180g butter, melted 170g sugar 3 weet-bix bars, crushed or about 150g of crumbs/broken pieces 150g self-raising flour 85g desiccated coconut 2 x 395g cans condensed milk 310ml lemon juice (strained if using fresh) about 150g raspberries and blueberries
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 20cm x 30cm oven tray with baking paper, allowing an overhang so that you can easily remove the fruit slices when set. Add the butter, sugar, weet-bix, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Scatter the raspberries and blueberries over the cooled base. Gently pour the condensed milk mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated.
There are shops in Greece devoted entirely to serving Bougatsa, called Bougatsazidika. They open from 4 a.m. until lunchtime and you will often see people queueing outside in the very early hours, to get their slice of happiness…
Preheat your oven to 240℃. Add the egg yolks and 150g sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the semolina and cornflour and whisk until smooth. Add the vanilla, lemon and orange zest and whisk again. Set aside. Pour the milk and 150g sugar into a saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Drizzle the milk onto the egg mixture in a very thin stream while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium heat. Whisk the mixture until it is thick and starts to bubble. Take the saucepan from the heat and set aside. Brush a 27cm x 37cm x 5cm roasting tray with the melted butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo pastry in the tray and brush the top of the pastry with butter. Lay down two more sheets, brushing each with butter. Pour in the custard mixture and spread it out evenly. Cover the filling with another three phyllo sheets, again brushing each with melted butter. Fold in the overhanging pastry around the edges of the roasting tin and make it look like a sealed parcel. Brush the top with melted butter and bake for 12 minutes, until golden. Remove the bougatsa from the oven and cut into portions. Dust with plenty of icing sugar and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
250g butter, room temperature and cubed 115g cornflour 340g flour 115g icing sugar, sifted 1 x batch Lemon Curd from this blog
Add the butter, cornflour, flour and icing sugar to the bowl of a food processor and process until the ingredients almost come together in a ball. The mixture is very dry and needs to be scraped down every now and then between processing. Keep going until you can squeeze clumps together between your fingers. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a miniature muffin tin with cooking spray. Break pieces of the dough off and press it very tightly into the muffin holes so that it fills it almost to the top. Bake the shortbread for 15 minutes. Remove the baking tin from the oven and immediately make indents on the surface of each shortbread by pushing down firmly on it with the back of a 15ml measuring spoon. Return the tin to the oven and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove and cool the shortbread in the muffin tins. Spoon a teaspoonful of lemon curd into each hollow to serve.
Preheat your oven to 220℃ and lightly spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray. Place the cake tin on a baking sheet. Place one sheet of phyllo in the cake tin and very lightly press it onto the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving the extra pastry as an overhang at this stage. Brush the pastry with the melted butter. Do the same with the 11 other phyllo sheets, brushing each and rotating the sheets slightly so that the corners are staggered. Set aside. Add 250ml chopped pistachio, sugar, ground cinnamon and allspice to a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the phyllo in the cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for about 7 minutes or until the edges of the pastry are golden. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Turn your oven temperature down to 170℃. Add the cream cheese and mascarpone to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and mix until the mixture is smooth. Add the honey, milk and flour with the machine running. Finally add the eggs and, still on low speed, beat until just blended. Pour the batter into the phyllo crust and bake for 1 hour or until the centre of the cheesecake is barely set. Cool the cake on a wire rack for at least an hour and then cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the cake overnight. Take the cake from the baking tin and sprinkle with the 250ml chopped pistachio to serve.
The original cake, Kladdkaka, is a traditional Swedish bake but this is my take on it, resulting in a warm dessert that is somewhere between a brownie and a lava cake. From start to finish it will take you 30 minutes to put together this more-ish chocolate cake!
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray. Dust the bottom of the tin with cocoa powder. Set aside. Add the chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and stir every now and then until completely melted. Pour the chocolate-butter mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the flour, cocoa powder and sugar to the bowl and stir together by hand. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until combined. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 25 minutes. The cake should have a firm top that cracks when you apply pressure to it with your finger. Allow the cake to cool slightly in the cake tin. Run a knife between the cake and the tin and remove the cake ring. Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar.
