggs and other staples. Its very popular in Biharis immigrants, and Memons (subcultures Of South Asia). The memons call them Anday ka meesu or anday ka mesub. A different version of this halwa also exist, which is soft and eaten with a spoon. This particular version is crunchy, biscuity like in texture made by compressing cooked halwa crumbs together to form bars. Which is why some people also call it as “Anday ki barfi” where barfi means something set in a bars.

Ingredients for Egg halwa

A lot of my friends have told me that they find Anday ka halwa intimidating and they can never seem to get it right. So I’m here to simplify it for you. Half of this halwa is as good as its ingredient ratios, the other half is technique.

• The ingredients for this halwa are very basic staples present in everyone’s house.
• There are sadly no substitution options available for this particular recipe.
• Always make sure that your milk powder is not expired before using it for desserts.

Measuring eggs

This particular recipe requires eggs to be measured in cups rather than in number. To measure eggs, break 1 egg at a time and keep adding them to a 1 cup measuring cup. Stop when your measuring cup is full. The number of eggs for 1 cup can range between 4 to 6 eggs, depending on how large or small the eggs you have are.

IMPORTANT TIP: Sometimes you will need to use half an extra egg to fill up the cup to the brim. In such cases, always add the egg yolk first and then the egg white.

Making the halwa mix

Preparing for the halwa will take you hardly 5 mins. Dump all the ingredients in a blender and blend away to make a smooth streamless mix. OR you can dump all the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand blender as well. (Like I have in the picture below)

Stages of Cooking the egg halwa

This quantity of halwa can take somewhere around 45 mins to 1 hour to cook. HOLD ON! Before you close this tab, I know the process seems long and daunting but I assure you, there’s nothing more to it then stirring and I’ll give you hacks that can help.

Before you pour your halwa batter into a pot or a pan, put the pan on medium flame for a minute to heat it up. Bring the flame down to low and THEN add your halwa batter. Now all you have to do is gently stir it from time to time, making sure it doesn’t stick to the pot. Thats it.

These are the stages your halwa will go through:

STAGE 1 – First 10 mins – Your halwa will liquify and heat up as the sugar and ghee melts.

STAGE 2 – 10 to 20 min – Your halwa will start to thicken up again as the eggs start to cook.

STAGE 3 – 20 to 30 min – Your halwa will thicken up to the point that it will start to form bubbles that will pop on their own.

STAGE 4 – 30 to 40 min – The ghee from your halwa will separate and it will start to appear mildly crumbly.

STAGE 5 – 40 to 50 min – Your halwa will be fully crumbled, light yellow in color and will start reabsorbing the ghee

STAGE 6 – 50 to 60 min – Your halwa will start to change color as it reabsorbs all the ghee. This is the final stage, your looking for a nice almond brown color. That’s when you turn off the flame.

Setting, Cutting and Cooling

After turning off the flame, drop all the crumbs on a tray lined with butter paper and press it down with a spoon. I also use a spatula to press from the sides to create even edges.

CAUTION: Don’t touch the halwa with your bare hands! It is going to be super hot!

Sprinkle pistachio powder and cut in bars with a knife. After you cut them in a bar, your halwa needs to rest for another hour. I know I KNOW! I’m killing you in here! But trust me! The halwa needs to cool down properly before you eat it, otherwise it will be chewy and will stick to your teeth!

TIPS to make the best anday ka halwa

• Use a wooden spoon to stir the halwa
• DO NOT use a non-stick or granite pot/pan to make any desi (South Asian halwas). You can use aluminum, steel, or cast iron.
• A heavy bottom pan will always be prefered for halwas
• The wider your pot is, the quicker and easier it will be to make your halwa.
• Patience. This is definitely a slow-cooked dessert and you’ll need it if you want to ace this recipe.

ACTIVE vs PASSIVE COOKING

ACTIVE COOKING

If you are free and you plan on stirring your halwa gently from time to time, but pretty regularly, you can cook this halwa at medium low flame. It will be quicker to make but will need you to be stirring regularly and getting a proper arm workout. This is the method mentioned above and in the recipe card below.

