Upside Down Caramelized Orange Cake

 People romance Chocolate, but I need a zing! A citrus zing, to be precise. If you ever wondered why restaurants feature lemon or orange desserts on their menu... Well, for people like me! Lemon in the summer and oranges in winter!! Aaah! There is something simply divine in that!

My love for oranges is evident in my previous posts. I've made a marmalade , a cake and even a Kheer! Each one delicious in it's own way. I even made a very potent Orange Wine, but more on that later. This morning as the heady aroma of oranges greeted me from the fruit bowl, my heart craved cake. Now, I could go back to any of the previous cake recipes, but where's the fun in that?! 

I wanted to try something new. Something that had not just that citrus hit, but also celebrated the gorgeousness of the fruit. The fact that I've been dying to try a caramelized upside down cake, may or may not have influenced my decision. I used the French Yogurt Cake as my starting point. The flavours in that are just so fresh and citrusy! But i wanted the cake more crumbier and dense, to hold against the orange slices. So a few changes and to my luck, I got an absolutely perfect Upside Down Caramelized Orange Cake. 

Ingredients:

Flour                        1 and 1/2 cups

Semolina                  1/2 cup

Baking Powder        2 tsp      

Baking Soda            1 tsp

Oil                            3/4 cup

Sugar                       1 cup   

Eggs                        2  

Yogurt                     1/4 cup

Oranges                   4 

Brown Sugar          7 Tablespoons

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Brush a 9 inch springform pan with butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar all over the buttered base. Thinly slice 2 oranges and arrange them over the sugar. Zest the other 2 oranges and rub into the granulated sugar. Once the zest releases it's aroma, beat in the eggs. Once the batter looks thick and creamy, beat in the yogurt. Now add the oil, drizzling a little at a time and beating well with each addition. Gently fold in the dry ingredients. 

Extract 1/4 cup juice from the zested oranges and add it to the batter. Pour the batter over the prepared tin. Bake for 45 minutes. Let it cool before serving it up! 

Notes: You can substitute the Oranges with Kinnows or Mandarins or any other citrus fruits.
 

Cucumber cake with Gin icing

I Love September! It marks the baking calendar for me. And till March I'll be indulging in one luscious birthday bake after another! Mum's birthday falls in September, and I love adding an element of booze in her cakes. A rather generous element if I may add 😜 

In past years, there has been a very potent Chocolate Rum Cake, and a milder Beer Chocolate Cake. This year was a departure. I had been eyeing Kate Hackworthy's rather intriguing Cucumber and lemon Cake. It looked so pretty and refreshing. And of course, it came with a tempting Gin frosting. That cinched it for me! We had a bottle of Bombay Sapphire just begging to be used. It would be the perfect complement. My folks were less convinced! 

But I was going to convert them for sure. This recipe was popular and there had to be a reason.It was fairly easy to make. So that was definitely reason number one! It looked delicate and pretty. So reason number two. The frosting! Oh soooo good!! That was reason three, four and five! Then, the first bite! A refreshing summer party in my mouth! Reasons? Do we need anymore?! 

To those who are curious whether the cucumber taste carries through, I would say... Yes. It does. But not in a weird way. With the gin frosting and that light lemon aftertaste, the cucumber still remains the star. But the marriage of flavors is just fantastic. And may I add, addictive! Very addictive! I kept slicing thin corners to ward off temptation. Then, kept going back for more. The non believers were all converts. I can definitely see myself making this cake again and again. Coz it tastes brilliant even minus the frosting. So, if you need a wow factor for your next do, this is just the thing to try!

 

 

Ingredients:

Cucumber                   200 gm

Lemon                         1, zest and juice

Butter                          150 gm

Granulated sugar         150 gm 

Vanilla essence            2 teaspoons

Flour                            200 gm

Eggs                             2

Baking powder            2 teaspoons

Icing:   Gin                  4 tablespoons

             Icing sugar      200 gm

            Butter               75 gm

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Wash the cucumber. Leave the skin on and slice vertically. Scrape out the seeds and puree. Add the lemon juice. Beat the butter, sugar, zest and vanilla till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating really well after each addition. Sift the baking powder and flour together. Now, alternating between the dry ingredients and the cucumber puree, add a little at a time to the batter. Mix well after each addition. So basically, add some flour, then mix. Add some cucumber, then mix. Continue till all combined. Pour into a greased tin and bake for 40 minutes. When done, allow the cake to cool completely. For the icing, just beat all the ingredients till smooth and fluffy. Refrigerate till the cake is ready to be frosted. Slice the cooled cake horizontally. Sandwich the layers with the icing. Swirl the rest of the icing on the top. And your Cucumber cake is ready!

