Figs | Aapplemint

Persimmon, Fig & Orange Cheesecakes

Nov 072012

Festive times call for celebration, spending time your loved ones and sharing. Come Diwali and all of us get busy thinking what gifts to give. Usually it is mithai’s ( Indian traditional sweets ) and Dia’s ( Traditional candles) and a whole lot of us like make something special for our dear ones. Nothing beats personalised gift and homemade sweets are appreciated so much more. Modern day desserts have also found their way in Diwali gifting and are infact devoured happily as they are a pleasant change from the regular. I quite like the idea of making cheesecakes in jars. They look quite decadent, are easily portable, and if you’ve had enough, you just put the lid back on, and go for it at another time. Its quite hard to resist and making them with fresh seasonal fruits is guaranteed to please.

Persimmons are incredibly sweet when ripe. This fruit which looks like a tomato is very high in glucose, and has a unique texture. When eaten extremely ripe it is like a pudding, or eaten a little before it goes mushy, it can be sliced and is crunchy. They look quite large but they classify as berries. This fruit is not available in Mumbai always, and I had first chanced tasting them as a kid, in my travels to the Himalayas. Thats why I saw them at the fruit vendor I knew I had to get these. Knowing its sweet flavour, combining it in a cheesecake was the first thing that came to me. Sweet mixed with tangy never fails and so I made a basic orange cheesecake and then mixed in the fruit. Fresh Figs are one of my most favourite fruits and gave just hit the market here. So I was one happy girl when I went to my fruit vendor. Fresh fruits to make lovely desserts.

Ingredients for Basic Cheesecake

8 digestive biscuits

200 ml whipping cream

1 pack ( 250 gms) Philadelphia Cream Cheese

100 gms caster sugar

1 1/2 tbsp powdered gelatine ( melted in 3 -4 tablespoons of hot water)

zest of one large orange

4 jars or container of your choice

Sterilise the containers and dry. Blitz the biscuits till coarsely ground. Divide them equally between the jars and press down till firmly packed and set aside. For the cheesecake, whip up the cream till soft peaks form add the sugar and mix well. Now beat the softened cream cheese and mix it with the cream. Add the orange zest and gelatine and whip it all together till well combined. Divide the mixture in two halves, so we can mix in the fruits to flavour the cheesecakes.

Persimmon + Orange Cheesecake

2 ripe persimmons – 1 pureed and 1 for garnish

mix two tablespoons of the pureed persimmon in one half of the cheesecake mix and pour equally in two jars. Set them in the fridge for about an hour. Remove and pour some more of the puree and top with slices of the fruit.

Fig + Orange Cheesecake

3 figs

1 orange – cleaned and sliced

Chop finely 2 figs and mix in the cheesecake. Pour equally in the jars and leave in fridge to set. After an hour remove and make a layer of loosened orange segments. Garnish with fig and orange slices.

Here’s wishing all my lovely readers a Joyous Diwali and a Beautiful Year ahead

The Best Damn Creme Caramel Ever ! With Star Anise & Vanilla Bean

All, Dessert, Featured 5 Responses »

Mar 142012

This recipe can turn a non Creme Caramel lover into one. Guaranteed. At one point of time I would’ve been caught dead eating a Creme Caramel, let alone make one. I despised all things with milk and this was no exception. But post pregnancy I got used to having milk and slowly accepting milk based desserts as well. My mum in law simply adores Creme Caramel and always orders this when we dine outside. So one fine day I finally took a spoon and dug in. Not bad I thought, but I’m sure I can make a better one at home. Ofcourse making the basic recipe was not exciting enough, so I put in my favourite ingredients. Star Anise lends such a delicate sweet flavor and aroma to the silky custard, which contrasts with the bitter caramel. And using vanilla bean paste just takes the flavours to a whole other level. You must give this a try even if you aren’t a CC person. You might change over.

And finally I’m glad to let you know that I should be posting more often now. For the past 4 months I was living without a computer because my ‘Lil brat felt like pouring a bottle of water in my computer and poof ! The whole things just blew up ! No one was hurt but I lost a lot of important stuff , but now I got a band new Pro, which just puts me on top of the world again. So yes hopefully more blogging. For now I need to get busy selecting new designs for my kitchen . I’m thinking of re doing the space and have been looking at these new Fitted kitchens. The designs are absolutely spectacular and I cannot wait to start renovating. If any of you are thinking of doing the same you must check out this site.

