healthy treats – My Whisk and I

Green Cheesecake

August 3, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

260g oreo biscuits
115g butter, melted
900g cream cheese, room temperature
83ml sour cream
15ml lemon juice
45ml matcha powder or protein shake
120g icing sugar, sieved
15ml vanilla
125ml whipping cream

Break up the Oreo biscuits and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
Process on the pulse setting until the biscuits are broken down to crumbs.
Drizzle in the butter while the engine is running.
Sprinkle the sugar over the crumb mixture and stir through.
Tip the mixture into a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and press into the bottom and sides.
Freeze the crust while preparing the filling.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice, matcha powder, icing sugar and vanilla and beat on high speed for one minute.
Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Remove the crust from the freezer and spoon the filling into it. Smooth the top and cover the cake tin with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 6 hours.
Sprinkle/sift over the macha and slice to serve.

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Peanut Butter Clusters

June 8, 2022May 25, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

190ml smooth peanut butter
125ml honey
1,2ml salt
4 x 250ml puffed rice/Rice Crispies
80g chocolate, chopped
a handful of peanuts, finely chopped

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Add the peanut butter, honey and salt to a small saucepan set over a very low heat.
Stir continuously until melted and amalgamated.
Measure the puffed rice into a large mixing bowl and pour the peanut butter mixture over.
Mix thoroughly with a spatula, making sure that all of the puffed rice is covered in the sticky goodness.
Scoop spoonfuls into the lined muffin tin, dividing the mixture equally. Press down onto each cluster with the back of a spoon to ensure that it is compact and sticks together.
Set aside to cool completely – at least 30 minutes.
Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt completely.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the clusters and sprinkle with the chopped peanuts before the chocolate sets.
Store the peanut cluster in an airtight container for up to a week.

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Whipped Coconut Cream

April 20, 2022April 2, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is a dairy-free and vegan alternative to Chantilly cream and delicious with most desserts.

1 x 400ml tin coconut cream, chilled for at least 8 hours
30ml icing sugar, sifted
5ml vanilla

Scoop the hardened coconut cream into a mixing bowl.
Whisk the cream with an electric beater on high speed for 1 minute so that it loosens up.
Sift the icing sugar into the bowl, add the vanilla and whisk again on high speed for another minute.
Dollop the coconut cream onto your favourite dessert.
Keep refrigerated.

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Chocolate-Blueberry Clusters

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

These clusters are perfect treats for those tiny-hands-in-the-kitchen…

100g chocolate, chopped
250g fresh blueberries
100g pistachio nuts

Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water to melt.
Stir every now-and-then until completely melted. Take from the heat.
Line a small-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Spoon about half a teaspoon chocolate into each cup and give it a swirl so that the chocolate covers the base of the paper cup.
Add about three blueberries and two pistachio nuts to the cups and then drizzle with another half teaspoonful of melted chocolate.
Place some more blueberries and nuts on each cluster and give each a final drizzle of chocolate.
Allow to set for at least 30 minutes.
Gently remove the clusters from the paper cups and serve.
Do not keep the clusters in the refrigerator.

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Corn Fritters

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Most cooks have a recipe for corn fritters but this is the one to keep AND it takes only 20 minutes to make, from start to finish!! Makes about 20 fritters, depending on the size of each fritter.

375ml flour
15ml baking powder
2,5ml salt
2 eggs
10ml butter, melted
1 can corn kernels, drained
1 can sweetcorn
125ml spring onion, finely sliced

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl.
Break the eggs in a small bowl and whisk together. Add to the flour.
Melt the butter in the microwave oven and pour into the flour mixture.
Now add the drained corn kernels, sweetcorn and sliced spring onion and mix everything together until you can not see any flour.
Place a heavy bottomed frying pan onto medium-high heat and cover the bottom with sunflower oil.
Scoop a spoonful of the corn mixture into the pan and flatten slightly so that it takes on a round shape.
Fry a few corn fritters at a time without crowding the pan.
Each fritter will need about two minutes cooking time per side before it is done.
Keep the cooked fritters warm until you have utilised all of the corn mixture.
Serve warm with sour cream or enjoy them plain.

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Pistachio-Goji Berry Chocolate Fudge

May 19, 2021May 18, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This might just be THE easiest fudge you have ever made!! Add some more Pistachio and Goji berries if you like the tartness or opt for a smoothest of all chocolate fudge!

1 X 385g can of condensed milk
320g De Villiers Chocolate: I prefer the 85% dark; chopped
50g pistachio nuts
30g dried goji berries

Line a baking tray or ceramic dish of 19cm X 19cm with baking paper.
Add the condensed milk and chopped chocolate to a saucepan and place on very low heat.
Stir the mixture with a whisk until the chocolate has melted completely. Keep moving the mixture in the saucepan and keep the heat on low as the chocolate will seize if it becomes too warm, too soon.
Remove from the heat and pour into the lined baking tray.
Smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle with the pistachio and goji berries. Lightly press the nuts and berries into the fudge with the back of the spatula.
Place the fudge in the refrigerator for about 3 hours.
Slice and enjoy.
The fudge keeps well in a sealed container.

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Sweet Potato Brownies

April 30, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

These brownies are moist with an intense chocolate taste and surprisingly, very light in texture. Store them in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 – 4 days.

100g butter
250g dark chocolate, chopped
250ml sweet potato, cooked and mashed
125ml brown sugar
250ml granulated sugar
4 eggs
7,5ml vanilla
2,5ml salt
165ml flour
125ml cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Line a baking tin, 18cm X 28cm or 23cm X 23cm with baking paper.
Add the butter to a small saucepan and place on medium to high heat.
Take the saucepan off the heat as soon as the butter starts to make small bubbles and add the chopped chocolate. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Add the mashed sweet potato, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Return to the butter and chocolate and whisk the mixture until the chocolate has melted and you are left with a smooth, emulsified mixture.
Add the chocolate and butter mixture to the sweet potato mix and stir through.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the same bowl and mix until incorporated.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake, comes out clean.
Cool the brownies completely, on a cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container for 3 – 4 days, at room temperature.