Nutella Coffee Mug Cake

Nutella Coffee Mug Cake is a delightful small bite for your cravings. Recently I became a fan of microwavable mug cakes & was experimenting on them a lot.  Microwaving has never interested me & I'm totally against it. But with cravings at odd hours of the day I had to compromise with my beliefs. So here I'm with a cake which is ready in seconds for any time sweet cravings. This is a crumbly, sweet cake which you want to make again & again. You can have it as it is or top it with a scoop of ice cream, few strawberries & savor the goodness.

Prep Time-3mins to 5mins
Cook Time-1min20sec
Serves-1person
Ingredients
3Tbs all-purpose flour
2Tbs milk
2Tbs nutella
1Tbs black coffee
3Tsp sugar
1/4Tsp baking powder
Directions 
- In a microwavable mug add flour, sugar, baking powder, black coffee, nutella & milk. Whisk them together without any lumps.
- Microwave it on high for 1min 20sec.
- Cool it & enjoy.
Note 
- If you want to use instant coffee powder, then add in 3tbs milk & 1Tsp coffee powder { I haven't experimented with this}.

My other favorite which I recently made is " Peanut butter Mug Cake". Give it a try.

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Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes are a classic & most favored cupcakes by every one. I tasted & tried many recipes & lastly got hooked to the one that was perfect to my taste buds. I made it many more time before sharing it here & loved how they came out every time. This recipe yields a dozen cupcakes & if needed you can halve the recipe for lesser cupcakes. I 'm not so keen about the frosting so I skipped it, but you can enjoy them by adding your favorite frosting. Enjoy these little sweet chocolaty bites.

Adapted recipe from here.
Prep Time-15mins 
Cook Time- 25min 
Serves-13 to 14cupcakes 
Ingredients 
Dry Ingredients 
3/4Cup all-purpose flour
1/2Cup cocoa powder 
1/2Tsp baking powder 
1/2Tsp baking soda 
1/4Tsp salt 
Wet Ingredients 
1/2Cup buttermilk 
1/2Cup brown sugar
1/2Cup sugar 
2Eggs @ room temperature 
1/4Cup butter melted 
2Tsp vanilla extract 
Directions 
- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees & line the cupcake pan.
- In a bowl sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda & salt. Mix them & keep aside. 
- In another large bowl crack open 2eggs along with sugar & butter. Whisk them to creamy texture. Next add in vanilla extract & buttermilk. Whisk them smooth. 
- Next add in little by little of dry ingredients while mixing them together. Don't over whisk the batter.
- Now scoop the batter halfway thru in to one liner & repeat the same with rest of the batter. 
- Bake them @350degree for 25mins or till knife comes out clean. 
- Remove from oven, cool them & frost them as you like. 
Note
- You can replace butter with oil as the original recipe. 
- Sugar- You can either go with half & half as above or can replace with one sugar. But if you choice is brown sugar them you might have to add another 1/4cup of it to make them sweeter. 

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Brownies

Brownies are my another favorite dessert at night. I made them almost every week for a whole month & finally I can say that I'm totally satisfied with these goodies. These are a little fudgey& have more cake like texture to them. Adding additional choco chips does make them more & more delectable. I tried a version with applesauce as a replacement of oil or butter you use in the recipe. It is a very healthy version of this brownies & I will be sharing them very soon here. I enjoyed these brownies with a generous scoop of ice cream on top while they are warm & not too hot. All I can say is they were yum.

PrepTime-10mins
Cook Time-20mins {Varies from oven to oven}
Serves-12pieces
Ingredients
1Cup granulated sugar
1/2Cup butter
1/4Cup milk
3Eggs @ room temperature
1Tsp vanilla extract
3/4Cup all-purpose flour
1/4Cup cocoa powder
1/2Cup chocolate morsels
1/2Tsp baking powder {optional}
1/2Tsp salt
1Scoop of ice cream {optional}
Directions
- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees. Grease a wide baking pan with butter & dust it with little flour too.
- In a large bowl sift flour, baking powder & cocoa powder. Mix them & keep aside.
- In another bowl take sugar, butter & milk. Add in vanilla extract, eggs to the sugar mixture & mix them well.
- Add wet mixture to the flour mixture & mix it using a spatula with out forming lumps.
- Now pour batter in to the baking pan & bake it @350 for 15mins to 20mins or bake it till the wooden pick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven & allow it to cool on the counter before you serve.
- Cut brownie into equal pieces & serve it with your choice of ice cream.
Note
- Sugar : You can replace brown sugar to granulated sugar or can also make it half & half too.
- To make a almost fat free brownie replace butter with apple sauce. You can hardly make a difference & tastes good too.
- If you like a gooey brownie with a crust on top & a soft center then don't add baking powder. Adding baking powder gives it a cake like structure.

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Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Peanut Butter Mug Cake is a simple treat for one which can be made in no time. I love these mug cakes as they are easy to bake & at the end you don't have any left overs to deal with. I used chunky peanut butter in this cake. For every spoonful of cake you get crunchy peanuts, which also gives a good bite to the cake. It's a perfectly soft & crumbly cake. Give it a try, sure you will be hooked. 

