Tag Archives: Cake

Apple cake

Today’s recipe is my mother’s apple cake recipe.

apple cakeApple cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Serves: 8

Apple cake sliceIngredients:

  • Apple – 1 ½ , large
  • Cinnamon – 2 large sticks
  • Green food colouring – ½ tsp
  • Lime – 1
  • Vegetable margarine – ¼ cup
  • Sugar – ¼ cup
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ¼ tsp
  • Rose essence or Apple essence – few drops

Method:

  1. Peel the apples and chop them up. Place them in a sauce pan and add water so as to just cover the apple chunks.
  2. Add some green food colouring and 2 large cinnamon sticks to the pan. Cook the apples over low heat until the water dries up.
  3. After the apples have cooled sufficiently, remove the cinnamon sticks and transfer the cooked apples to a blender.
  4. Grind the cooked apples to a puree. Add the juice of 1 lime to the apple puree and mix.
  5. Whisk together the vegetable margarine and sugar. Add the blended apple and lime juice mix.
  6. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  7. Gradually add the flour mix to the apple and margarine mix to make a smooth cake batter. Add a few drops of rose essence.
  8. Transfer to a baking tray and bake the apple cake at 170⁰C/338⁰F for 30 mins.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Banana and Apple Cake

Today’s recipe is that of another from my mother’s fruit cake series – banana and apple cake.

DSC00728Banana and Apple cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Serves 6 to 8

Banana and Apple cakeIngredients:

  • Apple – 1
  • Banana – 1
  • Vegetable margarine – ¾ cup + 1 or 2 tbsp (for icing, optional)
  • Sugar – ½ cup
  • Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ¾ tsp
  • Green food colouring – few drops
  • Vanilla essence – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 4 or 5 tbsp, optional
  • Lime juice – 1 or 2 tsp, optional

Method:

  1. Chop up the apple. Cook the chopped apple for about 10 mins, in a saucepan over low heat, adding some cinnamon powder. Stir regularly.
  2. Transfer the cooked apple pieces from the saucepan to a blender. Add the chopped banana. Coarsely blend. Keep aside.
  3. Add the margarine and sugar to the saucepan containing some of the apple sauce after the apple pieces had been transferred to the blender. Add up to ½ cup of water. Heat the contents for a few mins.
  4. After cooling, transfer the melted margarine and sugar to a mixing bowl. Stir in the blended fruits. Add the green food colouring and vanilla essence.
  5. Sift the flour, semolina, baking powder and baking soda together. Gradually add in the flour mix to the mixing bowl until a smooth cake batter is obtained.
  6. Transfer to baking tray and bake for 30 mins at 170⁰C/338⁰F.
  7. If you would like icing on the cake, prepare the icing by mixing the icing sugar with a tbsp of margarine, lime juice and a few drops of green food colouring.
  8. Spread the icing evenly over the cake before slicing and serving.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Orange cake

For the past week or so, my mother has been baking a few varieties of fruit cakes using different fresh fruits.

Today, I will share my mother’s recipe for her scrumptious orange cake, which is one of my new favourites.

Orange cakeOrange cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Serves 8

Orange cake sliceIngredients:

  • Oranges – 2 + few slices (for topping syrup, optional)
  • Mandarin oranges – 2
  • Sugar – 2 tbsp (sauce) + ½ cup
  • Orange food colouring – few drops
  • Vegetable margarine – ¾ cup
  • Whole grain oats – ½ cup
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Marmalade, for topping (optional)
  • Icing sugar – 2 tbsp (for topping syrup, optional)

Method:

  1. Wash the 2 oranges and then peel the oranges. Keep aside the two oranges to make orange juice.
  2. Take the orange peel, finely scraped or chopped and place them in a saucepan. Pour ¼ cup of water into the saucepan.
  3. Add 2 tbsp of sugar and a few drops of orange food colouring to the saucepan. Heat the orange rind sauce for about 5 mins until it thickens.
  4. Whisk the margarine and ½ cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the orange rind sauce to the bowl.
  5. Add the whole grain oats to the bowl and stir.
  6. Make 1 cup of orange juice with the peeled oranges and the mandarin oranges. Stir in the orange juice into the bowl.
  7. Sift the flour together with the baking soda and baking powder. Gradually add the flour to the mixing bowl, ensuring that there are no lumps and the batter is smooth.
  8. Add a few drops of the orange food colouring to the bowl and mix well.
  9. Transfer the cake batter to the baking tray and bake the orange cake at 170⁰C/338⁰F for 35 – 45 mins.
  10. After the cake cools, either spread marmalade evenly on the top of the cake or else make an orange syrup to pour over the cake by heating pieces of oranges with 2 tbsp icing sugar over low heat.
  11. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Pomegranate cake

