French tea cake flavored with anise seed

This egg-rich cake, dotted with anise seed, is easy and quick to make. A friend served it to me recently, and it is loaded with flavor. I discovered when buying the seed for this cake that fennel and anise seeds are different. Although both have a similar, licoricy kind of flavor, the fennel seeds are much larger and prettier. I tried both, and didn’t notice much difference in the flavor. The fennel seeds may be a bit more attractive is all I can say. Your preference.

Spiced ginger and green tomato coffee cake

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A tasty coffee cake that needs no extra sweetness can be had by making up this moist snacking cake. A wonderful treat if you have some green tomatoes on hand, a strong possibility if you were growing tomatoes at home this year, like Vinny was. It calls for 200 grams of green tomatoes, which is about two medium-sized ones.

Ginger is the healthiest spice in your pantry. It is one food that earns its reputation as a “super food” whole-heartedly, as has been proven by science. This recipe uses lots of ginger.

A Bundt cake studded with green tomato pieces and candied ginger, then spiced with masala tadka powder, is perfect with a cup of coffee or tea, or even with a glass of milk.

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Spiced green tomato and candied ginger coffee cake
Makes 12 modest slices

• 1 cup green tomatoes, chopped (200 grams, about 2 medium)
• 1/4 cup (40 grams) candied ginger, chopped finely
• 60 grams unsalted butter at room temperature
• 60 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 60 grams (1/2 cup) coconut palm sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150 grams (1 1/2 cups) whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 1 teaspoon masala chai powder or tadka masala spice*
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
2. Prepare a small Bundt pan (6 cups or 7.5 x 3 inches) by lightly coating the sides, bottom and center spindle with canola oil or other flavorless oil. Sprinkled some flour liberally around the sides and turn upside down over the sink to tap off any excess. Make sure the spindle is coated with flour too.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes. Keep your fingers away from the beaters while they are beating, or else you might catch your fingers in the blades and faint! Vinny knows this from personal experience. No bones were broken, though…
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat well.
5. In a smaller bowl mix the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger together well. Add the 1/2 cup (50 grams) of the flour and toss with a wooden spoon, till the flour has coated the veggie pieces.
6. Sift 1 cup (100 grams) of the flour together with the baking soda, baking powder, and masala powder in another smaller bowl. Add this to the butter mixture in the large bowl in three parts and beat on medium speed after each addition till well mixed.
7. Add the green tomato mixture to the batter in the large bowl and fold in till well mixed using a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick.
8. Scrape this mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top.
9. Turn the oven setting to Bake and cook the cake for 45 to 50 minutes till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
10. Cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. Then unmold the cake onto a rack to cool.

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To Serve

No need to use a sugar glaze. Leave it plain and enjoy the moist delicious flavor of this spicy cake.

Note

If you don’t have a prepared masala spice mix on hand, add these to the flour mixture: ½ teaspoon cardemom and 1/8 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and coriander. If you like a highly spiced cake, you can double these quantities.

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  Ginger and green tomatoes

Nutrition

A serving size of one-twelfth of the cake has 150 calories and 10 grams of sugar. It provides 11% of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A and 5% of each of protein, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Ginger is high in gingerol, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is said to help prevent nausea, improve osteoarthritis, and promote weight loss, among other things.

Spices add way more than flavor to foods. I like to add them liberally every time I cook.

Vinny’s on Yum Goggle

Vinny’s been updating older posts recently and putting them up on Yum Goggle. Yum Goggle features food photography from contributors around the world. The photos whet your appetite for the recipes you can get simply by clicking on the pictures or the words GET THE RECIPE. It’s a great site and we’re proud to be a part of the team.