Desserts – Meal Haven

Orange Cake

My sweet tooth began at an early age. I remember growing up, eating this cake which mom made so often during my school days. She always used to make it with butter but here, I have substituted it with oil for obvious health reasons. Nevertheless, this cake bursts with citrus flavours and tastes just delicious.

Yields 2 loaves

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 2 1/2 cups

Eggs – 4 large

Baking powder – 2 1/2 tsp

Sunflower or Canola oil – 1 cup

Freshly squeezed orange juice – 1 1/4 cups

Granulated sugar – 1 1/2 cups

Orange zest of 3 oranges

Vanilla essence – 1 tsp

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degree F or 180 degree C. Grease two loaf pans (8 1/2 inch x 4 1/2 inch pans).

In a mixing bowl, whisk flour and baking powder and keep aside.

In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar on high speed using a hand held electric mixer for 3 -4 minutes until they become fluffy. Then, reduce the speed to low and keep adding oil slowly until well combined. Now add the orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract and keep whisking until it is well combined.

Next, add the flour slowly keeping the speed of the beater on low or use a spatula to mix it well. Do not overmix it as the cake may fall flat while baking.

Then, pour the batter into the two pans for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely.

Dust it with powdered sugar and serve.

Note: I always used to grate the oranges to take the zest but a tip from my friend Cini was a great time saver. She asked me to peel the orange skins using a peeler and chop it fine with a knife or grind it once in the mixer to a coarse texture. Try and let me know if this works for you too.

Wheat Carrot Cake

Uncategorized

Made with the goodness of carrots, these wheat cakes are moist and delicious. Easy and made with kitchen staples, this one is a must try.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour – 2 1/2 cups

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Soda bi-carbonate – 1/2 tsp

Eggs – 5

Oil – 1 1/2 cups

Salt – 1/2 tsp

Sugar – 2 cups

Grated carrot – 2 1/2 cups

Vanilla essence – 2 tsp

Chopped walnuts – 1/4 cup (optional)

Preparation:

Sift wheat flour, baking powder, soda bi-carbonate and salt. Mix well and keep aside.

In a mixer, powder the sugar finely.

Separate the yolks and whites. Froth the egg whites and keep separately.

In a deep wide bowl, add the sugar and oil. Beat it on high in an electric hand beater/mixer and then add the yolks and beat again for 4 to 5 minutes. Next, add the vanilla essence and grated carrot and beat well. Now, reduce the speed of the beater to minimum or with a spatula, slowly fold in the flour. Gradually, add the beaten egg whites and mix gently. Make sure that you do not vigorously mix the batter as the cake will rise and fall flat when it bakes.

Grease a 8×2 inches circular pan with butter or oil. Pour the mixture into it. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 45 – 60 mts. Check to ensure that it is baked by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the cake after 45 minutes. If the batter does not stick to the tooth pick, the cake is baked or else, bake for some more time.

Chocolate Cobbler

Desserts

A crunchy topping on the hot fudge pudding cake makes it outrageously yum…..A simple batter spooned to the bottom of the pan, a dry cocoa mixture sprinkled on top of it and hot water poured on top if it and baked and voila….. a yum dessert ready to be served.

8 – 10 servings

Ingredients:

All purpose Flour or Maida – 2 cups

Salt – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1 cup sugar

Baking powder – 4 tsp

Cocoa – 3 tbsp

Melted butter – 4 tbsp

Milk – 1 cup

Vanilla essence – 2 tsp

Chopped Walnuts – 3/4 cup (optional)

For Topping:

Sugar – 1/4 cup

Brown sugar – 1 cup

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Cocoa – 1 tbsp

Boiling Water – 1 cup

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa.

In another bowl, add sugar, melted butter, milk, vanilla essence and beat it well using a electric hand mixer.

Now add the flour mixture and walnuts (optional) and beat it at low while mixing the flour. You can use a spatula to mix it gently.

Grease a 9 inch glass pyrex baking dish and spread this mixture into it and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, combine the toppings (sugar, brown sugar, salt and cocoa). Mix it well and sprinkle it on top of the batter. Do not stir/mix it into the batter.

Pour the boiling water on top and do not stir.

Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 deg F . Place the baking dish inside the oven and bake for 80 minutes or until it is set. The cake will rise and you will see a pudding form at the bottom of the dish.

It is recommended to serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Desserts

This is a classic British dessert made with dates. A rich, sticky pudding doused with an indulgent toffee sauce will make your taste buds sing.

Ingredients:

Dates (Pitted and finely chopped) – 10

Baking soda (Bi-carbonate of Soda)- 3/4 tsp

Boiling water – 3/4 cup

Vanilla essence – 1/2 tsp

Softened butter – 6 tbsp

Eggs (large) – 2

All purpose Flour/Maida – 1 1/4 cup

Light brown sugar – 1/2 cup

Salt – 1/4 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Pecans/Walnuts chopped – 1/4 cup (optional)

Sauce:

Light brown sugar or Dark brown sugar – 3/4 cup

Butter – 8 tbsps

Heavy whipping cream – 1/2 cup

Kosher Salt or any salt- a pinch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C. Lightly grease a 8 x 8 inch pan or 6 individual ramekins with butter/cooking spray.

In a bowl, stir together the dates, boiling water, baking soda and vanilla extract. Let the mixture sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Pulse it once in the mixer and keep it aside.

In another bowl, cream the light brown sugar and butter with a handheld mixer until it is combined well. Then, add the eggs and mix well.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix it well. Add this to the wet sugar butter mixture and fold it lightly, until it is well combined.

Then, add the dates mixture and the chopped nuts to this mixture and fold it with a spatula. Do not overmix or beat it with an electric beater.

Spread the batter evenly on the 8 x 8 inch pan or spoon into individual ramekins.

For an 8x 8 inch pan, bake it for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre, comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely. For individual ramekins, baking time of 30 minutes should suffice.

Preparing the sauce:

Combine sugar, butter and salt in a pan and keep it on low heat. After about 3 minutes, when the sugar dissolves, add the heavy whipping cream and stir for another 2 minutes. The sauce should become smooth and silky.

Remove the cakes from individual ramekins and place it on individual plates. Drizzle the sauce over it. You can sprinkle pecan or walnuts on top of it. If you have baked in an 8 x 8 inch pan, cut square pieces of the cake and serve it on a plate.

You may also serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Chocolate Ice cream

Desserts

An ultra rich, creamy and smooth ice cream perfect for summer. The chocalatey flavour is definitely satisfying and worth a try. You cannot taste the avocado and is a hit with children too….

Ingredients:

Nestle Sweetened condensed milk – 1 can or 397 g

Avacado – 1 large ripe

Cocoa powder unsweetened – 3 1/2 tbsp

Whipped cream – 1 cup/ Dream whip powder – 1 sachet

Cold milk – 1/2 cup

Preparation:

Peel and chop the avocado. Add it to a blender alongwith the condensed milk. Pulse on high until it is smooth and creamy. Now add the cocoa powder and blend it again until smooth. Empty the contents into a large mixing bowl.

Empty the dream whip sachet in a bowl and add 1/2 cup cold milk to it. Whip on high speed for about 10 – 15 minutes until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in 1/2 of the avocado mixture with a spatula and then slowly, fold in the other 1/2 of the mixture. Make sure you don’t fold in too fast to maintain the air inside that was whipped in.

Pour the mixture into a 9×5 inch loaf pan and freeze for 8 hours until solid.