Tag: nutmeg

Armenian Nutmeg Walnut Cake … the most delicious walnut tea cake!

“In case you never get a second chance: don’t be afraid!”
“And what if you do get a second chance?” “You take it!”
C. JoyBell C

The walnut tea cake haunted me. It was part two of the Daring Baker challenge that’s just gone by. I didn’t get it done on time, yet it was high on my list of things to do. Many enticing DB posts later, I breezed into the kitchen, whipped it together … and then helplessly stared at lava cake overflow in my oven! The failure haunted me, so I had to get it right! Here it is now, a happy success story with the Armenian Nutmeg Walnut Cake.

It was a tea cake waiting to be made, one which I followed on many blogs after a huge thumbs up at the Daring Baker forum. Lorraine @Not Quite Nigella posted a stunner, and so did Sawsan @Chef in Disguise.

I didn’t need any more convincing and soon scuttled off to the kitchen to make mine. I did hit disaster zone as I experimented with smaller tins and had overflowing walnut lava all over my oven. What I salvaged was fabulous but not worthy of a picture! Bryt had a similar disaster …

The walnut tea cake haunted me for a couple of days, and then I pinned it down to using smaller size tins than recommended. I should have just followed the recipe guidelines … but well! We live and learn, and thankfully I had another chance to get it right!! I used the same proportions as I did the last time {cut back the butter and sugar}, and substituted a little flour with walnuts. I hit a home run, and was so relieved I had a cake this time.

Stunning cake! Nutmeg is an acquired taste as many say, but give it a shot. I used a nice heavy dose of freshly grated nutmeg and the whole house smelt divine! You could always use cinnamon if you don’t like nutmeg, or maybe some orange zest instead of the spices. It’s a wonderful cake to try.It’s different! It’s got a crisp biscuit layer on the bottom {and on the sides since I thought I had too much base and pushed some to line the sides}. A rather liquidy batter is beaten up and poured over the biscuit crust, and they bake together, the crust firming crisp and the batter ending up in a sponge. Very interesting!

I used some extra walnuts in mine, and they sank into the liquidy batter becoming soft and nice while baking in the sponge, and tossed a few on top. Great flavours in a cake served warm. A nibble the next day, and the thought of a warm spicy fruit cake popped into my head, a nostalgic winter thought! {BTW, we loved this cold too}

Surprisingly the ‘now threatening to be quite terrible pre-teen‘ requested for a slice {rather two} when he got in from school, and said the same thing. ‘This tastes like Christmas cake Mama’, he declared and ‘I really like it‘! The ‘not so terrible anymore teen‘ didn’t quite take a shine to nutmeg though she devoured the ‘earlier disaster’ as it was squishy & gooey, and nibbled on the ‘good one‘ only when it was chilled!

Thank you Jason of Daily Candor  for sharing your rich cultural heritage in this Armenian Nutmeg Walnut Cake.

A big thank you also to Womens Weekly UK for featuring Passionate About Baking in their May 15, 2012 issue which is on the stands now.

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Armenian Nutmeg Walnut Cake … the most delicious walnut tea cake!

An addictive, warm, spicy Armenian cake with pleasing overtones of nutmeg and walnut. Simple to make and rustic in appeal, it’s a beautiful tea cake to serve. We enjoyed it warm and chilled too! {Minimally adapted from Jason @ Daily Candor}. Serves 12-14
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Mediterranean
Keyword baking, cake, dessert, eggless baking
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 12

