Christmas Cake/Fruit Cake

Isn't Christmas the most beautiful time of the year? It is that time of the year when we buy gifts and send out greeting cards, set up the Christmas tree, put up Christmas decorations and ornaments, hang stockings so that Santa can give us those much awaited gifts, bake cakes and throw parties, and simply do all things that make us happy. I love the way the season seems to add life and colour to the entire town; stars, trees and decorations in every shop and mall, an extra spring in everyone's step as they go about their Christmas shopping and beautiful carols playing everywhere. And the best part is that clients everywhere seem to be taking a break, which means a relaxed and merry environment at work as well.

And what is Christmas without a fruit cake? This year, I decided to make my Christmas cake rather than buy one, and everyone seemed to like it. So here is the recipe for you, in case you decide to add a personal touch to your cakes.

Ingredients:

A.
150 gms black grapes
100 grms raisins
50 grms dates
50 grms orange peel
¼ cup finely chopped cashew nuts
½ tsp finely scraped lemon rind
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup brandy

B.
150 grms dalda
100 grms butter
300 grms powdered sugar
5 big eggs

C.
¼ kg plain flour
¼ cup fine rava
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup caramel syrup

Method

1. Cut the fruits finely. Soak the fruits in brandy for 2 days.






2. Cream the butter and vanaspathy. This can be done easily by bringing the butter to room temperature. Add sugar to it, and cream till fluffy. Then add the egg yolk one by one, and beat well.

3. Mix the f1our, baking powder and rava. Sieve everything together. Add this to the cake batter little by little, and mix after each addition.

4. Make caramel syrup with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup boiling water. Add this to the cake mixture once it has cooled down.

5. Whisk the egg white and fold into the mixture. 

6. Add the lime rind and essence. Finally with fingers mix the cut fruits and cashew nuts sprinkled with almond essence. Keep the cake batter aside for 6 hours.

7. Pour the cake batter into a greased cake tin, and bake in a slow oven at 150 degrees till the cake is baked.

8. Remove the cake from the tin after it has cooled, and keep covered with a loosely woven cloth for a couple of days to soften it.





This recipe is from "Kerala Cookery" by Mrs K.M Mathew.

Wish you a Merry Christmas !!!

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Calzone - for the love of bread

My love for bread started when I was a little kid. There was a bakery near my home, and they chose the time we returned home from school, to bake a fresh batch of bread. And there is nothing as tempting as the smell of freshly baked bread. So we would get a warm, as yet unsliced loaf home almost everyday. I would tear off a huge portion of the loaf, and eat it with whatever curry mom had cooked. Though, fresh bread does not need any accompaniement.

I was very excited when I got an Australian Womens Weekly magazine that has lot of bread recipes. I made a vegetarian calzone, the bread portion is adapted from the magazine word for word. It turned out to be very good, and I do hope you would try it.

Recipe:

2 tsp dried yeast

½ tsp sugar

¾ cup warm water

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp milk

Filling

1 tbsp oil

50 grms paneer, cubed

50 grms cheddar cheese, crumbled

2 onions, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tomatoes, chopped

2 green chilies, chopped

1 tbsp tomato sauce

½ green capsicum, chopped

3 tbsp spring onions stalks, chopped

salt, to taste

Method:

1. Combine yeast, sugar and water in a bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl, stir in yeast mixture and oil, and mix into a soft dough. Knead dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. 

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth.

2. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 25 cm round. Top 1 side of each round with half the filling mixture. Fold  rounds in half to enclose filling and press edges together.

3. Place calzone on greased oven tray and brush with milk. Cut 2 small slits on top of each calzone.

Pre heat oven to 200 degrees. Bake the calzone for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until well browned.

4. Filling: Heat oil in a pan, add onion and saute until it has changed colour lightly. Add garlic, spring onions and green chilies, and continue sauteing.

Add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes or until liquid has evaporated.

Add tomato sauce, paneer and capsicum and saute till capsicum  has softened.

Take the pan off the fire. Add the crumbled cheese and mix.

We had some left over, which we warmed up and ate the next day. I thought it tasted even better then.

Chou !!

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