Fruity Cake

Fruity Cake

I would have been proud if I made this but nope, got no time by then. This was served during my farewell party way back in Abu Dhabi... Sadiq was so kind to run to Abu Dhabi Mall to grab one of their cakes.. It is a sponge cake actually, decorated with fruits; kiwi,cherry, strawberry and almond chips at the sides.. Looks so vibrant. I just made the ribbon for the cake knife :-) he he

Macaroni Salad

Pineapple Delight

Pineapple Delight

I skip meat for lunch coz this was on my mind! I had this kind of dessert once we had dinner out and I thought of making one at home.. so here it is! What could be easier than this huh? Slice of pineapple, drizzle some syrup on top, 2 scoops of ice cream and fried spaghetti. Those long sticks you can see are fried spaghetti!!! They are incredibly crispy! Luckily I got a frame that looks just like it as accent. Again.. “for the sake of ArT” – This is gonna ba a common phrase you can see frequently in my blog, I think (winks).

Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Ohhhh… another ice cream?? Yez coz the summer breeze is quite hot! The passion fruit in the garden had been bearing fruits since January, but don’t know really what else to prepare other than eating it raw or mixing it with fruit juice which we are having everyday. Figured out that I could incorporate the flavor with ice cream but was hesitant with the acidity it has might break the custard mixture. I risked making one yesterday, fortunately it is fine! This is not my favorite nor hubby’s but it could be a good alternative. Just play with presentation! I didn’t use a goblet this time but the shell of the passion fruit itself! I like the handle.. toothpick with raisins! Tsk.. tsk… again.. “for the sake of aRt”

Use the basic ice cream recipe, add passion fruit while making the custard during the constant stirring stage when you are waiting for the mixture to thicken in low fire, but pass through a fine sift when custard is done. Just to get rid of the seeds, they might destroy the ice cream maker and besides it is tough to eat. But when eaten raw, it’s okay for me though.

Hearty Lemon Cream Dessert

Hearty Lemon Cream Dessert

Here is my Valentine treat! Easy to make!

Ingredients:

3 eggs
½ Cup Sugar
1 Can (290 g) Cream
Lemon zest
1 pack of gelatin
¼ Cup water

How to:

Heat cream until just about to boil, remove from heat. While heating the cream, beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Add the warm cream to the egg mixture slowly, stirring constantly and add lemon zest. Put back to the pan and continue heating with low fire, stirring constantly until thick consistency is reached but do not boil. Let set for 2 minutes to lower temperature then finally add 1 pack of gelatin dissolved in ¼ cup of water. Pass the mixture through a sift to get rid of bubbles and small lumps, if there is any, and let set in a molder. Put into the freezer for 1 hour and continue chilling in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with red sauce to have a valentine touch.

The red sauce I used is crystallized cherry which I happen to have a spare. I didn’t plan to make this but I just feel like doing something for valentine. I searched for anything red I could grab in the fridge and found this jelly like candy, a bit harder than jelly actually coz it’s caramelized with sugar. Blitz it in the blender to turn into liquid, add water of course. Its really up to you whatever you have.. If you have strawberry…raspberry or anything of some sort and fresh would be a lot better.

Tips:

To achieve with the same presentation as mine, use 6 inch square pan and limit the mixture to ½ inch thick. Freeze for 1 hour. Use heart shaped cookie cutter to cut through the settled mixture.

When grating the lemon to get the zest, make sure you are not getting the white flesh of the lemon. This tastes bitter!

In making the custard, don’t give up easily until thicker consistency is reached. Test by checking at the back of the spoon, when you can draw a line in it and doesn’t go easily, it is done. Got to careful with this coz it could be lumpy when boiled! One more thing, when adding the cream to the egg mixture, add the cream slowly in thin stream and stir constantly. Do not pour the cream or milk in one go. The same procedure applies for all custard recipes.

Glazed Banana

Xmas Cake

Xmas Cake

Our Christmas cake last Christmas.. the story :-)

I've been wondering what could I have for a unique christmas piece at home... My husband doesnt feel like having a christmas tree.. so I wandered around the junkies at the backyard what could I get... I saw a circular piece of wood which looks perfect for a cakestand.. actually I saw it before and just kicked it out and watched it rolled to a corner... what I did... I put 4 equal size of wood that would serve as a stand and there goes my cake stand! Painted it white and decorated with wired green leaves, the same material for Christmas Tree, twirled some gold and red ribbons. The colorful base layer are macaroons which I wrapped with colored plastic wrappers and formed it into something cheerful. Baked a layer of chiffon cake for the top layer and decorated it with icing, put Sta. Claus beside a small tree, add some red candies and mallows and stuffed the the base with christmas balls and bells! It isn’t just a christmas piece but with edible decors with two kinds of dessert. The cake and macaroons. Guests just love to munch the macaroons while sitting & chatting after dinner. This was the centerpiece of the center table where we had buffet with the guests and everybody loves it!!! They've been wondering which shop I bought!! --- secret --- :-) Unique.. isnt it?? You don’t really need to have Christmas Tree always on Christmas…. Here is a good alternative!

Classic Crepe

classic crepe

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 Cup flour
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Melted Butter
1 tsp. salt

How to:

Whisk eggs until frothy; add milk, flour, sugar, salt and melted butter. Continue beating until you will reach a very very thin consistency of the batter. Heat a nonstick medium sized pan with low-medium fire. Oil spray the pan or you make use a kitchen towel wet with oil to wipe the pan to avoid excess oil. Put 2-3 tablespoon into the pan; tilt the pan to form a very thin circular shape of the batter. Start removing from the edges as it turns slightly brown and turn it over slowly not to deform the shape. Use a wax paper to alternate each crepe to easily separate each. Spread Jelly or syrup on each crepe, fold into quarts and serve.

Mint Ice Cream

Mint Ice Cream


This is so refreshing ice cream! The mint flavor adds freshness as it melts in your mouth! I was wondering what alternative flavor of ice ice cream. I usually make chocolate, strawberry or other fruity flavors but with the heat of summer in Luanda, ice cream is just a perfect merienda! I played with other flavors I got, I had a remaining mint flavoring so I tried.. I never thought it would work coz, I haven’t seen such flavor in the market… The good thing about making your own ice cream is that you can control the sweetness by reducing the amount of sugar!

Just use the same recipe of the strawberry I had posted and replace the flavor, but here it is anyway.

Ingredients :

2 eggs
250 ml full cream milk
100 g sugar
450 g whipping cream
2 tsp. mint essence
1/2 tsp. green food coloring

Procedure :

Warm milk in a small pan whilst whisking the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly. Pour the mixture back into the pan stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken slightly but do not let it boil. Allow it to cool down to room temperature, mix in the cream and strawberry essence and chill for 30 minutes. Pour the mixture in an icecream maker. Alternatively, if you dont have an icecream maker, freeze the mixture and stir occationally just before it would turn into solid to avoid crystalized icecream.