Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Dessert

Nectarine Cobbler

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Quarantine diaries –

I’ve been dying to go on a picnic and I’ve been determined not to let the coronavirus stop me. So I figured I’d go on a “Quarantine Picnic” in my living room.

On my picnic, I packed chicken 65 bao, a black-eyed peas salad with a lemon vinaigrette, roohafza lemonade, and the very best nectarine cobbler I’ve ever had. I set up my red and white gingam picnic blanket next to the tv, laid out my tubber ware, pitcher, spoons, napkins, and plates and while wearing my brand new sunglasses for the full effect.

Peach Cobber is the queen of summertime picnic foods – one of my all time favorite desserts. But they’re not in season right now, and actually neither are nectarines but for some reason my dad bought a bunch of them during the grocery battles and I figured they’d be just as good in this recipe.

This is a pretty standard recipe, the one thing I do a little differently is add a little bit of cherry jam. Not enough to call it a cherry-nectarine cobbler, but enough to add a little extra tartness and flavor. Helps especially when your March nectarines are so-so in taste.

The cake batter is buttery and rich, the nectarines are tender without being too mushy and the sweetness is balanced with lemon juice. This nectarine cobbler is the stuff of indoor picnic dreams and tastes even better the next day!

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Nectarine Cobbler

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Nectarines

  • 4 1/2 cups nectarines (sliced); about 5 nectarines
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp cherry or strawberry jam
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon

Batter

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 small egg use half an egg if jumbo size
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 Tbsp white sugar

Instructions

  1. Wash, peel, and slice the nectarines. Add to a pot.

  2. Add 2 Tbsp butter, white sugar, brown sugar (2 Tbsp each), and jam to the pot. Stir on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until everything is well combined and the nectarines soften slightly.

Batter

  1. In a bowl, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add egg, milk, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, salt, baking powder, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon. Whisk thoroughly.

  2. In a medium-sized baking dish (8-9 inch pan) add your batter and then your nectarines mixture on top. Smoothen out into an even layer. Note – you can easily double this recipe to fit into a 13-inch dish!

  3. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 F for about an hour. Or until batter has set into a cake.

Salted Jaggery Caramel Banana Pudding

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Banana pudding is one of my ALL TIME favorite desserts!

It’s pretty standard wherever you go– vanilla pudding mix, sliced bananas, some type of cookie base – usually vanilla wafers – topped with fluffy whipped cream. It’s simple yet heavenly.

My version does something a little special – I incorporate a salted caramel made with jaggery, a molasses-like Indian palm sugar and top with some crunchy peanut chikki – a peanut brittle made of jaggery.

I keep the other elements the same (after all if it ain’t  broke don’t fix it), only I add some cream cheese to the pudding to help balance out the sweetness.

The salted jaggery caramel is simple enough – unlike making regular caramel which is very easy to burn, I make a sauce using butter, water, and some heavy cream yielding a thick and luscious result.

This Salted Caramel Jaggery Banana Pudding is perfect for your next summertime gathering and a fun version of your favorite classic!

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Ingredients

  • 2-3 Bananas
  • 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
  • 15-20 cookie of your choice (nila wafers, ginger snaps, chessmans)
  • 1 5 oz vanilla pudding mix package
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 8 oz block cream cheese
  • 1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 peanut chikki bar optional

Jaggery Caramel Sauce

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup jaggery (powder or cut very finely)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

Jaggery Caramel Sauce

  1. In a small sauce pan, melt your butter. Add your sugar, water, salt, heavy cream. Combine and stir on medium-high heat. Bring to boil then lower the heat. Cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken while it cools.

Banana Pudding

  1. In a large bowl, empty your pudding mix. Add milk according to package instructions. Combine. Beat in softened cream cheese along with sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

  2. In a separate bowl, whip up one cup of heavy cream until soft peaks are formed. Incorporate about a 1/3 of the whipped cream into the pudding mix. The rest of the whipped cream will be used to top the pudding at the end.

Assembly

  1. Line a large casserole dish (ideally around 13 X 8), with your cookies. Add your pudding mixture on top.

  2. Add your sliced bananas. Before adding them squeeze a little bit of lemon or lime juice. This will help prevent browning.

  3. Continue layering – I usually get about three. Once you get to your final layer, add your whipped cream. Top with your salted jaggery caramel. Add pieces of your peanut chikki. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours in the fridge before serving.

Cardamom Chai Tiramisu

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Since it’s a New Year I thought it was high-time that I tried something a little different with my content. So instead of just doing pictures and a written post, for this recipe I actually did a video! This is something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time and I’m thrilled to share it with you! Enjoy!

Tiramisu with classic Indian flavors
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Cardamom Chai Tiramisu

 Tiramisu flavored with cardamom, chai, and rosewater: an Italian-Indian fusion dessert

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup masala chai no sugar added!
  • 10-12 slices angel food cake may substitute with lady fingers!
  • 1 tsp chopped pistachios optional, for garnich
  • 3/4 tsp cardamom for garnish

Custard

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream (may substitute remaining egg whites)
  • 1/2 cup marscapone cheese
  • 3-4 tbsp sugar or to taste
  • 2 drops rosewater
  • 1 1/2 tsp cardamom
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions

Custard

  1. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla. 

  2. Create a double-broiler by bringing an inch of water in a pot to a boil to a simmer and fitting your bowl with your egg yolks on top. 

  3. On low heat, whisk eggs vigorously for a few minutes until they became a light yellow color. Make sure the water from the pot below does not hit the bowl with your custard. Set aside.

  4. In a separate bowl, whip up your heavy cream using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. (Traditionally egg whites are used in tiramisu, so if you don’t mind that using raw eggs, feel free to whip them up! It will make for an even lighter tiramisu!)

  5. Now add in your marscapone cheese to the heavy whipping cream and beat until well-incorporated. You should end up with a fluffy mixure.

  6. Add in your whipped cream + marscapone cheese mixture to the custard you made. Whisk together and make sure there are no lumps. 

  7. Now add in the cardamom, rose water, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust if necessary. The custard should not be too sweet because we will later be adding the cake when assembling. 

Assembly

  1. Using whatever dish you have (I used a 9.5 by 7.5 inch pyrex dish which allowed for two full layers), start assembling the first layer of cake. Spoon over the chai throughout. If you are using lady-fingers, dunk each one lightly into the chai on both sides. Make sure the chai is cool before doing this step or else everything will become mushy!

  2. Once you add the chai-soaked cake and/or lady-fingers, top with a layer of custard. 

  3. Repeat until you no longer have any custard left. 

  4. Top with cardamom and pistachios (optional). 

  5. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours. This will allow the custard to set and the flavors to meld together.