Mango Pomelo Sago Dessert

After I had Jess of Bakericious's mango pomelo dessert during the food blogger's gathering, I made a mental note that I shall make it some day because that was one of the best sago dessert that I've tried. The usual honeydew sago dessert that was served at buffets were either too rich or sweet. Her mango pomelo dessert was very refreshing and makes me want to have more without feeling sinful of eating dessert. I wished i wasn't too full that day to have extra helpings of the dessert. ;)


I didn't have to wait too long to try my hands at this dessert. :) Last Saturday, my family had a barbeque at our neighbourhood to celebrate my dad and mum's birthday. Their birthday was only three days apart so every year, we would celebrate for them together. Instead of the usual family dinners at restaurants, my brother organised a bbq session this year and it has been ages since I had a BBQ, not to mention my parents. I could see that my parents were pretty excited though they did not say so. *lol*

Just when everyone was getting ready to go to the park, we were hit with a really gloomy weather that we did not know whether to proceed with the barbeque, or to have a change of plans. After a slight drizzle for a short while, the sky was still grey. We were at the park, but hesitated whether to start the fire. We waited and waited.... for another half an hour or so, eventually the rain stopped completely and the weather was cool. :) Heaven was on our side!

Besides the barbeque food items, we also prepared some potluck items such as fried bee hoon, fried noodles, curry, fruits salad, etc. I brought along the mango pomelo sago dessert. It was a rather last minute decision, as I only thought about it in the morning while I was at work. So by the time I finished with the dessert, I still need a good 3 hours (accordingly to the recipe) to chill it but I only chill it for about 1 hour and had to remove from the fridge. I put one big cube of ice, but was worried that it would make the dessert bland. The mangoes I bought was a little sourish and I almost wanted to give up the idea of making the dessert. Still I went ahead with it. Jess used mango juice in place of water in the recipe while I used mango yoghurt drink and blend in with the mango puree, hoping to make it sweeter. Luckily all family doesn't have a really sweet tooth so they felt that it was just right.

It was rather a challenge making this dessert for the first time because my mom couldn't guide me as she had never cooked sago before. The sago was so starchy and murky after cooked that I do not know whether I had cooked it correctly. I patiently drained and run the cooked sago pearls in cold running water, and hey in the end I managed to get a big bowl of clear mini sago pearls! I didn't added in the whole of sago pearls as they seemed quite alot but when added to the big pot of mango milk, it was just the right amount. Happy Birthday my dear Dad and Mum! I'm sure you had enjoyed yourselves as all of us did. ;)

Black Sesame Pudding

Another Recipe from "Okashi Treats" by keiko ishida. If you love black sesame paste dessert, you'd love this sweet pudding. I bought this black sesame paste specially for the black sesame chiffon cake recipe in this book. I made it successfully but did not feel like posting because the pictures taken of it was awful. *lol* I was lucky to have found this in an organic store around my neighbourhood where I live. I couldn't find black sesame paste anywhere else.

The paste are rather sticky and in big clumps. I had to wear a glove to separate the clumps!

My parents and dd doesn't seem to appreciate something more extraordinary. *lol* I lke it anyway. It has the texture of a red bean pudding that I had in a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant.

Have a go at it if you like. ;)

Ingredients

300g fresh whole milk

50g store-bought black sesame paste

35g castor sugar

5g gelatine sheets, soak in ice water to soften

40g whipping cream
black sugar, chopped into bits for topping

Method:

Combine milk, sesame paste and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Add softened gelatine and whipping cream. Mix well. Pour mixture into the prepared cups and chill in the refeigerator until set.
Serve jelly topped with black sugar bits. Combine milk, sesame paste and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Double-Boiled papaya Soup & Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

The other day, I was listening to 93.3 FM (one of the pop mandarin radio channel) from my MP3 player while I was jogging and the DJ was introducing this simple soup that she recommends to all ladies. I couldn't jot down the ingredients but I could remember the ingredients and method because it was so simple.

All you need is just red dates, gingko nuts, an unripe papaya (which they called "green papaya") and some sugar to taste.

First, boil water, then add in the red dates and ginko nuts and some sugar to taste and simmer for about 8 minutes until the dates and nuts becomes soft and the taste had infused into the soup. Set aside. Next, cut papaya into half. Scoop out the centre flesh and seeds to create a hollow well. Pour the soup into the "well" and steam papaya for about 15 minutes or until papays is soft (You could actually steam it longer if you like the papaya to be softer).

The soup is clear, light and refreshing. I prefer it to be served cold. Best of all, it is said to be good for complexion and to enhance woman's assets. hehe... if you know what I mean. :P Anyway I don't really think it works, otherwise every woman on the streets would be ermm...well endowed. :P Still this is a refreshing and healthy dessert worth trying. :)

==================================================================================

This Japanese Souffle Cheesecake is not a new recipe cos' I've actually made it before. Just simply happy with the result and the recipe that I'd just like to post it one more time. I'm gonna stick to this recipe whenever I want to make a light Japanese souffle cheesecake. :)

Crumble Delight

I've always love crumbles, you think of anything that is nutty, oat-ty, crispy. It's just like how I love nuts in my oatmeal, cereals, brownies, crunchy instead of chewy cookies... etc. Just about a month ago, I had this banana crumble served with vanilla ice-cream with my friend at PS cafe as my birthday treat. I really liked the crumble although it was a little on the sweet side.

Thereafter I had been thinking of making a blueberry crumble one of these days as I still had a packet of fresh blueberries kept frozen in my freezer for quite some time. However I had been putting it off, until last weekend (day after Good Friday), I woke up, found no breakfast, my dad was cooking his usual Teochew Porridge which I don't feel like eating, and hence went searching for a blueberry crumble recipe. The recipe was a simple one. Less than 10 minutes of preparation time and about 20 minutes of baking time, freshly baked blueberry crumble is ready! And another good thing was I FINALLY took out my beautiful ramekins for this crumble :D

I had mine with some plain yoghurt. How I wished there were vanilla ice-cream! :P

This is the simple pleasure of baking, for yourself and your love ones ;)

Rum & Raisin ice-cream

With a bottle of rum essence due to expire, leftover whipping cream and raisins, I just couldn't bear to dump it. While searching for the right rum & raisin recipes, I recalled Happy Mrs Kwok's homemade ice-cream.

Thanks Mrs Happy Kwok for sharing your recipe and answering my queries on homemade ice-cream, I really made my own ice-cream! I never ever thought it would be so easy, and you don't need an ice-cream maker at all, that's true. Isn't that good news? I'm still wondering what is the purpose of an ice-cream maker, probably that would churn out creamier, smoother ice-cream?

The texture is good, but the rum flavour is a little artificial. I don't think I would ever buy rum flavour for baking again cos' I just don't like the taste and 'aroma' (mayb I don't know how to appreciate it :). If I'm making it again, I'll definitely try vanilla with chocolate chips or nuts, or green tea. :P