This quick bread is healthy, fragrant and the perfect carrier for a special open sandwich. Cool the bread completely before slicing it as it has a fragile crumb.
310ml wholewheat flour
250ml cake flour
50ml sunflower seeds
12,5ml baking powder
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml salt
15ml chai tea leaves
15ml linseeds
200ml + 15ml + 15ml rolled oats
250ml yoghurt
1 egg
62ml vegetable oil
62ml honey
190ml milk
Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Spray a medium sized bread tin with cooking spray. Sprinkle 15ml oats in the pan and tilt it so that the oats sticks to the sides.
Add the wholewheat flour, cake flour, sunflower seeds, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, chai tea leaves and linseeds to a mixing bowl and stir to mix through with a spatula.
Add 200ml oats, the yoghurt, egg, oil and honey and combine by stirring.
Now add the milk and stir until combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared bread tin and scatter the last 15ml oats on top.
Bake the bread for 45minutes.
Remove from the oven and stand in the baking tin for 15 minutes before removing the bread from the tin and cooling it completely on a cooling rack.
This is certainly an unusual tart but if you are fond of citrus and avocado you should definitely give it a try!
For the crust:
125ml pecan nuts, chopped
125ml salted crackers, crushed
15ml melted butter
45ml sugar
a pinch of salt
1 egg white
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Prepare a tart tin by spraying it with cooking spray.
Add the pecan nuts and salted crackers to the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you have even crumbs.
Add the rest of the ingredients and blitz until well mixed.
Spoon the ingredients into the prepared tart tin and press evenly onto the bottom and sides of the tin.
Bake the crust for 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and set aside to cool on a cooling rack.
For the filling:
3 ripe avocado pears
125ml yoghurt
125ml honey
2,5ml vanilla
zest of 3 limes
83ml lime juice
10ml powdered gelatine
125ml coconut milk
Scoop the flesh from the avocado into a blender.
Add the yoghurt, honey, vanilla and lime zest and blitz until the mixture is completely smooth. Scrape the mixture down to check the smoothness and blitz again if necessary.
Add the lime juice to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Sprinkle the gelatine over and allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan and turn on the heat. Warm the mixture until tiny bubbles start appearing but before it boils.
Pour the warm coconut milk onto the gelatine mixture while running the mixer, whisking continuously.
Whisk for another 5 minutes, once all of the coconut milk has been incorporated.
Scoop the avocado mixture into the gelatine mixture and combine with a spatula.
Pour the mixture into the baked crust and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
This recipe combines the authentic, traditional carbonara recipe which includes egg yolks, with a no-fail solution of added cream. The yolks add a richness to this dish that your palate will remember and that will transport you back to the streets of Rome. It is a punchy Carbonara with the best of two worlds combined and takes 20 minutes to put together. Serves 4 adults.
250g spaghetti
250g bacon, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
250ml cream
2 egg yolks
250ml grated parmesan cheese
a handful of basil leaves
4 extra egg yolks, for serving, if you so wish
Cook the spaghetti according to the cooking instructions on the packet.
Pour some olive oil into a saucepan and put onto medium to high heat.
Add the diced bacon and fry for about 7 minutes before adding the minced garlic. Stir and fry for another 5 minutes and then take from the heat.
Separate the egg yolks into a mixing bowl, add the cream and a good pinch of salt and whisk together.
Add the drained, cooked spaghetti to the cream mixture and mix through.
Now sprinkle the parmesan and torn basil leaves on top and give everything a good mix.
Perfect as a dessert and something different for tea!
4 eggs
500ml milk
5ml vanilla
120ml butter, melted
250ml desiccated coconut
125ml cake flour
190ml sugar
1,2ml ground nutmeg
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Grease a pie dish with butter and sprinkle a handful of flour over the bottom. Tilt the dish so that the flower sticks to the butter on the bottom and the sides. Tip the pie dish to get rid of the extra flour. Set aside.
Add the eggs to a mixing bowl and give it a whisk.
Add the milk and vanilla and whisk to combine.
Melt the butter and add it to the egg mixture, whisking as you pour. Set aside.
Add the coconut, flour and sugar to another mixing bowl and stir through.
Now add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking well to combine thoroughly.
Pour the batter into the prepared pie dish and sprinkle the nutmeg on top.
Bake the pie for 45 minutes.
You may serve the pie warm as a dessert, but it is a fabulous coconut treat when served cold.
This is a robust, no-nonsense pavlova that is baked at a high temperature and presents with a beautiful cracked exterior. The sharp, citrusy lemon curd and Chantilly cream work together in perfect harmony. Add some fresh fruit for a popular, delicious dessert!
6 eggs, whites only
380g caster sugar
15ml cornflour
10ml white vinegar
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
Add the egg whites to the very clean bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment.
Whisk the whites until soft peaks form and then start adding the sugar, one spoonful at a time, every 30 seconds. You have to allow this time between additions to allow for the sugar and egg white to incorporate and bind. Keep going until all of the sugar has been incorporated and you are left with a silky, glossy mixture.
Remove the bowl from the mixture and sprinkle the cornflour and vinegar on top. Carefully fold this into the meringue mixture until well distributed.
