Mango Oats Fudge

I scratched my head quite a bit thinking what to name this lip-smacking sweet!

It looks very similar to the Laddu but the texture is very chewy and fudgy so nailed down on this name!

It’s a simple ,3 ingredients recipe but tastes just yummm!

Mango Oats Fudge

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Mango Purée

1/4 Cup condensed milk

1/3 Cup Instant oats

Directions

Mix the mango puree and condensed milk in a nonstick wok and heat it on low flame .

keep stirring , that is the key

The mix  will start to thicken and change into a slightly darker color in 5-10 minutes.

You can powder the Instant oats for few seconds in a mixer.

Add the powdered oats to the mango mix and continue to stir until it starts to leave the sides and have become a fairly thick mix.

Let it cool down a bit and roll into balls.

You might need to add little less or more oats depending on the consistency of your mango puree to get the desired thick consistency.

Masala Chai Creme Brulee

Bags packed , maps ready ,shopping list ready and already in Holiday moodJ We are set to rock Tokyo and The Mount Fuji!

I have been longing to see Sakura  , the beautiful  cherry blossom for soo long  and had planned the trip much much in advance!

Sadly all Sakura dreams has faded off as it still too cold in Tokyo L

But still hoping to have some good time and good food, especially some of the famous Japanese desserts.

I already got a lot of warning from my friends about the difficulty in finding vegetarian food Tokyo

Nevertheless I have decided not to take any packed food and try my luck thereJ

I will keep you posted on the How a Vegetarian survived in Tokyo!!

Coming to today’s recipe, I choose two of my favorites- A drink and a dessert and decided to combine them

The warm and soothing Masala Chai and the sinfully delicious Crème Brulee! 

So let me take a small break and leave you all with a  spicy and soothing- Masala Chai Crème Brulee

Masala Chai Creme Brulee

Ingredients

• 200 ml Cream
• 2 Egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 2-3  tbspn White chocolate chips
• 1 ½ tspn Masala Chai powder- Detailed Recipe here
• ½ inch piece of Ginger
• 2 tspn Black tea leaves

•  Heat the cream in a pot until bubbles start to appear around the sides.
• Add the grated ginger , Masala Chai spice powder and tea leaves to the cream and simmer for a minute.
• Switch off the flame and add the chocolate chips and mix well.
• Let the cream sit for few minutes for the flavor to infuse well.
• Sieve the cream and set aside to cool down a bit
• Now add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat well. The lighter the yolks the smoother your custard will be
• Slowly add the warm cream to the egg yolks, stirring continuously.
• Strain the custard mix using a fine sieve.
• Pour the custard into the ramekins.
• Place the ramekins in a large pan and pour in enough water upto halfway of the ramekins.
• Place on the tray in the center of the oven, preheated at 130 Degrees and bake for 40-50 minutes until the custard is just set and still a bit wobbly in the middle.
• Remove the tray out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
• Once cooled down transfer to refrigerator for few hours
• When ready to serve, add a teaspoon of sugar over the surface, gently tilt the ramekins so that it is evenly distributed
• Caramelize the top using a blow torch
• You can also caramelize in the oven using the broil function..

Honeydew Sago Dessert

 

I was never a fan of Honeydew until I tried this Chilled Honeydew Sago dessert during one of the trainings in office

Honeydew Sago is a cold dessert which is very popular in Singapore and Malaysia.

I have tried two versions of this, one with Coconut milk and another version with Soymilk

I prefer the Soymilk one as I find the other one with Coconut milk/cream a bit heavy

Both are equally yummmmmy thoughJ

Honeydew Sago Dessert

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Sago

2 tbspn sugar

1 Cup Soy Milk

Quarter of a Honey Dew

Directions

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the sago.

Cook it until it become translucent. For me it took about 10 minutes.

Strain it and wash the sago under cold water.

Cube the honeydew to ¼ inch slices. Take half of the honeydew cubes and puree it.

Now mix it all together, Soy milk, honeydew puree, cubed honeydew, sago and sugar and chill it.

