Baking (Sweet) Archives - One Girl and her Thermie

Save money with Thermomix: Icing sugar

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Basics, Blog

Save money with Thermomix. It’s what we as owners and users say all the time. But finally, I’m able to share some of the cost savings with specific recipes like this icing sugar but also one that is a wow, demonstration recipe.

Why is it a wow recipe? Well simply put it shows off the milling function beautifully. Speeds 7 – 10 and Turbo: Grinding or miling ingredients such as sugar, wheat and coffee beans, blending to a completely smooth texture for creamy soups, smoothies, and ice-cream and chopping tough ingredients such as cured ham and hard cheeses.

Powdered sugar, also called confectioners’ sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. Powdered Sugar is made by grinding granulated sugar with cornstarch to the desired grain size. White in color, powdered sugar has a sucrose content of approximately 97.0% and a cornstarch content of approximately 3.0% to prevent caking and increase shelf life. However, making your own in your Thermomix can your money on buying ready-milled icing sugar and you can do it instantly, hence not needing any corn starch too, so 100% pure.

But we’re here to talk about cost savings, so I’ve done a quick search for some tomato soups in an online supermarket. I’ve chosen Tesco today, but I will be comparing all of them in this series of articles to be fair.

Compare this with the cost of their granulated sugar, which you can mill into icing sugar

The cost savings would be £1.15 on the Silver Spoon and only 70p on the Billingtons.

That kind of makes sense, as Golden Caster Sugar is more expensive so you would see a saving but not as much. But image how much you could save on a weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis. These pennies can add up to pounds very quickly especially if you bake a lot which I do.

*What Is Golden Caster Sugar? Most commonly found in the UK, golden caster sugar is made from unrefined sugar cane and sometimes beets. It has a subtle buttery flavor and gives baked goods a lovely shade of brown.

Ingredients

200 g sugar

Preparation

Place sugar in mixing bowl and grind 20 sec/speed 10. Use icing sugar as needed.

Hints & Tips

Icing sugar can be stored for long periods of time in an airtight container.
For best results, grind sugar in 100-200 g batches.
If more icing sugar is needed, repeat the process.

Get this recipe on Cookidoo https://cookidoo.co.uk/recipes/recipe/en-GB/r178855

Motichoor Laddoo

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Dessert, Recipes, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

Making Motichoor ke laddoos is easy but time-consuming. I’ll be honest until the second lockdown, I never made this before but the lockdown has made us all do things that we don’t usually do and at Diwali time, I would normally head to my favourite Indian Mithai shop and stand in line for the most amazing sweets. Even if the shop is open, I can’t see myself queuing for hours and social distancing. It’s just safer to stay home and convert recipes. I have a Thermomix, remember and in my Thermomix, I can make almost anything.

This recipe is for Motichoor Laddoo (also laddu) is a poplar and attractive, round-shaped laddoo recipe made with saffron-colored, boondi pearls. It is a well known sweet recipe and mainly prepared for festivals and occasions to share with family and friends. It is usually made with a boondi jhara but this recipe uses commonly available kitchen spoons.

The major difference between Boondi laddoo and motichoor laddoo is the size of the tiny boondi/fried gram flour balls. Boondi laddoo has the gram flour balls bigger in size and motichoor laddoos have smaller ones. Both the ladoos are made from gram flour or besan batter. The batter is poured through a ladle or sieve with perforations and these give rise to round shaped droplets, called as boondi (derived from the word ‘boond’ in hindi which means water droplets).

There are two types of boondi laddoos; one is a soft textured one and the other is a crisp hard one. Both these laddoos have some variations in the method, thus yielding different textures.

In Hindi the word ‘moti’ means pearl and ‘choor’ means to crush or crumble. Literally translated to crumbled pearls. Actually, when you hold these laddoos in your hand and even apply a little pressure, they crumble.

Laddoos are offered to many Indian gods & goddesses. Many Indian temples offer ladoos as prasad to the devotess. One of the most famous laddoos, we have had as prashad, are from the tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, India. Another prashad, we look forward is the boondi ladoo from shirdi sai temple, nasik, India. Whenever we want to make any food for deities then refrain from tasting or smelling the food. Prepare the food with lot of devotion, cleanliness and peaceful state of mind.

