Cardamom Laced Mango-Strawberry Heart Chiffon Cakes (Eggless)

"A compromise is the art of 'dividing a cake' in such a way that everyone believes that he has got the biggest piece."

Well that was something I did not have to bother with. Why? 'Cause I already had divided the cake into individual serve-size pieces. Smart me! ;p

If you ever visit me this time of the year (especially in these last couple of weeks) a whiff of an intoxicating perfume will hit you as you enter the door (and make you forget all your manners) while you helplessly follow it to the room where those juicy deep coloured yellow goblets lie on a ruck sack waiting to ripen to be devoured. Ahhh! yes the Alphonsos are the culprit.

There is an over haul of mangoes in my house. They always lure me into buying them as they longingly look at me in all their golden glory, from the vendor's cart. It would require a heart of stone for anyone to ignore this luscious stone fruit. I cannot help having atleast two in a day...I am smitten. But then its only in summers that I get to eat ( and sometimes drink) this fruit, fit for the kings. My weak resolve has lead to my diet being shown the door. Alas!

This mango cake was made in an effort to 'spread' the calories....(chuckle).
We were visiting a neighbour-cum-family friend of ours after a long time so I made these pretty little hearts to share with them.

This mango cake is elegant and light with a hint of cardamom giving it a rich aroma. The lite strawberry chantilly(frosting) and the sandwhiched jam just give it another dimension and depth in flavour. Being eggless and sans butter, its low fat and can be had as afternoon snack/hi-tea too.




While I was at it, I realized just how much treasure we have in the tropics in terms of fruits, and just how much we ignore it and try to kill ourselves scouting for fruits of the temperate regions to recreate all those gorgeous tarts, tortes, pies when we have perfectly valid and delicious substitutes growing in our own backyard! I understand that 'traditionally' a blueberry pie cannot be made into a guava pie...however I see no harm in giving it a shot.

There’s a fine line between tradition and caricature and I see no reason why a banana brownie can’t be transformed into a dragon fruit one, or why a strawberry cake can’t become a persimmon cake. Take a moment to rediscover the tropical fruits and vegetables you have on hand and you may be surprised at how much more they have to offer. Go local !!

Cardamom Laced Mango-Strawberry Heart Chiffon Cakes (Eggless)

Ingredients-

For the mango cake:

1/2 cup semolina ( fine variety )

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp corn flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups ripe mango pulp (I used fresh pulp from three medium sized alphonso mangoes)

3/4 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup luke warm low-fat milk

3-4 tbsp canola oil/any odourless oil

1 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 cup powdered sugar (adjust according to ripeness of mangoes, mine were really ripe/sweet)

For the jam: See here.

For the strawberry chantilly frosting: Read the strawberry whipped cream recipe.

Method-

Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees C.

Seive the dry ingredients twice (except semolina and sugar).

In a large bowl, beat the condensed milk, warm milk, oil and sugar till the mixture is creamy and pale. Add the cardamom powder and mango pulp and beat again for a minute on low.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry, slowly incorporating all the liquid mix. Take care not to lose the trapped air in the batter.

Tip: Always mix a cake batter ever so slightly, like forming the digit '8' with your spoon.

Pour into 6" round greased & lined cake tin. Consecutively you can bake in individual moulds of your choice. Bake at 170 degrees C for 15 minutes.

Cool on rack for about an hour or so, to let the mango flavour heighten.

Slice the individual cakes and layer with the strawberry jam. Frost lightly with the strawberry chantilly. Sprinkle decorations if desired.

Serve.

My Vegan Ginger-Snap Cookies ...& a months' break !!

“Phoebe: Observe the art of seduction. Watch, learn, and don't eat my cookie.”

-Friends

FYI--I am an ardent blogger and get extremely excited each time I see a comment or an increase in the "followers' list" of my blog. However a couple of days back I discovered that my blog followers' list was short by a couple of followers/readers. I was so dishevelled and saddedned that a few of my readers actually stopped following my posts/blog, even after all the time and effort I put into making my posts interesting & informative, with easy and healthy recipes(food for the body) together with cultural and food history(food for the mind).

But thanks to Natasha (5 star foodie) I got to know that it wasn't my posts but a technical glitch that made a few of my followers 'anonymous' instead of the usual 'public' followers. And that my followers have to change their status to 'public' once again to make up for the lost numbers in the followers' list of my blog.

Please read here for all the details and share your experiences.

--0--

If ever I was to sit and make a list of my favourite cookies Ginger snap cookies would sure feature on that list (ofcourse my version with choco-chips). This is a highly addictive, chewy cookie that you will not stop at one, especially if I tell you its all healthy too! The subtle hint of cardamom and the warmth of the ginger is sure to please your palette during this last lap of winter.

Generally I do add eggs to my cookie dough, but these were made especially for a vegetarian friend of mine, sometime early in January '09, so I skipped the eggs. However,the taste was even better I guess 'cause my hub asked for seconds and thirds (which isn't the case normally as he is not very enthusiastic about spiced cookies).




