Ever feel bored, lazy and incredibly hungry at the same time and cankt wait for more than 15 minutes for something sweet to eat? That happened to me last evening, I was feeling too bored so i went to the kitchen. Then i had a craving to eat some scrumptious cake but i was feeling too lazy to bake a normal cake that takes me about 25 minutes to make and another half an hour to bake. And i just couldn't wait for so long!

So i searched one of my heaviest cookbooks hoping to find a "10 minute cake", even though i knew that there was no way i was going to find such a recipe but i still gave it a try and that was the best decision i ever made! I found a dish called "quick syrup sponge" the cooking time was.... ! 4 minutes!

I was too shocked so i gave this quick syrup sponge a try. I didn't believe my eyes when I saw the cake rise in front of my eyes in those 4 minutes!! I took out the cake from the microwave (yes microwave, not oven) and the cake was cooked perfectly. It was very springy and very delicious and it took me 10 minutes to make and bake it! If anyone else has such a craving the recipe is given below.

Quick Syrup Sponge
Ingredients
125 grams maida
125 grams margarine / butter
4 tablespoons golden syrup
90 grams caster sugar or icing sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
a little bit of warm water

Method
1. Grease a 1.5 litre microwave safe glass bowl with butter and put all the golden syrup.
2. Beat the butter until it is soft and fluffy add the sugar and beat once again, gradually add the eggs 1 by 1 beating well after each addition.
3. Sift the maida and the baking powder together and fold in the butter using a large metal spoon.
4. Add enough water for a dropping consistency and pour the batter in the bowl.
5. Microwave for 5 minutes then take out the bowl and let cool.
6. Enjoy warm with some golden syrup drizzled.
7. Yum!

Vidhi Panwar is 11 years old and when she is not studying, painting or pottering around the kitchen, she is up to something with her brother Aditya and her dogs, Sultan, Kalu and Tiny.

Young Friend of The Budding Gourmet, Vidhi Panwar shares with you the importance of planning and permission in the kitchen

What do I think about food? How do I decide what to cook? It starts with, "Hmm, what should i make today.... How about...some scrumptious cakes.... Yes...yes. Those will do. Now do I have ALL the ingredients? No...no, no icing sugar.... Mumma, can you please order some icing sugar for me... ... ...."

The 3 main things i check for are:
1) Whether i have all the ingredients required
2) Ask for permission from Mumma
3) See if the kitchen is empty

If all these conditions are fulfilled then i am all set to cook. As a child, what cooking means to me is get involved in something that will keep me away from boredom and the end result is something I like and my family and friends will enjoy eating.

Most of the time, the result is good but each time I make anything, if I have made that before then i will try to improve it. In the same way, if I am making something new then I will just follow the instructions.

Cooking is a stress buster. It calms and relaxes you. That is what I think about food.

Vidhi Panwar is 11 years old and when she is not studying, painting or pottering around the kitchen, she is up to something with her brother Aditya and her dogs, Sultan, Kalu and Thumki.