Indian Plum Cake - Kerala Plum Cake

Wish you all a happy New Year and happy blogging.

Plum Cake is our favorite cake and so thought it would be an appropriate 1st post of 2010. I don't think Plum cakes need any introduction anyways. Everybody I assume knows of this delectable delight. They are huge during Christmas and New year's Eve in India. We had such great bakeries back home and always bought it and had some friends who baked these sweet nutty delights. After coming to the US when you crave for these Indian Plum cakes I had to bake it at home and since then have fallen in love with the home baked soaked in rum cakes.

This time I have tried a new recipe from my friend Sangeetha's blog. She has a wonderful collection of recipes and her awesome presentation and step by step instructions make it so easy to follow her recipes. You could check out her recipe here. I have used the recipe as is, I did not want to mess it up. NoBody messes with the PLum cake.( I must admit though at times I'm tempted to tweak the recipe a bit). Another reason being, I had promised to get this great cake for the New year's eve party hosted by one our friends and so I baked this cake exactly as per Sangeetha's recipe which was a big hit. They all loved this plum cake and it was their first time they had tasted our Indian Plum cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup All purpose flour
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 3/4 Butter at room temperature
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Tutti Frutti
• 1/4 cup Raisins
• 1/4 cup Cashew nuts (chopped)
• 1/4 cup Almonds and Walnuts (chopped)
• 1/4 cup Dates (chopped)
• 1 cup Rum/wine or enough to soak the fruit

To prepare the Caramel syrup:

• 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon water (to soak the sugar for the caramel)
• 1/2 cup Water ( to prepare the caramel syrup once the sugar has been caramalized)

To prepare the Spice Mixture :

• 1 tsp Caraway seeds
• 1/4 tsp Powdered Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Powdered Nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp powdered Ginger
• 1/4 tsp powdered Cloves
  

Preparation :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degree C and prepare a 9 inch cake pan by greasing it or line with parchment paper.

2. This step you would do ahead of time ( 2 months to a week) before you bake this cake. Soak the dry fruits in rum/wine and keep it in a bottle at room temperature. Shake the jar once in a while. Now you guessed it right , the longer they are all allowed to soak, the more intense the flavor. (So let them get happy in there... after all they are getting ready to party for New year's eve.. ). See I was enjoying myself so much with the holidays I just had enough time to soak them in rum for a day.

3. Now we will prepare the Caramel Syrup. Heat a heavy bottomed vessel and add sugar with 1 tbsp of water on medium high heat. The sugar will begin to melt and soon you will see it changing its color as well. Its recommended to Not Stir, but you could swirl the vessel, once or twice. Turn off the heat once you get a darker golden brown color. Immediately, pour half a cup of water very carefully into the caramel and stir and mix well. Caution :(Be Very Careful, the liquid will splash when you pour the water into the hot caramel). Let the caramel cool before adding to the cake batter.

4. Sift the flour, baking powder and keep aside.

5. Now we'll Separate egg yolks from the whites. Whisk egg yolks with vanilla.

6. Cream butter and sugar till creamy and combined well.

7. Next add the egg yolk and vanilla mixture little at a time, alternating with a little (about 1 tablespoon) of the sieved flour and combine till smooth.

8. Now add 1/2 cup caramel syrup and spice mixture and beat thoroughly till well combined.

9. Next add the remaining flour, slowly and gently fold in with a wooden spoon.

10. Drain the soaked fruits and add them to the batter and mix well again.

11.Whisk egg whites till it forms peaks and gently fold into the cake batter till well combined.

12. Now pour this batter into the prepared cake pan, filling it till half the pan.

13. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the caket comes out clean.

14. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and invert them onto wire rack and let it cool completely.

Voila , Your cake is ready to Party...

Bunuelos - Mini Doughnuts

Bunuelos look like little miniature doughnuts and make excellent little munching snacks which could be served along with tea, coffee or hot chocolate . These are not that sweet but sweet enough. These resemble our old fashioned doughnuts. This recipe is from a book, " Mexican - healthy ways with a favorite cuisine" by Jane Milton. I had plans to make these for quite some time and with this holiday season I got a perfect opportunity to make these.

