Zesty Cake Homemade Recipe

Zesty Cake: lactose free, & light...

Enjoy a lemon citrus overwhelming flavor coming out from the oven as you bake this cake!

To start with, don't do this recipe unless you are one of the below:

• Chocolate Hater. or not in the mood for chocolate, as not a pinch of chocolate was used in this recipe. (sorry chocolate lovers)
• Lactose Intolerant: Not a drop of milk was added.
• Light Dessert Seeker: Sugar was reduced to half as in any regular cake recipes.
• Spongy Cake Avoider: I have a thing against spongy cakes, I sometimes feel I am literally swallowing air. I just dont like the sponginess. Yet, this cake turned out to be truely condensed & bit chewy from inside, and soft at the same time.
• Lemon/ Citrus Lover: Who doesnt love the taste of lemon in desserts? Come on....Lemon, vanilla & sugar go together like trio best friends !

Since I previously posted about my lactose/dairy intolerance and my constant ways in including recipes without milk, and at the same time without jeopardizing the taste and affecting texture of the food
prepared. Here is the lemon cake that I made at home and from scratch!

Baking in Jars

Baking in the Jars has become the latest trend, especially among home made products.
I found several places later after this trial selling such items.
The recipes that I followed are all attached here for you to download. Surely, several trials should be made if this was done for a commercial purpose especially before we settle on the end product in order to perfect the sensory experience from all its sides: flavor, odor, color, and texture.

It is the Cronut!

Croissant + Donut= Cronut! 

Is the Cronut the new craze in the bakery scene??

If you are a foodie, you might have heard recently about the legend of the Cronut. The Cronut is a hybrid of a doughnut and a croissant, created by the pastry chef Dominique Ansel and sold at his New York bakery, Ansel's SoHo. Chef Ansel introduced the world to Cronuts on May 10, and since then, this new bakery item has been the latest trend among food lovers.

Cronuts after Cupcakes?

Cupcakes have been the latest trend in the food baking industry for the past 5 years in the world. The concept was first introduced after “Sex and the City” TV series with the first prominent Magnolia Bakery in New York City (Source: Business Insider, Jan 2011). Cupcake became a global ubiquitous phenomenon, spreading all over the world in cities and towns.

The Bun Theory

Not quite the Burger bun.. though this is another subject and a much bigger hype that has been ongoing here in middlest east and GCC countries in the last 5 years. ( Yeah with all blogs posting the search for the best burger ever!)

But it is the "Roti" Bun! 

If you are living somewhere in Middle East, or any Gulf Country like UAE, Kuwait, or Saudi Arabia, you might have encountered one of these three renowned Roti Bun shops: Paparotti, Mama rotti, and Rotiboy.

You might wonder they are all the same... So who was the first? Who imitated who? And surely.... who is the best?

In my attempt to objectively answer these questions I did a visit to all three on the same date:
To eliminate season effect on eating habits and the seasons' effect on the taste.

I visited Rotiboy  in Sahara Mall at 8 pm accompanied with two people. The mall was surprisingly not populated. The food court had around 10-15 people maximum. It was obviously empty in compared to other days. As for Rotiboy kiosk, the  counter was clear and clean. The stands were loaded with buns. The cashier was able to  answer all my questions about the product, type, flavor, origin, baking and reheating 

technique.

He also told me about the other branches: both existing and soon to be open. He  informed me about the current offer. He looked well trained and prepared. 

Regarding the traffic flow, around 3 people came while I was there during the 40 minutes....but comparing this flow to the current one in the mall, it was good because the neighbor cafes and restaurants barely had even one customer...Even Cinnabon didn't have any customers.

Tasting the bun is another story... Its temperature was perfect, neither hot or cold....just  warm like what your tongue really craves for...The overwhelming smell infused with  coffee is tantalizing and fresh... As if you are in a bakery and coffee store at the same time, perfect combination.....I tried two flavored buns the original and the chocolate filled...
And the most thing I loved about Rotiboy is that It serves my favorite Organic/Free Trade Tea: Tea Gschwender ( If you remember my post this tea? No well go read it !)

I went to Papparotti in Hayat mall during the same night (Monday Feb 4) surprisingly it was crowded; two tables were only empty in the whole cafe. We stood on  the line to take the order. I took a menu…. It had two pages but all it showed was one  flavor and wide range of drinks. I think what was attractive about the shop was: its location.

Its location and setting made it a perfect place for ladies and families to have coffee or a beverage...The traffic was superfluous with 3 people visiting every 15 minutes. Neither the waiter nor the cashier  had time to hear my question as they were in constant rush and motion...So I couldn't approach them quite comfortably. The original flavor is a bit sweeter than Rotiboy but  was similar in texture and aroma...

Paparotti's Bun in Panorama mall

As for Mammaroti branch on Tahliyah, It had a slow traffic in the ladies but medium number of in the singles section (around 6).

The price is the same as in the others. However, the texture of the bun was different, it  was doughier and heavier from inside and it was less fluffy than the other buns I tasted. I was easily able to detect a difference in both quality and taste from the other two bun shops.

	RotiBoy	PappaRoti	MammaRoti
Products and Services	Original and Flavored Filled Bun	Original and Flavored  covered Bun	Original and Flavored  covered Bun
Quality	Fresh smell and taste, fluffy texture	Fresh smell and taste, fluffy texture	Doughy texture, oily, good smell
Price	11 Riyals  per bun, but with special offer ( 2 for 13 Riyals)	11 Riyals per bun, No offer	11 Riyals per bun, No offer
Décor and Furniture	Hip  décor , youthful colors, special furniture	Wooden design , and furniture that fits	Wooden Hip and contemporary design , and furniture that fits
Social Media	Yes ( Facebook 9800 likes, 1371 Twitter)	Yes ( Facebook 171 Likes, Twitter 130 followers)	Not official (Facebook, 4 Likes)
Product Availability	Available and abundant (can be seen)	Available and abundant (can be seen)	Available
Weakness	Location	Lack of diverse flavors	Quality and product diversity
Strength	Product Diversity	Location and quality	location

Rotiboy's Bun

Rotiboy's Bun

Rotiboy's Bun

Rotiboy's 

Rotiboy Serves My favorite tea! Tea Gschwender 

Lebanon's Paparotti: 

I also had the chance to visit Paparotti in Lebanon in June..

It is located on Bliss street, just beside Bliss house.The setting is great as you can see AUB, the main gate clock tower and the passers by! 

The taste is the same as the Riyadh branch. The franchiser owner is different of coarse.

Munch Bakery: A Local Bakery with International Standards

This photo of Munch Bakery is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I heard rumors about Munch Bakery before I went there that It was a great bakery with good tasty cupcakes and fancy designed cakes. I checked the website before I visited to see their products. I was impressed by the logo, the interactive website, and the list of products in a very neat way that makes you want to order cupcakes even if they were "digital".

When I visited the olay/tahila branch at 10 pm during the week, I was impressed by the number of people there. The bakery was full and everyone was ordering something.

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