My friend Shama’s “Cream Cracker Fruit Creamy Delight” And a Near Year Wish

Hey, friends. Wish you all a very Happy New Year. I wish you only the best, which includes health, happiness, luck, tons of joy, unconditional love, great friendships, realization of all of your dreams, a peaceful sky above your head, prosperity, a table full of food to share with your loved ones, and many other things that will make you happy!

My first recipe for 2016 is a sweet dish which is utterly divine. One of my favorite desserts!! And it’s actually so easy to make. This dessert was introduced to me by my friend Shama at a dinner get together. I asked her if it’s alright to post the recipe on my blog and she said yes.

Servings: 5

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

 2 tbs sugar

1 plain yogurt

1/2 tin condensed milk

1 packet cream cracker biscuit (she prefer green color cover one)

1 medium size tin fruit Cocktail

Method:

1_ Prepare an eight inch glass tray or serving dish ( you can make two layers in an eight inch tray

2­_ Add whipping cream and sugar into a bowl and whip until soft peaks. Set aside

3_ In another bowl mix condensed milk & yogurt, into this fold whipped cream.

4_ Take one third of cream crackers, crush between your palms and sprinkle on the bottom of glass dish, on top of this add half of the whipped cream & condensed milk cream. Spread a nice layer. On top of this sprinkle half of the fruit cocktail.

5_Crush half of remaining cream cracker and sprinkle on top of fruit cocktail, spread remaining cream, then sprinkle remaining fruit cocktail and for the final layer crush remaining cream crackers and sprinkle on top.  Chill this dessert at least 4 hours. Serve cold. Enjoy!

Sunshine Mango Mousse

It’s mango season going on and the local market is full of mangoes. Most mangoes are brought from the island Gan, I heard many mangoes go rotten and it have to be thrown before they could send to Male’ or any other island to sell because of transport shortage. Even the islander’s don’t have any facility to keep mangoes fresh for long time. Few Maldivians used to sun dry sour mangoes and these dried mangoes are capt in gunny bags for months to make pickles. Mangoes are used to cook curry, make pickles and juices, even we do eat sour mangoes dipped in spicy fish paste. I think ripened mangoes are a delicacy to be eaten any time of the day as it's my favorite fruit. I have written some mango recipes which I want to include in my recipe book. Hopefully trying to publish it before Ramadan. Sunshine mango mousse is an easy yummy dessert I made for last Friday lunch. 

 Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

3 tbs sugar 

¾ cup mango pulp

Lemon Yellow food color (Optional) 

Method:

1 – Whip whipping cream with sugar until soft peaks.

2 – Fold mango pulp into whipped cream. For nicer color add few drops of food color and fold again.  Chill for 2 hour’s garnish with chopped mango's and serve. Enjoy!

- This recipe makes 3 servings ...

Bokuri Bambukeyo ( Caramelized Breadfruit)

This is my absolutely favorite of all favorite desserts, I mean from local desserts.  Simple and very scrummy and moreish and yet at the same time looks very very elegant I mean the dark amber color like a glowing bunch of small amber colored rocks. I could eat the whole recipe by myself, hahaa. 

I was thinking to use this as a filling in tarts, puff pastry, pies, but not this time in another recipe. For a creamier taste my mum used to eat this with thick coconut milk, instead of coconut milk I added some whipping cream and the taste was mind blowing. From this recipe six servings can be taken.

Ingredients:

1086 grams breadfruit (bambukeyo, cored skin removed and cut in to bite size pieces)

543 grams sugar

21/2 cups water

½ cup jasmine water

2 sticks cinnamon 

Method:

1 - In a deep sauce pan add breadfruit and water.

2 - Cook until bread fruit gets medium soft, just water reaches to half.

3 - Add sugar and cinnamon, give a good stir. Cover and cook on low heat until some breadfruits get soft, some mushy and the color changes to light caramel brown.

4 - Now add Jasmine water again cook until color changes to deep amber color. Serve hot with coconut milk or whipping cream. Enjoy!