Ingredients

200 ml Milk
160 ml Whipping Cream
75 gms Caster Sugar
2 Eggs
4 Egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 whole star anise
Fresh figs quartered
Fresh Strawberries sliced

For The Caramel

150 gms Caster Sugar
80 ml water

Start with making the caramel. In a heavy bottom saucepan stir together the sugar and water and let it boil till it reaches a beautiful rich golden colour. Turn of the heat quickly and it will still further cook on it own and turn to a darker shade of brown. Pour equally in 6 ramekins and twirl them around so they spread evenly. Leave out at room temperature and let the caramel set.

Now to make the custard, take a heavy bottom sauce pan. Heat the milk with the star anise and let it come to a boil and then turn off the heat. Let the flavours infuse for about 30 mins. Pour the cream in and bring it again to a boil. Meanwhile, place the eggs, yolks, sugar, vanilla paste and extract in a bowl and whisk together until well combined. Now gently pour in the milk whisking continuously. Strain the whole mixture and pour evenly into ramekins.

Sit the ramekins in a hot water bath i.e Take a deep tray and place the ramekins inside. Pour hot water around it so that they are sitting more that half way in it.

Bake in a 150 C preheated oven for about 35 mins or set. The Center should be a bit wobbly. Remove from bath and let it cool to room temperature. Then cover each ramekin tightly with cling wrap and chill in the fridge till ready to use. Slide a butter knife around the ramekins to loosen the sides. Take the plate you want to serve them in place it on top of the ramekin.Now hold them together and turn it upside down. Give it a firm shake a gently pull up the ramekin. The custard will slide out and all that caramel will flow over. Slice the fruits and place on top and serve.

My Middle Eastern Stunt

All, Baking, Vegetarian 62 Responses »

Nov 212007

Finally the day has arrived. I’m leaving today … hooray!!! After waiting for so many months i’m going back. My tickets were confirmed yesterday morning and that gave me just 2 days to wipe my kitchen clean( … and of course counting my efforts of trying to empty my store since the past couple of weeks). I’ve been seeing cornmeal cakes lately on blogs, and so when i saw some bulgur wheat in my store i wondered if i could do the same with it ? I was excited in a childish sort of way … i thought maybe i’m the first one to try it … but perhaps not. Either ways i had to make it sever since i thought of it, so i got on it. I used olive oil instead of butter, used equal amts of flour, tabolueh, sugar n oil, and added some milk assuming the tabolueh will need some liquid to soak up and soften. Added some chopped figs and pinenuts for that middle eastern touch and served it with some grenadine sherbet. The cake was nice n moist, the fig added a wonderful sweetness in every bite, and the nuts the earthy nutty flavour. And hey – its even healthy !!! Everything about it was wonderful, but i would change one thing the next time i make it. I was hoping the tabolueh would soften totally in the baking process but i didn’t. This one had a slight bite to it. It may work for some of you, as i know the people whom i shared it with, loved it and wanted the recipe right away. But if u like it softer in texture then i recommend soaking the tabolueh in hot milk for 5-7 mins, u don’t want it totally soft as it will further soften while baking.Then add it to the cake batter.Here is the recipe for what i call my Middle Eastern Stunt.

200gms olive oil
3 eggs
200gms golden caster sugar
200gms small bulgur wheat/tabolueh, soaked in 100 ml hot milk
200gms flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
100ml semi skimmed milk
handful of chopped dried figs
6-7 dried figs sliced
handful of lightly toasted pinenuts

Start with preheating your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Soak the tabolueh in some hot milk for 5-7 mins, just till it softens half way.Drain out the excess milk if there is some. Don’t want to make it too soft or u’ll have mush in the cake, and we are looking for a wonderful firm bite-able texture. Leaving the last two ingredients mix everything else in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Mix well and let it rest for about 5 mins and the pour into a cake tin. Evenly sprinkle the fig slices and pinenuts all over the top and bake at 180 degrees celcius for 40 mins or till knife come out clean. This will definately vary as my oven is kinda conked to watch your cake and check it after 30 mins.

