Sweet Archives - Tableya

Kahk (Butter-Free)

June 14, 2018 by Nevine Leave a Comment

Egyptian Ramadan and Eid El Fitr go hand in hand with an abundance of butter and ghee. Which I don’t eat purely for flavour related reasons. Yes, I know I’m weird😁

Anyway; since this year a lot of fellow Egyptian Coptics are fasting, plus I’m really craving snowy white ghee-less kahk that unfortunately is not sold at any kind of self-respecting bakery mere days before Eid, I’ve decided to make an experiment.

This isn’t your regular gooey, melt-in-your-mouth kahk recipe, but it hits the spot for people like me (Anyone out there? That will make two of us.) or our Coptic buddies who are fasting these days but would like to enjoy some kahk with their morning cuppa.

Quick note: I haven’t tried stuffing this kahk because the dough is kind of delicate. You need to warm some in your hand first then gently create a small ball.

Ingredients:

250 grams all-purpose flour
125 grams sunflower oil
30 grams honey
1 teaspoon kahk flavour
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon water

Directions:

Add salt, sesame seeds and kahk flavour to flour.

Gently heat the oil until it’s very warm. Make sure you do not let it reach its smoking point.

Add hot oil to flour mixture and mix thoroughly, making sure all flour particles have been coated with oil.

When mixture cools down to being slightly warm, add yeast, honey, and water. A tiny teaspoon is enough. Don’t add any more or the kahk will be too dry. Mix well with your hands.

Start shaping the dough in the palm of your hands by making small balls. It will be a bit crumbly so it might be easier to use some kind of mold to shape it. I used a special maamoul mold as well as a small watermelon scooper for bite size kahk.

You can then make little crevices on the kahk using a small fork or even this. Again, press gently so the kahk doesn’t crack.

Bake in a preheated 180-190 c oven for 15-20 minutes until the kahk is a light tan in color and the bottoms are just starting to brown.

When it cools down, sprinkle with powdered sugar and keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

I leave you with a blooper.

Cookie Butter

January 18, 2018 by Nevine Leave a Comment

It’s never a good idea to have a huge jar of something that includes both cookie and butter in its name lying around.

But when it comes to cookies in general and Biscoff in particular, it’s always worth the indulgence.

I don’t know who dreamed up the idea of turning a delicious cookie into a creamy, gooey spread that can be made into sandwiches, slathered on croissants or be used as an ingredient to make OTHER decadent desserts; but I love that human being from the bottom of my sweet-toothed heart.

This recipe can be used with all kinds of cookies. We’re talking peanut butter, chocolate chip, Oreos (but remove the white center first).

The sky’s the limit. And the appetite;-)

Recipe adapted from A Beautiful Mess

Ingredients:
2 cups cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons coconut oil or ½ stick of butter
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup evaporated milk
Water

Directions:

Gather your ingredients

Pulse cookies in food processor until they turn into crumbs. Melt butter or coconut oil on gentle heat then add the condensed milk and evaporated milk. Mix all ingredients together except water. I put everything together here because I have no patience.

Note: Different cookies need different amounts of liquid. It’s a good idea to add the liquid bit by bit until you get the consistency you want which should be thick and creamy.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours then with a spoon, add small teaspoonfuls of water to the mixture and stir well to get a smoother consistency. Some people like it thick like peanut butter and others like it more loose and dippable. Take your pick.

It should keep around a week or more in the fridge. If it lasts that long that is.

Almond Date Oatmeal Cookies

February 1, 2015 by Nevine 2 Comments

These cookies were basically an accident. My twin terrors were screaming for more “kota”- their word for biscuits-and I had just run out. So I hurriedly threw together a couple of what I considered healthy ingredients I had on hand in the food processor and found myself with a pile of delicious cookies I couldn’t get enough of.

The best thing about these cookies is that they’re really easy to make and actually full of good stuff. They’re pretty filling too so you won’t be tempted to eat more than a couple.

