Date and Walnut cake...
In my last five posts here, I have talked about food and/or posted photos. Today, I thought I'd combine those two and come up with a post that has food photos! Ain't I clever?! ;-)
Last weekend, I tried my hand at a typically British recipe (Scottish to be exact)... the Date and Walnut cake, which is supposed to be a tearoom favourite. This post is a shot at walking through the process of making this cake. The measures of ingredients and the recipe itself are merely guidelines for you to follow. Because, unless you are a stickler for exact measures or directions, cooking is (or should be) a process of improvisation and creativity.
Step One
Take one and a half cup of plain flour, one cup of granulated sugar, two teaspoons of butter (I used Amul butter) or margarine, half a cup each of chopped dates and walnuts, about a cup of water, a pinch of baking soda and a few drops of vanilla essence. Make sure the walnuts are chopped or better still, broken into small pieces by hand. The same goes for dates, as you can see in the photo.
Step Two
Boil the water. Then add the dates to the hot water and leave for a while. You could add the baking soda now, but I added it later. After a while, add a cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of butter to the date and water mixture and mix well. The water being warm, will dissolve the sugar readily. But I say, let some sugar granules remain in the mixture. You'll see why!
Step Three
The dates start releasing their unique sweetness into the mixture and you can see it taking the colour of the dates. Now add the walnut pieces and continue mixing. Then let the mixture stand for a few minutes. After this, add a few drops of vanilla essence to the mixture. These essences are usually synthetic and adding more than just a few drops will give off a strong smell which some people find quite off-putting. At this point, I usually dip a finger in the mixture and taste my handiwork thus far! :-D
Step Four
Add a pinch of baking soda to the flour and then add a small amount of the flour and start stirring the mixture. Continue adding small amounts while stirring continuously. I've been told to keep stirring in a single direction i.e. if you're going clockwise, keep at it... don't churn anti-clockwise. After you're done churning, the mixture should be thick in consistency. Now lightly grease a baking tin and sprinkle a little flour on it. Pour the mixture into the tin.
Finally...
Pre-heat the oven to 200° C. Then chuck the tray into the hot oven and set the timer for about 35-40 minutes with the temperature set to anything between 180-200° C. At this temperature, as the cake bakes, the sugar granules that may still be in the cake mixture will caramelize nicely. Also worth noting is the fact that walnuts are tremendously rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are excellent in keeping cholesterol levels down. So after about 35-40 minutes, the cake should be done. So stop the oven, bring the baking tin out and let it cool before cutting the cake into pieces.
There you have it! ... date and walnut cake!! Go right ahead and feel Scottish while you enjoy it! :-D
Ohh by the way... Happy Independence Day!!
Cherish your freedoms and guard them with vigour. More importantly, give others the same freedoms that you expect for yourself. :-)
Last weekend, I tried my hand at a typically British recipe (Scottish to be exact)... the Date and Walnut cake, which is supposed to be a tearoom favourite. This post is a shot at walking through the process of making this cake. The measures of ingredients and the recipe itself are merely guidelines for you to follow. Because, unless you are a stickler for exact measures or directions, cooking is (or should be) a process of improvisation and creativity.
Step One
Take one and a half cup of plain flour, one cup of granulated sugar, two teaspoons of butter (I used Amul butter) or margarine, half a cup each of chopped dates and walnuts, about a cup of water, a pinch of baking soda and a few drops of vanilla essence. Make sure the walnuts are chopped or better still, broken into small pieces by hand. The same goes for dates, as you can see in the photo.
Step Two
Boil the water. Then add the dates to the hot water and leave for a while. You could add the baking soda now, but I added it later. After a while, add a cup of granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of butter to the date and water mixture and mix well. The water being warm, will dissolve the sugar readily. But I say, let some sugar granules remain in the mixture. You'll see why!
Step Three
The dates start releasing their unique sweetness into the mixture and you can see it taking the colour of the dates. Now add the walnut pieces and continue mixing. Then let the mixture stand for a few minutes. After this, add a few drops of vanilla essence to the mixture. These essences are usually synthetic and adding more than just a few drops will give off a strong smell which some people find quite off-putting. At this point, I usually dip a finger in the mixture and taste my handiwork thus far! :-D
Step Four
Add a pinch of baking soda to the flour and then add a small amount of the flour and start stirring the mixture. Continue adding small amounts while stirring continuously. I've been told to keep stirring in a single direction i.e. if you're going clockwise, keep at it... don't churn anti-clockwise. After you're done churning, the mixture should be thick in consistency. Now lightly grease a baking tin and sprinkle a little flour on it. Pour the mixture into the tin.
Finally...
Pre-heat the oven to 200° C. Then chuck the tray into the hot oven and set the timer for about 35-40 minutes with the temperature set to anything between 180-200° C. At this temperature, as the cake bakes, the sugar granules that may still be in the cake mixture will caramelize nicely. Also worth noting is the fact that walnuts are tremendously rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are excellent in keeping cholesterol levels down. So after about 35-40 minutes, the cake should be done. So stop the oven, bring the baking tin out and let it cool before cutting the cake into pieces.
There you have it! ... date and walnut cake!! Go right ahead and feel Scottish while you enjoy it! :-D
Ohh by the way... Happy Independence Day!!
Cherish your freedoms and guard them with vigour. More importantly, give others the same freedoms that you expect for yourself. :-)