Summer is the season of Hisaalu in the Hills. Soft, tangy
and sweet Hisaalu are the Golden Himalayan Raspberries also known as The Yellow Himalayan Raspberries ( Rubus ellipticus). Hisaalu grows in the hills in the forests and on the
roadsides.
The shrub is stout and thorny and it needs certain expertise to pluck
the ripe fruit as the leaves also have bristles. You have to carefully put your
hand under the ripe bunch and the ripe fruits fall off with a gentle nudge. Ripe berries are sweet and juicy. The seeds
are crunchy. It ripens around early June to mid- June and is much sought after
by children, villagers, and birds.
Children often stop by the bushes while
coming back from the schools and amidst loud chatter and laughter they love
collecting and eating the juicy berries. It is believed that the berries are
the source of energy and were eaten by the travelers going uphill.
We have a lot of Hisaalu shrubs in our area. We used some in our cake and
baked an Eggless Hisaalu Cake. We mashed some berries and added to the batter.
We also added some whole berries to the batter.
The crunch of the seeds and
juicy berries in the crumb make a delicious cake.
This cake can be made with
any local berries.
Eggless Vanilla Hisaalu Cake | Eggless Vanilla Cake with Berries
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole grain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raw sugar / unrefined cane sugar
- ½ cup butter (1 stick butter)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup Hisaalu (Himalayan Golden raspberries) or any seasonal berries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line one 8 inch round cake pan.
- In a bowl, mix milk and vinegar. Stir and keep for 10 minutes.
- Whisk together first three ingredients in a large bowl.
- Beat butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.
- Add flour to the butter-sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix well with a spatula ensuring that all the ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Mash ¼ cup berries. Fold in mashed berries and ¼ cup whole berries into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle remaining berries on top.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven. Let it rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on the rack.
- Slice when cold or slice the next day.
Note : You may use any local berries. Use all-purpose flour for a lighter crumb.