As an amateur cook, I tend to use recipes and follow them precisely. My mother, on the other hand, simply mixes ingredients at hand and whips up delectable stuff. I doubt that she has ever used a written recipe. So, this week, while I have been trying to perfect the baking of challah bread, my mother has been baking different kinds of delicious fruit cakes.

Today’s recipe is for the pomegranate cake she made this week. My mother has labelled it the heart healthy cake.

Pomegranate cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Serves 8

Pomegranate cakeIngredients:

  • Pomegranate juice – ¾ cup (made from 1 cup of pomegranate fruit blended with water; the seeds can be reused by heart patients)
  • Lime juice – 1 tsp
  • Lime rind – 1 tsp
  • Raisins – ½ cup
  • Oats – ½ cup
  • Walnuts – ¼ cup, roasted and chopped
  • Vegetable oil margarine – ½ cup
  • Sugar – ½ cup
  • Multi-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Rose essence – few drops
  • Red food colouring – drop or two

Method:

  1. Sift the flour with baking powder and soda and keep aside.
  2. Whisk the margarine and sugar together with 1 tsp lime juice and the lime rind, in a bowl, till creamy and smooth.
  3. Add the pomegranate juice to the bowl and mix well.
  4. Fold in the oats, raisins and walnuts.
  5. Add few drops of rose essence and a drop or two of red colouring. Mix well.
  6. Stir in the flour mix to the bowl and beat till smooth batter is obtained.
  7. Transfer the batter to baking tray and bake for 35 – 45 mins at 170⁰C/ 340⁰F.
  8. Let the cake cool before sprinkling with castor sugar. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Egg-less chocolate cake

Chocolate cake

Time taken: 1 – 1 ¼ hrs

Serves 20 to 25

Chocolate cakeIngredients:

  • Condensed milk – 1 cup
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Vegetable oil margarine – 1 cup (250g) + ¼ cup (for icing)
  • Sugar – 1 cup +  ½ cup (for icing)
  • Multi-purpose flour – 2 cups
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Cocoa powder – ¼ cup + 2 tbsp (for icing)
  • Vanilla essence – ½ tsp + few drops (for icing)
  • Baking powder – 2 tsp
  • Baking soda – ¼ tsp

Method:

  1. Whisk the sugar and margarine in a bowl until creamy. Then, add the milk and continue whisking.
  2. Add the water and whisk till it is smooth and creamy.
  3. Sieve together the flour, semolina and cocoa powder. Add the baking powder and soda and mix.
  4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, mixing until there is a smooth batter.
  5. Transfer to cake tray and bake for about 45 mins – 1 hr at 170⁰C/340⁰F. Make sure you do not forget to check in around the 40 min mark (as my mother did this time) and take the cake out, without letting it over-bake else it will turn out too dry.
  6. Let the chocolate cake cool while preparing the chocolate icing.
  7. Mix 2 tbsp of cocoa powder with ½ cup of icing sugar in a bowl. The sugar can be reduced based on your tolerance level for sweets.
  8. Add the margarine little by little and whisk till the icing is creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
  9. Spread the chocolate icing evenly over the chocolate cake.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Passion fruit cake

Today is Vijayathasami. The tenth day after the nine days of the Navarathri festival. It is considered auspicious to start new learning on this morning. Children who will be starting school in the coming year will have their ‘eadu thodakkal’ ceremony. The ‘eadu thodakkal’ is a ceremony where toddlers trace their first alphabets on a tray of grain and is usually held at the temple with the priest conducting the ceremony. One of my friend’s twins will be starting their ‘eadu thodakkal’ today and I feel sorry for her as they are two energetic boys who can’t keep still for a minute and I hope that she manages to keep them engaged at least for the alphabet tracing part.

