Honey Cake (Video Recipe)

Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style Honey Cake is made by soaking an orange sponge cake with honey syrup and then topping it with a jam-coconut frosting

how to make honey cake recipe,how to make bangalore honey cake recipe, how to make iyengar bakery honey cake recipe, eggless cake recipe, eggless baking at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Flashback to April 2002, 15 years and 1 month ago, I was in Bangalore with my dad, all set to answer the Common Entrance Test (CET) that would give me a chance to study Engineering in Karnataka. Because I took so long to decide that I want to answer CET, all the hotels we knew of were full. My aunt came to our rescue and arranged for us to stay at her sister's place. Her family was extremely hospitable, so before we left, we asked them what their favorite sweet was so we could it buy it for them as a gift. Their response was - Honey Cake, a complete novelty to me.

Honey Cake is a Bangalore special. It is not something you will get in the gourmet high end bakeries, it is something that is available in the humble Iyengar Bakeries that dot the old city. A simple orange sponge that is soaked in a sweet honey syrup, topped with a jam coconut frosting is what this sweet treat is all about.

I had completely forgotten about this beauty until I went to the bakery randomly to buy some bread and saw them bring out a tray full of fresh honey cake. I had to have it!!! Unfortunately, the cake wasn't eggless and that prevented us from enjoying it then and there. So the food blogger was given the task of making the cake at home so all could enjoy it. I'm happy to say I did not disappoint. The cake was very similar to that memory of 2002. The only little tip I have is let that cake soak for a few hours. The syrup needs to soak up the entire cake and not just the bottom. Eating it immediately (like we impatient bunch did), will not let the honey permeate through the cake. If you cannot resist the cake (like us, again), just keep a bowl of syrup nearby and just drizzle it over the sides of the piece of cake while you eat.

Soooo, let's break down the Honey Cake:

ORANGE SPONGE CAKE - The base of the whole cake, well, is the cake. This orange sponge was sooo delicious that I could eat it just like that over a cup of tea. In fact, I will, very soon, just when I feel I've denied myself of sufficient number of calories to bake a cake again. Until then, I just live with the memory of this yummy orange sponge. This sponge is so simple to make, you could have a kid do it. No creaming butter until your arm aches. Just 6 simple ingredients, hand whisked until combined. I used freshly squeezed Orange Juice in my cake, 2 not so juicy oranges gave me half a cup of OJ. Use more to get a more pronounced Orange flavor. I know I will. If you dislike oranges, however, just skip it and use water in place of it.

HONEY SYRUP - This syrup isn't like your regular syrups. It is not boiled until you get a certain thread consistency. Just mix honey in warm water and your syrup is ready. Tastes purely of honey.

JAM COCONUT FROSTING - Use whichever jam you want. The cake you get in bakeries seem to use mixed fruit, so I used mixed fruit. But I know I would love a mango jam to go with this cake. Heat together the jam and desiccated coconut (dry) along with a little water or honey syrup to make the frosting. The consistency should be slightly loose so it is easy to spread. You can buy desiccated coconut from the supermarket or you can just grate dry coconut using a fine grater to make your own. Top the frosted cake with more of this desiccated coconut to make it more coconut-y.

I have a Video Recipe for you too:

Video Recipe

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Honey Cake

Bangalore Iyengar Bakery style Honey Cake is made by soaking an orange sponge cake with honey syrup and then topping it with a jam-coconut frosting.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Yield: Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

For the Orange Sponge Cake:

1.5 cup all purpose Flour (Maida)
1 cup + 2 Tbsp sweetened Condensed Milk
0.5 cup fresh Orange Juice
0.5 cup Oil
1 tsp Baking Powder
0.5 tsp Baking Soda

For the Honey Syrup:

0.5 cup Water
3 Tbsp Honey

For the Jam Coconut Frosting:

2 Tbsp mixed fruit Jam
1.5 Tbsp Water or Honey Syrup
3 Tbsp dry desiccated Coconut

Others

3 Tbsp dry desiccated Coconut

Method:

To make the Orange Sponge Cake:

Add baking powder and bakind soda to the flour and mix well.
Add orange juice, oil and sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined and smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.
Grease a cake mould or baking tin and dust it with flour until coated. Remove the excess flour by upturning the tin.
Bake the cake for 30-35 minutes or until done. Test by inserting a toothpick in the center, if it comes out clean, the cake is done, else, let is bake a little longer.

To make the Honey Syrup:

Mix the honey in warm water and keep aside.

To make the Jam-Coconut Frosting:

Heat the jam in a pan and add the desiccated coconut.
Loosen the jam-coconut mixture by adding a little water or honey syrup.
Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. The frosting should be smooth without any lumps of jam in it.

To assemble the Honey Cake:

Remove from heat and keep aside.
Prick the cake with a toothpick or a fork to create holes.
Pour half to 3/4th of the syrup onto the cake and allow it to soak. You can keep the cake aside at this point for 30-60 minutes and then pour the remaining syrup on the cake.
Spread the jam-coconut frosting on the cake.
Top with more dry desiccated coconut and chill until ready to serve.