Now enjoy the cooling and refreshing honeydew sago dessertJ

Rose Crème Brûlée

Xin Nian Kuai Le!! Happy Chinese New!!

May this year of Dragon bring good luck, success and peace to all of usJ

Coming to today’s recipe, it’s one of my favorite dessert recipe..Creme Brulee..A rose flavored Crème Brulee

I followed the same recipe for the simple Vanilla Crème Brulee plus some Rose syrup addition

And the result Heaven on earth!!Or rather heaven on your mouthJ

Rose Crème Brûlée

Ingredients

200 ml Crème

2 tbspn Caster Sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tbspn Rose Syrup

Half a Vanilla bean

Directions

Preheat the oven to 120 Degrees

Scrape the pulp of Vanilla bean and add the pulp as well as the bean to the cream.

Heat the cream in a pot until bubbles start to appear around the sides.

Let the cream sit for few minutes for the vanilla flavor to infuse well. Take the vanilla bean out.

Now Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat well. The lighter the yolks the smoother your custard will be

Slowly add the hot cream to the egg yolks, stirring continuously.

Now add the Rose syrup. The amount of rose syrup depends on the type of Rose syrup you use.

[I used the Rose syrup used for making Bandung to I had to use 2 tbspn to get the flavour]

Strain the custard mix using a fine sieve.

Pour the custard into the ramekins.

Place the ramekins in a large pan and pour in enough water upto halfway of the ramekins.

Place on the tray in the center of the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes  until the custard is just set and still a bit wobbly in the middle.

Remove the tray out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.

Once cooled down transfer to refrigerator for few hours

When ready to serve, add a teaspoon of sugar over the surface, gently tilt the ramekins so that it is evenly distributed

Caramelize the top using a blow torch

You can also caramelize in the oven using the broil function..

Off this goes to Valentines Day @Anzzcafe and Sweet Luv@ Zesty Palatte

Kueh Sago/Steamed Tapioca pearls cake

Kuehs are bit size snacks from Malay inheritance. I love their subtle flavor, lovely texture and mild sweetness.

This one in particular is one of my favorite Kueh. Its blissfully easy to put together and is made of Sago or tapioca pearls.

Kueh Sago/Steamed Tapioca pearls cake

Ingredients

150g Sago

4 tbspn Sugar

1 tspn Rose essence

Grated coconut

A Drop of Rose food coloring [Optional]

Directions

Soak the sago in water for about 1.5-2 hrs.

Optional-You can add a little bit of food coloring to the soaking water

After about 2 hrs, strain the sago and discard the water . Mix it with Sugar and rose essence.

Pour the mix to a steaming tray and steam for 25 minutes until all peals has become transparent.

Let it cool. Once cooled down , cut it into squares and coat well with grated coconut.

Dates and Sesame go-go balls

Looking for a guilt free dessert? Then you have landed in right spaceJ

I badly needed to empty the bottle in which I had put the sesame seeds as I needed that cute little bottle to fill in the Plum Chutney

And out of the necessity of the sesame bottle, I invented this simple recipe!!

I wanted to make the traditional ellu undai/laddus…But after a quick chat with Mom, it seemed like a tedious process.

Also a huge luck factor is involved as we have to get the Sugar syrup to exact right consistency else you will really really mess up !

Thatz when I saw the box of Juicy dates laying in table…Now that would make an excellent binder!! And rest is history recipe 

Dates and Sesame go-go balls

Ingredients

100 gms White Sesame seeds

10 Mejdool Dates

1-2 tbspn Brown Sugar/Maple Syrup or Honey

Directions

Dry roast the sesame seeds on low flame for 3-5 minutes until its lightly browned and fragrant

In a food processor, process the Sesame seeds ,dates and a spoonful of sugar/syrup

Mix well until all come together. If the mix is too crumbly ,add in a little more honey/syrup

Shape to balls and refrigerate for a while so that the balls will hold the shape and does not crumble.

Off this go to Cooking with Whole foods event hosted by Reva and Kiran

And Jingle all the Way hosted by Kavi

Green Tea Jelly / Matcha Jelly

Jellos are always a fuss free easy breezy dessert!!

And this treat is to all green tea lovers! May the Jello be with youJ

My love for jellos started years back when we were in Chennai,India.

I used to make bowls and bowls of jello and there was nothing more refreshing than a fruity jello on a hot sunny day!

Back then Jello was the de facto dessert for all occasions or gatherings!

I used to claim that, jellos are the healthiest dessert blah blah..The ugly truth was that Jello was the only desert I could make 4 yrs backL

After so many yrs, I still feel jellos are such a guilt free treat!!

Green Tea Jelly / Matcha Jelly

Ingredients

1 Cup Low fat Milk

1 tbspn brown Sugar

1 tbspn Agar agar powder

1 tspn Matcha powder/Green tea powder

Directions

Add the sugar, agar agar and matcha powder to the milk .

Keep stirring and bring to the boil.

Let it cool for 10 minutes and pour the mix to jelly moulds/ramekins and let it set in refrigerator for 2-3 hours

Drizzle a little honey on top of the jello and njoy the refreshing treat!

Saffron Peda and Besan Laddu : Two easy Diwali sweets

Wishing all my dear friends a very happy and prosperous Diwali

May this diwali fulfill all your dreamsJ

As today is an off day, I started my day with the usual blog hopping and came across the Kesar Peda recipe at Sharmis passion.

I have to admit that I was head over heels over the sweet, cute little pedas .

She have put it soo beautifully that you feel like making it right awayJ And I did it!

Do hop on to her lovely space here to see the detailed pictorial!

  

The second sweet I made was Besan laddu, I simple followed the steps from the video here

Choco Banana Brownies

I love brownies ...And I love bananas..Combine them both, you get this amazing choco banana brownies

I made it last week for a BBQ party at office.

As lighting the BBQ took quite a bit of time everyone had my brownies and cheese cake from my friend as appetizersJ

Brownies and Cheese cake as starters..How awesome can a party get!!

Choco Banana Brownies

Adapted from Bars and Squares by Jill Snider

Ingredients

1 Cup Sugar

1/3 Cup Light Olive Oil

2 eggs

2 Bananas mashed

3/4 Cup Cocoa powder

1 Cup Flour

1 tspn Baking powder

½ tspn Baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 Cup Semi sweet chocolate chips..

1 Cup Chopped walnuts

Directions 

Preheat the oven to 180 Degree

In a large bowl, mix the oil, sugar and egg and using an electric mixer, mix well for 2 minutes

Add the banana and sifted cocoa powder and beat on low speed.

Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt. Add to the Cocoa mixture and beat on low speed.

Add in the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Bake oven for 25-30 minutes 

Baked Yogurt with Pistachios n Cardamom

Happy Vijayadashmi wishes to one and all..

Hope you all had a wonderful time with lot of festive foods.

For me, I went off for a short 4 day vacation to Langkawi and took my first DiveJ

And we absolutely loved it!!

Diving was an amazing experience…loved the underwater world, so colorful and stunning.

Rest of the 3 days we just lazed around the small island, driving around and eating lot of local delights especially Roti Canai

We loved diving soo much that we are already planning for our next diving getaway.

Do let me know if you know any good diving spots in and around SE Asia

Coming to the recipe of the day, it’s a baked Yogurt which is an absolutely fool proof recipe..

Baked Yogurt with Pistachios n Cardamom

Recipe Adapted from : Atul Kochhar’s Indian Essence.

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Greek yogurt

1/4 Cup Condensed Milk

1/4 tspn cardamom powder

2 tbspn chopped Pistachios.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 150 Degree

Line 3 ramekins with muffin cups

Mix all ingredients together and pour the mixture to ramekins.

Place them in a tray and fill the tray with water halfway up the ramekins

Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes until set.

Let them cool and chill it in refrigerator until serving time.

