Hannah Montana Birthday Cake

Birthday Parties are fun! Birthday is a special occasion, and kids love to have a blast on their special day. For my daughter’s 9th birthday, she wanted to have a Hannah Montana cake. Hannah Montana cakes’ popularity is on the rise. Hannah Montana is very popular amongst pre-teen girls. My daughter is a great fan of Hannah Montana, so she wanted to surprise her friends with a Hannah Montana cake. She also wanted to have a homemade cake. On my culinary journey, this was a challenge for me.

I decided to be very creative and prepare a cake with the best things I could. I spent hours in stores, looking for creative colourful chocolates, and also paid a great amount of attention to the various available candy shapes. It’s a super easy cake, though it looks complicated. When the final thing came out, it was truly an amazing looking cake, and all the friends of my daughter envied her and praised the preparation.
I’ve used ready made frosting and ice-cream cones for the decoration. Guitar shaped chocolate has also been used, as Hannah Montana is a great singer.


INGREDIENTS:


Sponge Cake – 1 rectangle
White Butter – 250 gms
Icing Sugar – 250 gms
Vanilla essence – 4-5 drops
Ready made frosting – ½ tin – chocolate flavour
Ready made frosting – ½ tin vanilla flavour
Little heart biscuits – 1 packet
Ice cream cones – 2
Lollipops – various shapes - 3 to 4
Sprinklers coloured – as required
Jelly cubes – 1 packet.
Tinned Cherries – 1 cup
Cocoa Powder – 2 tblspn
Birthday Candles – As required

METHOD

Prepare icing by combining icing sugar, white butter, cocoa powder and vanilla essence.

Keep in the fridge for an hour.
Cut the sponge cake into two halves.

Soak each part with the cherry syrup.

Place pitted cherries on the first part of the cake.

Spread a layer of the prepared icing on each cake half.

Cover the first half of the cake with the second half, making layers.

Now cover the entire cake with the icing prepared above.
Level the icing with a broad knife dipped in cold water.
Make a border with the ready made frosting using icing gun.
Decorate the border of the cake with the little heart biscuits.

Decorate the candies, jelly cubes and ice cream cones.

Make ice cream on the ice cream cones with the prepared icing.
Sprinkle the sprinkler on the empty space.
Place the candles on the cake.
Keep in fridge till the party time.

Note: I have used ready-made sponge cake in this recipe for the Hannah Montana cake. But you can also use plain homemade sponge cake instead.

Rice with Fried Potato

Kids need a bundle of energy as they are always on their heels.  I present another great meal for your child especially for the fussy eaters. Rice and Potato are a great source of carbohydrate. Carbohydrate would fuel them up. You may serve this with a single serving of any vegetable soup. The presentation and taste would encourage them to keep asking for more. The same can be given in the tiffin. Lets see how this dish is ready in minutes.

Ingredients -

Steamed Rice - 1 small bowl
Butter - 2-3 tblspns
Parsley - a bit chopped
Potatoes - 1 large
Olive oil - 3-4 tblspn
salt - to taste

Method -

Prepare steam rice as usual.
Mix butter and place it in a bowl.
Press the rice with the back of spoon.
Invert the rice carefully on the serving plate.

Parboil the potato.
Peel and cut roundels.
On a non stick pan drizzle olive oil and place the potato slices.
Cook till reddish and done.
Sprinkle salt and arrange on the serving plate as shown in the pic.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Note- Ensure the steamed rice has salt added to it.

Chicken-Egg-Veggie Sandwich for kids

Tiffin Time, Tea Time Snack or Breakfast - a great option to serve the kids is this sandwich full of protein made from chicken eggs and vegetables served with potato fries would give them enough energy to be on their heels. Packed with nutrients is this easy to assemble sandwich.

Ingredients -

Sandwich bread - 2 slices

Red ripe tomatoes - 1 large

Egg hard boiled - 1

Iceberg Lettuce - 8-10 leaves

Chicken Breast boneless - 1

Butter - as required

Salt and Pepper - to taste

Potato Fries - one portion

Method -

Pressure cook chicken breast with little salt and 1/2 cup water.

After one whistle lower the flame and let it cook for 5-8 minutes.

Wash lettuce well and dip it in ice-cold water.

Cut tomatoes into roundels

Cut egg into thin slice.

Cut chicken breast into thin slice.

Drain the lettuce leaves.

Butter all the bread slices from both sides.

Layer the first bread with lettuce

Top it with chicken slice.

Sprinkle little salt and pepper.

Top it with egg slice.

Sprinkle little salt and pepper.

Arrange a bread slice on it.

