Childhood memories and 'Kokotendes' :-)

Eid at my Nursery school in Nairobi was a very special event. Other than having the day off, we used to have a whole day in the week to just celebrate and enjoy.

I remember my little 5 year old self feasting on crispy orange 'jelebis' (an indian sweet treat that is made by deep frying a batter and then soaking it in sweet syrup), shakkarparay (a fried doughy sweet)  chocolates, strawberry flavoured milkshake with a dollop of icecream floating in it and my ultimate favourite...Kokotende!!!

What is kokotende???.. well its a traditional African sweet made out of dough that is shaped in to cute little shells, deep fried and then coated in a sugar syrup. These are Divine!..especially when they're made extra browned and extra crispy (my personal preference!!)

The original name was Kokwa Za Tende, which is a swahili name that means date-seeds, but due to mispronounciation by the 'Wahindi' (local indians), it got shortened to Kokotende..and that's what its known as until today.

Anyway, my mum <3 and I have a very similar taste in foods and when I mentioned it to her that I want to give it a go and make some of these she encouraged me. I was a bit skeptical because I'm not one who fries a lot in my kitchen and I'm usually into baking or desserts.

I had the perfect recipe handy thanks to my friend/aunt Fauzia from Fauzia's kitchen fun. Her recipes never ever fail me and I know that she's tried and tested everything so its safe to give her recipes a shot. I will post a link to her Facebook page at the bottom of this entry.

The recipe was surprisingly easy, even though it involved making a dough (which is one of the things that has caused me grief in the kitchen). It was simple and straightforward and managed to come together in only a couple of minutes. I then had to roll up little balls of the dough and used a fork to roll out little shell-like shapes.

After frying them until they turned a golden brown, I coated them in a sugar syrup that hardened.

That was it. All done!!..with brilliant results.

I quickly hopped in to the car and couriered some to my parents place. Seeing my mummy taste them and say that they were delicious was all that I needed :-)

Whats more, I got a seal of approval from the Taste Tester when he got home from work. YAY!!

I would definitely recommend giving these a go.

I'm looking forward to Eid now, because now I can have my kokotendes :-)

Here's the recipe (courtesy of Fauzia)

2 cups flour
4 tbsp fine semolina
1 tsp baking powder
half tsp cardamon powder
2 tbsp melted butter
milk/water or coconut milk 3/4 to 1 cup
egg white (optional)
pinch of salt

Knead together the ingredients to a dough, not too soft not too hard. Form tiny balls n shape using a fork, by pressing the tiny ball of dough on the back of a fork and rolling it away to give a perfect sea-shell shape. Then fry on low heat until golden n crispy. If you fry on too high heat, they will be soft on the inside, and you want these super crisp. So once the oil is hot enough, put them in and then immediately lower the heat and keep stirring, let them gradually colour up to a lovely golden brown. Drain and set aside then make the sugar coating:

Sugar coating

1 cup sugar
half cup water
drop of vanilla
pinch of cardamon

Boil until thick n sticky, add the fried kokwas n toss, then spread out on a pan to dry. Store in airtight container!

Check out Fauzia's kitchen fun here

Take care everyone :-)

-S

Chocolate Fondant :-)

"Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies."

I love that quote because its so so true.

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like chocolate. And a chocolate dessert eaten hot is something that I always wanted to make- by that I don't mean heated up brownies with ice cream (Although that is awesome too!!)

Anyway, this weekend my uncle and aunt came down to stay over at my parents place and I really really wanted to try and make something new- and chocolatey!

Now usually, I wouldn't try making something for the first time when someone comes over, but with them, its a different story!

I had once watched Rachel Allen make white chocolate buns and really wanted to try them out, but when I removed them from the oven, to my horror, they had sunk and didn't look like muffins but like some weird valley shaped flat cookies. What was worse- they had stuck to the muffin cups and it was a mission to get them out! I was SO upset- and that was the day my uncle and aunt had come to visit- so I gave them some to taste. I tried to cover up my embarrassment by smiling really wide and making jokes while they both tried one.

