Desserts and baking

The almond cake with cocoa nibs

Sticky

This is a cake I baked a few days back an hour before I had to fly out from Sydney to Singapore enroute to Mumbai. Was meant to be a surprise dessert to take to meet my friends from a long time back. They are christened as Gatarganga for the filthy language they use when talking to each other ..Ahh boys who still pretend that they and I are teenagers.

I was very pleased to see that it survived the journey in my backpack all the way to here so I thought to write down the recipe before I get senile or dementia or both.

  1. Butter softened -75 g
  2. Oil( vegetable )-50 g
  3. Sugar brown or white – 125 g
  4. Flour 95 g
  5. Almond powder- 50 g
  6. Baking powder-10 g
  7. eggs large-2
  8. Cream 50 g
  9. Cocoa nibs – 10 g/1 t( these are for the crunch and a hint of bitterness to contrast with the sweetness of the cake.
  10. Sliced almonds -20g/1 T

I made this like a modified version of a pound cake. First things to do is get your oven preheated before you start to175 C. Line one 8 inch cake tin with baking paper atleast at the base( or use a precut silicone cake base)

whisk the eggs with sugar and add a little vanilla extract. Melt the butter and oil and add to the whisked eggs mix. Add in the cream and mix lightly.

Mix together the almond flour and baking powder and fold it into the egg mix. Gently mix in the cocoa nibs.

Pour it into the cake tin and top with sliced/ flaked almonds. Bake for between 20-25 mins or a bit more till done .

Cooking international, Desserts and baking

Warm Flourless Chocolate soufflé

Sticky

serves 6..

  • Egg yolks- 3 ea
  • Sugar- 30 gm
  • Cocoa powder- 30 gm
  • Cornflour -15 gm
  • Egg whites- 3 ea
  • Sugar -30 gm
  • Chocolate dark- 120 gm
  • Butter- 100 gm

Additional butter to grease ramekins

Additional sugar to dust ramekins with.

We used to make this dark chocolate souffle in my hotel in Dubai and serve it in our Latin American restaurant Pachanga, and 5 years and several menu changes later this was one item which had stood the test f time. Never fails to please or your money back!!

Method.

  1. Pre-heat oven to 200 C.
  2. Grease ramekins with some melted butter and line with sugar, just enough to coat the bottom and sides of the ramekins.
  3. Separate egg yolks and whites.
  4. Melt chocolate and butter over a double boiler
  5. Whisk egg yolks and sugar till well combined and fluffly.
  6. Sieve cornflour and cocoa powder together
  7. Add cornflour and cocoa mix to chocolate mix.
  8. Whisk egg whites with 30 gm sugar till stiff .
  9. Mix egg yolk mix and chocolate mix.
  10. Fold in egg whites, a little at a time, to ensure we do not lose too much volume.
  11. Fill into the ramekins approximately ¾ th full.
  12. Bake at 200 C for 8-10 minutes, for soufflé with a soft centre. For a fully cooked and drier product can be cooked for upto 12 minutes.
  13. Dust with icing sugar and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Note- these soufflés can be kept in the refrigerator and cooked to order and will stay without losing significant volume for upto 1 day.

Cooking international, Desserts and baking

Sour dough -oil poached bread fritters

Sticky 2 Comments

Actually we are cheating a bit by saying oil poached . I did that just to make it sound healthy. Well it’s great for your mental health when the little monsters you make it for say yummy can we have some more ….but it’s not really poached more like deep fried ..good bye right artery of the heart .

The dough does have oats inside so supposed to reduce your bad cholesterol.But if you truly want to be healthy then you will be and won’t be trolling the internet for ways for heart health.

The good bit is you can say no..Ahh who are you kidding , when u dip one of these puppies in the chipotle tamarind sauce all resolve melts away..

Without much ado..

