Middle Eastern Orange Cake.

I just came back from my holiday/educational/spiritual trip to Jerusalem, Mecca and Madinah where i performed my Umrah (minor pilgrimage), and i really had a wonderful time at these sacred places!

Jerusalem is a beautiful holy city with magnificient views that will take your breath away. Places of worships - Churches, Mosques, Synagogues - are built near to each other in the city.. So why can't we just live together in harmony without any disputes already??!! And I especially love the cold weather..! A good place to escape from the hot and humid weather here in Singapore.

And i feel truly blessed to be given the opportunity to go through a round of spiritual journey in the two holy cities of Mecca and Madinah. The weather was hot (50 degrees!) and i fell sick a number of times, but nevertheless it was such a great religious and spiritual experience and i would love to step my foot there again. If God wills. Insyaallah. =)

I will post some photos of the trip at the end of this post.

I declare that i've fallen in love with the middle east!! <3

Now let's talk about the subject that we love so much.

Yep. Sweet food. Cake! 

I miss my oven while i was away. No kidding.

This Middle Eastern Orange Cake is very easy to make and totally gluten-free, as it is made of almond flour instead of the normal flour. The only downside? You have to boil the oranges for two hours. I boiled the oranges for only an hour and it's still fine.

You can conclude from here that i have the patience of a saint. Not.

The cake may look totally burnt on the outside after being baked in the oven for an hour, , but fret not!! Once you pierce a fork into the cake, you'll find how delicate and moist the crumb is. And it's all thanks to the almond flour! And the citrusy taste is not too overwhelming. Just perfect. This cake is really nice to eat, and most will enjoy it!

Rating: 7/10

Recipe

(Adapted from Not Quite Nigella, who adapted it from Claudia Roden)

2 large oranges, washed (Or 3 medium ones)

6 eggs, beaten

250 g. ground almonds/almond meal/almond flour
250 g. sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Icing sugar to dust if desired

Method

Boil whole, unpeeled oranges, barely covered with water, in a covered saucepan for 2 hours (you can do this step a day or so ahead of time and keep the boiled oranges, once cooled, in the fridge). Discard water, allow to cool, then cut open, remove the pips (seeds and the whites) and chop roughly or pull apart into smaller pieces with fingers.

Preheat oven to 190ºC/170ºc fan forced and line the base and sides of a 24cm springform tin with baking paper.

Blend oranges and remaining ingredients thoroughly in a food processor. Pour batter into prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour. If cake is still very wet, cook a little longer. Cool in tin before gently removing. Dust with icing sugar and zest and prepare to swoon…

***

Now let me entertain you with the photos of the trip:

Luxury houses along the hills at Jerusalem.

One of the Churches in Jerusalem.

The exterior of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The magnificent Dome of Rock!

The Dome of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Wailing Wall.

I love the serenity of Jerusalem!

The street at Jerusalem.

We visited the Dead Sea too. A very beautiful sea!!

Wish i could float on the dead sea!

Banana Bundt Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting.

My grandaunt would chase me around the house with a huge wooden spoon if she ever finds out that i put cream cheese frosting on an old-fashioned banana cake. We Malays do not normally eat banana cake with frosting on it, as it tastes good on its own. So it's only fair that my grandaunt may think i've totally gone bonkers if she ever finds out. =D

My favourite banana cake has always been my grandaunt's, as hers is light and fluffy and has intense banana flavour. The light and fluffiness of her cake is achieved by beating egg whites until peaks are formed. And to tell you the truth, i haven't been good at beating egg whites. The last time i tried to make meringues, i failed miserably. White eggy bubbly mess all over the mixing bowl. *Shudders*

(I'll be back, Mr Egg-Whites. Be very afraid.)

So i skipped grandaunt's recipe and searched for a good banana cake recipe (which doesn't involve any egg-whites beating) online, and came across 'Best Ever Banana Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting'. Sounds promising enough. I'd always wondered whether banana cake and cream cheese tasted good together. And i'm glad that they do!

