How to make Marzipan from scratch!!!

by Trisha Vaz
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve received numerous requests from readers for my marzipan recipe used for my Easter goodies. Its taken me this long to post it as I’ve got it scribbled on a tiny piece of paper and I haven’t had much time to hunt for it or type it out. But I finally managed to track it down and type it out. That too, just in time for Easter. So this post is for all of you who’ve waited so patiently for it.

 

 
This Easter, why don’t you try making some goodies at home. Marzipan is a little finicky to get right but I’ve used this recipe that specifies exact time for cooking it. That makes it easier to handle. I’ve used this for years now and find it easier compared to some of the other recipes. I know that traditionally marzipan calls for almonds to be used, however, cashew nuts are more abundant here than almonds are so this recipe uses cashew nuts. 
 
 
Marzipan

 

200gms Cashew nuts, ground to a powder
400gms Sugar
150ml Water
½ tsp Almond Extract
 
Melt sugar in the water over the fire on high heat.
 
After the sugar melts, add the powdered cashew nuts and stir on low
heat for exactly 7 minutes.
 
Remove on a flat dish and add the almond essence.
 
Allow it to cool by stirring with a spoon or spatula.
 
Bind into a dough, color and use as desired.
 
Note:

 – If the marzipan turns too dry add a couple of drops of rose water and knead till it reaches desired consistency.
 – If the marzipan is slightly moister than you’d like, knead with some icing sugar till it reaches the desired consistency.
 – If the dough is too moist, put in back on the fire for a minute or so and stir. This step is usually not needed. I had to do this just once when using a different stovetop and the lowest flame was way to low than what you’d find on a regular stove top.

 
 
 

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes, Vegan

Week 9 of 12WOCC: 2nd issue of Double Treats … Coconut Toffee & Milk Cream

by Trisha Vaz
UPDATE: I’ve added a new, better picture for the milk cream and the video recipe for it at the end of the post. The recipe is still the same great recipe. 

As promised in last weeks post, this week as well, I’m sharing 2 lovely treats. One is a little time consuming, the other far quicker. Both of these can be found on the traditional Goan Christmas sweets platter. These are none other than Milk Cream and Coconut Toffee. I simply love them both very much. I remember when I was a kid, my Nana (may she rest in peace), would be solely responsible for whipping up the coconut toffee and to this day I remember, she would tinker about the kitchen for about 15-20 minutes at the most and voila, the coconut toffee was ready. We then simply had to wait for it to cool. I’ve always been a big coconut toffee lover (Bounty being one of my favourite candy bars) but since my Nana passed away, we never made this any more. I wonder why. This year that is about to change.

Now the Milk Cream was a completely different story. You see, neither my Nana or my Mum knew how to make milk cream, but my Aunt used to make some of the best milk cream I’ve ever had to this date. She guarded her recipe with her life. Eventually, I managed to persuade her to share the recipe with me and she obliged. So I came home and decided that I was going to make Milk Cream that Christmas. And make it I did. Little did I know how fickle sugar was. The recipe seemed fairly simple and I figured like the rest of the traditional sweets, it wasn’t done till your arm fell off from all the stirring. How wrong I was. I ended up with nothing close to the perfect Milk Cream that my aunt used to make but with some milk cream crumbs, some really delicious crumbs. I figured that while this couldn’t be shared with friends and visitors, there was no reason why we at home couldn’t enjoy it. So once my crumbs cooled off, I bottled it and we enjoyed this strange version of the Milk Cream for quite a while. When I called my aunt later and told her about it, she told me that my only error was I had overcooked it and thats why the mix had crystallized. She asked me to have a go at it again, but being the teenager I was, once was quite enough. I wasn’t as persistent back in the day. I figured I would just enjoy the generous portion she usually gave us, since she knew it was my favourite.
Years later, with some much needed guidance, I attempted making this again and this time it worked out. I’ve never looked back since. I hope you try this out when time permits you won’t be sorry. It’s a lovely little bite that simply melts in your mouth.
Last week we started with the more time consuming treat first. This week, I’m starting with the quicker one.

Coconut Toffee


1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups desiccated coconut (unsweetened)
A pinch of ground cardamom seeds
A couple of drops of food colour of your choice
Clarified butter for greasing the plate

Place the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a medium flame. Cook till it reaches 235ºF on a candy thermometer.

Grease a steel / aluminium plate or cookie sheet using ghee / clarified butter.

When the sugar solution reaches the desired temperate, add the coconut, cardamom powder and food colour. Mix well and take it off the fire.

Pour the mix onto the greased pan and flatten out evenly.

Let it cool for a while and then cut into squares.

Enjoy your coconut toffee!!!

Moving onto the milk cream. It is a time consuming recipe and you will be tempted to turn up the gas. Please don’t. You get a lighter coloured end result if it is cooked on a slow flame. Do not leave it unattended.

Milk Cream

1 litre milk
400g sugar 
100g cashew nuts, ground to a powder
 
Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and continue cooking till is reduces to half the quantity on a very slow flame, stirring occasionally and ensuring that the milk that’s on the sides of the vessel is stirred into the rest of the milk and not allowed to brown there. 
 
