Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table!
I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food.
Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!
This is an easy and quick cake loaf that is perfect for afternoon tea.
100g pistachio nuts, chopped 200g caster sugar 150g butter 125ml yoghurt 3 eggs 200g flour 5ml baking powder 5ml bicarbonate of soda 10ml vanilla 4 limes, zest and juice 200g icing sugar 30ml pistachio nuts, sliced
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm X 10cm X 7cm loaf tin with baking paper. Add the pistachios and caster sugar to the bowl of a food processor and whizz until fine. Add the butter, yoghurt, eggs, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and lime zest and whizz again until smooth. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 55 minutes. Cool the loaf in the tin for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add the lime juice. Spoon the glaze over the pistachio loaf and scatter with the sliced pistachios.
These tiny ricotta cakes with their zesty glaze are on my top 5 list of favourite eats!! The ricotta gives the cakes a fluffy, light, melt-in-the-mouth feel and the glaze adds a citrus punch that draws all the flavours together! Makes about 18 cakes/biscuits.
625ml flour 5ml baking powder 5ml salt 100g butter, room temperature 500ml sugar 2 eggs 420g ricotta cheese (you can make your own by following my recipe for Homemade Ricotta) 45ml lemon juice the zest of one lemon
Lemon glaze: 375ml icing sugar 45ml lemon juice the zest of one lemon
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line two baking sheets with baking paper. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on a high speed for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer speed down to medium and add the eggs one at a time. Add the ricotta, lemon juice and lemon zest. Turn the mixer onto its lowest speed and add the flour mixture, a few tablespoons at a time. Keep going until you have added all the flour. Spoon about 30ml (one large tablespoon) of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. The dough is very sticky but use your finger to shape/mould the dough into what resembles a circle/round mound – do not flatten it! Space the dough mounds about 5 cm apart as it will flatten slightly and spread during baking. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 30 minutes.
For the lemon glaze: Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until smooth. Spoon about half a teaspoon of the glaze onto each cooled cake. Allow to become hard – about 2 hours.
Keep the cakes in a sealed container at room temperature.
As far as I’m concerned chicken pie is a crowd pleaser and a very convenient fall-back when you have to feed many people. This pie is made with store bought pastry but has a fabulous flavour! You will feed 6 hungry people with this recipe but you may double quantities for a larger pie.
9 chicken breasts, skin removed 1litre chicken stock 200g mushrooms 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 15ml turmeric 15ml salt 10ml thyme leaves 250ml greek yoghurt 1 packet shortcrust pastry Egg wash: one egg beaten with 15ml of milk
Cut the chicken breasts into chunks and add them to a large saucepan. Pour the stock in and add some hot water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the chicken for one hour. Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool in the liquid. (This will prevent the chicken from drying out and losing its taste). When the chicken is cool enough to handle comfortably: drain and discard the liquid and pull the chicken apart with your hands or two forks, as you would with pork belly. Keep the pulled chicken to the side. Preheat your oven to 220℃. Put a heavy based saucepan onto the heat and cover the bottom with oil. Add the mushrooms and fry them at high heat until they start to caramelise. Add the chopped onion and cook until soft. Now add the garlic, salt and thyme leaves and cook for one minute while stirring. Add the cooked chicken and the yoghurt to the saucepan and reduce the heat to a light simmer for 30 minutes. Spoon the chicken mixture into a heat-proof dish and allow to cool. Roll the pastry to the size of your oven dish and cover the chicken mixture with it. Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with a salad.
This is a glorious, genuine dark chocolate cake with an intense chocolate and red wine glaze. I use a Pinot Noir red wine as the berry notes mix perfectly with the dark chocolate aromas.
