What do you do with Kurma after Ramadhan?

Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera to all...

Hello my dear readers... Ramadhan has left us for about 3 months now and guess what? I still have those 'kurnia' kurma in my chiller and since they're untouched, one morning I was thinking to get my hands dirty with flour and I came up with this idea of making cup cakes out of these dried fruit, so then the story begin...

See, how long have I kept this kurma??

Dates Health Benefits
This tiny fruit has more potassium than even a banana does! Loaded with high dietary fiber, and dismissive quantities of calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium make this fruit a vital source of nutrients. An interesting fact about dates is that it is one of the important fruits consumed after breaking fast during the Ramadan holy month in the Arab countries. Just a handful, increases the energy levels of the body that has received no nourishment throughout the day, during fast. Dates are energy boosters with naturally occurring sugars such as fructose, glucose and sucrose that provide the body with loads of energy.

Dates are one of the best natural sources of potassium, an essential mineral needed by the body to maintain muscle contractions, and smooth functioning of the heart muscles. As potassium does not get stored in the body, a regular consumption of dates will continually replenish the body and aid in maintaining a healthy nervous system and the right balance of the body’s metabolism. Calcium and magnesium present in the dates ensure healthy bone development and energy metabolism. Important vitamins, like vitamin A and a variety of B-complex vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, etc) help fight off many infections to maintain and develop a healthy body. Dates contain vital amino acids that aid in smooth digestion and the adequate nicotinic content in them helps cure intestinal disturbances. (info taken from here)

 

click table for link

Since I love cheese alot, I never missed to mix it in my cakes recipe. This time I used both Philadelphia cream cheese and Mascarpone cheese as key ingredients apart from dates itself. So, I called this cakes... 

 

 

"Mascarpone Kurma Cuppies"

Ingredients:

250 gm mascarpone cheese

100 gm philadelphia cream cheese

2 nos egg

120 gm sugar

120 gm cake flour

250 gm dried dates

Method:

1. Divide dates into two bowls, use fine blender and chop until fine.

2. Using knife, chop the other bowl of dates manually into small dice/chunk.

3. Heat up oven to 160'C

4. Mix both cheese with sugar in mixer until creamy.

5. Add in eggs and let it mix.

6. Add in the fine blended dates and let it mix.

7. Add in flour and let it mix.

8. Switch machine off and take the bowl, add in diced dates and mix using spoon.

9. Pour batter into cup mold using ladle.

10. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

*Natural sweetness from dates actually makes this cakes really sweet, so you might reduce the amount of sugar.

 

Please follow pics as method:

Kurma or Dates

 Using a Blender, blend until creamy (this are really sticky)

 Using knife, chop manually into chunk/dice

 Add in chop dates in the batter using spoon (make sure to

leave some to be put on top before baking)

 Batter in the cup

 The leftover chopped dates on the batter just before baking

Oh.. this just came out from the oven..

I didn't have the cakes for presentation because they're gone before I knew it... These cakes were so sweet but rich in flavors... nice... I like... ;))

So, I hope you enjoy and good luck trying this cake...

Regards, Chef Nash