We both were reading our respective story books after finishing our dinner then suddenly we heard some loud noises of drums and boliyan(folk poetry of Punjab region, which is teasing and humorous). I got up to check and found it was coming from our neighbors’ house. Their house was all lit up with diyas and it seems like Diwali has come again in their home. Few family members with some friends were dancing. I pulled my chair and sat down with my elbow resting on the railing of our balcony, taking in the pleasure of something, we rarely see nowadays, my son too joined in. Later we found our other neighbors’ PGs (some girls) joined them in their celebration and soon they too started shaking their legs with them in their night suits, we found this very hilarious when others were dressed for the occasion with beautiful dresses and well streaked hairs they seems misfit. I think they too didn’t want to miss the small pleasures coming their way.
I was being told by husband that their daughter is getting married next week. I wonder how and why we didn’t get the invitation though I talked to her just a day before but later thought it must be her daughter’s choice, nowadays kids don’t want any hullabaloo in their celebration. My son got fed up soon and went inside to know the climax of the story he was reading but I still glued there and enjoyed watching their celebration. Where I found the pretty bride-to-be was too dancing and pulling others to join her. Her brother was recording the entire celebration and later he too joined them. Her proud mother looked all happy and his shy father was watching all this at a distance and just clapping to make himself part of all this.
I came inside and started humming the boliyan though I don’t understand Punjabi at all. My son couldn’t stop giggling watching his mother singing something which he doesn’t understand at all.
Their celebration was over but a blanket of beautiful old memories spread over me and took me back to the days when watching this kind of celebration was part of our daily life. At that time our concentration was on dresses and jewellery of the guests but now I love watching this for no particular reason. Time has changed so as our tastes but not in case when it comes to cakes, pastries and chocolate. We still drool watching them in a pastry shop.
Today I am sharing another recipe of a cake which I made around 6 months back on our anniversary. I made a very small cake filled with lots of pineapple considering my husband’s liking in mind. He loved every bite of it. We all enjoyed this cake with our tea. Luckily, this time I had photographs of a pie. We both cut that cake in the evening and later we went out for dinner. For dinner we had south Indian food which he orders keeping my taste in mind. We packed quickly and didn’t enjoy the shopping part because next day was Monday and I have to put my son to sleep.
Recipe adapted from Divine Taste. She used orange juice in the cake but at that time orange was not available so I replaced them with lemons.
Ingredients:
(I used Indian measuring cups where 1 cup = 200ml)
• Whole wheat flour – ¾ cup
• milk powder – ½ cup
• baking powder – ½ tsp
• baking soda – ¼ tsp
• butter, at room temperature – 50 gms
• Powdered or confectioners sugar – 60 gm
• milk – ½ cup
• cream – 1/8 cup
• Lime juice – 2 tbsp
• Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
• Lemon rind – ½ tsp
For sugar syrup
• Boiled water – ½ cup
• Sugar – 1 tsp
For icing
Whipped cream – 1 ½ cup
Vanilla essence – 1tsp
For filling
Tinned pineapple slices, cut into small pieces – ½ cup
Method
for sponge
Preheat the oven at 180 degree C. Butter the base and sides of two 5” round cake pans. In a bowl sieve all the dry ingredients flour, milk powder, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl, put in the butter and sugar and using an electric beater or wire whisk, beat until smooth and creamy.
Put in half the dry ingredients, half the milk and beat until smooth, after which put in the remaining dry ingredients and the milk and beat until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the cream, lime juice and beat again for a couple of minutes until the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 7 minutes. After 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 150C and bake for 10 minutes more or until a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool on a wire rack
For sugar syrup
Mix sugar into the hot water and let it mix properly.
For icing
Mix vanilla essence in the whipped cream
Assembling
After the sponges are cooled on a cake board put one layer of a cake top side down, sprinkle some syrup all over and spread some icing and put some pieces of chopped tinned pineapple slices cover it with another layer bottom side up and repeat the process and finally ice the cake all over and decorate as desired.
bakingflavours 