On this Sweet Note, Wishing Every one a happy, healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground anise
• oil for deep- frying
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• cinnamon sticks to decorate

Preparation :

1. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and ground anise into a mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar. ( If you wish you could add 2 more tablespoons of sugar at this point).
2. Place the egg and milk in a bowl and whisk it well. Melt the butter.
3. Pour the egg and milk mixture gradually into the flour and stir constantly until well blended. Now add the melted butter. Mix well to make a soft dough.
4. Knead this dough for about 10 minutes until smooth.
5. Divide the dough into 10 pieces and roll into balls. Slightly flatten each ball with your hand. Then with a floured handle of a wooden spoon, make a hole in the center of the ball.
6. Heat the oil for deep -frying. Heat the oil , until a cube of dried bread when added to the oil, floats and then turns golden brown in 30-60 seconds. Fry the Bunuelos until they are puffy and golden brown, turning them once or twice during cooking. As soon as they are golden brown, lift them out of the oil using a slotted spoon and lie them on paper towels to drain off excess oil.
7. Mix the remaining sugar with the ground cinnamon in small bowl. Add the bunuelos, one at a time, while they are still warm, toss them in the mixture until they are lightly coated and serve immediatley . Decorate with cinnamon sticks.

Strawberry Orange and Pineapple Smoothie

What do Strawberries, Pineapple and Orange have in common. ?...

Well, they all taste great. What were you thinking. I know, you were thinking of the obvious..they are all loaded with vitamins(anti-oxidants) and minerals and fiber. That means they are really good for you too. So its a win-win situation. Also they are super easy to make and if you are pressed for time and need to snack on something real quick Smoothies is the way to go, atleast in my house.

I was reading a very interesting article. It marked December 29 as the day when people feel most guilty about giving into their indulgences over the last 12 months. Many felt that the day in the middle of the festive season i.e. four days after Christmas and three days before New Year was the ‘guiltiest’ time of the year. Read the entire article here.

So this gave me the idea for this guilt free indulgence(smoothie).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup diced Strawberries
• 1 Navel Orange peeled and diced
• 1 cup diced Pineapple
• 1 cup ice
• 1 tablespoon honey

*If you are using frozen Strawberries, then substitute ice for 1 cup of water or else smoothie will be too thick.

Preparation :

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Serve immediately. This recipe makes 2 to 3 servings.

Pineapple Stir-fried Rice

After all the festivities and indulging in all the holiday cookies and sugary delights, we all look for healthier recipes and try to include more fruits and vegetables. This is that kind of recipe which will make you feel good about making it for yourself and your loved ones. Its a Thai Recipe. This rice dish goes really well with the Garlic shrimp recipe I posted earlier. It could also go well with Stir-fried vegetables. Its quick and easy to make. There are lot of variations in making this Fried Rice. You could even add chopped Chinese sausage, cooked chicken or cooked shrimp to it. I have just used Pineapple and eggs for this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 2 cups diced pineapple
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 cup red onion/5 shallots thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted cashews
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 green onions,thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 small fresh red chillies, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste (optional)

*** Fish sauce is recommended for this recipe, I have not used it though as we still have'nt acquired the taste for it yet , so its upto your discretion you could use it or leave it. Also salt is added when rice is cooked , thats the reason its optional.

Preparation :
1) Heat oil in a wok or a skillet and keep it on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds, or until light golden.
2) Add eggs and stir fry for 30 seconds.
3) Add rice, pineapple and soy sauce and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until rice has separated and all the ingredients are mixed well.
4) Garnish with green onions, cilantro, cashews and sliced chilles.

Star Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread Cookies are traditional Christmas cookies. The simplicity of the recipe appeals to me. Few ingredients and easy to make. Also they are so soft they could just melt in your mouth. So that gives me a good reason to bake them around Christmas. But these cookies you could eat any time of the year, especially in our house. Since I make Heart Shortbread cookies for Valentine's day. I make Star Shortbread cookies for Christmas. But when it comes to these cookies you could just be limited by your imagination.

