Nutella Trifle

This natural dessert is fairly easy to prepare, and it gets a lot of compliments.  I wouldn’t recommend it for a weeknight conclusion to a meal, but for a big party it’s wonderful. Nutella, whipped cream and bananas are a luscious combo and the bit of crunch supplied by the cookies and Werthers make it so much better.

I was making this for a large barbecue crowd, but you can divide this recipe in half to feed a smaller group.  It takes less than an hour of prep but several hours of chilling.  You will want to use a large, pretty glass bowl to show off the layers of this dessert.

Jaggery, or shakkar, is slightly healthier than brown sugar.

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon corn starch

1 cup jaggery (or brown sugar)

4 cups 2% milk, or whole if you prefer

1 cup 17% cream

2/3 cup nutella (for custard)

pinches of salt (to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla (for pudding)

1/3 cup nutella (for drizzling)

 one sleeve package of chocolate wafers 

2 bananas, sliced

4 or 5 Werthers Originals (hard butter scotch candies)

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla sugar or regular sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla (for cream)

Start by whisking cornstarch and jaggery with a bit of the milk, just to make a smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk and cream, and set on medium heat.  Keep a close eye on it, stirring often so it cooks evenly.  As the mix becomes hot, add the nutella for the pudding.  It’ll be spotty and granulated at first, but as the mix cooks, it will melt out and combine beautifully with the milk and cream.  As it thickens, stir continuously. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, still stirring, then remove from heat.  Add vanilla and salt to taste.  Set aside just to cool a bit. (Some would cover it with wax paper to prevent a film from forming, but this will be a very textured dessert, so no worries.)

No need to use the entire sleeve of chocolate wafers. Keep some aside for something else, or for decorating the dish later.  I used about seven eighths of the package. Put them in a heavy freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin.  You want a combination of small pieces and crumbs.  Put almost half of them into the bottom of the pretty glass bowl.  Spoon half the pudding over the cookie pieces.  Then add your next layer of cookie pieces and crumbs.  (Keep a bit more for the final step.)

Put nutella into the microwave just long enough to loosen it up a bit, about forty seconds.  Drizzle some of it

Make it pretty cause some will show!

over cookie crumbs, then add the rest of the pudding.  Top with sliced bananas and drizzle the rest of the nutella over that.  Set in fridge to cool. 

Once the pudding is cold, whip the cream, and as it thickens, add vanilla sugar if you have it, plain if you don’t.  Once it’s nearly making soft peaks, add the vanilla.  It should make good peaks, but be careful not to overwhip, especially in a hot kitchen.  

Dollop the whipped cream around the perimeter of the cool pudding. Sprinkle the last of the cookie crumbs over all.  Put hard butter scotch candies into the cookie bag, and bash with a rolling pin, till you have broken bits.  Sprinkle them on top of  all.  You could decorate with the last of those chocolate wafers if you like.  Put the trifle back into the fridge to chill till serving time.

A glass bowl reveals the scrumptious layers!

Made it eggless so it wouldn't get scary!

We were having a big barbecue on a very warm evening where desserts were placed on an outdoor buffet table.  If I were serving this indoors, or in cooler temperatures, I would have used an egg based cornstarch custard, but this recipe was safer.  A starch and egg custard is richer and more luxurious, but with the cream, whipped cream and nutella, nobody noticed the missing factor.  

This would make a fabulous and fancy dessert for any occasion.  You don’t need to wait for a big barbecue!  You could even stick candles in this and call it a birthday trifle!  It will be a hit, no matter what.

Did I mention this was a Barbershop Barbercue?

Wilma’s Miracle Cheese Biscuits

I’ve been making baking powder biscuits since forever, and never knew they could be this easy.  When Wilma set these out for the bookclub ladies, and told us how she’d made them, I thought she was forgetting a few ingredients.  She later emailed the recipe, and I was still doubtful till I tried them myself.

As usual, I’ve dolled them up with chilies and herbs, (my additions are in Italics) but I’ll list the basic ingredients first, so you can see how ridiculously easy these are.  I’m contemplating a sweet version to use for a shortcake recipe, but that’s for later this week.  For now, we’re sticking with this flavourful and spicy version. 

Mix dry ingredients and cheese with a fork.

  

These take about forty-five minutes, from when you begin assembling ingredients to when you’re popping these lovelies into your mouth.  This recipe makes about eight biscuits, but it can be doubled.  Bake at 400 F.

1 cup flour  (use whole wheat)

1 cup grated sharp cheese  (use a good one)

2 tsp baking powder

2 garlic scapes, chopped (scallions would be good too!)
two stems cilantro, chopped

1 chili, finely chopped

½ teaspoon chili flakes

1 tablespoon black poppy seeds

a pinch of Kosher salt

1/2 cup ice cold water

1 tablespoon (plus) butter for greasing cookie sheet

Once well mixed, add the ice-water but don't stir too much.

Preheat the oven and generously butter a cookie sheet. Leave bits of butter here and there.  

Combine the dry ingredients with a fork.  Add the ice-water, and stir just to combine.  You can use a spoon to drop the dough onto the cookie sheet, or use your hands, like I did.  Bake at 400 degrees F for eight to ten minutes.  Cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes, then move to a rack to cool a bit more.

Serve warm or chilled, either way you'll love their flavourful cheesiness, and be congratulating yourself on how easily these are made. 

I moved these bits of butter closer to the dough. Yummmm

I made a batch over the weekend, and have been pretty much living on them.  Delicious with a cup of strong milk coffee for breakfast, but great with eggs bhurji too!

Great with more garlic scape eggs bhurji...