Coconut Peach American Buckle with Buttermilk: a piece of Sweet Baked Summer

How the summer buckled my mind- American Coconut Peach Buttermilk Buckle with streusel served with Peach Gel n Vanilla Ice-cream 

The summer days have been replaced by the pouring monsoon for some time now and I am left with the memories of summer- hot, cruel, extremely humid n dry at different times, even though I say so, the days in the monsoon when it doesn’t rain, it’s still summer-a more kind, pleasant soft tone of summer. Summer is totally about mangoes, the most pre-dominant smell n color if you take a walk down the fruit market, is that of the mangoes. At the same time from up in the Himalayan mountains of Himachal, Uttarakhand comes down red ripe cherries, apricots, plums n peach- much less in quantity but beautiful in their color n taste. Every year I do this- I buy a box of cherries and keep eating from them for a long time as the box relaxes in the refrigerator n make dishes out of them once in a while.

Peaches are very fragrant- there is a certain fragrance about them that is more special to me than their taste, it is a sweet aroma, if you smell closely closing your eyes you will understand what I mean. The ripe peach gets sweeter with time and peaches do keep so well in the refrigerator that you can forget about them for a long time and one day come running back fearing they must have gone all bad and then you figure they are very fine.

At times I make a peach compote with sugar n Indian bay leaf and it tastes fantastic, it combines so well with a crispy baked crumble or on top of a warm galette, the warm buttery crumble with the soft peach compote with a sense of sharpness-what  beautiful  bites n a touch of melting ice-cream. When I think of this it makes me crave for it more n it also reminds me of a buckle.

A buckle is rich, dense fruit cake where the fruits rests on top of the cake batter, though some can be mixed inside the batter, and the fruit is then covered with streusel which is a topping with 3 essential parts-butter, sugar n flour, at times various nuts n spices are added to it and the whole mixture goes beautifully brown n a bit crispy being at the top of the cake n the fruit. Traditionally the buckle is often prepared in cast iron pans; they have their origin probably in the United States where they are largely popular and where people bake it using fresh summer fruits like blueberry, peach, and nectarine, raspberry. As the cake batter rises in the oven it incorporates the fruits on the top layer n causing the top layer to buckle, the finished cake often has a crinkly or cracked surface.

In my buckle I bring together two flavors, coconut n peach, coconut is so Indian n tropical n summery and I love how the flavor of peach n coconut mingle together in the oven, so its fusion of Indian n American flavors. I have also used home-made buttermilk for this recipe but you can simple make the buckle with eggs, it’s not necessary, if you do use buttermilk make sure it is a good quality buttermilk because it gives off a different flavor. You can make your own buttermilk easily by diluting fresh rich yogurt with water n churning it with an electric hand whisk or a traditional hand-held churner, after about 6-10 minutes the fat will separate from the liquid, skim off the fat as it separates out, when almost no more fat is coming out of it you have buttermilk in your hands, it’s that simple.

So now I’ll take you to the recipe so you can make it yourself.

For The Recipe: You will need

For the Cake batter:

Flour-160 gm (1 ¼ cup)

Butter-115 gm at room temp (Or 1/4 cup butter+1/4 cup veg. shortening)

Sugar-120 gm, powdered (1/2 cup)

Egg-1 at room temp (use 3 eggs if not using buttermilk)

Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Buttermilk- 80 ml (1/3 cup)

Baking powder- 1 ½ tsp

Salt -1/2 tsp, skip if butter is salted

Baking soda- ¼ tsp (optional, skip if not using buttermilk)

Peach- 3 big peaches, peeled n cut into ½ inch thin slices

For the streusel:

Dry coconut flakes- 4/5 tbsp

Butter- 50 gm cold (1/4 cup)

Sugar/brown sugar- 50 gm (1/4 cup)

Flour- 35 gm (1/3 cup)

For the Peach Gel:

Peach- 1 big, peeled and the flesh pureed in a blender

Agar-Agar- 1 stick or ½ tsp if powder, if stick cut the stick in little pieces and soak in cold water for 15 minutes

Sugar- 2 tbsp

Lime juice- few drops

Salt- a pinch

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F, butter an 8 inch cake tin or 10 inch cast iron skillet

1. Start with the gel, soak the powder agar agar in 100ml cold water for 10 minutes, then  bring the water to a boil and simmer for about 5-10 minutes  stirring often until the agar agar stripes or granules have dissolved completely, you can check this by lifting the solution with a metal spoon and as the liquid drops from the spoon it should have no specks of agar agar, if there is simmer it for some more time, when it is ready add the peach puree and mix well, then add the sugar, taste n adjust, add the lime juice n salt. Take it off and pour it into your mould, let it come to room temperature and it will set on its own, you can also keep them covered in the refrigerator until needed.

