Among the vast childhood food nostalgia, are the yellow, sweet, soft and spongy and cherry-filled Britannia Marie cakes, which were multipurpose and used as tiffin meals, pass-time snacks and as evening indulgence. Did you ever think that you would be able to make these one day at home too as grown-ups? If you thought so, you were right as Tea Cakes, baked without an oven and indeed in a very simple manner can make it true. When made properly with the right amount of ingredients and way of making the batter, these can turn even more tastier and enjoyable than the yesteryear Britannia cakes. A well-beaten smooth flowy batter including refined flour, eggs, milk powder, sugar, and oil is all you need to make Tea Cakes. The best part is baking these perfectly in any vessel in the absence of an oven.
Why Is Sand or Salt Placed While Baking In A Pressure Cooker?
An alternative and home-devised way of baking food items has been by placing salt or sand at the bottom of the vessel or pressure cooker. Then a stand is placed over it and the baking dish containing batter is kept over it. The purpose of adding salt or sand is to ensure an even distribution of heat, protecting the cake batter from high and direct heat which may give brown spots or a charred effect to the baked cake.
Tea Cakes
Tea Cakes are said to have originated from Britain and used to be yeast-based spongy, sweet bread made of dry fruits and flour and are eaten after being toasted and buttered. In the US Tea cakes mean cookies or soft cakes, while in India Tea cakes mean butter cakes containing butter, flour and sugar and baking agents as the main ingredients.
Preparation: 1 hour
Cooking: 30-35 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf of Tea Cake
Ingredients:
• 1 cup refined flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp milk powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ cup refined oil
Method:
• In a mixing bowl, add sugar, and 3 eggs with the yolk and beat with an electric beater for 15 minutes until it rises 3 times its volume.
• Then add vanilla essence and beat for a minute and add refined flour to it and beat for 2 minutes until well incorporated.
• Then add milk powder, and beat for a minute, and add baking powder to it and beat for a minute.
• Then introduce oil in 3 parts and beat the batter for 1 minute after adding a little oil each time.
• Transfer this batter to the greased baking tray lined with parchment paper.
• Take a big-sized flat bottom vessel, add sufficient salt and place the stand of the cooking stove on it.
• Place the baking tray on this stand and cover the vessel with a lid and put a weight over the lid.
• Cook the batter on low to medium heat for 30-35 minutes.
Salt laid on the bottom of the vessel works as a secret agent that helps bring a nice colour to the cake besides supporting the stand and baking the cake batter nicely while protecting it from direct heat. If one prefers to cook the batter in low heat throughout, then it would take 35-40 minutes to be cooked.