“As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be?”
Cassandra Clare
Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta. OK, it’s another ‘dessert in a glass’, yet another panna cotta, chocolate again, and coffee all over again! That’s the combination that rules my world, makes me happy, is a comfort fix, is uber indulgent too. To top it off, it’s a quick make ahead dessert that everyone enjoys a lot. Justifies it a bit, right?
If you’ve never made a panna cotta, maybe the time is now. Since I’ve shared panna cottaso often before, this is going to be a short post. If you love it as much as I do, then you know what I mean. We’re on the same page. Play around with the recipe to suit your palette. If coffee is not your thing, then maybe do a dark chocolate vanilla version. Or one that we really enjoyed equally when I did one with the bitter orange marmalade. That was phenomenal too.
Just penning these words has given me a whole bunch of new ideas. What is you favourite way to a panna cotta?
[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta
Summary: Indulgent and ever so pleasing, this Dark Chocolate Cream with Coffee Panna Cotta offers a match made in heaven. Set in glass goblets to enjoy its visual appeal! The dark chocolate cream on it’s own is quite indulgent too.
125gm dark chocolate, chopped {I used 70% couverture}
25ml honey
25g good quality cocoa powder
10ml Kahlúa {optional}
Coffee Panna Cotta
300ml low fat cream
125 ml whole milk
2 tsp gelatin
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1/2 cup brown sugar {use slightly less first, then adjust as required }
Method:
Dark Chocolate Cream
Place the cream, chocolate and honey in a large heat proof bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir until smooth.
Whisk in the cocoa powder and Kahlúa if using.
Place 6 wine glasses at a slant in a loaf pan, and pour the chocolate mixture into them. Leave these to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours till they hold shape.
Coffee Panna Cotta
Sprinkle the gelatin over a 1/4 cup of milk and place the bowl over hot water for gelatin to melt.
Bring the cream, sugar, coffee powder & remaining milk to a simmering boil over low heat, simmer for 5 minutes.
Take cream mixture off heat, whisk in the gelatin until mixed uniformly. Adjust sugar if required. Cool to room temperature and then pour over the set dark chocolate mousse.
Chill until set for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Top with dark chocolate curls dusted with cocoa powder.
“The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”
Julia Child
So I made Smoked BhopaliKöfte yet again a few days ago, this time a twist of taste with Turkish spices. I thought I’d shared the original recipe earlier, but just found it in my drafts! So here it is again, a recipe from an old aunt in Lucknow, one that is infinitely adaptable to taste as most curries are. This time it’s inspired by Turkish cuisine. Köfte or kifte, or kofte aka meatballs are found in possibly every cuisine and across different cultures. It is interesting to follow the trail to see how different cuisines have their own version of simply put, minced meal balls. India offers a smattering of vegetarian koftas as well – paneer, lauki, banana etc.
Kofta is a meatball or meatloaf and is a part of Jordanian, Albanian, Afghan, Azerbaijani, Arab, Armenian, Balkan, Bangladeshi, Greek, Indian, Israeli, Iranian, Kurdish, Pakistani and Turkish cuisine. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat—usually beef or lamb—mixed with spices and/or onions. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran, koftas are usually made of lamb, beef, mutton or chicken, whereas Greek and Cypriot varieties are usually made of pork, beef, veal or mixtures of them.
One of my favurite cusuines is of course Turkish cuisine, very adaptable to the Indian palette, very flavourful and fun. Takes me to back to Turkish flatbread pizzas or pides I made a while ago, or these Turkish Adana Kebabs which I make quite often. Turkey, once widely acknowledged as the centre of the ancient world, is a gateway between the civilizations that surrounded the Mediterranean and the Far East. It has long been called home by enterprising and hardy traders who introduced exotic spices and flavours between the two civilizations. Fertile land encouraged a varied cuisine, rich in meat, grains, seafood, fruit and vegetables.
