Bakewell Cake

So this month's Sweet and Simple Bakes' recipe was a Cherry Bakewell Cake. Maria and Rosie really do their homework and give us the most tried and tested easy bake recipes. And every single time, the recipe is a winner.

This time, though, it just didn't work for me and I have no idea why! Maybe one of you could tell me where I went wrong. I'm still posting it here because everyone loved the flavor of the cake - it just didn't look all that hot. See the S+SB website to see how this cake is supposed to look!

And another thing - I'm not a huge cherry person, actually I dislike cherries. So I went with the raspberry option that Rosie had given us. So I'm just going to call it a Bakewell Cake!


Bakewell Cake
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

For the Cake:
8 oz Butter, well softened, + extra for greasing
8 oz Caster Sugar
4 oz ground Almonds
4 oz self-raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp almond extract or essence
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt

For The Filling & Top:
12 oz Cherry Jam/ Conserve (I used Raspberry Jam)
6 oz Icing Sugar
5-6 tsp Water or Lemon Juice (I used Lemon Juice)
1 tbsp flaked Almonds, lightly toasted

Mix all the ingredients for the cake together. Pour it into two 8 inch round sandwich tins.

Bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes. It's done when a skewer comes out clean. Spread the jam on top of one of the cakes and sandwich them together.

Stir together the lemon juice and icing sugar until thick and creamy and pour over the cake. Top with the toasted almonds.


So everyone loved the cake, but I'll tell you what went wrong for me. The height of the cake was half what it was supposed to be. But the quantity of batter was so little that I realized that the two cakes would be really small.

And the icing just didn't become white and translucent - it kinda just blended into the cake. You could taste the icing but couldn't see it.


Thanks, Rosie and Maria!

Flapjacks - Sweet & Simple Bakes

Sweet and Simple Bakes, a new league being hosted by Rosie and Maria, is exactly what I've been looking for. It is for beginner bakers, who are willing to try out new recipes, and improve their baking skills. You can read more about it here. They are wonderfully helpful to amateur bakers who have tons of questions (aka me!).

The first challenge they presented us with was Flapjacks with Cranberry and White Chocolate. I found myself shaking my head the entire time I was reading the recipe, because I couldn't get half the ingredients in India. And when I offered to sit this one out, I was given so much help (from Pixie , the Food Thesaurus and the S+SB folks), that I simply had to do it.

And boy, am I glad I did. I've found my foolproof, gorgeous, whip-up-in-no-time dessert/snack/breakfast! (and soon to be had for lunch and dinner, too!). It was sheer bites of deliciousness. Please, if you want to learn to make just ONE dessert, let this be the one - its sheer genius and completely idiot-proof.

Flapjacks with Raspberries and Chocolate
(Here is the original recipe - I made some substitutions)

(Clockwise: Oats, Butter, Flour, Raspberries, Chocolate, Maple Syrup and Demerara Sugar)

250g Butter
100g (1/2 cup) Demerara Sugar (I didn't think I was going to find this, and was all set to substitute granulated sugar - but it was right there in my regular grocery store)
200g (3/4 cup) Maple Syrup
250g Instant Oats
75g (1/2 cup) All-Purpose Flour
100g (a little more than 1/2 cup) dried Raspberries
100g Milk Chocolate

Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

If you are thinking, thats a lot of butter, yes it is. And maple syrup and sugar. But think of the fact that you are going to have lots of new friends after you make this. Pack it into lovely little presents and give it away, when the neighbours come knocking on your door demanding to know the source of the wonderful aroma!

Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a large pan over a very low heat (stirring to make sure it doesn't burn), until the butter and sugar have melted completely.


Meanwhile mix the flour, raspberries and oats together. This helps prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom while baking.


Add the flour mixture to the pan and stir together well.


Spread the mixture evenly into a square pan. Bake for 30 minutes, and remove from oven when it is golden. Let it cool.


Melt the chocolate over heat. When melting chocolate, use a double boiler - I used a small wok fit over a saucepan. Fill the saucepan with about 2" of water. It is important that the water not touch the bottom of the chocolate pan.




When the bake is slightly cooled, mark into even squares. Drizzle the chocolate over the flapjacks. At this point, you have to leave it alone and let it cool for at least an hour, since it is still very crumbly. And it's gonna be difficult to leave it alone - you just want to put your face into it, imbibe the wonderful smell, and eat every last morsel!

(my daughter's handiwork decorating the flapjacks with chocolate!)




I'm so glad I joined Sweet & Simple Bakes - I've found a new favorite recipe!

While I baked, it rained (complete with thunder and lightning) outside! After having 110 deg F weather for a few weeks, I was overjoyed to see the rain!! I guess the Gods were as surprised and pleased with the baking as I was! :)


Source of ingredients:
Oats, Demerara Sugar, Chocolate - Nilgiris Supermarket
Maple Syrup - Amma Naana
Raspberries - now available in Nilgiris Supermarket

Raspberry and Blueberry Muffins

I got a surprise package of dried raspberries and blueberries from a relative in the US. They knew how much I missed the berries, and sent it to me.


And it was just after I rallied to get chillies included as berries in this month's AFAM: Raspberries, hosted by Dee! So, you see, when word gets out, I might have to go into hiding, from my fellow Indian bloggers, who made chilli dishes! The only redeeming part is that I posted a recipe with chillies too!

Muffins with Raspberries and Blueberries
(adapted from a recipe by Cooking with Amy)

4 tbsp Butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Buttermilk
3/4 cup dried Raspberries
1/4 cup dried Blueberries

Preheat oven to 220 deg C.

Combine the butter and sugar. Add the flour, egg, salt and baking powder. Blend till moist.


Slowly add the milk and then the buttermilk. Add the dried fruit.


Spoon the batter into greased muffin pans.


Bake for 20 minutes.


Remove from oven and cool.


This is my entry for AFAM: Raspberries, hosted by Dee.

Find out what my fellow runners are up to on Day 6 of the Recipe Marathon:
We have Valli leading with Onion Chapatis. Raaga has a delicious looking Vegetable Foccacia. We are featuring two chutneys today - Siri's Tomato Chutney and Swati's Mint Chutney. They would probably go really well with Bhags' Baked Chapati - you'll have to try it and see. Of course, you'll need some curry on the side, and here Divya comes in with her lovely Cauliflower Peas. Or you could be really healthy and just have Lakshmi's Kashayam to settle that stomach. Or you could forget this whole meal and go with Ranji's Simple Jhovan or Konkani meal!