Tag: fruity

Last-Minute Fruit Cake

This fruit cake can be made anytime during the year. It is especially useful if you need to bake a cake at the last-minute and have not much time. I baked 2 fruit cakes this Christmas. One was a last-minute cake to give as a gift to my Neighbor and relatives. The other was a traditional brandied Christmas cake.

I put a lot of time and thought into planning my recipe for both the cakes weeks before Christmas. It was worth the effort. Someone asked if the cake was store-bought. I was happy to tell them that it was, in fact, homemade!😇. I feel motivated to post more recipes here when I get good compliments on my recipes. I credit everyone of you for making this happen. Please share your thoughts. Tell me how you spent your Christmas this year. Leave a comment below if you can spare a minute of your time.

Thank you and have a Happy New Year! 😊💫☃

 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hr 10 minutes

Need: 20 cm / 8 in round deep cake tin or spring-clip tin greased and lined (or use a ready made cake liner)

 

Ingredients

Dried FruitsRaisins – 100 g

                     Black currents – 20 g

Candied Cherries – 10 pieces, halved

Orange juice – 3/ 4 cup, of 2 large oranges

 

Unsalted butter, softened – 200 g + extra for greasing

Brown sugar (fine) – 200 g / 1 cup

Plain Flour / Top flour – 225 g

Large whole eggs – 4, at room temperature

Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp

Baking powder – 1 tsp

Ground cinnamon – 1 tsp

Nutmeg – 1 tsp

pinch of salt

 

Nuts:

Cashew nuts – 70 g, chopped

Almonds, slivered – 20 g

 

 

Directions

  1. Place the dried fruits like raisins and currants together with cherries, orange juice into a deep pot. Bring it to a boil on high heat. Turn on the heat and simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
dried fruits

Leave it to cool or if you have time leave it overnight or as long as you can. Coat the nuts in 3 tbsp of all-purpose flour and set it aside.

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Preparing the baking tin:

2. In the meantime or on the day of baking, butter a 20 cm round cake tin. Then line both the bottom and the sides with baking paper. Make sure the paper peaks over the top by about 5 cm.

Butter again the base and the sides. Set aside.

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Preparing the cake mixture:

3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, flour, eggs, and vanilla. Then add baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt except for dried fruits and nuts.

Start by mixing with a wooden spoon to combine everything gently. If you use a hand mixer too soon, it can cause the flour to scatter. This will create a mess.

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Now use the hand mixer and make sure to mix everything really well, around 1.5 – 2 minutes on medium speed. Once its mixed well enough, detach the beaters from the hand mixer and remove any cake batter on it.

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4. Add the dried fruit mixture along with its syrup. Mix with the wooden spoon. Then mix in the nuts coated in flour. Give a good mix.

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Nuts Coated in flour | Fruit Cake

Preheat the oven to 140°C/Gas Mark 1 or for 10 minutes.

5. Spoon the cake mixture into the cake tin. Level the top using a spatula. Bake in the Center of the oven for 70 minutes.

If using a convection oven, place it on the lower rack. Check once after 45 minutes.

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It is cooked when a wooden skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. I do this without removing the cake tin out of the oven. Do not worry if it has turned light brown on top and needs more time to cook.

If the top turns dark brown in color before it’s cooked, cover it with parchment paper.

Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. If you wish to decorate the cake you can do so after its completely cooled.

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Packing as gift. Forgive me for my bad photography skills.

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Caramel Orange Pudding

Welcome to my very first post on this blog! I’m thrilled to start with a recipe. It perfectly captures my love for vibrant flavors and comforting desserts. This recipe features Orange Caramel Pudding. This delicious treat combines the richness of classic caramel pudding. It also offers a refreshing citrus twist.

Imagine a silky, smooth custard. It is infused with the zesty essence of fresh oranges. It is topped with a layer of luscious, golden caramel that melts in your mouth. Each bite is a perfect balance of creamy and sweet. A burst of orange keeps it light and refreshing.

This pudding has always been one of my favorite desserts. I choose it when I want to impress guests. I also enjoy it when I want to indulge in something special. It’s simple to make. Yet, it is so elegant in presentation. The caramel cascades beautifully over the top as you flip it out of the mold. I can’t wait to share the full recipe and the tips that make it come out perfectly every time!

Stay tuned for more sweet creations. I hope you’ll try this recipe and fall in love with it. I have already fallen in love with it!

Preparation time:  15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

Granulated Sugar – 2 tsp (for the caramel)

Eggs – 3

Sugar powdered – ½ cup    

Butter – 2 tsp 

Milk – 1 cup

Fresh Orange juice – ½ cup

Orange zest – 1 tsp

All purpose flour / Maida – 4 tsp

 

Directions

For the caramel

  1. Spread 2 tsp of granulated sugar in the cooking pudding pan and switch on the flame to high
  1. The sugar begins to melt in a minute or two. Lower the flame to low as it melts.
  2. It will start to brown towards dark brown. Switch off the flame at this point.
  3. It will take a while for the caramel to liquify. Swirl the pan so that the caramel is spread out nicely.
  4. Keep it aside.
caramel, sugar melted, upside down pudding

 

caramel, sugar melted, upside down pudding

 

 

 1. Combine powdered sugar (I used fine sugar), egg yolks and butter together until creamy using a electric hand mixer.

Egg yolks, sugar, butter

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2. Add orange zest, flour, milk and orange juice. Combine well until fully incorporated.

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3. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl until foamy & add it into the above egg yolk mixture.

 

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pudding mix

4. Pour the prepared pudding mix into the prepared caramel pan. Cover the top with a Al-foil or a same sized lid.

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pudding ready to be steamed

5. Using a pressure cooker, add in 1 cup of water. Then place a stand inside & the pan over the stand.Cover the steamer lid without the whistle.

stand placed inside the pressure cooker

steaming pudding in a pressure cooker

 

6. For induction cooking keep it on 7, for others keep on medium heat. After 30 minutes, open the lid, make a small hole on the foil & insert a skewer.

If it comes out clean. it’s done. If it hasn’t come out clean, let it cook for another 15 minutes on 7. Switch off the heat and let it rest without touching it for half an hour.

 
caramel orange pudding

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Enjoy!! 🙂 Stay Healthy!

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