Making a cake for my dad is tough. He doesnot like gimmicky cakes, frosting or other frills. He likes his cake straight out of the oven, or if not, then the cake should have a rustic character and flavor that makes up for not being warm.
He also likes his coffee, which doesnot seem relevant at this point, but trust me, it is...
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Now, while I was throwing ingredients together, my mom decided we'd have an unconventional cake cutting, and offer small cups of freshly brewed coffee infused with saffron and nutmeg!!! That combination was stupendous!!!
Rum n' Raisin Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins/sultanas
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp rum
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp allspice
1 teaspoon cinammon powder
3-4 ground cloves
1/2 cup powdered demerera or white sugar
1 tbsp cocoa
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp of milk (only if required)
3 eggs
Soak the raisins in rum overnight.
Add water to it and heat it for a minute. Now add the butter to this so that it melts. Add the cocoa to this and mix.
Separate the egg yolks and the whites. Whisk the egg yolks with the powdered sugar, allspice, cinnamon and clove powder until light. Add this and the vanilla to the raisin-butter mixture and mix lightly.
To this add sieved flour+baking powder and fold until mixed. If the mixture is too stiff , add a little milk.
Now whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Fold this slowly and lightly with the raisin mixture.
Pour this in a 8 inch greased springform pan, and bake at 175 C till a skewer inserted in it comes out clean. (If the crust forms much before the cake is baked, try increasing the temperature to 185 C for 5-10 minutes and then bake at a lower temperature with a lid.)
Lightly brush the cooled cake with honey or rum or cover with powdered sugar.
I created a basic (albeit childish)paper cut out stencil. I lightly brushed one side of the stencil with oil and placed it on the cake, oil side up. Then I covered it with powdered sugar through a sieve, and removed the stencil. The oil on the stencil catches the excess sugar.
For the coffee:
Put 3 tsp of coffee, 9-10 strands of saffron and 1/4th tsp of nutmeg powder in the filter of the coffee machine, and brew about 4 normal cups. Serve black in espresso cups.
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He also likes his coffee, which doesnot seem relevant at this point, but trust me, it is...
After a lot of thought, I decided to make a rum n' raisin cake. Now the next hurdle I faced was finding a good recipe which didnot use buttermilk, or too many eggs, or applesauce. I've realised that buttermilk lends a certain shiny bubble dry texture to the cake, which I was sure my dad wouldn't really like.
So I finally decided to stop wasting time, and made my own recipe, going along with whatever felt right while making it.
It turned out really well, moist, full of flavor and my Dad went for a second helping, which means he loved it!!!!
Rum n' Raisin Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup raisins/sultanas
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp rum
1/2 cup butter
1 tbsp allspice
1 teaspoon cinammon powder
3-4 ground cloves
1/2 cup powdered demerera or white sugar
1 tbsp cocoa
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp of milk (only if required)
3 eggs
Soak the raisins in rum overnight.
Add water to it and heat it for a minute. Now add the butter to this so that it melts. Add the cocoa to this and mix.
Separate the egg yolks and the whites. Whisk the egg yolks with the powdered sugar, allspice, cinnamon and clove powder until light. Add this and the vanilla to the raisin-butter mixture and mix lightly.
To this add sieved flour+baking powder and fold until mixed. If the mixture is too stiff , add a little milk.
Now whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Fold this slowly and lightly with the raisin mixture.
Pour this in a 8 inch greased springform pan, and bake at 175 C till a skewer inserted in it comes out clean. (If the crust forms much before the cake is baked, try increasing the temperature to 185 C for 5-10 minutes and then bake at a lower temperature with a lid.)
Lightly brush the cooled cake with honey or rum or cover with powdered sugar.
I created a basic (albeit childish)paper cut out stencil. I lightly brushed one side of the stencil with oil and placed it on the cake, oil side up. Then I covered it with powdered sugar through a sieve, and removed the stencil. The oil on the stencil catches the excess sugar.
For the coffee:
Put 3 tsp of coffee, 9-10 strands of saffron and 1/4th tsp of nutmeg powder in the filter of the coffee machine, and brew about 4 normal cups. Serve black in espresso cups.
3 comments:
Babe u r now ready to write ur own book. Kudos for a truly original recipe.
Oh yum,to both!
Thanks :D
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