Tag: homemade

Carrot Muffins

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Carrot Muffins
Carrot Muffins

This recipe makes 12 muffins but can easily be doubled. You may also keep the batter in the refrigerator for a week. Be sure to take the batter out and leave it at room temperature for 40 minutes BEFORE baking. They store really well in a sealed container.

50ml + 200ml buttermilk
6ml bicarbonate of soda

375ml bran
125ml boiling water
60ml butter, melted
190ml brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
160ml flour
160ml wholewheat flour
2ml salt
125ml grated carrot
125ml pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Pour the 50ml buttermilk into a small bowl, sprinkle in the bicarbonate of soda and stir to dissolve. Set aside.
Add the bran to a large mixing bowl and pour over the boiling water. Stir through.
Drizzle over the melted butter and stir together.
Now add the brown sugar, egg and 200ml buttermilk.
Pour the buttermilk and bicarb into the mixture and stir through.|Add the flour, wholewheat flour, salt, grated carrot and nuts and mix together.
Divide the mixture between the paper cups and bake for 20 minutes.
Cool the muffins on a wire rack and keep stored in an airtight container.




Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille
Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille


Crème Pâtissière:
40g corn flour
500ml milk
4 egg yolks
100g sugar
5ml vanilla
1 x 400g Today Puff Pastry
250g icing sugar

For the crème pâtissière:
Add the corn flour to a mixing bowl. Pour a small amount of milk into the bowl and stir to dissolve.
Add the yolks and half the sugar. Whisk to gather by hand until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
Pour the rest of the milk and the rest of the sugar into a small saucepan.
Set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Take the milk from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan.
Drizzle the warm mixture onto the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium-low heat.
Stir continuously until the mixture is thick and smooth.
Allow to cook for 30 seconds before removing from the heat.
Add the vanilla and stir through.
Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and allow to cool completely.

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Unroll the pastry sheet and cut it into 4 equal rectangles (cut through lengthwise and then halve each strip).
Place the rectangles on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them evenly apart.
Place another sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and then place another baking sheet on top of that.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Assembly:
Whisk your room temperature crème pâtissière by hand until it is smooth.
Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a large (1,5/2cm) nozzle.
Lay a pastry sheet on a serving plate and pipe dollops over the entire sheet.
Repeat until you have one pastry sheet left.
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add a tablespoon of milk.
Stir the mixture, adding a few drops more until you have a very thick paste.
Spread the icing paste on the pastry sheet and set aside to dry.
Place the iced pastry on top of the custard slice.
Slice into portions once you have displayed your beautiful creation.

Wholewheat Quickbread

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Wholewheat Quickbread
Wholewheat Quickbread

250g wholewheat flour
250g cake flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml salt
420ml cultured buttermilk
edible food colourant paste if you want to decorate the bread

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Add the two flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt to a mixing bowl.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir the ingredients until it comes together as a dough.
Flour a work surface and tip the dough on it.
Gently roll and fold the dough to form a ball shape – do not knead!!
Place the shaped bread on the prepared baking sheet and dust off the excess flour with a pastry brush.
If you would like to paint on the bread, now is the time. I used a paste colourant that I normally use to colour cake icing. Simply paint directly on the bread and voila!!
Now make two cross cuts in the bread – be careful not to cut straight through.
Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes – If you are not painting and fiddling, allow the bread 30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Cool the quick bread completely before slicing.

Tartare Sauce (and homemade mayonnaise)

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Tartare Sauce (and homemade mayonnaise)
Tartare Sauce (and homemade mayonnaise)

This is a delicious tartare sauce made from the easiest ever homemade mayonnaise!!

Mayonnaise:
250ml oil of your choice – I like a specific brand of olive oil but you may use any seed oil you like)
2 egg yolks
15ml English mustard
60ml lemon juice

Add the oil, yolks, mustard and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and blitz at high speed with a stick blender. Keep going until you have a thick and creamy sauce.
Season with salt.
You may keep the mayonnaise in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Tartare sauce:
250ml homemade mayonnaise
a handful of basil leaves
4 gherkins, chopped
15ml capers, chopped

Add the mayonnaise and basil leaves to a mixing bowl and blitz with a stick blender.
Add the chopped gherkins and capers and mix through.
Check the seasoning and serve with fish.

Tomato and Plum Chutney

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Tomato and Plum Chutney
Tomato and Plum Chutney

This chutney is the perfect way to jar your favourite summer memories. Delicious on a sandwich, with meat or on a cheeseboard.

