As promised, here is a recipe for Paime (pron. PAY-me)! Paime is basically a sweet version of the savoury pastelle. I only recently discovered that Paime is also a traditional Xmas dish. Well that explains why it seemed I never could find it lol! No one in my family makes this traditionally, so I have only been offered/given it by acquaintances of myself or my family. It is definitely a favorite of mine, being sweet (yet not candyish) and slightly chewy in texture (like a pone). Thanks to Titilayo I now know that in Barbados they also have a dish that is similar to paime, but they call it conkie and eat it around the time of Guy Fawkes day (who knew anyone in the Caribbean observed it!). Unlike paime it includes milk, flour and eggs. Jamaica also has a similar dish to Paime, but there they call it by several different names, some of which are Tie-A-Leaf, Blue Drawers (no don’t ask me why!), and Duckanoo …. we’re an interesting lot us Caribbean types!

Paime (from theThe Naparima Girls’ High School Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 grated coconut
1 lb. cornmeal
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
4 oz. dried fruit
banana leaves
1 lb. pumpkin
1 oz. shortening
1 oz. margarine
sugar to taste (I used 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 pt. water
twine for tying

Directions:

1. Grate coconut and pumpkin (I decided to try out this cassava farine that includes coconut, sugar and spices. It worked out quite well!)

2. Add all other ingredients
3. Stir in enough water to make a dough of dropping consistency (I think 2 1/2 – 3 cups in all will do)

4. Wipe banana leaves and heat them to make them pliable (or use foil if you’re lazy like me )
5. Cut into pieces about about 8″ by 8″
6. Place about 2 tbsp. mixture on each piece

7. Roll up, fold over and tie. (Click here for a video on how to fold the leaf/foil)

8. Place in boiling water and boil for about 20-30 minutes.

9. Test one to see if it has set, if not, cook for a longer period of time, depending on size of paime.

Makes 12 paimes

Spelling variations: paimee, paimie

This post was first published December 15, 2006. It has been updated twice since then.

Like sorrel, Black Cake in Trinidad is a Christmas institution. Made predominantly of alcohol drenched prunes, currants and raisins, variations abound (and I love taste testing when we make the visiting rounds). Still, the best black cake is always the recipe that one grew up with. In this case my black cake comes from my aunt, who also uses this recipe to make grooms’ cakes for weddings (in Trinidad these are also traditionally black cake).

You’ll notice the insane amount of liquour that goes into this dessert. Not only does that make the final cake unbelievably moist it also renders it virtually ageless. My aunt makes a batch of these at xmas time, keeps them in ‘old time cake tins’ and even in July and August we are still eating the remnants!

Trinidad Black Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 lb unsalted butter (use margarine for pareve)
1 lb sugar
8 eggs
1 tsp lemon essence
2 tsp lime rind (zested)
2 tsp almond essence
2 tsp vanilla
1 lb all-purpose flour (use 1/2 cassava flour + 1/2 lb rice flour for gluten-free)
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Fruit Base:

1 lb pitted prunes
1 lb raisins
1 lb currants
1 bottle cherry brandy
1 bottle rum and/or Bailey’s
2 tbsp Angostura bitters

Browning:

1 lb brown sugar
1/2 cup boiling hot water

Have on Hand:

1 more bottle of rum

Method:

Three to Five Days Before:

Up to 5 days before you make the cake, chop up all the fruits for the fruit base. Place in a large bowl, pour in Angostura bitters, cherry brandy and rum (I use Bailey’s when I have extra $$$ and it really makes it extra special ). Leave in a cool corner, covered, to soak up the liquor. As I said 3-5 days before is the best option, 24 hours minimum if you must be ‘so last-minute’!

On the Day Of:

Blend Fruit Base:

I pour the soaked fruit and juices into a blender and blend until thick and still a bit chunky (like tomato sauce). Note: If you have been macerating your fruit for a minimum of a month in advance you can skip this step

Prepare Browning:

Burn sugar until caramelized, add hot water gradually. Mix well and leave to cool.
Please be extra careful at this stage as a ‘browning’ burn is NOT a fun thing!

Once that is done…

1. Preheat oven to 250F (no that’s not a typo)
2. Cream the butter and sugar.
3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate
4. Add lemon essence, lemon zest, almond essence and vanilla
5. Mix and sift flour, baking powder, mixed spice and nutmeg.
6. Gradually add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture
7. Mix in fruit base puree and ‘browning’
8. Pour batter into greased tins that have been doubly lined with brown paper or parchment paper
9. Bake for 3 hours
10. Once removed from the oven soak the tops with equal portions of the remaining bottle of rum. Don’t be surprised if the top of the cake starts to look pale and ‘weird’. Kinda like below

Believe me, after several hours, and definitely by the next day all that alcohol will be absorbed and you will finally understand how this cake got its name!

NOTE: For those who avoid alcohol for religious or personal reasons, soaking can be done using grape or apple juice! Thanks to Chennette for that tip! You can find her recipe for non-alcoholic halaal Trinidad Black cake here.

This post was originally published November 26, 2006. It has been updated three times since.

I adore brownies, and I definitely don’t make them often enough. Although there are now dozens of variations on the brownie theme (even blondies), for emotional satisfaction I still find that nothing surpasses the simple all-chocolatey goodness of the original.

This simple recipe from Everyday With Rachael Ray has stood the test of the time as I have made it several times since first posting it in this blog way back in 2007. It calls for very simple ingredients (most of which should already be in your pantry) and takes no time to put together. Cleanup is minimal and the taste is OUT OF THIS WORLD. Amazingly enough, these brownies only get better the longer they sit. Fresh out of the oven they are light, airy, and oh so chocolatey… but as they sit they slowly get moister and fudgier… oh the decadence. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

Even though this recipe calls for 4 serving sizes, as brownies I cut the cake sheet into 12 portions and found these portions much more acceptable. If I was entertaining though I would defnitely serve the quarter portions, especially with an additional dollop of vanilla icecream and a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce. MMMMMM No one would ever guess that it took you practically no time to bring together

Fudgy Chocolate Cake
——————————————————————————–

Recipe By: Everyday With Rachael Ray
Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°. Butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the milk and heavy cream over low heat. Add the butter and sugar and stir until smooth. Remove from the heat.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

This post was originally published June 9, 2007. It has been updated once since then.

This post has been submitted to “Any One Can Cook”

I’m beyond thrilled to announce the launch of my first ebook titled “7 Sweet Trini Treats”. It contains several recipes that represent my childhood here in Trinidad as well as some from older generations that are at risk of being lost. Some of the recipes have appeared in an older form here on Trinigourmet and have been updated. I have also included several new ones that will remain exclusive to this publication.

INCLUDES:

• Coconut Rock Buns
• Trinidad Sugar Buns
• Trinidad Barfi
• Trinidad Parsad (exclusive)
• Trinidad Biscuit Cake (exclusive)
• Paw Paw Balls (exclusive)
• Cassava Pone

I hope you’ll love making these recipes as much I have loved putting them together for you!

7 Sweet Trini Treats is a FREE download and yours immediately upon signing up with the TriniGourmet mailing list.

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• our latest posts, recipes and products
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This cake is Dorie Greenspan’s take on tiramisu, but, as the title alludes, in cake form. When I first baked this dessert, back in 2009, it was also the first time that I’d worked with mascarpone. I instantly fell in love. It’s so light and smooth and reminds me clotted cream (a rather unhealthy indulgence of mine )

Like all of Dorie’s recipes, that I’ve tried to date, assembly was a cinch. Don’t be daunted by the various components and stages. They look much more elaborate on paper! The first stage is making 2 vanilla layer cakes. Then soaking them with a rich liqueur-laced espresso sauce. Don’t worry if the sauce seems very bitter and intense. It mellows out considerably once absorbed by the cake. A mixture of liqueur, whipped cream and mascarpone cheese forms the basis of the filling, and Dorie veers a tad from convention by including chopped chocolate. I was a little worried that the chocolate would be too crunchy, as I love tiramisu for its creamy smoothiness, but this wasn’t the case at all To finish things off the cake is ‘iced’ with leftover espresso sauce, liqueur, whipped cream and mascarpone cheese and the top finished with a dusting of cocoa. I really recommend that you chill the ‘icing’ a bit so that it holds to the cake

And voila! There it is Let it sit for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, for all the flavours to meld and serve! This cake is best served at room temperature. So slice it and let it sit for about 15 minutes before letting others dig in. Bon Appetit!

Since making this recipe I have been asked by others to make it for them on request. They’ve even offered to pay! I’ve taken their enthusiasm to be one of the greatest testimonials to the sheer dreaminess of this recipe and encourage you to give it a try as well.

For this Tiramisu Cake Recipe turn to pages 266-268 of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours or visit Megan of My Baking Adventures

This post was originally published May 5, 2009. It has been updated once since then.

