I started this blog post on August 4, when I was in the US. Now I am back, and I haven’t even completed it or posted it. I am going to keep it as is for now, so that you can read through, and I will know that I had done this bit of procrastination. QUOTE: “Even though I make high promises to myself to be more disciplined and regular at this place, it isn’t meant to be. It has been very difficult to get back to being normal for a wide variety of reasons. Keeping all the negatives aside, the best thing to happen was a visit to my sister’s place. Yes, we are here after four years. It was a sudden spur of the moment decision, all that happened within the month of June. Exactly on the day we came last time, we arrived this time too – July 2. I had recorded quite a bit of my experiences in the blogposts I managed to do that time. This year around, my parents are here as well, so it is a house and a heart full. The last few months were a roller coaster of emotions, so this break is a very welcome change.

I may not agree politically with this country, but I must say that otherwise, this is a beautiful place, blessed with loads of nature in variety forms. This time, we did a visit to parts of Florida – which included Miami, Key West and Orlando, then Atlanta in Georgia and a small part of Tennessee, and by Allah, it was amazing. The nature, the climate, the mountains, the trails, the water, everything was mind-blowing, despite all the back and knee pain I had. Most of the days otherwise we are moving out to either explore places around or visiting friends, that I can’t be as much thankful as I can for this time that I am having… Do go through Instagram highlights to have a look. :)” UNQUOTE

Now let’s get to the present. If last time I have been baking a lot, this time, it has been very limited. Talk about everybody being on a diet. Thankfully, that is a good thing. I managed to keep my weight the same over these past 2 months. Hehe… But I still did get the opportunity to make a few new desserts, plus redo some of my favorites like these streusel bars. My sister insisted that I make the Pistachio Kunafa Tiramisu and I managed to make it last Thursday morning, just before moving out to the airport. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to click any of it, except this particular dessert I made when we had a few families home for dinner. Crappy pictures, yep, but the dessert was superb. I came across this link, shared it with my sister and she was like, if I thought it would taste good, then make it. The best part of this dessert is that it is no-cook, just mix and let it set, and you are ready to go. Alhamdulillah, most of our guests loved it and I was asked for the recipe. Isn’t that a great feeling always?

If you are wondering the name of the pudding – a fluff is any pudding which has whipped cream as its main base. The Hawaiin reference in this pudding are the pineapples and the toasted coconut, always a beautiful combination! Walmart already has a toasted coconut flakes pack on its aisles, but if you don’t get it, like in the UAE, then make sure to toast grated coconut in butter till nicely golden brown and super aromatic. Without much ado, let me get to the recipe, and urge you to try it for your next get-together. If you love pina colada, then this one is definitely for you…

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Hawaiian Fluff | Pineapple Coconut Dessert {No Cook!}

A delicious no cook dessert with pineapple and coconut

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 tub whipped cream 8 ounce Cool Whip, refer notes
• 1 tin crushed pineapple approx 550 gm
• 1 pack instant vanilla pudding approx 100 gm pack
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1 cup crushed pecan nuts

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, add the whipped cream.
• Pour the vanilla pudding powder into the cream and beat just until mixed.
• Add the crushed pineapple along with its juice, 3/4 of the toasted coconut, and the pecan nuts - reserve a few for topping - and lightly mix them using a spatula, just until mixed.
• Spread into a 13 x 9 deep dish and cover with a lid or cling film. Refrigerate till serving.
• Just before serving, sprinkle the rest of the toasted coconut flakes on top and enjoy cold!

Notes

If using whipping powder, use 3 packs with 1 cup of milk, beat till thick. Then repeat the process.

Crushed pineapple shouldn't have too much liquid. If you do feel there is too much, then you may drain a few tablespoons.

The original recipe used macadamia nuts and marshmallows, but I replaced it with pecans and didn't include marshmallows. You may stick to the original recipe. 

For a dimensional flavoring, you may add some cinnamon powder while folding in. 

The post Hawaiian Fluff | Pineapple Coconut Dessert {No Cook!} appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Assalamu alaikum… Hello hello… How have all of you been? I have been promising to try to be more regular here, alas that has not been the case. Life has been playing and I am trying to just get along, but sometimes it is really hard. But Alhamdulillah, what would we have done if not for the Mercy of our Lord? He will get all of us through whatever challenges we are facing, as long as we put our trust in Him…

Whoever goes in fear of Allah—He will give him a means of salvation and provide for him from sources which he does not expect. Whoever puts his trust in Allah—He will be enough for him. Allah always achieves His aim. Allah has appointed a measure for all things. (Surat at-Talaq: 2-3)

