Whole-wheat Chocolate Linzer cake - Photography in the dark

Any good food photographer will stress the importance of good lighting when one is doing food photography. (I am not one!) But what does a person like me do when the sun just won't shine???
With the cold gloomy winter setting in (if you have ever been/lived in the Pacific NW, then you would empathize with me) , taking photographs of food is getting challenging every day. I just have a normal digital camera, and I am so lost.
I have seen the food lighting project in a few blogs, but I just haven't got around to figuring it out, unless someone would do it for me. ;)
And the "white balance" feature in the camera just makes the food look eerie. LOL.

I would love to hear from you, how do you take good pictures when the right amount of lighting is not there?
I will update this post with good suggestions and ideas as I get them, that way everyone can benefit.

Few Updates: (For the rest, pls check the "comments" section)
I would have loved to link back to you guys (like I normally do), but the "post options" is screwed up right now in blogger! So frustrating!

"Priya of Akshayapatram": Lighting is a major problem and you can never beat good sunlight. I made the lighting system based on Lowel ego lights following Jai's instructions. It works very well, but I find it bulky to move around my apartment, as I don't have a dedicated place to set it up in. For now its lying on my bedroom floor and I usually don't have the patience to carry the food there to set it up and take photos. So size it based on your needs.
I have been managing at my kitchen counter with the tube lights ON,white light is the best! Planning on getting a smaller lamp that will be brighter, use a thin paper to diffuse the light coming out of table lamps though to avoid its harshness. You could also make use of the thermacol pieces that come with packages to bounce the light off surfaces to get good shadows/even lighting.
And then there is always an editing/post processing software to help you out a little. If you have a decently good capture, you can make it work by adjusting the brightness/contrast/exposure settings on it.

"Purva of Purva's Daawat": Softwares like picasa helps you making adjustments in the brightness of your picture.

"PG of My Kitchen stories": Try to optimise the colour balance in Adobe photoshop. It does no magic, but you can improve them a bit.

"Nirmala of Passionate Trials": Install a photo editor like Gimp (free) or Photoshop and you can add brightness to your photos very easily.

"Uma of Essence of Andhra": When you want to take a picture at night, just switch off the light in the room! Then switch on the flash of the camera and click the photo. You'll definitely get a perfect picture. I clicked a few pictures using this method and they are just perfect and bright. Will post those pics soon!

Cake, my dear loving cake... (I had ample sunlight when I took these pics, so I am not complaining about this one)

This is a cake modification of the "Austrian Linzer tart" recipe, and I have tried to take on a guilt free variation with a "no-butter", and "less-sugar" version made entirely with 100% whole wheat flour. What better than indulging in a cake without having to worry about your waistline!

Whole-wheat Chocolate Linzer cake

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 2 round cake pans (maybe 8-9" diameter)/line them with parchment paper.

Dry Ingredients:

100% whole wheat pastry flour - 3/4 cup (Try not to use the regular whole wheat flour, unless you want a very dense cake)
Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Wet Ingredients:

Whole almonds - 2/3 cup
Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp
Skim milk - 2 tbsp
Almond extract - 3/4 tsp
Large eggs - 4 (Separated, meaning white and yolks in separate bowls)
Sugar - 3/4 cups (I use a little less)
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

For finishing:

Strawberry preserves - 3/4 cup
Confectioner's sugar - Just enough to cover the top of the cake
Fresh strawberries - As many as you like!



Method:

Sift all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Take the egg whites and beat them on low speed in a hand mixer till soft peaks form, slowly add 1/4 cup sugar and beat till you get stiff peaks.

Grind the almonds in a food processor, then add the milk, almond extract and vegetable oil and pulse till it forms a wet mass.

Beat the egg yolks & 1/2 cup of sugar separately in a bowl till the mixture turns pale yellow and creamy. Add vanilla essence.

Now add the almond mixture and mix till incorporated with the egg yolk mixture. Then add the flour mixture and fold/mix evenly.

Add one-third of the beaten egg whites and fold into the above mixture. Do not beat/whisk (as tough as it may be), then add the rest of the egg whites and fold till the batter looks even.

Divide equally into the two prepped pans and tap gently to settle the air bubbles.



Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 min, turn the pans midway, then bake for another 10 min.
Cool completely on a cake rack for atleast an hour.



