A Delicious Paris Trip with friends and Canelé

 

I always wanted to go to Paris, and I am surprise after living here in Belgium for soooo long I have not been there.
Ok one of the reason I have not been there, Hans has been a lot of time to paris for playing music ( can you believe I didn't even know he played in Notre Dame with the orchestra and choir) only when I cam back here and I was talking about the place he said he had played there.

So I guess I was left out but then one morning Ananda phoned me up talking about this trip Nisha was planning to do and why not I also join them .
Ofcourse I was exccited, I said oh yes I am in.
So we booked our tickets, and mails were flying from one to the other with the plans, booking hotel, what to see , were to eat oh they were exciting days :-)

 

Hôtel de Ville in Paris

 

So some 10 days ago we three foodies were in paris, all excited, in a way it was not a sight seeing trip even though we did some touristical places but mainly we went to EAT :-)

I think the three days just flew, what would you expect 3 ladies in paris we all going gaga for the french Men, Nisha wanting to Kiss a french fellow under the Eiffel tower, Ananda it didn't matter who she kissed as long as he had blue eyes :-)

The first day we were there we just ate and ate, we went to Laudree to  eat the Macarons and then while walking with the bags in the same street we found Pierre Herme so ofcourse we wanted to eat macarons from there too .

Then the evening we went to have dinner in one of these cosy places and the food was just so good that I have decided if I am going back to paris I will go back there to eat again.
And way if I write what all we did in this trip it will be a long post .
So in short we just had a fabulous time, eating, drinking, shopping.......
I would really say a trip with  friends who are foodies and have the same passion for food is just FABULOUS, you will have so much fun.
We hava made plans while we were there that we should do once a year a trip like this .

 

Lamps in the Palace of Versailles

Oh and while we were planning the trip I told the girls the one thing I want to buy is Canelé Moulds but then when I saw the price of the copper ones I was like Noooooooooo I am not buying, but then Nisha convinced me saying you have been wanting it so much so just get them and you can pass it to Shyama , I am so glad she convinced me to buy them as the copper moulds are so good and the canelés i made are so Delicious.

Now you all must be thinking what canelé is it is A canelé is a small French pastry with a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust.

The dessert, which is in the shape of small, striated cylinder approximately two inches in height, is a specialty of the Bordeaux region of France but can often be found in Parisian pâtisseries as well. Made from egg, sugar, milk and flour flavored with rum and vanilla, the custard batter is baked in a mold, giving the canelé a caramelized crust and custard-like inside.

When I was making the batter as the batter must rest in the fridge for 24 hours, I was like it is so liquid batter but then I told myself don't panic if the recipe says it is like that then it is.
So when you make them dodn't panic the batter is really thin.

500 ml of whole milk
250 gm powder sugar
125 gm flour
15  gm butter
2 whole eggs ( I used large)
4 tbsp of rum ( the recipe said a special local rum, but I didn't have so I used the rum i had)
1 egg yolks
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Method :
Boil the milk with the butter and vanilla extract.

In a large bowl sieve the sugar and the flour.
Then make a hole in the middle of the  flour and sugar mixture , add the eggs one by one and then the egg yolk.
Mix well with a whisk .
Add gradually to the hot milk mixture , mixing well .

At the end , add the rum
Cover the batter and keep this in the fridge for 24 hours.
Next day take the batter out from the fridge half hour before you start making them.
You must butter the mould very well and the flour them too.

Preheat oven  to 250 ° C for 15 minutes , then lower to the temperature to 230 ° C.


Pour the batter to the fluted moulds don't over fill them. Just fill them till 3/4 of the mould.
Bake them in the oven 230°c for 7 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 210 °c and bake for futher 22 minutes. Ofcourse the time of baking depends on the size of you tin.
When they are finished baking unmold them immediately and let them cool on a wire rack to cool so that  they do not soften with condensation.

PASTEL de TRES LECHES or THREE MILK CAKE (Daring Bakers September 2013)

This Daring Bakers post should have been up last week but I had no time as I was busy plus I went with two other blog friends to Paris for 3 days ( that post will come soon with Delicious pics) .

And I thought I will share the September DB .

I have heard about this cake and my sis is such a great fan of this cake as shemakes it always for potluck partyto take with her as she makes delicious desserts and cakes, but even though she has said it is such a yumm cake I never tried.

