The great Eid bake off: Top 5 dessert recipes to indulge your guests with

The great Eid bake off: Top 5 dessert recipes to indulge your guests with
Eid is approaching, celebrations are due – and so are sweets...
Society
6 min read
Ayesha Razak
31 August, 2017
What are Eid celebrations without any sweet dishes? [Getty]
During Eid, communities come together to eat, pray and love. Energetic smiles fill the rooms as family and friends gather to fill their stomachs with an array of cuisine.

Food is central to Eid celebrations. And what are celebrations without any desserts?

This Eid wow your family and friends with some sweet delights from knafeh to panna cotta. 

We have teamed up with Ayesha Razak from mybigfathalalblog.com to bring you the top five dessert recipes to try.

FOR THE SUGAR SYRUP

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 or 2 sticks cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 tsp rose water (optional)

 FOR THE KNAFEH

  • 1 packet of knafeh dough (you can find this at many Middle Eastern grocery stores)
  • 6 tbsps butter/ghee
  • Orange powder food colouring (optional)
  • 1 litre milk
  • 4 heaped tbsps corn flour
  • 250g ricotta cheese
  • 200g mozzarella
  • Handful of pistachios

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 200°C
  2. Begin my adding the ingredients for the syrup to a pan and heat over a medium flame for about 10-15mins. Set aside and leave in the fridge until later.
  3. Add 4 tablespoons of butter/ghee to knafeh dough/pastry and mix with your hands so that the butter/ghee is spread evenly throughout the dough.
  4. Divide the dough in 2 halves.
  5. Spread 2 tablespoons of butter/ghee onto a 12” round baking tray. At this point you can add the orange food colouring to the ghee so that the top of the knafeh has an orange colour (optional).
  6. Spread one half of the dough onto the tray and press it down firmly.
  7. Place in the oven for 10-15mins until golden.
  8. For the cheese- heat 750ml milk in a non-stick pot and keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn.
  9. Mix 4 heaped teaspoons of corn flour in a separate cup of 250ml cold milk until it dissolves and add this to the milk in the pot. Keep stirring until the milk thickens to a custard-like consistency (add more corn flour if needed).

 10. Once the milk has thickened, add 250g of ricotta cheese  and 200g of mozzarella.

 11. Once the cheese has melted, use a hand held blender to  smooth the mixture.

 12. Pour the cheese over the dough that was in the oven and  leave the edges free of cheese to prevent burning.

 13. Place the other half of the knafeh dough over the cheese  and press down gently.

 14. Put in the oven again for 15mins until golden.

 15. Once done, pour the syrup over the knafeh and decorate  with nuts of your choice – I used pistachios.

Notes

  • You can find the knafeh dough and knafeh powder food colouring at Middle Eastern supermarkets


Kalakand
A creamy sweet type of Indian sweet

Ingredients

  • 1 tin condensed milk
  • 400g paneer
  • 3/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
  • Handful of chopped nuts to decorate - e.g almonds and pistachios

Instructions

  1. Line a square baking tray with grease proof paper and set aside.
  2. Finely grate the paneer.
  3. Add the grated paneer, condensed milk, cardamom powder and sugar to a pot and heat over a medium flame.
  4. Mix constantly to prevent burning for about 7-10 mins. Once the liquid starts to reduce and the mixture moves away from the pot remove from heat immediately.
  5. Pour the mixture into the baking tray and top with nuts.
  6. Once cooled, place the tray in the fridge overnight to set.
  7. The next day, cut the kalakand into squares and serve.

Notes

  • This recipe makes 12 large squares of kalakand.


Strawberry mousse
A refreshing summer strawberry dessert

Ingredients

  • 1 tin condensed milk (400g)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2tbsp icing sugar
  • 300g strawberries
  • 250g cottage cheese
  • 500ml whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

  1. Blend the condensed milk, lemon juice, icing sugar, strawberries and cottage cheese together.
  2. Add 1tsp of vanilla essence to the cream and whip until medium to stiff peaks form.
  3. Fold about 2/3 of the cream into the strawberry mixture.
  4. Divide the mixture into serving dishes.
  5. Pipe the remaining 1/3 on top and decorate with strawberries.

Notes

  • This recipe makes 6-8 servings


Mango panna cotta
A light and airy mango dessert

Day 3 of #Eidspiration 🤗 mango panna cotta on the blog now ✨ there's a link in the box 👆🏽- A #mbfhalalblog #Eid

A post shared by My Big Fat Halal Blog (@mybigfathalalblog_) on

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pint double cream
  • 9 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 3 tsp of halal gelatine granules
  • 3 mangoes

 Instructions

  1. Begin by mixing the cream, sugar and vanilla paste and bring this to a boil.
  2. Carefully add the gelatine granules, making sure everything is blended well.
  3. Set in dessert bowls and chill for several hours in a fridge
  4. Liquidise and chill the mangoes
  5. Once the panna cotta has set, top with mango and some cream.

Notes 

  • You could use sweetened mango pulp if fresh mangoes are not available


Malva pudding
My favourite South African dessert. A spongy caramelised pudding topped with hot, buttery, vanilla cream

Ingredients

FOR THE SPONGE

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 heaped tbsp apricot jam
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE SAUCE

  • 1 cup double cream
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup hot water
  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence

 Instructions

  1. Begin by beating the sugar and egg well and then add in the apricot jam.
  2. In a separate bowl sift together the flour, self raising flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. In another separate bowl mix together the melted butter, milk, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
  4. Add all the above ingredients to the jam mixture by adding this alternatively.
  5. Bake for 50mins - 1hr at 180°C in a large rectangular dish or use cake moulds for individual puddings.
  6. For the sauce, add all the ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil.
  7. Pour the sauce over the pudding as soon as it is baked and serve warm.

Notes

  • The pudding is delicious with a scoop of ice cream.


Ayesha Razak is a food blogger. For more food recipes and where to eat, check her blog at mybigfathalalblog.com.
 

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