Tender Coconut Pudding

Tender Coconut Pudding (Pic by June Carvalho)

THIS delicious pudding provides the perfect sweet finale to a meal with predominantly Oriental or tropical flavours. The slivers of tender coconut add a delightful texture to the otherwise smooth pudding, almost melting in the mouth, and not chewy like fresh coconut gratings. The oohs and aahs that follow a spoonful of this pudding belie the fact that it's actually extremely simple to make. Don't be surprised if the next thing your guests do is to ask for the recipe...you bet they will, as mine did, and so here goes:

What you need:

1 tin Amul Mithaimate condensed milk

1 *measure fresh coconut milk

1 *measure dairy milk

2 tbsps gelatine

3/4 cup hot water

Slivers of coconut from two tender coconuts

Soak the gelatine in the hot water to soften. Stir to dissolve. Whizz the condensed milk, coconut milk, dairy milk and gelatine in a blender and transfer to a glass dish. Cover with cling film and refrigerate. When half set, sprinkle the slivers of tender coconut evenly on the pudding. Refrigerate until fully set.

*Use the emptied condensed milk tin as your measure for the coconut milk and dairy milk. 

PS: You can mix it the day before it is required and leave to set overnight in the refrigerator.

    

Lemon Delight

Lemon Delight (Pic by June Carvalho)

I'VE adapted this lovely  pudding recipe from a 1968 edition of the cookery book An Encyclopedia of World Cookery by Elizabeth Campbell that my husband had picked up for me nearly 20 years ago from Select Book Shop on Brigade Road, a shop that's renowned for its collection of rare and out-of-print books. This thick, hard-bound copy, with yellowed pages, is a veritable treasure trove of recipes from all over the world, classified according to the countries of their origin. The author's introductions to each country's specialties make for interesting reading, not to mention the recipes, which have me salivating as I thumb through its pages. The only drawback is that the book contains no photographs, so you're left to imagine for yourself what an unfamiliar dish might look like when you're trying it out for the first time.

Lemon Delight  (Pic by June Carvalho)

This pudding is listed as Lemon Sponge Pudding under recipes from Canada. Indeed, it is like  a sponge layer on the surface but the surprise element is that beneath the sponge cake-like layer lies a beautiful, moist, yellow custard. The pudding can be baked in individual ramekins or in a larger baking dish, but what's really important is to place the baking dish in a pan of hot water and then bake. The gentle cooking process in a water bath ensures a soft-textured, self-saucing pudding, with a refreshing, lovely, tangy flavour. Two lemons may be used as per the original recipe for a stronger flavour, but I've found that the juice and zest of one lemon strikes the right, delicate balance of sweet and tang.

Lemon Delight (Pic by June Carvalho)

What you need:

50 gms plain butter
250 gms powdered sugar
4 eggs
1 pinch of salt
550 ml milk
50 gms flour, sifted
Juice and rind of 1 big lemon 

Beat the butter and sugar. Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs. Beat the egg yolks and add to the creamed mixture. Add lemon rind, flour, milk, salt and juice in that order.

Beat egg whites stiff and fold in gently.

Set dish in a pan of hot water and bake at 180 degrees C for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown on the top. Serve warm or cold.

Mango Clafouti

Mango Clafouti (Pics by June Carvalho)

I'M  still making the most of this year's abundance of juicy, ripe mangoes. This Mango Clafouti, a delectable, baked dessert needs nothing but the fruit and a fairly thick pancake type batter comprising milk, flour, sugar, eggs and butter. It can be eaten warm, but is best served chilled. Although ripe, red cherries are the preferred fruit in a clafouti, it can be improvised enough to substitute them with lovely, luscious mangoes which are more commonly found in our region than the elusive fresh cherries. 

What you need:

500 gm ripe mango

3 eggs

4-5 tbsps granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

85 gm melted butter

1 cup milk

2 tbsps Amul fresh cream

90 gm flour

Peel and dice the mango and spread it evenly in a square, glass baking dish that has been greased with a pat of butter. Whisk the eggs and sugar. Add vanilla essence, the melted butter, milk and cream. Whisk a little more till blended. Tip the flour in, a little at a time, and whisk gently, till all of it is moistened. Pour the batter evenly over the mango layer, sprinkle about a teaspoon of sugar on the surface and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 40 to 45 minutes till golden on top. Cool and transfer to fridge to chill before serving. Serves 4 to 6.

Bread Pudding

THERE are just two things I usually make with day old leftover bread - a bread pudding and French toast. Just like my mother did. Both involve essentially the same ingredients - bread, milk, sugar, eggs, essence. One is steamed while the other is shallow fried to a golden glow. Both appear at regular intervals on our dining table at tea-time because they're very easy to make, don't require planning ahead and besides, I can't think of better ways to use leftover bread. Any ideas?