On this sweet note , Wishing Everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Ingredients :

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

** Adding cornstarch to this recipe makes these cookies more tender and melt in your mouth soft. Also I did take the liberty of checking out the reason why. Here it goes- Adding cornstarch lowers the gluten content of the dough and this makes these cookies a little more soft.

Preparation :

1. PreHeat the Oven to 325 degress F.
2. Line the baking sheets with Parchment paper.
3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt into a bowl and keep aside.
4. Now in a large bowl, beat the butter, powdered sugar and Vanilla until creamy and smooth for a minute. ( I do it by hand but you could use an electric mixer on medium speed).
5. Now slowly add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. Keep mixing till the flour mixture is well incorporated and it forms large clumps. Knead it into a dough.
6. Flatten the dough into a disk shape. Depending upon the counter space you have t0 roll the dough, feel free to divide the dough into 2 or 4 disk shapes.
7. Lightly flour the rolling surface and rolling pin. Roll the disk to a 1/4 inch thickness. Using a star shaped cookie cutter ,cut out the stars.
8. Carefully transfer them to the prepared baking sheets and space them about 1 inch apart
9. Bake them for about 18 - 20 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown .
10. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. This recipe makes about 30 shortbread cookies. You could store them at room temperature in a tightly covered container for up to 4 days. They could also be frozen and they are good for several months.

Classic Chocolate Chip cookies

These cookies never get old. We are having a Winter Celebration in my son's school today. He had offered to take some home made cookies. According to him since I have a food blog now.. I can cook or bake anything. It does'nt take much to impress little kids. After giving him many choices he came up with " How about Chocolate Chip Cookies".. So Chocolate Chip Cookies It is ..

Ingredients :

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups Hershey's Milk Chocolate chips
• 1 cup(2 sticks) butter , softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Preparation :

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown Sugar and Vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, add this gradually to the butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
4. Cool slightly. Remove from the cookies sheet to the wire rack and allow to cool completely.
   *** This Recipe is on the back cover of the Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips (1 lb) package.
   

Morning Glory Muffins and Awards

These are great breakfast muffins. If you have no time for Breakfast, just grab a couple of these carrot,fruit and nut muffins and take breakfast with you. How easy can it get. No more excuses for not eating your breakfast. In fact I belong to this category of "no time for breakfast" myself. But when I bake some tea cakes or muffins I surely have time for breakfast. Also they are so nutritious you don't feel guilty eating them or making them for your kids. Also you could store them in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Also I'm really curious to know why they are called Morning Glory. The only logical explanation I could think is that they are good for breakfast so morning glory. Feel free to enlighten me with any information about the origin of this name. This recipe is from a book," Big Fat Cookies" by Elinor Klivans. Since I'm really partial towards muffins. I used this recipe to make muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup ( 1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely grated peeled carrots
• 3/4 cup grated peeled apple
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

***Please do not be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. The list looks long but most of the ingredients are likely to be in your pantry.

Preparation :

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease the muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a medium bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl beat the butter, sugar and orange zest for about a minute until smoothly blended .
5. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for about a minute until blended .
6. Mix in the carrots, apple, raisins,coconut and walnuts.
7. Now slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
8. Now Spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin cups already prepared.

9. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
10. Let them cool for about 5 minutes and then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Ready to be served. This recipe yieds two dozen medium size muffins.

Now its Award Time ....

I'm a bit late in posting my awards. I was a little under the weather. But now feel great especially after seeing these awards. Who would'nt be..right. Did not want to look like I was'nt happy. I'm very happy to say the least.

Let me share my happiness and awards with you. Asha Latha has been kind enough to give me this award and Malar Gandhi has been generous enough to share this award with me as well. Both these fellow blogger friends are remarkable in what they do. Do check out their blogs and you will know what I mean. Thank you Asha and Malar. This is a great feeling. I hope to pass on the happiness to all my followers of my blog. Even if you are not a follower but took the efforts to browse through my blog, you can take the award too for your efforts. Feel free to pick up this award and display it on your blog. Lets spread the happiness.

Also there's another award from Priya. She has just posted her 150th post. It was a thankyou award from her as well as a Christmas Card. Heartiest Congratulations on your achievement.

Feel free to pick up these awards as well and display it on your blog. Happy Holidays.