Kulhi Baipen or Bonga Bonga

It seems that this is the breadfruit season as we are getting lot of breadfruits from our relatives. Yesterday my mum cooked a big pot of Bambukeyo bondibai, which is my favorite dessert and today I cooked Kulhi Baipen for lunch. I never cooked this before but have tasted it several times, if my memories are not so dim the last time I ate Kulhi Baipen was about six to seven years back. I remember the taste because I loved it so much.

Last night I asked my mum if she can tell me how to cook Kulhi Baipen but she said She wasn't so sure about all the ingredients used to cook it. I sat with a pen and paper started listing the ingredients per the long back taste of kulhi baipen. Today after I cooked, I invited my sisters & mum to taste it, I knew they would love it because the taste was just like the original recipe my grandmother used to cook. So here I share my version of Kulhi Baipen, which is so yummy, spicy and majaa (fun).

Ingredients:

3ltr’s water

1 cup rice (washed)

310 grams breadfruit (cut into bite size pieces )

1 big onion (Sliced)

2 garlic chopped

1 spring curry leaves

10 pcs pandan leaf

1/2 chilly ( githeyomirus, depends to your taste)

1 tsp ajinomoto

3 tbs good quality rihaakuru (fish paste)

½ of a medium smoked tuna  ( sliced in to bite size pieces, Valho mas falhieh)

3 tbs tomato paste

4 tbs Vegetable oil

Salt

For curry paste:

90 grms coconut

60 grm onion

9 grms garlic

6 grms dried chilly ( hiki mirus)

¾ tbs whole pepper

¾ tsp cumin seed

4 grms ginger

1 tbs lonumirus curry powder

¾ cup water

Method:

1 - Grind all curry paste ingredients in a food processor or a food grinder into a very fine paste. Leave aside.

2 - In a large sauce pan add 21/2 liters of water and rice, cook for 20 minutes on medium heat, now add bread fruit and cook until bread fruit & rice becomes very soft, so soft that it can be easily mashed using back of a wooden spoon. Mash soften breadfruits as much you can pressing bread fruits in the sides of pan using wooden spoon.

3 - In another sauce pan heat oil and add onion, garlic, curry leaves, pandan leaves and chilly fry until light brown.

4 - Put fried onion mixture into the breadfruit mixture. Add curry paste, smoked tuna, rihaakuru, tomato paste, salt and ajinomoto. Cook until the mixture turns into thick gravy, at this stage if the gravy is too thick add extra water and adjust salt per your taste. Serve hot ………….. enjoy! 

Note: 1-  Breadfruit used to cook this Baipen should not be ripe at all. Press fingers on the                         breadfruit if you cant press easily than it's not ripe.

          2-  In kulhi baipen the rice don't have to be mushy, just soft will be fine. 

Cinnamon sugared fried choux with chocolate sauce ... dreamy chocolate fantasy

Choux pastry is a light, crispy bun or a finger (depends how you pipe it) with airy soft pockets inside. Inside of choux pastry can be scooped and filled with sweet & savory fillings. I did post a recipe how to make eclairs some time back, that is also made using choux pastry, but this time I made something different. 

I saw on TV some restaurants serving fried choux with hot chocolate shot which took my interest to do little research about it. After my research I decided to make my version for Saturday afternoon tea. My impatient kids started eating just after first batch was fried. I finished last batch and sat to enjoy near my kids with a big mug of tea. Choux was crispy just after frying & melts in mouth like a dreamy chocolate fantasy. We could not eat all so I kept it covered at room temperature and next morning I had some for breakfast. Choux wasn't crispy as it was after frying, but tastes yummichocolicious ..  

Ingredients

Choux :

100 grms unsalted butter (chopped)

1 cup water

1 cup flour

1 tsp corn flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

5 large eggs

Chocolate Sauce

1/3 cup whipping cream

75 grms dark chocolate

½ cup chocolate syrup

Cinnamon Sugar

½ cup sugar + 2 tsp ground cinnamon (mix together)

Method:

Make chocolate sauce

1-   Chop chocolate set aside.

2-   Mix whipping cream & chocolate syrup, put into a pan and cook until syrup starts to boil. When starts to boil switch off flame, but keep on the hot stove.

3-    Add chopped chocolate into the boiled syrup & leave for 10 min. After 10 minutes stir until all chocolate is dissolved and sauce is smooth.

4-    Pour in to a bowl and leave to cool.

