April 13, 2009

Spring Onion, Bacon and Cheddar Bread, Kasutera-Japanese Honey Cake

Spring onion, Bacon and Cheddar bread, goes to Cindystar who is guest hosting "Bread baking Day #19-Spring Country bread", an event started by Zorra.

Kasutera, a Japanese Honey cake,
goes to Lavanya's "A.W.E.D.-Japan", an event started by DK.

Thanks to all of you ladies, enjoy hosting.

Cheesy Scallion Bacon bread, a savory loaf makes an excellent addition to any picnic or get together at home. Sliced and toasted bread is great for breakfast or to serve as colorful appetizers like finger food topped with Tapenade or cream cheese. With green onions, Bacon, Cheddar and chilli flakes added, it gives little zest to the bread and makes it festive as well.

Vegetarians can skip the Bacon and bake it with Spring onion, grated carrots, Bell peppers etc along with any cheese you like.
Just make sure that veggies you use don't get watery when baked, roast the veggies before adding.

Spring Onion, Bacon and Cheddar Cheese bread, ready for picnic, got a basket?!

This recipe adapted by 'Totally Teabreads" by Albright and Weiner. Hope you try it!

You need:

Large loaf pan 9" by 5" by 3", brushed with butter or sprayed with no-stick oil inside.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

To saute:
1/2 cup Butter, 1 cup Green onion/Scallions, finely chopped including tender green and white parts. 4-5 Bacon finely chopped or you can use 3 tbsp bottled real Bacon bits.
Dry ingredients:
2 3/4 cup Plain flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp Baking powder, 1/2 tsp Baking soda, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp of Pepper or red chilli flakes, 1 tsp Garlic powder, 1/4 tsp mixed herbs, mix all these first. Then add 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese and stir in to mix.
Liquid ingredients:
1 cup Buttermilk, 1/2 cup water, 2 large eggs. Beat these two and keep aside.
To top:
1 tbsp Bacon bits to sprinkle on top of the batter.

To bake:
1. Add butter to the pan, heat and add green onions and Bacon, saute until just soft for 2-3 mins. Take off the heat.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients, add butter-onion-Bacon to this, mix well. Add liquid ingredients, mix well again until you don't see any white flour. You can use the lowest speed beater to mix in the stand mixer as well.

3. Scrape the thick batter to the loaf pan, tap it gently to release the air and sprinkle 1 tbsp reserved bacon bits on top of the batter. Put it in the oven.
4. Bake for 50 to 60 mins or until the cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Take out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for 6-7 mins and then invert it on the rack to cool.
4. Slice and serve warm or toasted with butter or on the side with soup or pack the slices for picnic! Enjoy! :)

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Kasutera:
Kasutera is a spongy, eggy Japanese Honey cake which is not very sweet or naturally sweet with honey, hence do not need icing. Without adding any kind of essence, it has a wonderful aroma of honey and with just a dusting of confectioner's sugar on top, not too sweet either which is how I like my desserts!
This recipe is adapted from a 'Learn to cook' book series called "Japanese Homestyle Dishes". Usually, I don't cook any Japanese food at home or interested in trying either. I ran...well...drove to the library, borrowed this book. Kasutera sounded and looked good, so glad I tried it! I read that it's a popular dessert cake in Nagasaki, Japan, originally brought to Japan by Portuguese.

You Need:
5 large Eggs, 2/3rd cup Powdered sugar, 1/4 cup Honey, 1 tsp Baking powder, 1 cup All purpose flour or Cake flour. (9" by 9" cake pan, lined with parchment paper and sprayed with no-stick oil or butter.
(You can add 1 tsp of essence of your choice like Orange or Lemon, but recipe didn't say and I didn't add any either, loved the natural honey taste and aroma!)

For dusting: 1/4 cup extra powdered sugar for dusting the cake on top. You can even dust it with cocoa powder for contrast.

To bake the cake:

Preheat the oven at 350F.

1. In a mixer with whisk attachment, add 5 Eggs and beat until frothy.
2. Add in the Honey and powdered sugar, beat this mix for 10 to 12 mins, until it's thick, pale in color and beater leaves a ribbon when lifted.

(This 2nd step is very important to keep the cake fluffy and bake high, so do beat well until you see the trail of ribbon with the batter before adding the flour etc)

3. Now, add the baking powder and flour gradually, mix and fold or beat on low speed gently just until flour is well incorporated.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 mins or until skewer when tested in the center of the cake comes out clean. Don't bake too much.
5. Invert on a cooler, peel off the parchment paper.
6. When completely cooled, dust the top with powdered sugar and cut into slices to serve.

Enjoy and see you all later! :)

96 comments:

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow...iam still searching for the recipes....cake looks soft and yum. Congrats to your daughter on medal...

Raks said...

