Orange-Blueberry Bundt Cake

This delicious cake is easy to make and the bright citrus flavors make it a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. The yogurt, fresh orange juice and orange zest make it a very moist, light and tangy cake-  bake it and see for yourself!

This cake is sweet without being overwhelmingly so, and would be perfect with a hot cup of tea or as an after-dinner treat.

Dry ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup yogurt (I had fat-free and that’s what I used)
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (save 3 Tbsp or so of this for the glaze)
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ - ¾ cup of blueberries, tossed in a bit of flour

For the glaze:

• 2-3 tsp powdered/confectioners’ sugar
• 3 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your pan of choice. I used my bundt pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and beat well.

Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, yogurt and orange juice. Mix well. (At this stage, I noticed that my batter had begun to curdle but I continued mixing. I found out later that this had  not in any way affected the taste, texture or appearance of the final product.)

Mix the dry ingredients well and combine with the wet ingredients. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Pour into the greased pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Mine was done in exactly 35 minutes and I turned off the oven and let the cake sit in there while I got the glaze ready.)

For the glaze, combine the orange juice and   sugar and mix well until smooth.

Drizzle the glaze all over the cake while it’s still warm. Slice and serve.

Baked Plantain Chips

Every time I buy plantains, it usually is to make a thoran or a kootu curry.  This time I decided to do something different and make chips.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil and grease well.

Peel 2 plantains (green bananas) and slice into very thin rounds. 

Toss with oil, salt, pepper and red chilli powder and mix well.

Arrange the rounds in a single layer on the baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crisp, turning the chips over halfway through the process.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries make a great side dish or snack and are a nice change from the traditional French fries. I've been making these a lot lately and I use different combinations of herbs and spices every time I make a batch. I've used red pepper flakes and dried thyme here but they also taste great with a mixture of cayenne pepper, roasted cumin powder and dried rosemary. Chaat masala works well too.

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
• Garlic powder
• Red pepper flakes
• Dried thyme
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for at least 10 minutes while the it heats up- this helps the fries get a little crisp while baking.

Cut the sweet potatoes into ½- inch thick sticks. Toss with olive oil, red pepper flakes, dried thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Arrange the sticks in a single layer on the foil-lined sheet and make sure you don't crowd them, or they will steam rather than bake.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, turning the fries over halfway through. Serve warm. These fries will not get crispy like regular fries. They're a little crunchy and brown on the outside but are soft on the inside.

Wordless Wednesday

Mushroom And Spinach Strata

This strata is a great one-dish meal that can be made ahead of time. It can be assembled the previous night itself and just popped into the oven the next morning in time for breakfast or brunch. I’ve made this a couple of times now since I first heard of it a few years back.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cubed bread
• 1 cup cheese ((I used a mixture of Parmesan and Cheddar this time)
• 1-2 Tbsp oil
• 1 cup scallions
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 3 cups spinach, chopped

For the custard:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ½ cups milk
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Grease your baking dish of choice. I used 2 small baking dishes here, but an 8 x 8-inch baking dish would also work just fine. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cube some leftover bread. Italian bread would be perfect for this but use whatever you have. I used 4 slices of leftover sandwich bread that I toasted first.

In a skillet, add the oil and sauté the scallions. Add the crushed garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

To this add the chopped mushrooms and cook till the water evaporates.

Next, add the chopped spinach. Cook till the spinach wilts down and the mixture is almost dry.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

Layer the bread cubes at the bottom of the baking dish. Pour half the custard over it. Press down the bread with the back of a spoon if required so that it soaks up the custard well. Sprinkle half the cheese over this.

Stir the cooked vegetable mixture into the rest of the custard and then add to the layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top forms a nice golden brown crust. Serve hot.

Christmas Fruitcake

I made my very first fruitcake, in time for Christmas, a few days back. After going through a lot of recipes, I finally picked one that I saw on Edible Garden. I have made many changes to the original recipe since I did not have many of the ingredients on hand and I’d decided that I’d only work with what I had. Despite all the additions and substitutions I had to make, the cake turned out to be fantastic.

* I started by preparing the caramel. Melt ½ cup sugar in a pan slowly until it turns clear, smooth and dark brown; this recipe requires a dark brown caramel and it took me 5-7 minutes to get to this stage. Turn off the heat and add ¼ cup water carefully to the caramelized sugar to thin it out a bit. Stir and set aside. (See here for tips for making the perfect caramel.)

*Next, preheat the oven to 350 F and grease your baking dish of choice. I used my 9" springform pan.

*In a large bowl, mix together these dry ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp powdered cloves
• ¼ tsp powdered cardamom
• ¼ tsp ginger powder
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt

*In another bowl, cream together the following:

• 1 cup sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter + 4 Tbsp oil (I did not have enough butter and that is the only reason I used a combination of butter & oil.)
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp orange marmalade
• 2 tsp rum extract

*Combine the dry and wet ingredients together and then stir in the caramel. Mix well.

*Add a cup of dried fruit and ½- ¾ cup of chopped nuts to the batter .I used a combination of dried figs, cranberries, golden raisins and cashews. (I first tossed it all together in 2-3 tsp of flour to prevent everything from sinking to the bottom of the cake while it baked.) Mix well.

*Transfer the batter to the cake pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Wordless Wednesday