moist cranberry macadamia cake..

There are so many variations of this cake... I had one posted a week ago called Easy Carrot Plum Cake . And while the recipe of the carrot plum cake calls for more fat, here the ingredient that makes this cake a super moist one is the crushed pineapple...

A friend told me to try crushed pineapple  because it´s really making the cake so soft and yummy that you won´t even notice that pineapples are included.

So, here it is and I hope you would try this very easy scrumptious recipe.. 

Moist Cranberry Macadamia Cake

Ingredients:

dried ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup granulated sugar or Stevia powder

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried coconut flakes

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, crushed

3 tsp baking soda

a dash of salt

1 tsp ground cinammon

1 pack Vanilla sugar

wet ingredients:

3 large eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cups grated carrots

250 grams pineapple chunks drained and crushed

for the frosting :

250 ml whipping cream with lesser fat ( I used Rama Cremefine) 

3/4 cup powdered sugar or stevia powder

1 pack Vanilla sugar

1 pack cream stiffener powder of 8 grams ( I used Dr, Oetker Sahnesteif) 

Preparations: 

   Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F. Brush the  inside of a bundt baking pan

   with margarine, set it aside for filling later.

 1. Combine all dried ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly until well 

     blended, set aside.

2. In another bowl, beat the egg adding the oil, stir until oil is well  

   blended with the eggs.. then add the grated carrots and the crushed 

   pineapple.  Add this mixture to the bowl of dried ingredients and using a

   spoon , mix thoroughly until all dried ingedients are well coated with the 

   egg mixture and become moist.

3. Fill this mixture into the bundt pan and bake for about 45 minutes .

   Make a test, if the toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out 

   clean, then the cake is done. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack..

4. Make the frosting by whipping the cream adding the sugar by & by and the    cream stiffener until the cream mixture becomes stiff. Use the whipped 

  cream to top and cover the cake completely.

5. Sprinkle with flaked coconut and serve with more whipping cream on the       side of the cake... Good for coffee breaks or afternoon tea.

HAPPY BAKING !

Til next, xoxo

Mercy

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an easy spinach tart....

I always have filo pastry in the fridge and I buy them readymade from our  supermarket ...it' s a versatile dough you can use for anything sweet or salty... and it´s a quick way to bake something without spending so much time in the kitchen..

One of those quick baked goodies we prefer to have at home is this

 quick & easy spinach tart and this is how I make it..

EASY SPINACH TART

Ingredients: 
1 pack filo pastry

200 grams frozen young spinach leaves, thawed and 

liquid squeezed

1 pack Mozarella around 150 grams, sliced
2 medium size tomatoes sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp Cream fraiche 
salt & Pepper to taste
margarine to coat the pie dish
vegetable oil for frying


Preparation:

1. roll out the filo sheet onto a pie dish that was previously coated with margarine, trim the edges with your finger so that the dough covers the whole baking dish.. bake in a preheated oven, middle rack at 200 °C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, set aside.

*blind baking is not necessary as the middle part of the dough will 

be flattened soon as it is filled with spinach).


2. Fry the crushed garlic, add the sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, spinach, 

sauté until becomes soft, add the creme fraiche and blend well...

season with salt & pepper according to your taste.

3. Add the spinach mixture into the crust and bake at 180°C around

 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt... Serve hot!

Happy Baking !!!

broken hopes

Broken Hopes

you are your own dark fortress

no one would ever want to reach

bear you possess not the courage

nor the liberty for the pretty wrongs

ridicule not the others but yourself

putting them off at their expense

is something only tyrants do

if all choose sympathy on you

then redeem yourself, strive hard

improve the deep within you

your true reflection discouraging

moulded and sealed the past

nothing could pass the virtue

that´s been trying to get you

in your tattered world of beliefs

battered with broken wings

seek your destiny or stand let it be.

written by :

Mercy G. Gallardo

Vienna, May 11, 2014

visiting german relatives.....

It was exciting to meet someone you didn´t see for over a long 

period of time. I found out a couple of years ago, 

that I have relatives living in Germany..

She is the daughter of my first cousin,  her grandma was the

 older sister of my dad. We were kids back then when 

our ways parted..and now after so many years we´ve met again

 in Erding  ( near Munich) Germany.