220g DeVilliersChocolate Intense or other dark chocolate, chopped 250ml sugar 200g butter, cubed 4 eggs 3,7ml salt 83ml flour
Glaze: 220g DeVilliersChocolate Intense or other dark chocolate, chopped 62ml butter, cubed 2,5ml salt 125ml icing sugar 125ml pinot noir or any other red wine
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease and flour a loose-bottom cake tin of 22cm in diameter. Add the chocolate, sugar and butter to a heatproof bowl and set it oven a saucepan of simmering water. Stir the mixture for 3 minutes or until melted and remove from the heat. Keep on stirring until the chocolate is completely smooth. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Set the mixer onto medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time. Turn the mixer onto its highest speed. Keep beating on high speed until the mixture has a very thick, mousse-like consistency. Turn the mixer down to a low speed and add the salt and flour. Mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60 minutes. It is important to test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cake’s centre and checking that it comes out clean. If the toothpick/cake tester is sticky, bake the cake for a few minutes longer and test again. Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. Cool the cake in the tin.
For the glaze: Add the chopped chocolate, butter and salt to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir for 3 – 5 minutes until melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Sift the icing sugar directly into the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Add the red wine to a small saucepan and place on the heat to warm the wine. Remove the wine from the heat as soon as small bubbles start appearing at the edges of the pan. Drizzle the wine into the chocolate mixture while whisking continuously until all the wine is incorporated. Set the glaze apart for about 10 minutes so that it can thicken. Place the cold cake onto a cooling rack set inside a baking sheet and pour the glaze evenly over the cake. Allow the glaze to set – about 2 hours.
Whenever I eat this sweet potato dish with honey and orange, I am reminded of the city of Casablanca with its sweet smells and the aroma of cinnamon drifting in the air after another very warm day!!
4 – 6 large sweet potatoes 50g butter 62ml brown sugar 62ml honey 62ml orange juice the zest of one orange 2,5ml salt 2,5ml ground cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 190℃. Scrub the sweet potato, cut into chunks and add them to an ovenproof dish. Add the butter, brown sugar, honey, orange juice, zest, salt and cinnamon to a small saucepan and melt together. Pour the mixture over the sweet potato chunks and stir through so that all of the potato is covered in the sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until cooked and slightly charred and the sauce is syrupy. Serve warm.
Few things beat an aromatic cinnamon roll on a cold day and these rolls are no exception! I like to hero the yeasty bread and therefore the sugar glaze is toned done in this recipe. Yields 20 rolls but may easily be halved.
30ml butter 30ml white sugar 30ml brown sugar 10ml cinnamon
Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Add the butter and milk to a jug and warm it in the microwave oven. Stir until the butter has melted and the milk is tepid and NOT hot. Add the sugar and yeast to the milk mixture and stir to dissolve. Turn the mixer onto low speed and add the milk mixture. Mix/knead for 2 minutes. Now turn the speed to medium and knead for a further 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastic bag and a tea towel. Set aside to proof for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Line an overproof baking dish/baking tray of about 25cm X 35cm with baking paper. Dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough into a large rectangle. About 65cm X 30cm. Melt the 30ml butter and brush an even layer onto the rolled dough. Mix together the sugars and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly onto the dough. Roll into a sausage, in the length. Cut the sausage of dough into 20 even pieces. I do this by halving the sausage, and again halving the half sections and then simply slicing it into five more-or-less equal pieces. Arrange the dough spirals in the prepared baking dish, cut side facing up and about 1 – 2 cm between them, or as evenly spaced as you can manage. Slip the baking dish into a plastic bag and leave to proof for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes.
For the glaze: 500ml icing sugar 30ml butter 10ml vanilla 60ml milk
Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Melt the butter and add the vanilla and milk to it. Pour the wet ingredients into the icing sugar while stirring.
Remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven and immediately drizzle the glaze onto the rolls. Serve warm or cooled down.
There is no pan frying involved in making these meatballs as they are cooked directly in the tomato sauce and therefore are wonderfully juicy and aromatic. The recipe yields about 16 large meatballs but may be easily halved.