Now spoon the meringue onto the baking paper and shape it with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Place the meringue into the oven and bake for 1 hour.
Take the baked meringue from the oven and cool on the baking paper for at least an hour.
Fill the meringue with Chantilly cream and Lemon Curd (recipe on this blog) and decorate with fresh fruit.
These muffins are fragrant and cloudy and makes for a fabulous healthy snack. Keeps well in a sealed container – if you can restrain yourself from eating them all in one day!
375ml bran
125ml boiling water
60ml melted butter
190ml brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
200ml + 50ml buttermilk
6ml bicarbonate of soda
160ml flour
160ml wholewheat flour
2ml salt
5 very ripe bananas, mashed
Preheat your oven to 220℃.
Line a muffin tin with paper cups.
Add the bran to a mixing bowl and pour over the boiling water.
Melt the butter in the microwave and pour over the bran mixture. Give it a good mix so that the butter blends into the bran. Put aside.
Add 50ml buttermilk to a mixing bowl and sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda on top. Stir through and set aside.
Add the sugar, egg and 200ml buttermilk to the bran mixture.
Stir in the bicarbonate and buttermilk mixture.
Add the flour, wholewheat flour and salt to the mixture and mix.
Finally, add the mashed banana and stir through the mixture.
Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling about two thirds full.
Bake the muffins for 20 minutes and remove from the oven.
Cool the muffins on a cooling rack before serving or storing in an airtight container.
These canapès are quick and easy to make whenever you have fresh figs available and generally very popular. Your may replace the blue cheese with a pecorino for punch or a mozzarella for a more neutral taste.
Fresh figs
Streaky bacon
Blue cheese or pecorino or mozzarella
Olive oil
Honey
Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Cut a cross into the figs, about halfway through, so that the fruit opens up without falling apart.
Place a thin slice of cheese into the cross you have cut into each fig.
Now wrap a strip of streaky bacon around the outside of the fig, overlapping it, and then place the figs into an ovenproof dish.
Drizzle the figs with olive oil and a generous amount of honey.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the bacon is cooked and crispy on the edges.
I love baked feta cheese and olives, slightly warm, spread onto a slice of crusty fresh bread. It makes a great canapé or side dish to a casual lunch and is especially good with oven roasted vegetables!
2 blocks feta cheese
125ml dry white wine
a small handful of thyme
olive oil to drizzle
125ml black olives
Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Place the feta cheese into an ovenproof ceramic dish, add the white wine, thyme and drizzle with olive oil.
Scatter the olives around the cheese.
Bake for 25minutes or until the feta is soft and slightly charred on the edges.
Over the next few days I shall share these summer lunch mezze recipes: Bacon and Cheese Figs, Filled Mushrooms, Baked Feta and Grape Focaccia. These are all delicious served as mezze platters with cocktails or thrown together as a casual lunch, paired with ice cold wine.
Who can resist this simple dessert with its smooth mouthfeel and burnt sugar sauce?!
This recipe provides for one large crème caramel or 8-10 small, individual desserts, depending on the size of your moulds.
50g + 50g caster sugar
500ml milk
10ml vanilla
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
Caramel:
100g sugar
100ml water
Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Add 50g caster sugar and 500ml milk to a saucepan and put it onto medium-low heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
Heat the milk mixture to just before boiling point. (This is when you can see the heat coming from the surface of the milk and minuscule bubbles forming on the sides of the saucepan.).
Take the saucepan from the heat.
Add the whole eggs and egg yolks to a mixing bowl and sprinkle the last 50g of caster sugar on top.
Whisk the egg and sugar mixture by hand until fully blended.
Now, start adding the warm milk from the saucepan in a very thin stream while whisking vigorously. Remember: pour slowly, whisk quickly!
Add the vanilla to the mixture and stir through.
Strain the milk mixture through a very fine sieve and set aside.
Caramel:
Prepare a 22cm diameter solid cake tin or deep ceramic dish, or individual ovenproof bowls by spraying it with cooking spray. Put the cake tin/ceramic dish/moulds in a roasting tray – you are going to bake the custards in a Bain Marie .
Fill your sink with ice cold water – you will cool the sugar in it at a later stage but it is important to fill it now.
Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and turn on the heat.
Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and do not stir again!
Turn up the heat and wait for the sugar to start changing colour. Swirl the saucepan if you like but do not stir the mixture!
When the sugar has reached a beautiful caramel colour, remove it from the heat and immediately plunge the bottom of the saucepan into the sink with cold water. This prevents the sugar from cooking further and burning.
Carefully pour the caramelised sugar to a depth of 3mm in each mould/tin and put aside for about 5 minutes. Check whether the caramel has set by touching it lightly with the back of a wooden spoon.
Now pour the custard mixture into your moulds and place them back into the roasting tin.
Fill the roasting tin with enough very hot water to come about two thirds up the side of the moulds.
Place the custards into the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the roasting tin with the cremes and cool completely before refrigerating for 2 hours.
Un-mould the caramels by place a serving dish onto the mould and then flipping it. Allow it to stand for a few minutes if it does not slip out immediately.
My Whisk and I 