Cake, cakes and more Cakes!!

Last week was the busiest week of my entire life…really! I had 3 cake orders and all in the very same week. I was so overwhelmed that I was actually getting orders for cake :) Something I haven’t even advertised for!!!

One was for Wednesday, a friend’s anniversary – her gift to her hubby. Another was for Thursday, a friend’s birthday – her hubby’s gift to her :-D Both were pineapple pastries (pastry..the one we get in India in the pricier cake shops, sponge cake layered with whipped cream, pineapples and cherries) and were easy as I had done them before. One was heart shaped and the other was good old round one. I had to decorate with the whipped cream which was a little tricky as whipped cream doesn’t hold shape when piped. I found a neat trick which actually worked..more on that later. Feast your eyes on the two cakes for now, both friends were pleased.

And finally the big cake for Sunday, a Hannah Montana theme cake. This was for an 8 year old. First when her mom called to tell me the theme, she mentioned Hannah Montana and Bratz. Hannah Montana sounded familiar because I had seen a Walmart commercial on tv for all of her stuff….anything with her face on it! Hannah Montana is a show on Disney channel where a girl is a pop singer but hides her true identity at school so that she is treated just as others (this is what I know :D) Bratz….err…who or what is that? I had to google that while I was still on the call and find out that Bratz is a group of 4 fashionable Diva girls, the latest rave among young girls. Aaagh….what was I supposed to come up with???

Finally after much deliberation and a couple of hours looking for ideas, I decided to make a guitar shaped cake, guitar since she is a pop singer and would be appropriate. Here’s how it looked.

With all this baking I had catering orders in between too, so it was one helluva hectic week. But I’m glad I got through it, it will surely be one week I will look back to always.

Black Eyed Peas in Coconut Gravy

It was one of those days when my taste buds were screaming for something new and I had no idea how to satisfy them. I decide to delve into the depths of my freezer (for a change instead of the fridge!) and came across a pack of frozen black eyed peas. Frozen black eyed peas...tucked away in the dark corner of the freezer...now why in the world did I buy this?? And more so ...when? Well, considering I found the pack at a time like this, I didn't want to pressurize my gray cells and set about making a flavourful new dish.

You will need:

2 Cups Black Eyed Peas cooked

1 Onion thinly sliced

4 Green chillies

2 cloves of Garlic grated

½” pc Ginger grated

1” pc Cinnamon

1 tsp Corriander powder

1- 1 1/2 Cups Coconut Milk (thick)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Oil

In a blender, powder the cinnamon. To this add the green chillies, garlic, ginger and coriander powder. Also add ½ of coconut milk and blend to form a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onions and sauté till soft. Now add the ground paste and fry till aromatic. Add the remaining coconut milk and cooked black eyed peas. Season with salt and simmer on low heat till gravy thickens. You can add water to adjust the quantity and then simmer to thicken it. Serve with rice.

We had ours with Basmati Rice cooked in a combination of milk and water, flavoured with onions and green chillies. The combination was perfect. That first bite had me satisfied alright!!