Spices are interesting little things. They add flavour to dishes and aromas to the air. They heal us and colour our clothes and hair. We owe a lot to spices in so many things we do.
What are spices?
Spices are dried parts of plants that add aroma and flavour to food. They come in different forms – whole, raw, powdered, cooked, mixed.
The beauty of spices is making your own combination. Finding what works for you and creating endless dishes that satisfy all your senses.
Sweet spices
Most people associate spices with savoury dishes like coriander, cumin, cloves, turmeric and chilli. But this isn’t always the case.
Sometimes they work well, if not better in sweet dishes and add an element that lifts them out of the ordinary and take you directly to taste heaven.
Here are a few desserts that most people have had before in some form or another. These use spices to make them different, more interesting and a little magical.
Bread and butter pudding with aniseed, cardamom and rose water:
The perfect winter dessert, warm and rich with loads of comforting elements, this dessert is always a crowd pleaser. Bread, butter, custard and chocolate all combine to make this one of the most adored puddings the world over.
It’s warm and unctuous leaving you with a guilty mind but a happy happy heart.
Thai Roti with banana, cinnamon sugar and condensed milk:
It’s a little known fact that the largest spice in the world is none other than the banana. It grows in a pod and therefore, technically is a spice (as well as a fruit).
Thai Roti’s are quite simply the most delicious crispy morsels you will have this side of the Indian Ocean.
Unlike pancakes made with batter like traditional French crepes, Thai Roti’s are made from dough and beaten out like pizzas until wafer thin and fried with oil and butter, stuffed with banana, topped with cinnamon sugar and drenched in condensed milk for good measure.
Gooey chilli ginger chocolate brownies:
Have you ever tried chocolate with chilli or ginger? It’s a combination that at first sounds a little odd, one that might not make sense.
Sweet and bitter chocolate with fiery chilli or peppery ginger works surprisingly well. Mix together this combination in a gooey, rich brownie and you’re in for a treat.
Try the recipe.
Saffron and aniseed fritters with rosewater syrup
Saffron is the gold to spice.
It’s the world’s most expensive spice and a little goes a long way. Its beautiful sunrise golden colour brings life to any dish and its musky rich flavour gives depth and character like no other spice.
Mixed into this slightly sour batter it makes each little fritter come alive. Doused in the sweet rose scented syrup each puffy fritter bursts with flavour.
It’s a mouthful of pleasure that you’ll be coming back for time and time again.
So there you have it. Go ahead and spice things up a little after
the starters and mains. We all know that dessert is the best course
anyway.