Elderflower & Lemon Drizzle Cake

Alhamdulillah dapat bertemu bulan Ramadhan lagi tahun ni. Muslims in the UK are facing the "longest" Ramadan in 33 years, as the holy month coincides with the summer solstice, meaning long days of fasting.

I made this last week and there are a few slices left in the cake tin which I would eat one slice every night after berbuka puasa. got this recipe from GoodtoknowRecipes magazine, may 2011 issue.

Ingredients :

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 4 eggs
• 225g self raising flour, sifted
• 2tbsp hot water
• 100ml elderflower cordial (if you don't have elderflower cordial, can substitute with lemon lime cordial)
• 2 tbsp. granulated sugar

Method

1. preheat oven to 180 deg C/Gas 4. grease and line a loose based, round, deep cake tin
2. place the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl and beat until pale and fluffy
3. gradually add the eggs, whisking well between additions. when you whisk in the last egg, add 2 tbsp. of the flour as well to prevent curdling
4. sift in the remaining flour, then gently fold it in with a metal spoon along with the water.
5. spoon into the tin, level it off and bake for 45-50 minuts or until it is shrinking away from the sides of the tin.
6. leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes
7. sieve the lemon juice to remove the bits then stir the cordial into the juice to make a syrup.
8. use a fine skewer (lidi satay) to prick the cake all over, then pour over the syrup and sprinkle with sugar, it should in in but still leae a crunchy crust
9. leave to cool completely before removing the cake from the tin.

Ikan Singgang Asam

yesterday morning, when I was thinking of the dinner menu and asked encik hubs for his idea, he said
"kalau u masak ni (he hasn't told me yet what to cook), I sayang you".  oh, selama hari ni tak sayang i lah!  then he said "sayang tapi kalau you masak ni, mcm my mom masak masa I kecik dulu, I lagi sayang you".

so, untuk menambahkan lagi kesayangan suami, maka si isteri telah buka buku resipi Johor Palete, a gift from his cousin,  Kak Chah/Datin Latipah Atan. i'm forever indebted to her for giving me the book which was written by her sister in law Datin Adek and her cousin. infact, my late mom in law is featured in one of the photos in the book.

anyways,  it is a simple dish, tak banyak ingredients but kena cukup pedas, masam, masin, manis dan pekat. I had to ask him to rasa while I was cooking as I didn't know what  it should taste like. susah bila masak utk orang yg pandai makan and especially its something that his mom cooked for him.

ingredients

2 mackerels - can use ikan tenggiri.
1 1/2 cups chilli puree - I don't have chilli puree (cili boh), so I used chilli powder (brand Allagapas from msia) mixed with water.
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp. tamarind paste (asam jawa)
3 1/2 tbsp. sugar
salt to taste

method

1. wash the fish and rub with asam jawa and salt
2. strain the chilli puree mixed with 2 1/2 cups water into the pot to collect the chilli juice. if you use chilli powder, then you just mix the chilli paste with water (not too much because it has to be thick)
3. add the fish and remaining ingredients to the pot
4. slowly boil on very low heat until the gravy thickens and fish is cooked.

tip : you will know it is cooked when the kuah turns darkish red and pekat.

last night I fried bendi (okra) with kicap, cili and bawang to go with the ikan singgang asam. perfect combo.

best left overnight and re heated next day, makan dengan roti canai, like I did this morning. sedapppp!!