strawberry Archives - Sugar et al

Eggless Strawberry Cake with Rosewater

10|02|2022

Valentine’s day is around the corner so I got myself a heart shaped pan, something I have had in mind for years. I had a few recipes in mind that I wanted to give a go, with and without chocolate. This eggless strawberry cake with rosewater is super easy to make. The texture and taste are divine.

The cherrry on the cake though is that it requires no eggs or involves no softening of butter. One can add any berry, nut or flavouring and it always turns out superb. This is my base recipe to a lot of cakes.

For the frosting, you could go with simple vanilla or use rose again. Or you could use cardamom which is absolutely magical too. The cream cheese frosting is what makes the cake so irresistible.

If you like baking eggless cakes, you definitely want to try this Eggless Vanilla Cake
Rosewater lovers would love this Rosewater and Coconut cake

Eggless Strawberry Cake with Rosewater
Serves 8-10

1 and 1/2 cups self raising flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup greek yoghurt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp rosewater
1 cup strawberries, roughly chopped
strawberries, for decoration
dried rose buds and petals, for decoration

Cream Cheese Frosting
60 g unsalted butter, room temperature
120 g cream cheese, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

To make the cake Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of a 7 inch heart shaped cake pan and line the base with baking paper.

In a large bowl place the flour, sugar and baking soda and stir together to mix. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients, yoghurt, milk, oil and rosewater. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold in gently (do not over-mix). Slowly fold in the strawberries.
Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through (a skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean). Remove from oven. Leave aside for 5 minutes. Gently loosen the sides with a blunt knife by running it around the sides. Turn the cake over onto a cooling rack.

Once cool, pipe or spread cream cheese frosting. Decorate with fresh strawberries and dried rose petals.

To make the cream cheese frosting,

Combine butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat using a stand or an electric mixer unlit smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar in small batches until completely combined. Add the vanilla extract. Store in the fridge until needed.

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake with Aeroplane Jelly Chocolate Dessert Mix

4|08|2019

Disclaimer –This post is brought to you by Aeroplane Jelly. As always, all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

The last few weeks of winter! It’s funny how our seasons are diagonally opposite to the rest of the world. The great thing though is that it gives us the chance to whip up cosy, indulgent treats while the rest of the world is enjoying a berry smoothie. Now, would you rather drink a berry smoothie or eat a slice of this indulgent tower of chocolatey deliciousness?

I’m always looking for creative, new desserts with chocolate. It’s especially fun to experiment with different flavour and filling combinations when you have a trusty, go-to chocolate cake recipe. I decided to enhance my layered chocolate mud cake with another level of decadence. Sandwiched between the layers of chocolate cake, is a Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix that not only makes life easier as it is so easy to make and use, but it gives the cake a more decadent finish. Oozy layers of pudding like chocolate accompanied by fresh winter strawberries and rich mud cake. Need I say more?

If you live in Australia, you already know the quintessentially Aussie favourite, Aeroplane Jelly. I mean, hasn’t every Aussie kid grown up with Aeroplane Jelly and have their favourite memories of brightly coloured birthday treats involving their favourite flavour of jelly? But then is it really just kids? I can vouch for the number of jelly fans simply by the way people react when my desserts involve a jelly component in them. So when I discovered the Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix, I already knew it was going to be a life changing find. Think, trifles, tarts, and fillings for eclairs, toppings for pancakes and waffles, dip for your churros or just by itself with your choice of fruit. Such a handy mix to have in your pantry.

Coming to this cake, it is as simple to put together as it looks. No fancy ingredients or equipment, just a showstopper that can easily turn your celebrations into a memorable one.
If you’d like your chocolate filling to be sweeter, add a few tablespoons of castor sugar or honey according to taste.
If you do not have 6 inch pans, you could go for larger pans and two layers instead of three. However, please keep in mind the baking time would increase in that scenario.

Chocolate and Strawberry Cake
Makes a 6 inch, 3-layered round cake

1 Aeroplane Jelly Chocolate flavoured Dessert Mix
250 g unsalted butter
200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
100 ml milk
1 and 2/3 cup self-raising flour
¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 cup castor sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
1 punnet fresh strawberries, hulled, sliced
dark chocolate, shaved

Method: Prepare Aeroplane Jelly Dessert Mix according to package instructions. Add sugar if you like it sweeter (I added 2 tablespoons of castor sugar). Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C (140 degrees c for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of three 6 inch cake pans and line the bases with baking paper.
Place the chocolate, butter and milk in a medium saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir occasionally until butter and chocolate have melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat, leave aside to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, sift flour and cocoa into a large bowl. Add the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time until well incorporated. Gradually fold in the chocolate mixture and sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until smooth.

Divide the batter between the three prepared pans. Bake for 40-45 mins or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs but no raw cake batter. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool in pan, then turn out gently onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Once cool, place a layer of cake on a cake stand or a plate. Spread half cup of the dessert mix with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Arrange sliced strawberries as displayed in the pictures. Place the second layer and repeat the process. Cover with the last layer and decorate with sliced strawberries. Decorate with shaved chocolate. Enjoy!

Baked Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake with Western Union for Mother’s Day

13|05|2018

This post is brought to you by Western Union. All opinions expressed in this post as always are entirely my own.

