Pomegranate & Rose Cake

I know it’s been a loooooooooong time, but trying to juggle a toddler, a blog and a social life is challenging. :-p To tell you the truth, I missed baking and blogging, so I decided to give my blog a lil make-over. I’m still working on a couple of tech stuff and design, but hopefully will be done soon. *fingers crossed* :-p

Have I ever told you, I have the best Mother-in-law? :-D She’s adorable, she’s funny, she’s wise, aaaaaaaand makes the best “Home-made Halwa” in the world eva!! :-p (Still trying to get the recipe though, lol)

A Couple of weeks ago, my Mother-in-law, gave us a basket of fresh pomegranates, and ooooh those ruby seeds where absolutely delicious!

They were soo good they tasted like rose water.. and I immediately thought of baking a cake that combines both flavors. It was a huge hit with everyone!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most fluffiest sponge cake filled with bursting flavors of pomegranates and rose.

Here we go:

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour (See Note)

1 1/2 cups sugar


1 tablespoon baking powder


1 teaspoon salt


3/4 cup cold water


1/2 cup canola oil


5 pieces eggs, separated


1 tablespoon vanilla extract


1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Note: If you don't have Cake flour, plz goto this link.

Filling:

Fresh Pomegranates or any seasonal fruit

Custard (Home-made or from a can) :-p

Cake Syrup (recipe below)

Frosting:

Freshly whipped cream + tsp rose water (Whipped)

Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Pour in the cold water, canola oil, egg yolks, and vanilla extract then whisk until the texture becomes smooth. Set aside.


Transfer the egg whites in a separate mixing bowl and combine cream of tartar.
Beat the egg white and cream of tartar mixture using an electric mixer (high speed) until texture becomes fluffy.
Beat-in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar a teaspoonful at a time and continue mixing until everything is properly distributed.


At this point, you should have two mixing bowls with different mixtures. Combine the egg white mixture with the egg yolk mixture gradually by folding the egg white mixture in the egg yolk mixture (start with 1/4 of the egg white mixture followed by another 1/4 until everything is fully combined).


Grease a 8″ round cake pan and pour-in the mixture.
Preheat oven to 175C and bake for 45 mins or until cake is done.

Remove the cake from the oven then allow to cool.

Cake Syrup:

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tablespoon rose water

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

Arranging the Cake:

Place the cake on a flat surface then carefully slice it into 3 layers.

Starting with the bottom layer, brush the cake syrup equally on the cake and edges. Add a cup of custard and spread equally then sprinkle the fresh pomegranates. Repeat the same process one more time.

Finally, brush the top layer with cake syrup, then start frosting the cake with the whipped cream, and decorate with some of those ruby seeds. ;-)

Hope you like it.. (^_^)

M

Souk El Tayeb - First Farmers Market in Beirut

"Souk el Tayeb is an open-air weekly farmers market in Lebanon that specializes in organic food products. The market has three locations.^[1] Two locations are in Beirut, one at the Saifi Village and one at Rue Verdun. The third location is in the city of Byblos.

The market is organized and run by a non-profit cooperative headquartered at 226, Rue Gouraud in Gemmayzeh. The organic cooperative spans Lebanon's regions, religions and sects.^[2] Souk el Tayeb receives funding from European governments and from nongovernmental groups.^[2] According to the Los Angeles Times, the Italian government donated $600,000 for food-related projects in Lebanon after the 2006 war." Wikipedia

http://www.soukeltayeb.com/

This is an amazing concept that I would love to see one day in the UAE..

Mayrig, Beirut

Here's a photographic review of one of my favourite Armenian restaurants in Beirut. I would travel all the way to Beirut to dine in this amazing restaurant again..

MAYRIG

282 Pasteur Street, Gemmayze, Beirut

961-1/ 57 21 21; 961-3/ 22 82 27

info@mayrig.com.lb

http://www.mayrig.com.lb

A taste of the Arabian Gulf..

Rahash Cheesecake Recipe:

Base:

120 g biscuits (Any type as long as its light) - I used "leibniz"
80g ground pistachios
30g ground almonds
30g ground hazelnuts
50g light brown sugar
140g butter, melted
Pinch of Cardamon

Cheesecake Filling:

100g white chocolate
600g rich cream cheese, at room temperature
250g sugar (You might want to omit this, since the Rahash is already very sweet)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons ground almonds
250g Rahash, coarsely crumbled

Rahash Glaze:

3 tablespoons heavy cream
40g butter
100g Rahash
2 tablespoons honey

Base:

Grind the biscuits in a food processor and transfer to a bowl. Grind the nuts till it reaches coarse crumbs and mix with biscuits. Add brown sugar and melted butter and mix well. Press the mixture to the bottom and sides of the pan, and freeze for about 30 mins. Bake 15 minutes at 180 degrees until it turns to a golden crust.

Cheesecake Filling:

Melt the white chocolate in a Bain-marie or microwave, and let it cool. Whip together the cream cheese and sugar. Add in the Rahash and melted white chocolate. Start adding the eggs, one at a time. Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract, ground almonds and mix. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 160 degrees. You will know the it is ready when the sides of the cheesecake turn golden and the center still trembles like jelly. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool inside. (You can keep the oven door slightly open) Put the cooled cheesecake in the fridge, while you prepare the glaze.

Rahash Glaze:

In a small saucepan bring the cream to a boil. Add in the butter and Rahash, mix until completely melted. Let it cool slightly Add in the honey then mix and pour over cheesecake. You can decorate it as you like, I used some leftover ground pistachio and a Kunafa nest. =) Chill the cheesecake atleast overnight in the fridge.

Bon Appetit! ;-)