Eggless orange almond cookies

My little niece, who is nearly 6 years old, has been allergic to eggs since she was a baby. If she eats anything with even a trace of eggs, within about 15 minutes of ingesting it, she gets very uneasy and then invariably throws up. Once she's evacuated the contents of her little tummy, she's right back to normal, bouncy and happy while people around her deal with the aftermath. 

Obviously an allergy to eggs, while not as terrible as various other food-related allergies that children can have, does mean that she has to be very careful when she eats away from home - especially when it's a kiddie birthday party and there are tempting cakes and cookies on offer. Also because no party-organising parent really wants to have to deal with a kid who's having an allergic reaction that could escalate to life-endangering! However, touch wood, my niece is not fatally allergic to eggs, so her allergy is probably one of the easier types of problems to deal with. After all, it's easy enough to make egg-free food, especially cakes, cookies and ice creams. This holds true especially for home bakers. 

I made these orange almond cookies last week as a trial, to see how they would turn out prior to making them for my sister to take back for my niece when she returns to Seattle next week. The cookies turned out incredibly crisp and orangey and really tasty, and they disappeared really rather quickly. So I'm making a double batch today, because there would be a one-man mutiny if I didn't keep a few cookies back for home consumption. And here's the recipe so YOU can make it too. 

Oh by the way, I've taken to weighing out my ingredients for baking - I have the most basic of Salter kitchen scales that can weigh up to 500gms or 1/2 kilo. What's more, it can be tucked away neatly in its weighing bowl with its own plastic lid. Don't ask what's the big deal here, if you're the kind that weighs things automatically - until now I've not been the sort of person who bothered with all that "fussiness" (as I considered it). I'm not yet 100% on the side of weighing every single time...but I'm far more likely to do it than not. I consider myself to be the new improved version of me. 

Recipe for: Eggless orange almond cookies

Ingredients:

115 gms unsalted butter, softened

100 gms caster or granulated) sugar (I've tried it with both and it doesn't seem to have made any difference to the end result)

155 gms plain flour

1 tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp pure orange oil (optional)

3-4 drops of orange food colouring (optional)

Zest of one orange

1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/2 tsp cardamom seed powder if you prefer)

1/4 cup slivered or sliced almonds

Method:

1. Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. By hand will do - I used a wooden spoon.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients apart from the sliced/slivered almonds and mix together until fully incorporated. Place the almonds on a plate. 

3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for an hour for it to firm up. Line a flat baking sheet with a Silpat mat or with nonstick baking paper. 

4. Break off pieces of dough (about the size of a large marble), roll them into a ball and press them into the almonds. 

5. Place the cookie dough balls on the lined tray (almond side up) and flatten each one slightly. (You may need to wash and dry your hands every so often to stop the dough sticking as it starts to warm up). Leave 2 inches space between cookies as they will spread. Put the remaining dough back in the fridge if you can't use it all in one batch. 

6. Bake the cookies in a 180C oven for 9-12 minutes (or until the edges turn golden brown). Leave the cookies on the sheet for a minute, then transfer carefully with a spatula on to wire cooling racks. They will crisp up as they cool. 

Oaty banana snack cake

I don't know where I got this recipe - it was in my collection of recipes, hand-written in those days when I (presumably) didn't have a printer handy. I can't imagine why else I would have written it out painstakingly rather than printing it. Once upon a time, I used to be an enthusiastic letter writer, writing chatty letters of up to a dozen pages to penpals and friends. In fact, the number of handwritten pages doubled if I was writing to my German penpals at the time, because I'd have to compose my letter in "rough" (because of the many stop-starts and cross-outs) and then copy it out again in "fair". 

And to think that now, if I have to write more than 10 lines at a stretch, I get cramps in my hand...! Yes, actual cramps - and honestly I don't know whether that's due to old age or the unaccustomedness of exerting pressure on a pen with my fingers. I did attempt to write longhand letters to a couple of old friends recently, but the effort didn't last beyond two exchanges. The fact that I don't write anymore has no bearing on my love for writing paper and fountain pens - I just LOVE both!

Um... yes, I do realise that pens, paper and handwritten letters have no bearing on this recipe. The cake is chewy with oats, rich with the flavour of bananas and not very sweet. I used an expensive brand of orange oil extract because I didn't have any oranges (for zest). But do use actual fresh orange zest (and 1/4 cup of orange juice) if you have them. The batter is thick enough to take the optional 1/4 cup of juice without becoming overly runny.

