Turmeric Courgette Blueberry Cake

Last weekend was dreadful weather wise and I think it is the same this weekend, weather forecasters have predicted rightly that there is more rain to come and it is falling from the skies as I type.  I have noted that its getting dark in the evenings a lot more quicker and its dark in the morning when I get up 6am in the morning - we seem to have skipped a season.  

I am so pleased that I don't have to get up and go anywhere tomorrow, so can snuggle up at home and watch some films. Well that is what I wish for my weekend, but we have lots of chores and housey things to do, so its not going to be relaxing as I wish, but still better than getting up and going into work. 

Well I made this cake last week, it was around the same time as the Turmeric Yellow Courgette Quiche, so yes I was inspired to stir in a teaspoon of turmeric to this Yellow Courgette Blueberry Cake as well.  

I adapted it from a Courgette cake I have made in the past.  D loved the dense rich buttery-ness.  You cannot taste the courgette as it lends moistness, rather than flavour, but you could definitely taste the turmeric which was pleasant and not overwhelming. 

Follow this link if you want to check out other Turmeric Recipes 

Chai Malai Cake and Brick Lane Cookbook

I made this delicious Chai Malai Cake on one of those when I wished I could go back to bed and start all over.  

Its started off whilst making this cake.  Whilst bashing my cardamom I broke the mortar! How does that even happen (it was a cheap one), then I could not find my proper granite pestle and mortar gifted to me by my mother years ago.  No doubt stuck at the back of a kitchen cupboard!

Then I crack eggs for the whites, except a yolk falls in. I manage to scoop it out before it spreads. 

Sugar goes all over the floor.  I brush it up, don't want an army of ants in the kitchen (not that its ever happened to me in my new home).

The hand whisk throws up the self-raising flour into my face like dust...

Like I said, it was one of those days that I wished I could to go back to bed and start over again, but I persevered and this was the delicious and pretty result.

I don't eat much in the way of South Asian sweets and desserts, but the one that I do really like and indulge in when the opportunity arises is Ras Malai.   So I was completely sold when I saw Dina Begum's Chai Malai Cake.  It's a light masala spiced cake with a rasmalai inspired frosting with cardamom and rose.  I have something to admit though. I am not that partial to cardamom and regular readers will note its lack of absence in recipes on my blog.  The reason I have avoided this green pod with highly flavoured and scented seeds is rooted in my childhood.  My mother always made spiced chai at home, and when we had guests she would go mad and include extra cardamom.  Cardamom was also thrown in most recipes, sweet rice and even savoury rice.  I found cardamom overpowering for my palette and have avoided it with a vengeance in my adulthood.  I had momentarily considered omitting it from the Chai Malai Cake recipe, but upon gathering the ingredients, I decided to put my childhood prejudices aside and stick to the recipe.  I am glad I did.  The cardamom was delicate and nothing like the chai tea my mother used to make.    

The Chai Malai Cake was a triumph enhanced with rose petals. It was everything Dina promised it would be...Yum! 

The recipe, if you haven't guessed it comes from Dina Begum's Brick Lane Cookbook: Food From Everywhere. The cookbook also includes contributions from street food traders and restaurants including The Boiler House, Beigel Shop and Kahala a not for profit community café. The cookbook is a snapshot of the ethnically diverse cuisine found in  the East End of London. If you want to make the Chai Malai Cake you can also find the here. 

By the way, I have been to Brick Lane - see here - but it was mostly about the graffiti art. However, I look forward to going back again and checking out some of the culinary contributors to the cookbook.

Turmeric Carrot Cake

Well this bug that has been knocking people for six finally hit me too.  I was in bed most of the week and my plans to take advantage of the good weather and dig the earth was a flop.  Here's hoping I am much better by the weekend and can get some seeds started at least. 

I made this cake just before I got unwell.  I had been wanting to eat cake for a while, but not a cake that was too indulgent.  

So I had decided on carrot cake when I saw two carrots languishing in my veg basket.  I got to work in the kitchen, grating the carrot.  

The idea of turmeric was really an afterthought, but I am glad I added it as it gave the cake a yellow tinge!

I guess I could have made it sweeter with butter icing on top, but I just wanted a simple cake, and a slice of this satisfied that want.

