Kosha Mangsho Pie

Makes one double-crust 9 inch pie

Like many, we haven’t been able to travel home in over a year. Home. Just the word brings comfort. To us, home is languid lunches and evening snacks and heavy dinners. If home had a flavour, it would be of browned mutton—or Kosha Mangsho—an incredibly rich and tender Bengali meat curry that is made specially for us when we visit. This dish is the comforting flavour of home, baked in the ultimate comfort food—pie. For the most special person in my life. My home away from home. My comfort. My husband, you’re my Kosha Mangsho Pie.

At a glance

– This pie comprises kosha mangsho filling + savoury pie crust 
– You will need a 3-4 litre cooking vessel (cast iron/iron/stainless steel) with a lid, a small saucepan, a 9 inch pie dish (preferably glass), and some aluminium foil.
– This recipe has been broken into 4 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: kosha mangsho filling

In India, mutton refers to goat meat rather than lamb. Kosha Mangsho, literally translates to ‘browned mutton’, where to do ‘koshano’ is to brown something in a pan. In Hindi, the equivalent is to ‘bhuno’.

Ingredients
1. 1 kg boneless mutton pieces (cut into 5 cm chunks)
2. 1 medium-large potato (or 150 gm equivalent)

For the marinade:
3. 1 medium red onion (or 100 gm equivalent)
4. 3-4 small pods of garlic
5. 100 gm full fat curd
6. 1 tbsp. salt + a pinch for the potatoes
7. 1 ½ tsp turmeric powder + a pinch for the potatoes
8. 1 tsp shahi garam masala like this

For the cook:
9. 2 tbsp. mustard oil
10. 3 Indian bay leaves (keep whole)
11. 4 large red onions (or 400 gm equivalent)
12. 1 ½ tsp garlic paste
13. 3 tsp ginger paste
14. 3 medium dark green chillies
15. 1 tsp cumin powder
16. 1 tsp coriander powder
17. 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
18. 100 ml water
19. 200 gm full fat curd
20. 1 ¼ tsp salt
21. 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
22. ¾ tsp shahi garam masala
23. 2 ltr recently boiled water, kept hot
24. 1-2 tbsp ghee 

For the thickener (optional):
25. 25 gm all purpose flour
26. 125 ml plain water

Prep
1 – Make the marinade; roughly chop your onion and garlic and then add it to a blender jar. Then add the curd, turmeric powder, shahi garam masala, and salt. Grind the contents until you get a smooth paste. Pour this marinade over the mutton and massage well into each piece. Cover the bowl of mutton with cling wrap and leave it to marinate in the fridge overnight. The following day, take your mutton out of the fridge and leave it on your counter to come to room temperature. In the meantime, prep the rest of the ingredients for the cook.

2 – Cut your onions into 2 mm wide slices. I use a mandolin for speed and consistency. Set aside.

3 – Finely grind your green chillies in a pestle and mortar. Set aside.

4 – Peel your potato, cut it into 4 cm chunks and coat the pieces with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt. Set aside.

5 – Make a spice paste; put the coriander powder, cumin powder, and Kashmiri red chilli powder in a small bowl. Add 100 ml of plain water to the bowl and stir to make a thin paste. Set aside.


Method
1 – Add the mustard oil to a large cooking vessel. Place it on your stove and heat it on high until the oil begins to smoke and ‘thins’. Then turn the heat to low.

2 – Add the bay leaves and sauté for 10 seconds until lightly fragrant.

3 – Add the potato chunks and fry them on low heat until golden brown on all sides, roughly 8-10 minutes. Remove them from the vessel and set aside.

4 – Add the sliced onions and fry them on low-medium heat for about 15 minutes or until light brown. 

5 – Then, add the garlic paste, the ginger paste and the green chilli paste, and sauté for 5 minutes.

6 – Next, add the spice paste. Continue to fry the mixture on low-medium heat for 15 minutes. 

7 – At this point, your onions should be a reddish-brown and the spices should no longer smell raw. Scrape off any onions from the bay leaves and discard the leaves; they’ve done their job. 

8 – Your marinated mutton will have come to room temperature by now. Add all of the mutton with the marinade to your vessel and raise the heat to high. Fry the mutton in the onions, tossing them together in the vessel until they are well combined. Fry the mixture for 15 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking to the sides and bottom of the vessel. 

9 – Whisk the 200 grams of curd with the sugar and salt until it is smooth and lump-free. Add it to the vessel and give everything a good mix. 

10 – At this point, the curry will have a lot of moisture. Continue to simmer it on medium-high heat for 20-25 minutes, or until most of the moisture has evaporated, and the curry stops bubbling and stewing and begins frying and browning. Now, lower the heat to medium.

11 – For the next 1 ½ to 2 hours you will carry out a ‘controlled browning’ or ‘koshano’ of the curry by way of the Maillard reaction. This step is what gives kosha mangsho its deep brown colour and unmatched depth of flavour. First add 2 tablespoons of hot water to the curry and stir it in, then cover the vessel with a lid and leave it to cook for a minute, lastly uncover the vessel and scrape the browned bits from the vessel and mix them into the curry. Repeat these 3 steps for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until the mutton is cooked and a dark brown colour (think semi-dark chocolate). 

12 – When the desired colour is reached, add in the fried potato chunks, ½ a teaspoon of shahi garam masala and 500 ml of hot water, and stir. Place the lid on the vessel and cook on low until both mutton and potatoes are fork tender. Mine took 15 minutes. Remember to stir intermittently.

13 – Once the potatoes are cooked, turn the heat off and remove the lid. Fish the potatoes out of the curry and while they’re hot, roughly mash them with a fork and then add them back into the vessel. 

14 – Then, add ¼ tsp of shahi garam masala and 1 tablespoon of ghee. If your meat is very lean, add in another tablespoon of ghee; toss everything together and turn off the heat. Cover the vessel with a lid and let the flavours infuse for 15 minutes.

15 – Remove the lid and check the meat. Some of chunks will be falling apart, while some will still be whole. Leave them as is. This is what the final filling will taste like. Taste it and make adjustments if necessary. 

16 – If the filling is too runny, you will need to thicken it. This is an important step because it will prevent the fats in the filling from leaking out and making the pie crust soggy or greasy. To thicken, put the vessel with the mixture back on medium heat. 

17 – Make a slurry with 25 gm all purpose flour + 125 ml plain water and stir well to dissolve all the lumps. As soon the meat mixture on the stove begins to simmer, pour the slurry into the vessel in one slow steady stream and stir everything together for a minute, until thickened and glossy.

18 – Turn off the heat. You will have a luscious, semi-chunky, semi-smooth mixture, which is the colour of dark chocolate. Your kosha mangsho filling is ready!

19 – Cool the filling fully before storing it in the fridge and proceeding with Stage 2.

While I always prefer cooking meat on the bone, (it stays juicier and more flavourful that way) I didn’t want to risk any shards of bone getting mixed in with the filling. When procuring boneless mutton, try to get a good mix of leg and shoulder with some fat on it. Kosha Mangsho gets its heat from 2 sources; shahi garam masala—a warming type of heat, and green chillies—a fresher, mouth-tingling type of heat. This browned meat filling is about 80% less spicy than traditional Kosha Mangsho, which is really quite blow-your-head-off spicy. I have significantly cut down on the overall masala as well as number of chillies used in this dish, as being a pie, it should be comforting and not pungent. Keep in mind that green chilli heat depends on the variety you use, so always test one chilli before deciding on how many you will use. The time taken to brown your curry depends on the kind of vessel you use. If you use a non-stick vessel it will take up to 3 hours to achieve the desired colour.

Stage 2: savoury pie crust

Every great pie starts with a great pie dough. That means no shortening whatsoever! I went all-butter for this one for maximum flavour, but omitted the eggs because the filling itself is so rich. Traditionally, pie dough does not contain baking powder or any chemical leavening agents. However, as I use a glass pie dish (glass = slippery edges), a little baking powder prevents the dough from sagging and losing height while baking. Replacing some of the water with vodka and vinegar makes the dough easier to roll without encouraging gluten formation—resulting in a tender crust. 

Part 1 – Make your pie crust

Ingredients
1. 435 gm all purpose flour + extra flour for dusting
2. 1 ½ tsp table salt
3. 1/3 tsp baking powder
4. 1 tsp shahi garam masala 
5. 305 gm cold unsalted butter
6. 80 ml ice water + extra
7. 60 ml cold vodka
8. 20 ml vinegar 

Prep
1 – Cut the butter into 1 cm cubes – keep in the freezer for 30 minutes.

2 – In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the table salt, the baking powder and the shahi garam masala. Remove 1 cup of this dry mixture and place it in another bowl. Place both bowls in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

3 – Combine the water, vinegar and vodka in a bottle and place it in the freezer to chill. Also keep ice cubes ready.

Method
1 – From the fridge, take out the bowl with the larger amount of flour. Add the cold chopped butter to the bowl.

2 – Using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, cut the butter into the flour until you get a coarse texture similar to large bread crumbs. 

3 – Then, add the remaining 1 cup of flour that’s been chilling in the fridge. Once again, use your pastry cutter to blend the mixture until you achieve a crumbly texture akin to coarse cornmeal with dabs of pea-sized butter chunks evenly distributed throughout. If you feel things getting a bit soft or melty, immediately place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4 – It’s time to add the cold water-vodka-vinegar mixture. Always start with less and add only as much liquid as is required to make the dough workable. Too much and it will become sticky. Too little and it will be crumbly and won’t hold together. Drizzle the mixture into the dry ingredients, starting with half the amount. Using a rubber spatula, press the dough into itself. 

5 – Do the pinch test; hold some of the dough in your palm and make a fist. If it holds its shape, it’s ready. If it crumbles apart, add 2 to 4 more tablespoons of water and continue to gently press the dough into itself with a spatula until it comes together. Stop adding liquid when the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl just a bit, to form large, shaggy clumps. I added all the water + 2 more teaspoons of ice water. Once again, if you feel things getting a bit soft, immediately cover the bowl with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6 – Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured surface. The dough should come together easily and should not feel sticky. Using floured hands, gather the dough and squeeze it lightly into itself until the flour is fully pressed into the fats. Do not knead it or over-handle it. 

7 – Form the dough into a ball and then cut the ball down the middle so that you get equal halves.

8 – Put two sheets of cling wrap on your work surface. Place each piece of dough onto a sheet of cling wrap. Flatten and shape each piece into a 1-inch-thick disc, and then wrap them up individually in cling wrap.

9 – Chill the discs in the fridge for 1 hour, or for half an hour in the freezer. 

10 – Once the dough is well-chilled, remove one disc from the fridge and let it sit on your counter for 5 minutes. This will be the bottom crust.

11 – Lay down a sheet of parchment and lightly flour it. This parchment is your best friend as it will help you move the dough around on your work surface without handling it. Additionally, if the dough gets too soft while rolling it, you can grab it with the help of the parchment, place it on a cookie sheet, and quickly transfer it to the fridge to firm up.

12 – Unwrap the disc and place in the middle of your floured parchment. Then dust an even sprinkling of flour on top of the disc. Keep the flour handy in case your dough starts to stick to the counter. Dust your rolling pin as well.

13 – Using gentle pressure, roll your chilled dough with the parchment directly underneath it. Place your rolling pin in the centre of the disc and roll outwards in all directions, using gentle pressure. Turn the dough by grabbing the edge of the parchment, giving it a quarter turn, and then rolling the dough as you go. If your dough starts cracking on the outer edges, gently push the cracks back together, else they’ll continue to widen. Keep rolling in all directions until you get a circle, roughly 13-14 inches across and 1/8th inch thick. Check for size, by inverting and holding your pie dish above the rolled dough. Your rolled dough should be at least 3-4 inches wider than the pie dish to account for the dish’s depth as well as the width of the lip. Since my 9-inch dish was 2 ½ inches deep with a 1-inch wide lip, I had to roll a 13-inch wide circle.

14 – Brush off any extra flour from the surface of your dough. Then, use whatever means necessary (the rolling pin method works for me), to transfer the dough to your 9 inch pie dish so that it’s loosely lying on top of the dish. 

15 – Gently lift and ease the dough into the dish, letting it drop into the creases. Instead of pushing or pinching it in, take a little bit of scrap pastry and use it like a makeup sponge to ‘dab’ the dough into the sides of the dish. Do not stretch the dough, as this will cause it to shrink and break as it bakes. Using scissors, evenly trim the extra pastry around the dish, making it flush with the rim of the dish. Seal any cracks inside the dish with the scraps.

16 – Cover your dish with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to a day. Thereafter it’s ready to be filled. But before, that, let’s create our pre-fabricated lattice top.

17 – Take out your second disc of dough and rest it on your counter for 5-10 minutes. This will make the pre-fabricated lattice top. Repeat steps 11 through 13 for your second disc of dough. Don’t stress if it’s not a perfect circle, as long as it’s 13-14 inches across. If required, cover and place your rolled top pie crust in the fridge to chill for 10-15 minutes.

18 – Using a pizza wheel/pastry wheel, cut 12 x 1-inch wide strips. These 12 strips will be used to create your lattice pie crust. Cover the strips with cling wrap and place them back in the fridge, while you get on with the next step.

Part 2 – Make your pre-fabricated lattice pie crust

Instead of weaving my lattice on top of the filled pie, I prefer putting together a pre-fabricated lattice—which I then slide onto the top of the pie. This lets me shift the strips around and still work cleanly, since I don’t have to worry about transferring any grease from the pie filling onto the crust. 

Materials
1. A cookie sheet
2. Parchment paper
3. A marker

Prep
1 – Ready your work surface. Draw a circle on your parchment to match the diameter of your pie dish, edge included. This outline will let you see exactly where to place your strips, to perfectly fit your pie dish.

2 – Turn the parchment over (so that it’s marker-side down) and place it on your cookie sheet. The lattice will be constructed on top of the parchment with the circle as a guide mark.

Method
1 – Before starting, watch this video. 

2 – Now, get your strips of pastry out of the fridge and follow this guide.

3 – Once you’re done with the lattice pie crust top, cover it with cling wrap and place it in the freezer until you’re ready to fill and cover your pie.

Hot and humid climate? Make your pastry dough in an air-conditioned environment with the temperature set to 21OC. If you don’t have access to an air conditioner., you will have to work quickly and pop the dough back into the fridge multiple times throughout these steps. Discs can be made in advance and frozen for up to 3 months. If using frozen pie dough, thaw it in the fridge overnight and then proceed. Save leftover raw pastry dough in the freezer as it gets discoloured in the fridge and becomes unusable. 

Stage 3: Finale; construction and final bake

Components
1. 9 inch pie dish layered with a bottom pie crust
2. Chilled kosha mangsho filling
3. Egg wash 1 (1 egg white + 1 tsp water)
4. Egg wash 2 (1 egg yolk with 1 tsp milk)
5. Extra flour
6. 1 tbsp. large, coarse granulated sugar
7. Pie crust shield

Prep
1 – Make both your egg washes. Mix the egg white with the water and lightly beat. Set aside. Mix the egg yolk with the milk. Set aside.

2 – Grab your 9 inch pie dish with the bottom crust. Brush the base and sides of the crust with Egg wash 1. Do not brush the rim. Place the dish in the fridge for 15 minutes.

3 – If you don’t have a pie crust shield, you will need to create your own using aluminium foil. Here’s how.

4 – If you live in a hot and humid climate, I highly recommend moving to an air-conditioned room when constructing your pie. This will prevent condensation from messing with the texture of your pie crust.

Method
1 – Get your pie dish out of the fridge. Spoon all the cooled filling into the pie shell.

2 – Brush a layer of Egg wash 2 all around the rim of the pie crust.

3 – Get your pre-fabricated lattice out of the freezer. Gently slide it onto your pie and adjust it so that it’s centred. 

4 – Working your way around the circumference of the dish, use scissors to trim any excess lattice strips flush with the bottom crust.

5 – Wait 5-10 minutes for the lattice crust to soften slightly before pressing the strips lightly to the bottom crust to make sure they’re stuck together. Optional; for a rustic/shabby chic look, crimp the edge of the pie with a fork. Dust a fork in some all purpose flour and then gently press the prongs all around the rim of the pie crust like this. This is a great way to make the dough adhere to the dish, so that there’s less crust shrinkage during baking.

6 – Then, loosely cover the pie with some cling wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 60 minutes before baking. The colder, the better. I left mine to chill overnight.

7 – When you’re ready to bake, place a baking tray in the lowest rack of your oven.  Preheat your oven for 20 minutes at 200OC with both the top and bottom heating elements on.

8 – After the oven is done preheating, take the pie out of the fridge. Brush any exposed pie crust with Egg wash 2. Finally, sprinkle a little coarse granulated sugar on top of the crust for some sparkle and texture. The sugar enhances the flavour of the spiced meat as well. 

9 – Immediately place your pie on the pre-heated baking tray in the lowest rack of your oven. Bake your pie at 200OC for 15 minutes.

10 – After 15 minutes, place your pie shield on top of the pie so that the crust’s edges are covered. This will prevent the sides from browning too quickly. Now move the pie to the middle rack of your oven. Lower the temperature to 170 OC and continue baking for 60 minutes or until the crust is fully cooked and evenly golden-brown. Your crust may take longer or shorter to cook depending on the type of pan you’re using as well as your true oven temperature.

11 – Transfer the pie dish to a cooling rack. Let it cool for at least 60 minutes before serving. This will prevent the juices from running out when you slice into the pie.

12 – Because of the all-butter crust, this pie is too flaky and crumbly to even attempt demoulding it, so don’t bother! When you’re ready to eat, slice a generous wedge of just warm pie and serve it with large glass of merlot. Now eat!

If you plan to make a completely covered pie and not the lattice top crust, remember to cut some steam vents in the top. The escaping moisture will help prevent your crust from getting soggy. Be sure to chill your fully-assembled pie for at least 60 minutes before baking it, as this helps the gluten to relax and the fats to firm up, resulting in a flakier crust. For the flakiest crust with the neatest edge, preheat the oven for at least 20 minutes before baking. Use a pie crust shield to keep the crust’s edges covered and protect it from browning too quickly or burning.  If you use a metal or ceramic dish, you may need to raise your oven temperature 14-18 Degree Celsius higher than what this recipe specifies. I use a glass dish for pies as it radiates heat for a longer duration and makes for a lovely, evenly golden crust. Plus, the transparent material lets me keep an eye on the sides of the crust, which inevitably takes much longer to cook than the top and bottom. While it’s fine to place an oven-proof glass dish directly from the fridge into a hot oven, never place a hot glass pie dish on a cold surface, or the glass may shatter. Always rest your baked pie for at least 60 minutes before cutting into it so that the starches in the filling can reabsorb any hot liquids. This will make for a more homogenous filling and consequently, a cleaner slice of pie when you cut into it. Keep any leftover pie in the fridge, covered. The next time you want some, cut cold slices and reheat them as needed.