In between, we had Eid ul Adha last weekend and it was quite slow, Alhamdulillah. On day one, I made chicken cutlets as usual and went our way after the Eidgah to my ammayi’s house for breakfast. My SIL volunteered to make lunch, so my duty was to make desert. I wanted to make something really lazy, since it is quite hot – an understatement since the temperatures in the afternoons have been anything between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius since early May :/ – and my mind was fixated on making this viral dessert that has been floating all over TikTok and Instagram. Do you want a hint? Hehe…

OK, so it has a chocolate cake base soaked in chocolate milk, a pudding base with whipped cream and cheese, topped with chocolate ganache and then cocoa coated chocolate rice, which gives it the “Cruncho” reference. This dessert was developed by Lazy Cat, which is a well known cafe and everybody has been coming with their own versions of it. Well, I must stay it is a good dessert to take along for a gathering. It doesn’t take time to make, if you go for store bought ingredients. It assembles in no time and does it work as it sits in the fridge. The only thing that can go wrong is with the crunchiness of the topping. It needs to be sprinkled on the top only at the time of serving so that it is crunchy. Otherwise, it will go soggy and it doesn’t taste that great – just saying.

The pictures for this post ain’t great, but I so love this above click. Azza has grown up so much, since the last time I did a hand shot with her for this passion fruit limeade. My girls are growing up so soon, so much that my elder one will start college very soon, In Sha Allah… Please include all of us in your duas…   And yes, if you like reels, you can watch the one I made for this dessert here.

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Lazy Cat Viral Cake | Krunchoco Cake

A viral chocolate dessert developed by the owner of Lazy Cat Cafe...

Course Desserts

Cuisine International

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

FOR CHOCOLATE CAKE BASE

• 6 chocolate muffins, readymade refer notes
• 200 ml chocolate milk

FOR PUDDING BASE

• 2 sachets whipped cream powder
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200 gm thick cream one packet
• 200 gm cream cheese like Philadelphia
• 1/3 tin condensed milk if needed for sweetness, refer notes

FOR CHOCOLATE GANACHE

• 125 gm thick cream
• 125 gm chocolate I used a mix of white and dark

FOR CRUNCHY CHOCO LAYER

• 50 gm chocolate melted
• 2 cups chocolate rice cereal
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder heaped

Instructions

• In a square pan, chop the muffins and line up the bottom. Pour chocolate milk all over and allow it to soak.
• In a mixing bowl, empty the powder sachets. Top with milk and vanilla extract. Beat till stiff.
• Add in the cream and cheese and whip just till mixed. Check for sweetness.
• If you want more sweetness, just beat in the condensed milk, or else you can avoid it.
• Spread this pudding mixture on top of the chocolate cake base. Keep in the fridge to set, and till the ganache is done.
• Heat the cream in a saucepan, using a double boiler. Add the chocolate and keep whisking till it melts completely.
• Take out of the heat and allow the ganache to cool completely.
• Now take out the dessert and spread the cooled ganache on top of the cooled dessert, evenly on the top.
• Now cover with cling film and allow the dessert to rest till the time of serving.
• For the topping, in a mixing bowl, add the chocolate rice cereal. Drizzle the melted chocolate while still hot and give it a good mix to coat all the cereal.
• Sprinkle the cocoa powder and toss to coat. Allow it to cool and keep in an airtight container till serving.
• Once ready to serve, sprinkle the rice cereal on top and serve immediately.

Notes

For the base, you can either bake your own cake or use a pound cake. I used muffins to line the base. 

For the pudding base, I didn't use the condensed milk since I wanted to keep the dessert mildly sweet. Add this ingredient if you want more sweetness. 

If you use hot melted chocolate on the rice cereal, it tends to crisp it up a little more. 

Always top the cereal at the end. As it sits on the top of the pudding, it loses its crispiness and becomes soggy. 

 

The post Lazy Cat Viral Cake | Krunchoco Cake appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I can’t believe that after a really long time, I took some time to post on my blog during Ramadan. Over the last couple of years, I have had a very dry stint on trying new recipes and posting, so this whole process seems to be very affirming for me. I am hoping that I can cling on to this mood to try new recipes and create new blog posts at least on a minimal basis every month.

Since Eid is on the way, a dessert is a must on our tables. I always notice that our usual meals are what meets our nostalgia or some of us make new traditions. But when it comes to the dessert table, we like to be try new and have our best ones in front, isn’t it? Maybe the desert I bring to you can go onto the list – combining a favorite dessert with a cult viral product – which has basically two gangs of those who really love it and those who really hate it with nothing in between – , and here you have a new dessert. I think you all have already guessed it from the title of the post… hehe…

Initially, when I tried the pistachio kunafa chocolate, I really didn’t enjoy it. But slowly and steadily, it grew on me. I enjoy a chocolate bar or even an ice cream, once in a while. But unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing with desserts that have incorporated this viral combination, without me not wanting to have it again. Anyway, while we had our family Iftar, I signed up to make dessert along with harees and was wondering what new could I try.

