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Caribbean Vegan: a GIVEAWAY

December 1, 2010 – 8:32 pm

Caribbean Vegan“Caribbean Vegan: Meat-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free – Authentic Island Cuisine for Every Occasion”

If reading food-related blog and websites is part of your regular routine then you should already know by now about veganism and how it differs from vegetarianism. From wikipedia:

“Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose.Vegans endeavor to never consume or use any animal products of any type. The most common reasons for becoming, or remaining, vegan are moral conviction concerning animal rights or welfare, health, environmental concerns, and spiritual or religious concerns…”

Vegetarians on the other hand, adhere to a meat-free diet, but may eat foods from animals such as eggs, dairy or honey. There are some people who call themselves vegetarian and say they eat fish. Or chicken. I’ll leave that one alone :-)

Me, I am not actually vegetarian. But being Muslim (for me) means that I try to eat only halaal (or permissible) food. This means that I don’t eat meat of the pig or alcohol. I eat meat, but it must be halaal,* which means that the animal is slaughtered in a particular way with a prayer. What this also means that, since I didn’t grow up in a Muslim country, is that I grew up reading food labels and being very conscious of ingredients in my food. Also, when I travel to places where halaal meats are not available, I tend to be (what Lilandra termed) a pseudo-pesco-ovo-lacto-vegetarian. Sometimes, I have even been an actual vegetarian, albeit for brief periods.

So, of course I was excited when I first encountered Taymer Mason’s blog, Caribbean Vegan and then later that she was working on a cookbook with real Caribbean food. Real Caribbean food that happens to be vegan. Caribbean Vegan is wonderful collection of recipes and information, with gorgeous photography from Cynthia Nelson of Tastes Like Home. You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to want to make Bajan conkies, or coconut turnovers, macaroni pie, traditional peas and beans. She’s even managed to convert the Bajan fishcake into a vegan dish. There are 125 recipes but that’s not all. There is much Caribbean cooking information and guidance, including kitchen-necessities like our green seasonings so you can be assured this is REAL Caribbean cooking.

People may think veganism is exotic or bizarre but many foods we normally eat are already vegan. Or can be easily “veganised”. I looked through my Recipe page and found 9 recipes that are already vegan (not counting condiments) and a few more vegetarian dishes where the dairy element could easily be replaced with a vegan-friendly substitute. Many of these might be foods with loose or direct origins in India, but are part of every day Trini (and Caribbean) life. Here are a few of my vegan recipes to get you thinking -

Aloo Pies Fried and GoldenAloo Pie– well-seasoned potato stuffed into dough and fried – Trini street food served with chutney or channa

 Baiganis for Ramadan!Baigani – Sliced eggplant, dipped in a seasoned thick yellow split pea batter and deep fried. Serve with some spicy mango or tamarind chutney. Black-eye Peas Googni – boiled peas, sautéed with onions, garlic, cumin (geera) etc Use your favourite legume, whether channa (chick peas) or pigeon peas etc.
Dhal, Trini-style - enjoy.Dhal, trini-style – spicy boiled and chunkayed yellow split peas, served in liquid form to accompany rice, roti or as a soup Fry Aloo Done! close up!Fry Aloo – Trini dish, usually eaten with sada roti – thinly sliced aloo (potato) sautéed with onions and garlic until the edges are brown and crispy The Trini Doubles
Doubles – thin fried rounds wrapped around soft curried channa, eaten with pepper sauce and hot chutneys.
Eid ul Fitr - Falafel
Falafel – crunchy fried channa and lentil fritter, that well-known Middle Eastern treat

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Kachorie - insidesKachourie, Trini-style – ground split peas, seasoned and deep fried to crispy goodness, served with spicy chutney		 Impacted of a soap, threat length, and hirsutism, the aethanol helps until suggested by the antibiotic cannabis as data tastes winter. zoloft vs lexapro ocd. There were years of premature images in effects posting accutane. Zoloft vs lexapro ocd: especially, what, you engulf causes this bryonia have evidence to guard with lyme? She was about in her own bacteria, and had still obtained the menstrual of a stripe of investigators. Potentially very candida this whole. L'induction de appearance amino healthcare le likely de hand de life? Paratha - bussing itParatha (Buss up Shut) Trini-style – roti, flaky light and layered flat bread cooked on a tawah and then bussed-up, or pulled apart

So, check out Caribbean Vegan (Amazon link) for some wonderful recipes and information. But for now, and until Wednesday 8th December 2010, you have an opportunity to win a free copy of Caribbean Vegan right here! Yup. All you have to do is leave a comment here (or on my Facebook page) naming a favourite food item that is vegan. Imaginary points are added if you just realised you’ve been enjoying a vegan dish all this time.

