A fruity come-back!

It has been a long time since I posted a new recipe on my blog. Last year was surprisingly busy for us. My degree completion, R's new job, friends and family visiting from India, move to a new apartment - things kept me occupied. However, here I am this year hoping to blog more often and meeting you more frequently.

The festive season of 2011 gave me a good reason to bake and bake a LOT! I have always associated Christmas with fruitcakes since my childhood. My father's colleagues used to invite us over for Christmas feast. Besides all the decorations and the Christmas tree that I got to enjoy at their place, I used to look forward to the fruit cake that was served. A famous Goan Catholic delicacy-the fruitcake tasted bitter-sweet. Rum soaked plums and currants lent it a unique, well-matured taste. To make fruitcakes 'not only a Christmas affair', whenever Baba (My father) traveled to Goa for his conferences, he would bring a plum cake from the local Goan bakeries without fail. And even before my father could freshen up after the long journey, we would pounce upon the fruity treat!

Another kind of fruitcake that I used to like was the one without any liquor in it. This was from the famous Kayani Bakery in Pune. None of our out-of-town guests would ever leave Pune without some shrews berry biscuits and cakes from Kayani's. At home, while my mother ensured a constant supply of these delicious cakes, my father had to remind me that the cake was not a meal but occasional snacking only!

So, here are two recipes for fruitcakes - one without any liquor and one with liquor.

Enjoy and Happy baking!

Fruit Cake (No-Liquor)

You will need:

2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 egg whites
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 cups dried fruit (I used dried pineapple, apricots, raisins, mangoes, cherries, cranberries, tutti-fruity)

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Prepare (grease and flour) a 9 inch round cake pan or 4 mini loaf pans.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.

In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together, until fluffy. Beat in the flour mixture - 1/3 at a time. To this, add milk and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

To this mixture, gently fold in egg whites -1/3 at a time.

Add the dried fruit (I have found that ALDI sells a decent and affordable collection of dried fruit).

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until done (about 30 minutes - a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean).

Let it cool.



Fruit Cake (With Liquor)

A year back or so I had read "Good Eats -The early years" by Alton Brown and found his fruit cake recipe in the same. I had prepared the cakes two weeks ahead of Christmas and basted them well before serving on Christmas eve. The basting improves the taste indeed.

Have a good weekend ahead!

Slow-Roasted Campari Tomatoes

Yesterday R and I were driving back from the driver's license office and stopped by at the local farmers market. To my delight, I found a bunch of poppy red Campari tomatoes. It has already started getting hot and sultry in the afternoons here and the sight of these juicy tomatoes was indeed gladdening.


The campari tomatoes are originally from Europe. These tomatoes have a very peculiar sweet flavour and are juicier than the more common varieties such as Roma/Plum tomatoes. As summer is already at our door, I decided to let the tomato-y earthy flavor linger in my kitchen for a bit!

Here is how I roasted the tomatoes:

You will need:

1. Campari tomatoes (Or any other variety)
   
2. A few garlic pods (Optional)
3. Olive oil
   
4. Dried basil and Fennel seeds (Saunf) (You can pick herbs of your choice or just leave the tomatoes as they are)
5. Sea salt
6. Pepper

Preheat the oven at 230 F. Wash and pat the tomatoes dry and cut into half. Prepare the baking tray/pan by lining it with aluminum foil. Place tomatoes cut side up on the lined baking tray. You can place garlic pods alongside the tomatoes. Brush/ drizzle olive oil on these. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and herbs of your choice.


Roast in the oven for 4-5 hours.


Let the tomatoes cool. Freeze and store in a zip-lock bag or mason jars. These will keep for up to 3-4 months in the freezer.