For Vijayathasami, we have never really done anything at home other than visit the temple. At the start of the Navarathri, both at the temple and in the home, people plant the seeds of nine varieties of grain (nava thaniam) such as moong dal, chickpeas, urad dhal, kurakkan etc. and on the tenth day, the sprouts are collected and placed before the shrine in the home. The sprouts are supposed to symbolize growth, luck and prosperity. As a child, I used to keep a few of the sprouts in the school book of the subject that I wanted better grades on.

Today’s recipe for Vijayathasami is a non-traditional one – the recipe for my mother’s passion fruit cake as we enjoy baking at home.

DSC00110Passion fruit cake

Time taken: 55 mins

Serves 6 to 8

Passion fruit cakeIngredients

  • Low fat margarine (Sunflower or Canola) – ¾ cup + 2 tbsp
  • White sugar – ¾ cup
  • Passion fruit – ½ cup
  • Yoghurt – ½ cup
  • Water – ½ cup
  • Wheat flour – 1 cup
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Rose essence – few drops
  • Icing sugar – 6 tbsp
  • Lemon juice – 1 tsp
  • Vanilla essence – few drops

Method:

  1. Whisk the sugar and margarine till creamy.
  2. Add ½ cup of water, passion fruit, yoghurt to the creamed sugar and margarine and blend for about 2 mins.
  3. Add ½ tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder.
  4. Stir in the flour and semolina gradually.
  5. Add a few drops of rose essence.
  6. Transfer to baking tray and bake for 45 mins at 170⁰C/340⁰F.
  7. Remove from oven and let the cake cool while you prepare the icing.
  8. Whisk 2 tbsp margarine, 6 tbsp icing sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice until creamy. Add a few drops of vanilla essence.
  9. Spread the icing over the cake evenly.
  10. Serve immediately or chilled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

I generally like my mother’s chocolate cakes a lot. Recently, she tried out a nutty vegan version of her chocolate cake which came out really delicious. Here is my mother’s recipe for the yummy cake.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

Time taken: 50 mins

Serves 8 to 10

Peanut chocolate cake

Ingredients:

  • Vegetable oil margarine – ¾ cup + 1 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Banana – ½ , as an egg substitute
  • Wheat flour – 1 ½ cup
  • Soya milk – 1 cup
  • Peanut – ½ cup, coarsely ground + 2 tbsp (for frosting)
  • Vanilla – 2 tsp
  • Cocoa powder – 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (for frosting)
  • Baking powder – 1 tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Icing sugar – 2 tbsp, for frosting

Method:

  1. Sift the dry ingredients – the wheat flour together with the cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda – and keep aside.
  2. Mash the banana in a bowl. Add the margarine and sugar to the bowl and whisk them together.
  3. Gradually add the soya milk and continue whisking.
  4. Stir in the coarsely ground peanuts and vanilla essence.
  5. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients.
  6. Pour the cake batter into a greased tray and bake at 190⁰C/374⁰F for 40 mins.
  7. Whisk 1 tbsp margarine together with 1 tsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp icing sugar and 2 tsp ground nuts to make the frosting.
  8. Spread evenly on surface of the peanut chocolate cake, after the cake has sufficiently cooled.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Butter cake

The last egg based recipe for today is my mother’s recipe for her delicious butter cake. My mother has used vegetable oil margarine instead of butter for a while now. Ingredients can be scaled down according to requirement. This was a large cake and I only managed to get a photo of the last two pieces before they too vanished.

Butter/ Margarine cake

Time taken: 40 – 45 mins

Makes around 24 pieces

Butter cake

Ingredients:

  • Butter or vegetable oil margarine – 1 cup
  • Eggs – 4
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Wheat flour – 1 ½ cups
  • Baking powder – 2 tsp

For the butter cream:

  • Butter or vegetable oil margarine – ¼ cup
  • Icing sugar – ¾ cup
  • Lime juice – 1 tsp
  • Vanilla – ½ tsp

Method:

  1. Sift the wheat flour and baking powder. Keep aside.
  2. Whisk the sugar and margarine together in a bowl. Keep aside.
  3. Whisk lightly the eggs. Add the whisked eggs to the sugar and margarine bowl and continue to whisk.
  4. Gradually add the sifted wheat flour and baking powder to the wet ingredients bowl and stir them together.
  5. Pour the batter into a greased baking tray.
  6. Bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 140⁰C/284⁰F.
  7. Let the cake cool while you make the butter cream.
  8. Whisk together the butter cream ingredients – butter/ margarine, icing sugar, lime juice and vanilla – and then spread the cream evenly over the cake.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Egg-less Date and Raisin Cake

Among the several delicious cakes that my mother bakes, a special treat is her egg-less date and raisin cake that she makes on special occasions.

