Sweet beginnings

The best way to ring in the new year is with an assortmentof classic desserts and cakes that are not only easy to make but also leave a lasting impression.

Butter cookies

Ingredients:
100 gm butter
125 gm castor sugar
1 egg
150 gm refined flour
150 gm soaked fruit
10 ml vanilla essence
5 gm baking soda

Method
Cream together your butter and sugar. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for your cookie dough until they are light and fluffy. This should take about five minutes on a medium/high speed.
Add in eggs gradually (one at a time). After the butter and sugar is creamed together, it is time to add the eggs and vanilla extract. You want to add the eggs into your creamed butter and sugar mixture one at a time, and mix just until combined. This will ensure you won’t break your creamed mixture and you don’t want to beat any air into the eggs at this point.
Add your dry ingredient and mix as little as possible. The next step in making cookie dough using the creaming method is to mix in the dry ingredients along with baking soda.
Now shape the cookies into your desire shapes and garnish it with liquor soaked fruit.
Bake at 1800 C for nine minutes.
— by Chef Suresh Thampy

Stollen Muffins
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups flour
1 cup almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp orange zest
1 tsp cardamom
¼ tsp allspice
¼ tsp nutmeg
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ cup candied orange peel
¼ cup currants
1 large egg
1 cup yogurt
6 tbsp melted butter

(for topping)
2 tbsp melted butter
confectioners’ sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 1900 C. Lightly grease a standard muffin pan; or line it with papers, and grease the papers.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, sugar, candied orange peel and raisins.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, yogurt, and melted butter.

Quickly and gently combine the dry and wet ingredients; this should only take a few stirs with a bowl scraper or large spoon. The batter will be stiff.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups about 3/4 full.

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven, wait for five minutes, then transfer the muffins to a rack.
Brush the muffin top with the melted butter, then dust with sugar.
— by Richa Talwar

Gingerbread
bundt cake Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp ginger
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp all spice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 ½  cups brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
½ cup molasses
1 cup water

(for the glaze)
1/3 cup rum or water
¼ tsp ginger
¼ tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 1750C. Lightly grease a 10-12-cup bundt-style pan.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the molasses.

Add the flour mixture in three additions alternately with the water, starting and ending with the flour. Mix just until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Bake the cake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the glaze by stirring together the water spice and sugar. Set aside. Remove the cake from the oven, cool it in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack.

Brush the cake with the glaze, and allow it to cool completely before serving.
— by Richa Talwar

Chocolate and almond rum ball
Ingredients
250 gm chocolate sponge eggless
100 gm dark chocolate (55% -70%)
150 ml single cream(20-25%fat)
100 gm almonds
100 gm castor sugar
10 gm instant coffee powder
15 ml dark rum

Method
Heat cream in a pan, give it a boil and remove from heat. Add the chocolate and keep aside till slightly cool and then mix well.
Toast the almonds in the oven at 1800 C for eight to 10 minutes. Roughly chop the almonds.
Heat castor sugar in a pan and caramelise, add the roughly chopped almonds and remove the nougat on to a parchment paper. Crush the nougat with a rolling pin till
slightly coarse.
In a mixing bowl, crumb the chocolate sponge till breadcrumb consistency, add half the chocolate ganache, instant coffee powder dissolved in a tsp of water, rum,  and mix with hands till the mixture is even in consistency.
Now add 2/3 of the crushed almond nougat into the mix and form in to small round balls (35-40 gm) and refrigerate.
Once slightly set, coat the rum balls with the remaining chocolate ganache.
Garnish with almond nougat and serve.
— by Chef Manish Malhotra