This banana cake lives up to its name. Not exactly The Best of The Best of all Banana Cake. But at least one of the best that i've ever tasted (of course, my grandaunt's banana cake is still at the top of my list). Everyone at home loved it! It's light, super moist, moderately sweet with intense banana flavour, and the mild tanginess and sweetness of the cream cheese frosting complemented the flavour of the cake. But the cake tasted good without the cream cheese frosting too.

Rating: 8/10

 Recipe

(Adapted from Food.com)

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/8 cups sugar (I cut it down to 1 3/4)

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

Garnish

Chopped walnuts or pecans

Method

Preheat oven to 275°F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan. (I used a 10" bundt pan)

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (For 10" bundt pan, it will cook for 1 hr 30 mins)

Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth. Spread on cooled cake. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over top of the frosting, if desired.

Raspberry & Blueberry Lime Drizzle Cake

(Hah. Again, fancy calling myself a Confectionery Queen, when i seldom update this blog.)

Nothing like a summery treat to cheer you up. Especially when your weekend is almost over, and all you can think of is how the hell you are going to clear off all the massive paperwork at your workplace without wanting to bang your head occasionally on the wall.

Yes. A nice summery treat is just what you need.

Everything about this cake is good. The recipe is straight forward, and it's really easy to make.

Except i didn't know that my juice squeezer had gone missing. So in the end i had to squeeze the hell out of 6 big Australian Tahtian Lime using only a small spoon.

And my fingers are sensitive to the acidity of the lime juice. So, imagine the stinging that i had to endure. Imagine the horrendous facial expressions i made when i was in pain. Just. Imagine.

I hate you but i love you, lime.

The hardship that i had to go through just to produce a few tablespoons of lime juice and lime zest... Tsk.

Will never wish the same fate to befall upon my enemies.

Wait. Maybe I would.

Ah, i just love how the batter looks like with the blueberries and raspberries folded in!

I added some flour to the berries so that it wouldn't sink to the bottom of the cake.

This cake turned out to be deliciously moist and fruity, and bursting with zesty/tangy flavour after the lime syrup had been poured onto the cake.

I liked it best when it's served warm.

My Rating: 7/10

Recipe

(Taken from BBC GoodFood Website)

For the cake

225g/8 oz softened butter, plus extra for greasing

225g/8 oz golden caster sugar

4 medium eggs

grated zest and juice of 2 limes

250g/9 oz self-raising flour, sifted with a pinch of salt, plus a little extra flour

25g/1 oz ground almonds

100g/4 oz each blueberries and raspberries

For the syrup

8 tbsp lime juice (about 4 limes)

Grated zest of 1 lime

140g/5 oz golden caster sugar

Method:

Line the base and sides of a 20cm/8 inch square cake tin, not loose based, with greaseproof paper and butter the paper. Pre heat oven to 180c/gas 4/fan oven 160c.

Cream the butter and the sugar together until light. Gradually beat in the eggs, adding a little flour towards the end to prevent curdling.

Beat in the lime zest, then fold in the flour and almonds. Fold in enough lime juice-about 3 tbsp- to give a good dropping consistency.

Fold in ¾ of the blueberries and raspberries and turn into the prepared tin. Smooth the surface, then scatter the remaining fruit on the top.

Bake for about 1 hour (cover with foil, if beginning to brown too much).

Meanwhile make the drizzle syrup: put the lime juice, zest and sugar in a small saucepan. Put over a gentle heat and stir, without allowing to bubble. The sugar should dissolve a little.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick all over with a skewer then spoon the syrup over it
To store, cool before wrapping in paper and/or foil.

Carefully remove the cake form the tin, discard the lining paper and cut into 12 portions to serve.

Serve with Chantilly cream. Whip a carton of double cream and add tbsp sifted icing sugar and tsp vanilla essence.