Just dessert

Ramadhan, another excuse to invite friends to come over and having dinner together or just having some dessert. This first 2 evenings during Ramadhan, I invited friends to come over. First night I made"Potato Gratin" and "Pasta and Vegetables soup", second night I made "Beef Rendang" and "Mushroom and Vegetables". For dessert I made "Lapis Surabaya" and "Chocolate Mousse"

-> Potato Gratin:

    30 gr butter

    1 medium onion (sliced ring)

     500 gr potato (sliced)

     250 ml cream

     200 gr Parmesan cheese (grated, separate 1/3)

     salt and black pepper

Heat the butter on the pan and cook onion for 5 minute or until soft. Arrange the potato with a layer of the onion ring and cheese. Continue layering in this order until all potato, onion ring and cheese have been used up. Mixed cream, salt and black pepper in a big glass, whisk gently and pour the mixture over the layered potato and onion. At the end sprinkled 1/3 cheese on top and baked for 40 minutes.

-> Pasta and Vegetables Soup
    250 gr macaroni
    6 medium tomatoes (blendered)
    1 medium onion (chopped)
    500 ml water
    4 cubes vegetables or chicken stock
    1 can bean
    1 can sweet corn
    cooking oil
    salt and black pepper


Heat cooking oil on the pan and cooked onion until soft. Pour tomato and water into onion and bring it boiled. Add vegetables or chicken stock and leave it for 3 minutes. Pu the macaroni inside the mixture and cooked for 5 minutes. Add bean and corn and cook until the macaroni al dante. (I am sorry I don't have the picture for this soup).

-> Lapis Surabaya
    White cake:
    5 egg yolks
    3 egg whites
    75 gr caster sugar
    35 gr flour
    15 gr powder milk
    100 gr butter (melted)
    strawberry jam 
    
    Chocolate cake:
    (The different just flour mixture, the rest are the same)
    25 gr flour
    15 gr chocolate powder
    10 gr powder milk


Mix eggs, sugar until creamy and fluffy. Mix flour and powder milk (for chocolate cake, including chocolate powder) and put into egg mixture, folded with wooden spoon. 
Pour butter into mixture of egg and flour. Stir well and pour into cake tin covered with butter and bake paper. Bake for 15 minutes.


Make 2 chocolate cake and 1 white cake or the other way around and layered with strawberry jam in between.

-> Chocolate Mousse
    200 gr dark chocolate (chopped)
    3 medium eggs (separated)
    250 ml whipping cream
    2 tbsp alcohol (brandy, cognac, baileys - optional)


Melt chocolate by placing it in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Whip cream until soft peaks form.
Gently whisk egg yolk with alcohol and pour into cool melted chocolate. Add spoonful of cream and egg whites and stir. Continue mix in this order until cream and egg whites have been used up and make sure all mix up very well. Spoon into serving bowl and refrigerate about 3-4 hours. You could serve the chocolate mousse with cream and sprinkled chopped almond or fresh strawberry.


Happy cooking and baking always.....


Kabul, 13 August 2010