[print_this]Recipe: Smoked BhopaliKöfte
Summary: Lightly spiced, moist, flavourful lamb mince Smoked Bhopali Köftewith a Turkish influence. Enjoy them in this Indian style curry, else grill them as kebabs if you like. Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 1 hours Ingredients:
Köfte
500g lamb mince
1 small onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced {reserve 1/2 tsp}
1tbsp sumac powder
1 tsp paprika
1tsp garam masala
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil for frying
For smoking
Piece of coal for smoking
Few drops of ghee
Betel leaf or small piece of aluminum foil
Gravy
3 onions {1chopped, 2 minced}
1tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
2 tbsp thick yogurt
1/2 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander / dhania powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
Method:
Köfte
In a large bowl, mix together the mince, onions, garlic, sumac, paprika, garam masala and salt.
Heat the coal over an open flame until red hot. Make a hole in the mound of minced meat, cover with a pan/betel leaf or piece of aluminum foil. Put hot coal on the leaf, topped by the reserved half tsp of garlic paste. Quickly drizzle the few drops of melted ghee over, and immediately cover the sizzling coal with a small bowl /steel katori pressed into the mince. Cover the bowl with a heavy lid, and leave to smoke for 15-20 minutes.
Now discard the coal and betel leaf, hand mix in the chopped fresh coriander and mint, and make small meatballs/köfte.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom pan, and gently fry the köfte over medium high flame until golden. Reserve in a covered bowl.
Gravy
In a bowl, mix the minced onions and all the ingredients for gravy, except chopped onion and velvetier.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and fry chopped onion until golden brown.
Add the onion and masala mix. Add salt to taste and simmer covered until the masala is roasted and the oil leaves sides.
Gently slide in the köfte one by one, stir gently to coat and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle over with velvetier if using.
Serve hot with naan, parathas, rice etc, with a salad on the side.
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If you get a chance to travel through Turkey, do try to make a point of seeking out traditional food, and we don’t mean to stick only (pun intended) with their mouthwatering kebabs. They have a heritage of well over 1300 years of history and a long and storied tradition in the making of delicious, must-try Turkish dishes sourced from the best of local ingredients. Here are some typical Turkish dishes that you should make a point to sample when you are fortunate enough to drop by for a visit via last minute package holiday deals with the family. Holidays also allow you to put your feet up and relax while you enjoy the delicious local dishes and delicacies on offer:
6 Must Try Turkish Dishes
1. Lahmacun translates from its Arabic roots as dough with meat, coming originally from Syria. The meat is minced lamb or beef with chopped onions, that has been cooked and flavoured with spices, usually cinnamon, allspice and chilli, although each recipe will be someone’s family tradition. This is spread over a flaky, flat bread, similar to pizzas, but traditionally rolled up to eat on the move, long considered as one of the original fast food in Turkey.
2. Menemen is renowned by travelers throughout Turkey as a hearty, tasty meal that sets you up for the day. The base is chopped onions, peppers and tomatoes, simmered in a frying pan with some paprika and black pepper, topped with eggs, which are either cooked whole, or stirred into the dish. Another very budget-friendly Turkish comfort food.
3. Börek are all essentially a form of pie, with a filling wrapped in pastry, usually containing meat, cheese, potato or spinach, or a combination of one or more of these, and come in a variety of shapes and styles. There are various shops that sell the pies, but the best come from specialist Börek shops, which are worth seeking out for your first experience of this dish. Ask for the house specialty and you are sure not to be disappointed as their pride and reputation will be at stake.
4. Köfte are a type of kebab made by forming a delicious mix of minced meat and spices, typically lamb and cumin, on to skewers, before broiling them over an open flame. You will find these all over Turkey, which is always a good sign, where they are eaten served with pitta bread, or served with a salad or in a fresh tomato sauce.
5. Bulgur Pilavi is similar to a rice pilaf but made with bulgar (cracked) wheat instead, and is a typical central Anatolian dish. The grains themselves have a pleasant, nutty flavour, but they simply form the base for a wide variety of additional ingredients, most commonly onions, tomato, peppers and mint.
