Tag Archives: Cake

Mama’s Sfouf

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I’m back to my kitchen, to my bed and most importantly to my family. Gosh! I missed my hubby and daughters. Four weeks away from home felt very long and slow. I felt the time freezing, as if the Earth was not rotating, but Thanks God, there’s a bright side for every story, because I was working with a wonderful team, on a very big brand, learning splendid recipes from a gifted chef.

I came back a week ago! I miss cooking so much that we had different menu everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert. My family and I are overwhelmed.

The first item I want to share with you after my return is Sfouf cake.

Sfouf are fun! It’s a Lebanese dessert known for its distinctive yellow color coming from the addition of turmeric. Sfouf can be enjoyed with milk, tea or coffee. It contains no eggs or no butter, mix the ingredients the way you like and make sure you will get a superb cake flavored with aniseed and turmeric spices; two of the healthiest spices available. Like many recipes, the quantities varies from a kitchen to another, but my mom’s recipe is simply the best☺

Sfouf (Sfoof)

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups Semolina Flour
  • 3 cup Flour
  • 1cup Vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp Turmeric (a.k.a Curcuma)
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 2 tsp Aniseed (ground)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 cups Sugar
  • 21/2 cups Milk (or water)
  • 2 tbsp Tahina (sesame paste)
  • Sesame seeds, Slivered almonds or Pine nuts, to garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C

2. In a bowl, mix semolina, flour, turmeric, baking powder, aniseed and vanilla. Add oil and stir to make a paste.

3. In a separate bowl, melt sugar in cold milk. Add gradually to the flour and spices paste and mix using an electric cake mixer.

4. Grease the baking dish with Tahina and pour batter. Make sure it’s flat and even. Sprinkle with sesame, pine nuts or decorate with almonds.

5. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden-brown. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Cut in pieces like you do for brownies and serve.

Please note, this same recipe can be done without milk. Just dilute sugar and aniseed in water and add it to the flour and spices mixture.

 

Apple Walnut Cake

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This is another one of my favorite cakes, if it happens that I bake it for someone, I have to bring along several copies of the recipes. Not anymore! It’s on the web now:)

It’s light and moist, not too sweet, spiced with cinnamon and loaded with chopped walnuts and chunks of apples.

There’s not much to add to my monologue today! I had this recipe for so long and never changed a thing in it. I just love it!

The only thing I recommend is that to make sure that your walnuts are fresh, cause old ones might ruin the whole taste of your cake.

And this is how I make it!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 cups finely chopped apple
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup raisins

PREPARATION:

1. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan (or a 7inch/18cm round pan)

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in eggs and vanilla with a wooden spoon.

3. Into another bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

4. Stir into egg mixture alternating with milk. Stir in apples, chopped walnuts, and raisins.

5. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes, until cake springs back when gently pressed with finger.

6. Let cool in pan on rack.

Lemon Cake

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Serge just came back from Dubai and got me this new Bundt® pan from Nordicware. I know a normal woman would cheer up over jewelry, a designer’s bag or a perfume but definitely not a pan! Hearing me shouting: “YESSS!! For meeee!!”. How many of you would have guessed that my gift could have been a baking pan, really? Come on!

I’m sure some of you would have thought giving a BANG! on the hubby’s head just for the thought of it hihihi… well not me! I’m a proud wife today, and I’m really happy to bake a lemon cake inside my new pan.

I love the preparation of this cake, the smell of the lemon zest is irresistible!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick/ 100gms) unsalted butter, at room temperature, diced
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 eggs
  • Zest of 4 lemons
  • 100g white chocolate, melted
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup full fat milk
  • 1/4 cup limoncello
  • Icing Sugar, to dust

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 185 degrees C. Grease and flour a 12-cup pan.

2. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

3. Add the lemon peel and the white chocolate. Mix until incorporated.

4. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

5. In a measuring cup combine the milk and the limoncello. Add to butter mixture alternating with flour. Beat until well mixed, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

6. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for ten minutes, then remove it from the pan and let it cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.

New York-Style Crumb Cake

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Shopping on 5th avenue is not the only thing I love about New York City, but also muffins, scones and cakes. Since it’s a food blog, I will have to skip the shopping tips and trends of the week news and put you on the fast track to sweet tooth news flash.

To all the cakes lovers out there, NYC is your haven!

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I find a pleasure in the morning instead of having it at the hotel, to go out, walk Manhattan streets and stop by one of my preferred cafes to have my granola berries breakfast with a cinn raisin bagel (shortening of cinnamon-raisin bagel) and a cupcake or a slice of cake take away.

Nothing tastes as delicious as homemade New York-style crumb cake fresh from the oven, especially if prepared the old-fashioned way. Paired with home made berries jam and sprinkled with fine crumbles and icing sugar. Mmmmm, luscious!

Get ready to be transported to a fluffy bliss with this stylish cake recipe.

New York-style crumb cake

Ingredients

Crumble:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 1tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ sticks / 150g unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

  • 2 and a half cups of flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 ½ cup white sugar
  • 1 and a half stick of unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • Icing sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. Grease a baking pan.

3. Make the crumb topping: In a bowl, combine together flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Pour warm melted butter over mixture and rub with your fingers to make medium and large clumps.

4. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

5. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture alternating with sour cream until well combined.

6. Pour batter in the baking pan and sprinkle the crumbles evenly.

7. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the skewer inserted into the centre of the cup cake comes out clean.

8. Transfer to a wire rack and wait until cool.

9. Dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Try it with a touch of jelly. Once you pour the batter in the baking tray, spoon the jam over it and finish with sprinkling the crumbs.

Chocolate Banana Cake

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The first time I ate a chocolate banana cake was at a friend’s place. When I asked her for the recipe, she told me that it was a ready mix box that she bought in Poland 😦 Very disappointing!

I simply fell in love with that cake and wanted to have more of her delicious dessert. When I got back home, the next thing I found myself doing was looking online for Chocolate Banana cakes recipes. Then, after baking this cake several times, I ended up making my own “flattering” recipe. Why flattering, you might ask?  ‘Cause I swear that anyone who tried this cake immediately asked me for the recipe!

Whenever I’m invited to a dinner or a gathering and I feel like leaving a good impression, I bake a chocolate banana cake and bring it along. Splendid! It makes it even more flattering when my “Hero cake” gets so many compliments or when I receive indirect compliments through the ones addressed to my husband Serge, such as “niyelak” i.e. lucky you 🙂

Genius!

Before you start with the preparation, you need to know that ripe bananas have more flavor and a good quality of milk chocolate makes a lot of a difference (I often use Galaxy chocolate plain milk).

This cake is very moist, hopefully you will try it and love it.

Chocolate Banana Cake

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup oil or 50gms/half stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 small mashed ripe bananas
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1 cup chocolate chips or chocolate chunks

Preparation:

 

  • Pre-heat oven on  180 degree C.
  • Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
  • Add bananas. Beat well
  • Add dry ingredients; flour, baking soda and baking powder. Blend.
  • Add milk and mix.
  • Pour batter in a pre-greased baking pan and add chocolate chips on the top of the batter and push it gently with a toothpick. Do not let it sink.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes.