Ria's Collection: CRAISIN - ORANGE SQUARECAKES ...a step-by-step tutorial.

Monday, April 12, 2010

CRAISIN - ORANGE SQUARECAKES ...a step-by-step tutorial.


If you are following me on facebook, you would have read some status messages of mine as 'thinking...' :) I was thinking of doing something which I have never done on my blog before. I always wanted to do a step- by- step tutorial of baking a cake and it never materialised.

So while this thought was doing it's rounds in my mind, Bharathy prompted me into it :) Thank you Bharathy for your encouragement! I think I should continue doing this...or will get boring? I don't know!You tell me!

Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Should I? Shouldn't I? Or maybe just for cakes... :) I hope it does not turn out to be boring!




People, I have to warn you, this is going to be a real- long picture laden post. If you feel I should discontinue blogging this way for cakes, please do let me know!!

Welcome to my kitchen...it is bright enough for me but very shadow-ey for my cam ;) And yes, I would like to introduce to you all ,my new friend, Reddie, my beautiful KA!

Dump in one stick (113g) of regular unsalted butter.

Add 1 cup of sugar. I used granulated and here in US, the granules are very tiny so it mixes well when creamed. If you are living in India, please use powdered sugar of the same measure.
Aaaaannnnndd cream it!
Add in one cup of regular all purpose flour.
To that, you need to add 2 tsp of baking powder.
and 1/2 a tsp of salt. 
Aaaannnndddd MIX! Be ready for a flour storm ;)
Add in 1/2 cup of milk. I used fat-free skim milk. Hey! now do not ever think that I drink that fat-free stuff...nope, I used it cos that's what I had on hand! I feel that milk has a wierd smell and Jobin thinks otherwise...so yeah! he drinks that :)
Go on! Beat it!
Now, add in another 1 cup of regular all purpose flour
 aaannnnndd beat!
Now is the time to add those yummylicious ingredients! Add in 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. I used Mandarin oranges.
Add in the yummilicious ingredient #2. 1 tsp of freshly grated orange rind.
Aaaaaannnnnddd beat it till fluffy for about 30-40 secs.

Uh-oh! I forgot to add in the eggies! Okay, big deal! I just cracked and added them in the end. I am showing you the cracked shells, because I am not too sure whether you can see the small babies behind the paddle.
And give it a one last good mix for 1 minute. The batter is dreamy and thick!
Now I have the oven pre-heating at 350 deg F (180 deg.C) for 10 mins.
There it goes, I fill in the cake tin, 1 1/2 tbsp at a time. Look how fluffy the batter is!! And I apologise for all the shadow-ey pics. It's either the 'big' me or it's the kitchen! ;)

I am all set! I divided them into 2 halves. 6 with craisins (just added them after I filled in the tray) and 6 plain.

Pop it into the oven and ...

bake for 15 mins!


CRAISIN-ORANGE CUPCAKES
Recipe source: Unknown

Ingredients:
Flour- 2 cups
Sugar- 1 cup, powdered
Unsalted butter- 1/2 cup /1 stick/113 g
Eggs-2
Milk-1/2 c
Orange juice-1/2 c
Orange rind-1 tsp
Craisins- 4 tbsp (You can substitute it with raisins too!)
Baking powder- 2 tsp
Salt-1/2 tsp (If using salted butter, omit salt)

Method:
  • Prepare the baking tin.
  • Mix flour , baking powder and salt and keep aside. I must admit, I never do this! I just dump it all in!
  • Cream butter +sugar well.
  • Add in eggs and beat well. ( I happily missed this step...was clicking pics, you see! ;)
  • On low speed , beat in flour mix + milk alternately in 3 lots.
  • Add in the orange juice and orange rind and give it a final mix.
  • Pour into tins and bake for till done. It took 15 mins for me. It purely depends on your oven.Do a skewer test to find out if it's done.
  • Let it cool completely on a wire rack.
I had some batter left behind, and I was in no mood to make squarecakes again. So I dumped it all into my springform pan and baked it!
Verdict:
I almost fainted with it's wonderful texture and taste. It was delicious!
We had some friends over for tea and I served them these squarecakes. And boy! I didn't know it would be so much in demand! They loved it! And I packed some for them ...for their breakfast the next day ;)


29 Comments:

Bharathy said...

TIIIGHT HUGS RIA!!!!!! :)...

Just Scrolled down and leaving the comment due to Over Excitement!! :D
..yet to go thorough the LOVELY LOVELY Special Post!!

Thanks A TON for this laborious Post!!!
Love it!! :)

Prerna said...

It was actually fun to read step by step detailed recipe with pictures.
Orange, lemon and pineapple cakes are my favorite. U just reminded me that I have a few oranges sitting in my fruit basket :-)

Unknown said...

You should definitely do this.. Lovely pics and cake looks so gorgeous and perfect with the chai :)

Nithya said...

Lovely cake. I am really happy to see a step wise post from you. I would love to have more of such from you. Its really fantastic and I am sure to try it out soon. ;)

Unknown said...

Hii...i'm here after a loong time...hve been silently njoying u'r posts for some time...This step by step tutorial is really wonderful my gal n u shud really continue with this...really appreciate the pain u take for this....
Luv
Zareena

Swapna said...

Wonderful post with beautiful pictures Ria!!! Now I also want a KA....have to re-start my KA hunting here in Kuwait;)

Finla said...

I want to have that KA..............the small cakes look so cute and yumm.

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled on your blog a few weeks ago and love it. Where DID you get your tea cup set??? I need a new one and would love this.

Vandana Sarah said...

Very nice and Detailed.. and oh yeah i did not miss all those cool new gadgets you are playing with .. WAY to go Girlie!!

Faiza Ali said...

Mouthwatering cake, Ria.Perfect for teatime And Yes!!You should definitely do the post with detailed pics..its not boring at all. Infact it helps a lot :)

Suma Rowjee said...

Hi Ria! Lovely! Great to see this tutorial. You have added one more recipe for me to come back and droll over on your blog(amongst a score others:-). Am also jealous of your big oven with a digital timer and that cake pan:-((

Aps Kitchen said...

Ria I just Loved it nd never got boring even fr a sec.... U shud keep it on..... nd here we dont get those oranges so can we use the normal ones????

Purnima said...

Absolutely great post..loved the pictorial! The cake looks yummy! Loved ur KA n Baking pan too! The recipe is BM!

RMM said...

Wow...Ria its super cool !!! just loved it..will do it today itself...u know what ..i always take pics and sometimes just to show u ..but i chicken out in the end,...just waitin to get my hands on those oranges at home...Keep going Girlie...and love ur new gadgets..:)) Reny.

Ninu said...

hey love the tutorial. ever so helpful. and the cakes look brilliant. will be trying them soon. especially as im a fan of anything orange. have u ever tried barefoot contessa chocolate chunk orange cake? its to die for!!!
ps - LOVE LOVE LOVE all ur new bakeware..and the kitchenaid..omg... must be in baking heaven =)

Ria Mathew said...

Thank you all so much for the overwhelming response!! I shall continue! x

Bharathy- TIGHHHT hug! :)
Prerna- Go ahead and bake it!
Divya,Nithya,Zareena- Thank you!!
Swapna,Finla- Thank you so much!!You both will have it one day...very soon!
Preethi- Welcome! I got it as a wedding gift in Hyderabad.
Vandu chechy- Thank you! ;)
Faiza-Thanks!!
Suma- Even I used to be J...and now I got one! You too might...very soon!
Aps- Ohh yes! You can try it with our regular oranges.Here I found that mandarin's are the closest-tasting ones to the oranges we get in India. I just LOVE them!!
Purnima- Thank you!!! :)
RM- C'mon girl! Send them to me...let me see your wonderful creations!
Ninu-Ohh thanks for reminding that! I have had that written down for quite sometime now...will give it a try verrry soon!!

And yea! I am in a baking heaven!;)

AdukalaVishesham said...

delicous teatime, rather anytime treats... love craisins too.. the oranges look so wonderful.. awesome clicks..

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

I admire anyone who can do step-by-step posts. I find it tough just cooking/ baking and taking one picture!!! :)

Love your square muffin pan.

Cooking Foodie said...

These look great... love the pics esp of the orange on the white background...

Divya Rao said...

What were you saying? Stop long posts with pics?? Heck, no! It was a pleasure reading this post :) The pics are the best part! Esp for people for me who are very 'visual' :D

Michelle said...

Hi sweetie! That's a KA Mixer is good for whipping cake batter until is a wonderfully fluffy! Just reading the recipe I can tell the mini cakes were delicious!

Love the pan and I've wanted one of those for the longest time too.

Suhaina said...

Wow, very well illustrated.Very tempting and super click dear.
I too was going to post an orange almond tea cake.Its in my draft.

Anonymous said...

Sweetheart these look so lovely! I need to get a mini-squares pan like yours, it's so cute! I'd love to come to tea at your place.

Lolo said...

hi...when i saw ur blog sum 2 months ago,i wanted a step by step recipe by u(espcly for the cakes).and now u hav it.i wanted to try baking bcos of u.u r my inspiration.n now i hav my things ready.ready set gooooooo

cheers,
anita

Archana Umesh said...

Hi Ria,

Its me Archana your classmate in MCC.. I really love ur interest in baking cakes n biscuits.. Amazing talent.. I am now a days picking up that interest without my knowledge.. So I thought of first visting your blog to get some ideas.. I wanna start off with some simple recipes.. So I will pick any one of yours n try.. I dono y this interest now 4 me all of a sudden.. Hey Guess what?? I met Valli Maam today, She was asking about.. N infact she wished all our classmate n requested to convey her regards to all.. All the best dear.. If I need anything I will Bugg you for some nice recipes.. Dont mind huh...

Regards,
Archana. M

Ann said...

hey Ria...
fantastic attempt dear...
d cake looks so yummy...
i made the same...as we discussed b4, in kerala we need substitutions for so many items...n here i sustituted orange tang for fresh juice...still the cake turned out good...
thanks a tonne...

Raks said...

Wow,this is a great post with bunch of gorgeous pictures! Beutiful photography and great effort for the Step wise pics!

Divya Kudua said...

This one takes the CAKE..I mean,seriously..look at that..my my!!! I am speechless,step by step pics always make me so,esp when such beautiful pics accompany the steps:).Love the KA and your kitchen[whatever is seen:)].I've tried this recipe too but with the Orange twist I am sure it would taste spectacular!!Way to go!!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on doing a step-by-step! Yoou've clicked some great pictures. And we finally get to meet Reddie! :D

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