I love that spongy Kasutera cake! The picture also looks gorgeous! Bread has come out very nice Asha!

FH said...

Thanks for your wishes KF, she truly worked hard! :)
I don't ever cook anything Japanese at home, but glad I found this recipe in Japanese cookbook. It was eggy and kids ate a few for breakfast too! :)

Thanks Raks. First bread is savory, so yummy. You can skip the Bacon and make it vegetarian too! :)

Vishali said...

wow bread and Japanese cake look delish! will try the cake sometime...:). Hope u had a nice weekend.

Raaga said...

that kasutera looks so inviting.

And that quick bread is something I will try soon. I have resumed yeast baking this year... now that the weather is warm. This bread of yours needs none of that :)

Gita Jaishankar said...

Yummy bread anc cake Asha, the sponge cake looks so soft! I love the cheddar bread too, I can imagine the flavour of the spring onions with cheddar, yum :)

Rachel said...

Bacon in bread...That surely is very delicious.. I once made a focaccia with bacon in it, only to find people picking out the bacon bits from the bread.

Lovely pic of the japanese cake.

Purnima said...

Asha, thats too lovely, the loaf n the spongy cake too! Loved the beautiful squares u hv cut it to! Hey Today is Tamil New Year! (Tom is going to b a bsy day for me, as we celebrate Vishu! :D )

FH said...

Thanks Vaishali, we did have a nice long weekend, will hear all about it at FH on Wednesday! ;D

Raaga, it's true. This bread is the easiest, you can add any veg you like skipping the meat, very adaptable and tasty. Try it! :)

FH said...

Gita, cake was so yummy, we had it for breakfast for 2 days! :D

Haha!! My kids do that too, they do love Bacon bits in salads as well. Hope you try this one Rachel!:)

FH said...

Happy Vishu to you Purnima. Enjoy it tomorrow and post all the goodies, can't wait to see them! :)

My kids gobbled up those Honey cakes pieces in a jiffy! Hahaha!

Jaishree Iyer said...

Kasutera cake looks soft and yum.Loved the beautiful squares...I like the cheddar bread..can I add any veg skipping the meat& egg? I wish to try it!

krystyna said...

Thank you Asha, great job as always.
This bread looks so yummy, with your sugestion carrot/vegetables instead of bacon will be perfect.

I am very interesting in Japanese recipes.

Have a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

Asha,the bread and honey cake both looks amazing..would love try both..esp the cake..lovely smooth texture..
btw,bread with spring onion i havent tried yet..dying to taste though..

Ashwini said...

wow that cake looks so soft and fluffy. Should try that...Lovely pictures..

Swapna said...

Bacon in bread...it must be surely delicious!!! Lovely pic of the yummy cake too Asha....

FH said...

Jaishree, of course you can.
I have added a line there suggesting Carrots but you can add any bell peppers etc. Just make sure veggies don't leave too much water when baked, you can roast them a little before adding the batter to get the moisture out! :)

Thank you Krystyna, hope you try on of these! :)

Ann, both of these are easy to make. Japanese cake is new to me too, loved it. I had never used 5 eggs in any cake except Pound cake, but it's tasty! :)

Meera said...

Cheddar bread looks yum. but honey cake is just tooooo good to be true. I can't take my eyes off it. Beautiful pictures.

Laavanya said...

I love the colour of the bread and looks so cheesy - thanks for a veggie version of the same.

Love the name Kasutera and the cake looks so delicate and light.

Trupti said...

bread looks delicious and perfect Asha. I will try this bread without bacon very soon & will let u know. Cake also looks delicious.

Cham said...

The savory bread with bacon is gorgeous and the japanese cake looks like a sponde cake, I would love to grab those slices :)

FH said...

Thanks Meera, Laavanya, Trupti and Cham. Kasutera is like sponge cake/Pound cake, very moist and eggy, hope you try this cake.

Lavanya said...

both looks awesome asha..i want to try it..especially japanese cake mouthwatering..:)

Chutneytales said...

Wow! wow!wow..The cheese bread is just perfect.Always wanted to make cheese bread .The kasutera cake looks super spongy.VEry interesting recipes!

Deepthi Shankar said...

kasutera looks really really nice, Iam sure honey must have given it an amazinf flavor

FH said...

Lavanya, with Honey and eggs, it smells so good, try it! :)

Thank you Madhu, try the cheese and veg bread, it's lovely, makes a nice snack with coffee too! :)

Deesha, aroma and flavor for honey is fab in this cake. Usually I add sugar to all the cake, replacing with honey is wonderful! :)

AnuSriram said...

The honey cake sounds interesting asha.. Have to try it soon! Looks lovely!

FH said...

Hope you do try Anu, we loved it! :)

Varsha Vipins said...

