Dried Cranberry & Blueberry Loaf

Slices of Cranberry & Blueberry Loaf

By now, you all are aware of my fondness for home-baked cakes. Every couple of days and I have the urge to bake cake, this time I wanted to use the dried cranberries and blueberries that I had purchased with thoughts of adding them to make a loaf cake. Also, couple days back, my niece had requested me to share my recipe for a simple cake , which I already gave. I had promised her that I will put a cake post for her, this is an easy and delish recipe baked especially for my dear niece. All my nephews and nieces love eating cakes, a few of them are good at baking too. I feel they are part of my chain that spreads the happiness through the cakes they bake.

Baking is a joy, you will not know of until you try and bake your own first cake.

For those who know how to bake a cake it is not a big task. But for all the new beginners who wish to try out baking their first homemade cake it sure becomes an anxious time until the baked good is out of the oven. I would like to point out here to all the new/first time bakers to go ahead, it is not something that cannot be done, even the first attempt at baking would make it clear to you how pleasurably simple baking a cake is.

Go ahead and give yourself these happy moments.

NOTE:

• Please note to use all ingredients at room temperature.
• Weighing the ingredient quantity is the most important step to follow to get the perfectly baked goods.
• Use good quality ingredients and check for the expiry of the baking powder or baking soda used.
• Line the baking tin with butter paper or grease the tin with butter and dust with flour and shake off the excess flour. In this way keep the cake tin ready for use.
• The oven should be preheated to the set temperature before inserting the cake tin for baking.

DRIED CRANBERRY & BLUEBERRY LOAF

Dried Cranberry & Blueberry Loaf

INGREDIENTS:

Refined Flour: 250 gm

Sugar: 200 gm

Unsalted Butter: 170 gm

Milk: 50 ml

Orange: 1/2 (I used the Valencia variety)

Eggs: 3

Orange Essence: 1 Tsp

Baking Powder: 1 Tsp

Baking Soda: 1/4 Tsp

Dried Cranberries & Blueberries: 150 gm (More can also be added)

METHOD:

1. Prepare the cake tin as explained above in Note paragraph. Preheat the fan-assisted oven to 150 deg C. Mix the bake powder and baking soda with refined flour and sieve the flour. This allows even mix of the ingredients.
2. Beat the unsalted butter until soft and light. Add the powdered sugar and beat, then add the milk and beat mixture till light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, beat till the mixture is smooth. Add the essence and juice of half orange and mix well.
4. Taking a spoonful of the flour at a time, fold it into the cake batter. Folding the flour in cake is mixing flour using rubber spatula, moving hand in one direction, cut and fold, until flour disappears. Take care not to burst or make the air bubbles disappear from the batter, hence do not over mix.
5. Finally add the dried berries into the cake batter and mix gently.  Pour the batter immediately into the prepared loaf tin and put it into the preheated oven to bake at 150 deg C for 45 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. 

   Finally mix the dried berries into the cake batter.

Adding of the milk and orange juice makes it a slightly thin batter, so the loaf slice is light and fluffy. I have used a mixer pot to beat and mix the wet ingredients to make the batter, and folded the dried ingredients into this batter.

TIP: For a more orangey flavor, one can add 1-2 tsp of orange zest.  (Scrap out the orange outer cover to get the zest).

Dried Cranberry & Blueberry Loaf

With the winter almost upon us, warm tea or coffee mugs with a delicious cake slice would make a perfect start of the day. One could also make this cake and give as home-baked gifts during this season of sharing, adding a personal touch to gifting. You would also help me by becoming the part of my chain and spread happiness through your baked cakes. 

