Delish desserts to die for

Cooking with Fajeeda Ashik, author, Faji's Hotpot Book of Flavours

Saffron Milk Cake
Cooking time: 40mins
Makes: 20 squares
Ingredients:
Sponge cake
6 eggs
1cup all-purpose flour
1cup sugar
½tsp baking powder
½tsp vanilla essence
½tsp saffron
1tbsp warm milk
1tsp oil
A pinch of salt
Few drops of green
food colour
For the milk
2 tins evaporated milk
2 tins condensed milk
2 cups milk
¾tsp saffron soaked in
warm milk
Few drops of yellow colour
1 cup whipping cream
Crushed pistachios and rose petals for garnish

Method:
Sponge cake: Soak saffron in 1tbsp warm milk. Beat the eggs and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add oil, vanilla essence and saffron milk Sieve the dry ingredients and fold in well into the beaten egg mixture. Grease a cake tin with butter and dust with flour. Pour the prepared sponge batter into the cake tin. Preheat the oven at 200°C for 10mins. Bake the cake at 180°C for 15 to 20 mins or till the tester comes out clean.
Cool the cake well and poke few holes on the cake.
The milk: Mix all the ingredients together except the whipping cream. Reserve 1 cup to pour while serving. Once the cake is cooled, pour the milk over it. Whip the cream and pipe over the cake. Garnish with crushed pistachios and rose petals. Keep this refrigerated for a few hours or overnight. Just before serving, cut into squares and pour the reserved milk over each piece.
Red Velvet Macarons
Cooking Time: 1hr 15mins
Makes: 30pairs
Ingredients:
For the shells
70gm egg white
80gm almond powder
140gm icing sugar
6gm cocoa powder
35gms granulated sugar
1tsp red gel food colour
For filling
100gm butter
1 cup icing sugar
6tbsp cream cheese
½tsp vanilla essence

Method:
The shells: Beat the egg whites (room temperature) along with the granulated sugar until almost stiff peaks appear. Add the gel colour and beat till peaks become stiffer. Sieve the almond powder, cocoa powder and icing sugar together. Fold this into the egg-white mixture gradually with a spatula until the batter becomes thick and shiny. When the spatula is lifted, the batter should fall like a thick ribbon. This batter is called macronage. Line up the baking trays with baking paper, or place a macaron template under the baking paper to get perfect-shaped shells. Pour the macronage into a piping bag fitted with a round tip nozzle. Pipe round shapes on the baking paper. Tap the baking tray on the kitchen counter a few times to knock out the air bubbles. Let the shells dry for 15 to 30 mins. When touched, they should not stick to the finger. Preheat the oven at 150°C for 10 to 15 mins. Bake the shells for 15 to 18 mins or till done. After baking, let it sit on the tray for 10 mins before removing. Once the shells are cool, peel it from the baking paper and pair with same-sized shells. Prepare the filling by beating all the ingredients until creamy. Pipe out the cream on one shell and place the other shell on top.
Refrigerate for a few hours and serve.
Mango Panna Cotta
Cooking Time: 30mins
Makes: 10 glasses
Ingredients:
Panna Cotta
1½ cups milk
1½cups heavy cream
½ to ¾ cup condensed milk
1tsp vanilla essence
3tsp gelatine
¼ cup water
For mango puree
3 to 4 ripe mangoes
4 tbsp sugar
2tsp gelatine
¼ cup water
For garnishing
A few pistachios and mint leaves

Method:
Panna Cotta: Soak the gelatine in water. In a pan, heat the milk and condensed milk. Double boil the gelatine and pour this into the milk mixture. Add the cream and vanilla essence and mix well. Leave to set.
Mango puree: Soak the gelatine in water. Puree the mangoes along with sugar. Double boil the gelatine and mix with the puree.
To assemble: Pour the panna cotta into glasses and refrigerate for setting. If you want to set it in a slanting way, keep the glasses in a slanting position. Once it sets, pour the mango puree on top and return to fridge until fully set. Garnish with crushed pistachios and mint leaves. Serve cool.