Pineapple Crunch Cake With Lemon Glaze

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Hope everything is going great with you. Summer is really a busy time for all of us, isn’t it? It surely is for me! I was super busy juggling too many things, and decided to forget about blogging for a few days.

While I was away from blogging and talking to you guys a few good things happened on the personal side. I finally got hold of some long due documents including my driver's license, and did our first camping of the season. Some of you might already know that I also won the giveaway Vijitha was hosting. Beginning last Sunday, I have been on a roll with only great things happening to me, and the upbeat mood continues.

Meanwhile lil M turned 3, but that doesn't stop him from being more naughty and silly. During a play his sister poked into his eyes accidentally, and he exclaimed rubbing his eyes "Oh, I got to buy some new eyes !" I wish things were as simple as he thinks :-)

Coming to the topic of the day, the Pineapple crunch cake, the story goes like this: During our last trip to the local grocery store, we tasted a Pineapple crunch cake and we loved it! You will know if you are a blogger that once we taste something interesting we feel this urge to replicate it in our own kitchen. I am no different! I decided that I should make this myself, and started searching for recipes. I could't find anything that satisfied me, so I ended up twisting a recipe to add more flavor. Result : A better tasting cake with less sugar than we tasted from the shop. This is a huge hit with my folks, and we will be making it again soon!

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
Baking Soda- 2 tsp
Chopped Walnuts(Optional)- 1 cup
Eggs- 2 large
Granulated Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Light Brown Sugar- 1/4 cup, packed
Pure Vanilla Extract- 2 tsp
Lemon Juice- 1 Tbsp
Lemon Zest- a pinch/more
Pineapple Crushed with juice- 1 big can(20oz)

For the Lemon Glaze:

Confectioner's sugar- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice- 2 Tbsp/ little more


Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan.
2.Whisk together the flour, baking soda and nuts.
3.In a mixing bowl beat together the eggs and sugars.
4.Add the vanilla and lemon juice and zest. Mix well.
5.Open the crushed pineapple can and pour in everything including the juice and mix again.
6.Mix in the flour mixture until everything is mixed.
7.Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35- 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.(It took me 37 minutes)
8.Cool on a wire rack.
9.Prepare the glaze by mixing everything together and pour over the cool cake.
10.Let the glaze set. Cut into squares and serve.

Notes:

1. You don't have to make the glaze if you want the cake to be less sweet.
2.You could also dust the cake with some powdered sugar if you are not making a glaze.
3.This is just perfectly sweet for us.If you want your cake to be really sweet, use more sugar.
4.As you can see from the ingredient list, this is a butter-less cake. But it is not dry, though a little dense


Recipe Adapted from : here

Berrybarb Jam/Preserve- With Blueberries, Strawberries and Rhubarb

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This summer has been beastly hot! But it hasn't stopped us from having some outdoor fun. Only problem is you get dead tired by the end of the day and that does not apply to the kids! Even after a full day of activities they don't go to bed even at 9.30. It's always a wonder, how much energy they have!

I had mentioned earlier that one of my summer activities will be to make jams. After tasting a Blueberry-Rhubarb jam at the farmers maket I was hooked. I knew I will have to incorporate rhubard when I made jam at home. And for the recipe today, I have a combination of blueberries and strawberries with rhubarb and it turned out so well that I need to make it again soon.

Now if you don't believe me ask Sunitha, she tasted this when she visited us.

This jam has my favorite berries and Rhubarb gives it a nice and tangy twist.

Ingredients:

Blueberries- 1 cup
Strawberries,hulled- 2 cup
Rhubarb-1 inch pieces- 1 cup
Lemon juice- 2 tsp
Lemon zest- a pinch
Water/Apple juice- 1/3 cup
Sugar- 1 1/4 cup

Method:

1.In a large thick bottom pot, mix the berries, rhubarb and apple juice/water.
2.Cook covered on medium heat until the everything is cooked and rhubarb becomes soft and tender. Stir frequently.This takes about 12-15 minutes.
3.Add the sugar and lemon juice.Mix everything and continue cooking uncovered, stirring continuously. Skim off and discard any foam that comes on the top.
4.Continue this until the jam thickens and passes the freezer test(see notes) or when it starts to run together when you pour it with a spoon.
5.Turn off the heat and transfer into a clean jar.
6.Cool completely in the refrigerator.This keeps well for 3-4 weeks in a refrigerator.


Notes:

1.Freezer test : keep a small plate in the freezer when you start making the jam. Place a drop of the jam when you think that it done. Put back in the freezer for 30 seconds. If the jam is set well it is done.If you think it is still liquidy , continue cooking for another 5 minutes and repeat the test.
2. The amount of sugar can be changed according to your liking.
3.If you want to preserve this for longer time, use a canning method.
4.As you have already noticed, this doesn't have any added pectin. The apple juice and Strawberries have lots of natural pectin in them.
5. If you are making jam for the first time,be careful.Use a big pot and a long spoon for stirring. It splutters a lot, don't get any burns.

Recipe adapted from : Here

Apple Rabdi/Rabri- Evaporated milk based Apple dessert

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A big HELLO to everyone ! It has been a long time since we updated a post here. So much has been going on in our personal lives that the blog sort of took second seat. Although, one of the highlights during this time was that  Sunitha and I visited after 13 long years.  Those of you, who are our friends in Facebook might already know about that reunion. I was so busy with the preparations and planning. Sunitha is in the middle of a move and that is why off the blogging scene for a while. Sorry about that !

Today's post has been in my drafts for a while now.  Hopefully,  I will be back in the swing of things as far as blogging goes soon.  I am waiting for my children to finish summer vacation, general visiting, travelling and holidaying the family is involved in right now.  Coming back to the recipe, the whole inspiration behind making this dessert was Kulsum from Journey Kitchen.  She did a guest post on it.  I have combined her recipe and the traditional one but I must thank her for tempting me with her beautiful pictures.

The preparation is very much similar to that of Basundi, if you haven't noticed.The main difference here is the presence of Apples.So if you love Basundi, just like me, you must try this !

Ingredients:

Milk- 4 cups/1 liter
Condensed milk-2 Tbsp
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Apples,peeled and grated- 3
Cardamom powdered- 1 tsp
Saffron- a pinch soaked in a Tbsp warm milk
Pistachios, blanched and slivered- 2-3 Tbsp

Method:

1.Boil milk in a thick bottom pan and cook until it is reduced to about half the quantity.
2.Add sugar and condensed milk and stir continuously for 4-5 minutes.
3.Add the grated apple and cook for about 4 minutes.
4.Add the cardamom and saffron. Mix well and switch off the heat.
5.Throw in the pistachios.Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1.You could use condensed milk as a sweetener instead of sugar, just like Kulsum says.
2.It is better to use a sweet variety of apple for this preparation.
3.You could replace pistachios with almonds if you like.