6. Dolmas refers to a style of dishes that are very popular throughout the country. Meaning in Turkish simply ‘stuffed’ they cover a range of vegetables with either a meat or vegetable filling. The meat ones tend to be served hot and the non-meat cold.
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”
Anthony Bourdain
Ptasie_mleczko or Birds Milk Cake …my adaptation. With a name as intriguing as that, I quickly jotted it down as my Ukranian friend translated it out of her mothers cookbook in Sydney earlier this month. There is an eternal charm in handwritten recipes of times gone by, this recipe book is from the 1960’s. Neat, and well explained, the recipes all written In Ukrainian, talk to you, explaining each step. The measures are often in glasses from the Old Soviet Union, standardised at 200ml, a measure my sweet friend continues to use as her mother once did.
Ptasie Mleczko (Polish) is a soft chocolate-covered candy filled with soft meringue (or milk soufflé). In Russian it is called ptichye moloko (птичье молоко) and in Romanianlapte de pasăre. All these names literally mean “bird’s milk” or crop milk, a substance somewhat resembling milk, produced by certain birds to feed their young. However, this is not origin of the name; rather, ptasie mleczko is also a Polish idiom meaning “an unobtainable delicacy”. In Poland, Jan Wedel, owner of the E. Wedel Company, developed the first Ptasie mleczko in 1936. Wedel’s inspiration for the name of the confectionery came from his voyages to France, when he asked himself: “What could bring greater happiness to a man who already has everything?” Then he thought: “Maybe only bird milk.”
This must be one of the quickest birthday cakes I’ve ever made. And yet another very very delicious one. You can find my coffee take on it at the bottom as Ulyana decided to bake one for us the night before we were due to fly out. No pictures of the cake in Sydney as we were racing against time. I didn’t get too many pictures of the cake I baked here too as coming home after a vacation is always far too busy. It was however tasty as hell!!
Our trip Down Under was great fun! All trips there always are! Sydney has been one of our fave places to go when possible, and this was our fourth trip. Like every earlier trip, this too was packed and flew by like a heartbeat. This trip was short, just a week ‘long’, but we had a great time. With hosts as good as ours, the days went by driving from mountains to beaches, with great food and drinks thrown in. Mindless banter, endless shopping what with the daughter with us, too much food, overindulgence … ad before we knew it, time to fly back.
We flew in comfortably, sleeping all the way on Cathay Pacific, with a short stopover in HKG. There too the daughter shopped till we dropped for 3 whole hours. Hurriedly dug into some delicious street food, raced back to the hotel, showered and hopped onto the Sydney flight. A long 9 hour flight, some great food, Aussie wines too, Pamela’s book kept me entertained and nostalgic as we landed there into a crisp 4C at 6am. We were really blessed to see great weather the few days we were there.
We’ve done most of the iconic must see places on the earlier trips covering The Rocks, Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Tiranga Zoo {to date one of my sons fave places}, Butterfly Park, Harbour Bridge, Harry’s original van at Wooloomooloo, the Blue Mountains … and so much more. Yet a visit to the Blue Mountains is a quintessential part of Sydney for us, and that’s where we headed pretty soon. It as a freezing COLD day but we managed to stop by some breathtaking spots, taking in the gift that only nature can offer. Knocks your breath A W A Y!
We went off piste, little walkways dot the Blue Mountains, each with a signboard telling you how long it takes to get to the destination, level of ease …and more! There’s loads to do. Did I mention stunning beaches? Yes those too!Beautiful beaches, birds, crabs, shells, nature, left over pizza from the Italian pizzeria from the night before, chilled beer though not as chilly as the cold winds, great company … couldn’t have asked for more.Of course I shopped some too. It’s always good to know the ‘right’ people, who in turn know the right places…and a Sunday morning market later, I was back a happy camper. There was loads I could have gladly bought to ‘prop’ up the blog, but sense had to prevail. It was a struggle I tell you!
No trip to Sydney for me is complete without a visit to Victoria’s Basement. Though short on time, we did a quick walk through, a near impossible task in itself given the treasure trove you can find under a roof! I shopped a wee bit more here and there, constantly thinking of how much I could stuff back into suitcases. You know! Oh the choices we have to make!
