cream and milk

This recipe for Thai custard is a sweet, light dessert that&#39;s quick and easy to make.

Thai Custard

floz milk

oz desiccated coconut

oz semolina

eggs (beaten)

oz caster sugar

salt

kiwi fruit

star fruit

Place the milk in a saucepan, bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut. Leave until cool.

Beat together the milk, semolina, eggs an sugar in a bowl. Place over a pan of boiling water and stir until the mixture thickens.

Pour into a greased 900g (2 lb) loaf tin and bake at 180°C (350°F) mark 4 for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and grill until golden brown. Cut into bars.

Serve warm with sliced fruits.

This dish is a classic of Thai cooking. It is hot and fragrant from the curry paste and perfumed with makrut lime leaves and Thai basil. Green pastes can vary, but they should be pungent rather than piercingly hot, and built around chillies, galangal, coriander and lemon grass.

Thai green chicken curry

white peppercorns

coriander seeds

cumin seeds

shrimp paste

tsp sea salt

stems, white part only, lemon grass, finely sliced

tsp galangal, chopped

makrut lime leaf, finely shredded

coriander root, chopped

red Asian shallots, chopped

garlic, crushed

green chillies, seeded

Dry-fry the peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and shrimp paste wrapped in foil in a frying pan over medium–high heat for 2–3 minutes, or until fragrant. Allow to cool. Using a mortar with a pestle, or a spice grinder, crush or grind the peppercorns, coriander and cumin to a powder.

Put the shrimp paste and ground spices with the remaining curry paste ingredients in a food processor, or in a mortar with a pestle, and process or pound to a smooth paste.

Put the thick coconut cream from the top of the tins in a saucepan, bring to a rapid simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and cook for 5–10 minutes, or until the mixture &apos;splits&apos; (the oil starts to separate).

Add 4 tablespoons of the made green curry paste, then simmer for 15 minutes, or until fragrant. Add the palm sugar, fish sauce and makrut leaves to the pan.

Stir in the remaining coconut cream and the chicken, bamboo shoots and beans, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Stir in the Thai basil and serve.

Make extra sauce, freeze it, and you can have this family favourite on the table in no time flat.

Fakeaway favourite: Adam Liaw’s home-made butter chicken

chicken thigh fillets

juice of ½ lemon

tsp turmeric

¼ cup thick yoghurt

paprika

tsp coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

tsp garam masala

vegetable oil

To prepare the chicken, trim the thigh fillets of some of the visible fat, and combine with the remaining marinade ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to cook, heat a barbecue or grill pan over a high heat and grill the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side until charred. The chicken doesn’t need to be completely cooked through.

To make the butter chicken sauce, combine the onion, garlic and ginger in a small food processor and process to a smooth puree. Alternatively, you can grate or finely chop these aromatics. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods and toast for a minute until fragrant. Add the onion, garlic and ginger puree and fry for about 6-8 minutes, or until fragrant and dry, but not yet browned. Add the ground coriander, cumin and chilli (or paprika, if using) and mix well. Add the tomato passata and mix well. Cover and simmer for about 8 minutes. Season with the salt and sugar to taste, then stir through the thickened cream. Simmer for a further 4 minutes. 

Cut the chicken into 3cm pieces and stir through the sauce mixture. Simmer for 3 minutes, then stir through the garam masala and fenugreek leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a serving bowl and scatter with coriander to serve. Serve with Indian breads or rice, and a little hot lime pickle. 

Spread a picnic rug or set up an outdoor table and celebrate spring with this gorgeous asparagus and bacon quiche.

Mark the change of season with RecipeTin Eats’ spring fling asparagus quiche

(1¼ cups) plain flour

½ tsp cooking salt

unsalted butter, cold, cubed

½ tbsp ice-cold water (plus more if required)

To make the shortcrust pastry, pulse the flour, salt and butter in a food processor 10 times or until it looks like breadcrumbs. With the motor running on low, pour the water into the tube feeder, then blitz on high for 30 seconds or until it turns into a ball of dough (see note). Pat the dough into a 2cm thick disc, wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the asparagus by setting aside 7 whole stalks and chopping the rest into 5mm pieces. Cut 50g of the bacon into 2cm x 1cm pieces and chop the remaining 150g into 1cm dice.

Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). 

To make the filling, melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the 2cm bacon pieces until golden then remove to a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon. Set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion, garlic and remaining bacon for 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the chopped asparagus and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring. Transfer the mixture to a bowl lined with paper towels and leave to cool.