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From Epicentre.com:
Ginger is one of those ingredients that can be many things to many people. Not only is it used in cuisines around the world, but it also comes in a variety of forms fresh, pickled, dried, and crystallized among them
.
People who bake may immediately call to mind the ground ginger they use in gingerbread or the jewel-like crystallized ginger they add to holiday cookies and cakes. Others think first of ginger’s savory contributions: the brightness that minced fresh ginger adds to Chinese stir-fry, or the refreshing tang of pickled ginger served with sushi.
.
Rarely used as the sole flavouring in recipes, ginger combines particularly well with the warm spice notes of cumin and coriander in savory preparations. Garlic, mustard seed, turmeric, and the whole palette of Indian seasonings would shine less brightly without ginger’s glow. In sweets such as quick breads, muffins, and preserves, ginger is part of a classic triumvirate along with cinnamon and cloves.
.
In each of its incarnations, however, ginger makes its simultaneously hot and refreshing presence known.

Top 10 Recipes Featuring Ginger on TriniGourmet.com

	1. Carmen’s Jamaican Ginger Beer (recipe) My mom’s traditional family recipe for Jamaican Ginger Beer
	2. Carrot, Ginger and Cumin Salad (recipe) The following is my take on a very popular Middle Eastern salad. The parsley and lemon juice give the carrots much needed brightness, while the cumin deepens all the flavours, creating an exotic side that complements most dishes
	3. Sarina’s Sparkling Ginger-Lime Shandy (recipe) Bubbly and sweet with a slight tang of lemon and beer. An unusual refreshment that is sure to garner raves!
	4. Sarina’s Spinach-Ginger Salad (recipe) This quick and simple salad is perked up by the addition of slivered stem ginger. Stem ginger is an ingredient that doesn’t get as much love as I think it should. It’s usually found in the baking aisle, but at times I have seen it hiding rather uncomfortably in the aisles that house ‘international ingredients’ and/or random salad dressings.
	5. Sarina’s Bubbly Guava-Ginger Ale (recipe) A light and refreshing non-alcoholic cooler.
	6. Butternut Squash Soup With Ginger (recipe) Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, this warm and creamy soup became an instant classic in my home and graced the table at last year’s Passover Seder.
	7. Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread (recipe) Rich, coffee laced chocolate icing forms the perfect counterfoil to the sweeter chocolate gingerbread base. Studded with slivers of fresh (as well as crystallized) ginger and chocolate chips this gingerbread has no problem staying light, moist and vibrantly flavoured. It’s without a doubt the best gingerbread I’ve ever made, and the best gingerbread I’ve ever had!
	8. Fruit & Nut Cookies (recipe) Gingerbread fruit and nut ‘cookies’ are colorful, festive, and not-too sweet. Perfect for any gathering from formal to informal.
	9. Iced Lemon Ginger Tea (recipe) This drink is wonderfully refreshing and has a soft muted tone, thanks to the use of honey. Not only does the honey take the sharpness off the ginger flavour, it also makes this drink especially soothing on the throat.
	10. Get Your C Ginger-Lime Tea (recipe) This recipe for Ginger-Lime tea comes from Everyday With Rachael Rayand is chock-full of goodness. Fresh lime/lemon juice provides a boost of vitamin C, and grated ginger brings powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. The combination of citric sweetness and spicy heat is not just good for chilling out on an afternoon but the health benefits also make it the perfect pick-me-up if you are feeling queasy, or like a cold is coming on.

5 More Ginger Inflected Recipes from my favourite Food Blogs!

1. Ginger Beef Patties with Lime Noodle Salad (sidewalk shoes) 2. Bajan Sweet Potato Pie Ice Cream (Vegan In The Sun) 3. Iced Ginger Chai (elana’s pantry) 4. Fresh Ginger and Basil Pasta (Kahakai Kitchen) 5. Asian Salmon Burgers with Tangy Ginger Lime Sauce (Mommie Cooks)

Have questions about Ginger? Tweet me! I’d love to hear from you

Want more ideas? Here are 5 Ginger Intensive Cookbooks, picked for your enjoyment

	1. Spoonful of Ginger Part cookbook, part primer of Chinese medicine, Nina Simonds’s A Spoonful of Ginger offers dietary advice, herbal home remedies, and lively, unintimidating Asian recipes for the American home cook.
	2. Ginger and Ganesh: Adventures in Indian Cooking, Culture, and Love The recipes shared in this collection are far from ordinary; they are treasured family recipes from vegetarian homes in India — from homemade cheese cubes in a rich cilantro and almond curry to coconut-stuffed okra and luscious potato-curry dumplings. Power’s recipes and stories pave the road to understanding a culture that is at the same time ancient and so very much part of our modern world.
	3. Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai Blue Ginger offers many ways to spice up family meals and dishes to surprise guests without too much effort. Cooking from this book is an opportunity to take Asian ingredients you may have eaten in restaurants and master using them in your own kitchen.
	4. Ginger (The Basic Flavoring Series) A collection of 30 ginger recipes from around the world.
	5. Ginger: A Book of Recipes (Little Recipe Book)

This post was first published June 9, 2010. It has been updated once since then.

