Chocolate Frappe

Chilled Frappes on a hot summer day - This is a change from the normal cold coffees

You will need -  

1 shot [60 ml] of Espresso

25 ml of Chocolate syrup

120 ml milk

3 tsp sugar
ice cubes

Espresso is basically concentrated coffee. It typically is made using an espresso machine, but can be using instant coffee. Espresso can be make by using a lot of coffee and a little hot water to create a stout, strong and full-bodied espresso. 

• Boil 1 cup of filtered water. Once water comes to a boil turn off heat immediately.
• Place 3 teaspoons of instant coffee in a coffee mug.
• Add 60 ml [a teacup is 200 ml so this would be a little more than 1/2 the teacup] of the boiling water to the instant coffee.Stir until the instant coffee is completely dissolved.
• Drink the espresso or use it to make a latte or mocha [ this would be another story another day ].  

Mix the chocolate syrup, milk, sugar & espresso along with lots of ice in a blender and run till nice and chilled.

Pour and serve in a tall glass.    

Ice Cream Bombe

Hectic weekend with dinner and lunches out with friends.  Which automatically leads to the question from the kids - whats for us ?  So this was all about pacifying Aakash.  Poor Shreya had to take a backseat but its not such a problem cause she never eats the desserts anyways :)

So, courtsey my son, I did a icecream cake - my first attempt so its not finished the way I would have liked it to be.

Start with a good basic cake.  Not a sponge please.  I put some marmalade in mine to give it an orange twist.

Line a round basin with clingfilm and line this with the cake, sliced in the centre and cut into triangles.  Fill all the gaps with leftover cake and put in the freezer to set.  

Soften icecream - any flavour - I used vanilla and mango - and layer the inside of the frozen cake with this, following the shape of the cake.  First layer was vanilla and then mango.  I went adventurous and filled the centre with some Raspberry sorbet.  Cover with cling film and put back in the freezer to set.  

Made this in the morning so it got about 8 hours to set.  When ready to serve, upturn on a plate.  

  

Could have been a better looking presentation.  Next time this is going to get covered with Chocolate or cream. But I must admit it was really tasty

MERINGUES

One of the toughest things to find in Gurgaon or Delhi – meringues or meringue shells.  Fortunately one of the easier things to make if you have the time and inclination.  Made well, they are light and airy and only need a couple of ingredients to make them - something that can be found in most homes.  

The following recipe quantity is a reduced down version and is fairly simple. 

Serves – 8

Time – 30 mins + baking time

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 55 gms castor sugar
• 55 gms icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat a conventional oven to 110c.  Line a baking tray with butter paper
2. Separate the eggs when cold and bring the egg whites to room temp.  This is very necessary for beating the eggs to the required volume.  Using an electric beat, beat the eggs till they are fluffy and resemble a cloudy mass and should hold a stiff peak when the beater is lifted.
3. Gradually add in castor sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating well for 3-4 minutes between each addition.  When all the castor sugar is incorporated the mixture should be nice, thick and glossy.
4. Sift one third of the icing sugar over the mixture and fold in with a spoon.  Continue to sift in the balance till all is incorporated.  DO NOT OVERMIX.
5. Using a wet spoon, scoop up a tablespoon of the mixture and drop it on the baking sheet in rough rounds.  Or, place meringue mixture in pastry bag fitted with star tip. Pipe meringue onto parchment paper to form eight 3-in. cups
6. Bake for 1 1/4 hours or until the meringues are crisp.
7. Leave to cool on a cooling rack
8. Serve sandwiched with sweetened whipped cream or crumbled over ice cream