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Archive for October, 2015

A Bite to Happiness

October 28th, 2015

Cake is something which brings a smile on every face. The sweetest dessert one can expect. From kids to elderly people, all of them love cakes. Everyone can also go for online cake ordering from different sites. It is a delightful gift to give someone. Do not hesitate to gift a cake.

India’s Cake Journey

During 19th century, a person from Thalassery went to Burma (now Myanmar) to learn biscuit making. Years later, when he came back to his home town, he put up a biscuit factory in his hometown. It used to serve almost 40 different varieties of biscuits, buns and breads. After 3 years, a British named Mr. Brown asked the owner of the biscuit factory to make a Christmas cake for him.

He shared the recipe to the chef and the man made a cake by gathering all the ingredients. From that day onwards, cake took a place in Indian recipes. Previously cakes were baked mainly in the bakeries of Kerala. Now it is made all over the country. In the year 2012, the 129th year of anniversary of cakes was celebrated in India. It was celebrated hugely in the first bakery of Thalassery by making a 1200 kg cake.

Varieties

Now a day various kinds and flavours of cakes are made and they are very yummy and delicious.

Yeast Cake: The oldest form of cake which tastes similar to yeast breads. It is a traditional form of cake and pastries, which is also known as Babka and Stollen.

Cheese Cake: A flourless cake made of cream cheese or custard pies. Its origin is found in ancient Greece.

Sponge Cake:  Non yeast based cakes prepared with a bit of baking powder. It is made of the white portion of eggs, which is traditionally baked in a tube pan.

Butter Cakes: Made with a combination of butter and beaten sugar. A classic pound cake, which is a favourite of all!

Chiffon Cake: The recipe is borrowed from America and is a cross between oil cake and sponge cake. It is made of baking powder, vegetable oil and egg whites.

Coffee Cake: A cake served with hot tea or coffee. Baking soda and yeast are the main ingredients of this cake.

Shapes Matter

Cakes are made in different shapes and sizes. The most common shapes that are available are:

  • Bundt Cakes
  • Cake balls
  • Conical
  • Cupcakes and Madeleine
  • Layer Cakes
  • Sheet Cakes
  • Swiss Rolls

There are various flavours of cakes. The most common are chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pineapple, mango and coffee.

Cake brings happiness to all. It spreads love and delight. A lovely gift for all! One, who gifts cake gifts happiness to all. A delightful bite to a soft changes the mood. It disappears all the fatigue and tiredness. Pastries are also a delicacy. Online cake delivery is also an easy option to gift happiness. One can order cakes online from various sites and they are easily delivered to your loved ones.

Bite a cake! Share a cake! Bring a smile! Enjoy your life! Fill it with sweetness!

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Send Love through Gifts

October 28th, 2015

Every season is a gift season. There is no specific reason to bring a smile in your near ones face. Gifting them, makes them feel special. But the pattern of gifts differs according to the receiving person. Hamper delivery is a good option to make someone feel special. But one needs to know what kind of gifts should be given to whom. Some of the brilliant ideas are here for you.

For Family

We are used to live in a nuclear family these days. We do not get a chance to meet our relatives too often. Many a times as we live in different cities or countries, it becomes more difficult to take out some time for them. Here is a platter of choice to make them feel that you still miss them.

Do you have an old family photograph? Where everyone is present? Of course, you do. Buy a designed photo frame. Then frame the photo and send it to them. The spur of nostalgia they feel after seeing it is priceless.

Remember the songs that you used to hear from your uncle and aunts when you were a kid? Upload their favourite songs in a CD. Make an assorted compilation of those beautiful melodies. When they will receive it, the memories will be reborn.

Chocolates are one such thing which makes everyone fall in love. Whether they are kids or older ones, it does not matter. A box of delicious chocolates is always a perfect gift for your loved ones.

Gifting a book to your relatives is also a very decent option.

Send them a card along with a little note writing about how much you miss them. It will make them feel warm and loved.

