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Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

September 5, 2013 by TheWhiteRamekins

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

Cooking with whole grains in India is as ancient as it can be. There are lot many Indian grains, which have completely disappeared from the increasingly modernized, urban kitchens. In fact, the whole grains which are more fashionably being termed as The Super Foods, were the staples of Indian homes ages back.

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

And in most Indian kitchens, the benefits of whole grains only tend to get limited to wheat. Wheat has become the primary component of our diet, in form of rotis or chapatis. I can remember my mother spending a lot of time on procuring new seasonal whole wheat in bulk, storing them in a huge container and washing, cleaning and sun drying the grains and getting them milled at a local flour mill. In fact, she never used to sift the flour, so as to keep the bran and fiber intact. Taste of those whole wheat chapatis, smeared with desi ghee {Indian clarified butter}, is something which can never be replaced, I guess.

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

But these days, because of the busy urban life, our whole wheat flour comes from a plastic bag now. Wish people had enough time for themselves, like they used to have in old times! But I feel that people are getting more and more conscious about their health these days, at least this is what I have experienced over past couple of years.

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

You must have seen people buying a whole wheat or multi-grain bread more happily than a refined flour based sandwich bread or replacing their refined cooking oil with cold pressed olive or mustard oil. Now, how much nutrient value those foods bring to our diet is different question all together. But at least, the dietary scene is changing, however slow-paced it might be. This change could be partly be owed to the marketing gimmicks of packaged food industry. But that is bringing some awareness about the importance of whole foods to the fore.

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

And I must tell you, my sweet blogger friends Sangeeta & Deeba have been inspiring me a lot these days to bake/cook with whole grains. Thanks a million…both you sweet ladies! I have tried replacing refined flour in my baked goods with wholewheat flour and other alternate flour in past too, and the results were quite good.

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

My friends and family couldn’t make out the taste, until I told them. And this happened again when I recently baked these wholewheat brownies yesterday, for my office mates. I took them to my office and when I opened the box, I declared that these were made of whole wheat and I had replaced some of the butter with olive oil, most of my colleagues asked for a second. It gave them a healthy excuse…isn’t that sweet?

Wholewheat Dark Chocolate Brownies

And it made me happy happy. 🙂 And now, I am tempted to make a wholewheat chocolate fudge cake soon, until then keep watching this space!

Recipe source PassionateAboutBaking

Ingredients

60 gm butter
40 ml olive oil
80 gm wholewheat flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
100 gm sugar
100 gm dark chocolate
50 gm chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree C. Butter and line an 8 x 8 inch square pan with parchment paper and keep aside.
  2. In a big bowl, melt together the chocolate, butter and oil on a double boiler, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the boiling water beneath.
  3. Once chocolate is melted. Let it a cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in the sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
  4. Add flour, salt and baking powder and mix well. Mix in the chopped walnuts.
  5. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Bake for around 20 minutes.
  6. Let cool in pan completely. Cut into 16 equal squares.

Filed Under: brownies, chocolate Tagged With: baking, brownies, chocolate, food, healthy baking, wholewheat

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

April 7, 2013 by TheWhiteRamekins

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 3

Who on earth doesn’t want a chocolate chip cookie? Every now and then, I get a craving to bake some cookies for myself. And the urge is so strong, that you would see cookie recipes coming up here quite often. Sometimes, it is for friends, family or co-workers at office and at other times, it is my own craving, which needs to be satiated. I came across this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe a few days back, when I got a cookie request from office. I had been searching around for a recipe which was high on oatmeal side, only because I had a big container of oats lying around the kitchen shelf, which I wanted to finish.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies 2

I wouldn’t say that this cookie is a healthy one, considering the butter that goes into. But this recipe being heavy on oatmeal, turns into hearty and wholesome cookies. And if you bake big cookies like I had, I bet one cookie with a glass full of milk would be good enough for a quick breakfast. I baked half of the cookies for a slightly longer duration to make them a bit more crispy all around. The other difference between this recipe and other recipes here, is the oats used {quick cooking/rolled oats} in this one, are added straight to the dough,without being powdered in the food processor. This makes the cookies more chewier and wholesome. All in all, it’s a wonderful recipe from Joy of Baking, surely a keeper for me.

Ingredients

110 grams walnuts, toasted and chopped
150 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
210 grams packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
105 grams all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper/silicon baking mat.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 – 3 minutes).
  3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated.
  6. Stir in the nuts, oats, and chocolate chips.
  7. For large cookies, use 1/4 cup of batter (I like to use an ice cream scoop) and space the cookies about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on the baking sheet.
  8. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick.
  9. Bake the cookies for about 12 -15 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the center.
  10. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

Filed Under: cookies Tagged With: chocolate chip cookies, food, healthy baking, oatmeal cookies

Whole Wheat Zucchini Seed Muffins

April 6, 2013 by TheWhiteRamekins

Whole Wheat Zucchini Seeds Muffins

Last month, Daring Baker’s challenge was to be about smart and sneak in some veggies in the goodies we were supposed to bake. Going by the challenge’s theme, I baked a dark chocolate and beetroot olive oil cake. The cake had a very dark flavor of chocolate which got accentuated by adding roasted beetroots to it.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Seeds Muffins 4

I also baked some whole wheat zucchini seed muffins following the challenge, though I didn’t get the time to post about them. These muffins are quite light, refreshing, less sugary and very moist. Having the goodness of all the healthy ingredients, whole wheat flour instead of plain flour, honey instead of refined sugar, oil instead of butter and yes of course the vegetables.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Seeds Muffins 5

They are so perfect for a quick breakfast on a busy weekday. You could also sneak in some in your kids’s lunch box or take them to the work for an afternoon snack.

Whole Wheat Zucchini Seeds Muffins 6

Recipe adapted from Eric Lanlard’s Home Bake

Ingredients

225 gm Whole wheat flour
1 ½ tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
175 ml milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tbsp vegetable oil
6 tbsp honey
125 gm grated zucchini
½ tsp each of oats and pumpkin seeds

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin papers.
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, honey, milk and zucchini.
  4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.
  5. Pour the batter into the muffin paper cups and top with seeds and oats.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes until risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
  7. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Filed Under: cake Tagged With: food, healthy baking, whole wheat muffins, whole wheat recipe, zucchini muffins

Hi! I'm Himanshu - a home chef who loves to cook, bake, style and photo shoot... Read More…

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