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls - Greek flavored grilled vegetables and a zingy yogurt sauce, rolled in your favorite bread

How to make vegetable souvlaki recipe, souvlaki gyros, vegetarian souvlaki recipe, vegan souvlaki recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

I've been MIA for a while, I know. I've been super busy at work doing things I never did UNTIL last week. I was super excited and tired at the same time. I'm used to sitting uber low in my chair at office, getting up only to get a cup of tea or a drink of water (which is a lot of trips). But last week was nothing like that, I got to go to out in the field. So the trips for water and tea were much longer than in office and all that walking around and working from 8am to 7pm kinda got me tired and in no mood to blog.

The little free time I had, I was planning a vacation. It's been 6 months since our amazing last vacation to Cambodia and I'm now ready for more. I'm thinking July, but the weather is kind of deterring me right now. The monsoons will be full swing in India and surroundings, so it has been quite a challenge to pick a destination as of now. I am all open to suggestions, if you have any.

While I don't have a vacation planned, I definitely have a recipe planned for you. I have a wonderful super healthy recipe - Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls that will take you to Greece, at least temporarily. Souvlaki is generally grilled meat with a few vegetables, but I tell you, you are missing nothing when you go all veggies. It is healthy and so quick to make. And so colorful, don't you think so?

I thought about calling it Grilled Vegetable Rolls, but Souvlaki sounded so fancy and the marinade had oregano and Olive Oil, so Souvlaki it was!! The recipe isn't even really a recipe, all you need to do is dice vegetables, the more variety you have, the better. And I would say use all the colors you can get, a bright vibrant dish has more takers. Once you are done dicing, marinate the vegetables in good quality extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, lime juice, oregano, salt and pepper. Leave it aside for 30 minutes, while you make the yogurt sauce to go with it.

Just whisk together yogurt, salt and pepper. I made the saucy zingy by adding the marinade leftover at the bottom of the bowl after the vegetables were grilled. It made the sauce taste all Greek... Grill the vegetables until they are slightly soft and they develop a char.

You can eat the Vegetable Souvlaki just like this, dip the vegetables in that zingy Yogurt sauce and you have a cool and refreshing meal right there. But I love rolls!! So does Raj. I went all Indian and used Naan bread for the rolls, you can be traditional and use Pita. I upped the healthiness by adding a simple salad of julienne cabbage and coriander leaves. Veggie Power!! Then put the Souvlaki and drizzle the yogurt sauce, roll the bread and your Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls are ready to eat.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

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Grilled Cauliflower Summer Bowl - Spicy grilled cauliflower tossed with black rice and a mint coriander oil.
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Instant Paneer Tikka - Paneer marinated in spices and grilled until charred.

Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls

Vegetable Souvlaki rolls are Greek flavored Pita/Naan bread rolls with grilled vegetables and a yogurt sauce.

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Greek
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 Rolls

Ingredients:

For the Vegetable Souvlaki:

1 Zucchini
0.5 Green Pepper / Capsicum
0.5 Yellow Pepper / Capsicum
0.5 Red Pepper / Capsicum
1 small Onion
2 Tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
1.5 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp Garlic paste
Juice of half a lime
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

For the Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup thick Yogurt
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Marinade

For Assembling the Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls:

Naan bread or Pita bread
1 cup julienne Cabbage
1 Tbsp chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Method:

To make the Vegetable Souvlaki:

Mix together the extra virgin olive oil, garlic paste, oregano, lime juice, salt and pepper to make the marinade.
Dice the vegetables into chunks and mix them in with the marinade. Keep aside for 15-30 minutes.
If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water until ready to grill to prevent the skewers from burning later.
Skewer the vegetables, mixing and matching as you please.
Heat a grill pan and when hot, place the skewers. You can grill these on charcoal or in the oven too.
Once one side is charred, flip the skewers until the other side is done too.
Remove from heat when done and keep aside.

To make the Yogurt Sauce:

Whisk together the yogurt, salt and pepper.
Spoon in the marinade leftover at the bottom of the bowl after grilling the vegetables, and mix well.

To assemble the Vegetable Souvlaki Rolls:

Heat the naan or pita bread.
Mix together the cabbage and coriander leaves with salt and add some over the bread.
Remove the vegetables from the skewer and place over the cabbage.
Drizzle some yogurt sauce and roll the bread.

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream

Crispy gluten free tart shell made of oats and almonds, a fresh creamy mango cream topped with assorted fresh fruits.

How to make eggless fresh fruit tart recipe, vegetarian fruit tart recipe, fruit pie recipe, mango tart recipe at www.oneteaspoonoflife.com

Long weekend plans got thrashed when Raj came home on friday night and complained of a body ache. Then came the fever and a massive headache. We really did not have any out of town plans thankfully. But I had just booked tickets to go watch the movie of the year - "Baahubali - The Conclusion" and I had no company!!! I actually got a cool discount on the already expensive tickets that made me less guilty about splurging so much for a movie. I was not gonna let that go. I though of putting up my tickets for sale online, but I've been waiting months for this movie!! So while I prayed he recovers, I also began searching for back up options on whom to go with. Luckily for me, my sis in law pitched in for her brother. What fun!!! Absolute entertainer, this movie. We were laughing for most of it. Sometimes you really need a melodramatic over the top movie to take you away from the craziness of the real world.