2.  Start by creaming the butter in a big bowl, add the sugar n cream until pale n smooth, add the shortening if using n cream it at this stage, next add the egg and mix until smooth, add the vanilla n mix well.

3. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda n salt and sift on top of the butter mixture, whisk to combine until almost uniform, and then add the buttermilk and mix until uniform n smooth, don’t over mix, just as everything mixes homogeneously you are done.

4. For the streusel take the cold butter in a flat plate, flour , brown sugar and the dry coconut flakes, n cut with knife into smaller lumps, do it for 5-8 minutes until the limps are really small n the mixture looks like slightly wet sand.

5. Pour the cake batter into the pan or iron skillet and top the surface with the peach into a circular pattern, when done cover the peaches with the streusel mixture, then into the oven for about 40-45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the streusel have gone well brown n crispy, for that to happen I often put the top grill on for the last 10 minutes in the baking time.

Take the pan out onto a wire rack n rest for 10 minutes, then flip it over onto a plate and then flip it back to straight and you are done!

It looks quite interesting n inviting, isn’t it? And the smell is so delish! Serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream or peach ice-cream if you have got, you can even eat it at room temperature. You can cut small pieces and put them on plates with peach gel and dollops of ice-cream together, and take little bit of each in a bite. You will surely see the faces light up as you serve your friends n loved ones. Bon Appétit.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake: The cake The Monsoon romances with…

A Monsoon Romance Story between the Pineapple n the Cake; Pineapple Upside Down Cake n they did exist happily ever after until we ate it

Monsoon is a huge thing in India, the season of rain showers and almost the whole country it getting wet now, the greenery is at its bloom, the crops are finding their voice, the frogs are planning for the future, the peacocks are totally showing off, the drowned human being are looking for a dry shelter because the shower played a bit too much at some places, wild mushrooms are coming to life in several forests n they are the best, pineapples are popping out of the soil, the hilsa fish is finally meeting their destiny: getting steamed with coconut n mustard, the  mature sugar-palm fruits are oozing out deep orange sap out of their rough n tough fibers-life is full of contrast I tell you, fritters are getting crispy in the hot oil in the evenings  n sauces are being churned in blenders.

I love the sight of pineapples all arranged in rows after rows in the local market as the monsoon comes, I totally love their flavor…there is something about pineapples that makes me salivate. As you cut across a pineapple- the sharp knife goes through the soft flesh of the pineapple, the tough exterior gives off as you slice them off one by one, the fresh juice oozes out n the aroma hits you- this whole experience is satisfying n provocative.

This cake is decadent; it looks totally impressive, tastes even better and truly very satisfying. The first time I baked this humble cake I fell in love with it, the cake is soft n moist like a dream, the pineapple slices all dark, full of depth n caramelized with the sugar n the butter and the soft cake sits on  that absolutely delicious pineapple layer .

First the butter n sugar are taken to a dark caramel color n poured in the cake tin, the fresh pineapple pieces sit on that, then the cake batter goes on top of that, as the cake bakes, moisture from the pineapple penetrates through the cake batter upwards making it rise n keeping it moist, the same moisture from the pineapple doesn’t let itself burn in the caramel, the baking powder also helps in giving the cake the lift n lightness.  Finally when the cake is done and you flip it over, the mere sight of it makes you smile and the air in the room gets heavy n hungry with the dissolving aroma.

The first time I made this cake when I was watching the video of Stephanie Jaworski on her site joyofbaking.com, it is a wonderful video n there was a fresh pineapple on my lunch table and I thought I will give it a try, and in that evening I was holding the beautiful cake in my hands n everyone in my home were happy. I really like her recipe, so give her a watch if you want. In my recipe I have not used the cream of tartar and I have also omitted the cherries, also I have used more butter in the cake batter, the amount is not a big number but it certainly makes a slight difference. So I know by now you are getting impatient for the recipe, so let’s bake this damn good cake and trust me it will be a staple cake in your house.

For The Recipe:  You will need

For the Cake Batter:

All purpose flour- 200 gm, sifted

Butter-120 gm (I used 150) at room temp

Sugar-200 gm, powdered

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Salt-a pinch (skip if butter is salted)

Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Egg-2 large, separated

Milk full-fat- 120 ml

Lime juice- a few drops for whisking the egg-whites

For the Pineapple Layer:

Butter- 55 gm/4 tbsp

White sugar/light brown sugar- 160 gm

Fresh/tinned pineapple slices- 25 pieces app., cut into ½ inch pieces

Pre-heat your oven to 180 C/350 F, butter an 8 inch cake tin.

1. Start by making the caramel mixture, place the butter n sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, let the sugar dissolve and let the whole thing get brown to dark brown which will take just few minutes, shake the pan to even out the caramelization, then pour the whole thing carefully into the buttered cake tin. After that take the pineapple pieces n arrange in a circular pattern over the caramel, pack the small gaps with small pieces of pineapple, and keep aside.

2. For the cake batter, first in a clean non-oily wide bowl pour the egg-white and squeeze a few drops of fresh lime/lemon juice over them, then with a clean whisk start whisking them, when they reach the ribbon stage add 2 tsp of powdered sugar as you whisk and take them to firm peak, not stiff peak, just firm.

3. In another bowl cream the butter n sugar until pale n fluffy, then add the vanilla extract, mix well, then add the egg yolks one by one, whisking after each addition until well mixed, then first add 1/3 rd flour n baking powder mixture, mix briskly, then ½ milk n mix, then another 1/3 flour n mix, then rest of the milk n mix, lastly the rest of flour. Finally take ½ of the egg white and mix with big strokes, its okay if at this stage you can still see the egg-whites at places, and then fold the rest of the egg-whites carefully. Finally pour the batter slowly over the pineapple, place it in the oven for about 45-55 minutes until the cake has started to shrink from the sides of the pan, a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean. Place it over a wire rack n rest it for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the edges and flip it open in one quick move over a cake stand or plate n tap softly on the back n lift it up slowly.

There you are! What do you see as you just lift the pan off! isn’t that just amazing and I know there is a smile all over your face, share this view with everyone at home before you cut the first slice and when you do you will fall in love with this cake again. This cake needs nothing else but you. Bon appétit.

Indian Mango Ice-cream- You Are My Summer

GulabKhaas Indian Mango Ice-cream with Pistachio praline dust n leaf-the true essence of summer n why home-made ice-cream makes all the difference

I set the battery in the camera, I set the two plates ready, the pistachio praline dust is ready and the praline leaf has come out of the oven 5 minutes ago and they came off the baking sheet in one shape, much relief, now all I need is the ice cream on the plate. So I run down to the ground floor to get the tray of ice cream and I start scooping as soon as I reach the veranda, the rays of the evening sun are on the plate, one by one I put 3 scoops on the plate and by the time the 3^rd scoop is getting ready the first two starts to melt, at this time I start to panic, I should have frozen the plates, the sun is at 42 Celsius  and I have to take good pictures before my ice creams melts down, with a stiff heart I place the fresh mango puree on the plate around the ice cream, place the pistachio praline leaf on the ice cream and I start to shoot, gosh it’s not easy at all, every second the ice cream melts a little more and loses its height, I’m worried now, if I can’t find good frames in this frame of mind today is gone, I have to shoot next day because the ice cream wont set again in 5 minutes and the evening sun isn’t going to stay…tough. 

That’s what I go through almost in every shoot, though some are more dramatic like this one, but then at the end of shoot when I spoil myself with the half melted ice-cream, all the hard work seems fine, I can just eat it like that but the photographs are for you really, who come to this blog to find some beautiful delicious food.

