The White Ramekins

food & photography

Lemon Drizzle Cakelettes

by

Lemon Drizzle Cakelettes

A few days back, I made these Lime and Mint posicles which were really tangy and refreshing. The citrus love kicked in the inspiration and this time I am back with these citrus-y and tangy lemon drizzle cakelettes, which are perfect for a summer alfresco lunch or an afternoon tea.

Lemon Drizzle Cakelettes 3

My love for baking with fresh fruits and vegetables isn’t hidden to anyone now. I get easily hooked on to fresh fruits of the season more than anything else. There’s one thing which I like most about summers, is that the season is full of so many hydrating fruits and veggies like honeydew, watermelon, mangoes, cucumber, gourd family etc. that we get to eat.

Lemon Drizzle Cakelettes 2

And while we are talking about these fruits and vegetables, we can’t forget lemons without which the season is incomplete. A generous squeeze of fresh lemon or lime on fruits and salads is all I need on a hot scorching afternoon. A glass of lemonade is perfect enough to rebound all the energies and keep me get going.

Lemon Drizzle Cakelettes 1

These mini cakes or the cakelettes {the way I call them} are full of citrus-y aroma of lemon zest. And the sweet flavor of sponge pairs very well with the tangy lemon glaze. They aren’t pucker-y at all, but good enough to freshen up the dull summer afternoon.

`

The recipe is adapted from Monsieur Eric Lanlard’s Home Bake. The original recipe suggests to bake the cake in a 8 1/2 inch sandwich/springform tin. I rather baked the cake into these 8 mini cakes. I also cut down on butter {original recipe calls for 175 gm butter} to make these cakes a bit more lighter and I didn’t find them dry at all with lesser butter.

Ingredients

125 gm unsalted butter
175 gm caster sugar
3 large eggs
6 tbsp milk
225 gm self-raising flour
finely grated zest of 2 lemons

For sugar syrup drizzle

100 gm icing sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius and grease 8 2-1/2 inch ramekins.
  2. Beat butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs one by one until all incorporated. Beat in the milk and lemon zest.
  4. Fold in the flour, until just mixed through. Pour the batter into ramekins and bake for 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted into center comes out clean. If baking in a springform cake tin, bake for 40-45 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, for the glaze/drizzle, mix the icing sugar and lemon juice to make smooth paste.
  6. Let cake cool in tin on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert on to the wire rack, keeping the rack on a big plate. Poke the cake with a fork to make multiple holes and drizzle the lemon and sugar syrup on top of it. Decorate with some lemon zest on top and serve at room temperature.

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake

by

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake 2

I had this cake recently in a cafe and I really fell in love with the sweet vanilla flavor married to the tart and juicy strawberries. And there on, I decided to bake this cake pretty quick. I had frozen a big bag of strawberries, when it was available in plenty in season.

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake

But for this one, I needed a fresh lot. The ones, which I had frozen would go into some sorbet or ice cream, which I intend to make soon. I was lucky enough to have found the fresh strawberries in a near by store, at the time when  local fruit vendors have completely banished the poor fruit.  As you know, summers are already here.

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake 1

The recipe was such a breeze to follow. You just need to whip up the simple vanilla batter, bake it, slice it and sandwich the strawberries and whipped cream in between the layer and voila ! Could life be anymore simple? If you don’t agree with me, and life’s getting harder on you, bake this cake. I am sure, you too will fell in love with these simple flavors.

Strawberry Victoria Sponge Cake 3

I halved the original recipe. Recipe source : Martha Stewart

Ingredients

For The Cake
100 gm salted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 tsp tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For The Filling
400 gm strawberries, sliced 1/3 inch thick
1/8 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tbsp confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup raspberry jam

Instructions

  1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Butter a 9-inch round cake pans; dust with flour, tapping out excess.
  2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda in a bowl.
  3. Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat in vanilla.

