Tag: quick

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Tropical Chocolate Bread

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Tropical Chocolate Bread
Tropical Chocolate Bread

This is a great variation on banana bread and perfect for brunch when served with roasted peaches. Keeps for 2-3 days in an airtight container but it is very good when toasted thereafter.

150g butter
190ml caster sugar
2 eggs
30ml milk
2 ripe bananas, sliced
250ml self-raising flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
62ml dodo powder, sifted
125ml desiccated coconut
160g De Villiers Cocoa Nut Butter Chocolate, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 11cm X 25cm X 7cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on medium-high speed until creamy.
Add the eggs, milk and sliced bananas and mix for another minute.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and cocoa powder together and stir into the mixture.
Take the bowl from the mixer, add the coconut and chocolate and stir through by hand.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Turn the bread out onto a wire rack to cool.
Slice to serve.

Honey-Roasted Peaches:
6 fresh peaches
15ml butter, cubed
62ml honey

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones.
Place the peach halves on an oven tray and dot the cubed butter over it.
Drizzle over the honey.
Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until caramelised and golden brown.
Serve on a toasted slice of Tropical Chocolate Bread.

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Chocolate-Biscuit Meringue

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Chocolate-Biscuit Meringue
Chocolate-Biscuit Meringue

The recipe makes about 18 meringue biscuits.

4 egg whites, room temperature
220g caster sugar
5ml white vinegar
250ml ladies finger biscuits, chopped (or any other plain biscuit)
250ml almond slivers
160g chocolate of your choice; I used De Villiers Nut Butter with no added sugar

Preheat your oven to 150℃ and line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
Add the egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until medium peaks form.
Add one tablespoon of sugar at a time, with the mixer running. Wait 30 seconds before adding the next tablespoon of sugar and continue until all the sugar has been added.
Whisk on high speed for 2 more minutes.
Add the vinegar and whisk 2 minutes more.
Take the bowl from the mixer and add the biscuits and almonds. Fold through.
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and allow to melt completely.
Spoon a tablespoon of the meringue mixture onto the prepared tray and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon.
Spoon a teaspoon of the melted chocolate on the meringue and swirl it into the top.
Now reduce your oven temperature to 120℃ and place the trays in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
Turn off the oven, without opening the door and leave the meringue inside for another 30 minutes.
Remove the trays from the oven and leave the meringue on it until completely cold – another hour or so.

Store the meringue biscuits in an airtight container.


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Stroganoff Steaks

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Stroganoff Steaks
Stroganoff Steaks

6 sirloin steaks
45ml butter
400g mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5ml smoked paprika
300ml beef stock
250ml sour cream
a handful of parsley, chopped

Cook the steaks to your liking and set aside. Keep it covered and warm, to rest.
Put a heavy-base pan on high heat and add the butter. If you cooked the steak in a pan, use the same one.
Add the mushrooms and cook until browned and slightly charred on the edges. Remove from the pan.
Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onion until translucent.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
Transfer the mushroom back to the pan and sprinkle over the paprika.
Pour the beef stock into the pan and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping loose any charred pieces stuck to the pan. Allow the stock to bubble away until reduced by half.
Take the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream and parsley.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Place the cooked steaks in the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.


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Bobotie with two Sambals

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Bobotie with two Sambals
Bobotie with two Sambals

Bobotie:

30ml Oil
2x Chopped onions
1kg Beef mince
2x Slices of white bread
250ml + 125ml Milk
3x Eggs
30ml Curry powder
10ml Salt
15ml Turmeric
45ml Lemon juice
125ml Raisins
60ml Chutney
4-5 Bay leaves

  • Preheat the oven to 180℃
  • Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and cook until golden.
  • Remove the onions from the heat and put in a mixing bowl for later use.
  • Add the minced meat to the saucepan the onions were in and brown the mince. Once the mince has been browned remove from heat and add to the mixing bowl with the onions.
  • Pour 250ml milk into a small bowl, place the two slices of bread into the milk and let them soak. Once the bread has soaked up all the milk add it to the mince and onion mixture. Mix thoroughly.
  • Place two of the three eggs into a bowl and whisk until fluffy. Add the egg mixture to the mince mixture and mix through.
  • Add all the remaining ingredients to the mince mixture (except the bay leaves, milk and egg) and mix through.
  • Prepare a casserole dish by spraying it with cooking spray to prevent the bobotie from sticking. Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  • Whisk the remaining 125ml of milk and one egg together and pour over the bobotie once it comes out of the oven. Put the bay leaves spread out over the mixture and immediately put it back into the oven for another 15 minutes or until golden.

