Chocolate Cake

I have no idea where I copied this recipe from.  to the owner thanks alot for sharing.  I made this cake for Varsha's birthday for her to celebrate with her friends.

Chocolate Cake
Part A - bring to boil
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup + 1tbs cocoa powder


Part B - whisk together
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon


Part C
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

• Add A to B.
• Mix buttermilk to 1 tsp of baking soda. Add to mixture.
• In a separate bowl mix 2 eggs and 1tsp of vanilla.  Add to mixture.
• Bake at 190C at 30mins or till done.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bread

I got some lemons from a colleague from the school and decided to try this recipe from Joy of Baking with the help of Varsha.  This cake or loaf bread kind of cake has a crunchy effect from t he poppy seeds and it definitely taste better after a few days...

source : www.joyofbaking.com

Lemon Poppy Seeds Bread

3 large eggs
1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (60ml) milk
1.5 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 cup (150gms) granulated white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs grated lemon zest (outer yellow sin of the lemon)
3 tbs of(30gm) poppy seeds
13 tbs (184gm) unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Syrup
1/4 cup (60ml) fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup (65gms) granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 180C and place the oven rack in centre of the oven.  Butter and flour (or spray with non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the paper. Pan size 8 x 4x 2 1/2 inch

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and milk.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds until combined.  Add the softened butter and half the egg mixture and mix on low speed until moistened.  Increase the speed to medium and beat for about one minute.  (This aerates and developsthe cake's structure)  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining egg mixture in 2 batches, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.  This will strenghten the structure of the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  You may have to cover the bread with butter foil after about 30 minutes if you find the bread over browning.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolve.

When the bread is done, remove from oven, and place on a wire rack.  Pierce the hot loaf all over with a wooden skewer or toothpick and then brush the top of the loaf with about half the hot lemon syrup.  Cool the loaft in the for about 10 minutes then invert onnto a greased wire rack.  Brush the remaining syrupon the bottom and the sides of the loaf.  Reinvert the bread so it is right side up and then cool the bread completely before wrapping.  Store at least overnight before serving to allow the lemon syrup to distribute throughout the loaf.

Happy New Year

Just return from a 10 days trip to India - our very first trip to India, covering Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Varanasi...really eye opening and had a great time..will post pictures and our experience in the next few days.

For now wishing all my readers a happy new year may the coming year be fulfilling...

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Stir Fry Radish Leaves

Its radish day in my kitchen..Sambar with eggplants and radish, radish raita and for dinner stir fry radish.

This is what happens when you have a few home grown radish at hand (courtesy of a lovely neighbour) and wants to clear them before you go on holiday..

I was once told that you can actually use the leaves of the radish - well fancy that.  So when I saw the radish that was given to me they were so nice elegant looking vegetable - the radish was just nice in size not too bulky and longish like the size of an adult palm and the green leaves were so green and vibrant (I should have taken the pictures before chopping them) so the outcome is Stir Fry Radish Leaves.

While cutting and frying the leaves, you can smell the peppery kind of smell something like mint...

What you need...
Radish leaves
1 onion - chopped/sliced fine
3-4 garlic - chopped/minced finely
salt to taste

How to do....

• wash and clean well the leaves
• chopped finely the leaves
• Heat oil (I used olive oil).
• once the oil is hot, fry the garlic for a few minutes.
• add the onions and stir till soft.
• add in the leaves and salt, stir well and allow to cook for a few minutes.
• Remove from heat and serve hot with rice..