Ingredients

  • 250 ml milk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 200 g all-purpose flour
  • 100 g walnuts divided
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 320 g brown sugar
  • 150 g unsalted butter chilled, cubed
  • 1 egg {optional}
  • 1 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease an 8″ springform tin {or line}. I used a dessert ring and lined it with foil.
  • Mix the baking soda into the milk and set it aside.
  • Place the flour, 50gm walnuts and baking powder in the bowl of your processor and pulse until the walnut is ground {4-5 times}
  • Add the brown sugar and pulse a couple of times to mix.
  • Now add the chilled butter and process until you get a breadcrumb like mix. {You can do this by hand too, but a processor is far quicker and easier}
  • Divide this into half. Press half {435gm approx} into an 8″ springform tin, pushing up some into the sides if you like. Else pat firmly to create a base.
  • In the bowl of the processor, add the milk-baking soda mixture to the remaining biscuit mix with the egg and freshly grated nutmeg, and process for 2-3 minutes till you have a smooth batter.
  • Pour this batter over the pressed crust, and sprinkle 25gm walnuts on top. They will sink into the rather ‘liquidy’ batter. Toss the remaining walnuts in a tsp of flour, and sprinkle on top gently.
  • Bake the cake at 180C for about 35 to 45 minutes till the top is a golden brown or till a skewer pushed through the centre of the cake comes out clean. { Mine took about an hour}
  • Cool the cake in the tin before demolding. It is best eaten while still warm, though we enjoyed it cold too.

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Cardamom Spiced Cake … spicing up life with cardamom

“Variety’s the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavor”
William Cowper

Leafing through the Australian Women’s Weekly book on CAKES that my friend recently brought for me when she was visiting from the UK, I stopped at this Cardamom-spiced Cake. Not that I’m a huge fan of cardamom, (though the hub & boy certainly are), but because it had a little note that said this cake was a new take on the Armenian nutmeg cake. Reading the note took me right back to when I began blogging...

When I began this blog in August 2007, for the want of nothing better to do, it was the first cake I made specially for my blog, my inaugural bake as I chose to refer to it as. It had turned out to be a warm & wonderful cake, the Armenian nutmeg cake. This new take sounded entirely enticing .

I think this is a tea cake, full of spices, quite perfect for ‘chai‘ or tea, warm with spicy flavours. The method is also entirely different from most of the cakes I’ve tried before. It’s got a crumb base, & then the batter on top that makes the cake. The boy loved it & couldn’t stop asking for me (tch, tch), but the daughter wasn’t too excited about it to begin with. But I guess it grows on you, as it grew on her, & soon enough she was back asking for seconds & thirds. Browned Butter Caramel Frosting, (recipe from an earlier Daring Bakers challenge) on top added to it’s appeal, or then the dollop of chocolate ganache within, which ensured runaway success. I think this is a pretty versatile cake indeed. The original recipe used pistachios, my favourite nuts (for colour, taste & beauty), but I used almonds here as an alternate as the recipe suggested. Pistachios are quite highly priced here, & I didn’t want to weep over precious wasted nuts just in case the cake was a disaster. Other nut substitutes suggested are walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans. If you aren’t a huge fan of cardamom, I think the cake might work well with just cinnamon & nutmeg, in which case just omit the cardamom to make a ‘Spiced cake’. Another idea might be to omit the spices altogether, & add some chocolate chips with the nuts to make an entirely different version. Think on…
CARDAMOM-SPICED CAKE
An updated version of the Armenian nutmeg cake, this cake uses different spices and is more like a slice having a cake-like topping.
As adapted from Cooking Class CAKES, The Australian Women’s Weekly, pg 103
Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour (I used 1 cup flour + 1 tsp baking powder + a pinch of salt)
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves (I forgot this completely)
125gms cold butter; chopped
1 egg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup almonds; chopped
Method:
  • Preheat oven to 180C/moderate oven. Grease a 20cm X 30cm Lamington pan, & line the long sides & bottom.
  • Process the flours, sugar,spices & butter till the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  • Transfer to a bowl. firmly press 1 1/2 cups of the flour mix into the bottom of the pan.
  • Use a fork to combine the egg, soda & milk in a jug, add to the remaining flour mixture with nuts, mix well with a wooden spoon. Pour mixture over base in pan, & spread evenly.
  • Bake cake for about 1 hour (mine took about 45-50 minutes). When done, cool on rack for about 10 minutes. then turn out of pan gently. Cut when cool.

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

COFFEE GLAZED CHOCOLATE-CHIP SCONES…A delicious mouthful!