Recipe for: Oaty banana cake

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups oats (I used organic jumbo oats)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/3 heaping cup demerara sugar (or use brown sugar)
1/3 cup sultanas or raisins
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (two medium)

1 large egg
1 cup yogurt (I used low-fat Greek style)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp orange zest or 2 tsp orange oil extract
2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup orange juice (optional)

Method:

1. Mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and cinnamon powder in a large bowl.

2. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg, then whisk in the yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, orange zest

and mashed bananas.


3. Pour the wet batter into the dry mix,

then lightly stir until just mixed.

Do not overbeat. The batter will be quite thick.
4. Spray a 7" square baking pan with Pam (or grease thoroughly with butter, if you like), and pour the batter into the pan.
5. Bake at 180C/350F for about 30-40 minutes, or till a tester comes out clean.

Check the cake after 30 minutes and keep an eye on it thereafter. Once the cake is done, let it remain in the pan for 5  minutes. Remove to a wire cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, cut into bars and serve. 

RECIPE: OATY BANANA SNACK CAKE

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups oats (I used organic jumbo oats)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1/3 heaping cup demerara sugar (or use brown sugar)

1/3 cup sultanas or raisins

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (two medium)

1 large egg

1 cup yogurt (I used low-fat Greek style)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp orange zest or 2 tsp orange oil extract

2 tbsp oil 
1/4 cup orange juice (optional)

Method:

1. Mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, raisins and cinnamon powder in a large bowl. 

2. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg, then whisk in the yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, orange zest and mashed bananas. 

3. Pour the wet batter into the dry mix, then lightly stir until just mixed. Do not overbeat. The batter will be quite thick. 

4. Spray a 7" square baking pan with Pam (or grease thoroughly with butter, if you like), and pour the batter into the pan. 

5. Bake at 180C/350F for about 30-40 minutes, or till a tester comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes and keep an eye on it thereafter. Once the cake is done, let it remain in the pan for 5  minutes. Remove to a wire cooling rack. When the cake is cool, cut into bars and serve. 

Chunky apple and orange cake

They say you can’t compare apples and oranges. I guess I can see why. Apples are hard and have thin skins you can usually eat; oranges and soft and you can’t eat the skin (at least not raw). Apples can be red or green or pink, whereas oranges are usually... well, orange. Apples are famously cooked in pies, and as far as I’m aware, I’ve never come across orange pie. (I might be merely ignorant, of course.)

The good thing here is that they – whoever they are – have never said that apples and oranges can’t be used in a recipe together... and I got proof of this from Google, which came up (only eventually) with a recipe for a cake that seemed easy AND doable AND tasty AND good-looking… AND, as it turned out, a blogger’s mum’s recipe. Evidently other people before me have discovered that apples and oranges go rather nicely – in fact quite deliciously - together in some things, like cake.

Boy, was it good. I reduced the quantity of the ingredients and replaced half the sugar with Splenda, and then halved the quantity of the remaining sugar so that I only used 1/4 cup in all.

Usually baking with just Splenda makes the cake a bit heavier in texture than otherwise – at least that’s been my experience so far. But this cake, although it seemed a tad sticky/moist at first, sort of fluffed itself out when it cooled, so that the cake part was nice and light and spongy. The apple chunks in it kept the cake moist for three days, and it smelt and tasted just as good as fresh, when it was warmed up in the microwave before serving.

It really was a delicious cake and I managed to use up three apples and four small oranges – which had been my intention in the first place.

Recipe for: Chunky apple and orange cake



Ingredients:

3 medium apples
1 tsp cinnamon
2-1/2 tbsp unrefined demerara sugar
2 tsp orange zest

1-3/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1/2 cup orange juice (from four small oranges)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 tbsp chopped mixed nuts (I used walnuts and almonds)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Grease a round loose-bottomed (or springform) 7" pan. Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon, sugar and orange zest. Set aside for 10 minutes.



2. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.



3. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla.



4. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones,



then add eggs, one at a time.



Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

5. Pour half of batter into prepared pan.



6. Spread half of apples over it.



7. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Sprinkle the nuts around the apple chunks.



8. Bake for about an hour (check after 45 minutes), or until a tester comes out clean and the cake has pulled away slightly from the pan.



9. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.



Serve warm.

Wallflower "cake" bars

I owe this one entirely to Julie, of A Finger in Every Pie and her gorgeous recipe for Wallflower Loaf. There are only a few changes from her recipe, plus I didnt bake it in a loaf tin - I used a square cake pan instead. But oh my, what a wonderful end result!

As the lovely Julie says, it's NOT fruitcake - but it's so much better than that, if you ask me. I absolutely love a chewy-nutty texture and this concoction is the very embodiment of that particular combination. It IS sweet, yes, but since I cut the "cake" into small bars, they were perfect for delivering just enough sweetness to alleviate the sugar fix without going over-the-top - and of course the nuts provided a contrast to the sweet taste.