For Cousins

Your cousins have been your partners of crime since childhood. Do not spare a moment to make them realize how much you love them.

Jewellery is a lovely gift for your adorable sisters. Gift them a pair of junk earring or a bauble neckpiece and they will love it.

Book a film ticket for your cousins and send it to them. They will be more than happy and surprised.

Gift your football fanatic brother a shirt of his favourite team. He will feel the luckiest person on earth to have a cousin like you.

Gift card is also a very good option to make your cousins happy. They can buy anything of their own choice by that.

Gift your sincere type cousin a story book as he/she cherishes reading.

Perfume is one classy gift that one loves to receive. If you know their favourites, nothing like it. If you do not, then go for a light scented one.

Family members are the one who will always stand by you. So, do not miss a single opportunity to make them feel special. Gift your loved ones whatever you want. It is not always necessary to buy an expensive one. But a little gesture of love that is shown by sending gifts is valuable.

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Top fruits used in cake baking

October 27th, 2015

If you are fond of baking cakes or are planning to send a cake in UK, then you should know it’s not just about having the best utensils and cooking ingredients. You should also know which dish can be prepared in what season. Most fruits and vegetables are seasonal and hence, you can enjoy their flavours only during certain periods of time.

But there is some good news for people who like baking cakes with natural ingredients. There are some fruits that are available throughout the year so you can bake those delicious cakes any time of the year! So here are some of the commonly used fruits that are available always:

  • Apples – There are rare varieties of apples that are only available during certain times of the year, especially in the winter. But generally, apples are available throughout the year! So whether you want to bake a simple apple pie or an extravagant cake with a lot of apple cubes and syrups, those apples are always there for you

 

 

  • Bananas – The sweet and soft fruits that are considered very good for health are in fact used in many kinds of cakes, both gourmet and run-of-the-mill sorts. Bananas are used in a variety of desserts, including fruit salads, smoothies and cakes. Both the raw and the ripened varieties can be used in different kinds of dishes but in cakes, it is usually the ripened ones that are used in cakes.

 

  • Kiwis – Surprised? Don’t be! Kiwis make for great cake toppings! They are not used in cakes like flour and eggs usually are, but they can be used to make healthy and really pretty toppings on many kinds of cakes, especially the ones that are white or light pink in colour, to create a fresh contrast.

 

  • Oranges – Use oranges as toppings or as one of the main ingredients while baking cakes to make them special with a fresh and sweet flavour. Even the smell of oranges can be used to make the whole dish even more appealing to people. Oranges are traditionally available during the later parts of the year but some varieties are also available throughout the year.

 

  • Avocado – Did you know that creamy, smooth and soft avocado pulps can be mixed with chocolate to prepare a great avocado and chocolate cake? These cakes are utterly buttery in texture, have a rich, lingering flavour thanks to two unique, soft yet lingering tastes that come together to create one of the best and healthiest cakes you can ever find!

 

  • Berries – There are many berries that are available throughout the year, including the delicious and juicy strawberries. Their soft and sweet qualities make them very desirable even if they are eaten as is, without using them in cakes or with creams and

 

There are plenty of other fruits that are used in cakes but which may not be available throughout the year. Some of them are raisins, dried cranberries, dried figs, prunes, apricots, and other fruits that can be candied. So, use plenty of fruits to make your cake healthy and delicious.

 

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Gifting traditions across the globe

October 27th, 2015

Gifts are doubtless welcome in everybody’s lives. People gift each other for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and other important milestones achieved by them in their personal and professional lives. Some people like giving gifts for no special occasion, as and when the mood strikes them. The gift could be something as inconsequential as a pressed and framed flower, baskets of fruit or something extravagant like cars and diamond studded jewellery. Ultimately, it is the nature of relationship and the personal outlook of the person making and receiving the gift, which give it its true intrinsic value.