Again top it with lettuce.

Top it with tomato slice.

Sprinkle salt.

Finally top it with a bread slice.

Grill the sandwich till the grill mark appears on the bread.

Insert a toothpick to keep things into place.

Serve hot with potato fries.

Laddoo Joker

Are you organising a birthday party? Thinking hard to have a different menu from the rest. Well here's the solution, Try and prepare these jokers made out of Laddoo, the traditional Indian sweet available in every sweet shop of India. I've used ready made laddoos from the market, if you desire you can make laddoos at home too. I've used ready made ice-cream cones to prepare the base and the cap of the jokers. Cadbury Gems to make the eyes. You can make your imagination run wild and use other decorations for decorating the cap . Put your creativity to its best and get going to organise a real cool birthday party for your adorable sweetie pie. Kids would love the new version of laddoos.

INGREDIENTS

Boondi Laddoo - 10

Ice cream cones - 10

Cadbury Gems - 20

Icing Sugar to paste the gems.

METHOD -

Cut the ice-cream cones for the base and the cap.

Arrange the base in the serving tray.

Keep each laddoo on each base.

Glue gems for eyes with the help of icing sugar.

Place the second half of the cone as caps.

Ready to be served.

NOTE- For the mouth I've used the laddoo garnish (Pista) which was already placed on the laddoo. If u're using plain laddoo u can glue a piece of pista for mouth.

Yummy Baked Potatoes

Potatoes are good for health especially for kids. Combined with baked beans, Protein requirements are also fulfilled.  For fussy kids this is a finger licking dish. I've experimented this recipe with my children and they wait for me to prepare this dish for them. Apart from kids, this dish can be made as a starter for a party. It would be relished by everyone. Quick and easy to prepare. So here comes the recipe. While selecting the potatoes make sure they are larger in size and oval shaped.

INGREDIENTS -

Potatoes - 6

Baked beans - 1 tin

Onion - 1 medium - chopped

Tomato - 1 medium - chopped

Tomato ketchup - 4 tblspn

Processed Cheese - 12 tblspns - grated

Butter - 50 gms

Oregano - 1 1/2 tspn

Mixed dry herbs - 1 tspn

Chilly flakes - 1 tspn (optional)

Pepper - to taste

Salt - to taste

METHOD -

• 
  
  Wash and clean the potatoes.
• 
  
  Boil the potatoes with the skin. Do not over boil.
• 
  
  Cut lengthwise into two pieces. - see picture
• 
  
  Scoop out the centre portion and make a cavity.

• 
  
  Heat a flat non-stick pan.
• 
  
  Put butter and place the potatoes upside down.
• 
  
  Let them turn brown. - see picture below.
• 
  
  Turn sides.
• 
  
  Let it turn slightly brown on the side with the peel.
• 
  
  Remove with a slotted spoon.
• 
  
  Place all the potatoes on a flat plate,
• 
  
  Sprinkle salt and pepper on the inner side.

For the Filling

• 
  
  Heat a non stick pan.
• 
  
  Add little butter and immediately put the onions.
• 
  
  Saute till pink.
• 
  
  Add chopped tomatoes.
• 
  
  Saute till glossy.
• 
  
  To this add baked beans from the tin.
• 
  
  Mix well.
• 
  
  Add tomato ketchup. Mix well.
• 
  
  Sprinkle salt to taste and all the herbs.
• 
  
  Add chilly flakes if required.
• 
  
  Keep it aside to cool.
• 
  
  Place 2 tblspns of the filling in each cavity.
• 
  
  Top  it with grated cheese. - See picture below.
• 
  
  Microwave high for 1 minute or till cheese melts.
• 
  
  Serve hot on a bed of lettuce and chopped red cabbage.

Fish Fingers

Whenever it's time to feed my fussy kids my thinking skills, my imaginations start multiplying. I want to give them the best food with high nutritional value, which they would have without fuss. My younger one is very fond of fish but he does not like anything spicy so this one is one of his favourites, ready in minutes. A healthy option as a snack or in lunch or can be even served for dinner.

Ingredients -

Sole Fish fillet - 125 gms
Egg - 1
Brown bread - 2 slices
Oil - to deep fry

Seasoning -

Salt and pepper - to taste

Method -

1. Cut fish fillets into fingers.
2. Sprinkle 1/2 small spoon salt and a pinch of pepper on it.
3. In another small bowl whisk the egg.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste in the egg mix.
5. Grind the brown bread to get crumbs, keep it aside on a plate.
6. Heat cooking oil.
7. Dip the fish finger in the egg mix.
8. Next dip it in the bread crumbs to coat the entire fish finger.
9. Deep fry in hot oil till reddish.
10. Place the fried fish finger on a napkin to absorb excess oil.
11. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Fish Patties

Fish is said to be in rich in Omega Fatty - 3 acids. It primarily contains 'good fat' and is a rich source of protein. Other sources of Omega Fatty - 3 acids mainly for vegetarians are the flaxseeds, flaxseed-oil, walnut.This recipe is basically for the kids and the weight watchers as the fish is steamed and then shallow-fried. 