Other Turmeric Recipes on the Blog

Turmeric Nasturtium Pancakes

Turmeric Flapjacks

Turmeric Pasta with Blood Orange Dressing

Curried Shepherds Pie topped with Turmeric Mash

Turmeric Lemon Courgette Orzo

Turmeric Risotto with Preserved Lemons

Turmeric Cream New Potatoes

Turmeric Shakshouka with Eggs

Moveable Pear Cinnamon Cake

So hello November and to warm delicious Cinnamon Pear cake.  

And it really was delicious.  

The pears in this cake came from the garden.  Its the first year we have ever had pears from the tree. In fact its been a good year with cooking apples too.  

I wanted to present the pears standing upright like a crown - see this chocolate pear crown cake - but the pears did not want to play along.  I still think this cake looks pretty stellar. 

For the recipe, please follow this Cinnamon Plum Cake and just replace the plums with pears.  

Three Easy Plum Jams Recipes with Liquorice, Star Anise and Vanilla and Drowned Plum Cake

Every year I make the same Cinnamon Plum Cake.  This year I wanted to try some different recipes including an Upside Down Plum and Raspberry Cake.   

Well this is supposed to be a Plum Studded Cake, except the plums got engulfed by the cake batter and disappeared beneath the golden cake.  

You can imagine my disappointment as it does not make a good photograph, but it was nice to eat, so instead I have dubbed it Drowned Plum Cake. 

Well as well as making this drowned plum cake, I have also made Three variations of my popular Cinnamon Plum Jam, these include Plum Jam with Liquorice, Plum Jam with Star Anise, and Plum Jam with Vanilla. These will be gifted to unsuspecting new work colleagues come Birthdays or Christmas.

I am sharing this recipe with Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Searching for Spice. 

Upside Down Plum and Raspberry Cake

We are eating fruit from the garden: plums, raspberries and apples.

I made this Upside Down Plum and Raspberry Cake quite recently.  When I removed the baking parchment paper to reveal the fruit topped cake, it was vibrant and glistening beautifully from the fresh fruit natural juices.

However, it was the following day when we took the photograph, it had lost its sparkle. I was a tad disappointed and wish I had taken the photograph the evening before, but it had got a bit too dark.  So I feel somewhat that the cake is not shown in its best light.  Still it tasted good. If I make this cake again, I would just do one thing differently.  I would keep the stoned fruit on the side, around the edges and the raspberries in the middle because even though the cake was cooked, the middle was a bit soggy and you'd be worried if it was raw or soggy. 

Red Gooseberry Cake

So how is your weekend going?!  I have had a good weekend.  Yesterday, I had some friends come over. I know some of you are saying so what, we have mates over all the time, well not me.  You see I live out in the digs in the Welsh valleys and not many of my friends want to come over as its out of their way.  So I was delighted when some friends and to show my appreciation I was keen to cook for them.  


D and me rarely sit out in the garden to eat, so it was doubly enjoyable that I was able to sit outside with friends and eat cake.  Added bonus, the new neighbours with the non stop barking dogs and lots of grandchildren was out, so were (and the other neighbours) were able to enjoy the quiet for a few good hours.  

Okay onto my recipe today was not something  made at the weekend, in fact I made this red gooseberry cake a couple of months ago when red gooseberries were in season, but as you know life gets in the way, that food blogging now and again has to take the backseat.  

The red gooseberry cake does look a bit flat - my fault, I used a larger cake tin as I couldn't place my hands on an eight inch round cake tin, but regardless of it looking like a flat pancake with red spots.  It was  good to eat.  The red gooseberries burst and sunk into the batter and were proper sharp on eating.  

Follow here for the recipe - replace the plums with red gooseberries and omit the cinnamon. 

No Ordinary Blood Orange Tart

Early on in the month, I made a Blood Orange Tart when blood oranges were still in season.  I have been wanting to make this for a while, and when I saw blood oranges at a supermarket, it was decided that this was my weekend mission. 

I started with great excitement, measuring out the ingredients, bringing out bowls, whisks and measuring spoons.  I made everything from scratch, the shortcrust pastry.  The orange custard creme brulee-like filling and then sliced the blood orange as thinly as I could with such concentration that you think I had telepathic skills.  

