Sugar et al, Author at Sugar et al

Fresh Strawberry And Whipped Coconut Cream Tart

4|07|2015

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at my bathroom scales this morning. I lost weight! A good 2 kilos. What I’ve been trying to achieve through exercise and self restraint in pastry matters, without luck..I achieved through a few weeks of medical tests and doctor visits. If you remember this post where I shared some health concerns with you, my nightmare is finally over. I completed the last of the tests this week and to my utmost relief I was assured that I did not have the dreaded disease. I do not have cancer!

My eyes well up at the thought of what I had to put my family through during this phase. The fear, the unknown, the unspoken, the unthinkable. The horror of lying inside closed machines (has anyone experienced an MRI machine?), learning to cope without food and water every other day of the week whilst cooking for others because most tests require you to do that. The one verdict that could have changed my world..and so many more that are intertwined with mine. It’s over at last! Leaving me a bit more in love with my life and the precious beings in it.

So I am trying to bring my life back on track again. Trying to put my heart and mind in things that I love to do. This recent experience has left me so exhausted that I am finding it hard to get back the creative flow of my work. Ideas that would take me a moment to turn into a recipe earlier are a struggle to give shape to. I am hoping this is just a phase and it will pass away soon.

I’ve been meaning to make a tart with coconut cream in it since I discovered the ease and deliciousness of whipped coconut cream in this recipe. Top it with fresh strawberries and you have an amazing dessert in your hands. The tart pastry is quite easy to make because there is no need to roll out the dough. You just make the dough in the processor and press it with your fingers on the base and sides of your pan. Using dessicated coconut in the shell, not only gives it an extra crunch but is also a delight for any coconut lover. It is really an easy recipe that you can whip up without any fancy ingredients or a great deal of time. I have used part coconut cream and part whipped heavy cream for the recipe because I did not want the resulting cream to be too strong in coconut flavor. But if you are a coconut fan, by all means double up on the coconut cream by using two cans of coconut milk.

Fresh Strawberry And Whipped Coconut Cream Tart
Yields an 8-inch round tart

To make the coconut tart shell (adapted from Epicurious)

1/2 cup (50 g) sweetened dessicated/flaked coconut

3/4 cup (about 105 g) plain flour

100g (7 tbsp) cold butter, cut into cubes

1/3 cup (about 40 g) icing sugar

1/4 tsp salt

For the filling
Coconut cream from this recipe (If you would like a strong coconut flavour, double up and use two cans of coconut milk/cream)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks with 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and 3 tbsp castor sugar. Refrigerate until needed

For the topping
Fresh strawberries, cleaned, hulled and quartered
Toasted coconut chips/flaked coconut
Icing sugar to dust

Make the tart shell:Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C fan-forced). Spread coconut in an even layer on a baking tray and toast in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (Leave oven on for baking crust.) Cool coconut to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Pulse together flour, coconut, butter, confectioners sugar, and salt in a food processor until dough just begins to form a ball. Press dough onto bottom and up side of an 8 inch tart pan with floured fingers, then freeze until firm, about 10 minutes. Bake in pan on a baking sheet in middle of oven until golden, about 25 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack.

Make the filling
Gently fold in the coconut cream into the whipped cream mixture. Refrigerate until needed. Once the tart shell has cooled, spoon the cream into the shell. Top with fresh strawberries and coconut chips. You can store in the fridge until serving. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

Mango Lassi Popsicles

30|06|2015

I grew up watching my Mum make yogurt at home. A warm corner of the house was permanently reserved for this. As I child I was fascinated by the process by which a little yogurt could create more yogurt. And then the the same yogurt would make subsequent batches of yogurt. An impressive cycle! The sweltering heat of the tropics was always a great excuse to feed on yogurt and yogurt based dishes and drinks. But everyone’s favourite way of consuming yogurt was Lassi. It was not just a drink..it was a way of life! The yogurt was churned by hand and the not-so-thick consistency of home-made yogurt made it ideal to turn it into a drink.

I discovered the hype about mango Lassi after coming to Australia. For us, it was plain lassi. Good, old, humble Lassi in tall steel tumblers. It was either sweet or salted with a pinch of cumin. My kids are only fond of the sweet version so the salted one rarely gets made. Freezing this Lassi in popsicle form is a fun way of enjoying the drink without having to worry about shelf-life.

Initially, I was about to blend the mango and the yogurt together but then I thought it would look brighter with the two layers. You could add all the ingredients together to be blended if you prefer the regular mango lassi. Double up on the mango if you need a stronger taste of mango.

Mango Lassi Popsicles
Makes 6

2 cups Greek Yogurt
1 cup milk
4 tbsp sugar (more if you prefer it really sweet or 1/4 cup maple syrup if you want to avoid refined sugar)
425 g canned mangoes (or fresh)

Blend the mangoes with a tbsp of sugar in the blender until smooth. Refrigerate till needed.
In a large bowl place the yogurt, milk and remaining sugar and blend with a whisk or a hand blender. Pour into a jug. Pour from the jug into popsicle molds till about 2/3rd full. Freeze for 45 minutes. Remove from freezer, add the mango puree, gently stir and insert a stick in the centre (If the stick is hard to place at this stage, place the molds in the freezer for 20 minutes first and then attempt to place the stick). Freeze for at least 4 hours.

