Think of a dessert and fresh fruits top my list hands down. A bowl of sliced juicy strawberries, apples and grapes sprinkled with castor sugar or with fresh yogurt is what I and my hubby crave for. There is always a difference of opinion at home, my children love to settle for a  chocolate bar if there is just plain fruits for dessert. But they look pretty cool of late, now that they know their food blogger mama  needs to update her blog with a recipe every week 🙂

Rain and water logging outside the house means no play and no friends coming home, only a hearty dessert can bring cheers to the dull faces of my children. A dessert in which I can engage them to bake minus the mess I might face as aftermath. Hmm..a muffin or a cookie look easy to bake but then sifting the flour, kneading, perfect consistency…nope, forget it. Bread Pudding…yes it could give them a false feeling of baking something without much fuss. Easy and literally a child’s play recipe, nothing beats a warm bread pudding on a rainy day, a perfect comfort food for any time.

And as expected they wanted chocolate in their recipe and added cocoa to their bread pudding. The chocolate custard bread pudding you see in the picture is assembled and baked by my children, I have to admit that I did polish off half of the Ramekin from their share 🙂

With all the major Indian festivals coming to an end with Diwali, my kitchen counter & wok heave a sigh of relief. No more fudges, sweets and savories, its just my simple meal and me. Change in season has finally made the rain god smile bringing respite from the heat. I wanted to bake something which could be a wholesome munch with my evening tea while lazying around on my favorite easy chair watching rain from my open terrace, and Biscotti was the final choice.

Biscotti is thin sliced cake which are baked twice to make it crisp and also to increase the shelf life of these goodies.

Proud mom of two lovely kids and a lover of piping hot dark espresso roast capped with perfect crema, this gorgeous food blogger Marla Meridith from Southern California is our AFBHLS guest today. From healthy, gluten free, vegan, to almost sugar free recipes on her blog she can also win you over with some of her exotic creations for pure indulgence in great food. Each recipe emanates freshness of the ingredients she uses to create that perfect meal which is further enhanced by her skillful photography and wonderful food styling.

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 🙂

As soon as I saw the Daring Baker’ challenge I knew that I may not be able to take it this time, reason being the meringue which is the main ingredient for baking this lovely cake. Since I do not use eggs in my baking and meringue calls for the same I left the challenge feeling sad not being able to complete it. But after seeing the lovely posts on the DB with these baked goodies I could not resist myself and baked the same cake using chocolate and cream mix.

Red roses, Cupid, winged cherubs, heart cakes, heart here and heart there…young men and women make merry on this day and so does the salesmen! But just one day may not be enough to show our love, we should be ready to express our love the other 364 days too. What ever may be the reason behind celebrating this lovely day, make the most out of it and wish that each day of year is another Valentine day filled with unbound love in each heart.

And to express true love an expensive gift is not necessary. A cute red rose, a small hug, a few words of appreciation and even cooking something which is liked by your loved ones can do the trick. And I baked this light and extremely delightful dessert Vanilla Cake with Fruit Custard for all whom I love. Yes it includes you too, who are reading my post right now 🙂

Yogurt rice is the most relishing recipe I discovered after coming to South India. Till then curd was just a tall glass of Lassie or a delicate dessert Srikhand. Only after getting married I did come to know that the humble Curd can also be transformed into a very delicious and healthy meal! And like my hubby for many people down here, no meal is complete without a small ladle of creamy curd rice. Quite easy to make this refreshing dish adorns many a lunchboxes of office goers and school kids.

Stollen is a bread like fruit cake baked with yeast, flour and dried fruits and nuts in it. This is a wonderful Tea time snack and a great breakfast treat which is quite easy to make. It stays good for many days and is extremely flavorful with loads of citrus zests, candid peels and spices in it.

Though banana has never been in my favorite fruit list, but I love this humble fruit in my baked goodies. When combined with some nuts it gives an irresistible taste to the baking recipes. Not to forget the in numerous health benefits it lends to the dish.

This Walnuts & Banana egg less Cake is one such baked delight I often resort to when I have banana in surplus. And this time used the red skin variety of banana found commonly in many parts of south India.