Chocolate Caramel Slice

I have always had an appreciation for caramel slice despite not having a sweet tooth; the crunchy coconut base, the sweet gooey caramel centre and the brittle slightly bitter chocolate topping, who came up with such perfect combination?

It would have been unthinkable for me to post such a "complex" baking recipe just 3 months ago, but then I was a non-baker and I am now quite a competent one :)

Despite having the three different components to tackle, it is indeed a very simple sweet to master. Well if I can do it, so can all of the closeted bakers out there!

p.s do excuse the quality of the photos, taken with my iphone on a rather overcast day at work.

makes 16
greased and lined 20cm x30cm lamington pan
oven pre-heated at 170 C (conventional)
for the base;
1/2 of cup of brown sugar
1/2 of cup self-raising flour
1 cup of desiccated coconut
1 cup of brown sugar
125g of butter, melted

for the caramel;
30g of butter
1 can (395g) sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs of golden syrup

for the chocolate topping;
200g of dark chocolate
2 tsp of cooking oil

First start with the base by mixing all ingredients in a mixing bowl until well combined. 

Press mixture evenly and firmly into the lined pan. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes or until browned lightly. Remove and allow to cool down while preparing the caramel.

To make the caramel filling - place butter and golden syrup in a saucepan and stir until the butter has melted, add the condensed milk, mix well and continue to cook over medium heat (stirring constantly) for about 10 minutes or until the caramel is golden brown.

Pour caramel over the base and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool while preparing the chocolate topping.

Stir chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth.

Pour over the caramel immediately, refrigerated for 3 hours or overnight.

Slice with a hot knife (submerge in boiling water and dry well) to prevent the chocolate topping from cracking.

Sweet Potato In Pandan And Ginger Flavoured Syrup 蕃薯糖水 - "Malaysian Monday 90"

This popular dessert of southern Chinese origin belongs to the 糖水 tong sui (literelly means sugar water in Cantonese, tang shui in Mandarin) or sweet soup family. Like all other sweet soups, it has taken on a local identity with the added pandan leaves (coconut milk is sometimes added to some) here in Malaysia. It adds the beautiful grassy perfume to the already aromatic tong sui  making it one of the most popular sweet snacks around.

Further north, Chinese immigrants also introduced sweet soups to Thailand. Like their Malaysian cousins, they have also added local ingredients to them over the years. This is known as man thate tom nam tan sai khing (sweet potatoes simmered in syrup with ginger) in Thai. With waning popularity among the younger generation, It is getting more difficult to come across tom nam tan vendors in the kingdom except in towns and cities with large Chinese population. When you do find one you are likely to find other popular offerings such as khao niu daeng tom nam tan (red sticky rice cooked in syrup) or luk dueay tom nam tan (job's tears cooked in syrup) among a dozen other sweet soups on offer. On the other hand the future is much brighter in Malaysia, trendy sweet soup joints are popping up all over the country thanks to the renewed enthusiasm on "foods with flavour of the past" (known as 古早味, gu cao wei in Mandarin).

My aunt who experienced the brutal Japanese occupation in Malaya rarely eats sweet potatoes when the occupation ended. She and her family survived mainly on sweet potato porridge, sweet potato vines and wild greens as food was scarce and difficult to come by. When sugar was available on the very rare occasions, a small pot of this sweet soup was sometimes prepared to cheer up the little ones in the family. Till these days she continues to remind us of the brutal living conditions of those dark years whenever she prepares this particular dish for us.

P.S It has been a rather lean month for MMM entries, remember to join us for our monthly roundup on all things Malaysian. I will put up the roundup on Monday, 1st Oct, so please send in your entries before that.

serves 4 as a sweet snack
you'll need;
2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
5 cm piece of ginger, sliced or bashed
2 pandan leaves, knotted
2 l of water
1/2 cup of  rock sugar or brown sugar

Peel and cut sweet potatoes into manageable pieces.

Slice or bash the ginger with a blunt object.

Place all ingredients in a pot and simmer until the sweet potato is tender. Check for sweetness, add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter dish.

Serve hot as a afternoon snack. It is equally delicious served chilled on hot summer days.

The infamous Japanese issued ten dollars note (1942-45) popularly known as the banana money due to the banana plant motif on the front of the note. According to my aunt one would need a whole sack of this just to buy a kati (11/3 lb or 604.7g) of sugar. My late grandfather like many others kept boxes of this valueless notes after the occupation hoping one day they can be exchanged to the local currency but to no avail.... now they serve a reminder of the dark days many experienced during the brutal occupation.

I am the host for the September event so please send all your entries to me at sureshchong@yahoo.com. To find out more about the event and on how to enter please click HERE.

Pear Tarte Tatin - Christmas Lunch 2011 Part 4

It would had been easier to serve a shop bought pudding to conclude our lunch but I decided to challenge myself with the fiddly task of baking one. Tarte tatin seemed like a very good choice for a non baker in a kitchen without the most basic baking essentials and tools.

It turned out to be a challenge indeed when I was making the caramel, luckily our friend A who is a chef saved the caramel and we did end up with a very delicious dessert. 

Using the sour cream pastry instead of the shop bought puff pastry most recipes called for was a very good decision. I highly recommend that as an alternative when you are making a tart/pie either sweet or savoury next.