That is when I thought, why not make tiramisu topped with pistachio kunafa and a simple chocolate ganache? I eyeballed the quantities, made two large trays and took it along, not knowing how the acceptance would be. The reception it got blew my mind. Both trays came back literally licked to the core, so much so that I hardly got a spoon to taste. Both the adults and the kids loved it immensely, coming personally to me just to say how amazing it was. Now, isn’t that the ultimate satisfaction?

Since I hadn’t got the chance to click it then, I decided to make it again when we had our ladies-only Iftar. This time, I was able to calculate the quantities and do a proper recipe. Alhamdulillah, the ladies also accepted it as a winner, but we were so full from the food that we had that we couldn’t enjoy the dessert as much as we would have loved. Still, my friends asked me to post the recipe soon so that they can treat their families to it during Eid, and finally I am able to get it through here.

The toasting of the kunafa is what takes all the time in this dessert. You need to make sure that the kunafa dough is toasted beautifully golden brown all over without burning it, so you need to keep your eyes on the saucepan and keep tossing it while you look into the other steps, which are quite easy and straightforward. Recently, I saw on a reel that you can bake the kunafa dough on a flat sheet at 180 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, and then toss it with melted butter. I can’t vouch for it, but you can definitely try it to make your life easier. Off to the recipe…

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Pistachio Kunafa Tiramisu | "Dubai Chocolate" Tiramisu

Course Dessert

Cuisine Fusion

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Servings 12

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 150 gm kunafa dough
• 30 gm butter
• 300 gm pistachio paste refer notes
• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 2 tbsp condensed milk
• 2 sachets whipping powder
• 2/3 cup cold milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 200 gm cream cheese
• 200 gm condensed milk half a tin
• 200 gm long finger
• Strong coffee for dipping
• 100 gm milk chocolate
• 125 gm thick cream One packet like KDD

Instructions

• Start by toasting the kunafa dough. This process takes the major of the time. Cut the kunafa dough into small peices. Melt butter in a wide sauce and sauté the kunafa dough on a small flame, uncovered, tossing occasionally to ensure that it gets toasted properly.
• Once it is totally browned and toasted, switch off. This process can take a good half an hour, so be patient and do it slowly to ensure not to burn the kunafa dough.
• In a bowl, add the whipping cream powder, milk and vanilla. Whip till stiff.
• Add in the cream cheese and condensed milk and beat till thick. Refrigerate till use.
• Prepare coffee and set aside.
• In a deep dish pan, dip the long finger in the coffee and layer the bottom. Do not dunk for too long or else the biscuit would be too soft to handle.
• Spread half the cheese mixture on top of it.
• Prep one more layer of the long finger biscuits on it and then top it off with the remaining cheese mixture. Refrigerate for an hour.
• In the toasted kunafa, add in the pistachio paste, tahini and condensed milk and give it a good mix. You may not need to use the entire paste, but it is better for the mixture to be moist.
• Spread this mixture on top of the set cheese pudding. Best is to sprinkle dollops with a spoon in places and slowly spread them using a spatula or your hand. Return back to the refrigerator.
• Heat the cream and chocolate over double boiler till all melted and homogenous. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
• Spread the chocolate ganache on top of the set pistachio kunafa base.
• Allow the dessert to rest in the fridge for at least 2-4 hours for the flavors to settle.
• Enjoy!

Notes

The roasting of the kunfa dough is that takes a lot of time. Hence start off with this step first. As it gets roasted, you can start your pudding mixture and assembling in place.

One whole bottle of pistachio paste may not be required, yet, it is better to add the whole to make the kunafa moist.

Add more condensed milk for sweetness, for the pudding and the kunafa base. My dessert was of meduim sugar levels. 

Looking for more options? There are more than 100+ dessert recipes on the blog, but let me share a few for you to make your life easier…

No Bake Crunchy Pineapple Bread Pudding

Serradura – seriously the easiest dessert!

Biscoff Cheesecake Tiramisu

Fluffy Biscuit Pudding

Easy Trifle Pudding

Chocolate Biscuit Pudding

Aish al Saraya – Lebanese Bread Pudding

This is just a scrape on the top. There are Alhamdulillah lot of options to choose from it you hit the Sweet Bites tab, to choose from. Let us pray for a peaceful and fulfilling Eid for the whole world and remember the people in the less priviliged parts of the world, including them in our duas always…

The post Pistachio Kunafa Tiramisu | “Dubai Chocolate” Tiramisu appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Alhamdulillah, Ramadan is going super fast and it is kind of making me sad. It has been extremely busy but one side of me hasn’t been very well health wise and has affected my ability for going to Tharaweeh prayers. Apart from that worry, it has been good. All I can do is be grateful to the Almighty Rubb.

