COFFEE BISCUIT PUDDING

COFFEE BISCUIT PUDDING is a poorer cousin of the Tiramisu which takes half the effort to make with no compromise whatsoever on taste. A non bake dessert so rich and delightful, you'll look forward to every get together to show off this yum treat! 

INGREDIENTS: 

Custard powder- 3 tbsp

Condensed milk- 1 tin

Milk- 2 packets

Marie Biscuits- 1 small pack

Sugar- 8-10 tsp

Cashews- chopped 50 gms

Coffee powder- 2 tsp

Water- Half Cup

Cherries- To garnish

Method:

To prepare the CUSTARD: 

- In a large saucepan, add one and a half packets of milk, one tin of condensed milk and bring to a slow boil.

- Add the custard powder into the remaining half litre of milk, mix till fully dissolved.

- Pour the custard mix very slowly into the boiling condensed milk mixture. 

- Stir till the mixture thickens. And switch off the stove.

- Roughly chop some cashewnuts and mix into the custard. 

To prepare the COFFEE MIX:

- In a pan add water and sugar. Boil and keep stirring until it takes syrup form. 

- Into the sugar syrup, add the coffee and stir to combine. 

To prepare the LAYERS: 

- In a deep tray, spread a thick layer of custard

- Dip Marie biscuits into the coffee mix (do not soak) and arrange on top of the custard

- Follow with another thick layer of custard, then a layer of coffee dipped biscuits

- Repeat until the topmost layer is custard

- Stud the top layer of custard with cherries to garnish

- Refrigerate overnight to attain perfect layers.

- This dish is best served with a dollop of cream or fresh fruits to cut through all the richness. Enjoy! 

Easy Peasy Mango Pudding

Do you like mangoes? Do you like pudding? Then what are you waiting for? You need this easy peasy mango pudding in your life! It's unbelievable how just a handful of ingredients can taste so fresh and yum! Serve it chilled with chopped up pieces of mango, some passion fruit preserve and just a smattering of chopped mint. When the sun comes shining down, scoop your own brand of sunshine out of a bowl and feast away!

Ingredients:

Mango Pulp: of 2 large mangoes
Condensed milk: 1/2 tin

Set curd: 200ml
(Tip: incase there is water in the curd, hang it in a sieve or a muslin cloth)

Gelatin (optional): 1 tbsp
(Tip: if you want a properly set pudding, gelatin's the way to go)

To garnish: 

Cut mangoes: 1 cup
(Tip: You can layer the bottom of the tray,  spread it on the top or serve it alongside the pudding)
Passion fruit preserve
Chopped mint

To prepare the pudding:

- Pour the mango pulp and condensed milk into a blender.
- Blend until smooth and well combined
- Fold in the curd into the mix (Tip: add gelatin if required)
- Pour into a tray and place it to set in a fridge.

(Tip: Serve chilled with the chopped up mangoes, passion fruit preserve (I used the PLANTERS TREASURE passion fruit preserve) and some chopped mint)

Custard Trifle Pudding

Do you have a big dinner party coming up? Is it your dearest ambition to bring out a dessert that will make your guests swoon? Well! Then stop what you're doing and read through! Presenting the perfect dessert recipe to achieve the swooning goal! This fruit trifle is the way to go. Sweet without being overpoweringly so, this trifle boasts of cake, fruits, and a brandy laced jam! Aaah! Caught your attention have i? ;)

Ingredients:

Sponge cake slab (fresh from the bakery)- regular size 1
Mixed fruit jam- 1 bottle
Brandy- 2 tbsp
Custard powder- 250 gms
Condensed milk- 1 tin
Sugar- as per need

Fruits (roughly chopped to medium sized pieces):
pineapple- 1
Orange- 4
Apple- 3
Green grapes- 1/4 kg
Bananas- 1/2 kg
Papaya (optional)- 1/2 kg

Cashew nuts- 100gms
Vanilla essence- 1 tsp
Hot water- 4 tins (same measure as the condensed milk tin)
Cherries- to garnish

Preparing the custard:

- Empty the tin of condensed milk into a pot and add 3 tins of water which is the same measure as the condensed milk tin. Mix well.
- Add in 4 tbsp custard powder to the 4th tin of water in a separate container, mix and keep aside.
- Add sugar as per requirement to the milk mixture.
- Put the milk mixuture on the stove and bring it to the boil. Once it starts boiling, add the custard powder mix with constant stirring so as to avoid lumping.