I would love to try that bread,esply cos of the bacon part..n sadly my hubby don eat bacon..:(..lol..but it looks amazing.n it has a few airpockets too..without any yeast..Sounds pretty easy too..:).n my..the cake pic is fab n looks kinda exotic..Cant believe its our simple egg flour thingie..looks superb..:)
I am running crazy with cooking cleaning..tomorrow new year for us na..:)..Glad that you brought me here..I hope to try those out ,esply bread sometime..:)

Rajitha said...

the kasutera looks delicious..too bad it has way too many eggs in it for me to veganize...

Vibaas said...

the cake looks so spongy and yummy! :) Nice pic, Asha.

sharada said...

Wow ! the bread looks so fresh & soft & the cake how light & airy.
May be i can substitute chicken for bacon in the bread - gonna try..

suvi said...

I am always on the look out for new cake recipes, so will try thi soon. And I like the fact that the bread doesn't need any yeast, must be yum with the bacon bits!

suvi said...

read your comment on ISG's blog about your daughter getting a medal. Congrats...you must be one proud mama :)

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

honey cake sounds yum yum!

chef and her kitchen said...

Wow the Japanese Kasutera cake looks perfect and soft!!!!n even the bread has come out very nice..should give a try once..

sra said...

That Japanese cake looks perfect. Do you remember the Japanese cake that's sold in bakeries big and small here in India? I always wonder what made it Japanese!

Anonymous said...

The honey cake looks spongy and delicious.the picture looks beautiful too.

shalini

FH said...

Varsha, quick breads are always fun to bake, easy and no waiting for it rise or anything. Have a wonderful Vishu, see you later! :)

That's true Rajitha. Even I never used so many eggs in one recipe ever! :D

Thanks Vibhas, hope you try! :)

FH said...

Sharada, you could use any meat you want as long as they are not very moist which makes the bread squishy when baked, enjoy! :)

Aqua, I love savory bread any day than the sweet breads or cakes, love the Bacon taste.
Thanks, Trisha works very hard and very motivated, so she earns those well deserved awards. We are very proud of her! :)

Mahimaa, cake makes great breakfast with coffee too, almost like Pound cake with lot less butter! :)

FH said...

Prathibha, this cake was new to me too, loved it! :)

sra, we just call it sponge cake in India, don't we? They say that Portuguese brought this cake to Japan and it's very popular "Japanese cake" now in Japan, so don't know what makes it "Japanese!". Glad I found this though, I don't really cook Sushi, Sashimi and all those Japanese at home at all! :D

FH said...

Thanks Shalini, you can smell the honey in this cake. Wonderful to eat. Wish it didn't have so many eggs but that's what makes this cake so yellow! :)

Sum Raj said...

woo looks awesome ..bread has come out soo soft and fluffy...happy vishu to u..

FH said...

Thanks Suma, heard that it's Vishu today. You too enjoy the new year! :)

Priya Suresh said...

Wow gorgeous kasutera cake...am just drooling over the bread..Prefect savoury bread:)

Uma said...

mmm. both the bread and cake look so tempting. Came out perfect. Thanks for the vegetarian suggestion for the bread. Nice entries.

Unknown said...

wow.. nice entry Asha.. looks delicious.. cake looks soft & yummy...

FH said...

Thank you Uma, Priya and Srikar. Savory bread really tasty, easy to make it vegetarian! :)

Recipeswap said...

I like a cake that isnt too sweet and this looks perfect.

Priya said...

That cake looks so yummy, soft and delicious...

Uma said...

You're right! yellow chilies are hot and spicy. I just wrote it the other way. Now corrected. Thank you for bringing it to my attention! :)

Namratha said...

The cake looks good, and very spongy too!

Unknown said...

Ashaji, i have been missing your posts at Aroma. Both dishes look yummy! Can u send some over?

Jayashree said...

Ooh...that bread looks so cheesy and yum. Love the addition of spring onions to it.

bee said...

whoa!! that is a sexxxaayyyyyy cake.

FH said...

Neema, same here too. I am always cutting down the sugar in everything, can't stand dessert if it's too sweet! :D

Thanks Priya, hope you try. Very easy recipe! :)

Uma, I grew some Banana peppers last Summer, that's how I know how HOT they are! :D
We also get sweet Banana peppers too, which are milder.

FH said...

Namratha, it has a bit of eggs smell because of 5 Eggs, other than that it's a yummy cake! :)

Jauya, Spring onions gives it a nice texture when you are eating a slice, yummy! :)

Haha!! Sexy indeed!
That red background color is my Dining room wall Bee, newly painted with "Luxurious red", I just held up the red plate against the wall! :D

Unknown said...

wow wow every thing looks so yummy specialy that honey cake pc make me drool and congrats to your daughter a big hug to her from my side.keep it up dear.

FH said...