Julie used walnuts in her recipe, and Turkish apricots and medjool dates. I didnt have anything as exotic - just "Tesco's best" seedless dates and tangy dried apricots. I can only imagine how much better Julie's Wallflower Loaf must have tasted, because humble though my ingredients were, they still made for a really wonderful outcome.



Oh, and I didnt use walnuts either - I substituted pecans because I think walnuts taste rather too bitter. Julie had also mentioned that the cake tends to burn easily, so I was extra careful with it right from the start (I have an unfortunate tendency to over-bake things). I started baking the cake at about 170C and after 30 minutes or so, I lowered the temperature another 10 degrees. The end result was near perfect. I didnt add any cinnamon or nutmeg, but the spices were barely missed, the bars were so addictively good!

Gotta say it again - thanks to Julie for a gorgeous, EASY recipe!

Recipe for: Wallflower "cake" bars



Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups seedless dates, cut in half
2 cups dried apricots, cut in half
1-1/2 to 2 cups pecans, broken in half
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup wildflower honey (I used orange blossom honey)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Grated zest of 1 orange

Method:

1. Line a 6" or 7" square cake pan and line with parchment paper. Spray lightly with oil.

2. Combine the dried fruits and nuts together.



3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

4. In another large bowl, beat the honey, eggs, vanilla and orange zest together.

5. Add the flour to the beaten egg and honey mix to make a thick batter.

6. Add the chopped dried fruits and nuts to the batter and stir till they are thinly coated. It will look like there is way too little batter, but like Julia said, it rises up around the fruits and nuts JUST right.



7. Pour the mixture into a 6" square baking pan that has been lined with silicone paper and press down lightly.



8. Put the pan into the oven at 170C and let the cake bake for 30 minutes or so. Then lower the heat by 10 degrees and let it cook till a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.



9. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before slicing it into bars.

Nut-and-sultana orange cake

Another orange cake recipe, because I've got so many at home. Oranges, I mean. I think there must be at least a dozen-plus oranges left even after I ate two, and Rebecca a few more (good thing she was here yesterday)... that's what comes of taking up the "Buy one dozen, get the next dozen free" offer at the supermarket. Pete doesnt stop to think if we can use whatever's going cheap - he's just so entranced by the bargain that he just grabs them (which is why I prefer to do the shopping!). Then they sit around at home, quietly going rotten while I frantically try to use them up somehow, ANYhow.

Which brings me to the cake. It's a much more moist affair than the orange-chocolate marble cake, with lots of golden sultanas and nuts. The best thing about it is that there's no complicated beating and adding and care involved in making the batter. Just assemble the ingredients and mix 'em up. My kind of cake!



I usually dont chop up the sultanas for any cake, but this time I did - sat in front of the TV watching sitcoms while I snipped the sultanas up with my spare embroidery scissors (my kitchen scissors unaccountably having disappeared). I also used three kinds of nuts in the cake - brazils, pecans and macadamias.The traditional way is to use vanilla extract as flavouring, but I decided to substitute that with about a teaspoon of powdered cardamom seeds.

The cake smelt gorgeous - there's nothing as wonderful as the sweet aroma of cardamom - and the cardamom brought to mind (and tongue) the memory of the rava kesari that I love... very nice indeed!The icing with fresh orange juice (what else!) and grated orange peel just topped the cake off nicely, adding the extra sweetness that Pete requires.

Recipe for: Nut-and-sultana orange cake flavoured with cardamom



Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup light sugar, 1/2 cup Splenda granular
1 tbsp orange zest
1 cup golden sultanas, snipped to pieces (can be left whole too
1/2 cup mixed nuts (I used pecan, macadamia and brazil), chopped
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup margarine or butter
3 eggs
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, powdered fine
OR
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the icing

1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened but not melted
2-3 cups icing sugar
1 tbsp orange zest
Fresh orange juice (about 1/2 a medium orange squeezed, more if required

Method

1. Sift the flour with the baking powder, soda and salt in a big mixing bowl

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the flour, making sure that the batter is well mixed

3. Put the batter in a greased 9" cake tin (round or square) lined with silicone paper. Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees C or 350 Fahrenheit) for 45-50 minutes, or till done. Poke a cake tester in the middle to see if it's done.

4. Let the cake sit for 5 minutes in the tin, then unmould and cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing: Put the icing ingredients in a bowl and mix well, adding as much orange juice as required to make the icing spreadable. Ice the top and sides of the cake.