Tips & Tricks

How to transfer rolled pastry dough to a mould:

Parle-G Xmas Macarons

Makes 30 x 4 cm wide sandwiched macarons.

I tasted my very first macaron in France, from the legendary Ladurée in Paris. Crisp and airy on the outside with an ever so slightly chewy interior, those delicate meringue sandwich cookies set the bar impossibly high. While I’ve more or less used Ladurée’s recipe for my macaron shells, my filling is a completely original Christmas-flavoured cream, made with India’s favourite biscuit for hoomans and doggos alike—Parle-G. Festive, flavourful and fully decked, this classic French confection with an Indian heart is my very own Christmas miracle!

At a glance

– This recipe comprises Parle-G Xmas butter + French-method macaron shells + decorations.
– You will need too many things to fit here! Please scroll to each section for details.
– This recipe has been broken into 4 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: Parle-G Xmas butter 

Parle-G is a national treasure. Available on every street corner throughout India, it is beloved for being tasty, wholesome, and remarkably inexpensive. From tea drinkers and stray dogs to busy commuters and broke students, this humble glucose biscuit has fed millions of hungry bellies, for just a few rupees. Watch comedian, Vir Das‘ hilarious segment on Parle-G here, and read this brilliant article about Parle-G here. There are various ready-made international cookie butters out there, and they’re all tasty. But I wanted to make something original with a brand that’s locally available and nationally loved. Parle-G already features a cookie butter recipe on its website. I promise you, my one’s very different. Creamy, molasses-y, and humming with warm spices, this Parle-G cookie butter is Christmas in a jar.

Ingredients
For the Xmas spice mix:
1. ¾ tsp finely ground Ceylon Cinnamon powder
2. ¾ tsp ginger powder
3. ¾ tsp grated nutmeg
4. 1/8 tsp all spice

For the cookie butter:
1. 200 gm Parle-G biscuits (32 biscuits)
2. 100 gm dulce de leche
3. 60 gm salted butter, melted and cooled
4. 30 gm dark muscavodo sugar
5. 25 ml milk + 25 ml more
6. 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
7. Pinch of salt

Prep
1 – Make your dulce de leche. Check out my recipe for 5-way Caramel Cupcakes to see how to make it or click here.

2 – Make your Xmas spice mix; add all the spices listed to a jar with a lid. Shake the jar to combine. Your spice mix is ready. 

3 – Melt your butter and then leave it aside to cool.

4 – Break your Parle-G biscuits into small chunks for faster processing.

Method
1 – To the jar of a food processor, add the broken Parle-G biscuits, and pulse them until you have fine crumbs.

2 – Add 100 gm of dulce de leche, the melted butter, the dark muscavado sugar, and 25 ml milk to the jar of the food processor. Pulse together on high for 1-2 minutes or until you get a thick, pasty mixture. If the fats in the dulce de leche and the butter separate from the solids, don’t worry. This will be fixed in the next step.

3 – Add the other 25 ml milk, the vanilla extract, and 1 ½ tsp of the spice mix, and pulse together for 15-20 seconds. The mixture will come back together, as a thick, sticky cookie butter.

4 – Taste the butter and add a little salt or a tad more spice if desired. Pulse again to combine. Your Parle-G Xmas butter is ready! Transfer it to a sterilised airtight jar and store it in the fridge until ready to use.

This recipe yields roughly 450 gm cookie butter and will easily fill 30+ macarons. It can be made 2 weeks ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Leftovers (as if) can be spread on toast or spooned straight into your mouth! Bring the mixture to room temperature before transferring it to a piping bag and filling your macaron shells. As this is a homemade product and contains no artificial thickening agents, the fats in the cookie butter may separate in warm weather (25OC+). If this happens, simply give it a good stir and place it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to set back up.

Stage 2: French-method macaron shells 

For my macaron shells, I’ve adapted the recipe from Ladurée Sucré. In a nutshell, a macaron is 2 almond flavoured meringue shells with a filling sandwiched between them. French-method macaron shells are made with French meringue; wherein raw egg whites are whipped with castor sugar. Sounds simple, but well-made macaron shells are a true technical accomplishment. Done right, macarons take 4-5 full days to make before they’re ready to eat! If you plan to serve these on any given day, you’ll have to begin 5 days in advance for optimum results. Before you even attempt this dish, watch all the links embedded inside and at the end of the recipe. Macarons are super technical to make, so you want to be prepared at every stage. Truth be told, there is no such thing as a universally fool-proof recipe. If you see such a recipe, it’s click bait! My recipe simply documents what worked in my kitchen, with my oven. When you make macarons, you will have to experiment in your kitchen with your oven. Do your own research and glean as much information and knowledge as you can. I highly recommend baking some test batches and taking copious notes about what worked and what didn’t. Once you’re confident about your macaron making abilities, take the plunge and have some fun!

Part 1 – Test your oven
Accurate oven temperature is key to making a successful macaron. Macarons typically bake at 150-160OC. Sometimes, ovens can be off by up to 20-30 degrees Celsius, which is a massive temperature difference. If your oven burns hotter or colder than what you set it to, then your macarons will not bake correctly. You could end up with flat shells, no feet, cracked tops, browned bottoms, etcetera, etcetera! Make sure you know your true oven temperature before baking your macarons.

Materials
1. Oven thermometer

Method
1 – Place/hang your oven thermometer in the centre of the middle rack of your oven. 

2 – Preheat your oven to 180OC for 20 minutes.

3 – Look at the temperature reading at the 20 minute mark. If your heat setting matches the thermometer reading, your oven is correctly calibrated. 

4 – If you see a stark temperature difference after 20 minutes of pre-heating, you will need to make modifications accordingly. For instance, if you set your oven temperature at 180OC but the thermometer displays 160OC, your oven runs cold and you will have to bake your macarons 20 degrees higher, or at 170OC instead of 150OC. Conversely, if you set your oven temperature at 180OC but the thermometer displays 200OC your oven runs hot, and you will have to bake your macarons 20 degrees lower, or at 130OC instead of 150OC.

Part 2 – Prepare your egg whites
This step involves separating your egg whites from the yolks. If your eggs are fresh, the whites will be thick and will need to be thinned. Why? Many macaron experts claim that thinner/drier whites from old eggs whip more easily to a higher volume than thick whites from, fresh eggs. Other macaron experts have debunked this, but as a beginner, I’m not willing to throw the dice! Determine the age of an egg by gently placing it in a glass of water (un-cracked). If the egg stands up on the bottom of the glass, it will be great for meringue and there’s no need to thin it through aging. If the egg lies on its side on the bottom of the glass, it’s very fresh and could do with some aging. If it floats, that means it has spoilt and is only good for the compost bin. 

Ingredients
1. 3-4 large eggs, weighing roughly 57 gm each to give 100 gm egg whites

Materials
1. A bottle of white vinegar for cleaning
2. Some kitchen paper for cleaning
3. 1 recyclable plastic water bottle
4. Bowl 1; 1 small non-plastic bowl for cracking the eggs
5. Bowl 2; 1 medium non-plastic bowl for holding all the egg whites
6. Bowl 3; 1 medium non-plastic plastic bowl for weighing and storing the egg whites
7. 1 small bowl for holding the egg yolks
8. Kitchen scale
9. Cling wrap

Method
1 – Chill your eggs in the fridge for an hour.  It’s much easier to separate cold eggs.

2 – Clean and dry your hands and utensils very well. Egg whites will not whip up properly in the presence of fats or water. To remove any residual oils, wipe down all utensils with some vinegar.

3 – After an hour, take the eggs out of the fridge. It’s time to separate the egg whites from the yolks. 

4 – Take Bowl 1. Very carefully crack an egg into it. 

5 – Using the plastic bottle, suction-up the egg yolk and transfer it to the bowl for the egg yolks. Here’s how.

6 – Then, transfer the egg white from Bowl 1 to Bowl 2, making sure it is absolutely clear of egg yolk. 

7 – Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each cold egg, one by one, until you have separated all your eggs. 

8 – Once you have separated all your egg whites, weigh out exactly 100 gm in Bowl 3, cover it with cling wrap and set it aside for 20 minutes or until the egg whites reach a temperature of 20OC. Move on to Part 3 while you wait for your eggs to come to temperature.

9 – If your eggs are fresh, proceed to thin them out by aging them in the fridge. Place the covered bowl in the fridge for at least 48 hours and no more than 4 days. Move to Part 3 only after the egg whites are done aging and you are ready to make your macaron shells. Before using the egg whites, take them out of the fridge and let them rest on your counter for 20-30 minutes or until they reach a temperature of 21OC.

It’s best not to use your hands to separate the whites from the eggs as your hands may transfer residual grease. Cracking each egg into a bowl separately will ensure that if any egg yolk mixes in with the whites, your entire portion of egg whites will not be compromised. If some yolk gets into the whites, try to scoop it out with a piece of egg shell. If you can’t, keep that batch aside and use it in another recipe, as it won’t work for a meringue. Store your egg yolks covered, in the fridge, and use them to glaze pies or to make custard or lemon curd.

Part 3 – Prepare your dry mixture
Even if your package of almond flour claims to be ‘superfine’, I still recommend doing this step to eliminate the risk of grainy/bumpy macaron shells. For this recipe, the ratio of almond flour to confectioner’s sugar is 1:1. However, I have accounted for roughly 12 gm wastage from the sifting of the almond flour, which is why I’ve written out the weighed measurement as 132 gm and not 120 gm. 

Ingredients
1. 132 gm blanched & skinless superfine almond flour (before sifting)
2. 120 gm confectioner’s sugar

Materials
1. Food processor
2. Fine-meshed sieve
3. Balloon whisk
4. 1 large bowl
5. Cling wrap

Method
1 – While your eggs are coming to temperature, weigh out exactly 132 gm almond flour, and 120 gm confectioner’s sugar and add them to a large bowl. Using your whisk, gently combine the two.

2 – Place this dry mixture in the jar of a food processor. Pulse together for 3 x 3-second bursts. Then shake the jar well, so that the coarser powder rises to the top. Pulse again for 3 x 3-second bursts. Do not over-pulse, or you’ll end up with almond butter.

3 – Sift the mixture into the large bowl. Your goal is to collect the small powder, and not force any hard bits through. It’s fine to break up any large lumps with your fingers, but do not try to smash any lumps through the sieve. Remove the bits stuck in the sieve and keep aside. 

4 – Return the mixture to the jar of a food processor and pulse for 3 x 3-second bursts. Then shake up the jar and pulse again for 3 x 3-second bursts.

5 – Sift the mixture into the large bowl for a second time. Once again, only collect the small powder, and do not force any hard bits through the sieve. Remove the bits stuck in the sieve and keep aside. 

6 – The bowl of fine, sifted powder is your dry mixture. Cover it with cling wrap and set it aside. If you live in a humid climate, like me, keep it in the fridge until ready to use.

Please do not use homemade confectioner’s sugar in this recipe. Store-bought confectioner’s sugar has a finer texture and contains anti-caking agents such as corn starch, which helps in preventing hollow shells and in creating smoother tops. Make sure you do not process your almond flour without the confectioner’s sugar, as the oils from the almonds will release and you’ll end up with almond butter. Don’t throw away the 12 grams of lumpy stuff you’ve salvaged from the sieve. Instead, store it covered in the fridge, and use it to make frangipane or marzipan!

Part 4 – Make your macaron shells

From the point you begin whipping your meringue to the point you finish piping your macaron shells, you will have to proceed in one continuous flow. Staying organised is key. Measure out everything, keep all your tools handy, and proceed calmly and swiftly. This recipe makes 30 x 4 cm sandwiched macarons, which means you’ll need 60 macaron shells. Once you make your macaron batter, you must pipe all of your shells in one go. You positively cannot leave any batter sitting around and pipe it later. However, because macaron shells require even heat to rise, you can only bake one tray at a time. Since the average home oven can accommodate about 30 macaron shells at a time, you will have to pipe 30 macaron shells on one baking tray + 30 more on a second baking tray. You could reduce the ingredients by half and pipe only one tray, but the meringue-whisking and macronage-folding timings will change. Also, are you going to be happy with just 15 sandwiched macarons on Christmas? Are you?! Didn’t think so. Ergo, if you have a medium OTG style oven but want 30 sandwiched macarons, you will need 2 of everything; 2 baking trays, 2 baking mats, 2 printable macaron templates. Capiche?

Ingredients
For the meringue:
1. 100 gm aged egg whites at 20OC (they may weigh a little less after aging)
2. 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
3. 100 gm white castor sugar
4. 8 drops brown gel food colouring

For the macronage:
5. Dry ingredients from Stage 2 | Part 3, processed and sifted twice

Materials
1. A bottle of white vinegar for cleaning
2. Some kitchen paper for cleaning
3. 1 large metal bowl
4. A hand-mixer with a whisk attachment 
5. A fine-meshed sieve
6. A rubber or silicone spatula
7. A tall drinking glass
8. A large icing bag
9. 1 cm wide, round piping tip
10. 2 flat baking trays like this + 1 extra regular baking tray
11. 2 macaron mats like this, or 2 of these mats + 2 macaron templates
12. A couple of toothpicks
13. A small offset spatula

Prep
1 – Ready your trays; lay your baking mats on top of your flat baking trays. Your mats should lie flat, else your macarons will be misshapen. Flat baking trays guarantee even heating from all directions. You can even invert a regular baking tray and use the flat side. If you don’t have a macaron mat with the template already printed on it, print 2 copies of this macaron template and use them as guides under your baking mats. Print the templates without resizing them. Once printed, you can trim them to fit the dimensions of your baking trays. You could also draw 30 x 4 cm circles on some paper and use that as a template. Most of the experts recommend non-stick, fibreglass enforced baking mats for best results. If you cannot get such baking mats, use the guides under some parchment paper.

2 – Ready your piping bag; first attach your piping tip to a large piping bag. Then fold or twist the tip of the bag (this prevents batter from coming out the other end) and stand the piping bag in a tall glass. If your piping bag is long, fold its overhanging edges over the rim of the glass (like a cuff). This will make it easier to push the batter to the bottom of the bag. Set it aside.

3 – Keep your cream of tartar and brown gel food colouring close by.

4 – Ready your meringue tools; once again, clean and dry your hands very well. Then wipe down your large metal bowl and your metal whisk attachments with some vinegar to remove any residual oils. 

5 – Use some more vinegar to clean the bowl in which you’ll measure out your castor sugar. Then weigh out your castor sugar. 

6 – Check if your eggs are between 19-21OC. Yes? You’re now ready to begin making your macaron shells! If you live in a humid climate like me, move to a room with an air conditioner set at 21OC.

Method
1 – Place the egg whites in your large metal bowl. Using your handheld mixer, whisk on low speed until the egg whites get frothy and slightly lighter in colour. There will be small bubbles, and it will start to look foamy.

2 – While continuing to whisk on low, add 1/8 tsp cream of tartar and continue whisking until the mixture begins to tighten and have smaller bubbles, almost like shaving foam. You should also begin to see trails being left by the whisk attachments in the “foam”. 

3 – While continuing to whisk, raise the speed to medium, and slowly add in 1/3 of the castor sugar and beat for 30 seconds. 

4 – While continuing to whisk on medium, slowly add in another 1/3 of the castor sugar and beat for another 30 seconds.

5 – While continuing to whisk on medium, slowly add the last 1/3 of the castor sugar and beat for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The mixture will become properly foamy like thick shaving foam. Test your mixture to see if it has reached the soft peak stage. When the whisk is pulled out and held upright, the mixture on the tip of the whisk should gently curl back on itself like a wave. 

6 – Add the brown gel food colouring. I added 8 drops of Papilon Chocolate Brown gel food colour. If you’re using another brand, remember to make the batter one shade darker than the desired colour, as the colour of the macarons will lighten with the incorporation of dry ingredients, as well as after baking. Continue to whisk on medium until all the colour is combined in the meringue. Stop the mixer and look at your bowl. The mixture should start to look creamy and gooey like melted marshmallows. 

7 – Resume whisking the mixture on medium until you reach the stiff peak stage. Stop the mixer again to look at your bowl. The mixture will look smooth and shiny. When you lift the whisk up, the stuff on the whisk will stand up in one stiff peak.

8 – Resume whisking the mixture on medium until you reach the sharp peak stage. Stop the mixer and look at your whisk. When you lift the whisk up, the stuff inside the whisk should be balled up in a single clump, and the stuff on the whisk should have multiple, jagged peaks. When you tap the whisk on the bowl, the stuff trapped in the whisk should come out in a single, stiff, fluffy, bouncy clump. Take a bit of the mixture and rub it between your fingers. It should feel smooth and silky with zero traces of sugar granules. This is our meringue and it must be used immediately. Do not let it sit at all.

9 – It’s time to macronage, or fold your dry ingredients into your meringue. 

10 – Get your bowl of dry ingredients (already sifted twice). Sift 1/3 of it over the meringue and then grab your spatula. While rotating your bowl, scrape the spatula around the sides and under the bottom of the bowl, and then cut through the middle of the batter with the spatula. This is 1 fold. Do this motion for 10 folds.

11 – Then sift in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients and do 10 folds to incorporate. 

12 – Finally sift in the last 1/3 of the dry ingredients and do 10 folds. The dry ingredients should no longer be visible at this time. 

13 – Now that all your dry mixture has combined with the meringue, do another 10 folds. You can also add a little more food colouring at this stage if you want a darker cookie. I did not.

14 – Do another 10 folds, and stop. It’s time to check if your batter is ready and whether you should stop folding. 

15 – First look at the bowl. The batter should be thick and glossy. Lift up a large portion of batter with the spatula, and then tilt it back into the bowl and try to draw a figure 8 with the cascading batter. Look at the flow rate. If it falls in one tapering, continuous, jagged stream, your batter is ready. If the figure 8 you just made rests on the batter and takes about 30 seconds to flatten out, your batter is ready. Stop folding and immediately transfer your mixture to a piping bag. However, if the batter falls in broken clumps, the batter is not ready. Look in the bowl as well. If the bits that fell from the spatula into the batter remain in a rigid clump even after 1 minute, the batter is not ready. Fold another 2 times and check again (and again). I did a total of 65 folds. 

16 – When you’re at the correct consistency, immediately transfer your mixture to a piping bag. Work quickly and do not over-handle your macaron batter. This technique is helpful.

17 – It’s time to pipe your macaron shells. Get both your prepared baking trays. If using parchment, glue it to your baking tray with some batter. Hold the tip-end of the piping bag with one hand to steady it, and hold the twisted-end with your other hand to push the batter down. Hold the bag upright and perpendicular to the baking mat, and hover the tip 3/4 cm above the centre of a circular outline. Keeping the tip still, squeeze the end of the bag to push the batter out. Do not swirl the tip at all. See this video for the technique. When you’ve piped a 4 cm disc (just within the outer circle on your template), stop squeezing and swiftly lift the tip up to stop the batter from coming out. Move on to the next circular outline and repeat till you have piped all 60 macaron shells. 

