Orange Liqueur Cake

I soak my fruits in January and make a list of cakes to make for Christmas early in the year.  There was this Orange Liqueur lying around and so I thought I may as well use it up.  The resulting fruit cake has a lovely, moist texture and a subtle, orangy flavour.   This is one of the most extravagant cakes I have made and well worth the effort.

The Recipe:

250 gms butter;  2 cups brown sugar; 3 cups flour; 5 large eggs; 1 tsp mixed spice; rind and juice of 1 large orange; 1 tbsp orange peel, chopped fine; ½ cup tuitti fruitti; ½ cup red cherries, chopped; ½ cup golden raisins; chopped; ½ cup black raisins, chopped; ½ cup almond meal or almond pieces ( can used cashew nuts also); 1 cup Orange Liqueur; a few hazel nuts for the top.

Soak the dried fruits in the orange liqueur as long as you can.  I soaked mine in a glass jar for nearly a year. Shake the jar every other day or when you remember to.

Sieve the flour and spice powder together. Add the almond meal and mix with a wooden sppon.

Whisk butter and sugar until creamy and pale yellow in colour.  Add eggs, one by one and gently mix.  If the mixture curdles, add a little flour and mix well.  Gently fold in the flour a little at a time until everything is used up.  Sir in the orange rind and orange juice.  Mix well.  Now add the fruits and liqueur and stir very, very gently to combine.  Batter should be of a thick, flowing consistency.   By this time you will be salivating as the fragrance assails your nostrils.  Be patient.   Pour into 10 inch by 6 inch greased and lined pan, arrange the hazel nuts on top and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees Celcius for 15 minutes.  Reduce to 150 degrees Celcius and continue baking for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.  Switch off the oven and cool the cake in the oven itself overnight.  Next day, unmould, make holes with a skewer all over the cake and drizzle some additional Orange liqueur over the cake if desired.  Pack in foil and put away till required.  Keeps well.

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Date & Walnut Cake

Date and Walnut Cake

This is a very rich, sticky cake- easy to make and to be cut into tiny squares and enjoyed.  It goes well with Port Wine.  So raise your glasses and have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

The Recipe:

125 gms butter; 1 cup brown caster sugar; 1 ½ cups flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 large eggs; 1 cup chopped dates; 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Mix all ingredients together until well combined.  Do not over mix.  Pour into greased and lined 9 inch pan and bake in a pre heated oven at 150 degrees Celcius for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.   This cake does not keep well.  So finish it within 3 days of baking or store in the refrigerator.

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Apricot Orange Fruit Cake

Sugarless Apricot Orange Fruit Cake

The fragrance in the house while the Apricot Orange cake is baking is worth mentioning.  Before I left Bangalore, I baked a few cakes for my Mum and sister.  This can be made with or without sugar, wrapped in brown paper and foil  and stored away till Christmas.  Open every week and sprinkle  alcohol of your choice over the cake and eat it when you are ready to do so.

The Recipe:

250 gms salted butter; 200 gms dried apricots, chopped and stoned; zest and juice of 2 large oranges; 100gms sugar - optional; 4 large eggs; 260 gms flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp cinnamon.

Crack the seeds and extract the kernels.  Keep aside for the topping.

Mix all ingredients together and gently stir  till mixture is smooth and glossy.  Pour half the batter into a greased and lined 10 inch pan, scatter half of the kernels on top and bake at 150 degrees celcius for 40 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.

Pour the remaining batter (half full) into cup cake cases and bake at 150 degrees celcius for 15 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.

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Masala Chai Apricot Fruit Cake

Masala Chai Fruit Cake

As we have a surplus of Apricots this year,  we decided to make all our Christmas Cakes with Apricots.  So we searched all over the net and combined a few recipes to come up with our very own Masala Chai Apricot Fruit Cake.  And best of all it is a butterless cake that is absolutely delicious and moist and just what one would expect a Christmas Cake to be like.

