Gajar ka Mitha {Carrot Halwa}

It is well known in our family that my mom makes some of the best Hyderabadi desserts.  Her Badaam ki Jaali and Puran Puri are two of the most loved desserts she makes.  The desserts are definitely labour intensive.  I remember growing up helping her peeling the almonds for desserts and always being asked to go give the mixture on the stove a stir.

Easy Tiramisu Trifle {#EidEats2017 & A Giveaway}

 

This post is sponsored by Tea India

We are in the last week of Ramadan and today is the day for Eid Eats!  I pray that everyone has had a wonderful Ramadan and I wish you an early Eid Mubarak from my family to yours.

Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

I've been wanting to make Frosted Sugar Cookies for a while now.  I love the idea of spreading a cookie batter in a pan and baking.  Less time consuming than having to keep putting new batches of cookies in the oven.  I've never been very good at making cookies.  I make them too big or they come out flat.  I love the idea of cookie bars!  I find my boys are much more into cookies than cake and they loved these!

Strawberry Trifle

Trifle is a great dessert to make to feed a crowd and it's so easy to make.  Growing up trifle always had Jello, cake, custard and fruit in alternating layers.  To make this even easier, I used Instant Pudding instead of making a custard from scratch.  You can buy pound cake but I chose to make my own cake and used this recipe without the pistachios.  I baked it in a 9x13 pan.  I had some cake leftover after assembling the trifle.

Baklava Cheesecake #LifesBetterTogether {Plus a special offer from #Evite}

When celebrating special occasions like anniversaries, an elegant dessert is a must.  The Baklava Cheesecake recipe I am sharing with you today would be perfect to serve when celebrating an event such as an anniversary.  It combines two of my favourite desserts, Baklava and Cheesecake!

Fruity Double Marshmallow Rice Krispies Treats {Blossom & Bean}

Recently I told you about all the goodies I received from Blossom & Bean and I also shared the delicious S'mores we made using the Blossom & Bean Halal S'mores Kit.  Today I am sharing what we made with the Campfire Mini Fruit Halal Marshmallows.  I found the Campfire Marshmallows to be the best Halal marshmallows that I have tried.  The texture and taste are both very good and they worked wonderfully in these Fruity Double Marshmallow Rice Krispies Treats.

Halal S'mores {Blossom & Bean}

I recently posted about all the goodies I received from Blossom & Bean.  One of those items was the Blossom & Bean Halal S'mores Kit.  I was looking forward to trying this since I've never had S'mores before.  The box comes with a bag of Campfire Halal Marshmallows, Graham Crackers and Lindt Chocolates.  There were no instructions in the kit so I did some searching and initially I had baked them on 400°F for 2-3 minutes.  This method was not very good.  The cracker ended up burning.  After some discussions with my sister-in-law who loves all things candy, I put them under the broiler until the marshmallow browned.  These were much better.  I used 2 pieces of chocolate but there is room to put more!

Banana and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits with Coconut Whipped Cream #GayLeaMom

The weather has warmed up and BBQ season is here!  We love to grill up chicken, kebobs and even pizza on our grill.  After such a heavy meal, a nice light and refreshing dessert hits the spot!  Today I am sharing a dessert that fits the bill!  Banana and Vanilla Pudding Parfaits!  Best of all you don't need to turn on the oven to make this dessert.

Pear and Cranberry Rice Pudding with Chocolate Crunchies & Veggie Rice Lasagna Loaf {Minute Rice® Giveaway}

Pear and Cranberry Rice Pudding with Chocolate Crunchies

Recently I attended a cooking event at George Brown College hosted by Minute Rice®.  Our session was hosted by Chef John Higgins, Director of George Brown Chef School.  We had the opportunity to watch Chef Higgins prepare 2 dishes (Veggie Rice Lasagna Loaf and Pear and Cranberry Rice Pudding with Chocolate Crunchies).  We also had a chance to go in the kitchen and prepare the Rice Pudding.  It was a great experience on learning some tips for cooking rice and cooking in the George Brown Chef School is always lots of fun!

Falooda

Today I am sharing a recipe which is made extra decadent with Gay Lea Whipped Cream.  Falooda is an Indian/Pakistani chilled dessert beverage.  It is one of my husband's favourite desserts although it had always been something I had avoided because of the black seeds at the bottom.  I was a very picky eater growing up and I couldn't get past those black seeds.  I had never even tried Falooda before I got married.  One year I decided I would give a try at making Falooda for my husband since he enjoyed it so much.  It turned out very well!  The seeds are the bottom are tukmalanga or basil seeds.  They are similar to chia seeds.  When they are soaked they expand and become jelly-like.  They can easily be found at an Indian grocery store.  The dominant flavour in Falooda is from Rooh Afza which is a sweet rose syrup that can also be found in Indian grocery stores.

