introduction This book includes dessert recipes that I have grown up with, travelled to, experimented with and altered to suit my taste buds. Everyone loves desserts. Even those without a love for sugar have atleast ONE favourite dessert. Desserts are a way of ending your meal on a happy note. They are a way of giving your appetite that last lining of satisfaction, the nostalgia inducing element of a meal. Almost like a good finale to a performance, or the last stroke that completes your drawing. As a kid, I used to rush through or waste my main course because I couldn’t wait for the last course. Admittedly, I still do that at times, given its availability and quality. I hear people giving different reasons as to why they hate living away from home. For me, the most excruciating drawback is the unavailabity of food, and the inexistence of all the places that I used to go to just to eat that one dessert on their menu. If you ask those who know me well, know that I am, infact, addicted to food. Some of the common symptoms of addiction are: 1. Tolerance - the need to engage in the addictive behavior more and more to get the desired effect. 2. Withdrawal - happens when the person does not take the substance or engage in the activity, and they experience unpleasant symptoms. 3. Difficulty cutting down or controlling the addictive behavior. 4. Social, occupational or recreational activities becoming more focused around the addiction, and important social and occupational roles being jeopardized. 5. The person becoming preoccupied with the addiction, spending a lot of time on planning, engaging in, and recovering from the addictive behavior. Need I say more?
how it is read Since we were asked to represent our personalities through the recipes we write in this book, I have assigned a trait or emotion to almost all the ingredients used in the recipes in this book. Therefore, a combination of all these traits (or ingredients) form the recipe, and the reader must refer to the glossary given at the end of the book to understand the story or narrative behind the recipe. A brief explanation of how I relate to the recipe has also been given on the corresponding page.
recipes
Banoffee Pie You will need: 1 ½ cups cracker crumbs ½ cup butter & ½ cup white sugar 1 can of condensed milk (milkmaid) 2 bananas (chopped) 2 cups whipped cream
Step 1: Mix the cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press the mixture onto the base of a pie plate. Keep it to cool in the refrigerator. Step 2: Boil an unopened can of condensed milk in a sauce pan for 3 hours. Monitor the water making sure there is water in it at all times. Let it cool outside for about 10 minutes. Step 3: Open the can and pour the toffee over the pie crust.Slice bananas over it. Step 4: Top it up with whipped cream. Serve chilled. For the simplistic. I relate this recipe to all those instances when I would’ve wasted hours and hours looking for something or trying to do something and the outcome just wouldn’t comply, and then find the solution in the most simple thing that was available to me throughout the process.
blueberry cheesecake cubes You will need: 1 cup cracker crumbs 1 cup white sugar ¼ cup melted butter 230 gms of cream cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tb spoon flour (maida) 4 eggs 1 ½ cup blueberry jam
Step 1: Combine melted butter, crackers and sugar to form a crust in a square pie tray and cool (just like the previous recipe). Step 2: Mash the cream cheese until it’s soft and creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, vanilla, flour and eggs one by one. Step 3: Pour this mix onto the crust and bake for 1 hour till it’s firm to touch. (the oven should be preheated to 165 degrees C). Step 4: Once it is baked and cooled, top with blueberry jam.Set it in the freezer for about 20 mins and cut it up into equal cubes. Serve chilled
For the occasional. Blueberry cheesecake, apart from tasting brilliant, means a whole lot more to me. It makes me nostalgic every time I bite into one of these divine creations (provided it’s made well). The nostalgia originates from the recurrent cheesecakes I have eaten on several special occasions. Every time I go back home to Bombay, it’s one of those things that I have to try.
pineapple souffle You will need: 1 tin of sweet pineapples 1 cup cream 1 cup gelatin 6-8 tbsp of sugar 1/4 cup water
Step 1: Mix the gelatin with ¼ cup of warm water and stir until the gelatin has dissolved. (no lumps). Step 2: Heat ½ cup of pineapple syrup and sugar and mix the gelatin once the sugar has dissolved. Allow it to cool. Step 3: Keep it in the freezer, and once it is half set make folds with a spatula for 2-3 minutes adding cream and pineapple bits gradually. Serve chilled.
For the insufficient. Pineapple soufflé is my mother’s favourite dessert to make and I must admit she is very good at it. If ever, I’ve had a bad day or feel less than satisfied with myself, pineapple soufflé is her way of consoling me, and it’s a pretty delicious way of doing it.