But then Now that the DB challenge for septmeber was this I thought now is the chance for foing them.

I made them in cup cake form and I added so much less suagar than the original recipe.

For the cake recipe I just added 3 tablespoon of sugar .

And as I made in cupcake I didn't cut into two slice the cake I just soaked eachcupcake int he syrup and topped with a fruit.

Inma of la Galletika was our Sept. 2013 Daring Bakers’ hostess and WOW did she bring us something decadent and delicious! Pastel de Tres Leches or Three Milk Cake, creamy yet airy, super moist but not soggy.. just plain delish!

Classic Three Milks Cake:

Servings: 12

Ingredients for the vanilla sponge cake

5 large eggs (separated)

½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar

2 teaspoons (10 ml) of vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) (5 oz) (140gm) all-purpose (plain) flour (sifted)

For three milks syrup

1 can (14 oz) (400 gm) sweetened condensed milk

1 can (12 oz) (340 gm) evaporated milk

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream (about 35% fat) or 1 cup of half & half or 1 cup milk

1 cinnamon stick

2 teaspoons (10 ml) rum (or other flavoring)

Topping and filling

2 cups (500 ml) of whipping cream (about 30% fat)

½ cup (120 ml) (4 oz) (125 gm) sugar

Canned or fresh fruit (to fill and decorate the cake)

Directions For the Sponge Cake:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Prepare a square 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
3. Beat the egg whites on medium speed, 3 - 5 minutes.
4. When soft peaks form slowly add the sugar in small batches.
5. Whip until stiff peaks form about 5 minutes. Set aside.
6. In a medium bowl beat egg yolks at medium-high speed for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the egg yolks become pale colored, creamy and puffy. Stir in vanilla.
7. Pour the egg yolks over the egg whites, gently fold until just combined trying not to lose any volume from the mixture.
8. Fold in the flour little by little in the form of rain. Mix until just combined (over-beating will result in a denser, flatter cake).
9. Pour the batter into the prepared 9”x9” (23cmx23 cm) square cake pan or 9” (23 cm) round cake pan.
10. Bake in the preheated moderate oven for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean
11. Let it cool
12. Once cool, split the cake in half, flip the top of the cake and place it on a base. Poke using a fork holes all over the cake to better absorb the three milk soaking liquid.

Three milks syrup

1. In a saucepan add the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, heavy cream and cinnamon stick, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes. Remove it and let it cool.
2. Once it is cool, add the rum or any other flavoring you are using

Gradually brush all the milk soaking liquid into all sides of the cake (including the cut surfaces) until all absorbed. Best to rest the cake in the fridge overnight to complete the soaTopping
Whip the cream, when soft peaks form add the sugar little by little, continue whipping until stiff peaks form about 2 mins. king process.

Passion Fruit Curd

 

After almost three months, I had a whole afternoon just for myself, well it was me time from four in the afternoon today.
As usual I went by my FIL's home sat there for a hour or so and talked to him. ok he talks and I listen.
He is 86 years old and he has so much things to say mostly about the second world war, then his life in the police , his life with my MIL it goes on and on,
I have heard these stories in the last months so many times, but he still get excited about talking about all these stories that I just listen, just to make him happy .
When my MIL was still there if he talked too much she would say Brick be quiet now stop talking all your old stories.

So after saying bye to him and to Couscous ( the pet dog ) I walked towards the shopping street and  went to most of the shops.
Looked what they have new, or just walked around in the shop did a bit of shopping. And I was so pleased to have done that and now I am back home I said I will atlast write a post for my blog.

I love passion fruit, In kerala we used to have passion fruit in plenty and when we got them we used to just cut open them in half and add a bit of sugar and eat the pulp , there are even times if the fruit was not that sweet we used to add a bit of salt and eat the pulp.

Few weeks back when I went to the store and I saw passion fruit well I bought two packs and in my mine I said ok now is the chance to make passion fruit curd as I have been wanting to make them for a while.

Must say this is such a easy curd to make and the recipe is from BBC Good Food and I must say this recipe is a keeper.
Don't get panic if it doesn't get thick fast, have patience, things like this you can't do in a hurry.
If you just follow the recipe good you will end up getting a delicious passion fruit curd.

