Eggless Plum Cake

A popular and flavored fruity cake recipe made with a delicious combination of dry fruits which is made using different fruits and dry fruits. Usually fruits are soaked in alcohol and eggs are used to prepare this cake. Here I have created an egg less and alcohol free version of the same cake which has come out perfectly.

 

 Nothing beats the taste of a cake baked at home filled with lots of dried fruits, nuts, fresh ingredients, and no preservatives. I used a combination of dried cranberries, black & golden raisins, dried apricots and dried figs currants, with walnuts and cashews. I grated the zest of an orange and lemon into the fruit mixture. All these fruits together created real magic in my cake. This cake is rich in flavours and filled with fruit in every bite and sure to win hearts and minds of those around.

 

For The Dry Fruits Mixture:

Ingredients:

Kaale kishmish (black raisins) 50 grams

Bhure kishmish (brown raisins) 50 grams

Dried cranberries 25 grams

Tutti fruity 50 grams

Cherry-50gms

Dates-50 gms

Apricot- 5 gms

Fig-25 gms

Fresh-Orange- juice as required

 

Method:

Use a glass bowl & add all the dried fruits further add orange juice as required so all the fruits are totally submerged in it, now keep it for soaking for at least 7 to 8 hours. Once the fruits are soaked well in the juice, use a sieve and strain the excess orange juice, reserve the orange juice to be used later in making the cake.

For The Caramel Syrup:

Cheeni (sugar)- 100 gm

Water – 1 cup

Method:

Preparing Caramel

In a sauce pan, take the sugar and water.

Mix and stir very well. Keep this pan on the stove top on a low heat. I have used organic unrefined cane sugar but you can use white sugar.

 

 Bring this sugar solution to a boil on a low heat. You will see the mixture bubbling initially.Continue to cook and do keep on stirring often.At one point it might look that the sugar is getting crystallized.

 

Continue to cook and stir frequently till you see the color changing to a dark brown. Switch off at this point.

Remove the pan from the stove top and place it down. Immediately add 1 cup water to the caramel. Be careful while doing so, as the mixture splutters.

The caramel will harden as soon as you pour the water. Keep the saucepan back on the stove top on a low flame. Stir often and bring to a gentle simmer till all the hardened caramel is dissolved. Do stir often so as to aid in dissolving the caramel.

Let this caramel solution cool completely.

Make Spice Mix

Dalchini (cinnamon) powder- ½ tsp

Laung (clove) powder- 1/4th tsp

Saunth (ginger) powder- ½ tsp

In a mortar & pestle, add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and crush to form a fine powder. You can skip this and add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder, ⅛ teaspoon each of cloves and cardamom powder.

For making the cake

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

Maida (refined flour) 140 grams / 1 cup

Salt 1/4th tsp

Baking powder ½ tsp

Baking soda 1/8th tsp

Wet ingredients:

Butter- 100 grams

Orange juice- 75 grams

Prepared molasses -50 grams

Condensed milk - 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence- 1 tsp

Badam (almonds) 40 grams

Lemon peel of ½ lemon (grated)

Orange peel of 1/4th orange (grated)

Topping:

Dried cranberries

Tutti fruity

Walnuts

Almonds (slivered)

 

Method:

Take a little big size mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients in sieve & sift well to add it in the bowl, keep it aside.

Further, set a pan or a wok on medium heat, add butter, orange juice, prepared molasses, stir & cook until the butter melts, further bring to a boil.

Now switch off the flame & allow to cool down a little bit, now add the soaked fruits, condensed milk & vanilla essence, stir & mix well. Further add this mixture to the dry ingredients & mix once, further add almonds, orange zest & lemon zest, use cut & fold method to combine the mixture well.

 

As all the ingredients are mixed well, when you check the consistency of the batter, it is little thick as required, to make it a little thin, add the reserved orange juice that was used for soaking the dried fruits, mix well and you’ve got the perfect consistency of the cake batter.

 

Line a loaf tin with butter paper/ grease with butter rectangle loaf tin, you can use a round cake tin as wellPour the batter in the tin and tap it on the counter table so to remove any air pockets in the batter, top it with some dried cranberries, tutti fruity, walnuts & almond slivers, bake it in a preheated oven at 180℃ for 1 hour.

Do not disturb the cake for at least an hour, make sure to check the process of baking keeping the oven doors closed. Check the cake after an hour for its denseness by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean your cake is baked to its perfection, there will also be cracks on the top surface and it denotes its baked perfectly, if the toothpick is not clean you need to bake it a little more.

Once baked, carefully take out from the oven and allow it to cool down for few minutes.

 

After cooling down, run a clean knife from the sides and gently pull up the cake, remove the butter paper and your Christmas plum cake is ready.

