Ginger-cinnamon spiced Cape Gooseberry cake

As promised, here I am with the recipe for the yummy Cape Gooseberry Cake that I made a few days back on Holi, the Indian festival of colors. This cake was conjured up when I was greatly pressed for time. But i'm so glad for that, for I totally loved the flavour. And the texture. 

I'd been wanting to make some dessert using Cape Gooseberries for a few weeks now, what with the lovely orange berries flooding the market since a while! Then Holi came around and I had to make a quick dessert to take for a party. The gooseberries would have been perfect for a pie, but I've saved that for another day! I decided to make my go-to eggless basic vanilla cake and top it with the luscious berries, coating them with some sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Of course, it being Holi, I had to add some color to it.....so I finished it up with come sprinkles!

The tartness of the gooseberries went very well with the ginger and cinnamon flavours.  The berries are more like sweet-and-tart tomatillos than berries. But their seeds have got a lovely crunch like kiwis, which gives a great texture. I topped a regular cake batter with the gooseberry mixture but next time, I think I'm going to whisk it right into the batter.

 

For the gooseberry topping: 

20-25 cape gooseberries

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsps granulated sugar

1 tsp candied ginger powder

For the cake batter:

250 gms flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbsps sugar

120 gms unsalted butter

1 can (400 gms) condensed milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

200 ml water

Wash and halve the berries. Put them in a small bowl and sprinkle the cinnamon, sugar and ginger on top. Toss them well and keep aside while you make the batter. 

Grease a 10-12 inch cake pan of your choice. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 

In a big bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon powder. Keep aside. 

In another big bowl, whisk together the sugar and butter until soft. Add the condensed milk and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add 100 ml of the water and whisk again. Add half the flour mixture and beat well. Then add the remaining water, followed by the remaining flour mixture. Beat into a smooth batter.

Pour the batter into the greased pan. Top it with the gooseberry mixture. Bake for 40-45 mins at 180 degrees C, or until a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean. Serve with some vanilla ice-cream. 

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