 



Ingredients

200g/7oz passion fruit pulp, about 6-8 ripe passion fruits

3 large eggs

140g butter, diced

250g golden caster sugar

2 tbsp cornflour

Method

1. Put the passion fruit pulp in a food processor and whizz to separate the seeds from all the juicy bits. Scrape into a sieve set over a medium saucepan, pushing through as much pulp as you can. Reserve 2 tbsp of the seeds, then discard the rest.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and set over a low heat. Whisk until all the butter has melted then, using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the passion fruit curd has thickened to a similar consistency as lemon curd. Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up to speed up the process as the eggs will curdle; make sure you stir right around the edge, too, as this is where it might catch first.
3. Sieve the curd into a clean bowl to get rid of any eggy bits that may have curdled. Stir in the reserved seeds and cool, before spooning into jars and chilling. Curd will keep in the fridge for a week

Strawberry & Rhubarb crumble

I love crumble and I must admit I love a good crumble in winter easpecially when it is so cold outside and then you are staying indoors and around coffee time you make a crumble ans enjoy and you have the feeling that your whole body just gets warmed up by eating the crumle.

So then you all must be saying why am I posting a recipe for a crumble when it is so hot outside.
Simply because if I have to wait for winter time to make this particular crumble I won't be able to as I won't have good strawberries and rhubarb so now you all know the reason why I make the crumble.

We loved the crumble, the day when I made the crumble Shyama had to go to her university library as she is doing her bachelor paper and most of the book she need they don't lend so you have to look up everything in the library itself. But when she came home that evening she asked me Mama I saw your crumble in FB which you posted today and they were looking so good, do you have something left and me why were you looking to fb while you were in the library and she is like ofcourse I check fb there too.
The recipe said if you like serve with ice cream, I think it is a must :-)



I took the recipe from BBC Good food Magazine

For the crumble

• 140g plain flour
• 50g ground almonds
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 100g butter, chopped
• 25g flaked almonds

For the fruit layer

1. 85g golden caster sugar
2. 1 heaped tbsp cornflour
3. 450g strawberries, hulled and halved if large
4. 450g rhubarb, cut into chunky lengths
5. v
6. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. To make the crumble, mix the flour, ground almonds and sugar in a bowl, then rub in the butter as though you are making pastry. Tip the mixture onto a large baking tray and spread out evenly. Create little clumps in the mixture by pinching it together with your fingers, then bake for 10 mins.
7. Meanwhile, make the fruit layer. Mix the sugar and cornflour together in a large bowl, then toss in the berries and rhubarb until well coated. Tip the mixture into a pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring until the fruit softens a little and any released juices thicken.
8. Tip the fruit mixture into an ovenproof dish, scraping in all the thickened juices. Add the flaked almonds to the crumble mixture, then scatter over the top. Bake for 20 mins until the fruit is tender and the crumble golden. Leave to cool slightly, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if you like.anilla ice cream, to serve (optional)

 

 

Strawberry Cream Tarts

This year the strawberry season was late and also the prices are higer , maybe because of the bad weather we have been having here.
But must say I love strawberries, I could eat them straint one by one, Hans and Shyama though they would prefer if i serve the strawberries with whipped cream.

Ofcourse I do wish strawberries didn't had any season and they would be there whole year around, they are available whole year but I think they are the best when it is in season as any other fruit and aslo price tag is much better when they are in season :-)

According to James the Best way to make shortcrust pastry that crumbled in th emouth texture is to do it by hand rather than the machine.
I have noticed when I make short crust pastry the tart shells do shrink a bit maybe because of the butter so make sure your tart shells are deep enough.



For theRich Shortcrust pastry: Source

200 gm plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp icing sugar
100 gm cold butter,cubed
1 egg beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp iced water

1. Mix together the flour , icing sugar and salt. Add half of the cubrd butter to the flour.
Gently and swiftly, rub the fat into the flour untill it resembels coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the rest of the butter and mix untill it is the size of small peas. Make a well in the center of the dry indgridients.
2. Mix the egg with the lemon juice and water and gradually pour into the well a little at a time, rubbing it through your fingers, untill it forms a dough ( you many not need all the liquid)
Turn out into a flour board and knead lightly intill smooth. Shape into a ball, wrap in a cling film and fefrigerate at least 30 minutes.
3. To line the moulds, roll the chilled pastry into a circle using a litle flour so thatit don't stick to the board using the help of the rolling pin , roll the dough onto the pin and then unroll into the butterd tin or mould. Gently press in plces using your fingers.
4. Line the pastey cases with grease proof paper and fill witrh baking beans ( i use dry chick pea). Blind bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and the discard the grease proof paper and baking beans and then further bake for 5 minutes or untill the tart shells are baked fully.
Leave the tart shells to cool completley before you fill them. ( I remove the shells from the tin after 10 minutes and then leave it to further cooling.

