Delicious Semolina Cake

This is a deliciously crispy yet fluffy cake that I bet you'd enjoy making again and again! Can be served warm or cold and is unbelievably yummy! This is actually a Middle-eastern recipe but I modified it a bit with fruit and less sugary syrup. ( I prefer desserts to make me feel less guilty by adding as little sugar as possible! )

Ingredients:
(Serves 1 if you are the type who loves to bake their own cake and eat it all!)

For the cake:

1/2 cup semolina cup
2 tsp plain flour (or use wholegrain instead)
3 tablespoons of healthy butter spread or vegetable oil
1/4 cup regular sugar
1/4 cup cold milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1 pinch of salt
1 cooking apple or orange {optional}

For the syrup:

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla essence (can be substituted with orange or rose water)

Method:

The ingredients are as mentioned above but I thought adding that pic would make it more interesting :-)

At this stage, the syrup should be prepared and allowed to cool so add in the syrup ingredients and place on hob. Let boil, lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Switch off the heat and set aside to cool while you prepare the cake.

Mix the semolina, flour, baking powder and salt in bowl.

 

Add in the wet ingredients, oil, milk, vanilla, etc and stir. Mix thoroughly and set aside for 15 minutes. This step will allow the semolina to absorb the liquids and become thicker.

If your using the apple or orange, remove rind, skin, seeds, etc, cut round slices and place them at the bottom of a greased baking bowl. If not, just pour the cake mixture straight into a greased bowl and place in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes.

  

After 15 minutes, take the cake out (of the oven, of-course!) and cut it into diamond or any shape of your choice with a sharp knife. Resist the temptation of eating it as is!! Pour the sugar syrup over the whole cake and place it in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

And Voila!! There's the delicious cake after 30 minutes of setting aside which will prove to be the hardest part! As you can see, I could hardly wait and had to DIG in :-P

Red Meat and Diabetes

Any medical journal will tell us that excessive consumption of red meat would lead to heart disease and unhealthy cholesterol levels. But few people are aware that excessive consumption of red meat, especially in women, could lead to diabetes type 2!

Not only that, women who already suffered from diabetes type 2 were found to have higher incidents of heart diseases than women who ate less red meat.

Since all things need to be practiced and eaten in moderation, I'm not completely against red meat. Enjoy it if you will, but try cutting it down to 2 portions a week at maximum. Also try adding more vegetable and greens at the side.

Apple Crumble (a healthier version)

Contrary to popular belief held by some, not all desserts are bad or unhealthy. True, most fruit-based desserts tend to have a lot of sugar but I believe it is needless to add loads of extra sugar since fruits are naturally sweet and that should be taken for an advantage when using them in desserts!

I confess I used to shy away from apple crumble (fear of weight gain and all!) till I experimented with it and came up with this healthier version. Hope you enjoy this!

Ingredients:
(Serves 2 to 3 persons)

2 cooking apples (eating apples will do too)
handful of raisins (or any dried berries) {optional}
1 cup plain flour (or use wholegrain instead)
3 tablespoons of healthy butter spread (olive or butter-me-up would do nicely)
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey {optional}

Method:

1. Peel and core the apples and dice them into bite sized cubes. Lay them evenly into an oven bowl greased with the butter spread. If you are using berries or raisins, scatter them on top of the diced apples now. At this stage I usually pour a tablespoon of honey over the apples in case the apples aren't very sweet. You can opt not to use any.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar and rub in the butter spread till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Scatter the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the apples and raisins.
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven 180degrees for 30 minutes or till the crumble mixture on top turns golden brown.
5. Enjoy warm or cold with or without ice-cream!

Tips: You may dice the apples whichever way you prefer since they would turn jam-like anyway after cooking. If you wish your apples to be a little solid after the cooking is done, cut them into slightly larger pieces. (I like my crumble 'jammy'  :-) )

Even if your butter spread doesn't say it is good to bake with, I assure you this does not affect the crumble! It still turns out yummy and delicious!