Vanilla Fig Cake is an incredibly delicious cake with loads of fig bits in every bite. The crust comes out to be a beautiful brown and the crumb is super soft. This is a wonderful tea cake. It is delicious and healthy. 

Early summer in the hills is enthralling. The traces of Spring is still perceptible in the colours of wildflowers and in the luxuriance of ferns. Rhododendron is blooming in all glory in the oak forest.

The bunches of velvety red flowers in the midst of the grand Oaks break the green monotony. 

A hoard of wildflowers covers the ground in the orchard. These look like stars in the firmament. 

Bees and butterflies are busy foraging.  Small bees also called wild bees that throng the flowers are important for pollination. More bees mean more fruits in the orchard. Everything in the universe is interlinked.

The trail to our home that passes through the Oak thicket is a carpet of dry leaves and rhododendron petals. The scent of wildflowers and the incessant bird songs make it a pleasurable walk.  

Back home, we sliced the Vanilla Fig cake baked the previous day. With a cup of hot ginger tea, it seemed to be the best antidote to drive away the exhaustion.

This is an incredibly delicious cake with loads of fig bits in every bite. The crust comes out to be a beautiful brown and crumb is super soft. This is a wonderful tea cake. It is delicious and healthy.

Eggless Wholegrain Vanilla Fig Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch salt
• ¾ cup unrefined cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon flax meal
• 3 tablespoons water
• ½ cup oil
• ¾ cup warm milk
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 medium size dry figs

Instructions

1. In a deep bowl, mix the flax meal with 3 tablespoons water. Whisk and let rest for 10 minutes. It will become thick and gel-like.
2. With the help of kitchen scissors, cut figs into very small pieces. Make sure to cut fig into small pieces. Large pieces will sink in the bottom of the batter. Toss the chopped pieces in two teaspoons of flour, Keep aside.
3. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Grease and line one 7 inch round cake pan. (I recommend a round cake pan. I baked mine in a loaf pan and it took a very long time to bake)
4. Whisk together first four ingredients in a large bowl. Keep aside.
5. In another deep bowl, take oil, warm milk, and vanilla essence. Mix well. Add Flax gel and mix till you get a uniform mixture.
6. Add dry ingredients and mix well to get a smooth batter. Fold in chopped figs. Reserve some to sprinkle on top.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Level the top. Sprinkle some chopped figs on top.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top turns golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Remove from the pan. Cool in the rack. Slice the next day.

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Orange Delight is an incredibly soft and moist Orange Cake. The juice and zest of the fresh oranges makes is a citrusy heaven

Early morning silence is shredded by the cacophony of White Crested Laughing Thrush that comes in groups.

 A group of four perched on a tree and their shrill calls resonated in the valley. 

The countryside is bathed in the brilliant summer hues. The barren patches are grassy and green. The trees sway in the warming breeze, donning the verdant hues. Far far away, we spotted a pair of Collared Doves on the higher branches of the silk cotton tree. 

Summer is arriving in our land drifting in on the Spring wind.

Last weekend, we baked Orange Delight. It is an Orange cake with potatoes. The cake is light and fluffy and a delicious change from the conventional recipe. The inspiration for this cake comes from a book that was discovered in the unreachable upper shelves of the kitchen while cleaning. With the juice and zest of the local oranges, the cake turned out to be a real Orange Delight.

There is something charming about the old recipes. This recipe comes from the book “The Popular Potato Best Recipes“ by Valwyn Mc Monigal. The brittle, fragile and yellowing pages of the book have a wonderful collection of recipes with potatoes. A lot of them will be a pleasure to try out. We chose to bake the Orange cake first.

Orange Delight / Orange Cake

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½  teaspoon salt
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup castor sugar
• ½ cup fresh orange juice
• 2 free range eggs  lightly beaten
• 1 medium potato peeled and grated
• Grated rind of one orange

Icing

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp butter
• Orange juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line one 8 inch round cake pan.
2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy.
4. Add orange rind and orange juice.
5. Add eggs. Mix well.
6. Add flour mix. Stir to get a uniform creamy mixture.
7. Squeeze potato dry and add to mixture. Stir well to combine.
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick. It should come out clean.
10. Cool the cake in the rack.
11. To make the icing, put the icing sugar into a small pan and add sufficient orange juice to make a firm mixture. Beat in butter. Heat on low very briefly and spread over the cake.

 

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