Easy Pear and Cinnamon Loaf

I have to confess that I have really lost my blogging mojo lately, so regular readers I do hope you will forgive me.  I just don't have the mental energy when I get home from work so my blogging is likely to be weekly, I hope you will stick around. 

I share with you a recipe for an Easy Pear and Cinnamon Loaf adapted from A Girl Called Jack by Jack Monroe. 

I flicked through the cookbook to see if it had a recipe for pears as I had a load that were beginning to go really soft.  I could not find a pear recipe int he cookbook but noted that I could adapt the Apple and Cinnamon Loaf. 

Plum Crumble Cinnamon Cake

The last of the plums have fallen from the trees and they have been attracting the Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies who have been feasting on them. It has been a honour to watch them on mass, though I wish D had the energy to take some pictures as they posed without care. 

I have had my share of plums this year and am pleased to have been able to shared some with family and neighbours, after making the Plum Chickpea Curry, I made a Plum Crumble Cinnamon Cake which was a good change from my awesome Cinnamon Plum Cake. 

Zucchini, Apricot and Pistachio Bread

D moved my bread  loaf tins somewhere and could not remember where he moved them.  I have looked in all the obvious places. I told him many times, if he is unsure where to put kitchenalia to let me know and I will put them away.  He has done this to me a few times and it makes me frown when I go to look for whatever it is, even some of the ingredients for shopping are put away in wrong places. Grrr

He looked everywhere he would put them and he could not find them either. so over the weekend, we went shopping in Cardiff and I picked up a decent loaf tin as I wanted to make Zucchini Bread.  

Ah if this is all the grief he gives me, then I am in a happy relationship.  I know I am blessed and very very lucky.

The Zucchini Bread was very nice by the way.  D of course had his with a bit of butter, I don't think it needs it, but it definitely does need a cuppa of some sort with it to wash it down. Apricots are optional, but they are in season and I had some in a bowl that were not very juicy, so i used them in the loaf, but dried apricots will do just nicely too. 

My Little Courgette Chocolate Brownies

One of my nephews has been calling me my little courgette because of my moss green rain coat, its term of endearment and affection, but its also a cheeky little request to make him a Courgette Cake, I promised to when courgettes were in season and indeed they are now. 

Courgette brownies are not new and nor are courgette cakes, they have been around a while - in fact throwing vegetables in sweet recipes including cakes, biscuits and rice pudding is not a new idea at all, even if some people think and convince themselves and those around them that they were the first to introduce the social media generation to this idea. Sadly I think its the same people who fall for fake news, which also is not new.  The world is indeed shrinking and everything according to them can be answered by google. 

One of my lecturers at Glasgow University, now a Professor Greg Philo teachings impacted and completely changed the way I viewed the mass media a.  I still have a copy of  his original publication Seeing is Believing: The Influence of Television,  which was gifted to me as a student. In the book, Greg Philo focuses on how the media has the power to influence and instil in the viewer negative and bias viewpoints.  One example of this was the way Arthur Scargill, a prominent British Trade Unionist during the British Miners Strike in 1984 - 85 was vilified by the British media. I remember as a child growing up in Wales also being duped by the popular media publications demonising this man and the protesting miners being portrayed in extreme negative light, after all the media could never lie (I am being sarcastic here).  A decade ago it was  bogus asylum seekers and refugees, today its around other migrants veiled under BREXIT and then we must not forget the Other as we see a rise in hate incidents towards the visible muslim community.   Since having both my eyes and mind opened to the power of the media to propagate misinformation and bias, I have always been sceptical of media portrayal around most things and this has extended nowadays to social media, therefore I am very selective in what I read these days even so called high ranking food blogs, as people put financial gain and popularity before ethics these days.  I could go on, but I will stop as it will become a rant, and this is a food blog after all.

So here are some slices of Courgette Chocolate brownies which I am sharing these with Tin and Thyme for We Should Cocoa and with Treat Petite hosted by The Baking Explorer and CakeyBoi.; 

Other Brownie Recipes on the Blog
Raspberry Brownies
Red Dragon Chili Brownies
Strawberry Cream Cheese Brownies
Sweet Potato and Cranberry Brownies
Vegan Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Brownies

Ruby Tandoh's Banana Thyme Cake with Lemon Glaze Made at Home

I have made sweet tarts and cakes with fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary and bay leaves many times; and cakes with ripe bananas many, many times, but not the two combined together. 

