Baking

Image of Nutella brownies and Raspberry bundt

Baking a Memory – Ginger Raspberry Marbled Bundt and Ultimate Pecan Turtle Brownies

Baking has become an addiction. The slightest indication of a family gathering, armed with my iPad, I’m ready to crank up the oven. It’s a routine I love setting myself into. I do wish I had more occasions to bake bookmarked bread, turnover, quiches, and flat bread pizza, but it’s cakes, brownies and puddings that are made often. I would attribute this to my native cuisine. The aforementioned savoury recipes would be best served for tea, never as a meal. The trinity that would complete a Keralite Muslim meal would be meat, either lamb or beef, rice and rice-based breads. The dessert course is my playground and the trend has been that I bake more than cook dessert. Last October for Eid, it was not different.

Image of Apple Streusel

An Apple Streusel a Day

Pick up the English alphabet book and the chances you won’t see a bright red gleaming fruit are unlikely. I steer away from Green Apple being too tart for my taste. A variety I love having is the Fiji Apple. Its skin has faded tints of red and yellow and look quite large for an apple. The flesh crumbles in your mouth like shortbread and it’s mildly sweet.

Image of Date Clafoutis

Repeat after me, Clafoutis!

A few months earlier this year, I received an email from Reem Falaknaz, an Executive Producer from Noor Dubai TV. To date, it is the most exciting email I have received from a visitor of my blog. She was planning on producing a series of cooking videos under 3 minutes, featuring desserts. These series were to be aired during the Holy month of Ramadan and the theme was desserts with a Middle Eastern take. I was boiling with excitement and called my husband at work right away. With his green signal, I promptly replied saying I would be thrilled to be a part of her project. I started devising ways to spin classic desserts the Middle Eastern way focusing on ingredients integral to Arab cooking. Walnut, tahini, rosewater, honey, figs – the list was endless. I proposed three desserts and Reem had the final say. She chose the dessert I had hoped she would – a dessert with dates.

Mozzarella Halloumi Buns

Excuses – Halloumi and Mozarella Stuffed Whole Wheat Garlic Bread

I cannot believe that I have been mulling over this post for nearly two weeks. My ‘Edit Post’ page has been open the tab crying out attention and the final publish poke. Desynchronosis had me either sleeping or awake in sluggish defeat. Every time my brother visited us from the US, I would snort and disapprove of him whiling away daylight sleeping. Having returned from his graduation (woohoo!) and a ten day holiday in the USA, I finally understood his habits. I am an out and out morning person. The week we returned had me wide awake at 3 in the night, distraught that I couldn’t catch sleep. I am pacifying myself and branding Jet lag as the reason behind the recent bout of blog negligence.

Image of Pistachio Loaf Cake

Pistachio Loaf Cake | Loafing Around on a Family Friday

Yes, YES! It’s that time of the month again. After quite a gap, Family Friday has come and my family came together for a sumptuous lunch catching up from where we left off last time.I love these weekends for far too many reasons. This is the when I get to visit my childhood home and be one, all over again. Umma will be doing all the cooking while I sit in the kitchen, yakking away and being of absolutely no help. Last winter, Umma gifted me a loaf tin. I vaguely remembered that I had bookmarked a recipe that called for one. When I did find it, I knew it would be a great recipe to try for a Family Friday. This recipe had no chocolate which is the primary reason a few elders refuse to try my baking endeavors. I know that lunch always carries onto tea and this recipe was perfect for the occasion.

Family Friday Chocolate Cake

Yes, it is another dessert and this time it’s a perfectly moist chocolate cake. Two layers of it. Oh, and smothered and piped and dressed in clouds of Nutella buttercream frosting. This was the first time I was attempting to make two layers of cake. I found a wonderful recipe on Baked Brees‘ blog. Nervously excited, I sieved and whipped and poured and baked and lo and behold, I had on my hand two perfectly moist layers of chocolate cake in the most tempting hue of chocolate.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding

It’s finally that time of the year. Misty mornings, a little less of the sun and an excuse to have all the hot chocolate you want, what’s not to like about winter? Given the fact it’s gone before you know it, I love making the most of this weather in the UAE. If it’s winter, it also means it’s time to clean up the sooted grills and plan a barbecue.