Life-always a Struggle or a clever Juggle?

The joy of baking never ceases to please !!!

Lately I've been trying to play Supermom by doing it all and  being on top of the game -  feeding Ananya healthy food, washing clothes twice a week, cooking diff recipes off internet, baking, taking Ananya to playgroup 3 times a week, painting my nails the latest pinkish silver nail paint that I bought recently, giving my self a pedicure, reading whenever  I can, catching up with the latest movies, doing yoga and stretching while my lil girl is asleep in the mornings, packing lunches for hubby, pitching play tents and water play with Ananya during afternoons in the lawn, taking her to the park and walking her to the fish pond  down the road in the evenings etc etc.

Chunky Chocolate cookies

Its A LOT of hard work being a mum and the world will NEVER acknowledge that and damn to the world cause we mums need to pat our backs on a continual basis if do not want to crumble under the mammoth task of being a mom,  good home makers( i don't like that word) and also taking care of our own needs. My fun thing is to bake and give myself manicures - it feels great esp after doing dishes, listen to music and read whenever I can manage to. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

I believe whoever invented chocolate deserves a peace prize. Surely. A bite of it and you're filled with bliss and complete peace within. Though I am great fan of orange and carrots as well. Recently the worried mum inside me realized that Ananya needs  snacks as she looks for food sometimes in her favorite shelf so I baked some  PEANUT BUTTER and CHUNKY  CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, Whereas the products were a success, feeding them to her was a complete failure. If only there was a checklist to feed toddlers. I was disappointed partly cause she didn't eat the cookies after the first one but because now they will show on my waist line. Talking of waistlines - ladies we need to exercise. Being a mom is no excuse - just do it wherever, whenever, how much ever. I used to conveniently blame breast feeding and the cravings arising out of it as the reason to munch but by Jo it doesn't help in the long run because hanging 'muffin tops' do not look cute when you decide to wear jeans- what goes on your lips stays on your hips.  Nor does it mean that I quit baking cause I love it . I guess eating in moderation and exercise. 

Carrot cake muffins

Slice of delight !

Baked some 'Thankyou' CARROT CAKE MUFFINS for a very nice old man, my friends' dad who helped me last year with some stuff. Dusted some icing sugar on it. He loved it cause they were still warm when I took it for him. 

Went to a friend's place for fun times with her kids. Baked FUDGE with chocolate mud cake base and Custard topping . The decoration is with dusted drinking chocolate and grated dark chocolate. Recipes of all that mentioned follows. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

                                                      1 1/2 cup self raising flour

1 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter

1 cup runny honey ( can use brown sugar as well) 

1/2 cup regular butter - room temp , pinch of salt , 1-2 tb spn milk 

Mix a bowl mix butter and honey or sugar. Add peanut butter, salt, milk .Mix, add flour gradually. Knead dough and break into small portions, grease palm with oil if need be, flatten and spread on baking tray lined with baking paper. Gently press a fork to form impressions. Bake @ 200 deg for 10-12 min. Honey changes the color to golden brown. Cool n serve or dust with icing sugar.

Chunky Chocolate chip Cookies 

 1 1/2 cup self raising flour

1 cup chocolate chips ( I mashed chocolate buttons, broken pieces of choc is fine too)

1/2 cup butter , 1/3 cup oil , 1/2 cup drinking chocolate , 2-3 tbspn cocoa powder, 1 cup brown sugar

Mix butter, sugar well. Add cocoa power, drinking chocolate, mix, add flour slowly. Add chips in the end. It becomes a chunky batter. Drop spoonful on baking tray. Bake @ 200 deg in preheated oven till toothpick comes out clean.

Carrot Cake Muffins

1 1/2 cup self raising flour

1 1/2 cups fresh grated carrot, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 tspn vanilla essence, 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter , 1/3 cup oil, handful of grated. chopped almonds.

Beat butter sugar well. Add oil, essence, some milk add flour slowly mixing well. Add carrots, remaining milk. The batter should be a lil bit runny. Throw in almonds in the end. Bake in a preheated oven, in pre greased muffin maker @ 250 deg for 18-20 min or till toothpick comes out clean.

Fudge Cake

• For Cake :

1 cup self raising flour, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 cup melted chocolate, 1 tbspn vanilla,

1 cup butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, pinch of salt.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and put and put aside. over warm water.  Beat sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour slowly, cocoa powder and salt until just mixed.  Pour into pre heated pan and bake @ 350deg for 30 min. It is okay if it is 3/4 done, take the pan out.

• For Custard :

2 big tbspn custard powder, 1 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, cold water

• Decoration:

1 tea spoon drinking choc., 2 cubes of grated dark choc.

Dissolve custard powder in cold water. Bring milk to boil, add sugar, stir till dissolved. On low flame slowly add custard mix and keep stirring. When it starts to thicken turn off gas, keep stirring and let it cool for 5 min. 

• Final bit:

When the fudge is ready pour custard on top and bake slowly on 100 deg for another 10 min till the custard settles on the fudge. Take out . Cool and cut . Sprinkle drinking chocolate on top and grate dark chocolate. Cut  n Serve.

Stay fit and happy people. There are just too many reasons to sabotage our happiness and they are so overpowering but a look around us is a quick and sure reminder to count our blessings!  Create what you can at any level, its is renewing and refreshing for the soul. It heals us and makes us ready to face the world just one more time. . . . . 

Heart shaped cake n Orange-coffee muffins !