With travel comes food, and most good memories are tied to taste! Knowing the right folk is great! It’s satiating to explore a country through it’s cuisine, and then comes the added bonus of exploring the flavours they brought from their native lands. So we were spoilt. Ukranian cusine filled our days alongside Aussie quintessential. Gourmet sausages on the barbeque that made the tastiest hotdogs, slow cooked {read dropping off the bone good} lamb-shanks with chickpeas and spinach, Caesar salad galore, smoked Polish sausages and cold cuts, Ukranian potato latkes with garlic and sour cream, artisan pizzas, more Aussie reds, red wine too, pancakes for breakfast with whipped cream and local preserves, cheese in every avatar to die, then more local artisanal unripened cheese as if that was not enough …Sweet stuff too, though no pictures. Fresh cherry strudel, macadamia and caramel ice cream, divine coffee gelato, berry gelato too, and then of course this beautiful Birds Milk Cake flavoured with the organic lemon from the yard the night before we flew out. I dreamt of the cake as I slept on the flight back home. I knew I just had to make one soon, my pet flavours dancing in my head.
That’s just what I did the next day for the son’s birthday. As we melted into a sizzling North Indian summer at 45C, desperately trying to hang on to memories of 12C, the crisp and beautiful Aussie winter we left behind, Ihit baking mode. This cake bridged the gap beautifully, and that is what good food & travel is all about. Makes you come full circle, flavours and memories sharing a plateful! What a delightful {and delicious} journey this food business is!
Recipe: Ptasie_mleczko or Birds Milk Cake
Summary: Ptasie_mleczko or Birds Milk Cake finds it’s roots possibly in the Old Soviet Union. A preparation for the light as air filling quite as intriguing as the name ‘birds milk’, it’s a moist and delicious cake that takes well to added flavours. Make ahead and chill for the flavours to mature. It tastes wonedrful as a fresh tray bake as originally intended to be too. Serves 8
Prep Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1 hour {plus cooling and chilling} Ingredients:
Cake
130g butter
200ml / 1 glass brown vanilla sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
200ml / 1 glass all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Filling
150g butter
400ml / 2 glasses milk
100ml/ 1/2 glass sugar
3 tbsp semolina /suji
2tbsp instant coffee
1 tbsp Kahlua {optional}
Topping
50g dark couverture chocolate
100ml low fat cream
1 tbsp honey
White chocolate shavings to garnish
Method:
Cake
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line 2 X 8″ round baking tins with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt. Reserve.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one, ten the vanilla extract.
Slowly fold in the dry mix. Turn batter into tins and bake for approximately 30 minutes until a tester comes out clean. Cool in tins for 15-20 minutes then cool completely on rack.
Filling
Make this while the cake is baking {or a few hours before too}
Place the sugar, semolina, coffee and milk in a heavy bottom pan. Stir over low heat until the mixture thickens. Leave to cool completely.
When the cake is ready and cool, make the remaining filling.
Place butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the coffee semolina and Kahlua if using.
Assemble
Place one layer on serving platter and keep in place with an 8″ dessert ring. ladle over half the filling and top with second layer. Top with remaining filling, cover and refrigerate for a few hours {or overnight} for flavours to mature.
Take the ring off gently, top with chocolate ganache {recipe follows} and white chocolate shavings.
Chocolate Ganache
Place ingredients in a heat proof bowl and microwave 1 minute at a time until the chocolate has almost melted. Stir until smooth and glossy. Cool to room temperature before use.
“It is the food which you furnish to your mind that determines the whole character of your life.”
Emmet Fox
Kadhi {Indian vegetarian yogurt curry}. Ask me to pick my favourite Indian curry, and chances are that kadhi will be the first thing that comes to my mind. It is the best comfort food ever, leaves me deeply satiated, fills me with nostalgia right from the aromas that rise from the first tempering. As the flavours of aesofoetida and curry leaves dance wildly in the summer air, I am transported to the air cooled house of Sheela Aunty, my mothers friend from Delhi University.
