cakes

Dundee cake – A traditional Scottish fruit cake

| Rekha Vengalil
So for this season it’s the Scottish  fruit cake that is moist, fruity and very chirstmassy. And it is ludicrously straightforward.
There is someone I want to thank and that’s Jehanne of “The cooking doctor”. I have been discussing for over 2 weeks about the cake with her. Thank you for the recipe, tips and ideas.  They went well in making this cake a hit.
 
A few notes I would like to share; the cake takes around 2 hours to bake and will turn golden much before but do the skewer test and then remove the cake from the oven. It does look a bit oily when you remove from the oven due to the ground almonds but don’t worry they will be absorbed as the cake cools.
 

You need –

  • Unsalted butter – 175 grams, at room temperature
  • Caster sugar – 1/4 cup
  • Egg – 4, at room temperature and lightly beaten
  • Ground almonds – 1 & 1/3 cups
  • All purpose flour – 1 cup
  • Salt – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Sultanas/ golden raisins – 1 & 1/4 cup
  • black raisins – 1 & 1/4 cup
  • Glazed cherries – chopped, 1/4 cup
  • Mixed candied peel – 2 tablespoons
  • Ground mixed spices – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Orange juice – 1/4 cup
  • Blanched almonds – to decorate, around 20

How to –

In a bowl, put the sultanas, black raisins, glazed cherries, mixed candied peel and orange juice. Cover and let it soak overnight.

Preheat the over to 150 C. Line a 8 inch cake tin with parchment paper and set aside. Sift together the flour, mixed spices, salt and almond flour. set aside.
 
In mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter till pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg and wait till in forms a smooth batter before each addition. With a wooden spoon fold the ground almonds – flour mixture and mix till smooth. Stir the soaked dried fruits and stir till evenly distributed.
 
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin and level the top with a palette knife. Decorate the top of the cake with blanched almonds.  Bake the cake for 2 hours or when skewer is inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
 
Brush the hot cake with 1 tablespoon orange juice. Cover tightly with a foil and cool in the pan.
 
 
 

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Honey and cinnamon drizzled teacake

| Rekha Vengalil
 
A Quintessential teatime treat. Drizzled with warm honey and cinnamon is so comforting and they take very little time to make.  Oh yes they disappeared to quick too!
 
 

You need –

  • All purpose flour – 1 cup
  • baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Unsalted butter – 60 grams, @room temperature
  • Caster sugar – 2/3 cup
  • Egg – 1, @room temperature
  • Milk – 1/3 cup
  • Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

For the drizzle –

  • Honey – 1/4 cup
  • Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
  • butter – 2 teaspoons
 
 

How to –

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 8 inch round cake tin and line the base with a baking sheet. Sift the flour, baking powder and set aside.
 
In a mixing bowl cream the butter, sugar, essence and egg with electric mixer till light and fluffy. (took me about 8-9 minutes). Now gradually add the flour alternating with milk. Mix well till everything is well combined. Make sure not to over beat.
 
 
 
Spread the mixture into the prepared cake till and bake for 25-30 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
 
Turn the cake on to a wire rack.
 
To make the drizzle –
 
 
In a small sauce pan gently heat the honey, butter and cinnamon till the butter has melted stirring continuously. Turn of the heat.
 
Allow the honey to cool a bit. Drizzle over the warm cake and serve.
 
 

Dulce de leche bundt cake with butterscotch sauce

| Rekha Vengalil

Dulce de leche means sweet caramelized milk. Traditionally this is made by simmering milk and sugar till it’s thick and caramelized. A homemade version is made by simmering the Sweetened condensed milk till thick and caramel colored. Here’s the link as how to make this on stove top, microwave and oven. There is also process of cooking an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a slow cooker. I followed the steps/recipe from here to make my dulce de leche.

 

Now over to the cake the recipe is adapted from here. I have halved the recipe and that served us perfect. A luscious cake that is sure going to leave you wanting for more.

