Spiced Strawberry- Banana Jam

I am not a jam person. But I just had to try and make this once. I tried adding spices like cinnamon and dried red chilly flakes to cut the sugariness of the jam. Worked well. I didn't even bother spreading it on a toast. Simply took a spoonful (or two... or three...) and licked it off watching tv. I shouldn't have added the banana at all though. It has a really strong flavour and even a little goes a long way. Banana lovers may make this jam using just banana.

400 grams of small strawberries, washed, patted dry, chopped

100 grams of banana chopped
350 grams of castor sugar
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Cinnamon 2 tsp, 3 Cloves, Red chilly flakes 3 tsp

Place the strawberries, lemon juice, zest and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat over low heat and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves.
Boil the jam jar for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and boil the mixture rapidly for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices (powder the cloves)
Place a tsp of jam in the fridge and after 20 minutes wrinkle the surface using your fingers .If the jam doesn't wrinkle the first time but sticks to your finger like a thick liquid rather than jam, keep boiling it for another 5 to 10 minutes and then test again. If jam is ready then remove the saucepan from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the edges of the jam sets slightly. Pour jam into a warm jam jar till the brim (warming will ensure moisture is not present) and then let it cool completely before sealing.

Keep refrigerated.

I do not know how long this will keep. A month maybe. We'll find out. It's been about 20 days and the jam is stil fine. Maybe it'll last longer.

Experiment with spices you like. Add dry ginger powder if you like.

Strawberry Shortcakes

In a sudden flash of inspiration brought two packets of fresh strawberries. Baked a chocolate strawberry cake (threw strawberries in the chocolate cake batter, was quite good actually), made some strawberry jam (recipe shall follow shortly) and was still left with some. So I tried a hand at making shotcakes.

Mix

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick butter, chilled
2/3 to 3/4 cup half and half, milk, or cream

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and cubes pof chilled butter. Mix using your fingertips. Mix on until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few pea-size chunks of butter left in the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork stir in the cream or milk, just until dough is moist. Be very careful not to overwork. The dough doesn't have to hold together well at this point. Let the dough stand for a minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 2 or 3 times, until it is holding together and is less sticky.
Gently pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into biscuits with a floured round cutter. Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Brush on a little milk or cream and arrange some strawberries in the center. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees, until risen and golden brown.

Let cool before sprinkling some icing sugar on top. Serve with whipped cream.

The texture of a shortcake was a cross between a cake and cookie. I felt , as I do with puff pastries as well, that too much effort goes into making them compared to the speed with which they vanish from the plate and you are left wondering whether toiling for an hour was worth it!

Strawberry and Cream Sponge Cake

Strawberries and Cream are the quintessential pair that can never go wrong. So when I decided to cover a sponge cake with the two I dint go through any nervous birth pangs- I knew it will be good.

The question for many is- will the sponge cake in question will be spongy enough? I want to share how I make sponge cakes. I have followed recipes that have gone wrong but with this method you have a good chance of ending up with a light, airy, very spongy cake.

Heat oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. Grease and dust an 8 inch cake tin.

Separate yolks of 3 eggs. Cream together all 3 egg yolks, 1 cup of castor sugar, 1/3 cup butter or malai (the layer of cream that settles on boiled milk as it cools down). Using malai here sounds odd but you have got to trust me when I say it results in the moistest and softest of cakes. Continue beating egg yolks, sugar and butter or malai, whatever you are using, till sugar somewhat dissolves and mixture looks creamy.

Now seive 1 cup self raising flour (maida), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda together. As you seive this dry mixture, keep the seive few inches above the pan in which the mixture seives and falls. This will capture more air into it.

Mix the dry ingredients into the egg yolk, butter/malai and sugar mixture. Mix well but avoid overmixing.

Now beat the 3 egg whites you had. Beat swiftly in one direction till it becomes frothy and light and soft peaks start to form. You must always beat the egg white just before using them because it doesnt stand well. After just a few minutes it will loose all that froth you worked so hard for.

Fold in the egg white mixture gently into the batter. Mix into a homogenous mixture. Again, dont over mix.

Your batter is ready. Pour over the lined cake tin from a distance of a few inches or a foot. As the batter falls in sheets in the tin, it will capture more air.

Bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can use smaller cake moulds and bake two of these instead of one big one. With two cakes, though smaller, you can have more layers.

Cool the cake completely. Slice horizontally into layers using a long sharp knife or a wet thread. Heat 3/4 cup of water with 1 tbsp of sugar till sugar dissolves. Cool and pour over the layers and let the layers soak in the syrup.

Whip 250 ml cream with 1/2 cup icing sugar till soft peaks form. Apply on bottom most layer. Place the next layer on top. Continue till you run out of layers. Cover the sides with the whipped cream icing.

Slice strawberries and arrange around the iced cake and on top in any pattern you like.

Cognac Fruits Flambe`

Ever had those moments when your hubby comes back raving about the food that his friend's wife made and how good it was and blah blah blah? Its maddening isnt it...? And then they just dont get why we are mad at them? Sigh...

Anyway this is how you get back at them. Make them a dessert that will make them forget their favorite dessert destinations. The recipe I am about to share will make you look like a pro (with the flambe`ing and all) and will take you 15 minutes or less to prepare and serve.



Chop 1/2 cup Strawberries, 1/4 cup pineapples, 1/4 cup apples, 1/4 cup grapes(keep whole), and 1/2 cup bananas.
Heat 2tbsp butter in pan, Add the fruits and sweat for 4 minutes on high heat. Add 1 cup brown sugar and a drop of vanilla essence. Cook for another 3 minutest till sugar melts and fruits have released juices.



Now take about 1/4 cup cognac (use dark rum as alternative if cognac not available) and heat it. Do not boil just warm.
Light a matchstick or cigarette lighter. Pour the warm brandy over fruits touching the flame. the alcohol will catch fire and flambe`the fruits. Make sure to turn heat off otherwise the steam of the fruits will keep extinguishing the flame of the matchstick.

I served this on top of some roughly crumbled brownie. I am thinkin on serving this over a slice of plum cake with some icecream on the side..Yummm.. Cant wait...