Lavender panna cotta

This is my all-time favorite panna cotta flavour...lavender! The lavender adds such an incredible freshness and the consistency is light and delightful. It was a big hit at my Christmas party this year and is a really simple dessert to feed a lot of people! This recipe serves 8-12.

Ingredients:


2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup honey (more or less to taste)
2 heaped tsp. dried lavender
4 tbsp. cold water
3 tsp. powdered gelatin

Method:

In a small bowl let the gelatin bloom in cold water.

Heat the heavy cream, milk, condensed milk, honey with lavender until just heated through and bubbles form on the outside.  Turn off the heat, add the gelatin to the warm milk mixture, whisk until dissolved completely. Cover and let the lavender infuse for 2 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into serving cups or a large bowl. When cool, cover it with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.

Serve drizzled with honey.

Walnut loaf (pain aux noix)

This is a moist walnut loaf that is perfect for tea or delicious with fruit and cheese. Pain aux noix literally translates to "bread with walnuts" in french but this version is much richer than any walnut bread and is more like a tea-cake.


Ingredients:
1 3/4 sticks butter
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs at room temp.
1 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely and then pulsed in a food processor to a coarse meal
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed tightly
Powdered sugar for dusting


Method:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Grease a loaf pan with butter and set aside.

Melt the butter, brown sugar and honey on low heat and then set aside to cool. Stir in the walnut meal. Whisk the eggs with the milk in a separate bowl and stir that into the pan that has cooled.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients and add to the pan to combine. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 ° F and then for 30 minutes at 300 ° F or until when pressed the top of the cake springs back.

Cool completely on a wire rack and then store until next day, wrapped in foil and refigerated. Serve at room temperature with dusting of powdered sugar.

Melktert (milk tart, South African style)

This is the original South African version of melktert but I used a store bought crust instead of doing that from scratch.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter, room temp.
4 tbsp. corn flour
6 tbsp sugar
2 eggs, yolks separated
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 ready made pie crust

Method:
Roll out the pie crust over the tart pan, line the tart pan with it and trim the edges as needed.
Preheat the oven to 375°C.

Heat the milk in a pan with the cinnamon stick.
In a bowl, cream the butter sugar and corn flour. Now add the heated milk in a thin stream and keep whisking until combined. Now transfer back to pan and heat for a few minutes until it thickens and forms a custard. Pour this through a sieve into a bowl to cool slightly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks to the thickened milk mixture and whisk.
Fold the egg whites. Pour this custard into the prepared tart pan and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until cooked and firm. Remove and sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill in refrigerator when cooled.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Banana and saffron malpuas

I was recently in Udaipur, Rajastan at a friend's wedding and tasted malpuas for the very first time. They had a very delicate Swedish crepe like texture, glossy with the syrup on top and accompanied with the creaminess of kheer, simply delicious! I never really imagined that combination before but it really worked.

So, inspired by that, and also wanting to use some really ripe bananas :) , I created this version and served it with vanilla ice cream instead.















Ingredients:
2 tbsp. ghee for making the pancakes

for the batter:
1 large really ripe banana, mashed with a fork into a paste
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup milk

saffron strands

for the syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tsp rose water or orange blossom water

Method:

Warm the milk and add saffron strands, let it steep.

Whisk the flours, 2 tbsp ghee, sugar and then add the banana to it. Now add milk in a thin stream, continue whisking to form an even batter. It should be slightly thinner, like crepe batter... add a little more water to achieve that consistency, if needed. Let it rest while you make the syrup.

Heat the sugar in a saucepan with the water until it reaches the right consistency (around 10 minutes). Turn off the heat, add the rosewater and keep in a warm place.

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Pour 2 tbsp. of batter, help form a small round pancake with the back of the spoon. Dot with ghee around the sides and flip when golden.

Take a flat serving plate or dish, spoon some syrup in the bottom, place the warm malpua over it as soon as you remove from the pan. Immediately coat the pancake with a tsp. of syrup. It should look really glossy and absorb some of the syrup. Repeat with another/rest of the pancakes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Shahi Tukda

This is one of my favorite Indian desserts...I am not much of a sweet tooth at all but do like anything made from milk. This one is particularly sinful :) and good way to top off a north Indian meal.



Ingredients:
4 slices white bread, trimmed, cut into triangles
4 tbsp chopped pistachios
1 can condensed milk
1 pint whole milk
4 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
2 pods cardamom, peel and powder the seeds

Method:
Heat the ghee in a pan and coat the bread on both sides before letting the bread fry in ghee to a golden brown. Continue with the rest of the bread and keep aside.

Pour the milk and the condensed milk in a double boiler. Add the sugar or to taste and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer constantly stirring every few minutes. This is a slightly laborious process and can take 30- 45 mins. for the milk to evaporate and reach a creamier consistency ...like double cream. But so worth it!!

Turn off the heat and stir in the cardamom powder. Let it cool to room temperature.

In a serving dish line the crisp bread triangles and pour the cream on top to cover all the slices. Garnish with chopped pistachios and chill before serving.