The Recipe:

3 Masala Chai Tea Bags ( brand of your choice)- I used Taj Mahal brand; 500 ml hot water; 60 gms brown sugar; 375 gms maida or all purpose flour; 2 level tsp baking powder; 250 gms cashew bits; 2 tsp cinnamon; 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg; a pinch of salt; 300 gms dried apricots, stoned and chopped into tiny pieces- crack the nuts and extract the kernels-  keep aside for topping.

Soak the tea bags in the 500 ml hot water for 10 minutes or until dark in colour.  Remove bags and soak the apricots in the tea overnight at room temperature.  Next day preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius and grease and line  a 9 inch square pan or  use cup cake cases like I did.  Strain the fruit and add to the rest of the ingredients.  Mix to combine.  Add the tea a little by little to the cake mixture, gently stirring until the batter is of a thick, flowing consistency.  Pour into pan, scatter the kernels on top and bake  for about 50 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.  

For Cup Cakes: Pour the batter (half full) into the cases and bake at 150 degrees celcius for 15 minutes or until skewer inserted in centre comes out clean.

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Raisin Walnut Bread

My journey with baking bread continues and my guinea pigs are very pleased with the results.  Here is another recipe I made a while ago.  It barely lasted for a sitting.  So I made it again and yet again.  I am sure, you will too.  

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Guilt Free Dessert

Anytime Dessert

This is a quick, delicious, guilt free dessert that you could make the previous night and keep in the refrigerator to soak in all the lovely flavours.  Children love it and so do adults.  We tried it out on a group of people a few weeks ago and it was walloped in 10 minutes flat.  Maybe you'd like to try it too.

The Recipe:

1 cup thick curds; honey to taste; 2 tablespoon oats; fresh fruits of your choice- I used two kinds of melon, pomegranates, grapes; 1 tsp chia seeds.

Beat the curds and honey till smooth.  Using a ball tool, scoop out the melon flesh into attractive rounds.  Peel the pomegranate and keep ready with other ingredients in a dish.

Assembling:

Take a transparent disposable plastic glass and put 1 dsp of oats at the bottom of the glass.  Pour 1/3 cup curds and honey mixture over.  Arrange a layer each of melon, grapes and pomegranate seeds on top.  Pour 1/3 cup curds over. Scatter the chia seeds on the curds.  Add the remaining oats and repeat the layers ensuring the melon and pomegranate are on top.  Close and keep overnight in the refrigerator.  Next day, enjoy this delectable desert whenever you feel like it.

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Classique Moroccan Chicken

Chicken With Cous Cous

Chicken with cous cous tastes much better than it sounds.  I was quite curious as to how it would taste and to my surprise it was really good- feedback received from daughter number two.  I googled cous cous and found out it was similar to rawa or soji  so used that instead.  This is a baked dish, quite dry , low in calories and goes well with chappathis or bread of any kind.  For those who like it watery add more soup. 

The Recipe:

1 kg chicken jointed, washed and drained; 1/2 cup coarse  rawa ( soji) ; 1 cup hot water; 1 chicken soup cube; 1 large onion, chopped; 5 garlic cloves, minced; 1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp coriander powder; 1 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin) powder; 6 dates, pitted and chopped fine;  1/4 cup almond flakes; 1 stick cinnamon; 1 tbsp honey; 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder; salt and pepper to taste;  stir fried vegetables of your choice to serve.

Dissolve the  soup cube in the hot water and pour over the soji or rawa.  Cover and keep aside for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and add 1 tbsp oil and keep aside till required.  
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a nonstick pan and stir fry onions and garlic till golden brown.  Stir in the coriander and cumin powder, dates and almonds and cook for two to three minutes or till soft.  Stir in the rawa mixture and add the chicken pieces and cinnamon stick to it. Season with salt and pepper to taste.   Mix together until all the chicken pieces are coated and transfer to a large baking dish.  
Whisk the honey, ground cinnamon, a dash of salt and pepper, remaining cumin powder and olive oil and pour over chicken.  Bake in a preheated oven at 200 C or 400 F for 40 to 45 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced with a metal skewer.  Remove from oven, keep covered for 10 minutes and serve with vegeables of your choice.

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