bbc correspondent rana jawad's 'knitting in tripoli' radio programme & cake recipes

The journalist Rana Jawad has broadcast on BBC World Service Radio an amazing 55-minute programme Knitting in Tripoli on how she worked underground - using a male persona on air - as a BBC correspondent in Tripoli in the 7-month revolution. Her interviewees, women and men, now tell their incredible stories of their experiences during that time. They include women who smuggled bullets in their handbags and hid ammunition and weapons at home in gift boxes. The level of courage of people in Tripoli, often wrongly portrayed as a 'sleeping city' at the time, is humbling.

Rana took up knitting and cake making as a distraction during those anxious days as she told BBC Radio 4's Sunday morning programme Broadcasting House (BH) in late August, after the liberation of Tripoli. These are the recipes that the BH website carried at the time:

From BBC Broadcasting House – Radio 4 - website, 28 August 2011

RANA'S RECIPES

This week we heard from Rana Jawad, a journalist living in Tripoli. She explained how baking took her mind off events in her home country. We thought we'd share with you her own recipes.

CHILLI CHOCOLATE CAKE
For a 23cm round pan, sides and base buttered, and base lined with greaseproof paper.
3 eggs
280g sugar
50ml of strong coffee [made up of 1 tablespoon of of instant and hot water]
1 shot of milk
225 ml corn oil

With hand-held electric mixer: cream the wet ingredients starting with the eggs and sugar until nice and thick, then adding the rest.

225g flour
50 unsweetened cocao powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon of chilli powder [or cayenne]

Then sift all and add to wet in three batches until just mixed in.

DO NOT overmix: bake at 180 celcius for about 50 mins or less or more, insert toothpick to check if it's done only after the cake has risen [30 mins onwards].

RANA'S ROSE WATER AND APRICOT CAKE
For an 18 cm round pan sides and base buttered, and base lined with greaseproof paper.

125 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of ground cloves

1 egg
125g sugar
75 ml corn oil
25ml Rose Water [found in middle eastern stores]
50ml milk 1tsp vanilla extract or essence
6 dried apricots, finely diced
handful of black currants

Same instructions as above, cream the wet, add in the dry. Bake for 30 mins at 180 celcius.

TUMERIC AND FENNEL CAKE ["Inspired by an ethnic treat from my home country, Lebanon"]

For 20cm cake tin sides and base buttered, and base lined with greaseproof paper.

2 eggs
175g sugar
160 ml corn oil
2tsp orange blossom water [found in middle eastern stores, if unavailable, just plain water]
80ml evaporated mil or normal milk

Dry ingredients:
220g flour
2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed.

Instructions as previously noted and bake at 180 celcius for about 40 mins, insert toothpick in the center to check, it should come out clean.