6 hot cross buns, halved 240g cream cheese, room temperature 125ml cream 2,5ml vanilla 160g Biscoff spread 4 bananas, sliced
Toast the halved buns in a dry pan. Add the cream cheese and cream to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Refrigerate until needed. Add the biscoff spread to a small bowl and warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time, until you have a very soft spread. Spoon the cream cheese mixture on the buns. Slice the bananas and arrange on top. Drizzle with the biscoff spread.
160g Orange flavoured De Villiers Chocolate 160g cream 12 De Villiers Chocolate hollow easter eggs
Chop the chocolate finely and add it to a mixing bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and allow it to warm up – it should be hot when you stick your finger in it but it should not boil. Pour the warm cream on the chopped chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. Set the bowl somewhere in your kitchen and stir every time you walk past. The ganache will take about 40 minutes to come to piping consistency, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. In the meantime, slice the top off the Easter eggs. I warm the bottoms of the eggs and then stick them on to a spoon so that they sit upright. Spoon the ganache into a piping bag and fill the eggs. Scatter some orange zest over to serve.
These little cakes can be baked in a 12-hole muffin tin when lined with paper cups. Baking time remains the same.
175g butter, room temperature 175g brown sugar 30g + 200g Biscoff spread 3 eggs 175g self-raising flour
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and spray 6 ramekins with cooking spray. Add the butter, sugar and Biscoff spread to a mixing bowl. Whisk with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Add the self-raising flour and mix on low speed until incorporated. Divide the batter between the 6 ramekins. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cakes on a wire rack.
Decant about 200g of Biscoff spread and place in the microwave oven for 20 second spurts. Stir the spread and micro again until you have a pourable consistency. Place the cooled cakes on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet and pour over the spread. Stand for 30 minutes until set.
220g dry pasta of your choice – I used wholewheat 60g butter 2 large onions, sliced 2,5ml salt 3 cloves garlic, minced 60ml white wine 45ml thyme leaves 125ml beef stock 15ml Worcestershire sauce 125ml grated Gruyere cheese 60ml cream
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Melt the butter in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and sprinkle over the salt. Cook the onion for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you stir too often the onions will take a longer time to caramelise. It is also important to regulate the heat – if it browns too quick, it will be burnt and not caramelised. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Now add the wine and scrape any onion bits from the bottom of the saucepan. Add the cooked pasta, thyme leaves, stock, Worcestershire sauce and stir to incorporate. Finally add the Gruyere and cream and stir through. Serve the pasta with extra grated cheese on top.
Place a heavy-bottom saucepan on medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy and browned. Remove from the pan. Place the chicken breasts on a flat surface and halve them horizontally so that you have 8 thin chicken portions. Mix the flour, breadcrumbs and salt together in a shallow dish. Coat the chicken generously with the flour mixture. Pour the vegetable oil into the saucepan and allow it to warm up. Fry the breasts for 3minutes per side, remove from the saucepan and set aside. Remove the oil from the saucepan and wipe it clean with paper towel. Now add the butter and allow to melt over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour and stir around until it forms a paste. Cook for one minute while stirring. Gradually pour in the chicken stock and milk and whisk continuously. Now add the Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and tarragon. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken back into the sauce. Sprinkle over the bacon and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes. Serve the chicken and the sauce on creamy mashed potatoes.
Filling: 45ml vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1 bunch of Kale, chopped 125ml chicken stock 6 eggs 125ml cream 5ml salt
For the pastry: Add the flour and butter to a mixing bowl and rub together with your fingers until the lumps are the size of peas. Add the egg and cheddar and mix to bring together. Knead the pastry by hand. It is very flaky and falls apart but push it together as best you can. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a loose-bottom cake tin or pie tin with cooking spray. Roll the pastry into a rough circle shape even if it breaks apart and transfer (even if it is pieces) to the pie tin. Gently push the pastry out on the base and sides of the baking tin. It is okay to “patch” the pastry as long as there are no gaps for the filling to leak out. Line the pastry with baking paper and dried beans. Bake for 7 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
For the filling: Add the vegetable oil to a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the kale and stir-fry until slightly softened and bright green. Spoon the mixture into a blender, add the stock and blitz until smooth. Add the eggs and cream to a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Add the kale mixture to the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the quiche to rest for 15 minutes before serving with whipped goats cheese.