PASSIVE COOKING

You can use a heat insulator like a flat griddle below the pot and let it cook at low flame. This is a passive cooking method. It will take longer to cook but you won’t have to stir constantly. You can just stir once in a while (once in every 5 mins) and keep doing your other tasks in the kitchen. The only time the halwa will need you attention will be towards the end of the cooking, at stage 5.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Pakistani & Indian Desserts

You can find more desserts like this on the blog:

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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ande ka halwa

A traditional South Asian or Pakistani mithai aka sweet, with a crumbly biscuit-y texture made with eggs and other staples

Course Desserts

Cuisine South Asian

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Resting Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 20 bars

Calories 193kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

• 1 cup eggs see notes
• 3/4 cup ghee clarified butter
• 3/4 cup milk powder
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder see notes
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar

Other

• A tray lined with parchment paper.
• 2 tsp of pistachio powder.
• a wooden spoon
• a heavy bottom wide sauce pan.

Instructions

• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. (the baking tray should be atleast 10" by 10")
• Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. (or use a hand blender and a bowl)
• Place a wide heavy bottom pan or pot on the stove and turn it on at medium flame for 2 mins. Once its heated up, reduce the flame to low and wait for another min.
• Pour your egg batter in the pot and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Make sure you touch the bottom of the pan every time you stir.
• The halwa goes through various stages while you are stirring. (see blog post)
• The halwa mix first becomes thin, then thickens up, starts to bubble. Towards the end, the halwa will leach out ghee and then re-absorb it.
• When the halwa is almost ready, it is going to reabsorb all the ghee that seperated and start changing color to brown.
• Once your halwa gets to an almond brown color, and a crumbly texture, turn off the flame and pour the crumble onto the prepared pan.
• Press the crumble down with the back of a spoon. (DO NOT TOUCH the crumble with hand, it’s going to be extremely hot).
• Sprinkle pistachio powder all over the halwa and use a knife to make small bars.
• Wait for the bars to completely cool down, takes roughly about 30 mins to 1 hour. (see notes)
• Store in an airtight jar.

Notes

• Add eggs 1 by 1 in a 1 cup measuring cup. See how many eggs you need to make 1 cup. It will range somewhere between 4 and 6. Focus on filling the cup to the brim, which might need half an extra egg sometimes.
• Put a handful of pistachios in a grinder to make a smooth powder.
• IF the bars aren’t allowed to completely cooled and eaten, they are going to be chewy and not hard enough.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 67mg | Sugar: 19g

The post Anday ka halwa – Egg halwa appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

What’s the Rose and Honey milk cake?

This Honey cake has all the rustic Persian flavors of nuts, rose water and honey. All the flavors are subtle and not overpowering at all. It’s made similar to three milk cakes or tres leches cakes. We first bake the honey cake, which has a nice golden color on top. Then we poke holes in it and drown it in some warm rose honey milk for an added layer of flavor and moisture. Topping it off with some whipped cream, crushed nuts and rose buds, for an added layer of texture and flavor.

THE ROSE AND HONEY CAKE – INGREDIENTS

The ingredients needed for the cake are fairly basic and simple, other than the addition of honey and rose water.

• The Cake – The cake needs two set of ingredients. The dry ingredients including all purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. The wet ingredients including honey, eggs, milk, oil, white + brown sugar, rose water and vanilla essence. You can use any type of brown sugar / molasses here and skip the white altogether for more brown. But definitely don’t skip the brown sugar, it’s essential to the flavor.
• The Honey Milk syrup – The milk in this recipe is slightly different than the combo normally used in standard tres leches cakes. For this recipe you will need honey, brown sugar, whole milk, evaporated milk, table cream and rose water. You can use any cream available to you.
• The whipped cream – The topping includes whipped cream. I used regular heavy cream and whipped it up. I didn’t add any sweetener though, as a personal preference. But you can add some flavoring or color if you like. A few tablespoons of pink rose syrup would go so well with this recipe.
• Garnish – For this cake I went with salted grinded cashew nuts and rose buds because I love how that small amount of salt from the cashews give that little oomph to the dish. You can use any nut of your choice, like almonds, pistachios or walnuts. You can also decide if you want to use sliced nuts, ground nuts or chopped. OR You can also use a whole bunch of assorted nuts and take it to the next level! My cousin’s kids loved it with some chocolate shavings on it though, just saying.

