Old mix plus little magic - New Cake!

Have you turned into some nicely oiled machine with emotions secured in a long forgotten locker and focus is only on ticks on the checklist?

Once in a cloudy morning when I stepped out in my small urban balcony and looked up to the sky.. I felt the need of rain.. not wish.. need. The country is going into one lockdown after other. Our world is shrunk to few square meters from the main door to the bedroom. The sun has gone for a long holiday and cloud has decided to take charge of the sky. C'mon rain now, do your job and stop hovering on our head. Just rain and wash the pain away.. one of the loudest voice of my soul.

Well, cloud did not budge.. decided to keep it's grumpy face on. But I had made my mind to try something new and forget the rulebook. Let's spice up the boring banana walnut cake with some oatmeal streusel.

Ingredients

1. Unsalted Butter – 100 gm

2. Natural brown sugar/raw cane sugar – 100 gm

3. All-purpose flour – 150 gm

4. Rolled Oats – 75 gm

5. Fine kosher Salt – 5 gm

6. Apple juice – 15 ml

Method

Make sure all the ingredients are in room temperature. Combine all the ingredients except the apple juice in a stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds using the paddle attachment. Don’t worry if you do not have one, you can use a regular food processor jar. Just don’t add the butter on the first go. Mix everything else but butter and apple juice for about 30-40 secs. Add the small butter chunks and let your processor run for another 20 secs. Then add the apple juice and mix for about 10-15 seconds or until it forms a crumble. Be careful not to overmix or it will turn into a dough. Transfer to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate uncovered until firm. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack. Once completely cooled you can store this in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. But I doubt that you will do that!

You can use the Streusel toppings on pie, muffin, bread or cakes for that touch of perfection and completeness. Just leave a little room in your baking tin and cover the batter with Streusel. Play with additional flavors of your choice. Ground cinnamon and ginger are something you can definitely try. If you are counting calories then go with a smaller bite but don’t miss it. A few minutes extra at the gym is totally worth it!

If you are thinking that life has become a bit monotonous then trust me you are not the only one. But I will tell you the Secret.. it's YOU who can change it. Yes, that's right. you might not be able to make it rain but no one can stop you from closing your eyes and hearing those raindrops.. you know how!

There is so much to see if only we open our eyes..