 
You need –


For the cake

  • All-purpose flour – 1.5 cups 
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon 
  • Salt – 1/4 teaspoon 
  • Unsalted butter – 1/2 cup, at room temperature
  • Dark brown sugar – 1/2 cup firmly packed 
  • Dulce de leche – 1/2 cup 
  • Eggs – 2, at room temperature
  • Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon 
  • Buttermilk – 1/2 cup, at room temperature
 

For the butterscotch sauce

  • Butterscotch Flavored Morsels – 1 cup
  • whipping cream – 1/4 cup
  • Light corn syrup – 1 tablespoon 
  • salt – a pinch
  • Vanilla extract – 1/4 teaspoon
Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

How to –

 
Pre-heat the oven to 180c. Grease a 9 inch bundt pan.
 
In bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and set aside.
 
In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on a high speed. Add the dulce de leche and continue to beat till well combined. add the eggs one at a time; beating well after each addition.
 
Add the vanilla essence and continue to beat.
 
Reduce the speed to low  and  add the flour mixture little at a time and alternating with the buttermilk. Continue mixing till just combined. Please make sure not to over beat the mixture.
 
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
Cool the loaf for 10 minutes in the pan and then on a wire rack.
 
Butterscotch sauce
 
Microwave the morsels, cream, corn syrup and salt in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl for 1 minute or till the morsels are just melted. Remove and stir well till everything is well combined.
 
Stir in vanilla extract and mix well. Once the cake is completely cooled pour the sauce over and serve.
 
 

Lemon glaze bundt cake

| Rekha Vengalil

 

I was quite excited about this cake, as it was my first time with the Bundt. The steps were followed religiously – batter done, poured into the cake pan, and finally placed in the oven; only to realize that I did not grease/buttered the pan before the batter went in.  Almost gave up to the thought that the cake wouldn’t come off clean. The choice was made – if it does not come off clean, the recipe is not going up here 🙂
 
Once done, with bated breath I inverted the tin. The cake did slide off well, albeit a bit messy (definitely not as bad as I thought it would be). Poured the glaze over and yes the final outcome was worth the effort – light and fluffy, with the nice zing from the lemon zest and glaze. 
 
Recipe courtesy: Taste of Home


You need

  • All purpose flour – 3 cups
  • Unsalted butter – 226 grams
  • Caster sugar – 2 cups
  • Low fat milk – 1 cup
  • Eggs – 4
  • Lemon essence – 1.5 teaspoons
  • Vanilla essence – 1.5 teaspoons
  • Baking powder – 2 teaspoons
  • Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Zest of 2 lemons or 1 tablespoon

For the lemon glaze

  • Lemon Juice – 2 tablespoons
  • Icing sugar – 1.5 cups

How to –

Pre-heat the over to 180 C. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
 
In a mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter till light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time. Beating well after each addition. Add the essence.
 
Now gradually add the flour and alternately with milk. Beat well after each addition. Finally stir the zest in.
 
Pour the batter into the greased and floured 10-inch  bundt cake tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool the cake on wire rack completely.
 
Lemon glaze
 
In mixing bowl, add the lemon juice and the icing sugar and mix with a wooden spoon till smooth. Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake and serve.
 
 

Spiced carrot cupcakes

| Rekha Vengalil
This is a recipe I am going to turn to more often. Perfectly spiced and so light; one of the best cakes I have had/baked in the recent times. I could eat a raw carrot but not when it is cooked/baked/grilled. I remember my mom always struggling to get me eating a curry or stir fry. I would conveniently fish all the carrots in the curry and put aside.
 
And a carrot cake is not something I liked either (had baked one, 2 years back and never tasted it). The other day a friend wanted me to make it for her and I made these cupcakes. I wanted to keep only two back(for the little one and hubby) and was going to pack most of it for her. A bite to taste changed my mind and only half of what I baked went to my friend. 