(Tip: in case if becomes lumpy, add a little milk to make it come to the required consistency)

- Add one tsp vanilla essence to this mix. Switch off the stove and leave to cool.

(Tip: make sure the custard is not runny. It should be thick enough to be dolloped over the fruits)

Preparing the cake layers:

- Slice the 2 cake slabs horizontally
- Mix jam and brandy together with 2 tbsps of hot water to make the jam loose.
(Tip: in case the jam has a semi- solid consistency, there is no need to add hot water)
- Spread the jam and brandy mix over the insides of the cake slices.

(Tip: Each layer should be 1" in height. Cut into the cake into 3 slabs in case the height is above 1")

Preparing the fruit mix:

- Chop and heat the pineapple in a pan. Strain out all the excess pineapple juice and keep aside.
(Tip: This is to prevent the sponge from becoming too wet and moist)
(Tip: to loosen the thick jam, 2 tbsp of this hot pineapple water can be substituted for 2 tbsp of water).

- Chop all the fruits roughly, add nuts and mix well
- Add 4 tbsp of sugar and juice of half a lime to prevent browning.

Preparing the trifle:

- In a deep rectangular tray, add a first thin layer of custard
- Follow up with a layer of cake
- Spread the fruits evenly atop the cake
- Spread a good layer of custard on the cake
- and so on until the final top layer is that of custard.
- Garnish with cherries and pieces of cashew and refrigerate until it is set well. Slice and serve with an extra smattering of nuts. Enjoy!

(Tip: for functions, it is best to prepare the trifle overnight and leave it in the fridge for a perfectly set)

Warm Apple Crumble

I was never a crumble person. I hate it if the spices pack too big a bite, if the crumble topping is too soggy and the apple half baked. This recipe however totally changed my mind and tastebuds! I still don't have crumble baked at hotels; i mean why would you, when you can make a delicious one for yourself at home?? Plus it's the perfect dish to warm your body and soul during the rains!

A big thank you and apple crumble smeared kiss to my cousin Amala and her mum Jaya aunty for this stellar recipe!

Ingredients:

Apples - 500gm (about 2-3 medium-sized apples)
Wheat flour / atta - 1 cup
Salted butter - 100gm + a bit for greasing
Sugar - 4 tbsp white sugar
Demerara sugar- 2 tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Lemon juice - a few drops
Cloves- 3 nos

Method:

1. Wash, peel and chop the apples. Add a few drops of lemon juice to prevent browning. Mix in 2tbsp sugar along with water. Once it comes to a boil, add in the apples along with the 3 cloves and cook on a low fire until soft and mushy. Set aside to cool.

2. Mix salt and 2tbsp sugar with the flour. Lightly mix in the butter, rubbing it together with the flour using your fingertips until you get a mixture that resembles lumpy bread crumbs.

3. Grease a pie dish/cake tray with butter. Lay the cooked apples evenly. Add the flour mixture evenly on top and press down gently. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top for an extra crunch.

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 25-30 mins. Keep a close watch on the crumble...once the flour mixture turns a golden brown, switch off the oven but let the crumble remain in the warmth.

5. Serve warm with a big scoop of Vanilla ice cream or cold custard. Enjoy!

Building a nation of cake lovers

I think my first question to Anju was, “Being a baker and baking almost 12-15 kgs of cake a day, how in the world do you stay so thin?” Petite, ever-smiling and charming ANJU ABRAHAM, Founder and baker, CAKE NATION, was a right treat to chat with! 

