Crushed Mango Chutney

Mangoes are in season...the raw ones, though. It is always nice to use fruits and vegetables that are in season. Traditionally, we use everything imaginable with mangoes, and this is so quick to whip up that you can do it even if you think there is no time to make something.

 

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: Nil

Ingredients

Raw mango : 1 medium, cut into small cubes

Shallots: 1/4 cup, skinned

Dried red chillies- 5-6

Red chilly powder- 1 tsp, optional

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Salt- to taste

Organic virgin coconut oil- 1 tsp

In a mixer grinder bowl( or a big mortar & pestel), crush the shallot, red chillies, curry leaves & salt coarsely. Make sure it does not grind fully, because you are looking for a chunky texture. Add the cubed raw mango pieces and crush them a bit more. Transfer to the serving bowl, drizzle the organic virgin coconut oil. Mix well and  serve right away.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Whenever we go to P.F.Chang's we always get their Sticky Toffee Pudding. My elder son absolutely loves this and what better way to surprise him than have a home-made version for his birthday. I decided to give it a shot for the first time ever also because I can sneak in some dates into them ( my kids just call dates "gross"...for their gooey texture)...shh...just don't tell them..

The recipe from Martha Stewart makes divinely rich and melt-in-the-mouth Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Difficulty level: Medium

Preparation time: 20 min

Baking time: about 30 min

Pudding
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for dish
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dish
8 ounces Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup scalding-hot strong brewed coffee( I just used 1 cup boiled water as I was not sure whether my kids would taste the coffee flavour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup lightly packed dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup lightly packed dark-brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Place dates in a bowl, pour coffee over dates, and let soak 15 minutes. Stir in baking soda.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat together butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly incorporated.

Reduce speed to low, and add half the flour mixture, beating until combined. Add date mixture and remaining flour mixture, and beat until just combined. (Do not overmix.) Transfer batter to dish, and bake until cake is puffed and springs back in center when gently pressed with a finger, about 25 minutes.

Sauce: Meanwhile, combine butter, sugar, and cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium (so sauce does not boil over) and boil, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and darkens slightly, about 4 minutes.

Remove cake from oven and pierce holes at 1-inch intervals to bottom of cake with a wooden skewer. Pour half of hot sauce over cake and let soak 20 minutes. Serve warm with remaining sauce. Cake soaked in sauce and remaining toffee sauce can be stored at room temperature up to 1 day. Before serving, warm cake in a 300 degrees oven 10 minutes, and sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Carrot date Cake

My mom was visiting, and I decided to make something that she would absolutely love. She loves both Carrots and Dates. I decided to do some research on how much varieties of Carrot Date cake I could find. I found it very interesting when I noticed that most people add caramel to enhance the flavor. I kept on searching as I wanted something with the least amount of sugar added, as the cake would rely on the natural sweetness of the dates ( some dried ones are extremely sweet, and it would depend on the variety of dates you pick) and of course the carrots. 

I finally saw a recipe from taste.com.au. The frosting is completely optional. I decided to keep it naked, as I wanted to enjoy the maximum flavor & taste of the dates and carrots, and nothing else. After all, they are the real stars here, and just let them shine through.

  

Difficulty level: Medium

Preparation time: 40 min

Baking time: 50-55 min

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (140g) dried dates, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup (125ml) boiling water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 large Eggs
• 1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
• 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour( note on making self-raising flour at bottom, if you don't have it handy)
• 1 cup (220g) brown sugar packed
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrot (about 3 large carrots)
• 1/2 cup (50g) coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 
  
• Frosting( optional)
• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 50g butter
• 1/2 cup (80g) icing sugar mixture
• Red, yellow & green liquid food colourinng

Directions

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease the base and sides of a 10x10 square baking pan.  You may also line it with baking /parchment paper, allowing the 2 long sides to overhang.

Combine the date, water and baking soda in a medium heatproof bowl. Set aside for 10 mins to soak. Use a stand up mixer, add the eggs and oil and whisk to combine. You could also use the hand-held mixer as there is not a long of mixing involved. 

