FRESH ORANGE CAKE

We buy  big bags of oranges every week. With so many oranges in the house all the time it was hightime I do something with it.Recently I saw Paula deen bake her fresh tangerine cake. Usually i am against paula deen's recipes since she uses tons of butter for no reason. But this one was a simple recipe and I fell in love with it the instant I saw it. I did make some changes , not to the recipe as such. I used fresh oranges instead of tangerine and for topping I used fresh whipped cream instead of her sweet buttery icing. The cake was super moist and delicious and the whipped cream on top made it so complete.

Source - Adapted from Paula Deen

INGREDIENTS

All Purpose Flour - 2 1/2 cups
Sugar - 1 3/4 cups
Baking pdr - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 3 nos, beaten
Veg. oil - 1 cup
Sour Cream - 1 (8 Oz) container, i used fat free
Freshly squeezed orange juice - 1 cup, ( u can use store bought too)
Orange zest - 1 tbsp
Some fresh orange wedges - to garnish

Topping:-

Whipping cream - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.Spray a round baking dish with some cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients  flour, sugar,baking pdr, baking soda n salt. Then add the wet ingredients one by one. Mix it all together until well incorporated.Pour it into the baking dish and bake for 1 hr or until the fork when poked in the center comes clean.

For making whipped cream.Take a bowl (its better if the bowl is kept in the refrigerator for half an hr).Pour the cream and using an electric mixer beat on low for a few mins and slowly increse the speed.Ones it starts to thicken slowly add in the sugar. Whip on high speed until it form stiff peaks.

Let the cake cool completely before putting the cream on top.Spread the cream all over the cake on the sides as well.Garnish with some fresh orange wedges n serve.

NOTE:- Paula deen divided the batter equally into 2 pans and baked for 25 mins. I baked it in 1 batch in a bigger baking dish so thats why the baking time is more.

ENJOY!!!

PEACH COBBLER

After long, dull winter months we always look forward to an active summer,  great outdoor activities, gardening, and vacations etc. Apart from that I also look forward to the variety of fruits summer has to offer. Peach is one of them. A sweet juicy bite of one of them is good enough to brighten up your mood . For a change I decided to bake it. Peach cobbler was the perfect choice. Its easy and simple to make and tastes absolutely delicious. Cobbler refers to a variety of dishes, consisting of a fruit or savoury filling poured into a large baking dish and covered with a batter, biscuit, or pie crust before being baked. Unlike a pie, cobbler never contains a bottom crust.(source - wikipedia)

I have come across many cobbler recipes, most of it are same and requires a lot of butter so I modified it to my taste by reducing the butter quantity and adding oats for more fiber.

INGREDIENTS

Peach - 7-8 nos, peeled and diced
Sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Flour - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon pdr - 1 tsp

For the crust:-

Flour - 1 cup
Oats - 4 tbsp (I used quaker quick cooking oats)
Baking pdr - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cold butter - 3 tbsp
Cold milk - 5-6 tbsp

METHOD

Preheat oven to 425 deg F. In a large mixing bowl, mix in the diced peach,sugar,flour and cinnamon pdr until the fruit is all evenly coated. Keep it aside.

In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients required for making the crust. Add the cold butter and slowly crush it into the flour. Make sure not to melt it. Now slowly add the milk 1 tbsp at a time and mix it well until it forms a soft dough.

Grease a baking dish with some cooking spray. Put the fruit mix at the bottom. Place small pieces of the dough on top of the fruit until fully covered. Place it i the oven. Bake for 20-22 mins or until crust is golden brown. Serve warm with some whipped cream or ice cream.

ENJOY!!!