Sugar et al, Author at Sugar et al

Purple Carrot Cake

9|06|2015

A visit to the Farmer’s markets inevitably results in two, sometimes more salads at home. I don’t know about you but I get completely blown away by beautiful, fresh produce. I may go looking for something and come back with a lot more. Most often the ‘more’ will have add-on-s (leaves, stems, branches attached to them) and I will struggle to push them into my refrigerator. I always have the option of discarding the unwanted stuff but I am food blogger…there is nothing called as ‘unwanted’. Of course I need the purple carrots with their tops on for my photos.

My favorite farmer’s market is located about 20 kilometers from home. Yet I’d go there every weekend if I can. Before we left this time, hubby told me ‘I am not having salad tonight!’
‘Well, then let’s move next to the farmer’s market’ I replied convinced that a long trip needs to be justified with a substantial buy.
In the process every time, we end up buying a lot, eating a lot and by evening all that one has room for is a salad and dessert (that’s because I bring them back too…like the gorgeous quince frangipane tart I bought this time:-))

Even though I planned a golden beetroot salad for dinner and I had my stash of tarts and slices, I quickly baked this purple carrot cake as soon as we got back home. This is a healthier carrot cake with wholemeal flour, buttermilk and honey. I have used this recipe earlier from Taste to make healthy carrot muffins. It is not too sweet and as I suspected ,the kids didn’t seem to enjoy it plain. A little butterscotch sauce on top and it went down quickly with them. We adults enjoyed the cake as it was with cups of coffee. Just so perfect for a winter afternoon. The purple carrots don’t taste any different than their popular counterpart but they do add a lovely hue to the interior. This is different than a beetroot cake where the entire cake takes up the deep reddish-brown colour.
Given a choice, I would prefer this unique speckled look.
The recipe can be totally adapted to use regular carrots and makes a great, healthy lunchbox treat.

Purple Carrot Cake
Serves 6-8

1 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
1 cup plain self-raising flour
1/3 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
11/2 cups grated purple carrot
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C (170 degrees C for fan-force) Grease and line the base of a 19 cm round cake pan with baking paper.

Sift flours and spice into a bowl. Stir in sugar and carrot. Whisk honey, eggs, buttermilk and oil together in a jug. Add honey mixture to flour. Mix gently until just combined (do not over-mix).

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

3 Simple and Quick Weeknight Recipes With Salmon

2|06|2015

Dinners with Salmon are common in my house. Since salmon is quick to cook, healthy and delicious the idea is to add it to dishes that cook faster. Then dinner is always a breeze. I also love the fact that I can pick up a pack from the supermarket that is just ready to cook…no prepping! Since salmon can be cooked in so many ways, flavored with a variety of sauces and marinades and served alongside a diverse range of vegetables, grain or meal, there is no end to the number of recipes one can have. I decided to share a few of my favorite ways of to eat Salmon today.

Sticky Asian Salmon with Soba Noodles Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and a great option for people on a gluten free diet (make sure you read the label properly). It also cooks very quickly which is the reason I pair it often with salmon. For some heat, you could add chopped red chillies to the marinade.

Sticky Asian Salmon With Soba Noodles And Greens
serves 4

4 skinless salmon fillets
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 tsp olive oil
Asian greens (chopped broccoli, snow peas, green peas, chives), to serve
salt, for seasoning

Mix the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a bowl. Use 2 tablepoons of the mixture to marinate the salmon. Place a frying pan over medium heat. Add 1 tsp olive oil. When heated, pan fry the salmon fillets till cooked to your liking (about 2-3 mins on each side). Remove the fillets and keep aside.
Meanwhile, cook the noodles as per instructions on the back of the pack. Drain well. Rinse. Leave aside.
In the same frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the remaining greens. Pour the remaining marinade and noodles and mix till combined. Season.
Serve the noodles warm along with the salmon.

Roasted Maple Salmon With Pumpkin, Fennel and Truss Tomatoes : This is a great weeknight dinner option where you whisk up a quick sauce, chop a few vegetables and roast everything together. The oven does most of the work! There is sweetness from the maple syrup and heat from the chillies so you experience a wonderful balance of flavour.

Roasted Maple Salmon With Pumpkin, Fennel And Truss Tomatoes
Serves 4

4 salmon fillets (skinless or with skin), cleaned, prepped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp mixed herbs
salt, to season
10-12 cherry truss tomatoes
2-3 fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered
1/2 butternut pumpkin, cut into wedges

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C (200 degrees C fan forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the olive oil, maple syrup, crushed garlic, chilli flakes, mixed herbs together in a small bowl.

Place the salmon, pumpkin, fennel and tomatoes on the prepared baking tray. Pour the oil and maple syrup mixture all over. Gently toss to combine. Roast for 15 minutes or till salmon is cooked through.
Remove tray from oven. Move the salmon aside and wrap in foil to keep warm. Roast the vegetables for a further 10 minutes or until soft and lightly browned. Serve warm with noodles, pasta or bread.

Coconut Poached Salmon : This is an old recipe from my archives. One that is made over and over again at home. Salmon fillets are poached in coconut milk along with a few Asian ingredients. I am not going to rewrite the recipe as it remains pretty much the same. The only extra thing I have added here is a pinch of turmeric. The original recipe did not have it. You take your pick…with or without turmeric! It tastes amazing both ways.

Get the recipe here

Raspberry Cupcakes With Rose Infused Cream

25|05|2015

In the last two years, when food is placed on the table, my family has developed a ritual of asking me ‘Is it ready for eating?’ Basically what it means is ‘Have you finished taking photos?’ I can’t appreciate this enough. I do feel guilty many times and I am sure this is something most food bloggers would relate to. I also have a little boy at home who has a major weakness for sweet food, especially cupcakes. He cannot wait for the cupcakes to cool down from the oven let alone allow me to frost them. As a result, cupcakes are not the most photographed objects in my house.

