The one thing I know is that Calcutta is the name of the city of joy in my head and heart. I refuse to call it Kolkata when I speak in English. Anyway, Calcutta is commonly known as a food paradise. This is absolutely a fact because many chapters of history have created this notion which archive food history through actual experiences taking their eaters back down memory lane all the time. While classic eateries still thrive on lanes and bylanes of the city, many new age outlets have sprung up which mostly exhibit the same sense of antiquated food style.
Behind my parents’ home nestled between ancestral one story homes there is a cafe called Mrs. Magpie, a newer eatery somewhat like a tea house. I loved the cakes from there and this lemon pound cake taught to me by my friend Reshma, would do well on their cake stand.
My food word for this recipe would be tangy.
When you go out shopping look for:
Eggs
Unsalted butter
Flour
When you go out shopping look for:
Shortening or vegetable oil
Salt
Sugar
Baking powder
Lemons
Bundt tins
The recipe would be:
You will need five eggs, two hundred grams unsalted butter, three cups of flour, half cup of shortening which can be vegetable oil, one level tbsp baking powder, one fourth tsp salt, 1 cup of milk, two level of sugar, six tbsp lime juice and grated rind of two lemons.
In a bowl, beat with an electric whisk the butter, shortening and sugar and allow it to soften and be smooth and creamy. In about six minutes of beating, add one egg at a time beating constantly. This means add an egg and beat for two mins and only then add the next egg and repeat.
In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt and after mixing with a dry spoon pass through a sieve.
Now reduce your beater speed to medium low.
Add a bit of milk, beat for a minute. Next add a part of the dry mix and beat again. Repeat this in similar steps with the milk going in the last. You batter is creamy and soft now.
With a cake spatula fold in well after now adding the lime juice and rind. Pour onto a prepared cake tin. This makes two cakes about ten inches each. Bake at one hundred and sixty degrees for forty mins. The baking time changes from oven to oven. A needle prick will help you decide if the cake is baked well.
Brew some tea. Cut a slice of lemon pound cake. Reach heaven.