This is a heavenly combination of salty halloumi, sweet and spicy fruit and fabulous fresh basil!
2 pears 30ml lemon juice 60ml brown sugar 2,5ml ground cinnamon 30g butter, cubed 2 x 300g blocks Halloumi cheese 1 x 230g Dulce del Cabo sculpted fruit preserve (or 230g fruit preserve of your choice) a handful of small basil leaves
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a small baking tray with baking paper. Halve the pears and remove the core. Place the pears, cut-side up on the prepared baking tray and drizzle with lemon juice. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon on the fruit and place a piece of cubed butter on each. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Turn your oven on the grill setting. Score the halloumi, without cutting through, in a diamond pattern – about 2cm deep. Place both blocks of cheese on a lined baking sheet and drizzle over some vegetable oil. Place the cheese under the hot grill until browned and slightly scorched. (about 8 minutes, depending on your oven) Cut the fruit preserve into pieces and add to a small saucepan set over medium-low heat. Pour in 60ml of water and stir until melted. Place the halloumi on a serving platter and arrange the pear around it. Drizzle over the fruit preserve and scatter with basil leaves. Serve with a crusty bread.
If there had to be a cake that I could not live without, it would be this Vanilla Cake. It is plain and simple, has the finest, most delicate crumb and can be dressed up or down with icing, cream, fresh fruit, steamed fruit or a compote. Whichever way you choose to eat yours, I hope this becomes one of your very favourite cakes too! Please note: THERE ARE DIFFERENT BAKING TIMES DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU BAKE THE CAKE IN ONE OR TWO CAKE TINS.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray two 22cm loose-bottom cake tins and line the base and sides with baking paper. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk to mix through. Add the eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the sugar with the mixer still running. Now beat on high speed until the mixture is three times its original volume – about 7 minutes or so. Scatter a third of the flour on the surface and mix on the lowest speed until the flour is just incorporated. Keep going until there is no flour left. Add the butter and milk to a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is warm when you put your finger in it. NB: you want the butter to melt but NOT boil the milk! Pour the milk-mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and vegetable oil and whisk through with a hand whisk. Add about 250ml of the egg and flour mixture and vigorously whisk to combine. The batter must be smooth. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and very slowly pour in the milk mixture. Scrape down the sides and base of the bowl. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds. Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins. Lift each tin 5cm from the work surface and drop it – repeat a few times to knock out the large air bubbles. Place the cake tins in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool in the tins for 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks and removing the baking paper. Leave to cool completely before filling with whipped cream and fresh fruit.
Add the wholewheat flour, cake flour, 30ml oats, hazelnuts, salt and yeast to a mixing bowl and stir through. Pour the water, hazelnut oil and honey into the dry mixture and mix again. You want the mixture to be barely wet (no excess fluids) but still have all the ingredients moist so that it comes together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for about 12 hours. Preheat your oven to 230℃. Place a cast iron pot with its lid inside the oven while it warms up. Place a large square of baking paper on a work surface and scrape the dough onto it. Shape the dough into a ball as best you can – it will be very sticky! Sprinkle the remaining 30ml oats over the bread. Remove the pot from the oven and lower the bread into it by lifting it by the corners of the paper. Replace the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Cool the bread on a wire rack before slicing.
This oven risotto is one of the very best dinners you will make. It is low effort and easy cooking with delicious taste rewards. NB: do not substitute the pumpkin with butternut!!!
Preheat your oven to 190℃. Place an ovenproof saucepan on medium-high heat, add the oil and butter and add the bacon. Fry until cooked and starting to turn crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the fat. Add the onion to the saucepan and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Turn off the heat. Add the rice, stock, 60g butter, pumpkin and cooked bacon to the saucepan and stir together. Cover with a lid/aluminium foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the rice is soft. Remove from the oven and stir in the parmesan. Taste and season with salt and pepper.|Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.
My Whisk and I 