My Vegan Ginger-Snap Cookies
Ingredients-
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup molasses/brown sugar
2-3 tbsp golden syrup (you can use corn syrup too)
2 tsp root ginger powder
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
a pinch of cardamom
1/3 cup canola oil/cooking oil
1/2 tsp baking soda
a small pinch of salt



Method-
Spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat the oil with the brown sugar, baking
soda, ginger, cardamom, salt and golden syrup; beat until combined.
Stir in the whole-wheat and all purpose flours with a
wooden spoon. Add the chocolate chips.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.


Shape dough into 1-inch balls.
Place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Flatten a little with your palm.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 11 minutes or until set and tops are cracked.
Remove from cookie sheet. Cool on a wire rack.


Note: The longer the cookies bake, the more crisp they will be.









A note:

I will be taking a months' leave from blogging due to personal reasons(shifting homes).
Its just for a short while and is much needed. (Trust me on this one!)
Will look forward to seeing all you guys once I am back. Do keep stopping by though....and please keep my (virtual) home abuzz. Its a request!


hugs,
Navita

Sesame Speculaas & Makar Sankranti

"Tilgul Ghya Aani God God Bola !"

This is a saying in Marathi dialect, which means "have tilgul (sweets made with sesame) and speak as sweetly as it's sweet taste". If ever you happen to be in Mumbai (Maharashtra, India) on the 14th of January, you will find people offering tilgul to each other while repeating the quote above.

This is perhaps the only Indian festival whose date always falls on the same day every year i.e. the 14th of January. This is because the festival of Sankranti is based on the solar calendar unlike the rest of the Indian festivals, which are based on the lunar calendar.

Makar literally means "Capricorn" and Sankranti is the "day when the Sun changes it's position from one sign of the zodiac to the other".

It is supposed to be an auspicious day and is celebrated with lots of donations/alms and cooking 'Khichdi' (a dish made with moong daal (split mung lentils), rice, clarified butter and spices) in the Indian houses. Sesame seed sweets (tilgul) with sugar or jaggery are made, eaten and offered to all.

This occasion is considered so auspicious that people think whosoever dies during this Uttaraayan (i.e. the Sun being in the Capricorn house) period goes to heaven directly.
Bhishm Pitamaah of the epic Mahabharata waited for this period to come so that he could attain 'Nirvana' (relief from the cycle of birth and death).

This festival is celebrated in almost all of India in one way or the other. It is the harvest time for farmers.In Southern India, it is called 'Pongal', in Punjab it is called 'Lohdee', in Maharashtra it is called 'Til (sesame seeds) Sankraanti' .

Now a little something on "Speculaas"--They are thin, very crunchy, slightly browned, spiced traditional Dutch biscuit/cookie that are enjoyed on the Feast of St. Nicholas (also known as Sinterklaas). For those unfamiliar with this celebration, it takes place on December 6th to commemorate the death of St. Nicholas of Myra. St. Nicholas was a man of great generosity especially to those less fortunate and his love of children is reflected in the tradition of Dutch children putting out their clogs (shoes) on the eve of December 5th so St. Nicholas can fill them with candy and presents.



So why Sesame Speculaas during Makar Sankranti?

Well, speculaas are sweets/cookies that have once been the symbol of generosity, and since Makar Sankranti is all about being gracious and benevolent to the needy and giving alms; I thought they are connected....in some way!

Hence, you are offered this rare combination and asked to talk sweetly with all. Afterall, we don't have a bone in our tongue for a reason. God never wanted us to be harsh and rude, so he gave us a flexible boneless toungue to speak. :)










I adapted this recipe from a Cookie book I borrowed from the library here. "The Best Of Baking" (International Culinary Society, NY)





Sesame Speculaas
Ingredients-
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup less 2 tbsp brown sugar (adjust according to your taste)
3 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 cup ground blanched almonds
1 1/2 cup plain flour
4 tbsp sesame seeds, for sprinkling
a pinch of baking soda

butter for greasing
flour for dusting
milk for brushing



Method-
Cream butter and sugar together. Add the cardamom, cinnamon and mix well.
In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ground almond meal.
First stir in the butter and sugar mixture to the flour mix, then knead vigourously.
Wrap dough in foil and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll out the chilled dough carefully placed between two parchment sheets, about a cm. in thickness. Using a round form/cookie cutter cut out discs of the dough.
Place the discs on a lined cookie sheet.
Brush thinly with milk and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Bake on the middle rack of an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees, for about 10 mins.
Immediately remove from the baking sheet and allow to cool on a rack.
Can be stored upto a week.

This also goes out to Cooking For Kids- Milk event, held at Neivedyam . And to

Grace for her Cinnamon Celebration.

And to Priti (of IndianKhana) for her Festive Food- Makar Sankranti.

And while I was baking this I thought I would make a mention of Rose (of All about Cakes) who is giving away a 100 piece Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Kit at her blog, to celebrate her 100 posts. Good news on an auspicious day! :)