“I always fear that creation will expire before tea time.”
Sydney Smith
A sweet beginning for October. A new month, a fresh bunch of challenges, a load of activity across blogs…& food, glorious food! Winter is creeping into the Northern hemisphere, while Spring is springing into the Southern. What better time to enjoy some warm scones for tea but now?My first exposure to authentic scones was back in the 80’s when a bunch of us girlfriends had gone over to stay in a castle up in North England which was being restored by a Scottish lady. The memories are quite faint now, but I vividly remember a couple of things… the huge gate-posts made of stone with carved lion heads, early morning mist, beds of lavender, the beautiful guest rooms in hues of pastel pinks & lavenders–done up in hand-made lace linen made by Irish nuns, & fresh scones for tea! The pastels in this post are reminiscent of those connections long gone…but the clotted cream is missing!! Found this perfect recipe for scones to enjoy the change in season & nip in the air; it’s from a wonderful blog that I love visiting. Baking & Books is authored by Ariela, a talented lady who says she loves coffee, cooking, baking, traveling, running with Oreo, books & music..& more. The recipe was a winner though I had some minor problems with a sticky dough, & ended up not using all the buttermilk. That said, the scones eventually formed beautifully (after the addition of extra flour), were delicious & had a delicate crumb. Gentle flavours of nutmeg combined beautifully with the dark chocolate chips & coffee glazing. I cut the scones with a 2″ cutter instead of a 3″ one, since I knew the kids would go for seconds! Smart ole me…or mean ole me…whatever!! Ariela served some Iced Cardamom Coffee with these…I didn’t have time to get that far, though I do wish I did. Will try that one day!! Pretty portulaca or moss roses…the last of the summer flowers…
Coffee-Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones from Baking & Books
Makes 8 large scones or 16 smaller 2″ ones like I made
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, both packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk (I didn’t use up all of it)
About 1/4 cup whole milk
For the coffee glaze:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon freshly brewed coffee (I brewed 3 tsps medium roast coffee in 1 1/2 tbsps of hot water)

Method:

  • Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add the butter pieces. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs. (I used the food processor).
  • Stir in the chocolate chips.
  • In a small bowl, gently whisk the egg and buttermilk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together in clumps. Coat your hands with flour and gather the dough into a ball. (If the dough is too sticky to handle you can sprinkle flour on it about 1/2 teaspoon at a time, just enough for you to handle it. Don’t add too much or you’ll dry out your dough!)
  • Turn your ball of dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently press into a circle about 8 inches in diameter.
  • Use a medium, round 3-inch cookie cutter to shape the scones. Dip the cookie cutter into some flour, then press into the dough, twisting as you press down. Repeat this process for each scone. You can gather extra bits of dough up into another ball, then flatten and repeat to get a couple extra scones out of the batch.
  • Brush scones lightly with milk, then bake for 20-24 minutes or until they are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • While the scones are cooling, in a small bowl combine the confectioners sugar with the coffee. Mix until you can’t see any little lumps of sugar. Then drizzle over the scones and allow 10-15 minutes for the glaze to set. (Of course, you don’t have to wait for the glaze to set, you can just gobble these right up if you want!)
  • Sprinkle some flaked almonds on the wet-glaze if you like.

There’s something about a square of paper which takes me back to my days in school. Each time I have nothing to do & find some waste paper, I set to making these little paper baskets…wonder if anyone else remembers making these!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

THOUGHTS OF NUTMEG TRAPPED IN A POUND CAKE…& FOODBUZZ

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.”
Erma Bombeck
NUTMEG POUND CAKE…spicing it up
NUTMEG, the spice of choice for this months’ Think Spice has weighed heavily on my mind. Ever since I saw that Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen, a fellow DB & an Indian blogger (like me) from Goa, was hosting the event this month, I decided I had to send something in.