To make choux

1-    Mix flour, corn flour, baking powder. Set aside

2-    Put butter and water in a sauce pan, start cooking on moderate heat when butter dissolves and the mixture comes to a rolling boil, turn heat to lowest. Tip all flour mixture in stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Stir until the dough leaves sides of pan and you have a smooth ball. Remove from stove.                        

3-   Put dough in a stand mixer bowl, start beating the dough.

4-   When dough breaks start adding eggs one by one. Be careful at this stage as the dough is very hot which may scramble the eggs, keep on beating high until all eggs are added and the dough turns into a thick glossy paste. Consistency of icing or thinner than icing which can be piped without hard pressure.

5-   Heat oil in a wok or a pan, get a 1M size star nozzle ready in a piping bag. Scoop some amount of choux batter into piping bag and pipe about 3 inch long rods into the hot oil. Using a pastry scissor cut the batter from end of nozzle.

6-   Turn both sides to fry evenly, when piped choux gets nicely brown and crisp using a slotted spoon take out from oil and immediately put into cinnamon sugar and turn to coat all sides.

Serve with Chocolate sauce…… enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Oreo Fudge .. Oh, baby. Come to mama.

Friday I wanted to make something which tastes like chocolate cookies, chocolate brownies, chocolate fudge & gooey chocolate (gooey I am trying to say is chocolate melting in my hands when I am holding a piece) and Friday went thinking, so Saturday I came up with this dangerously decadent recipe. This is without a doubt, completely and utterly insane. But I mean that in a good way. Of course : ) To make this fudge all you need is ..

Ingredients:

200 grams Oreo cookies (11/2 pkt) crushed in to crumbs and chunks

50 grams unsalted butter

100 grams dark chocolate

1 cup condensed milk

Method:

Generously butter a seven inch tray, set aside. In a sauce pan melt butter & chocolate, add condensed milk. Cook until chocolate mixture starts to boil. Add crushed Oreo. Mix everything well. Pour fudge mixture into the buttered tray soon after taken from heat. Cool completely and chill for 2 to 3 hours to serve cut in to desired shapes. Enjoy!

Note: I used 11/2 pkt oreo cookies with the cream. If you don't want too much gooeyness add 2 whole pkt oreo's. I love my fudge this way. Just for all readers information next recipe is Chicken Shawarma with the touch of Sweet Hungarian .. 

Crunchy Chicken Submarine with Italian Dressing

This Ramadan my most viewed post up to today is chicken submarine recipe.That's why for all the submarine lovers here is a mouthwatering Yummy Submarine recipe which I made yesterday. My son loved it, wish my daughter was here. Missing her terribly on this Ramadan when I am making different kinds of food, she keeps complaining about the vegetarian food aunty(women looking after her at Sri Lanka) cooks for her, not that the food aunty cooks is bad just my daughter is having difficulty adjusting to vegetables without meat.

Ingredients:

3 submarine buns

2 tomatoes (sliced)

2 lettuce leaves (each halved)

6 slice cheese

Mozzarella cheese

To make Crispy Chicken:

½ of chicken breast (cut in to thin slices)

¾ cup flour

1/2tsp baking soda

11/2tsp garlic powder

1/2tsp salt

½ tsp pepper powder

2 eggs (beaten)

Oil for deep frying

To make Italian dressing:

¾ cup Mayonnaise

2 tbs cream cheese spread

2 tbs Chilly & garlic sauce

11/2 tbs Italian seasoning 

Method:

To make Crispy Chicken: Heat oil on low flame until small bubbles appear. Mix flour, baking soda, garlic powder, salt and pepper powder in a plate. Take a chicken piece dip in eggs and then in the flour mixture, again in egg and again in flour mixture fry on low flame each side until light golden brown. Continue until all chicken pieces are fried. Drain on kitchen towels. Set Aside.

To make Italian Dressing: Mix everything, set aside.

To assemble Submarine: Take a submarine bun cut horizontally from middle and apply a generous amount of sauce, on this put a lettuce half, on this arrange some crispy chicken pieces on this grate some mozzarella cheese, on this arrange tomatoes, on this half two slice cheese and arrange cover the stuffed submarine with the top of bun. Prick two tooth picks two sides. Make the other two submarines the same way. Cut each submarine in half and arrange in a baking tray. Bake in a 170C pre heated oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.... ENJOY!