So my curiosity was peaked when I found a recipe for Banana Thyme Cake in Ruby Tandoh's new cookbook Flavour.  I have borrowed the cookbook from the library.  I spotted her Crumb: The Baking Book there too, but decided that I would pick that up some other time. 

We always have overripe bananas in the house.  

I have to say the bananas coming into the UK recently have been rather disappointingly bordering on still green and unripe.  We tend to have bananas for our working desktop breakfast or lunch, but recently the bananas brought home have been overlooked until of course they are too ripe and only good for making a sweet bake.

This Banana Thyme Cake was lovely by the way, but the zingy Lemon and Thyme Glaze was the best part and I am not an cake icing person.  You can find the full recipe if you click here and the link will take you to The Guardian. 

Vegan Hazelnut Swede Lemon Drenched Cake

This prettily dressed up Hazelnut Swede Lemon Drenched Cake has come and gone in our home and while it lasted, it made every one who had a slice or a taste, first crinkle their noses and then purse their lips and nod their heads in approval. It was intriguing. 

For my overseas readers, you may know Swede as Rutabaga.  It is a vegetable that I avoid eating in savoury meals, I find it sweet like parsnips and don't often enjoy it, but hide it in a cake then it takes on a different flavour all together.  I know it won't convince everybody, but all I can say is try it before you pass judgement.

I have made a few dishes with both swede and turnips  of late.  Previous to this blog post you may have seen my Turnip, Kale and White Bean Stew, Swede Mash on top of a Veggie 'Meatball' dish and of course that dark Rutabaga Cinnamon Nutmeg Cake with Miso Caramel Sauce reminisce of Sticky Toffee Pudding.   

I have to admit, at first I also was not sure sbout theHazelnut Swede Lemon Drenched Cake.  I found it a little earthy on some bites, but as each day passed and I had another slice, I came to like it, really like it.   It was unlike anything that I had ever eaten, which made it a delight.  It also loved how the rosemary lemon syrup seeped beautifully into the hazelnut sponge.  

This cake can be made with eggs, or flaxseeds which will make it suitable for vegans or those who do not eat eggs.  Oh did I mention its also gluten free too.  I am sharing this with CookBlogShare hosted by Hijacked By Twins; and Simple and In Season hosted by Feeding Boys - even though Swede is a winter vegetable, you will still find it in the supermarkets springtime and Honest Mum for Brilliant Blog Posts. 

Rutabaga aka Swede Date Cake with Miso Caramel Sauce

This handsome dark Rutabaga Cinnamon Nutmeg Cake has been a long time coming.  I bookmarked it way back in 2010.  For those of us living in the UK, Rutabaga is known as Swede and it is quite an underrated vegetable and also one that causes much debate Is it a Swede or a Turnip... 

I baked this Swede aka Rutabaga Cake on Good Friday.  The original recipe for Rutabaga Spice Cake hails from American Chef Patrick Fahy in an article titled Our chefs can make anything magic, even Rutabagas. I adapted the recipe a little in relation to the spices and the addition of dates.  I also decided to serve it with a lush homemade Miso Caramel Sauce which transformed it from a cake to a pudding mimicking the British Sticky Toffee Pudding found on the menu of most traditional pubs. The idea to serve it with miso caramel sauce came from one of my favourite experimental chefs in the UK Stevie Parle who made a Miso Sticky Tofee Pudding a couple of years back for Christmas eve and I have been wanting to try it for long while. 

Although I have cooked with Swede a lot.  My approach to it was often one of I could take it or leave it, I  found this muted orange waxy root vegetable too sweet in savoury dishes.  I found that like  parsnips and sweet potatoes, that the swede would be better appreciated in a Sweet cake like carrot cake.  So when I started blogging in 2009, it was nice to find some cookbooks and chefs using vegetables in cakes, veggie desserts and puddings.  

Julia Belluz in Globe Life writes an interesting article  Have you Rutabaga Cake and eat it Too.  This is praise to Harry Eastwood, British celebrity chef and cookbook author of Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache (2009).  Harry Eastwoods 80 cakes are super loaded with vegetables, but the vegetables are hidden under beautiful cake names like Orange and Drizzle Cake which is made with rutabaga, Heartache Chocolate Cake made with whole aubergines and a Victoria Sponge made with Potatoes that you would never know that this is a veggie dessert, veggie pudding and veggie cake cookbook.   Harry Eastwood is perhaps the first Veggie Desserts food writer and vegetable cookbook author in the UK.  She  opened up the imagination of chefs, home cooks and food bloggers alike. 