To make the custard mixture, place the eggs, milk and cream in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

To cook the pastry case, remove the dough from the fridge and roll into a 27cm round on a lightly floured work surface. Carefully fit it into a 23cm quiche pan without stretching or pulling the pastry (see note). Trim away any overhanging pastry.

Prick the base of the pastry lightly 30 times with a fork. Cover with 2 large pieces of baking paper arranged in an X and fill with baking beads, raw chickpeas or dry beans. 

Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional) and carefully remove the paper and baking beads using the overhanging paper, then bake the pastry for another 10 minutes until light golden. 

Remove the pastry case from the oven and turn the oven back up to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Place the prepared pastry case and tin on a baking tray.

To assemble and bake, scatter the bacon and asparagus filling evenly across the pastry base, then top with cheese. Carefully pour in the custard mixture without dislodging the asparagus and bacon mixture and place the whole asparagus stalks on top. Scatter on the larger pieces of bacon. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is light golden. The centre should still be slightly jiggly. Remove from the oven and rest the quiche for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cut into wedges and serve.

Don’t like bran muffins? Helen Goh’s rich and deeply flavoured recipe might change your mind.

Helen Goh’s healthy bran muffins to make today and enjoy during the week

All-Bran cereal

milliliters plain kefir milk drink

date molasses

coconut oil, melted,

soft, light-brown sugar

egg,

raisins

orange

plain flour,

tsp baking powder

tsp baking soda

¼ tsp fine sea salt

wholemeal flour

salted butter, soft, for spreading

Place the bran cereal in a large bowl and add the kefir milk, date molasses, coconut oil, brown sugar, egg, raisins and orange zest. Stir well to combine, then set aside for the bran to soften.

Meanwhile, brush the 12 holes of a muffin tray with the 2 tsp melted coconut oil, then sprinkle lightly with the extra flour. Rotate and tap the pan, so the holes are evenly dusted with the flour, then turn upside down and tap away the excess.

Heat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).

Sift the plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl, then add the wholemeal flour. Whisk to combine, then add to the wet bran mixture in three batches, folding gently between each addition until just combined; don’t overmix the batter as this can lead to rubbery muffins.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups so it comes almost to the top (an ice-cream scoop with a latch release is useful here if you have one). Place the muffin tray in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of one comes out clean. Remove the tray from the oven and rest on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before turning out the muffins.

Serve them warm, split in half and spread liberally with soft, salted butter.

A pasta bake doesn't need a lot of time in the oven. Rather, grill it just long enough to melt the cheese on top. 

Vegetarian stroganoff pasta bake with mushroom and spinach

dry penne pasta

butter

onion, halved, thinly sliced

garlic cloves, finely chopped

thyme

Swiss brown and button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

olive oil

baby spinach leaves

tomato paste

tsp sweet paprika

flour

vegetable stock

sour cream

grated cheese

tbsp finely shredded parsley, to serve

black pepper,

salad leaves,

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al&nbsp;dente. Drain, rinse with cold water and transfer to a 2½-litre baking dish.

Rinse the saucepan and return to medium-high heat. Add the half the butter and the onion, garlic and thyme and cook until golden, about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Increase the heat to high, add half of the mixed mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are browned and softened. Transfer the contents of the pan to a bowl.&nbsp;

Add the oil to the pan, then stir in the spinach for a minute until it is wilted. Remove spinach from the pan and set aside, allowing any moisture released to drain away. Add the remaining mushrooms to the pan and cook until browned, about 5 minutes.

Return the first batch of mushrooms to the pan and mix well. Reduce heat to medium, add the tomato paste and paprika and cook for 1 minute, then add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the stock over medium heat until a thick sauce is formed (this takes about 5 minutes). Stir in the sour cream and wilted spinach and turn off the heat.&nbsp;

Preheat your grill to high. Stir one-third of the sauce through the pasta to combine, then pour over the remaining sauce to cover. Scatter very lightly with cheese and grill until the cheese is golden, about 5 minutes. Scatter with chopped parsley and serve with some green salad leaves on the side.

Adam&apos;s tip:&nbsp;When cooking pasta for pasta bakes, you don&apos;t need to seriously undercook it – al&nbsp;dente&nbsp;is fine. It will soften further by absorbing moisture from your sauce.

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Top Tags

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Fakeaway favourite: Adam Liaw’s hom...

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The most viewed cream and milk recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine