A Book Cake

I enjoyed baking this cake for my friend's son's Annaprasana - ceremony of a baby's transition to solid foods.

It was the right time to flip the page and embark upon a new chapter in his life.
Bookmarked for easy reference!

Cake: Pound cake
Frosting: Simple buttercream topped with homemade fondant
Picture: Printed with edible ink on sugar sheet

My first 3-D cake!

I wanted to make my husband’s 40th birthday a memorable event. Since he is very passionate about photography, I figured that a camera cake would be the perfect surprise for his special day!

It turned out well although some imperfections can be seen on the surface. But considering that it was my first time making and working with fondant, I was satisfied with the outcome.

My husband was in awe and even now adoringly remembers this memorable gift!

Making of the cake

My husband’s camera and camera-cake!

 

Tropical fruit salad

While browsing at the local Asian supermarket yesterday, I stumbled upon an exotic fruit which brought back memories – strolling in Hilo’s farmer market in Hawaii’s Big Island, when this fruit had first caught my eye.

One of the local farmer was happy to cut the fruit and let us sample it.  The mild sweetly-flavored white pulp inside was a strong contrast to the vibrant exterior, and tasted like a cross between a kiwi and a pear.

The Dragon fruit is a cactus fruit actually native to Central and South America. It comes in three varieties – red skin with red flesh, red skin with white flesh and yellow skin with white flesh. The pulp can be easily scooped off the skin. Low in calories and high in antioxidants, it is a good source of nutrition - Vitamin C, minerals (especially magnesium and phosphorus). They are also low in calories and high in fiber.

Best eaten raw and chilled, combine it with any tropical fruit and add a few pomegranate gems. It imparts color and a sweet-tart  crunch that goes well with sweet papaya and the dragon fruit.

The colorful peel can serve as a visually stunning platter!

Baby Shower Fruit Salad Surprise

My good friend Anisha’s baby shower was scheduled just 1 hour after I landed from a long India flight. She had postponed her shower as much as she could to have her few close friends and her family together all on the same day.  I just could hardly make it to the shower all jet-lagged, and could not do anything special for her that day.

On the positive side, since the baby shower had already happened, she was unlikely to expect another surprise. So the hope was that this Fruit-Salad for the wonderful couple Anisha and Shashi would be a pleasant surprise.

The party was impromptu – could not plan it till a perfect oval watermelon was found (not an easy task given most stores sell the round types). On finding one, we arranged for a potluck the same day with one fruit as a must-bring by everyone. My friend Anisha (without any insight into what was going on) asked me if we could wait till the weekend for the potluck…Well, it was the beginning of the week and I was sure the watermelon could not last that long! Luckily I knew how to get her in…her favorite dessert!

My wonderful friends cooked up great dishes in a jiffy at such a short notice, while still wondering what the urgent need of potluck was that day. We cut up the fruit together, with Anisha just watching a basic fruit salad being made. While she was kept busy talking, the fruit was assembled in the watermelon carriage along with the apricot baby in a lettuce blanket, and presented to the couple.

The smiles on their faces just made everybody’s day!

Aren’t Baby showers fun to give!

Blackberry Ice Cream

With so many flavors of ice cream available in the market, one may wonder why make it yourself. Well, there is something so special about homemade ice cream…you can customize the flavor with your favorite ingredients like fruits, chocolate, chips, nuts and control the consistency to make it either super-rich, or low-fat depending on dietary needs. And it is such a fun activity for the kids! They can decide what they want to mix in it and are very excited to try the outcome.

With blackberries at their season's peak, its the perfect time to indulge in blackberry desserts. In the Northwest, blackberry season spans the end of summer and the beginning of fall. We have big beautiful blackberries all around the neighborhood. It was fun picking the juiciest ripest blackberries.

The beautiful purple color the berries left on my hand already set my mind imagining the rich purple color the ice cream would be. And after an hour there it was, right in front of my eyes, exactly the way I imagined!

Luscious purple colored ice cream is such a visual treat! And the rich creamy taste of the ice cream infused with the sweet tartness of the berries is just divine!

I made this ice cream in an ice cream maker but it can be also made if you do not have one.

Recipe

Ingredients (around 6 scoops)

• 1 cup whole milk
• 2/3 cup half and half
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups blackberries

Method

• Process blackberries in a mixer till pureed
• Strain the puree through a fine sieve, and discard seeds
• Combine milk and sugar. Mix till the sugar is completely dissolved
• Mix it with half and half, whipping cream and strained blackberry puree
• Process the mixture in ice cream machine.

If you don’t have an Ice Cream Maker …

• Chill the mixture in refrigerator for 3-4 hours
• Pour the mixture in a freezer safe container, cover and freeze for an hour
• Remove from the freezer, and stir to break up the ice crystals that may have formed
• Repeat the process every hour for 3-4 hours, or until the ice cream is firm

Scoop your ice cream into bowls or cones and enjoy!

Sending this to Sanghi’s FIL event.