Chicken Meatball Stroganoff

23|06|2015

I am truly overwhelmed and touched by your heartfelt and beautiful messages on my last post. It makes me warm and fuzzy even during the coldest days in Sydney. If I happen to mention Sydney winters to my cousins and extended family in the Northern Hemisphere, they don’t take me seriously. Like ‘what is she talking about?!’ I agree, our winters are not the coldest. There’s no shoveling snow around the sidewalks, or snow covered trees, or turtlenecks trending around here. And of course no Christmas carols! But for a sunshine loving person, this is hard enough. Then to add to that, school holidays have started. Keeping the boys entertained is a task by itself especially when the daylight is fleeting. The one thing I am enjoying however is that I am cooking new and different things for the excited little boys. This is the first time ever that I have been bombarded with so many requests.

Most kids love meatballs. Basically, anything edible in that shape goes down well with my boys. If it happens to be meat/poultry, even better. When I buy chicken mince, I make a big batch of meatballs and store in the fridge to be added to a variety of sauces or gravies on different days of the week. They tend to get a little dry and firm in the fridge but reheating them in a sauce/gravy generally softens them up. Another tip that I have learnt through experience is that meatballs are best when browned first in a shallow frying pan and then finished in the oven. They remain soft and juicy.

Looking for variety, something that I am always guilty of I chanced upon this recipe. It sounded like a great way of serving meatballs. Beef Stroganoff is a big favourite of mine especially the sour cream and mushroom based sauce. So, it was a matter of adding the two together. The resulting dish is deliciously creamy, wholesome and ridiculously easy to put together. If you are a fan of creamy sauces, you will love this one!

Meatball Stroganoff
Serves 4

500 g chicken mince
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 brown onion (use other half for the sauce), finely chopped
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (by running 1 slice of bread through a food processor)
1 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 brown onion
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup fresh/canned mushrooms
2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp canned tomato puree
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
Pasta, to serve with

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Combine chicken mince, garlic, onion, worcestershire sauce, mixed herbs and breadcrumbs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place on a plate. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook meatballs, turning, for 4 to 5 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and keep aside covered in foil.

Make the sauce : Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté onion and garlic for 4-5 mins, until tender. Add mushroom. Cook on high for 4-5 mins, until browned. Stir in tomato and paprika. Pour stock, bring to the boil and cook for 2-3 mins, until liquid is reduced by half. Reduce heat to low.
Stir in sour cream and sauce. Simmer for 1-2 mins, until heated through. Add the meatballs and simmer for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve warm with fettucicne pasta.

Chocolate Cake With Salted Peanut Chocolate Ganache And Chocolate Meringue

17|06|2015

Let’s celebrate! Celebrate what? Nothing…something…everything? Today I want to celebrate nothing. That nothing is wrong with me or my loved ones. That my life is extremely ordinary, normal…chaotic and beautiful. That I have a lot to delight in and plenty to fret about. That I am able to eat, sleep, run, laugh, argue, feel, plan, hope and dream, like anyone else. We don’t realize but when we plan, hope and dream, in some ways we acknowledge that life will still be somewhat the same or perhaps be better. A virtual certainty! But tomorrow could be different. Life could change in moments! What we have is today and NOW! We do take life for granted, don’t we? It is so easy to get caught in the flow of our daily grind and forget to appreciate life for what it is. But life sometimes, has it’s own way of jolting you upright. Like speed bumps on the way. Sometimes you see them coming and sometimes they sneak up on you. And your otherwise smooth ride turns into a bumpy, messy experience.

I recently found myself on one such speed bump and my world turned upside down. A casual health checkup throwing up certain abnormalities, never ending tests, sleepless nights, an anxious family and me, living in denial for most part of it. Successive tests very very thankfully and to my utmost relief did not confirm any of it. I have the last few to go but I am hopeful. I have a strong support system around me and I couldn’t be more grateful. Amidst the chaos, I braved myself to stay put and lead a normal life to the extent possible. I continued to post though fewer posts and my photos and words definitely reflected my state of mind. I apologize if I have disappointed you lately. This blog, baking and most importantly your time and visit to my space means the world to me. This blogging community and my blogger friends mean the world to me. Staying away from this is hard for me as much as coming here and sharing a difficult situation with you. I’ve always liked it to be a happy, vibrant place filled with positivity and colours.

So I made a chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache and salted peanut filling. Something different. Don’t be surprised if you see that combination come up soon again because I am pretty obsessed with the salted peanut thing at the moment. I covered the cake in chocolate meringue (cocoa infused) and that made for a light, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth frosting, mildly tasting of chocolate. The cake is moist, chocolatey and intense with the presence of coffee in it and this totally complements the frosting. You will need a blow torch to brown the exterior which in my opinion is an inexpensive but good investment if you are into baking and desserts.

I hope to bake more and flood my blog with decadent treats in the forthcoming weeks. Thank you for bearing with me and giving me a reason to come back:-)

Chocolate Cake With Salted Peanut Chocolate Ganache And Chocolate Meringue.
Serves 8-10

Chocolate Cake (recipe adapted from Food And Wine)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease two 7-inch round cake pans and line them with baking paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool. Peel off the baking paper.

Salted Peanut Chocolate Ganache Filling

150 g dark chocolate
1/3 cup thickened cream
1 cup salted roasted peanuts

Place chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds with a metal spoon or until smooth. Alternately, place the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in intervals till smooth and blended. Add the salted peanuts and mix.
Stand at room temperature until thickened (or pop it into the fridge for 10 minutes, if you are in a hurry)

Chocolate Meringue (adapted from the Food network)

3 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup granulated, superfine sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa, sifted

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Beat until the egg whites are stiff and shiny and the sugar granules cannot be felt in the whites. Beat in the vanilla, reduce speed to low and add cocoa until combined

To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread a thick layer of the chocolate-peanut filling. Place the second cake layer on top. Cover with meringue frosting. Brown the frosting with a blow torch.