I love ice-cream in every season n I think it’s only in the summer when you can enjoy it like in no other season. I dream of a warm beach, I’m sitting on a rock looking down at the sea with the wind on my face with ice –cream on my lips, I imagine of walking inside a dark green forest with an ice-cream in hand with the sense that something is following me, I imagine of walking in the woods in golden sunlight with heaps of dry leaves under my every footstep with ice-cream drops running down my hands, I imagine of sitting by the bone sculpture of a dead camel in the Kalahari desert with chocolate ice-cream in my hands.

Right now in India the summer is tremendous and not much rain till now, we are waiting for the rains, our genes are praying for the rain n at home I’m making ice-cream with mangoes n I realize these are the best mango ice-cream I have ever eaten, the freshness n the flavor of the mango is in every scoop, every time I’m making it with different varieties of mango the flavor changes, the store bought one are the same all the time and most of the time the flavor is artificial. So why would you not make a little effort to create something so good?

In my ice-cream I use fresh mangoes, single cream, full-fat milk and sugar syrup and corn flour n a touch of salt-that’s all. The first mangoes to appear in the market every summer in Kolkata are ‘Golaap khaas’/’Gulab Khas’/’Gulaab Khaas’, they are in a prominent shade of green with a stroke of red on one side esp. on the lower half on the mango, the flesh is smooth and not fibrous and  it is not completely sweet when ripe, it still has a touch of acidity or tartness, that’s what makes them so desirable in a hot summer afternoon, the perfect balance of sweet with a touch of tartness.

When I put the ice-cream in the freezer to set I give it about 4-5hours as it begins to go solid, since I don’t use an ice-cream maker I take it out, put the solid parts in a blender and blend it until it becomes a smooth mixture that can be scooped with spoon, then it get in the freezer to set again for 3 hours, I repeat this blending process for 3 times with the gap of 3-4 hours, the result is an ice-cream that is smooth in texture with less icy crystals in the bite, if you freeze the ice-cream right away overnight and eat it next day it will give much less smooth mouth feel n more icy crunch feel than if you churn it every 3 hours.

Every time you are blending the ice-cream to smooth, you are redistributing the ice-crystals already formed inside preventing them to grow bigger in one shape, with 3-4 churning the final ice-cream becomes more scoop able with smooth mouth feel and with much less icy crunch. So now here is the recipe.

For The Recipe:  You will need

For the ice-cream:

Mango-2 Gulab Khaas, medium size around 300-350 gm

Single cream- 200 ml

Full-fat milk-100ml

Sugar-8-9 tbsp heaped

Cornflour-3 tbsp

Water-11 tbsp

Salt- a pinch

For the Pistachio Praline:

Pistachio-14-17, slightly roasted for 4 minutes

Sugar-3 tbsp

Water-3tbsp

1.  Place the sugar with the water in a saucepan on medium flame, as the sugar dissolves completely put the flame high and let it come to a boil, simmer for 4 minutes and you will see the color gets a little touch of yellow, the flavor of the sugar will change a bit, that’s what we want, after 4 minutes take it off in a container and let it cool.

2. Peel the mango and scoop the flesh out with spoon and then place them in a blender and blend till completely smooth, add a dash of water if needed.

3. In a deep saucepan or wok place the cream with the milk and let it come to a simmer on a medium flame, stir it often and make sure nothing catches at the bottom, dissolve the corn flour in little water , once the milk n cream comes a to almost a boil reduce the flame to minimum and add the corn flour tbsp by tbsp, stir continuously at this time and make sure nothing catches at the bottom, once all the corn flour is added give it 1 minute, then add the sugar syrup n pinch of salt n mix well, take off the heat. Taste at this point if you would want it more sweet, add more sugar if you feel like and make it dissolve. Pour the mixture in a flat container which is floating on cold water or ice to cool it down. When the mixture is at room temperature n not hot, add the mango puree and mix well until homogeneous. Then pour the whole thing into a flat container which will go inside the freezer. Freeze for 4-5 hours at the initial stage.

4. Once the mixture has begun to get solid, touch it and you can feel if it is still gel like or begin to get hard, if it is beginning to get hard take it out and cut the mixture with a knife and put inside a blender and blend with little breaks in between when you scrape down the sides n blend to a stage when it looks smooth n fluffy, at this stage pour it back into the container n freeze again in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Repeat the same thing after 4 hours, refreeze n do it again, repeat one more time.

This is why you should begin making the ice-cream in the day time so that by night your blending process is done and you are not blending at 2 in the night and everyone is wondering what on earth you are doing at this hour. So then let the whole thing freeze for a good solid 8-10 hours in freezer in that container or in moulds if you like and next morning your ice-cream is secretly ready, well not so secretly actually.

5. For the pistachio praline, toast the pistachios on low heat for 4 minutes, then in a heavy bottom saucepan place the sugar with water gently, make sure there is no sugar cubes outside the wet sugar in the pan , place it on low heat for 4 minutes, then increase temp to medium high, when it reaches brown color, shake the pan gently for even color, when it gets dark brown stage, throw in the pistachios and pour the whole thing on marble counter, after 5 minutes they will easily come off.

Place the praline in a blender and blend till you obtain a smooth powder, make sure the blender is dry before placing the praline into it.

To make leafs or round disc first make a template on paper and cut out those shapes, the place that paper on a baking sheet and with a spatula lift out the praline dust and scatter over the template, make sure the shapes are getting coated in a thick layer of praline dust, if they are too thin you won’t be able to get them out in one piece, so dust well, when you have dusted over all the template carefully lift up the paper and you have the shape on the baking sheet.

Pre-heat the oven to 150 Celsius/330 Fahrenheit and place the baking sheet carefully n bake for 2 minutes, then let the sheet cool n then with a spatula lift up the shapes carefully.

Ice-cream is ready, take out the tray and dip a spoon in water n scoop in a line and the ice-cream will curl with the spoon, what a beautiful thing to watch, place on cold plates, place each praline leaf over a scoop, scatter some praline dust around the ice-cream and add a piece of fresh mango in the plate or even a fresh mango puree. And then forget everything and take a spoonful of ice-cream and place it carefully in your mouth, close your eyes and be loyal to the ice-cream, everything else will fall in place. Bon appétit.

Bhapa Doi- the steamy love affair with Yogurt

A Sweet taste of Yogurt from Bengal- Bhapa Doi- Steamed Yogurt with Condensed Milk in 2 Flavor Dimensions- Orange Cardamom Clove infused N Sweet Lime Clove infused Bhapa Doi served with Chironji Praline n Salted Caramel Sauce with Lime

If I have to describe ‘Bhapa Doi’ in simple words, they will be Elegant, Deeply Satisfying N Easy, these three words sum up the existence of this amazing desert for me, well almost.

You know there are some recipes which are no fuss, easy to do and deeply satisfying n very impressive- this is one such recipe that you should have in your pocket, you can go complex with it or keep it just very simple like how it is done in Bengal, all you really need is good rich yogurt, condensed milk, milk at times and that’s all, sometimes you can add powdered cardamom to it.

I don’t know why I didn’t make this dish much before in my life, I only made it for the first time a year back n then I realized what a big beautiful thing was missing from my life, I don’t know why most people don’t talk about it, this is absolutely incredible desert, once you try it you are coming back to it again n again.

Sometimes I wonder how was the origin of this beautiful elegant desert, long ago whoever made it first, back then there was no condensed milk, so she/he must have used milk in the recipe, perhaps she/he had thicken it by slowly simmering over fire, added sugar/ michri or may be jaggery for the sweetness, if this recipe has been created before the cardamom, cinnamon, clove enter the kitchens across Bengal then it wasn’t used, perhaps they would have used mango to give it another flavor, and then pour the whole thing in a covered container and set it within boiling water to get steamed and 20 minutes after it was there in the world- a fantastic culinary surprise.

I have made Bhapa Doi with two kinds of milk; Buffalo milk n Cow milk and both give completely different textures, while the one made with buffalo milk gives more creamy smooth feel, the one made with cow milk is more granular, rough in texture, when you bite into a cow milk bhapa doi you feel like biting into a rasogolla.

