Custard Pudding with Coffee and Biscuits

Puddings,Souffles ,Custard…I love them all.There is something about these that makes me go weak in the knees.I am not such a big fan of these though,it is just the whole process of making it and waiting for it to set and then serving them chilled that thrills me..umm,no I am not crazy,if that is what you are thinking;-).

As Nigella says,some recipes sing to you and sang it did..when I saw Mallika of Veg Bowl’s recipe for Coffee Biscuit pudding,I knew I am gonna love it.I always stick to ma-in-law’s classic recipe for Biscuit pudding,but this was different.It used Krack-jack biscuits and coffee and custard and it sounded like such a great combination that I HAD to try it.

I absolutely love the burst of flavors in this.The slight tinge of salty taste mixed with coffee flavored biscuit layers with the custard sauce..just one word-awesome!!

Coffee Biscuit Custard Pudding

Recipe courtesy - Mallika

Ingredients

For the Custard

Milk – 1 packet, ½ litre
Vanilla flavoured Custard powder – 3 tbsp
Sugar – 3 tbsp

Mix custard powder with ¼ cup cold milk and boil the rest of the milk with sugar.
Add the custard paste when the milk boils,stir for a while till it starts thickening and leave to cool until just warm.

For layering the pudding

Krack Jack biscuit – 1 pack
Strong Coffee decoction – ½ cup

[the original recipe requires this to be set in a square cake tin but I used a round pudding bowl]

Layer the base of the pudding bowl with coffee soaked biscuits.
Spread a layer of custard over this.
On top of that again layer coffee soaked biscuits and then custard.
Continue with biscuit-custard for 3-4 layers.[not more than that since the custard won’t hold shape while serving]
Top with grated chocolate or cocoa and set in the refrigerator to chill for 3-4 hours.
Garnish with dry fruits or nuts.

Chocolate Barfi ~ To celebrate!!

I’ve never won a lucky draw before,even in school.
I religiously fill up forms in malls/shops hoping that I’ll win a gift hamper or a holiday package but luck never came knocking at my door.
I’ve commented umpteen times on blogs which host giveaways but always have to satisfy myself with the two words – next time!!

But not this time..I’ve won I’ve won I’ve won!!!

Yes,I’ve won a Waffle maker at Meet my Kitchen things,a giveaway hosted by Nags.I was curious when she posted the link to my Fb wall but never in my dreams thought that I must have won it!! I don’t live in US hence have to hunt down friends’ addresses for shipping and heck,I have no clue when it is gonna reach me and what I am going to do with it..but I’ve WON IT!! [Does it show that I’ve gone crazy??]

On such a happy occasion[at least for me;-)] I feel I should share a sweet with you guys.It was sometime back that I chanced upon Hetal and Anuja’s Show me the Curry site.I am hooked to it and watch their videos over and over again.I’ve tried making Peda from the site and this is a recipe I chose because I wanted to finish off some milk powder which was nearing its expiry date!! I halved the recipe and got around 18 pieces of Barfi.

Chocolate Barfi
Recipe from Show me the Curry

Ingredients

Milk Powder – 2 ½ cups
Powdered sugar – ¾ cup
Whipping cream – 200 ml[I used a pack of Amul Fresh Cream]
Chocolate – ¼ cup,chopped
Cocoa powder – 1 tsp

Method

In a deep microwave safe bowl,mix the milk powder and sugar well.
Add the cream and stir till it forms a smooth paste.
Microwave for 3-4 minutes in 1 minute intervals till it starts fluffing and folding in.[mine got done in 4 minutes,depends on each microwave]
Grease a plate and pour half of the mix into it and flatten it using a spatula.
Wait for a while to let it set a bit.
Meanwhile,mix in the chocolate and cocoa powder to the other half of the mix and mix well till the chocolate melts and the whole thing becomes a smooth paste.
Pour it on top of the mix and flatten well.
Let it set for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.
Cut into desired shapes and serve.

Bibbe Upkari ~ Tempered Tender Cashewnuts

Bibbe is the Konkani name for tender cashewnut and Upkari is side-dish.

I first had this during our customary after wedding visits to cousins-family in Udupi.We were staying at Ajay's uncle's place and according to Ajay,it is a certified proof that we were very special guests because only the special few are served this breakfast fare!!

Poori and Bibbe Upkari.I was seeing the combination for the first time.I mean,we do use cashewnuts in side dishes but I’ve never seen a dish which solely has cashewnuts in it.And that too in comination with poori?I hesitated and started with just 1 poori.The combination is simply out of this world,something which I had to admit after gorging down almost 10 pooris..yeah-they were small size though..;-).

Bibbe is available only for a short time between Jan-March and is quite expensive and that explains why it is taken out only for special guests.Dried cashewnuts are soaked for a few hours,skin removed and halved to make this upkari.But in Kerala,we get it in packets where all the extra work is done and this can be popped straight into the pressure cooker.

Bibbe Upkari

Ingredients

Bibbo/Tender Cashewnuts – 250 gms
Potato* – 1,chopped
Red chillies – 2,broken into two
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Grated coconut – 2-3 tbsp
Mustard – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure pan,add oil and mustard seeds.
When they start spluttering add curry leaves and chillies.
Mix in the cashewnuts and potatoes and give a good stir.
Add salt to taste and enough water to cover the cashewnuts and cook for 15-20 minutes.

*Potato is added to balance the strong flavour of cashewnuts and it is optional depending on each persons taste buds.

