Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake

Recipe

Ingredients

For cake:

• 250 gm soft unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• A pinch or two of lemon yellow food color

For lemon butter frosting:

• 100 gm soft unsalted butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon rind 

Method:

• Pre-heat oven at 180'C. 
• Sift together baking powder and flour. 
• I got my lemon rind through grater and peeler. 
• In a bowl, add butter, sugar, vanilla essence and lemon rind.

• Mix with electric mixer at medium speed until combined. 

• Add eggs and mix again until combined. 

• Now alternatively in small quantities, add flour and milk and keep mixing at medium-high speed. 

• Once flour and milk are finished, add in lemon juice and yellow food color and mix. 

• Pour the mixture into a well greased cake pan. 
• Place the cake pan on middle shelf of oven and bake for 45-60 mins (depending on your oven). A tooth inserted should come out clean or with few crumbles (but not wet).

• Cool completely before applying icing. 
• For lemon butter frosting, combine all the frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer.

• Apply this frosting on the cake with a spatula. 

• Serve with your evening tea. 

Mandarin Chicken

Mandarin Chicken

This yummy Chinese dish most probably takes its name from Oranges, a variety of which is called Mandarin. In this dish, chicken chunks are fried crisp (or grilled is you want) and are served in sweet and savoury orange brown sauce. I served it with fine chopped spring onion greens and roasted sesame seeds.

These days, owing to winter season (season of Oranges in Pakistan), I'm obsessed with oranges, and have been drinking them, eating then, baking them (in my previously posted Orange Cake) and now cooked them too. 

Recipe

Ingredients:

For chicken marinade:

• Chicken breasts cut into long strips (or cubes)
• ½ tsp salt                               
• ½ tsp pepper                  
• 1 tsp garlic powder

For chicken batter:

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup corn-flour
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• ½ tsp baking powder
• Water, enough quantity to make a thick batter
• Oil, for deep frying

For sauce:

• 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup orange juice
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp corn-flour, dissolved in a little water
• 2 spring onion greens, finely chopped
• 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds

Method:

• Marinate chicken in marinade ingredients for 15-30 minutes (or longer if desired)

• Make chicken batter by mixing batter ingredients.

• Batter should be thick enough to coat chicken strips properly. You can test the consistency by dipping your finger in the mixture; it should cover your finger and drip a bit.

• Dip marinated chicken pieces in the batter and deep fry till golden. 

• These will be very crispy chicken strips.

• While chicken pieces are being fried, you can start preparing the sauce.
• In a little vegetable oil, fry chopped garlic and add in crushed chili flakes.
• Add ketchup, vinegar, soy sauce, chicken stock, brown sugar, salt & pepper and bring the mixture to boil on medium high heat.

• Stir in orange juice.
• Add corn-flour mixture and stir the sauce till it’s thickened and transparent.
• Add in fried chicken strips.
• Serve in a bowl or platter and sprinkle with chopped spring onion greens and roasted sesame seeds.

~ Bon Appétit!

Orange Bundt Cake

Orange Bundt Cake

This is a truly moist & delicious cake with zesty orange flavour and essence! It is called Orange Bundt Cake as it is baked in Bundt Pan which shapes the cake into a distinctive ring shape.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup milk
• ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• A pinch or two of orange food color

Orange Icing:

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp orange zest

Method:

For cake:

• Preheat oven to 180 ‘C (350 ‘F).
• Grease a bundt cake pan.
• Beat butter, sugar and orange zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer.

• Add eggs and continue beating.

• In another bowl, sift flour with baking powder and add salt.
• Stir flour mixture and milk alternately into butter mixture. Stir until mixture is almost smooth.

• Add orange juice and orange food color.

• Pour batter in a greased and floured bundt pan.

• Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean.
• Transfer to serving plate when completely cooled.

• Cool completely before icing.

For icing:

• Mix all ingredients in a bowl and spread icing on top of the cake.

• Serve with your evening tea.

~ Happy Baking!

Cheesy Spicy Potato Wedges with Spicy Mayo

Cheesy Spicy Potato Wedges with Spicy Mayo

Recipe:

Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

• 3-4 large potatoes cut into wedges
• Vegetable oil for deep frying
• Salt, to taste dissolved in enough water to soak all the wedges
• Paprika, to taste
• Chaat masala, to taste
• 150 gm cheddar cheese
• 150 gm mozzarella cheese
• 1 small green capsicum, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 large green chilies, fine chopped

Method:

• Soak potato wedges in salt water for 15 mins.
• Fry potato wedges on medium-high heat in vegetable oil till golden and crisp.
• Arrange them in a microwave proof serving plate.
• Sprinkle with paprika, cheese and veges.
• Microwave for 1 minute.
• Serve with sauce of your choice. I served mine with Spicy Mayo.

Spicy Mayo

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

Method:

• In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, Sriracha, and lemon juice.
• Taste and add more Sriracha to desired spiciness.
• Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in your fridge for up to a month.

~ Enjoy!

Cod with Parsley Sauce & Mash

Cod with Parsley Sauce & Mash

Recipe:

Cod Fillet

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp flour
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cod fillets
• 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp equal butter cube
• ½ large lemon juice, plus extra lemon wedges, to serve

Method:

• Sprinkle flour onto a plate and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Scour the cod fillets in the seasoned flour until completely coated.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• When oil is hot, add coated cod fillets.

• Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until crisp and golden-brown on both sides and cooked through. (NB: The cod is cooked through when the flesh is opaque.)

• When cod is almost cooked through, dot the fillets with butter, then squeeze over lemon.

• When butter has melted, remove pan from heat.
• To serve, spoon a portion of mash into the centre of each of the two serving plates. Place one fried cod fillet on top of each serving. Drizzle over the pan juices, then pour over parsley sauce. Garnish each plate with a lemon wedge & parsley.

Parsley Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup full-fat milk
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 3 whole white peppercorns
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

• For parsley sauce, slowly bring milk, nutmeg, bay leaf and white peppercorns to a simmer in a pan. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool for 8-10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt ½ of butter in a pan. Whisk in the flour to create a smooth paste (this is called a roux), then cook, whisking continuously, for one minute, or until the paste has thickened. Remove the pan from heat.
• Strain milk mixture into roux mixture, then whisk well until completely mixed.
• Return this pan to the heat and gradually bring the mixture to boil, whisking continuously, until sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of spoon.
• Stir in remaining ½ of butter until sauce is glossy, then simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in chopped parsley and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 large Peeled boiled potatoes
• ½ cup Half-and-half (cream and milk)
• Black pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• 2 tbsp butter

Method:

• Potatoes were mashed with half-and-half (milk & cream), butter, salt and pepper.

~ Bon Appétit