Cake House

Mandarin Orange Fruit Cake This is an usual cake with a different combination of fruits. The colour combination is good and the slices look very attractive. Yummy too. The recipe is quite old and harks back to my childhood in the 50s when a tin of mandarin oranges was quite a luxury. This cake keeps well and is still moist and just as delicious four days later. Once again, I have decided to use a ring tin, trying to persuade more folk to use them! If you don’t have one, there are plenty around and they are just great for decorating and slicing. I love them! I have used a small ring tin, capacity about  2 pints or so. Pre heat your fan oven to 160C. Butter the tin well, then sprinkle over some flour, tapping out the lose flour over the sink. But you can use a 7” or 8” round if you prefer. 6 oz softened butter 6 oz caster sugar 3 large eggs 9 oz plain flour a generous teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract 2 teaspoons baking powder 3 fl oz buttermilk [or milk] about 3 oz roughly chop...

P retzels are originated from Germany, which are called as Laugenbrezel.These cinnamon sugar pretzel bites are a perfect soft pretzels with chewy inside and cinnamon sugar crust coat outside. I ate pretzels before, but never knew that something like these pretzel bites are available. These are easy to carry anywhere and mostly for kids who are hungry as soon as they step out of their home, like my daughter… :) As soon as we go out, she will be hungry and she will be looking for nearby shops for something to eat and one day she found these, which were easy to carry as they are just bite size and are very tasty. From then on she started to have these bites, whenever we are in malls or anywhere else. So I decided why don’t I try making them at home as it will be healthier than outside food. I googled and got many recipes for pretzel bites, atlast I decide on this.  But I have made some changes. The process of making Pretzel bites look tedious, but once you start preparing everythin...

CREAMY COCONUT TOPPED CAKE I am always on the lookout for different cake recipes, then found the idea for this in an old book, adjusted it to my tastes and made it right away! Well I never, so yummy. The creamy coconut topping is just delicious and gooey. You will need a 9” spring form tin, lined [but not over the top of the sides] and well buttered. Pre heat your fan oven to 180C 2 large eggs 11 oz caster sugar 6 oz plain flour 2 level teaspoonfuls baking powder 5 fl oz buttermilk [or milk] 3 oz melted butter In a medium bowl: Whisk the eggs and sugar together until thick and fluffy. Mix the flour and BP and sift into the eggy mix, alternatively with the buttermilk. Mix well. Stir in the melted butter, then tip this into your prepared tin. Bake for 30 mins Meanwhile: The Creamy Coconut topping. 2-3 oz desiccated coconut 5 oz caster 3 tablespoons melted butter 3 tablespoon double cream 1 tablespoon flour Place all these ingredients into a saucepan, and under a low heat, stirring contin...

T here are so many traditional snacks of Kerala and one among them is this ari unda/ Rice laddus which is a simple and an easy sweet which can be prepared in no time. This can be enjoyed when going for long trips, mostly kids will love this. After making these laddus we must keep this in airtight containers in refrigerator or else it turns rancid in just 2- 3 days as fresh coconut is used. I never heard about this sweet till my SIL was asking my neighbours to bring this from their native. She had it once when she was travelling in train through Kannur, north Malabar region of Kerala. While sitting at home, thinking about Kerala, these things will automatically pop up in mind and so  I thought of giving it a try and was surprised that this requires very less ingredients. My daughter loves this a lot and finishes one after the other, so I hid it from her…. Traditionally this is prepared using parboiled rice, but as I was having sona masoori rice, I used that. Just try this out and I ...

Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese Bake I love veggie dishes that you can prep well beforehand and serve straight to the table. I also love Butternut Squash! 20 years ago or so, it was a rare sight on our tables and now we use it all the time - even in cakes! It is very good with the garlic but unfortunately my husband hates it, so I have to leave it out.…. hey ho. This recipe only has four or five ingredients and ticks all my boxes. 1 medium Butternut Squash 1 medium shallot, finely chopped [optional crushed garlic] Olive Oil Fresh ground pepper and sea salt about 2-3 oz goats cheese to crumble Fresh chopped parsley I find it is best served in a flat square glass dish to show off the colours! In a small fry pan place enough olive oil for the quantity you need to generously brush the squash slices. Chop the shallot [and garlic] very finely and fry the onion until just browning and allow to cool. When cool, remove the onion with a slotted spoon. Cut your Squash in half, longways and peel...