Ingredient Alternatives

How to make the Rose & Honey Milk Cake

The cake has 4 components

• The rose and honey cake
• The rose and honey milk
• The whipped cream topping
• Garnish

Baking the Honey Milk Cake – Step by Step

The cake in itself is super easy to whip up. You just need a whisk, an ovenproof dish of 13′ x 9′ inch and 2 bowls!

NOTE: You can also use a stand mix or an electric beater if
you prefer that over hand whisking.

You have to mix all the wet ingredients together like, eggs, sugar, honey, milk, oil, essence and rose water to make a nice honey colored liquid mix.

Then you mix all the dry ingredients togethers, like salt, all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder.

AND that’s it! You pour the liquid mix into the dry ingredients and whisk to make a smooth cake batter.

Bake the cake for 25 mins at 175C. You’ll see a nice golden top when its done. Insert a knife or a toothpick in the centre to check if the cake is done. Take it out and start making the rose honey milk.

NOTE: You do not need to grease the tray if you are using a standard pyrex dish

Making the ROSE AND HONEY MILK

We are going to pour this milk while the cake is still hot and not cooled completely. So once your cake is baked and out of the oven, make the honey milk straight away.

Add all ingredients mentioned for the honey milk in a saucepan and heat it up at medium flame. Stir everything around to make sure everything is mixed in well. You will see tiny bubbles erupting on the edges of the saucepan, right before it boils. Turn of the flame right then. Your milk mix is ready!

How to assemble the milk cake

Now all you need to do is poke as many holes as you can in the warm cake (this is where I channel all my anger, just saying) and pour in your warm honey milk all over it. Sometimes it takes a little time for the milk to absorb, but that ok, the whole milk WILL get reabsorbed!

Now set your cake on the counter to cool down and come down to room temperature. Cover in cling wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours at least.

TIP: Use the back of a tablespoon to create interesting texture of the cream
all over your cake. You can also use a piping back and create a design instead.

When the cake is all chilled out, it’s time to put this masterpiece together. I whipped up some regular heavy whipping cream that you normally get from the grocery store. Whipped it up without any added sweetener to it and dumped it all over the cake.

Tips to make the perfect honey milk cake

• Make sure none of your baking products are expired, like baking powder and baking soda.
• Your milk and eggs should be at room temperature.
• Whisk the cake batter properly to avoid any lumps.
• Do NOT use a smaller tray than mentioned.
• Pour the honey milk over the cake while its warm for the best results

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long does this milk cake survive in the fridge?
  You can easily keep this cake for upto 10 days in the fridge. IF you are baking in advance, you can also bake the cake and freeze before taking it out on D Day. Just let the cake thaw for a bit and microwave it for 1 minute to get it all warm again to receive the milk syrup.
• My cake is too dry, what happened?
  If you’ve accidentally overbaked the cake by keeping it a little longer, your cake might become a little dry. Just add 2 tbsp of extra cream in the honey milk mixture to compensate for the slight dryness.
• Can I exclude the rose water?
  Rose water adds a layer of flavor in the recipe, if you don’t like the taste or do not have it at hand, you can exclude it. You can also use almond essence instead.
• Can I make this in a regular baking dish?
  Yes you can. If you are going to use a regular baking tray instead of a pyrex, just use butter paper underneath so that your cake releases easily when you transfer it into your serving dish.
  
  

More Cake recipes on the blog

Lotus Biscoff cake with cream cheese frosting
Zebra Marble Cake
Chocolate chip blondies

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Rose And Honey Milk Cake

A beautiful combination of a honey cake made into a poke style cake with subtle flavors of nuts, and rose water.

