Tiramisu Whole Wheat Layered Cake

I got a slice of Tiramisu cake from the local French Bakery on a day out with my little girl, we shared that single slice happily one evening never realizing that we would have a whole cake all to ourselves the very next day. I couldn't resist recreating it at home. I made the 2 layers of cake with whole wheat flour, layered with one layer of lady fingers and some custard/frosting in between. It is not the traditional Tiramisu custard in the sense that I did not use Mascarpone cheese at all. Omitted that all together and instead just used home whipped cream along with the egg custard to give it some volume and lightness. But if you do have some Mascarpone cheese to spare, then by all means add that instead of the whipped cream. It would result in a richer and creamier custard.
The layers in this cake synced up harmoniously and it just complimented each other just perfectly. Just like a regular Tiramisu, it is best eaten the next day, being in the refrigerator overnight marries all the layers and flavors well.

The littlest person in the house was ready for a tasting even before I could get it all assembled. She went on "repeat" with "Can I eat it now?" for the whole time I spent making it.

And she ended loving it! Yippie!







Tiramisu Whole Wheat Layered Cake 

Ingredients:

For the custard/frosting:
Eggs - 5
Sugar - 3/4 cup (Or a 1/4 cup more if you want it sweeter)
Pure Vanilla - 1 tsp
Whipping cream - 1 cup

For the ladyfinger's layer:
Lady fingers - 10-12 (more or less depending on the size of the pan)
Instant Coffee - 2 tsp
Warm water - 1 cup

For the cake:
Whole wheat pastry flour - 1 cup
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Vegetable oil - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup mixed + Instant coffee - 2 tbsp (mixed together)
Baking soda -  1/2 tsp
Pure vanilla - 1 tsp

Method:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix both the flour, baking soda and cocoa powder and keep aside.
Beat the oil and the eggs till the eggs become light in color. Add the sugar and whisk well.
Add the water to the instant coffee powder till well combined. Mix into the egg mixture along with the vanilla.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk just until well combined. Do not overmix.
Pour into a 8" round pan and bake at 350F for about 40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from pan after baking and set it down on a cooking rack till the cake is completely cool. You may alternatively set it in a refrigerator after it reaches room temperature.
After chilled, removed and slice the cake into two halves. Set aside.

For the custard/frosting:

In a double boiler, in a simmer, whisk the egg yolks and sugar on the top bowl till it is pale in color. Add in vanilla essence. Cool this thoroughly.
Whip the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl separately and slowly add into the custard mixture.
Whip everything well. Set in the refrigerator to cool.

For the assembly:

Take an 8" spring form pan of your choice that will fit the cake perfectly and is about 3"-4" in height.
Lay one half of the cake on the bottom and layer on a-third of the custard/frosting evenly.
Dip the lady fingers in the coffee for the next layer and lay close to each other one by one.
Now, for another layer of frosting/custard.
Lay the other half of the cake and press down gently. Spoon in the last layer of the custard/frosting on top and make sure it is even. Tap down very gently.
Cover the pan with a plastic wrap or a plate and set it in the refrigerator overnight to chill. This is mandatory for best taste and texture.



The next day, sift on some cocoa powder evenly on the cake. Open the latch on the spring form pan. Cut out a slice and enjoy!

Banana Popsicles dipped in Chocolate and Nuts

Ice-cream is such a dangerous thing to have "on hand"! The oh-so-easy snack, comforting and indulgent. Now, with so many kinds of them... Lowfat, FatFree, LowSugar, SugarFree, LowCarb, Heart Healthy and many more, an average person no wonder gets overwhelmed.
I take time to read each and every ice cream's nutritional facts before settling on one, seems like an awful lot of time to be reading some label, but here is why it is important.
Most of the fatfree stuff has tons of sugar in them, I don't know why, but they seem to be compensating the lack of grease with sugar! And then there is the story about artificial sweeteners, the jury is still out on that. But either way doesn't help. The fat content is something that needs to be taken into account too.

Every child reserves the right to a nutritious and healthy food, why feed him/her junk, greasy, sugary stuff in the name of fast-food then? Why would one opt for such a lifestyle for your own kid? Beats me...