She passed away several years ago, but a large part of our growing up unfolded under her wings. It is rare for even a few days to go by when we don’t exclaim like her, and then dissolve into giggles. Large-hearted, earnest, easily shocked, far too loving, the best collection of crisp summer sarees, jewellery to make the heart sing {after all she was born into one of Delhi’s leading jewelers families}, too humble, a great Indian vegetarian cook, she left a deep impact on us.
I wasn’t foodily aware or obsessed at the time she was around and still rue the fact that I didn’t get a chance to chase her with paper and pencil to record recipes …I did that a lot {A LOT} after I got married in the mid 1990’s. Pages and pages were filled and I am glad I managed some. Aesofoetida was introduced into our rather differently spiced house thanks to her.
Spices became a fascination, hing or aesofoetida ‘the spice’ I fell in love with. I have grown to love the spice, not very well known in the West, very popular with Indian vegetarian food, and extremely popular down in South India too. Surprisingly enough, you see influences of the spice in non-vegetarian cuisine in Kashmir too! {One of my favourite haunts is Khari Baoli, Old Delhi to visit the spice market seen above. That was at the Lumia shoot 2 days ago}
No tadka or tempering is complete without this magical ingredient, the nostalgia lingers on. So that morning when I looked at the Hamilton Beach MultiBlend Blender and Chopper on my kitchen counter, I didn’t have to think of what to make for lunch. With buttermilk and homemade yogurt in the fridge, I knew it was time for my favourite summer curry.
Sometimes it seems like a bit of work, the pakoras or dumplings actually but in time I have cut the work out for me. Blenders the way to go for curry always, and the Hamilton Beach Multiblender did the job to perfection. In seconds. It also cut the work out when it came to making pakoras, or the dumplings. A friend whatsapped me the other day to say she was waiting for my review as she wanted to know how the onions got cut in the bender. A 100% good I have to say! Finer than I could ever manage, and within seconds. I love that there are two separate jars, complete with blades etc which allow you to multitask!
I’ve been doing a lot more with the multiblender. Grinding oats as I develop recipes for Fit Foodie.
Whisking up delicious smoothies inspired by Aditya on Instagram. #CreateFearlessly is a great hashtag to carry. Goes in line with the ‘Good Thinking’ that spells out the Hamilton Beach line of products! ‘Really Good Thinking’. I’m loving it.
Did I tell you we’re not the only ones who are in love with papaya and smoothies this summer? There’s a little someone who shares every papaya that is cut in the kitchen. She makes a meal of quarter at least before it gets to the blender!
Then there is someone else smitten with the blender. The lad wakes up every morning in a somnambulent state and glides into the kitchen to make himself a frozen strawberry almond smoothie. Goes on to slurp his way through, enjoying it to the last drop, then even washes up the blender! On Mother’s Day, he burst into my room with a tall {and really really good} glass of Guava+Strawberry+Lychee Smoothie that he conjured up for me.Honestly, this is one kitchen companion I am enjoying fearlessly! There have been glasses of cold coffee, mango shakes, papaya flax seed smoothies, 3 batches of kadhi, buttermilk lassi, pineapple apricot coolers, watermelon strawberry delights, aam panna … and plenty more this last month.
The upside is having one kid enjoying it even more. The downside? Yes there is one! The daughter has now threatened to take the Hamilton Beach MultiBlender back with her when she goes back to uni after the vacations. #CreateFearlessly might well reach the battleground between the two kids!