Wishing you all Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the day with family and friends.

ashu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amrakhand/Mango Shrikhand or Dessert

Summer months bring with them this yellow/ green fruit- Mango, also called as the king of all fruits in my homeland, India. Ripened mangoes are delicious, wonderfully sweet in taste, delight in each bite. There are a lot of varieties available in the market depending upon the region where it is grown. Childhood memories are filled with scenes of the vegetable markets that sold bullock-cart loads of the local variety of small mangoes, they had lot of fibrous pulp, we would drink the juice from the fruit, some very sour while some very sweet in taste. During the mango season basket-full of these would be bought and we kids had quite a joyful time eating more than one at one go. Mom would always warn of the boils that one would end up getting after eating lot of mangoes. Today, upon reflecting back, those were the best times that I enjoyed eating this fruit.  Now, I see the same love for the fruit in my kiddos at home. Shifting residence from one place to another resulted in new mango varieties being sought after, usually the ones that are available in the market is bought, and thus they are more fond of the  Hapus or Alphonso variety. The Ratnagiri and Konkan belt is famous for the Alphonso mangoes, a saffron-colored, very sweet and delicious variety. But having lived in Gujarat, my personal favorite now is the Junagadh Kesar variety that is grown in the Junagadh region of the state.

Living in this part of the world now so I get to see Mango varieties from all over the world, but I still prefer the fruit coming from my homeland. Fortnight back, during my vegetable market visit, I found my favorite Kesar variety in the shop, and was able to use this mango for preparation of this Shrikhand.  Although this homemade Amrakhand is made using hung yogurt and pulp of the Kesar mangoes, but one could use pulp of any mango variety  depending on  the choice or availability . If one wants a more creamier taste than cream can be added. One could also use tinned Alphonso mango pulp for making this. I buy yogurt and hang it in a thin cloth so that all the water drips away. Usually I hang the Yogurt overnight so I can make Amrakhand for lunch time.

INGREDIENTS:

Yogurt: 1 Kg

Sugar: 100 gm ( or more, as per the preferred sweetness)

Ripe Mangoes: 1/2 kg (Alphonso or Junaghad Kesar)

Cardamon: 2 nu.(Powdered)

Note: The sugar quantity varies depending upon the sweetness of the mango used. I normally choose the sweetest variety so as to avoid adding additional sugar or add very little quantity.

METHOD:

Empty the yogurt tub into the Muslin cloth, tie it, and hang this some place high so that all the water in the yogurt drips away.

Hung Yogurt and Mango pulp.

Beat the hung yogurt to make it a smooth consistency, pass it through sieve or use a hand mixer for this.  Then add the mango pulp and powdered sugar and beat with the hand mixer so all ingredients get evenly mixed, we should get a smooth consistency.

Add powdered cardamom to the Amrakhand.

Amrakhand or Mango Shrikhand

SERVING TIP: Serve it cold as a dessert after meal or as sweet dish of a vegetarian meal along with steaming hot puris.

One could use ready-made hung yogurt, if available, but freshly made one gives this dish a more delicious taste. We love eating this sweet dish, do give it a try and find out if you too like it as much as us.  Do leave a comment to let me know your thoughts on my homemade yummy preparation.

Wishing you all a good day. Happy cooking homemade meals.

ashu

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon Fruit

DRAGON FRUIT:

This is another of the exotic fruits that one should not miss the opportunity to taste. Here it is easily found on the fruit shelves of the supermarkets. I first tasted this exotic fruit at a lavish hotel buffet where the dessert spread served it in a big fruit bowl mixed with cuts of other fruits. I instantly liked it the first time I tasted it, and from then onwards I purchase it on a regular basis.

 This brightly coloured fruit is wonderful to look on the outside, the pink colour attracting us to put it in the shopping cart.  Cutting open the fruit shows the juicy white part which is soft and mildly sweet and the black seeds that give the crunch to the bite. The texture is like the Kiwi fruit, but it is not at all sour or tangy in taste like the kiwi.

Mixing this fruit along with the other brightly coloured fruits would make any ice-cream or custard dish extremely appealing to the eye. Go ahead and try out this mildly sweetish temptation next time you lay your eyes on it in the market.

