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
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
What a great family picture
Thank you 🙂
sounds delightful and delectable! i am a girl who loves cake. keep up the bitchen styling, roy!
smiles to you.
michele
Haha…Me too. Can’t live without them.
I love your lingo, did I tell ya?
Yum ! Looks delicious ! And your photos are so lovely too. Loved the family pic. Your story reminded me of my “thamma” 🙂 Happy memories 🙂
I am talking about my Dida here 🙂 To happy memories then!
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.
I did not see your cake but I am off now. I am all up for an Indo-Us collaborated recipe for the world to cherish 🙂 Let’s do dis.