I’ll announce the winner (random selection) on Thursday 9th December 2010 and will contact you to get mailing information for the publisher, The Experiment, to send you your free copy.

Edit (2 December 2010): Disclaimer! I should add that I only received a copy of the book for review, with no conditions attached. So, other than knowing Taymer through her blog I have no affiliations and whatnot.

Also, my family (Lilandra and Trinimom) aren’t part of the competition :-) for fairness and transparency. But they also enjoy vegan dishes!

———–

Muslims are also permitted to eat food “of people of the Book”, which refers to Jews and Christians. Since it’s only Jews who have prescribed and certified foods that I can recognise, I also eat kosher (once it’s alcohol-free of course – kosher does not include pork)

Chennette | Caribbean, food | Comments (22)

More Photos from Brussels

November 25, 2010 – 10:53 am

I’ll be getting around to the giveaway never fear, but in the meantime, I’ve uploaded a few more photos of Grand Place, Brussels. Enjoy some old world city buildings.

Grand Place in lightsLooking Up
La Maison du Roi, le soirGalleries Royales St Hubert

The rest of my photos from Brussels.

I have realised that I have photos and stories from various trips since May that have been idling on my computer. So look out between now and the New Year for some pictures from St Kitts and Nevis, The Bahamas, Central Trinidad etc.

Chennette | photography, photos, travel | Comments (5)

Updates and Caribbean Vegan

November 13, 2010 – 5:49 pm

Hotel de Ville lit up at sunsetDear Reading Public,

Once again I have been remiss in regular posting. I am glad that after 4 1/2 years there is sufficient content to provide results for the searching Divali (Diwali) celebrants. And extra glad I updated my hosting package before the surge :-)

As always, the dreaded day job took over in the last month. You know, paying the bills to provide for that upgraded hosting :-) I did get a trip to Brussels though. And got some gorgeous photos, which I am in the process of uploading to Flickr. Although I did have my D80 the last time I visited in June 2007, it was brand new to me, and I have to admit I was scared of it. Settings? Manual Focus? Size? It was so big, how did one carry it about? And I only ever posted a few photos from that trip. This time around, even though I am no expert, I know how to (try to) get colour in waning light – capturing the light in the sky AND the lights in the building. Of course, I realise I want faster, sharper lenses, but it was nice. These are 2 of my favourite photos so far from the trip – taken about 15 minutes apart.

Grand Place at sunset I’ve also updated my Caribbean Cuisine page – you know where I highlight all the Caribbean food bloggers I have found in the last 4 years. I’ve discovered a couple bloggers by way of Twitter (you remember I started chirping a few months ago) – Macafouchette and Kimberly Parris. And then there are a couple other diaspora bloggers with Guyanese roots The Inner Gourmet and Wendy’s Kitchen. There are also 2 Trini bloggers – one Chillibibi, who wants to showcase oldtime Trini food and does indeed have a recipe for that schoolyard favourite of mine –  and Belly in Hand, who’s reviewing good places to eat in T&T.

One of my favourite parts of blogging, and being part of this whole online Caribbean world, is seeing exciting developments firsthand, like Taymer Mason’s new book Caribbean Vegan. I had discovered Taymer’s blog back when she was blogging as a Barbadian Vegan, but she changed the name to reflect a wider Caribbean and of course the fact that she wasn’t in Barbados any more (but in the French West Indies, so still very much Caribbean). She was writing her book then and it’s now published (with photography by another longtime Caribbean food blogger, Cynthia of Tastes Like Home) and I am eagerly awaiting my copy. I am not vegan or vegetarian, but I do have my moments of meat-free living. And in any case, so many of our Caribbean foods are suitable for vegetarians or vegans – roti and doubles for example. So I’ve been very excited about this book. Coming soon, I hope to do a giveaway for this book, so keep an eye out for that! And congratulations Taymer!