Course Desserts

Cuisine Fusion Food, South Asian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 20 servings

Calories 364kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

Honey Cake

• 3 large egg room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp rose water optional
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup castor sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour sifted
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Honey milk

• 1½ cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup cream any unsweetened cream
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rose water optional

Topping

• 2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp salted cashew nuts coarsely ground
• Dried edible rose buds for garnish optional

Instructions

Honey Cake

• Preheat oven at 350° F or 175° C.
• In a large bowl, add all purpose flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk everything together and set aside.
• In another bowl, add both sugars, honey and eggs. Whisk until smooth. Add oil, oil, rose water and vanilla essence. Whisk until you get a smooth liquid.
• Pour the liquid in flour mixture and whisk to create a lump free cake batter.
• Pour the cake batter in the 9′ x 13′ inch oven-safe dish, no greasing needed.
• Bake for 25 mins or until the top is slightly golden or a knife tip inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Take the cake out and let it rest for 15 mins.
• Poke holes all around the cake generously with a fork or a skewer.

Honey Milk

• Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat the milk till you see small bubbles on the edges of the milk. Turn off the flame.

Assembling

• Pour the warm milk mix all over the warm poke cake, allowing the mixture to be fully absorbed.
• Cover the cake with cling wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
• Whip the heavy whipping cream (without sugar) until soft and fluffy
• Bring out the cake and cover it whipping cream. Create swirls with the back of a spoon.
• Top with chopped cashews and edible rose petals or rose buds.
• Dig in.

Notes

For perfect results, use ingredients at room temperature, specially eggs and milk.

You can use any nuts of your choice and skip the rose water if you want, although it adds a nice subtle layer of flavor

substitutions chart given in post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 364kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g

The post Rose and Honey Milk Cake appeared first on Butter Over Bae.

This one is a crowd pleaser! And I love how well in advance I can make it for get togethers! Put everything together in a pan…freeze! I’ve even made it a week in advance for a dinner!

Some of the ingredients may not be easily available around you, for which I’ve also given substitutes in the end.

Steps to put together this delicious Ice cream Cake

Before you start, I have to warn you, Have enough room in your freezer for 3 bowls. (pleaseeeeee abide grasshopper)

This dessert is made of 3 layers repeating:

• A coffee dipped Lotus cookie layer
• A saucy cookie butter layer
• A perfectly balanced ice cream layer that ties the whole thing together

Biscuit layer

So for this biscuit layer, you need biscuits ofcourse! But work wise, all you have to do is make coffee! hehe. Just dissolve some instant coffee powder in warm water. And stick it in the freezer to cool down. You want everything to be as chill as possible in the recipe before you are ready to be assemble. We’ll bring this out once we are ready to assemble.

Biscoff sauce layer

If you’ve had biscoff cookie butter before, then you KNOW how thick it really is. I add warm milk to the cookie butter and whisk it. This makes the cookie butter sauce and becomes easily pourable. Cover this and stick it in the freezer too.

Ice cream Layer

While our coffee and sauce cools down, we are going to prepare our ice cream base.

First up, whip up condensed milk and cream cheese together for about 5 mins. After 5 mins it will look frothy and airy, and will also double up in volume. Stick this in the freezer too for 15 mins.

Bring out your whipping cream and whip till it gives you stiff peaks. Bring back the condensed milk mixture and add it to your whip cream. Gently whisk it together on the slowest possible setting of the electric beater. Or you can also use a spatula to fold the condensed milk in.

Now its time to assemble.

Assembling the Biscoff Ice cream cake

Bring the sauce and coffee out and let the show begin! I am using a 12 x 4 inch pan but you can also use a standard 9 x 5 bread loaf pan. I started by adding 3 ladles of ice cream on the base of my pan. Dropped about 4 tbsp of sauce on top of it.

And then dipped my lotus biscuits in cold coffee and placed it on top of sauce.

NOTE: Lotus biscoff cookies are very soft once they touch moisture. When you dip in coffee, just dip and remove immediately. DON’T let your biscuits sit in the coffee. Dip and remove, dip and remove.

Once you reach the top, give your loaf a good tap on the counter to get rid of any air pockets. Cover the pan with cling wrap and keep it in the freezer overnight.

To de-mold the cake, just flip it on the serving tray and run a warm towel around it. And then press the pan in the centre with your thumb. Sometimes it doesn’t work in one go, in which case repeat the process.

