“First there was a Fresh Corn Dessert a few days back and now there are two more desserts for the weekend..Hmm…do I smell some conspiracy” inquired the puzzled hubby. “Is all the sweet temptations for the digital SLR?” he smiled and replied to his own query after he noticed a sparkle in my eyes! The decision to buy this high-end digital camera has been put on hold for almost a year by the dear hubby. As he wanted to get completely convinced that I am really serious about my blog and will put the camera to good use before succumbing to my demands. And I saw my wish getting wings when he reached for his lap top to Google for digital cameras

“Be ready to join a Pot luck party in the evening, oh..and please if you can prepare a dessert it would be great” *click and the line got cut. This was my dear hubby who has given me four hours time before I could be ready with the dessert, kids and myself for the evening party. Mom is the last word for me when zillions of cook books and Google searches fail to give a result that is satisfactory. The frenzied search for a Vegan dessert (the host of the party prefer vegan) went futile and I had to call mom for help. Without even taking a moment she suggested I make fresh Corn pudding after confirming that I had corn in my pantry.

A sweet indulgence – making Fudge is very common during festivals and many religious ceremonies in India. Though Wiki defines it as a western confectionery, for me a fudge is what completes any Indian festivity as long as I remember. From the humble melt-in-mouth Besan ki chakki (chickpea flour fudge) to the more exotic Kaju Katlis (cashew fudge) Indian festivals are incomplete without these goodies. With loads of sugar, butter and milk to go into making these fudge, these goodies are truly a sinful indulgence!

Peanut butter fudge is high on calories but if eaten in moderation it could provide all the health benefits attached with peanuts in your diet. These Nutty Peanut butter Fudges are highly addictive and a word of caution is to keep a tab on the number of times you open your refrigerator

Never thought I would ever bake a Baklava and post it on Lite Bite, till I got to see the Daring Baker challenge of this month. A classic Greek specialty baked with flaky phyllo dough, stuffed with nuts and soaked in sugar syrup, yes I avoided it for all the good reasons, refined flour, loads of butter and the sugar syrup to name a few.

Chocolate, cream and nuts go hand in hand to make this soft and rich dessert Truffles which are an epitome of indulgence. Traditionally Truffles are made with loads of chocolate and heavy cream which makes it a melt-in-mouth treat. I have tried that version also but did not like it much, as the buttery and rich taste could not gel well with my palate. The Truffles I often make has plenty of nuts, dried fruits and digestive biscuits in it. Cocoa powder and the drinking chocolate somewhat stimulate the original recipe which demands cream & chocolate in it.

These Truffle versions may not exactly taste like the real ones but then they are definitely a step ahead of their counterparts in terms of nutrition and I don’t need to keep a count upon them

Barley reminds me of my pregnancy when I had to gulp that glassful of white, odorless and tasteless fluid religiously. Times have changed after the constant browsing and learning more about food and health through internet. Though there are schools which are for and against the wholegrain in diet, I go with the former. As I don’t make the wholegrain as my staple food but add them as a supplement with my veggies, fruits and lentils.

A light and colorful dessert is both a gastronomical and a visual treat, and the Coconut Milk Panna Cotta I made this weekend fits the bill. The coconut milk & strawberry jelly in it makes it very refreshing and a colorful dessert. If you can extract fresh coconut milk which I am sure I can’t, then you are in for a heavenly treat! I made this Panna cotta from Daring Bakers kitchen with my pack of ready to use coconut milk.

I reduced the cream portion and added thickened yogurt for Panna cotta and also switched to palm sugar to make my Oats and almonds Florentine cookies. And the result was a much lighter and to some extent a healthy version of this exotic dessert.

There is nothing special in this dessert except the fact that I wanted to try my hands on Macarons. I do lots of baking but mine is restricted to just cakes, muffins, cookies and bread. Never got inclined to baking anything lying outside my territory. The pretty & colorful Macarons posted in many fellow bloggers got me attracted.

Ice cream was not in the party menu a few years back, before I realized that many children dislike fruit salad or anything that is remotely related to or being refered as health food! Given a choice even my kids prefer Ice cream over anything healthy So down comes my Ice cream maker each year, from that dark corner of the loft. The poor gadget sees the light of the day just once every year!

Mixed fruit salad is also another staple in all of my parties. A dessert easy to make and refreshing to eat with loads of seasonal fruits in it. At times I semi bake it for 15-20 minutes for a different dessert altogether. Add colorful fruit jelly and serve in a designer glass for a classy & exotic look.