Oh yeah, and they’re oil and butter free;)

Ingredients:
1 cup instant oats
1 cup wholewheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
½ cup almonds
¼ cup raisins
7-10 pitted medjool dates
¾ Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix everything together in your food processor and pulse until mixture comes together.

Use a spoon to scoop balls of sticky cookie dough onto greased baking sheet. Flatten them with the back of the spoon.

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for around 12 minutes and be careful not to over bake or they will become dry and break-your-tooth tough.

Easy Caramel Sauce

February 1, 2015 by Nevine 2 Comments

I will not start by talking about my multiple caramel sauce failures over the years. I tried it all; wet caramel, dry caramel, the microwave method…you name it, I’ve tried it and failed.

The reason I’ve been trying so hard is because I love caramel from the bottom of my gluttonny little heart; smooth, velvety, rich caramel sauce drizzled over a scoop of vanilla ice cream nestled on top of a huge slice of homemade apple pie. I also love caramel covered popcorn. And caramel candy.

Caramel…

Anyway, this is an incredibly easy recipe for caramel sauce that doesn’t require any messing about with burnt sugar and all that jazz.

Oh and in case you still don’t get it, I love caramel!

Adapted from Pioneer Woman
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon butter (feel free to add more)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk lightly until it thickens to your liking (you can make it thin or cook it longer for a thicker sauce).

How To: DIY Brown Sugar

February 1, 2015 by Nevine Leave a Comment

After spending the last 32 years buying really expensive imported brown sugar, hiding it from my brother in a secret cupboard, and avoiding most recipes that call for brown sugar so I don’t waste it; I discovered that I could’ve saved millions (well okay hundreds) by making my own.

Needless to say, I’m a little annoyed.

The “recipe” is so incredibly easy and cheap that you’ll be kicking yourself for not knowing about this sooner. Unless you already know, and in that case I don’t like you. You should’ve told me!

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon molasses

Directions:
Add molasses to sugar and mix with a fork.
That’s it.
.
.
.
.
.
No really, that’s it.

Two-ingredient Mini Nutella Croissants

January 15, 2015 by Nevine 2 Comments

I had a hell of a time coming up with a name for these things. I really wanted to go with Super Easy and Quick Two-ingredient Mini Nutella Chocolate Stuffed Croissants that Taste Just Like Molto. Molto is a super addictive snack beloved by Egyptians everywhere, by the way.

There’s really not much to say about these delightful little morsels. Croissants stuffed with chocolatey Nutella in under 20 minutes.

Need I say anything more?

Ingredients:
1 package of frozen puff pastry
1 jar of Nutella

Let pastry thaw at room temperature until it’s still cold but easy to work with.

Flatten it into a large circle.

Divide circle into equal sized triangles (I used my pizza cutter for this)

Put a dollop of Nutella at the base of each triangle.

Roll triangle into croissant shape, making sure to seal the edges well so chocolate doesn’t ooze out during baking.

Now pinch the tip of the triangle so that it sticks. That way the croissant won’t come apart as the pastry puffs up in the oven.

Arrange croissants on baking sheet and brush the tops with a little milk to give them a nice browned colour as they bake.

Bake in a 200 c degree pre-heated oven until they are nice and all puffed up.

You’ll have to eat these up on the same day because they don’t keep very well. Sorry, I know that will be difficult.

Peach Kunafa

July 17, 2014 by Nevine Leave a Comment

So Ramadan is coming to an end and I kind of dug myself into a hole. I posted a Facebook status saying that kunafa with Nutella is kind of disgusting. And apparently everyone thought that meant I was a kunafa purist. Which I’m totally not. I just think that syrupy kunafa doesn’t go with sickly sweet chocolate goo. Ew.

But kunafa and fresh peaches, now that is another story.

Imagine this; warm slices of peaches with hints of vanilla and cinnamon sandwiched in between two layers of kunafa, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

Nothing more to say, is there?

