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Business News/ Opinion / An Aunt’s recipe and an LBD of a cake

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An Aunt’s recipe and an LBD of a cake

1 min read 06 May 2010, 11:47 PM IST

Piece of Cake | Pamela Timms

An Aunt’s recipe and an LBD of a cake

I recently read about a woman who’d vowed to take her much-loved masala recipe to the grave, unmoved by pleas of family and friends to share. My heart breaks for her daughters: Despite having a cookbook collection which could fill a medium-sized library, the only one I’d brave a burning building for is my mum’s old handwritten recipe journal. It contains the story of my childhood and the food that made me the eater, cook, person I am.

A good cook is made not born, her best recipes have been handed down, tweaked, transformed and adjusted; they have a personal history, a lineage, a soul. I don’t cook everything the same way my mother did—margarine has certainly been banished—but I always feel her at my shoulder in the kitchen, her mother and grandmother not far behind. And that’s an immensely comforting and inspiring kitchen to work in.

Decadent: Raspberries and lemon glaze turn this simple sponge cake into a treat. Priyanka Parashar / Mint

Also See Previous columns by Pamela Timms

Here, I’ve made it into something quite decadent, with the addition of raspberries to the sponge and a tangy lemon glaze. And in the universal spirit of recipe-sharing, here it is.

Lemon and Raspberry Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

1 small (200ml) pot of natural yogurt

2 pots caster sugar

1 pot sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

3 eggs

Zest of 2 small lemons (take care not to grate in any of the bitter white pith)

1 tbsp lemon juice

3 pots plain flour

1K tsp baking powder

K tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pinch of salt

200g fresh raspberries or other soft fruit

For the glaze

2 pots icing sugar

Juice of 2 small lemons

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius, then line a loaf tin with baking parchment paper (it’s worth investing in real baking parchment instead of butter paper as it’s completely non-stick). I use a rectangular tin that measures 10x5 inches (26x13cm).

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. In another large bowl, mix the yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla essence, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat the mixture well until smooth.

Carefully fold the dry ingredients into the wet until everything is well incorporated. The mixture will be more like a thick batter than a traditional cake mixture.

Pour half the mixture into the tin, sprinkle half the raspberries, then cover with the remaining mixture. Add the remaining raspberries, then put the tin immediately into the hot oven.

Make the glaze by sifting the icing sugar into a bowl and mixing with the juice of about two lemons.

When done, the cake should be firm on top and lightly brown and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake should come out clean. If not, put it back for 10 minutes.

When the cake is ready take it out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes. When it’s cool enough to handle, turn it out on to a plate and drizzle with the glaze.

Pamela Timms is a Delhi-based journalist and food writer. She blogs at https://eatanddust.wordpress.com

Write to Pamela at pieceofcake@livemint.com

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Published: 06 May 2010, 11:47 PM IST

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