Tuesday, December 14, 2010

So I decided to rusk it.

When you have parents who work, there is a certain advantage, they both bring home 'khau' ( snacks) on their way home from work. 
My parents worked in V.T (Yes, I still call it that) Fort area and  there were several bakeries, snack shops  and dairies in the vicinity and many famous for a single item, which was usually sold out by evening. 
We were regulars at Pancham Puriwala a humble food joint serving  deep fried heaven on a platter. Or the fabulous Mathura Pedha  and of course a small dingy store which sold baked items, we started out with their crisp and light, flaky and calorie rich khari biscuits and go on to other mouth watering items like  Mawa cake, fruit cake, were regular items in our cookie jars. 
And then came the cake rusk/cake toast. I fell in love with those. I don't remember when exactly I first tasted  cake rusk, but  I do remember the taste and how much I liked it and  also remembered I had not tasted these in 4 years! A few months ago, when I was still living in Los Angeles, my friend Vandana dropped in and  gave a big box of cake rusk for my Son. Well, he did not eat so many, actually, he probably had a couple, umm... one, maybe. M and I devoured the lot! Down to the last crumb. Delish! 
We ate, we liked and we forgot. 


A few days ago, I made Banana nut cake and to own the truth, I was distracted. Too many things going on and some where I knew I should have stopped, but  the oven was pre-heating and I decided to go ahead.
To cut a long story short, I made some mistakes, no idea what - multi tasking when baking = bad idea = mistakes, but the cake turned out dense and could have done with a tad bit of extra sugar. I was disappointed, I was so looking forward to handing over a warm, soft slice to S and watching his smile as he ate it. 
Oh well, that bombed :(
As the cake sat cooling on the rack, the image of  cake rusk came floating on my mind and I decided to risk it!  I mean, rusk it!
The oven was still hot and the pizza stone was inside. I quickly sliced the cake and placed the slices on the pizza stone and baked them for about 10 minutes ( turning once) until golden brown. Cooled them and store in airtight container.

Verdict: YES!! loved it :) this does taste like the regular cake rusk/ toast you can buy at the Indian store for  $5 or $7, but so much better and cheaper when you make at home  ( even if you bungle it up!)

Try this with eggless banana bread  and you cannot go wrong.

Just to round it up nicely:

Bake Banana cake/bread using the above linked recipes or any cake recipe of your choice.

Cool the cake completely

Cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Place the slices on a hot (pre heated) pizza stone or if you do not have one, line a  oven safe tray with  foil / parchment paper and place the slices in a row and bake for about 10 minutes, turning once so as to bake both sides. 10 minutes is not the exact timing, use it as a guideline only, keep an eye on those slices ! 

Remove from oven once they are golden brown on both sides

Cool completely and store in an air tight container 

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11 comments:

Nupur said...

How cool! I must try this!

And ha ha, I love the title of your post- clever girl you are.

s said...

sounds like a wonderful idea. and I do have some cake leftover...

Rajani said...

Hi,I share your fear of BAKING, yeast and anything that requires to rise(and shine!).What I totally love about this (and other) post is your writing style.So while I may not yet risk to rusk,I still love reading, keep going.Great.

Unknown said...

Simply wonderful ! Can't believe that these cake toasts are home-made.The stacks of cake toast displayed in tiny bakery shops here in Mumbai don't look more professional.Well done.Looking forward to the next item.
VGK

Ms.Chitchat said...

Wow, a wonderful idea and the result is amazing. Loved the crispy golden cake rusks.

Anjali Koli said...

I spent a good many years in Fort and missed Pancham completely! never been there Manasi! The rusk looks crunchy and crumbly at the sametime. Gonna try it soon.

Unknown said...

Manasi..
What a timing for this post...I had 6 bananas which were sitting idle.. so I did bake the banana bread.. with all those 6 .. yeah you can imagine how much bread I have at home.......I am a Giver.. but @ home no one is really " TAKER". so now I will also "RUSK" it....Thanks and Happy holidays to u all!!!!

Sharmi said...

like Nupur said, clever girl:) nice idea!

Manasi said...

Thank U Nupur! Hope u try and like it.

S, did u try it then?

Rajani, not yet ready to risk and rusk!? Hehe! Thank U for the kind words, made my day.

VGK, Thank u so much.

Ms. Chitchat, thank u, i'm glad the experiment worked.

Thank U Anjali, Missed Pancham! Girl, u are a true Mumbaiite, go for it! Hope u try the rusk, let me know how u like it.

Ash, all that fab cake and no takers? lets become neighbors, we'd have lot of fun :) Happy Holidays.

Thanks Sharmi :)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A great idea! That must be delicious with some chocolate spread.

Cheers,

Rosa

Usha said...

Love it !! It looks just perfect..............and yes I still call it VT too :)

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