  • Sourdough starter approximately 200 g
  • Water – 75 ml
  • Oats – 50 g
  • Flour to make into a soft dough- 300 g( can use a mix of wholewheat and white)
  • Salt to taste
  • Sugar- 5 g/ 1 t
  • Basil and parsley to flavour or you can add your favorite herbs or even kimchi..
  • Olive oil- 20 ml
  • Oil to gently poach…😆😆😆

The method is to simply mix everything and keep it till it’s very bubbly , then shape into small balls and deep fry poach in oil 😛

Random bits and bobs ..

How we discovered not to go fishing-or how not to be a drownded rat!

Sticky

So this is a story not related much with food unless you say but theres fish on the heading. Well there is but these were not the kind that you ate unless your were Gollum/ Smeagol and ate fishies.

So imagine a city in Western India where you have a band of young peoples. Their names are Yash and Deep and they are typical boys who want to have a bit of an adventure as boys are prone to be. So these young scoundrels were interested in fish because they save fish in a tank at someones house. Now there are shops which sell fish and the paraphernalia to go with the fish but that costs mucho rupees,(2-3 Rs, which at the time in the 80’s was a fair bit ) which they are not likely to get ( or so they think), but they havent asked yet.

So in the are where they live lets call it the colony..indiranagar colony.

There they have other male children who have similar tastes. One male child says hey there are sugarcane fields next to the colony and ive seen a well in them. All the other kids are wide eyed/ OMG, he has been in the forbidden forest of sugarcane, where no living being should go.

So they set off on Sunday morning for this quest. The well is deep in the fields, and has a narrow set of stairs to go by the waters edge deep down. these steps were solid mud not brick or stone, so as the kids went up and down they would get wet , nay make that very wet and slippery.

When the kids went missing for such a long time, the father met up with another dad across the street and they took their black retriever “Bagheera” to track these rascals.

Back the well the kids were having a blast. Walk down slippery clay to the waters edge and crouch down on thee knees and with your palms try and catch slippery colourful fishies. they had collected a few in sort of container by noon. Suddenly they hear barking and a familiar voice calling out and lo and behold. Two dads and a barking Bagheera are by the wells edge .

40 years later i realise how stupid we were and so lucky not to have an accident or drown. None of use knew to swim and followng this we did get a fish tank with 2 and 3 rs fishes swimming inside till they all went belly up

Cooking Asian

The saus kacang / peanut sauce which makes you want to sing out loud

Sticky

There are peanut sauces/ satay sauces which you get in a bottle which make you cringe and squirm with all the citric acid in there..in a pinch you could use it as an abrasive cleaner for your pots or pans..

Not that the one I’m telling you about will actually make you want to sing in joy but I had to use a catchy title or you might go away and look at that recipe from the Net with brilliant photos .

You won’t get that here.. what you will is something which is tried and tested and tasted .. and something which is truly ” Enak Sakali”( tasty in Bahasa). I learnt how to make this from my Padawan Chef Harryson Tobing. Harryson now is culinary Jedi master in the usa.

I had seen a different version which was served in our Thai restaurant at The Oberoi which was good too but the Indo version with its Saus (not misspelt)ABC- kecap Manis .was something else.. a sweet molasses like sauce which makes it even more special.

I have deviated from the original I learnt only to simplify it because I like the Kiss( keep it simple,stupid) principle quite a lot.

  • Peanuts balanced and deep fried ..or make it simpler and use a very good quality crunchy peanut butter – how much ..let’s say about 250 g
  • Red chilli fresh preferred – 2-3 big ones not very hot
  • Garlic cloves- 2-3 large ones
  • Dessicated coconut- 10 g/ 1 T approx
  • ABC kecap Manis / sweet soy sauce- 1 T or a bit more it’s hard to say depends on how sweet you want the sauce to be and how dark.. don’t substitute unless you just can’t get it but I think this is the best..
  • Coconut cream- 400 ml
  • Brown sugar or Gula Melaka- again depends on how sweet you want it to be..I don’t like it too sweet.
  • Kaffir lime leaves/ Daun Limau/Bai makrut – 1-2 torn
  • Oil – quite a lot..nearly 50-60 ml.. I never said this sauce will make you slim, I said sing..