Last week the little boy was unwell and stayed back home while his brother went to school alone. Both were sad as they waved goodbye. Such occasions have been rare between them in the past and the only time they’ve been separated is possibly when either one was sick. To cheer him up, I read to him, we watched his favorite cartoons, played videos of them as babies but nothing seemed to lift up his mood. Then I gave him the option of baking with me. I was not surprised that he wanted to bake cupcakes. This 5 year old boy of mine is quite a pro with cookies and cupcakes. He taught me to make Dutch Pepernoten cookies recently after a cooking demo at school. With him around the kitchen, I don’t have to remember weights. He knows them by heart! We baked a batch of double chocolate that he frosted with nutella and these raspberry cupcakes. With the intention of making a quick frosting, I subbed buttercream with whipped cream. I infused in a little rosewater and it tasted amazing. The little boy just like his Mum, loves sprinkles, colours and piping nozzles. He chose the paper liners and colour of the frosting. Fortunately he was obsessed with the chocolate ones and that gave me time to photograph these. Not many, though!

The cupcakes are moist, not overly sweet and light from the sponge like texture and freshly whipped cream. The best thing about them is the flavour. The raspberry-rose combination rocks! I am keen on using them together in many different desserts. Overall, this is a simple recipe. Just make sure you are careful with rosewater. Too much spoils the flavor. The recipe uses frozen raspberries which should be available round the year at your local supermarket. You could use fresh as well.

Raspberry Cupcakes With Rose Infused Cream
Makes 10 regular cupcakes

100 g Butter, at room temperature, chopped
1/2 cup Caster Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
2 Eggs
1 cup Self-raising Flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp baking powder)
1/3 cup Milk
1 cup Frozen Raspberries, thawed

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degreec C) for fan forced and line 10 medium muffin tins with paper cases. Using electric beaters, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in half the flour, then all the milk, then remaining flour, until just combined. Fold through raspberries. Spoon into prepared cases. Bake for 20 mins, or until the cakes are springy to a light touch. Leave in tin for 5 mins, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool.
Once cooled completely, fill up a piping bag and pipe rosettes of rose infused cream on the cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.

Rose Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream, cold
11/2 tsp castor sugar (or as per sweetness required)
1/2 tsp rosewater
1-2 drops food coloring (optional)

Place all the ingredients other than the food coloring together in the bowl of your electric mixer and whip up till stiff peaks form. Add the food colour and gently fold in till well blended. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

Chocolate, Raspberry And Pomegranate Clafoutis

20|05|2015

In the last couple of years we have changed houses several times. Renting gives you the absolute freedom to explore different neighborhoods, scenery, lifestyles, landscape, people etc. When we packed our bags, a few years ago and left for a new country, I doubt if we ever imagined that a rather large part of our belongings would still remain in those bags, lest we move again within the finite boundaries of a dynamic country. I still have boxes that were taped years ago and remain unopened till this day. Old books, albums, glassware. showpieces and so on. Why unwrap them when you might have to pack again? On the other hand, the things we acquired in recent times continued to grow along with storage to accommodate them. Choosing a place to live, initially is more about the external aspects than internal ones. Easy access to stores, parks, hospitals and proximity to the buzz of the city centre. Over time these get replaced by a different set of priorities. For us it was the school for the boys. Fortunately we were able to move closer to the school which was a blessing considering the significant amount of time they will be spending there.

Lately, we have been craving the sense of security and settling down that comes with owning a house. Where you unpack for a good 20 years at least! You don’t fret ovet a teeny chocolate stain on the carpets because the house you are living in belongs to someone else. Where you can colour the walls in ombre shades and hang pictures of children and cakes side by side. Over the last few weeks, we have been looking at properties in various locations and it dawned upon me that my dream house would be a combination of bits and ideas from 3 display homes that I have been to and an old house. Probably that is why it is a dream! The only challenge is the school. Do we limit ourselves by the distance to the school or do we focus on the suburb even though commute time may go up. Heaps to consider, assess and evaluate and I have been quite preoccupied with these thoughts.

Fortunately, there is not much to think about when deciding a quick dessert for the colder months. It is clafoutis for me, over crumble this autumn. Simple, quick,warm and full of variety. If you look up clafoutis recipes, the most common ones are the cherry, peach and berry clafoutis. Every time I tasted this beautiful dessert before this, I wondered what would stop someone from adding more texture to the batter. Without a doubt, classics are a hit for a reason and I would lick my spoon every time I had one. But I am equally adventurous and I had to put in a few other elements to find out myself, if is does any justice to the dessert. I was happy with the result. A warm chocolate flavored sweet treat, melt in your mouth, tart raspberries, nutty hazelnuts and sweet crunchy pomegranate seeds.

Now you tell me, would you dislike eating something like that? Do you like to be experiment in the kitchen? What would you consider before owning a house…convenience, space, stylish interiors or comfort?

Chocolate, Raspberry And Pomegranate Clafoutis

1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup hazelnuts, skinned, toasted
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup unprocessed cocoa powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon
Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a 9 inch oven proof dish (I used a tart pan) with melted butter. Place the raspberries, pomegranate seeds and hazelnuts on the base of the pan. Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, cocoa, and sugar in a large bowl. Do not over mix the batter. Pour the batter over the raspberries, pomegranates and hazelnuts. Bake for 40 mins or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.. Let clafoutis rest for 10 minutes at room temperature, then dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm with fresh cream or ice cream.