Lemongrass and Coconut cake!

This cake is a riot of flavours with a lovely texture and a soothing aroma. It is a perfect dessert after any meal !  

Ingredients: 

• 4 lemongrass, base and tops trimmed, outer leaves removed but reserved for the syrup
• 250 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 200 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 125 g desiccated coconut
• 125 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Freshly whipped cream, to serve

For the syrup

• Reserved trimmings and outer leaves of the lemongrass
• 75 g caster sugar
• 75ml water

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter the sides of a cake tin and dust with flour, then line the base with a parchment paper. 
2. Thinly slice the lemongrass stalks into thin rounds , in a grinder put in the sliced stalks with the caster sugar and grind for a couple of minutes until the lemongrass is finely pureed
3. Add the eggs, butter and coconut and grind again until combined
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together and add to the jar, run the grinder again but very briefly just until the ingredients come together
5. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean

For the syrup

1. Chop the lemongrass trimmings, place them in a saucepan with the sugar and water and set over a high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil and boil for just 2 minutes before removing from the heat and leaving to infuse
2. Reheat the syrup when the cake is ready
3. Pierce holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour the hot syrup through a sieve all around the cake 
4. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream

P.S Recipe inspired by Rachel Allen

A Swedish Almond cake!

Tosca Tarte

This is one cake I fell in love with by just the look of it. I started to bake this as soon as I finished watching Rachel Allen's recipe on my t.v set. The crunch, the taste, the look....just perfect!

Ingredients: 

The cake-

• 3 eggs
• 150g caster sugar
• 150g plain flour + for dusting
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2tsp Vanilla extract
• 3tbsp milk
• 75g butter(melted) + for greasing

The toppings-

• 50g butter
• 100g almond flakes
• 50g caster sugar
• 2tsp plain flour
• 4tbsp cream
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 3tbsp milk

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the can tin and dust it with flour. 
2. Whisk together the eggs and the sugar for 5-7 minutes or until mousse like with an electric stand mixer or a hand held mixer. Sift in the flour and baking powder and pour in the vanilla extract, milk and melted butter, then fold everything in until combined. 
3. Pour the mixture into the baking tin and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out moist and not completely clean. (The mixture needs another 10 minutes of cooking) 
4. Increase the heat to 200C
5. Before the 30-35 minutes are up, make the topping. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, as the butter begins to melt ass the remaining ingredients except for the milk and bring to boil allowing the mixture to bubble for a minute and remove from the flame and add the milk and mix well. 
6. After the cake is baked for 30-35 minutes, remove from the oven and spoon the almond topping evenly and place it back for another 10-15 minutes or until the topping is golden
7. Let the cake cool in the tin for about 10-15 minutes
8. With a sharp knife loosen around the edges and slide the cake out of the tin on to a plate and slice it! Ready to taste. 

Whole wheat Nankhatai - Indian spiced cookie

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
• Caster Sugar - 1/4 cup 
• Butter - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp
• Semolina - 1/3 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp

Preparation:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F
2. Grind the semolina into a very fine powder and keep aside
3. Cream the butter by whisking it continuously
4. Gradually add sugar and continue to whisk until light and fluffy
5. Add cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix
6. Now add semolina and whisk well until all the ingredients have blended well
7. Finally fold in the flour to make a soft dough
8. Make small balls of the dough and slightly flatten them with your palm (to about 1/2 inch thickness)
9. Place them on a baking tray approximately 1 inch apart (The tray need not be greased since butter is a major ingredient in this preparation)
10. Bake for 18-20 minutes
11. Remove from oven and let it cool completely on a cooling rack

Makes approximately 20 nankhatai of 5 inch diameter.

Quick 5 minute oat dosas

                                                                              

Ingredients:

• Rolled oats - 1 cup
• Urad dal - 1/2 cup (slit black gram)
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Cooking soda - a pinch
• Water - ~2 cups or as needed to get the right consistency

Preparation:

1. Grind the oats and the Urad dal into a fine powder in a mixer
2. To the powdered mixture add salt and Cooking soda
3. Add water to the mixture and whisk thoroughly to make a fine paste with no lumps (consistency should be similar to the normal dosa batter)
4. Finally on a heated pan spread the mixture and roast it well to enjoy a crispy dosa (use ghee instead of oil to roast - it is yummy!)

A few chutney recipes  to go with it - Cabbage Chutney, bitter gourd chutney, Radish Chutney.

Pudina Chutney (Tangy mint sauce)

Tangy Mint Chutney!

Ingredients

Mint leaves - 1/3 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1/4 tsp
Roasted cumin powder - 1 tsp
Dry mango powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat masala powder - 3/4 tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 2-3
Onion - 1, medium sized, diced
Salt - To taste

Preparation

In a bowl mix the yogurt, cumin powder, chat masala powder and dry mango powder, keep aside
In a blender put together fresh mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies, onion and ginger - grind the ingredients into a paste
Mix the green paste with the yogurt mixture until the two blend well together