For the filling.
300 ml full fat cream
2 tbsp of icing sugar
400 gms of fresh strawberries.
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipp the cold cream together with the sugar and vanilla extract untill they are soft peak.
Spoon the whipped cream to each tart shells and then decorate with sliced strawberries.

 

Vanilla Panna cotta with Mango Puree

I have made a lot of time variety of panna cotta.
And to be honest some of them were disaster, I do exactly what the recipe saya and they dodnt set sometimes so even though it is such a easy dessert to make every time when I try a new recipe I am always checking to see if it is set or not.
There is nothing worse than making a dessert and then when it is time to serve to your guest you find out that you dessert is not good.
It has happend to me a couple of time and I curse my self for not sticking to the recipe I know which works than trying a new one.

And this recipe for pannacotta works very good.
Main problem I think is the gelatine, when the recipe says gelatine leaves, how do you know how much is the measurement as different brands I have noticed different lenght etc........
So I have given the gms from the packet of the gelatine I used in the recipe, so you can weigh them what ever brand gelating you use.
One ;ain thing is dont be tempeted to add more gelatine, nothing worse than having a rubbery pannacotta and less gelatine as I said they wont be set perfect.

I have tried this recipe couple of times and every time it sets not too runny and not too rubbery.
You can stick to the Vanilla pannacotta recipe exactly and then for the toppingm do what ever fruit you want or topping you want.
I had to hurry up to take the picture as ther ewas only one left and If I didnt hurry that would have been gone too.

Depending on how many you want to serve you can double or triple the recipe.

 



Ingridients for pannacotta

150 ml milk
150 ml cream
50 gm sugar
1/2 vanilla stick
2 gelatine leaves ( the packet I used had 9 leaves and the whole pack of 9 weighed 17 gm, and it is from this pack I used 2 gelatine leaves. So as i am bad in Maths just divide and do the correct amount)

Heat the milk and cream together in a pan with the sugar and the vanilla stick.
When the mix start to boil, less the fire to minimum and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
In the mean time soqk the 2 gelating leaves in a bowl with cold water +/- 4 minutes, when they are soft squeeze the leaves so all the water is drained and add to the milk/cream mix after the 5 minutes of simmer.
Mix every thing well, take out the vanilla stick , ( scrape all the seeds from inside and put the seeds back into the mix and then pour in individual glasses and chill atleast for couple of hours.

Before serving use any fruit as topping.
I used mango, as I only had frozen mango I mixed them into a smooth paste adding a little mago syrup ( I think frozen mangoes are not that sweet) and pour over the top of the pannacotta and serve.
If you are using fresh sweet mango you dont have to add the syrup.



Mille-feuille/Napoleon - Custard Slice

Something I have always wanted to make was Mille - feuille slices, but like lot of bakes I want to do just sits there in my mind wanting me to make them, but lazy etc...
So when I saw this month Daring bakers challengs I was really excited as I have not been doing the last two challenge and I didn't want to miss it again.
But days passed by and I was like Ok, I will miss this one too because of my same excuses of beeing lazy, nobody to eat and even if I make them it is difficult to transfer them to my inlaws place to share with them etc...
But as you can see I did make them and we here at home loved it.
I am used to make the puff pastry ( only when I made some sweet bread but then tha tis with yeast) but the technic stays almost the same so I knew that I woulb be able to handle it.
I didn't want to make rectangle ones as If i make long ones I know when I slice them I will make them look messy that says a lot about my knife skills.
So I cut the pastry into small circles and baked them.
As one don't want the puff pastry to rise as always one puts a heavy metal tray on top, but I forgot to remove them after a while and only thought aobut it it the last moment so as you can see mine didn't rise at all .
Another changeI did was I used Michel Roux Cream pattiserie recipe as that is the one I mostly make and I thought I will stick to the same recipe.
I also didn't want the traditional sugar icing on top, so I melted a bit of white chocolate, added some color and tried to give it a India look :-)

October 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Suz of Serenely Full. Suz challenged us to not only tackle buttery and flaky puff pastry, but then take it step further and create a sinfully delicious Mille Feuille dessert with it!

