FRESH FIG CAKE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups chopped fresh figs
• sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

1) Sieve the flour with, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2) In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, add sugar, milk , oil and beat well.

3) Pour the wet mixture to the flour little at a time to make a soft pourable cake mix.

4) Fold the figs in and pour the mixture in a oiled tin.

5) Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on top and bake at preheated oven 180C for 30 minutes. Cool and cut into slices before serving.

CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE CAKE

It was my daughter's birthday and enjoyed making this cake with chocolate drops, orange zest and orange juice. The cake was nice and moist and had a  good texture with a fresh orange flavour. Cake covering was rich with double cream and chocolate but we all enjoyed it as a special treat. I decorated the cake with apple blossoms but decorate as how you like with chocolate or butter icing.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 cups of fresh orange juice
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 100 g chocolate drops

For the cake covering

• 200 ml double cream
•  200 g dark chocolate

METHOD

Sift flour with salt and baking powder. Set aside.

Separate the eggs.

Grate the orange .

Grease and flour a 25 cm kugelhopf  ring tin

Preheat the oven to 180 C, 160 Fan setting.

1) Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy with a hand held mixer. Add egg yolks one at a time whisking after each addition.

2) Fold the sifted flour with salt and baking powder into the creamed mixture. Add the orange juice mixing with a metal spoon. Stir in the orange rind and chocolate drops.

3) Whisk the egg whites  in a separate bowl until it is at soft peak stage and fold them into the mixture.

4) Pour into the prepared mould and bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes. 

5) Rewove the cake from oven and cool for 10 minutes in the tin. Then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool for further 15- 20 minutes or until it is completely cool.

MAKE THE CHOCOLATE COVERING

1 )Bring cream to boil in a pan. Break chocolate into small pieces. Place the chocolate pieces into a heatproof  bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Place the bowl with  cream and chocolate mixture over a pan with hot water. Bring water to boil and melt the chocolate gently, stirring all the time. When chocolate is completely melted, take of the heat.

2) Let it cool until just runny enough to pour the chocolate sauce over the cake.

3) Let the chocolate set before decorating the cake.

AUBERGINE WITH EGGS ( yumurtali patlican )

This is one of my mothers delicious dishes that we enjoyed from a very early age and it is still a family favourite and takes us back to our childhood. it is very simple and easy to prepare, hope you enjoy.

YOU NEED

• 1 aubergine per person
• 1 egg per person
• oil for frying
• water
• salt.

First wash the aubergines. Stand the aubergine upright and cut a cross section down to the root. Boil them in plenty of salted water for 15-20 minutes or until they are soft. Drain the aubergines.
Whip the eggs in a bowl, dip the aubergines in the egg and fry in a non stick pan on a medium heat, turning both sides until it is nice and crispy.

POTATOES WITH EGG AND MUSHROOMS ( mantarli, yumurtali patates)

YOU NEED

• 350-400 g new potatoes, diced
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion or 50 g leeks, chopped
• 50 g peppers, diced
• 50 g mushrooms, sliced
• 2-3 eggs
• Salt, pepper.

METHOD

First stir fry the onions on high heat for 5 minutes. Add potatoes, pepper and cook on medium heat with the lid on until the potatoes are cooked and golden for about 1o minutes stirring and mixing occasionally. Add mushrooms , cook for 5 more minutes. Add eggs, salt and pepper and cook for couple of minutes more until the eggs are to your taste. Serves 2-3.

FRESH TOMATOES WITH EGG ( Menemen )

This is great as a vegetarian meal or served as a side dish. It is a very popular summer dish in Turkey when fresh tomatoes are plentiful. Some people even serve it for breakfast when cooked without the onions. Serves 2

YOU NEED

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 shallot or small red onion, chopped
• 300-350 g beef tomatoes, diced
• 1 small pepper, - 50 g, chopped
• 1 chilli pepper ( optional )
• 150 ml water
• Salt and coarse ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

METHOD

First cook the onion in oil until it is just going brown. Add tomatoes, pepper, chili, parsley, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 minutes. Add the eggs and mix gently, cook for further 2 minutes. Add more parsley and black pepper just before serving.

COOK'S NOTE

If the tomatoes have not much colour, add 1 tsp of tomato paste just before adding water.

This dish is also nice if you add some black olives to it just before serving.

DANDELION SALAD WITH OLIVES AND GOAT'S CHEESE

DANDELION: This nutritious herb can be boiled or added to salads. it has more beta-carotene than carrots and more calcium and iron than spinach. You can use the flowers as garnish for the salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 200 g mix salad of dandelion and rocked
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 150 g cherry tomatoes
• 75 g peppers, diced
• 150 g goats cheese, crumbled
• 100 g black olives
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Some lemon juice,
• mixture of fresh parsley, dill and mint, chopped finely
• salt and black pepper

METHOD

Wash and prepare the salad, add tomatoes, onion, olives, peppers and mix well. Add oil, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper. Then cheese and the eggs just before serving. Decorate with olives and egg slices and serve with crusty bread. Serves 4-6

COOK'S NOTE: If you are not keen on dandelion, salad of your choice will be just fine.