Mango Pound Cake - Step by step pictures

Hi All,

A life without love is like a year without summer
~ Swedish Proverb

Summers always brings back memorable memories of school days when we used to wait desperately for our summer vacations!! I always used to accompany mom to buy green mangoes for making various sweet and spicy mango pickles. We used to make around 10kg's of mango pickle every year. Most of which we would share with our aunt's and uncle's families nevertheless it was fun to watch my ma and grandma making those yummy pickles. It was like a ritual which we used to follow every single year!

Feeling Blue!!

Dear All,

I know I owe you all an explanation to my unexpected disappearance. I havent updated my blog in last one month and there is a reason behind it. Lots of things have changed in last one month at work front and in personal life. Let me ask you all a question..have you ever felt so alone in life as if you were living on a different planet with no one to talk to and share your feelings with? with no friends and family? Do you question yourself upon the decisions you make and when those decisions go wrong and makes you feel miserable and guilty? When someone you love breaks your trust and you cannot forget and let go?  It hurts so bad that you want to scream your heart out? Honestly I feel like I am going through that phase in life. I feel sad, disappointed, betrayed and probably lots more!!

I think I am going through some kind of identify crisis. Its like you think you know what you are doing and you know what you want in life but suddenly life takes you down to a path which you never thought you would walk on. It makes you question yourself and the worst part is you dont have an answer for that! Its when you feel even after doing all things right still everything goes wrong. It makes you question your beliefs and your moral values. I always knew life's tough and the world is cruel but a part of me always believed that there are good people out there who would feel the same way as I do. I always thought that if you didnt do anything wrong to anyone else nothing can go wrong with you but now I am not so sure about it. I always thought that whatever happens..happens for good, I wish I knew what good its gonna bring out to me. I wish we knew answers to all our questions...life would be so much better..isnt it?

So what do you do in such situation? Of course apart of getting all emotional and giving a big lecture just like I did above :) For me CHOCOLATE is probably the best way of making myself feel better..ah forget the extra pounds for a while! Some chocolate brownies with creamy vanilla ice cream on top! Yup thats what I am having right now while writing this post :) And what better way than sharing a delicious chocolate cake recipe with you all especially if it has lots of sour cherries in it...hummm and some chocolate chips as well! Chocolate+Cherry is one of my favorite combo and I always wanted to bake with sour cherries. So when my dear roomy got some sour dried cherries from US I baked this gorgeous cake for my colleagues who never disappoint me in finishing any of my baked treat in record time :) 

Chocolate Cherry Cake to make you feel better!
Ingredients:-
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp of rich cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup milk
90 ml vegetable oil
1 cup chopped dried sour cherries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp vanilla essence or seeds of one vanilla bean scrapped

Procedure:-

• Grease amd flour a pound cake pan, preheat the oven to 180 degress C.
• Sieve all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.
• Dump together the above dyr ingredients with sugar, cherries and 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
• Now in a measuring cup mix together 1 cup of milk, 90 ml oil, vanilla seeds/essence and 2 eggs.
• Thoroughly mix the wet ingredients well until fully incoporated.
• Now pour the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients while mixing well with a spatula in between the additions. Donot use a beater, a spatula or a wooden spoon is more than sufficient. 
• Be careful to not to over mix the batter.
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cups chocolate chips.
• Bake the cake for 45 mins or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from oven and let it cool completely.
• Slice and serve with some warm milk or even with a dollop of vanilla ice cream!

The cake was deliciously moist and everyone in office enjoyed it! Will definately be making this cake more often as I am sure my little sister R would love it! So now you know what to make in case you  are feeling blue or even just want to pamper yourself :)

Love,

Cardamon and Rose Flavored Ricotta Pound Cake (Paneer Cake)

Dear All,

Today's post is a very special and close to my heart. This post is dedicated to two very special individuals in my life...my mom and my dear roomy V. Today is my mom's birthday and I just wanna wish her.."Happy Birthday Ma", I know I may not express it enough but I love you very much and today whatever  I am is because of the culture and integrity that you built in me! Cant thank you enough mumma!!

