Happy Valentine's Day: 8 Irresistibly Delectable Recipes For A Memorable Date Night Dinner

Strawberry and Almond Gateaux

Recipe by Executive Chef Diwas Wadhera, Eros Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi

Ingredients:

• Eggs - 2 nos
• Granulated sugar – 200gm
• Yoghurt –200 gm
• Olive oil – 100 ml
• Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
• Salt –1 by 4 tsp
• All-purpose flour – 400 gm
• Almond flour – 50 gm
• Baking powder – 2 tsp
• Strawberries - 450 gm
• Lemon zest –1 nos
• Heavy cream – 1 cup
• Cream cheese – 50 gm
• Confectioners’ sugar – 1 tbsp

Preparation method:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, yogurt, lemon zest, vanilla and olive oil.
• Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, little at a time. Use a spatula.
• Dust ¾ of the strawberries with a tsp of flour and mix it in.
• Pour the batter into your prepared 7-inch round pan and smooth the top.
• Bake at 350until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean and the top springsback lightly when touched, about 35-45 minutes.
• Place the pan on a cooling rack and letthe cake cool in the pan completely. Do not be tempted to frost the cake before it iscool, or the frosting will turn into a big melty mess. While the cake cools, prepare the frosting:

Frosting

In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixingbowl, whip the cold whipping cream, beat on medium speed until smooth and fluffy. In alarge bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugaruntil peaks form. Make sure not to over-beat, cream will then become lumpy and butter-like. Lastly add in the cream cheese, stopping as soon as the two are fully combined.Don’t overbeat it—once it looks nice and creamy and evenly blended, it’s time to stop.

Assemble

Transfer the cake from the pan to a serving plate. Tuck strips of waxed or parchment paperunderneath the bottom of the cake to keep the plate clean. Slice in half with a serrated knife.

Spread half the frosting generously all over the cake, add a few slices of strawberries, place the other half of the cake, and top with rest of the frosting. garnish with fresh berries as desiredPrior toserving, let the cake stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Slice gently with a serrated knife.

Almond and Fresh Fruit Tart 

Recipe by Executive Chef Diwas Wadhera, Eros Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi 

Ingredients:

• Butter – 60 gm
• Breakfast sugar –60 gm
• All-purpose flour – 60 gm
• Milk – 25 ml      

Ingredients for making Almond cream

• Butter – 50 gm
• Icing sugar – 40 gm
• Almond powder – 32 gm
• Custard powder – 8 gm
• Eggs – 4 nos
• Cold custard – 32 gm
• Fresh milk – 50 ml 
• Fresh fruit – 160 gm
• Almond flakes – 40 gm

Preparation method:For short crust

Shift the plain flour in a large bowl add diced butter and rub with hand till it like bread crumbs, add milk gradually till it becomes a dough, add sugar and leave for rest. 

Flat the dough and lay in a mould to be baked, dock with the help of fork. Wrap and chill for 20 min before baked. 

Bake the tart at 180 Degree for 15to 20 min. 

Preparation method: For Almond pastry cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the soft butter and sugar together until they are well combined and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Add in the almond flour and beat until it’s completely combined. Next, mix in the eggs and almond extract, if using, and beat until it is a cohesive, smooth mixture. 

The almond paste is now ready to use in a variety of tarts and pastries. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Carefully place the cream on tart and place fruit diligently to gel with each other, apply small amount of cold gel. Decorate with Almond flakes by side.

Millet Love Cake

To make your moments with your loved ones truly memorable, here's a selection of delights cureated by Chefs: the irresistible Millet Love Cake, the Valentine's special Millet Chocolate Cookies, and the heart-shaped Millet Cutlets.

Ingredients:

• Raagi (Finger Millet flour) 1 cup
• All-purpose flour 1 cup
• Curd 1 cup
• Baking powder ½ tsp
• Baking Soda ½ tsp
• Honey ½ cup
• Vanilla essence ¼ tsp
• Cocoa powder or chips 2 tbsp
• Butter 3 tbsp
• Condensed Milk or Milk ¾ cup

For garnishing:

• Chocolate ganache ½ cup
• Chopped strawberries 1 cup

Method of preparation:

Step 1: Add curd, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl, and mix well.

Step 2: Mix thoroughly and add all remaining ingredients to make a cake batter.

Step 3: Pour the batter into a lightly greased microwave oven-safe heart-shaped pan, select micro mode high power, and set the time for 10 minutes, and press start to make the cake.