The best combination to have this with is Pooris.Add a Tendle/Tindora to this upkari and you can serve this as a side dish with rice.

On a different note-I activated Word verification[although I know how awful it is] and the Anonymous-Japanese comments have stopped abruptly.So I guess that helps.Please bear with the word verification dear readers!!

Introducing - A Sweet Punch..one at a time!!

A sweet punch...One at a time.

About Us

Baking a cake or a dessert is not something only experts can do rather, it is something which each one of us can. Many of us are simply intimidated by it. All you need is a good recipe and fresh ingredients, then nothing can go wrong.

Here, we Maria Jose, Ria & Myself are trying to make baking as simple as possible, bringing you a tried and tested recipe every month. It could be either from cookbooks or from other food-blogs.All you need to do is, follow the recipe and create magic! Do not forget to click pictures (if possible all along the way) and post it on the reveal date. Non-bloggers are also welcome. All you need to do is to e-mail us your entries and we will include it for our round-up.

So, what are you waiting for? Don your aprons,grab your whisk and let's get baking!

Your contribution

1.Try to stick to the recipe as far as you can but you can make changes to suit your religious/ dietary requirements.
2.You CANNOT reveal the recipe before the reveal date. Post it on your blog on the reveal date ONLY.
3.Try and bake every month, but if you cannot it's alright,just let us know.A member can miss upto 5 out of 12 months.
4.Any suggestions for improvement, do let us know!

What we will be baking

1.Cakes-Bundts,Filled cakes & Plain cakes

2.Cupcakes & Muffins
3.Roulades & Swiss rolls
4.Tarts,pies,quiches
5.Cold & hot puddings
6.Mousses, souffles (sweet & savoury)
7.Fruit recipes-Galettes,Cobblers,Crumble
8.Meringue cookies/cakes
9.Bars, brownies
10.Cookies
11.Breads
12.Your choice

Posting Date- 7th of every month
Reveal Date-1st of every month

So, if you would like to join us,send us an email to : asweetpunch AT gmail DOT com.

The Best Chocolate Cake Event Round-up!!

The Best Chocolate Cake Event-an event for celebrating my 2nd Bloggiversary and 300 posts.

I am a big Chocoholic myself and can never say no to a Chocolate Dessert.When it comes to cakes,no prizes for guessing that I am fond of chocolate cakes over anything else.I have,from personal experience,found that a slice of decadent chocolate cake can shoo away your worries and tension,at least temporarily.Yes,chocolate has that power to transport you entirely into a chocolate heaven!!!

So it was no wonder that when I decided to host my first event on Easycooking,Chocolate cake was my first choice.Though I have baked quite a few chocolate cakes myself,I madly collect recipes of the same hoping to try it out next.

I got 34 wonderful entries from 25 bloggers and one non-blogger[my co-sis] and 4 entries from me.Thank you all for making this event a grand success.

As promised,the winner for the giveaway was chosen by a special guest.By special,I mean REALLY special as I've known him since sometime now and now he is a rockstar.Yes,I am talking about the latest IPL sensation-M.Vijay.

And the winner is...

Aliena of What's Cooking today wins the book 1 mix,50 cakes.Please get in touch with me at divyakudua@gmail.com to claim your prize.Congrats!!

Without further ado,let’s have a look at the round-up!!
[entries in random order]

Flourless Chocolate Cake by Madhuri Kumar

Flourless Chocolate Cake by Cooking Foodie

Dense Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting by Aliena

Dark Chocolate Secrets by Aliena

Chocolate Cake by Nayna Kanabar

Chocolate Cake decorated with Fondant by Suma

Kiddie Helicopter Chocolate Cake by Suma

Chocolate Mocha Cake by Swapna

Chocolate Cake by Preetha

Zebra Cake by Ruchika

Chocolate Almond Meringue Cake with Dark Chocolate filling by Yasmeen.

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake by Ria

Easy and tasty Chocolate Cake by Premalatha


Triple Chocolate Cake by Sudha

Chocolate Candy Cake by Sowmya

Perfect Chocolate Cake by Sowmya

Molten Lava Cake by Purnima

Chocolate Butter Cake by Niloufer

Pure Chocolate Cake by Kamalika

5 minute Magic Chocolate Cake by Smitha


3 minute Chocolate Cake by Daisy

Chocolicious Chocolate Cake by Chaitra


Marble Cake by Chaitra

Chocolate Cake by Ann

Chocolate Truffle Cake by Aquadaze

Cocoa Banana Muffins by Bharathy

Chocolate Cupcakes by Aliena

Chocolate Cupcake by Maria

Rich Chocolate Moist Cupcakes by Sudha

Eggless Chocolate Cake by Aparna

Eggless Chocolate Cake by Suma

Eggless Dark Chocolate Cake by Parita

Eggless Chocolate Sponge Cake by Radhika

Non-blogger entry by Lakshmi Kudua.

My Vanni made this Fire engine cake following a Youtube tutorial.She has not had any training or so in Cake decorating and I think she has done a splendid job of making it look pretty.Impressed by the cake my vanni made for her daughter's birthday,she got an order for a Birthday cake for an 8 year old boy and this is the one she made.She has used this recipe-Chocolate Yogurt Cake,as base and did the icing with Marshmallow fondant.


My Entries

Celebration Chocolate Cake

Rich Chocolate Cake

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

Whole Orange and Chocolate Cupcakes

Hope you enjoyed the Chocolatey round-up!!

P.S-If I have missed any entries,please shoot me a mail and I will include it in the round-up!!