Ingredients:
Peach filling:
1 kilo fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons corn starch
I teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Kunafa:
500 grams raw kunafa, fluffed and cut into short strands
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups thick sugar syrup, chilled

Garnish:
4 cups whipped cream
¾ cup caramel sauce

Grease your pan and work oil well into kunafa strands. Pat the first kunafa layer into the bottom of the pan, pressing on it until even.

Prepare peach filling by boiling water, corn flour, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and stirring in peach slices.
Pour mixture on top of the first kunafa layer in the pan.

A little caramel here can’t hurt.

Press in more kunafa on top of the peach filling to create a second layer, creating a kunafa “sandwich”.

Bake in a preheated 220 c oven until the kunafa turns LIGHT golden brown and take it out.
Immediately pour the cold sugar syrup over the hot kunafa while it’s still in the pan, drenching it.

Flip it upside down on a serving plate with one quick motion. The bottom (now top) kunafa layer will be a darker golden brown than the other side, which is what you want.

Let the kunafa cool down, then garnish it with the whipped cream and drizzle more caramel on top of it. You won’t be sorry.

Peach Kunafa

Ingredients

Peach filling:
1 kilo fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons corn starch
I teaspoon sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Kunafa:
500 grams raw kunafa, fluffed and cut into short strands
1 cup sunflower oil
2 cups thick sugar syrup, chilled
Garnish:
4 cups whipped cream
¾ cup caramel sauce

Instructions

Grease your pan and work oil well into kunafa strands. Pat the first kunafa layer into the bottom of the pan, pressing on it until even.
Prepare peach filling by boiling water, corn flour, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla and stirring in peach slices.
Pour mixture on top of the first kunafa layer in the pan. A little caramel here can’t hurt.
Press in more kunafa on top of the peach filling to create a second layer, creating a kunafa “sandwich”.
Bake in a preheated 220 c oven until the kunafa turns LIGHT golden brown and take it out.
Immediately pour the cold sugar syrup over the hot kunafa while it’s in the pan, drenching it.
Flip it upside down on a serving plate with one quick motion. The bottom (now top) kunafa layer will be a darker golden brown than the other side, which is what you want.
Let the kunafa cool down, then garnish it with the whipped cream and drizzle more caramel on top of it.

Apple Pie Kunafa

November 27, 2013 by Nevine 2 Comments

Do you like apple pie? Good. Do you like kunafa? Great!

Hi there! I’m..uh..back! Again. Hopefully, back back this time.

I really don’t want this to turn into a complaint fest akin to the type I have with my mother on the phone every morning, so suffice to say that life with six month old twins is…interesting. I don’t think I’ll be cooking much for the next three and a half years. Or eating. Or sleeping. Or brushing the bird’s nest-like frizz currently attached to my head.

But hey, it’s Ramadan! Food, food and more food is on everyone’s mind. And where there’s Ramadan food, kunafa is almost always there, in all its ooey, gooey calorie ridden glory. Although we all love the traditional syrupy one with all the nuts, sometimes it’s nice to try something a bit different. 2013 favourites include mango, Nutella and red velvet kunafas. Nice, huh?

While munching on a red velvet piece, it suddenly dawned on me that kunafa was just like pie; fruit, cream, nuts, almost anything sweet can be added to it and it would be incredibly yummy. Good news is, it’s much easier to make than pie but equally delicious.

Ready for my idea of the perfect dessert?

Apple. Cinnamon. Cream.

All the flavours of apple pie on a golden, crunchy, caramelly kunafa crust.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 pound kunafa
1 cup corn oil (you can use melted butter)

Apple filling:
2 medium apples (I used sweet, firm apples)
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Juice of one lime/lemon
Raisins (optional)

Cream:
1 cup milk
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Make your caramel first. Caramel is tricky. If you mess up more than three batches- and two pots, a spoon and possibly a finger- give up and just buy it ready made.