Pâte feuilletée /Puff Pastry

Servings: Makes 8-10 mille-feuille (yields: 675g pastry)

Ingredients
 1¾ cup (250g) plain/all-purpose flour
 Scant ¼ cup (55 ml) (1¾ oz)(50g) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
 1 teaspoon (5ml) (6 gm) salt
 ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (5/8 cup)(150 ml) cold water

14 tablespoons (210 ml) (7 oz) (200g) butter (for the beurrage), room temperature
 3½ tablespoons (55ml) (30g) plain flour (for the beurrage)

Additional flour for rolling/turning

Directions:

1. Cut the larger quantity of butter into smallish pieces and set aside at room temperature.
 2. Put the larger quantity of flour into a bowl with the salt and the cold, cubed butter.
 3. Lightly rub the butter and flour between your fingertips until it forms a mealy breadcrumb texture.
4. Add the cold water and bring together with a fork or spoon until the mixture starts to cohere and come away from the sides of the bowl.
 5. As the dough begins to come together, you can use your hands to start kneading and incorporating all the remaining loose bits. If the dough’s a little dry, you can add a touch more water.
 6. Knead for three minutes on a floured surface until the dough is smooth.
 7. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
8. While the dough is chilling, take your room temperature butter and mix with the smaller amount of plain flour until it forms a paste.
 9. Place the butter paste between two sheets of clingfilm, and either with a rolling pin or your hands (I found hands easiest) shape it into a 4.5”/12cm square. You can use a ruler (or similar) to neaten the edges.
10. Refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes so the butter firms up slightly. If it’s still soft, leave it a bit longer. If it’s too hard and inflexible, leave it out to soften a touch. You want it to be solid but still malleable.
 11. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface into a 6”/15cm square. Place the square of butter in the middle, with each corner touching the centre of the square’s sides (see photo below).
 12. Fold each corner of dough over the butter so they meet the centre (you might have to stretch them a little) and it resembles an envelope, and seal up the edges with your fingers. You’ll be left with a little square parcel.
13. Turn the dough parcel over and tap the length of it with your rolling pan to flatten it slightly.
 14. Keeping the work surface well floured, roll the dough carefully into a rectangle ¼ inch /6 mm in thickness.
 15. With the longest side facing you, fold one third (on the right) inwards, so it’s covering the middle section, and ensure that it is lined up
16. Then, fold the remaining flap of dough (on the left) inwards, so you’re left with a narrow three-layered strip17. Repeat steps 14, 15, 16.
 18. Wrap up in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
 19. Repeat steps 14, 15, 16 twice.
 20. Wrap up in clingfilm and chill again for at least 30 minutes.
 21. Repeat steps 14, 15, 16 two final times.
 22. Wrap up in clingfilm and refrigerate until needed. The dough keeps a couple of days in the fridge.

Mille-Feuille/ Napoleon/ Custard Slice

Servings: Makes 8- 10

Ingredients
 1 x batch pâte feuilletée/puff pastry (see above)
 1 x batch crème pâtissière/pastry cream (see above)

2 ¾ cups (660 ml) (12⅓oz) (350gm) icing sugar
 2 teaspoons (10 ml) lemon juice
 2 large egg whites
 ½ cup (2¾ oz) (80gm) dark chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderately hot 200 °C /400°F/gas mark 6.
 2. Lightly dust your work space with flour and remove your dough from the fridge.
 3. Roll into a large rectangle, the thickness of cardboard. The recipe I followed specified no other dimensions, but I rolled mine to about 12”/30cm x 18”/46cm.

(I found it easiest to start the rolling on the work surface, and finish it off on a large piece of greaseproof paper. That way it’s easier to move the sheets of pastry around.)

4. Cut into three equal pieces and place on a baking tray. If you don’t have space for all three, you can bake them separately.
5. Prick the pastry sheets all over with a fork.
 6. Place another sheet of greaseproof paper over the top and then a heavy baking tray. This will prevent the layers from puffing up too much.