What you need:

10 slices of bread
1 1/4 cups of milk
5 tablespoons of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
A few drops of vanilla essence

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar in a pudding bowl and set on slow fire to caramelise. When it begins to turn golden brown, take off heat with a pair of kitchen tongs and twirl around to coat the sides and base evenly. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, tear bread slices into bits and combine with the milk, eggs, essence and the rest of the sugar. (Taste a little of the mix and add more sugar if you like it sweeter.) Pack firmly into the pudding bowl. Cover and seal the bowl with foil, folding the foil in the centre to make a pleat. Steam in a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes.

Loosen edges with a butter knife and invert on to serving plate. Cut in wedges and serve either warm or cold.

PS: My kids prefer the plain pudding as above, but you can spice it up a bit by buttering the slices of bread, or adding some jam, or dry fruit and nuts to the mix. A pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon too, perhaps?

Christmas Cake Trifle

I THINK the best way to use up leftover Christmas cake (if there's any left over!) is to make a trifle with it. The one I made yesterday for a pot-luck lunch comprised mainly leftovers - three-quarters of a plum cake loaf, five slices of canned pineapple and the last orange from the fruit bowl.

With a wee bit of imagination, you can make this trifle with just about anything you have at hand. Only ensure that the flavours and textures sort of blend or complement each other. After the calorie overload of the past few weeks this trifle, far from being sinfully rich, was just right to tie up a light lunch at a friend's place. Or so I imagined.

All that needed to be made was a rum sauce to pour over and an apricot jelly to top it with, besides a sprinkling of some toasted and slivered almonds for a bit of nutty crunch. While
the usual custard sauce is rich and heavy with egg yolks and is patiently stirred over a double-boiler to avoid curdling, the one I made was basically a light white sauce, with sugar for sweetening and a few tablespoons of dark rum for flavour. Just light and nice.

What you need
for the rum sauce:

55 gms butter
55 gms flour
55 gms sugar
5 tablespoons dark rum
550 ml milk
A teeny weeny pinch of salt

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir around a bit with a wire whisk. Add the milk in a slow stream, and continue stirring with the whisk, because you want to get a smooth sauce, without lumps. Add the salt, sugar and the rum and continue cooking, stirring all the time till it comes to a slow boil. Turn off heat. Cover and set aside to cool before using.

To assemble the trifle:

Crumble the cake and press it lightly and evenly into the base of a glass dish. Sprinkle a little of the pineapple syrup from the can to moisten. Spread a layer of the pineapple bits and chopped orange segments. I would have loved to use a couple of oranges, but it was too much work to go out and get some...so I spooned a little Cointreau over the fruit layer to enhance the orange flavour.

Now pour the cooled rum sauce evenly over the fruit layer. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Just before serving, spread a layer of apricot jelly (made in advance as per instructions on the packet). Lastly, sprinkle some toasted, slivered almonds and a little green tutti-frutti for colour contrast. Serves 6-8.

PS: I thought a few drops of liquor/liqueur would not do any harm, but did I hear someone say "My knees are feeling a bit wobbly"?

Pina Colada Pudding

THIS delicious pudding was just the perfect dessert to round off our Christmas lunch. The original recipe was called Snowflakes which my dear friend Aruna had shared with me many years ago. Yellowing with age, the sheet of paper on which she had written it in blue ink (see pic below) still lies cello-taped inside my book of treasured recipes collected from here and there, each with its own story. Reference to it is like a flashback to our heady days of working together in the newsroom of a local daily - a place where I had forged some friendships for life. If the proof of the pudding indeed lies in the eating, then I think Aruna had once paid me the ultimate compliment when she said it had turned out better than her own! She says the credit for the recipe should actually go to her mother.

Snowflakes by itself is an instant hit with its lovely taste and texture. Not excessively sweet either. However, throwing in some canned pineapple bits and adding a splash of Malibu coconut rum gave it a kick, and also a new name. As usual, it was in the middle of making it that inspiration struck and both ingredients were readily at hand. So I went ahead with an assured feeling that one can never go wrong with a pineapple and coconut combination. Which, besides for making a sensuous pairing also conjures up images of tropical beaches, bikinis and umbrella drinks...

So here goes:

You will need:

2 cups whipped cream
1 and 1/3 cups fresh, grated coconut
5 slices canned pineapple, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon gelatine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons Malibu coconut rum
A pinch of salt
Half a cup of water

Mix sugar and milk on a slow fire, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool completely.

Heat half a cup of water and dissolve the gelatine in it. To the gelatine add the vanilla and salt and pour it into the milk/sugar mixture. Now add Malibu. Stir once to blend. Fold in the whipped cream, grated coconut and pineapple bits (reserving some for decoration) into the milk/sugar/gelatine mixture.

Gently ladle into a dish, cover with cling film and chill for at least three hours until set. I got it out of the way a day earlier. Garnish with pineapple bits and glace cherries.
Serves six.