Recipes With a Twist
Posts tagged Baking
Strawberry Cake (Eggless)
Jun 22nd
Eggless Strawberry Cake
Strawberries are in season and I usually have some on hand at all times. It is almost impossible not to think about including this brightly colored and refreshing fruit in your everyday cooking. They are packed with lot more Vitamin C than some other popular citrus fruits and are a also great source of antioxidants, folate, potassium and fiber. So throw them in salads, smoothies, cakes and muffins and enjoy the health benefits along with keeping your taste buds happy!
Here is a very simple and light cake I baked for the Father’s day using fresh Strawberry puree. The cake was not overly sweet (I try not to use cake mixes whenever possible as I find them very sweet for my liking) and was bursting with Strawberry flavor. I also added some red food color to the batter to make the cake look pale pink. Serve it hot as is or cool it and frost it with frosting of your choice. I served with whipped cream topping and fresh Strawberries on top.
You need:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup melted butter (unsalted)
1 cup fresh Strawberries puree
Strawberries Puree
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
couple of drops of red food color (optional)
2 tbsp Nesquik Strawberry Powder Drink Mix (or any other little sweetened Strawberry flavor of your choice)
Whipped cream and fresh Strawberries for topping, optional
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan or bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, Nesquik Strawberry . Make a well in the center and pour in the sweetened condensed milk, orange juice, Strawberries puree, vanilla, food color and melted butter.
Strawberry Cake-Pour Batter
4. Mix well and pour into prepared pan (I usually slightly grease the pan) .
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
Eggless Strawberry Cake with Whipped Cream and Fresh Strawberries
Baked Bananas with Cinnamon Sugar
Mar 27th
By Heidemarie Swanepoel
Baked Bananas with Cinnamon Sugar
My youngest loves making food, and asked if he may add a recipe too! This was his offering – really easy for little hands, and not at all messy.
Ingredients:
1 Banana for each person
Sugar or Cinnamon Sugar
2 Tablespoons lemon or orange juice
2 tablespoons butter.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel the bananas, and slice them in half, lengthwise.
Place the bananas in a heatproof, greased dish.
Sprinkle liberally with sugar or cinnamon sugar.
Sprinkle with the lemon or orange juice.
Dot with butter.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes.
Serve hot with ice-cream.
Variation 1: Instead of baking the bananas, you could fry them in a little oil in a small pan. This is a little less healthy, but much quicker.
Variation 2: We have baked apples in exactly the same way. Do not peel the apple. Remove the core carefully, being careful to not cut through the bottom – It helps to use a small paring knife and a teaspoon. Place the butter and the cinnamon sugar inside the hollow apple.
Variation 3: Instead of baking in the oven, microwave on high for 2 – 3 minutes for the bananas, or 4-5 minutes for the apples.
(Cinnamon Sugar: Mix 1 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Use on many fruit dishes, on pancakes, and of course on the baked bananas. I always mix up a batch, and keep it handy. You never know when it might give just the zing to a sweet dish you need.)
Dates and Raisins Cake (Eggless)
Mar 23rd
Dates and Raisins Cake
Few weeks ago my neighbor baked this kind of cake and brought some for my family. I absolutely loved its rich velvety texture and natural sweetness. Moreover, it had a refreshingly different flavor from the regular chocolate or vanilla cakes. I asked for the recipe and decided to give it a try. The only thing I changed in the recipe was to add some raisins, Craisins and Vanilla extract. 
You need:
1/2 lb chopped dates (Khajoor)
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup oil, I used Canola
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
1.Sift flour and baking soda. Preheat the oven at 350F.
2. Microwave dates and milk for couple of minutes and let it soak for half about 10 minutes. Add sugar to the dates and milk mixture and blend them using a blender (I used my Magic Bullet). Add oil to the mixture and continue blending for few seconds.
3. Slowly add the flour to the dates mixture and mix with a wire whisk. Fold in the raisins and Craisins.
4. The recipe is perfect for a small 8 inch cake pan. Add the cake mixture to the prepared pan (greased and dusted) and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.
Dates and Raisins Cake
I used an egg shaped cookie cutter to cut out egg shaped cake pieces (since Easter is in less than couple of weeks). The cake is great without any icing but I decorated a few pieces to get my son’s attention. I used a fluffy whipped cream icing and sprinkled some colored sugar crystals. As my son enjoyed it even without icing, I am happily tagging this recipe as ‘Toddler Friendly’!
Chopped Dates
Sugar Kissed Valentine Hearts
Feb 14th
Sugar Kissed Valentine Hearts
It is Valentine’s day and hearts are in the air 
. I got heart shaped balloons for my son and did a heart flower project for my husband. To top it I just made a batch of sugar kissed Valentine hearts for my loved ones. These cookies are not too sweet, eggless and are perfect with tea or coffee. I usually make these round shaped but today I decided to give my heart shaped cookie cutter a try.
You need:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup oil (I use Canola)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 and 1/4th cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
Red Sugar Crystals
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line cookie sheet with foil paper.