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Recipe: Kadhi {Indian vegetarian yogurt curry}
Summary: A quintessential Indian vegetarian yogurt based curry, which can be found adapted to regional taste. This is my version and it is fragrant, addictive and finger licking good. Serve this gluten free dish with boiled rice or even parathas.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients:
For the curry
300g yogurt, home made or store bought
250ml buttermilk
1 heaped tbsp besan {chickpea flour}
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/8 -1/4 tsp hing {aesofoetida}
1 tsp salt
First tempering
1 1/2 tsp ghee {clarified butter}, or oil
Pinch hing {aesofoetida}
2-3 whole red chillies
Few sprigs fresh currypatta
1/2 tsp whole zeera {cumin seeds}
1tsp sarson {whole mustard seeds}
1/4 tsp whole methi seeds {fenugreek seeds}
Second tempering
1 tsp ghee {clarified butter}
pinch hing
2-3 whole red chillies, broken
1-2 sprigs fresh curry patta
1/2 tsp sarson {whole mustard seeds}
Pakoras {dumplings}
3/4 cup besan
1/2 tsp salt
pinch baking soda
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 green chilies, broken into 2-3
1/4 cup fresh coriander/curry patta, roughly chopped
1 cup oil for frying {else shallow fry }
Method:
For the curry
Place all ingredients in the blender, and process for 30 seconds until well blended. Reserve.
First tempering
Keep all the ingredients ready as listed. They need to go in rapidly, one after the other, to avoid them getting burnt. The fenugreek is the last and tends to get a little bitter on over browning, so take care.
Heat 1 1/2 tsp ghee in a deep heavy bottom pan, and add the ingredients as listed, ending with the methi seeds/fenugreek.
Immediately pour in the blended yogurt mixture. Keep over high flame until it comes to a boil, stirring often, else it will overflow {and make you weep}.
Once it comes to a boil, simmer for about 30 minutes until fragrant and cooked, stirring once in a while. Keep an eye on it on and off and it tends to come up to the rim of the pan.
Pakoras
Put the onions, green chilies and fresh coriander in the small blender. Chop for 30 seconds, stir, chop again to desired size.
Place ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Stir in enough water to make a thickish batter of dropping consistency. Whisk well with hand to aerate the batter.
Heat oil and gently drop in spoonfuls. If the batter is very thick, the pakoras will be hard. Experiment with one pakora first to check.
Fry over medium heat until they turn golden on one side, then gently turn and fry the other side. Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Drain from oil, blot over kitchen towels, and slide into hot kadhi/curry. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes so that the pakoras get nice and soft.
Final tempering {Optional. I sometimes skip this as the first tempering flavours the kadhi well}
Heat ghee in a small tadka pan {frying pan}. Throw in all the ingredients. Once they sizzle and splutter, get aromatic, take off heat and pour over kadhi.
Serve with boiled rice {with a side of papads if you like}
“When you celebrate, there is sure to be cake.”
Florence Ditlow
Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade … that’s what I made because I was craving coffee in cake. It’s been a while since I did coffee in a dessert. Roulade or Swiss Roll also because a load of my friends have been making them of late, and yes, I got tempted. First it was Himanshu, then Ruchira. Yesterday, I sauntered into the kitchen with no specific plan in mind, and this is what I came up with. Was yum! Hit the right coffee spot!
Just a short while ago, I got an email confirming that I made it to KitchenAid India’s Probaker challenge, one of top 50 Indian home bakers. It’s going to be a fun challenge, and for me, hopefully will give me more creative exposure. Will be baking with friends, and cannot wait to see how differently ‘baking minds‘ think when presented with similar ingredients. ‘Marching‘ ahead in anticipation!
I love this month. Come March, and there is inspiration galore. The weather fills you with energy, the air is nice and crisp, new blades of grass, ladybugs, flowers… so much INSPIRATION! There’s also something terribly inspiring about a cake that rolls. It’s a whole lot of fun too! My recipe for a V E R Y simple roulade lives in my head. I’ve made it with variations for years. 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour. Quick, simple, fun!
A roulade is a dish of filled rolled meat or pastry. Traditionally found in various European cuisines, the term roulade originates from the French word “rouler”, meaning “to roll”. Some roulades consist of cake (often sponge cake) baked in a flat pan rolled around a filling. Cake rolled around jam, chocolate butter cream, nuts or other fillings, is an example of a sweet roulade like the bejgli or the Swiss roll. The bûche de Noël or “Yule log” is a traditional French Christmas cake roll, often decorated with frosting made to look like bark.