In the meantime, for the dry ingredients, combine the flour, sugar, carrot, walnut, cinnamon and nutmeg well in a bowl and keep aside. Mix in the dry ingredients in batches and stir in the date mixture at the very last. They should just be uniformly distributed in the batter. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Bake for 50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside in the pan for 10 mins to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting- Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter in a bowl until smooth and creamy. Add icing sugar. Beat until well combined. Reserve 1/4 cup of the icing. Spread remaining icing over top of cake. 

Divide reserved icing between 2 bowls. Add red and yellow colouring to 1 portion to make orange icing. Tint remaining icing portion with green colouring. Place the orange icing in a piping bag fitted with a 2mm nozzle. Pipe 1cm-long carrot shapes on top of cake. Place the green icing in a clean piping bag fitted with a 2mm nozzle. Pipe onto cake to make the carrot tops.

Note:

Self-raising flour is really easy to whip up if you have corn starch in your pantry. Measure out  1 cup of all-purpose flour . Take out 2 tbsp and replace it with the same quantity of corn flour/corn starch.Mix well until everything is uniformly combined. There you have it..Self-raising flour..

Orange Cake

Summer is the time for oranges. I had been wanting to make an Orange cake forever, I would say. I finally decided that it is high time I dived right in, as I realized I will never have time for myself if I keep waiting.

The original recipe is from Prettysimplesweet.com. It yields 2 loaves or 1 bundt, as in the original version. 

If you have the patience to control yourself when the fragrance of the freshly baked cake tickles your nose, you may wait for 24 hours before you devour the cake. The orange flavour gets much more stronger if you let it rest for that long and your patience will be totally rewarded. I was so glad I made it, as I love the flavour of the fresh Orange Juice which combined with the fresh Orange zest make a world of difference. If you love oranges or anything with a pop of freshness, this is the cake for you. 

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation Time: 15 min

Baking time: 40-50 min

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (350g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
•  4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
•  1 cup (240 ml) canola or vegetable oil
•  1 1/4 cups (300 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
• Orange zest from 3-4 oranges (use all the oranges used for the juice)
•  1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease a 12-cup (10-inch) Bundt pan or two standard loaf pans (either 9 x 13 inch pans or 8½ x 4½ inch pans for taller cakes) and set aside. I had used 2 mini loaf pans and a square 10x10 baking pan. 
2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a mixer bowl fitted with whisk attachment, whisk together eggs and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. On low speed and with the mixer running, add oil slowly until combined. Add orange juice, zest, and vanilla extract and keep whisking slowly until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk just until combined. Take extra care not to overmix.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan/pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes for the bundt pan or 40-50 minutes for the loaves or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning quickly while baking, cover loosely with aluminum foil. Allow cake/cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
5.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For the best moist texture , serve at room temperature. This cake freezes well, so if you make 2 loaves and would like to save some for future, cover well and freeze up to 2 months and then thaw overnight in the refrigerator before use. 

   
   

   
   

Eggless Vanilla Cake

I have been thinking of making a Vanilla cake for a while now. While I was looking through my recipes, I found this one from Tarla Dalal. Interestingly, the cake is made with no eggs and it is made in a microwave.

It came out really nice and soft. My kids loved it too.

The cooking time could vary as each microwave is different. Mine cooked in 6 1/2 min. Also, if you do not have sour curd, add 1 tsp lime juice to your yogurt to make it sour.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 7-8 min
Makes: 6-9 portions

Ingredients:

All purpose flour: 1 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Sour yogurt/ curds: 4 tbsp
Baking soda/ soda bi-carb: 1/2 tsp
Melted butter: 1/2 cup (microwave butter on high for 1 min)
Powdered sugar: 3/4 cup
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp


Sieve the baking powder and flour and keep aside. Mix together baking soda and the curd and keep aside. Combine butter, sugar and 1/2 cup water in another bowl and whisk well. Add the curd, vanilla essence and flour and mix well, to make a smooth batter. Batter is ready when it is of a pouring consistency. If the batter is too thin, add 2 tbsp flour and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased shallow 7" diameter (minimum) glass (or any other microwaveable) dish. Microwave on high for 4 min. Cook for more time if needed, in 30 sec increments. The toothpick inserted at the center should come out clean. Remove from microwave, cool slightly and unmould.