Fernandes Industrial Centre, Laventille, Building 7, Unit 3, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
Tel/Fax: (868) 626-2447/8/9- Email:etcetera74@tstt.net.tt Directors: Derek I. Johnson, Leslie J. Jennings, Dean G. Johnson
Place all ingredients in blender together and blend until mixed well together
Pour into a buttered 10 " pie dish
Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 1 hour
When done, crust will be on the bottom, custard in the middle and the coconut flakes on top - right where they belong ! That's why it's called Impossible Pie
Put grated coconut in a blender. Add Evaporated Milk and water and blend
Add Condensed Milk, stir and strain, keep the coconut residue
Dissolve Gelatin in a little warm water and add to the mixture
Refrigerate until set. Do NOT freeze
Take grated coconut residue from strainer, place in a frying pan and add 2 tablespoons sugar with a spatula or spoon, and fry over low heat, until brown
Just before serving sprinkle Blancmange with browned coconut and garnish with Maraschino cherries
Hops
(Recipe - compliments Ozzie Snaggs)
Ozzie Snaggs has been employed with Food Etcetera Ltd. for the past 18 years. Originally he worked on an offshore platform for 12 years but for the last 6 he has been on land. He has been a baker for 31 years. Hops bread is a traditional Trinidad bakery favourite. You buy your hops bread, fresh (and hot) from the bakery and eat it usually with ham, cheese or just plain butter. Few people make hops at home, but there's no reason why not.
Make into 16 buns and place them on baking trays 3" apart from each other
Let it proof for one hour
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
Coconut Bake
(Recipe - compliments Ozzie Snaggs)
Coconut bake is made by almost every Trinbagonian and is a must on a breakfast table. When there's no bread around it is a quick way to come up with a substitute.
Let it stand for 10 minutes, then roll out into 9" rounds
Place onto baking tray and let stand for another 10 minutes, then prick with a fork all over the surface
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes
*If there is no coconut, use 8oz Grated Pumpkin
MOM's Cake
Norma Johnson is now in her 80s. She learned this recipe as a child and over the years made
some minor changes, like the folding in of the egg whites at the very end. The result is that the cake turns out to be very light. She makes at least five or six a week, mostly for friends and family, who consider this to be among the most delicious cakes they have eaten.
Cream the butter and sugar, then add the 6 egg yolks one at a time while creaming
Mix the chilled milk, bitters and essence
Fold in flour and milk alternately
Beat 4 of the 6* egg whites at high speed until very light and fold into the batter by hand
Grease and flour two 9" layer pans, then pour in batter and bake for 25 mins at 350 degrees
Allow the two cake layers to cool before putting frosting between them; then lay one on top the other and now frost the entire cake
*the other 2 egg whites are for making the Frosting
Some say the frosting is the best part. Say what....
Frosting
Method:
Mix and beat the ingredients thoroughly in top part of a double boiler pan, then place that one into the other and with the water boiling, beat ingredients at high speed for 7 minutes more.
Currant Rolls
( Start this recipe one day before usage )
T&T's favourite pastry item is currant rolls . It is available in every bakery and in demand always and everywhere. Of course there are many versions - try this one - guaranteed to please.
( Recipe - compliments Ozzie Snaggs )
Here is a recipe to make two sticks of Currant Rolls. You have to start off by making flaky pastry. It's not difficult.
Crumble 3 oz of the shortening in the flour using finger tips until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
Mix in the salt and sugar and make a dough with the water and lime juice mixture.
Do not over-knead, just enough to form a dough.
Let it rest for 20 mins.
Dust board or table top with just enough flour to prevent sticking.
Open dough with finger tips in an oblong shape about 12" x 7" on table top or board.
Spread the balance of the shortening (9oz) evenly on 2/3 of the dough. Then, starting at one end, fold the blank 1/3 over 1/2 of the other part of the dough, then fold that over the other 1/2. Altogether 2 folds.
Roll out pastry with a pin to about 1/2" thickness, maintaining the oblong shape at all times.
Fold again the same way and roll again.
Let it rest for another 20 mins.
Roll and fold again two more times and rest for 20 mins.
Roll and fold again one more time. That will make 5 rolls and folds - (2 + 2+1).
Let pastry rest overnight in a chiller.
Filling
Method
Mix Filling ingredients together.
Cut pastry in two strips, lengthways - (about 18" x 7" each).
Spread currants evenly over each strip, except for a 1" edge, closer to you. Wet that skirt with a little water, using a pastry brush (or just by dipping your finger in a little water).