You’ll need a good, sturdy preferably stainless steel heavy bottomed pot. Don’t use teflon or your favourite, most expensive Hello Kitty short sided pan.

Put water. Add sugar. Stir gently on medium high heat with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Then stop! DO NOT stir again. You could cover the pot and/or brush the sides of the pot to avoid crystallization of the sugar. Swirl mixture every now and then, again NO stirring.

Keep milk handy, you’ll need it soon.

As soon as mixture starts turning a rusty yellow, keep your eye on it and get ready to take it off the heat as soon as it turns light golden brown.

Make sure you wear an oven mitt.

Ready?

Take pot off the stove (maybe into sink, to avoid any accidental messes), add half of the milk and whisk quickly. It will bubble furiously. Keep whisking, and return to stove over a low heat. Add the rest of the milk until you have the desired consistency.

You want a thin sauce.

Now you can get to the kunafa.

Add oil (or melted butter) to kunafa and then use your fingers to “fluff” it, cutting the long strands into shorter pieces.

Press the doughy strands into well greased cupcake molds, then bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius until they turn a dark golden colour.

I made an Egyptian milk custard (Muhalabeya) to be the creamy base for the apple filling. It’s incredibly easy and goes perfectly with the kunafa.

Bring milk to the boil with sugar. Dissolve corn starch with a little milk in a separate bowl then add it to pot. Add vanilla. Whisk mixture over medium heat till it becomes the consistency of a thin custard. Don’t worry, it will thicken a bit more as it cools down.

AppleNCinnamon time!

Peel and cut apples into medium sized cubes and immediately squeeze a lime over them to avoid browning.

Dissolve corn starch in water. Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil.

Add apples and raisins and simmer until apples are tender.

Now we’re ready to assemble our apple pie kunafa “cup cakes”.

Drizzle with caramel and set aside for five minutes.

Place a dollop of cream in the center.

Add a big spoonful of the warm apple mixture.

Ramadan Kareem:)

Apple Pie Kunafa

Ingredients

Crust: 1 pound kunafa, 1 cup corn oil (you can use melted butter)
Apple filling: 2 medium apples (I used sweet, firm apples), 1 cup water, 1 Tablespoon corn starch, 2 teaspoons sugar, ½ Tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon vanilla, Juice of one lime/lemon, Raisins (optional)
Cream: 1 cup milk, 1 Tablespoon corn starch, ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
Caramel sauce: 1 cup sugar, ½ cup water, ½ cup warm milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Caramel: a. Put water. Add sugar. Stir gently on medium high heat with a wooden spoon until sugar dissolves. Then stop! DO NOT stir again. You could cover the pot and/or brush the sides of the pot to avoid crystallization of the sugar. Swirl mixture every now and then, again NO stirring. b. As soon as mixture starts turning a rusty yellow, keep your eye on it and get ready to take it off the heat as soon as it turns light golden brown. c. Take pot off the stove (maybe into sink, to avoid any accidental messes), add half of the milk and whisk quickly. It will bubble furiously. Keep whisking, and return to stove over a low heat. Add the rest of the milk until you have the desired consistency.
Kunafa: a. Add oil (or melted butter) to kunafa and then use your fingers to “fluff” it, cutting the long strands into shorter pieces. b. Press the doughy strands into well greased cupcake molds, then bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius until they turn a dark golden colour.
Muhalabeya: Bring milk to the boil with sugar. Dissolve corn starch with a little milk in a separate bowl then add it to pot. Add vanilla. Whisk mixture over medium heat till it becomes the consistency of a thin custard.
Apple Filling: a. Peel and cut apples into medium sized cubes and immediately squeeze a lime over them to avoid browning. b. Dissolve corn starch in water. Add sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. c. Add apples and raisins and simmer until apples are tender.
How to make mini kunafas: a. Drizzle with caramel and set aside for five minutes (while still in pan) b. Place a dollop of cream in the centre of each kunafa. c. Add a big spoonful of the warm apple mixture.

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