So you grind the garlic and the red chilli together .heat up the oil and add in the chilli garlic mix till gets a nice colour then add in the coconut and peanut and get ready to not leave the stove side because if you do it’s going to burn horribly and can’t get rescued..

Which is also one of the reasons to add in all of that oil..when you see the oil start to separate out from the mix then add the kecap Manis and coconut cream( when you buy this look for the one with maximum coco content ) or use the Maggi Coco milk powder .

also add in the Daun Limau / what is that…the lime leaves which smell like summer refreshed ..and can’t be substituted with anything else.

Some people also like to add some tamarind extract inside their peanut sauce..I’m not one of those people’s!! Having said that if that’s what floats your boat go for it..

Serve this pot of delicious NESS with satay or grilled fish or tofu or with crackers if you like.. you will thank me and throw away that yucky tacky stuff from the bottle in the closest bombing site where it will get obliterated never to bother decent hoomans again.

The photo above shows chilli grown in my garden and the ABC which didn’t ..don’t be tempted to save money and buy the 6 kg plastic tub..this is better..keeps better and can be recycled better.

Desserts and baking

The happyness muffin with blueberries

Sticky

These evolved from a class of students that Moi used to teach at Whitireia Poytechnic , in New Zealand /Aotearoa. Ive eaten muffins all over the world and truly these were so awesome moist, and chock full of berries or you could replace them with something else..

While we are on that topic, there was a muffin place called M#ff^in break( of all the things), which were some of the worst ive ever eaten. i counted 5 berries in one, like they kept one person on slave rates to count the nos of frozen berries to chuck into each little muffin cup.

So this recipe makes 12 medium sized ones or could make smaller mini sized ones about 30 odd..the cooking time for those is about 60% so about 12 -14 minutes, you have to check its not an exact science.

  • Flour sieved 200 g
  • Cornflour sieved with above -40 g
  • baking powder sieved with flour and cornflour together- 10 g

ok stop , before going any further, preheat your oven to 180 C on fan assisted mode and get your muffin tin and cups ready( muffin cups even the disposable ones need t be sprayed or brushed with some oil)

  • Butter 48 g
  • oil 48 g melt together
  • Eggs 2 large sized 6–65 g each
  • Sugar 180 g
  • vanilla essence – enough to take the egg smell off
  • milk -100 ml
  • Blueberries –120 g atleast, so you get a good mouthful in each bite

The way forward is quite easy…Whisk the eggs , sugar and essence together over a bowl of hot water till thick and foamy. you could do this the old fashioned way with a good whisk or use the electric hand blender, dont worry i wont judge you.

then slowwwwly add in the melted butter oil mix , and milk and dont whisk. Use a spatula or spoon ti mix gently so all the aeration isnt lost. Then pour in your flour/cornflour/baking powder blend, the one which had been all sieved togther.( to blend well , remove any bits of paper/ plastic or glass which could go in..and also make the mix lighter).Put on the greased cups/ yes even the disposable baking cups so the batter doesnt stick horribly. Bake at 180C fr 8-20 minutes turning midway once or twice.

Take these out and take a bow, your kids will love you forever( well atleast till the muffins last). I will make a batch with my happy kids tomorrow and post a pic..

Random bits and bobs ..

The care and maintenance of knives and other sharp cutting tools.

Sticky

If you have reached this stage , you must’ve realised by now that you want to be here and cooking good stuff .Now for that to happen you need good cutting implements like knives ,and these need to be sharpened.

Most folk don’t or go the expensive route of using a knife shop which could be ok if they are nice guys like Shannon at house of knives .

These guys have been around for many many years and ive only known Shannon since 2010, but hes a top guy and will give you good advise regarding knives and sharpening. For the high end sharpening i dont bother about it and just take them to his workshop, which sits behind and below their shop around the back.

They are located at 24, Mt Eden road, Auckland .New Zealand.

http://www.houseofknives.co.nz/…09-3022980, but then i know the number by heart.