Freshly grated…

Piney, terpeney and citrus-like aromatics combine with sweet and bitter tastes to provide Nutmeg with its distinctive flavor.Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), native to the Moluccas (the Spice Islands of Indonesia) is unique among spice plants, producing two distinct spices. The seed is dried, shelled and sold either whole or ground as the spice Nutmeg. The outer fleshy network is also dried and ground producing the spice know as Mace.Nutmeg is used in cakes, confections, eggs, cheese, meat dishes, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and in eggnog and several cocktails and punches.
Think Spice is the brainchild of Sunita @ Sunita’s World & was one of the first blog events I began contributing to. Of late, I have missed a couple of months, but am happy to be back here. Only point was, hmmmmmmmm…nutmeg? I’ve used nutmeg in a lot of curries but it never has an overpowering nutmeggy taste, if you know what I mean. Had already posted it in a rice pudding / Indian kheer, which it lent a beautiful flavour to. Turned to the ever reliable Internet & it did throw up some interesting choices…eggnog nutmeg cake, vanilla nutmeg cake, Armenian nutmeg cake ( made it eons ago;nice nutty cake-recipe here). I had on hand a cup of sugar & 3/4 cup butter, which I had already creamed for cookies, & then had suffered a drastic change of mind! The Internet being the ever dependable resource, came to my rescue. Ooooh, what did we have here? A NUTMEG POUND CAKE from Ace Recipes. Absolutely brilliant because it matched my creamed proportions of butter & sugar perfectly!!
Thinking cap on…I was thinking ‘NUTMEG CAKE’

This was a fun cake to make, but I did have a minor disaster. The ever enthusiastic baker in me didn’t read ‘wellbuttered’, which occurred somewhere in the middle of the written recipe (not my fault is it???), & I just normally buttered the bundt pan as for a pound cake (not thoroughly). I should have slathered the butter on, making sure no area was left uncovered.
CRUMBS…that disappeared in next to no time!

I paid the price as the cake hung on to the pan in the 2 places I missed & cracked the beautiful cake. Otherwise…the cake had an outstanding flavour. Spicy in the sweet sense; pleasing in every which way, with a mocha heart within! Delicious & a light crumb too. I think this will bake well in a well line normal 9″ round cake tin, or a spring form too. Will bake it again to enjoy the beauty of the cake. Thanks to you, Aparna, I tried a new flavour…the nutmeg didn’t disappoint!! Was a hit with everyone, kids included!
NUTMEG POUND CAKE

This spicy pound cake has a mocha center that just naturally occurs when you pour the cocoa portion of the cake mixture over the light batter. For a more attractive presentation, use a fancy tube-type pan with an 8 to 10 cup capacity.

The recipe as adapted from Ace Recipes
Ingredients:
Dark cocoa – 3 tbsp
Instant coffee powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – 1/8 tsp
Hot water – 3 tbsp (or just enough to make a thick paste; add a tsp at a time)
Butter – 3/4 cup ; at room temperature (or margarine)
Castor sugar – 1 cup (granular should be fine too; I used powdered coz my batter was originally meant for sugar cookies)
Eggs – 3
All-purpose flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Ground nutmeg – 1 1/2 tsp ( I grated about 3/4th of a fresh nutmeg; the aroma was divine)
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Milk – 1/2 cup; at room temperature
Method:

  • In small bowl mix cocoa, coffee powder, baking soda and hot water to make a thick paste. Set side.
  • In large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until smooth.
  • Beat in eggs until fluffy.
  • TIP: Butter and eggs must be at room temperature or creamed mixture will not turn out light and fluffy. If mixture is cold and curdled in appearance, place bowl over warm water for a few minutes, then proceed beating until fluffy.
  • Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg cinnamon.
  • Add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until smooth.
  • Take 1/4 of the batter in a bowl & stir reserved cocoa mixture. Keep aside.
  • Pour 1/2 of the remaining white batter into a wellbuttered, tube-type pan of 8 to 10 cups capacity. Smooth it out.
  • Pour the cocoa-coffee batter over this; smooth it out (can even marble or swirl at this point if desired).
  • Cover this with remaining white batter, smooth out & bake at 180 degrees C for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Leave in pan for 10-15 minutes turn out gently & leave on rack. The cake has a beautiful crumb, & is wonderful warm.

Extremely light & moist, the mocha heart gives the cake a whole new dimension!

Before I end this post, I have one more thing to add…BIG THANKS to Foodbuzz for the wonderful eco-tote & mini moo cards they mailed me. The cards came to me ages ago, & I received the bag a couple of days ago, with a personalised badge included. Take a look. Thank you…I am very touched & love the bag!

What the buzz about…Foodbuzz is the first-ever community site devoted exclusively to food and dining content—an unparalleled resource for searching, surfing and sharing with fellow foodies everywhere. From the professional chef to the casual diner and everyone in between, the online community is a one-stop shop for food lovers…do check it out!

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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