Low Fat Rum Raisin and Vanilla Coffee Cake

Dear All,

Most of my cakes these days are made using oil rather than ounces of butter. Using oil not only makes your cake a lot healthier but also keeps it super moist. I usually use any vegetable oil but to make it even more healthy you use olive oil. I have tried baking with olive oil and never had any problems.

 Few days back when I was sorting through my pantry I came across a box full of raisins which I had last used in my Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Cake, thinking of the same reminded me that V has asked me (yeah not even requested but specifically asked!!) to prepare this cake and I have been ignoring her since long time. Not that I don't want to prepare this cake but I am trying to pursue her to make it on her own! Yeah have been trying to push her towards baking from long time, though she is a great cook but she seems to be allergic to the word baking..duh!!

Now those raisins were crying out loud to me and I really had to use them as..oh well I cannot see anyone crying :-) Luckily I even had rum in hand to soak my raisins in. I was about to give in to V's request but unlucky for her that I was out of coco powder so the cry for the hour was to go in with Plain Raisin Cake but can Vanilla beans be left behind? So finally I decided to make Raisin and Vanilla combo and I must say what a fantastic combo it came out to be! It looked and smelled amazing! I literally had to hide few pieces from V to be able to take them to office for my new colleagues! 

Look at those plump and juicy raisins along with spects of vanilla beans, aren't they gorgeous!

Rum Raisin and Vanilla Coffee Cake
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar or vanilla sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs as room temperature
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 Vanilla bean scrapped or 2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup dark rum for soaking

Procedure:-

• Soak raisins in rum overnight or for atleast 3 to 4 hours, the raisins should become plump and juicy.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degress C, grease and flour a bundt pan.
• Sieve together flour, baking powder and baking soda, keep aside.
• In a seperate vessel beat together sugar, eggs and oil until well combined and creamy.
• Add in scraped vanilla beans or vanilla essence, mix well.
• Now add in flour mixture alternatively with milk and beat on low speed until all the flour and milk is well combined.
• Finally gently fold in rummy raisins along with any rum that is left. DONOT beat.
• Pour this batter in bundt pan and bake for 40 to 45 mins, until a knife or a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool the cake completely before removing from the pan.
• Slice and serve with tea or coffee, enjoy!

 

Verdict? Dont pictures talk a thousand words more than writing? Honestly I am in love with this cake! Its one of the best raisin cake ever! If are lover of rum and raisin combo than it is a must for to try this. I got fantastic reviews from everyone in office and to top it off V had already finished off the entire cake by the time I reached home from office, I dont know about you guys but that speaks a lot about its taste to me! Thanks V for always being a fantastic reviewer of my cakes by finishing them off :-)

Got any recipes that you have tried from my blog? Email me in those entries for "Show Me Your Creations" and I'll upload them right here on my blog. Lets share experiences and learn together!

First entry for Show Me Your Creations!!

Dear All,

I am very excited to present you all with the very first entry for "Show Me Your Creations" which I received from Sharmilee. Sharmilee has used my recipe for Tutti Frutti cake and prepared this gorgeous cake. I was extremely happy when I received a feedback from her letting me know how much she and her family loved this cake. Thank you so much sharmilee for sharing your creation with all of us.

This is what she posted to me on Facebook "Hey this cake came out so well....means the texture and slices everything came out perfect even with one egg.. I have tried 2-3 variations with this recipe.....Thanks for such a nice recipe Parita.....will post it soon in my blog!" 

Dont forget to visit Sharmilee's blog for different variations of this cake she has tried and tested successfully.

And keep sending me your experiences and I'll be most happy to share them on my blog.

Until next time, take care and happy baking!

Show Me Your Creations......A new feature at Parita's World

Dear All,

First let me start by thanking each and everyone of my blogger buddies and my readers for their constant motivation and support without which Parita's World would not have survived. I am truly blessed with blogger buddies and readers who take effort to send me me their  feedback after they have tried a recipe from Parita's World. I am sure every blogger will agree that receiving a feedback from your fellow readers about one of the dish they have tried is one of the most happiest and inspiring moments. 

To continue this trend and to inspire everyone out there I am starting a new section called "Show Me Your Creations" on my blog where I will post pictures of the dishes sent by you tried from my blog. I would request each and every reader of my blog to share your experiences whenever you try a recipe from my blog. You can email me at paritashah26@gmail.com with your experiences and I will post the picture of your creations on my blog. You dont need to be a blogger for this, even if you have adapted any of my recipe I would love to share your version with everyone. Your feedback is very important. You can also shoot me an email with your suggestions and I would love to hear from you! 

I hope you all will share your experiences with everyone and continue to give your love and support!

Love

Eggless Date and Walnut Cake/Loaf ...Low Fat and Healthy!!!

Dear All,

The moment I think about dates (khajoor) the first thing that comes to my mind is Pani Puri and the second is this Date and Walnut Cake. This cake is not light but quite dense , not too sweet and perfect combination with some tea or coffee. This recipe is inspired from Eggless Date Cake which I had bookmarked ages ago from Shilpa's site, this cake has almost 100% success rates and by the popularity of this cake I had to try it soon. The adventure began when I saw a packet of seedless dates in my fridge. Being Anaemic I was advised to have black dates regularly due the high iron content in them. I have dates as a meal filler in between my meals, they are extremely rich and fulfilling, so next time you have craving to have something sweet go and buy yourself a packet of dates!  Lets stay healthy!

Original Recipe Source: Shilpa from Aayi's Recipes
Ingredients:
25-26 seedless dates
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar (You can increase/reduce depending upon the sweetness of your dates)
1 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
3 tbsp oil
1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/4 cups of finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of finely chopped dates

Procedure:-

• Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C, grease and flour a loaf tin.
• Soak dates in warm milk for about half an hour until they become little soft and mushy to touch
• Add sugar and grind them into smooth paste along with the milk in which the dates were soaked.
• Add oil and mix. 
• Sieve the flour and baking soda together. 
• Add flour one tablespoon at a time and mix well after each addition.
• Add the finely chopped walnuts and dates and mix well.
• Grate few walnuts on top of the cake and bake it for 40 to 45 mins until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Verdict? The cake is quite dense in nature due the dates puree used, the texture i got was quite fudgy in nature! The color of the cake highly depends upon the type of the dates you have used and varies accordingly. So if you cake is darker in color than donot worry , it does not mean the cake was burnt :)

For best result always use fresh dates and seedless ones which will speed up the process of baking as well. You can also use all whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour to make it even more healthy! Hope you enjoyed this cake. Until next time, take care!