K ebabs, cutlets are the most sought after starters or snacks. During Ramadan fasting, when I was searching for some new dishes for iftar, I stumbled upon this recipe from youtube , which seemed to be easy and simple. This is so tasty, that you will end up eating more. In this the minced meat is cooked along with lentils and potatoes which is blended with some spices, shaped, dipped in egg mixture, shallow fried and served along with ketchup or mint chutney. This is a perfect starter for a party or for unexpected guests. Just shape the kebabs and store in zip lock bags in freezer. Before the guests arrive, thaw them from freezer and shallow fry. The word "shahi" means "royal. Royal because this was made on special occasions. Daily during fasting time my daughter was eager to break the fast along with us, as I used to prepare variety of dishes for iftar and this was a mind blowing hit dish. Just try this out and let me know...q Ingredients: Chicken Mince- 100 gms Moong ...

BREAD AND BUTTER APPLE CAKE This is a very old recipe and is a dessert cake rather than a ‘cup of tea” cake. I wish I had the words to describe to you how wonderful it tastes!, especially eaten warm, with lashings of clotted cream. [It is still good cold the next day] The long slow bake turns the buttered apple slices golden and so soft.  I use homemade bread that is a day or two old. But it does need to be stale. If using bought bread, make sure it is a farmhouse type, or better still an artisan bread. I used white, but you can use wholemeal too.  This cake has just 5 ingredients and is so easy and failsafe. about 2lb eating apples [I used a mix of varieties] 11 oz caster sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 8 oz stale breadcrumbs from a whole loaf 6-7 oz butter Pre heat your fan oven to 130C. Line a 9” or 10” cake tin [not too deep] with tin foil and brush with a little melted butter. [make sure there are no holes in the foil!] Melt together [in the microwave] about 3 tablespoons eac...

T hese instant rice dosas are  simple, easy and a delicious dish, which is a perfect breakfast on a busy day. I made these one day for iftar and it was very filling. A easy way to finish off the leftover rice. I saw this recipe on a facebook video, which I do not remember. I found this very easy,simple and also tasted delicious. This requires no soaking, fermenting and can be made in a jiffy when you are in a hurry. Addition of cooked rice will make this soft. Try this out and let me know…. Ingredients: Cooked rice- 2 Cups Rice Flour- ½ Cup Green Chillies- 3 nos Onions(chopped)- 1 no Coriander leaves (chopped)- 3 tbsps Salt- as required Method: Grind the cooked rice, rice flour along with little water. It should resemble dosa batter. Heat oil in a pan, fry the chopped onions, green chillies and coriander leaves till the raw smell disappears. Add this to the above made dosa batter along with salt. Adjust water accordingly. Heat a griddle, pour a ladleful of batter and spread it on h...

UNDER ROAST POTATOES A true Cornish, simple recipe, used by our forebears for many generations. These days, we would call this a side dish, but long ago, for many, it would be the whole meal. When re creating this I decided to go the whole hog and use dripping, as they would have. This recipe belonged to Hettie Merrick and was given to me by her daughter Ann, who you will know as the famous pasty maker from The Lizard. Ann’s Pasties are almost world famous and the best ‘bought pasties” in our County, I reckon. If you have never tried them, get down to The Lizard! Notes: Hettie states a hot oven. I guessed at fan 220C I saved the hot water the potatoes were boiled in and used that to pour into the pie dish. In the photo you can see [on my Blog] I used one onion, cut into 8ths and about a quarter of a small turnip [swede] cut into pieces about double the size I would chip for pasties. Peel some even ish sized potatoes [not too big] and bring them to the boil, then drain. [I cut larger on...