Drizzle leftover biscoff sauce all over your bar and some cookie crumbs or really any topping that you want to do.

Substitutes for ingredients if you live in Pakistan/India

• Philadelphia cream cheese – You can use Yogurt instead of cream cheese. Just put the yogurt through a tea strainer or a cheesecloth to get rid of all the water and use it.
• You can use Candi biscuit instead of Lotus if you live in Pakistan.
• You can skip the Lotus sauce and use chocolate sauce or caramel sauce instead.
• If you can’t find whipping cream, get a hold of regular tetra pak cream and whip it up in a cold steel bowl.

Other similar recipes that you may like

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

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Lotus Biscoff Ice cream Cake

A twist on the traditional ice cream cake, made by using Lotus cookies and Biscoff spread

Course Desserts

Cuisine Continental

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 day day

Total Time 1 day day 30 minutes minutes

Servings 15 servings

Calories 400kcal

Author Wajiha

Ingredients

Required materials

• A standard 9 x 5 inch bread loaf pan I used a 12 x 4 inch pan
• 4 bowls.
• A hand whisk and an electric whisk.
• Space in the freezer

Ice cream layer

• 3/4 cup Cream cheese 134 gms
• 2 cups Heavy whipping cream 450 ml
• 1 1/4 cup Condensed Milk a 400 gm can

Biscuit layer

• 2 Packets of Lotus Biscuits 500 gm
• 2 tbsp Instant Coffee powder
• 1 1/4 cup Water

Biscoff sauce layer

• 1/2 regular Biscoff cookie butter jar. 200 to 250 gms
• 3/4 cup Milk

Instructions

Biscuit Layer preparation

• In a bowl, add instant coffee powder and warm water. Mix until the coffee granules dissolve completely.
• Stick the bowl in the freezer while working on the next steps.
• Set your cookies aside for assembly

Biscoff Sauce Layer

• Take out biscoff cookie butter in another bowl.
• Heat milk in the microwave for a minute at high.
• Pour the milk on the cookie butter and hand whisk it to make a smooth sauce.
• Cover and keep the bowl in the freezer as well while proceeding to next step.

Ice cream layer

• Whip condensed milk and cream cheese with an electric hand mixer for about 5 mins or until it gets soft and fluffy.
• Keep in fridge till ready to assemble dessert.
• Whip the whipping cream at high speed until you see soft peaks and the cream is stable
• Add the whipped cream cheese and condensed milk in the whipping cream. Use the electric beater to combine everything together at low speed. Do not over beat once everything is mixed together.
• Keep mixture in the fridge if you aren’t ready to assemble immediately.

Assembling

• Bring everything out of the fridge/freezer.
• Start by adding a layer of Ice cream base on the bottom of the loaf pan. I used 3 ladles of ice cream mix for each layer. Spread out the ice cream base as evenly as possible.
• Drizzle the biscoff sauce all over the ice cream base. I used 4 to 5 tbsp of sauce for each layer
• Dip Biscoff cookies in the cold coffee and line on the top of the sauce. Don’t let the biscuits be dipped for very long. Just dip and remove immediately.
• Repeat all the layers of the dessert, preferably ending with the cookie and coffee layer.
• Cover the loaf with a cling wrap and keep in the freezer for 18+ hours.
• When you are ready to dish out, remove the loaf from the freezer and invert it on top of the serving tray.
• Run a towel dipped in hot water all around the edge and bottom of the loaf pan for a minute. Pick up loaf from the edge and press in the centre of the loaf. Repeat again if the ice cream cake doesn’t slide out.
• Once the ice cream slides out, Stick it back in the freezer for 10 mins to allow the edges to harden up again.
• Top it off by drizzling leftover cookie butter sauce and some Biscoff cookie crumbs.
• Slice and serve.
  

Notes

Substitutes

You can use strained yogurt instead of cream cheese
You can use caramel or chocolate sauce instead of lotus

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 242g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 700mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 41g

The post Easy to make Lotus Biscoff Ice cream cake appeared first on Butter Over Bae.