Spread the strawberry preserves evenly on top of one cake, and then place the other cake on top and press firmly.
I did have pre-powdered sugar with cardamom (Indian spice) and it co-ordinated pretty well with the cake.
Dust the powdered sugar on top and decorate with fresh strawberries. Cut yourself a slice and enjoy!



This goes to:

Aparna's Blog anniversary
Mansi's Vegetarian Thanksgiving
Not Quite Nigella's The Ultimate Chocolate Cake
DK's AWED American

Semolina Bread Loaf - Amateur's delight

What is Semolina to a lot of people, is good old Sooji/Ravai to many of us.
It is also predominantly used to make pastas of different shapes and sizes. When one could make so much out of it, why not bread?

The last time I did a bread post, the most comments I got were how daunting bread making was to most of them. I really wanted to make something that was approachable and doable by even someone who is just starting out. So here it is, this time I forbid you from leaving comments that you can't do this :)

If you have never tried making bread before, this is a great place to start. And if you are a bread maker in the family, then this is something you should never miss.

For someone who is into healthy food like me, it may not be as "healthy" as whole wheat flour, but it does come out light, fluffy and has a beautiful light yellow tinge to it. How can one resist that?

Semolina flour should be available in the flour aisle of your grocery store, but I doubt there would be a pantry that uses Indian provisions where Semolina/Sooji/Ravai is missing!
So grab that, and grind it into a fine powder. It is sometimes difficult to achieve that because they are still coarse after grinding. If you have a heavy duty blender, sure give it a shot. I just got mine from the store. It was way easier.
But even the semolina flour that I got from the store, was a little coarse (texture was like fine granulated sugar)
I found the recipe from here, but the method I have followed is slightly different, and hence the detailed procedure in this post.

Go ahead, be bold, give it a try. I have tried to explain step-wise with pictures for your benefit.
Bread making doesn't have to be daunting anymore. Go girls and boys!

Semolina Bread Loaf

Ingredients:

Semolina flour - 3 1/4 cups (finely ground)
Warm water - 1 1/2 cups
Instant yeast - 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Olive oil - 1/4 cup
Celtic sea salt - 1 1/2 tsp (Or to taste) (Can substitute with regular salt)

Method:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water and set aside for 5 minutes. It will froth up.

Add the flour, olive oil and salt and mix well.

Knead for about 15 minutes by hand till you get a smooth ball. Dust with flour if needed.



Coat with a teaspoon of oil, cover and let rise for 2 hours.

Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

After 2 hours the dough would double in size.



Take it out, folder over three or four times. There is no need to punch it down.

Roll into the size of the loaf pan, place it seam side down into the pan. Cover and let rise for about 1-2 hours. This method is called proofing.

Preheat oven to 375F.

When you see the dough spilling over the sides of the pan after rising, it is time to bake it off.



Bake it for 35-45 minutes, and the crust should be golden brown.



Remove from loaf pan, and let it rest for about an hour.
You may store this at room temperature for about 3 days, and store in the refrigerator for longer. I doubt if one can keep their hands off of this bread! Tastes divine.





This goes to:

Susan's Yeast Spotting
Mansi's Vegetarian Thanksgiving
Boaz's Bread Baking Day #14: Colored Breads
Suganya's Vegan ventures

Tofu Fennel Veggie skewers - Cookbook win

It does feel good to win something, especially a cookbook for a foodie like me.
Sra had this wonderful event "My legume love affair" last month. I did send my recipes like I do for any normal event, and then came the pleasant surprise that I won a cookbook for the event. I did not even know there was a giveaway until then.
Thanks Curry Leaf for letting me know about the win first, and for sharing the enthusiasm :)
The winning legumey recipe I sent in for the event was Garbanzo beans & Potato Cutlet

Let's talk some skewers, grills and fennel...

Grill pan would be an ideal choice for making skewered vegetables, but it not necessary. I used a normal griddle, and worked out just fine. You may alternatively also try roasting in the oven.

Skewers are normally made from wood, and need to be soaked in water before punching in the veggies. Otherwise you will end up burning the skewers from the heat.
Nobody likes burnt wood on the vegetables now, do they?