Unmold the Baked yogurt from the muffin cups and serve chilled

Fig Squares

Ooohhh I was soo excited and was looking forward to our long weekend for one whole month

Infact I had made a long list of To-do/to-go/to-meet/to-eat/to-make items

And now ….it’s gone!! Leaving every little thing in my wish list undone!!!

Why you ask..?

For me the weekend started 3 days early…coz of 3 days of medical leave and a stupid stupid eye infection

And it ate almost whole of my long weekend..grrrrrrr

Can it be any worse than this?

Now I have to wait for two whole months for the next long weekendL

Anyways it’s time to clear out the list from my drafts folder…

So here is a fudgy, chewy and healthy slice…This was made some 3 weeks back and was lazily sitting in my drafts folder !!

Fig Squares

Ingredients

250 g dried figs, finely chopped

1  cup boiling water

100 g butter, softened

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons Honey

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1/3  cup Skimmed milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 170°C

Line a sqaure baking pan with parchment paper

Place figs and boiling water in a bowl. Set aside for 15 minutes to soften.

Once the figs has been softened, transfer to a food processor and blend for few seconds until a thick paste is formed.

Beat butter, sugar, honey and vanilla until light and fluffy.

Add fig mixture, flour and milk. Beat to combine.

Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Going CANDYLICIOUS along with Daring Bakers..

I barely made it to this month’s challengeL

I was down for the last few days with a pretty bad eye infection and flu..

Antibiotics did its work well and I am up and functioning just in time for the challenge.

This month’s challenge is one of the Sweetest challenge I have ever seen.. CandiesJ

The lovely hosts Lisa and Mandy shared, two methods for tempering chocolate and a plethora of recipes for various candies.

We had to make two candies..one with Chocolate and other of our choice

 I chose to stick with two of the simplest ones

Milk Chocolate and Almond Truffles

 Ingredients

255 g Milk chocolate finely chopped

125 ml Double Cream

½ Cup Chopped almonds

Desiccated Coconut for Coating

Finely chop the milk chocolate. Place into a heatproof medium sized bowl

Heat cream in a saucepan until just about to boil

Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir gently until smooth and melted

Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes

Stir in the nutes

Leave to cool and set for a few hours in the fridge

Bring to room temperature to use

Forming the truffles:

Using teaspoons, scoop round balls of ganache

Roll them between the palms of your hands to round them off

Finish off by rolling the truffle on desiccated coconut

Place on parchment paper and leave to set Tip:

Caramel Fudge

Ingredients

Adapted from here

40 g butter

½ cups brown sugar

1 tspn Maple syrup

130 ml condensed milk

60 g white chocolate chips

 Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add brown sugar, Maple syrup and condensed milk; stir over a medium heat until boiling.

Lower heat and cook, stirring for 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and add chocolate; stir until smooth.

The fudge will start to set quite quickly, so immediately pour into prepared pan, then spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until firm.  

Strawberry Yogurt- From scratch..

I love yogurt and stack up fruit flavored yogurts in my refrigerator all the time J

Whenever I am home alone…this fruity yummy cold yogurt is my breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

Anyways this weekend I was in no mood for baking and chose to make this delight from scratch..

 Here is the recipe

1 L Low Fat Milk

1 tbspn Plain Yogurt - Live Yogurt Culture

3-4 tbspn fat Free Milk powder- I used Anlene Milk powder

1/ 2 Cup Strawberries

Sweetener of your choice- Honey, Agave nectar, Strawberry Jam or Sugar

Bring the Milk to boil , once it is boiled. Stir in the milk powder and let it cool a bit.

When the milk has cooled down a bit , but still warm- stir in the live yogurt culture . You can add a tablespoon of store bought yogurt, do check if it has live culture in the ingredients..

Let it sit in a warm place for 8 hours.

After 8 hours, you get a creamy yogurt!!

Now add the sweetener and flavoring of your choice

I added 2 tablespoons agave nectar and pureed 1.4 cup Strawberries and added to the yogurt and gave it a quick blend.

Chop the remaining 1.4 cup strawberries and serveJ

There you have the yummy healthy fruity yogurt!!