We went by car passing-by Salzburg... on our way, saw the

 magnificent parts of the austrian alps.

Everything was already green again as Spring is now here... but the 

peaks of the mountains are still covered with snow.

we also passed-by Chiemsee....

... arrived in Erding after 4.5 hours drive from Vienna.

On that Sunday of our visit, the stores and farmer´s
 market were  opened..  I have enjoyed walking  in and around 
the town.  It´s a nice place to live in...quiet, almost no 
pollution, low crime..

Erding has good infrastructures.. 
By train, you can reach Munich International 
Airport and the City by 30 and 40 minutes respectively.

Erding has banks, hospital, clinics, supermarkets, etc.

tiny flowers seen along the road.

A hearty breakfast at the hotel...before going to Neuschwanstein Castle...

My cousin loves flowers and these are cultivated by her.

Have enjoyed the town very much

Happy Saturday!

just a bit of dirt....

Honeysuckle

Today´s afternoon was spent for gardening..It had 

been raining the past  few days,

 so I thought this would be the perfect time to 

have dirty hands and plant a couple of new 

shrubs...

 Here, I´d like to share with you the small backyard of our row house with  

all the plants we have...I have an apple tree, the conifer hedges, a tamarisk 

tree, a rose bush, honeysuckle and many shrubs which

 I honestly do not know what the names are.

I just knew them by colors of their flowers,  LOL!

I´ve been trying to shape this shrub as topiary , the trunk is getting

 thicker as it gets older.

 Mind you, these 4 branches of forsythia  that I cut a week ago have been 

developing roots. Imagine, I just stuck these into the earth, 

didn´t do anything and they simply thrive and grow and grow...

One of the forsythia branches that I stuck on earth..

Tulips

Buxus

Hibiscus

Ternatas

And so , I planted a camelia and a peony. The peony is called 

"Pfingstrosen"in german, because they would normally 

flower when the  Pentecost is nearing and that is sometime in June.

Camelia

As some of you may have remembered , we have constructed the 

flooring with tiles to replace  the wooden slabs that got rotten

 from the constant change of  weather... 

Now we are a happy with our decision to have the 

tiled floor as the backyard is now almost maintenance free...

My apple tree... hopefully this would bear many fruits this season.

Spring onions - these were my cooking leftovers that I planted today in a pot. In a few days , new growth will dramatically be seen soon.

The shrubs of the peonies & lilies overshadow the salad greens.

The salad greens in a raised bed.

potted bell pepper 

Ivy

When gardening, I seldom wear gloves...

I just need to feel the dirt in my hands and that makes me smile!

 Hope you enjoy the pics. 

 Happy weekend!

Easy Carrot-Plum Cake

The most important thing in baking this moist cake is the ingredients...

there isn´t really a secret in baking this one,.....simply gather and 

prepare the needed ingredients beforehand and soon  you´re 

halfway done... 

 Easy Carrot-Plum Cake

(makes 9 servings)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups sugar (or 1 1/2 cups sweetener like

 stevia in powder form)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 pack vanilla sugar

3 cups freshly shredded carrots

1 cup chopped walnut

1 cup chopped dried plums 

1 cup freshly shredded coconut  or

 dried coconut flakes

5 large eggs

1 1/4 cups olive oil or salad oil

1 cup buttermilk

Preparations: 

1.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a  21cm x 25 cm baking pan with a baking sheet. In a large bowl, using spoon, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking 

powder , baking soda, vanilla sugar and salt.

Add the carrots, nuts, dried plums and the coconut flakes..mix well until the carrots and the rest of the dry ingredients are well coated by the flour.

2. 

In another bowl, beat eggs slightly using a fork. then add the oil and the buttermilk. Stir the egg mixture to the flour.  Mix well til all ingredients are moistened..

3. 

Pour  the batter into the square pan lined with baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour  in the preheated oven... Test if done by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake ...when the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready..

4.

Let the cake cool completely, then remove from pan and cut into squares.

Arrange on a platter and serve with jam topping and whipped cream...

This cake is so scrumptious, your family would surely

be craving and would ask for more!

Happy Baking!