 

Kheer Komola

The new year is upon us. A whole 365 days filled with opportunities. And given the blogosphere trend, this post should be about resolutions and hope. But I am perennially optimistic and I really don't do resolutions. If I did I would have long ago vacated my warm couch, and walked out battling the real world. Instead I choose happily to sink further into my warm spot, snuggle my dog and monster munchkin closer and go tap tap on my browser.

Its not that I don't like interacting with the physical world. It is jus that I am plain lazy! I remember when my friends raved about the benefits of retail therapy, all I could think was why anyone would abandon their pajamas and blanket to battle crowds and look at racks and racks of the same boring stuff!

Then online shopping came along and my brain went Aah! This makes more sense. So there I was indulging in some post festive, end of reason sales therapy when I chanced upon Santrawale. They sell, well, oranges! Not just any oranges though. Organic, sustainable, sourced from farm oranges. They had me at Organic! So tappity tap and I had two dozen juicy Nagpur oranges on their way. 

Now if you've browsed my previous orange post you will know that I was suddenly struck with the question again. What the heck do I do with all those oranges. The marmalade batch was still going strong so that option was out. Wine was option two. But that was really a long term project. 

The new year demanded a new approach. (There I've done my bit of following blog trends) I needed something different. Something unexpected. Out came the journals and cookbooks. 

Kheer Komola popped up twice. Milk and Oranges? Sounds like a recipe for disaster right? And yet there were people out there enticing me to give it a swing. It was too cold for a souffle, but a dessert was definitely on my mind. Did I dare to try? 

It wouldn't be my first attempt at Orange Kheer, to be honest. A long time ago I had ignored mum's words of wisdom and experimented for a dinner party I was hosting. The recipe had been tried and tested by Good Housekeeping so what could possibly go wrong? Plenty, as it turned out! Instead of the refreshing, creamy dessert I ended up with a bowlful of dense gloop with a bitter aftertaste. To their credit, my guests actually ate their dessert and assured me it wasn't that bad. That disaster still loomed large in my food memories. And I do have this annoying need to conquer all peaks. So I geared up for round two of Kheer Komola challenge.

This time I was better prepared. I turned to friend Google and read every variation I could find. I said a short prayer. Brushed aside mum's skepticism and dad's ribbing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Ignoring the monster munchkin's calls I concentrated completely on my kheer karma. And it paid off! I was finally rewarded with a creamy yet light dessert that brought with it the promise of a refreshing spring with its delicate citrus touch. (Yes I can poetically romance food.) This was Kheer Komola the way I had imagined it. And so you can put away your search results. Go on and benefit from my Experiments with Oranges! And be prepared for friends and folk to be wowed by your brave and unusual dessert masterstroke.

Ingredients:

Milk                              2 litres

Oranges                         7

Sugar                             10 tablespoon

Green Cardamoms         5 or 6

Saffron                           a few strands

Method:

Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Once it boils, reduce the flame to the lowest and let it simmer. Soak the saffron stands in a tablespoon of the warm milk and keep aside. In the meantime, separate the segments of the oranges. Carefully, split the segment and discard the thin outer membrane. The white membrane is what caused the bitterness in my previous attempt. Remove all seeds as well, taking care to preserve only the pulp and juices of the oranges. It is a monotonous and exacting task, but then that's what makes this kheer so special. It is actually a labour of love! Powder the cardamoms, and don't forget to stir the milk every once in a while, scraping the bottom to ensure it doesn't stick and burn. Once the milk has reduced to less than half the quantity, blushing with a creamy hue, stir in the sugar, cardamom powder and the saffron soaked in milk. Let it simmer for another five minutes and then turn off the heat. Let the milk cool to lukewarm and then gently stir in the orange pulp. Allow the milk to be infused with the citrusy goodness overnight or for atleast four hours, If you are in warmer climes, serve this chilled and topped with pistachios. If like me you are freezing and need a reminder of the spring to come, serve the kheer at room temperature. And if like my father you want everything piping hot, just zap a bowlful in the microwave for 30 seconds. Either way, you won't be disappointed. 

Homemade Raisins

Its been a while that I've posted on the blog. That didn't mean I wasn't experimenting and turning my kitchen into a lab! The last I posted I was working my way through a large batch of oranges. Well, the oranges met a delicious end. And then came the avalanche of grapes. They found their way onto salads and fruit cream and the monster munchkin's snacks. But just when I thought I was done with them, a whole new bunch would make it to my fridge. This needed large scale tackling and I figured let me save them for a rainy day. Now the only way to make them last intact till the aforesaid rainy day was the sundried way aka raisins.

