I HAD to bake today! It has been so long since I last baked.
This cake was put together with such a sense of urgency! Almost as if I didn’t bake right then & there, something awful would happen! After a pretty harrowing past couple days, I knew where this was coming from. There’s a whole lot of change going on in my life. I am pretty good with that usually, in fact I thrive on it. It suits my restless Gemini spirit just fine, adapting to new experiences, new feelings… reworking things to make it all fit & brand new. But sometimes change comes with a sense of losing control… of yourself, the situation. You tell yourself to be patient & ride with the tide, more often than not, it works. But there are days when my “Zen”-ness all but disappears… I so desperately needed some Kitchen Therapy!
I didn’t bother with photographs or music & just got right down to it!
I wanted to use Strawberries (they were heading to the trash-can in a couple days!) & Oranges (just bought a dozen yesterday). And of course it all had to be “almost” in sync* with my diet plan & diabetic-friendly since my mother-in-law is visiting.
I remembered reading a scrumptious Apple Yogurt Tea Cake recipe on Sam’s blog, Le Pirate & used that as the base reference for my cake. I didn’t have macadamia oil, so I used olive; substituted the sugar with Sugar-Free tablets; used a combination of whole wheat flour & oat meal instead of plain flour, & added some crushed roasted peanuts I had leftover from yesterday & an orange-basil glaze just for fun!
For the Cake
- 1.5 cups Oat Meal
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 3 tablespoons Crushed Roasted Peanuts
- 15 tablets Sugar Free / Sweet ‘n’ Low powdered / 1 cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons Yogurt (beaten well)
- 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 3 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 150-200 gm Strawberries (chopped)
- Zest & Juice of 2 small Oranges
For the Glaze*
- Juice of 2 Oranges
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- A few leaves Basil (roughly chopped)
*The reason why this is “almost” in sync with my diet plan. You could avoid the glaze, but then again…
Method
Cake
- Whisk together the oat meal, whole wheat flour, peanuts, Sugar Free tablets, orange zest & baking powder & soda, & toss in the chopped Strawberries.
- Beat the eggs well & add vanilla extract, yogurt, olive oil, orange juice & whisk well.
- Add the liquid mixture to the dry one & combine it gently. Don’t over-mix.
- Adjust the consistency of the batter with milk.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 30-40 minutes
Glaze
- Heat the orange juice & brown sugar mixture with basil leaves on a low flame till the sugar melts & the consistency turns syrupy. Strain & keep aside till the cake is done.
- Use a skewer to poke some holes on the cake & pour the syrup over it while still hot.
And Sam is so right… this cake hardly takes any time to put together & in spite of using oat meal & whole wheat flour, instead of refined, plain flour, the cake still turned out wonderfully moist, soft & oh, so delicious!
This recipe makes a 7 inch loaf… a perfect breakfast treat for a harrowed girl on a diet… guaranteed to make you feel better