18 – If using templates, remove them from under your baking mats or parchment paper.

19 – Hold your baking tray and firmly and rap it on your counter 3-4 times. This will bring any rogue bubbles to the surface of the piped macaron shells. Do this for both trays.

20 – Using a toothpick, carefully tease out any bubbles that have emerged on the surface of your macarons. 

21 – Leave your trays of macaron shells to dry for 30-60 minutes and develop ‘skins’. This is absolutely crucial in creating the signature macaron ‘feet’. Without the skin—when the shells are placed in the hot oven—air will escape from the tops of the shells instead of the bottoms, and the shells won’t ‘grow’ their signature feet. Heat escaping from the top may also crack the surface of the shells. Mine took 30 minutes with an air conditioner set at 21OC. To check if the skin has developed, first see if the tops have gone from wet and shiny, to dull and matte. If they have, lightly run your finger along the top surface a few shells. If your finger remains clean, the shells are ready to bake. 

22 – Remember that extra baking tray I added to the list of materials? You’ll need it now. Because macarons are so temperature sensitive, it’s advisable to shield them from below to prevent their bottoms from turning too brown before their tops have cooked. If you only have a top heating source, you may need to shield the macarons from above by placing the extra baking tray on the top rack of your oven. Read this for more information. Place your extra baking tray in the middle rack of your oven. Begin pre-heating your oven to 170 OC. It must pre-heat for a full 20 minutes. 

23 – After 20 minutes of pre-heating, lower the oven temperature to 150OC. Place Macaron Tray 1 on the pre-heated tray (already set in the middle rack of your oven). Bake at 150OC for 20-25 minutes, rotating the tray every 7 minutes, until fully set. 

24 – After 20 minutes of baking, open your oven and test one shell. Fully set, the top should look dry and shiny, and feel firm when you lightly tap on its surface, while the bottom should be crusty and have the tell-tale ‘feet’. Gently place your finger on the shell and lightly rock your finger back and forth. If the top is wiggly, it needs another minute or two to bake. After 20 minutes has passed, check the shells every 45 seconds, with the ‘finger-rocking’ test. 

25 – When you’re happy with Macaron Tray 1, take it out of the oven and place it on a wire rack. After 15 minutes, you can remove the mat from the baking tray. Do not forcefully peel the macarons from the baking mat. Let them cool completely and they will release easily. You may need to gently slide an offset spatula under each one to release it.

26 – Take this opportunity to check the macaron shells by sacrificing one shell and cutting into it to see if it has fully developed or has hollow bits. A tiny gap will fill with maturing, but a large gap will stay that way. 

27 – If you’re happy with your first tray of macarons, then bake the second tray in exactly the same way. Else read this and tweak your oven settings. Pre-heat your oven once again at 170OC for 20 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 150OC. Place Macaron Tray 2 on the pre-heated tray (already set in the middle rack of your oven). Bake at 150OC for 20-25 minutes, rotating the tray every 7 minutes, until fully set.

29 – Once all 60 macaron shells are out of the oven and resting, you can too! Dance, have a drink, breathe! 

30 – If you don’t wish to decorate your macarons, skip ahead to Stage 4. However, if you want to decorate the tops of your macarons with festive embellishments, you will have to do that before filling them.  

This batter is enough to pipe 60 x 4 cm macaron shells as well as about 10 extra shells to run as testers. Please keep in mind that this was my very first attempt at making macarons and I am not a macaron expert. The temperatures and bake time reflect what worked in my oven. Your oven will probably give you different results. I tested macarons baked on parchment as well as silicon baking bats. The parchment macarons spread more on tapping the tray, baked faster at the same temperature, and released very easily even when hot. However, because the piped batter spread more freely, the macarons were kind of misshapen. The silicon mat macarons all looked perfectly round, but took longer to bake and had to fully cool before they could be removed. If you’re using silicon mats with thick baking trays, you may not need to double-tray at all. I needed to, since I used very thin cookie sheets as baking trays. Full disclosure, out of 60 macaron shells + 10 tester shells, I got 15 hollow shells. All of these shells were located along the far left and far right sides of my baking trays. My guess is that the sides of my oven don’t get as hot as the centre, so the macarons in those areas under baked and collapsed on cooling. Don’t be too disappointed with hollows. As long as they’re not burnt or undercooked, your macarons will taste great, even if they don’t look perfect. Did I get perfect macarons? No. Did they taste amazing? Yes! Should you take the plunge? Hell yes!

Stage 3: decorations (optional)

Once the shells are done, this is when you get to kick back and add some festive flair to your macarons. Ready-made sprinkles look great and take minimum effort. And after all that work, decorating should be relaxing.

Ingredients:
1. Assorted Christmas themed sprinkles
2. 50 gm white chocolate

Materials
1. Parchment paper
2. Small piping bag

Method
1 – When the shells are all cool, peel them from the baking mats and match similar sized shells with each other. Each pair will make a sandwich. 

2 – Lay down some parchment. Arrange the paired shells in two rows on the parchment. Keep the top row for the top shells (rounded-side up), and the bottom row for the bottom shells (flat-side up). Remember, only the top shells will be decorated.

3 – Melt the white chocolate. Cut your white chocolate into small shards and place it in a microwave safe plastic bowl. Microwave at 450 watts for 30 seconds. Stir briefly with a spatula and then microwave it for another 20 seconds. Thereafter, keep heating the mixture in 10 second increments till the chocolate has completely melted, making sure to stir briefly each time. The temperature of the white chocolate should reach no more than 29OC. It’s ready when most of it has melted and you can still see a few lumps, which will melt in the residual heat on stirring.

4 – Transfer the melted chocolate to a small piping bag. 

5 – Make a tiny snip at the end of the bag and then drizzle the top shells with 5-6 lines of white chocolate.

6 – While the chocolate lines are still wet, place the sprinkles directly on top of them. Let the chocolate dry fully at room temperature, for about an hour. Once it’s dry, the sprinkles will be stuck to the shells. Let the chocolate fully dry before attempting to fill the macarons, else you may smudge the lines!

Stage 4: Finale; macaron filling, assembly, and maturation

Components
1. 30 decorated macaron top shells + 30 undecorated macaron bottom shells
2. Parle-G Xmas butter 

Materials
1. Piping bag
2. 1 cm wide, plain round piping tip

Prep
1 – Take the cookie butter out of the fridge and bring it to a pipeable consistency. 

2 – Once it’s pipeable, add the cookie butter to a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm round piping tip. If you’re not bothering with a piping tip, snip the tip of the piping bag so that you have a 1 cm wide opening.

Method
1 – Pipe a 3 cm wide dollop of cookie butter in the centre of the flat side of your bottom shells. Then top it with its matching decorated shell. 

2 – Gently press the two shells together like a sandwich, so the filling spreads till the edges of the shells. See this as a guide.

3 – Fine. Go ahead and eat one, but for the optimum macaron experience, you must mature the macarons in the fridge for at least 24 hours. This will allow the filling to soften and flavour the shells to give the ultimate, soft, chewy macaron. Moreover, if your macaron shells have that pesky little top gap, maturing them in the fridge for about 24 hours will fill that gap back up! Store the filled macarons, decorated-side up in an airtight container in the fridge for 24-48 hours. 

4 – After 24-48 hours, take the macarons out of the fridge and let them rest for 30 minutes before serving. NOW DEVOUR THEM AAAAAAAAAAALLLOLOLOLOHOHOHO!

Additional decorations

The gingerbread men and candy canes pictured were made out of homemade coloured marzipan, pressed into silicon moulds. To make a small batch of marzipan, pulse 100 gm almond flour with 200 gm confectioner’s sugar in a food processor. Drizzle in 1 egg white (approx. 30 gm) in thirds, pulsing for a few seconds after each addition until you get a dough. Add 1 drop of almond extract and ¼ tsp clear vanilla extract and give it one final pulse. Place the mixture on a microwave-safe plate, cover it with cling wrap and then microwave it on full power for 4 x 10 second bursts. Keep the wrap on and leave the marzipan onto your counter to cool. Once cool, portion out your marzipan, add food colouring to the different portions and then knead them individually with a little extra confectioner’s sugar until you have different colours of marzipan. Colourless marzipan must still be kneaded with a little confectioner’s sugar, as it will be too sticky to handle after microwaving. Marzipan will dry stiff (like fondant) when exposed to air. Hand-shape it, add it to moulds, or do what you like with your delicious homemade marzipan! To store marzipan, wrap it tightly with cling wrap and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for a good 2-3 months. The white detailing was made with a tiny amount of easy royal icing. To make, measure out 5 tbsp. (50 gm) sifted confectioner’s sugar + ¾ tbsp. egg whites + ½ tsp fresh lemon juice, and stir together in a non-plastic bowl. Transfer to a small piping bag, and decorate away!

Tips & Tricks

How to whip meringue for French method macarons: 



How to macronage for French method macarons:



Step by step French macaron making videos:


Useful articles:

https://foodnouveau.com/recipes/how-tos/how-to-make-french-macarons/

https://bakingbutterlylove.com/french-macarons/

Troubleshooting:

https://www.indulgewithmimi.com/macaron-troubleshooting-guide/

https://foodnouveau.com/recipes/desserts/macarons/macaron-troubleshooting-guide/

https://www.piesandtacos.com/macaron-troubleshooting/

https://bakealish.com/guide-to-a-perfect-french-macaron/

Fish Alberas

Makes 4 servings.

Fish Alberas [uhl-bay-russ] is a signature dish of the Bene Israel; an Indian-Jewish community believed to have arrived in the 1st or 2nd century, after their ancestors were shipwrecked on the western coast of India. Influenced by Konkan cuisine and the Marathi tongue, the ‘al’ refers to ginger and the ‘ras’ refers to gravy*. Traditionally, layers of onion, potato, fish, and tomato are simmered in a gingery coconut broth and topped with coriander leaves. My version deconstructs the classic, rustic preparation and resurrects it as a modern, fine-dining experience—in celebration of my Bene Israel roots.


At a glance

– This dish comprises  green coconut sauce + onion & tomato salsa + potato-scaled fish + steamed rice
– You will need a medium skillet, a medium saucepan, and some baking parchment paper.
– This recipe has been broken into 5 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: green coconut sauce

Ingredients
For the green paste:
1.  1 small red onion (roughly 50 gm)
2. 4 small cloves of garlic
3. 4 cm piece of fresh ginger
4. 3 cups packed fresh coriander, leaves and stems (roughly 100 gm)
5. 2 fresh green chillies
6. ½ a medium tomato
7. 3 inch piece green/raw mango, without the skin
8. ½ tsp salt
9.  1/4 tsp turmeric powder
10. ½ tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
11. 1 tsp coriander powder
12. ½ tsp cumin powder
13. 2 tbsp. water

For the coconut sauce:
14. 1 tbsp. cooking olive oil
15. 400 ml thick coconut milk
16. ½ tsp salt
17. 1 tsp jaggery powder
18. 2-3 wet kokum petals 

Traditionally, this is the ‘ras’ part of the Fish Alberas, or coconut milk that is simmered with fresh green herbs and aromatics. In my version, I make a gingery, herbaceous, green paste (hara chutney) which will be slow simmered in thick coconut milk. The end consistency is more like a luscious, emulsified sauce, rather than a thin, runny gravy.

Prep
1 – Put all the ingredients listed in ‘for the green paste’ into a blender jar. Grind together until you get a smooth paste.

Method
1 – Place your saucepan on the stove and heat it on medium-high. Add the oil to the hot pan and then lower the flame.

2 – Add the green paste to the pan and fry it on low heat for 3-4 minutes or until the smell of raw onion, ginger, and garlic dissipates. Stir continuously so it doesn’t brown.

3 – Stir your coconut milk thoroughly so that it is homogenised. Add the coconut milk to the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer on medium-low heat.

4 – Lower the heat to minimum. Simmer the sauce for 25 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the sauce emulsified. Do not raise the heat or boil at any stage. You want a thick, homogenous, fresh-tasting sauce that is olive coloured.

5 – After 25 minutes, add the salt and the jaggery powder and stir. The sauce will thin slightly. Simmer it on low heat for 5 more minutes and then turn off the heat.

6 – Add 2-3 wet kokum petals to the hot mixture, cover the pan with a lid, and leave the petals to infuse in the hot sauce.

7 – When the sauce is cool, fish out the kokum petals with a fork and discard them. Your green coconut sauce is ready. Cover the pan with a lid and set it aside.

Stage 2: onion & tomato salsa

Ingredients
1. 1 tbsp. cooking olive oil
2. 1 tsp whole cumin seeds
3. 4 long green chillies, deseeded and julienned
4. 8 cm piece young ginger, julienned
5. 4 small cloves of garlic, finely sliced 
6. 4-5 small red onions (roughly 200 gm)
7. 30 cherry tomatoes (roughly 200 gm)
8. 1 tsp salt
9. ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper

This is the vegetables part of the Fish Alberas. Traditionally, the onions, potatoes and tomatoes are simmered and softened in the coconut milk. In my version, rather than stewing them, the veg is treated like a fresh salsa so that the onions and tomatoes retain their individual texture and flavour. I don’t recommend using mature ginger here. Young ginger is much milder, smells floral, and tastes wonderfully sweet and sour, which really accentuates the raw mango in the green paste. Where are the potatoes? Read the rest of the recipe to find out!

Prep
1 – Cut your 8 cm young ginger piece down the middle. Then slice it finely and julienne it. Finely slice your garlic cloves lengthwise. 

2 – Cut your chillies in half and deseed them. Then julienne them. If your juliennes are really long, cut them into halves. 

3 – Slice your onions into ½ cm rings and cut your cherry tomatoes into halves.

Method
1 – Place your skillet on the stove and heat it on medium-high. Add the oil to the hot skillet and then lower the flame.

2 – Throw in the cumin seeds and wait for them to crackle. 

3 – Add the green chillies, ginger, and garlic to the skillet. Sauté on low for 1-2 minutes or until the raw smells dissipate.

4 – Raise the heat to medium-high and add the onion rings to the skillet. Fry them for 2-3 minutes until they’re lightly softened.

5 – Add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet and fry them on medium-high for 2 minutes or until lightly softened and blistered.

6 – Turn the heat off, season the mixture with salt and pepper, and quickly toss everything together while it’s still hot. This is your onion & tomato salsa. Set it aside. 

Stage 3: potato-scaled fish

Ingredients
1. 4 boneless, skinless Indian Salmon (Rawas) fillets; each weighing 125-130 gm, cut into 12 cm x 6 cm rectangles, 2 cm thick.
2. 2 medium potatoes (roughly 250 gm)
3. 25 gm potato starch/corn flour
4. 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
5. 1 egg yolk (divided among 4 fillets)
6. 2 tbsp. cooking olive oil for frying (divided among 4 fillets)
7. ½ tsp ground ginger (divided among 4 fillets)
8. Pinch of coarse sea salt, before and after frying (for each fillet)

This is the fish and potato layer of the dish. Fish is an important staple in Bene Israel households and is the star of the dish. I’ve found Fish Alberas recipes where sea fish like Pomfret and Croaker (Ghol) is used instead of Indian Salmon/King Threadfin/Rawas. Whichever fish you use, seek boneless, skinless fillets and avoid using river fish. Traditionally, the fish is added to the gravy, raw. Blame it on the Bengali in me, but I need to fry fish pieces before adding them to a curry; so I’ve changed things up! Potatoes are also fundamental to Fish Alberas. But rather than stewing and softening the potato in the coconut milk curry, I’ve gone into Gordon Ramsey MasterChef mode and made a ‘potato scales’ crust. There are 2 reasons for this; 1 – fish is only considered ‘kosher’ (satisfying Jewish food laws) if it comes from a creature that has visible fins and scales. While I am in no way adhering to kosher norms, this is a creative (and edible) way to showcase scales. And 2 – fried fish & potatoes for the win!

Prep
1 –  Cut 4 pieces of baking parchment, about 3 cm larger (on all sides) than the length and breadth of your fillets. 

2 – Ready your fish; pat your rawas fillets dry with some kitchen paper. Leave them to drain on the kitchen paper. 

3 – Ready your scales; peel your potatoes and then cut them into 0.1 cm slices. I use a mandolin to make the slices, for speed and consistency. Then, using an apple corer or a cookie cutter, cut out 2 cm rounds from the slices. You will need about 28 potato rounds per fillet or 112 rounds for 4 fillets. These are your ‘scales’. In a medium bowl, mix 25 grams of potato starch with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and mix well to form an oily paste. Toss the potato scales in and evenly coat them in this paste. Set aside.

Method
1 – Brush the top of one fillet with some egg yolk.

2 – Arrange the potato scales on the fillet (the egg will act as a glue), in an overlapping pattern to imitate fish scales. A tweezer is very useful for this. Repeat with the other 3 fillets.

3 – Place a rectangle of parchment on each fillet and then place the fillets in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

4 – After the fillets have chilled, things can get a little tricky because you can only fry one fillet at a time in one skillet. Take your fillet out of the fridge and remove the parchment. Sprinkle the scales with a pinch of coarse sea salt. Then put the baking parchment back on. Then lift up your fillet, holding the fish-side on your palm. The potato scale-side should be on top with the parchment covering it.

5 – Take your skillet in your other hand and turn it upside down. Place the fillet inside the inverted skillet from below, so that the parchment-side meets the skillet’s cooking surface. Make sure your piece of fish is right in the centre of the skillet for even cooking.

6 – While keeping your hand on the fillet to secure it, flip your skillet back to its normal side. Your fillet should now be safely in the pan, parchment-side down.

7 – Place your skillet on the stove and add ½ a tablespoon of oil to the skillet, making sure to drizzle it inside the parchment so it can reach the potato scales.

8 – Put the heat on under the skillet, setting it to high. As soon as you can see the potato scales frying, lower the heat to minimum. Fry the fillet, parchment-side down for 7-8 minutes.

9 – Slide your spatula under the parchment and very carefully flip the fillet so that it’s fish-side down. Remove the parchment; you should have beautifully even, golden brown potato scales. Fry the fillet, fish-side down for 1-2 minutes and then immediately turn off the heat and move your skillet to a cold hob. 

10 – Season with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon dusting of ginger powder.

11 – Repeat steps 4 through 9 with your other 3 fillets.

12 – After frying each fillet, transfer it to a warm oven (50-60OC). Keep all the fillets there as you finish up the dish.

When you’re cutting out your scales, you’ll be left with a lot of potato off-cuts. Do not throw them away! Store them in a bowl of water in the fridge. They can be deep fried later and taste as good as regular-looking potato chips.

Stage 4: steamed rice

Ingredients
1. 180 gm (1 cup) raw basmati white rice like this
2. 375 ml water (1 ½ cups)

Prep
1 – Wash your rice very well until the water runs clear. About 5-6 times.

2 – Soak your rice in plain water for no more than 30 minutes, else the grains will break.

Method
1 – After 30 minutes, drain the rice using a fine meshed strainer. Transfer the soaked and drained rice to a vessel with a tight fitting lid.

2 – Add the measured quantity of water to the rice, and no more.

3 – Place your vessel on the stove, uncovered, and start the heat on high. You want to bring the rice to a boil. When the water comes to a rolling boil, you should see some grains ‘dancing’ and steam holes forming in some areas. At this point, turn the heat to the lowest setting and place the lid on the vessel. I like to place some aluminium foil on the vessel and then pop the lid on, to trap all the steam.

4 – Let the rice cook on very low heat for exactly 11 minutes. If your stove burns hot, then place the vessel on a pre-heated cast iron skillet or tava and then put it on the heat.

5 – After 11 minutes, take the lid off and let the steam escape for 2 seconds, and then immediately pop the lid back on.

6 – Move the vessel to a cold hob and let it sit undisturbed for 6 minutes only.

7 – Remove the lid and gently fluff up the rice with a fork. Your perfectly steamed, fluffy rice is ready! Cover it loosely with aluminium foil and keep it aside while you move on to the next stage.

A lot of people struggle to make perfectly steamed rice on the stove top. It’s either too mushy/undercooked, or the grains break/grains dry out and burn. This method is easy, fast, and yields perfect results each time.  Unlike the boil and strain method, you neither have to check the rice for doneness, nor drain the rice of excess water after it’s done. Please note, this method only works for medium-long grain Basmati rice and will not work for other rice varieties and types such as short, brown, sticky, parboiled, wild etc.

Stage 5: finishing touches, plating & serving

Components
1. Onion & tomato salsa
2. Potato-scaled fish
3. Green coconut sauce
4. 4 small curry leaf sprigs ( or 15-20 curry leaves without the stems)
5. 4 whole walnuts
6. 2 tbsp. cooking olive oil for frying
7. Steamed white rice

Prep
1 – Fry your curry leaves; Place oil in a skillet and heat on low. Fry the whole curry sprigs one at a time until they are dark green, glossy, and crispy. Transfer them to some kitchen paper to drain. This method is for ‘fancy plating’. You could just as well remove all the leaves from the stems, fry them together, and then top your salsa with the fried leaves during plating.

2 – Reheat your green coconut sauce. Apply gentle heat, as you don’t want the sauce to boil and separate.

3 – Reheat your salsa on high heat, for roughly 2 minutes.

4 – Reheat your rice if required.

5 – Take your fish out from the warm oven.

6 – Split your walnuts and then break them into rough kernels.

Method
To plate each individual serving of Fish Alberas, arrange the components in the following way — 

1 – Place 1/4th of the onion & tomato salsa in a circular pile, just off-centre to the plate.

2 – Place the potato-scaled fish on top of the salsa.

3 – Pour 1/4th of the coconut sauce onto the plate, taking care not to get any on the fish itself.

4 – Scatter some broken walnut kernels onto the salsa.

5 – Arrange a fried curry leaf sprig on top of the fish, or top the salsa with 3-4 fried curry leaves.

6 – Serve your fancy-schmancy Fish Alberas with a side of steamed rice. If you’ve served your dish with whole curry leaf sprigs, remember to take the curry leaves off the stem and then eat (the stem is fibrous and inedible). Happy Hanukkah from my home to yours! Now eat!

Research & Citations
*As researched by Tara Deshpande in:
https://www.indiafoodnetwork.in/food-stories/bene-israel-lunch-zimra-israel/
http://www.taradeshpande.in/bene-israel-fish-alberas-by-zimra-israel/

Further research:
https://www.goya.in/blog/the-fascinating-cuisine-traditions-of-the-bene-israelis-of-india-book-of-rachel
https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/how-diaspora-communities-made-the-fish-of-the-konkan-their-own-111601964545384.html
https://www.seema.com/meet-one-of-the-oldest-indian-jewish-groups/

Inspiration:
Classic Fish Alberas  by Zimra Israel:


Gordon Ramsay’s Potato-Crusted Sea Bass with Minestrone and Clams, from Masterchef Australia 2019:

Meatloaf & Mash Cake

Makes a two-tiered 6 inch layered cake.

I created this particular cake because apparently, there are people out there who don’t like cake! Who are these people? What’s wrong with them? Should we stage an intervention? Anyway. Built with stacks of meatloaf, frosted with buttery, mashed potatoes, and served with a side of thick, brown gravy; this is meatloaf & mash that panders to cake haters is worthy of a very special occasion. Delicate on the outside and totally buff within, this savoury cake will delight even those who associate cake exclusively with sweetness.

At a glance

– This recipe comprises meatloaf cake + mashed potato frosting + lazy gravy + carrot “berry” decorations
– You will need two 6 inch cake pans, a steamer, some pans, some large piping bags, and a culinary torch.
– This recipe has been broken into 5 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: meatloaf cake

Ingredients
1. 1 large onion to give 1 ½ cup brunoised onions
2. 1 medium (95 gm) carrot to give ½ cup brunoised carrots
3. 2 x 10-inch celery stalks to give ½ cup brunoised celery
4. 1 tbsp. neutral flavoured cooking oil
5. 2/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (leaves only)
6. 1 tbsp. garlic powder 
7. 1 tsp dried thyme 
8. 1 tsp paprika
9. 1.5 tsp salt
10. ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
11. 1/3 cup ketchup
12. 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
13. 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
14. 700 gm lean minced beef/buff
15. 3 large eggs (weighing roughly 170 gm)
16. 50 gm breadcrumbs

Prep
1 – Brunoise-cut (finely dice) your onion, carrot, and celery. They needn’t be perfectly symmetrical, but you’re looking for 1/8th inch cubes of veg. Heat your oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the brunoised onion, carrots and celery and sauté them for 5 minutes or until lightly softened. Set aside to cool.

2 – Finely chop your parsley leaves.

3 – Crack 3 large eggs into a bowl and lightly beat them together.

Method
1 – Preheat your oven to 175OC for 15 minutes.

2 – In a large bowl, add garlic powder, dried thyme, paprika, salt, and ground black pepper. Mix together. Then add the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Mix well to combine.

3 – Now add the minced meat, the beaten eggs, and the breadcrumbs to the bowl and mix everything together gently with your hands/rubber spatula until the mixture is well combined. Do not over over-work the mixture or aggressively knead it.

4 – Finally add the cooled cooked veg mixture and the chopped parsley leaves and combine.

5 – Do a taste test by cooking a spoonful of the mixture on the stove. Adjust the seasoning/salt to your taste.

6 – Lightly grease two 6-inch round cake pans with cooking oil or spray. Parchment is not needed. 

7 – Split the meatloaf mixture equally between your two prepared cake pans. To level, press the mixture gently into the pans, but don’t squash down.

8 – Place your pans inside your pre-heated oven and bake your meatloaf cakes at 175OC for 45-50 minutes, or until the centre of your cakes reach a temperature of 70-75OC.

9 – Remove the pans from the oven and let them stand on a wire rack for about 1 hour or until the pans are cool enough to handle. Do not unmould the cakes prematurely, or the juices will run out.

10 – Once no longer hot to the touch, take the cakes out of their pans and place them on a wire rack to fully cool. If you don’t plan on filling and frosting your cake immediately, wrap the layers in cling wrap and store them in an airtight container. Keep them in the fridge while you move on to Stage 2.

You could make your meatloaf layers in advance and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to fill and frost them. They will keep for 2-3 days without any problem.

Stage 2: mashed potato frosting

Ingredients
1. 1 kg starchy potatoes 
2. 3 small garlic cloves, finely sliced
3. 1 small (5 cm) sprig of rosemary
4. 150 ml milk
5. 150 gm unsalted butter
6. 1 ½ tsp salt 
7. ½ tsp white pepper powder

Prep
1 – Peel and cut your potatoes into 4 cm wide chunks. Then rinse the cut pieces very well in cold water to wash off the extra starch. Keep them soaked in cold water.

2 – Cut your cloves of garlic into thin slices.

Method
1 – Set your steamer to boil. Once the water comes to a boil, place the peeled and cut potatoes on the steamer rack. Steam on medium heat for 18-20 minutes or until you can easily pierce through the potatoes with a fork.

2 – When the potatoes are almost cooked, place the butter, sliced garlic, and rosemary sprig in a small saucepan and begin heating it on low heat.

3 – When the butter has melted and starts to simmer, add milk and bring the mixture to a boil.

4 – Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and add in the salt and pepper. Stir and set it aside, keeping it hot.

5 – When the potatoes are cooked (fork-tender), transfer them from the steamer to a large bowl. 

6 – Gently mash the potatoes with a fork or potato-masher, while they’re still hot. This will release steam and ensure that the potatoes dry out sufficiently. You could also use a ricer for this.

7 – If you’re not using a ricer to mash the potatoes, pass the fork-mashed potatoes through a medium-meshed sieve, taking care not to overwork the potatoes or your mash will end up gluey.

8 – Retrieve the pan with the hot, melted butter mixture. Pour the mixture through a sieve, directly onto the warm mashed potatoes. Squish down on any chunky bits in the sieve to extract as much flavour as possible. Discard whatever’s in the mesh, it’s done its job. 

9 – Using a wooden spoon, gently mix everything until combined and smooth. Taste the mash; season with more white pepper powder and salt if desired. Mix one final time with a wooden spoon to make sure that the mixture is lump free, creamy, and smooth. Set the mashed potatoes aside to cool.

10 – Once cool, transfer your mashed potatoes into piping bags. You’re now ready to frost your cake. If you’ve made your mash well in advance, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge and bring it to room temperature before using it.

When making mashed potatoes, steaming is always preferred to boiling so that the taste and nutrients are not discarded with the boiled water. Additionally, steaming will make for a fluffier mashed potato. Do not be tempted to mash your potatoes in a food processor or blender as you’ll end up with a gluey, gluggy mess. Always add hot butter and milk to just warm potatoes, for the smoothest mash. If any of the components are cold, the mash will be gloopy. This quantity of potatoes yields enough mash to frost your cake and still have a bit left over. If you do a thick frosting, you’ll be left with about half a cup of mashed potatoes. A thinner coat of frosting will leave you with about 1 cup of leftover mash.

Stage 3: lazy gravy

Ingredients
1. 2 chicken stock cubes 
2. 550 ml boiling water
3. 40 gm salted butter
4. 40 gm all purpose flour
5. 1 tsp onion powder
6. ¾ tsp garlic powder
7. ¼ tsp dried thyme
8. ¼ tsp dried rosemary
9. ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
10. 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce/kecap manis
11. 1 tsp. white wine vinegar (optional)
12. ¼ tsp salt (if required)

Prep
1 – Boil your water and pour out the measured quantity into a heatproof bowl.

2 – Crumble the chicken stock cubes into the boiling water and mix well to dissolve fully. Set it aside to come down to room temperature.

3 – Grind your rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle.

Method
1 –  Melt your butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.

2 – Lower the heat to minimum. Add the flour to the saucepan. Using a heatproof rubber spatula or whisk, stir the mixture on low heat, using a ‘figure 8’ motion, for 5 minutes or until the floury paste is lightly blonde and ‘puffing’ in the pan. This is our roux, which will thicken our chicken stock.

3 – Add the garlic and onion powders to the saucepan. Mix these into the roux.

4 – While whisking the roux continuously, take the roux off the stove and let it cool for 10 seconds.

5 – While whisking continuously, slowly drizzle in the room temperature chicken stock onto the warm roux, in one continuous stream. Do not stop whisking till all the roux has emulsified with the stock.

6 – Put the pan back on the stove on medium heat and continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute. 

7 – Add the dark soy sauce, the powdered rosemary and thyme, and the ground black pepper.

8 – Simmer the gravy on medium for 2 minutes. Now, taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning to your palate. Taste again and add the white wine vinegar if you want a slightly punchier note.

9 – Simmer the gravy for an additional minute or until it has thickened to your desired consistency. When a metal spoon is dipped into the gravy, it should coat the back of the spoon. Don’t reduce it too much, as it will continue to thicken off the heat. If it gets too thick, just add a splash of water and whisk. Serve immediately, or place a lid on the saucepan and reheat your gravy when it’s needed.

Why is this a lazy gravy? Because to make proper gravy from scratch, you first need to make Roast Chicken/Beef/Turkey, which in itself can take 2-4 hours. After it’s done roasting, you then use the leftover browned pan drippings and fat to make the gravy. I’m already making a layered and frosted meatloaf cake, I’m not about to make an entire roast, just to make gravy! I have used chicken stock cubes in this recipe because it’s next to impossible to get beef stock cubes where I live. If you can get beef stock cubes or bouillon granules, replace one of the chicken stock cubes with a beef one, for a richer, darker gravy. Keep in mind that your gravy will derive a lot of its flavour from the stock cubes that you use, so choose a brand that you like. As gravy cools, it gets thicker and a skin forms on its surface. If this happens, simply whisk in the skin, add a splash of water to thin it out, and re-heat the gravy. You can make your gravy up to 5 days in advance and place it in an airtight container in the fridge. Before serving, reheat it while whisking continuously. If it has congealed a bit, you may need to loosen it with some water before heating.

Stage 4: carrot “berry” decorations (optional)

Ingredients
1. 1 small carrot 

Method
Carve little round “berries” from the carrot. To do this, cut your carrot into cubes, varying from 1/8 inch to ½ inch squares, then round off the edges to make odd-sized balls. Carve as many as you like. You just need 8-10 berries to add a dash of colour to an otherwise beige cake. Don’t throw away the off-cuts. Instead, add them to salads or stews (I ate mine while carving). 

Stage 5: Finale; cake construction & assembly

Components
1. Two 6 inch meatloaf cakes
2. Mashed potato frosting
3. 60 gm tomato paste
4. 8-10 small rosemary sprigs
5. 8-10 carrot berries
6. Lazy gravy

Prep
1 – Ready your decorating surface. A cake turntable with a cake board is ideal for this. Place the board in the centre of your turntable. 

2 – Snip the tip of your mashed potato piping bag about 1.5 cm wide.

3 – Keep your culinary torch loaded and ready.

4 – Keep these handy: a straight palette knife, an off-set spatula, a cake scraper, and a medium bowl.

Method
1 – Place one meatloaf cake on your cake board. 

2 – Using the straight palette knife, spread half of the tomato paste over the top.

3 – Going in a circle from the inside out, pipe a thick layer of mashed potato frosting onto the first cake’s top surface. 

4 – Place the second meatloaf cake atop the frosting, top side down. Lightly press down to secure. 

5 – Using the straight palette knife, spread the other half of the tomato paste over the top.

6 – Then, going in a circle from the inside out, pipe a thick layer of mashed potato frosting, right on top of the cake.

7 – Rotate your cake turntable to check that both layers are aligned. If they’re not, carefully re-adjust any portion that is sticking out.

8 – It’s time to frost the sides of the cake. While rotating your turntable, pipe a thick layer of mashed potato frosting all around the cake, starting at the base, and moving upwards.

9 – Use a bench scraper and an offset spatula to smoothen the frosting on top and around the sides of the cake. Place extra frosting in a bowl. 

10 – Create a ribbon texture on the frosting using your offset spatula. Watch this to see how. For the sides of the cake; hold the flat side of the spatula alongside the bottom edge of the cake. Then angle the spatula inwards by 45 degrees so that the tip is digging into the frosting by 1/8th inch or so. For the top surface of the cake; hold the flat side of the spatula over the cake, keeping it above and parallel to the cake’s centre. Then tilt the spatula downwards by 45 degrees so that the tip is digging into the frosting by 1/8th inch or so. While rotating your cake turntable, keep the spatula tip steady at the same angle and drag it outwards towards the cake’s circumference.

11 – Optional step; using your culinary torch, lightly (and quickly) brown the mashed potato frosting along the raised lines, to accentuate the ridges.

12 – Finally, decorate the cake with rosemary sprigs and carrot flowers.  I made a rustic wreath and organically arranged the carrot berries on and around the wreath.

13 – If not planning to serve immediately, store the cake in the fridge. This cake tastes best hot. Reheat individual slices in the microwave after slicing, and serve with a side of extra mashed potatoes and gravy. Now eat!

Banana Bread

Makes a 10 x 2 ½ inch loaf.

Confession time. I hate bananas. I don’t like them as a fruit, I deplore them as a flavour in candy or gum, and detest them in any kind of dessert. But banana bread is the one way I absolutely adore my lifetime fruit nemesis. Moistened with yoghurt and brown sugar, this one is sweet without being sickly, and good for you to boot. Feeling indulgent? Then top it with cream cheese frosting. Whether you treat it like a dessert or a healthy snack, it will convert all you routine banana bashers into regular banana mashers.

At a glance

– This cake comprises banana bread + cream cheese frosting 
– You will need one 10×3 inch loaf pan
– This recipe has been broken into 2 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: banana bread

Ingredients
1. 250 gm all purpose flour
2. ¾ tsp cinnamon powder
3. 1/8 tsp nutmeg
4. ¼ tsp salt
5. 1 tsp baking soda
6. 150 gm dark brown sugar
7. 115 gm salted butter, at room temperature
8. 2 large eggs (114 gm) at room temperature
9. 4-5 large, very ripe bananas to yield 600 gm mashed bananas
10. 1 tsp vanilla extract
11. 180-160 gm unflavoured full fat curd to yield 80 gm strained curd (or 80 gm Greek yoghurt)
12. 100 gm chopped walnuts

Prep
1 – Strain your curd; place a fine-meshed strainer over a vessel. Line the strainer with a cheesecloth or muslin. Place the curd on the cheesecloth. Gather the 4 edges of the cheesecloth and lightly squeeze out the excess whey. Put the cheesecloth bundle back in the strainer. Let this sit on your counter for an hour, dripping away. Thereafter, your strained or thickened curd is ready to be used. Set it aside.

2 – Grease your loaf pan and line it with parchment. Remember to grease the parchment as well.

3 – Ready your dry ingredients; In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, cinnamon powder, grated nutmeg, and baking soda. Using a balloon whisk, whisk everything together well to aerate and combine.

4 – Peel and mash your bananas and weigh out 600 grams’ worth.

5 – Chop up your walnuts into rough chunks.

Method
1 – Start preheating your oven at 175OC.

2 – Place the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on high speed for roughly two minutes or until smooth.

3 – Add in the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed with each addition until each egg is combined (30 seconds after each egg).

4 – Add the strained curd and beat on medium speed until combined (30 seconds). Remember to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is being mixed properly. 

5 – Add the vanilla and mashed bananas and and beat on medium speed until combined (30-45 seconds). Remember to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is being mixed properly. 

