Roma's Space

This is again one of my kitchen experiments. Long ago my aunt told me that adding fresh orange juice to cake batter can create freshness in its taste. I also had lots of black raisins in my fridge. I remember buying these raisins as a humble substitute for blueberries. I love blueberry muffins but couldnt find any berries.

Finally, I thought of marrying the two ideas. Why not have an orange flavored cake which has black raisins in it? Here is the concoction. I must say its worth a shot. The end result was a shiny muffin in which the freshness of orange juice was interrupted by dark, sweet black raisins.

Off this goes to the original recipe event hosted by Lore. Merry Christmas!

Ingredients :

• Orange juice 1/2 tea cup
• Orange peel
• 6-7 black raisins
• 1/2 tin condensed milk
• 100 grams maida / white flour
• 50 grams butter
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of salt

Procedure :

1. Extract fresh orange juice.
2. Remove the white fiber from the reverse of the peel. Now finely chop the orange rind.
3. Deseed black raisins and chop them.
4. Mix condensed milk with melted butter.
5. Add 1/2 cup of orange juice , beat until thoroughly blended.
6. Sift together maida, baking powder, salt and soda. Blend in maida using the cut and fold method.
7. Dust the orange rind and raisins in maida. Now gently mix them into the batter.
8. Grease & dust muffin molds. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 Deg C for 25 mins.

What makes a birthday so special? The cake? The party? Or just the presence of those special people in your life that light up the rest of your year?

See how Jujep’s friends surprised him by baking a deep dark chocolate cake for his birthday. You can find the recipe hidden in the story.

To know how this cake actually looks once its done and to read the traditional recipe please follow the link. For those who would rather join the birthday celebrations, get cracking on a present you can make for Jujeps!

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The Next Day …

Cake for little BIL's Birthday

It was my younger Brother-in-law’s birthday a few weeks ago and I decided to bake a cake for the occasion. He loves cakes but unlike me he is not very fond of chocolate cakes. So I started thinking of an eggless cake that is simple, non-choco and yet tasty. I started going through my mom’s cookery notes when I stumbled upon this cake which was made from condensed milk. I had a can that had been chilling in my fridge for over a month, so I decided this was the best time to use it. Moreover, I had never really tried an eggless cake in a long time so I got cracking.

I am glad my BIL liked it very much. . Actually, although I bake cakes all the time its still a bit nerve racking when you bake for an occassion. You want to get it right. When I was turning the cake out of the mold for a second it got stuck and I was like ‘God! Its for a party, let it not break !’ Thankfully it came out clean and I was happy. Next comes the part when you want to taste it. Obviously, I couldnt taste it till it was cut. So I waited impatiently for the cake cutting. As soon as the cake was cut I jumped to have a piece. I was almost holding my breath and was hoping it wont end up as another one of those grand kitchen experiments. I felt like a kid waiting for her result. Thankfully the cake was delicious and I think I am going to make it more often.

Ingredients :

• 1/2 tin condensed milk
• 100 gms maida
• 50 gms butter
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• A pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Procedure :

1. Mix condensed milk with melted butter.
2. Add 1/2 cup of water and vanilla essence, beat until thoroughly blended.
3. Sift together maida, baking powder, salt and soda. Blend in maida using cut and fold method. Let the batter reach dropping consistency.
4. Grease baking tin and pour the mixture in. Bake in a preheated oven at 175 Deg C for 35 – 40 mins.

Mayank and I met around the turn of the century. The day I met him I never thought I would be spending the rest of my life with him. Thats how life is, unpredictable. We’ve been married for four years today and I cant seem to remember how my life was when he wasnt a part of it.

Every year on our anniversary Mayank makes it a point to take me for dinner to an unknown destination. I am left wondering all day what dress code to follow, what kind of food we’ll be eating and how far this place is from home. As we set off from home I am constantly thinking of where the journey will end. Every time we pass by a restaurant I ask myself  ‘Is this the one?’ and soon we would have moved on. Anyway, I sort of enjoy this suspense, asking him questions whenever possible hoping the cat will be out of the bag!

Over the years having exchanged practically every possible gift, this year I was faced with the same question “What would be the perfect gift? What is it I havent gifted already?” I finally decided on making something myself. Here are the name plates I made for our anniversary. I wanted it to be a surprise so I havent been updating by Twitter page honestly. My husband follows my updates you know

Gift from Mayank - Poinsettia, Turns lush red in December

Poinsettia is a plant that serves as a gentle reminder. When its leaves turn beautiful red we know another year of marriage has passed.

Blooms from the Family