Upside Down Pineapple Cake with Blossom & Bean Vanilla Extract

I love to bake but one of the struggles I've had in the past was finding an affordable good quality alcohol-free vanilla extract.  I've tried some vanilla powders that were white which immediately tells you that it's not real vanilla.  I've tried some high end vanilla powder which was great but it's not readily available where I live and it's pretty pricey.  Actual vanilla beans aren't a good alternative as they are expensive and I bake quite often.  So I was very excited when Blossom & Bean started selling alcohol-free vanilla extract.

Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

The pumpkin recipes continue in our home.  We've still have a lot of pumpkin puree to go though after the boys each brought home a pumpkin from their field trip.  I recently shared with you some Soft Baked Pumpkin Cookies I made that were a huge hit.  Today I'm sharing Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes.  I saw this recipe last year on My Ninja Naan.  They looked so cute.  The original recipe topped the cakes with a chocolate glaze.  Henna skipped this step and I totally agree.  The cakes are delicious on their own and any sort of glaze would overpower it.

Low Fat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I'm always on the search for a low fat cookie recipe.  My boys love cookies and it really is hard for them to stop at one.  I came across this recipe on Skinnytaste.  I liked that they were oatmeal cookies and I find that if I put chocolate chips in anything, the boys will gobble them up!

The Ultimate Tarte Tatin

Today I'm remaking Canadian Living's recipe for The Ultimate Tarte Tatin.  We all love desserts with apples.  Recently we enjoyed Canadian Living's Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie which was a huge hit so I knew this Tarte Tatin would be loved by all as well.  This dessert is very different from apple pie as it is made in a cast iron skillet.  I've never made a dessert in a cast iron skillet so I was excited to give this method a try.

Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie with Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust

My all time favourite pie is Apple Pie.  I am not much of a pie baker and this is my first time baking an Apple Pie.  My mom makes a really good Apple Pie.  The star in her pie is the crust.  She has always used Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust.  I've tried to make low fat versions of pie crust using either coconut oil or olive oil but none have come close to Crisco® No Fail Pie Crust.  Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening now comes in 1 cup sticks which makes baking with Crisco® even easier.  Follow along below to see how I made Canadian Living's Classic Cinnamon Apple Pie with this great pie crust and don't forget to enter the contest (details below)!

Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Summer is half over.  I didn't use my ice cream maker at all during July.  My boys love chocolate and I've been wanting to try a chocolate ice cream recipe for awhile.  I came across a recipe for Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Bits over at Annie's Eats.  I had every intention of adding the brownie bits and even baked a batch of Low Fat Fudge Brownies.  But when I tasted the ice cream I thought adding brownies would have made it way too sweet.

Pistachio Topped Vanilla Cake & Eid Eats 2014

Ramadan is almost coming to an end which means Eid will be here soon.  Today is Eid Eats 2014, a virtual Eid Party, that Sarah from Flour & Spice and I are hosting.

We asked all of you to make a dish that you would make for Eid.  For many, this is a time to make extravagant meals and have family over.  Personally, I have never done a lot of cooking on Eid.  We used to go to my parents for a big lunch and now we visit my brother and his family.

Blueberry Cornmeal Cobbler

The August Canadian Living cover recipe is a Blueberry Cornmeal Cobbler.  I've never made or even eaten a cobbler before.  I usually don't eat desserts where the main ingredient is berries.  I prefer cakes and cookies. Recently my sister-in-law made a berry crisp which I really enjoyed so I was looking forward to trying out this cobbler recipe.

No-Bake Mini Cheesecake Blossoms

Cheesecake is one of my favourite desserts.  I love the ones that are light and creamy like this month's Canadian Living Make It, Share It No-Bake Mini Cheesecake Blossoms.  This makes a great dessert in the summer since you don't have to turn on your oven.

Grilled Peach Melba Sundae {CLBN}

With summer almost here we are enjoying more ice cream and popsicles.  My boys love to site in the backyard and have a frozen treat.  Ice Cream Sundaes were a wonderful summer time treat for me when I was growing up.  My favourite was always vanilla ice cream topped with fudge sauce and some nuts.  I've never been one to stray from this traditional sundae.  Today I will be re-creating Canadian Living's July Cover Recipe which is a Grilled Peach Melba Sundae.  I was excited to try something different which used fruit that are in season right now.