After seeing so many cakes and cookies, truffles and ginger breads all over the blogosphere , I was like ...to be or not to be........I rarely bake a cake or a cookie these days as both of us are off the desserts for some time....that is just one reason, the other reasons being plain procrastination. This recipe proves that cakes are not as high on calories always.
I know every reason for not making cakes will just be a lame excuse. I did not soak my dry fruits in rum in advance so no choice to make a proper fruit cake bursting with goodness of rich dry fruits and mixed peels. Then I thought of making an orange cake and even kept two large oranges on the kitchen platform to remind me of turning them to a cake. And guess what, even they could not prompt me to bake a cake. In the meanwhile I had to tell over telephone the exact measurements and recipes of different cakes to friends who were baking . Several calls followed to tell me the chocolate cake was yummy and that orange cake was an instant hit and that last minute addition of rum worked well...........that was the moment I could not resist.....
I had carrots and I had those oranges, mandarins actually which are called kinnoo in this part of the world. Two large kinnoos were actually waiting for the cake to happen as I told you.....overripe and the skin wrinkled and semi dried ....perfect for this cake as this peel is going to give a texture and taste similar to mixed peels .........and heyIi had a large tender zucchini and lots of lemons too.........
Forgive me for poor photography but it is to show you the dry leathery peels being chopped as one of the friends could not do it just by telephonic instructions...... hey S , this is for you.......I chopped them once more cross wise to make them even finer ........let's see how it was made ...a frugal cake with a rich taste........
ingredients....
mandarin peel chopped finely 1 heaped tbsp ( or more )
( i used peel of two mandarins )
finely and neatly grated carrots 2 cups
all purpose flour 2 cups
sugar 3/4 cup
vegetable oil 3/4 cup
eggs 3
baking powder 3/4 tbsp
baking soda 1/4 tsp
juice of one mandarin orange ( a little more if the batter is too thick)
the juice from the mandarin i used was less but very concentrated as it was an overripe n dried one
procedure...
Mix the grated carrots and orange juice and keep aside..
In a large dry bowl sieve the flour , baking soda and baking powder twice to allow proper mixing , keep aside...
In another deep bowl whisk the eggs , oil and sugar together till creamy n fluffy , pop in the chopped orange peel , whisk once again and add the grated carrots with juice , whisk till combined ...
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in three batches while folding it nicely to incorporate.......do not whisk vigorously .......it's ready to be baked now...adjust consistency by adding more juice if the batter is not in thick flowing consistency. It will be thick due to grated carrots and not flowing freely but it should be a thick but flowing batter...ribbon consistency will not be achieved here......the picture will make it clear...it is with zucchini and lemon which i made just after this cake n took the picture for showing the consistency.......
Pour in a greased and dusted pyrex dish and microwave for 7 minutes on high ( 900 W) , check by inserting a needle , put back into the MW preheat while the cake is still inside the oven ...after two minutes open the door and quickly place the cake dish over the high wire rack to be browned nicely by the hot grill........3 minutes is enough.......i kept it for 4 minutes and it browned a little too much......but the brown part was the yummiest..........see the top and the side......
As I said , after baking this cake I made another with zucchini and lemon using the same recipe ...replacing carrots with zucchini and mandarins with lemons....using two lemons for half of this quantity.......this cake was yummy too and the color is just so beautiful....
The cakes vanished quickly as I sent half of it to a friend too....... and then I made another .....a loaf this time .....
This cake ages well and becomes more rich in taste after a couple of days...that is the reason why I baked the loaf ...it is sitting in the fridge and a fat slice appears on the table everyday........today was the second day by the way..........for the loaf....
The grated carrots provide a nice fruity texture while the flavors are brought by the rich mandarin peel , I could have added a few nuts to enhance the richness but the orange flavor would have been masked by nuttiness ......moist fruity bits in a fluffy yet dense cake , that is how the carrot and orange cake was.
Zucchini provides softness to the cake and the much loved color to enhance the lemon feel.....lemons are to be used liberally to get a fairly lemony zing ...i used the grated zest of two of my garden fresh large lemons for half the above recipe..........zucchini does nothing to the taste though , but the softness n color it provides to the cake is just so fit for the lemon flavored cake...........
Truly a frugal recipe for great tasting cakes.......
Wishing all my readers for a wonderful year ahead.......