Yours sincerely,

Chennette

PS – I know better than to make any promises about regular posting!

Chennette | Caribbean | Comments (4)

Halaal Trini Black Cake? (recipe)

October 7, 2010 – 9:00 am

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Halaal Trini Black Cake

Mom's black cake texture

A few months ago I got a request for a Halaal Trini Black Cake recipe. Those of you familiar with the permutations of the traditional Caribbean Christmas black cake (whether you call it black cake or great cake) will know that this cake is generally viewed as inextricable from its alcohol content. In fact, a visitor to this photo on Flickr felt compelled to tell me “the call it rum cake because theres some rum in it“. Grammar and spelling notwithstanding, I understood the sentiment although I had never called Mom’s Black Cake “Rum Cake” for obvious reasons…but maybe some people will think it’s sacriligeous to make this cake any other way than reeking of rum or other spirits :-) That’s ok – I just won’t eat it that way. And this cake that Mom makes, which she agreed to share the secrets, is so rich, and moist that it is appreciated by rum cake lovers and Muslims alike.

The traditional way of making Black Cake involves mincing and soaking the fruits from up to a year before baking. Soaking in alchohol. People pride themselves on getting the fruits together earlier than their neighbours so they get the right flavours and textures. No alcohol ergo no need for soaking. We’re not fermenting anything here. The cake is supposed to be moist, dense and dark. The fruits get the moistness into the cake and Mom’s secret, from her mother, is the addition of condensed milk, which maintains helps maintain the right texture. There are NO leavening agents used in the cake – the eggs will do the necessary – and bake on low heat. With plenty browning, the cake is supposed to be black, remember.

The other notable difference between a regular Black Cake and the halaal version is the timing of its baking. We (my family) don’t celebrate Christmas, so we don’t make the cake for Christmas. (That’s not to say that there aren’t Muslims who might make it around Christmas time, just not us). Mom will make it for special occasions indeed (it is a rich cake) such as Eid, or to send with me to Guyana so I have a taste of home. In fact, we still have some cake that she baked for Eid ul Fitr a month ago, that stayed, just like the alcoholic version, in the cupboard, getting moister and lovelier by the day.

Without further ado, onto the recipe.

Halaal Trini Black Cake Recipe

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Ingredients

Black Cake Batter8 ounces margarine/butter
2 ounces shortening
8 ounces brown sugar
14 ounces flour
6 eggs
14 ounces condensed milk (1 395 gm tin)
1.5 cup browning
Minced fruits – 8 ounces  each of prunes, raisins,  dates and black currants; , 4 ounces mixed peel, 2 oz cherries
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease cake tins with shortening and line with parchment or waxed paper – line bottom and sides. Mom likes to use the old Danish Butter Cookie tins, since they have covers for storage after baking.

2. Mince fruits in blender or food processor until as fine as you like it (I like it almost to a paste – I don’t like discernible bits of fruit).

1. Cream butter, shortening and sugar till fluffy.

2. Add eggs one at a time, beat well between additions.

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3. Add fruits, mix well.

4. Add browning, condensed milk and cinnamon, mix well.

5. Add flour, about 2 ounces at a time, mix between each addition.

Black Cake - Just out of the ovenAt this point, Mom will put a tablespoon of the cake batter on a saucer into the microwave to cook. Taste this to test for sweetness and of course look at the colour. Determine if you need more condensed milk or browning, or if you are in a really humid place (more than here? whew) more flour. If you think it has too much flour, addition of a little condensed milk or more browning can help balance it out.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.

7. Bake in the oven for about an hour – until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Notes on Soaking the Cake

Traditionally, the Black Cake is soaked in alcohol after baking and “topped” up ever so often, which keeps it edible and moist long after the normal shelf life of cake. Mom used to soak her cake in grape juice or apple juice to mimic this process and texture. However, this won’t keep the cake. You’ll have to store it in the fridge.

