Lemon Drizzle Traybake

Hello everyone, how have you all been? It’s been a while since I have posted something here. The last few months have not been too good for me, and I have become kinda lazy… :(. But hey, I’m back, and here’s something that will really brighten up your day — a delicious lemon traybake with lemon syrup drizzled on top.

This sheet cake is extremely fluffy and moist, and has a slight crunch from the lemon juice- sugar mixture poured on top. It is sweet and tangy, and very fragrant, thanks to the lemon zest incorporated into the batter. The recipe calls for self-rising flour. I rarely use self-rising flour, I just substitute (1 cup all-purpose flour+ 11/2 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt) for every 1 cup of self-rising flour called for in the recipe. But since I had some leftover SR flour in my pantry, I decided to use it. The recipe suggests you make the batter in a food processor, but I used my trusty old handmixer to do the work and it worked out just fine.

Delicious eaten as it is, I have a feeling it would be even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream…yummm. Try it and let me know, will ya?

Lemon Drizzle Traybake

Recipe source: Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup sugar

3 medium eggs

2/3 cup milk

1+2/3 cups self-rising flour, sifted

11/2 tsp baking powder, sifted

Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons

1 cup granulated sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F and butter a 13-by-9 inch baking tray.

Put the butter and sugar in a food processor and beat together until pale and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, then add the milk and whizz until creamy.

Gradually add the flour and baking powder through the funnel with the motor running, then incorporate the lemon zest.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared tray, smoothing the surface, and bake for 30 minutes until golden and shrinking slightly from the sides, or a skewer comes out clean from the center.

Run a knife/spatula around the edge of the tray and prick the cake with a skewer at about 1-inch intervals.

Combine the lemon juice and granulated sugar in a bowl, stirring to evenly distribute it, then spoon over the top of the cake.

Let it cool, allowing the juice to sink into the cake.

The surface should have a lovely crystalline sheen. Cut into whatever size or shape you fancy.

Fruity Pebble Pancakes

Hola, any confetti cake lovers here? Oh, what’s that?…umm, yes…you are right, I should probably rephrase the question and put it this way, Is there anyone who doesn’t love a good confetti cake? I definitely do. There is something so happy about a confetti cake, don’t you think? So colorful, so playful, just a fun cake altogether.

The  little monkey loves pancakes and is now into colors and shapes, which led me into making these confetti pancakes using Fruity Pebbles cereal. The fruity pebbles add a lot of color and a faint punch of fruity flavor to these pancakes.

These make a perfect fun kiddie breakfast. A little something to brighten up your sleepy, cold mornings. I mean, how can you say no to these little cuties?

The original recipe makes a simple, plain pancake, which is quite good just like that. I always add a dash of vanilla extract and slightly more sugar/honey to the batter, though, for that extra flavor. These pancakes are tall, light and fluffy, and very easy to whip up. This recipe takes very well to adaptations. You can add anything from fruits to chocolate chips to well…fruity pebbles, and more.

 Packing these off to Fiesta Friday at The Novice Gardener.

Fruity Pebble Pancakes 

Original pancake recipe source: Allrecipes.com, altered.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

2 tbsp. white vinegar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cups Fruity Pebbles

Method:

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to sour.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg into the “soured” milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone. Fold in the Fruity Pebbles.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Teddy Bear Cake and Cupcakes

A quick post on a recent first birthday cake done for a little guy. It was a Teddy bear themed party and the cake was of course, a white and yellow teddy, along with a few teddy bear cupcakes. The cake was cut to shape and frosted in vanilla buttercream. Not the best pictures, but hope you enjoy!

Fresh Orange Jello

 

I must have been eight or nine when I watched Jurassic Park with my cousins. After all these years, not much about the movie remains in my memory except for those scary dinosaurs and one particular scene. Which scene, you ask? The green jelly scene, of course. The scene where the little girl (Lex…wasn’t that her name?) starts to eat a spoon of that bright green jello, sees a dinosaur (who else) and her hand starts shaking and the jello starts to wobble. Remember? And to this day, the sight of colorful jello takes me right back to those dinosaurs and my childhood  :-).

 

 

Enough about the dinos, did you know that gelatin is a superfood? I had no idea until I read this fabulous article http://wellnessmama.com/7419/gelatin-uses/ by the lovely Katie aka Wellness Mama. It contains collagen which is supposed to be good for our skin, hair, nails, joints and it even improves cellulite and tightens the skin, plus a multitude of other benefits. Now, I’m not a health nut by any means; actually, far from it, considering all the sugar, flour and butter I dabble in. But I’ve been trying to include gelatin in my diet for some time and this recipe sure makes it easy for me, plus the added benefits of fresh fruit.

 

 

Fresh Orange Jello

Recipe from Knox Gelatin

Ingredients:

4 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold fruit juice

3 cups fruit juice, heated to boiling

2 tbsp. sugar or honey, optional

Method:

Sprinkle gelatin over cold juice in a large bowl; let stand 1 min. Add hot juice and stir until gelatin completely dissolves, about 5 mins.

Stir in sugar or honey if desired. Pour into 13 by 9by 2 inch pan.

Refrigerate until firm, about 3hours. Cut into desired shape. Store in refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

Tomato Rice Croquettes

Yesterday’s lunch, Today’s snack! That is the story of these tasty little bites. They are simply tomato rice formed into oblong croquettes, breaded and deep fried. They make excellent little party appetizers or a kid-friendly quick snack.

I made this simple but yummy tomato rice (and later, croquettes) for my little guy who is completely in his ‘ terrible twos’ phase. One day he likes to eat, the next day he doesn’t even want to look at his plate, which is of course, frustrating for me. He loves his fruits, but veggies…that’s another story. He is an expert at picking apart carrots, beans and broccoli from his food, which he then neatly shoves into a corner of his high chair tray. So now I have resorted to pureeing the veggies and adding that to his favorite foods like pasta, idly and pancakes, which seems to be working, at least for now. For example, I sauté and puree beetroot/ carrots and add it to my dosa and idly batter, and he loves eating the colorful dosas and idlys.

Although I prefer my rice on the fluffier side, since I was making it for my toddler, I made it slightly mushy by adding more water than required, which helped in forming the rice into croquettes easily.

 

Tomato Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice, rinsed and soaked in water for 10 mins

2 large tomatoes, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced

1 chicken bullion cube

1 tbsp. tomato ketchup

1/4 cup green peas (optional)

21/2 cups water

Oil and salt as needed

Method:

Drain the rice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onion and sauté till it becomes soft. Add in the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the chicken cube and the tomatoes and mix well. Add the green peas, if using. Sauté till the tomato is well cooked and oil begins to separate. Add the ketchup. Check for salt – since the chicken cube has salt in it, be careful while adding more. Add the drained rice to the tomato mixture and mix well. Pour in the water, mix until combined and cook on medium-low heat until the rice is done. Serve hot.

Croquettes

Ingredients:

Tomato rice

1 egg, beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

Oil, for frying

Method:

Slightly mash and form the tomato rice into oblong croquettes. Dip them in the beaten egg, and roll in the bread crumbs. Deep fry. Serve hot.