MALTESE LOVE THEIR SWEETS
| Bread Pudding | Cheese Cakes | Biscuits | Almond Cake | Prinjolata |
Prinjolata
Maltese Prinjolata
Serves 15
- 1½ kg dried sponge fingers
- 3 egg whites
- 3 oz (75g) glazed cherries
- 7 oz (200g) margerine
- Egg yolks
- Some water
- 9 oz (250g) castor sugar
- 7 oz (200g) pine nuts
- 11 0z (300g) icing sugar
- 2 oz (50g) covering chocolate
Beat the margerine & icing sugar until light into a butter cream. Add two egg yolks.
Prepare italian meringue by putting the egg whites and castor sugar into a bowl, over a pan of boiling water, beating until thick. Remove from heat & continue beating until it cools.
Stir in the butter cream with half of the meringue. After making sure that the meringue is cold add most of the pine nuts.
Prepare a pudding basin, make a layer of sponge fingers, cover with cream, & continue building up layer by layer.
Put into a deep freeze set, turn this cake out carefully. Decorate with the other half of the meringue, & cherries, pine nuts & melted chocolate.
Tip: You can grate the chocolate instead of melting it. Here in Malta the only time that it is eaten is in February at Carnival time. It's very sweet and good.
Kwarezimal
Maltese Almond Cakes For Lent
- 15 oz (400g) Ground Almonds
- 6 oz (150g) Self raising flour
- 6 oz (150g) Castor sugar
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 2 tablespoons Cocoa
- Water
- Honey
- Extra chopped almonds to decorate
Mix together the ground almonds, flour sugar and cocoa. Add the rose water and enough water to make a soft mixture.
Form into a thick sausage and flatten until about 2cm thick.
Place on a greased baking sheet and bake in a moderate oven, Gas Mark 5 (375�F/190�C) for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and brush with honey. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
When ready take out from oven, and when thoroughly cooled place in an airtight tin to keep fresh.
Tip: Here are a few of the classic variations: Hazelnuts can be substituted for the almonds. You can if you prefer all of the nuts, or fewer of them. You can also insert some whole blanched almonds. Remember the more nuts you grind to a powder, the more liquid you will need to make the dough; and the fewer nuts you grind, the less liquid. In Malta these cakes would often be made with orange-flower water, which is hard to obtain here. Orange extract or liqueur (or other liqueur or rum) can be used as a part of the liquid.
Pastizzi
Maltese Cheese and Meat Cakes
Ingredients for Rikotta pastizzi:
- 2 lbs. flaky pastry dough
- 2 lbs. ricotta cheese
- salt
- 2 eggs
Ingredients for Meat pastizzi:
- 2 lbs. flaky pastry dough
- 1 or 2 small onions
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2 cans of pees
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- half a teaspoon spices
Preparing the Rikotta Cheese pastizzi:
Note: You can substitute Pillsbury Flaky Pastry Dough for home-made flaky pastry dough...if you're lazy like me!
Mix the rikotta cheese with the two eggs until the eggs are thoroughly mixed into the rikotta cheese. Add a bit of salt to the mixture for taste.
Roll out the dough (do not make the dough too thin). Cut the dough into three- to four-inch circles.
Put one tablespoon of the rikotta cheese mix in the middle of each circle. Fold each circle from the top and the bottom to the centre and squeeze the edges together so that the pocket is sealed (the horizontal ends should be formed into points.)
Put the pastizzi on a margarine greased baking sheet. Bake in a moderate oven (350-425 degrees) for about one hour.
You will need to experiment a bit with the oven temperature and the cooking time. The pastizzi should be a golden-brown colour when they're ready. They're best eaten when they are warm with a cup of good coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Preparing the Meat pastizzi:
Mince the onions and fry in a bit of oil. When the onions start turning dark in colour add the hamburger.
Cook for a bit and then add the tomato paste and the spices. Mix well and then add the pees.
Add pepper and salt to taste. Roll out the dough (do not make the dough too thin). Cut the dough into three- to four-inch circles.
Put one tablespoon of the meat mix in the middle of each circle. Fold each circle from the top and the bottom to the centre and squeeze the edges together so that the pocket is sealed (the horizontal ends should be formed into points).
Put the pastizzi on a margarine greased baking sheet. Bake in a moderate oven (350-425 degrees) for about one hour.
You will need to experiment a bit with the oven temperature and the cooking time. The pastizzi should be a golden-brown colour when they're ready. They're best eaten when they are warm with a cup of good coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Biskuttini
Biscuits
- 7 oz (200g) flour
- 7 oz (200g) sugar
- 2 oz (50g)margarine
- Grated peel from half a lemon
- Grated peel from half an orange
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- Dash of cocoa
- 1 teaspoon chocolate powder
- 1 egg
- A little milk
Mix the flour, margarine and sugar together.
Mix the ingredients well with the tips of your fingers. Then add the remaining ingredients (except the milk).
Slightly beat the egg and add to the mixture. Add a little milk to soften the mixture.
Grease a baking sheet with margarine and sprinkle with a little flour.
Form the dough mixture into elongated biscuits and place on the baking sheet leaving some space between them for expansion. Sprinkle some fine sugar on top of the biscuits. Bake in a medium oven for about twenty minutes.
Pudina
Bread Pudding
- 28 oz (800g) stale bread
- 560ml milk
- 1 tablespoon margarine
- Glass of brandy or rum
- 2 eggs
- 3½ oz Sugar
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 2 oz (50g) candied fruit
- 3½ oz Raisins
- Grated peel from one orange
- 2 tablespoos chocolate powder
- few oz of crushed almonds
Remove the crust from the bread. Soak the bread in the milk until it becomes soft.
Add the margarine, sugar, candied fruit, chocolate powder and the brandy to the bread and milk mixture.
Mix well using your fingers. Beat the eggs lightly and add to the mixture along with the vanilla extract and the raisins.
Grease a baking dish with margarine and spread the mixture in it.
Sprinkle the crushed almonds on top of the mixture and bake in a moderate oven for about half an hour. Serve cold.
|
