Swiss Roll

I grew up in a large extended family in Kolkata. Despite being the only child I had the chance to experience growing up with siblings, so to speak. Because of that I was always taught to share my toys or candies with them. There were a few things that I hated sharing but being the eldest one I was left with no choice. One of these was the swiss roll. I remember the days my Aunt would drop me and my brother (her son) off at the school bus. There was a bakery on the way to the bus stop from where she used to buy swiss rolls for our lunch. My brother would immediately start eating and then ask for half of mine. I wasn't thrilled by his lack of self control but shared regardless. 

Ever since those childhood days the Swiss roll has been one of my favorites. Although, it is called the Swiss roll it is believed to be originated in Central Europe, not exactly in Switzerland. There was something similar in Britain called the Jelly Roll. 

Ingredients:

1/3 cup cake flour

3 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup and 1 tbsp granulated white sugar, keep the sugar divided

4 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Ingredients for filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (40% butterfat)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp apricot jelly

Method:

I used a baking pan about 11"/15". It's a good idea to use a greased parchment paper for these types of soft cakes

Keep the eggs cold as well as the whisk and the bowls

separate 2 egg whites from the yolks (make sure you don't have any yolk in the whites)

With the 2 yolks add the remaining 2 eggs and the additional yolk

Start whisking while the eggs and the attachment are still cold 

After the eggs turn pale yellow start adding in the sugar bit by bit, whisk until fluffy

Then mix the vanilla extract

Mix flour mixture in and fold gently so the eggs don't get deflated

Gradually mix the entire flour mixture until mixed well

In a separate bowl add the egg whites and beat well until foamy and soft peaks form, add the cream of tartar as you start beating and add the sugar slowly as you beat

Now add this foamy white to the egg-flour mix

Fold gently until incorporated well

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 6-10 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean

Cool it down a little bit, and put another parchment paper on top and start rolling the cake while still warm, that way it will prevent the cake from breaking when rolling it later when cold

Now keep it on a cooling rack until it comes back to room temperature

Filling:

In the meantime you can make the filling

Beat the whipping cream until medium peaks form

Gradually add the sugar in, while beating

Add the vanilla extract

Don't make the filling sit for too long

Making the Roll:

Now make the cake flat and pour the filling. Flatten with a spatula
Lightly spread the apricot jelly on over the vanilla filling

Then roll back

Refrigerate the roll before serving

Yogurt in Electric Pressure Cooker

I had been planning on buying an electric pressure cooker for a long time. The sole reason I resisted buying a rice cooker or a slow cooker is because the electric one does it all. I have been using my electric cooker that I bought from Amazon for a little over two years now. After trying different cooking options, I have to say this is one of my prized kitchen gadgets. I am glad to have made the yogurt using the pressure cooker finally. It turned out to be perfect. We ate it for dessert the following day and kept some in the refrigerator. I didn't make it too sweet but I guess you can make it sweeter if you like. 

I just followed the direction from the cooker recipe booklet. I added about 1 tablespoon yoghurt for 1 cup of milk. And about half a tablespoon sugar to that. First thing I had to do is steam the milk using the water and steam function as directed by the manual. Then cool it down to a temperature okay to handle. Mix the yoghurt stirring gently. Next put the bowl (steel or baking bowl will do) on the steaming rack. Use the yoghurt function and follow the instruction. I set it overnight as it took 8 hours.  

   

Winter Eggless Fruit Cake

After spending a delightful 5 months with us, my parents left for India this week. I got used to having them around so much, the house feels extremely empty, and maybe the heart somewhat more so. The following morning we woke up to find our neighborhood covered in a snowy blanket. We don't usually get this much snow. My son's school was closed due to the inclement weather. 

We decided to take advantage of the snow and make our very own snowman (or snowbird) in the backyard.

Anyway, after freezing for an hour outside we came inside and planned to do some work together, as my son wanted to help me bake a cake. I thought of baking a traditional fruit cake. While working on it, I was remembering my parents even more as my last cake was a coffee cake, when my parents were staying with us. They loved it so much that they ate the cake for lunch 😊. Fruit cakes always bring back lots of nice childhood memories too. We always used to look forward to eating fruitcakes that my parents would bring home on christmas eve from the Anglo-Indian bakeries in our city. They taste significantly different from any other cake. Not sure if it were the cake or the festive season had something to do with it. They were a little hard, fruity, and looked brown. Although it used to have rum in it, I didn't use rum in my cake. If you wish you can soak the fruits in rum for a couple of nights before baking. Also, this time I decided to make it eggless, for which I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking.   

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup fine brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk at home you can make buttermilk by mixing 1 tbsp white vinegar to 1 cup of plain milk and let it sit in the room temperature for 10 minutes. you will see the milk gets curdled a little bit)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup dried fruits and nuts (I have used raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricot, candied pecan, walnut, cashew)

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Recipe:

Mix the dry ingredients first

Melt the butter and add to the dry ingredients

Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract

Mix everything very well with a spatula

Spray oil on a loaf pan

Pour the mixture

Bake at 350F for 1 hour

A skewer inserted comes out clean says your cake is ready

Orange Chiffon Cake

While I love cakes and baking, it's hard to find enough excuses to bake a cake nowadays as we have got to watch our calories. I miss those teen-years when one could burn-off anything they consumed. Unfortunately in those days, I was not a big fan of the tedious chore of eating.
However, baking wasn't too common in Eastern India where I grew up. In my household, I have seen my aunts baking traditional english fruit cake in a pressure cooker on Christmas Eve or on kids' birthdays at the most. However, I have tried different types of cakes over the years and Asian cakes are among my most favorite. This cake I am going to make today is a fluffy orange flavored cake that I have learned from Stephanie George's Joy of Baking. However, I have reduced the portions to make a smaller cake, which turned out pretty awesome and serves well for 6-8 people. 

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks, 4 egg whites
Cake flour you can make at home by mixing .75 cup + 1.5 tbsp all-purpose flour or maida and 2.5 tbsp cornstarch
.75 cup or 3/4th cup superfine sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp grated orange zest
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/5 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

 Recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 325F
• Grease a 2-3 qt. casserole type oven safe bowl (it's a good idea to use baking sheets at the bottom for softer cakes)
• Beat the egg-whites with a hand mixer or a stand-mixer until soft peaks form, add the cream of tartar or substitute with 4-8 drops of lemon juice
• Add about 1-2 tbsp sugar during the process (optional)

(A few tips for whisking the egg whites to the desired consistency is making sure the white is completely yolk free. Add the cream of tartar or citric acid after you get some bubbles in the beaten white. You can gradually add some sugar during or at the end of the process)  

• Mix the egg yolks along with all the wet ingredients
• Mix the dry ingredients including the rest of the sugar in a separate bowl
• Now mix everything together (dry and wet ingredients except for the meringue)
• After everything is mixed well, fold in the meringue or the beaten egg whites in the mixture
• Pour the mixture in the greased pan
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
• Take it out immediately on a cooling rack, or else the cake will lose it's fluff
• Serve when cold