280g flour 10ml baking powder 2,5ml salt 2,5ml garlic flakes 60ml chives, chopped 100g butter, cubed 1 egg 62ml cream 62ml yoghurt 50g cheese, grated egg wash: one egg yolk whisked with 15ml water
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the garlic flakes and chives and mix through. Add the cubed butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. Add the egg, cream, yoghurt and cheese to another bowl and mix to combine. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a pallet knife until combined. Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough out to a 3-4cm thickness. Press the scones out with a 6cm biscuit cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray an oven tray/sheet pan with cooking spray. Add the sugar, flour and marshmallow to a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, oil, cocoa powder and Coca Cola to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot mixture onto the marshmallow mixture and stir until well blended – some of the marshmallow will melt, but not all of it. Pour the buttermilk into a small bowl and dissolve the baking powder in it. Add to the rest of the mixture and mix through. Now add the eggs and vanilla and give the mixture a last stir. Pour the batter in to the prepared oven tray and bake for 45 minutes.
For the frosting: Sift the icing sugar in to a mixing bowl. Add the butter, cocoa powder and Coca Cola to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the hot liquids on to the icing sugar and blend well. Add the vanilla and nuts, stir through and spread onto the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Set aside and allow the cake to cool before serving.
For the filling: Add the corn flour to a large mixing bowl and pour in 50ml milk. Add the egg yolks and 50g sugar and whisk together. Set aside. Pour the 450ml milk and 50g sugar into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the mixture to just before boiling point and take off the heat. Drizzle the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium-high heat. Stir until very thick and then cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and stir through. Pour the custard onto a dinner plate and cover with plastic wrap. Push the wrap directly onto the surface of the custard. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Your should make TWO batches of filling, separately.
For the cake: Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray two loose-bottom cake tins and line the base and sides with baking paper. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl and whisk to mix. Add the eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Slowly pour in the sugar while the mixer is running. Now beat on high speed until the mixture is three times its original volume – about 7 minutes or so. Scatter a third of the flour on the surface and mix on the lowest speed. Add another third, mix and then the remaining flour and mix again. Add the butter and milk to a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is warm when you put your finger in it. NB: YOU WANT THE BUTTER TO MELT, YOU DONT WANT TO BOIL THE MILK! Pour the milk mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and vegetable oil and whisk through with a hand whisk. Add about 250ml of the egg and flour mixture and vigorously whisk to combine. The batter must be smooth. Turn the mixer on to a low speed and very slowly, pour in the milk. Scrape down the sides and the base of the bowl. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake tins. Lift each tin 5cm from the work surface and then drop it – repeat a few times to knock out the large air bubbles. Place the cake tins in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the tins for 15 minutes before turning the cakes out on cooling racks and removing the baking paper. Leave to cool completely.
Assembling the cake: Slice the cake horizontally so that you have 4 cake discs. Spread the custard evenly on to each cake layer and stack them on a serving platter. Roast the flaked almonds in a dry pan, allow to cool and scatter over the cake to serve.
125ml warm/tepid water 2,5ml sugar 15ml instant yeast 4 x 250ml flour 60ml sugar 2 eggs, beaten together 500ml milk, warm/tepid 5ml salt 125ml raisins vegetable oil for frying icing sugar for dusting
Add the warm water and sugar to a bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over and stir again. Leave to stand for 10 – 15 minutes. Add the flour and 60ml sugar to a very large bowl. Add the eggs and yeast mixture and whisk together. Now pour in the warm milk a little at a time, in between whisking. Keep adding milk and whisking until you have a smooth batter. Cover the batter with a damp tea towel and set aside to rest for 1 hour 30 minutes. Sprinkle the salt and raisins over the batter and fold it through with a spatula. Cover the bowl again and rest for another hour. Heat your oil in a saucepan – about 5cm deep. Dip two tablespoons in the oil, shape a dough ball and slip it into the oil. Fry for 2-3 minutes, turning as they cook. Do this in batches so that you don’t crowd the saucepan. Dust the warm doughnuts with icing sugar and serve warm.
