I spent a bit of time today catching up on cake recipes from the Festive Season for Belize Wild Recipes. I simply had to write about them because this year, for the first time ever, they actually worked out. This is a typical baking disaster…this one was Christmas Spice Cake:
I have also posted up a “Black Cake” recipe which was very kindly given to me by Barbara Nightingale. I haven’t tried the recipe yet…it will have to wait until next Christmas!! And sorry no picture because we polished it all off before we could get a photo!
Oooooh!!! Munchkin was let loose in the kitchen to make a Christmas Cake! If you follow the Blog, you will know that there have been many baking disasters in the past…especially around the Festive Season when she has good intentions in baking but they never turn out! This “Christmas Stollen” was fortunately rescued and morphed into a Monster Christmas Chaos Cake!
Trying to work yeasted dough for baking in a 35C (95F) kitchen is bound to end in disaster. The sticky dough expands within seconds, doubles in bulk within minutes and if you don’t get it into the oven quick smart…it is bound to explode all over the place. Not a pretty sight to see a red-faced, hot Munchkin anxiously trying to mix dough quickly before it all splatters on the walls! Arrrgh!!!
Anyway, the Stollen was rescued and become a gorgeous Christmas Cake decorated with dried sapodilla from the farm:
Christmas Chaos Cake.
Enjoyed indulgently with vanilla glaze drizzle. Mmmmm…what a save!!
Occasionally, we stumble across some good stuff to buy in Belize. Usually we don’t so that is why we make/grow and cook most of our food on the farm. Here are a few things:
Can you believe it…you can actually get some Italian Christmas Food at Save-U in Belize. Panettone is a treat because I haven’t summoned up enough courage to bake one of these yet…I keep on making the excuse that I don’t have a proper cake tin! Oh, and Torrone is Italian nougat which is typically eaten during the festive season. Gnome keeps on hinting that I should try making some…this one might be a project at some point. We both like the hard nougat as opposed to the soft type.
Italian Christmas Goodies.
This is 20lbs of Basmati rice from Brodies. Normally, this rice is sold in tiny ridiculous amounts of about 200g (1/2lb) for stupid prices. This bag will last us a whole year.
Basmati Rice.
This one is a surprise…Guatemalan pasta (linguini) has got the thumbs up from the Italian Gnome (he is Italian when it suits him). He says not to waste money on US imported brands because they usually contain more than just flour, water and salt and do not have the al dente texture. This stuff is really cheap and sold at every Chinese Superstore in Belize. One packet of 200g (1/2lb) costs BZ$1 and if you have a hoarding instinct (like Munchkins) you can buy a case of 24 for BZ$18. What a bargain.
Guatemalan Pasta.
Last but not least…something for the Duckie Bag. Vanilla and hazelnut coffee sachets for impromptu coffee stops by the side of the road with our trusty thermos flask.
This recipe is a variation of the coconut squares which I posted a couple of weeks ago…yes the yummy one with the chocolate drizzle! This one incorporates freshly chopped up eggfruit (canistel) with grated coconut.
Ripe Canistel.Grated Coconut.
The ripe canistel tastes like cooked sweet potato and compliments the coconut very well. This is a treat that is hard to beat!
A few days ago, I was having a “bad day” and chaos reigned through out. Everything I tried to do didn’t turn out and it became a vicious cycle. Wahhhhh!!! Don’t you ever just want to jump up and down with indignation!!
Anyway, Gnome tried to be helpful and suggested that I go into the kitchen and cook something nice. That usually does the trick…
I decided to embark upon the folly of baking cinnamon buns and to this very date, I still can’t make them. I have followed many recipes and they never turn out…they are usually too gooey to be manipulated into a roll. Of course, this time was no different, if not worse. The sticky, yeasted mix was just a big sloppy monster on my kitchen counter and it looked alive, menacing and explosive. At this point, I was nearly in tears (yes, even the best of us has a good old cry now and then) and I called Gnome for help.
Gnome to the Rescue.
With one deft swoop, Gnome scooped up the schloppp and chucked it into my glass baking dish. By the time he calmed down the chaos in the kitchen (ie. me) the cinnamon roll- gone wrong was looking quite the thing as it started expanding and taking up the space in the dish.
Monster Cinnamon Goo Cake!!
I did end up baking the cake which I have now coined “Cinnamon Chaos Cake.” It is so much simpler than rolling out those darned buns…you just take any cinnamon bun recipe and you slop it into a baking dish, cinnamon sauce and everything. Bake it for the same amount of time as the normal recipe and there you go…it tastes exactly like the cinnamon roll but even better…no goo on a rolling pin and tears to boot!!
Cassava cake is a local sweet made in Belize which is made from grated cassava, sugar and spices which may include cinnamon and nutmeg. It is mostly made in the Garifuna households in Belize and everyone has their own special recipe. Fortunately for people like me, who don’t have a secret recipe, I have found a wonderful shop-bought version of the cassava cake in Belize. This cake is baked at the cassava factory in Dangriga. I don’t tend to buy much shop-bought food but I actually find this cake very palatable and the smooth, non-grainy texture of this cooked root is very pleasant. I can not taste any spices in this cake but nevertheless, I think it is still very tasty.
I always like to convert sweet things into savoury and this recipe is a fine example of this:
These kebabs are made from fried cassava cake pieces, fried pieces of spicy sausage and bits of fresh pineapple. They are so yummy; the sweetness of the cake contrasts with the spicy sausage and compliments the pineapple.
