Halloween Blood Bundt#BundtBakers

Blood Bundt is perfect for a Halloween party. This bundt cake is light, soft and buttery. I took this bundt for my friends house warming party. This was served as a dessert. It's a crowd pleaser! But incidentally my red blood turned pink, it not's so red enough😂!!

Ingredients
1½ Cups All Purpose Flour
½ Tablespoon Baking Powder
113 Grams Salted Butter
1 Cup Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs
½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¾ Cup Buttermilk
For The Blood Glaze
1½ Cup Icing Sugar
½ Tablespoon Milk
Red Food Coloring - as required

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C.

Butter a 7" bundt pan generously with butter, then set aside.In a bowl, sieve together flour, baking powder.
In another bowl beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Now add the eggs one at a time, mixing each before adding the next.
Fold in the dry ingredients in 3 batches with a spatula alternating with the butter milk, to the batter. Continue alternating between the dry ingredients and the buttermilk until all have been added and batter looks smooth fully incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared bundt pan and bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.

Cool, the bundt and unmold it on to a wire rack. 

When cooled completely then we cut the top of the cake to level it. 

For The Blood Glaze

In a large bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and red food coloring. If desired, add more red food coloring for a deeper color. The consistency of the glaze should be thick enough that it’s not too drippy (so add the milk a little at a time) but liquid enough that it will fall down the cake.

On a large plate and then keep the wire rack on top. Place the bundt cake on it.

Pour the glaze in a piping bag and drizzle the glaze on top of the bundt. Let the glaze harden before slicing it. So let it set.

Slice & Enjoy!!
Labels: Bundt, Bundt Bakers, Halloween, Dessert

BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

This month Simply Inspired Meals is hosting Spooky Bundt Cakes. She asked the group to make any cake that had some element that made it spooky. 

This wonderful group is administered by Stacy of Food Lust People Love. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Spooky Bundts 

• Boo Spiders in Chocolate Orange and Pumpkin Bundt Cake by Patyco Candybar
• Dark Mark Skull Cakes by Simply Inspired Meals
• Halloween Blood Bundt by Sneha's Recipe
• Mini Ghost Bundts by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mini Mummy Bundts by Passion Kneaded 

Halloween Ghost Hardboiled Eggs#Sunday Funday

These spooky Halloween Ghost Hardboiled Eggs are packed in protein. They are so cute and easy to make. These are perfect for a snack, lunch box or even for breakfast. To give these a nice yellow look for the eyes and mouth I used yellow gel color since the yolks were not that dark yellow that I wanted.

Hardboiled eggs
Knife
A Standard size straw
A Milkshake size straw
A Drop Yellow Gel Color
Method

First, slice the bottom off of the eggs so they can stand upright without toppling.

Then, take your milk sized straw and insert it right where you imagine the ghost’s eyes to go – toward the narrow (top) end of the oval

Insert the straw just through the outer white portion of the egg and stop before you hit the firm yolk
twist the straw around so it carves out a circle
pull the straw out at a slight angle so the circle that you just carved out of the white part remains inside the straw as you pull it out of the egg (you’re essentially creating a vacuum effect with the straw)
squeeze the egg that is inside the straw out onto your work surface and repeat for more ghost eyes
Mouth

Use your regular sized straw for the mouth of the ghost
I like to squeeze the straw a little to shape it into an oval for the ghost’s mouth. 

Repeat the same procedure from above. That’s it! 

The Halloween Ghost Hardboiled Eggs are done. What a fun exercise. 
Labels: Keto, Low Carb, Egg, Halloween, Sunday Funday, Breakfast, Snack, Lunch Box  

Sunday Funday

Halloween Party Treats

• Ghostly Candy Apple Concoction Bark by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Jack O’Lantern Cheese Bites by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Halloween Ghost Hardboiled Eggs by Sneha's Recipes
• Spider Web Pretzels by Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Herbed Stock Couscous Soup#Soupswappers

This is a flavorful soup. The herbs are boiled in water and then strained. This gives the stock a fantastic aroma and taste to the soup. The herbs used are organic and from my garden. It's has veggies and couscous, this is a complete meal soup. If you want a light and delicious dinner then soup is for you. In this soup you can add veggies of your choice, there isn't any hard and fast rule as to what veggies can go in.