This quick and easy rum pudding is the next installment in my retro Caribbean Beachcomber series. The name is derived from the tales of a rather prolific aristocratic serial killer. I was not aware of Bluebeard or the stories before making this dish and I must say I am glad, because I am hard pressed to find a connection between the two and would rather not have such visions in my head while enjoying it!

This rum custard pudding is a cool and creamy dessert that you can whip up in a matter of minutes for friends, guests, or yourself. The most important things to remember about it are to make sure the cornstarch mixture is smooth, as you don’t want any graininess, and to plan far enough ahead that the pudding has time to set. It’s wonderful cold on a hot day or evening, and in the pictures above I have topped them with cinnamon and powdered sugar, as well as chocolate syrup and powdered sugar. The addition of rum gives it a decidedly adult twist, but if you are sharing it with guests who can’t partake, or children, feel free to switch the rum for 2 Tb. non-alcoholic rum extract, or 2 Tb. vanilla extract. It will be just fine

Bluebeard’s Rum Custard Pudding
SERVINGS: 5
SOURCE: Caribbean Beachcomber

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups milk
5 eggs, well beaten
2 Tb. brown sugar
1 Tb. cornstarch (if gluten-free check the ingredient listing)
1/4 cup dark rum

METHOD:
1. Bring milk to boil, stirring constantly.
2. Combine eggs, sugar, cornstarch
3. Add to milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly
4. Remove from heat, stir in rum.
5. Pour into 5 sherbet glasses, chill.
6. Serve very cold.

Have you tried splashing Angostura bitters on your ice cream? Because Angostura has a light uplifting flavour with some citrusy undertones I find it works better with pale colored icecreams like vanilla and citrus-flavored icecreams like orange and lemon.

This post was originally published November 23, 2006. It has been updated once since.

Kurma is one of my favourite Trinidadian snacks. Fried mouthfuls of spiced dough in a sugary glaze, they can be found and purchased throughout the island at school ‘tuck shops’, pharmacies, supermarkets and corner shops. East Indian in origin they are also a staple treat at many Hindu and Moslem functions. Little did I realize however (until doing some research for this post) that the two main forms of kurma which I have grown up with, relate directly in origin to each of those religious groups!

Kurma in Trinidad can take one of two forms. Hard or thin kurma, which are like large matchsticks and crunchy, and soft or fat kurma which are much richer and pillowy in texture. This Hanukkah I prepared both for my Hanukkah 2010 guide, using recipes from two other Trini food bloggers.

Hard kurma is by far the most popular form of kurma in Trinidad. It is fairly ubiquitous and is no doubt the image that pops into most minds when they hear the word. Some of this may have to do with it having a longer shelf life than ‘soft kurma’, some of it may also have to do with there being a larger Hindu community here (the group that food blooger Chennette attributes this form too, but more on that later!).

For the above I relied on a recipe posted by Simply Trini Cooking. I made no actual changes to the recipe but did treat the frying of the dough in a slightly different manner. For my own preference, I first fried the dough in oil over medium heat until the sticks were cooked through and barely golden. I then removed them from the oil and allowed to cool slightly. I then raised the heat below the oil to medium-high and refried the sticks until they were a rich honey colour. This method mirrors the best way to do french fries, and I believe it really helps to create a result that is light and crunchy rather than hard and dry.

Another note or tip that I’d like to share is regarding the sugary glaze (which is essential to kurma’s appeal). This part was one that took me some trial and error. Trial and error which I’d like to spare you For myself I have found the best results come from boiling the glaze until it is -just about- to form a thread when poured from a spoon. That’s the point when I move the pan from the stove, pour it onto the kurma and turn everything with a large spoon to glaze evenly. Just keep turning until the syrup has fully solidified (which doesn’t take long). Delicious clumps of ginger-infused sugar will form at irregular points with the repeated turns for an appeal which food programs have told me is apparently ‘rustic’ *chuckle*. However this will only happen if the syrup was brought to the very beginnings of the thread stage. Boiling the glaze to the point where it does form a thread easily means that the syrup cools and solidifies too quickly upon pouring, not coating the sticks properly. Not boiling it to the thread point just leaves a sticky mess. Don’t stress if you don’t get it right the first time. Just try again And, as usual when dealing with hot sugar, stay vigilant – once it burns there’s no turning back!