Quarter the quince and then halve each quarter. Peel and cut out the core. Set aside. Add the sugar, water and vanilla to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Add the quince slices to the poaching liquid and bring the mixture to a simmer. Gently simmer the fruit until it can easily be pierced with a toothpick. Take the saucepan from the heat and allow the quince slices to cool in the liquid completely. Drain the quince and transfer the slices to a 18cm x 28cm ovenproof dish.
For the crumble: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the granola, almond meal, cinnamon, sugar and butter to a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Keep going until the butter is well distributed throughout the mixture. Spread the crumb mixture evenly on the quince slices and bake for 30 minutes. Serve the quince crumble with a scoop of ice cream or yoghurt.
30g butter 200g sugar 5 eggs, separated 140g self-raising flour a pinch of salt 1 litre milk 5ml vanilla ground cinnamon for dusting
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray 2 x 22cm tart dishes with cooking spray. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time with the engine running. Scrape the mixture down a few times during mixing. Sift the flour and salt together and add spoonfuls to the mixture until everything is incorporated. Turn the mixer to its lowest speed and drizzle in the milk. Add the vanilla and mix through. Set aside. Add the egg whites to a clean mixing bowl and beat until it reaches stiff peaks. Add the stiff whites to the batter and fold it into the mixture. Scoop the batter into the two prepared tart dishes and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the milk tarts from the oven and sift over the ground cinnamon while the tarts are warm. Allow the milk tart to cool completely before serving.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line an oven tray with aluminium foil. Melt the butter and chocolate together over a very low heat. Take from the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes so that it cools down slightly. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Now beat the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture. Add the flour, salt and nuts and mix through. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray and bake for 30 minutes. The top should be dried and pale and the middle still dark and gooey!! Enjoy as is or serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.
Although a kruimelvlaai is often made with a sweet pie crust the traditional version calls for a yeasted pastry and it is soooo worth it! This is a delicious tart – a creamy, smooth custard filling in a slightly chewy pastry with a crunchy streusel on top!!
Pie Crust: 150ml milk, tepid 50g butter 250g flour 10g dry yeast 35g sugar a pinch of salt 5ml vanilla
Streusel: 100g butter 175g flour 75g sugar 5ml vanilla a pinch of salt
For the filling: Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Mix the cornstarch and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs and whisk well. Take the milk from the heat and pour a third of it on the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Now pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk while whisking away. Turn the heat down to medium and keep whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Take the saucepan from the heat, add the vanilla and mix through. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, place a layer of plastic wrap directly on to the surface and leave to cool completely.
For the pie crust: Warm the milk until tepid and add the butter to melt. Add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and vanilla to a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Pour the liquids into the well, mix with a fork to bring the pastry together and knead the dough by hand for 3 minutes, until smooth. You may add small amounts of flour to get the dough to the consistency where it can be kneaded. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for one hour. Spray a 24cm tart tin with cooking spray. Roll the dough into a circle of about 28cm in diameter and line the bottom and sides of the tart tin. Place in a warm spot.
For the streusel: Add the butter and flour to a mixing bowl and rub it together until it resembles course breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, vanilla and salt and rub with your fingers to mix through.
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Pour the cold filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle the streusel over the filling in an even layer. Bake the pie for 45 minutes. Take the baked pie from the oven and allow it to cool. Serve generous slices with a cup of coffee.
500g flour 190ml brown sugar 62ml cocoa powder 10ml baking powder 2,5ml salt 120g butter, cubed 220g dark chocolate, chopped 250ml cream 5ml vanilla 125ml pecan nuts, chopped 15ml cream brown sugar for sprinkling
Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingers. Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and stir it every now and then until completely melted. Add the melted chocolate, cream and vanilla and lightly mix through, making sure that all dry ingredients are moistened. Add the chopped pecan nuts. Knead the dough 3 or 4 times by hand to bring everything together in a ball. Do not overwork the dough – scones are soft and crumbly when the dough is handled less. Place the dough ball on the prepared baking sheet and pat it down into a 20cm diameter circle. Cut the dough circle into 8 wedges and slightly separate them with the. blade of the knife. Brush the top of the scones with the 15ml cream and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet. Serve the scones with a dollop of whipped cream.
My Whisk and I 