2 onions, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tins of chopped tomato 15ml sugar 10ml salt 10ml dried oregano 250ml beef stock
Add the onion, garlic and a splash of oil to an ovenproof saucepan and place on medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped tomato, sugar, salt, oregano and stock and allow the mixture to simmer slowly while you get on with the meatballs.
Slice the crusts from the bread and place it in a bowl. Pour the milk onto the bread, turning the bread in the milk so that it becomes soggy and start falling apart. Add the beef and salt to the bread mixture and mix with your hands. Push your hand down into the minced meat and squeeze it through your fingers – repeat until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Scoop a tablespoon-full of the meat mixture into your hands and roll into a ball. Place the meatball directly into the slowly simmering tomato sauce. Keep going until you have no meat mixture left. Sprinkle the grated cheeses onto the meatballs and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve with a crusty bread or fluffy mashed potato.
l make these truffles from cake off-cuts and sometimes from a slice or two of left-over cake. They are somewhere between a cake-pop and a traditional chocolate truffle but believe me, they are delicious and very more-ish!
160g De Villiers chocolate, chopped 5ml butter 30ml milk 80ml desiccated coconut 330ml cake crumbs (blitz two slices of cake in a food processor) 62ml icing sugar 20g almonds, chopped
For rolling the truffles: A handful of the following almonds, very finely chopped desiccated coconut cocoa powder dried rose petals icing sugar
Add the chocolate, butter and milk to a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan with simmering water to melt. Stir every now and then until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture amalgamated. Take the chocolate mixture from the heat and stir in the coconut, cake crumbs, icing sugar and chopped nuts. Keep mixing until all the ingredients are completely covered with chocolate. Roll the mixture into balls the size of walnuts and then roll them through the almonds/coconut/cocoa/rose petals/icing sugar. Keep the truffles in a sealed container at room temperature.
Tripe is eaten all over the world but in South Africa it is often served as a curry. Also known as Mogodu or Afval, one is often surprised at the popularity of this traditional dish.
1kg tripe, cleaned coarse salt 5 litres water 15ml curry powder 10ml ginger powder 15ml turmeric powder 10ml sugar 5ml salt 1 bay leaf 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Put the clean tripe into a large bowl and sprinkle liberally with coarse salt. Add about half the water and leave to soak for an hour. Rinse the tripe under running water. Cut into bite-sized pieces and place in a large saucepan. Add the remaining water and a tablespoon salt. Bring the tripe to a boil and simmer for about 3 hours, until tender. Remove the tripe from the water and set aside. Pour enough oil into a medium saucepan to cover the bottom. Add the curry powder, ginger, turmeric, sugar, salt and bay leaf and cook on a low heat for a minute or two. Add the tripe pieces and stir-fry until the tripe is covered in the spices. Add the potato chunks and pour enough water into the saucepan to cover the tripe and potato. Cook on a low simmer for about 40 minutes. Serve the tripe on rice or a starch of your choice.
The name may be slightly deceptive as this is a savoury cake with loads of cheese and sultanas and not a cheesecake as is popularly known. If you are looking to try something different however, this Cypriot cheesecake is for you.
200g feta cheese, grated 200g cheddar cheese, grated 10ml mint, chopped 4 eggs 250ml milk 225ml vegetable oil 15ml sugar 5ml baking powder 320g self-raising flour 250g sultanas 1 onion, finely chopped a handful of black and/or white sesame seeds
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a loose-bottomed cake tin. Grate the feta and cheddar cheese, add the mint and mix together. Put aside. Add the eggs, milk, oil and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat the mixture together for one minute. Add the baking powder and flour to a separate bowl and mix together. Turn the mixer down to a medium speed and add a few tablespoons of flour at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl down, once all the flour has been incorporated. Add the sultanas, onion and two thirds of the cheese and mix through. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Finish off by sprinkling a handful of sesame seeds on top of the cake. Be generous – it is delicious! Bake the cake for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the cake tin. Remove from the tin and serve with a crisp salad or as a side dish.
My Whisk and I 