Last December, I had gone home for roughly a month to attend two weddings in HD’s family. Just like every trip, this one was hectic too. I hardly had time to rest, and more than that, even hardly ate at home. During one of those rare days, my MIL made this dish with leftover pathal dough in the fridge. The only way I know to make it is how umma makes it, where the “pidi” or the dumplings is as complicated as making the pathiri. I had so many questions – will the dumplings stick to each other, won’t they dissolve into the liquid, etc. All my doubts were dissolved when I took the first spoonful. The first thought in my head was, “If this is so easy, why shouldn’t I make it more frequently?”

So this Ramadan, thanks to a collaboration with a brand called Tasty Food, which is a pioneer in introducing the Pathal Podi in the UAE, I got to recreate the dish from my recent memory. The no-involvement of hot boiling water makes it very convenient. All you need to do is to add sufficient normal water to the rice flour, pull them together to make a dough, roll them into small roundels and cook them. All the tips and tricks will be noted in the recipe card below. I served it for Iftar and HD had a whole big bowl of it. He enjoyed it a lot, Alhamdulillah. I am glad that this dish didn’t have to wait too long to come on the blog, thanks to that collaboration.

Let me tell you that this is not the only version to make this curry. There are so many versions across various places of Malabar. Like this Kayi Curry – which has plantains and chana dal in a sugar sauce. Even in this recipe, you can add cooked chana dal for an extra bite, but since my MIL didn’t add it then, I chose not to add it. Makes it a lazier version. There are even versions of the pidi in a simple coconut sauce, without any additions to it. Isn’t it amazing how the same base gives rise to so many different recipes?

You can watch the Instagram reel over here. I have done a voice over in Malayalam, and though it is crappy, I guess I have done a good job for the first time. Off to the recipe…

The post Madhura Curry | Kayi Pidi Curry ~ Malabar Plaintain and Rice Dumpling Dessert appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Can you see that I am struggling to actually do something on the blog? After posting the Coconut Milk Rasam, I came back to the blog several times to start a post, but somehow other activities would take priority and the blog would be left behind. But I have to say I really miss this little baby of mine. Spending time thinking what new recipes to try, to cook it, plate it and click it in the simple lazy style of mine gave me a particular high for a really long time. For the past couple of years, though I was at home, somehow my interest in cooking and baking took a deep dive and I struggled to even cook simple meals. There were so many reasons for it, from my teen girls being extra picky with eating to feeling absolutely lazy to make new meals. It then started reflecting in the speed I did things. It started being very tedious for me.

And now, I am back to working. Yes… For the past almost two months, I am back in the job market, and working five days a week. Work is good, Alhamdulillah, but the traffic has been terrible and I am really struggling to doing a lot of things, especially cooking. Alhamdulillah, I recently got a lady to take care of the home, but then cooking is something that I haven’t been doing as such. Currently, with the way things are, I am only looking at finishing off whatever drafts I have and then think my way forward with the blog…

Can you believe that this baby is 12 years old? Such a long time… Just a couple of days ago, my human baby completed 13 years of life. Now I have two teens and I am just grateful, to say the least. Sometimes, instead of thinking about how much of a headache they can become at times, it is best to see the bright light of having them around and how they make you grounded. Alhamdulillah… It also makes me sad that years are passing by so quickly and the girls growing up faster than I can accept… I guess all mother’s feel the same way…

Now since it is a celebratory blog post, I decided as always to post something special. You can check out all my previous posts here. I have written very long posts but this time, my fingers and my mind don’t seem to be coordinating much. But I am still trying… Just because I want to do it…

Some recipes go viral on TikTok for a reason. I have tried a few and they were all hits, like the custard yogurt toast and the feta tomato pasta and they were really good. I have marked a lot of them to make, but then time has its constraints now, and it hasn’t been easy. But this phyllo custard tart was something that was playing in my head and when I got a chance I made it. The recipe was quite easy but I had never worked with phyllo pastry before. Usually this is used to make dishes like baklawa and Turkish borek, which are all on my list, but may take its own sweet time to get done.

I bought a box and kept it in my freezer for at least a month. Finally I gathered up my courage and made it. The first step is to crinkle the phyllo and arrange in a 9×13 pan. The folded sides need to be facing on the top. It is baked for a little time. Then melted butter is poured all over and baked again. A custard is then made, poured over and baked again till done. Yes, it is a little tedious but worth the effort. While it bakes, make the sugar syrup and allow it too cool slightly. Make sure to pour it all over the pastry till soaked. Wait for some time patiently and finally dig in. A word of warning: please make sure you have somebody to share. The dessert can be absolutely addictive. You can add toppings like chopped pistachios, dried rose petals, etc. and use more flavoring like orange blossom water in the sugar syrup.