Note: For a more crunchier chicken fry on low flame until crispy on both sides. Italian seasoning & garlic powder I bought from Fantasy Store. For extra hot add chopped chilly into the sauce. 

Chocolate Fudge Pudding Cake

Hi my readers, Ramadan Mubarak to all the lovely people of Maldives & all around the world. I know a lot of people are waiting impatiently for a new recipe from me so here I go and the first recipe of Ramadan starts with Chocolate.  

This is how cake should look when baked

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

100 grams dark chocolate (melted using a double boiler)

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tsp baking powder

½ cup butter milk (1 cup full cream milk + 1 tsp vinegar or 2 tsp lime juice mix & keep for 10 minutes)

1 large egg

For the poured syrup

½ cup heavy cream or whipping cream

1/3 cup condensed milk

½ cup cocoa powder (Sieved cocoa powder)

Method:

Prepare an 8 inch baking tray by greasing the bottom & sides with vegetable oil or margarine, set aside. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 160 c. Mix all the syrup ingredients well until all the cocoa is dissolved set aside.

In a bowl using your hand mixture or a stand mixture mix all the cake ingredients. It will be easy to mix if sugar is finely ground. Pour cake mixture into baking tray. Bake the cake for 10 minutes just until the sides are set. Below is a picture.

Take the cake out from oven and pour the chocolate syrup on the middle of the cake, using a knife or the tip of a rubber spatula, gently swirl the cake batter together so they're mixed, but not completely blended.

Bake until a pick inserted about 1 inch from the edge comes out gooey, but not liquid, 40 to 45 min, don't over bake. The top will be puffed and slightly cracked ... enjoy!

Marie Biscuit Chocolate Fudge…. Easy as eating a Cadbury Silk..

This is an absolutely delicious and easy fudge that my kids rave about! The gorgeous gooiness!! Just perfect for a family like mine who are chocolate crazy.

Ingredients:

2tbs unsalted butter

1can condensed milk

1/2cup unsweetened cocoa powder

250grms Marie biscuit ( crushed in to bite size pieces)

Method:

Generously butter an 8inch round tray or pan, set aside. In a sauce pan melt butter, add condensed milk and cocoa powder mix to combine.

Cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat, Add crushed Marie biscuits mix to coat all the biscuits with the chocolaty fudgy sauce. Immediately transfer the chocolate biscuit mixture into the prepared pan, using a spoon spread and press biscuit fudge in to the tray and place in fridge at least 2hour's. When ready cut into squares and serve ..........................................enjoy!!!

Note: If you are not a very chocolaty person you can reduce the amount of cocoa powder up to 1/3cup, but 1/2 cup is delicious and chocolicious!! 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pudding Cake

Am I getting crazy about cream cheese & pudding, This Ramadan mostly my sweet tooth craves for puddings, anything with cream cheese and only desserts?  I made this pudding yesterday and it was so awesomely delicious, today I am thinking to go for some luscious chocolate cake with a mousse filling and a shiny creamy chocolate frosting....

Ingredients:

300g cream cheese

4egg whites

4egg yolks

1cup sugar

1/3cup flour

2tbs corn flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2cup milk

2cups Blueberry pie filling

Method:

Preheat your oven to 180C, Butter the bottom and sides of an 8 inch round cake tray. Line the bottom of tray with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. Prepare a hot water bath set aside.

In your electric mixture or using hand mixture whip the egg whites with 2tbs of sugar until soft peaks or until it holds its shape. Whip the egg yolks with the rest of sugar until pale yellow. Add the milk into the egg yolks give a stir, mix flour, corn flour and baking powder using a spatula fold this into the egg yolk mixture (folding & mixing is different, if you mix the air which was incorporated while yolks and whites were whipped may deflate) so just fold gently and into this fold the egg whites just the same way. Now in another bowl cream the cream cheese until no lumps, again fold the creamed cream cheese mixture into the egg & flour mixture. Take 11/2cup batter into another bowl and add one cup of blueberry pie filling and blend well.