So, when your child asks for an ice cream the next time(I am not for denying a child the little pleasures, but moderation is what I suggest), if possible make a home-made low sugar and fat version at home. But if you are one who says "Wish I had more time and resources to be making ice creams at home" then this is something you'd want to consider.

Firstly, the bananas when frozen do not get hard. They are still soft and chewable.
I used a combination of dark and semi-sweet chocolate this time, and I am going completely dark the next time. I was not sure how this was going to turn out, so opted the easy way out by mixing both.
If you are making this for children, I don't think they would be enamored by the dark chocolate taste, so go for semi-sweet all the way.
It is very important to freeze bananas completely before dipping them in chocolate and after. Skimping on time will end in a mess. They stay frozen for a long time, so make sure to make lots of them and store them in the freezer in bags for a quick treat any time of the day.



Banana Popsicles dipped in Chocolate and Nuts

Ingredients:

Bananas - 5 large
Dark/Semi-sweet chocolate - 1 cup
Fatfree Half and Half milk- 2 tbsp
Chopped Nuts (Almonds/Peanuts/Walnuts/Pistachios) - As needed

Hardware:
Skewers or Ice-cream sticks - 10 (break off sharp tip if using skewers)
Tray
Wax paper

Method:

Cut bananas in half, insert an ice-cream stick into each one. Lay it on a tray lined with wax paper and freeze for about 4-5 hours. I freeze them overnight. They need to be really cold and frozen before the next step.

Melt chocolate and milk over a double boiler, the top bowl should not touch the water below.



Keep stirring the chocolate till it becomes silky smooth.

Take the bananas right when you are going to make the dipping, not before that.

Dip or spread the chocolate onto the bananas and immediately sprinkle or roll in chopped nuts.

Lay it flat on a wax paper on a tray and freeze again for 3 hours or till the chocolate has hardened.

To store, you may store it in freezer bags once they are completely frozen.

Makes a great snack for kids and for the kid in you!

Pistachio Ice cream - Instant and fat-free

This is my last ice cream recipe for this season. Not many are fond of cold stuff in the already freezing weather, and I don't expect to be as crazy as I am, so I have put ice cream making on hold till next summer :(
So, if you are still reading this blog, and if I am still writing :P(which I hope to) next year, you will definitely see some good stuff in the Ice cream category.

Other low fat ice creams here:

Rasamalai Ice cream
Banana choco-nut ice cream

Check out the Meme at the end of this post. Pathetic!

Pistachio Ice cream - Instant and fat-free

Ingredients:

Skim milk - 4 cups
Pistachio Jello Instant pudding - 1 packet (I used the sugar-free, fat-free kind)
Sugar - 3 tsp
Pistachios or Almonds - 1/4 cup chopped
Saffron - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Blend all the ingredients, except the nuts in a blender till creamy and frothy.

Pour into an ice cream maker and let it do its thing for about 20-25 minutes.

Add nuts one minute before turning off the machine.

Best served immediately at soft-serve stage. Freeze for later use.



Usha and Uj have tagged me for a Meme about sharing 7 facts about me.

The rules of the tag are:
(a) List these rules on your blog.
(b) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
(c) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

7 facts about me:

1. Like to cook (Obviously)
2. Like to bake even more (Lesser pots and pans, lesser cleaning up)
3. Like to bake desserts in particular (Blame it on the sweet tooth er... teeth?)
4. Like chocolate in my desserts in some form (Who doesn't?)
5. Like if nuts are added to chocolate (I am nuts about nuts!)
6. Like it if I had it all to myself (Sigh!)
7. Like it if I did not have to work out after eating all that :(

I, in turn tag:

Adam
Curry Leaf
Prudy
Madhuram
Mitr Ideas
Mahimaa
Happy Cook

If you have already done this, pardon my ignorance and pls link back to the tag, so everyone can see it.

This goes to Divya's Diet foods event

Rasamalai Ice cream - Say cheese for low-fat!

Got you curious, didn't I? :)
Rasamalai, ice cream and that too low-fat, sounds too good to be true, right?
Yes, I am putting all those three magic words in one sentence.

