Cakes that make instant impact
By Harkiran Sodhi

CAKES come in many varieties, shapes, and textures. While the sponge cake is light and feathery in texture the quick mix cake varieties are a little heavier. Fruit cakes traditionally were made as cakes with a long shelf life and often used some alcohol in them, which gave them that certain tang.

There are some cakes which are called cakes but are different to what we usually see and eat here prime examples being siena cake or the carrot cake. There are some cakes that have made a place for themselves in the hearts of people like the traditional black forest cake or the pineapple upside down cake.

These cakes may look unlike a traditional cake and at times even taste very different, but in their own way, they are special and can make an impact in a gathering due to their unique look and flavour.

Siena cake

This cake is a speciality of the town of Siena in Italy and its texture is totally different to regular cakes. It’s a flat and rich cake with a slightly moist texture and rich in fruit and spices like cinnamon.

Ingredients

105 gm cashewnuts lightly roasted and chopped

90 gm coarsely chopped skinless almonds

180 gm finely chopped candied peel (orange peel cooked in sugar)

30 gm cocoa powder

60 gm flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (dalchini)

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (jaiphal)

125 gm sugar

125 gm honey

Method

Mix together cashewnuts, almonds, candied peel, cocoa, flour and the spices. In a pan put in the sugar and the honey and heat until sugar dissolves. Boil till a little of the mixture, when dropped into a cup of cold water, turns into a soft ball. Take it off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients that have been kept aside. Put the entire mixture into a lined and greased 8-inch sandwich or pie tin and spread it till the top is even in finish. Bake it in a cool oven at 150°C or 300°F for about 30-35 minutes. Let it cool and then turn it out of the pan and top it with icing sugar to decorate.

Carrot cake

Ingredients

350 gm flour

500 gm caster sugar (finely ground sugar)

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

180 gm canned pineapple, crushed

250 gm grated carrot

4 eggs

350 ml cooking oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

125 gm chopped walnuts

Method

Sift the flour, sugar, salt and soda together into a large mixing bowl. Add the crushed pineapple and the grated carrot, eggs, oil and vanilla essence and beat it all well till the mixture is thoroughly combined. Stir in the chopped nuts and spoon the batter into two greased 8 inch round pans. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C or 350°F for about an hour or till a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Pineapple upside down cake

This cake is a very interesting cake to make and a delicious one to eat along with the added advantage of being decorated as well. This is a little confusing to the beginner as it reverses the order of all the steps normally followed in cake making. Here first you will line the cake tin with the caramel and then place the decoration on top and at the end pour the cake batter on top. The reason being that once the cake is baked and you upturn it, the bottom which has been decorated will turn up to show you a well decorated face.

Ingredients for the caramel

75 gm butter

60 gm firmly pressed in brown sugar

Decoration

3-4 rings of canned pineapple rings

6 walnut halves

For the cake

180 gm flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

60 gm butter

180 gm caster sugar

1 egg whisked well

120 ml milk

Method

To make the caramel: Cream the butter with the sugar till it is well mixed. Spread this over the bottom and along the sides of a greased and lined 8 inch round cake pan.

For the decoration : Cut the pineapple rings to make them into thinner sized rings and make about a total of six rings. Arrange these on the caramel spread in the pan and decorate the walnut halves as well.

For the cake: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat the butter and the sugar and then add in the egg and beat it well till the mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in the flour alternating it with a spoonful of the milk till it is all mixed in well. Pour this mixture into the cake tin over the pineapple and walnuts taking care not to dislodge them. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C or 350°F for about 50 minutes to one hour. Turn the cake onto a serving platter or plate and leave it for a couple of minutes before removing the tin.

This cake can be served on its own or with ice-cream or custard as an accompaniment for dessert.