Baking up a storm in her kitchen every day, whipping up luscious cakes and churning up exotic desserts, it was surprising to know that despite her prowess in baking, her first love was stove top cooking!
“My passion for cooking started right from childhood. Both my parents loved to cook. Somehow I was most fascinated by the way my father cooked. He used to always have a handful of “magic ingredient” that he used to throw into the food with a wave and a flourish!” she says with fond remembrance “I guess it was the way he enjoyed cooking that made me fall in love with it as well!”
My lips smack as she describes quite ardently, the Kerala style pork curry that was her father’s signature dish!

Like some of the most gifted food personalities we know, cooking and baking was not an initial career choice for Anju. After completing her Engineering in Electronics and Communication, she worked with Wipro for three years, moving around Bangalore, Chennai and Pune. From city to city, she was able to try a variety of cuisines which helped spark her interest in food even more. To make things even better, she married Abraham, a complete foodie and shifted to the UK. “Abraham was always encouraging when it came to my interest in cooking. He always wanted me to try out new cuisines and dishes. He is my pillar of support!

With the plethora of fresh ingredients available in the market, Anju got to trying out a new dish a day. The vast number of recipes she complied soon found a way into “ANJU IN THE KITCHEN” a Facebook page that features all her tried and tested recipes.

With good news she returned to her hometown and soon her precious son Ayden was born. All throughout, she kept her passion for food and cooking flying high. Her recipes because so famous, she was featured in Mazhavil Manorama and Mathrabhumi News Channel.

By then, Anju’s focus had shifted to baking “I baked my 1st cake after marriage. And it had completely collapsed! I baked every day until I got it right! Once I got a hang of the basics, I started making minor tweaks in the recipe to make the cake even better!” She started baking both buttercream and fondant based cakes.

Anju feels that it is important that bakers understand the role each ingredient has to play in the process. She feels that once we understand that, baking would seem so much easier and unfussy. A home baker who takes the effort to appreciate this has the key factor with which to stand out in a market saturated with home bakers.

She makes sure every cake that leaves her kitchen does not compromise on quality in any manner. The quality of her cakes brought in an astounding number of loyal and recurring customers. This gave her the extra push to shifting from home baking (2-3 kgs daily) to a larger scale of production (12-15 kgs daily).

Anju started supplying non iced loaf cakes to her husband’s entrepreneurship venture CHAI NATION, a café dedicated to tea, based in Infopark. Through word of mouth, demand for her delicious cakes started increasing and CAKE NATION was born. Her best seller at Chai Nation is her chocolate banana cake. Tried, tested and loved!

Her enthusiasm for baking has rubbed off on her 3 year old as well! He already knows the names of ingredients, loves to help her stir the batter and roll up fondant as well! “This is the most rewarding part of having my own business. Flexible work hours and working from home ensures that I get to spend time with my son. To me it’s more than just money. When I work on what I am passionate about, my soul is at peace!”

I was surprised with a gift hamper of some of her best cakes. Everything was neatly wrapped with ribbon and cellophane paper, which for sure added that little extra!

 (It gave my OCD a happy high!) There were coconut kisses, a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of dates cake. The coconut kisses were aptly named.

Coconut kisses

Sweet little balls of milky goodness, the desiccated coconut added just the desired amount of bite and texture! I moved onto the chocolate cake which was so light and fluffy! The best part was that it was self-saucing. So there was a top layer of moist chocolateyness followed by a pillowy soft cake that made me instantly crave a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Self-saucing chocolate cake

As always, i reserved the best for last! The dates cake. Now, forgive me, but i am not a fan of dates. I was cringing inward as i opened the pack of dates cake. I took my first bite and ny taste buds fell in love!