The idea is to use a diamond or water stone and go in one direction at fixed angle. It sounds complicated so look at the helpful videos.

Also NEVER EVER dishwashing the knives..they will get ruined by the heat and the chemical in the machine .everytime you try to sharpen they have these micro fractures and they just don’t grind out ..

so if you see the video above, it gives you a pretty good idea about what needs to get done..

Desserts and baking

A new Anzac biscuit

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  • Anzac biscuit

    Anzac biscuits are very popular in Australia and New Zealand and are typically made for morning or afternoon tea and on Anzac day 26 April.

Anzac day commemorates the sacrifice of Australian and new Zealand soldiers in WW I in Gallipoli. Read a bit about it very interesting history .

The biscuits themselves are made from Oats and butter and golden Syrup can be baked to be chewy or crisp depending on how you like them. I used to make them in hundreds when i worked for aged care in Sydney with a bomb proof recipe which worked very well. This recipe will make you about 40, but you can easily multiply by10/20 time to make it bulk qtys.

  • Flour 300 g
  • Oats120 g
  • Dessicated coconut 75 p
  • Sugar350 g
  • Golden syrup 100 g
  • Butter 250 g
  • Water 25 g
  • Baking soda/ Soda bicarb 10 g

The method is really simple.

  • Mix all the dry ingredients together.
  • Mix soda with water and dissolve it. Dont be tempted to add more otherwise will taste terrible and soapy.
  • Melt butter and golden syrup gently. You can replace half the golden syrup with some manuka honey for a twist on the flavor which is quite nice.
  • Make  small balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper
  • Bake in preheated oven for 8-9 mins and let them  cool down on the tray.
  • If you like your anzac biscuits a bit crisper then pop them back in the oven as its cooling in down for another 5 mins but not right away otherwise they will burn.
Cooking indian

Pakora or Tempura by an Indian name .

This deep fried snacky food is the best when eaten with chai on a rainy day when you dont have to get out and get soggy socks and feet ( tea with milk indian style)- Dont call it Chai tea like a lot of people do because thats tea tea.

Its a very popular street food eaten as is or with a fabulous tamarind dip which is sweet and sour with a bit of spice to liven things up .

What pakora is is typically slices of raw or very lightly cooked vegetables which are dipped in a split peas/ chickpeas flour batter which we call besan. This ive eaten in various parts of Indian when i worked there and it used to be called bhajiya, bajji, and then the Brits  started to call it Onion bhaji..and we dont make something quite like that in India..

Todays recipe is for my new friend  who wants to make this as finger food

  • Besan- 3- 4 T  ( 100 g) More or less depending on how many people you are making this for and how hungry they are.
  • Water to form a semi thick batter  – this is not an exact science but rather more learnt experientially.. more times you make this the better you get.
  • Rice flour – 1 T.. this makes it cripsier( not the typo). Cripsy just sounds better like the Bandra boys who always use it instead of crispy.
  • Ajwain seeds- 1/4 t these are like aniseed and you can find them in an Indian store and in Australia even at Coles/ Woolies. They impart a unique flavor which has not quite a substitute thouse anise seeds could work. They also are anti flatulent which means when you eat a lot of pakoras since they are so tasty you wont be passing gas like a horsey.
  • Salt to taste
  • Turmeric – pinch
  • Chilli powder – pinch
  •  Chaat masala to sprinkle after frying ( Mix of pink salt, dried mango powder , dried pomegranate  powder chilli and a whole bunch of other things its best to buy in  from  Indian store or Indian section in Aussie supermarket.
  • Vegetables- can be lighty blanced cauliflower or very thin slices of raw potato or even spinach leaves , capsicum, mushroom, peppers . There is one version of this where we slice a lot of onions and then add all the spices and besan with no water..the dry miz we then fry till crisp.. The British do a version of this but more rounded like a patty almost which they call bhaji.
  • Oil to fry -and block up any arteries that might still be intact god forbid

The method is quite simple make a batter dip veggies inside they should be well coated but not very thick coating too  . That detracts from the taste . Deep fry in hot / medium hot oil. Drain in a colander / strainer over a steel bowl to collect the oil.  Dust with chaat masala and its your finger food to serve alongside some beer .