2. Cream melted butter and sugar (use electric whisk/mix until mixture is creamy).Add vanilla to oil and add this to the butter mixture.
Cream Butter and Sugar
3. Sift together flour, cinnamon powder and baking soda.
Cookie Dough
4. Slowly combine flour with the butter/oil mixture to form dough (should not be too dry or runny/add little more flour if needed ). Cover the dough with cling wrap and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes. Depending on the size of the cookie cutter, make large balls, roll on the foil lined cookie sheet (about 1/4 inch thickness) and cut heart shaped cookies. Since this dough will be little crumbly, it is best to cut the cookies on the cookie sheet.
Sprinkle Sugar Crystals
Sugar Kissed Valentine Hearts Makes approx 36 cookies when shaped in balls, 20 hearts (depends on the size of the cookie cutter)
Alternately, you can also roll the dough into small balls, sprinkle red sugar crystals and bake for 16-18 minutes.
Pineapple Cake with Assorted Fruit Toppings
Dec 17th
I have made this type of cake several times, for family as well as friends. I make fresh pineapple sauce for the cake layers and drench the cake layers in fruit juice reserved from the pineapple chunks can for added flavor. This cake reminds me of ‘Pineapple Pastries’ we used to get in India. Always brings back happy memories!
You need:
1 box cake mix – I prefer White cake mix for this cake (Betty Crocker/Pillsbury)
1 tub whipped cream topping 16oz (thawed)
I can mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, pineapple chunks – any or all of these to decorate. For the one in picture I just used pineapple chunks and fresh strawberries
For Pineapple sauce:
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple with juice (if you don’t have crushed pineapple, puree a can pineapple chunks with its juice)
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine
Pineapple Sauce:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in crushed Pineapple with juice, water and lemon juice; add butter or margarine. Stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Simmer over low heat 2 minutes.
The sauce should be thick and not runny, so if it looks runny, simmer little bit more/adjust corn flour. let it cool
Cake:
1. Prepare two 8-9 inch cakes according to the directions on the box. let them cool.
2. Prepare pineapple sauce, let it cool
3. Cut each cake horizontally with a knife to divide in two halves.
This way you should have 4 layers of cake. don’t worry if its not too even, the filling will cover everything.
4. Prepare syrup – mix the pineapple juice, mandarin oranges syrup from the respective cans. Add some sugar if needed
5. Take one cake’s bottom most layer, poke holes with a fork, spread some syrup with a tablespoon. add enough syrup that cake looks
soaked. Now spread a layer of pineapple sauce.
6. Put the top layer of this cake on this layer. even it a bit by removing top crust. poke holes, soak with syrup. Spread a layer of whipped cream topping.
7. repeat this process for the next cake. But this time, put the bottom layer of the second cake on the whipped cream layer of first cake.
8. once the layers are ready, spread the sides and top with whipped cream topping. decorate with pineapple and orange fruit chunks and remaining sauce.
Variation: I have also tried it with mixed fruit jam instead of pineapple sauce.
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Pecans (eggless)
Dec 13th
Here is one more in the spirit of holiday season. Ever since I started making the ‘basic eggless cake’, I rarely use boxed cake mixes anymore. I find the eggless recipe more flavorful and less sugary. So far I have tried several variations with different juices and fruit purees and they have all turned out great. Today I tried with pumpkin puree and spices to make this pumkin pecan spice cake. By the way, my son loved the cake batter. He kept coming back for another bite until I put the mixing bowl in the kitchen sink.
You need:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup melted butter
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin )
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 cup chopped/or whole pecans
Whipped cream/Vanilla ice cream, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, chopped pecans and spices. Make a well in the center and pour in
the sweetened condensed milk, orange juice,pumpkin puree, vanilla and melted butter. Mix well and pour into prepared pan. Decorate whole pecans (if using whole). Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
The cake tasted great with whipped cream on top. Next I am going it try it with Vanilla ice cream!
Almond Butter Cookies (Eggless)
Dec 8th
A very close family friend taught me how to make the basic eggless cookies and I am very fond of those. These cookies come out little crumbly and are not overly sweet. I had been thinking of replacing the unsalted butter (called in the original recipe) with the almond butter to add nutty flavor and goodness of almonds. I finally gave it a try last weekend.
You need:
1 cup almond butter (unsalted butter for the basic recipe)
1 cup oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 and 1/4th cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
Red, Green sugar crystals (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 F. Line cookie sheet with foil paper.
Cream melted butter and sugar (use electric whisk/mix until mixture is creamy).
Add vanilla to oil and add this to the butter mixture.
Sift together flour and baking soda.
Slowly combine flour with the butter/oil mixture to form dough (should not be too dry or runny/add little more flour if needed ). Roll the dough into small balls and bake for 16-18 minutes. Sprinkle sugar crystals (if using) and let cookies cool little bit before moving. Makes approx 36 cookies.
The cookies did not have a very strong almond flavor, tasted good but I am little confused whether I like these or the original ones better. One of my coworkers suggested to add some almond extract with vanilla and roll the baked cookies in powdered sugar. I will certainly try it next time I make these cookies.