Wholewheat Cake Rusk

Just back from a wonderful holiday in Hong Kong and immediately after that fell terribly sick. All the recharging and rejuvinating done during the holidays went in waste. Nevertheless, the tummy continues to feel hungry and even more when I haven't had something comforting in the past few days. So I went through the pinned recipes in my diary and found this nostalgic cake rusk recipe which refreshed my childhood memories of one of the oldest bakery in my town then, Osman Bakery. As a child, I used to hate that glass of milk which is customary for every kid to drink. These rusks, which my Dad used to bring ovenfresh from the bakery while on his way back home, were a savior then. Even today, when I want to eat something nice and feel good but without any energy for anything elaborate, these crunchy crumbly rusks are a savior and are a wonderful mate for my cup of honey lemon tea in the evening or anytime of the day. They are just the way I used to have as a kid from the bakery and I am really glad I could recreate the same taste and crunch. The best thing is they are made with wholewheat although ideally it should have been all purpose flour. Frankly though, there is no difference in taste and I had completely forgotten about the wholewheat quotient until I sat down to write the ingredients!

                                        

Ingredients

1 cup wholewheat flour (ideally, all purpose flour though no difference in taste)

3 eggs

100 gms butter (approx 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup brown sugar, fine grain or powdered (white sugar is used ideally; I wanted to make it as healthy as possible)

1 tsp vanila essence

2-3 drops yellow food color

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup tutti fruity (optional)

Direction

Melt the butter in the microwave for 10-20 seconds until just softened. Now mix the sugar and whip till creamy and fluffy. Now add the eggs and beat further. Add the vanila essence and food color and mix. Now sift the flour and baking soda together and fold in to the egg mixture little at a time. Lastly, fold in the fruit bits and mix. Pour into a greased or lined medium square baking tin and spread out the batter, which won't be too runny. Smoothen the top and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The original recipe called for 50 minutes but mine was done in 20 minutes flat. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

                                          

Now, place the cooled cake on a plate and cut into squares or any desired shape. Place the cut squares on a baking tray (need not be greased or lined) and bake at 150 degree celsius for 20 minutes. The baking time here depends on how you like your rusks, hard or softly crunchy. In any case, the rusks while in the oven will still be little soft and will get crunchy only once cooled. So choose your baking time accordingly. I baked them for 25 minutes while turning the sides once in between for uniform browning on both the edges. Once cooled, store in airtight containers.