Category Archives: Dessert

Creme Caramel

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Sometimes- you need a good vanilla pudding to end the day. This recipe for creme caramel hits the spot every single time

Make caramel: My favorite way is to use a non-stick pan and a small silicone spatula. Heat 1/2 cup of sugar till it starts to melt- then stir gently till the sugar reaches a beautiful amber brown. Pour into your serving ramekins or baking dish and swirl it around the sides. Careful- that stuff is hot

Make custard: Beat 1 cup of whole milk, 1/2 cup of cream, 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk with 1/3 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of good vanilla (chanelling my inner Ina Garten) till smooth. Pour into prepared pan/ramekins

Bake custard: Bake in a waterbath at 375 for 35-45 minutes. I personally do let the top brown just a little bit. There is nothing worse than unmolding a flan to have the center still liquid.

Cool custard for 2-3 hours, unmold (run a knife along the edges)

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Easiest cookie in the world! Coconut Macaroons

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So this is my easiest cookie recipe! Takes about 5 minutes prep time and 15 minutes bake time and it is delicious. Dip it in chocolate for an even more decadent treat.

Heat oven to 350F. Beat 3 large whites in a stand mixer with 1 cup sugar till frothy. Add 3 cups of shredded unsweetened dried coconut (which is one 7 oz bag), 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix till all coconut is moistened.

Make balls using 1-2 tsp of coconut mixture- around 24 in all. Bake at 350 F till golden brown (15-18 minutes). Eat!

Tamarind Cream Pie

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Lemon cream pie is my absolute favorite pie- so when I saw this recipe for Tamarind Cream pie from Melissa Clark- I knew I had to make it. It’s topped with a citrus whipped cream rather than a meringue This pie is tart and complex and fruity in all the correct ways with a buttery graham cracker crust. I’ve made this twice following the recipe almost precisely – this recipe works !

Preheat oven to 350F

Crust:In the food processor- add 170 g of graham crackers and pulse them into crumbs (not powder). Add 6 tbsp of melted butter and mix by hand till the crumbs are moistened. Pack into a 9 inch pie plate on bottom and 1-2 inches up the sides. Bake for 12 minutes till golden brown (this burns quickly ! Start watching from 10 minutes). Cool

Filling: Mix 1/4 cup of orange juice with 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of tamarind paste (I used the Swad brand) with 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. If you are using fresh pulp- make sure you taste it and you may have to vary the proportions to get it as tart as you wish.

In your stand mixer- whisk 4 egg yolk for 5 minutes, add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz) and slowly whisk in the tamarind orange juice mixture till just combined. Scrape down the sides to make sure everything is well incorporated.

Add to cooled pie shell and bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes till the filling is just set (jiggles slightly when moved without any browning). Refrigerate at least 2 hours (preferably overnight)

Topping: Whisk 1/2 cup whipping cream with 4 tbsp sugar till soft peaks form. Add the zest of 1 orange

Serve pie slice topped with whipping cream

 

 

 

Mango fool

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Of all the English deserts with strange names, the fool is my favorite. It is essentially fruit cream in it’s most luscious luxurious form. I normally make it with raspberries but I found  frozen Alphonso mango slices (by Vadilal) in the Indian store recently. This desert is a perfect way to showcase the king of mangoes.

There is essentially no recipe. Whip cream to soft peaks, add sugar and gently fold the fruit puree- it is summer in a desert bowl while winter rages outside.

Gruyere Biscuits

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These are from Paul Hollywood’s book How to Bake. They are flaky and cheesy and extremely dangerous to bake when you are alone at home. The recipe makes around 20 cookies and I may have eaten at least 7 while the cookies were still warm.

I love recipes with 3 ingredients .

Ingredients:

75 g all purpose flour, 75 gm shredded gruyere ( I used an aged dry one) and 75 gm unsalted butter (cold in 1 cm cubes). Salt and pepper to sprinkle

Using a food processor or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour till the mixture resembles bread crumbs, add the cheese and knead very gently till it just forms a soft dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes at least.

Flour your surface, roll dough out to 5 mm thickness ( I use 5mm rubber bands on my rolling pin) and use a 5 cm biscuit cutter to cut out the biscuits. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes till just brown around edges.