Serves 3
Ingredients
For The Herbed Stock
1 Big Stock Cube
8 Cups Water
5 - 6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
5 - 6 Fresh Sprigs Oregano
10 - 12 Basil Leaves
4 Ribs Celery - for the stock used the only leaves
5 - 6 Sprigs Mint
Other Ingredients
4 Ribs Celery - chopped
1 Large Carrot - diced
1 Medium Onion - chopped
1 Medium Head Broccoli - cut into florets
1 Medium Tomato - diced
2 Big Cloves Garlic - finely chopped
¼ Teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
Salt & Black Pepper powder to taste
A Dash of Paprika - Optional
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
Hot & Sweet Sauce - as required

Method 
For The Stock

In a large pot add the water, stock cube and all the herbs with the stems, except the celery since the ribs will be chopped to prepare the soup. Bring this to a boil, when it comes to rolling boil, let it simmer till the stock reduces to 5 cups. Do reduce the stock too much since the couscous will absorb a lot of the stock and you will then have to add extra water to the soup. Let the stock cool a little then strain all the stock and discard the herbs.

For The Soup

In a large pot heat a teaspoon of olive oil, add the onion and garlic sauté till the onion is translucent add all the veggies and sauté for 2 minutes on medium high flame. Add the stock and bring this to a boil. Reduce the flame to low and let the veggies cook till they are just done. Add the couscous and stir it well, cook it for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add salt, black pepper to taste and cumin powder. Let this simmer for a minute. Switch off the flame.

Serve hot in a soup bowl with a dash of paprika and black pepper powder for my hubby.

For me add a teaspoon of Hot & Sweet Sauce and it tasted awesome. Enjoy this filling delicious meal, healthy soup.
Labels: Vegan, Soup, Soup Swappers, Herbs, Broccoli, Carrot, Onion, Garlic, Couscous, Main course, Healthy Dinners

Soup Saturday Swappers

Meal Sized Soups and Stews

• Herb Stocked Couscous Soup by Sneha's Recipes
• Gnocchi Minestrone with Italian Sausage by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Beef GHOULash by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chorizo and Vegetable Posole by Palatable Pastime

Bisi Bele Bath#Improv

Bisi Bele Bath or Bisi Bele Huliyanna is a dish meal which is flavorsome, spicy and slightly tangy complete meal made with lentils, rice, mixed vegetables and a super aromatic spice powder. This is a famous Karnataka cuisine dish. It's actually a masala khichdi with lots of veggies. The term “Bisi bele bath” translates to “Hot Lentil Rice Dish”. “Bisi” is a Kannada word meaning “Hot”, “Bele” translates to “Lentils” and “Bath” is a word that denotes a “Soupy Rice".

Bisi Bele Bath is so popular that you get it so easily in the South Indian restaurants in Bangalore.  To make this dish I have used readymade Bisi Bele Bath masala, which is readily available in any store. I am sharing the quick and delicious way to prepare this dish/ a pressure cooker version. 

Serve 5 as a complete meal
Ingredients
1 Cup Short Grain Rice(- washed)
1/3 Cup Tur Dal
1 Medium Onion - chopped
1 Teaspoon Finely Chopped Ginger
1 Large Tomato - chopped
8 - 10 Beans - cut into big bits
½ Cup Green Peas - I used frozen
½ Cup Cauliflower Florets - I used frozen
½ Cup Pumpkin - cut into medium cubes
½ Cup Carrot - cut into medium cubes
2 Small Potato - cut into medium cubes
½ Cup Diced Capsicum - I used Red , Yellow and Green - you can use any one color
½ Cup Tamarind Juice
1½ Tablespoons Level Bisi Bele Bath Powder
¼ Teaspoon + ½ Teaspoon Salt or to taste
For The Tadka
½ Cup Oil
1½ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
¼ Teaspoon Asafoetida
2 Sprig Curry Leaves
¼ Cup Cashewnuts or Raw Peanuts - I used Cashewnuts
2 Dried Red Chillies

Method
For Cooking The Veggies

In a pressure cooker add the all the veggies, beans, pumpkin, potato , carrot ( since I used frozen cauliflower and peas I did not add to the cooker. If you are using fresh then add this to the cooker). Add ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ cup water. Take one whistle on high flame. Let the cooker cool completely. Strain the stock & veggies. Keep them aside separately.