Fennel bulbs have a mild anise flavor and are commonly mislabelled as "anise" in some supermarkets. When buying fennel bulb, look for a white bulb with nice bright green thin leaves (like in the picture above, yeah I did cut off the top before I realized I wanted to take a picture).
The bulb is basically inflated leaf bases and are layered (like an onion)
Fennel seeds are commonly used in Indian cooking for seasoning or as a spice.
Another one of my recipes, that uses fennel is Egg Puffs.

Tofu Fennel Veggie skewers

Ingredients:

Firm tofu - 1 package
Fennel - A bulb
Carrots - One or two
Green bell pepper - 1 large
Red onions - 1 large
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - To taste
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Wooden skewers

Method:

Cut all the veggies into large cubes.



Drain water completely off the tofu, wrap in towel and place an heavy object on it for about 15 min.
Cut tofu into the same size as the veggies into cubes, and toss together with salt, oil, pepper, turmeric and red chilly powder till completely coated with spices and oil.

I like to roast my tofu in the oven at 425F for 20-30 min before skewering. That way my tofu is well cooked and the veggies are a little raw and get grilled only after skewering.

Skewer all the vegetables and tofu, and grill them on a pan till the sides are brown and roasted.
Another option if you don't have a skewer or a grill pan would be to toss all the veggies and tofu into a hot wok and saute.

Serve hot with rice or noodles.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

My second pumpkin dish in a row :) This is exactly the opposite of the Roasted Pie-Pumpkin spicy chutney I made a few days back. Time for something sweet, and something chocolate!
It just made me realize how versatile the pumpkin as a vegetable is, very few vegetables could boast of being that, tasting good in a dessert as well as a hot and savory dish.

Two thumbs up to Adam from whom I adapted this recipe... I made this the very same day he did the post. Well, it did take some time for me to post it, due to blah, blah, blah... but nevertheless here it is.
The only sad thing was I did not have any ice cream to go with it that day. Warm soft chewy brownies with cold vanilla ice cream melting on top. My taste buds just go bonkers over it.
But otherwise, it was great by itself.

Just a quick tip, whatever kind of brownies you are making, it is advisable to use a spatula to mix all the ingredients together. Using a hand mixer will incorporate air into the mix, and the brownie will end up like cake. Brownies are naturally dense, so keep them thick and soft.

I did make some small changes with the flour, cream cheese, butter, and sugar, so I have given the recipe below for the brownies you see in the picture.
If you like pumpkins and chocolate, this is your kind of dessert.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Ingredients:

For the Pumpkin Cheesecake layer:

Fat free cream cheese - 8oz.
Pumpkin puree - 3/4 cup
Egg yolk- 1 (you will use up the white for the brownie part)
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder- 1/8 tsp

For the Brownie Layer:

Whole wheat pastry flour - 1/2 cup
Unsalted butter - 2 oz.
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Espresso - 1 tsp
Semisweet chocolate chips - 4 oz + 4 oz
Eggs - 1 whole, and 1 egg white
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Walnuts - 1/2 cup (chopped)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a 8" square pan and set aside.

Take the softened cream cheese and sugar and cream together with the help of a hand blender. For about 4-5 minutes.
Add pumpkin puree and the egg yolk. Then the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder goes in. The resulting mixture will be somewhat thin, you may want to check the consistency as you add the pumpkin puree. Stop when you think it gets too watery.
I used about 3/4 cup and the batter was still a little thin.
Refrigerate this mixture until you make the brownie layer. It does help to thicken slightly.

For the brownie, melt the butter and add 4oz. of chocolate chips to that and keep stirring. I did this in a microwave, checking at regular intervals. Chocolate burns faster in a microwave. Keep stirring till it is glossy and let it slightly cool.



Now add the sugar, keep mixing. Then add eggs and vanilla and mix well with a rubber spatula.

In another bowl, sift together the whole wheat pastry flour, espresso and baking powder.

Toss the dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture, mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Add the walnuts and the rest of the chocolate chips (4oz.)and fold in.

Take the greased pan, pour in the brownie mix, then pour the pumpkin cheesecake mix on top.



Bake for about 45 min. Check the middle with a toothpick. Bake until it comes out clean. Do not overbake.





This goes to:

Aparna's Blog anniversary
and
Art You Eat #5 - Autumn Edition