Author: Karen Claassen

Ginger biscuits have always been a holiday staple but this ginger-orange combination might just replace your old-time favourite! They are a bit messy to make as the dough is really soft and sticky but it is exactly that, that gives these biscuits their wonderful snap.

The recipe makes about 120 biscuits, depending on the size you make each. Keeps well in an airtight container and can be made long in advance.

45ml orange peel, pith removed and finely chopped

juice of one orange

50g brown sugar

Add the chopped orange peel, orange juice and sugar to a small saucepan over a medium-low heat.

Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and it comes to a gentle simmer.

Simmer for about 5 minutes – keep your eye on it as it tends to rise up in the saucepan!

Put aside.

500g self-raising flour

10ml cream of tartar

10ml bicarbonate of soda

10ml ground ginger

2ml salt

170g butter, cubed

170 g golden syrup

300g brown sugar

2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Grease two large baking sheets.

Sift the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add the butter to these dry ingredients and rub it in by hand.

Pour the golden syrup into a saucepan and place it on medium heat until melted.

Add the brown sugar to the syrup and stir over low heat until most of the sugar has dissolved. You will have sugar grains in the mixture – make sure it is really runny.

Add the orange and syrup mixture that you made earlier to this, stir through and take off the heat. Allow the mixture to cool to the point where it is still runny.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add it to the cooled syrup mixture, whisking as you do.

Add the syrup mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until there are no traces of dry flour left.

Now cover the dough with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to cool for at least an hour; I leave mine overnight. Once the dough is cold it will be easier to shape.

Take the dough from the refrigerator and scoop out a teaspoon full, roll it into a ball and place it on the baking sheet. Flatten the ball slightly with your fingers. The dough balls should be about 4 cm apart on the baking sheet as they tend to spread when baking.

Once the baking sheet is filled, bake in the oven for 12 minutes.

Cool the biscuits on the baking sheet once cooked as they are very soft.

The biscuits store well in a sealed container.

This quick-bread is deliciously savoury and the perfect carrier for an open sandwich on lazy afternoons..

500g self-raising flour

125ml mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 X 50g packet of white onion soup

1,2ml salt

2,5ml smoked paprika

500ml cultured buttermilk

6 spring onions, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Grease a medium sized bread tin.

Add the flour, cheese, onion soup powder, salt and paprika to a bowl and mix through with a spatula.

Add the buttermilk and spring onions to the dry ingredients and mix well. Keep mixing until you can not see any dry bits flour.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared bread tin and bake for one hour.

Cool completely before slicing.

This is the perfect dessert for a summer’s lunch when you have to accommodate young and old. You do not need any special equipment and all preparations can be done up to three days in advance.

1 X 397g tin of condensed milk

200ml lemon juice

zest of two lemons or limes

500ml cream

about 30 small meringues; you may buy them or make them from the recipe: Mini Pavlovas

Line a 22cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a double layer of plastic wrap. If you run cold water through the tin and shake most water out, the plastic wrap will “cling” to the tin and make the lining thereof easier. Store in the freezer while you get on with the work.

Mix the condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Stir with a whisk until the mixture amalgamates. Set aside.

Add the cream to a clean mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form.

Fold the cream into the condensed milk mixture with a spatula.

Now smash half the meringues and sprinkle it onto the bottom of the lined cake tin.

Pour the cream mixture into the cake tin and wrap it securely with plastic wrap. Wrap it all around as you do not want the ice cream to form crystals.

Freeze overnight.

To serve:

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and allow to stand outside for 10 minutes.

Take off the plastic wrap on the outside.

Loosen the ring of the cake tin and remove it and then pull the plastic wrap from the cake and place it on a serving dish.

Decorate the top with the remaining meringues.

Cut into portions with a serrated knife and serve.

This time of year, I’m usually in strawberry heaven: I have them in salads, flans, cakes, with muesli, in smoothies, cocktails, with ice cream, juice and my real favourite, fresh; covered in a natural strawberry syrup.

1kg fresh strawberries

250ml caster sugar

a handful of fresh mint leaves

Hull the strawberries and slice them in half.

Add them to a large bowl and sprinkle the caster sugar and torn mint leaves on top.

Give everything a good stir and place in the refrigerator for an hour.

And voila! You have sweet, fresh strawberries covered in their own natural syrup!

This is a delicious vegetable bake as the subtle sauce combines soft, sweet butternut with almost-crispy chickpeas. Loaded with goodness and flavour and really easy to put together.

3 medium butternuts

1 onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

5ml curry powder

10ml turmeric powder

10ml salt

15ml sugar

125ml coconut milk

2 tins chickpeas, drained

a handful of basil leaves

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Halve the butternuts lengthwise and take out the seeds.

Sprinkle the flesh with some vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place on a baking sheet and bake until soft. This should take about 30 minutes.

Add a small amount of vegetable oil to a small saucepan and add the chopped onion, red pepper, garlic, curry powder, turmeric, salt and sugar.

Cook this flavouring mixture over a medium heat for about two minutes and then add the coconut milk, followed by the chickpeas.

Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken. Take off the heat.

Remove the butternut from the oven and scoop out some of the flesh – you want most of the flesh left behind in the skin, but you also need to make space for the chickpea filling.

Mix the butternut flesh which you have scooped out into the chickpea mixture.