If you have a pooja or any religious activity at home, then these motichoor laddoos, can be given as prashad to the devotees.

So if you, like me, are celebrating Diwali this weekend, then I hope you enjoy this recipe.

We all fight together this pandemic, pray for all those families who have lost the loved ones, broken relationships, lost jobs and hope the best to come for everyone just as Diwali teaches us that light triumphs over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance.

Milk Powder Burfi

3 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Dessert, Recipes, Snacks

Burfi (Burfee, Barfi) is a fudge-like milk sweet and often served at Diwali (Deepvali) celebrations. Like fudge, the process of making burfi may seem simple however can be tricky. This Thermomix version takes all the guesswork out.

Traditionally this requires khoya or mawa – milk powder – and some does need sugar syrup. But I always like to take shortcuts and have prepared using milk powder and this does not require you to make any sugar syrup or check for consistency. This method using milk powder makes it quicker and easier with no compromise in taste if you follow the steps exactly as given below.

Thermomix Cost Saving: Chocolate Ice-cream

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Blog, Dessert, Eggs, Recipes

How do you save money with your Thermomix? There are so many ways that owning a Thermomix can help you save you a little or a lot off your weekly grocery bill that I thought I’d share some of my Top Tips! In this series of blog posts, I will share Thermomix Cost Saving tips, let’s talk about ice-cream, chocolate ice-cream in the Thermomix to be exact…

Summer is here and for anyone who has visited an ice-cream van in the past few weeks, will realise that you don’t get much change from £20 for a family of 4. We went to Ikea last week and my daughter wanted an ice-cream from the van in the car park. She requested a lime screwball and I was hit with a bill of £4.50! I wouldn’t mind if it was worth it but when she was eating it, she said she could taste the sugar – highly sugared ice-cream and the lime syrup was sickly. What a waste of money.

We have been doing cost savings with my team and I was glad to see that Ellie Mantle had actually made and costed out the savings making homemade ice-cream.

How do you make chocolate ice cream in the Thermomix?

Ingredients

Whipped Cream

300 g double cream
50 g icing sugar

Chocolate Custard

350 g dark chocolate, small pieces or callets
300 g double cream
100 g caster sugar
6 egg yolks, from medium eggs

6 egg whites, from medium eggs
1 pinch cream of tartar
2 Tbsp caster sugar

Instructions

Whipped Cream

Place the freezer-proof container for storing the ice cream in freezer.
Insert butterfly whisk. Place cream and icing sugar in mixing bowl then, without measuring cup, whip without setting a time/speed 3 until softly whipped, watching carefully to avoid over-whipping. Remove butterfly whisk, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate. Clean mixing bowl.

Chocolate Custard

Place chocolate in mixing bowl and grate 5 sec/speed 8. Transfer to a bowl.
Place 50 g grated chocolate in a bowl and set aside for garnish.
Place 300 g grated chocolate, cream, sugar and egg yolks in mixing bowl then cook 8 min/80°C/speed 4. Transfer to a wide, shallow bowl to cool. Clean mixing bowl and butterfly whisk thoroughly (see tips).

Egg Whites and Serving

Insert butterfly whisk. Place egg whites, cream of tartar and caster sugar in mixing bowl then, without measuring cup, whip 3-4 min/speed 3.5 until stiff peaks form.
When chocolate custard mixture is cool, gradually fold in whipped cream with spatula.
Remove butterfly whisk, then carefully fold egg whites into chocolate custard-cream mixture with spatula. There should be no swirls of egg whites or whipped cream in the mixture.
Spoon mixture into the container from freezer. Cover tightly with cling film on the surface and freeze for 2 hours or longer. Check consistency before serving. If very hard, place in fridge until desired consistency is achieved.
Serve ice cream sprinkled with reserved grated chocolate.