I had to cancel plans with friends and family because of the sick guy in the house. I haven't also been cooking too many things. Well, that's not true. I went a little overboard on Sunday and made this taste heavy Mahastrian Thali . Poor guy got to just eat the rice and dal, but the rest of us definitely enjoyed the rest of the meal. #MyWeekendThali is an instagram series I'm doing about my weekend meals. Go check it out!!

I have been rambling for three paras now, but I've still not reached my recipe of the day - Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream. I did not make it this weekend. Not with all that bodyache and fever around. I couldn't deny that guy so much of dessert. I actually made this around a month ago, but the recipe was in drafts. Note to self --> Clean out drafts!!

So, while it may be a month ago, I remember the taste of this tart as if I'm eating one right now instead of sipping on my ginger tea. The base of this tart, the pastry shell is so simple to make AND it is gluten free and vegan. Oats, Almonds, Dates, Oil, Sugar, Cocoa. I tried to keep it refined sugar free, but the dates I have aren't too sweet and I ran out of them, so I had to add in a little bit of powdered sugar. You can totally avoid the sugar and keep it all natural. Cocoa powder is absolutely optional. Add it if you like a little bit of chocolate bitterness in your dessert. This pastry shell is nothing like the traditional pastry shell, it has a more cookie or biscuity feel to it. And may I suggest, make a little extra of the oats, almond powder, cocoa and dates powder? It tastes SO good!! You can eat spoonfuls of it just like that or may be throw in a little liquid something and make bars or balls of it. You can also store it in this form in the fridge until you are ready to bake. Add in the oil and mix when you are ready to bake.

The Mango cream is simply paneer and mango pulp and of course, sugar. I made it fresh as it ends up being a little creamier when fresh. But you can always use store bought paneer (not the frozen kind) or cream cheese instead of making it fresh. Flavor with cardamom or vanilla if Mango isn't in season or if you want a more neutral cream. I'm a total sucker for Mango, so I use it everywhere when in season.

Once the pastry shells have cooled, spoon in the mango cream and top with assorted fruits. This is the fun part, you can use whatever you like and have fun decorating the tart. Let you kids do it so they feel they helped you make it. Chill chill in the fridge and then serve. If you plan on eating these after a day or two, I'd suggest to not spoon in the mango cream into the pastry shells but to keep them separately in the fridge and to assemble the tart either while serving or an hour before, else the pastry shells may become soggy.

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!

If you liked this, you may also like:

Tender Coconut Ice Cream - 4 ingredient eggless Ice Cream made with Tender Coconuts.
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No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake - This no bake Strawberry Cheesecake is egg and gelatin free.

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream

Fresh Fruit Tart with Mango Cream is a dessert with a n oats-almond crust stuffed with mango cream and topped with fresh fruits.

Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: International
Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield: 6 tarts

Ingredients:

For the Pastry Shell:

1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/2 cup Almonds
4-5 Tbsp Oil
15 deseeded Dates
2-3 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Cocoa Powder (Optional)
Water as required

For the Mango Cream:

1 litre full fat Milk
1 Lime
1 Mango
5-6 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

To Assemble the Fresh Fruit Tart:

Assorted fresh fruits

Method:

To make the Pastry Shell:

Soak dates in hot water for 15 minutes.
In a mixer, powder both the rolled oats and almonds until fine.
Add cocoa powder, if using and pulse once so that it mixes with the oats and almonds. Cocoa powder gives a the pastry shell a slightly bitter taste after it is baked, you can skip it if you prefer a sweeter pastry shell.
Add dates and pulse until combined.
Drizzle in oil until you have loose dough. The dough is ready when you can roll a tablespoon of dough into a ball without it crumbling. Add more oil if it is very dry.
Add powdered sugar and knead until combined. If the dough feels very sweet already because of the dates, you can skip the powdered sugar.
Preheat the oven to 180 degree C.
Grease the pie tins. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
Take one ball of dough and press it to the bottom of the pie tin. Using your fingers spread the dough so it is evenly distributed and well packed on the bottom and up the sides.
Bake the pastry shells for 10-12 minutes. The pastry shell will feel soft when hot. Remove them from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack. I baked mine for 12 minutes.

To make the Mango Cream:

Boil the milk until it comes to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat and add the juice of 1 lime and stir vigorously.
Allow the milk to curdle.
Once the milk has curdled and the milk solids have separated to leave a clear liquid behind, strain the milk using a muslin cloth or a fine mesh strainer.
Keep aside for 15 minutes until the liquid has drained.
Peel and puree the mango.
Blend the milk solids with 1 Tbsp of water until smooth.
Add the mango puree and mix well.
Add in powdered sugar by the spoonful until you have the desired sweetness.

To assemble the Fresh Fruit Tart:

Once the pastry shells have completely cooled, spoon in the mango cream.
Top with chopped fresh fruits.
Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.