MAYAZ'S DO NUTS

I Call them do nuts simply because they're smell drives me nuts and takes me back in my childhood. Fist time ever I had a dough nut was in Florida fort Walton beach. we were on our summer vacations in 1983. Our uncle brought dough nuts every single day on his way back from work. The taste and smell has ever since stuck with me. I remember having them everyday sitting on a garden chair in his back yard and enjoy almost all the box. Yet it always seemed I'd not had enough of them. so as I grew older kept looking for the right recipe of it so instead of spending too much money I could just make plenty of them at home and have my own toppings. Have tried a lot of recipes and than came across this recipe which was easy to make and gave really good results my kids loved helping in making them as always and enjoyed them afterwards too. My advice while making these would be don't panic if they are a bit big in size or small in size just follow your instincts about the size and shapes. Its the taste of your food that would make it desirable to eat rather then size and shape of it. Its of course an added bonus to know how to present it. Hope you will have good family times making these...!

INGREDIENTS:-

• 250 ml/8.8 fluid oz Yogurt
• 170g/6 oz Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 45g Butter melted
• 500g Plain flour
• 2 Tbsp Baking powder
• 60g more flour for dusting
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 litre oil for frying
• icing sugar for dusting if not using any other topping.

METHOD:-

1. Add eggs and sugar to a bowl and whisk them at high speed if using electric beater or whisk briskly till it changes its color and looks pale and fluffy.
2. Then add yogurt,vanilla extract,salt,and melted butter and mix lightly.
3. In a Bowl add all the dry ingredients and sieve before adding to the egg and sugar mixture.
4. combine well just enough to bring the dough together not too much or the dough nuts will turn out too hard.
5. Dust some flour on the work top and on your hands.
6. Now roll the 1/4 of your dough to 1/2cm thickness roughly.
7. Use any round pastry cutter or a cap or bottle anything that's easily accessible and can be used to cut the shape out of your choice.
8. Cut all the doughnuts till there in no more dough is left.
9. In a deep pan or a wok add the oil and bring warm it up and then add a piece of carrot which will help prevent from the oil to burn.-
10. Fry your do nuts a minute on each side or until golden brown than place them on a paper towel.
11. Once all done dust with icing sugar or dip in the topping of your choice.

I am creative so I like to make my own toppings and that too chocolate or white chocolate toppings with dessicated coconut or nuts. But I must say its what you like and everything that we do in life is a shadow of you and your personality even food. the food that we eat or share compliments you and tells others what you are like as a person. For example if some one Puts an omelet in front of their guests as a meal may not mean they don't care may mean they are casual fun loving and easy going. Its all in the way you look at it and i hope today you will have a new perspective of things in life....enjoy!

PS NOTE:-

Next up is Mumma's fish Curry..stay tuned..:)

MAYAZ'S FRESH CREAM PINEAPPLE CAKE

I'm in particular is not a big fan of pineapples but a few years back I read somewhere online that it helps in muscular pains especially the after exercise ones. which sort of inspired me to learn this recipe and work to make it work in best ways for me. I love baking cakes and experimenting different flavours, over the years I can just bake the cake right to my taste and thought its best to share my techniques and give the confidence that I have to others that anyone can cook if you know your basics well then all you need is practice them till you get to a point where not only your guests,friends and family say its yummy but you like them too.

In this cake the other main key ingredient is ground almonds that's add to the flavour of pineapples. I'm no chef and cook but I can certainly say this combination works well for reason of its own. when I first baked the cake it was the biggest disaster ever but over the last 3 years I made it over and over again so many times than tried making for school fare's,one dish parties and you name it first few times people said it was nice but as I kept making it people praised it more and more every time, even more which gave me two things in particular one the confidence to bake and two to try out things and practice even more. If a person ever looses the confidence then he can't do anything I would advice Don't start with the thought of being a pro because that can make one over confident resulting in a disaster.

In this cake you need to cut half way and people who are perfectionists may want proper tools but a knife works equally well if your hand is sturdy. You can use any sort of decorating ingredients for example if your like chocolate more you can have chocolate icing or strawberry frosting and so on but just plain double creams works best, yet again I would say anything that's works well for your taste buds will work well with others too. Fresh pineapple cakes are not normals cakes they do require some patience in terms of making with a relaxed mind would be best, and make sure you're not making or doing anything other than this sponge cake. Sponge cakes can go wrong greatly if the timing is not right. I hope your family will enjoy this cake for lots of occasions and festivities in all different parts of the world....:)

INGREDIENTS:-

• 1 400g Pineapple can.( keeping the syrup from the can)
• 1/4 Pineapple juice.
• 1 Cup Self raising flour.
• 1/4 Cups Ground almonds.
• 1/2 Cups caster sugar(you can add 1/2 cups more if you like it sweeter).
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder.
• 5 Medium sized eggs separated.
• 300g Butter (soft but not melted, leave it out the night before).
• 1-2 tsp Vanilla extract.
• Pinch Salt.
• 200-300g Double cream for frosting.

METHOD:-

1. Line the tin preferably a round tin. (but if you don't have one its OK to use a square one too)
2. Pre-heat oven at 180 deg.
3. In a bowl separate egg whites and egg yolks.
4. Mix sugar,vanilla extract and egg yolks and beat well at medium speed if using electric beater.Beat until its become airy and fluffy.
5. In a bowl sift flour,salt and baking powder.
6. Add to the egg an sugar mixture, fold in very carefully making the shape of 8.
7. Then add ground almonds and mix very lightly not too much.
8. In a bowl beat egg whites at high speed, until they start to form soft peaks. don't over do it otherwise the cake will not rise enough and won't be light and airy.
9. Fold into the mixture now and with a spatula mix only till you don't see the egg whites, but still see the bubbles.
10. Pour the mixture in the tin and bake for about 35-40 Min's.
11. Once out of the oven let it cool down completely.
12. Cut it diagonally in half keeping hand steady and in the center, keep them both on separate plates facing the insides out facing you.
13. Now take the can syrup and pineapple juice mix them in a jug and with the help of a big soup spoon pour it oer both halves.
14. Don't have to use all the juice just use enough to soak you cake.
15. Leave them over night to soak well and the work well as a sponge.
16. Beat the double cream to make peaks.
17. Then apply a very thin layer of double cream to the side that you want to keep as the bottom of the cake.
18. Cut your pineapple in small pieces and spread it all round the cake over the cream.
19. Place the other half of the cake on top carefully since it will be ell soaked and fragile.
20. Now cover the cake all over with the double cream as lavishly as you like or as scarcely as you like according to you liking and decorate to challenge your creativity.

Remember this cake is not difficult to make and every one can bake provided they're timing is right,the temprature is right. Your frosting can have food colouring added to it so don't just stop at decorating it white get colourful and add some variety to life. Also there in no hard and fast rule that you have to use double cream you can use single cream of no cream at all. Its always great to remember that this is adding and subtracting from the basic recipes to your liking these recipes are what I like but is not compulsory that you may like the same taste. So feel free to be wild and creative and confident enough to try new things in life so you know what's you ad whats not....hope you enjoy making this cake will soon update this particular blog with more pics to make it easy for everyone...tata...:)

PS NOTE:- next up is "DO NUTS"