Useful Items

cling film, freezer-proof container, freezer, refrigerator

Hints & Tips

Use good quality dark chocolate with high cocoa content (70% cocoa) for best results.
Cream whips better when chilled and may not take long to form peaks depending on temperature and fat content. Watch carefully to avoid over-whipping.
Egg whites whisk better at room temperature.
For best results use egg whites that are approx. 7-14 days old.
The egg whites, mixing bowl and butterfly whisk must be free of any trace of egg yolk or grease when whisking or they will not rise properly.
To make your own icing sugar for the whipped cream, grind 100-200 g granulated sugar 15 sec/speed 10. Retain excess for future use.
Other garnishes can include candied orange zest, finely chopped hazelnuts or roasted almonds.

This is a Cookidoo recipe – Chocolate Mousse Ice-cream

Ellie shopped in Lidl so ingredients used to cost the following:

350g Dark Chocolate, £1.50
6 medium free-range eggs £0.70
600ml of double cream £1.70
Sugar (caster and icing) £0.008
Pinch of cream of tarter 0.1p.
>>Cost per scoop = 43.5p!

That’s a 10-fold cost saving. And if it just wasn’t for the money, my daughter said it tasted better too. Of course, it did.

Top 10 Bakes during Lockdown

2 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Blog, Breads

Baking has become the nation’s biggest boredom breaker to fill the days of lockdown which has resulted in shortages of flour and yeast all over the country.

Baking is a great way to unwind, pass the time and bring some fun into the household.

So here’s are the top 10 favourites as compiled by BakeryandSnacks.com with my favourite recipe suggestions to use with a Thermomix.

Apple Pie – A truly delicious apple pie is about two things: perfect pastry and a generous filling of sweet, fluffy apples. This recipe delivers on both counts.
Cheesecake – This is a classic New York Baked Cheesecake that turns out perfect every time. It’s actually the most popular recipe on The 4 Blades blog, so when they were developing the ‘Champion Cheesecakes’ section, it was an absolute must-include. This is my all-time favourite recipe and when my Dad tried it, he said I should open a dessert shop, it’s that good.
Rhubard Crumble For a classic spring pudding recipe, make this pretty rhubarb crumble recipe and serve with plenty of custard.
Victoria Sponge The perfect party cake, a Victoria sponge is a traditional bake everyone will love. This recipe from Cookidoo is a good one and from the British Isles on a Plate cookbook.
Cupcakes. I can’t take credit for this recipe, as it’s been converted by my friend Kerry New, who I believe converted it to the Thermomix from Country Women’s Association in Australia (CWAA) a recipe that her grandmother made. Hats off to the original creator of this recipe, it is still single-handedly my favourite vanilla cake recipe and my go-to for birthday cakes and cupcakes. There’s also variations to the recipe which turn this basic recipe into chocolate, coffee, orange or lemon cake. No wonder it is my go-to.
Bread Cooking can be good for the soul and making bread is such a rewarding, therapeutic, tactile thing – you’ll be so proud of yourself when you’ve cracked it. If you have never made bread before, I suggest you try this ‘Quick Bread’ recipe on Cookidoo which uses a Dutch Oven (I use my Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole) to bake the bread. Do try it.
Chocolate chip cookies A chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that originated in the United States and features chocolate chips or chocolate morsels as its distinguishing ingredient. Circa 1938, Ruth Graves Wakefield added chopped up bits from a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie.
Lemon Drizzle Cake Everyone needs an easy lemon drizzle cake that is super-quick to bake and perfect to wheel out for office cake days or visiting mothers-in-law.
Savoury Pie The secret it a good pie is the ingredients. This chicken and leek pie is a Cookidoo recipe from the British Isles on a Plate cookbook. I absolutely adore this recipe, as from start to finish the recipe is made in the Thermomix and it’s a great recipe.
Rainbow Coloured Sponge Cake I’d like to take inspiration from Great British Bake-Off winner Candice Brown reveals how to make this show-stopping rainbow cake. Candice Brown’s rainbow cake recipe would be the perfect centrepiece for any charity bake sale, or party. The Great British Bake Off winner has created this showstopping rainbow cake to support children’s charity the Rainbow Trust – who offer support to seriously ill children and their families. And yes, I know this link isn’t to a Thermomix recipe. But if you’ve got this far, you surely would ve able to convert a recipe by now. If not, this is a fabulous time to try.

Thermomix Petit Filous

6 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Breakfast & Brunch, Dairy, Dessert, Snacks, Vegan & Vegetarian

The wonderful Dèsirée Castro Rodríguez, a fellow Team Leader re-engineered Petit Filous for a Thermomix and the results are amazing. It’s so easy to do and the proof is in the pudding. My kids will wolf this down in seconds.

In 1986, Petits Filous fromage frais launched in the UK. Today, Petits Filous is the #1 Kids fromage frais brand in the UK, containing both calcium and Vitamin D which help build strong bones. My kids, like most children, brought up in the UK, adored this when they were younger and parents in the UK start weaning their kids with this in their little pot range and move up to the bigger size when their appetites grow.

In the UK, its something we give our kids when they are weaning and beyond, so looking at the ingredients list is a little worrying.

Ingredients: Fromage frais (Skimmed milk, Cream, Lactic cultures) – Sugar 6.2% – Strawberry Purée from concentrate 5% – Fructose 3% – Carrot juice – Corn flour – Lemon juice – Natural flavouring – Milk mineral concentrate – Vitamin D.

As all Thermomix owners know, homemade is best and here you know exactly what is going into it – real food. Milk, cheese, sugar (which can be reduced) and fresh fruit. Obviously, you can vary the fruit to get different flavours. I’ve done combinations with raspberries, mango and blueberries successfully.

Magic bean chocolate cake

Leave a Comment / Baking (Sweet), Dessert

A delicious (and gluten-free) chocolate cake with a healthy difference—red kidney beans! Sarah Wong’s recipe is one of the best known on the official Thermomix community recipe sharing site, however, there are thousands of other great recipes in here, with new ones posted every day here.

This gluten-free, but free, high protein cake is wonderfully moist and works with most canned beans. Chickpeas work but they have a bit of a strong taste.

I wanted to share it here just in case you haven’t tried this yet. Do try it. If anyone is familiar with my cooking, I am a strictly a non-GF, child-friendly family household. As a Thermomix Advisor I know of many unique and quirky recipes but often don’t make them, as usually there’s no point, they just don’t get eaten by my kids. If this kidney bean chocolate cake got past Milan’s taste test (i.e. he had no idea he wasn’t) then I call that a fabulous result and encourage anyone and everyone trying to diversify their repertoire and sneak vegetables into their kid’s diets.

Chocolate Swiss Roll

2 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Snacks

I love chocolate. Anything chocolate. One of my favourite things about Christmas was that since I hate mince pies, Christmas pudding, and cake, my mum would buy me a Chocolate Swiss Roll instead. I have to admit I grew up on Cadbury’s or supermarket ones, the Waitrose or Marks & Spencer deluxe versions, but it’s only recently that I discovered how easy it is to make a Swiss roll.

This easy chocolate Swiss roll recipe is a classic! A Swiss roll is a very impressive cake and looks quite difficult to make, which is why people often shy away from baking them. A homemade Swiss roll is so much nicer than shop bought and they are much easier to make than you might think. This chocolate Swiss roll has a vanilla buttercream with yoghurt filling, which is full of flavour and a little easier on the calories. The vanilla and chocolate work extremely well together.

This Swiss roll cake could be served as a delicious dessert recipe topped with lashings of cream. This chocolate Swiss roll recipe takes 50 mins to make and bake and serves 4-6 people. This chocolate Swiss roll recipe is perfect if you want to bake something a little different, it’s great for sharing with a cuppa or can be smothered in custard or served with ice cream for dessert.

Mango sticky rice

2 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Dessert, Noodle, Pasta & Rice

Mango sticky rice is a traditional Thai dessert made with glutinous rice, fresh mango, and coconut milk, and eaten with a fork, spoon, or sometimes the hands. Although originating in Thailand, it is consumed throughout the Indochina region of Southeast Asia, including Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

As the weather gets colder in the UK, I want to hibernate and for some reason, my palate leans towards all Asian dishes. This mango sticky rice dessert with coconut milk – a simple, heavenly Thai classic hit the dessert spot every single time.

I have converted this recipe to Thermomix but used this BBC Good food recipe as a guide.