Pies & Puddings Archives

Chocolate, Cookies, Brownies & Bars, Pies & Puddings, Sweet

Cocoa Almond Cookies

I’ve never followed a paleo or keto diet – but these keto and paleo friendly cocoa almond cookies were too tempting not to try, and they made the perfect Sohfit treat, as well as a treat for my 10-month old! It was hard to determine how long these cookies stay well, because despite making almost a dozen batches in the last 3 months, there were days when a batch of cookies was completely wiped out in a day! But if by some magical chance you are able to store the cookies, I would suggest a steel box or a cookie tin, at room temperature in a cool spot, not in the direct heat of the Indian summer.

DISCLAIMER: these cookies may not look insanely fantastic, but OMG, they taste incredible! Read more…

May 29, 2020 | 0 comment

Cake & Cupcake Heaven, Cookies, Brownies & Bars, Fruit Inspired, Pies & Puddings, Sweet

Christmas Baking: Strawberry Shortcake

Want to make a desert this festive season?

But you want it to be quick, simple, lacking any kind of technique?

And most importantly, need it to look rustically perfect?

Well, have I got all those criteria marked off, and more!

You see, my Strawberry Shortcakes not only make the best and most beautiful centrepiece to your table this festive season, but take literally no time to make, use fresh in season luscious strawberries and is topped off with vanilla bean infused whipped cream. How do you not salivate?! And with christmas around the corner, the redness of the strawberries make the desert look even more festive and inviting!

Lemon Brown Butter Tart + My Latest Crush

As is typically the case when a brilliant new book hits the market (especially by some of my favoured sources of inspiration) I waste little time getting my hands on it. By some gross error, I landed up ordering this gem a tad behind schedule, but oh, it is so worth having in my arsenal! I’ll admit, a lot of the main meals are primarily not vegetarian, but the other chapters {Meatless Mains, Vegetables} quickly make up for that. What I love about this book is that it is an amalgamation of people’s favourites, by phenomenal chefs/bloggers/geniuses, and genuinely meant to be catered towards honest home cooking – none of that layered and complicated deconstructed stuff! Hence, I used two recipes from the book as inspiration for my Lemon Brown Butter Tart. The first is Paule Caillat’s Brown Butter Tart (which BTW is ridonkulously easy) and the second is Elizabeth Falkner’s Eggless Lemon Curd.

Right so in case you thought that this is my latest crush, it isn’t. I mean, I love recipe books and all, but this crush is totally legit. And Yellow too! It’s none other than the Read more…

July 7, 2015 | 0 comment

Chocolate, Pies & Puddings, Sweet

Salted Caramel + Chocolate Ganache Tart

In an almond shortcrust pastry tart shell, I might add. You know, just in case the Salted + Chocolate Ganache Tart title wasn’t enticing enough 😛

So I saw a friend’s Instagram feed a few weeks ago, where she made 2 beautiful tarts: one was an oreo and chocolate ganache tart and the other, a salted caramel and chocolate tart. As destiny had it, I wanted to use up some of the beautiful Valrhona that I had been hoarding, as well as the salted caramel that I impulsively picked up at Laduree. [Yes, this story already has two fabulous elements of success: valrhona and laduree.] The result? A luscious chocolate ganache piled over a thin layer of salted caramel, enveloped in a almost crumbly almond shortcrust tart shell.

And ever since, I’ve already dished out over a dozen of these babies, and still going strong! Read more…

April 13, 2015 | 4 Comments

Bread, Cookies, Brownies & Bars, Pies & Puddings, Sweet

Brown Butter Cinnamon Bun Pie

Yeah, each of those words are poetry.

I mean there’s butter, and then there’s BROWN butter. Two very very amazing but very different beauties. Cinnamon Buns are always a winner. {yeah, i don’t get people who don’t like cinnamon. I’m not judging or anything. I just don’t get it, wierdos.} And there’s the best 3 letter word -P-I-E. How in god’s name could anyone not drool or salivate or just clog an artery after hearing Brown Butter Cinnamon Bun Pie.

I could say it again and again.

And again.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Bun Pie.

So let me just start by saying, this one is easier eaten than made. I mean, I didn’t really have an option, because either I fly to NYC to have a slice, or make some at home. Budget demanded I make it at home. I personally would have preferred the former. Just saying, in case my logic seemed fuzzy. {I’m pretty sure the immigration officer would think I’m on crack (pie) if I shared my rationale for a quick weekend trip to the big apple}

But seriously. I would make this again and again, not because it was easy (it’s really NOT), but purely because the house smelled un-naturally unbelievable. Like WOW. And to be fair, each bite-ful did taste pretty dam awesome. Read more…

March 20, 2015 | 3 Comments

Chocolate, Pies & Puddings, Sweet

Spiked Chocolate Mousse

Spiked Chocolate Mousse. Pudding. Pots.

I GIVE UP.

Let’s just stick to Spiked Chocolate Mousse.

I hoard chocolate. Well, to be honest, I hoard a lot of things, chocolate being just one of them. What better way to reduce my inventory of chocolate than to use it up in the most fantastic way ever – an almost mousse consistency chocolate pot, spiked with a dash of amarula and some good old instant coffee. The recipe is inspired entirely by Donna Hay’s fast, fresh, simple. I still find this book extremely practical, and the recipes are a perfect balance of pushing one’s mundane cooking skills ever so slightly, but resulting in a hearty and beautiful end product.