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CAMEL MILK PISTACHIO CAKE



    A time for family gatherings and celebrations, November 18th commemorates the 369th anniversary of independence from Portugal.

    This day also represents the National Day since Qaboos bin Said al Said’s rise to the throne of the Sultanate, as well as his birthday. During this trifecta of a holiday, you’ll see the red, white, and green of Oman’s flag waving freely. These colors have come to represent the geography of Oman in green, the Imamate leaders of the past in white, and the Sultanate itself in red.

    Hence raised the toast in celebration of Sultanate’s big day by making a camel milk pistachio cake, keeping the colours of the Omani flag in mind. The cake was absolutely divine with a super soft texture, and drool-worthy, delicious cream cheese frosting.


    SERVES: 10-12 servings

    PREP TIME: 10 minutes

    BAKING TIME: 20 minutes



    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled

    • 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

    • 1 cup granulated sugar

    • 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

    • 1/2 tsp baking soda

    • 3/4 tsp salt

    • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

    • 3 egg whites, room temperature

    • 2 tbsp full cream labneh, room temperature

    • 1/4 cup full fat Laban (buttermilk), room temperature

    • 3/4 cup whole camel milk, room temperature

    • 1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

    • 3/4 tsp almond extract

    • 1-2 drops of green food colouring (optional)

    For Cream Cheese Frosting:

    • 8 oz cream cheese (Philadelphia slab), room temperature

    • 185g butter, room temperature

    • 1 tsp vanilla extract

    • 1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar



    METHOD

    1. Grease and line two 8” round baking tins with parchment paper.

    2. Using pulse settings on your processor grind pistachios to a fine crumb. If you grind too much it will form into a pistachio spread. So be careful not to over blend.

    3. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add ground pistachios reserving a tablespoon for garnishing later. Mix them well and keep aside.

    4. Cream the butter and sugar in a handheld or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites and whisk on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. In a small bowl, using a hand whisk, whisk labneh and laban together to combine well. Add the laban mix, almond extract and vanilla extract to butter mix, and beat them together.

    5. Now add half milk and half of the dry ingredients to the bowl and give a quick blend until combined. Add the rest of milk and dry ingredients and give a quick blend again until just combined altogether.

    6. Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Leave in pan for 10 minutes, take them out on wire rack to cool completely.

    7. For cream cheese frosting, in a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and vanilla extract, until pale and creamy approximately 2 mins; add cream cheese and blend until smooth and combined well with butter. Add confectioners sugar and beat to thick and fluffy consistency, about 2-3 minutes.

    8. Shave-off the bumps of the cakes to level them for layering, place one layer of cake on top of the cake stand or cake board, keeping the cut side up, add big dollops of cream cheese icing and level it with off-set knife, place the second layer of cake on top keeping cut side down and smooth side up. Spread the rest of icing on sides and top of the cake; decorate with reserved pistachio crumbs and fresh flowers if you wish.


    COOK'S NOTES:

    • Cow’s milk can be replaced in the recipe if you can get hold of the camel milk.

    • Please use full fat milk for the soft and spongy texture of the cake.


    GLUTEN-FREE EGGLESS BROWNIES



      These rich, fudgy, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free Ragi (finger millet) brownies are guilt-free indulgent treats. Amazingly delicious and much more fudgy than the classical flour brownies. Experimenting with different ingredients and finding similar results of the traditional recipe could be challenging and chances are of failure in your first attempt, but to my surprise my first attempt was a great success. These are super fudgy and moist that your hand won’t stop at just one. I couldn’t resist myself from eating 4 slices in a row... yes you heard it right, “4 slices”!! Damn, they were simply irresistible, but was quiet complacent of the fact that I was digging into some guilt-free indulgence.


      These gooey goodness are made with Ragi flour, also known as finger millet, an ancient grain which is a powerhouse of nutrition. It helps control diabetes, weight loss, reverse skin ageing, and a great source of protein and calcium too. Try these and you won’t go back to your traditional brownies. It’s baking time!

