Flavours for Easter

HOW time flies, the pouis are in bloom, littering the pavements with their voluptuous blooms, a smoky haze has enveloped us, the days are scorching hot, yet Trinidad still looks beautiful and it is Easter.

Much movement will occur during this weekend week as families take advantage of the mega weekend and school Easter vacation. Some will travel abroad, some will head for Tobago, some will camp by the riverside or on one of the overcrowded beaches and others will head for a beach house.

Yesterday was Good Friday, a holiday usually celebrated with the ubiquitous hot cross buns, which are simply sweet fragrant spiced buns, decorated with flour crosses or icing crosses, the latter I prefer. They are easy to make, are indeed delicious and make the perfect tea time or breakfast treat. I enjoy them with butter and cheese. There is still time this weekend to make a few of these, they will travel well.

If you are heading for a river lime or a Mayaro lime, season your duck ahead of time and freeze it, as a result you will be able to prepare the best curry duck on location, better yet cooked over an open fire, don’t forget to serve with rice or paratha and some good drinks.

If you are staying home and want a delightful indulgence why not try a carrot cake, moist with the addition of pineapple and frosted liberally with a creamy dreamy cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Hot cross buns

You can use your electric mixer for this recipe but the directions are for making by hand.

1 tbs active dry yeast

1¼ cups lukewarm milk

⅓ cup sugar

⅓ cup butter, melted

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 egg

1 egg yolk

4 to 4½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup raisins

½ cup mixed peel, (optional)

¼ cup of jam, melted

In a large bowl place yeast, milk, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, egg, egg yolk and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth.

Stir in raisins and mixed peel, add enough flour to make the dough easy to handle, but not too dry.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 mins.

Place in a greased bowl turn greased side up.

Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.

Punch down dough, divide into 4 equal parts. Cut each part into 6 equal pieces.

Shape each piece into a ball, place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.

With a scissors, snip a cross on top of each ball.

Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 60 mins.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Brush with melted jam, return to the oven for 2 minutes

Frost crosses on buns with powdered sugar frosting.

Makes 24 buns.

Powdered sugar frosting

Combine 3 cups sifted icing sugar, add a small amount of warm

milk to make a thick but pourable consistency.

Add a few drops of vanilla.

Place into piping bag with a small plain nozzle and pipe crosses onto buns.

River lime curry duck

1 5-lb duck, cut into small pieces

1 lime

4 tbs vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 pimento peppers, seeded and chopped

1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

4 tbs duck and goat masala

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

6 chadon beni leaves, finely chopped

Marinade:

½ cup Trini green seasoning, freshly made

6 chadon beni leaves, ground

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbs unflavoured yoghurt

¼ cup red wine vinegar

1 tbs dark rum

Wash duck in plenty of tap water with the juice of the lime.

Drain, combine all the ingredients for the marinade, rub onto duck pieces.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next day:

Bring duck to room temperature, add 2 tsp salt and combine well.

Combine curry with about ⅓ cup water.

Heat oil in a large heavy pan, add onion, peppers and garlic, cook until fragrant.

Add curry paste and cook until almost dry, now add the duck, a few pieces at a time, stirring to coat all the pieces with the curry paste.

Add black pepper and stir, add half the chadon beni and cook until duck starts to release its juices.

Cover pot tightly and simmer stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Cook for about 45 minutes until duck is tender. Add the remaining chadon beni and taste and adjust seasonings.

If you are cooking this duck to enjoy as a cutter, then at the last stage of cooking remove cover from pot, increase heat and dry the liquids up.

Serves 6 -8

Carrot pineapple cake

4 eggs

1½ cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups, sifted, all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp grated nutmeg

¾ lb carrots, peeled and grated

1 8-½ oz tin crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup raisins or sultanas

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease. Line and flour a 9-inchx13-inch cake pan, or 2, 9-inch cake pans.

Beat eggs with sugar until light and tripled in volume, add vanilla, with beater on medium speed slowly pour in vegetable oil, and beat for one minute.

Sift together dry ingredients, reduce mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

Using a spatula, fold in carrots, pineapple, and raisins.

Pour batter into prepared tin/tins.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes for large cake, or 35 minutes for smaller cakes.

Remove from oven cool and frost.

Makes 1 -9x13-inch cake or 2, 9-inch round cakes

Cream cheese frosting

1 lb cream cheese, room temperature

⅔ cup butter

2½ cups icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp grated orange zest

2 tbs milk

Cream butter with icing sugar until creamy, add cream cheese and stir to a creamy consistency, add a few drops of milk at a time if needed to bring batter to a spreadable consistency.

Stir in orange zest.

Frost cake.

Will frost and fill 2, 9-inch round cakes or 1, 9x13-inch cake

rahamut@gmail.com