I would love to make this again when I have a potluck or an opportunity when a lot of them can eat. It is quite a calorific dessert, to say the least. Hehe… Maybe as you read, you can feel that I am struggling to even do a proper post with proper words. I am just glad I managed to put down this much. Leaving it with a footnote – do you know this dessert is called “Mukacha”? It is an Arabic name for the word “wrinkled”.  I wish I could find which country this belonged to.

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Phyllo Custard Tart | Phyllo Crinkle Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine International

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 10

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 500 gm phyllo pastry
• 240 gm butter melted
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar adjust as per sweetness
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

FOR SYRUP

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• Juice of one lime
• 1 tsp rose water optional

Instructions

• Grease a 9x13 inch pan generously with butter. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
• Take two sheets of the phyllo pastry sheet and crinkle it. Place in the pan facing the crinkles on the top.
• Place them tightly to make sure that all the phyllo sheet is accomodated in the pan.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Take out and pour melted butter all over the phyllo. Bake for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Beat well till nicely combined.
• Pour the custard mixture onto the semi baked phyllo. Return it back to the oven for another 30-40 minutes, till the phyllo is crisp on the top. (refer notes)
• During this time, prepare the sugar syrup by combining the sugar and water in a saucepan and cook till the syrup thickens. Add the lemon juice and rose water if using and switch off.
• As soon as the phyllo cake cames out of the oven, pour all the sugar syrup over the phyllo custard. Allow it to sit for sometime.
• Enjoy it warm.

Notes

Do not skimp on the butter. It is the butter that will keep the phyllo soft.

Do not overbake the phyllo custard tart. It tends to dry. So keep it for 30 minutes, and then grill the top for a browned appearance. 

 

All I would like to do at this moment is to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking out to me and coming to this page from time to time to check out the content. I feel absolutely blessed… Alhamdulillah… I may go absolutely slow on the blog, but nevertheless some day, some time, I will get back to being more regular, In Sha Allah…

The post Phyllo Custard Tart | Phyllo Crinkle Cake appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

This week, for the theme “Anniversary Special” for the Blogging Marathon #151, after posting the Masala Coke, I chose to post these truffles I made some time ago due to a failed chocolate cake attempt. Yes, a failed one… I was baking the cake after ages. I know you wouldn’t believe me if I say this but I haven’t been baking in a really long time. There was a time when I used to make one cake a week at least, but now it is a once-in-a-while affair. If I am going to see a friend, then I may bake something, otherwise, for just us to eat, I don’t. So that sums up the feeling of rustiness when I baked this chocolate cake and it stuck to the pan. On top of that, it was awfully dry that no one wanted to eat it. My heard didn’t want to throw it, and so I decided to recycle it. I was so glad I did…

I already have a truffle recipe with cream cheese as the binder, so I went ahead and used cream and sugar in this case – a very straight and simple way to make them. Most of the cake truffle recipes online use ganache, which I feel makes it extremely sweet.  I did a coating of melted dark chocolate and a little coconut oil. It was so delicious that within two days, it disappeared from my fridge. At least, the truffles had a better fate that my doomed cake. Whether you have a flop cake or you have storebought cake that you want to repurpose, then these truffles are a great idea… They are easy to make and of course a hit at any party. Off to this simple recipe.

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Chocolate Cream Truffles

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• Chocolate cake crumbled
• Thick cheese As needed
• Icing sugar As per sweetness
• A pinch of salt
• A dash of vanilla
• 100 gm dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

• Line a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
• Crumble the cake well in a bowl without any lumps.
• Add just enough cream, icing sugar, vanilla and salt to bring the mixture together. It should just hold shape, it shouldn't be too sticky.
• Roll into small balls and set aside.
• Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave for a minute. Give it a stir till smooth.
• Dunk each of the truffles, roll in the chocolate mix and place onto the tray. Keep a small spacing among each.
• Keep in the fridge and allow it to cool.

Notes

The reason why I haven't put quantities for the truffles is because it can be adjusted as per needed. 

The coating proportions, can be adjusted accordingly, more or less depending on the amount of truffles.

Ensure to serve them cold because they tend to melt very fast. 