Just like people and their ideologies vary in different countries, so do the gifting traditions. Ranging from the bland to the exotic, the kind of gifts usually exchanged in different places varies according to the customs they usually follow. For example:

  • We all know the French love their wines and even use a variety of them in their various traditional dishes. Many people who are invited for a dinner of lunch at someone’s place would prefer carrying a bottle or wine or a nice sherry as a hostess gift, but, in France, it is preferable not to do so! This is because the hostess would prefer deciding the vintage of the wine she will be serving to her guests.
  • In China, you should not think of gifting a clock, no matter what a rare antique it is and how superb the craftsmanship on it is. Clocks are considered to be symbols or bearers of ill luck and are hence not popular gift items.
  • Head to Russia and you would do well with a bottle of vodka or even a nice, warm faux fur jacket! But don’t think about giving a bouquet of flowers as a gift, if the number of flowers in it is even. The bouquets usually gifted have an uneven number of flowers. The reason behind this is a little dark – they usually carry even flowers numbered bouquets for funerals!
  • We come to the world of deserts, dates and lots and lots of oil. Talking about the seven rich Middle Eastern countries, it is a well known fact that gifting a bottle of liquor is a strict no-no as it is prohibited by their religion. On the other hand, if you are traveling to Sweden to meet a friend, nothing more would be welcome than a bottle of any liquor!
  • There are several countries, including India, where it is considered impolite to unwrap a present in front of the person making the gift. Instead, all the gifts received for any occasion are kept in a safe but out of sight place and they are all unwrapped together, after all the guests for the day have left. Return gifts, especially symbolic of divinity and usefulness are often given on all occasions. They could include a gift of coconuts, flowers and even certain types of clothes.

It is said that when one is in Rome, one ought to be a Roman. Similarly, when you are abroad, it would be a good idea to know about their gifting dos and don’ts beforehand!

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A gift with a slice of spice

October 27th, 2015

Cakes are fun additions to almost every type of menu. If you are having a birthday party, you must include one of these. For an evening party at your home where a number of people will be getting together for some good music, wine and food, adding slices of sinfully sweet and soft cakes as the desert to round off the perfect meal is a great idea. Cakes are not just for personal consumption, though. Many people prefer to send cakes online to their beloved ones, thanks to the splendid job the delivery companies and the post office does!

But cakes are not all about sponge, cream, sugar and pink rosettes as decorations. They don’t always have to be sweet or syrupy – you can also enjoy cakes with a hint of spice in them, now!

Some of the common spices used in cakes are:

Cinnamon – This woody spice has a unique mixture of sweetness, warmth, spice and a truly unique flavour that cannot be replicated with any other spice or food item in the world. Just a few bits of cinnamon and you can make a host of food and drink items even more delicious than they usually are. You could spice up your tea and cakes with it easily.

Cloves – Not only are they unique in the colour shape and properties, cloves are great additions to many food dishes. They also have several medicinal properties, thus making them a must-have ingredient in many parts of the world. Just a couple of them in your mouth after dinner and you’ve got a natural mouth freshener that also happens to be great for gum and teeth problems. Add a few in your cake and you will get a cake with a completely different kind of spicy and fresh flavour.

Ginger – Just like caviar, many people acquire a taste for this spice, which is not only a powerhouse of a refreshing, pungent flavour, but also of many medicinal properties. Popularly used in products to keep throat infections and cough at bay, ginger is also used in a number of foods and drinks. Ginger cakes are great with tea and have a unique flavour that can be a welcome change from all that sweetness and overload of icing. If you are fond of Indian curries and are wondering how they get that delicious gravy in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, then you should know that apart from using a lot of fresh vegetables, their dishes consist of many spices but in small quantities such as turmeric, cumin, garlic and of course – ginger!

Nutmeg – Not many people know but mace and nutmeg are similar in their tastes. Nutmeg is sweeter whereas mace has a more soft flavour. Nutmeg has been a popular spice in many Asian recipes and cakes.

Just like many dishes from various parts of the world have been customised according to the country they are being served in, so is the preparation of cakes and the ingredients used in them. So take your pick from these innovative and delicious cakes, today!

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