Elderberry (or other) Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight is a candy that originated in Turkey in the 1700's. The candy was featured in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", by C.S Lewis. The White Witch tempted a character, Edmund, with Turkish Delight. This easy Turkish Delight recipe will tempt you, too!

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 2 hour, 10 minutes Total Time: 2 hour, 25 minutes Ingredients: 4 cups granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups cornstarch 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 4 1/4 cups water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 1/2 tablespoons elderberry juice or syrup 1 cup icing sugar Vegetable oil or shortening Preparation: In a 9 inch baking pan, grease the sides and bottom with vegetable oil or shortening. Line with wax paper and grease the wax paper. In a saucepan, combine lemon juice, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water on medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves. Allow mixture to boil. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and set aside. An alternate method offered to know when the sugar mixture is ready is by putting a handbowl of cold water next to the sauce pan and periodically test by pouring a drop of sugar into the cold water. If the sugar dilutes in the cold water it's not ready, if it turns to candy it is not ready, if it forms a ball is it ready! Combine cream of tartar, 1 cup corn starch and remaining water in saucepan over medium heat. Stir until all lumps are gone and the mixture begins to boil. Stop stirring when the mixture has a glue like consistency. Stir in the lemon juice, water and sugar mixture. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring frequently. Once the mixture has become a golden color, stir in elderberry. Pour mixture into wax paper lined pan. Spread evenly and allow to cool overnight. Once it has cooled overnight, sift together confectioners sugar and remaining cornstarch. Turn over baking pan containing Turkish delight onto clean counter or table and cut with oiled knife into one inch pieces. Coat with confectioners sugar mixture. Serve or store in airtight container in layers separated with wax or parchment paper. Amended from http://mideastfood.about.com/od/dessertssweetspastries/r/turkishdelight.htm

Ravioli biscuits for cookie monsters like me!

Adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe.

Filling
Juice of 4 oranges or use 400ml of cranberry juice for poaching
Cinnamon stick 1
Dried apricots 15
Sugar 2 Tbsp
Brandy 2 Tbsp

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan.Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then pour into the poached fruit 2 tbsp of brandy. Burn the brandy off by lighting the poached fruit with a match. Take out the cinnamon stick and blend into a pulp.

Dough
Butter 1 c (at room temperature)
Sugar 1 c
Eggs 2 (large ones)
Vanilla 1/2 tsp
Flour 2 c
Baking powder 2 c
Salt 1/2 tsp

Add butter and sugar into a food processor, add a cup of sugar and eggs one at a time. Pour in vanilla essence. Then sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and add one cup at the time to the dough while mixing.

From hereon in refer to photo.
Divide the dough in quarters and form rectangles, gladwrap each one and refrigerate for an hour.
Ensure to momentarily chill the pastry again in the fridge between handling to avoid it running away or cracking.The pastry is easier to handle when chilled.

After an hour heat the fan oven to 200 degrees. Add 20 degrees if you are baking the ravioli in a normal oven.

Take one quarter and roll out the dough on gladwrap with another sheet on the dough in between the roller and the dough. Repeat the process with another quarter until you have two sheet rolled out.(Perhaps keep the other sheet in the fridge while doing this.)

Take a small zip lock bag and fill it with puree. Cut one corner off and use it as a piping bag.
Now squirt five little amounts of apricot puree across and down three rows.
Peel back the gladwrap and fold the second sheet of dough over the bottom sheet.

Take a knife and cut between the little mounts like you would making ravioli. If you have a ravioli cutter, even better.

The oven should be at the right temperature now.Fill an oven tray full of ravioli and bake for 10 minutes. Watch the biscuits carefully so that they don't burn!

Dipping sauce
Greek yoghurt (Easiyo is great)
Honey

Mix yoghurt and honey until combined and pour into a dipping bowl.

Serve with yoghurt as deseert morning or afternoon treat.

'Give yourself a break' prefab cheesecake - Costs a fraction of a real one to make...

Give yourself a break today and grant yourself the best of both worlds - prefab meets Mollie Katzen, vegetarian!

During a walking group meeting a friend confided she uses Edmonds Scone Mix.
As religious I am of what and what not to eat, I got home made scones the traditional way and found that they sucked, so the other day I bought Edmonds Smooth Continental Cheesecake and gave that a try - Fake, maybe. But no flake!

Straight out of the pack expect nothing, so add some flavour like vanilla essence, passionfruit sauce or ginger to give the mix aroma.Or, just glaze it!
Other than that it's all on the pack!

Serve with tinned fruit, peaches, mango. Serve with dessert sauces and cream, flowing or whipped.

If you want to glaze the cheese cake to ramp it up a bit and return to the converted new eco-worldliness of reusing food, glaze it with Moosewood's ginger brandy glaze, or Britta Lieven's Zabaglione glaze as given below:

Make sure OJ and cornstarch are mixed cold or it will create clumps.)

Combine 2 T cornstarch and 3/4 c orange juice, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in 2 T honey, T brandy, and 1/2 t zest.
Serve with a brandy...

Or,
Combine 2 T cornstarch and 3/4 c old gris, sauvignon or other, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in 2 T honey, and lemon 1/2 t zest.
Serve with a glass of dessert wine or Sauterne or lemon icecream/sorbet...


Spread glaze over cheesecake and chill for several hours before serving.The longer you let it chill (for days even) the better it becomes.

Come on over! coconut brulee

I have given up forking out 100 plus dollars on cool recipe books and bought into recipes through hearsay, magazine and tellie which I can splice and merge with my idea of cooking (cheap, cheap, cheap). Here goes a creme brulee one that I picked up from the Listener.
This recipe is SO cheap, quick and easy it's out there for impressing people. It's got me hooked. Great for a Malibu theme dinner party or excuse to get the Hawain shirts back on during winter!

1 can of coconut milk
2 tbsp of palm sugar (but caster sugar will do)
pinch of salt
4 egg yolks

Banana, tinned pineapple pieces or anything tropical that is on special for garnish
4 oven proof tea cups or ramekins
roasting dish

Method

Pour coconut milk into saucepan and combine with salt and sugar. Then warm up the mixture on the stove and set to the side. Whisk well your egg yolks in a separate bowl. Pour the warm coconut milk bit by bit into the yolks whisking all the while. Once everything is combined pour the mixture into the tea cups or ramekins.
Turn on the oven to 180 degrees, fill a roasting dish with boiling water and place the dessert into the water bath for approx 40-60 min. ( Watch a TV show)

Over a saucepan melt the palm sugar (caster) in a splash of water. Garnish the puddings with seasonal tropical fruit or canned tropical fruit.

If you have a blow torch, sprinkle some sugar on the dessert and heat with the torch but it's not necessary.

This dessert is best made, like Lasagna, the night before.