This delicious dessert was chosen by our fans on Facebook as their favourite. We’ve gotten the recipe for you today, so go ahead and try it out. Let us know how it turned out and share your pictures with us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thebodyholiday
Ingredients (cheesecake):
- 550g cream cheese
- 135g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 50g sour cream or yogurt
- 180ml double cream (liquid)
Ingredients (butterscotch):
- 200g sugar
- 40ml water
- 60ml liquid cream
The method:
• Slowly mix in the cream cheese with the sugar in a bowl.
• Add the eggs in slowly.
• Add the sour cream and double cream to the mixture.
• Pour the mixture into your rings or molds
• Make the butter scotch by boiling the sugar and water until it is golden brown in colour, then pouring in the liquid cream. Remove from the stove when the mixture is completely melted.
• Allow the butterscotch to cool completely, then pour a small amount over the cheesecake mix in the ring or mold.
• Bake for 30 minutes at 125°C.
• Remove, allow to cool and enjoy!
St. Lucia is a very lush Caribbean island abundantly blessed with a plethora of fruits and vegetables. They’re all just as delicious as they are nutritious. Generations of locals have grown up enjoying the ‘offerings of the land’ and it continues to this day. The island has produced a number of centenarians who attribute their longevity to hard work and a diet highly consistent of local, organic fruits and vegetables.
The BodyHoliday takes nutrition very seriously and this is evident in the meals we serve day after day. Our chefs visit the local farmer’s market weekly to get their pick of organic fruits and vegetables from vendors. Herbs and spices like celery, parsley, nutmeg and cinnamon exude a beautiful fragrance and are always a must on the list! These create the base and add flavour to some of the sumptuous dishes they create for our guests.
If you can’t get to it, let it come to you! Farmers journey from the countryside to The BodyHoliday daily, bringing with them fruits of their labour – banana, soursop, coconut, guava, papaya, mango, grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit, tamarind, carambola, watermelon, yam, dasheen, okra, pumpkin and the list goes on. If you’ve stayed at The BodyHoliday, you’ve seen some of these anywhere from the breakfast buffet at Cariblue to the dinners at TAO and the Clubhouse.
With so much available at our disposal, it’s easy to see how we can come up with these culinary masterpieces. Our chefs have a passion for food and the island feeds that passion. You too can enjoy these tasty Caribbean fruits and vegetables, as many of them are available in well assorted supermarkets and specialty ethnic food shops around the world. Working with this variety of fruits and vegetables is so easy. Simply let the rich and distinct flavours inspire you – as our chefs say: ‘be guided by flavours’. Substitute them for key ingredients in your favourite dishes or experiment with them to concoct your own gastronomic work of art. You can also look out for great recipes using these and other ingredients on this blog.
Bon appétit!
Today we’ve got an equally delicious and nutritious dessert recipe for you from the Pastry kitchen of The BodyHoliday.
So here it is: how to make the perfect Date Cake.
Ingredients:
- 4 eggs
- 300g or 10oz sugar
- 150g or 5oz flour
- 75g or 2.5oz whole flour
- 75g or 2.5oz dried dates
- 5g or 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 200ml or 6.5fl oz vegetable oil
- 2g or half teaspoon cinnamon powder
Icing:
- 240g or 8oz cream cheese
- 120g or 4oz softened butter
- 200g or 7oz icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 16 – 20 dates for decoration
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 175ᵒC or 350ᵒF
- Chop the dates and soak in hot water
- Mix the eggs and sugar. Add the baking powder, both kinds of flour and the cinnamon. Process until smooth. Add the vegetable oil and dates and mix well.
- Grease a 200mm or 8inch round cake pan. Pour the mixture into it.
- Bake it for 25 minutes in the preheated oven or until lightly brown on the top.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together with the vanilla extract and slowly add the icing sugar. Keep refrigerated until use. Spread on cooled cake and add the dates for decoration.
Nutritional tip:
Did you know? Dates are high in iron and potassium and contain modest amounts of folate and a small amount of vitamins A and B. Dates are also useful treatments for anemia, constipation and fatigue.
Try it out today and enjoy!