300ml milk 30ml butter 10g instant yeast 455g cake flour 80ml sugar a pinch of salt 2 egg yolks, beaten 2 egg whites, beaten together about 18 slices of ham about 18 slices of cheese
Heat the milk and butter so that the butter melts and you are left with a lukewarm mixture. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the milk and butter mixture, give it a stir and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer.|Add the yeast mixture and egg yolks too the mixing bowl. Attach the dough hook and mix for 3 minutes on low speed. Knead for another 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.` Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and allow the dough to proof in a warm place until doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into 4 equal parts. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Preheat your oven to 180℃. Roll one of the dough pieces into a circle of about 25cm. Place this dough circle onto the baking sheet. Lay 5/6 slices of cheese over the dough, 5/6 slices of ham and another 5/6 slices of cheese. Roll the next piece of dough into a circle of more or less the same size as the first. Place it on top of the first circle. Cut the dough circles into 16, (do 4, then 8 and then 16). Take 2 pieces next to each other and make three twists in opposite directions. Keep repeating until all pieces have been twisted. Cover with cling wrap and leave to proof for 15 minutes. Repeat the process with the other dough. Brush the bread with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes until golden.
2 oranges, sliced about 4-5mm thick 125ml water 125ml sugar 2 cardamom pods
Pour the water, sugar and cardamom pods into a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Now add the orange slices, bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Place the orange in a glass container and pour the syrup over. Serve with ice cream, citrus desserts, sponge cake and roast chicken or duck.
Follow the video instructions to shape the marshmallows. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 150℃ for 10 minutes. Remove and place a pistachio nut at the centre of each flower and bake for another hour. Remove the flowers from the oven and allow to cool completely until dry. Use as a decoration for cupcakes.
145g butter 250g sugar 80g cocoa powder, sifted 1,2ml salt 7,5ml vanilla 2 eggs 65g flour 75g pecan nuts, roughly chopped 2 x 80g slabs of chocolate
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper. Add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir the mixture every now and then until the butter has melted and the mixture is amalgamated. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and add the vanilla. Stir through. Add the eggs one-by-one and beat to incorporate, with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and beat again to incorporate. Add the pecan nuts and stir through. Spoon half the batter in to the prepared baking tin and spread it out evenly. Place the chocolate slabs, side-to-side, on the batter and cover with the rest of the brownie batter. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the brownies from the oven and cool completely. Slice into 16 squares.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Arrange the sourdough slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and toast in the oven. Turn on the grill of your oven. Spoon some marinara sauce on each slice of toast, followed by 60ml of grated mozzarella and a few slices of salami. Sprinkle some dried oregano over and place under the grill until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven, top with fresh basil leaves and serve immediately.
This entire dish can be put together with store-bought/ready made components. For those of you that like to slave away in the kitchen, here are the recipes.
Pancakes/Crêpes: 250ml flour 1,2ml baking powder 2,5ml salt 250ml milk 125ml water 62ml vegetable oil 2 eggs
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk attachment. Add the milk, water, oil and eggs to a jug and whisk together by hand until the eggs are fully incorporated. Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly drizzle in the milk mixture. Set the mixer on its highest speed and whisk for 2 minutes. Take the bowl from the mixer and check whether there are any lumps in the batter. If there are, set a sieve over a large bowl and pour through. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rest for an hour. Place a crêpe pan on medium-high heat, wait for it to warm up and pour a few drops of oil into the pan. Spoon a soup ladle full of batter into the pan and swirl around to cover the surface. Cook for a minute or two, flip the crêpe over and cook for another minute or so. Keep going until you have no batter left. Cover the crêpes and allow to cool completely.
Lemon curd: grated zest of one lemon 220g caster sugar 110g butter, cubed 125ml lemon juice, strained (about three lemons) 3 eggs, lightly beaten
Add the zest, sugar and butter to a small saucepan and set over the lowest heat. Stir the mixture until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon juice to the saucepan and stir through. Now add the egg and keep stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take the curd from the heat and pour into a glass jar. Allow to cool completely.
Putting the dish together: Preheat your oven to 200℃ and butter a ceramic tart dish. Spoon 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd on a crêpe and spread it with the back of a spoon. Roll the crêpe up and place it in the ceramic dish. Keep going until all the crêpes are filled. Pour the cream over the pancakes and sift the icing sugar over. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
My Whisk and I 