Fresh Sweet Cherry Crumble

Bright red, plump, juicy and sweet cherries are such a beautiful sight! Just wash them and serve as afters for a dinner party and you have an elegent finish. Leave stalks on of course- Looks are almost as important as taste soemtimes!

Pitting and halving cherries can be a little time taking task. run a knife around the seed, Hold one side of the cherry and twist gently. That half should come off quite easily. Simply pull the seed out of the other half in which it is embedded. Add 2 tbsps castor sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon powder and a drop of vanilla to a cup of cherries and leave covered for 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the crumble topping. A rather simple task.

For a cup and a half of cherries, simply mix together 3/4 cup of flour, half cup castor sugar, a drop of vanilla, 1 tsp cinnamon powder and 50 gms unsalted butter. Use firm cubes of butter. Rub between fingers till the mixture resembles bread crumbs or moist sand.

Spread the marinated cherries on the bottom of a greased baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble topping to cover the cherries. A few cherries peeking out are totally OK. Gently press down the crumble topping. Don't try too hard.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Enjoy warm with some whipped cream or icecream on the side.

Spiced Strawberry- Banana Jam

I am not a jam person. But I just had to try and make this once. I tried adding spices like cinnamon and dried red chilly flakes to cut the sugariness of the jam. Worked well. I didn't even bother spreading it on a toast. Simply took a spoonful (or two... or three...) and licked it off watching tv. I shouldn't have added the banana at all though. It has a really strong flavour and even a little goes a long way. Banana lovers may make this jam using just banana.

400 grams of small strawberries, washed, patted dry, chopped

100 grams of banana chopped
350 grams of castor sugar
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Cinnamon 2 tsp, 3 Cloves, Red chilly flakes 3 tsp

Place the strawberries, lemon juice, zest and sugar in a large saucepan. Heat over low heat and simmer gently until the sugar dissolves.
Boil the jam jar for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and boil the mixture rapidly for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spices (powder the cloves)
Place a tsp of jam in the fridge and after 20 minutes wrinkle the surface using your fingers .If the jam doesn't wrinkle the first time but sticks to your finger like a thick liquid rather than jam, keep boiling it for another 5 to 10 minutes and then test again. If jam is ready then remove the saucepan from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the edges of the jam sets slightly. Pour jam into a warm jam jar till the brim (warming will ensure moisture is not present) and then let it cool completely before sealing.

Keep refrigerated.

I do not know how long this will keep. A month maybe. We'll find out. It's been about 20 days and the jam is stil fine. Maybe it'll last longer.

Experiment with spices you like. Add dry ginger powder if you like.

Strawberry Shortcakes

In a sudden flash of inspiration brought two packets of fresh strawberries. Baked a chocolate strawberry cake (threw strawberries in the chocolate cake batter, was quite good actually), made some strawberry jam (recipe shall follow shortly) and was still left with some. So I tried a hand at making shotcakes.

Mix

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1 stick butter, chilled
2/3 to 3/4 cup half and half, milk, or cream

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and cubes pof chilled butter. Mix using your fingertips. Mix on until the mixture resembles coarse meal, but with few pea-size chunks of butter left in the mixture. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork stir in the cream or milk, just until dough is moist. Be very careful not to overwork. The dough doesn't have to hold together well at this point. Let the dough stand for a minute. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 2 or 3 times, until it is holding together and is less sticky.
Gently pat the dough into a rectangle about 3/4-inch thick and cut into biscuits with a floured round cutter. Transfer to a greased baking sheet. Brush on a little milk or cream and arrange some strawberries in the center. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees, until risen and golden brown.

Let cool before sprinkling some icing sugar on top. Serve with whipped cream.

The texture of a shortcake was a cross between a cake and cookie. I felt , as I do with puff pastries as well, that too much effort goes into making them compared to the speed with which they vanish from the plate and you are left wondering whether toiling for an hour was worth it!

Cognac Fruits Flambe`

Ever had those moments when your hubby comes back raving about the food that his friend's wife made and how good it was and blah blah blah? Its maddening isnt it...? And then they just dont get why we are mad at them? Sigh...

Anyway this is how you get back at them. Make them a dessert that will make them forget their favorite dessert destinations. The recipe I am about to share will make you look like a pro (with the flambe`ing and all) and will take you 15 minutes or less to prepare and serve.



Chop 1/2 cup Strawberries, 1/4 cup pineapples, 1/4 cup apples, 1/4 cup grapes(keep whole), and 1/2 cup bananas.
Heat 2tbsp butter in pan, Add the fruits and sweat for 4 minutes on high heat. Add 1 cup brown sugar and a drop of vanilla essence. Cook for another 3 minutest till sugar melts and fruits have released juices.



Now take about 1/4 cup cognac (use dark rum as alternative if cognac not available) and heat it. Do not boil just warm.
Light a matchstick or cigarette lighter. Pour the warm brandy over fruits touching the flame. the alcohol will catch fire and flambe`the fruits. Make sure to turn heat off otherwise the steam of the fruits will keep extinguishing the flame of the matchstick.

I served this on top of some roughly crumbled brownie. I am thinkin on serving this over a slice of plum cake with some icecream on the side..Yummm.. Cant wait...