Date and raisin cake

Date and Raisin Cake

Time taken: 1 ½ hours + 3 hours (for marinating the dried fruits)

Serves 8 – 10

Slice of date cake

Ingredients:

  • Dates – 1½ cup (when chopped) or 300 g (before chopping)
  • Raisins – ½ cup (100 g)
  • Wheat flour – 2 cups
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Low fat vegetable oil margarine (e.g. Flora) – 1 ½ cup (250 g)
  • Brown sugar – 1 cup
  • Condensed milk – 1 cup (vegans can use almond cream or cashew nut cream or coconut cream as a substitute)
  • Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
  • Mixed 3C spice powder (Cardamon, Cloves and Cinnamon) – 1 ½ tsp
  • Sri Lankan Tea – 1/3 cup
  • Baking powder – 2 tsp
  • Baking soda – ¼ tsp + pinch (for marinating the dried fruits)

Method:

  1. De-seed the dates and chop them. Place the chopped dates in a bowl, together with the raisins.
  2. Add 1/3 cup of strong black tea, pinch of baking soda and the mixed 3C spice powder to the dates and raisins bowl. Cover and keep aside, for 2 – 3 hours, letting the dried fruits marinate in the tea and spice mix.
  3. Whisk together the margarine and sugar, adding the condensed milk or vegan substitute. If whisking by hand, add the ingredients slowly while continuing to whisk. If using a blender, blend the three together for about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the vanilla essence to the blend and mix.
  5. Sift the flour, semolina together with the baking powder and soda.
  6. Stir in the sifted flour and semolina gradually into the bowl of blended margarine, sugar and milk and mix.
  7. Add the marinated dried fruits to the batter and fold.
  8. Transfer the cake batter into a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 140⁰C/284⁰F for about 1 – 1 ¼ hours.
  9. Remove from oven and let it cool, before slicing and serving with some hot Sri Lankan tea or coffee.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.

Passion fruit and banana cake

Last week, when my mother bought some passion fruit, I had mentioned that I had seen a delicious looking orange and passion fruit syrup cake recently on Poppy’s Patisserie. The very next day, my mother had baked a tangy, crunchy passion fruit and banana cake. The crunchiness is from the baked passion fruit seeds inside the cake.

I would like to share my mother’s recipe for this delicious dessert cake today.

Passion fruit and banana cake

Passion fruit and banana cake

Time taken: 1 hour

Passion fruit cake

Ingredients:

  • Passion fruit – 4 large or 5 medium fruits + 1 (for topping)
  • Banana – 1 (local varieties: kolikoottu or anamalu)
  • Wheat flour – 1 cup
  • Semolina – ½ cup
  • Oats – 3 tbsp
  • Sugar – ¾ cup + 2 tbsp (for topping)
  • Low fat vegetable margarine – ½ cup
  • Water – ¼ cup
  • Baking powder – 1 ½ tsp
  • Baking soda – ½ tsp
  • Rose essence – a drop

Method:

  1. Sift the wheat flour and semolina together with the baking powder and baking soda. Keep aside the dry mix.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the margarine and sugar by hand, using a large spoon.
  3. Mix the passion fruit pulp, including the seeds, and the oats with the water in another bowl to make a wet mix.
  4. Stir in the wet mix into the bowl containing the whisked margarine and sugar and continue to whisk.
  5. Add in the finely chopped banana and the drop of rose essence into the bowl and mix.
  6. Stir in the dry mix into the large bowl of the wet ingredients gradually.
  7. Pour the cake batter into the baking tray.
  8. Pre-heat the oven and bake at 140⁰C/ 284⁰F for 45 mins.
  9. Beat the pulp of 1 passion fruit together with the 2 tbsp of white sugar and pour over the baked cake, while still hot from the oven.
  10. Serve warm for dessert.

Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.