Prep Time-5mins or less
Cook time-1&1/2min
Serves-1mug cake 
Ingredients 
4Tbs all-purpose flour
3Tbs sugar 
4Tbs milk 
2Tbs chunky peanut butter
1/4Tsp baking powder
Pinch baking soda 
Few choco chips 
Directions 
- In a mug add flour, sugar, baking powder & soda. Lastly add milk & peanut butter to mug. 
- Whisk batter to a smooth paste. Top with choco chips on top.
- Microwave for 1&1/2mins on high. Cake will be fluffy & raised.
Note
- If you are someone like me who love mildly sweeten cakes, then reduce sugar to 1&1/2Tbs. 

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Orange Cupcakes

Orange Cupcakes are a delicious little bites. I was craving for these orange flavored cupcakes for few days & decided to put an end to that misery. One fine day I made these orange flavored, nutella frosted cupcakes & fell in love with them again & again. I always loved how the combo of orange & chocolate tasted, so thought of frosting them with chocolate butter cream. Later I decided to use nutella layering as it is simple & readily available in pantry. I didn't sprinkle them with edible confetti but you can add it to make colorful & yum.

Prep Time-15mins 
Bake Time-25minutes
Serve-6Cupcakes 
Ingredients
3/4Cup all-purpose flour
1/2Tsp baking powder 
1/4Tsp baking soda 
Pinch of salt
1/4Cup butter melted or @room temperature
1Large egg @ room temperature
1/4Cup sugar + 4Tbs sugar
1Tbs orange zest
1/4Cup orange juice
1/2Tsp vanilla extract 
2Tbs thick yogurt / greek yogurt
Nutella for frosting 
Directions
Pre-heat oven @350 degrees & add liners to the cupcake pan. 
Dry ingredients 
- In a bowl sift flour, baking powder, soda & salt. Mix them with a spatula & keep aside. 
Wet Ingredients 
- In a large bowl break open egg, add in sugar to it & mix them to a creamy consistency.
- Next mix in orange zest, juice, vanilla extract & yogurt. 
Batter & Baking
- Incorporate dry ingredients to wet ingredients little by little. Mix them well. 
- Once the batter is ready scoop them in to cupcake liners halfway thru. 
- Bake them @350 degrees for 25mins or till the wooden pik comes out clean.
- Remove from oven & cool them down. 
Frosting 
- Take a generous amount of Nutella & frost it to cup cakes. 
- Sprinkle on some edible confetti & serve. 
Note
- Sugar was just perfect in these cupcakes. You can add whole 1/2Cup of sugar to make them little more sweeter. With nutella frosting they were perfectly sweet enough. 
- Oven time varies so adjust it as needed.
- Replace butter with canola or vegetable oil.

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Pink Velvet Choco Chip Cupcakes

Pink Velvet Choco Chip Cupcakes are a mock of red velvet cupcakes with an addition of choco chips. I was confused in naming these cup cakes as they are not dark pinkish in color. Vanilla cupcake recipe was the basic to these cupcakes along with an addition of few ingredients make these awesome cupcakes. If needed replace food coloring with beetroot juice & enjoy goodness of the veggies along with the sweet little cupcakes. I made them for two cute little kids who were visiting us from India & they loved them a lot. To make them more delectable top them with your choice of frosting & enjoy.

Prep Time-20mins 
Cook Time-25mins 
Serves-10 to 12Cupcakes
Ingredients 

1&1/2Cups of all purpose flour

1&1/2Tsp baking powder
1/4Tsp baking soda
1/4Tsp salt 
2/3Cup sugar 
2 Large eggs @ room temperature 
3/4Cup unsalted butter melted
1/2Cup milk (Used 2% fat milk)
2Tsp vanilla extract
3Drops of red food color
1/2Cup choco chips
Directions

Pre-heat oven @350 degrees & line up a cupcake pan with 12 liners. 

- In a bowl sift flour,baking powder, baking soda & salt. Mix them with a spatula & keep aside. 

- In another bowl crack open eggs. To that add butter & sugar. Mix them to a smooth batter using a electric mixer. 

- Add in vanilla extract, food color & milk to the batter & mix them. 

- Now mix in dry ingredients to the wet once little by little while beating them together. 

- Lastly add in choco chips & fold them in to batter. Keep a few aside to top them on the cupcakes.

- Scoop up the batter in to the arranged liners equally. Top them with choco chips.

- Bake them @350 degrees for 20mins or till the wooden pick comes out clean. 

- Remove from oven & cool them. Enjoy them as they are.

Note: 

- Sweetness was just enough in cupcakes. Instead of 2/3rd cup add whole 1Cup of sugar for slightly more sweeter cupcakes.

- Replace butter with olive oil Or use half & half of both to cut some calories.

- Baking time varies from oven to oven. Adjust the timing accordingly.