Soft kurma is hard kurma’s slightly less popular sibling. Unlike hard kurma it also seems to receive a divided response. People either love it or hate it. Why the dissonance? I suspect that it is due to soft kurma often having a more fragrant, sweeter dough due to the inclusion of evaporated and condensed milks as well as elychee (cardamom). I myself have no problems with its sweetness or with anything that involves cardamom so I’ve always loved soft kurma. However, the great thing about making your own recipes is that you can leave out those flavours that rub you the wrong way. That’s why I am so glad that food blogger Chennette shared her mom’s recipe for soft kurma, as well as shed a light on its roots in the smaller Trinidad Moslem community.

I stayed fairly true to her instructions but did make some modifications, mostly due to the fact I was only making enough for two (ended up being enough or 4-6 though when combined with the hard kurma lol) and also because I wanted to see if I could make a soft kurma that would satisfy J, who has repeatedly told me he does not like soft kurma through the years. Because he does not have a strong sweet tooth I suspected that the use of condensed milk would have been overkill for him. In its place I used more evaporated milk in the dough, and also used evaporated milk instead of condensed in the glaze. The final verdict? He loved it! As did I! I really didn’t miss the condensed milk one bit so I think I will make it this way from now on.

Trinidad Soft Kurma
Source: modified from a recipe by Chennette
Serves 4 – 6

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter (margarine for vegan)
1/2 cup evaporated milk (vanilla mylk of choice for vegan)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon ginger powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
seeds of 2 cardamom pods

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup evaporated milk (or vanilla mylk)

For directions visit the original recipe here.

Because this kurma is a richer dough, and cut thicker than hard kurma, I fried it once over medium heat. This ensures that it has a chance to cook through – without drying out- before the exterior reaches the rich golden brown that you want.

Another important tip: re the glaze. Because this kurma uses a milk-based glaze (unlike hard), it is important this time to boil the glaze (as Chennette states) to the thread stage. This time thread stage really means thread stage. You want a strong thread to form before you pour it on the kurma. The milk keeps things fluid enough for the pieces of dough to be thoroughly coated before it sets. Anything prior to the stage gets you into sticky mess-ville once more. And, as with hard kurma, keep turning as it cools. You want those delicious clumps!

One last tip! The taste and texture of hard kurma improves the longer it sits. For best enjoyment I recommend making it the day before. Of course it tastes great either way so if you find it being wolfed down before that take it as a compliment (or make two batches, 1 to enjoy right away, and the other to store) Soft kurma on the other hand is best enjoyed on the day. It’s not bad on subsequent days but something about that pillowy softness definitely gets lost.

I hope that sharing my experiences will help you to get up the courage to make your own Trinidad Kurma. There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing you can do it yourself, treat your friends and families, and control the spices and flavours to your own particular liking! Enjoy!

Hey everyone, here’s yet another installment of my ongoing Caribbean Beachcomber 1969 series. This year has all been about rediscovering vintage Caribbean Cookbooks and recipes from eras past. I’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg so far, and am so excited about what 2011 will bring both for my kitchen, and this blog! This Broiled Banana Cake is so simple and yet it looks as though you have slaved over it for hours. Don’t tell anyone and just enjoy the ooh’s and aaah’s The flavour improves the longer it sits so I suggest that you make it at least several hours before you plan to serve it.

Tips: Short on time? Use sheet cake or start from cake mix For an even more professional appearance level the top of the cake before arranging the banana slices and slice the banana thinly for improved browning and texture.

Broiled Banana Cake
(A rich and elaborate looking upside-down banana cake – made right-side up)
SOURCE: Caribbean Beachcomber

INGREDIENTS:

1 layer of pound, butter or sponge cake
1/4 cup pineapple juice
4 bananas
1/2 cup honey
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter

METHOD:

1. Sprinkle layer with pineapple juice.
2. Cover with bananas
3. Pour honey over all
4. Sprinkle with sugar and then dot with butter
5. Set under the broiler until delicately browned and bubbly.