Tag: dessert

Cherry Cake

Cherry Cake

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

When I used to read Enid Blyton’s books as a young girl, I loved the food that the children in the stories enjoyed. They seemed to be always having picnics with cake and lashings of ginger beer or midnight feasts or just enjoying scones and buttery toast in the cafe in the village. Her descriptions made my mouth water. So I decided to try to make the cherry cake that the Adventurous Four ate on top of the cliff.

Enid Blyton herself gave the recipe for cherry cake but she was living in a post-World War 2 world with rationing in place. I live in a time of plenty. So my cake is richer and tastier and healthier too as I use butter instead of margarine.

Ingredients

Butter 180 g

All-purpose flour 1 cup

Baking powder 1 tsp

Sugar 3/4 cup

Eggs 3

Milk 4 tbsp

Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp

Dried cherries 1 cup mixed with 1 tbsp flour

Method

Cream the butter and sugar together. Crack the eggs and add to the mixture.

Add the vanilla essence.

Mix the flour and baking powder and add little by little to the mixture.

Add the milk when the mixture appears too thick.

Grease a round cake pan and pour about a third of the cake batter. Add about half the floured cherries.

Mix the rest of the cherries with the batter and pour it into the baking pan.

Bake in a 170 degrees C preheated oven for 40 minutes. Keep checking after 30 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clear, take the cake out of the oven and let it cool on a rack. Slice and serve.

Ginger and Date Pudding

Ginger and Date Pudding

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The less sugar you consume, the less you want. Increasingly, I find desserts too sweet at restaurants. So I came up with this version that is delicious without being too sweet as I use dates and jaggery to impart the sweetness.

Served with custard

Ingredients

Flour 1 3/4 cups

Baking powder 1 tsp

Baking soda 1 1/2 tsps

Ginger powder 2 tsps

Sugar 3/4 cup

Jaggery 3 cubes

Dates 6, chopped

Fresh ginger 1” piece, chopped fine

Eggs 2

Yoghurt 3 tbsps

Salted Butter 125 grams, melted

Method

Mix the dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and sugar — in a bowl.

Heat half a cup of water with the jaggery cubes till they melt and become reduced to 2 tablespoons. Add it to the bowl.

Add half a cup of water to the yoghurt and beat well till blended. Add to the bowl.

Add the eggs, chopped dates and ginger. Add the melted butter. Mix well with a flat wooden spoon.

Preheat the oven at 190 degrees C and bake the pudding for 30 minutes till the surface is golden brown.

Test with a toothpick. It should come out with crumbs.

Serve it warm with custard.

Banana and Tutti-frutti Cake

Banana and Tutti-frutti Cake

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Banana Tutti-frutti Cake was a favourite dessert in my family, especially as I used to get really good candied fruit for the tutti-frutti mix in Singapore. This is a healthy version with light vegetable oil instead of butter and no eggs. I used yoghurt and baking soda instead with a little sour cream to keep the cake soft.

Ingredients

Candied fruit 1/2 cup

Flour 1 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps

Milk 1 1/4 cup

Vinegar 1 1/2 tbsp

Baking soda 1/2 tsp

Baking powder 2 tbsps

Sugar 3/4 cup

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Vegetable oil 1/2 cup

Yoghurt 1/2 cup, whipped

Bananas 2, mashed

Sour cream 1/4 cup

Method

Add the 2 tablespoons of flour to the tutti-frutti in a bowl and mix well to cover all the candied fruit with flour. This will prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom.

Pour the milk into a bowl. Add the vinegar, sugar and oil. Mix well.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the milk. Mix well but do not overdo it.

Add the sugar, vanilla essence, mashed bananas and sour cream. Mix well. Add the yoghurt and tutti-frutti mix. Mix well with a gentle hand.

Pour into a greased cake pan and bake in preheated oven at 170 degrees C for 40-45 minutes.

Cool on a rack before slicing.

Sago Kueh (Sago dessert)

Sago Kueh (Sago dessert)

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Southeast Asian desserts are delicious, delicately flavoured and not as sweet as South Asian ones. They are lighter as well, mostly made from sago, sticky rice or jello. This particular dessert, Sago Kueh, has the lovely flavour of pandan and rose.