You might quickly want to check out the basic recipe from my blog for Fat-free Quick Rasamalai
The same ingredients from that recipe go into making this yellow delight. Only colder and creamer this time.
I used fat-free half-and-half milk the first time, and another day I used evaporated milk, both were pretty comparable. If you are feeling particularly indulgent, then you may use full-fat condensed milk.

Did you know that evaporated milk is basically condensed milk minus the sugar? All that stickiness is actually from sugar and sugar alone!

Talking of which, another great substitute would be Fat-free condensed milk, but it is loaded with sugar, you may want to cut down on the sugar that you add separately.
Since you add ricotta cheese, it will end up creamy either way.

Believe me, it is way too easy to make (as you can see from my instructions below) and the most delicious thing my ice-cream maker has churned up for a cold breezy fall day. Brrr!
People talk about eating ice cream on a hot summer day, and how cooling it is and stuff. But I for one, like to have ice creams on a cold day... rain would be an additional bonus!
How is that for being different? (I can envision a few of you frowning already!)

Low fat Rasamalai Ice cream

Fat-free/ Low-fat Ricotta Cheese - 2 cups
Sugar/Splenda - 1/2 to 1 cup (Depending on how sweet you want it)
Fat-free half-and-half milk/Evaporated milk - 2 cups
Skim milk - 1 to 2 cups (Depending on the quantity your ice cream maker can hold)
Slivered almonds and pistachios - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg - A pinch
Saffron - 1/4 tsp crushed

Method:

Dump all of the ingredients into a blender except the nuts.



Blend till smooth, frothy and creamy. Couple of minutes.



Pour into an ice-cream maker, and let it do its thing for about 20-30 min. Add the nuts one minute before you turn the ice cream maker off.
You may eat it as soft-serve immediately or freeze it for a harder scoop. Like all other ice creams, you may have to thaw it out a little before eating (if you freeze it), or if your freezer is set to simulate "Arctic" temperatures like mine :)



This goes to Divya's Diet foods event

Banana choco-nut ice cream: Low fat

There are two kinds of people in this world - People who are chocolate lovers, and people who are vanilla lovers.

I have been wanting one for so long, an ice-cream maker... I used to think of all the low fat ice creams that I could create and not having to buy those tubs from the grocery store to satiate my cravings for ice creams (which is almost every other day!) :)
Yes, I love ice creams and I am never hesitant to admit it. I had a big thing for chocolate ice creams, but as my tastes buds evolve, I lean more towards vanilla these days. But chocolate with nuts beats them all.

As I was looking for recipes on the internet to make a low fat version which was still creamy, I found that there is a real dearth of good low fat recipes online. Most of them are made with tons of egg yolks (I am not against it completely, but it beats the purpose of trying of making it as healthy as possible)
So one day I hear "Alton Brown" (I am a huge fan of this show) of the Food Network mention in some episode that bananas are a good substitute for eggs since they give the same consistency.
And that is how this was born... my own creation, and it is spoon-licking-good.
It is best served in soft-serve stage, but you could freeze it for later use.

Home-made Banana choco-nut ice cream: Low fat

Ingredients:

Frozen bananas - 2 (Remove skin before freezing)
Fat free Evaporated milk - One 15oz can
Skim milk - 2 cups
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Sugar/Splenda - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips & Chopped walnuts - 3/4 cup

Method:

Blend the frozen bananas with the milk in a blender till creamy, and then add rest of the ingredients except the nuts and chocolate chips.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and run it for about 25-30 min. Follow your ice-cream maker instructions as to how much of the mixture it can hold.
I pour 3/4ths of the way up.



The mixture would have turned into a soft-serve by now. Add the nuts and chocolate chips just one minute before turning off the machine.

There you have it! Home-made Banana choco-nut ice cream that is low in fat and sugar.
Note: If any of you come across good "relatively" healthy ice cream recipes, do send across the link to me, and I will definitely try it out.



Sending it to Lore's Original recipe event



Thanks Cham for pointing it out to me. I am also sending this to Meeta's Monthly Mingle August 2008: Fruit & Chocolate