Enjoy!

ashu 🙂 

Sweet Potato Puri

Blogging is a very interesting experience. After each of my posts, there are new ideas taking shape about the next blog post, new recipe to write and share with you all. Most of the dishes that get cooked at home always include family favorites and new cuisines that I would like to try out. In the process, dishes eaten by me in my childhood or the one’s that my mom made back in those days, take a back seat. The idea behind this post is to make something that was eaten a long time ago, in my growing up days, and something that I have not made enough times for the kids to like it as much as I did. I can count on my finger tips the scant number of times that I have made this puri, hence I made them so that the recipe gets documented.

SWEET POTATO PURI: The taste is yum and I love it. The starchy sweet potato is a good source of carbohydrate and fiber.  It is also a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

The puris are deep fried. I also tried to bake some puris, my effort to decrease the calorie count of the dish, but I did not like the taste, and also found them to be a bit hard to chew. Hence I ruled out the baking option for now, it needs more experimentation and changes in the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Sweet potato- 2 no. (Boiled and mashed)

Sugar- 1-1½ Katori or bowl (powdered. Use sugar as per sweetness preferred)

Flour- 1½ Katori or Bowl- Refined flour or whole wheat flour.

Cardamom powder- 1Tsp

Oil- For frying.

METHOD:

Boil and mash the sweet potatoes. Take the mashed potatoes in a round bowl, add the powdered sugar and flour to it, and make dough out of it. The dough consistency should not be too soft as we have to make puri.  Add the freshly ground cardamom powder. Knead the dough so that all the ingredients get mixed evenly.

Divide the dough into 4-5 portions and roll them out flat, then using a cookie cutter cut out evenly shaped puris.

Prick these small circular shaped puris with a fork. This is done to prevent them from rising up in oil. Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the puris to golden brown color on medium flame, then drain them on kitchen tissue roll and cool.

This is how they should look in appearance. These are bit soft to eat, but have a unique taste. If you like sweet potatoes or are willing to try out something different, then go ahead and give yourself the experience of tasting them. Looking forward to hearing your comments and feedback on this post.

Enjoy!!

ashu 🙂

Chocolate covered Strawberries, a quick dessert.

Strawberry is a highly nutritious and versatile fruit, a delight to the eyes packed with lots of health benefits.  It is delicious to eat and is a rich source of Vitamin C, Potassium, Folic acid, fibre, packed with antioxidants, which makes it a must-have. Almost all kids love them, they taste great on their own or mixed with other fruits and vegetables. The colour, flavour, and taste of strawberries make the salads, desserts delightfully appealing and colourful. Making a dessert out of them is one dish that no one will refuse to eat. Covering the strawberries in melted chocolate is the easiest dessert to make, one that turned out beloved by my kids. I had never eaten this or tried this dish, but had seen pictures that made my taste buds tingle. When I saw fresh strawberries of the perfect shape in the supermarket, I knew it was time for me to try it out. The kids loved them so much, all of them got finished in no time. My junior, while finishing his last bite of the strawberry, told me he would not mind eating a box full of strawberries coated with chocolate. So friends, lets getting making this healthy tempting dessert.

Chocolate Strawberries:

Ingredients:

Fresh strawberries-1 box

Chocolate Bar of choice.

Method:

Wash the strawberries under running tap water, taking care that all the dirt gets washed away. They should be completely dry before dipping them in chocolate.

Take a bar of chocolate of choice, I like the Lindt milk bar and even dark chocolate would also be best to use, and break into pieces in a microwave bowl. Melting the chocolate in microwave is the quickest method of melting it, but care should be taken while doing this. The chocolate should be melted not more than 30 sec at a time. Then it should be stirred with teaspoon and again microwaved for 30 sec. It needs to be just warmed enough to melt it.

Dip the strawberries into the chocolate and swirl it so that all side are evenly coated. Let it stand on a rack to get  the perfect shaped chocolate strawberries.

Allow the chocolate coated strawberry to cool at room temperature.  As I like the chocolate cold, I put it in the refrigerator after it was set. Enjoy them as dessert or pop them into the mouth as soon as the chocolate gets set.