And as i go, i would like to leave you with the wonderful produce fro m my very own garden. Mulberries (which by the way are very few) , local Ghanian tomatoes which are very juicy an full of flavour, french beans and the local Ghanian habanero chilli – peppe,which are still very tiny.

These are some of the things i’m growing along with all the other wonderful veggies and herbs i’ve already shared with you here and here. The chinese cabbage and okra are still not ready, for me to take pictures and share. But i managed to pluck off some french beans for this salad and of course my already famous red radishes. Fortunately my guard and his family are staying in this house and will watch and take care of my garden till i come back.

This is a wonderful salad,very filling and a meal in itself. I usually use more of yogurt instead of mayonnaise as its lighter, less fattening and the potatoes tend to soak it all up. Boil potatoes in salted water till soft, boil the french beans for 3-4 mins and plunge in cold water, thinly slice the red radish, slice some spring onion, and wash some corriander and set aside. For the dressing u’ll need one tsp mayonnaise and 2 tbsp yogurt, a squeeze of lemon, lots of freshly ground black pepper, salt n olive oil. Toss the potatoes and beans in the dressing, add the radishes and spring onion and garnish with the corriander.

Thought i’d take a little time out from all the running around, to enjoy the outdoors before i head back. We don’t really get this much space anywhere else. So i made myself a little picnic basket and had my lunch in style in the garden. And now i sit writing this post, kinda sad and taking your leave, promising to get back soon. Will try and put up pictures from Bombay. Ciao !!!

Dry Fruit Roll

All, Miscellaneous 24 Responses »

Oct 012007

With the Ramadan going on there is abundance of beautiful dry fruits available around here these days. I think I’ve mentioned earlier that in Ghana we have a good population of the Lebanese community, and thankfully they have 2 supermarkets here in Accra/Tema without which i don’t think i would’ve survived this country. So being the holy month of Ramadan, they have filled up the supermarkets with exotic Lebanese sweets, tasty traditional treats and wonderful imports of dried figs and dates. When i saw these of course like any food junkie had to buy some right away. And after eating more than half of them just the way they came, and bursting into a face full of zits (oh yes…this stuff is pretty heaty !) i thought now what else can i do with these ? Before i could give it 2 mins of thought, once again it was my hubby to come up with something. He said i used to make these date ” mithai ” (sweet) with all the dry fruits in it … why dont we make that. Its pretty easy, requires nuthing really … just a little bit of effort. I was game, so on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do we started making these beautiful discs of goodness. Of course with both of us tucking our hands into the jars and mixing everything up , the measurements flew out of the window. So I’m really sorry i wouldn’t be able to give u some. But then again in u don’t really need them anyways. Just follow your heart.
water to prevent your hands from getting sticky.Ok now i think i covered everything :p . Take the wooden board and place a big piece of cling film on it. Start by spreading out the date paste onto it in a rectangular shape. Make sure its even and we’re going to have to roll it up later. If your hands get sticky dip them in water , and continue. Once we’ve achieved that place the mixed almonds, walnuts, pinenuts in the center and sprinkle the saffron over it. Carefully bring up the sides of the cling film and form a roll/log, enclosing all the nuts in the center. Smooth out the surface and put it in the fridge for about 1/2 an hour just to firm it up a bit. Then get it out of the cling film , sprinkle all the pistachios on a wooden board surface and roll the log in it , covering every bit of it in the beautiful green pistachios. Put in back into the cling film and into the fridge for another 1/2 hr , so that it is firm again. When youStart with a few dried dates- remove the seed and a few dried figs. Roll up your sleeves and on a wooden chopping board start squishing them with your fingers. Yes its a messy affair but its absolutely worth it. Keep going on and on till they have both amalgamated into one fine paste. Keep aside . Now comes the chopping bit. Take 2 handfuls of pistachios and chop them finely as we need these for the finishing touch. Set aside. And now take some almonds, walnuts, and pinenuts, roughly chop them up , this we will use as the center filling. So now with everything ready … oops i forgot, we need some Saffron strands as well , some cling film and also a bowl of are ready bring it out and cut them into even slices. Thats it ! All natural, all healthy and stays in the fridge almost forever , thats if you’ve devoured them by night fall :p .