coffee brownies with marshmallows You will need: 1 cup melted butter 2 cups sugar ¼ cup cocoa powder 4 eggs 2 tb sp coffee powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 ½ cup flour
Frosting: ¼ cup melted butter 2 tb sp milk ½ cup cocoa 1 ¼ cup icing sugar
Step 1: Mix together melted butter, sugar, cocoa, coffee, vanilla extract and salt. Add flour and mix just until combined. Step 2: Bake in a greased pan at 375 degrees C for 25 minutes.Immediately top with marshmallows and bake an additional 2 minutes. I like to bake marshmallows exactly in the middle. Step 3: Use a butter knife to spread the marshmallows evenly. For the frosting: Add the given ingredients in a sauce pan and stir till the lumps are gone. Gradually add sugar. Whisk until smooth. Spread over the marshmallow layer. For the diligent. This doesn’t happen very often but when I do work really hard at achieving or obtaining something, it usually pays off. As a pre-teen I used to love baking brownies and spent hours in the kitchen because that was the only thing I was good at doing in the kitchen. This recipe eats at your patience but is worth that pain in your ass.
chocolate coated strawberries with whipped cream and rice crispies
You will need: Strawberries, fresh & uncut Bars of your favourite chocolate readymade whipped cream
Step 1: Using a double boiler, melt as much chocolate as your like. Step 2:This recipe requires no skill. Wash the strawberries, and dip the ends in the just-melted chocolate. Step 3: Leave it out on butterpaper for the chocolate to harden. Serve with whipped cream and rice krispies (optional)
For the talentless. I don’t consider myself good at most things I do, and that could be a disadvantage at times. This recipe originates from that feeling; Of giving up and doing something easy and way below the potential line.
red velvet cupcakes You will need: 2 ½ cups maida 1 ½ cups sugar 1 teaspoon cocoa powder 1 cup buttermilk 2 eggs 1 tsp distilled vinegar 2 tb sp red food colouring
Cream Cheese Frosting: 200 gms cream cheese 2 sticks of butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups sifted icing sugar chopped raspberries (for garnish)
Step 1: Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line up the muffin trays with cupcake papers. Step 2: In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, salt, cocoa. In a large bowl beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food colouring, vinegar and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Combine both mixtures slowly. Step 3: Divide the batter evenly and bake for 20-22 minutes turning the pans once it’s half done. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Frosting: In a large bowl beat the ingredients until fluffy. For the worthy. This would have to be my favourite dessert item in the book. Red Velvet cupcakes don’t lack anything. They aren’t too dry or too sweet or not sweet enough. They even look SO good. I like to think of them as a “reward dessert”, as if they’re something I eat when I have earned the privilege to.
creme brulee You will need: 1 quart heavy cream 1 vanilla stalk, split and scraped 1 cup vanilla sugar 6 eggs 2 quarts hot water
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celcius. Place the cream,vanilla bean and it’s pulp into a medium saucepan and set on medium flame and bring it to a boil.Turn off the heat, cover and allow it to cool for 15 mins. Step 2: In a bowl, whisk together ½ cup sugar and the egg yolks and blend well. Add cream slowly and keep stirring. Pour the liquid into 6 ramekins. Step 3: Place them in a cake pan and add hot water until it comes halfway upto the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 40 minutes until it is set but still trembling in the centre. Step 4: Refrigerate for 2 hours and add the remaining vanilla sugar on top. Then use torch to melt the sugar on top. For the experimental. I’m not the kind of person who sticks to old methods, I love experimenting and everything about it. The cheap thrills and the anticipation of the aftermath. Crème Brulèe is very hard to make right the first time, even if you follow the recipe perfectly. You have get it meticulously crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.
trifle You will need: Strawberries, mangoes, (any fruits you like) 1 cup buiscuit crumble 1 cup fresh cream Readymade custard Some mint leaves Caramel syrup
Step 1: Set the buiscuit crumble at the bottom of a wide dessert glass. Add a layer of custard over it. (Jelly is optional here) Step 2: In a bowl, whip up ½ cup sugar and fresh cream until fluffy. Keep to cool to avoid the cream from releasing water. . Step 3: Chop up whichever fruits you desire into halves and place them neatly around the glass. The better it looks, the better it tastes :) Step 4: Top it up with whipped cream and caramel syrup and leave it to cool for about 20 mins. Use mint leaves to garnish.
For the indecisive. A lot of times, I waste hours and hours on making a decision because I’m too scared of it being the right or wrong one. This recipe is a chaotic mixture of impromptu ingredients and you don’t have to think twice, or at all before making this trifle.
vanilla coke popsicles You will need: 1 can 300 ml Coca Cola 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups water 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp vanilla extract Small disposable tea-glasses
Step 1: Mix sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan. Heat to boil, then boil gently for 5 minutes. Step 2: Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Use one shot per can of coke over ice for vanilla coke. Step 3: Fill in the mix of coke and syrup equally into the disposable chai glasses. Cover the top with clingwrap tightly. Pierce a long toothpick into the centre of the clingwrap deep enough into the beverage. Set it to freeze for 2-3 hours.
For the impulsive. Most mistakes I have made are because of my impulsive nature. However, it doesn’t only have drawbacks. I have also come out with a lot because of this attribute. This recipe, for example was a result of an impulsive outburst.