Now scoop the chickpea mixture into the butternut halves and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve warm, sprinkled with fresh basil leaves.

I love this time of year. My children “disappear” and go into exam mode which to me signals Christmas baking! I bake with the intention of stocking up for the lazy weeks in the sun and surf around Christmas. My intentions are “tasted”. I bake again. And so on…… all in the name of the love and joy of baking and the spirit of Christmas.

This recipe makes a small batch of about 24 fingers but I usually double it up! I suggest you do the same.

120g oats (oatmeal)

80g desiccated coconut

150g sugar

120g cake flour

2ml bicarbonate of soda

a pinch of salt

125g butter

25ml syrup

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Grease a 20cm X 30cm X 3cm baking try.

Mix the oatmeal, coconut and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt onto the mixture and stir through.

Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan over low heat.

Pour onto the oatmeal mixture and give it a thorough mix so that no dry flour remains.

Spoon the mixture into the greased baking tray and press it firmly into the tray with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Cut the crunches into fingers while still warm.

Allow to cool completely in the baking tray.

Break into the finger markings and store in a glass jar.

If you hide them away they will make a wonderful gift for a friend…..

I have never been able to eat breakfast, but tasting these muffins have convinced me that I might just be a brunch person!

Makes about ten muffins, depending on the size of your tins.

1 orange

125ml orange juice

190ml pitted dates, roughly chopped

1 egg

125ml butter, melted

375ml cake flour

5ml bicarbonate of soda

5ml baking powder

2ml salt

190ml sugar

125ml pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray lightly.

Cut the orange into smaller pieces, leaving on the skin. Remove any seeds that you can see.

Add the orange pieces and orange juice to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until finely chopped.

Add the dates, egg and melted butter and mix.

Now mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.

Add half the flour mixture to the bowl of the food processor and incorporate into the orange mixture. Add the rest of the flour mixture and incorporate until well mixed.

Stir in the chopped nuts.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each muffin hole about two-thirds.

Bake for 20 minutes.

The muffins do taste best when cooled completely.

This is one of those canapés that isn’t big on looks but out of this world as far as flavour goes. It is my go-to when I want something that every single person raves about and I serve them as a canapé with wine and at times as a casual starter on the patio. They are a bit fiddly to make and you should allow enough time for that, but can successfully be made a day in advance.

250ml flour

100g butter, cubed

200g strong cheddar cheese

2,5ml smoked paprika

2 sachets pitted green olives

poppy seeds to sprinkle

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Grate the cheese in a food processor and keep aside.

Now blitz the cubed butter and flour until it forms clumps as tiny as peas.

Add the grated cheese and paprika and mix to achieve a well blended dough.

Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it with the heel of your hand to bring it together.

Drain the olives and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Now break off small pieces of the dough, press it flat in your hand and place an olive in the centre. Shape the dough around the olive, working towards a ball shape and making sure that it is sealed all around. They don’t have to be perfect, just bring the dough together without any olive showing.

Place the balls onto the baking sheet and sprinkle some poppy seeds on top.

If you run out of olives, simply roll and mould the remaining dough into stick-shapes and place onto the baking paper.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

Serve slightly warm or cold.

This is a perfect meat-free meal when accompanied by a crisp salad or fruit.

Filling:

15ml vegetable oil

30ml butter

4 onions, sliced

45ml brown sugar

3 – 4 sprigs of thyme

125g Camembert, Brie or other soft cheese with a rind

Pastry:

40g butter, melted

100ml cultured buttermilk

1 egg

5ml wholegrain mustard

200g cake flour

5ml baking powder

5ml salt

60ml cheddar cheese, grated

For the filling:

Put a heavy-bottomed saucepan onto medium heat and add the butter and oil.

Add the sliced onion and cook over a medium heat until soft and translucent.

Now add the brown sugar and the thyme and allow everything to cook, stirring now and then, until caramelised and golden brown. This will take about 30 minutes so it is best to keep an eye on it while you get on with making the pastry.

For the pastry:

Preheat your oven to 200℃.

Grease a loose-bottomed cake tin.

Mix the melted butter, buttermilk, egg and mustard in a mixing bowl.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt onto the wet mixture.

Grate the cheddar cheese and add that as well.

Mix together and knead the mixture with your hands until you have a soft workable dough.

Flour a work surface and roll the dough to a circle about the same size as your cake tin.

Lay the circle of dough on the bottom of your tin and with your fingers, press the dough slightly up onto the sides of the cake tin. Try to get the dough about 2cm high.

Spoon the caramelised onion mixture onto the pastry and spread it evenly.

Slice the Camembert cheese into strips and arrange on top of the onions.

Bake for 15 minutes, turn heat down to 180℃ and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Take the cake tin out of the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the cake tin.

Slice into portions and serve with a salad.

It is gooey and chocolatey and if I did not tell you, you would never know that this chocolate mousse was made from avocado pear. In fact, four ingredients, 5 minutes and a dessert that is truly fabulous!

Simply double the ingredients to make up the portions you want: 2 avocado pears makes 4 generous portions of mousse.

Keto friendly, vegan and gluten-free.

2 ripe avocado pears

120ml cocoa powder

90ml honey

20ml vanilla

Blend the ingredients together with a stick blender until completely smooth.

Spoon into small serving glasses.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Serve cold.