Mango Pudding/ Fruit Pudding

This has to be the easiest and the simplest pudding I have ever made and it stands high on the yummy quotient too. A friend recently shared it on a food group (CaL, as you know) and I just knew I had to make this. I have made it with Mango puree as we have fresh mangoes from Thailand available in the supermarket these days but this pudding can be made with any other seasonal fruit like strawberry, litchi, and the like. 

Ingredients

2 tsp gelatin

1/2 cup hot water

2 mangoes diced and blended in a food processor

1/2 cup condensed milk (I used low fat)

10 ice cubes (approximately)

Direction

Put the gelatin in a small bowl, pour in the hot water and set aside until the gelatin dissolves, approximately 2 minutes.

Cut mango in pieces and blend in a blender till very smooth. 

Mix the mango puree, condensed milk, and ice cubes.

Pour the gelatin mixture into the mango mixture and mix well till the ice melts. 

Pour into mould of your choice and set it in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours. 

Garnish with a few pieces of mango and enjoy!!!

Cherry Clafoutis

These days I am in no mood to cook any regular meals. My husband is again out of Singapore (yeah, I know he hardly stays at home) and since he is the one who loves Indian food, there is not much cooking to do. However, I do need to feed myself and so the idea of self pampering stepped in. I had earlier noted down some delicious easy recipes but did not have the opportunity to try them. So here I am with this yummy yet simple recipe. The best part is it is not too heavy with calories and requires just 2 tbsp butter. While I was preparing this dish, I was amazed at how simple it is to make and while savouring that sinful Clafoutis, I realized how filling it was and serves as a full meal in itself. You just can't stop eating it. 

Ingredients

For the batter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar (I used brown sugar)

2 eggs

3/4 cup (180 ml) milk

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter softened

1/8 tsp vanilla essence ( my vanilla was over, so added almond essence)

For the cherry filling

12-14 canned cherries, pitted (you can use fresh ones as well)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp granulated sugar

Direction

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degree celsius. Put all the ingredients under batter and either whisk it with your hands or in the food processor (the easier way). Let it stand while you prepare the cherry base. Take an oven safe dish, big enough to accomodate the cherries in a single layer and to hold the batter while leaving some space from the rim. Put the 1 tbsp butter on the dish and microwave for 20 secs until melted. Now add the cherries and microwave further for 20 secs ( if you are using fresh cherries, microwave for about a minute until the cherries are softened). Now sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar on top of the cherries and microwave again for 20 secs for the sugar to melt. Alternatively, you could combine everything in a skillet and softened the cherry and sugar syrup on stove top. However, you might end up losing some of the juice while transferring the contents back to the baking dish. However, yoy can do this on stove top on a ovenproof skillet, if yoy have one. Doing it in the microwave saves time and works perfectly fine for canned cherries as they are already quite soft due to the syrup. 

Now pour the prepared batter gently over the cherry bed. Make sure you do not disturb the arrangement. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 25 minutes until golden brown on top and the edges start coming off. It will puff up inside the oven and opening the door before the baking time ends will make it collapse. However, keep an eye from outside to prevent over browning. Serve hot with a dusting of confectioner's sugar, whipped cream, or simply as is like I had. In any way, the taste is simply divine!!

                                              

                                              

Melony Raspberry Fruit Cobbler

Baking is one of my favorite means of cooking. I had made a raspberry dessert recently and to garnish it, I had bought a pack of fresh raspberries. However, the dessert did not turn out as expected and so the pack of raspberries was lying in the fridge along with some fresh musk melon. With nothing to do today evening, I decided to try out this recipe found on Allrecipes and I was quite pleased with the result. The preparation time is exactly 10 minutes (probably even under 10)! How I love such easy recipes. It's just as simple as waving your magic wand!

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

2 cups fruits (raspberry or strawberry or cranberry or peaches or any fruit of your choice)

1 tbsp white sugar 

Directions

Set the oven at 175 degree celsius. Take a 9 inch round or 8 inch square baking dish and put the butter in it. Place the dish in the oven in the upper middle rack and pre- heat the oven while at the same time melting the butter. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk and make a smooth paste. Take out the dish from the oven and pour the batter into it. Arrange the fruit pieces carefully on top and sprinkle the 1 tbsp sugar. Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown on top and edges start coming off the sides. Serve hot or at room temperature with whipped cream or a dollop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy your deluciously easy cakey fruit cobbler.

                                   

                                   

Perfect Guava Scones

Baking is something which I truly enjoy. Till date, almost 95% of my attempts have been successful and today's recipe is one of them. I had some guavas lying in the fridge and didn't know what I can do with them (am not a fruit eater). So I quickly took help of my best friend (read Google) and she sorted out my problem in just .004 secs with this awesome scone recipe. For a first attempt at scones, I am totally proud of the results. Very easy to make and good to store as a takeaway breakfast item, you must give this recipe a try. You can also replace the guava of this recipe with a similar fruit like apples and pears.

Ingredients (8-10 servings)

1 medium guava, cut into small chunks

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1/3 cup butter, chilled

1 egg

1/3 cup full cream milk

Directions

Pre-heat the oven at 200 degree celsius.

Mix together the dry ingredients, that is, flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon powder,  and sugar. Keep aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Cut the butter into chunks and add. Whisk together till the mixture attains a crumbly texture. Slowly fold in the dry ingredients and mix well. If you find the mixture too dry, you can add an additional 1 tbsp of milk. The consistency should be lumpy and not that of cake batter. Finally, add the guava chunks and fold everything well. Line a baking tray with a cookie sheet and add lumps of the mixture with a tablespoon. The lumps should not be too big as it will raise further during baking. Bake the scones in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the scones are golden brown in color. Serve warm with tea or coffee or store in air-tight containers as a early morning takeaway breakfast. Very light and fluffy yet very filling to last you a good 2-3 hours. Enjoy!!