It was really cute watching my uncle try to peel off the muffin case from this sad excuse of a bun- but it made me really happy that they were going to try it even though it was such a disaster!!

Anyhow, they had the 'buns' , and to my surprise enjoyed them (I think!!) , saying that I could pretend they were meant to be chewy cookies!

By the end, I was really happy and tried some myself!!

The point is..I'm not afraid anymore to try anything new when they come over because if it does turn out a disaster- I know they won't mind :-)

So this weekend I decided to try out chocolate fondant. After spending the last few weeks watching the second season of Masterchef Australia and watching Callum Hann successfully make these lovely little puddings, I wanted to try it too!!

I searched for the best recipe I could come across and was left with two choices; Gordon Ramsay's (which I doubt anybody could go wrong with) or Nigella Lawson's (molten chocolate babycakes).

I chose Nigella because so far this Domestic Goddess hasn't failed me!!

The batter was really easy to make and I made it a couple of hours before dessert was supposed to be served.

I didn't have individual ramekins so I greased my silicon muffin tray and used that (which was not a problem at all in case anybody wants to try that- just line the bottom of the moulds with baking paper).

I did a test run before making the actual fondants and I have to say I was SO nervous before my 'Taste tester' (the husband) broke into the cake. I was hoping it was cooked perfectly, and sure enough when he sliced it open there ran a puddle of hot melted chocolate!!!

I was sooooooo happy I did a little jig :-D

This recipe was so easy and foolproof!!! (and definitely 100% worth the calories!!) 

Serve with a little vanilla ice cream and Enjoy :-)

Nigella Lawson's Molten Chocolate Babycakes

50 g soft unsalted butter, plus more for greasing

350 g (12 oz) best dark chocolate
150 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
4 large eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50 g (1/3 cup) plain flour
6 individual pudding moulds, buttered
Baking parchment

Preheat oven to 200 C/Gas mark 6/400 F; put baking sheet in. Draw around pudding mould on baking parchment and cut out six circles; line bottom of tin with baking parchment.

Melt chocolate and let it cool slightly. Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually beat in the eggs and salt, then the vanilla. Now add the flour and when all is smoothly combined, scrape in the cooled chocolate, blending it to a smooth batter. Divide the batter between the 6 moulds, quickly whip the baking sheet out of the oven, arrange the little tins on it and replace in the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes (the extra 2 minutes will be needed if the puddings are fridge-cold when you start). As soon as you take them out of the oven, tip the babycakes onto a small plate or shallow bowl. Serve with whipped cream, crème friche or ice- cream.


-S

My first blog entry!!

After spending lots of time browsing through blogs- I finally decided to open one of my own.

So here we go. A TableSpoon of This...

Here I'll mainly be blogging about my passion...which is baking!!..I absolutely adore baking, and am always on the lookout for wonderful new recipes to try out.

It all started about a year ago, when my husband and I moved into our current home. After spending time in a tiny kitchen that could only fit two people (without any space to move at all), we finally got a kitchen that was big enough for me to enjoy cooking in!...

I first started by downloading Nigella Lawson's application on my iPod. After spending the first 15 minutes looking through the recipes, I got an urge to dash into the kitchen and cause mayhem!!!

I started off with her chocolate walnut brownies which turned out divine!!!..the joy of baking was something else!!...For that hour in the kitchen I was lost in my own world..it was fun!!!..melting the chocolate, whisking, chopping..and finally, the gorgeous aroma wafting out of the oven! I was in love!!

So from there it started. My love for baking. After that, I always looked for the opportunity to get in to the kitchen and try something new.

Its not only baking that I enjoy, I love trying out savoury dishes as well...but with desserts and cakes come a different kind of delight! (not to mention the result, when you cut a slice of hot cake or dig in to a yummy new dessert!!)

So here it is!!..I'm not very good at words and sometimes can't express myself, but I will try and post up pictures and recipes, which I hope you all can enjoy and try out!!

Take care everyone :-)

-S