In the same cooker add the rice and lentils, with ½ teaspoon salt. Measure the stock from the veggies. Add total 5 cups water. Keep it on medium high flame and take 5 whistles. The rice and lentils should be mushy, then you do not need to mash them.

In a big kadai/ pot heat oil, add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the asafoetida, curry leaves , dried red chillies and cashewnuts sauté for a minute or till the cashewnuts turn golden. Remove ½ of the tadka and keep aside for garnish ( this is optional).
Now add the capsicum, peas and cauliflower, saute for a minute or two. Then add all the cooked veggies, the bisi bele bath powder and saute till it releases an aroma, say for 2 minutes on medium low flame. 

Add the tamarind water and cooked rice dal mix. Give it a good mix, add more hot water if necessary to make it a soupy dish. Let this simmer for 4-5 minutes so that the flavors infuse on very low flame, covered with a lid. Taste for salt,  add accordingly.  After 4 -5 minutes switch off the flame. 

Serve garnished with the remaining tadka this hot. As this cools the rice and dal will absorb most of the stock and will thicken. 

We enjoyed this hot with fried rice papad or falafel. pickle and raita. Bisi bele bath is a delicious complete and healthy meal. My guest enjoyed this meal. Do try this recipe, you will definitely fall in love with it.

Labels : Khichdi, Karnataka, Rice, Lentils, Mixed Veggies, Pumpkin, Complete Meal, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten free, Main course, Tur Dal, Pressure Cooker, Improv Cooking Challenge

Improv Cooking Challenge

Squash & Rice

Bisi Bele Bath by Sneha's Recipes
Butternut Squash Methi Pulao by Magical Ingredients
Butternut Squash Rice Pudding by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Butternut Squash and Wild Rice Pilaf by Palatable Pastime

Cheesy Halloween Breadstick Bones#BreadBakers

Make a spooky snack to your Fright Night bash with a quick and easy recipe for soft Cheesy Halloween Breadstick Bones.

Makes 6 Breadstick Bones
Ingredients
100 Grams Bread flour
8 Grams Caster Sugar
1.5 Grams Salt
1.5 Grams Instant Yeast
65 Ml + - Water
8 Grams Butter
Shredded Cheese as needed

Method

In a bowl add the flour sugar, salt, yeast and mix well, then add the water mix well and knead to a soft smooth dough. Then add the butter and stretch the dough and fold it till butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and soft. Cling wrap the bowl and leave to rise till double.

Deflate the dough and divide it into 6 equal pieces 

roll it into a smooth ball and cover , leave it aside for 10 minutes to rest.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Lightly flour your work surface.

Roll each ball into rope slightly larger on the ends. Arrange the breadsticks, spacing them at leas 2 inches apart.

Using scissors, cut a 1-inch slit on the ends of each breadstick and gently stretch each of the cut pieces apart to form the ends of the bones. 

Like wise make all and place them on the lined baking tray. 

Let it rise till double in volume, brush water.  

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top. 

Bake 190°C for 15 minutes. 

Remove the breadsticks from the oven and serve them warm with marinara sauce for dipping or along with a soup of your choice. 
Labels: Bread Sticks, Halloween, Cheese, Bread Bakers, Breads, Eggless

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

                                            

• Black Dahlia Pistachio Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Breadstick Snakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Halloween Breadstick Bones from Sneha's Recipe
• Halloween Ghost Bread from Ambrosia
• Mini Pizza Mummies from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mummy Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Spooky Halloween Stuffed bread from Cook with Renu
• Mini Jack-o-Lantern Naans from The Magical Ingredients