Pour the rest of batter into the prepared baking tray. Now drizzle heaping teaspoons of the blueberry mixture over the batter in the tray. Use a skewer to swirl the blueberry mixture in short strokes to drag it down through the plain batter without mixing it in. This will give a nice marble effect.

Put the tray into the water bath and bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester or skewer inserted in the center comes out with few crumbs. Take the cake pan out from water bath on to a wire rack & cool completely, the cake will shrink little bit, remove cake from the tray, peel off the paper and transfer the cake on to the serving plate or dish. Refrigerate overnight or at least four hours, before serving spread the remaining cup of blueberry pie filling on the cake generously.........................................enjoy!!

Note: You may think 8inch tray is too small for this pudding, but trust me it wont be as this cake does not rise much.

Caramel Cream Cheese Pudding

This pudding looks more like a caramel pudding, but tastes totally different more like a caramel cheese cake, but softer than a cheesecake. I love anything with cream cheese and this is a delicious pudding whoever loves cheesecake will love this pudding.

Ingredients:

For the caramel:

1/2Cup sugar

2tbs water

For pudding:

350grms cream cheese

1/2cup heavy cream

1can condensed milk

7eggs

1/2tsp vanilla essence

2tbs corn flour

Method:

Pre heat your oven to 180C, prepare a hot water bath by putting hot water into a bigger tray which can accommodate the pudding tray inside, The water must reach half of the pudding tray.

To Make the caramel: In the tray that you are going to bake the pudding combine sugar and water, Cook on medium heat swirling the tray occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and starts to turn color. Increase the heat to high and boil until the syrup turns to a deep amber color, 3 to 5 minutes. With a spoon try to push the caramel all sides of the tray coating the bottom completely, set aside.

To make the pudding: In you're electric mixer or hand mixture beat the cream cheese until no lumps, add condensed milk, heavy cream, eggs, corn flour and vanilla essence beat until smooth.

Pour this mixture into the caramel coated tray. Put the pudding tray in the hot water bath and bake for 45min to 1hour, different ovens temperature varies so check just giving a shake to the pudding tray if the middle does not gobble, then the pudding is done. Carefully take the pudding tray from the water bath, run a thin knife around the edges of the pudding, cool completely and keep over night or at least 4hour's inside your fridge.

(After baking pudding looks like a cheese cake until it's flipped upside down)

To serve again run the knife around the edges and put a serving plate or dish big enough to hold the pudding on top of the pudding tray and flip upside down, give a little tap on the tray and the most gorgeous, golden pudding will be in front of your eyes..... Enjoy!!

Caramel Paan Pudding (Caramel Bread Pudding)

Another yummy dessert I would indulge in wholeheartedly. Today is the second day of Ramadan and I wanted to make something special and sweet for breaking the fast. I have heard of some people making bread pudding so I thought a little and came up with this heavenly RECIPE, my family loved this dessert.

Ingredients:

1cup sugar

4tbs water

1cup milk

1cup heavy cream or wiping cream (at room temperature)

1/2cup condensed milk

11/2tsp vanilla essence

3/4part of small bread (upper hard crust removed ( matheega ina harubai nagaafa))

4eggs beaten

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160C, cut or tear each bread slice in to four pieces and put in an oiled 9inch tray. I used two 6inch trays.

In a bowl mix milk, heavy cream, condensed milk & vanilla essence, set aside. Put the sugar and water into a deep saucepan, swirl to dissolve the sugar before putting on medium heat. Caramelize the sugar and water mixture by letting it bubble away until it all turns a deep amber color this will take 3 to 5 minutes.

(I could not take a picture while the sugar turned to deep amber color but you can see from this picture how the sugar is changing color from the sides)

Be very careful at this stage as the sugar may burn quickly, as soon sugar caramelize take the pan off the heat and add the milk, heavy cream & condensed milk mixture little by little ignoring all spluttering, whisking constantly (when the milk is poured into the caramel it will start rising vigorously like an angry volcano, no matter if I haven't seen one) whisk whisk so that all the toffee pieces forming will dissolve. Add the beaten eggs whisking constantly, Pour this quickly over the bread and leave to steep for 10 minutes. 

Place in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until the sides are set. I love to eat this pudding little hot ...........................................................enjoy!!