Sweet sweet Trinidad

CARNIVAL 2019 is here already folks! Many will leave our shores to enjoy this long weekend in another country and many more will be coming in for the weekend to enjoy our festivities.

Tourists to our shores will certainly go in search of our famous local cuisine. But it’s the Trinis who live abroad who come in search of specific treats. Treats that stir up memories of Trinidad when they once lived here.

Food can stir up emotions. A specific smell or taste can take us right back to a special time in our lives, conjure up a certain feeling or even remind us of someone. Sometimes the food craving is so strong that I can safely liken that to a tabanca.

When I think of Carnival foods my mind will often go to our savoury street foods, and when I think of our sweet treats, my mind goes to pone, sticky and moist, sweetbread, rich with coconut and dried fruit, Trini-style sponge cake, dense and buttery, coconut rolls or tarts, currant rolls, fudge, sugar- cakes, tamarind balls and paw-paw balls to name a few. These are the perfect portable treats and are also the special treats which a "Fresh-water Yankee" will go in search of.

If you are feeling adventurous why not try to create some of these yourself for the "Fresh-water Yankee" in your life! I’m sure you would wow the socks off of him/her!

Traditional sponge cake

1 cup butter

2 cups granulated sugar

3 cups all -purpose flour, sifted

1 tbs baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla essence

Measure all your ingredients and set them aside. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and line 2 nine- inch, round cake pans

Cut your butter or butter into chunks and place into your mixing bowl, make sure that your butter is very cold.

Cream the butter until it begins to lighten up, add the sugar one tbs at a time, making sure to cream well.

Now add your eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.

You must incorporate your eggs slowly, and your mixture should be light and fluffy before you add another egg.

Measure your flour and sift three times. Combine the milk with vanilla. Now add your flour in three additions, alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Spoon the batter evenly into cake pans, bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cakes pull or shrink away from the sides of the pan.

Remove cakes from oven, cool in pans for five minutes, then invert onto cooling racks, remove lining and place right side up.

Sugar cake

4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup water

4 cups grated coconut (peel coconut before grating)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 cloves

1/2 tsp almond extract

Boil sugar with water until syrup spins a thread when lifted with a fork or when bubbles the size of large pearls appear on the surface.

Add grated coconut and cloves to mixture stir constantly.

Boil until mixture leaves the bottom and sides of the pan easily

Your mixture should still contain some syrup.

Remove from heat and add almond extract, beat with a spoon until mixture becomes thick.

Drop by spoon-full onto a greased cookie tray and let harden.

Or

Place mixture into a 9 inch greased baking tray.

When cool cut into squares.

For coloured sugar cake, use granulated sugar and add colouring to colour as you desire.

For chip chip sugar cake, cut coconut into small chips.

For brown sugar cake use brown sugar and grate the coconut with the brown skin,add a piece of cinnamon stick, omit the almond extract. .

Cassava pone

1 lb cassava

1 dried coconut, meat only

1/4 lb pumpkin, grated

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tbs butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp bitters

1/4 cup water (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F

Peel cassava and grate finely.

Finely grate coconut

Combine cassava with coconut then add pumpkin.

Add sugar and stir.

Rub in butter then add spices.

Stir together well.

Add bitters and stir.

If mixture seems a little dry add water, just to moisten.

Mixture should be very thick but not slack in consistency.

Press into a well greased 9 X 9 inch baking tin.

Bake for about 30 minutes until golden.

Makes one pone.

Trini heavy coconut sweetbread

2 cups finely grated coconut

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup raisins

½ cup glace cherries, chopped, green and red

1/4 cup mixed peel

1/4 cup currants

Sugar syrup and brown sugar to finish the bread

Combine coconut with ½ cup milk, beat eggs and add.

Combine flour with sugar and spices, add butter and combine to a crumbly texture.

Add coconut mixture and stir well, add a little more milk if needed to make a soft dough.

Add dried fruits, and stir.

Divide mixture among 2 bread pans about 8 inches by 4 inches.

Sprinkle tops with sugar.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until a wooden pick comes out clean. Cool in pan completely before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves.

Wendy's
Cooking classes

Perfect Pastry - March 16

Phone: 357-0927