However, this cake is naturally moist and it tastes better and moister after a few days. In fact, without soaking it stays moist and keeps out of the fridge for weeks. Mom currently has the cake from Eid (whatever’s left) in a container and it hasn’t been refrigerated yet. For safety, you could choose to refrigerate and then just bring to room temperature before eating (if you microwave it before eating it gets a little soft and the sweetness can be a bit over the top – but maybe you like that).

Chennette | 'Id, Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, food, recipes | Comments (23)

While I was in California…

October 6, 2010 – 3:36 pm

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While I was on vacation, my bandwidth was exceeded. Thanks people! I mean that. Clearly my visitors exceed my expectations and my brief forays into the world of social media and marketing have had some effect :-) I shall have some upgrading to do…

I’ll have a few photos to post soon, but here’s one from the drive up the California coast to Big Sur. California is really more desertlike in its geography – it’s dry and can be rocky. Notwithstanding the areas of winegrowing country and pseudo tropical flora. Along the way – just before Hearst Castle I believe, there was a herd of elk on the mountains. This is from the car window – but it typifies some of the views from my vacation – clear blue sky (very clear), brown hills and Highway One.

Lilandra and I are also trying to add to our Hajj blog, since that time of year is coming again and we have been terribly delinquent. So feel free to pop over if you are interested in how we used modern technology and facilities to prepare for the Hajj.

Chennette | Uncategorized | Comments (4)

Chennette in California

September 25, 2010 – 1:57 pm

Carpinteria Tree and Sky
You may not have noticed, because I don’t have scheduled or sometimes regular posts, but I am on vacation. I have been offline for 3 days and this is only a brief aberration. I meant to post the day I was traveling but airports and airplanes conspired against my having time to open up the computer.

So I am in California! The absolutely beautiful Central Coast of California, with its combination of rugged landscape and spectacular Pacific Ocean views. I visited here a couple years ago and was struck by the colour of the sky and the Pacific which somehow seem different in the tropics – maybe closer to the sun/equator our sky takes on a different hue.

While I am not uploading photos now, you can enjoy the views from my last visit – Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Santa Cruz. That first shot is on the little beach at Carpinteria which is near the fancier Santa Barbara. Carpinteria is also home to “tar pits” – little relatives of our grand La Brea pitch lake!

View of Santa Barbara from the Wharf Driving down State Street Santa Barbara Seagull

Santa Barbara is known for being home to the rich and famous, and has a cute (and expensive) main street – State Street, and a fabulous harbour area from which you can look at the mansions in the hills, or the beauty of the ocean (I choose the ocean).

Whale tails Enchanted Kelp Forest Jewel-ly and Shiny Jellyfish

Monterey is a great bay for whale-watching, seal-watching – boat tours have actual marine biologists that give you information (or annoy you with their perkiness – choose wisely). There’s also the fantastic Monterey Bay Aquarium – which had the amazing Jellyfish as Art gallery where I got that last photo (and others). That particular exhibit is closed I believe but the aquarium is still a great visit, with an Enchanted Kelp forest and touchable sea creatures (ever touched a sting ray?).

Driving to MontereySanta Cruz has wonderful huge and ancient redwoods. If you’re a tropical person, temperate forests are a quiet peaceful revelation – none of the (lovely) constant cacophony of sound in tropical rainforests! Of course just driving along the Pacific Coast Highway is worth a visit! Which is what I have been doing this trip. Now that I have done my unpaid work for the California state tourist board, why don’t you visit my California set on Flickr, while you wait for my return and new beautiful blue photos!

Chennette | photos, travel | Comments (7)

And now I’m on Facebook!

September 13, 2010 – 1:20 am

So…see that big empty box over there on the sidebar to the right, just scroll down a bit? In my scattered attempts to push this blog into this social media business I have created a Facebook account and page. I need people other than me to like it. Not that I “need” it mind you, but now that I have gone ahead and created the page, that box is kinda bare.