Badam milk (almond milk)

Almonds and saffron: there is no better way to showcase this winning combination than badam milk or sometimes referred to as badam kheer. The simplicity of ingredients and preparation also make it a great finale to any menu that is Indian or middle eastern. This is not a surprise considering both spices are commonly used in both Indian and middle eastern cooking. In fact, the best saffron I have found was from an Arab market but of the Kashmiri variety which is considered the rarest. It's strands have a deep auburn, almost maroon colour, are much larger than the Spanish ones and have a deeper, flavour too. It good to pick this up and pay the premium if you can find it. It works wonders with Paellas too!

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk or to taste
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 pinch saffron strands

Method:

Soak the almonds in hot water for 10 minutes and remove the skins. Crush a pinch of saffron threads with your fingers into a few table spoons of cold milk in a cup and set aside.
Grind the almonds with a little milk to a smooth paste.

Place a sauce pan on low heat and add the paste with half the remaining milk, keep stirring until it thickens slightly. Add the rest of the milk, saffron milk and the condensed milk and keep stirring until heated through. It should look like a thin custard with a gorgeous tangerine colour. I typically like to turn off the heat and chill the mixture at this point as I prefer to serve it in cups making it easier to sip.

However, you could leave it longer if a thicker consistency is desired but remember to keep stirring. If you do decide to go with the thicker consistency, you can serve it in little cups with a spoon garnished with sliced almonds. Either way, chill it in the fridge before serving.

Almond Pudding (muhallabia)

This a light, refreshing dessert that is an ideal finish to a heavy middle eastern or North Indian meal.


















Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
3 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
1/4 cup rice flour
3/4 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp rose water
ripe red currants or pomegranate seeds for garnish

method:
Blend ground rice with some of the milk to form a paste and set aside. Heat the rest of the milk until scalding, stir in sugar until dissolved. Now add the rice flour paste and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it bubbles, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes.

Now add the ground almonds and stir continuously until it is smooth and bubbles again. Turn off the heat and add rose water. Pour into individual ramekins, cover with plastic wrap when cooled and chill in fridge until ready to serve.

It is traditionally garnished with pomegranate seeds and or sliced almonds but I used organic, Oregon grown red currants. They look great against the silky, white pudding but also add a nice crunch and zing.

Classic Panna Cotta

This is my favorite Italian dessert. It is extremely simple to make and therefore a great choice when the rest of the meal is more elaborate. The only problem is that it needs sufficient time to set in the refrigerator and leaving it overnight is best. I have tried many variations and find that the recipe below yields the best texture, creaminess and taste!

Ingredients:

4 cups half n half
1/2 cup sugar or according to taste
4 tsp vanilla extract or 2 vanilla beans scraped
2 tsp gelatin powder or use gelatin sheets per package instructions

Method:

Add gelatin powder to ice cold water and set aside until it blooms.

Heat half n half with sugar on low heat until it melts. Then add vanilla, heat through (do not let it boil). Turn off the heat.

Add a little milk to the gelatin and whisk together until incorporated. Now add it back to the rest of the milk, whisk together. Pour into 8 ramekins and chill in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

There are so many different options to serve panna cotta. I have used fresh berry sauces and also chocolate sauce...both are fantastic! You can either pour the sauce over the panna cotta in the ramekins or for a more dramatic presentation, un-mould the panna cotta over a plate and spoon the sauce over and around it. To un-mould - place the ramekins over some warm water in a pan for it for a couple of minutes and then turn it over on to a plate.

Chocolate and pistachio frozen mousse

This is an incredibly rich, luscious, dessert for chocolates lovers and haters alike...was a hit with everyone! I had tasted a similar frozen chocolate mousse with pistachios in Rome and was so excited to see Lynn Rossetto Kasper publish a recipe she was given in Parma. I had to immediately rush to the kitchen and try it out! This is one of those recipes I will cherish and recreate to top off many an Italian meal! It is pretty much unaltered and I wouldn't change a thing!























Ingredients:

Chocolate mousse:
5-1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
4 tbsp butter (unsalted)
5 tbsp Marsala
2 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
a pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

chocolate marsala sauce:
1-1/2 tablespoons instant espresso
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup Marsala
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
5 tsp sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Method:

Chocolate mousse:
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and set aside to cool.

Combine the butter and Marsala in a bowl over boiling water until it starts to bubble then set aside to cool a little. Then beat in the egg yolks and back over boiling water and keep whisking till it thickens. Set aside to cool.

Heat sugar and water until a syrup forms. Beat the egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Then beat at high speed as you pour the hot sugar syrup into the mixer, then turn to low speed and continue until it reaches room temp.

Fold the egg whites carefully into the chocolate, followed by the whipped cream and the pistachios (set aside a couple tbsp for garnish), then at medium speed until the mixture reaches room temperature. Freeze for 4 hours or until firm.

Chocolate marsala Sauce:

Stir the coffee granules in the boiling water until it dissolves. Combine Marsala, chocolate, and sugar in a bowl and stir over hot water until a smooth sauce is formed. Stir in the butter just before serving.


Serve small scoops of the mousse drizzled with the chocolate sauce and sprinkled with chopped pistachios.