6 – Turn your mixer down to the lowest speed and add the dry ingredients in thirds. Beat together with each addition until just combined (you should see no floury pockets or liquidy pools). Take care not to over-mix the flour, or you’ll end up with a dense, stodgy crumb.

7 – Add your chopped walnuts and gently fold them into the batter with a spatula.

8 – Transfer the batter into your prepared loaf pan and place it inside your preheated oven. If your oven has 4 levels, place your loaf pan on the third level from the top.

9 – Bake your banana bread at 175OC for 60-65 minutes. For perfectly even heating, you may need to rotate your pan at the 30 minute mark. Be sure to check for doneness at the 60 minute mark; that is, if a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle of your cake comes out clean, it’s done. 

10 – Remove the pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack. Don’t remove the bread from the pan until it comes to room temperature. Once no longer warm, wrap the pan in cling wrap and transfer it to the fridge for a day. Why? Because banana bread tastes best when the flavours have had a chance to settle. You could wrap and leave it out at room temperature as well, but I do not recommend doing this in warm climates, and the bread will spoil very fast.

11 – After 24 hours in the fridge, remove the banana bread from the pan, and cut it into even slices using a serrated knife. Store the slices in an airtight container in the fridge while you move on to Stage 2. 

Stored in the fridge, banana bread will keep for a week, assuming you won’t eat it all up before that! Banana bread freezes and thaws very well; it can be kept in your freezer, sliced and wrapped, for up to 4 months. If you live in a hot climate, do not leave the bread outside for even a day, as the super ripe bananas in the cake will spoil fast.

Stage 2: cream cheese frosting

Ingredients
1. 115 gm full fat cream cheese (not cream cheese spread or the whipped stuff) at room temperature
2. 60 gm unsalted butter at room temperature
3. 120 gm icing sugar
4. ½ tsp vanilla extract
5. Pinch of salt

Method
1 – Place the butter in a large bowl. Using a hand held mixer, beat it for 2-3 minutes on medium speed until very smooth and creamy.

2 – Add in the cream cheese. Beat the mixture on medium once again, until you achieve a fluffy consistency, approximately 1-2 minutes.

3 – Add in the icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating on low speed for 30 seconds with each addition. Repeat until all the icing sugar has been incorporated and is combined.

4 – Add in the vanilla and salt. Once again, beat everything on low speed for 30 seconds until combined.

5 – Cover your bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate your frosting for 15 minutes before serving.

6 – Some like it cold, but I think banana bread tastes best at room temperature. When you’re ready to eat, take out a slice and rest it at room temperature for half an hour. Slather a generous spoonful of cream cheese frosting on the slice. Now eat!

Cream cheese frosting and banana bread are a match made in heaven. You could spread all of the frosting on the whole cooled banana bread loaf but I find it nicer to slice the bread and then individually ‘butter’ the slices with frosting for a higher frosting to cake ratio!

Tips & Tricks

How to line a loaf pan with baking parchment:

Indo-Thai Khow Suey

Makes 4-6 servings.

Khow Suey or ohn no khao swè is a curry based noodle soup that is topped with a variety of condiments. Brought to the subcontinent during WWII by migrants from Myanmar (then Burma), no one Khow Suey is alike. Some are distinctly Indian, some reflect Pakistani influences, others stay true to their Burmese origins. Mine blends Indian spices with Thai aromatics—in a Burmese Khau Suey that pays homage to both its north-western and south-eastern neighbours, and their respective food influences.

At a glance

– This dish comprises toppings + curry + noodles 
– You will need a large wok (4-5 litre capacity), a 3 litre pasta pot, and a deep frying pan.
– This recipe has been broken into 4 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: toppings

The toppings play a crucial role in how the final Khow Suey eats. They add texture, complexity, and so much flavour. Because they take a little time to prepare, I like to tackle them first and get them out of the way. Toppings can be made in advance and stored in the fridge, or left on the countertop if they’re being used the same day. 

Ingredients
Boiled toppings:
1. 2 medium potatoes (250 gm before peeling)
2. 3 eggs 

Fried toppings:
3. 1 ltr neutral oil for deep frying
4. 2 medium red onions
5. 8 fat pods of garlic 
6. 6 fresh green chillies 
7. 60 ml soy sauce

Raw toppings:
8. ½ inch fresh ginger 
9. 1 medium bunch coriander leaves (to give 1 ½ cups chopped coriander)
10. 1 small bunch fresh Thai basil leaves (24-30 leaves)
11. 1 spring onion stalk (green part only)
12. 2-3 green limes 
13. 60 gm salted peanuts, skinless and roasted
14. 200 gm plain salted potato chips 

Method
1 – Boiled potato topping; Boil the potatoes whole (roughly 15-20 minutes with a lid on). Once they’re cool, first peel, and then cut them into 1 cm cubes and place them in a bowl. Boiled potato is ready. Set aside.

2 – Boiled egg topping; Boil your eggs (6 ½ minutes). See this to make perfectly soft boiled eggs. Once they’re cool enough to handle, peel them and keep them in a bowl. Eggs are ready. Set aside and cut them into halves, only right before serving.

3 – Browned onions topping; Peel your onions. Cut them in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into fine slices (2 mm wide). Spread the onion slices on some kitchen paper for an hour to get rid of excess moisture. Heat up the oil in a deep frying pan. When the oil reaches 180OC, add the sliced onions in small batches, and deep fry them for 5-6 minutes. Then lower the heat and fry them until they’re golden brown. When they’re done, they will stop ‘fizzing’ and sort of float up to the surface of the oil. Immediately remove the golden brown onions from the pan and set them to drain on kitchen paper for 5 minutes. They will continue to cook after they’re out of the oil. Lightly salt each freshly fried batch. Then transfer to an airtight container. Onions are ready, set aside. Grab the same frying pan that you used to toast the spices. Heat up the vegetable oil in it. The depth of the oil should be at least 2 inches.

4 – Garlic chips topping; Peel and cut your garlic into thin slices (1 mm wide). Now add the garlic slices to the oil and fry them on low heat until they’re golden. Keep in mind that they will continue to brown off the heat, so remove them from the pan just before they begin to brown. Drain them on kitchen paper for 5 minutes and then store in an airtight container. Garlic chips are ready, set aside.

5 – Soy chillies toppping; Cut your green chillies into small rings. Fry them in the same hot oil for 2 minutes on low heat. Remove them from the pan and add them directly to a bowl containing 60 ml soy sauce. Chilli soy sauce is ready, set aside.

6 – Fresh ginger topping; Peel and cut your ginger into thin slices. Then julienne the slices. Place in a bowl, covered. Ginger is ready, set aside.

7 – Spring onion topping; Slice your spring onion stalk into thin diagonal rings. Place in a bowl, covered. Spring onion is ready, set aside.

8 – Fresh coriander topping; Roughly chop your fresh coriander leaves. Place in a bowl, covered. Fresh coriander is ready, set aside. 

9 – Crushed peanuts topping; Crush your peanuts into coarse chunks. Place in an airtight container. Crushed peanuts are ready, set aside.

10 – Cut your limes into wedges. Place them in a bowl. Lime is ready, set aside.

11 – Store your salted chips in an airtight container. Potato chips are ready, set aside. Move on to Stage 2.

Stage 2: curry 

Ingredients
For the veg and meat:
1. 100 gm carrot (roughly 1 small) cut into 3 x 1 cm batons
2. 70 gm French beans (roughly 10-12) cut into 3 cm long batons 
3. 100 gm baby corn (roughly 5-6) halved lengthwise, then cut into 3 cm long batons
4. 150 gm broccoli cut into 3 cm florets
5. ½ of a small red capsicum, cut into 3 x 1 cm long batons
6. ½ of a small yellow capsicum cut into 3 x 1 cm long batons
7. 75 gm (roughly 7) shitake/button mushrooms cut lengthwise into 4 slices each
8. 75 gm oyster mushrooms torn into 4 cm florets 
9. 400 gm boneless chicken thigh pieces cut into bit sized chunks (roughly 24)
10. 250 gm large prawns, deveined, tail-on (roughly 11-12 prawns)
11. Salt to taste
12. Freshly ground black pepper to taste
13. 3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil

For the aromatic paste:
14. 5 shallots
15. 1 inch piece fresh ginger 
16. ½ inch piece fresh galangal 
17. 4 fat garlic pods
18. 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
19. 1 tsp cumin powder
20. 1 tsp coriander powder
21. 1 tsp turmeric powder
22. 2 tender lemon grass stalks (bottom 7-8 cm sections only)
23. ¼ cup fresh coriander stems
24. 2 tsp freshly grated lime zest (from 6 large green limes)
25. 1 tbsp. vegetable oil

For the sauce:
26. 2 x 400 ml full fat Thai coconut milk (canned, non-homogenised)
27. 12 Thai basil leaves
28. 8 curry leaves
29. 3 tbsp. gram flour (besan)
30. 700 ml chicken broth, warmed (2 stock cubes dissolved in 700 ml hot water)
31. 1 whole lemon grass stalk bruised
32. 6 kaffir lime leaves bruised
33. ½ inch galangal piece, bruised
34. 1/8th cup freshly squeezed lime juice (use your zested limes for this)
35. 1 ½ tbsp. sugar or to taste
36. 2 ½ tbsp. fish sauce or to taste


Prep
1 – Keep all your veg cut and ready according to the sizes mentioned.

2 – Clean your chicken, pat it dry, and then cut it into bite-sized chunks. Clean and devein your prawns, leaving the tails on. Pat them dry. You don’t want any excess moisture whatsoever. 

3 – Add all the aromatic paste ingredients to a blender jar. Grind the contents until you get a smooth paste. Set aside.

4 – Open both cans of coconut milk and scoop out 200 ml coconut cream from each can (it’s the white, creamy portion that is floating on the surface of your coconut milk). You should be left with one bowl containing 400 ml coconut cream and two cans containing 200 ml coconut milk, each. Set aside.

Method
1 – In a large wok, add 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Then lower the flame to medium.

2 – Toss in the carrots and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 2 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

3 – Toss in the beans and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

4 – Toss in the baby corn and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 3 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

5 – You may need to replenish the oil at this point. Toss in the broccoli and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

6 – Toss in the red and yellow capsicum and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

7 – Toss in the shitake mushrooms and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

8 – You may need to replenish the oil at this point. Toss in the oyster mushrooms and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised, roughly 1 minute. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

9 – You may need to replenish the oil at this point. Toss in the chunks of chicken and fry on medium heat until lightly caramelised and 95% cooked, roughly 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

10 – Toss in the prawns and fry on medium-high heat until lightly pink, roughly 30-40 seconds. Sprinkle in salt and pepper and mix. Remove from the wok and set aside.

11 – In the same wok, add 200 ml coconut cream. Heat it on low-medium for 10 minutes, until the mixture begins to curdle, and the oil separates from the coconut cream and is simmering. In Thai cuisine, this is called ‘cracking the cream’.

12 – Lower the heat to minimum. Add the curry leaves and Thai basil leaves and crackle them for 10 seconds.

13 – Add the aromatic paste and fry it in the cracked cream for 6-8 minutes, or until the raw smell of onion, ginger, and garlic dissipates. Keep the heat low and stir continuously to avoid browning.

14 – In a large bowl, whisk together the gram flour and warm chicken stock. Whisk well so that there are no lumps. 

15 – Pour this mixture into the wok. Then raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Gram flour is a binding agent and will emulsify any separated fats from the cracked coconut cream.

16 – Once the sauce comes to a boil, set the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom and sides of the pot.

17 – After 20 minutes pour in the coconut milk from the two cans (total – 400 ml coconut milk). Add the bruised lemon grass stalk, the galangal, and the kaffir lime leaves. Place a lid on your wok. Simmer the curry on your lowest heat setting for 20 minutes.

18 – When 20 minutes is up, take your pot off the hit, and sieve your curry through a medium-meshed strainer into a new bowl. Mash down on any chunky bits to extract as much flavour and sauce as possible. Discard whatever’s in the mesh, it’s done its job. 

19 – Pour the strained curry back into your wok, and set it back on low heat.

20 – Add all the lightly caramelised veg and chicken to the curry. Do not add the prawns just yet. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.

21 – Now taste the curry. Add your fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and the remaining 200 ml coconut cream. Stir, and then taste again. Make adjustments as needed.

22 – I like a thick, velvety Khow Suey, as opposed to a runny, loose one. When you’re happy with the taste and consistency of your curry, turn off the heat. Immediately add the prawns to the curry and cover the wok with a lid. The prawns will cook through in the residual heat. Your curry is ready. Rest it for 15 minutes before serving. Proceed to Stage 3 and make your noodles while your curry rests.

In this curry, coconut milk is added at 3 different junctures for 3 different layers of flavour. First – at the start of the cook, via the ‘cracking the cream’ technique. This is traditionally used in Thai curries to enhance the taste of coconut. Second – in the middle of the cook, as the dominant liquid in the curry. Here, it is cooked low and slow, for a mellow coconut flavour. And third and finally, at the end of the cook. Adding fresh, uncooked coconut cream right at the end adds silkiness and richness, and will thicken the curry. Most packaged coconut milks and cream are homogenised wherein the fats and liquids have been emulsified. To make this curry, you’ll need full fat coconut milk, where the coconut cream has risen and is floating on top of the less fatty milk. If you extract coconut milk from coconut flesh at home, you will see this clear demarcation. On a separate note, I’ve seen gram flour based Khow Suey recipes where the cook time for the entire curry is just 7-10 minutes. If you’ve ever had an Indian curry called ‘kadhi’ (made with gram flour and yoghurt), you’ll know that it needs to be simmered for at least 25-30 minutes, because undercooked gram flour leads to terrible indigestion. Please do simmer this curry for the entire duration specified!

Stage 3: noodles

Ingredients
1. 200 gm rice stick Pad Thai noodles (5mm width)
2. 3 ltr water
3. ½ tsp salt
4. ½ tsp neutral flavoured oil

Method
1 –  Bring 3 litres of water to a boil in a pasta pot. Once it comes to a boil, add salt and then turn the heat off.

2 – Place your noodles in the pot. Let them steep in the hot water for 1-2 minutes and then immediately drain them in a colander and rinse them thoroughly with cold water. 

3 – Once they’re rinsed and well-drained, drizzle some oil on them, toss lightly, and portion them into your individual serving bowls. 

Traditionally, egg noodles are used in Khow Suey. While any kind of noodles can be used for this dish, I prefer the broad, blank canvas of a Pad Thai style rice noodle. Rice noodles should be made right before serving, as they can get sticky just sitting around. If you make your noodles before your curry, remember to toss the noodles every 5-10 minutes until you’re ready to plate up. The instructions given are specifically for the brand of rice noodles I use. Use whatever noodle you like and simply follow the cooking instructions on the packet. You can even use any kind of ribbon cut pastas — from spaghetti and linguine to fettucine and tagliatelle.

Stage 4: assembly and serving

Components
1. Boiled noodles from Stage 3
2. Cooked curry from Stage 2
3. All your toppings prepped from Stage 1

Method
For the optimum Khow Suey eating experience, it’s imperative that you layer the components in a particular order before serving. That way, you can feel all the different textures and taste all the individual flavours. Here’s how I place the components for each person/serving — starting from the bottom to the top.

1 – 1 cup of boiled noodles, spread out on the bottom

2 – 1 ½ cups of curry, with a good mix of sauce, veg, chicken, and prawn

3 – 12 to 15 boiled potato cubes, scattered

4 – 1 teaspoon of chilli soy sauce, drizzled

5 – 1 tablespoon of crushed peanuts, scattered

6 – 4 to 5 ginger juliennes, scattered

7 – 1/8th cup chopped coriander leaves, sprinkled

8 – 4 to 5 Thai basil leaves, scattered

9 – 1/3rd cup fried onions, scattered

10 – 1 teaspoon spring onion diagonals, scattered

11 – 8 to 10 fried garlic chips, scattered

12 – Half a soft boiled egg, on top

13 – A wedge of lime, on the side

14 – 1 cup of potato chips, on the side

And there you have it! Burmese Khow Suey, with Indian and Thai influences. If you want to make this a completely vegetarian dish, simply eliminate the egg, chicken, and prawn, and increase the amounts of veg. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and replace the fish sauce with salt. Everything else can stay as is.

Devil’s Food Cake

Makes a two-tiered 9 inch layered cake.

There’s chocolate cake, and then there’s this chocolate cake; a heavenly creation that merits unwavering worship. Possessing a moist, airy crumb and a bitter-sweet creamy ganache—by some supernatural force—it is at once light and darkness. One bite will send your conscience into battle. Can something this good, be bad for me? Can something be sinful if it tastes so divine? Set your conscience aside and raise your fork. Like its namesake, this cake is both devil and angel.

At a glance

– This recipe comprises 2 kinds of chocolate cake; light & moist or rich & buttery + whipped dark chocolate ganache
– You will need one 9×2 inch round cake pan, parchment paper, and some piping bags.
– This recipe has been broken into 3 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: chocolate cake

Now, there are 2 types of chocolate sponge that can be used in a Devil’s Food Cake. One is light and moist, and the other is rich and buttery. This recipe offers you both types! Pick and bake the type you prefer and keep the whipped dark ganache recipe as is.

type 1; light & moist

Light on the palate and low on sweetness, this soft, airy chocolate sponge cake is the perfect platform for rich ganache frostings and sweet buttercream icings. Because of the low fat content, it is not intended to be eaten on its own. But, if you’re looking for a moist for days, light as air, chocolate sponge that balances out a decadent filling or topping, choose this type. We don’t like overly rich desserts, so this is our go-to chocolate sponge when we make Devil’s Food Cake.

Ingredients
1. 200 gm all purpose flour
2. 310 gm white granulated sugar
3. 50 gm natural, dark, unsweetened cocoa powder
4. 1 ¾ tsp baking soda
5. ¾ tsp baking powder
6. ½ tsp salt
7. 1 large egg (60 gm/egg in-shell weight) at room temperature
8. 80 ml neutral flavoured vegetable oil + extra for greasing
9. 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
10. 190 ml buttermilk
11. 190 ml boiling water + 2 tsp instant espresso coffee granules

While my brownies contain Dutch process cocoa powder, my chocolate cake demands natural cocoa powder – which is acidic and reacts with baking soda to leaven it. Here, we’re using both baking soda and baking powder as raising agents. Because cocoa powder is so drying, it needs all the moisture and softness it can get by way of oil and buttermilk. If you cannot get your hands on cultured buttermilk; soured milk can work as a substitute. To make your own “buttermilk” – put 3/4 tablespoon of fresh lime juice or white vinegar into a liquid measuring cup with volumetric markings. Thereafter, top the cup up with whole milk till you reach the 190 ml mark. Stir gently and set it aside for 5-10 minutes to thicken. It’s then ready to use. In baked goods, this buttermilk substitute adds sourness and moistness like cultured buttermilk, although it lacks the same ‘yoghurt’ like taste. Why the coffee? Much like in my brownie recipe, it enhances the cocoa notes without imparting its own flavour.

