Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir through to combine. Divide between 6 cups or one large glass jar. Refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours. Take the oats from the refrigerator and spoon out a portion. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Scatter the fresh figs and some mint leaves onto the oats to serve.
This is a rich, thick, dark and indulgent chocolate sauce where the wine is the star of the show. Choose a wine you enjoy drinking … I use a good, full bodied Merlot, but the choice is yours.
750ml red wine (Merlot) 250ml water 10ml vanilla 250ml sugar 2 slices orange peel 2 star anise 4 cloves 1 cinnamon quill 6 firm, ripe pears
Select a saucepan that is large enough for the pears to fir snugly but still be submerged in the liquid, even if they have to lie flat. Add all the ingredients, except the pears, to the saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar. Now peel the pears and gently lower them into the poaching liquid. Turn the heat down to medium-low and poach the pears for 25 minutes. Rotate each pear every 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the fruit to cool in the liquid. Remove the pears from the liquid once it is room temperature. Strain the mixture through a sieve but reserve the poaching liquid.
Chocolate and Red Wine Sauce: 190ml cream 190ml poaching liquid from the pears 15ml cocoa powder 125ml sugar 240g chocolate, chopped 60g butter, cubed a pinch of salt
Add the cream, poaching liquid, sifted cocoa powder and sugar to a small saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer and whisk for 5 minutes while simmering. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the chopped chocolate, butter and pinch of salt and whisk until smooth. (If the sauce cools and becomes too thick, thin it down by gently reheating it). Place the pears on a serving dish and pour over some chocolate sauce to serve.
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.
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.
I am celebrating my one year association/endorsement of the best chocolate available on the South African market!! Yes, for one full year I have baked, maked or concocted something with chocolate at least once a week and what fun it was with such a fabulous product!
De Villiers Chocolate is an artisanal chocolate made from sustainably sourced raw materials. This sought-after brand is available through retailers across the country as well as online from the brand themselves. The Nut Butter Chocolate bars are dairy-free and made with no added artificial preservatives, colourant or other ingredients. The chocolate is Rainforest Alliance Certified and endorsed by the International Vegan Society.
This recipe is a quick version of a burnt Basque cheesecake which one sees in almost every market on the French coastal region. The top of the cheesecake is supposed to be completely black, hence the name!
750g cream cheese, at room temperature 250g caster sugar 5 eggs 100g chocolate (honeycomb flavour), chopped 375ml cream 30ml cocoa powder, sifted 5ml vanilla a pinch of salt honeycomb or honeycomb chocolate (Crunchie), broken into pieces 60g chocolate (honeycomb flavour), melted
Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a 22cm loose bottom cake tin with aluminium foil – this will prevent the cheesecake batter from leaking. Line the “foiled” cake tin with baking paper. Add the cream cheese and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until the mixture is smooth and forms soft peaks. Turn the mixer to a low-medium speed and add the eggs one at a time. Add the chocolate and cream to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Take the bowl from the heat and add the cocoa powder, vanilla an a pinch of salt. Stir through. Turn the mixer onto a low speed and pour in the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 60 minutes. DO NOT PANIC WHEN YOU SMELL THE CHEESECAKE BURNING!! Remove the cake from the oven and cool it completely. The cheesecake will have a wobbly centre when removed from the oven. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Place the cheesecake on a serving plate. Pour over the melted chocolate and scatter the broken honeycomb.
Break the chocolate into pieces and add it to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Add the coconut oil and melt the ingredients over a low heat, until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool slightly. Pour the sauce over ice cold ice cream and wait for it to set!! Voila!!!
110g butter, room temperature 175g caster sugar 4 eggs, separated 110g almond meal/ground almonds 110g dark chocolate, very finely chopped or grated 150ml milk 175g self-raising flour
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line two 12-hole muffin tins with paper cups. Add the butter and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together until very pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks to a bowls and whisk together. Run the mixer on low speed and add a spoonful of the yolks at a time. Beat well after each addition. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and fold in the chopped chocolate, almond meal and milk. Add the egg whites to a clean mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until soft peak stage. Gently fold the whites into the almond mixture. Now add the flour and gently fold it in with a spatula. Spoon the mixture into the 24 paper cases and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes on a cooling rack before icing/decorating.
Chocolate Ganache: 160g chocolate 125ml heavy cream
Chop the chocolate into pieces and place it in a heatproof mixing bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan on medium heat. Take the cream from the heat as soon as small bubbles appear at the edges of the saucepan. Pour the cream onto the chopped chocolate and allow to stand for 2 minutes. Now stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and it is completely smooth and silky. Cool completely before whipping for 4 minutes. Use to decorate.
Base: 160ml peanut butter 60ml golden syrup 160ml desiccated coconut
Filling: 200g chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped 500g tofu, room temperature 160ml brown sugar 30ml cocoa powder, sifted 22,5ml cornstarch
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a 22cm cake tin with baking paper. Add the peanut butter, syrup and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir together. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and press evenly over the base of the tin. Place the cake tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and allow the chocolate to melt. Remove from the heat once it is smooth and put to the side to cool slightly. Add the tofu, brown sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and melted chocolate to the bowl of a food processor. Blitz together until smooth – scrape the mixture down once or twice. Pour the tofu mixture over the base and bake for 30 minutes, until set. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour. Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
These bars are deliciously crunchy and loaded with energy boosters!! Yield: 16 squares from a 20cm x 20cm pan. Keep refrigerated.
500ml rice crispies/puffed rice 125ml sunflower seeds 125ml pumpkin seeds 125ml peanut butter 30ml coconut oil, melted 62ml honey 5ml honey 160g De Villiers Coco Nut Nut Butter Chocolate or any other chocolate of your choice
Line a 20cm x 20cm square baking tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang
Add the rice crispies, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds to a mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter, melted coconut oil, honey and vanilla to a jug and stir to mix. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the rice crispy mixture and mix well. Make sure that you cover all the seeds and puffed rice!! Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and spread the top evenly. Press down firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup to ensure that all the ingredients “glue together”. Place in the refrigerator.
Break up the chocolate and add the pieces to a heatproof bowl, set over a saucepan with simmering water. Allow the chocolate to melt completely before removing it from the heat. Pour an even layer of chocolate over the seed mixture and place it back in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Remove from the baking tin by lifting the paper overhang and slice into squares.
My Whisk and I 