Other cookbooks I highly recommend with vegetables in cakes are 
 called Vegetable Desserts: Beyond Carrot Cake and Pumpkin Pie by Elizabeth Schafer and Jeanette L Miller (1998).   Much more than carrot cake for sure - a cake called Web of Intrigue described as a beetroot cheesecake.   There is also cabbage, jicama and turnip in cookies and pies.   Greens such as cucumber and peas, as well spinach, nettle and turnip greens in sweet cakes, and much much more.  Its not often obvious by the names of the recipes to what vegetable they have in them, such as Orange Drop cookies and a Mystery Pie which both have beetroot as an ingredient; or Davids Pleasure, a lemony cake which has spinach and turnip greens as the unique ingredient.  Other unusual ingredients in sweet cakes and bakes are tomatoes, onion, peppers and  honey and garlic ice-cream.  And that is not all, the cookbook also contains recipes made with lentils and beans!  I made celery cookies from it a while back. 

There is also an e book called 50 Decadent Vegetable Cake Recipes by Brenda Van Niekerk; and Baking With Vegetables (2015) 
Other Rutabaga Sweet Cake Recipes from around the world
Norwegian Rutabaga Cake with Cream Cheese Topping 
Swedish Rutabaga Cake by Viva City

City Market Rutabaga and Honey Cake
Foodland Ontario Rutabaga and Molasses Cake
Vegan Lovelie Vegan Crust less No Bake Rutabaga Pie Infused with Maple Syrup Cake

Affairs of Living with Gluten Free Honey Cake (2010) also has a fantastic recipe for Rutabaga Vanilla Mash and Rutabaga Apple Salad.

I am sharing this Rutabaga aka Swede Cinnamon Nutmeg and Date Cake with Miso Caramel Sauce with CookBlogShare hosted by Easy Peasy Foodie; and Honest Mum for Brilliant Blog Posts.

Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake

Over the weekend, I was going  through my larder, well its not really a larder I pretend it is.  Its just space under the stairs where I store excess things mostly from the kitchen as space in the kitchen comes at a premium, so things like my Kitchenaid Food Processor and Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer (both Birthday presents from D many years back) live under the stairs.  As I was fumbling about I came across the box that contained loads of homemade jars of preserves, jams and chutneys that I made last year including a Marrow Curd.  

I decided to approach the jar of Marrow Curd in the way I would approach Lemon Curd, so this cake is really a Lemon Pistachio cake with the lemon curd substituted with homemade marrow curd.

I guess you can make this Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake with other fancy pants curds like blackberry curd, strawberry curd, clementine curd, banana curd and many others  - experiment, but then make sure you match the fruit or vegetable curd with a nut that compliments it.

This Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake was delicious, I mean really delicious.  If you look close at the above photograph, you will see a thin line of the marrow curd.    I just wish the green from the pistachio nuts came through too, but it certainly did in flavour.  

Upside Down Sicilian Blood Orange Chocolate Cake

This Upside Down Sicilian Blood Orange Chocolate Cake is my second Sicilian Blood Orange recipe.  This cake, like the gluten free Blood Orange Almond Cake was also very delicious and I say that with a bit of surprise.  

Why? 

Well for those of you who know me now, will know that I don't really do sweet cakes, and I don't go gaga or doolally tap for chocolate either.  I am drawn more towards savoury eats and treats, but my man, my husband has a very sweet tooth - be it for cakes or chocolate.  He likes them both but not always together.

This cake was wonderfully moist on the first day.  A couple of days later the chocolate sponge had got a bit cold and stiff, but it was still very good.  I think it is best served at room temperature too.  

I especially loved the Blood Orange topping and the orange caramelised and became both sticky and chewy.  We enjoyed the cake without cream, but it could benefit with you are that way inclined.

I am sharing this Upside Down Blood Orange Chocolate Cake with We Should Cocoa Challenge; and Simple and In Season hosted by Feeding Boys ; and Hijacked by Twins for CookBlog Share; and Simply Seasonal and Good Egg Foodie.