Now, i am a raisin phobe. Cannot abide those slimy squishy things in any dessert or cake. But hubby dear and monster munchkin like em well enough. And they are great for zinging desserts when we've got company. I trawled the net for various recipes and in the end settled for one I found between the yellowing pages of the first recipe diary I started at the age of ten! It is simple and requires practically no effort from my end, And a few glorious days later, I get rewarded with glossy, granola worthy raisins. It was almost like Farmville all over again!

Ingredients:

Seedless Grapes     1 kg

Water                      1 litre

Milk                        1 tablespoon

Method:

Remove the grapes from the stalk and wash them well. Boil the water and milk together in a deep pan. Add the grapes and continue boiling till the grapes turn a lighter green. Drain well in a colander. Spread out on a thin cloth under the sun. Cover with another thin muslin. After three to four days of bright sunshine, voila, the grapes are now golden raisins!

Date and Nut Balls

My parents are not traditional. This is a shocker in a country like India. As a result I grew up quite oblivious to the varied customs, rituals and festivities that colour the Hindu calendar. The only exception was Diwali. Every year the house would be lit up with pretty fairly lights and traditional clay diyas would make also make an appearance. The highlight undoubtedly were the array of goodies mum would conjure. A week prior to Diwali she would painstakingly spend hours making sweets and savouries. These included mathri, chakli, namkeen paras, gujiyas and gulab jamuns. She would then decorate a plate with these goodies, add a pretty diya or candle and gift one to each of our neighbours.
When I got married, this was the only tradition I brought with me. Though store bought sweets and attractive edible hampers are now the norm, I still prefer making atleast one sweet and savoury at home. They may not be the traditional ones, but they are made with just as much love.
This year though, I wanted to combine the traditional and the healthy. With a little munchkin added to our crazy bunch, I had to ensure the sweets were not just delicious but also healthy. No more empty calories! When I came across Sonal Chowdhury's Bliss Ball in Good Housekeeping, I knew I had found just the thing. I have tweaked and adapted the recipe a little but these are still nutritious nuggets from heaven! Utterly blissful!!

Ingredients:

Dates                                1 cup

Broken Cashews              1 cup

Almond powder               2 tablespoons

Dessicated Coconut         1/2 cup

Method:

Soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes. Run the cashews in the mixie for a coarse powder. De-seed the dates and drain the water. Mix the cashews and dates and run them in the mixie together till they form a sticky paste. Turn into a bowl and mix in the almond powder. With wet palms, form into small balls. Roll the balls in dessicated coconut. Store in the refrigerator and serve with a joyous cheer of Happy Diwali!!

Note: The original recipe called for 2 tbsp of cocoa powder but i substituted that with almonds for a kid friendly treat. However, you may choose the chocolate for a twist on taste!

Besan Laddoos

It was the summer of '88. My uncle was home from his training academy and my grandmum had spent most of her waking hours in the kitchen. She lovingly doled out all his favourite dishes, and cooked enormous amounts of sweets and savouries for him to carry back. One of the many snacks in his care package was Besan Laddoo. These melt in the mouth balls of sweet, addictive goodness were the perfect pop for a quick dessert fix.

When the time finally came for his departure, and all the goodies were being packed, my granny realized something was amiss. The box of laddoos seemed much lighter than she expected. When she opened it, she was aghast! The box was completely empty! Not a crumb in sight. Uh-Oh! It was confession time! Over the past few days I had snuck into the kitchen at every possible opportunity, and popped a couple of them. And before I knew it, well, the seemingly endless supply ran out! In my defence, there were only 50!

Fast forward to the present. Hubby dear is as fond of these laddoos as I am. So I borrowed this recipe from granny. It is a healthier alternative to the traditional ghee dripping, syrup soaked ones. And as I watch the lil one sneak one into his mouth, I know we don't stand a chance! So I am gonna quickly type this out and go grab one while they are still around!

Ingredients:

Besan                    3/4 cup

Melted Ghee         1/2 cup + 1 teaspoon

Sugar                    1/2 cup

Semolina              1/4 cup

Green cardamom     5

Method:

Powder the sugar along with the cardamoms and keep aside. Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee in a wok and roast the semolina till golden, but not brown. Empty onto a plate. Now heat the rest of the ghee in th wok and add the besan. Cook on high flame till darkens and turns red. Take care it doesn't burn, so keep stirring continuously. Add it to the semolina on the plate. Spread this mixture and let it cool till it is luke warm. Now add the powdered sugar. Shape into balls, and pop one for instant gratification ;)

Sheera

Sheera is semolina based dessert that is also known as Sooji ka halwa in the northern parts of India, and is  a close cousin of the southern Kesari. This recipe originates from Maharashtra and differs from the others by its use of milk instead of water. 