There is even a version of this where we make a savory crushed potato mix sandwich it in bread and then fry.  Thats like the potato wada mix which i will now  to put on. another blog post.

Where did this originate , who knows, we all got our chillies and potatoes only in the 15/16 century after South America was overrun by the Spanish Armada .

This is gluten free and vegan by the way if you are that way inclined.

 

Cooking international, Desserts and baking

Calamansi upside down cake

Calamansi upside down cake.

I made up this recipe so that we can use up extra  calamansi grown by my aunt ( mami in marathi), Sushama Patwardhan who is an excellent cook and enthusiastic about all her pursuits .

Ingredients

3 eggs

125 g sugar

½ tsp vanilla essence

150 g  plain flour +

10 g baking powder

Sieve well together to combine all

Or a mix of flour/ almond powder / cornflour ( 150 g total)

and baking powder ( 10 g)

75 g butter+

75 g oil (melt the two gently)

Slice calamansi 2-3 to lay at base of the cake.

Juice and grated rind of 1-2 calamansi .

For the caramelized calamanai at the base

Sugar 40 g

Butter-20 g

Preheat oven to 180 C first

Make your cake tin and line with baking paper next.

Melt butter and oil

Sieve or mix flour and

baking powder mix well together

Put slices of calamansi on bottom on cake tin( 8 inch).

Make caramel add butter to it and a teaspoon of water . Pour over the slice of calamansi.

Whisk eggs till really thick and fluffy with the sugar . Add in rind and juice of calamansi and vanilla. Gently add in the melted butter and oil mix.

Gently fold in flour and bp mix.

Pour mixture in cake tin making sure it’s evenly spread.

Bake at 180c for 20-25 mins.

Test with a toothpick or thin knife. If it

comes out clean its done.

 

Cooking indian, Cooking international, Cooking middle eastern

A Samosa/ Sambousek/Samsa– fried pastry by yet another name

There are various versions of a savoury filling wrapped around with a crumbly/ flakey pastry through the world. The indians have their samosas and kachoris.In the middle east there are the Sambousek/ Fateyers/rokaka. korea the Mandu, South america the empanda..Even Russia has something called a vareniki and the Uyghur Muslims the Samsa-which they bake in a clay oven like the tandoor..So all foods are related or sometimes similar. The lines started to get blurred with all the invasions and migrations..

When i lived in the West indies they would make fried potato pastry called “Aloo(potato) Pie”

Cooking indian, Random bits and bobs ..

The bhatura – dough not pass me by

This gently oil poached bread ( fried) is perfect for clogging up those arteries which aren’t already buggered . Best served with a chick peas curry which will mean another blog post.

These are very similar to the west Indian doubles but eaten fresh and hot and not wrapped to be like a sandwich.

We can make these with multiple kind of flour mixes, but for today’s one I used wholemeal spelt, plain flour and whole wheat flour .

Flour- 250g

Spelt flour- 100 g

Whole meal flour- 100 g

Baking powder-  5 g /1 tsp

Warm water- 240-260 g depends– we want a semi soft dough

Yeast-4 g

Salt- 8 g

Sugar- 8 g

Oil-15 g

  • Mix flours yeast baking powder sugar  and add in the water to make the dough. Add in salt/oil  and leave to rest.
  • When resting keep dough covered to prevent it from skinning
  • After 15-20 mins you will see the dough start to rise .
  • Scale into about 50 g balls and rest for -5-10 mins again.
  • roll out about 1/2 cm thick .Leave for 2-3 mins
  • Gently poach(not really)/fry in hot oil. These should be puffed up and browned after frying.
  • Eat one or many depending on how badly you want to clog up those arteries.
  • Typically served with a chickpeas curry,but you could do other stuff with it..

stories of foods from the world over, laced with a hint of sarcasm and some black humour, its not for everyone, but then never was meant to be..