Hello there, if anyone’s reading this. I know you all do by your IP’s and countries and my stats is a joy to see. From Egypt to Yugoslavia- Trumatter has visitors from everywhere. I love this about the internet- how people can connect to each other from all over the world. Everytime I see someone from Turkey or Tasmania or Tallahassee, it fills me with joy. From just 2 visitors from India and UK, I have come a long way and I am very proud of myself. Best part is hardly did I put any effort to get this blog where it is today. of course like a lot of people this doesn’t pay my bills. This doesn’t get nominated for huge awards or get sponsorships (I have denied 100’s just to keep it real) but yes, that’s the point. Keepin’ it real. Do that continuously and your blog will find a voice, it’ll get recognized, be loved.

You know what? Rains make me very philosophical and thoughtful. I always go back to times, hunt for old comfort recipes, see old cards, old paintings during the rains and winter. It somehow makes me feel warm and fuzzy. This time of the year makes me revisit the past and while digging up my enormous “Polythene” (it’s known by that name. It is a ginormous old blue polythene carry bag that holds all my stuff. And it always stays behind the door) I chanced upon this very old recipe that my mother gave it to me when my grandmother passed away. It’s from a bunch of old papers wherein she used to document all her recipes: her journey from Rangoon, Burma to Calcutta, India through Dacca, Bangladesh and Ceylon also brought with her a range of culinary influences: There are several curries, authentic Biryani fish recipes and just 1 cake recipe. This one.

 

 My grandmother (right), Mum (center) and grandfather (left) in my ancestral home in Calcutta.

My grandmother got married when she was 15 and she was noted for her quick thinking abilities, recycled home decor and  ability to produce something extraordinary from the most common day ingredients. And if I had to choose between mum and granny, I’d choose granny a million times over- she just had that thing. If she is seeing me from above, she’d know how much I miss her and how I am recreating her cakes just to feel her presence. I never got much of her for she was bedridden for the longest time. But I knew I had a couple of things in common with her: We never throw things, We never care about too much butter and we have the same fingers. Recently, dad said, I cook like her. All thanks to the bewitched fingers that she passed on to me.

Unfortunately, there is no date to the recipe, no mention of where she found it but it mentions Ceylonese “Darchini”, which is Srilankan Cinnamon. Maybe she picked it up from one of those British friends she frequented (My great grand father was a royal photographer and had a gem mine in Rangoon) or maybe from some friends from Ceylon but I knew it had to be Srilankan Cinnamon. Luckily, Keya does manufacture Srilankan Cinnamon powder and it costs a bomb. But who cares when you are recreating something this special.

A fragrant, dense and moist cake, this is riot of textures. Crunchy and crumbly on top from the sprinkled sugar, soft and moist within and with bags of flavors that socks you inside your mouth with every bite- I wonder why I never made this before. Maybe it didn’t rain. Right?

Grandma’s Apple cake Recipe

All purpose flour: 1 cup

Baking Powder: 1 tsp

Baking Soda: A pinch

Salt: A pinch

Castor Sugar: 3/4th cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup

1 + 1/2 apple: Diced, thinly sliced (in quarters)

Eggs: 2, large

Butter: 200 grams

Milk: very cold, 1/2 cup

Vanilla essence: 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon (Srilankan, note it ;P): 1 tbsp

Directions

Cream butter and 3/4th cup sugar. Pour in egg, vanilla and whisk it for about 15 seconds.

Sift flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a mixer, pour 1/2 cup sugar and diced apples. Mix it to a puree.

Fold in the dry mixture into the wet one and add puree.

Baking Pan Directions

Rub butter to grease your pan.

arrange your apple slices in an arrangement you like

Top it with 1/2 cup sugar

Pour in the cake batter

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 180 (Preheated in 250)

Cool and serve with classic sugar glaze.

Tea time folks! Cake time. And it’s raining cats and elephants!

Do you have rain memories?

Sharing at:

Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia – Tuesday Treasure
Coastal Charm – Nifty Thrifty
Vintage Wanna Bee – Talent Tuesday 

Wednesday

Primp – Primp Your Stuff Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style – Wow Us Wednesdays 

Thursday

Beyond the Picket Fence

From My Front Porch To Yours – Treasure Hunt Thursday

Friday

The Shabby Nest – Frugal Friday

At the Picket Fence – Inspiration Friday

saturday

http://theorganisedhousewife.com.au/love-it-like-it-link-it/love-it-like-it-link-it-7/

Sunday

Sunday’s Best

10 Responses

  1. We need to collaborate on a recipe! did you see that I recently did upside down cake. I love that yours has heritage with it.

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