Baking with Merry

This time, I am deeply smitten with the vacation bug, and I still haven't recovered from it yet. A trip to The Capital was the main highlight of this year's vacation and we especially my kids thoroughly enjoyed it. It was their many firsts--first looong trip in the train (48 hrs), first trip to the North, first long trip with their grandparents and so on.....So you could imagine their excitement!! Meanwhile, many special days like the Mother's day and Father's Day have come and gone, but I was never in a mood to at least make an effort to bake something for those special days.....Anyways, let me hope this Caramel Cake would compensate for all those lazy bygone days..... Once again, when I have to make a come back, I normally depend on the Fondbites, Bake Along Recipes and this time too, didn't alter that routine!! No more blabbing, off to the recipe for the Caramel Cake (Fondbites, Bake Along # 18). Ingredients: For the Cake Unsalted butt...

We Knead To Bake!  is a bread baking group on FB, hosted by  Aparna Balasubramanian  of My Diverse Kitchen . Though I had joined this group couple of months back, I haven't baked anything to date except for pizzas. Now, baking bread is not a child's play. So, I waited until I get to bake something easy. And this month's recipe proved to be the right one to bake for an amateur like me!! Julekake (or Julekaka/ Julekaga) is a rich holiday bread flavoured with cardamom which is traditionally served at Christmas in many Scandinavian countries. It is particularly popular in Norway and Denmark. Incidentally, Julekake means “Yule Bread” in Norwegian.  This bread is more cake-like in texture and sometimes it is dusted with powdered sugar or glazed with a white sugar icing. If it is not glazed or left plain, then it is usually served warm at breakfast with butter or a goat milk cheese called geitost/ brunost.  In Norway, Julekake traditionally only a...

It's the season of jackfruit and you get to see lots of them in Kerala now. Last week, when I went home for a day, I brought back some jackfruits as my son loves them...... After everybody had their share, I had little left in the fridge and so decided to bake this Goan cake - Pansache Dhonas, which I had penned down from Raksha's Kitchen some months back. I would say this cake is definitely a healthy one as it uses no maida, sugar or butter.... The cake tasted quite different from the normal ones and it was indeed yummy! Ingredients: Recipe Source: Raksha's Kitchen Jackfruit pulp - 2 cups Grated coconut - 1 cup Salt - 1/2 tsp Rava - 1 cup Jaggery - 1 cup Cardamom powder - 2 tsps Cashewnuts, chopped - 10 Almonds, chopped - 5-10 Raisins - 10 Method: Roast rava till it is light brown or till the aroma wafts into the air. Keep aside. Let it cool for at least 20 mins. Remove the jackfruit seeds and put them into a mixer ...

Back from my holidays and I was looking for a recipe to kick-start my baking. Found this simple and easy teatime Cardamom cake, that I had saved from Sheeba  Jacob's  Foodhogger . A perfect cake with hot tea or coffee!!! Just make sure to use fresh cardamom and nutmeg for a flavorful cake...... Ingredients: Recipe Source: Hogger & Co All purpose flour - 2 cups Cardamom, crushed - 1/2 tsp Nutmeg, crushed - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp Baking powder - 2 tsp Sugar - 1 cup Butter, softened - 1/4 cup Eggs - 4 Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Milk - 1 cup Method: Preheat oven to 180 C. Remove the shells of fresh nutmeg and cardamom and crush them into powders. Combine the flour with the crushed powders, salt and baking powder. Keep aside. Combine the softened butter and sugar together in a big bowl. Add eggs and blend together. Add the flour into the butter-sugar mixture and combine. Then add the milk and vanilla essence and beat well until smooth...