  4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake, about 40 minutes, until the skewer inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack, and let cool in pans for 20 minutes.

  5. Run a knife around edge of cake, and invert onto rack; and let cool completely.
  6. For the filling: Combine strawberries with granulated sugar, lemon juice. Let stand, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving syrup.
  7. Whisk cream with confectioners’ sugar until medium peaks form.
  8. Slice cakes in half horizontally. Generously brush 1 cake layer with some reserved syrup, and spread on the jam. Top with whipped cream followed by strawberries. Top with remaining cake layer, bottom side up. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours. Dust cake with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Strawberry & Apple Galette

by

Strawberry & Apple Galette 3

Spring is so wonderful. It’s light, airy and refreshing and brings in a magical change from the cold and dull winters. And the whole body welcomes this change so whole-heartedly.

Strawberry & Apple Galette 6

During those foggy and mauve days of winters, when I would sit at home and slurp into hot and comforting bowls of hearty stews and soups, I’d rather get up early and start my day from a brisk morning walk on a cool spring morning.

Strawberry & Apple Galette 5

Such is the magic it does to you, that you would want to go out more often, have more lighter food. And while you go out for a walk or jog, the cool breeze caressing through the body makes you all rejuvenated inside out.

Strawberry & Apple Galette 4

Flowerbeds in the garden are all bloomed up, as if singing the song of pure joy and a new life.  Wonderful vibrant colors every where you see! Leaves which got fallen off the trees all throughout the winters have now dried up and they are all set to catch up the rhythm of cool flowing breeze and dance along.

Strawberry & Apple Galette 7

And the merriment continues to cheer up the food scene too. Red luscious strawberries and tart crisp apples ready to go in a light and perfect-for-the-weather dessert. Be it a crumble, crisp, tart or a rustic looking galette!

Strawberry & Apple Galette 2

Or for that matter, a few drops of lemon squeezed into a bowl of sugared berries with a bunch of hand torn mint leaves makes for a pucker-y and refreshing dessert….so harmonious! Encasing them within a buttery and crispy crust, takes the flavor to a new high. And if the tartness is too much to handle, slather the inside of the pastry with a sweet mulberry jam.

Strawberry & Apple Galette

Recipe minimally adapted from Baking with Julia

Ingredients

3 tbsp yogurt or sour cream
1/3 cup ice water
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
110 gm unsalted butter
1 cup stawberries, huled and diced
1 cup apples, chored and diced
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp suagr
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp mulberry jam {or any fruit jam of your choice}
milk for brushing the pastry

Instructions

  1. Stir the yogurt and ice water together and keep aside.
  2. Put the flour, cornmeal, 1 tsp of sugar, salt in the food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse to mix them together.
  3. Drop the butter pieces into the flour mixture and pulse them 8 to 10 times or until mixture resemble coarse grained bread crumb. If you don’t have food processor, you could rub the butter into flour with the help of your fingertips.
  4. Add the sour cream mixture and process just until the dough forms soft and moist curds.
  5. Remove the dough from the food processor. Divide it in half and press each half into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.
  6. Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  7. Mix the strawberries, apples, 2 tbsp sugar, honey and the cornflour in a bowl and keep them aside.
  8. Taking a dough half one at a time, roll into an 11 inch circle that is about 1/8 inch thick. To avoid using flour while rolling, roll the pastry within two layers of plastic wrap.
  9. Spread 1 tbsp of jam over the rolled pastry, leaving a 2 inch border. Spread half of the fruit mixture over the jam.
  10. Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, allowing the dough to pleat, as you lift it up and work your way around the galette.
  11. Dip a pastry brush in milk and give the edge of the crust a light coating and then sprinkle the crust with 1 tsp of sugar. Repeat from step 8 with the other half.
  12. Place the galettes on the prepared baking tray and bake for 35 – 40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
  13. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the galettes rest on the sheet for 10 minutes and then on the wire rack to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.