You need –

  • Grated carrots – 200 grams
  • Self rising flour – 225 grams
  • Soft brown sugar – 125 grams
  • Egg – 2, room temperature and beaten
  • Sunflower oil – 1/2 cup
  • Ground cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
  • Ground cardamom – 1/4 teaspoon
  • Ground nutmeg – a good pinch
  • Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon
  • Zest of one orange
  • Salt – a pinch
  • Paper cupcake/muffin liners – 12-14 nos
 
How to –
 
Pre-heat the oven to 180 c.
 
In mixing bowl, add the egg, sugar and oil. Beat till well combined and sugar has dissolved.
 
In separate bowl sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder, orange zest and salt. Fold this into the egg mixture. Add the grated carrots and fold gently till everything is well combined.
 
 
Divide the batter equally into  lined paper cupcake/muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or when toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes and then place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.
 
 
Ice the cake as per your choice. I have used butter cream icing. For cream cheese frosting click here.
 
 

Blog anniversary and Red velvet cupcakes

| Rekha Vengalil
Quite amazed on how time flies, Yes I can’t believe my Foodolicious Pictured turns one today.  A journey that has been so exciting in every way; from cooking, collecting props, photography or cracking my brains on the intro I had to pen for each post. In a nutshell I have been recording some joyous moments of my life…  
 
 
And this journey would not be complete without your support. Thank you for all those wonderful comments and feedback.
 
On that note I made some Red velvet cupcakes to celebrate (finally! It has been on my to-do list for sometime now).  A recipe from browneyedbaker.com and we are so loving the cake; they have turned out to so light and fluffy. 
 

You need :

For the Cupcakes:

  • unsalted butter – 60 grams, at room temperature
  • Caster sugar – 3/4 cups
  • Egg – 1, room temperature
  • unsweetened cocoa powder – 2½ tablespoons 
  • Red  gel food coloring – 2 tablespoons 
  • Vanilla extract – ½ teaspoon 
  • Buttermilk – ½ cup 
  • All-purpose flour – 1 cup
  • salt – ½ teaspoon 
  • baking soda – ½ teaspoon 
  • distilled white vinegar – 1½ teaspoons

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • Butter – 115 grams, at room temperature
  • Cream cheese 115 grams, at room temperature
  • Icing  sugar – 2½ cups 
  • Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon
 How to –

Preheat oven to 180 C. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake/muffin liners.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, gradually add the sugar and beat till light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Beat till well combined.

On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a small bowl, mix together the coco powder, vanilla essence and food color. Add this mixture gradually to the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl  and mix over medium speed till well combined and the batter is colored equally.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low and add half the butter milk followed by half the flour. Mix well till well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining butter milk and followed by the flour and mix over high speed till smooth. 

Add the vinegar and continue to beat for another 3 minutes until well combined and smooth.

Divide the batter equally into the lined paper cupcake/muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or when toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes and then place the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting –

In a beater beat the cheese ,butter and vanilla essence till light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually and beat well till the frosting is light and fluffy.

 

Chocolate Fudge Cake

| Rekha Vengalil
I always thought a fudge cake was a difficult one and since its chocolate I never really bothered; until hubby the other day asked me to make one. Not often does such request come hence pulled out my baking bible and made this spongy and moist cake.
A slice of the cake was much a welcome for me in spite of not being a chocolate fan. I had some mango flavored butter cream sitting in the fridge which I used for the filling and dusted generously with icing sugar.

You need – 

  • Self-raising flour – 175 grams
  • Sunflower oil – 150 mls
  • Coco powder – 25 grams
  • Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Soft light brown sugar – 150 grams
  • Golden syrup – 3 tablespoons
  • Eggs – 2
  • Milk – 150 mls
  • Cake pans – 2 (I used a 8 inch but if you need a tall cake then use a 6 inch)
 How to –

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Grease the cake tins and line the base with parchment paper.