Mother’s Day every year is a walk down memory lane. Precious moments from childhood, the countless times Mum put us first in her life, her persistent encouragement through all these years and the lessons that she taught us for life. Some of my fondest memories growing up were when I would watch her in the kitchen cook with deft and skill with a handful of ingredients and turn them into a delicious 5 course meal. She was (still is) a clever cook, always ready with some useful tip or trick up her sleeve. ‘Cooking doesn’t have to be cumbersome.’ she would say whilst entertaining a large number of guests every weekend who were always in awe of her. The most important culinary lesson I’ve learnt from her that I embrace all the time in my kitchen- simple ingredients and lots of colour. Today Mum is far away back in India but I feel closer to her by recreating her ‘sondesh’ with a modern touch to it for my little boys.

I’m absolutely delighted to be partnering with Western Union for this very special day. As a result of moving money across 200+ countries, Western Union’s customers are incredibly diverse-just like the world we live in and the food we eat.
One of the simplest ways that we can appreciate and express cultural diversity is by sharing food. Meals are much more than food on a plate. They are ways we can find common ground. The comfort that comes with a delicious recipe lovingly prepared by Mom is universal. Western Union believes in celebrating the little things like the food we eat, places we’ve been, our Mums or the reason why we send funds because they are important part of what makes us, who we are.

‘Sondesh’ was a popular delicacy in Bengali households when I was growing up. Three simple ingredients (chana/ricotta cheese, sugar and ground cardamom) and whoa! You have a dessert that is light and just melts in your mouth. Mum would go about garnishing them with various nuts like pistachios, dried orange peel, spices and they would look like they could give the local sweet shops a run for their money. Yes, it’s obvious I inherited my sweet tooth from her! This Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake is inspired by my Mum’s ‘sondesh’ recipe. It has the same ingredients except that it is baked and uses eggs to set the filling. Thanks to the rise of global citizenship, we can find new ways all over the world to add a unique touch to our Mother’s traditional recipes while sharing with friends. To decorate the cheesecake, I’ve used strawberries that have been soaked in rosewater (another favourite from childhood). It’s a really simple, light-crust less cheesecake that is so refreshing to taste.

So, tell me dear readers, what is your favourite dish cooked by your Mum? Do you make it just the way Mum did or do you have a version inspired by it? I’m really excited to know!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful Mums, Grandmums, would-be Mums and anyone who plays this role in your life!

Cardamom Ricotta Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake that serves 6-8 people

750 g smooth ricotta
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 tsp powdered cardamom
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Method : Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan-forced ovens). Grease the base and sides of an 8 inch Springform pan. With an electric mixer or a hand mixer, beat the ricotta, sugar and powdered cardamom together till smooth. Add the egg, a little at a time and continue to beat till fully blended.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan gently a few times on the bench top to get rid of air bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a crust starts to form all over the cheesecake (the top will become light golden brown) and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn off oven, leave the door ajar and let cheesecake cool completely before releasing the sides.

Refrigerate until serving. When ready to serve, top with rosewater macerated strawberries. Decorate with edible flowers.

Rosewater Macerated Strawberries
1 punnet strawberries (250 g), hulled and sliced
1 tablespoon castor sugar
1 tsp rosewater

Method : Combine strawberries, castor sugar and rosewater in a medium bowl. Cover with cling film and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
Note : Powdered cardamom is available at most local supermarkets as well as Indian stores. Rosewater can be bought online as well as in Indian supermarkets.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake

19|08|2017

What do you do when you have left-over lemon curd and ricotta cheese at home? It happens, right? Especially the lemon curd. You throw them together, add in a few other ingredients (all of which are in your pantry) and voila…you have a cheesecake! It looks and tastes every bit like a lemon cheesecake but it’s lighter, healthier and a whole lot simpler. Notice the golden crust all around? It’s created by baking the ricotta. In other words, you completely skip the cookie crust or shortbread base and all the butter that goes with it and you still end up with a golden crust and a soft, creamy interior.

This Baked Ricotta Cheesecake is truely a delight to make and eat. If you’ve ever tasted baked ricotta otherwise, it’s a healthy breakfast or dessert option. However, it is a bit bland and does not really have any flavour by itself. By adding lemon curd to the recipe, not only does it taste lemony and delicious but it’s way more convenient than juicing and zesting lemons. I’ve used store bought lemon curd for mine to keep it quick and easy. You’ll be done with the mixing in 10 minutes but the cheesecake takes a bit of time to bake. I don’t remember last when I’ve opened my oven door to take a peek as many times I’ve done for this one to see the golden crust. And then you patiently wait for it cool and set which is such a torture I tell you. But hang in there for you will be rewarded soon. Top the cheesecake with fresh fruit, fruit coulis, nuts, chocolate shavings or anything you like.

I’ve noticed that the cheesecake hardens up a bit if kept in the refrigerator, so it’s best eaten at room temperature. If you are planning on making it ahead of any occasion, you could store in the fridge but let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before you serve.

Baked Ricotta Cheesecake
Makes an 8 inch round cheesecake

1 kg fresh ricotta (full cream or low fat)
1 cup lemon curd (home made or store bought)
1 cup castor sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Fresh strawberries, to serve
Strawberry coulis/sauce to serve

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C for fan forced ovens). Grease the base and sides an 8 inch springform pan.
With an electric mixer or an hand mixer, beat the ricotta, lemon curd, sugar and vanilla together till smooth. Add the egg, a little at a time and continue to beat till fully blended.

Pour the mixture in to the prepared pan. Smooth the top and tap the pan gently a few times on the bench top to get rid of air bubbles. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until a crust starts to form all over the cheesecake (the top will become golden) and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Turn off oven, leave the door ajar and let cheesecake cool completely before releasing the sides.

Served best at room temperature with fresh strawberries. and strawberry coulis.