Monday, September 13, 2010

Raspberry Cup Cakes for a Tea Party





In the age and place I live, people are strange. They do not drink tea. Even if they do, it is the weird stuff, the echinacea tea, the dandelion tea, "please-don't-drink-me" tea but very rarely ever the simmering on the stove-frothy-milky-sweet-dhaba-style Indian tea.

I like the last kind. I patiently wait for the milk and water to simmer and froth, to put a teaspoonful of Lipton Red Label, to soak an Earl Grey tea bag in it, to sweeten it with sugar or Truvia when feeling guilty and then dunking my Marie Biscuit in that hot tea before I take a sip.





I do that every afternoon disregarding cries from my neglected kids who haven't seen their Mother all day. But I just need my tea exactly so, I need my inner strength to face home after a long day and so I brew my tea. The kids get a Marie Biscuit each, they are allowed to dunk their biscuits in my steaming cup. Their baby hands falter and often a sliver of Marie sinks into my tea, it's lumpy form settling at the bottom of my cup. Some days I don't mind. On rough days I do, I want to sip my tea in peace without a lump of Marie in the dredges.

But I never have a tea party. I don't call people and invite them to one. Not that anyone would come if I asked. Unless I said I would fry some pakodis and promised a dinner after wards. I have great friends that way. People don't have time to sit down and talk over only tea, they would rather grab a coffee and go and call to chat.

People have changed. They don't call out for "duto half cha"(two half tea) to justify their sitting and smoking all day on the rickety bench by Montuda's canteen. They don't acknowledge your hard work. No one thinks twice about passing your Mom's recipe as their own.They don't give you credit if it was actually you who inspired them. Being polite is no longer the norm.

So I drink my tea all by myself. I like it that way better. Even with the sunken Marie.





These Raspberry Cup Cakes are from Madhuram's Vegan Strawberry Cup Cakes. It was HC's raspberry cup cakes which had actually pushed me towards baking some. But I wanted an eggless version, and I wanted raspberry. Madhuram's strawberry cup cakes came to the rescue. They have vinegar. Can you believe...VINEGAR ? I was so awed by vinegar in the cake thing that I simply had to do it. And it is amazing, those cakes actually rise and are so moist inside without the buttery richness.

Since I used raspberry and not strawberry the measures were a little off for me. I added almost 3/4 th cup of milk and 2 tbsp of oil extra because my batter had become very thick. But those cakes were awesome. While serving I slathered some raspberry jelly on top and made a butter cream frosting like Happy Cook does. Only mine weren't as pretty as hers. Thanks Madhuram and Happy Cook.

I don't have any measurements so the recipe I have here is exactly like the original . But I did have to make some adjustments and I will add that as a Note.




Cup Hanger from Mother's Day



And yes I did have them with my tea, only I had my tea in under 6 minutes and that cup that you see in the first pic does not have tea. It is so pretty, a friend got me a pair from Italy and I don't drink from it. I just stare at it while I drink from my regular cup, that one I got from the job fair, the job fair which never resulted in a job...ok whatever.

Does this make this post good enough for a Tea Party at Anita's ? If yes, over there it goes.


Read more...






Original Recipe

Raspberry Cup Cakes



Preheat Oven to 350F

In a saucepan put about 20 raspberries, sprinkle with 2tbsp sugar, a little lime juice and let it sit for 30 mins. Then make a raspberry filling like this, only I didn't make mine very thick. Or else just puree the raspberrys.


In a mixing bowl combine together
1 & 3/4 cup flour,
1 tsp baking soda and
1 cup sugar.

In another bowl, mix
1/2 cup oil,
1 tbsp white vinegar/apple cider vinegar and
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add the raspberry filling that you made to above and mix. It won't mix well but try.

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir together but do not over stir.
Note: At this point my batter was very thick. So I added almost 3/4 cup of Milk and 1-2 tbsp of oil. I did this gradually starting with little milk so that I did not add excess milk.

Grease 12 muffin cups or cup cake liners. Pour the batter in them

Bake for about 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. When cool, slather the cupcakes with raspberry preserve, butter cream and top each with a whole raspberry.

34 comments:

  1. Marie biscuit....chayer cup-er baire ebong bhetore. Bongmom, ki bolbo bujhte parchhi na. apnar sathe notun kore aatmiiyota ter pachchhi. anobodyo.

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  2. aaahhh...the 1 by 2 chais ...perfect..kamal ki taazgi!! Slurp over the cupcakes!!

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  3. ajkal amar der bachorer cheleo chaer cup e biscuit dobay. se ar tole na seta cup rekhe oije oije kare. ki jwala boloto. cha amaro bhalo lage aar thik ebhabei bhalo lage. cupcakes khub sundor dekhte hoeche. raspberry'r gandho mane khub tempting habe.

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  4. Vinegar? wow! Intriguing indeed....looks so pretty that cupcake!

    Hmm....why do you stare at the beautiful cup and not drink from it?

    If you are worried it might chip or break, yes it will, but you would have atleast enjoyed drinking from it for sometime atleast. I used to be like that....all those candles and soaps and glassware stashed neatly for that "special" occasion. Till I realised I might not make it that far ;)

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  5. I transported about 10 of my never-used, perfect, souvenir Mugs once. All, but 2, broke. Now I use those 2. However.... I do not use any other of my "perfect" gifts! Fate will just have to teach me lessons item by item..

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  6. Loved your comment as to how you stare at the cup but drink from your normal cup!! So sweet. I am silly when it comes to good looking cups, I feel anything tastes better from a pretty cup!!And what a lovely write up, aboutkids dunking the marie biscuits etc. Love it.Nostalgia hit for me.And a pretty mothers day gift too.

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  7. Wowww droolworthy and cute looking cupcakes...beautiful cups..