      YIELDS: 16

      PREP TIME: 15 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 30 minutes

      PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour



      INGREDIENTS

      • 1 cup ragi (finger millet) flour

      • 1/2 cup oats flour

      • 1 cup brown sugar

      • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, room temperature

      • 275g semi sweet chocolate chips

      • 150g butter, cut into cubes

      • 1 tsp vanilla extract

      • 1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped

      For Frosting:

      • 125g semi-sweet chocolate chips

      • 3 tbsp sour cream, room temperature

      For Sugar Glaze (Optional):

      • 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

      • 2-3 tsp milk



      METHOD

      1. Grease and line 8x8” square pan. Preheat oven at 180° C.

      2. In a heatproof bowl melt chocolate and butter together over a double boiler until they are just melted, gently combine them with a spatula, and remove bowl from the double boiler.

      3. Add sugar to the chocolate mix, combine with spatula, let it cool for 2 minutes. Add Greek yogurt and gently fold to combine well.

      4. In a bowl, sieve ragi and oats flour and add half the quantity to the chocolate mix and gently fold them with a spatula. Add rest of the flours and fold to combine well. Add pecan nuts to the brownie batter and mix.

      5. Now pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool in pan completely, transfer on a tray or chopping board, upside down.

      To Make Frosting:

      1. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler, as it melts remove from double boiler and add sour cream; mix gently with the help of a spatula until it’s well combined and glossy.

      2. Let it cool down, about 5 minutes.

      3. Pour over the brownie block and spread it with offset spatula. Let the frosting set for an hour and cut it into 16 squares and serve.

      To Make Glaze:

      1. To glaze the brownies, mix together confectioners sugar and milk and make like a stream dropping consistency, drizzle over the set frosted brownies.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • Check if your oat flour is gluten free if you're intolerant as they can often be contaminated in factories (though oat flour is gluten free).


      STRAWBERRY NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE



        The weather is still warm and insisting you to dig into cooler desserts. My daughter asked me to make her favorite strawberry cheesecake one more time before she leaves for her Uni, and how can a mum say no when you know your child won’t be home for months!


        I saw these luscious strawberries at Carrefour and thought I’ll make these one more time before the king of the summer fruit, the mango, takes over. It’s an eggless, no-bake beauty which won’t take much of your time at all! It’s super simple, I've made a video tutorial for you to follow along here, or read the recipe down below!

        SERVES: 4

        PREP TIME: 15 minutes

        COOKING TIME: 10 minutes

        REFRIGERATION TIME: 4-6 hours




        INGREDIENTS

        • 6 digestive biscuits

        • 1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

        • 60g butter, melted

        • 150g cream cheese, room temperature

        • 100g crème fraîche, room temperature

        • 1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted

        • 1/2 cup heavy cream

        • 8 strawberries, cut in half

        • 150g frozen strawberries

        • 1/2 cup orange juice

        • 1/2 tsp lemon juice

        • 2/3 cup caster sugar

        • 1 1/2 Gelatin sheet

        • Few strawberries for garnishing



        METHOD

        1. To make crust, pulse digestive biscuits and 1 1/2 tbsp sugar together in blender until fine crumbs are formed.

        2. Transfer to a bowl, stir in melted butter and divide in 4 dessert cups (6 cm deep) and press gently. Place in fridge for 20 minutes.

        3. In an electric mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and crème fraîche and icing sugar until combined. In a separate bowl beat heavy cream until medium-stiff peaks are formed, fold it in the cream cheese mixture.

        4. To make jelly, soak Gelatin sheets in cold water; combine frozen strawberries, caster sugar, orange juice and lemon juice and bring it boil and cook for 5-7 minutes until strawberries collapse and sugar dissolves, stir in soaked gelatin sheets until melted and mixed together. Cool it.

        5. Take glass dessert cups out of fridge, arrange strawberries inside cups with cut side facing out and touching the glass, pour the prepared cream cheese mixture on top and cover just 1cm above strawberries.

        6. Now pour strawberry jelly on top, garnish with whipped cream swirl and some strawberries.


        For a quick video tutorial, watch it here!



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