An important thing to remember here is while the fish is being prepared there is a foul smell to avoid this one must apply loads of turmeric and some amount of salt an dkeep it aside for sometime say 20 minutes. Turmeric cuts the smell of the fish.

Here I've used Surmai (King Fish) fish fillets (boneless) for this recipe. The fish has been steamed with the whole spices so that the delicate flavours and aroma blend into the fish giving it a nice flavour. Delicately flavoured with pepper, I've used boiled mashed potato to help in binding. A very healthy and tasty dish for the kids as kids usually avoid spices. 

INGREDIENTS -

Fish Fillets - Surmai - 1

Boiled Potato -1 small

Whole Spices -

Cloves - 2/3

Bay Leaf - 1

Cinnamon - 1 inch stick

Black Cardamom - 1

Green Pepper - 5/6

Garlic pods - 3/4

Seasoning-

Salt - to taste

Black Pepper Powder - as per taste

Turmeric powder - 2-3 spoons

Garnish -

Grated Carrot - 1 Large

Lettuce - 2-3 tender leaves

Oil - Vegetable Oil - as required.

METHOD -

• 
  
  Sprinkle turmeric and some salt on the fish fillet pieces and keep aside
• 
  
  Keep some water to boil in a pan.
• 
  
  In a silver foil put the fish pieces and put all the ingredients under whole spices.
• 
  
  Prepare a parcel and keep this on a colander.
• 
  
  Colander has to be kept on the boiling water pan
• 
  
  Cover the colander. (See picture)

• 
  
  Steam the fish for 10 minutes.
• 
  
  Open the parcel fish would look like this picture.

• 
  
  Mash the fish with the back of a fork.
• 
  
  Add to it boiled and mashed potato.
• 
  
  Mix well.
• 
  
  Sprinkle seasoning to taste.
• 
  
  Form patty shape and shallow fry on a non-stick pan.
• 
  
  Assemble on a serving dish.
• 
  
  Garnish as shown in the picture.
• 
  
  Serve Hot.

Pink Beetroot Puri's

Each morning my kids have tiffin issues, mam wants all children to have a healthy snack in the tiffin-box. Kids and healthy stuff are like opposite poles. So I thought the best way to make them eat their nutrients/veggies is to camouflage them. Beetroot is one vegetable which kids would never want to eat but the colour pink has such a magnetic effect that the kids are definitely attracted if anything edible is colourful especially "pink". Beetroot has folic acid, iron, calcium, Vitamin "A' and 'C' and because of its high fibre content helps to keep bowel movement regular. Preparing a variety of dishes for the kid's tiffin is a mind boggling issue. So in order to get the nutritional benefits and something appealing to eyes as well, I thought to prepare beetroot puris seasoned with salt, Flaxseeds (known as 'Teesi'  or 'Alsi' in Hindi) which is a rich source of Omega Fatty - 3 Acids and Carom Seeds (Ajwain) - aids in digestion.

INGREDIENTS -

Beetroot -2 medium sized

Wheat Flour - 1 cup

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp + oil for frying

Carom Seeds  - 1/2 tspn

Flaxseeds - 1/2 tsp

METHOD -

Wash the beetroot nicely and cut into 4 pieces.

Put this in pressure cooker and add about 30 ml water and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.

When cooled make a puree of the beetroots without water in a food processor.

Do not throw away the water.

Mix together the wheat flour, oil (1tbsp), carom seeds, flax seeds and salt.

To this add the beetroot puree and knead a hard dough.

Do not add the puree at one go. Puree has to be added little by little as required.

You can use the left over water if the puree is not enough for the dough.

Cover with a damp muslin cloth and leave it for 15 minutes.

The dough would look like the picture below:

Heat oil in kadhai for deep frying the puri's.

Apply little oil to the roller pin so that the dough does not get glued to it.

Prepare small balls.

With the help of rolling pin make small sized puri's.

Slowly leave the puri's in hot oil, fry for a minute and when they are done turn the side. When puffed remove with the help of a slotted spoon leaving maximum fat as possible.

Keep them on an absorbent paper.