Step 4: Remove the millet cake and add chocolate ganache and chopped strawberries on top of it and serve.

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Millet Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

• Sieved Ragi flour 1 cup
• Sieved All-purpose flour 1 cup
• Melted Butter 1½ cup
• Powdered Sugar 1 cup
• Baking Powder ½ tsp
• Chocolate chips 1 cup
• Pinch of Salt

Method of preparation:

Step 1: Take a mixing bowl, add butter and sugar, and mix well until it becomes a thick paste.

Step 2: Add ragi flour, all-purpose flour, chocolate chips baking powder and salt. Mix well and make a cookie-dough.

Step 3: Make round cookie-dough balls, flatten them slightly and place them on a crusty plate.

Step 4: Place the plate on the grill mesh rack in the microwave oven.

Step 5: Select convection mode at 170°c temperature, set time for 10 minutes and press start to bake the millet chocolate chip cookies.

Serve with warm milk.

Preparation Time: 8 Minutes

Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

Millet Veg - Cutlets

Ingredients:

• Boiled Potatoes 1½ cup
• Boiled Green Peas ½ cup
• Boiled Beans ½ cup
• Boiled Beetroot ½ cup
• Corn flour ¼ cup
• Ragi flour ½ cup
• Dry mango powder 1½ tsp
• Red chili powder 1½ tsp
• Oil as required
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method of Preparation:

Step 1: Blend all the boiled ingredients, and mash them and mix well.

Step 2: Add all remaining ingredients and mix well.

Step 3: Take a heart-shaped cutter and cut into cutlets. Arrange cutlets in a lightly greased crusty plate. Place the crusty plate on the grill mesh rack in the microwave oven.

Step 4: Select Convection mode at 200°C temperature, set time for 18 minutes and press start. (Flip the cutlets once in the time).

Garnish the heart-shaped millet cutlets with coriander leaves and enjoy with green chutney and ketchup.

Preparation Time: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time: 18 Minutes

Gulab Jamun Cheesecake 

Recipe by Haldiram’s Nagpur 

Ingredients:

• 6-7 Gulab Jamuns
• 5-6 cookies, crushed
• ½ cup butter 
• 1 cup cream cheese
• ½ cup hung yogurt 
•  ¼ Cup condensed milk
• 2 tbsp vegetarian gelatin
• 1 tbsp saffron milk
• Chopped pistas, whipped cream & strawberry compote for garnishing

Method:

1. Crush the cookies. Melt butter and add it to the crushed biscuits in a bowl and mix. Line a spring bottom tin with this mixture, press lightly and refrigerate to set. 

2. Melt the veg gelatin in ¼ cup hot water till well dissolved.

3. Blend together cream cheese, hung yogurt, condensed milk and veg gelatin and blend till smooth. Add saffron milk

4. Take out the spring bottom tin. Spread the Gulab Jamuns over the biscuit layer and pour the cream-yogurt mixture over it. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or till set. 

5. Serve garnished with chopped pistachios, whipped cream & strawberry compote.

Chocolate Firnee 

Recipe by Chef Varun Inamdar

Ingredients:

• 50 grams Kodo Millet
• 1 litre Milk
• 100 grams sugar
• ¼ tsp Cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Chopped nuts
• ¼ cup Dark chocolate, couverture, chopped

Method:

Dry roast the kodo millet and grind into a coarse powder.

Heat milk with sugar and the kodo millet powder. Stir well.

Cook on medium flame until the millet gets well cooked.

Add the remaining milk and chocolate. Stir in chopped nuts and cardamom powder.

Serve chilled topped with more nuts, if you please.

Anjeer Ice-Cream

Recipe by Chef Varun Inamdar

Ingredients:

• 50 gms Barnyard millet
• 50 gms Kodo millet
• 50 gms Foxtail millet
• 100 gms Little Millet
• 500 ml Milk
• 1 cup Jaggery
• 1 cup fresh figs, when in season
• OR 1/2 cup dried figs, off season

Instructions:

Take all the millets together.

Dry roast them in a dry pan .

Wash once. Then cook it all in a liter boiling water until they are soft.

To this add Jaggery, once the Jaggery melts completely.

Then cool and make a smooth paste of this in food processor.

Cool it down and straight it through a fine muslin.

To the strained paste, add fig puree and milk to make it smooth and almost like a milkshake

Mix them well and transfer to an ice cream tray.

Freeze it overnight.

The next day scoop them and serve.