Saffron

The hot and hazy heat of this Indian summer has the Devnaa team thinking about lighter, fresher summer desserts infused with the flavours of India. One of my favourite spices is Saffron and today I came across a wonderful article about this mysterious ingredient, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I just did!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jun/29/saffron

Hot Chocolate!!!!!!!

Its been an extra hot week here in London and the Devnaa team are feeling the heat!!! We've been working extra hard on new recipes and lots of cakes and desserts for all your summer barbeques and parties... Here's a few tips on how to make sure your chocolate treats hold up in the summer sun -

• Although we don't normally keep chocolates in the fridge, in this heat we advise that as soon as you receive them - place your chocolates in a sealable plastic bag and pop them straight in the fridge - the bag will stop any moisture affecting your chocolates and if you take them out of the fridge 10 -15 minutes before eating them they'll taste just fine :)
• Sometimes the heat can cause greyish patches to form on the surface of chocolates - this just means that the heat has caused the cocoa butter in the chocolate to separate and reset and although it doesn't look great, the chocolates will taste perfectly normal and it's nothing to worry about - this problem is far more common in darker chocolates as they contain more cocoa butter.
• Keep chocolate cake in an air tight container in the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before serving - the air tight container will help prevent the sponge from drying out and the moisture in the fridge from affecting the cake.
• Fresh cream is a favourite at this time of year but remember to only ever take it out of the fridge at the very last minute! The heat will cause it to spoil really quickly so keep it cool at all times before eating it.

We hope this information helps you enjoy your summer desserts more - if you have any questions please don't hesitate to drop us an email or phone call :) xx

Rose & Vanilla Rasmalai & Mango Fool...

As well as busily working away on Father's Day sweets the Devnaa team have also found a little extra time this week to come up with new recipes for our surprise projects later in the year - we created a delicious mango fool - a whipped cream, yogurt and mango dessert perfect for summer, and a rose and vanilla rasmalai with strawberry compote, perfectly chilled for the warm evenings we've been having. Take a look -

Father's Day

This Sunday (20th June) is father's day in the UK and as the perfect gift Devnaa have put together a special edition Father's Day gift box. Our great Chai Masala and Coconut Cardamom Truffles with Milk Chocolate Marvel Barfi spelling out the word 'Dad'. Available in a 9 piece or 18 piece set this really is the perfect gift this Father's Day - and he can share it with the family too!! :)

England VS USA World Cupcakes

Last Saturday England played they're first game of this year's world cup tournament and it was against the USA. To help along the celebrations in the Devnaa kitchen we made some very English 'strawberries and cream' cupcakes and some very American 'rocky road' cupcakes...

Recipe of the Week - Malva Pudding inspired Cupcakes

As we didn't post a recipe last Friday, here's an early one this week - these are the Malva pudding inspired cupcakes we made here in the Devnaa kitchen last week to kick off the world cup :)

Ingredients

1 Egg

1 cup of Caster Sugar

1 cup of Plain Flour

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1 cup of Milk

4 tsp Melted Butter

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

4 tblsp Apricot Jam

300 ml Whipping Cream

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

80g Icing Sugar

Method

• Pre heat your oven to gas mark 6 and grease the cavities of a 12 hole muffin tray
• Cream the egg and caster sugar together for at least 8 minutes until thick, pale and fluffy
• Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl
• Mix half of the milk into the egg mixture followed by half of the flour and then the remaining milk followed by the remaining flour
• Mix in the butter, vinegar and 2 tblsp of the apricot jam
• Divide the batter evenly between each of the muffin holes (each one should be between two thirds to three quarters full)
• Bake for 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the puddings comes out clean
• Place the muffin tray on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes
• Run a palette knife around the edge of each pudding, turn out onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely
• Whip the cream until you reach soft peak consistency
• Fold in the vanilla extract and sifted icing sugar (add a little apricot colour if desired)
• Use your finger to poke a small hole into the top of each pudding and fill it with the remaining apricot jam
• Swirl the whipped cream on top.

And they're off!

The Devnaa Team got so caught up in World Cup Fever last week that we didn't get time to post a blog on Friday!!! Not to worry though - we've got pictures and recipes to share from the world cup kick off, Devnaa style!