Thank you very much Rekha, hard work always pays in the end! :)

phanitha said...

this cake looks lovely

FH said...

Thanks Phanitha, easy to make too! :)

Purva Desai said...

This is completely new dish for me.....Bread looks cheesy and soft and cake looks delicious too....thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe

FH said...

You are very welcome Purva, hope you try one of these! :)

Lavanya Raj said...

Cake Look's Spongy and Perfect! Iam sure Honey should have done wonder's!

Thanks for the Perfect Piece Asha!

FH said...

Hi Lavi, you are so right! Honey smells wonderful in the cake. I have made Honey cake before, it's yummy! :)

Anonymous said...

Hello Asha,
Do you have a mail id? wanted to know as to how to set up a blog.your help will be greatly appreciated.

shalini

FH said...

YAY! I always wondered why you didn't have a blog. Click on my profile and it will show my mail. I may not check my mail today but will catch up with you and will surely help! :)

Pavithra Kodical said...

Honey cake looks soft and delicious..Delicious bread, will skip bacon and try making veggie version.I am back after 2 weeks.Today after 4 months its sunny here :)

FH said...

Hi P, good to see you back again, hope you enjoyed your break. Yeah, Honey cake smelled so good, loved it! :)

Suparna said...

Hi Asha, tha's an easy one :) thanks for the recipe and lovely snaps.
Happy weekend!

FH said...

Thanks Suparna, you too have a lovely weekend. We are expecting 70+F temp. here! :)

Saritha said...

Cakes looks great and soft.Congrats to ur daughter on medal......

FH said...

Thank you so much Varunavi, she deserves it. Hugs to you, enjoy your weekend! :)

Parita said...

Hi Asha, sorry m late :( but the bread looks sooo tempting and i love the japanese cake, its looks soft and spongy :) its lunch time here and m hungry wish i cud grab one :)

FH said...

That's okay Parita, take your time. Hope you make that cake, it's really good! :)

Cindystar said...

We'll really enjoy this lovely bread at the pic-nic, Asha!
Thanks for participating!

FH said...

You are welcome Cindy, glad to send you one for your picnic! :)

sapna said...

Hi..I just wanted to let you know that I did try the bread recipe you have posted and it turned out wunderful! This is the very 1st time i tried makin bread at home and only cuz of the pics u put up and the way the whole process was explained.."clearly"! Thanks a tonne! The bread's just out of the oven now..warm n nice on this gloomy rainy day..Wowww! And thats why the 1st thing I thght I owed you was let you know..! Keep up the good work...Lonnggggg bloooog..thanks for readin :)!

FH said...

Sapna, thank you so much for your feedback and appreciation. Always glad to know that somebody tries and dish came out well.
Since it's also your first bake, I am so happy for you, enjoy. Bake more, you will get more recipes for bread at my recipe index. Happy baking! :)

Pravs said...

i will absolutley love this bread. I can just imagine how yum..it must have been.

FH said...

Hi Pravs, I prefer savory bread like this anytime to sweet ones! :)

Nandinis food said...

Asha, I didnt know you were posting on mondays also.I missed a lot.I love the bread excluding bacon. Kasutera- japanese honey cake- hmmm sooo gorgeous. Oh , you guys cook international foods. I am learning a lot from guys. Thank you.

FH said...

Usha, I only post here if I have any dishes for the events as entries, otherwise Aroma goes silent. There is no fixed day etc here! :))

You can skip the Bacon and bake this wonderful bread, smells and taste so good!

shebs said...

Very nice...the Kasutera cake looks delicious....

FH said...

Thanks Shebs, easy to make too!:))

Kusum said...

Nice blog. Hope you will be back soon!

Anisheetu said...

Thats wonderful... cakes looking really very nice.... and the clicks are just great... one and only one word ''wow'' :)

FH said...

Hi Kusum and Ani, hope you give it a try, thanks! :))

Pravs said...

wow, what a post .. i am drooling seeing the bread and the cake.

Nimi SunilKumar said...

lovely cake!

FH said...

Thanks Pravs and Nimi, enjoy! :)

Pooja said...

Ashaji,
Just wanted to say hello to my very deal blog friend :) Hope all si well with you, nice to find you on fb too :) I hope you are enjoying blog break, it is too addictive ,isn't it , after not so short duration of my blog break i am resuming it with Vow series. I just thought of you and came to say hi :)

FH said...

Hi Pooja, good to see you back too. I have some personal stuff to deal right now, that's why I am taking a long break. I do want to blog again, I miss all of you so much. But let me be free first and then I can come back to see all of you. Hugs to you, take care :)

Unknown said...

cake is looking too good. thanks a lot. for more recipes check foodsnearme.com/recipes

FH said...

Thanks Sanjana, enjoy.

Shruti J said...

Lovely!!! I can have this plate anytime of the day... :)

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