This is a cake inspired by a children's story book which had multiple mentions of a sticky tea cake with notes of ginger and cinnamon and it instantly brought a vision in my head! So I made up this recipe which now has become a monthly bake especially for the kids - made with whole wheat flour, brown sugar and honey, black tea, ginger, pumpkin spice, and lot's of orange zest and a sneaky slather of orange marmalade! optional is the dark chocolate chunks!

This is a recipe that uses up Christmas soaked dry fruits and nuts - the leftovers or for the last bit that you aren't sure what to do with! The combination of chocolate and ginger is a favourite of mine, teamed up with dry fruits, and heady spices - this one is quite heavenly!

Have you got leftover soaked dry fruits after Christmas? And some ripe bananas? Well, here is a whole wheat banana bread recipe, with all the delicious dry fruits soaked in rum swirled through for a delicious winter-recipe! Serve with whipped cream, or just a dusting of icing sugar and have with a cup of coffee!

Pumpkin spice to me exudes warmth and comfort like a blanket. But this spice blend is very similar to that of our Indian chai masala, except we add a fair bit of cardamom and mace. I use our own Chai Masala from Nature Therapy for this recipe (and almost all autumn spice-based recipes) and add a few more spoons of cinnamon and hints of nutmeg to up the ante. This cake recipe is very simple, a delight to make, and golden hue of pumpkin is very comforting!

Christmas is a delightful time of the year for me, and it is a festival I really indulge in simply because of the all warm spices, lots of presents, music and winter nights. A proper Christmas cake has always been on my mind and this year I managed to soak the dry fruits well in advance. There are many versions of the perfect cake, but I have chosen a method that suited me best – soak the fruits once, and keep ‘em ready for baking in an instant, after at least 3 weeks of macerating. Since I am not the biggest fan of the flavor of rum, I don’t soak the cake in rum either, allowing the spices and dry fruits to take centerstage. I also avoid nuts since I have family members that don’t take too kindly to them. But if you do like nuts, shop them up and soak them in with the dry fruits – a total of 150 g of nuts would do (almonds, walnuts, cashews). This cake is good to go with just a heavy dose of icing sugar sprinkling! Enjoy! THE RECIPESERVES 2 CAKES Recipe Ingredients Dry fruits soak: 1 kg dried fruit: (makes for 2 cakes) 100 g apricot, finely chopped 100 g cranberry 100 g glazed cherry 100 g prune, finely chopped 200 g raisins 100 g blackcurrant500-700 ml brandy or rumzest of 2 oranges2-4 slices of ginger, slightly bruisedCake: (one cake) 1 cup / 130 g flour½ tsp baking powder½ tsp cinnamon powder1 tsp allspice¼ tsp nutmeg powderpinch clove powder1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger130 g butter1/8 cup castor sugar115 g brown sugar1 tsp vanilla2 eggs280 g soaked fruits (1 1/2 cups) Recipe Instructions Dry Fruits Soaking: (yields 2 cakes) Stir all the ingredients together, ensuring the dry fruits are covered in the alcoholStore in an air tight container in a cool place for upto 2 months, stirring every third day ( I have always stored in the lowest shelf of the fridge)Cake: Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffyAdd the eggs one after another, whisking wellAdd the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoonAdd the half of the above amount rum soaked dried fruits and fold wellPour in the cake tin and bake for 160C for 40 minutesLet it cool in the tin

A cake is what makes my world move forward. And I have a tendency to sort of celebrate even the smaller moments, because life is after all, a true celebration. And I have a knack of craving items and moments that are far from convenient at most times which tend to drive everyone around me mad. So while it’s monsoon (with no rain here), I am nostalgic for Christmas and warm spices and in dire need for a good old fashioned Christmas plum cake. This recipe is versatile wherein you can replace the plums with peaches, apples or pears, and perhaps even blueberries (though I’ve not tried that). The warming spices such as allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon along with fresh ginger do the job perfectly against the sweet and sour plums. The plums I get by my house are rather ripe and juicy – which works wonders in this cake with it’s jam-like texture. But this also means that it has a very low shelf life of 24 hours. I would not recommend going beyond that, unless you store the cake in the fridge which in my books is a complete no-no. And besides, 8 slices, 24 hours? No difficult task, I’d say it’s a piece of cake ;p  The Recipe Serves 6 Ingredients 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup soft butter 1/2 cup castor sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 egg 1 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 tsp orange zest 1 tsp allspice 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 2 tbsp yoghurt 1 tbsp milk 3/4 cup diced plums Instructions Preheat the oven to 200C and grease and flour a medium loaf tin. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and extract and beat for 5 more minutes. Add the yoghurt, milk, ginger, zest and spices and whisk again. With a spatula, fold in the dry ingredients followed by the plums. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely before turning out onto a serving plate.