Dessert - by Scarlett

From soufflé to parfait, you'll find my personal selection of yummy dessert recipes here and more!! So for home-made goodness or sweet treats around Sydney, be sure to check here - oh, and bon appétit!! Scarlett :)

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Dessert - November 2007

Ma Lai Cake

November 29th 2007 08:36

Ma Lai Cake

About Ma Lai Cake

Ma Lai Cake, a typical Hong Kongese (or Cantonese) dish. Many people go to yum cha for this feather-light sponge with its warm, tracly fragrance. Serve it freshly steamed and eat with chopsticks makes it the perfect way to finish the meal.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4

4 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon water
180 gm / 6½ oz white sugar
1 tablespoon golden syrup
150 gm / 5¼ oz flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Butter a round or a square 15-cm / 6-in diameter cake tin, and line the bottom with enough doubled greaseproof paper to form ‘handles’ above the level of the tin. Make sure your cake tin fits within your steamer.

2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.

3. Place eggs, water, sugar and golden syrup in food processor and blend for 10 minutes at high speed, until mixture is thick and creamy.

4. Remove to a bow, then fold in the powder mixture.

5. Pour batter into the cake tin, and set inside the steamer over boiling water.

6. Cover and steam for 30 – 40 minutes, keeping an eye on the water to make sure it doesn’t boil dry.

7. Insert a thin skewer to test if cake is cooked. If skewer comes out dry, not wet, and cake is cratered with small air bubbles, gently lift the cake from the tin using the greaseproof paper, rest on a rack and peel off paper.

8. Cut the pudding into squares or wedges and place each serving in the centre of a warm dinner plate.

**From “Favourite Food by Jill Dupleix”**

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Posted By: Scarlett - Category: Cakes

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Crème Brûlée à la Lavande

November 28th 2007 12:01

Creme Brulee a la Lavande

About Crème Brûlée à la Lavande

This rich and luxurious dessert is actually just a simple smooth custard: a mixture of cream and eggs, with a caramelized sugar topping. The custard mixture is cooked and chilled, and then a thin layer of sugar is sprinkled on top to be crystallised with a butane torch or under a “salamander” broiler, hence the name crème brûlée, which is translated as “burnt cream”. Traditional crème brûlée does not use any additional flavouring. However, this recipe adds a little French panache with aromatic lavender flower. This soft-and-crunchy treat should transport you straight to Provençe.

About Edible Dry Lavender Flower

Lavender is an incredibly versatile herb for cooking. In today’s upscale restaurants, fresh edible flowers are making a comeback as enhancements to both the flavour and appearance of food.
It is not surprising that lavender is edible and that its use in food preparation is also returning. Flowers and leaves can be used fresh, and both buds and stems can be used dried. Lavender is a member of the mint family and is close to rosemary, sage, and thyme. It is best used with fennel, oregano, rosemary, thyme, sage, and savory.
English Lavender has the sweetest fragrance of all the lavenders and is the one most commonly used in cooking. The uses of lavender are limited only by your imagination. Lavender has a sweet, floral flavour, with lemon and citrus notes. The potency of the lavender flowers increases with drying. In cooking, use one-third the quantity of dried flowers to fresh. The key to cooking with lavender is to experiment; start out with a small amount of flowers, and add more as you go. But Note that adding too much lavender to your recipe can be like eating perfume and will make your dish bitter. Because of the strong flavour of lavender, the secret is that a little goes a long way. And, do not eat flowers from florist, nurseries or garden centres. In many cases these flowers have been treated with pesticides not labeled for food crops.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6

2 cups heavy cream
¾ teaspoon dry lavender flowers
5 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
2½ tablespoons brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 120º C. Add the cream and lavender in a small pot over high heat.

2. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. Cover the pot and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

3. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl for 1 minute.

4. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the lavender cream and combine. Strain to remove the lavender pieces.

5. Pour the mixture into a large ceramic dish or several small ceramic dishes to ½ inch height.

6. Bake for 30 minutes.

7. Remove and allow cooling for several hours. It is best to chill in a refrigerator overnight.

8. To serve, sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the chilled mixture. Caramelise the sugar until golden using a butane torch or broiler.

**From “Behind the Apron– The recipes of Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong” and “What’s Cooking America” **