Prep
1 – Grease your cake pan and line it with parchment. Remember to grease the parchment as well.

2 – Ready your dry ingredients; In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Then add the sugar to the mixture. Using a balloon whisk, whisk everything together well to aerate and combine.

3 – Ready your wet ingredients; In another large bowl, place the egg, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk. Whisk/beat together well to combine.

4 – Boil your hot water and measure it out. Add the coffee granules to it and give it a stir to dissolve.

Method
1 – Start preheating your oven at 175OC.

2 – Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Using your whisk, stir the mixture together until it just comes together as a batter (30 seconds or so).

3 – Pour in the hot brewed coffee and gently mix the batter again for another 10-15 seconds, until it is glossy and smooth. The batter will become very runny. Do not over mix it!

4 – Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and place it inside your preheated oven.

5 – Bake your chocolate cake for 40-45 minutes at 175OC. For perfectly even heating, you may need to rotate your pan at the 20 minute mark. Be sure to check for doneness at the 40 minute mark; that is, if a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle of your cake comes out clean, it’s done. 

6 – Remove the cake pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack. Don’t remove the cake from the pan until it’s cool enough to handle, or you will risk breaking it. Once no longer warm, your cake is ready for the next stage. Remove it from the pan, and wrap it in cling wrap to keep it from drying out, while you move on to Stage 2. If you don’t plan on filling and frosting your cake immediately, cover it in cling wrap and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 3 days. I like to frost my layer cakes after the sponge has chilled in the fridge overnight, as it is firmer and more structurally sound. 

My oven cannot accommodate two 9 inch cake pans in one go. I make one cake and then cut it in 2 layers. If you’re using 2 cake pans, evenly divide the batter between them, and adjust the cook time to 25-30 minutes. Always strive for even heating with cakes. My oven has both top and bottom heating sources, so I always place my cakes on the middle rack, unless a recipe specifies otherwise. If you’re serious about baking, get to know your oven, and all its “hotspots”. This is essential to evenly cooked baked goods. If your cakes tend to rise unevenly, or get cracks, or dome rapidly and then sink, your oven doesn’t heat up evenly. To compensate for these irregularities, you’ll need to lower the temperature and/or move your pan around during the baking process. Keep in mind, if your oven has a convection mode, avoid using it for cakes if you can. Although it may speed up your overall bake-time, it will also dry out your sponge, and you definitely don’t want that. 

type 2; rich & buttery

Intense, sweet, and rich, this buttery chocolate sponge hits the spot all on its own. Kept beautifully moist with just a little oil, this one’s a treat even if you leave off the frosting. We make it when we’re craving a good ol’ chocolate sponge without the frills. Layered and covered with frosting, it really is Devilishly decadent, so pick this type only if you want an ultra-rich Devil’s Food Cake. It’s also really versatile, so read the recipe notes below for details on how to make adjustments.

Ingredients
1. 120 gm cake flour (or 105 gm all purpose flour + 15 gm cornflour)
2. ½ tsp baking soda
3. ¼ tsp salt
4. 150 gm unsalted butter at room temperature + extra for greasing
5. 60 ml neutral flavoured vegetable oil
6. 250 gm white granulated sugar
7. 90 ml boiling hot water + 1  tbsp. instant espresso coffee granules
8. 40 gm natural, dark, unsweetened cocoa powder + extra for dusting
9. 60 gm 70% cocoa couverture chocolate (baking or eating chocolate)
10. 90 ml sour cream or thick unflavoured yoghurt
11. 2 large eggs (60 gm/egg in-shell weight) at room temperature
12. 1 tbsp. vanilla extract

While my brownies contain Dutch process cocoa powder, my chocolate cake demands natural cocoa powder – which is acidic and reacts with baking soda to leaven it. Because this is a denser cake owing to the amount of eggs, butter and chocolate, it requires a softer crumb which is achieved with cake flour. Cake flour is hard to procure, which means adapting and making your own cake flour substitute. Whenever you make homemade cake flour – measure out 1 cup of all purpose flour, and then remove 2 tablespoons. Then, add 2 tablespoons of corn flour to the all purpose flour. Sift them together three times. This is your cake flour substitute. It’s not quite the same as store bought cake flour, but it does give a lighter, more tender crumb than if you were to use all-purpose flour only. Sour cream and full-fat unflavoured yoghurt can be used interchangeably in this recipe. Why the coffee? Much like in my brownie recipe, it enhances the cocoa notes without imparting its own flavour. If you want an all butter sponge, omit the oil and increase the butter by 50 gm. If you want more sweetness, use couverture chocolate with 50% cocoa solids instead of 70%. And if you want it fudgier, add 20 gm more couverture chocolate and an extra egg yolk (just remember, a fudgy cake will be harder to torte and stack).

Prep
1 – Make your homemade cake flour substitute if you don’t have cake flour.

2 – Grease your cake pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment. Then grease the parchment and dust your entire pan with coco powder.

3 – Chop your couverture chocolate into small chunks and place them in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chocolate at 450 watts for 30 seconds. Stir briefly with a spatula and then microwave it for another 20 seconds. Thereafter, keep heating the mixture in 10 second increments until the chocolate has completely melted. Cool to room temperature or just warm.

4 – Boil water to brew the coffee.

5 – Start preheating your oven at 175OC.

Method
1 – Ready your dry ingredients; In a large bowl, sift together the flour, the salt and the baking soda. Using a balloon whisk, whisk everything together well to aerate and combine.

2 – Measure out your hot water, add the coffee granules to it and give it a stir to dissolve. Then immediately add the cocoa powder to the brewed coffee. This ‘blooms’ the cocoa. Mix together the cocoa powder and hot liquid until you get a thick, smooth, lump-free paste. It will have the consistency of scoopable ganache.

3 – Add the room temperature/just warm melted chocolate to the cocoa powder+coffee brew mixture and stir together to combine.

4 – Finally add the sour cream/thick unflavoured yoghurt to the chocolate+coffee brew mixture and stir together to combine; these are your wet ingredients.

5 – Place the butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer, cream the fats and sugar together on high speed for roughly 4-5 minutes or until pale and fluffy and most of the sugar has dissolved. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is being mixed properly.

6 – Add in the eggs one at a time, and beat on high speed for roughly 20 seconds with each new addition. 

7 – Add the vanilla extract and beat for another 20 seconds. Remember to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is being mixed properly. Put the mixer down.

8 – Grab the bowl of dry ingredients and the bowl of wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients to the batter in two additions, alternating between dry and wet, and ending with wet (that’s half dry then half wet, followed by remaining dry and then remaining wet). Fold each fresh addition into the batter with a spatula until just incorporated.

9 – Once just-combined (you should see no floury pockets or liquidy pools), stop mixing the batter! Overmixing will result in a dense, stodgy cake. The batter should be homogenous and semi-thick.

10 – Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan, gently smooth out the top with an off-set spatula and then firmly tap it on your counter to pop any air bubbles. 

11 – Bake your chocolate cake for 40-45 minutes at 175OC. The top may bubble and crack, this is expected! For perfectly even heating, you may need to rotate your pan at the 20 minute mark. Be sure to check for doneness at the 40 minute mark; that is, if a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle of your cake comes out clean, it’s done. Ours took exactly 40 minutes.

12 – Remove the cake pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack. Don’t remove the cake from the pan until it’s cool enough to handle, or you will risk breaking it. Once no longer warm, your cake is ready for the next stage. Carefully remove it from the pan, (the top-crust is delicate, almost like a brownie ‘skin’) and wrap it in cling wrap to keep it from drying out, while you move on to Stage 2. If you don’t plan on filling and frosting your cake immediately, cover it in cling wrap and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will stay fresh for 3 days. I like to frost my layer cakes after the sponge has chilled in the fridge overnight, as it is firmer and more structurally sound. 

My oven cannot accommodate two 9 inch cake pans in one go. I make one cake and then cut it in 2 layers. If you’re using 2 cake pans, evenly divide the batter between them, and adjust the cook time to 20-30 minutes. Always strive for even heating with cakes. My oven has both top and bottom heating sources, so I always place my cakes on the middle rack, unless a recipe specifies otherwise. If you’re serious about baking, get to know your oven, and all its “hotspots”. This is essential to evenly cooked baked goods. If your cakes tend to rise unevenly, or get cracks, or dome rapidly and then sink, your oven doesn’t heat up evenly. To compensate for these irregularities, you’ll need to lower the temperature and/or move your pan around during the baking process. Keep in mind, if your oven has a convection mode, avoid using it for cakes if you can. Although it may speed up your overall bake-time, it will also dry out your sponge, and you definitely don’t want that. 

Stage 2: whipped dark chocolate ganache

Ingredients
1. 300 gm high quality couverture dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
2. 150 ml heavy cream at room temperature
3. Good pinch of salt

Look for a couverture chocolate with 70-80% cocoa. Any less and it will be too sweet. Any more and it becomes unpleasantly bitter. Whatever you do, don’t use compound chocolate or candy melts, ever! 

Method
1 – Chop the dark chocolate into small shards.

2 – Place the chopped chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Pour the heavy cream onto the shards. 

3 – Microwave this mixture at 450 watts for 30 seconds. Stir briefly with a spatula and then microwave it for another 20 seconds. Thereafter, keep heating the mixture in 10 second increments till the chocolate has completely melted into the cream, making sure to stir briefly each time. Do not overheat or over-stir! It’s better to go low and slow rather than have a split ganache on your hands. You’re looking to achieve a shiny, thick emulsion with zero lumps. 

4 – Add salt to the hot ganache and stir.

5 – Cover your bowl with cling wrap, making sure to press the plastic down onto the surface of the ganache. Let it rest on your counter till it cools to room temperature. 

6 – Once at room temperature, leave the bowl outside overnight, for the ganache to reach a thick fudge like consistency. If you’re in a hurry, place the covered bowl inside the fridge, where it will need to set until it gets to the right consistency. This will take about 30-60 minutes.

7 – When you’re ready to frost your cake, take the ganache out of the fridge and let it sit on your counter for 5 minutes. The ganache should be thick and set, but not hard. You should be able to scoop it cleanly with a spoon.

8 – We’re now going to transform that dark thick, dark fudge into a fluffy, lighter whip. Using the whisk attachment on your handheld mixer, start at low speed and then whip on high for 30-60 seconds depending on how quickly the mixture becomes fluffy and holds its shape. Do not over-whip, or the ganache could separate or become grainy.

9 – Your whipped dark chocolate ganache is now ready to be used. If you’re not going to frost your cake right away, keep the ganache covered in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to frost, you will need to take it out of the fridge and let it sit until it’s at a spreadable consistency again. If you’ve lost some volume, you can lightly re-whip it for 10-15 seconds.

Chocolate ganache is a confection that consists of chocolate and cream, in varying ratios, depending on how it will be used. For a thick, pipeable ganache that’s perfect for truffles, the chocolate to cream ratio is 2:1. For fillings and frostings or thick glazes, you want a 1:1 ratio. Finally, for thin glazes or drips and dipping, a ratio of 1:2 is required. Read about ganache here. Because I live in a hot and humid location, I toggle with the ratios, whereby I increase the amount of chocolate, for extra stability. In this recipe, I have used the ‘truffle ganache’ ratio to make my frosting as it was an exceptionally warm day. To give yourself the best chance at success, use fresh, high quality couverture chocolate, always. Even when you source the best ingredients, things can still go wrong. A big enough difference in cream and chocolate temperatures, overheating your ganache in the microwave, or even overmixing and over-whipping—anything can result in a greasy, split mess. Err on the side of caution. Be mindful. Be vigilant. Be patient! If you run into trouble with your ganache, read this. You could cover your cake with any sort of frosting, but a ganache frosting is infinitely superior to a buttercream frosting.

Stage 3: Finale; cake construction & assembly

If you’ve made the rich & buttery type of chocolate sponge, be more gentle while assembling your cake layers, as it is crumblier than the light & moist type of chocolate sponge.

Components
1. One 9 inch chocolate cake
2. Whipped dark chocolate ganache

Prep
1 – If the top of your cake is uneven, level it with a large serrated knife.

2 – Torte/split your cake into two layers. Skip this step if you already have 2 cake layers.

3 – Ready your decorating surface. A cake turntable with a cake board is ideal for this. Place the board in the centre of your turntable. 

4 – Fill piping bags with ganache frosting for quick application. Snip the tips about 2 cm wide.

5 – Keep a straight palette knife and an off-set spatula handy.

Method
1– Spread a small bit of frosting on the centre of your cake board. This will be the glue that holds the first cake layer in place.

2 – Place your bottom cake layer on the frosting, base side down.

3 – Going in a circle from the inside out, pipe 1/3rd of the frosting onto the cake’s top surface.

4 – Place your top cake layer atop the frosting, top side down. Lightly press down to secure. 

5 – Rotate your cake turntable to check that both layers are aligned around the entire circumference of the cake. If they’re not, gently manoeuvre them back into alignment.

6 – It’s time to frost the top and sides of the cake. Use the palette knife to spread frosting on the top. While rotating your turntable, apply and spread frosting on the sides of the cake with the offset spatula. Use up all the remaining frosting.

7 – Use the offset spatula to make rustic swirls and waves on the ganache. 

8 – Place your cake in the fridge for 20 minutes to set the frosting.

9 – After it has lightly chilled and just set, take it out of the fridge. Slice large wedges and serve. Now eat!

If you don’t have a turntable you can use a regular platter, but it will take a lot more manoeuvring to decorate your cake. Fully constructed, this cake can stay out at room temperature for an entire day. Thereafter, it’s best to store it in the fridge, in an airtight container. Chilled cake slices must be brought to room temperature before serving, to soften the ganache. 

Tips & Tricks

How to line a round cake pan

How to cut cake layers with floss


Chicken & Couscous

Makes 4-6 servings.

I discovered this dish when I was 18, exactly 18 years ago. Back then, it distinctly belonged to Southern Europe. Over time, it has evolved into a stateless island, influenced by all the lands that touch the Mediterranean Sea between Morocco and Turkey. Here, cinnamon is friends with saffron. Cumin hangs out with parsley. Caraway and paprika fraternise. There are no borders or laws; just unorthodox flavour combinations that warmly fuse together in culinary Xanadu.

At a glance

– This dish comprises cinnamon chicken + vegan couscous ‘pilaf’
– You will need a big cooking pot (4-5 litre capacity) and a wide skillet or frying pan.
– This recipe has been broken into 2 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: cinnamon chicken

Ingredients
1. 10 chicken thigh pieces (bone-in, skinless)

For the marinade:
2. 3-4 fresh red chillies (the thin and long, not too hot kind)
3. 6-7 medium pods of garlic, (or 1 tbsp. garlic paste)
4. 1 tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
5. 1 tsp coriander powder
6. 2 tsp cumin powder
7. ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
8. 1 tbsp. salt
9. 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
10. 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
11. 1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest

This marinade is designed to emulate the taste of harissa with a lot less chilli. You could use store-bought or homemade harissa as well, but I like to control the chilli and spice amounts. This is a sweet, mildly spiced dish. Add as many red chillies as you like to yours. To grind this small an amount of marinade, I find that using a mortar and pestle is best.

For the cook:
12. 2 tbsp. cooking olive oil
13. 2 medium onions, finely diced
14. 8-10 medium garlic pods lightly smashed
15. 150 ml dry white wine
16. 300 ml chicken stock, heated
17. 6-8 saffron strands
18. 1½ tbsp. finely ground cinnamon powder + 50 ml warm water
19. 20 whole and pitted Zahidi or Deglet Noor dates.
20. 20 gm tomato paste
21. Small bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, to yield 1/4th cup chopped parsley
22. Additional salt, to taste

When using cinnamon in this recipe, please look for Ceylon Cinnamon (true cinnamon) powder. Ground Cassia chips (dalchini/darchini) should not be substituted, as they’re not the same thing. Cinnamon is made from the trunk of the tree; and is very fragrant, tastes sweet, and is milder than Cassia. On the other hand, Cassia is made from the bark of the cinnamon tree—and is much coarser, harder, and spicier—making it unsuitable in this dish. Cassia is best used sparingly or as whole chips; to lend a warm note to curries, stews, and more. Plus, because it’s so hardy, you’ll never be able to get a really finely ground powder using cassia chips, no matter how powerful your home grinder. This will make your sauce gritty, unpleasant, and really hard to swallow. Whenever I add cinnamon powder to a liquid, I always make a thick paste and then add it, as that’s the easiest and fastest way to incorporate it. Added directly, the airy cinnamon powder floats around in little bubbles and doesn’t get properly mixed into the sauce.

Prep
1 – Make the marinade. In a small pan, toast the caraway seeds on low heat for 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Take care not to burn them. Transfer the seeds to a mortar and pestle. Wait until the seeds have cooled down and then pound them to a fine powder consistency. In a blender jar or mortar, place the red chillies, garlic pods, ground caraway seeds, coriander and cumin powder, ground black pepper, salt, white wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, and freshly grated lemon zest. Grind the contents until they come together as a thick, smooth paste. 

2 – Wash the chicken pieces and pat them dry. Marinate the chicken pieces with the freshly prepared marinade. Set aside for a minimum of 60 minutes.

3 – Heat up your chicken stock. I used one whole chicken stock cube in 300 ml hot water. Sprinkle the saffron strands in the warm stock to infuse them.

4 – Dice your onions and lightly smash your garlic.

Method
1 – In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil till shimmering. Then lower the flame to medium.

2 – Add the finely diced onions to the pot and begin frying them on low-medium heat. This is a brown curry, so you want to caramelise the onions, low and slow, for 12-13 minutes.

3 – When the onions become light golden, turn the heat to low and toss in the lightly crushed garlic pods. Continue sautéing till both the onions and the garlic are a light golden brown, 3-4 minutes.

4 – Add the marinated chicken pieces along with their marinade to the pot. Sear the meat, frying the pieces on medium-high for approximately 8 minutes or until the chicken pieces are browned. Do not ‘stew’ them on low heat, nor burn or blacken any of the spices, aromatics, or the chicken.

5 – Add the white wine and deglaze the pot. Braise the chicken on medium-high for 3-4 minutes or until you can no longer smell the alcohol.

6 – Add the warm, saffron-infused chicken stock to the pot. Stir to combine. Bring the pot to a gentle, steady simmer. 

7 – In the meantime, mix 2 tablespoons of cinnamon powder with 50 ml warm water. Stir the cinnamon paste well to ensure that there are no lumps or air bubbles. When the pot comes to a simmer, add the cinnamon paste and stir everything together. 

8 – Add the dates to the pot. Then cook the chicken on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, uncovered. The mixture should gently bubble. Cook time will depend on the size of your pieces. Stir the pot occasionally to prevent sticking.

9 – After 10-15 minutes, stir in the tomato paste. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.