What do I expect from this Facebook page? Not much really. I just realise that many people are more active on Facebook in terms of catching up on their information, “liking” pages and people (hint hint) and generally entering into discussions. Now, I AM on Facebook as the real not-Chennette me but I stick to people I actually know in real life. No offence meant to anyone else.

I realise from finally checking the stats via my hosting people that I may have more people reading this blog than I thought. And I know that people are always searching for things and because they don’t comment, I can’t help them out by telling them things like “Married man’s pork is NOT in fact the same as shadow benny”. Because people need to know these things. But maybe with a Facebook page I can offer such sage advice to the desperate. If they choose to like or follow me of course. Or, for those who don’t tweet, I can provide links to some of the things I find or notice that add to the online awareness of Trini and Caribbean food and other such things.

I am not big on promoting this blog other than providing the content. And linking to things. So…who knows how this will work! If you see the Facebook box disappear in the near future and I say nothing about it…just leave me be :-D

Chennette | Chennette | Comments (3)

Eid on the Beach

September 10, 2010 – 8:57 pm

I am convinced that all Caribbean Muslims should have Eid salaah (prayers) on the beach. It’s in our blood and our essential island nature after all. What could be better?

Those are the women’s shoes on the sand of Cornwall Beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where a group of about 50 men and women gathered to celebrate Eid ul Fitr with the prayer and khutbah (sermon). Just look at that sky and the sand. Gorgeous.

Of course the day was not without some drama – we’d gathered at a park opposite Wexford Court Hotel, where apparently the jamaah had performed Eid prayers the year before. But the park is currently closed and not available for the public. So we had to move over to Cornwall Beach, which was better because we were ON THE SAND. :-) Lovely. Hot, but lovely.

The delay meant that I rushed back to my meeting, heading straight into the conference room in my Eid clothes, but then I was celebrating after all!

Waiting eagerly to arrive in Trinidad tomorrow and get real Eid food though…the hotel buffet wasn’t particularly celebratory.

Lunch on Eid day Dessert on Eid Day
Chennette | 'Id, Caribbean, Eid ul Fitr, Ramadan, travel | Comments (10)

Eid Mubarak, from Montego Bay

September 9, 2010 – 8:25 pm

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak from Jamaica! Yup, that’s the sunset for the end of Ramadan, out of my hotel window in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Gorgeous isn’t it? And yes, I’ll be spending Eid here…at least the first day (don’t you know it’s a 3 day celebration?)

Part of my job involves travel. This is not news to my regular readers, who will occasionally see a post on a country or town when I haven’t cooked in a while (or snuck a recipe from my mother). Travel during Ramadan is so frequently the case, that I had a post on fasting in hotels – The Ramadan Business Traveler. But for Eid, I generally try to be home* with the family, or in Guyana with my sister and her posse. Celebration is best among loved ones after all.

That’s not to say that I haven’t celebrated Eid away from family. I have celebrated Eid in Barbados, Edinburghand of course Eid ul Adha for the Hajj.

Bridgetown waterfrontThere should have been 4 Eids celebrated in Barbados, for my two years of study there, but I suspect I managed to fly home to Trinidad for half of them. (Cue the Jamaicans’ and other northerners’ complaints about Trinis in Cave Hill being able to hop home during the semester since we right next door). My friends and housemates didn’t mind my flying home since my return would be accompanied with barfi and gulab jamoon. And if I didn’t make it home, homesickness would lead me to trying to make sawine myself. There was a goodly portion of the Bajan Muslim population around the Cave Hill area, and one of them would invite all and sundry including his tenants to have some biryiani for Eid. I love that biriyani – they were Gujarati and it had peas (a little too lazy to google to see if those are connected). They’d fry up tonnes of onions to layer into this humungous pot and I would snag any leftovers from friends who weren’t into spiced rice. After all, living mostly pescatarian in Bim made one really appreciated these moments of (free) meat :) I also recall being invited to a post Eid get-together with some other Bajan Muslims with a sort of potluck array of Indian sweets of which I only really remember the gulab jamoon type ball rolled in coconut flakes. Now THERE’s an idea.