  V and A, made for each other :-)

Now its V's turn, she is one of my closest and sweetest friend, though we both are roommates but I feel more like sisters and of course I being the eldest :P She is a sweetheart and I adore her! Very emotional and sensitive but at the same time rock solid and steady, now thats an awesome combo wouldnt you say? No wonder A has fallen hard for her and now they both are ready to tie a knot very soon! Congratulations guys! A calls me mother-in-law in context that V is my daughter :-) Now being a mother-in-law I have certain responsibilities towards my daughter's future which I do take very seriously :P Usually I need to bear with the dowry requests coming in from A where he demands for cakes and in return I make him cook food..lol. A is a hardcore punjabi and a fantastic cook himself! On this special occasion I wanted to make something festive  like halwa or some bengali sweet but the baker in me immediately took charge and I ended up baking this gorgeous melt in mouth Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake!

I had bookmarked Ricotta Pound Cake from Aparna's blog the moment I saw it and this was the perfect occasion to make one, as usual made some changes, added powdered cardamons and some rose water and it came out fantastic! Got 2 thumbs up from A and V both! Ricotta is not available in India and Paneer  (Indian Cottage Cheese) can be easily substituted for this. For cakes always use freshly homemade paneer and not the ready made ones, trust me this makes a lot of difference to the texture of cake. I know its a little extra effort but its well worth it! How to make paneer at home is here.

                                                          Myself and V, don't we look cute?

Cardamon and Rose flavored Ricotta Pound Cake
Adapted from Aparna's blog, original recipe here
Ingredients:-
3/4 cup fresh paneer or ricotta, its about 180gms (I used entire paneer from 1litre full fat milk)
3/4 cup all purpose flour, 110 gms
1 tbsp cornflour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter (75 gms)
3/4 cup sugar, 150 gms
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp freshly crushed cardamon seeds
2 tbsp rose water or 1 tsp rose essence
handful of raisins, soaked in water/rum for minimum 2hours, drained
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds removed or 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional but preferred)

Procedure:-

• Grease and flour a 6'inch round cake pan . Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Sieve flour, cornflour and baking powder. Keep it aside.
• In a blender/mixer add freshly made paneer with 2 tbsp of rose water and make a smooth paste.
• Put this paneer in a bowl, add in butter and beat it well. Use a beater for this but I did it using hand and didnt face any problems, its just that it takes a little more effort and plus its a very good exercise for hands :)
• Add in sugar and beat till light and fluffy.
• Now add in vanilla seeds, eggs and powdered cardamon and beat well.
• Add in flour mixture in 3 turns and beat gently.
• Finally add in drained raisins and give it a quick stir, donot beat.
• Fold the batter in the greased and floured pan and bake at 180 degress for 35 to 40 mins or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean!
• Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 mins.
• Once cooled completely, remove from tin and serve it plain and simple or with some whipped cream and fruits!

Verdict? I am planning to prepare a chocolate version of this cake very soon..yeah you guessed it right! The cake is a winner with melt in mouth texture and so soft and moist! Infact truly said its the softest cake I have ever made! It cuts extremely well and the recipe is very versatile.

Until next time take care and have fun!

Love,

Eggless Fruit and Nut Cake

Dear All,

Finally I am back to blogging after a short break which felt like long and which was unplanned. This month has been too hectic for me, with heavy workload and health not supporting I couldnt do a lot of blog hopping but I am hoping that things will go back to normal soon. This whole month I have been neglecting my oven though I really wanted to bake few things but never came around but when my dad's birthday was around the corner I just had to bake a cake for him. Though my dad loves sweets but due to his health he is now refrained from having sweets so I am always on lookout for recipes which are low in sugar and fats especially for my parents. Fruit and Nut cake seemed perfect to celebrate his birthday, this cake studded with rich dry fruits, spices and caramel was enjoyed by everyone in the family. My dad even commented that he would love to have this cake with some wine but one look from my mom and poor dad swallowed his feeling :-) Looking at this scene I remembered something "Even though the man is said to be the head of the house but wife is the neck who can turn the head any direction she wants", so true isnt it? :D

