Chocolate Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

5 tbsp butter/ghee (at room temperature)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 all purpose flour/maida
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

PREPARATION METHOD:

1. Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate the dough for 30 mins.
2. Preheat oven to 300 F/150 C.
3. Make gulab jamun size balls out of the above dough and place on a baking tray with nearly 3 inch gap between each cookie.
4. Place broken almonds in the centre of every ball by slightly pressing into the ball and place it in the oven and bake it for 20 min or until done.
5. You can press the ball a little before baking if you want the cookies crispy.
6. But this is the best texture for this kind of cookies!!
7. ..................................................................................................

4 minutes- Lemon Vanilla Custard Microwave Cake INGREDIENTS: Flour - 1 cup Sugar - 1 cup Custard powder (any brand of your choice) - 4 tsp Eggs - 2 Lemon rind - of 2 lemons Butter - 100gms Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Baking powder - 1 tsp PREPARATION METHOD: First melt the butter in microwave for less than a minute/ or just warm it in a pan. Don't boil it. Grate the lemon rind and avoid the white part of the skin. Mix all the dry ingredients and then add to it the beaten eggs.Mix it well in one direction. Later, add vanilla essence and lemon rind to the batter.And mix it well in one direction Now put the batter into a greased microwave proof dish. Just tap the dish 2-3 times to release the trapped air bubbles. Microwave the cake for 4 mins. After 4 mins,switch off your microwave.And let it stand for about 10mins inside the microwave.Then take out the dish and insert a toothpick into it.If the toothpick comes out neat then the cake is done. Take a fork/cutlery knife and insert it around the edges of the cake.Then take a plate and put it over the microwave dish and invert it.  The cake should slide on to the plate. Your cake is ready to serve!! .................................................. INGREDIENTS: Choco powder- 5 tbsp (sieved) Milk Powder- 1 1/4 cup (sieved) Sugar- 2/3 cup (if you want it a little sweeter you can add a little more sugar) Water- 1/2 cup Butter- 1/4 cup (I used 1/3 part of a 100 gm butter stick (unsalted) PREPARATION METHOD: Boil the water and add sugar to it. Let it boil till one thread consistency. Add the butter and let it melt and mix well. Then switch off the gas add (sieved) choco powder & milk powder.I added 4-5 table spoon at a time and mixed it without forming lumps. Mix the mixture till it is glossy. Now spread it on a greased plate.Use a spatula to make the surface smooth. Keep it at room temperature for 15 mins and then keep it in the refrigerator for another 15-20 mins. Then you can use your cookie cutters to cut the chocolate in desired shapes. Your chocolates are ready to eat . ..:) ................................................................................................................................... Decorating a Perfectly Baked Cake: A special celebration deserves a special cake. Therefore decorating a cake becomes a major prerequisite. To start with, look up for the following. 1-Levelling the Cake: Even before decorating your cake, level your cake to get a more professional look. Place the cake on a cake stand and slowly rotate it. Using a cake leveler or a serrated knife, remove the crown and even the cake. Cut it into slices and layer some sugar syrup and icing cream to get the look. 2-Icing a Cake: Real fun in making a cake comes into picture only with a perfect cake icing. Icing on the cake can be done by fondant icing, butter cream icing, royal icing, crumb coatings etc. The ingredients for a general icing mix include icing sugar, water, flavouring essence, and desired food colour. 3-Prepare A Consistent Icing Mix: To prepare a perfect spreading on your cake, spoon some icing sugar and add some water in a proper ratio (i.e. 3 to 4 spoons of sugar and one spoon of hot water). Icing can be stiff (used for floral decorations and string works), medium (for borders) or thin (for writings, vines and leaf decorations). Now if you wish to have a white icing leave it so, else add few drops of your desired food colour. In general the food colour can be chosen based on the theme of celebration. If you are satisfied with the consistency, add some essence, refrigerate it and then work with it. 4-Decorating Bags and Nozzles: Decorating bags like the featherweight, disposable and parchment bags are available each with a particular size specification. Decorating nozzles are fitted to these bags using joints called couplers. Tips/nozzles are small metal cones that can produce your choice of icing designs. These can be round, leaf like, flower drops, star and even multiple opening tips. A bag filled with icing and a tip positioned at an angle can produce beautiful cake decorations perfect for any celebration. Finally share your perfectly textured soft, well decorated cake with your loved ones to cherish the warmth of your celebration.