10 – Your chicken is cooked at this point. Check it for seasoning. Add salt if desired (I don’t, as there’s enough sodium in the chicken stock). If you like a thinner gravy, turn off the heat now. If you like a glossy, luscious, glaze-like consistency, reduce it till you reach that stage. Since we’re using thigh pieces, a little overcooking won’t dry the meat out. When you’re done, turn the heat off.

11 – Don’t put in the fresh parsley yet, as that will be added right before serving. Your cinnamon chicken is ready! Rest it for at least 15 minutes before serving, or set it aside and move on to Stage 2. 

Cinnamon chicken tastes even better the day after it has been cooked and can be made in advance and stored in the fridge. Reheat your chicken and garnish it with chopped fresh parsley before serving. 

Stage 2: vegan couscous ‘pilaf’

Although the overall dish features chicken, I decided to make this component vegan because it’s so darn delicious and everyone deserves to taste it regardless of their food choices! I often make this without any meat to accompany it and serve it solo, as a meal in itself.

Ingredients
1. 360 gm instant Moroccan couscous

For the cooked couscous mixture:
2. 1 tsp cooking olive oil
3. ½ medium onion to give 1/3rd cup brunoised onions
4. 2 medium pods of garlic, finely minced
5. 1 small carrot (85gm) to give 1/3rd cup brunoised carrots 
6. 10-inch celery stalk to give 1/4th cup brunoised celery 
7. 50 gm Portobello mushrooms to give ½ cup brunoised mushroom
8. ½ of a small red capsicum, to give ½ cup brunoised red capsicum
9. ½ of a small yellow capsicum to give ½ cup brunoised yellow capsicum
10. 1 tsp. cumin powder
11. ½ tsp dried parsley
12. 1 tsp sweet paprika
13. 1 tsp smoked paprika
14. ¼ tsp pepper
15. 1/8th tsp nutmeg
16. 1 tsp salt

For the uncooked couscous mixture:
17. 2 large Turkish dried apricots, chopped into small chunks
18. 20 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
19. 4 mini gherkins, finely diced (brunoised)
20. 1/8 cup capers, whole
21. 10 rehydrated sun dried tomatoes, roughly chopped up
22. 6 whole walnuts, roughly broken
23. 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
24. ¼ cup fresh basil, finely chopped

For the couscous stock
25. 400 ml hot vegetable stock (8 gm vegetable bouillon broth powder + 400 ml hot water)
26. 100 ml freshly squeezed orange juice ( I used Valencia oranges)
27. 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
28. 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Prep
1 – Mince your garlic. 

2 – Brunoise-cut (finely dice) your onion, carrot, celery, mushroom and bell peppers. They needn’t be perfectly symmetrical, but you’re looking for 1/8th inch cubes of veg. 

3 – Dice your gherkins, and chop up your olives and sundried tomatoes.

4 – Dice your apricots into 1/8th inch cubes.

5 – Deseed your pomegranate and collect one-third cups’ worth of arils.

6 – Break your walnuts into rough kernels.

7 – Weigh out your couscous. Place it in a large bowl and set it aside.

8 – Measure out your vegetable stock. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the stock.

9 – Measure out your orange juice and keep it in a heat proof bowl.

Method
1 – In a wide skillet or pan, heat up 1 tsp of cooking olive oil, until shimmering. Lower the heat to minimum.

2 – Add the finely diced onion and minced garlic and sauté on low heat until they are aromatic, 3-4 minutes. Do not brown.

3 – Add in the diced carrot and celery and continue sautéing till lightly softened, about 4 minutes. Do not brown.

4 – Add in the cumin powder and dried parsley. Give it a mix and continue to sauté for a minute.

5 – Raise the heat to medium. Add the diced red and yellow bell pepper, sauté for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown.

6 – Add the diced mushroom to the pan. Continue to sauté on medium for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown.

7 – Turn the heat off. Sprinkle in the salt, the two types of paprika, pepper, and nutmeg. Toss the hot mixture with the spices and set it aside to cool. All the veg should be their original colour and shape. This makes for a riotous, colour speckled, be-jewelled couscous.

8 – Keep some cling wrap handy. Heat up your vegetable stock till it comes to a boil and then turn the heat off. Heat up your orange juice until it is just hot (80OC). Add the extra virgin olive oil, the vegetable stock, and the orange juice to the bowl with the couscous. Give the mixture a quick stir and cover it immediately with cling wrap. Leave it to steam undisturbed for 10 minutes.

9 – In the meantime, chop up your basil.

10 – After 10 minutes, remove the cling wrap and gently fluff up the couscous with a fork, the way you would fluff up steamed rice. The ‘grains’ should be separate but whole.

11 – Add the cooked veg mixture to the couscous. Add the chopped olives, gherkins, sun dried tomatoes, and the capers. Add the diced apricots and the pomegranate arils. Finally add the chopped fresh basil and the broken walnut kernels. Gently combine everything together with a large metal spoon.

12 – Taste the mixture. Add salt if desired. Your couscous ‘pilaf’ is ready.

13 – Just before eating, top your cinnamon chicken with fresh parsley leaves and serve it with a side of couscous pilaf. Now eat!

A true pilaf is a spiced rice preparation. And although couscous appears to be a grain, it is in fact a kind of pasta, usually made with durum wheat or barley. There are 3 main types of couscous; Moroccan couscous – which resembles cracked wheat (dalia), Israeli/Pearl couscous – which is the size of peppercorns, and Lebanese couscous – which is pea-sized. Traditional couscous is steamed over a bubbling broth in a vessel called a ‘couscoussier’ and is fairly complicated and time-consuming to make. Where I live, instant Moroccan couscous is readily available, so that’s what I use. You could use any kind that you like for this dish. To rehydrate instant Moroccan couscous, you generally need to soak it in an equal volumetric measure of hot liquid; that is, 1 cup couscous requires 1 cup of hot liquid.  However, depending on the brand you buy, the amount of liquid may differ. Check your package for instructions.

Sweet Curd Brûlée

Makes 6 servings.

This Diwali, I played with fire and torched something sweet. My target? Sweet curd—or as it is better known, mishti doi. An intensely popular Bengali dessert, it is made by fermenting caramel-tinted, reduced milk. Traditional mishti doi does not contain cardamom, jaggery, or nuts—and is perfect, without the bells and whistles. In my version, I honour all the classic flavours, and then amplify them with fire! When you have a culinary torch, why only light up a crème when you can also light up a curd?

At a glance

– This dish comprises sweet set curd + caramelised sugar topping
– You will need a deep vessel (2 litre capacity), a tall saucepan with a lid, 6 oven proof ramekins, aluminium foil, and a culinary torch.
– This recipe has been broken into 2 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: Sweet set curd

An authentic, traditional sweet curd or mishti doi comprises nothing but full-cream milk, cane sugar, and starter curd. Its characteristic rich and creamy texture is neither achieved by overly reducing the milk, nor by adding thickeners like heavy cream and milk powder. Moreover, it is set the old-school way, with time and patience, not by being baked or steamed.

Ingredients
1. 1 litre fresh, whole/full-cream buffalo milk (not UP or UHT milk)
2. 100 gm white granulated sugar (for the milk) + 100 gm white granulated sugar (for the caramel)
3. 60 ml + 60 ml water (for the caramel)
4. Hot water (as needed)
5. 350-300 gm unflavoured curd (4.5-6 gm fat per 100 gm) with active lactic culture, to yield 180 gm strained curd
6. Pinch of salt

Prep
1 – Strain your curd; place a strainer over a vessel. Line the strainer with a cheesecloth or muslin. 

2 – Place the curd on the cheesecloth. Gather the 4 edges of the cheesecloth and lightly squeeze out the excess whey.

3 – Put the cheesecloth bundle back on the strainer. Let this sit on your counter for an hour, dripping away. Thereafter, your strained or thickened curd is ready to be used. This is our starter curd which will be used to ferment and set our sweet curd.

For your starter curd or ‘dahi ka jamun/dahi ka saancha’, it’s very important to use curd that contains at least 4.5 gm of fat per 100 gm, as well as active lactic culture. Otherwise your sweet curd won’t set up. In Bengal, you simply hop to your nearest Sweet Shop and ask for some ‘tok doi shaancha’ [tawk doh-ee shah-chah]. Here in Mumbai, I have to check the curd packaging to make sure I’ve got the correct stuff. Curd/dahi, is not the same thing as yoghurt, which is made with very specific culture strains and through a different process. Do not buy flavoured yoghurts or even unflavoured Greek yoghurt as you will not get the desired outcome. Always taste your starter curd to check if it’s viable. If your starter curd smells overly sour or fizzy, your set curd will take on the same flavour as well! Don’t throw out the whey. It can be added to curries, dals, and soups or even used to knead flour. Simply store it in the fridge and use it up within a day or two at the most. 

Method
1 – Take a deep vessel and pour in 1 ltr of milk. Place it on the stove and begin heating the milk on medium-high. Stir continuously. 

2 – Once the milk comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium and add in 100 grams of sugar. Give it a stir.

3 – Place a bamboo skewer in the centre of the pot and mark the depth of the milk. Take the skewer out and mark another spot, 1/4th of the way down. You will be reducing the milk to this mark.

4 – Stirring continuously, simmer the milk on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the milk has reduced by 1/4th its volume, that is; 1 litre has reduce to 750 ml. Use your bamboo skewer marker to confirm the depth of the reduced milk. Don’t reduce it any further than this, else you will get ‘kheer doi’ or even ‘shor doi’ rather than traditional mishti doi (both delicious, but not quite what we’re going for). Turn the heat off.

5 – It’s time to caramelise the sugar. Put 100 gm sugar and 60 ml water in a small saucepan and give it a stir to make sure all the sugar crystals are well coated with water.

6 – Place the saucepan on the stove and begin heating this sugar mixture on medium. You can stir the mixture at this point to encourage the sugar to dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and pop the lid on. Using a lid is the easiest way to prevent your sugar from crystallizing, as the built up steam will drip down and melt any stray sugar particles on the sides of your pan. If you’re worried about uneven heating, swirl the entire pan on the hob. This a wet caramel, so do not stir it at all.

7 – Watch your saucepan like a hawk, lifting the lid to peek at the mixture every now and again. Once the water has completely boiled away and the remaining sugar is a pure, clear liquid (160OC); lower the heat to minimum and take the lid off.

8 – As soon as the caramel turns amber (170-173OC), take it off the stove as it will continue to darken.

9 – Once the caramel is a nice medium-dark amber (174-176OC) add a splash of water (60 ml or so) and stir vigorously (be very careful as it will sputter and steam). Adding water will stop the caramel from cooking as well as cool it down, which is essential before adding it to the milk. 

10 – Once the caramel is a bit cooler (roughly 170OC), add it to the hot milk and stir very well. Also add in a pinch of salt at this point. Stir.

11 – Put the milk back on the heat and cook the mixture for an additional 2-3 minutes on low heat or until all the caramel has fully combined with the milk. Don’t worry if you still see hard bits of caramel. Just add in a splash of hot water and continue heating and stirring until they dissolve.

12 – Take your vessel off the heat. Whisk the hot milk vigorously. This will break down the cream and disperse it into the milk, resulting in a thicker, homogenous curd. Set it aside until it comes down to a temperature of 44OC (slightly hotter than ‘blood warm’).

13 – In the meantime, transfer your strained curd to a medium bowl and whisk it until it is lump free, smooth, and creamy.

14 – Get your 6 ramekins. Put 1/4th teaspoon of whisked curd into each ramekin. Set them aside.

15 – Cut 6 squares of aluminium foil measuring 5×5 inches. Set them aside.

16 – Once your milk has cooled to 44OC, work fast. Ladle about half a cup of warm milk into your bowl of whisked curd. Whisk it together until it is well combined and smooth. This will temper the milk and prevent it from curdling. Add the rest of the milk in half cup increments until you run out of milk, whisking well between each addition to ensure that the mixture is homogenous.

17 – Divide the warm mixture among your 6 ramekins (roughly 155 ml per ramekin). Using a small whisk or a milk frother, whisk the mixture in each ramekin to combine it with the quarter teaspoon of curd you had added earlier on.

18 – Immediately cover each ramekin tightly with a square of aluminium foil. Quickly but carefully transfer the ramekins to a warm, stable spot to set. Wrap them snugly in some towels for extra cosiness and then leave them alone. They need to peacefully incubate so that the fermentation process can occur undeterred. It can take anywhere from 10-24 hours for your sweet curd to set. Be patient! Mine took 20 hours to set up, and I live in a warm climate!

19 – Once they have set, place them in the fridge for 4-12 hours to further set up. Overnight is best. They’re then ready for Stage 2.

Not all milks are suitable for this recipe. Curd cultures require milk that has not been treated beyond simple pasteurization and homogenization. Sweet curd is even trickier. The first time I tried to make mishti doi, I used UHT milk from a reputed company. It was a spectacular fail! To make it successfully, you need to use fresh whole/full-cream milk—the kind that has been only minimally treated. Contrary to popular belief, the signature ‘laal’ or warm brown colour of mishti doi is achieved with caramelised sugar and not with date palm jaggery, which is available only during winter. I have never made a jaggery flavoured curd, as it could cause the curd to have issues setting, resulting in a watery output. Additionally, this is a Crème Brûlée style dessert, so the caramelised cane sugar top pairs well with the cane sugar caramel in the curd itself. Some recipes instruct you to first make your caramel and then add your milk to the hot caramel. While this may seem like an easier method; adding milk to hot caramel can cause the milk to curdle. Yes, it’s happened to me! To avoid this, I recommend first boiling and reducing your milk and then adding slightly cooled caramel to the hot milk.

Stage 2: Caramelised sugar topping

Components
1. 40gm castor sugar or baker’s sugar
2. 6 ramekins of sweet set curd

Method
1 – Remove the ramekins from the fridge at least 15 minutes prior to browning their tops. 

2 – Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of castor sugar on the surface of each curd. Try to get as even a layer of sugar as possible for even caramelisation.

3 – Use a culinary torch to brown the sugar topping on your curd. Slowly sweep the flame back and forth, taking care not to stay too long in one spot. You’ll begin to see a nice, caramel-coloured, speckled glaze form on top of the curd. When you’re done, you’ll have a hard, glass-like coating of caramelised sugar on top. Never caramelised sugar with a torch before? Watch this.

4 – Once you’re done, wait 5 minutes for the sugar to harden before serving. If you want to re-chill the curd, place the ramekins back in the fridge, uncovered, for 30 minutes. If you live in a humid climate, your caramel tops won’t stay hard for very long, especially once they’ve been removed from the fridge and attract condensation. Crack into each sweet curd brûlée quickly and devour!

Do not use large granulated sugar for your brûlée topping as it won’t caramelise fast enough or evenly. I have not tried to brown these sweet curds using my oven’s broiling mode as there’s a risk of melting/liquefying the curd underneath. 

Tips & Tricks

Although it contains just 3 ingredients, sweet curd or mishti doi is a technically difficult dish to pull off. Anyone who claims that making it is easy, is either incredibly skilled, or is lying. Most recipes out there are vague, lack helpful instructions, and even outright misguide. After multiple failed attempts at replicating the exact texture, colour, and flavour of sweet shop mishti doi based on others’ recipes, I did my own research, testing, and troubleshooting. To give yourself the best shot at making this dessert, do follow all the instructions and tips below. They cover everything I wish I’d known before I made my first substandard mishti doi!

Ingredients troubleshooting

Will UHT/UP milk work if it’s whole/full-cream milk?
No. To make it shelf-stable or long-life; ultra-high temperature treated milk (UHT), or ultra-pasteurized milk (UP) is cooked to 135OC or higher. This denatures the proteins and makes it unsuitable for culturing and curdling. Fresh milk, either raw or pasteurized/semi-pasteurized works best. 

Can I use low fat or skimmed milk for this recipe?
No. Making homemade curd requires fat to thicken and set. Sweet curd needs it even more owing to the sugar content. Without whole/full cream milk, you’ll end up with a loose, watery curd.

Can I use cow or goat milk for this recipe?
I have always used buffalo milk to make this, as it’s the creamiest of them all. My guess is that cow or goat milk will result in a less-thick sweet curd.

Can I use any kind of yoghurt as a starter?
Ideally, no. Yoghurt is made with very specific culture strains and through a different process. Whenever I have used yoghurt as a starter, my curd has gotten a ‘slim/gooey’ texture. Look for a curd with active lactic culture and at least 4.5-6 gm fat per 100 gm serving. Remember, your starter curd needs to be sour and not sweet!

Can I use homemade curd/dahi as a starter?
Definitely! Just make sure it was made with full cream/whole milk, and smells and tastes fresh. Homemade curd normally contains more whey than store bought curd, so you may need to start with a bigger amount of curd to get 180 gm of strained curd.

Why do I need so much starter curd?
Regular curd only requires 15 gm (1 tbsp.) of curd starter per 250 ml of milk. Owing to its high sugar content, sweet curd requires 4 times the amount of starter to set. That’s 60 gm (4 tbsp.) of starter per 250 ml of milk, or 180 gm in total for 750 ml of milk. 

Do I need to add this much sugar?
You are free to use less, but it won’t taste like store bought mishti doi. I have experimented with a smaller amount of sugar and the sweet curd tasted too sour.

Can I use gur/jaggery rather than sugar?
Sure, but it won’t be a traditional mishti doi. Jaggery can only be added to milk after the milk has been cooked and the heat is off. Otherwise the milk can split. Jaggery also thins out the texture of the milk, so you’ll need to compensate by over-reducing the milk to get the curd to set. 

Method troubleshooting

Is straining the curd the same as hanging the curd?
Not quite. Straining entails draining out the whey for just an hour or so. The process of making hung curd is much longer (4-24 hours depending on the type of curd), where the whey is drained out completely. What you’re left with is a thick spreadable, almost cream cheese like product. This is perfect for dips, stuffing inside kebabs, and making shrikhand and bhapa doi; but unnecessary for mishti doi.

Do I reduce my milk by 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4?
The internet is filled with recipes that point you in different directions. So which way should you go? I’ve gone in all, and only one direction is correct.
Let’s take 1 litre of milk.
3/4th volume reduction = 250 ml milk remaining. That’s practically a rabri. Not the texture you want here.
Now a 1/2 volume reduction = 500 ml milk remaining. That’s how you make evaporated milk. Factor in the sugar and you’ve got condensed milk. Again, not the consistency you want here.
Finally, 1/4th volume reduction = 750 ml remaining. Must be right, right?
To add authority to my experiments, I contacted the Bengali sweets stalwarts at Balaram Mullik. Here’s what they had to say, “If you use fresh, whole/full-cream buffalo milk, you may not have to reduce it at all. If you must, reduce the milk by no more than 1/4th.” FYI, they make 3 types of sweet curd using buffalo milk; normal Mishti Doi (no milk reduction), Kheer Doi (1/2 milk reduction), and Shor Doi (3/4th milk reduction). Rasmalai is their only sweet dish that is made with cow milk.

