Chocolate cakes, mud pies, double chocolate delights - no matter how you phrase it or how you dress it - chocolate cakes are by and far the most over done type of cake. It's one of those kind of dishes that we love to such extents that just any form of it will do. While chocolate flavoured cake will always rule our stomachs, this week I ventured into more adventurous grounds to try something slightly more offbeat but just as delicious. Unlike the dreary, plain Jane chocolate cake, why not try something with an exotic, orangey spin? Cake and citrus syrup, you say? An unlikely combination but deadly tasting.
Orange and cardamom semolina cake with citrus syrup
Ingredients
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup veg. oil
¼ cup buttermilk (regular milk + a squeeze of lemon)
1 tbsp. orange juice
Zest of an orange
½ cup roasted semolina
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
4-5 cardamom powdered
A pinch of salt
Citric syrup
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp. sugar
A pinch of salt
Sift in the semolina, flour, baking powder, cardamom powder and salt in a bowl, add the orange zest and set aside.
In a separate big bowl, beat in the eggs, sugar and oil until smooth. Then add the buttermilk and orange juice.
Fold in the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
Bake it in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 30 to 35 minutes or until a skewer, inserted at the middle of the cake, comes out clean.
To make the syrup, pour in the juice of an orange and a lemon along with sugar into a small pan over medium heat. Once the sugar dissolves, add a knob of butter and stir to combine.
Once the cake is done, let it sit for 10 minutes and pour over the citric syrup over the cake and sprinkle some slices pistachios. Enjoy!
Cinnamon braided bun
Everyone loves the smell of freshly baked buns in the morning, especially if its a long awaited weekend. Try your hand at this delicious smelling bun and give yourself that much needed early hour delight.
For the bread dough:
2 cup flour
2 tsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup luke warm water
2 tbsp. oil
For the filling:
2 tbsp softened butter (room temperature)
2 tbsp of granulated sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon powder
Mix together luke warm water, yeast and sugar. Let the yeast activate for a minute.
Meanwhile, in a big bowl add the flour and salt. Add the wet ingredients into the flour along with 1 tbsp. of oil and mix well. Knead it with another tablespoon of oil into a smooth dough. Set aside in a warm place for an hour.
After the dough has doubled in size, inflate it and roll it over a floured surface. Spread the butter onto the rolled dough, followed by sugar and a dusting of cinnamon powder.
Roll it or make a swirl or just shaped it as you desire, and place it onto a baking release paper or parchment paper.
Egg brush your dough. Bake it in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 180 degree celsius. Cool on a wire rack.