Cream Style Corn Custard

1 litre coconut milk
1 tin cream style corn
2 pandan leaves
1 tsp salt
180g custard flour
240g sugar

Method
Take some of the coconut milk to blend with the custard flour to form a paste free of lumps.

Boil the remainder of the coconut milk with pandan leaves, salt and sugar for 15 minutes.

Slowly add the custard paste into the boiling coconut milk and stir over fire continuously till it forms a cream. Add in the cream style corn and stir thoroughly over fire.

Pour into a tray or moulds to cool before placing in the refrigerator. Chill and serve cold.

Fresh Fruits For Dessert

There is nothing better than fruit for dessert. There is no preparation needed and you don't have to spend much money on fruits either. Moreover, fruits are very nutritious and keep us healthy!

For family meals and even special occasions you can easily place a bowl of juicy fruits on the table and let your guests choose what they like. Use a mixture of fruits, bearing in mind colour, taste and texture. Do not go overboard -- try not to use more than 4 or 5 different fruits at a time. We have such a wide variety of fruits to choose from -- try papaya, watermelon, mango, starfruit, honeydew melon, pineapple, dragon fruit, rambutans, bananas, guavas, grapes, apples, pears and oranges.

Choose fruits which are not too soft and if using fruits which have a tendency to turn brown once cut (such as bananas, apple and pears) dip them in lemon or lime juice.

When buying fruit choose them with great care. Blemished fruit goes bad quickly and it is a waste of money for you will have to throw them away. In our country, the best local fruit available are the ones which are seasonal.

Pineapple is probably the best dessert fruit. It is available all year round and are quite cheap too. To serve pineapple just cut into thick rings or slices. Sprinkle salt if you like or dip in some rojak sauce. Never serve it with jelly as it destroys the setting properties of the jelly.

Bananas and papayas are available all year round too but these get ripe very fast so you have to be careful when you select your fruit. Squeeze some lime juice or calamansi juice over cut papaya to enhance its taste.

Apart from serving fruits fresh, we can also grill them. Give this recipe below a try the next time you have a barbeque!

Exotic Fruit Parcels
1 papaya
1 mango
1 starfruit
1 tbsp grenadine (pomergranate syrup)
3 tbsp orange juice
natural yogurt, to serve

Method
Cut the papaya in half, scoop out the seeds and discard them. Peel the papaya and cut the flesh into thick slices.

Prepare the mango by cutting it lengthways in half either side of the central stone.
Score each mango half in a criss-cross pattern. Push each mango half inside out to separate the cubes and cut them away from the peel.

Using a sharp knife, thickly slice the starfruit.

Place all of the fruit in a bowl and mix them together. Mix the grenadine and orange juice together and pour over the fruit. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the fruit among 4 double thickness squares of kitchen foil and gather up the edges to form a parcel that encloses the fruit.

Place the foil parcel on a rack set over warm coals and barbeque (grill) the fruit for 15-20 minutes.

Serve the fruit in the parcel, with the low-fat natural yogurt. - Quick & Easy Pudding (Parragon)

Spiced Honey Bingka

125g butter
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs, beaten
180g self-raising flour , sifted
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup evaporated milk
white grated coconut + a pinch of salt

Method
Cream butter and honey together until light and fluffly. Gradually beat in eggs.

Fold in sifted dry ingredients alternately with evaporated milk. Pour mixture into a greased loafpan and steam for 30 minutes.

Cool and cut into slices. Serve with fresh white grated coconut.