(N.B. I found my baking trays weren’t heavy enough, so also used a pyrex dish to add more weight. Just ensure that the pastry sheets are evenly weighted down.)
7. Bake each sheet for about 25 minutes in a moderately hot oven 200 °C /400°F/gas mark 6, removing the top layer of greaseproof paper/tray 10 minutes before the end for the tops to brown. Keep an eye on them and lower the temperature if you think they’re browning too much.
 8. Remove the baked sheets from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool.
9. Once the pastry has cooled, you’re ready to assemble your mille-feuille. Get a sturdy flat board, your pastry and the chilled crème pâtissière from the fridge.
 10. Lay one sheet on the board and spread half the crème patisserie evenly over the top.
 11. Take the second sheet and place it on top, pressing down lightly with your hands to ensure that it sticks to the filling.
 12. Spread the remaining crème pâtissière and place the last sheet of pastry on top, pressing down again. (Don’t worry if there’s some oozing at the sides. That can be neatened later.)
13. Pop in the fridge while you prepare the icing / chocolate.
 14. Melt the chocolate in a bain marie, stirring periodically. Once melted, transfer to a piping bag (or plastic bag with end snipped), resting nozzle side down in a glass or other tall container.
15. To make the icing, whisk 2 egg whites with 2 teaspoons lemon juice until lightly frothy.
 16. Whisk in about (2 cups) 300gm of the icing sugar on a low setting until smooth and combined. The mixture should be thick enough to leave trails on the surface. If it’s too thin, whisk in a bit more icing sugar

.19. STILL working quickly (phew), take a sharp knife and lightly draw it down (from top to bottom) through the rows of chocolate. A centimeter (½ inch) or so further across, draw the knife up the way this time, from bottom to top. Move along, draw it down again. Then up. And so on, moving along the rows of chocolate until the top is covered in a pretty swirly pattern.



 

Semiya Payasom

Last week it was Onam and I was like should I make a huge Onam Sadya ( in our case it was Dinner) as Traditionally back at home it is all vegetarian dishes.
The reason I was reluctant was because first of all I don't get all the Indian vegetables and secondly if I make all veggie Sadya and ask my in laws etc they would not enjoy.
So in the end I decided to celebrate Onam but then with dishes everybody will love.
So there were few Veg and few Non Veg dishes.

When it came to dessert I gave the choice to Hans and Shyama and they said they would love to have Semiya payasom.



So the day before the Onam I was slaving in the kitchen for few hours as I wanted to make most of the dishes and keep in the fridge so that I won't have too much work on the day it self.
But it is always a pleasure to prepare all these dishes especially if they love the food you have prepared which all of them did anyway.
And also had the plus point of getting all the oh and wow when the thali plates were brought to the dinning table.
Traditionally they are served in banana leaves back home but from were can i get them here :-)



So here goes the payasam recipe courtsey to my eldest sis :-)

I cup Vermecelli ( broken into small pieces) in India we use and here i ised too the vermecelli you get for making this dessert)
Milk 1 cup
Water 1/2 cup
Ghee/ Butter 2 tbsp ( I used butter)
200 ml sweet condensed milk, ( I am just giving the measurement, but i didn't measure it, i just poured and then tasted it and if it was not sweet I added more, depends on your taste)
Raisins 15 to 20
Cashewnuts 15 to 20
Cardamom powder 1/4 sp
Pinch of salt

Heat the ghee / Butter and fry the raisins and cashewnuts, remove and drain in a kitchen paper.
In the same pan roast the vermecelli till it turns to light golden colour and ramove it to a plate.
In a pan add the milk and water when it boils add the fried vermicelli, cook it, mine only took few minutes and if you think there is not enough liquid add more milk.
You must stir it continiously so that it doesn't stick to the pan. When the vermicelli is cooked add the condensed milk and give it a stir. Add the cardamom powder , the nuts and the raisins,remove  from the heat.
You can serve this hot or at room temperature. I love it it room temperature.



Strawberry Cream Cake

It is still summer holidays and we are enjoying having Shyama at home ( ok not the she is continues home as she is doing her summer job for one month in the library here )

And as Hans is in holiday too he and I have been going to place here around but then cycling, the longest we have cycled till now is 25 km. I don't thing it will get longer than that.

I know I have been missing out on you lovely posts and I will have to miss it till the begning of september .
I had plans to post something healthier, but after seeing the pictures of the cake both my sisters have been asking for the recipe.

Ok this is a cake I made to take to my inlaws place for a sunday coffee and we all loved it.