Slice it and consume accordingly, it can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

 

 

 

Pasta Sticks

 

Pasta Sticks

This easy pasta sticks recipe is a fun way to eat pasta. It's a versatile enough ingredient that you can also enjoy it as a tasty snack! These quick & easy baked pasta pizza  on a stick are a fun new way to serve pasta as an appetizer or quick snack. In a Skewer some cooked penne pasta, dress it up like a pizza using tomato sauce /pizza sauce and cheese, add your favourite toppings, and bake everything in the oven for an irresistible, sharable, dippable snack! Everyone loves pasta and everyone loves pizza, So Serve them up for dinner, or serve them as an appetizer for a gathering with friends or family. Either way, you'll want to make them over and over again.

INGREDIENTS

Boiled penne pasta - 200 grams/Pasta 30 pieces

Pizza sauce - 50 grams

Mozzarella cheese - 100 grams

Bell pepper chopped- ½ cup

Onions – ¼ cup

Black olives – 8 to 10

Oregano - 1 teaspoon

Chilli flakes - 1 teaspoon

Black pepper- 1 tsp

 

Method:

1.Bring a pot of water to boil. Once your water is hot enough, add pasta into boiled water.

2.When it's cool enough to touch, start stacking the pasta onto your skewers.

3.Line up your pasta sticks on a baking sheet.

4.Add some mozzarella cheese, bell pepper, onions and black olives.

5.Top it with some oregano and chilli flakes and transfer it in a baking tray.

6.Preheat the oven at 180°C.

7.Bake for at least 2-5 minutes or until cheese is melted

8.Remove it from oven.Add the pizza pasta sticks into a serving dish. Serve. Enjoy!

Note:  If you don’t have an oven, you can make it on a gas stove. For that heat a deep pan, place a stand, put tray of pasta sticks on top and cover. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

Thengai Bun (Coconut Bun)

Thengai Bun (Coconut Bun)

Thengai (Coconut)buns are a nostalgic treat for me. A popular stuffed bread available in the bakeries of Tenkasi  in Tirunelveli Dist and few parts of Tamilnadu .When I was studying in the school I use to save money to buy the thengai Bun  from the bakery shop who sold baked goods every day. All my friends who used  to buy cup cakes ,pastries or puffs, but invariably I always returned to  the coconut bun. I don’t know why coconut buns appeal to me so much. I think in part it’s because This Bun looks great & the coconut part looks so juicy... it makes me drool Or maybe it’s the sweet sugary crust which perfectly complements the coconut infused, raisin.tutifruti,cherry -studded flavors  I love it! I don’t know. But the one which was in my regular buy list was this "Thengai Bun".

 

I wanted to make this for quite some time.. After so many years I tried this today evening it came out very well and everybody liked it. Baking this coconut bun bring back lot of childhood memories. It makes me remember my school days. Hope this Bun will bring back many fond memories for all of you Too!

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour /Maida- 1.5 cups/200gms

Active dry yeast - 11/2 tsp

Milk powder- 25 gms

 Milk - 1/4 cup (Warm)

Water - 1/4 cup (Warm)

Sugar –1/4tsp

 Salt - 1/2 tsp

Unsalted Butter/Oil

 

For stuffing:

Coconut - 1 cup (Grated)

Cashew nuts -30 gms

Raisins – 30 gms

Cherry- 10

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Sugar -50 gms

Tutti frutti -1/4 cup

Coconut Filling:

Heat a wok at low heat, add in raw sugarwith little water  until it nearly melted Cook until everything melt then add shredded coconut. Make sure the shredded coconut coated with the melted sugar. Keep stirring to prevent it burn.

 

 Mix the water with flour then add into the coconut mixture. Keep stirring until everything well combine and you could smell the fragrant of coconut mixture. It'll start become dry and you'll know it has done. Add nuts, raisins, tutti-frutti, cherry& cardamom powder. Mix well Let it cool down on a plate before use.

                                                                            Or

Take a bowl and add in all the ingredients listed under filling. Mix well with a spoon to combine. Fresh shredded coconut is preferred for this recipe.

 

Method:

1 Take a bowl and add in the warm water yeast and sugar and mix. Allow this to proof for about 10 minutes. It will become foamy.

2) Mix flour and salt and crumble in the cold butter. Add the yeast-milk mixture, milk, milk powder, flour and the salt and combine until you get smooth, sticky dough. I had to add a touch more flour at this point.

3 Place dough, cover with wrap and put in a warm place (e.g. oven with light on) and let it rise for an hour or so until it doubles.

 

4) Punch down the dough and knead lightly. Then take a piece of about 2.5 inches diameter and flatten it lightly to a circle, place about 2 tbsp of the Coconut filling in the middle. 

 

Now, roll out the remaining ball in to same 1/4 inch thick. Prick holes. Place it on the top of the coconut & dry fruits mixtures.

 

5)Pull the edges over the filling and enclose it. Seal it and Fold the edges together without any gap. Place this gently on a lined and greased cookie sheet. 

 

6.Preheat oven for 180 degree and Bake for about 20minutes or the buns should be golden brown on top. Remove the buns and brush the buns with ghee / melted butter while it’s still hot. baked, take out and immediately apply some butter on the top. 

 

7.When it is warm, cut it in to pieces.Serve warm. Warm coconut buns (Thengai bun) tastes great!