30ml olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3cm fresh ginger, grated
2-3 red chillies, sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
750g tomatoes, halved
750g plums, pitted and halved
a handful of parsley
190ml brown sugar
250ml apple cider vinegar
2,5ml salt

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, ginger, chillies, cinnamon and star anise and cook until fragrant.
Add the tomato, plums, herbs, sugar, vinegar and salt and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to low and simmer for one and a half hours or until the chutney has thickened.
Remove the spices, adjust the seasoning and spoon the chutney into sterilised jars.
Serve as a condiment to leftover meat, a cheeseboard or simply on a sandwich.

Traditional Clafoutis

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Traditional Clafoutis
Traditional Clafoutis

125ml sugar
125ml flour
3 eggs
5ml vanilla
30ml butter, melted
250ml milk
enough pitted cherries to cover the bottom of a pie/flan dish

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a ceramic pie/flan dish.
Add the sugar and flour to a mixing bowl.
Whisk the eggs, vanilla, melted butter and milk together in a wide-mouth jug.
Slowly pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients while whisking.
Fill the bottom of the pie dish with an even layer of cherries and pour the batter over the cherries.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
The clafoutis will puff up in the oven and fall back on itself as it cools.
Dust with icing sugar once cooled.

Coconut-Bran Muffins

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Coconut-Bran Muffins
Coconut-Bran Muffins

Makes 12 muffins but can be doubled.

375ml bran
125ml boiling water
60ml butter, melted
190ml brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
50ml + 200ml buttermilk
6ml bicarbonate of soda
160ml flour
160ml wholewheat flour
2ml salt
250ml desiccated coconut

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Add the bran to a mixing bowl and pour the boiling water over. Stir through.
Pour the 50ml buttermilk into a small bowl and sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over. Stir through and set aside.
Add the melted butter to the bran and stir again.
Now add the sugar, egg and 200ml buttermilk.
Pour the bicarb and buttermilk into the mixture and mix through.
Add the flour, wholewheat flour, salt and coconut and stir until just mixed.
Divide the batter among the paper cases and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the muffins from the oven and from the muffin tin and cool them on a cooling rack.

Traditional Ginger Biscuits

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Traditional Ginger Biscuits
Traditional Ginger Biscuits

This recipe makes about 300 biscuits and keeps brilliantly when stored in an airtight container.

1,5kg self-raising flour
30ml cream of tartar
30ml bicarbonate of soda
30ml ground ginger
5ml salt
500g butter, cubed
500g golden syrup
1kg brown sugar
6 eggs, whisked together

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarb, ginger and salt.
Add the cubed butter and rub it in with your fingertips.
Pour the golden syrup into a saucepan and set over medium heat until the syrup is very runny.
Add the brown sugar and stir until almost dissolved.
Take the saucepan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk the eggs together and slowly add it to the syrup mixture while whisking continuously.
Now add the butter and flour mixture and stir through until there is no trace of flour left.
Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour.
Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place them on a baking sheet, evenly spaced and about 3cm apart.
Flatten each ball slightly with the tines of a fork (you don’t want them too flat!) and bake for 12 minutes.
Cool the biscuits on the baking tray for 10 minutes or until set enough to handle.
Keep going with making balls, flattening and baking until you have an abundance (about 300) of ginger biscuits.
Store the biscuits in an airtight container.


Orzotto Alla Norma

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Orzotto Alla Norma
Orzotto Alla Norma

2 aubergines
olive oil
250g cherry tomatoes
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
15ml fresh thyme, chopped
300g orzo
100g parmesan cheese, grated
a handful of fresh basil
1 Burrata

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Slice the aubergine into discs, spread them out on the prepared baking sheet and generously drizzle with olive oil.
Scatter the cherry tomatoes over the aubergine and bake for 30 minutes.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add some olive oil.
Fry the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the chopped tomato and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Cook the orzo according to packet instructions.
Drain the orzo and add it to the tomato sauce.
Add the grated parmesan and stir through.
Spoon the orzo into a serving dish and top with the aubergine, roasted tomato and burrata.
Serve with fresh basil leaves scattered on top.

Ginger Biscuit Cups

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Ginger Biscuit Cups
Ginger Biscuit Cups

500g self-raising flour
10ml cream of tartar
10ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml ground ginger
2ml salt
170g butter, cubed
170g golden syrup
350g brown sugar
2 eggs
12 chocolate balls, halved
250ml cream, whipped

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 24-hole mini-muffin pan with cooking spray.
Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and salt.
Add the cubed butter and rub in with your fingers. Set aside.
Add the syrup and sugar to a saucepan set of medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has almost completely dissolved. The mixture should be very runny. Cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk the eggs together in a bowl and add it to the syrup mixture while whisking.
Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly – there should be no dry flour left.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place in the muffin pans. Flatten the balls with your fingers and then make an indent with a small shot glass/the back of a lemon juicer. See video below.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and immediately press the indents like you did before baking.
Place half a chocolate ball in each hollow and set aside to cool.
Top each ginger cup with whipped cream to serve.