I’ll set the scene for you – it’s Friday night, and I’ve just enjoyed a very fun sunset cruise with some of our returning guests. We head back to Cariblue restaurant to enjoy an excellent dinner (all that dancing on the boat worked up an appetite). I started it off with a cocktail of seafood (a medley of shrimps, squid, mussels, fresh fish and crabmeat bound in a Marie Rose sauce, served on a bed of crisp vegetables) and followed it up with the fresh snapper (baked fresh snapper served on a bed of herbed potato puree, vegetables and a tangy coconut milk broth).
Just as I totally cleaned off my plate, one of the chefs walked by. I invited him to have a seat with me, as I always love chatting with The BodyHoliday team members about what they do. It’s part of my job, but I’m just a naturally curious person. What I knew of Chef Dulish Perera was that he is Sri Lankan and started working with the resort toward the latter part of last year.
We spent a bit of time talking about his roots in Sri Lanka and his extensive employment history with top hotels, including the Jumerai hotel chain of Dubai – pretty impressive resumé! He gladly recounted stories of different experiences he gained in his professional life and how those experiences helped make him a better chef. He was especially proud to let me know that he had won several awards across the span of his culinary career, including eight medals from the Dubai Culinary Awards.
Fast forward to the present day and he is the Pastry Chef at The BodyHoliday in St. Lucia, thousands of miles away from home. He now oversees the day to day operations of the pastry department and also has a hand in the creation of all of those wonderful international dishes for the themed lunches and dinners. He then says to me that it is important I understand that he incorporates local elements in his dishes to give them a local twist. He enjoys the fact that St. Lucia is a tropical garden and he has an abundance of fresh, organic herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables readily available. He tries as much as possible to sort them out on his own too!
What was merely supposed to be a passing conversation had spanned the length of a half hour. Cariblue was now closed and I did not get the chance to enjoy dessert. “No worries, I’ll prepare something special for you” he said to me. And the rest, as they say…or don’t say…was delicious!
My compliments to the chef! I enjoyed a lovely Russian Salad at Cariblue restaurant last night – diced potatoes and vegetables bound in low fat mayonnaise and topped with a soft poached egg, beetroot and light herb dressing (just describing it makes me hungry all over again!). I slipped into the kitchen to find out who was the mastermind behind this simple yet exquisite appetizer (yes, this was only the appetizer!).
Richard Lovett is the Executive Chef at The BodyHoliday and I am his newest fan. I whipped up the nerve to follow him into his office in the main kitchen because I want to find out about “the man behind the great food”. I learnt that Richard had taken the culinary helm four months ago. Interestingly enough, he was previously employed as the Director of Catering for Sunswept Resorts (parent company of The BodyHoliday). He felt the need to be directly involved in the kitchen’s production and output. Why? Richard is a man who simply loves cooking!
The more I spoke with him the clearer it became to me that he really has a passion for food and cooking. His approach to cooking takes him deeper than just appearances. He looks past this and ensures that the texture, flavour and aroma are en par with the appearance. Proudly, he remarks that in the past four months, he has completely changed the menu. Freshness and quality of ingredients are at the top of his list. Of course I completely agree with this – but what do I know about cooking?!
I mean it is one thing to look at a dish that seems near perfect and then to experience the disappointment that comes from an epic let down in the flavour department. Chef has complete control over this – he visits the local market often to hand pick fresh, local organic ingredients for his dishes. All of the yummy breads and pastries are made by the Pastry department…good job guys!
And what of themed lunches? This is his idea to mix it up and take his guests on a culinary adventure to keep lunch varied and not boring. That’s actually a really good idea and many of the guests I’ve spoken with concur!
The beautiful thing about this resort is that you can enjoy healthy options when you need to and indulge the other heavenly pleasures when you want to. I can attest to that! Incidentally, Richard tells me that The BodyHoliday welcomes many guests with special dietary requirements, requests and food allergies as well. This man goes above and beyond to meet these needs. He reminisces about the ‘Raw Food Diet’ where one of his guests could not have food heated above 65°C. He did his research and successfully accommodated her. I like the fact that he constantly updates and increases his knowledge of food and food trends!
Till we meet again chef…I think I need to get a Chocolate Fondant now!
