Elegant Desserts For Perfect Indulgence!

Date Crumble - No butter as well as no fuss !

Chopped Dates - 1 cup

Sliced bananas - 1 cup

Bread crumbs - ½ cup

Milk - as given below

In a greased bowl, spread a layer of chopped dates, over it sliced bananas & on top of it sprinkle bread crumbs.

Repeat this arrangement once more.

Now pour cold milk, just enough to soak all ingredients completely.

Wait till completely soaked.

Dot with a small knob of butter & bake at 400 deg F till done.

Serve with chilled custard or sweetened cream or vanilla icecream.

 

Apple Crumble – combine with raisins or nuts or bananas.

Sliced apples - 2 cups

Raisins - 1 cup (or chopped walnuts+almonds or sliced bananas)

Cinnamon powder ( or cardamom powder) - ¼ tsp

Flour - ½ cup

Brown sugar - ½ cup

Cold butter - 2 tbsp

Sift flour & mix the sugar.

Cut the butter into small pieces & rub into it until the mixture is crumbly.

Peel, core & cut slices of apple.

Or you can grate tham also.

Mix with raisins & arrange in a greased baking dish.

Spread the flour mixture over this & gently press to make the mixture compact.

Bake at 175 deg C for about 35 mts till the crumble is golden brown.

This can also be microwaved for 8-10 mts till set.

Serve hot with sweetened cream or vanilla custard or vanilla ice cream.

 

Almond Cheesecake - this was my Induslady Special !

Crust:

Digestive biscuits - 100 gms

Butter - 50 gms

Powdered sugar - ¼ cup

Filling:

Milk - 250 ml

Curds - 250 ml

Instant Chinagrass - 100 gms

Almond essence - 1-2 drops

Sliced almonds - few

Crush biscuits fine, add softened butter & sugar.

Press firmly into a 7-8” greased baking dish.

Bake at 400 deg for 8-10 mts.

Remove & cool.

Add china grass to milk.

Heat slowly to boil.

At once remove & add beaten curds & essence.

Cool quickly & pour over the bake.

Chill till it sets.

Decorate with almonds.

 

No-cook chocolate Brownies - ideally served in summer with ice cream.

Dark chocolate - 100 gms ( grate)

Marie biscuits crushed - ¾ cup

Butter - ½ cup

Condensed milk - ¼ cup

Chopped nuts - ½ cups ( cashew+almonds+walnuts)

Butter paper, greased well to fit 6” by 6” tin

Combine the chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt over a double boiler, stirring at regular intervals, till it resembles a smooth sauce.

Cool & add all other ingredients.

Pour into the greaed tin & set in the refrigerator.

Unmould from the in & cut into wedges.

Serve with sweetened cream or ice cream.

 

Jiffy Rabdi - No compromise in taste and texture

Topped with nuts, this can be served as a dessert.
This can be served cold accompanied by a hot pudding also.
I usually serve hot gulab jamun with chilled rabdi.

Milk - 1 litre (preferably full cream)

White bread slices, crust removed - 3 ( make bread crumbs)

Condensed milk - ½ cup

Sugar - ¼ cup (optional)

Saffron - a pinch, warmed and powdered

Nuts - to garnish

Boil milk & add breadcrumbs.

Simmer & boil for 15 mts.

Add sugar ,condensed milk & continue to simmer.

Remove when thick & add saffron.

Chill & garnish with nuts.

 

Baked Bananas - in honey and lime juice, with crunchy topping

Bananas - 4, peeled & cut lengthwise

To pour first on bananas:

Honey - 3 tbsp

Lemon juice - 3-4 tbsp

Topping:

Mix together

Butter - 50 gms

Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp

Fresh bread crumbs - 3-4 tbsp

Garnishing:

Chopped almonds - 2 tbsp

Arrange bananas on a greased dish.

Pour honey-lemon juice mixture over this.

Mix topping ingredients & sprinkle.

Scatter alomonds over this.

Bake at 400 deg F for 20 mts.

Serve wth chilled custard or chilled sweetened cream or custard.




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Custard-Fresh Fruit-Jam Trifle - Do we really get tired of trifles?

Sponge cake - 6” by 6” square

Custard powder - 2 tbsp

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar - ½ cup

Any fruit juice - ½ cup ( or boil 1 tbsp sugar with ½ cup of water & use)

Fresh fruits like

Chopped apple, pineapple, seedless guavas, papaya, pineapple and seedless grapes are ideal. 2 cups is enough.

Melted jam - 2 tbsp ( any bright red coloured jam like mixed fruit jam is ideal)

Mix well milk, custard powder & sugar without lumps.

Heat in a sauce pan, stirring continuously till it comes to a boil.

Simmer for few mts & remove.

Cool, stirring well to prevent a layer forming on top.

Chop the cake into small cubes.

Spread half the cake in a glass bowl & sprinkle juice on it, just to soften them.

Do not soak in juice.

Arrange fresh fruis over this layer.

On top of it, repeat the cake layer as before.

Pour the cold custard over this.

Wait till it seeps through & the top is leveled.

Pour melted jam in a piping bag & draw circles over it.

With a tooth pick, crisscross over it to get a design.

Chill & serve.

 

Sitaphal Basundhi - Extremely delicious !

Milk - 1 litre

Sitaphal - 2

Sugar - ½ - ¾ cup (to taste)

Assorted nuts - to garnish

Peel, dessed & take the pulp alone from the fruit.

Boil milk, till it reduces to half.

Add sugar & remove.

Cool thoroughly & add sitaphal pulp.

Just blend to get a uniform consistency – not too long.

Chill & garnish with nuts.

 

Pal Payasam - Onam Sadya special today !

This is not caramel payasam, but pink coloured pal payasam, which looks as arrtractive as if it was simmered for a long time.
Ms Cheeniya taught me this recipe. For this a pressure cooker is more suitable than pressure pan.

Milk - 1 litre

Any thin variety rice - 1/3 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Soak rice for 30 mts, wash & drain.

Mix with milk & take in a tall vessel.

Kee it covered.

Keep inside a pressure cooker & start cooking.

When the first whistle comes, simmer & cook for 15 mts.

Allow to cool & open.

Add 1 cup of sugar to the mixture & mix well.

Cover the vessel again & keep inside the pressure cooker.

This time, when the whistle comes, simmer & cook for 30 mts.

Wait till the pressure drops and open.

Pink palpayasam is ready.

 

Malpuas - Serve them hot with chilled Rabdi !

I learnt this from a cookery demonstration by Tarla Dalal.

Batter:

Fresh cream - 1 cup

Maida - 4 tbsp

Ghee - to shallow fry

Syrup:

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1 cup

Saffron - a pinch (warm & powder)

To garnish:

Chopped nuts

Boil water & sugar,on a low fire till sugar dissolves.

Then boil on medium fire till the syrup becomes sticky.

Add saffron & keep warm.

Blend cream & maida with a fork to a uniform mixture.

Pour small ladle full on a non-stick tava.

Using little ghee, shallow fry.

Remove, dip in syrup & garnish with nuts.

Serve this with chilled Jiffy Rabdi