Cake with Creme Caramel
03 Dec 2010 3 Comments
in Cakes, Desserts Tags: Cakes, Creme caramel, Desserts
I finally did it. I momoftwins came back after 1 year and +6 months later to my dormant blog. Even though I was away from my blog did not neglect my favorite blogs. I kept reading, admiring those beautiful pictures, trying some of that admirable food, cooking more and more. But no time for pictures.
I am one of those people who like to serve food straight out of the oven while the food is sizzling. And at the same time my family would be sitting at the dining table waiting to be served. I just can’t find myself telling them” wait a minute this is the Kodak moment, let me take some pictures” Well I guess I should work on this sizzled food issue a little 
While I was away, I cooked many Asian recipes, explored the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Food. Especially My holy month Ramadan was a challenging month. I was none stop exploring cuisines..
I just have to make time for my Kodak moments
Cake with Crème Caramel is the one I was lucky to capture it. I adopted this recipe from www.Nestle-family.com
ingredients:
* ¾ cup sugar or 150 g
* 1 tin NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk or 397 g
* 2½ cups boiling water or 600 ml
* 5 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla powder
*
For the cake:
* 1 cup plain flour or 140 g, sifted
* 3 eggs
* ½ cup butter or 100 g, softened
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* ¼ teaspoon baking soda
* Lemon zest, one small lemon only
The original recipe doesn’t include sugar. But I added 5 Tbsp sugar to cake batter.
Preparation
Place the sugar in a 25cm round baking pan, place the pan on low heat until sugar melts and becomes caramel. Remove from heat and turn the pan around to coat the base and the sides. Set aside.
Combine NESTLÉ® Sweetened Condensed Milk , water, eggs and vanilla in a bowl. Stir until well-combined. Then pour the mixture over the caramel in the pan.
Combine the flour, eggs, butter, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat the mixture with an electric whisk, beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.
Pour the cake mixture in the middle over the cream mixture, bake in a pan filled with water in 160°C preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until the cake is baked.
Remove from oven and allow cooling. Then place in fridge for 2-3 hours until totally cooled.
Flip over serving dish and serve.
Enjoy!
Daring Cooks June Challenge-Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers
17 Jun 2009 6 Comments
in Rice & Pasta, Turkish Food Tags: dumplings, manti, Pasta
This month’s challenge was hosted by the amazing Jen from use real butter. She challenged us to make Chinese dumplings / potstickers (a.k.a. “gyoza” in Japanese). As usual, the original recipe and instructions can be found at The Daring Kitchen, and you can also find some very useful tips and pictures on Jen’s blog.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, setting aside 1/3 cup.
- To the rest, add 1 tsp. salt. Mix well and make a well in the center. Place the eggs in the well.
- Make a firm dough, gradually adding 2/3 cup water. Continue kneading for 7-8 minutes, then divide the dough in half and let rest for 30 minutes covered with a damp cloth.
- Meanwhile, combine the finely chopped onion, meat, 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Roll out the first piece of dough to a 1 mm thickness.
- Place 1 spoonful of filling at regular intervals on the dough.
- Brush the dough between the filling with water.
- Roll out the second sheet of dough slightly larger than the first and lay over the first.
- Using your fingers, seal thedumpling by pressing around each mound of filling.
- Using a knife, cut the dumplings into individual circles and bake them for 15 minutes at 350F.
- Bring some salted water to a boil in a large pot; add the dumplings and cook for 15-20 minutes, until they rise to the surface.
Sauce and serving
- Meanwhile, wash and chop the tomato; sauté for a few minutes in the butter; add the paprika;
- Peel the garlic and crush in a mortar; add the yogurt and mix well to make a smooth sauce.
- Just before serving, place the ravioli in a serving platter. Pour on the garlic-yogurt sauce and garnish with the tomato sauce.
Melomakarona(Greek) /Kalburabasti(Turkish)
09 Jun 2009 1 Comment
in Desserts Tags: Greek desserts, spice cookies
These honey deep spice cookies belong to Mediterranean region. I know that melomakorano/kalburabasti cookies are traditional to Greeks and Turks. Melomakaronas are Christmas treats for Greeks and Kalburabasti is also served for weddings/holidays among Turks.
They are one of my favorite cookies and my daughter’s, as well. I have to give her credit for this delicious dessert. For once, I was the one being pampered while I watched her make her first melomakarona/kalburabasti.
Cookies
- 1 cup olive oil
- 6 tbsp sugar
- 6 tbsp orange juice
- 2 tbsp brandy
- 3 3/4 cups pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Syrup
- 2 cups Greek amber honey
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 cups chopped walnuts for garnish
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Beat together first 4 ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder, cloves, and baking soda 3 times.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the oil mixture and knead gently.
