Croissant Bake

Croissant Bake

4 eggs
5ml vanilla
80ml sugar
500ml milk
125ml cream
5ml ground cinnamon
30ml butter
6 large croissants, halved
icing sugar
fresh berries

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Place a 24cm cast iron pan in the oven for 10 minutes.
Add the eggs, vanilla and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Pour in the milk and cream and add the cinnamon. Whisk to incorporate.
Remove the pan from the oven, add the butter to it and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of the pan.
Pack the croissant halves, cut-side down into the pan and pour the egg mixture over it.
Cover the pan with aluminium foil, place it back into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to stand for 10 minutes.
Sieve some icing sugar over the croissant bake and scatter over fresh berries.
Serve while warm.

Coconut-Banana Scrambled Eggs

Coconut-Banana Scrambled Eggs

2 bananas
30ml butter
2 eggs
30ml coconut cream
15ml coconut oil
15ml coconut flakes
15ml almond slivers

Peel the bananas and mash the one in a bowl. Set aside.
Slice the second banana into thick slices.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and add the butter.
Fry the banana slices until caramelised and golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the eggs and coconut cream to the mashed banana and stir through.
Add the coconut oil to the same frying pan, turn the heat down to medium-low and pour in the banana mixture.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Stir/move the egg and banana around in the pan until it is set to your liking. Ideally you should start to smell the banana as it starts giving off its natural sweetness.
Spoon into a bowl and place the fried banana on top.
Scatter over the coconut flakes and almond slivers to serve.

Poached Pear on Yoghurt

Poached Pear on Yoghurt

1,5litres water
60ml lemon juice
a small bunch of thyme, tied together with string
6 small pears
500ml greek yoghurt
200ml honey
a handful of pistachio nuts, chopped

Prepare your poaching liquid by adding the water, lemon juice and thyme to a saucepan that is just big enough for the pears to fit in.
Peel the pears and place them, standing upright, into the liquid. Add more water if the pears are not immersed in the liquid.
Bring the poaching liquid to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stand the pears in the liquid for another 20 minutes.
Scoop the yoghurt onto 6 plates/bowls and place a pear on top.
Drizzle the honey over each fruit and scatter the pistachio on top.
Serve warm or cold.

Potato Omelette

Potato Omelette

45ml olive oil
200g ham, cubed
200g potato, cooked and cubed
50g mushrooms
15ml thyme leaves
5 eggs
100ml milk
1,2ml salt
2 handfuls of croutons
250ml grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Add the oil to an oven friendly frying pan set over medium-high heat.
Add the cubed ham, potato, mushrooms and thyme and stir-fry until the ingredients become golden on the edges.
Add the eggs, milk, salt and a few grindings of black pepper to a bowl and whisk together.
Turn the heat down to medium and pour the egg mixture into the pan.
Cook the omelette until it sets.
Sprinkle the croutons and cheese over and bake in the oven until cooked.
Serve with a fresh salad on sliced tomato.

Chai Overnight Oats

Chai Overnight Oats

1 sachet ov chai flavoured, tea latté or 180ml chai tea
50g banana
50g oats
20g peanut butter
Toppings: sliced banana, chai seeds, almond slivers

Dissolve the sachet of powder in 180ml of boiling water and set aside.
Mash the banana with a fork.
Add the banana, oats, peanut butter, a pinch of salt and the tea to a glass jar and mix through.
Cover the jar with a lid and refrigerate overnight.
Serve your overnight oats as is or topped with sliced banana, chai seeds and almond slivers.

Coffee Rusks

Coffee Rusks

This is a small batch of rusks and yields about 24 pieces.

250g butter, room temperature
250ml caster sugar
4 eggs
10ml instant coffee dissolved in 30ml hot water
10ml vanilla
10ml baking powder
250ml flour

Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 23cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat together at high speed until creamy – scrape the mixture down once or twice in between mixing.
Add the eggs one at a time, waiting for it to be incorporated into the mixture before adding the next one.
Add the dissolved coffee and vanilla.
Add the baking powder and flour to a bowl and mix through.
Turn the mixer to a low speed and add two tablespoons of flour at a time, until you have no flour left.
Spoon the batter in to the prepared loaf tin and bake for one hour.
Cool the cake on a wire rack.

Slice the cake into rusk sizes: I like 2cm x 3cm.
Preheat your oven to 150℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Space the rusks evenly apart and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the rusks over and bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Store the rusks in a glass container.

Bacon Flapjacks

Bacon Flapjacks

250g bacon
1 egg
62ml sugar
62ml + 62ml milk
15ml vegetable oil
250ml flour
10ml baking powder
1ml salt

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut another piece of baking paper that is slightly larger than your baking tray and keep aside.
Lay the bacon flat on the prepared tray.
Place the extra paper on top of the bacon and another baking tray on top of the paper.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked to your liking.
Cool the bacon on a cooling rack and pat it dry with paper towel to remove excess fattiness.
Add the egg and sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk together by hand.
Add 62ml milk and the vegetable oil and whisk until amalgamated.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the mixture and stir to combine.
Drizzle in the last 62ml milk while mixing, to form a thick, smooth batter.
Place a large frying pan on medium-high heat.
Pour in a splash of vegetable oil and wait for it to warm up.
Dip a bacon rasher into the batter and then immediately into the pan.
Fry for 3 minutes per side or until cooked and golden.
Serve the bacon flapjacks with maple syrup or honey.


Pistachio Overnight Oats

Pistachio Overnight Oats

250ml milk (you may replace with any, e.g. almond)
80ml pistachio nuts
1,2ml matcha powder (for colour purposes only)
15ml maple syrup
2,5ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
125ml rolled oats
30ml chia seeds

Add the milk, pistachio nuts, matcha, syrup, vanilla and salt to a blender and blitz together.
Pour into a bowl/jar and add the oats and chia seeds.
Cover and shake/stir to mix and combine.
Refrigerate for 6-8 hours.
Remove the oats from the refrigerator 30 minutes before eating.

Breakfast Puffs

Breakfast Puffs

140g flour
12,5ml baking powder
1,2ml salt
a pinch of smoked paprika
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
250ml milk
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and paprika into a mixing bowl.
Add the grated cheddar and mix through.
Add the milk and egg to a jug and whisk together.
Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix together to form a batter.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cheese Crinkle Pie / Borek

Cheese Crinkle Pie / Borek

1 box phyllo pastry
125g butter, melted
300g feta cheese, crumbled
200ml sour cream
3 eggs
100ml milk
30ml black sesame seeds

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and brush a 18cm x 26cm ceramic dish with melted butter.
Crinkle together two sheets of phyllo pastry by folding them like an accordion. Place them against the longer side of the dish.
Repeat with the remaining pastry and keep stacking the crinkled sheets until the dish is filled and you have no phyllo left.
Take a butter knife and open up/space the crinkles of the pastry evenly within the dish.
Place the pastry in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and drizzle over the melted butter.
Put the dish back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Crumble the feta in to a bowl and set aside.
Add the eggs and sour cream to another bowl, whisk together and pour over the feta.
Add the milk and whisk everything together.
Pour the mixture evenly over the stacked phyllo sheets and sprinkle the sesame seeds over.
Nudge the side of the pastry with a spatula to distribute the custard evenly on the sides of the dish.
Bake the pie for 40 minutes and serve immediately.