Sheera is quite a filling and healthy dish so its often eaten for breakfast or as a weaning meal for babies. As for me, I can eat Sheera anytime, especially when I see the raindrops batter my window and fill the room with the scent of the earth.

This recipe is my granny’s who definitely makes the best Sheera in the world!

Ingredients:

Semolina     1 cup

Ghee           ½ cup

Milk            1 cup, warmed

Sugar           ¾ cup

Banana        1

Method:

Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the semolina and roast till golden. Stirring continuously, add the milk in a slow and steady stream. Cook for a minute and lower the flame. Add the sugar and mashed banana. Mix thoroughly and cover with a lid. Let it cook for another minute. Uncover, mix and cover again. Cook for another minute and switch off the gas. The grains should have separated and lost their stickiness. If not, cook covered on a low flame for another minute. And your sheera is ready to be devoured!

For additional flavour and nutrition, you could add green cardamom powder and garnish with chopped nuts.

French Yogurt Cake

Anything French conjures visions of complicated techniques with impossible ingredients and hellish temperaments. But the French Yogurt Cake is simplicity itself. A few basic ingredients, couple of easy to do steps and even the novice can pull out a masterpiece from the oven! I got this recipe from DawnF on TTOD and successfully tried a number of variations. This delicate orange flavoured version has been my favorite so far.

Ing: 1 1/2 cups of plain flour

      2 tsps baking powder

      1 cup granulated sugar

      1/2 cup sunflower oil (or any other flavourless oil)

      1/2 cup regular yogurt (you could use non fat if you desire)

      3 eggs

      1 tsp vanilla essence

      a pinch of salt

      grated zest of two oranges (avoid the white pith)

Method: Put the sugar and zest in a bowl and rub with your fingers till the sugar is moist and the zest releases its aromatic oil. Whisk in the yogurt, eggs and vanilla till well blended. Sift the dry ingredients together and mix into the batter. Now carefully fold in the oil, a little at a time, till the whole batter becomes a light, homogeneous mixture.

Grease a baking tin and pour the batter into it. Pre- heat the oven to 180 C and bake the batter for 60 minutes. Unmould after cooling and drizzle over some melted chocolate. 

Roasted Banana Cake

Bananas are not really on top of everyone's favorite fruit list, but they are an excellent source of potassium and energy. Inundated with a surplus of bananas recently, i turned to my irresistible creation: the Roasted Banana Cake. It is a recipe developed over years of experimentation, and its temptingly perfect :) 

You will need:

Ing:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 and 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup fine semolina
1 tsp baking pd
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1tsp vanilla extract
4 bananas
1/2 tsp cinnamon pd
1/2 tsp clove pd
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tsp dark rum
1/2 cup hot water

Method: Slice bananas thickly and place on a square sheet of aluminium. sprinkle with the brown sugar, vanilla, rum and spices. wrap into a loose package and bake at 180 C for 15 minutes.

cool and mash roughly. beat together the butter, eggs and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the banana mix. sift the baking pd , flour and salt and fold into the batter alongwith the semolina. mix the baking soda with the hot water and add last to the batter. pour into a greased 6 egg cake tin and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 35-40 minutes.

Chocolate Doughnuts

The first shower of the season had me splashing away like a kid. After months of heat and humidity, the cool water refreshed everything around. Of course, all that rain dance had me craving for some strong coffee and hot chocolate doughnuts. This recipe belongs to my dear friend Sonal, and every bite reminds me of the icy Himalayan rains, made warmer by her love <3

So while i demolish yet another batch, you can roll out your own deep fried indulgence :-)

Ingredients for CHOCOLATE DOUGHNUTS:

Eggs - 2

Caster Sugar - 1/2 cup

Butter / Oil - 4 tbsp

Refined Flour - 2 1/4  cups

Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Baking powder - 2 tsp

salt - a pinch

Milk - as required

Icing Sugar - as required.

Method: Mix all the dry ingredients together, and slowly add the eggs and oil to form a soft dough. If the dough feels a little tight, incorporate a little milk. Do not knead the dough. Keep aside for for 45 minutes. Now place the rested dough between two layers of cling film and roll out with the help of a rolling pin. Do not roll too thin or thick. With the help of a biscuit cutter or a sturdy cap, cut out rounds and poke a hole in the middle with your finger. Deep fry in hot oil till puffed, golden and crisp. Generously dust with icing sugar and serve up with some hot coffee!