There are many differences between buffalo milk n cow milk, buffalo milk has more milk protein, more richer in mineral like calcium, iron, phosphorus, more vitamin A and buffalo milk is much lower in cholesterol than cow milk. The fat content in buffalo milk is higher and the water content lower, the whey proteins in the buffalo milk are more resistant to heat denaturation compared to cow milk, may be this is the reason why steamed yogurt made from buffalo milk stays more creamier n smooth. You can try with both the milk and see the results and let me know if this matches mine.

Here in this post I have shared pictures of the 2 versions, the one with the orange on top is the one made from yogurt made from buffalo milk, and if you look closely you can see the texture feels smoother with very few bubbles while the cow milk bhapa doi looks more porous n uneven on the surface.

You must n I repeat you must try this recipe and with both milks if possible and you will only bite into an incredible desert, so now I’ll take you to the recipe.

For The Recipe: You will need

For the Orange Cardamom Clove version:

Yogurt made from Buffalo Milk -250gm or / 1 ½ cup

Condensed Milk- 150-200gm or / ¾ cup

Buffalo Milk-100gm or / ½ cup

Orange zest- from 1 orange, grated

Green cardamom- 1 slightly roasted n powdered

Clove- 1, slightly roasted n powdered

Salt – a pinch

Note: I don’t add a lot of condensed milk to the yogurt because I don’t want it too sweet, I like it while it still has a tang to it, if you like rich n sweet add more condensed milk.

For the Sweet Lime Version:

Yogurt made from Cow milk- same as above

Condensed milk- same

Cow milk full fat or double toned mixed with cream- same

Sweet Lime zest- from 1 sweet lime/Mousambi

Clove- 1, slightly roasted n powdered

Salt – a pinch

For the Praline:

Sugar- 3 tbsp

Water- 3 tbsp

Chironji Nuts- 3 tbsp slightly roasted in a pan for 2 minutes.

For the Caramel sauce:

Sugar- 2 tbsp

Butter-2 tbsp

Single cream- 4 tbsp

Lime juice- 4/6 drops

1. Whisk the yogurt with a wire whisk until it is just smooth, then add the condensed milk, add less first, mix well, see if the amount of sweetness satisfies you, then add the grated zest of orange and powdered cardamom n clove, then add the milk n mix till smooth, add a tiny pinch of salt, the texture will be not very runny but medium thick but still runny. In the case of sweet lime, add the grated zest n the powdered clove n mix till smooth.

2. In a ramekin or metal steel bowl pour the whole mixture, if you wish to get them out of the mould grease the mould with clarified butter/ghee, though it’s not necessary to get them out, you can make them in medium moulds and serve them in the moulds themselves, which is only smarter. Cover them tightly with plastic wrap.

3. Get a steamer and pour6 cups of water in it, let it come to fierce boil, when it reaches there place the container or small individual containers or ramekin in the steamer and give them about 20-30 minutes, if the container is small n the thickness of the mixture is about 1-1 ½ inch in thickness it will need about 20-25 minutes, f the thickness is about 2 inch it will take about 30 minutes, the more you steam them the more it will get firmer, so for the first time give it 25 minutes, as you make more you can play with the texture.

After 25 minutes if you shake them you can see they are still wobbling a bit, be careful with your hands, if they are still wobbling slightly take them out, make them come to room temperature, you can submerge them in cold water to quickly make them cool down, then transfer them in refrigerator for 2/4 hours to chill, they taste amazing when chilled.

4. For making the praline, place the sugar in heavy bottom saucepan with equal amount of water but pour the water gently over the sugar, make sure there are no sugar cubes outside the water, then put the heat on first slow for 3 minutes, then medium high n then make it go to dark caramel stage, when you see it is getting dark brown in color add the slightly roasted chironjis over the caramel, then pour the whole thing on a flat marble surface n let it cook for about 5 minutes, then you will be able to pick it up with a knife by light strokes.

5. For the caramel sauce make caramel like before n then add cream to it, it will start to bubble vigorously, whisk with a spoon , then add lumps of butter n whisk until smooth, finish with a pinch of sugar and a dash of lime juice, skip salt if the butter is already salted.

So now your patience is on the verge and the bhapa doi is chilled, so take off the plastic wrap and holding the spoon in your hand look at it closely, smell it and then slowly dip your spoon into it and the rest I won’t say much. Bon Appétit.