Remove to a cooling rack and cool (or not). Paul Hollywood says he enjoys these with champagne- they taste pretty good even without any

 

 

Karanji

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Karanji (in Marathi or gujiya in Hindi) is a sweet or savory stuffed mostly deep fried pastry traditionally made on Diwali day in the state of Maharashtra.

Traditional karanji recipes call for a mix of all purpose flour and semolina flour and are deep fried. I really hate deep frying ! I used an empanada dough recipe for my karanjis and baked them. The empanada recipe gives me a wonderfully flaky and sturdy pastry shell.

Dough: Melt 7 tbsp of butter, add 1/2 cup of really hot water with 1 tsp of salt. Add butter and hot water to 3 cups all purpose flour. Knead. Add upto 1/4 -1/3 cup of additional hot water to make a smooth pliable dough. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for an hour.

Sweet filling: Melt 3 tbsp of ghee, add 1 cup of grated fresh coconut ( I use frozen). Roast till coconut dries out a little and just starts browning. Take off the heat. Add 1/4 cup of jaggery, 3 tbsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of sesame seeds, 1 tbsp of poppy seeds, 1/4 cup roasted cashews, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 tsp of ground cardamon powder.

Divide dough into  4s and then into 8s. Use a rolling pin or flatten each dough ball into a 3 inch diameter circle. Add 1 tbsp of filling and crimp into half moon shapes and make a slit on top for the steam to escape. Can be frozen at this stage (freeze flat on a baking sheet and add 5-6 minutes to bake time)

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Continue reading →

Raspberry pie

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My post thanksgiving pie shenanigans. I had only 3 eggs and 2 and half sticks of butter and a bag of frozen raspberries and no whipped cream. It was almost a Chopped episode.

Crust: Shortcrust pastry dough: I used this David Tanis recipe. I cup flour (145 gm), 1 stick butter with 1 tsp salt- whiz in food processor and add 2-3 tbsp ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time till the dough just comes together. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness for a 8 inch pie pan- refrigerate again for 30 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.

Add parchment paper and bean or pie weights and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes till very pale brown (you may  need foil on the edges if they start browning too soon)

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12884-basic-short-crust-pastry

Pastry Cream: After much research, I settled on this Mark Bittman easy recipe. It is slightly runny for pie though- it definitely needs at least 1 hour to set. I halved it.

In a saucepan- add 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of flour, 1 tbsp of cornstarch and 1 cup of whole milk and 1 beaten egg. Whisk over low-moderate heat fairly continuously till the custard comes together (you know- when you can draw a line on the back of the spoon). Add a tsp of vanilla and a tbsp of butter. Resist the temptation to lick all of it. Refrigerate for 30 minutes with cling film over the top so it doesn’t form a skin

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015881-mark-bittmans-pastry-cream

Rasberries: Frozen raspberries, heat with sugar (3-4 tbsp) and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar. Some grand marnier and some orange zest will be excellent in this too.

Cool everything and then assemble. Wait for at least 1-2 hours. We didn’t and it was delicious but slightly runny.

Mango Palettas

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It’s summer and the Mexican popsicle is a fabulous treat

 

1 bag of frozen mango (I used Trader Joe’s), 2 limes and enough simple sugar syrup (1 part sugar 1 part water – microwaved till sugar dissolves) to make the whole thing delicious – I needed half a cup

 

Blend and freeze!! Rinse and repeat

Lilian’s lemon bars

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Lemon Bars

 

I adore desserts that combine sweet and sour flavors. This is unsurprising when you consider that I’m Maharashtrian with an inherited love for srikhand. These lemon bars with their shortcrust cookie base and gelatinous lemon top are fantastic.

I found the recipe at the back of a Nancy Atherton book I’d read over a decade ago- the book called these Lilian’s lemon bars.

 

Cookie base:

Heat oven to 350. Cream ¼ cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of butter. Add 1 cup of all purpose flour and mix till crumbly. I use my kitchen aid and make sure everything stays cold. Press down into the bottom of an ungraded 8×8 inch pan and bake for 15-18 min till light gold

 

Lemon topping:

Meanwhile combine 2 eggs, ¾ cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp lemon zest and 3 tbsp lemon juice. Whisk till smooth and non-lumpy. Pour over hot cookie base and back to oven for about 15-20 min till edges are brown and center is set

 

Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. I cut these into small bars – about 25 or so.