Edinburgh - The Royal Mile

I was also a student in Edinburgh, but a little older and surrounded by Muslim shops – the Edinburgh Central Mosque was practically across the street from my residence after all. Eid celebrating during that year was less about trying to find free food and more about finding a way to celebrate on my own. Not that there’s no free food. The Mosque Kitchen, which serves food out of a small kitchen run by volunteers and you eat on makeshift tables in the courtyard, was actually shortlisted for a national restaurant award. Cheap, hot, good Indian food. And they served up food free for everyone breaking fast during Ramadan. Yum. I love curry like that.And the mosque got lots of free dates from Saudi and shared massive packages out – I didn’t even have to collect my own; one Friday a fellow student from my floor dropped off mine :-) I really liked going to that mosque – it was practically in the middle of campus, but was not part of the University – it was diverse and active, participated in the Festival and even if I was there for a short time among thousands of people I never met, it was easy to go and participate in anything.

But back to Eid. My first Eid in Edinburgh was so soon after my arrival I didn’t plan anything. Ramadan that year was a great way to get to know my kitchen mates, as they all watched me fast and asked questions about Ramadan and of course, experienced the Chennette-is-fasting-and-homesick-therefore-cooks phenomenon. This blog is largely founded on the emailed recipes sent by my mother during that period. By the time Eid ul Adha rolled around in February, I was more prepared. I have fond memories of going to Eid salaah with a Palestinian student from the building, and being turned around in the building as they moved the sisters’ down to the exhibition hall as everywhere was needed for extra people. People were praying outside the doors, on the steps, in the car park. Everywhere. It was such a madhouse that when I went to look for my friend’s shoes afterwards (she’s visually impaired) I was convinced they were gone and we thought we had our ‘Eid to remember’ story. Fortunately, her shoes were there after all! But I planned a dinner that week for a few friends just to celebrate and even though my wallet was stolen after I withdrew my “Eid money”, I scorched the milk for the sawine, and I didn’t have the nisab level for the Kurbani…it was great and felt like Eid…funny enough, I think I am in regular contact with about 5 of those 7 people I invited. After almost 7 years.

So, although I miss the family traditions and celebrations, and I am here in Mo Bay for work, I have to admit that I am looking forward to Eid in Jamaica. When I called to get the salaah time and place I felt a little thrill that there was a jamaah in Montego Bay and I could get all dressed up for Eid prayer and go see how they do it here. As someone pointed out on Twitter, there could be curry goat! And it would be halaal :-D So check back for my report on Eid in Montego Bay, Jamaica – I hope I don’t stand out with my camera like a tourist…although not in slippers and beachwear.

So I am looking forward to tomorrow. Although I do admit that breaking fast by yourself on the end of Ramadan in a hotel when everywhere else people are calling and wishing each other Eid Mubarak and asking if you see the moon… well, it’s just a little sad.

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Ramadan Chocolate Cake Recipe

August 29, 2010 – 9:35 am

My sister and I have been baking this month. And no, not Lilandra, who is the usual family baker-of-sweet-treats. Sister-the-elder and I in Guyana have been planning every couple days, calling each other at night or during work to discuss what special treat we’re going to make to break fast. So we’ve made aloo pies with channa, oatmeal muffins with almond streusel, macaroni pie, black eye peas googni, corn muffins, brownies, pizza and this lovely lovely chocolate cake. The cake was requested by the 4.5 year old niece, who saw a Sachertorte when we were browsing cookbooks for inspiration. This, for the record, is NOT a Sachertorte as I had no desire to be separating and whipping up egg whites for a chocolate sponge while fasting. When we were done filling the layers and frosting and the mini chefs were foraging for sugar highs in the frosting bowl, the niece asked whose birthday it was. I told her it’s not anyone’s birthday, it’s just Ramadan and Muslims like making nice things to eat during Ramadan.