Recipe adapted from Aayi's Recipe
Ingredients for Caramel:-
1/2 cup sugar (100 gms)
1/4 cup boiling water (60 ml)

Ingredients for Cake:-
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour (175 gms)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter melted (100 gms), I used Amul
1/2 cup cranberry juice (125 ml)
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 whole cardamon pods seeds
1 cup tuttu frutti (100 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds (50 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped cashews (50 gms)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (50 gms)
1/2 cup raisins

Procedure:-

• One day before making the cake, soap the dry fruits in cranberry juice along with whole spices.
• On the day of making the cake, first prepare the caramel. In heavy bottom pan heat the sugar on low heat.The sugar will start to melt, stir the melted sugar until all the sugar is melted and caramel is started to form. Slowly the melted sugar will become dark brown in color, make sugar that you donot burn the caramel or else it will spoil the taste of the cake, once whole sugar is metled and the mixture turns dark amber in color, remove from gas and put the vessel in sink. Now add in hot boiling water, about 1/4 cup, be extra careful here as the this will splutter a lot. Make sure you donot have children anywhere near you when you are doing this.
• Cool this mixture completely before using in the cake.
• Grease and flour a 6 or 7 inch cake pan. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.
• Sieve the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
• Remove the whole spices from the soaked dry fruits (You can also soak the whole spices alone in the juice initially for a day and then use this spiced juice to soak your dry fruits). Add in melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar and earlier prepared caramel syrup. Mix well.
• Now fold in the flour mixture in the dry fruits batter.
• Pour the batter in the cake pan and bake for 45 to 50 mins, until the cake is well browned and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Once done, remove the cake from oven and cool completely. Once cooled, wrap the cake in foil and store it in fridge overnight, this helps to intensify the flavors in the cake.
• Remove the cake from fridge before 1 hour of serving.

Verdict: This cake is perfect for celebrating any occasion, its moist and flavorful with rich dry fruits. Every bite has crunch of walnuts and almonds with flavors of cinnamon, cloves and cardamons. Have this cake with some wine after dinner or as a tea time cake, however you have it I am sure you will love it and want more.

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!

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!

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread

Dear All,

The moment I saw Eggless Coffee Banana Bread at Cilantro i knew i wanted to try out the recipe but I am not a big fan of bananas and hence I dont buy them very often until and unless I am making a fruit salad. I used Cilantro's recipe as a base and made this Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread. I love Cadbury's Temptations especially the one with raisins and rum, so I was inspired to use chocolate and raisins combo and was quite sure it would work well. Another reason for using raisins was that, few weeks back i bought a large bag of raisins which were on sale! The cake is perfect as a tea time treat, its dense and chocolaty, not too sweet but has perfect blend of coffee and chocolate! This is a perfect bread for people like me who love coffee and chocolate together! 

Adapted from Cilantro's recipe

Ingredients:-

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup freshly brewed strong black coffee*

1 cup raisins

2 tbsp rum (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

* Make sure the coffee is warm and not boiling hot.

Procedure:-

• Soak the raisins with 2 tbsp of rum. If you dont want to use alcohol, pls use orange juice or you can completely skip this step as well. I prefer juicy raisins in my cake hence i soaked them with 2 tbsp of rum for about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and flour a loaf pan 5-9 inch in size.
• Sieve the dry ingredients and keep aside.
• In a seperate bowl, mix together oil, sugar and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture alternatively with black coffee.
• Sprinkle some flour on raisins and add them into the batter. Mix them well.
• Pour the cake in greased or lined cake pan and bake at 180 degrees C for 40 to 45 mins, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool the cake completely before slicing. The  tastes even better after refrigeration.

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee bread is finding its way to Meeta's Monthly Mingle guest hosted by Jamie the theme for this month being Chocolate and Bread.

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend ahead!