Serve hot or pack them in the tiffin with "Parwal Aloo Dum".

Choclate Cup Cakes

It was my son's 5th Birthday and I wanted something special for his birthday so I prepared these cup cakes and used different coloured jam and also alphabet candies to decorate the topping. Each child chose the alphabet his or her name started with, this gave the kids a feeling of getting a specal treatment for the party he or she was invited to. With Easter round the corner, you can try this quick and innovative dessert recipe which is ready in minutes. Can be served as an evening snack to the kids or as a dessert as even the adults would relish it. These alphabet choclates are easily available in the confectionary shops present in the malls. 

Ingredients -

Bournbourn biscuits - 2 packets

Baking Soda - a pinch

Milk - about 3-4 tblspn

Butter cups - as required

Jam - different colours

Alphabet Choclates - as required

Ready made Vanilla Icing.

Method -

1. 
   
   Crush the biscuits in the food processor finely.
2. 
   
   Transfer in into a deep bowl.
3. 
   
   Add a pinch of soda.
4. 
   
   Add milk and mix well with the help of electronic hand mixer.
5. 
   
   Consistency required is dropping consistency like for cake.
6. 
   
   Pour into butter cups kept in muffin tray.
7. 
   
   Microwave HIGH for 3 minutes. (Power 100%)
8. 
   
   Test with a toothpick, should come out clean when inserted in the cup cake.
9. 
   
   If not done again microwave HIGH for a few seconds more.
10. 
    
    Standing time is 5 mins means leave the cup cake in the microwave for 5 mins when done.
11. 
    
    Cool completely before icing.
12. 
    
    Fill a piping bag with ready made icing. (available in the stores.)
13. 
    
    Decorate the cup cakes with the icing as shown and dot it with jam or decorate it with alphabet choclate.
14. 
    
    Serve.

                                                                                                                        

Strawberry Smoothie

The lip smacking fruit "Strawberry", is a red coloured fruit which has a bright appearance and looks really tempting. The goodness quotient of Strawberry is that it is packed with vitamins especially Vitamin 'C' and is a powerful antioxidant which reduces aging factors. The kids should get a daily dose of Vitamins and the strawberry can be of great help. Children get tempted to buy it but when actually served cannot have more than one or two as it tastes sour. Same was with my kids so I thought to present strawberries in a form which should be really presentable, eye catching and also very good to the taste-buds. So all Moms enjoy presenting this recipe to your kids and let me know your feedback.

Strawberry Smoothie
Strawberries - 1 box,
Milkmaid - 1/2 tin
Readymade Edible Cream - 3 tspns

Method - Chop Strawberries, reserve a few for garnishing and make a puree of the rest in the food processor. Add milkmaid and cream to the puree.

Pour this in seperate glasses and decorate with a piece of shopped strawberr.

Chill in the refrigerator.

And serve.

Note :- The sweetness can be reduced by reducing the quantity of milkmaid.

If you require a thin consistency, add little cold milk to it.

The Train Cake

Today is my first blog ever. I must Thank my friends especially Ratna  to show me the way to blogging.

It was my son's 5th birthday party and he wanted it to celebrate it at home. Firstly I was apprehensive then for the little one I thought I should invest all my imaginations and creativity to bake a cake. Several options were there like the character cakes, Alphabet or Number Shapes cakes. Or should I say a simple round, square or a rectangle cake. Finally a thought came to my mind to use my best imaginations and to make it look really beautiful and presentable I would make the cake in the shape of the train.
I baked 4 large choclate cakes in the shape of rectangle. One cake was made in the jelly bowl, one cake was made in the choclate tin - round shape.I did the icing then I fixed the round shape cake to the jelly shape cake and attached a piece of large cake to it. Used the other part as the base. Fixed it up tightly with the long size toothpicks so that the cake is fastened securely.

Decorated it with Oreo biscuits as wheels as pink icing filled in the nozzle. To show the steam I used white polo and for a colorful effect I used gems. As a glue I used choclate spread. This was the most difficult part then I used the rest of the cake pieces to make the train. I covered the entire cake with the icing and used different flavoured Oreo biscuits to make the wheels. Decorated the entire train with different coloured icing from the piping bag using different nozzles. Used the munchini to make a small boundary in one of the compartment and assembled the entire train on a piece of cardboard which was covered with the silver foil. Used dessicated coconut mixed with green color as grass , rectangle biscuits for the boundary and red heart shape lollipop as signal and used marzipan for the rest of the decorations. Would tell you how to do the icing in my next blog, until then bye hope you enjoyed reading it as I did writing it.