Anu's Scrapbook: February 2014

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Fruit Cake

Is there any cake fans who loved to eat or love to start baking cakes?
Well advice is start baking your first cake with a butter cake or a fruit cake. Once you mastered that, then you can bake any cake without any problem.

Ingredients for 1kg cake

250g Flour
250g Sugar
250g butter or margarine
5 eggs (250 g)
1/4 cup of milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Vanila essence
Fruits (raisons, cashew nuts, cherries, pumpkin preserve... etc. )

Method

Mix flour and baking powder and keep it a side.
Beat sugar and butter together, then add eggs one by one and beat well until sugar dissolves. (For this use a hand beater or a electric beater, but never use a food processor kind of equipment)
Add vanila essence and mix well.
Add milk and mix well.
Preheat oven 180°C
Add flour mixer gradually in small quantity and mix well.
Bake at 180 °C in a per-heated oven for 25 – 35 minutes.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Bandarawela Hotel

On our trip to Bandarawela, we stayed at Banadarawela hotel which you can see in this image.

It situated in the middle bandarawela town and you can't miss it by any chance.

Bandarawela Hotel built in 1873, has been well maintained (rooms are clean and I give 5 star for that but I think they didn't maintain the garden well) yet not modernized, retaining the original architecture and interior decoration.(Actually when we arrive there we were extremely surprised with the interior. They gt huge tall bed which we hardly climb up. They gt there wash basin in the room. Entree to the balcony in the bathroom. Huge bath tub, but we didn't use it because we thought it's a waste of water.)

Bandarwela Hotel is belongs to the Aitken Spence Group of Companies in Sri Lanka.

You can definitely have some kind of a unique experience there.

Tips:

Room are cold when the whether outside is cold (They may be give heaters but we didn't ask, so we can't confirm that.)

Sound from the mosque could be a disturbance, better ask for an upstairs room.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Adisham Bungalow - Haputale

Due to my recent trip to Bandarawela, I thought to publish some posts regarding my trip. My first post is about Adisham Bungalow also called as St. Benedicts monastery. We visited there on our way home.

To go to the bungalow is very easy, you just have to pass huputale town and railway station and then you can see the directions clearly on the boards. Road to Adisham bungalow is good but big buses can go only half way of the road also other vehicles have to drive safely because two vehicle and barely pass.disham

NOTES WE GOT FROM THE GATE:

Adisham is a stately stone mansion build in 1931 by Sir Thomas Lister Villiers, an English planter. Beautifully situated, in tranquil surrounding, Adisham is certainly a "must see" for those holiday makers and chance visitors, who haunt the hills from time to time in search of a peaceful resort, from the madding crowds and the heat of the city.
The Sturdy rock like fortress, fortress, surrounding by undulating hills, far as the eye can see, contains many items that normal visitors are unfamiliar with, which accounts for the large number of guests who seek admissions whenever the gates are open.
Carefully cultivated flower garden, Burma teak shingles that cover the roof, antique furniture and a well planted - out construction are few of the attractions that Adisham offers to sight seers.
The mansion was purchased by the Sylvestro Benedictine monks in 1961 to serve their novitiate, where those who seek to enter the monastic life are trained.
Maintenance of the monastery and those who reside here has to be met funds that are earned by the monks themselves. Hence the jam products and the produce from the farm.

Tips:

We can access only a limited area (exactly 3 rooms), so you can get the idea about interior of the building.
You have to remove your shoes before you enter the monastry.
You are not allowed to take photos or video inside the monastry.
Don't forget to visit Thangamale sanctuary near by.