The first official match was host country South Africa vs Mexico and in tribute we made Malva pudding inspired cupcakes alongside spiced chocolate. Malva Pudding is a common South African dessert - a moist sponge pudding flavoured with apricot jam and traditionally soaked with a hot cream and sugar syrup and served with whipped cream, we made miniature versions of the sponge pudding and topped them with a little more apricot jam and a whirl of vanilla whipped cream. The spiced chocolate cupcakes payed homage to the motherland of chocolate itself - Mexico! Intensely chocolatey cupcakes with a hint of orange and chilli and a kick of cinnamon.... Mmmmm...!!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for our Malva Pudding Cupcake recipe and later in the week find out what we made for England's first match which was against the USA! :)

Ready for the World Cup - Cakes!

Having conducted a little research, the Devnaa team is good to go for the world cup - 1st match is the host nation South Africa VS Mexico, so in cupcake terms a rich chocolate cup cake spiced with cinnamon, chilli and orange VS a 'malva pudding' inspired cupcake with apricot and vanilla flavours... So, while everybody else is off watching the match on Friday, I think I'll stay behind and referee the cupcakes! Mmmmmmm...... De-licious!!! :)

Holy Crepes!!!!!!

OK, apologies for the cheesey title but these delicious crepes really were something to shout about! Another successfully tried and tested recipe, created by us to be shared with you guys later in the year these paper thin crepes filled with caramelised banana slices infused with saffron and served with fresh cardamom ice cream and drizzled with honey were completely devoured by the Devnaa team in seconds! We can't wait to share this recipe with you alongside lots of others with the announcement of a special project we've been working on - thankfully we won't have to wait much longer at all - if all goes to plan, all will be revealed this Autumn! =)

Summertime..... And the weather is Cheesecakey!!!!!

The gorgeous weather this weekend had the Devnaa kitchen in a buzz with lots of gorgeous summery desserts being made! Mini cheesecakes and desserts containing the likes of limes, strawberries, raspberries, coconut, saffron, cardamom, vanilla, whipped cream... So many delicious summer flavours, this has got to be our favourite time of year!! It feels so good to know that clients all over London were celebrating the weather and ending their barbeques, parties, weddings, birthdays etc with a special little Devnaa dessert created just for them. Our signature Strawberry Saffron cheesecake - a light cheesecake flavoured with saffron, cardamom, almonds and pistachios to taste like the classic Indian dessert 'Shrikhand' and topped with whipped cream and strawberry - was as popular as ever... =)

Recipe of the Week - Coconut Limeade

Here's a twist on a classic! Deliciously refreshing and a great alternative to lemonade on hot, hazy, barbecuing weekends like these! The Devnaa family are going to love this!

Ingredients
2 Limes, chopped into eighths
4 tblsp Caster Sugar
500 ml Sparkling Water, chilled
250 ml Coconut Water, chilled
Lots of Ice

Method

• Place the chopped limes and sugar in a blender and blitz until pureed
• Pour in half of the sparkling water to loosen the lime mixture and blitz for a few more seconds
• Sieve the lime mixture into a large mixing bowl and pour in the rest of the sparkling water and the coconut water
• Whisk together, add a little more sugar if required and pour into glasses filled with ice
• Enjoy!!! :)

Double Chocolate Kheer

Ok, even if we say so ourselves we really out did ourselves in the Devnaa kitchen yesterday - the Double Chocolate Kheer was amazing!!! An Indian style rice pudding infused with white chocolate and covered in milk chocolate shavings - delicious!! :)

And the 'beat' goes on.....!!

Right, now that the madness from bank holiday weekend has finally settled the Devnaa team are back on the ball! This week we're going to continue to create new recipes to feature in our videos and share with you later in the year so if there's anything in particular you'd like to see - let us know!! Our younger cousins just got back from a high flying dj-ing trip to LA last night so what better way to welcome them back than with a big bowl of kheer - Devnaa style with a little chocolate mixed in!! Pictures tomorrow! :)

Purple and Silver Mini Cake Tower

Its been a few days since we last updated our Devnaa blog but we were so busy over the bank holiday weekend we just didn't get a second away from the kitchen! From strawberry cheesecake to cookies and cream cake and black forest numeral cakes and lots of our signature cakes and cupcakes it was one crazy weekend - seemed like everyone was out enjoying the weather and having a party with the perfect Devnaa dessert to help along their festivities :)

Our favourite cake from the weekend was most definitely a purple and silver mini cake tower created for a wedding reception, it was just sooo pretty!!!!