Hello all ... after more than a months silence. Unwinding after the big day I guess. Well valentine's day went past and you know how they say that it gradually fades away - like first it was all dressing up and dates n chocolates n flowers and after you are married you barely even remember the day ! Or even if you do then all that hassle is your last priority. I'm talking of the real world people, some of you may still be doing all the above and good on ya! Anyway ....thanks to media, they just won't let you forget it. 

Well, I bought a heart shaped mold and baked a small cake, sprinkled some icing sugar on it, decorated it with rose petals and put 2 jelly teddies on top. We had it with chocolate ice cream. That is all i could manage at 10 in the night after putting the baby to sleep. We did have some quality time together though with "fruitful talking" which the husbands otherwise usually try to evade. Got my present after all I guess. Women love talking especially the "talks". 

What else, well my daughter is 13 months now and I was itching to bake the other day. So I gathered the otherwise not - so peel - able and squeezable oranges and made orange coffee muffins with vanilla icing on top. Yum! This is the first time i used an ordinary mixer /blender of my food processor and sure it did a wonderful job. I love it when beautiful things come out of simplest of efforts. It not only gives you what you would love to do over and over again but also keeps you inspired to keep doing what you love doing - baking in my case. 

Ananya had half of it while they were still soft and warm. She apparently loved it. The coffee in the muffin is optional and honestly a lil bit of bitter is what I love personally with coffee. You can leave it out in case you are not a coffee fan. Not a biggy. Its funny every time she sees a cake she says- "happy", like we are about to cut another cake!

 Here goes the recipe of the yummiest and easiest Orange coffee muffins on earth.....


 
EGG LESS ORANGE COFFEE MUFFINS 

1/2 cups self raising flour

3/4 tea spn coffee

1 cup brown sugar

2 meduim sized oranges with skin ( i used 4 small ones)

60gm butter - room temp

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup veg oil

1 tea spn vanilla essence

handful of crushed almonds - optional

In a mixer crush oranges till smooth. Add sugar, vanilla essence, coffee. If they pulp is very thick add some milk. In a pan put flour , mix from the blender. Add butter, oil and remaining milk. Mix well. Put in greased muffin pans ( fill 3/4 the space). Tap the pan and put in a preheated oven for 18-20 min @ 250deg. Bake till the skewer or toothpick comes out clean. Cool, eat, enjoy just like that or with simple vanilla icing on top !!!!

It finally happened.........

cup cakes

this is it !

The final product

Much anticipated and awaited first birthday party for my darling daughter finally happened last sunday....and yes I DID IT !!!!! I made the most flavorsome and laboursome princess doll cake ever for her. It took me 9 hours of hard work, 4 hours of my husband's moral support, 4 rings of cake and tonnes if icing to finally give it the look i had always dreamt of. Pink and purple was the classic color combination i went for. Made the icing in the morning , refrigerated it for  a few hours and boy was I impressed with the quality or what, added a bit of milk to spread it finally on the cake. Tip of the day   -   add a bit of corn flour mixed in milk ( boiled and cooled) as you go along while beating the frosting during preparation - works wonders !

doll holding a cake

Everyone loved it and my daughter couldn't take her eyes off it and that was my reward. I would totally do it again, its so worth it. It was weeks of surfing through the internet for the right recipe for a chocolate cake and vanilla frosting not to mention the millions of time i practiced it at home ( a bit sick of choc cakes at the moment ) People - all worth it. No kidding

Happy birthday love !

Enjoy the pics - girl in the lemon yellow frock is my baby and my hubby in white shirt.

Already thinking about her second birthday. I'm trying the fondant cake this time ...

Meanwhile I'm taking orders for more princess cake - no jokes.

Just to let you know

Wondering why this name for the blog? We live in this beautiful country called New Zealand and no - its not a part of Australia as some people think. Kapai in the traditional Maori language means " very good" or "choice". This is my translation for 'choice cupcakes' in Maori. Thus the fuss....and one day this is going to be my home based business. Have started already actually but coming out in the market big time very soon.

Indian mommy out to bake !

Hi all,

My name's nina and I am a full time mum. Architecture is my formal degree but motherhood is my passion. Always wanted to be a designer but more than that always wanted to have a bubbly daughter and now I have one! I guess you do get what you want in life - law of attraction, it works folks ! 

Have been the creative sorts ever since i can remember, always baked my folks' birthday cakes and made them cards. Its so much fun and if you want to go professional  any day then  hey - you've practiced it all! 

The architect inside me is on a sabbatical but I just can't stop the urge to constantly create something new all the time whether its re-arranging the house , trying new recipes or baking cup cakes. 

 Have been thinking of blogging since a long time for lots of reasons - no friends in this country, i love to interact, full time mommying now, love to write n its such a cool way to share joys....like the one i've coming up soon.

I love my 11 month old daughter who is actually just 2 weeks short of her 1st birthday. I am so so excited. Planning a birthday party for her and have decided to bake heaps of stuff for the kiddies! Can't wait. Moreover i want to prove to the world that Indians can bake, hellya!!! They're not just good at currying and poppadomming stuff! Keep watching this space cause after the grand finale I'm going to reveal it all... lotsa pics of the humble homely garden party for my sweetheart with mum as the chef cum designer of it all ! 

My husband doesn't have one creative bone in his body but sweet guy helps and appreciates everything around very much. Very supportive !

  

My daughter is such a girlie girl, cuddling her teddies and hugging her "molly" dolly since she was 9 months old.  I can never thank her enough for being in my life and turning it to such joy for the last 1 year but can sure give it a go by making her day truly special. Give it all you have mommy!!! 

catch you soon...

love and laugh

Nina