Roll from far end towards you in 1" folds.The wet end will keep it stuck.
Place rolls on a greased baking sheet with sealed end resting on the sheet. Brush with egg wash or water. Punch about 5 holes, approx. 3" apart.
Skewer top centre of each stick. Bake at 350 for 45 mins. or until done. Enjoy !
Doubles
Doubles is a "breakfast time" favourite in T&T. Throughout the country, on every busy street, 'Doubles Vendors' do a brisk trade in this delicious mini food item, from as early as 4:30 am in some places. By 10:00 am, they have sold out and returned home.
It is called 'doubles' because it comprises two light mini bakes ( baras ) between which the vendor puts a few spoonfuls of the filling. The meal is not complete without a dash of pepper sauce and a mango chutney.
Generally, it is not an item that is made at home. It is bought on the street and eaten in offices, factories or right there on the roadside.
Put split peas in bowl with a little water, mix and leave to sit for 5 minutes
Add baking powder, yeast, saffron, flour, salt to taste and mix well
Add water and knead to medium dough
Let it stand for 1/2 an hour
Pull into small clumps (the dough becomes very sticky), flatten out a bit and fry in hot oil
Filling
Method:
Soak channa in water overnight
Next morning boil with garlic
Put oil to boil. When it starts to boil, put in onion and garlic then add hot pepper, saffron and let everything boil for about 5 minutes
At this stage, add the channa with a little salt and black pepper and geera to taste
If not thick enough, use mashed potato to thicken
Remember when serving it to have pepper sauce and chutney at hand
Dosti Roti
Roti is one of the staples of the East Indian diet in Trinidad & Tobago. There are four kinds; one with a filling of split peas called Dhalpouri Roti; one without filling, a single bake, hand shredded, called Paratha or "Bus up Shut" (Trini for what it looks like on the plate - 'a busted up shirt'); Sada Roti - very much like pita bread; and Dosti Roti.
This is said to be the easiest kind of Roti to make. Many East Indians in T&T will eat this for breakfast or dinner. It is also called 'two in one' Roti. Roti is eaten always with curry - meat, vegetable or fish.
Roti was T&T's first fast food product and Roti Shops were popular long before the KFC's and McDonald's were around. For some reason, it never took off on the international scene, although there are a few located in some Trini niche areas on North America and England.
We like to think that, like calypso and soca, its time has not yet come.
Roti is one of T&T's national dishes and is eaten and loved by every true Trini.
Equipment:
a suitable flat iron surface like a large frying pan, a griddle, or ideally, a flat iron plate called a 'tawa' or 'plateen'
a brush like a barbecue brush to apply the oil; some simply tie a few strips of cloth to the end of a wooden stick (called a 'puchara')
Cut dough into 8 to 10 equal pieces and shape into balls
At this stage, leave to rest for another 15 minutes
Flatten two balls, each to about 3" in diameter
Dust flour on one side of one and paste oil on the other. Do the same with the other ball
Join the two (like two slices of bread when making a sandwich), placing the side with the flour against the side with the oil
In the meantime start the fire and get the 'tawa' hot
Roll out the dough to about 7" in diameter
Place on hot 'tawa' and cook on both sides, basting a little vegetable oil on both sides using the 'puchara'
Cook until light brown
Remove from 'tawa' and split open
Keep bakes hot by placing in a damp dish cloth in an insulated container. Serve hot.
Cassava Pone
Cassava Pone must have its origins in the Amerindian culture of the West, as they were the original inhabitants of the Americas and the Caribbean, including our beautiful islands of Trinidad & Tobago and bear in mind that Cassava was a staple of the Amerindian.
It's a real 'back-in-times' dessert. It has to be; it was popular in the early part of this century and it's still around today.
1) Prepare dough, using the ingredients listed on the left. Dough should be of medium stiffness consistency. Let it rest for 30 mins
2) Make balls of about 2 oz each. Rest for another 30 mins
3) Flatten balls into 3 inch diameter disks, place a tablespoon of filling in each centre , leaving a skirt all around
4) Moisten skirt with water for sealing
5) Fold left and right ends in 1/2 inch, then roll from top down, in inch at a time until done
6) Seal end and place on baking tray, sealed end down
( a 18 x 26 inch tray will yield 7 x 5 fingers and a 13 x 18 inch tray will yield 5 x 3 fingers )
7) Let proof on trays for one hour before baking - then bake at 350 degr. preheated oven for 15 mins. or until done.
8) When finished baking, let fingers cool until warm, then brush them with medium syrup.