The post Chocolate Cream Truffles appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

This may be the first time in the history of the blog that I couldn’t post an Eid dessert. I had already planned the post, even started typing it but then a few changed plans got us moving in another direction. During Eid, very impromptu, my friend said, “Let’s go to Salalah!” Then the whole week before last Monday, we were prepping for it, with making sure everything in order especially our visas, stocking up essentials in car, getting it serviced, finishing off Eid shopping, etc. I didn’t realize that time flew and before we knew it, we were on the way to Salalah – just me, her and my two girls. Even though, Alhamdulillah, our trip was pretty smooth, can’t say that I was in a settled mind. I was constantly feeling nervous and just making constant prayers that no inhibitions come in between. 1200+ kms of drive is not a joke, and that too in between just plain desert with hardly anything in between. Once there, the trip was amazing. We hit a lot of beautiful spots, we had some amazing rain, we devoured delicious and organic papayas and bananas, had our fair share of watching mountains and seas. It was four days of fond memories, along with a lot of gratefulness to the Almighty for making the journey as smooth as it could have been…

This also means that my post for the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge is also delayed. Our theme for the month of June was “Mangoes” – of course, the fruit of the month and my partner was Kalyani. My initial plan was to make something savory with mangoes, specifically the pulisseri, but I didn’t like how it turned out so decided to skip posting it. Finally I made this dessert, which is really easy and gave me a chance to post at least one mango recipe this season, even though I posted the Mango Bango earlier this year – another Filipino dessert – with mangoes of that time. Hehe…

Kalyani used her secret ingredients of fenugreek seeds and jaggery to make this delicious Mango-Carrot Chutney while I included her secret ingredients of milk and vanilla in this super easy dessert. Mango Float is quiescently a Filipino dessert made with their special mangoes called Carabao, layered in with biscuits, usually Graham crackers and sweetened whipped cream. That easy! It is basically a biscuit pudding with mango in it. Since this time the market is flooded with Indian and Pakistani mangoes, I used one Rajapuri and two Sindri mangoes to go into this dessert. That explains why you can see two colors of mangoes in the clicks. Hehe…

I have used graham crackers for this recipe, which is the biscuit base for the recipe. But you could use any biscuits at your disposal like petit buerre or glucose cookies. I dunk them in milk before layering them, though it looks like an optional step. It does make the dessert a little more melt in the mouth, though. The cream is whipped to soft peaks along with a tin of condensed milk. I used a little less than a can, and hence it was just aptly sweet. Once you layer in the cream, then top with chopped mangoes and repeat till complete. The last step is to let it chill till serving time. With this recipe, I made an 8 inch pan plus a 4 inch pan, and that is the reason I mentioned to use a bigger pan than the 8 inch but smaller than the 13×7 one. It is a must-try super easy dessert, either as your weekend dessert or for your next get-together. Off to this recipe…

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Mango Float | Mango Biscuit Pudding

Course Dessert

Cuisine Far Eastern

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Servings 8

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 tin condensed milk
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 mangoes almost 1 kg
• 18 Graham crackers roughly
• Milk to dip

Instructions

• Peel and slice the mangoes into small peices.
• Keep ready a 11x7 inch deep pan (refer notes).
• Whip cream till soft peaks. Add the condensed milk, salt and vanilla and beat till stiff.
• Keep milk ready in a deep plate. Dip graham crackers in the milk and layer the bottom till packed.
• Spread 1/3rd of the whipped cream mixture and sprinkle 1/3 of the mangoes.
• Top with more graham crackers dipped with milk. Spread half of the remaining cream mixture and mangoes.
• Repeat a third layers with dipped graham crackers, all the remaining cream mixture, finishing off with the remaining mangoes on top.
• Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for a couple of hours to set.
• Before serving, crush some graham crackers on the top. Dig in!

The post Mango Float | Mango Biscuit Pudding appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

Each time Ramadan draws closer to the end, the feelings are mixed. As much as you don’t want the month to end, you look forward to Eid. This time, Eid seems to hit differently. Apart from some loved ones not being with us any longer or suffering from illnesses that don’t seem to get them any better, I don’t have my family around. My brother is travelling to the US to my sister and my parents are there with her. I do feel sad that I may be just with HD and my girls, Alhamdulillah, but I feel happy for my sister, because usually she is in my shoes most of the time. I am looking forward to a very quiet Eid, at the most. We have no plans to travel anywhere, not even close but let’s see how it goes… Even though it was kind of sure that Ramadan may be 29 this time, of late, there has been news that Ramadan may be 30 days and Eid will be on Saturday. But no, we have Eid tomorrow, Alhamdulillah, so the mad rush is on…

One thing that adorns the table on Eid days is a big plate of biriyani – a lot of variety already on the blog – and dessert. A lot of homes make the Sheer Kurma, while in our side, we make Paal Pizhinjath. But the new generation like to put up desserts that are innovative, at the best. Some of the desserts that I like to make when I have guests during Eid are:

Trifles – I have made this trifle several times for Eid gatherings… Since it is almost mango season, mango trifle can be one to try…

Arab desserts like Umm Ali – my absolute favorite, Layali Lubnan and Aish El Saraya

Milk Cakes – the most trending one being the Lotus Milk Cake and a personal favorite being the Saffron one…

Super easy ones like Serradura and the Biscoff Tiramisu, which are almost cult hits…