If yor are a vegetarian you don't have to use the gelatine in the cream, I use it as it as i have heard the bakers use it so that they can keep the cake for longer so the cream does'nt run.

You should moist the cake with the liquour of you choice if you don't have strawberry liquour, but what ever you are using you must moisten teh cake otherwise the cake might be too dry.

For the Sponge:

Sugar 150 gm ( I used 120 gm)

Eggs 250 gms ( usually 5 eggs, depending on the size)

Flour 150 gm

Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp
Baking powder 1/2 tsp

1 pinch of salt
(There are times when I melt butter and add to the batter to make the cake more moist this time I didn't do )

Preheat the oven to 200° c.
Line and grease 9 inch round cake tin, when it comes to inches I have no idea aobut the measurement , I used a 22 cm cake tin.

In a large bowl add he eggs, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat together ( I used a hand mixer)  till it gets very thick to a ribbon texture, this will take 8 to 10 minutes.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, do this twice so that there is no lumps.
Fold the sifted flour mix into the egg mixture using a metal spoon or spatula ( I used a spatula) you should be carefull when you fold just be gentle, don't be in a hurry.
Pour tha batter into the tin.
Bake fro 25 tà 30 minutes , to know if it is baked insert a toothpick and that should come our clean, then you know it is done.
In my Oven the cake was done in 24 minutes so I guess it depends on your oven.

 Let the cake cook for atleast 10 minutes in the tin and then remove it from the tin and leave it to cool completley before you decorate the cake and do the filling.

 500 gm strawberries
750 ml full fat cream cold
3 tbsp powder sugar ( if you like a sweeter cake you ave to add more powder sugar here at home we don't like that much sugar on a creamy cake so add the sugar according to your taste)
4 to 5 tsp water (Only use this water if you are using gelatine)
3 tsp gelatine powder
Combine water and gelatine and MW for few seconds and mix everything well.
Few tbsp of strawberry liqueor ( if you don't have this you can use rum or any other drink )
Few drops of red food coloring.

In a bowl add the cream, food color and sugar and using a hand mixer whipp the cream when it is a bit thick add the gelatine in a small stream, whipp the cream till it is really thick.

Assembling the cake
Slice the cake horizontally .
Sprinkle both the piece wtih the strawberry liquer.
Slice 300 gm strawberries and mix with couple of table spoon of the whipped cream.
Spread this mix on top of a cake layer.
Take the other piece of the cake and press on top.
Use the rest of the whipped cream for spreading the whole cake and also for decorating the top of the cake.
Slice the rest of the strawberries and decorate the side of the cake.
Keep in the fridge for one hour and then slice and enjoy the cake.



Marinated Strawberry with Whipped Cream

I am surprised I haven't posted a strawberry recipe here this season. As it is indeed strawberry season here and before they are finished I was like I should post something.

But to be honest I have not been baking for almost a month, unless if you cound the spelt bread I make twice a week.

Last friday while i was in the grocerry shop saw these beautiful plump looking strawberries and I grabed a box and then picked up a box of cream too.

And when i came home I was like what I can i make then suddenly I thought about one of my earliest recipe here and that is something I make every year.

But then this time I thought I will do with different booze.

From one of our earlier trips to Italy I had picked up two bottle of Fragola from Paestum.

Fragola is An infusion and distillate of wild strawberries, infused for over 4 months after harvest. Slightly sweet with enveloping ripe strawberry notes and an unexpected softness on the palate. Delicious served chilled.

This is hubby playing for a Music Festival in Innsbruck.
VIOLA D'AMORE CONGRESS INNSBRUCK 2012
Performance on saturday 16th June: Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck.

Recipe for the dessert:

400gm Fresh Strawberries.

3 tbsp Contreau Liquor

2 tbsp fresh lime juice.

3 tbsp Castor Sugar.

Wash the strawberries, and slice each of the to four pieces if they are big two if they are small.

Put all the ingridients above and mix everything and allow to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

300 ml thick cream.

2 tbsp Powder sugar.

1 1/2 tbsp fragola

Whipp cream firmly with the liquors and the sugar.

Now layer up the dessert in individual glasses.

Add few tbsp marinated strawberried in each glasses, pipe or use spoon cream on top, add again few tbsp of strawberries and on top, cream.

Pour a tbsp of the juice left in the bowl on top of the cream.

Decorate with mintleaves if you have.