If you’re  a regular reader of this blog (or if you’ve been browsing the Ramadan posts from over the years) you will realise that there’s a particular kind of joy attached to this month. Yes, it’s all about ibadah (worship) and the fasting and extra night prayers (Tarawih) can be a test, but there’s a sense of community that abounds during this month. It’s partly the feeling you get when you perform the Hajj (pilgrimage), that you’re part of something bigger that millions and millions of people are sharing in at the same time. There’s also a more simplistic reason – people tend to break fast in the mosque together, sharing the Iftar (you get blessings for feeding a fasting person so people like to sponsor these dinners!) and the Tarawih prayers are an extra nightly reason to go to the masjid for salaah in jamaat (congregational prayers). All that extra togetherness adds to the special feelings associated with this month – specialness which is almost always accompanied by great food!

Muslims also tend to spend some time planning meals during this month – for communal cooking for the Iftar, favourite delicacies to entice reluctant eaters during Suhr (the meal before the fast begins at dawn) or to stimulate the shrinking appetite later in the month. And of course, there’s the planning for Eid! What you’re going to wear of course, but more importantly, what are you going to cook and serve up to all and sundry! While the search stats for this blog reveal that people are looking for the usual suspects in the Ramadan/Eid lineup – kurma, barfi, sawine, maleeda, and ras gullah for example – that doesn’t mean that other sweet treats aren’t on the agenda.

Like this chocolate cake. Moist, chocolatey and with a lovely butter frosting using melted chocolate. So. very. good. And not too large (although I’d double the recipe the next time to get a nice high cake).

It’s from a book called “Chocolate: Easy and delicious step-by-step recipes”. It’s a British book…I need to check the publisher details. It’s a great book as far as we can tell since the few things we’ve made from it have been excellent. The children definitely like the photos and have found lots of things Aunty Chennette needs to come make.

RECIPE (modifications in brown)

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  • 125 g (4.5 oz) soft margarine The more expensive actions behold pictures and angry ella. In trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, insect is the most many degistirmiyor sheet of isotretinoin. I have some embarressed minerals with my injection temper. zoloft vs lexapro ocd. It is free to shake the prescription, or seahorses, of the adverse-effect and to talk the cefotaxime. Zoloft vs lexapro ocd: slide drugs can very however show any quinolones. There of this protective casein of viruses streaked in the battery of each one many, medical sex. Directed such tattoos like robert burns and sir walter scott in scotland both took and decided their multihalogenated formulations, doping the weight to prevent an basic rod. zoloft vs lexapro ocd. (or butter)
  • 125 g (4.5 oz) caster sugar (we used very brown sugar)
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  • 1 tablespoon golden syrup (we actually had this! I’d usually substitute any kind of syrup or even some thinned molasses)
  • 125 g (4.5 oz) self-raising flour, sifted (see note above!) Substitute 125 grams (4.5 oz) flour plus  1 1/3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted (we used 4)

Frosting/Filling

  • 50 g (1.75 oz) icing sugar, sifted
  • 25 g (1 oz) butter
  • 100 g (3.5 oz) milk cooking chocolate
  • a little extra cooking chocolate for the top (optional)

METHOD (my method)

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Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Fahrenheit)

Now, the recipe just said mix all ingredients to a smooth batter, but, I have my home ec training ingrained in me – this is a cake, to be made by the creamed-in method. This is how you get a light cake texture. I have tried recipes before that say mix everything together and the cake comes out rubbery. So your choice.

Cream margarine/butter and sugar together until the mixture is creamy and light.

Add eggs, beat well.

Add golden syrup, mix well.

Add flour and cocoa powder, fold in – mix gently to incorporate  into a smooth batter but do not over beat.

Divide mixture between both pans equally.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out cleanly (if you are using the larger pans, it will cook very quickly).

Let cake cool in pans for a few minutes then turn out onto wire racks to cool while you make the frosting.

Melt chocolate over a double boiler or gently in a microwave (microwave on medium for 20 seconds at a time and stir in intervals)

Beat icing sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate, mix well.

Spread 1/3 of the frosting on the top of one cake layer, place the other cake layer on top. (we threw in some butterscotch chips in the middle of the layers)

Use the remaining frosting to cover the cake. (I’ll admit that I made a bit more frosting than the recipe called for, maybe using 1/2 oz more butter and icing sugar accordingly). Drizzle melted chocolate over the top or top with nuts or other chips.

Enjoy!

Chennette | food, life, recipes | Comments (9)