My favorite dates cake

Bells ringing, bulbs flashing, violins playing, the whole enchilada! It was the moistest, softest, sweetest, most luscious dates cake I have ever and I mean ever romanced! And those tiny bits of dates just waltzed beautifully in between a creamy topping of milkmaid (double the luck!)

With the smile of a girl in love still on my face, we chat about Anju’s future plans. “I want to keep learning. That is very important for a baker. Designer cakes is a vast arena and I am just a beginner. I would definitely like to use cake as a medium for edible paints. Painting on cakes would be something I really want to try in the future!”
“I want to start a baking school as well, where I can teach others how to bake with passion and help them discover their skill sets.” With this Anju leaves us with a fantastic recipe for Churros, a fried dough pastry, popular in Spain. They are usually dipped in chocolate and eaten for breakfast. However, they are so yummy, no one would wrong you for eating it any time of day!

SUGAR CINNAMON COATED CHURROS

Ingredients:

Water: 1 cup
Unsalted butter: 3 tbsp
Granulated sugar: ½ tsp
Vegetable oil: 1 tbsp
Salt: ½ tsp
All purpose flour- 1 cup
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Eggs: 4

To coat the churros:

Cinnamon: 1 tsp
Granulated sugar: ½ cup
Combine the cinnamon and sugar together until you get a seamless mixture.

The chocolate dip

In a microwavable bowl, add some good quality dark chocolate and some milk chocolate and microwave for a minute, pausing to stir in between

Method:

-Add water, butter, vegetable oil, sugar and salt into a saucepan on a low flame and bring the mixture to the boil
- Now add in the flour and stir continuously until the mixture turns into a ball. Stir it for another minute
- Take the mixture off the heat and add vanilla extract. Keep stirring to cool down the dough and then add the eggs one by one. Incorporate thoroughly.
- Put the mixture into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Heat oil in a frying pan and when hot, pipe in ropes of 4 to 5 inches. It takes hardly a minute for the dough to cook on both sides.
- Drain the excess oil on tissue paper and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mix.
- All that remains is to dip the churro into the chocolate and enjoy!
All the very best for a bright future Anju!

To get in touch for orders and enquiries:

Anju in the kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/ANJU.IN.THE.KITCHEN/
Cake Nation: https://www.facebook.com/cakenationindia/
Phone: 08157817555
E-mail: contact@cakenation.in

Pour some SUCREE on me!

Last year, on my son’s first birthday, I spent almost a week scouring Cochin for someone who could make me a delicious batch of fudge. I made three dozen calls with zilch results! Even the most popular bakeries and cafes would not conjure me up some salted caramel fudge! And then, luck struck and I came across the name SUCREE during my search; and wouldn’t you know it, fudge was listed as one of their products! One year and that one call later, it’s safe to say that TINA ROY, the mastermind behind Sucree has become my most favourite baker (and friend!). Yes, she made a whole batch of delicious fudge and she also baked my son’s first birthday cake. From then on there is no denying that Tina has become a sort of unofficial in house baker to whom I run to for goodies no matter what the occasion.

Tina Roy

From home baker to a dessert boutique owner, Tina and Sucree have come a long way. Just a little over two years old, Sucree is home to premium handcrafted desserts. Cakes, pies, roulades, slices, bars, puddings and tarts…there is no baking challenge too big for Tina. What really sets Tina apart is how open she is to experimenting with baking techniques, products and flavours. See, I am one of those OCD ridden customers, who keeps messaging and calling with ideas and suggestions and changes…yeah…it might just get a tad annoying. But Tina has always stayed her charming self, catering to all my doubts, encouraging my ideas and baking up a storm for every new product I wanted to try! This lady has always ensured customer delight!

We had a little chit chat outlining the journey Tina’s had as a baker and the rapid progress that Sucree as a brand has had over the past two years.

LSF: When did you first fall in love with baking?

TINA: Baking has always been my passion. I used to bake as a child. My mother and grandmother are both excellent bakers. It’s not just baking that I am in love with. Even getting into the kitchen to cook a meal is an equally passionate affair. Let’s say it’s therapeutic. When I step into the kitchen, it’s magic! Creating edible delights from scratch has always been my first love.

LSF: Could you outline Sucree’s success story for us?

TINA: Sucree started as a small baking business set up at home from there on we have been outsourcing with several well-known restaurants and cafes, such as District 7, Blend!t and Walk in, we have been associated with big events and now, we have our very own dessert boutique. It has come a long way from baking a dessert a week to baking five or six times a day!

LSF: Cochin has almost reached saturation point what with the umpteen number of home bakers and their signature styles. How differently do you position Sucree from your competitors?

TINA: The quality of my products sets me apart I feel. I use premium, pure ingredients with no taste enhancers or artificial flavours. I mean, cook for my family and friends and it’s the same amount of love that goes into baking for my customer.

LSF: What are the challenges you face as a baker? 

TINA: Juggling time I think. You have to literally become a warrior in the kitchen! Baking up orders in a short time span takes a lot of time and effort. You need to have a precise idea about what you do. You can’t just chuck in a little bit of baking powder or cocoa; everything goes by accurate measurements. Having said that, I also have to add that I am a cook who cooks without a recipe, so that calls for a lot of hard work from my end.

LSF: What are the most important skills that a baker needs to possess?

TINA: Three skills are most important in my opinion: Patience, Neatness and a willingness to learn. I think half my time is spent in cleaning and arranging my trays and boxes of ingredients. Also, it is all about experimentation. You’ll never know if it works for you or not unless you try it. 

LSF: Who has inspired you the most?

TINA: My baking inspiration has been my mom.

LSF: And who has always been your number 1 support?

TINA: I have two No.1 supporters! My husband and my mother in law. My husband has always been my silent pillar of support and hats off to him for just letting me do my thing! My mother in law and I are like yin and yang! We make a perfect pair!

LSF: What is your understanding of Cochin’s changing palette?

TINA: I believe Cochin is slowly opening up to new cuisines and flavours. There is also a need for homemade goodness. I had this customer come up to me and say “Thank you for bringing some real good food” To me, this surely means a warm, home cooked feel. 

LSF: What is your biggest dream for Sucree?

TINA: This store is possibly my dream come true. Baby steps post this. Once we are established, expansion would be the next dream.

Sucree is located in The Centre Square Mall on M.G.Road. Just turn around the corner of the escalator on the 2^nd floor and you see a cute little dessert boutique with a rather inviting display! The glass case played host to a range of chocolate, caramel and fruit based delights so attuned to my taste, it felt like I had found my 

personal happy sweet tooth place! The price range was surprising affordable for such luscious goodies! Some of the treats on display were the all famous New York Cheesecake (also in a strawberry variant), double chocolate mousse, Mississippi Mud pie, Apple tartlets, Tiramisu slices, Devil’s food cake with fudge, blueberry muffins, milk and dark chocolate fudge, cream cheese and peanut butter brownies, lemon tarts, toffee cake and caramel bars to name a miniscule few! Everything had a wonderful rustic charm with a definite homemade feel on the taste buds.

I packed a selection of sweet stuff for take away but I couldn’t stop myself from tasting the scrumptious looking caramel bar. Oh my god! It was utter heaven! The caramel bar was a tri layer of ecstasy! The bottom layer was a firm yet moist short crust pastry bedecked with buttery goodness, the second layer was a glorious mix of thick chocolate ganache laced with sweet and slighty chewy 

caramel (which was perfectly cooked, I must add). The crown placed delicately atop this royal dessert was a beautifully tempered layer of dark chocolate. The first bite was a perfect medley of salty and sweet and oh the snap of that chocolate layer! It was easily my favourite dessert out of the lot!

The other must mentions available at the Sucree store are: The New York Cheesecake (smooth and creamy with a buttery graham cracker crust), coffee biscuit roll up (the sweet seduction of coffee paired with a rich biscuit base and buttercream), lemon tart (it may have been a little tangy for some but I really adore lemon curd and it went perfectly well with the soft short crust base) and finally devil’s food cake with fudge (rich, dense moist and so chocolatey with thick layers of fudge and a pretty sprinkle of edible gold glitter). With so many more desserts to taste, I am definitely going back for a second visit…or a third…or a…well, you get the drift!

All in all folks, the Sucree-Dessert boutique is certainly one to visit for all those who love themselves some sweet stuff and for those who don’t, try it, you might just become converts! All the best Tina!

COCOA CRUNCH CAKE

Every family with a sweet tooth is bound to have that one baker with a fabulous chocolate cake recipe! And without a doubt, that recipe would be a one in a million, tastebud titillating, dreamboat of a dessert; you can't help but fall in love with! I have my aunt Jaya to thank for this recipe! And no ordinary recipe this is! Why, this rich, soft, moist chocolate cake with a crunchalicious sugar frosting has taken quite a space in my family's  hearts and bellies my friend.

That's not all! This cocoa casanova has not one but THREE unique ingredients that takes the final product to the next level. Would you have guessed INSTANT COFFEE, CURD and BRANDY? 

If you find the three musketeers not musketeery enough for your taste, you need to follow the upcoming instructions.

Ok close your eyes for a moment and imagine what a bite of this cake would taste like: Your teeth crunch against a sweet, sugary wall that crumbles oh so satisfyingly to expose a satiny haven of dark, chocolatey, melt in the mouth goodness that's light and fluffy. A light flicker of coffee surprises your tongue which then smoothly flows into a cheeky twang of brandy. A "weak at the knees"moment i tell you!

Let me get you all prepped up with the ingredients and the method.

For that pillowy cake, you will need:

Flour: 2 and 1/4 cups

Sugar: 1 and a 1/2 cups

Cocoa powder: 1/2 cup

Instant coffee powder (we use Bru): 1 tsp

Baking powder: 1 and a 1/2 tsp

Baking soda: 1 and a half tsp

Egg: 2 nos

Refined Sunflower oil: 3/4th cup

Vanilla essence: 1 and a 1/2 tsp

Curds: 3/4th cup

Hot water: 1/2

Butter: to coat the baking tray

Get...set...bake:

- Sift the flour and baking powder through a sieve 

- Mix together curds and baking soda (Tip: why curds in a cake you ask? For the unbelievable softness it gives the final product i say!)

- Mix to combine the instant coffee powder with hot water.

(Tip: apart from the slight seduction of coffee, the powder helps the cake look even darker and richer)

- Add this to the cocoa powerd and mox until even and no lumps remain

(Tip: mixture too thick? Just add a little more hot water)

- Combine the cocoa-coffee mixture with the flour and baking powder and stir until it becomes even.

- Pour the mix into a buttered baking tray

- Bake at 180° for 20 minutes

For that delish sugar glaze, you will need:

Sugar: 1 and a 1/2 cups

Water: 1 cup

Brandy: 1 tbsp (things have gotten interesting now haven't they?)

Sugar high:

- On high heat, add sugar to water and stir until it reaches the syrup stage

(Tip: that's when the sugar water mix comes to the boil and thickens enough to slide off the spoon in a languid manner. Don't forget to keep stirring)

- Take the syrup off the stove, add in the brandy and stir

- Once the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it using a fork

(Tip: you don't have to wait for the cake to cool! Yay!)

- Pour the boozy sugar mix into the holes and spread the remaining syrup lavishly over the cake

-Refrigerate for a couple of hours to get that crunchy sugar top coating

(Tip: keep the cake in the fridge at all times to retain the crunch of the sugar)

The end result is nothing short of spectacular!

It tastes absolutely sinful served with a scoop of good quality Vanilla ice cream but even on it's own, it is a decadent experience! Enjoy! 

For any queries or suggestions pertaining to this recipe, please message me on the letsstalkfood facebook page!