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Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato fries are one of my favorite small appetizers I love to munch on. They were on my to do list for a long time & the time has come for me to experiment a healthy version of these at home. I saw many recipes but one caught my eye with the crispy texture I'm looking for. Baked sweet potato fries are tend to get soft in texture. Then I came across a recipe suggested adding corn starch for a crispier texture. The end result was satisfying as they were crispier out side & softer inside. One thing I would love to change the next time I'm making this fries is cutting them a little thicker than I have done here. Other than that they were perfectly good to munch on without any guilt. 

Prep Time-10mins 
Cook Time -30mins 
Serves-2people
Ingredients
2Big sweet potatoes
1Tbs corn starch
1Garlic grated / 2Tsp garlic powder 
1Tsp cumin powder {Coarsely grind} 
1Tsp chili powder
2Tbs oil 
Salt 
Directions 

- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees. Layer a cookie sheet with foil & keep aside.
- Wash & peel sweet potatoes. Wipe them with a cloth before slicing them. Cut them in lengthwise as see above. 
- Take a zip lock bag & add in sliced sweet potatoes to it. 
- Add in corn starch & lock it. Now shake it to coat corn starch evenly to slices. 
- Next add in garlic, cumin powder, chili powder, oil & salt. Lock the bag & shake it well. Make sure all are coated very well.
- Now transfer them to baking sheet & layer them neatly, while leaving space in between. 
- Bake them @350 degrees for 15-20mins. Remove from oven reverse the fries. 
- Again bake them for 5-10mins & remove them from oven. 
- Cool them off a bit & serve with a ketchup or your choice of dip. 
Note
- You can use your choice of spice mix to flavor it up. 
- Baking time varies from oven to oven. So check in between to avoid burning them.
- Make sure you are cutting bigger pieces rather than thin slices.

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Sun-dried Tomato Pinwheels

Me and my blogger friends are starting on a month long journey with "Fire Up Your Oven All This April". Enjoy the delicious baked recipes I will be sharing here & do visit the other bloggers too for awesome recipes. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51.

Pinwheels have been on my to do list for a longtime. Snacks are made very occasionally at home & I got an opportunity of making this snack for world cup series. We totally enjoyed them with sun-dried tomato filling along with generous amount of cheese to make you tempt for more. The store bought pastry sheets with make the job much easier & the filling can be of your choice so be creative & greedy about the fillings. 

Prep Time-40mins {Thawing the pastry sheet + making pinwheels}
Cook Time-15to20mins
Serves- 18 to 20 pinwheels {Depends on the shape of puff pastry}
Ingredients
3Square shaped puff pastry sheets thawed
1Cup cheddar cheese
1/2Cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/4Cup chopped cilantro & spring onions
1Egg + 1Tbs water
1Tsp black pepper
1/4Tsp salt
1/4Cup all-purpose flour to roll
Directions

- Pre-heat oven @350 degrees.
- Break egg in to a bowl & mix it well with water. Keep aside.
- Dust the surface with little flour & roll the pastry sheet a little to flatten the layers.
- Brush the sheet with egg mixture.
- Sprinkle the cheese as needed. Then add in sun dried tomatoes, cilantro & spring onion.
- Roll the sheet & cut them in circles.
- Arrange them on a baking sheet leaving a little space in between.
- Bake for 15mins or more as needed till the outer layer turns to light brown in color.
- Remove from oven & allow them to cool on counter top.
- Serve with a ketchup or as they are.
Note
- Baking time varies from oven to oven. Do adjust accordingly.

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Besitos de Coco ~ Venezuelan Coconut Kisses

Besitos de Coco are Venezuelan cookies. They are half cookie & half flakes of coconut, which will leave you with a tropical taste in every bite. Besitos de Coco or Coconut Macaroons are easy to make sweet delights. These cookies are known as "Coconut Kisses" in spanish speaking Caribbean Islands. I have seen recipes with condensed milk, which replace egg yolks in this dish, I might try them in future for a eggless version. For now, this cookies are the best & stole our hearts instantly.

Adapted from here.
Prep Time - 10mins 
Cook Time - 20mins 
Serves - 26Cookies
Ingredients 
2&1/2Cups +  1/2Cup coconut flakes
1/2Cup flour
1Cup brown sugar
1Tbs butter
4Egg yolks
1Tbs vanilla extract 
Directions 
- Pre heat oven @350degrees. Layer a cookie pan with parchment paper and keep aside.
- In a bowl mix in all the above ingredients leaving half cup of coconut flakes aside.
- Scoop the mix & form into small balls.
- Roll them into coconut flakes & place them on the cookie pan. Press a little to make them flat or leave them as they are.
- Bake them for 20mins @350 degrees. 
- Remove from oven & cool them on counter top. 
- For the chocolate on the top, as soon as you remove the cookie pan out of the oven press in a nestle chocolate chip in to it & it fixes perfectly.
Note
- Baking time might change from oven to oven. 
- For more added flavor you can replace vanilla extract with coconut extract.

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