In a small pan, heat the golden syrup until its runny. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, coco powder, and baking powder and mix in the sugar. Set aside. In a separate bowl whisk the egg, oil and milk using an electric whisk.

Now whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until well combined. Gently fold the golden syrup into the batter. Divide the batter equally between to tins and bake the cake for 30-35 mins or title the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly and then onto to wire rack to cool completely.

You use chocolate icing or icing of your choice to decorate the cake.


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Eggless chocolate-cherry Cake

| Rekha Vengalil


It’s been and is a busy week for me. To many things both at work and home.  But a quick drop to share the recipe of the chocolate cherry cake I baked last weekend and 3/4 of the cake got gobbled the same day by the hubby and daughter. With the Man being a complete chocolate lover and the little one, call her a cherry-berry girl.

Its tough to make anything of the berries with my little one around as loves them fresh and never leaves me in peace till I give a big share (then with hardly  anything left for the recipe I decide to do it another day. In many cases that never happens!!). So the last weekend she had a play-date with her friends and daddy decided to go along. And that I had a whole day all to myself. Spent couple of hours at the library and then got back and baked the cake by the time the little one got back home. She was happy she had some fresh cherries and more happy to find them in her favorite cake too.

Over to the recipe , this is egg less moist cake with the cherries to bite into. It also doesn’t use butter, instead its Vegetable oil. 

You need –
Chocolate Cherry Cake
All-purpose flour – 1 1/2 cups
Caster sugar – 3/4 cup
cocoa powder – 1/3 cup
baking soda – 1 teaspoon
salt – 1/2 teaspoon
vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
lemon juice – 2 teaspoons
vegetable oil – 1/3 cup
water  – 1 cup
Cherries- pitted and halved, 2 cups

How to –

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 8-inch round cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, sift  together the flour,cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and mix.
Add the vanilla extract, Lemon juice, oil, and water. Using a spatula, mix the batter until smooth. Stir in the cherries.



Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 -45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool to room temperature.


 

Flourless Orange cake with Coconut cream cheese frosting

| Rekha Vengalil
It was my Mom-ln-Law’s birthday on the 26th Jun. We were planning to go down to be with her but due to work commitments we could not make it. Hence I decided to bake the cake on her b’day and got Saana to cut the cake. She thinks for everyone’s birthday in the family she is responsible of cutting the cake 😉

Over to the recipe, while browsing through Nigella Lawson’s book the other day I had bookmarked 2 recipes, one being Flan and the other was this cake. 2 reasons why I wanted to make this cake ASAP (Glad I had a reason to bake!!) was because  I had some polenta sitting in the pantry for a while and wanted to use it up and the other, never made a flourless cake before. 

The original is flourless Lemon cake while I made an orange cake, with little changes. The cake was moist and tasted great . 


For the cake –

You need-

  • Unsalted butter – 200 grams soft + extra for greasing
  • Caster sugar – 200 grams
  • Ground almonds – 200 grams
  • Polenta – 100 grams fine
  • Baking powder – 1 ½ teaspoons
  • eggs – 3 nos
  • Orange juice – 20 mls
  • Orange zest – ½ teaspoon

How to-

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a non-stick spring form cake tin lined with a parchment paper. Set aside.

In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one, mixing continuously.



Once the eggs are fully mixed in, add the polenta, ground almonds and baking powder and mix again.

Once combined, add the zest, juice and continue to blend until fully combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or when wooden skewer inserted in the middle of the cake, comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.



You can decorate the cake with fresh fruits or the frosting of your choice. I have used Coconut cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese frosting –

You need

  • Unsalted butter (softened) – 1/4 cup
  • Cream cheese (softened) – 4 ounces
  • Icing sugar – 2 cups 
  • Desiccated coconut – 1/2 cup
  • Vanilla extract – 1/2 teaspoon


How to –

Blend butter and cream cheese till smooth and light.

Add icing sugar slowly. Add vanilla. Fold in desiccated coconut.

Spread on cooled cake.