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  8. Dear Sandeepa
    How are you?
    Very nice, I feel like making few but no taker around. ( Mey ra sab BaDo hoe gechhe,)
    have a nice week
    Ushnishda

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  9. These vegan cupcakes sound delicious! Can't resist the cup of chai, too, even if I love the weird herbal teas as well!! :-)

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  10. perfect post,.:-) i just had my tea ,,..:-)

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  11. I have never made a eedless bake i have been wanting to try one for mong and the cup cakes look so so good. Happy to know tha ti am inspiring you for baking :)

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  12. thanks for this fabulous recipe ! A friend ( male ) made cake with vinegar and oil, we looked aghast as he started but were delighted with the super soft , moist melt in your mouth...
    Aaaahhhh half tea= cutting chai as it is called in Bengaluru
    Your writing too was as usual delightful and disarmingly honest.

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  13. If you were on this coast, aami nishcoi either tomakay cha khetay daaktam or would have come over. I love tea and people who enjoy tea. I can have tea in just anyway dhaba chai, masala chai or the delicate darjeeling tea.

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  14. Lovely post,lovely cupcakes,lovely Cup hanger and lovely tea!Amio bhishon Cha'er bhokto!Kintu e deshe jeno cha khawar lok khujei pawa jayna:(Keo jodi eshe bole aaj Coffee na,ektu Cha khabo, it literally sounds music to my ears!:)

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  15. I know cakes are made with mayonnaise, because it's eggs and vinegar with a bit of spice, so I'm not surprised. In fact, I was looking for a recipe myself, because I had an aging but full jar of mayonnaise in the fridge. Then I don't know what happened - The Spouse ate some, should check the fridge again.

    That mug hanger is so beautiful.

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  17. Love your tea ritual Sandeepa. I am one of those weird ones who don't drink tea and here I am thinking a lot of people who drink tea lead a charming life ;)

    I love your beautiful cupcakes too.

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  18. I love to enjoy my afternoon and morning tea just the way you have mentioned,and in peace and quiet..I truly agree with everything you have said about people changing !! Love your post..Keep writing !!

    Best Regards
    Sulagna
    http://e-senseofspicenfragrance-sulagna.blogspot.com/

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  19. lol! well although i love the masala chai and dhaba style tea too i admit i do drink those "weird" kind of teas too. in germany we get such a huge selection herbal, spice, floral etc. so my cupboards are full of such teas too. but what i do not have is one of these cupcakes. they look moist and yummy!

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  20. Love the collection of tea cups. Lovely cup cakes.

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  21. fabulous blog and cups hanger, loved both equally!

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  23. i am such a sucker for tea mugs/cups...and your cuppas are ooo pretty! chai is something my day starts with and ends with....so i know how you feel =)

    what a lovely decorating piece btw. love the rasp cuppies. oneeeekk sundor!

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  24. Ah, I'm so glad people who like slowly-brewed-on-stove Brooke Bond red label chai are still around! All the fancy, fragrant dip-dip bags dunked in hot water are...well, flavoured water not tea!

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  25. Heyyyy, how have u been? long, long time! Thanks for checking upon moi.....yes, I move dout of PA--into the next-door OHio this time.....things are going well.......hope the same for you :)

    By the way, I am one of those weirdos ;D
    Much to the dismay of my in-laws, I ain't a tea drinker...never was! :) A cuppa here or there is just about fine! I love your cup-hanger and the cups hanging.....and your beautiful pics!

    Take care and continue to enjoy that hot cup of tea! :)

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  26. Tea party? How come I was not invited? You know how nuts I am for tea parties :)

    I have cup-hanger envy!

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  27. sorry Sandeepa reply korte khub deri hoe gelo. sharir akdom bhalo jache na.
    Taheri or tahiri is nothing but a spicy pulao with onion-ginger-garlic-tomato. ami generally pressure cooker e banai tabe UP te Lagan bole akta flat type er kadaite banay. ami chobi tule rekhechi. post korbo shiggiri.

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  28. Hi sandeepadi,I luv ur blog..u write about regular stuff but turn it into sumthin else by ur dash of humor..luv it..amio chhotobelay maa-yer cha-er modhye marie biscuit dubiye khetam,kichhuta biscuit-er obodharito chayer cup-ei samadhi hoto..nd Ma o tomar moton ektu annoyed hoto(must be on her bad days too:-) )Gud to knw dat sumthings just dont change with the generations...

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  29. Miri

    Not break, those cups need to be handwashed !!! Don't laugh but somehow that is the sole reason I don't drink from them.

    SS

    All but 2 ? Were you in mourning ?

    Sweet Artichoke

    ha, ha...that is ok. Only they don't give me the boost I expect from my tea.

    Cynthia

    No one is invited, we just joined :-) With your love for tea parties just go over

    Everyone
    Thanks for the lovely comments. BTW that one is not a cup hanger, I think it is a picture frame hanger, we made it a cup hanger :-)

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  30. Not sure where you are, Sandeepa, but if you're ever on the eastern side of Washington, you're always welcome to come over for a tea party! I love tea - the milky, sweet Punjabi chai my friend's mom used to make - but no one else I know does. :(

    All solitary tea drinkers, unite! (unless that defeats the purpose of solitary tea drinking, of course.)

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  31. Such pretty cupcakes Sandeepa, you are becoming quite the baker, aren't you, and a good one at that too :-)

    I don't drink tea at all;I know, I'm wierd like that ;-)

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  32. Hi there,
    I really love you blog and the recipes u share...for the above recipe did u use frozen raspberries??? Coz I am not sure if we get fresh ones in Delhi :)

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    Replies
    1. Fresh. You can use strawberries too. Original recipe has strawberries I think. Frozen should also work.

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