Ingredients

Sago 2 cups

Water 3 cups

Rose syrup or Roohafza 5 tbsps

Sugar 1/2 cup

Pandan leaf or kewra leaf 1

Dessicated coconut 2 cups

Method

Boil the sago with the pandan or kewra leaf till the pearls turn transparent. If needed, add more water.

Add the rose syrup or Roohafza and sugar. Continue to cook, stirring intermittently, till the syrup thickens.

Remove the pandan leaf and pour into a greased glass baking dish and steam for 20 minutes. I used the steaming option on my microwave.

Cool and chill in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.

Slice into squares and toss it in the dedicated coconut. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Orange Kesari

Orange Kesari

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 2 Comments

Fresh oranges from the garden make this traditional Indian dessert delicious. The sugar cuts the tartness of the orange and citrusy taste goes well with semolina and ghee.

Ingredients

Semolina 1 cup

Orange juice 1 cup

Water 1/2 cup

Sugar 1 cup

Orange zest 1 tsp

Ghee 2 tbsps

Cashew nuts 10

Saffron few strands

Method

Dry roast the semolina in a heavy bottomed frying pan and keep it aside.

Add a teaspoon of ghee to the same pan and fry the cashew nuts till they are brown. Keep it aside.

Add the sugar, orange juice, water and saffron to the same pan and stir till the sugar dissolves. Add the zest. Bring to a boil.

Add the roasted semolina, stirring all the time.

Add the ghee and roasted cashew nuts.

Stir well till the water evaporates and the semolina is cooked.

Serve hot.

Eggless fudge brownie

Eggless fudge brownie

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 1 Comment

This fudgy brownie is light, but does not compromise on taste. The yoghurt and sugar give the fudgy texture to the brownie.

Ingredients

Dark chocolate 125 g

Cocoa 1/2 cup

Drinking chocolate 1/2 cup

Butter 85 g

Sugar 1 cup

Hot water 1/4 cup

All-purpose flour 3/4 cup

Baking powder 1/2 tsp

Corn flour 2 tbsps

Salt 1/2 tsp

Yoghurt 1/4 cup

Method

Melt the butter, chocolate, cocoa and drinking chocolate in a microwave at 30-second intervals till it becomes a smooth thick sauce.

Add the sugar to the hot water in a bowl and whisk for four minutes.

Add the chocolate sauce and whisk well.

Add the all-purpose flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt and mix with a folding action. Do not over mix.

Add the yoghurt and mix it in.

Put into a greased tray and bake in a 170 degree C oven for 25 minutes.

Cool overnight in the refrigerator and slice into squares.

Lemon tart

Lemon tart

by Shailaja Nair ♥ 1 Comment

This is a dessert that goes well with a heavy meal of meat or chicken. It is light and tartness of the lemon custard is really good after a curry or steak. Use fresh lemons and the custard can be made earlier. It stays fresh in the fridge for up to 10 days.

Ingredients

Pastry pie crust

Zest of two lemons

Sugar 3/4 cup

Corn flour 2 tbsps

Water 2 tbsps

Butter 120 g

Lemon juice 3/4 cup

Condensed milk 1/2 cup

Method

Make the pastry pie crust according to the recipe given here. Divide the dough into two halves and use just one half. The rest can be frozen for use later.

Line a greased pie dish with the rolled pie crust and pierce the bottom with a fork. Line the crust with aluminium foil and add dry rice to weigh down the crust. Bake in a 180 degree C oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and rice and bake for another five minutes.

Add a teaspoon of sugar to the zest in a pestle and grind to a paste.

Dissolve the corn flour in the water and keep it aside.

In a saucepan bring the butter, lemon juice, sugar and the zest paste to a boil. Continue to boil for four minutes, stirring all through.

Add the corn flour and simmer for three minutes, stirring continuously. It will thicken.

Take it off the heat and add the condensed milk. Stir well. Cool for 15 minutes.

Pour the lemon curd into the baked pie crust and refrigerate for two hours.

Slice and serve.