Cooking
For frozen mango passion meringue
Please refer to the Balinese meringue (page
234). Reserve half to mold and freeze, and
the other to dry. This will make more than
needed, so store in an airtight container.
For the moringa ice
Mix, freeze until solid, and scrape.
For the frangipani jello (jelly)
Boil the water, sugar, and carrageenans.
Hand blend, then strain.
When cool add the frangipani water and
scatter over some frangipani flower so it looks like an ornament and set at designated vessel.
For the coconut jello (jelly)
Boil the water, sugar, carrageenans. Hand blend, and strain.
When cool, add the coconut milk and coconut liqueur and set at designated vessel.
For the black sesame shortbread
Whip up the yolks with the sugar until
ribbony and fluffy.
Add the diced butter and continue, almost as if you were whipping a butter cream.
Finally, sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and incorporate by hand, using a spatula.
When the mix has just come together, you can wrap it in waxed paper or plastic wrap (cling film), and chill until ready to use.
When the dough is chilled, I like to roll it thinly, so I can bake it and cut it and shape it or cut it into discs to order. Freeze before baking.
Bake at 160C/310F/Gas Mark 2 1/2.
(I like to cook the dough to just set
and then stretch it, cut it cleanly, and then continue to cook it until golden and crisp, so that I get nice edges.)
For the yoghurt
Warm the milk and yogurt together to 40˚C/
100˚F. Keep in a warm, damp place overnight.
The following day, hang over cheesecloth to drain out excess water (whey)
For the coconut milk
They don’t have box graters, in Indonesia, they have planks with spikes on them; that’s what we use to make coconut milk. So make yourself a grating plank, or use a food processor with the grating blade, or try a box grater if you think yours is tough enough to handle coconut.
The easiest thing you can do to make your own coconut milk, in a country where coconuts don’t grow in the backyard, is to buy unsweetened shredded coconut, then follow the same process as for other nut milks. Leave it overnight—or in Bali, one hour before it starts fermenting—to soak at room temperature, covered with cheesecloth or plastic wrap (clingfilm), then squeeze out the liquid. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to a day.
We also let our coconut milk sour at room temperature. The fat rises to the top, we chill it, scrape it off, and have coconut cream, with the beginnings of coconut vinegar underneath. In addition to the desserts here, use this milk in any recipe that calls for coconut milk, such as curries. If you want a thicker milk, cut the water in half.
Use the flesh right away or tightly wrap it and freeze it for up to a month, or toast it and keep it for a week.
Using a sharp knife, peel the rough skin from the coconut. Chop into pieces, then grate.
Put the coconut into a large bowl and add the water. Mix the water into the coconut and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. When the mixture is well combined and loose, place inside a clean kitchen towel or piece of cheesecloth and squeeze out the milk.
Use right away. Reserve the coconut flesh for another use, such as a cake or curry.)
For the purple haze cake
Prepare a kind of genoise by whipping up the eggs with the confectioners' (icing) sugar.
Next add the tamis’ed dry ingredients, and finally the oil and yogurt which you have conveniently whisked together first.
Gently spread into a sheet tray of appropriate size, or individual loaf pan, baby ring, fleximold, or other innovative method, and bake quickly at 180˚C/350˚F until just golden brown on the outside and tender but cooked on the interior.
For the grape punch
Take most of the grape juice, reserving a bit, and reduce by about half, until lightly syrupy.
Dissolve with the fresh grape juice, strain, and reserve cold.
For the mallows
Bloom the gelatin in iced water.
Cook the sugar, water, and honey to 121C/250F.
Stream the cooked sugar into the egg whites while whipping bit by bit. Add the bloomed gelatin and whip until cool.
Add the rum, and spread onto a tray dusted with sugar.
Divide the end result into two batches and folding in the purees and liqueurs.
Set at designated vessel.
Allow the mallow to set overnight in a cold room.
For the soursop meringue
Place the egg whites and ginger palmsugar in a blender, together with the water and pulse to blend.
Transfer the mixture to a Trittico machine, or at home, a bain marie.
Process to 84°C/183°F, then freeze to -9°C (16°F), then extract, and whip in a stand mixer to stiff peaks. At home, heat the mixture in a bain marie to the same temperature, then freeze ovenight.
The next day, remove the meringue from the freezer, cut into small pieces, then whip for 5–10 minutes, to firm peaks.
Bake in a low oven in the required shape.
To finish, spread and dry, first at moderate heat, around 60˚C/140˚F, then at low heat 43˚C/110˚F, until dry. This will make more than needed, so store in an airtight container.
Assembly
Prepare a cake rectangle of 16 inches (40 cm) in length.
Top with pureed shortbread, cut into the shape of the islands of Bali and immediate surroundings.
Scatter with gelees, marshmallows, meringues, flowers, and other fun things from your escapades.