Recipe - Apple Pie

Ingredients

For the pastry
2.5 cups of maida
1 cup unsalted butter cubes
1 pinch salt
4-5 Tbsp cold milk

For the filling
2 apples
½ cup soft unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ cup superfine sugar
½ cup soft light brown sugar
1 pinch of salt
¼ cup water
cinnamon (to taste)

For the glaze
milk/eggwhite
superfine sugar

Method -
1. Make a dough by mixing the pastry ingredients. Don't overwork the dough. if you face problems while keading, keep it in the freezer to cool it down making it easier to manage
2. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll them out with a heavy rolling pin. use a lot of flour to keep the dough from sticking. make the base bigger than the size of the pastry baking tray (8-9 inch tray should do it)
3. use the rolling pin to put one of the rolled out dough on to the tray and fit it in using fingers. Do not cut off the dough from the edges.
4. Cut the other rolled out dough piece into long pieces. Put all in the freezer for a few minutes
5. Start making the filling Heat the butter and add all the ingredients. Keep stirring till everything mixes well
6. Cut the apples into small pieces (half inch) and put them in the pie base
7. Pour the syrup in the whole base evenly over all the apple pieces
8. Sprinkle cinnamon on the apples
9. Put the dough strips on the appleslike a weaved mat. use water on the dough at the edges and pinch the pieces together at the edges
10. Use milk and sugar mix or eggwhite to brush on top of the pie
11. Preheat oven to 220 celcius and bake on low rack for 15 min. then cook at 180 celcius for another 35-40 min.
12. Take it out and cool it before serving

Recipe - Walnut date chocolate cake

Ingredients
1. Maida (All purpose flour) - 200 gms
2. Sugar - 200 gms
3. Unsalted butter - 200 gms
4. Eggs - 4
5. Baking powder - 1 tsp
6. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
7. Crushed walnuts - 1/2 cup
8. Dates - small pieces 1/2 cup
9. Cocoa powder - 4 tsp

Method
1. Mix 1/4th tsp of bakind soda with the dates and let it rest. This helps maintain the colour.
2. Mix maida, baking powder and remaining baking soda using a thin wired sieve. Pass through the sieve 3-4 times to mix it well
3. Mix the cocoa powder in it. The amount of cocoa powder can be adjusted based on amount of chocolate flavour you want. 4 tsp gives just enough chocolate flavour.
4. Beat butter in a glass bowl till fluffy. It's a lot of effort, but then you do get mechanical egg beaters that make it slightly easy for you.
5. Start adding one egg at a time and continue beating it. The other option is to beat the eggs separately in a blender and mix with the butter and again beat it for sometime.
6. Grind the sugar to a powder in a grinder and add to the egg and butter mix and beat it again. Remember, you have to beat it till it's fluffy. If you overdo it, it will become slightly lumpy.
7. At this point, start pre-heating the oven to 200C
8. Apply butter to the sides and bottom of the baking pan and dust it with some maida.
9. Put the dates and walnuts into the batter and mix well.
10. Now put the maida/baking powder mix in batter and fold it in slowly. DO NOT beat it. Just move a wooden spatula in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction in the bowl to mix it slowly. Do not change direction midway. Fold the mixture in this way slowly so as not to release the air that has already built up inside the batter.
11. Pour the batter in the baking pan upto slightly more than half the height.
12. Keep it in the oven at 200C for 5 min.
13. Change the temperature to 180C and bake it for another 35-40 min.
14. Once the timer goes off, take out the pan and insert a knife into the cake. If the cake sticks to the knife blade, keep it inside for another few minutes.
15. Once done, take out and put on a reverse wire mesh in order to air it.

Recipe - 5 min Chocolate cake in a microwave

Ingredients - 
1. All purpose flour (maida) - 4 Tabsp
2. Sugar - 4 Tabsp
3. Unsweetened cocoa - 2 Tabsp
4. Egg - 1
5. Milk - 3 Tabsp
6. Oil - 3 Tabsp
7. Chocolate chips - 3 Tabsp (if you want)
8. Vanilla (or other) essence - 1 drop

Method - 
1. Take a big, microwave-proof mug and put all the dry ingredients in. Mix.
2. Whisk the egg separately and then add it to the mug. Mix again.
3. Add milk and oil and mix well with a spoon to make it into a paste.

4. Add the choco chips and essence. Mix.
5. Put the cup in the microwave. At 1000 watts, cook for 3 min. at 700/720 - cook for 3.5 min. Depending on your taste, you may want to increase or decrease the timing by 15-20 seconds when you make it the second time :)

Recipe - Victorian Sponge Cake

This is a basic Victorian cake. I haven't been able to take photos of the intermediate steps coz I had messy hands :). Also, you could convert this cake into a Victorian sandwich, by slicing the cake into two layers and applying strawberry jam between them.

Ingredients

1. Maida (All purpose flour) - 200 gms
2. Sugar - 200 gms
3. Unsalted butter - 200 gms
4. Eggs - 4
5. Baking powder - 1 tsp
6. Baking soda - 1/4th tsp

Method

1. Mix maida, baking powder and baking soda using a thin wired sieve. Pass through the sieve 3-4 times to mix it well
2. Beat butter in a glass bowl till fluffy. It's a lot of effort, but then you do get mechanical egg beaters that make it slightly easy for you.
3. Start adding one egg at a time and continue beating it. The other option is to beat the eggs separately in a blender and mix with the butter and again beat it for sometime.
4. Grind the sugar to a powder in a grinder and add to the egg and butter mix and beat it again. Remember, you have to beat it till it's fluffy. If you overdo it, it will become slightly lumpy.
5. At this point, start pre-heating the oven to 200C
6. Apply butter to thee sides and bottom of the baking pan and dust it with some maida.
7. Now put the maida/baking powder mix in batter and fold it in slowly. DO NOT beat it. Just move a wooden spatula in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction in the bowl to mix it slowly. Do not change direction midway. Fold the mixture in this way slowly so as not to release the air that has already built up inside the batter.
8. Pour the batter in the baking pan upto slightly more than half the height.
9. Keep it in the oven at 200C for 5 min.
10. Change the temperature to 180C and bake it for another 25-30 min.
11. If you pour this batter in the cup cake bowls, the baking time reduces by a few minutes.
12. Once the timer goes off, take out the pan and insert a knife into the cake. If the cake sticks to the knife blade, keep it inside for another few minutes.
13. Once done, take out and put on a reverse wire mesh in order to air it.
14. You can do some icing on it if you want after it has cooled down.