- Pinch off 2 1/2 tbsp. portions of dough and form into little flat oblongs (football shapes). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2-inches apart.
- Bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Syrup
- Boil honey, sugar, water, and cinnamon for 5 minutes.
- Pour syrup over hot melomakarona cookies.
- Allow to soak for 15 minutes, take them out of the syrup and place on large plate.
- Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts
Cranberry-Apple Custard Strudel
28 May 2009 6 Comments
It was 4 o’clock in the morning in Jordan, and I was very sleepy. I’d had a very busy day and unfortunately there was no time for me to sit in front of the computer.
The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.
I know my recipe doesn’t look like a traditional strudel, but a baker needs a change of pace every now and then. I was searching the internet to get an idea of something unconventional that I could bake, so I end up stumbling upon a page that had beautiful pictures of ‘Vol Au Vent’ pastries stuffed with savory meat and topped with a sauce. At that moment, I pictured a stuffed cranberry pudding strudel with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. My next move was how to go about making this pastry. I had two thoughts, one, to grab a frozen packet of ready made ‘Vol Au Vent’ pastry and take the easier way out, and two, to be a daring baker and create the pastry manually. I decided to go with option 2, and ended up making the puff pastry myself. The recipe was adopted from http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/vol-au-vent.php
The recipe for the stuffing was adopted from www.dairygoodness.ca
P.S:- I added a little twist of my own to the recipe , rather than having vanilla cream as the topping, I chose to drizzle chocolate sauce instead. Bon a petit! Enjoy.
Banana Bread
22 May 2009 1 Comment
Yesterday was a boring day, so I decided to bake something. When I entered my kitchen the first thing that caught my eyes were my bananas in a fruit bowl and I saw black patches on their skin. That meant I had to do something with them. I decided to make Banana bread. (Which I haven’t baked for a while) I remember seeing a recipe in my Martha’s Baking Handbook Cookbook. So I gave it a try. It came out absolutely delicious. I think my son was addicted to it. Every time he takes a slice he tells me ” mommy this is delicious”. We as moms all know that we love to hear compliments from our children..
Makes two 9-by-5inc loves
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 taablespoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ripe mashed bananas(3 medium )
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup buttermilk(I subsituted with yogurd)
Nonstick cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat two loaf pans with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vegeteable oil on medium speed until combined. Beat in th eflour mixture.add the vanilla, banana, coconut, nuts, and buttermilk, and beat just to combine.
Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smooth with an offset spatula.
Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and let cool completely. Enjoy!
Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding
18 May 2009 2 Comments
This is one of my favorite dessert.. I always want to try to bake bread pudding.My first try was not successful but second try was absolutely delicious.
I found this to be very simple and fast to make.Creamy custard, melted chocolate , spongy challa bread and ICE CREAM…Such a yummy treat for my taste buds
This recipe has been adopted from Foodnetwork.com. I just didn’t make the chocolate ganache instead I served with vanilla ice cream and I omit the raisins.
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole milk, warmed
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted in microwave
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 loaf challah bread, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices
- 1 cup chocolate
chips - 1/2 cup raisins
- Chocolate Ganache
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine warmed milk and melted butter with the sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until incorporated and smooth.
Line a large baking dish with two-thirds of the challah slices. Sprinkle with half the chocolate chips and half the raisins. Top with remaining challah slices, layering them one on top of the other, and then remaining chocolate chips and raisins, making sure the chips and raisins get inside the layers created by the challah slices.
Pour milk mixture slowly over the top of everything and let stand until the bread has absorbed almost all of the liquid, 5 to 10 minutes.
Wrap the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer until set in the middle and lightly browned on top.
Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Serve with the Chocolate Ganache drizzled over top or Ice cream.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Valentino
28 Feb 2009 12 Comments
This months Daring Bakers Challenge is Flourless Chocolate Cake…. and ice cream.
The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
We have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.
I missed January’s challenge deadline, so I was intent on getting this one on time and I barely made it.
The cake was amazingly easy. I baked it in a springform pan and then cut big hearts out with a cookie cutter.
The original recipe uses whipped topping instead of ice cream which was optional for people who wanted more complex challenge. Since I didn’t have enough time to make ice cream I just settle with delicious vanilla whipped topping.
Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated
1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.
Homemade Whipped Cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Whip cream with mixer. Be careful not to overbeat or else will get too thick like butter. When it begins to thicken, add sugar and vanilla; stir. Refrigerate.
Happy Valentines Day To All Daring Baker’s.
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