Once again I must thank our friends B and A for making Christmas day 2011 a very memorable one!

serves 4
you'll need;
3 firm pears, peeled, cored and quartered
120 g of sugar
120 g of butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
sour cream pastry
fresh cream to serve

Prepare the pears and set aside. Don't worry if they discolour a little.

Place butter, sugar and spices in a pan and cook until the sugar dissolved and the mixture forms a light caramel.

When the caramel turns a lovely chestnut brown add the pears and cook until soften.

Pour off most of the caramel and arrange the pear pieces cut side up.

Roll out the sour cream pastry to a thickness of 3mm, cut pastry using plate slightly bigger than the pan as a guide. Place the pastry over the pears and tuck in the edges.

Bake the tarte tatin in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until it is golden brown. Place a plate slightly larger than the pan and invert the tart over.

Slice and serve with fresh cream and extra caramel sauce on the side.

The weather took a cynical turn and a large part of Victoria was pounded with a freak hail storm.... we ended up with a white Christmas down under!

Sago Gula Melaka, Pearl Sago Pudding With Palm Sugar Syrup And Coconut Water Granita - "Malaysian Monday 28"

I know it is already Thursday but it is never too late for a Malaysian Monday post right? You should be familiar with this popular dessert if you are a frequent visitor to any Malaysian restaurant, if not this might be a chance for you to try this delicious treat for the first time. This is my version with added soft tender coconut flesh and coconut water granita, I am extremely happy with the result to say the least.

Thank you for all the wonderful entries I received so far and I promise I'll be spending some time over the weekend to read each post properly.

recipe from the tummies' kitchen

makes 2 serves

you'll need;

1 young coconut

1 cup of pearl sago

pinch of salt

1 tsp of castor sugar

for the coconut milk dressing;

1 packet of instant coconut powder (50g)

200 ml of water

2 pandan leaves (screw pine leaves)

pinch of salt

pinch of castor sugar

for the palm sugar syrup;

450 g of gula Melaka (Malaysian palm sugar)

150 g of white sugar

350 ml of water

2 pandan leaves 

Cut open the young coconut using a sharp knife, reserving the coconut water and remove the tender flesh using an ice cream scope.

To make the coconut water granita - place the bowl with the coconut water in the freezer for 10 minutes and use a folk to break up the ice crystal. Repeat the process 4 to 5 times. Leave granita in the freezer until needed.

Soak peal sago for 5 minutes and drain well. Bring a 1L of water to a boil, lower the heat and slowly pour in the pearl sago, stirring as one pour. Continue to stir until sago turns transparent. Drain and rinse with cold water for a minute or two. Drain well and mix in the salt and sugar. Chill sago with half of the coconut flesh in individual serving bowl until needed.

To prepare the coconut milk dressing - Bring 200 ml of water to a boil with the pandan leaves. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. You should be left with 125 ml of water when it is done. Cool the pandan flavoured water a little before whisking in the coconut powder, salt and sugar. Chill until needed.

To prepare the palm sugar syrup - Bring 350 ml of water to a boil with the pandan leaves, lower heat and add in both type of sugar. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until it turns syrupy. Remove the pandan leaves and allow the syrup to cool.

To serve - Spoon coconut milk dressing and palm sugar syrup over the chilled pearl sago....

Top with some coconut water granita and a little more palm sugar syrup. 

I will be hosting the March event so please send all your entries to sureshchong@yahoo.com. For more informations about MMM please click Here.

Summer Pudding - Christmas Lunch 2010 Part 3

To complete our meal I decided to try my hands on one of my favourite puddings of all time - summer pudding. I did a quick goggle and picked the first recipe that turned up and to my delight it was one by Jill Dupliex, an Autralian food writer that I adore. This was done the night before leaving me very little to do on Christmas day. It was a nice way to finish our lunch with a delicious slice of summer on a plate and I will be making this again very soon. This is also my first post on dessert and hopefully you will be seeing a few more in the near future.

It was a terrific 2010 for all of us here at the tummies' and I am hoping for an even better 2011 ahead. I would like to thank all my friends and readers for your supports and encouragements for the past years. Thank you and happy new year to everyone of you!

recipe adopted from Jill Dupliex
you'll need to starts the recipe the day before
serves 4
you'll need;
125 g of raspberries
125 g of blackberries
250 g of strawberries
125 g of blueberries
30 ml of water
85 g of castor sugar
6 slices of stale white bread, crusts removed
fresh cream to serve

Combine 3/4 of the berries with water and sugar in a pot gently simmer until all the sugar has dissolved. Add the rest of the berries leaving some for garnish later and mix well.

Strain over a bowl catching all the juices.

Place a piece of bread at the base of a 500 ml pudding bowl (I used a regular bowl). Cut the rest of the slices into triangles try to assemble the pudding shell.

Once you have got the shape right, dip each piece of bread into the reserved juices and return it to the original position. Press it lightly with your fingers to close up any small gaps in between.

Pour the berries in together with some of the juices.

Cover it with the rest of the bread slices and drizzle with a bit more juices. Press it down with a saucer and weight it down with something heavy, refrigerate overnight. Chill the remaining juices as well.

To unmould the pudding - ease a knife between the pudding and the mould and invert it onto a plate. Garnish with the remaining fresh berries and pour the remaining juices over (which I forgot to do before taking the photos). Slice and serve with a dollop of fresh cream and a glass of good Australian sticky wine.