I find it comforting that everything sits snug inside a cake. It’s a funny way to look at it, but nice. One of my most memorable ones was a savoury Ricotta & Spinach Rouladefrom Ottolenghi. That was special and carried trademark Ottolenghi flavours and philosophy. Fresh, seasonal, simple. And then another, the Raspberry Pistachio Swiss Roll{or Spring Roll to herald in Spring one year!}
I’ve done a couple of gluten free ones as well. Those I loved heaps! A GF Mango Almond Quark Roulade and a GF Strawberry Almond Roulade. I also like that you can customise them to moods and ingredients on hand. So Spring often sees loads of strawberry flecked roulades, while summer will definitely see a mango and cream. Oh and summer will also see an ice cream roulade. That is even more fun!
This one went the coffee way. I prettied it a lil too as everything came together really quick which meant extra time. I had forgotten how soon these come together. With March still quite cold, the bake cooled a lot faster too. So I saved some ganache in a piping bag and did some free hand doodling over the roll. Wasn’t sure if the contrast would work, but I think I did OK. It looked pretty, subtle but pretty!
Oh and before I go, did I show you the very sweet Barnis {Indian Pickling jars} I got in the mail 2 days ago? My dear and very talented food blogger/food stylist friend Sanjeeta mailed them from Chennai. It was love at first sight. I couldn’t resist filling one with coffee beans and sneaking them into the frame!
You can find loads of COFFEE in my desserts here. That’s my most favourite flavour ever!
[print_this]Recipe: Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade
Summary: A quick Coffee Dark Chocolate Roulade that comes together with minimal fuss. If you like love coffee, then this is for you. Paired with a dark chocolate ganache, flavoured with a hint of Kahlua, dressed up with doodles, what’s not to love about it! Serves 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hours Ingredients:
Coffee Roulade
3 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup – 1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1tbsp instant coffee
Coffee Syrup
1/4 cup water
25g brown sugar
1 tsp instant coffee
1tsp Kahlua {optional}
Filling/Chocolate Ganache
120g dark couverture chocolate
100g single cream
1 tbsp Kahlua {optional}
Icing sugar for sifting
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C. Line a jelly roll pan with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, using an electric beater, whisk the eggs and brown sugar until tripled in volume and light and mousse like, about 8 minutes.
Add the coffee and vanilla extract, and beat for another minute.
Sift the flour over the bowl, and gently fold in making sure you don’t release the beaten in air.
Turn batter into prepared tray, smoothen out and bake for approx 25 minutes until light golden and firm to touch. Keep an eye during the last 5 minutes.
Lay a kitchen towel flat on the counter and sift over with powdered sugar. Turn the baked cake onto it, and gently peel off the parchment. Sift over with icing sugar, cover with sheet of parchment and roll gently into a tight roll, using the kitchen towel to guide you. Leave to cool completely.
Coffee Syrup
Place all ingredients in a small pan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Cool and stir in the Kahlua if using. Reserve
Filling/Chocolate Ganache
Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl. Heat until the chocolate is 3/4 done in the microwave, one minute at a time, or over a double boiler. Whisk until smooth. Add the Kahlua if using, whisk again. Cool completely. Reserve 2 tbsp in a piping bag if you wish to decorate the outside.
Assemble
Gently unroll the cake, paint over with syrup, and then spread the chocolate ganache all over it. Roll back gently but firmly, wrap in cling wrap and allow to chill seam down for an hour or two {or overnight} to allow the flavours to develop.
Unwrap and place on serving platter. Pipe a design over the roll if desired, slice and serve.
“Recipes don’t work unless you use your heart!”
Dylan Jones
It isn’t everyday that you get to shadow a corporate pastry chef at a hotel, so I was in for a pleasant time. The Hyatt invited me to spend ‘A day in the kitchen of Corporate Pastry Chef Bungla‘ … a behind the scenes of the chefs at work! I’ve met the ever so sweet, down to earth and very humble Chef Bungla before, and was more than happy to peep into his happening kitchen.
