New year hampers made easy

With New Year approaching fast, it is time to rack the brains for a good New Year gift. Customised New Year hampers would be a great way to express sentiments as not only are they easy to put together, but they also show the effort that was put into the gift.

Zia Bilgrami, who owns a patisserie in the city, gives the low down on the various goodies to be filled in a hamper. “Different flavoured cheeses like jalapeno, pepper along with liqueur chocolates would be ideal,” she says. “However, since most Indians do not take to exotic varieties like blue cheese and brie, it would be better to stick to Cheddar or Parmesan.”

To add in some home baked goodies, Zia suggests cakes and preserves. “Throw in a pound cake, muffins and various kinds of bread,” she says. “Add in a bottle of wine and small jars of homemade preserves like apricot or plum. Round it off with an expensive pen set and you are sorted.”

Lemon Pound Cake

Ingredients
150 gms maida
150 gms sugar
150 gms butter
3 eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp lemon zest
A handful of cherries, chopped.
Method
Cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, milk, lemon juice and zest. Sieve the flour and baking powder and add it to the batter. Grease a cake tin and pour the batter into it and bake it at 180 degrees for 40 minutes. Add chopped cherries onto the cake after 20 minutes of baking, when the batter has solidified. Remove from the oven after another 20 minutes and cool it before removing from tin.