Cheesecake brownies

I had been so busy with things that I had no time to sit and write a blog post for a long time. But today being my blog anniversary I felt the need to update it and to thank my readers for keeping visiting the site even when I had been MIA. This dessert was a treat Aishwarya made for her Mom and Dad who couldn't decide on a single dessert. She asked us our choice of dessert she would like to make for us and I said I wanted a cheese cake and Jai wanted a brownie. So our sweet little girl as she didn't want to disappoint either one of us found this and made this. It is sweet and wonderful as our little darling!
Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Blogaversary Sugar 'N Spice!
And once again a big THANKS to all my wonderful readers!

 Cheese cake part:

Ingredients

1 packages (8oz) cream cheese (I recommend Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
Method:
Beat all filling ingredients together until well mixed and set aside.

Brownie part:

Ingredients

1 box of Ghirardelli brownie mix
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup water
1 egg

Method:
Mix ingredients until well blended. Pour into a 9"x13" greased pan.

After you have poured the brownie batter into your greased pan, start adding spoonfuls of the cream cheese layer to about 6 points spread out on the brownie layer. Then use a knife or spoon and drag it length-wise across the pan at about four points. Next, go cross-wise in the pan about 4 times. You should start seeing the marbled pattern of brownie and cream cheese combining. Do this a few more times. Repeat till you finish all the cream cheese.

Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly dry (keeping in mind that the cream cheese layer may stick a little more to the toothpick than batter).

Enjoy!

Wheat Halwa

Wishing all my friends a Happy Diwali. Here is a delicious wheat halwa to sweeten your day! 

Recipe source:Rakskitchen
Ingredients:
Whole wheat (Wheat berries) - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 & 1/2 cup
Cashew nut - 8
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Cardamom- few

Method
Wash and soak the wheat berries overnight(or 8 hrs). Drain the water, grind it with 1/2 cup water till smooth. Strain it using a large metal strainer. Grind the remaining unground with another 1/2 cup water. Strain through a metal strainer.
Keep the collected milk from the ground wheat aside for 30 minutes undisturbed. Drain the excess water. Heat  a heavy bottom nonstick pan, add 1 tbsp of ghee and fry broken cashew nuts until golden brown and  set aside. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tbsp of water to it. Continue heating in medium flame, keep stirring. Sugar will melt, and  turn golden. At this point you should put the flame to low. Make sure you stir all the time when the sugar syrup turns golden in color. Then add 1 cup water (it may splutter at this point so be careful). Stir well so that the caramelized sugar gets dissolved, it will take a few minutes.
Now add the remaining sugar and mix until it dissolves. Continue boiling until you get one string consistency.  Be careful not to miss the consistency, make sure you do it in medium flame otherwise you will get burfi instead of halwa. Add the drained wheat milk.
Keep mixing as you are pouring. The color will change as the milk gets cooked.
Now start adding ghee little by little, say one tbsp at a time and mix until the ghee gets mixed with the halwa  It will absorb (incorporate the ghee)  as you mix and stir for a minute and repeat the process.
At one stage, the ghee will not be absorbed anymore, it will remain as such. All this process should be done in medium heat stirring all the while.  When the whole halwa sticks to your laddle you are stirring with and rotates freely,  add  cashew nuts. Do not switch off now.The texture will be too soft like porridge. Keep stirring until you see whitish spots appear in the halwa. The whole halwa will start turning slightly pale and the ghee will start to ooze out. Mix in the cardamom powder.
Spread the halwa over a greased plate and let it cool down. Optionally you can cut it into pieces or spoon it as such to serving bowls.  

Triple -Layer White Cake With Orange Curd Filling And Frosting

This delicious cake is what I baked to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. This cake is refreshing and delicious. If you are an orange lover you are gonna love this.
Ingredients:
Frosting
3 cups Heavy whipping cream
1 tsp Orange extract
3/4 cup Powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups Orange curd I used store bought
Method:
Using both a chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream until frothy.
Add the icing sugar and extract gradually while beating.
Whip until light and a thick enough consistency to spread as an icing. Mix in 1/4 cup of orange curd to the whipped cream. If you want to stabilize the cream add 1 tsp of bloomed gelatin to it 
Use immediately.
Cake
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 1/4 cups plus 2/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg whites

Method:
For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Whisk oil and egg yolks in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in sour cream, then milk, orange peel, and vanilla. Whisk in dry ingredients in 3 additions. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 2/3 cup sugar, beating until whites are stiff but not dry; fold into batter in 4 additions. Divide batter among prepared pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 5 minutes. Cut around pan sides. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on 8-inch tart pan bottom or platter. Spread 1 cup curd over. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread 1 cup curd over. Top with third cake layer, flat side down. Cover; refrigerate assembled cake.

Rustic Chocolate Cake

Recipe Adapted from: Food Network
This chocolate cake is sinfully moist and favorable and is easy to put together. Aishwarya  turned 14 today and she wanted a chocolate cake. As I was pretty busy today I made this chocolate cake which required very little effort. Don't be put off by its rustic look.
Ingredients
Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows
Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoon heavy cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake. I decorated the cake with some m&m's and dripped on some melted chocolate

Chocolate Frosting:
Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cream dissolved with coffee powder after slightly warming the cream and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.On low speed, add the chocolate to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.