More so since it was close to the red letter day of love, Valentines Day. I knew the creative chef would be painting his kitchen red, and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact I was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed at his creativity, the ease which which he churns out the best of goodies to ‘feed’ Sidewalk. It was a virtual Charlie’s Chocolate Factory in there behind the steely cold kitchen doors.
In the kitchen at 7am every morning, a well oiled schedule and a well choreographed team, he is at his creative best. It’s pin drop silence in here. Everyone on his team knows what to do, and they go about doing it professionally and perfectly.
A candid moment sometimes comes by with an old hand carrying a vintage willow basket that catches the eye. I want to grab it and make a beeline for the door. Oh yes, the envy for old rustic things! I try to ‘capture‘ the man and his basket and the whole kitchen peeps in to see what caught my eye! Then they get back to their routine…
A giant Isfahan macaron is being prepared under the chefs watchful gaze. Handpicked red strawberries, each chosen of the same size, tops neatly sliced off, then hulled and filled with cream. With clockwork precision, the team works around the huge white marble counter tops as I smile seeing deft hands gently pulling trademark Hyatt red ribbons to complete the V Day look. Ribbons are such a feminine thing in my humble opinion… here you see how male dominated the kitchen is! The chef gives his look of approval, then does the honours. A sprinkle of slivered pistachios, a dusting of red rose petals… and we are all set for V day! This is just one of the surprises that they are creating. My favourite of course is the English Mix Berry Cake topped with colourful fruits, decorated for V Day. So European, and to my delight, one of the most popular cakes that comes out of the kitchen.
The other very popular one and a huge V Day favourite is his luscious Red Velvet Cake. You can tell that V day is around the corner as strawberries paint the kitchen red. Strawberries in white chocolate lay in neat rows on the counter. Not just those. There’s beautiful raspberry mousse for two as well! So much love in the air, what’s not to love a kitchen like his!
What’s also not to love about a kitchen that has huge loads of bread dough being kneaded, sourdough the all time call. Chef Bungla treats each loaf as his baby, proudly tells me that no yeast is ever used. All bread is baked using sourdough, the culture over a 100 years old! He walks me through the ‘bread basket’ pointing to the slightly bubbled crust one some loaves. This is a sign of good bread he says.
Having honed his skills mostly in Europe, Chef Bungla is one well traveled chef. He’s been in the Hyatt since 1982, and has mastered every baking and patisserie technique in his time here. To my absolute amazement, ten years ago he even worked under the God of macarons, Pierre Hermes! Yet he is so humble, so nonchalant, so passionate about the bakery.
We talk about heart shaped chocolate truffles, macarons, choux pastry, profiteroles, recipe development, European trends, Japanese bakeries, panna cotta sans gelatin {you should have seen the twinkle in his eye}, bagels {sourdough again}. He relies on his authenticity, techniques, tradition and finally his intuition to invent his creations. The passion shines through, his humility endearing.
He accompanies me to Sidewalk, and as I take pictures of his creations, you can sense his pride. Take a shot of this one quick he says. Cakes get sold very fast here. After 4pm we don’t bake. Only the days’ bakes reach the counters, never anything from the the previous day. Sure enough, a patron stops by at Sidewalk and orders 7 cakes. Goodbye beautiful cakes, all boxed and expertly packed on their way to delight someones taste buds!
We stop by the Café for a bit. It’s buzzing with activity. At the heart of the cafe is the dessert bar, like a candy shop! It’s close to 3pm and there is a heightened sense of activity around it. The chef hovers around, a keen eye, a quick look over, then we head back for Sidewalk where a guest is waiting for him.
After a happy animated chat, he calls the kitchen below to hurry up and get ‘the cake for the lady from South Africa’. With a huge grin across his face he tells me that she has been a guest at the hotel for years, and the Orange Almond GF Cake is her favourite. She knows him by name, he knows what she’ll ask for… and he always obliges.In all this, I am the very fortunate onlooker who benefits. I get served a slice as well. I have to say, this is the best cake ever! Simple, flavourful, decadent. My type of cake. No frosting, no unnerving sweetness… just good good flavours. It’s one I like to bake myself, but being served by the chef himself, makes it the best ever!
