Dulce de Leche Tartlet

Dulce de Leche Tartlet

I do love ready made tart crusts.  I stock up on them whenever we do our baking shopping and they can be turned into a savoury or sweet in a jiffy in vast quantities that is so satisfying.  Today is no exception.  I came across some left over Dulce de Leche from Nehru's birthday party and had some cream cheese too.  The result- an absolutely delectable dessert to die for!

The Recipe:

50 mini pie crusts- readymade; 1/2 cup dulce de leche; 1/2 cup cream cheese; nuts for topping.

Bring the dulce de leche and cream cheese to room temperature.  Whisk together to a smooth consistency.  Drop teaspoonfuls into the tart crusts and top with nuts.  Refrigerate overnight.  They are so simple that a child could do it.  It's very easy to forget yourself and lick your fingers and the bowl. 

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Creamy Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Home Made Ice Cream

Ice Cream has always been a great favourite in our house and so has cream cheese, although I began using cream cheese only after we came to Malaysia.  A friend of mine whom I met at a sugar craft class years ago was good enough to introduce me to a wholesale baking shop and I run riot whenever I go there.  To cut a long story short, I always stock up on cream cheese whenever I go there and make this amazing Ice Cream with the left overs.  It's a real treat to eat rich, Creamy Cream Cheese Ice Cream on a holiday after a good meal in minute proportions.

The Recipe:

1/2 cup cream cheese; 1/4 cu condensed milk; a few walnuts for garnish.

Whisk condensed milk and cream cheese to a smooth consistency at room temperature.  Transfer to air tight container.  Scatter walnuts on top.  Freeze overnight.  Keep out for 5 minutes before serving.  This is to soften the ice cream and give it a creamy texture.  Serve in tiny plates or bowls and svour its richness after a delicious meal.

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Home Made Dulce de Leche

A Spanish Treat

My computer crashed suddenly and I was unable to post any recipes this month and was twiddling my thumbs waiting impatiently to post some of my latest finds. One of them is Dulce de Leche.  It was used in many recipes I came across and finally I googled what it was and since I did not see it in any of my baking haunts, I searched for a recipe to make it at home.  You can imagine my joy when I found it on thetoughcookie  I straight away bought a few cans of condensed milk and made something that's good enough to eat on its own.

The Recipe:

1 can condensed milk.

Remove the paper from the can and put it on it's side in the pressure cooker.  Cover it with water about 5 cms above the can.  Close, place on gas stove and set on high heat.  When the steam comes out forcefully place the weight on top and wait for the whistle or loud noise.  Once this happens, lower to medium heat and cook for 40 minutes.  Remove the cooker from the stove and bring to room temperature.  Do not open.  Mine took 3 hours to cool completely.  Open the cooker and remove the can.  Wipe dry and open.  Sample liberally, if you please.  Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Ours lasted a week  and the feeling of accomplishment lingers on.  I am really proud to have made this myself.

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Going Bananas

Bananas Fried In Ghee

Walking through the weekly pasar malam or night market with my daughter I happened to spy some extra large bananas in one of the stalls.  It turned out to be Nendra Bale- a special kind of banana that my Mum used to give us for a snack when we came home hungry from school and college.  It's delicious and that's what I made for my cooking class with Vincenzo  and Jessica from Spain this afternoon.

The Recipe:

2 large very ripe bananas, about 200gms each; brown sugar to taste; Ghee for frying.

Cut  bananas into half, peel and quarter horizontally (Four pieces per banana).  Heat a non stick pan and add 1 tbsp ghee.   Place in pan, lower heat and fry for a few minutes on both sides until golden brown.  Sprinkle with sugar and more ghee ( if desired) and serve hot.

Optional- Sprinkle with cinnamon powder or cardamom 

Instead of frying, they can be steamed and eaten with ghee and brown sugar.

Honey is another option.

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Pineapple Coconut Pudding

Creamy Pudding

I came across this  Creamy Concoction during my holiday in Cambodia.  While reading about the culture, history and food of Cambodia I was pleasantly surprised to note that a lot of coconut is used in cooking.  I even ate various curries and desserts like mine and hence decided to try this dessert which I read about in an article on local food.  Adapted to my taste, this is a very satisfying dessert for a Sunday afternoon.

The Recipe:

1 cup thick coconut milk; 1/2 cup brown sugar or to taste; 2 dsp corn flour; 2 tsp vanilla essence; 4 large eggs; 250 gms pineapple chunks- reserve some for decorating the top.

Blend all ingredients to a thick, smooth liquid.  Pour into glass dish and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 1 hour or until skewer inserted into pudding comes out clean.  Decorate with remaining pineapple, raisins or toasted coconut and serve hot or cold.  

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Spring Onion Bread

Spring Onion Bread

 While browsing the internet I came across many versions of this bread and I liked the way it looked.  I was sure it would taste good and so many days later, since I happened to have a surplus of spring onions in my refrigerator I made this bread using my convection oven and the result was a bread that tasted like a crusty pizza.  Super yum.

For original recipe go to 

http://kirbiecravings.com/2014/12/chinese-sesame-bread-with-scallions.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+KirbieCravings+(Kirbie+Cravings)

I made a few changes.

The Recipe:

       2 1/2 cups bread flour; 1 tsp brown sugar;   1 tsp olive oil; 1 tsp sesame seed oil for oiling pan; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup warm water;     1 tsp instant yeast; 1 cup chopped spring onions;  4 tbsp white sesame seeds.

     Place the flour, salt, sugar, water, oil  and yeast in a large bowl.  Using the dough hook of your mixer combine ingredients until the dough comes together ( I used medium speed 3).   Lower speed to 2 and knead for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic and one smooth bmass.  Grease a glass bowl and place the dough in it.  Cover with cling film and leave to rise for an hour until it doubles in size.  

     Roll out the dough into a rectangle on a floured surface.  Spread the spring onions on it and roll it up  and then coil it into a spiral.  Gently roll out into a large round.  Sprinkle both sides with sesame seeds and rest for about 30 minutes.  Oil and heat a non stick pan and cook the bread for 1 minute each side.  Transfer to an oiled pizza pan and bake in a preheated oven at 400F or 200 C for 10 minutes or until brown and crisp.  Cool and slice.

     This bread is so tasty, it can be eaten plain.

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Chewda

Mixture

My grandma used to make chewda in large quantities and we loved it as children, picking out the nuts and raisins and leaving the rest for the adults.  I like to make this during Christmas in vast quantities to give away and also to last well into the New Year.  It's easy to make, a very quick treat and delicious too.  Quite often we finish a large container between the three of us while watching a family movie.  And then I make some more!

The Recipe:

5 cups cornflakes; a handful each of peanuts, almonds, cashewnuts; roasted bengal gram, and raisins; 5 sprigs of curry leaves; 1 tsp chilli powder or to taste; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp oil.

Bake the cornflakes, and nuts seperately in a preheated oven at 100 C for 10 minutes each.  Heat a nonstick pan and add the oil, curry leaves and raisins.  Stir fry till curry leaves are crisp- this takes a minute.  Switch off and add the chilli powder, salt and sugar.  Mix together.  Add the rest of the ingredients and gently mix together.  Cool and store in air tight containers.

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