Add sugar and keep on stirring. 
 
When thickened, add the cashew nut powder. Keep stirring over a very slow flame till it starts leaving the vessel. 
 
Test to see if done. (Use water test). 


Pour the mixture onto a steel plate and stir to cool a little.
 
Knead it into a dough while still warm. Mould into desired shapes.
 
NOTE: If the dough turns out too sticky add a little icing sugar and knead.




Watch the video recipe here – 


 
 
 

Don’t forget to stop by next week for the 3rd issue of Double Treats.

I can’t wait to see what the others have brought to the table this week. Go ahead and check it out –

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Recipes

Date Rolls

by Trisha Vaz
Typically, I make date rolls around Christmas time. They make a lovely addition to the Christmas platter. But these little rolls are really good any other time of the year as well. This recipe is also ideal for those watching their sugar intake – simply leave out the sugar from the dough recipe and the sweetness of the dates is sufficient to make these into a delightfully healthy treat.



Date Rolls
(Make 35-40 depending on the size)


200g all purpose flour
100g butter
60g fine sugar
200g dates, cut into strips
200g walnuts, sliced (optional)
1 egg
Yolk of an egg for glazing

Beat the butter till fluffy.

Add the sugar and beat till fluffy again.

Add 1 well beaten egg and beat till incorporated with the sugar and butter.

Fold in the flour and mix till well blended. Knead lightly till it forms a dough. If the dough is too soft, refrigerate for around 10-15 minutes before rolling it out.

Roll it out to a rectangular piece to a 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ squares.

Put 2 strips of date and walnut (if you’re using walnuts) on each roll and roll it up. Apply a little water to seal the edges.

Place on a well greased baking tray leaving about an inch of space between any 2 pieces.

Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each roll with egg yolk for a glazed look.

Bake for 10-15 minutes  at 160ºC.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

This recipe has been linked to Sweets for a Saturday @ Sweets as Sugar Cookies, hosted by the lovely Lisa. 

You should spend some time browsing her blog. She makes some lovely treats.

Also, don’t forget to check the others have submitted this week.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes

Final Week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Jujups

by Trisha Vaz
Yes folks, here we are, at the final week of an amazing 12 week journey. A journey where so many wonderful bakers, cooks and bloggers put up some wonderful treats each week. I know I’ve learned so much from them. Their work has truly been inspiring. My ever growing ‘to bake’ list just got a whole lot longer and I can’t wait to try out some of these treats myself.

Considering how close we are to Christmas and how swamped I am with things that need to be done around my house and in my kitchen, I haven’t baked anything for this weeks round up. Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t bake anything. There’s a load of stuff happening in the kitchen … more on that later. However, it also doesn’t mean that I’m going to skip this weeks submission. This week I’d like to showcase what we in India call ‘Jujups’. This is a lovely sugary treat that can be made in a number of flavors and colors. Its quite a hit with kids. I haven’t yet made jujups this year, so I’m going to add a picture from last year. I will add a better picture when I make it this time around.

Jujups
Ingredients –
500g sugar
30g unflavored gelatin
1 sour lime
1 cup water
A few drops of essence
A few drops of color
Castor sugar for coating
A pinch of cream of tartar
Method – 
In a steel vessel, add ¾ cup water, sugar and the cream of tartare to make a sugar syrup. Keep on a high flame and stir till the sugar dissolves. Then on a low flame and let it cook to a 2 thread consistency approx. about 20 mins. While this is cooking, use ¼ cup of water and dissolve the gelatin in it. Add the juice of 1 sour lime and mix well. Let it soak for about 5-10 minutes. 
Once the sugar syrup is ready, add the gelatin mix to it and stir well. Let this concoction warm through for a minute or so. Add the color and flavoring as desired and mix well. Grease a tray with olive oil and pour the mixture through a metal strainer into it. Leave it to set undisturbed. Once it cools you may keep it in the fridge overnight. The next day, bring the mix to room temperature and then loosen the edges using a knife. Unmould the jujups on a board covered liberally with castor sugar. Cut with a greased knife and roll the pieces in castor sugar. Cover and keep in an air tight container.
Colour & Essence Chart –

Here’s a handy dandy chart to guide you when trying out different flavor and color combinations. This is the assortment I made last Christmas. Feel free to experiment and make it your own. If you do try any flavors that aren’t mentioned here, let me know how it goes, so that I can add to this list.
Color      –   Flavor
Pink / Red – Strawberry
Yellow – Pineapple / Lemon
Purple – Black current
Green – Mix fruit
Orange – Orange
NOTE: Cream of tartar is used to prevent crystallization of sugar in the sugar syrup. Make sure you use a very small pinch – if excess is used, the jujups won’t form.

Don’t forget to check out what the others have put up this week!

Week 12 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Goan Recipes, Recipes

Week 11 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Nankatais

by Trisha Vaz
It’s hard to believe that we are almost at the end of this lovely 12-week long adventure. Before we reach the end, I’d like to say “Thank You” once again, to April of Abby Sweets for this wonderful idea. Its been a fun 12 weeks, challenging sometimes, but a lovely opportunity to meet some lovely people make some wonderful friends along the way.

This week, I’d like to showcase something that is quite popular in India during Christmas. Its a little cookie called the ‘Nankatai’. It has a lovely taste and is a favorite with kids and adults alike. Today, I will share with you one of the recipes that I use for this cookie. Please forgive the image quality, a mobile phone camera was used to capture this.

Nankatais

Ingredients –
300g all purpose flour
200g powdered or superfine sugar
200g Dalda (This is a brand of vegetable shortening, also called vanaspati. If this is not available, you can use clarified butter)
¼ tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Rose essence
Method –
Heat the Dalda to dissolve the grainy portions the previous night. Don’t let it smoke. Leave it to cool overnight. Cream the Dalda with the palm of your hand in a steel plate. Add sugar creaming well. Then add flour, baking powder and rose essence. Knead into a dough. Keep for a few hours. Then shape as desired and bake in a moderate hot oven, approx 150°C for 15 – 20 minutes. To check if done, check the bottom of a cookie for slight brownness. Immediately take out of oven. Don’t let the nankatais change colour. 
NOTE: Add the sugar and the flour gradually, creaming continuously. Place the nankatais on a tray that has been greased with clarified butter and lightly dusted with flour. 
If you choose to decorate the cookie, here’s a recipe for royal icing that I use. Please ensure that the cookie has cooled completely before icing.
Royal Icing
1 egg white
A few drops of lemon juice or citric acid
A few drops of essence
Icing sugar
Method –
Beat the egg white. Add lemon juice and essence. Gradually add icing sugar a little at a time till stiff peaks form. Cover and keep till ready to use. Add food coloring as desired. Use this to decorate the cookie. 

Don’t forget to spend some time to check out what the others have come up with this week!

Week 11 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes

Week 10 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Holiday Meringues

by Trisha Vaz

Its December, can you believe that? I’m so happy. This is my favorite month of the year, and we get to celebrate my favorite holiday – Christmas. And speaking of favorites, today I stumbled on something that flew right onto my list of favorites – Meringues. I can’t believe I hadn’t made this before. Actually, I did try it out before, but they turned out flat and stuck to the baking paper and so it ended up in the trash, but don’t tell anyone that. **wink wink** Anyway, this was a few years ago and I never considered making meringues again. However, in the last few weeks, I’ve been toying with the idea of making a Pavlova. According to me, it falls in the same category as the meringues, so I was a little apprehensive and it has been on hold since. For some reason, I felt brave this morning and decided that it was time to give meringues another shot. I knew that if I couldn’t make meringues, making a pavlova would be quite questionable.

This attempt was better than the previous, but I still have some kinks to work out. Maybe some of you can help me understand what I can do differently the next time. Oh yes, I’m going to make these again, because even though they weren’t visually very appealing, I loved the taste and texture. It was light and airy, crisp on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. They just melt  in you mouth. I know for a fact that the next time, I will need to add more color and flavor, because what I used this time wasn’t nearly enough. Some of the meringues cracked a little. Can anyone tell me how this can be avoided? I’d love to hear from you. I tried the kisses and wreaths and I wanted to create something that looked like Christmas trees, those didn’t turn out too well, some cracked and some tilted. I used inspiration from here, here and here.  I couldn’t settle on any one so here’s what I did.

Holiday Meringues

Holiday Meringues

2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
A pinch of cream of tartar
Green food coloring
Peppermint extract
Sprinkles, or sanding sugar to decorate

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar together till it gets light and foamy. Gradually add the sugar and keep whisking till it reaches a stiff peak consistency.

Add food coloring and flavor extracts of your choice. I used green food color and peppermint extract and mix well. Prepare a piping bag and use a star shaped icing tip and pipe out the meringues onto some lightly greased baking paper. Bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes and then at 140°C for another 20 minutes.

Cool and decorate as desired. I used a mix of red sanding sugar and some crumbled cinnamon jelly beans.

I can’t wait to try this again and hopefully get visually better results.

Go ahead and take a peek at what the other wonderfully talented folks have made this week.

Week 10 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Print

Week 10 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Holiday Meringues

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: Cakes, Cookies u0026amp; Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, RecipesCuisine: American
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Holiday Meringues

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • A pinch of cream of tartar

  • Food colouring

  • Peppermint extract

  • Sprinkles

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 160°C
  • Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar together till it gets light and foamy.
    Gradually add the sugar and keep whisking till it reaches a stiff peak consistency.
  • Add food coloring and flavor extracts of your choice.
  • Prepare a piping bag and use a star shaped icing tip and pipe out the meringues onto some lightly greased baking paper. 
  • Bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes and then at 140°C for another 20 minutes.

Notes

  • Cool and decorate as desired. I used a mix of red sanding sugar and some crumbled cinnamon jelly beans.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes