Cherry Swirl with Dark Chocolate & Cherry Bits

I love Cherries.

Lately I have comes across many recipes for ice cream. And this one was no different.  This recipe started out one way, and ended up differently as I started to improvise.

Ingredients:

1 cup cherries, pitted, and another handful
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp honey or Maple syrup
1-2 dark chocolate squares cut into bits

Blend half cup Greek yogurt, cherries and vanilla extract. Transfer a bowl that is freezer safe.

In a separate bowl mix the remaining Greek yogurt and honey, and toppings of cherry  and chocloate bits. Layer on top of the bowl. Using a butter knife to gently swirl the mixture.

Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.

Note:

My first attempt used only 1 tbsp Maple syrup as prescribed in the original recipe and I found that wanting. So I repaired the recipe by adding more maple syrup and adding the toppings. The final product was more to my liking.

Eat stand alone, with a slice of cherry cake or I even experimented making a sandwich with two digestive biscuits. Refreshing in this hot, humid weather!

Cherry and Cardamon Cake

If I were to name a fruit that was my most favorite one, then Mango and Cherry would be neck to neck. While mangoes in some variety are available year round, cherries have a short shelf life. More importantly, they are super expensive especially in the east coast.

I miss those days when we went cherry picking, eating all we could. Or the days when I could grab a pound at 99 cents back in CA.  I make up for it, by grabbing the cheapest I can, while they last.

In addition to eating them fresh, I also love trying new recipes such as this cake.

Ingredients:

1 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1.5 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup softened butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cardamon pods, crushed
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla essence till fluffy. Add eggs,  flour, cardamon, and then milk and continue to beat until combined.

Add half the cherries and mix together. Transfer to a greased cake pan. Press rest of the cherries on top of the batter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until  golden. Cool on a wire rack, before serving.

Goes well with the Cherry Swirl Ice cream. Stay tuned for the recipe 🙂

 

Lemon, Banana and Cranberry Cake

I came across this recipe a few weeks back and have been wanting to bake it. During my first attempt, I used all whole wheat flour, and it went straight to the trash! So this time I decided to stay with all-purpose flour. I would have replaced it with some amaranth flour if I had some.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 large ripe banana
1/2 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup milk or apple sauce (I used milk since I did not have apple sauce)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon jest

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl or stand mixer whisk together banana, oil, eggs, milk, and sugar until smooth. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix well.

Fold in cranberries and pecans and mix well. Pour into a 9in square pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on the rack.

Meanwhile whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and spread evenly on the cake once it is cooled. Allow to set before slicing. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea!

Mango and Cranberry Cake

It’s fall and cranberries are available in abundance in grocery stories. I picked up a box of them this week and the first thought in my mind was to make cake with mango!

So…. here goes…

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup almond meal
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 mango diced
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix flour, almond meal, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk sugar and eggs until thick. Add essence. Fold in melted butter and milk and whisk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

Set aside a handful of cranberries and add the rest to the batter along with the diced mango. Optionally can add some walnuts. Mix well. Pour into a well greased baking pan. Arrange the remaining cranberries on top of the cake batter.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream or stand alone with some warm spicy chai.

See Also:

Apricot and Cranberry Cake
Cranberry Pumpkin Loaf
Whole Wheat Cranberry Orange Loaf
Cranberry Orange Bread
Cherry Cake