Can I make caramel without constantly monitoring the temperature?
Yes, you can eyeball it; as long as you have some experience in making caramel, you watch your pan like a hawk, and have quick reflexes and good hand-coordination. Caramel can go from sweet to just right to bitter to burnt in under 15 seconds. Never use dark pans while making caramel as you won’t be able to gauge the colour correctly. Because caramel can burn easily or splutter with the addition of liquids, always use tall, heavy-bottomed pots when making it. 3-5 ply stainless steel pots are ideal. Non-stick cookware should be avoided at all costs as they’re not designed to take the high heat of caramel. To learn more about caramel, read this and this.

Can I follow the dry caramel method?
Sure. Feel free to make the caramel the way you know how. I always start with a wet caramel because my sugar never crystalizes with this method. Just remember to bring the temperature of the caramel down with a splash of water before you add it to your reduced milk.

Can I make my caramel first, and then add milk to it?
You could, but it’s risky. Caramel gets extremely hot, and becomes slightly acidic at high temperatures. When you add room temperature or even warm milk to very hot caramel, it can curdle the milk, no matter how steadfastly you whisk. When this happens, the milk proteins will congeal and you’ll see small, brown, spongey bits suspended in your milk. This happened to me, and no amount of going at it with an emersion blender could save it. To err on the side of caution, get your milk hot first, then make your caramel. Thereafter, cool your caramel with a splash of water and then add it, bit by bit to your hot milk. It’s better to wash one extra pan than ruin an entire litre of milk.

What if my caramel clumps up and hardens when I add it to the milk?
This can happen if the milk has cooled down too much. Don’t worry if you still see hard bits of caramel floating around in the milk. Reheating the milk on low will gradually melt the caramel. This may take a good 12-15 minutes of reheating and stirring, so you may need to add a splash of hot water to top up your milk and keep it from over-reducing (1/4th reduction only, remember?). If you’re still stuck with some stubborn clumps of hard candy even after 15 minutes of heating and stirring, strain them out of your milk and devour them as a revenge snack!

Why must my reduced milk be at 44OC?
To ferment milk into curd, it’s necessary to create a warm environment for the active lactic culture to do its work. If your milk’s too hot you’ll get a runny, liquidy curd, and if your milk’s too cold, your curd won’t set at all. Unsweetened curd will set if your milk is at ‘blood-warm’ temperature or 40OC. However, because sweet curd requires more starter curd than normal to set, the temperature of the milk will drop a lot more with the addition of the starter. Therefore, your milk must be slightly hotter than just ‘blood warm’. If you don’t have a food thermometer, you must rely on your instincts and do the ‘finger’ test. Feel the vessel first. If it’s still hot-ish to the touch, carefully dip a clean finger into the milk. You should be able to keep your finger suspended in the milk for 5 seconds without fighting the urge to yank it back. 

What’s the best vessel in which to set my sweet curd?
Hands down, earthen clay pots. The porous nature of this material allows extra water to leech out, resulting in a thicker curd than if you were to use any other non-porous materials such as glass, ceramic, steel, or plastic. I used ceramic ramekins in my recipe because of the brûlée aspect only.

Why do I need to be quick when it’s time to wrap the curd and leave it to set?
When it comes to setting sweet curd, timing and temperature go hand in hand. Active lactic culture needs warmth (incubation) and stillness, to ferment the milk into curd. If the milk cools down before you leave it to set, the culture will prematurely perish and your curd won’t set.

Can’t I just bake the curd or steam it like a custard?
No. A baked or steamed sweet curd is called a Bhapa Mishti Doi and calls for completely different ingredients and techniques.

Does it seriously take 14-24 hours to set?
Yup. I live in a warm climate and it took mine 20 hours to set up. If you live somewhere cold or it’s wintertime, create a warm, cosy environment, by pre-heating your oven for 10 minutes at 180OC. Then put your covered ramekins inside your warm oven and place a towel over and around them, and leave them to set.

Can I check on my curd every hour or so?
No. For the same reason that you shouldn’t open the oven door every 5 minutes to check if your cake is baked. Just as you lose heat every time the oven door is opened, constantly removing the towel and lifting the foil on your curd will result in loss of warmth and a halt to the setting process. Check your curd only after 10 hours of incubation. If it doesn’t look close to set, check it again after 4 hours and so on. Do not incubate your curd for more than 24 hours, as it will become overly sour and unpleasant. Fully set, it should have just the faintest jiggle. Refrigerate your curd only once it has set. 

What happens if the curd hasn’t set even after 24 hours?
To quote the immortal Aaliyah, “if at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again”. In the meantime, sniff your unset curd. If it doesn’t smell spoilt—all is not lost—you could whisk it up, pretend it’s thin, sweet lassi and drink it!



5-way Caramel Cupcakes

Makes 12 standard sized cupcakes.

I used to cringe at caramel. But after making my own batch, I realised it gets a bad rap because the commercially made stuff is too sweet. There are five (whaaaat?) types of caramel flavours in this cupcake—molasses, butterscotch, “caramelised” milk, “caramelised” white chocolate, and finally, true caramel. It’s utterly decadent without being utterly sweet. Flecked with savoury hits of salt, and just a shade bitter, this is a cupcake that will carry your taste buds all the way to the coveted land of umami.

At a glance

– This recipe comprises butterscotch cupcakes + Dulce de Leche filling + whipped blonde chocolate ganache + salted caramel sauce
– You will need standard cupcake liners, a standard 12-cup cupcake pan, (or individual moulds), some piping bags, and a large star piping tip.
– This recipe has been broken into 5 stages for ease and comprehension. Please read the entire recipe from start to finish before beginning.

Stage 1: butterscotch cupcakes

Ingredients
1. 115 gm unsalted butter, at room temperature
2. 200 gm dark muscovado sugar 
3. 100 gm white granulated sugar
4. 2 large eggs (114 gm), at room temperature
5. 190 gm all purpose flour
6. 3/4th tsp baking powder
7. ½ tsp salt
8. 120 ml milk (whole, not low-fat)
9. 1 tsp vanilla extract
10. 50 gm butterscotch candy bits

Dark muscovado sugar or ‘dark khandsari’ with its strong molasses flavour and deep brown colour, is essential to this recipe. Using regular dark or soft brown sugar will not give you the same rum-like notes of caramel. When procuring butterscotch candy bits, please ensure that they’re baking grade, which means they will stand up to oven temperatures.

Prep
1 – Smash the butterscotch candy bits into little chunks. It’s nice to have a mix of both chunky and fine bits. 

2 – In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift them together and keep aside. This is your dry mixture.

3 – Line your cupcake pan or individual moulds with cupcake liners. Keep aside.

Method
1 – Start preheating your oven at 175OC.

2 – Place the butter and two types of sugar in a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugars together on high speed for roughly two minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy.

3 – Add in the eggs one at a time, and beat at high speed for roughly 20 seconds with each new addition. 

4 – Add the vanilla extract and beat for another 20 seconds. Remember to periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is being mixed properly. Put the mixer down.

5 – Add the dry mixture to your bowl. Turn your mixer down to the lowest speed and begin to mix. Keeping the mixer on low speed, slowly pour in the milk. Once just-combined (you should see no floury pockets or liquidy pools), stop mixing the batter! Overmixing will result in a dense, stodgy cupcake.

6 – Tip in the butterscotch candy bits and gentle fold them into the batter with a spatula.

7 – Spoon this batter evenly into your 12 cupcake liners. Fill each liner only half way full (roughly 2 ½ tablespoons of batter per cupcake liner).

8 – Bake for 22-28 minutes at 175 OC. For perfectly even heating, rotate your pan at the 11 minute mark. Be sure to check for doneness at the 20 minute mark; that is, if a bamboo skewer inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, they’re done. 

9 – Remove the pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack. Don’t remove the cupcakes from the pan till they come to room temperature. Once no longer warm, your cupcakes are ready for the next stage. Store them in an airtight container while you move on to Stage 2. If you don’t plan on filling and frosting your cupcakes immediately, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh(ish) for 3 days, although you will lose some moistness. Bring them back to room temperature before proceeding with any of the other stages.

Always strive for even heating with cakes. My oven has both top and bottom heating sources, so I always place my cakes on the middle rack, unless a recipe specifies otherwise. If you’re serious about baking, get to know your oven, and all its “hotspots”. This is essential to evenly cooked baked goods. If just a few of your cupcakes tend to rise unevenly, or get cracks, or dome rapidly and then sink, their spot in the oven is too hot. To compensate for these irregularities, you’ll need to lower the temperature and/or move your pan around during the baking process. Keep in mind, if your oven has a convection mode, avoid using it for cakes if you can. Although it may speed up your overall bake-time, it will also dry out your sponge, and you definitely don’t want that.

Stage 2: Dulce de Leche filling

Dulce de Leche is a Latin American origin confection that is made by slowly heating sweetened milk until it becomes the colour and consistency of “scoopable” caramel sauce. Homemade Dulce de Leche is a lot sweeter than the slow-simmered original, but it’s a close substitute. And while it looks like caramel and even tastes like caramel, it’s not caramel! Instead, it gets its colour and flavour by way of the ‘Maillard reaction’. See this to know more. Nervous about making it? Watch this video for a quick tutorial.

Ingredients
1. 200 gm can of sweetened condensed milk (must be still sealed in the can)
2. ½ tsp coarse salt

Materials
1. A pot that will fit the can fully submerged
2. Enough water to submerge the can by 2 inches
3. A kettle or vessel with at least 1 ltr of hot water
4. Large tongs

Method
1 – Remove any paper or plastic labels from your can of condensed milk.

2 – Take a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Place the can, standing, in the centre of the pot.

3 – Fill the pot with enough water to submerge the can by 2 inches.

4 – Set the pot to boil on high. As soon as the water begins to boil, lower the flame to minimum. Using tongs, carefully turn the can on its side and continue “cooking” the can for 3 hours. You will need to check the pot every half hour, to make sure that the can remains submerged by at least 2 inches of water at all times. Top up the level with hot water as needed.

5 – After 3 hours, turn off the stove. Remove the can from the water and let it come down to room temperature naturally. This may take 1-2 hours. 

6 – Open the can and stir in the coarse salt. Keep this mixture in a sterilised airtight jar until it’s ready to be used.

This quantity of sweetened condensed milk yields enough Dulce de Leche to fill 24+ cupcakes. You will need roughly 12-14 teaspoons worth for the cupcake filling in this recipe. I make my Dulce de Leche in advance, and keep it refrigerated, ready for use, anytime. Leftovers make for a great spread on toast and will last indefinitely in the fridge or your pantry cupboard.

Stage 3: whipped blonde chocolate ganache

Part 1 – Turn your white chocolate, blonde

If you have blonde chocolate on hand, you can skip Part 1 entirely. Otherwise, like the rest of us mortals, you will need to “caramelise” white chocolate until it becomes blonde. Why have I put caramelise within double quotation marks? Because chocolate can’t actually be caramelised. Caramelising involves high heat, which would flat out burn it. In truth, white chocolate becomes caramel coloured & flavoured due to the ‘Maillard reaction’. So, it would be more accurate to say we’re “Maillarding the chocolate”! See this to know more. In this step, you’ll subject your chocolate to prolonged heating. That’s why it’s essential to use high quality couverture chocolate. Compound chocolate or candy melts will not work, as they will get dry, chalky, and burn. Clueless about “caramelising” chocolate in the microwave? Watch this video for a quick tutorial.

Ingredients
200 gm high quality couverture white chocolate (30-36% fat content)

Method
1 – Chop the white chocolate into small shards.

2 – Place the chopped chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl and set your microwave’s power to 900 watts.

3 – Microwave your chocolate for 60 seconds. Pull out your bowl and give it a stir. Your chocolate should be completely melted. 

4 – Keep returning the bowl of melted chocolate to the microwave for 30 seconds at a time; stirring between each additional 30 seconds. What you’re aiming for is a colour and texture akin to very smooth and runny peanut butter. I had to return my bowl to the microwave 60 times to get the desired colour and consistency! That’s 60 x 30 second bursts. Depending on your microwave, you may be able to do it faster/slower. As your chocolate gradually browns, it will go through some massive textural changes; thickening, catching, drying out, become grainy and eventually re-emulsifying. Do not panic, this is perfectly normal. As long as you use top quality chocolate, heat it for just 30 second increments, and stir well after each increment, nothing will burn and all will be well. 

5 – When you reach the desired consistency, line a small, shallow baking tray with some parchment. Pour your hot “caramelised” white chocolate into the parchment lined tray and leave it in a cool dry place to solidify overnight. Do not refrigerate. It won’t become solid like a chocolate bar, as it has not been ‘tempered’ correctly, but it will be perfectly fine to use in a ganache. Once it’s solid, your blonde chocolate is ready.

Part 2 – Make your ganache

Ingredients
1. 200 gm homemade blonde chocolate or 200 gm high quality couverture blonde chocolate
2. 85 gm heavy cream at room temperature
3. ½ tsp vanilla extract (leave out, if your chocolate already contains vanilla)
4. ½ tsp salt

Method
1 – Chop the chocolate into small chunks. Pour the heavy cream onto the chocolate chunks.

2 – Microwave this mixture at 450 watts for 30 seconds. Stir briefly with a spatula and then microwave it for another 20 seconds. Thereafter, keep microwaving the mixture in 10 second increments till the chocolate has completely melted into the cream. Make sure to stir between each additional 10 seconds. You’re looking to achieve a glossy, creamy emulsion with zero lumps. 

3 – When your ganache has reached the correct consistency, stir in the vanilla and salt. 

4 – Cover your bowl with cling wrap, making sure to press the plastic down onto the surface of the ganache. Let it rest on your counter until it cools to room temperature. 

5 – Once at room temperature, place the covered bowl inside the fridge, where it will need to set until it gets to the spreadable consistency of peanut butter. I like to chill mine overnight. 

Part 3 – Whip your ganache

1 – When you’re ready to frost your cupcakes, take the ganache out of the fridge and let it sit on your counter for 5 minutes or so. Stir the mixture with a spatula to ensure that it’s smooth and homogenous.

2 – We’re now going to transform that gooey beige paste into a fluffy, light, caramel-coloured frosting. Using the whisk attachment on your handheld mixer, start at low speed and then whip the ganache on high for 30-60 seconds, depending on how quickly the mixture becomes fluffy, light, and holds its shape. 

3 – Your whipped blonde chocolate ganache is now ready to be piped. If you’re not going to frost your cupcakes right away, keep it covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to frost, you will need to take it out of the fridge and let it sit until it’s at a pipeable consistency again. If you’ve lost some volume, you can lightly re-whip it for 10-15 seconds. 

White chocolate ganache is usually made in a chocolate to cream ratio of 3:1, or 4:1 for extra stability in hot and humid weather. Blonde white chocolate ganache is made in a chocolate to cream ratio of 5:3, or 5:2 in hot weather. When working with chocolate, always take your time. Be mindful. Be vigilant. Be patient! Ganache frostings take a lot of effort and you could frost your cupcake with anything really. But take my word for it; a ganache frosting is infinitely superior to any kind of buttercream frosting.

Stage 4: salted caramel sauce

Ingredients
1. 220 gm white castor sugar
2. 120 ml water
3. 245 ml heavy cream at room temperature
4. 1 tsp vanilla extract 
5. 1 heaped tsp coarse salt

Method
1 – Combine the vanilla and cream in a small jug.

2 – Take a large, heavy-bottomed steel saucepan. Put in the sugar and water and give it a stir.  

3 – Place the saucepan on medium heat. You can stir the mixture at this point to encourage the sugar to dissolve. Once the sugar has dissolved, stop stirring and pop the lid on. This is the easiest way to prevent your mixture from crystallizing, as the condensation formed will drip down and melt any stray sugar particles on the sides of your pan. If you’re worried about uneven heating, swirl the entire pan on the hob. Do not stir wet caramel. Ever.

4 – Watch your saucepan like a hawk, lifting the lid to peek at the mixture every now and again. Once the water has completely boiled away, and the remaining sugar is a pure, clear liquid (160OC), lower the heat to minimum and take the lid off.

5 – As soon as the caramel turns amber (170-173OC), start paying close attention to the pan.

6 – Once the caramel is a nice medium-dark amber, (174-176OC) get ready to act. It doesn’t take long for caramel to go from sickly sweet, to perfectly bitter sweet, to burnt and unusable. We’re going to push the colour and flavour of the caramel right to very edge.

7 – When the caramel goes a dark amber colour (180 OC), take the pan off the heat. Mixing continuously, very slowly and carefully trickle in the cream (it will bubble and steam like crazy). Continue mixing, until you have a smooth, homogenous, velvety sauce.

8 – Lastly, add the coarse sea salt and stir until it’s fully dissolved. The sauce is ready. Bring it to room temperature before using. 

9 – Once cooled, store it in an airtight jar.

If you’ve never made caramel before, read this and this. The amounts mentioned here yield enough salted caramel sauce to drizzle over all of your cupcakes and still have loads to spare. Store leftover sauce in a sterilised airtight container in the fridge, and it will keep indefinitely. Pour it on ice cream, whipped cream, yoghurt, just about anything that strikes your fancy. 

Stage 5: Finale; cupcake construction & assembly

Components
1. Butterscotch cupcakes
2. Dulce de Leche
3. Whipped blonde chocolate ganache
4. Salted caramel sauce

Prep
1 – Transfer ½ cup of Dulce de Leche into a small piping bag. Keep it ready.

2 – Transfer ¼ cup salted caramel sauce into a small piping bag. Keep it ready.

3 – Re-whip your blonde chocolate ganache if it’s lost some volume. Transfer it to a large piping bag with a star piping tip. Keep it ready.

4 – Keep an apple corer handy. If you have a cupcake corer, even better!

Method
1 – Using an apple corer, go 2 ½cm downwards into the cupcake and remove its core. Take care not to go in too deep. Repeat for all 12 cupcakes. Don’t discard the tops! They’ll come in handy in a bit.

2 – Snip off the tip of your Dulce de Leche piping bag. Squeeze about 1 teaspoon’s worth into each cupcake cavity or until the filling just reaches the top.

3 – Trim the cored-out cupcake tops to a height of 1 cm. Plug the cupcakes with the shortened tops (and eat the scraps, you’ve earned it!).

4 – Pipe a generous serving of frosting onto your cupcakes. Watch this to see how to frost a cupcake.

5 – Snip off the tip of your salted caramel piping bag. Drizzle each frosted cupcake with as much caramel as you like. You’re done!

Fully constructed, these will hold up relatively well at room temperature, although the whipped ganache frosting will get a bit flat and weepy on a hot and humid day. For best results, core and fill all the cupcakes ahead of time, but apply frosting and caramel sauce only to the cupcakes you’re going to eat immediately.