There are so much more desserts already occupying space on the blog, please feel free to check them and pick up one that you deem easy. That is what I do. Dessert is always the first thing I make and keep into the fridge so that I can concentrate on the mains. Since I mentioned trifles above, let me introduce you to a trifle I tried recently and absolutely loved…

I had come across this concept of “Peach Melba” some time ago and it had been playing in my mind ever since. Melba is the name of a sauce that is cooked with raspberries, basically like a compote. The Melba goes amazingly well with peaches, and hence is usually served like a drizzle over a scoop of good vanilla ice cream and chopped peaches. If you want a little bit of history, here is the Wikipedia link for you. I wanted to make a trifle with similar flavors and that is how this Peach Melba trifle was born. We had guests over for lunch just a week before Eid and I ended up making this dessert. The base is raspberry jelly, I lined the sides with strawberry roll cakes. The custard is a simple Jello pudding mixed in with whipped cream and then I threw a can of peaches and raspberry compote, wherever I can. I topped it with almonds for extra crunch and a couple of the fruits for garnish purpose.

The main reason I love trifles is that you can incorporate several elements into it and yet they taste amazing. It is always a show stopper and a crowd pleaser. For the melba touch, I used frozen raspberries, since the fresh ones in the market now are still very sour. I tossed them in some vanilla and sugar and allowed them to release their juices. I used canned peaches, so I used the sugar syrup to brush the roll cakes with. You can use simple pound cakes, but I feel that cake rolls make it even more delicious, plus they look attractive on the sides when displayed. Even though I used Jello vanilla pudding, you can make thick custard. I have used a mixture of sweetened whipped cream and custard as the trifle main, but you can use just custard, if that is what you like. It is a very easy dessert, that can be done in stages and set off very quickly. So it comes in the category of the desserts I mentioned earlier – those that you can just make and keep in the fridge, while you take care of the other stuff.

InShaAllah, will take a mini break and be back after the Eid holidays. No plans as such, but will move with the flow… Do make sure to take full advantage of the remaining days of Ramadan… TakabalAllah Minna Waminkum…

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Peach Melba Trifle Pudding | Peach Raspberry Trifle

Course Dessert

Cuisine International

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 1 box 85 gm raspberry jelly
• 425 gm peaches in sugar syrup I used Dole brand
• 130 gm box Jello Vanilla Pudding refer notes
• 3 cups milk
• 200 gm whipping cream
• 2 packs 110 gm each swiss roll cake I used strawberry flavor
• 300 gm raspberry frozen
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Keep a big pan ready. Prepare the jelly as per box instructions. Pour into pan. Allow to set in the fridge for an hour.
• Reserve a few raspberries for garnish. Mix the rest of it, sugar and vanilla. Toss well. Set aside for it to release its juices.
• Cook the Jello pack along with the milk till thick. Allow it to cool completely.
• Whip the cream till stiff. Fold in the cooled Jello pudding.
• To assemble, take out the jar from the pan. Drain the peach slices and chop roughly. Reserve the sugar syrup and a few pieces for garnish.
• Cut the rolls into equal slices. Brush with sugar syrup. Arrange on the side of the dish.
• Sprinkle half of the raspberry compote and peach slices on top of the jelly.
• Spread half the cream custard. Sprinkle the remaining fruit and compote and top with the remaining cream custard.
• Cling wrap and let it set for a couple of hours in the fridge.
• Just before serving, decorate with the reserved raspberry and peach slices and sprinkle some almond slices. Dig in!

Notes

Instead of Jello vanilla pudding, you can use custard powder. Stir 3-4 tbsp of custard powder into the milk along with sugar as per sweetness, cook till thick. Cool and then fold into the whipped cream. The custard needs to be really thick so that pudding holds its consistency. 

The post Peach Melba Trifle Pudding | Peach Raspberry Trifle appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

When this month’s theme for the Shh Cooking Secretly Challenge was declared as “Vegan Recipes” as suggested by Radha, I had to do it. Once upon a time, I had to turn vegan for half a year for medication purpose and I took advantage of it to create a little database of vegan eats and bakes. It’s been a long time since I have tried making something exclusively vegan and this challenge was a good excuse to do so. In this challenge, we are paired with a fellow blogger, who gives us two ingredients to be used in the dish that we plan to cook, and viceversa. I am paired with Priya Iyer, who is a very versatile food blogger. We had a little discussion and while I gave her coconut and curry leaves – with which she made this droolworthy Kuzhambu, she gave me coconut milk and sugar, just apt to make the Mango Bango.

