This weekend baking was an experiment with water chestnuts.
A cart loaded with fresh water chestnuts passing by was stopped. We chose the best pieces and used half of them in the stir-fried vegetables along with some fresh beans and carrots.
Since water chestnuts do not have a perceptible flavour, we thought of adding them to the cakes. We decided on baking mini spice cakes with water chestnut puree.
Spices perk up the bakes. Fresh spice powder made with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom was added to the batter. The cakes turned out fabulous. A little dense and full of the robust aroma of the spices.
Water chestnut, popularly called singhara in Hindi, has immense health benefits. It is
Gluten-free
Low in fat
Cholesterol-free
Low in sodium
High in potassium
Rich in minerals, including calcium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus
And is a good source of energy
We enjoyed the cakes with tea. Drizzled some glaze and had after dinner. Kids sliced the cakes into half and smeared some apricot jam. The cakes were delicious.
Water Chestnut Spice Cakes
Ingredients
- 10 water chestnuts boiled and peeled
- 100 gms butter (1 stick butter)
- 1 1/4 cup caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 green cardamoms powdered
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-5 teaspoons milk as required
Glaze
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1-3 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line and grease one 7.5 inches round cake pan or grease mini bundt pans.
- Blend water chestnuts with 1-2 tablespoons milk to get a creamy satiny puree. Measure 1/2 cup.
- Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
- Add chestnut puree. Mix well.
- Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Add vanilla extract.
- In a large bowl, take flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and whisk well.
- Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients. If the batter feels dry, add warm milk to get the right consistency.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan or mini bundt pans.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the moulds. Cool on the rack.
- Mix the ingredients for glaze. The glaze should be thick.
- Serve plain or drizzle with glaze.
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