Peach and Ginger Cake

Our trip to the Piramal Haveli in Rajasthan coincided with not one, but two special events in our life. Of the two days that we were there, one day was the anniversary of the “dinner” that S and I had at Pebble Street in Delhi. That life altering dinner where sparks flew and we knew that we weren’t going to spend the rest of our lives being “just friends”, that we were going to be much more than that. The other day happened to be the day that we completed 1000 days of being married. Cheesy, you say! But what’s life without a little romance, eh? (And incidentally, this day(14 July), two years ago, I posted a record 17 posts. Everyone, Sig included, thought I'd gone off my rocker! So, after this brief hiatus, this cake and its timing seem perfect.)


I baked this cake to take along and hid it in my friend’s bag so S wouldn’t see it. We cut the cake at the Haveli to celebrate. This is a simple peach and ginger cake, moist from the peaches and with a zing that only ginger can bring.

1 cup Flour

1 cup Peaches, chopped
2 tbsp Candied Ginger, chopped

1/2 cup Sugar

2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda

a Pinch of Salt

1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Oil

1 tsp Vanilla Essence

1 Egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 350F (180 C).

Grease and flour/line an 8-inch cake tin.

Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the candied ginger and mix well.

In a mixing bowl, add the egg, milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla essence. Beat well together. Add the flour mixture to this and blend well. Add the chopped peaches and mix well.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife/skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean.

P.S. I used some slivered almonds to write the number 1000 on the cake as I didn't want to mess around with icing.

Peach Streusel Cake

I’ve been baking for a very long time. But there have been times when I really need a push to break away from my comfort zone. Baking with yeast was one such turning point. Making cookies was another. Making cakes with fresh fruit has been a third. The only thing I really ever did with our summer bounty each year was to fill our fruit boxes with them. Every once in a while, I’ve made some shakes or stews, but I didn’t venture beyond that. I’ve used apples and pineapples in pies, but almost never in a cake.



Then it happened. I was chatting with my namesake after a trip to Madras and was telling her about the stuff that I took to my parents’ place. I always feel I have to share my summer bounty with them. I sent a kilo each of peaches, litchis, apricots and cherries with S when he visited Hyderabad and I did quite the same when I visited my parents. Just that I always take extra peaches to Amma. Arundati asked me why I was wasting these fruits in a milk shake when I, the “baby baker” as she calls me, could do a lot more.



I thought about various options and finally made this peach streusel cake. It was gone in no time. I know I’ll make this again before these blushing beauties go out of season. The only change I’d make to this recipe is to use more peaches. So, please feel free to add another peach or two. This is the recipe that I followed.


2 cups Flour
6 tbsp Oil
¾ cup Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg, beaten
2/3 cup Milk
4 Peaches, peeled and sliced

For the Streusel Topping:

¼ cup Butter
½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Flour


1 tbsp Icing Sugar for dusting


Grease and line two 8-inch cake tins. Mix together the ingredients for the streusel topping.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and sugar together. Add the oil, milk and beaten egg and whisk together. Divide the batter between the two cake tins. Arrange the peach slices on top of the batter and sprinkle the streusel topping over the fruit layer.


Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean.


Dust with icing sugar and serve.


We enjoyed this cake fresh out of the oven and it tasted great when cool as well. I didn’t dust any icing sugar as I thought the cake was very sweet already! During my trip to Madras, I made Almond Raisin Muffins, Mava Cake, and Carrot Cake for my parents and brother. But as it turned out, Amma’s baking powder didn’t seem to work and I was left with very tasty, but flat, cakes and muffins. I sent this with S when he visited Madras on work and I am really happy my folks were able to enjoy it.

This cake has come about thanks to my dear namesake, Arundati. We’re two girls who have more in common than we even know. We’ve lived in the same cities, the family background that we came from and some facts about the guys we’re married to are uncannily similar, we’re about the same age and our husbands are the same age, we have similar interests and qualifications, we have the same initials and almost identical handwriting, and to a large extent, similar views on life, food included!). She sent me packed dinner along with a host of other things when she was told that S was in her city for a day.

She’s a gem of a person and I am so glad to have found her. As she celebrates her birthday, I’m sending this little cake her way. It isn’t half as elaborate as the ones she makes for her loved ones, but it is filled with all good things, peaches and love. Happy birthday!

Peach Apricot Bread Pudding

There are recipes that are handed down through generations. Intact as they pass from mother to daughter until they reach the likes of moi! Some day, I'll share my grandmother's recipe for a bread pudding with all of you. It is what I consider the ultimate comfort dessert. For now, you'll all have to be content with my new version. Peachy, you say. I agree.

I made this last night for dessert. And I'll have more of it through this week. And I'll also send a bowlful to Mansi for the A Fruit A Month (AFAM) event.

4 slices Brown Bread

2 tbsp Peach Apricot Crush, diluted with 2 tbsp water

1 cup Milk

3 tbsp Sugar

Soak the bread slices in the peach apricot juice mixture and arrange in a baking dish.

Bring the milk to a boil and add the sugar to it. Pour this mixture over the bread slices and cook in a microwave for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy it hot. Keep it in the fridge and enjoy it cold for a few days after that.

I'll upload the pictures of this dish later. Have been swamped and haven't had a chance to upload any pictures from my camera.

Summer Fruit Shake

Summer! I think I have a love-hate relationship with this part of the year. The heat I don't like. No, not even when it is zero degrees and we exist in our houses without heating, central or otherwise. I don't look forward to the nice hot summer months. Nice and hot together would constitute an oxymoron, wouldn't they?

But there are some things I simply love about summer. The fruits. The mangoes, watermelons, peaches, litchis, apricots, jamuns, plums, pears, cherries and apples. We stock them up at home and I can just go on eating fruit. I don't need much else.

Some pictures of fruit taken during our last holiday in Mussoorie.

Yet another breakfast in a glass. I have had to clean my fridge and use up as much of the stuff that's in there. And I also needed to feed myself. So here goes:

1/2 Apple, peeled and chopped

1 Peach, chopped

4 Apricots, chopped

2 Dried Apricots, chopped for garnish

1 cup Milk

Blend all the fruits along with the milk. Pour into a glass and top with dried apricots.

I had a glass of this and drank the remaining milk shake after about 15 minutes. The colour had turned a beautiful orange. I was so carried away that I forgot to take a picture. But it was a filling breakfast and that's all that really matters.

We're traveling for the rest of the week. My cousin and his family are here from London and we're off to the hills to have loads of fun. The doctor said that S could go along too, as long as he isn't driving. So, see you all when I get back.

Peach Litchi Mango Fizz

I am leaving for home tonight. Home, today, refers to my parents' home in Madras. Funny how I never thought of that place as home because I hadn't spent too much time there. I moved out of Madras a few months after my parents moved to this place. But over the last 11 years, I've spent more than 10 away, but that house sure feels like home.

I had a failed food experiment yesterday that S and I suffered through at lunch time and I wanted to do something to make it up to him. He's traveling today and when he gets back, I'll be sitting at home with my parents and I wanted to make a little something for him.

Stuff that I found in the fridge went into this dessert. It turned out quite tasty. I do hope S finds it and likes it. And I hope you all will too.

Ingredients:

2 Peaches, chopped

1 Mango, chopped

2 scoops Litchi Ice Cream

1/2 cup Sprite

Place the fruit and ice cream in a blender or liquidizer and blend to a paste. Add the Sprite and whip it for half a minute. This is ready to eat. I loved it. If I'd added a little more Sprite, I could have had it as a cool drink.