From what I could gather, Mango Bango is a super easy Filipino dessert which includes mango and palm fruit along with some coconut bites, mixed together in a creamy sweet milky sauce. There are variations depending on family recipes but mango and nata de coco – which is a type of coconut jelly, was a part of most of the recipes. The sauce is usually a mix of milk, cream and condensed milk, which I substituted with thick coconut milk to make the whole recipe vegan. Some recipes use sago and some don’t, but since I love sago, I decided to go with it. Hehe…

Though the dessert is simple, it takes its own time. I made coconut jelly from coconut water and agar agar, since I couldn’t trace nata de coco here, but I love working with agar agar and it hardly took time for the jelly to get done. All you need to do is melt the agar agar, add the coconut water in room temperature and just heat till it looks all homogenous. Pour into a pan and let it set in room temperature. Meanwhile, the sago pearls can be cooked and drained. I had a little mishap where my pan flipped off the stove and it almost landed on Rasha’s leg, who was washing dishes in the sink. Alhamdulillah for her reflexes, half of it went on my kitchen carpet and nothing on her legs. And I had some sago to use in my final dish. Hehe… Then chop the mangoes – I used the Yemeni mangoes which are in the market, very chunky but not that sweet, cut the jelly and add in, toss in all the ingredients and just allow it to rest. The beauty of this dessert is that you can have it thick as we liked it or a little watery as well, so there is no wrong way of making it. Next time, if I get my hands on palm fruit, I would love to add them in too. Off to this simple recipe…

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Mango Bango {Vegan!}

Course Dessert

Cuisine Far Eastern

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 4

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 10 gm agar agar/ china grass
• 500 ml coconut water with bites
• 1/4 cup sago pearls
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 1/3 cup sugar more as needed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 2 mangoes chopped

Instructions

• Soak the agar agar in half cup of water for 15 minutes.
• Cook on low flame till the agar agar melts completely. Add the coconut water and stir. Just cook till warm.
• Pour into a shallow dish and set aside for an hour to solidify.
• In another saucepan, boil the sago pearls in 3 cups of water till it becomes transparent and cooked.
• Drain, wash to remove the starch and empty into a mixing bowl.
• Chop the mangoes and add into the sago pearls.
• Add the coconut milk, sugar, salt and vanilla.
• Cut the set coconut water jelly into squares and add into the bowl. Toss all of them together.
• Allow it to cool in the fridge for an hour or till the time of serving.

Notes

You do not need to chill the coconut water jelly. Just keep it out and it will set in an hours time. 

The post Mango Bango {Vegan!} appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.

I am one huge Umm Ali fan. Most of the places get this dessert right, due to its ease to make. Anyway, I have been wanting to use puff pastry biscuits like these to make the base of Umm Ali. One, it reduces the making time of this dessert and two, it won’t affect the taste much. The idea of making Umm Ali with chocolate came to me while casually flipping a magazine while waiting at a clinic. We rarely read newspapers or magazines these days, isn’t it? The newspapers that used to be thick have now gone to almost three-fourth of its size, with more content online than on the print. I am sure that as time passes, we will cease to see print media, at least newspapers to begin with. I am not looking forward to such a time, to be honest… This is my next post for this month’s Bakeathon, with a sub-theme of “Main Ingredients 5 or less”.

The base is the biscuits, topped with the milk mix – I used milk, very little condensed milk which if you want, you can skip, and evaporated milk. I sprinkled chopped chocolate all over along with coconuts. I wasn’t intending to use any nuts, but I added macadamia nuts at my whim. It is usually not a typical nut to use in a dish like Umm Ali, but still… I wanted to sprinkle in some raisins as well, but at the end chose not to. You can use them if you like them, because it is something always pushing out in this dessert. I baked it for a little longer and hence my Umm Ali was a little dry. I suggest keeping the baking time to 20 minutes, just until the chocolate is melted. I put cream in random spots on the top, but you can whisk into the milk mixture as well. It was super delicious and disappeared in full speed once made. So delicious… If you love Umm Ali with less work, here is another version made with stale bread or croissants…

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Chocolate Coconut Umm Ali | Easy Umm Ali using Puff Pastry Biscuits

Course Dessert

Cuisine Arabic

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rafeeda AR

Ingredients

• 250 gm puff pastry biscuit Vicenzi or any other brand
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup condensed milk add more for sweetness
• 1 can evaporated milk 400 ml
• 100 gm chocolate chopped roughly
• 1/4 cup grated coconut packed
• 1/4 cup macademia nuts, crushed use any nut of choice
• 125 gm cream pack

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
• In a square pan, line with the puff pastry biscuits tightly till complete. You may not need to use the entire pack.
• Whisk together the milk, condensed milk and evaporated milk and pour all over the pastry.
• Sprinkle the chopped chocolate, coconut and nuts all over. Drop the cream in random spots till used up.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Grill the top for 4 minutes just till golden brown.
• Enjoy warm.

The post Chocolate Coconut Umm Ali | Easy Umm Ali using Puff Pastry Biscuits appeared first on The Big Sweet Tooth.