Coconut Burfee

I admit i have a major sweet tooth! And one of my favorite childhood memories was sneakin Coconut Burfee while the clan took it's afternoon siesta :D
To put it simply, coconut burfee is a kind of fudge-like square of coconut heaven! It is easy to make and lasts days at room temp (well, that is if you resist temptation!!!). Iam biased here and like only my granny's recipe. The rest just don't match up. The measures are approximates rather than standards as is the norm with most old recipes. I have tried to simplify the guesstimates as far as possible. And for the very first time, sharing this family heirloom, you will need:

Ingredients:
1 portion (ie 1 cup/glass/mixing bowl/ any constant measuring device)  grated fresh coconut
3/4th portion sugar (if you want to get really perfectionist, then it is 7/8th of a portion!!!)
Just enough milk to cover the sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence or green cardamom powder

Method: Heat the milk and sugar on medium flame, till the sugar melts. Take care to avoid crystallization, and keep stirring. When the syrup reaches a thick  dropping consistency, (beyond one-string), add the coconut. Let it cook awhile till it begins to bubble and thicken. Stir occasionally. When the mixture starts to dry slightly and sticks to the sides, turn off the gas. Add the essence and let it stand for a minute. Before it cools, quickly pour onto a well greased plate. Cut into squares once slightly cooler but not completely cold.
Pig out whenever you need a quick sugar fix ;D

Mawa Cake

Cooks all over the world have this knack of experimenting and converting a dish to their own. Indians are no exception, and perhaps nothing exhibits this more than the very adaptable Cake! Yes, we do have our cake and eat it too!!

When the Portuguese came to India, they brought their baking skills along, and the locals took a liking to the sight, smell and taste and modified it to suit local ingredients. Today, every tea-shack boasts it own little slice!

One of the most remarkable mingling of Indian tastebuds meets foreign baking, is the Mawa Cake. The ingredients used are those of traditional Indian sweets, but the baking gives it a whole new texture and dimension!

To make this hugely popular MAWA CAKE, you need:

100 gm mawa (evaporated milk)

100 gm refined flour

100 gm butter

100 gm powdered sugar

1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp rose essence

2 eggs (well beaten)

To make this cake, cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Sift all the dry ingredients together. Crumble the mawa into the butter-sugar mix and incorporate till smooth. Add the eggs slowly and keep beating till you get a smooth and homogeneous mixture. Fold in the rest and pour into greased baking tin. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm, straight out the oven :)

Coffee in a Cake!

Decided to indulge the caffeine craving and my sweet tooth with a double kick of coffee cake. I found this recipe years ago in a Microwave cookbook and adopted it immediately for its simplicity and instant-ness!

So even if you are an absolute disaster in the kitchen or an impatient cook, this recipe is ideal for you. Hey, you could manage this even if you were just 10!

So lets get started on our

COFFEE CARAMEL CAKE

you will need : 125 gm butter

2 tsp vanilla

150 gm brown sugar

2 eggs

150 gm flour

30 gm custard pd

1 tsp baking pd

3 tsp coffee pd

125 ml milk

To make this cake, simply run everything in the food processor till almost double in size. Pour into a greased dish. Microwave at 60% power for 6 minutes, and again at 100% power for 3 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes, and then simply dig in!!

If you prefer the conventional baking, then simply bake the prepared batter in a pre-heated (180 C) oven for 35 minutes.

Ginger Snaps

My house is filled with the spicy aroma of ginger. Its not winter, but gingersnaps are practically an essential at my place, given that they are mom's favorites! This weekend i decided to treat her to some freshly baked ginger delights. I found the recipe on epicurious and modified it to my pantry :D The result was crisp, warm, soul stirring treats!

Here's how to go about makin my version of GINGERSNAPS:

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg (small)

1 tbsp fresh ground ginger root

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp ginger wine

3/4 tbsp orange zest

1/2 tbsp orange juice (i used packaged)

1 1/2 cup refined flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon pd

1/4 tsp clove pd

1/2 tbsp dry ginger pd

And that's the end of the ingredients list. It gets easier from here :)

Cream the butter and sugar really well, till pale and fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Divide into rwo small logs and wrap these logs in clingfilm. Freeze for a minimum of 24 hrs. Take out a log, slice into 1/4 inch rounds and bake in a pre-heated oven for 14 minutes. each log will give you approximately 20 cookies. Enjoy with a hot cuppa and a good book :)