Tomato Sambal:

3 Chopped tomatoes
2 Chopped onions
15ml Lemon juice
15ml Sugar
15ml Olive oil
Fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper

  • Chop tomatoes and onions in small to medium sized blocks.
  • Mix lemon juice, olive oil and sugar into a dressing.
  • Chop parsley.
  • Mix everything together and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chutney Sambal:

250ml Fruit Chutney
83ml Chopped dried apricots
125ml Diced, Granny smith apple

  • Dice the apple into small cubes and chop the dried apricots into roughly the same size.
  • Combine and mix with the fruit chutney.
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Cappuccino Puddings

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Cappuccino Puddings
Cappuccino Puddings

If you are a chocolate fan but don’t like sweet, these are for you!

90ml cream
10ml espresso coffee granules
30ml Kahlúa (or a coffee cream liqueur)
3 eggs + 1 egg white, separated
25g caster sugar
160g dark chocolate, chopped
cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat your oven to 190℃. Grease 6 ramekins with a minimum capacity of 175ml. Place them on a baking tray and set aside.
Pour the cream into a small saucepan over a low-medium heat until just warm.
Add the espresso and Kahlúa and stir until the coffee granules are dissolved.
Divide the mixture between the prepared ramekins.
Add the 4 egg whites to a clean mixing bowl and beat until it forms soft peaks.
Now whisk in the sugar, adding a teaspoonful at a time until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water and stir until completely melted and silky smooth.
Take the chocolate from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir it every now and then so that it cools down.
Add the egg yolks to the chocolate and stir through.
Stir in a third of the beaten egg white mixture.
Now fold in the rest of the whites until no trace of whites are left.
Spoon the mixture into the ramekins and bake it for 15 minutes.
Sift the puddings with cocoa powder (or icing sugar if you want a sweeter pudding) and serve immediately.

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Tropical Tapioca Dessert

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Tropical Tapioca Dessert
Tropical Tapioca Dessert

Easy, comforting and an absolute crowd pleaser!!

2 tins of coconut milk
100ml milk
250ml tapioca
a pinch of salt
83ml sugar
83ml butter
4 eggs
5ml vanilla
6 fresh guavas
83ml coconut shavings

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a 18cm X 28ccm ovenproof dish.
Pour the 2 tins of coconut milk and the 100ml of milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Add the tapioca and salt to the milk, turn the heat down to low and gently simmer for 25 minutes. Stir the mixture every now and then to prevent the tapioca from clotting and sticking to the saucepan.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter.
Add the eggs and vanilla to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Pour the egg mixture into the tapioca while stirring.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Peel the guavas and randomly press them into the tapioca.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle the warm dessert with coconut shavings and serve with pouring custard.

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Cinnamon Rolls

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls

Few things beat an aromatic cinnamon roll on a cold day and these rolls are no exception! I like to hero the yeasty bread and therefore the sugar glaze is toned done in this recipe. Yields 20 rolls but may easily be halved.

1250ml bread flour
7,5ml salt
75ml butter
450ml milk
45ml sugar
15ml instant yeast

30ml butter
30ml white sugar
30ml brown sugar
10ml cinnamon

Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Add the butter and milk to a jug and warm it in the microwave oven. Stir until the butter has melted and the milk is tepid and NOT hot.
Add the sugar and yeast to the milk mixture and stir to dissolve.
Turn the mixer onto low speed and add the milk mixture. Mix/knead for 2 minutes.
Now turn the speed to medium and knead for a further 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastic bag and a tea towel.
Set aside to proof for 1 hour or until doubled in volume.
Line an overproof baking dish/baking tray of about 25cm X 35cm with baking paper.
Dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough into a large rectangle. About 65cm X 30cm.
Melt the 30ml butter and brush an even layer onto the rolled dough.
Mix together the sugars and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly onto the dough.
Roll into a sausage, in the length.
Cut the sausage of dough into 20 even pieces. I do this by halving the sausage, and again halving the half sections and then simply slicing it into five more-or-less equal pieces.
Arrange the dough spirals in the prepared baking dish, cut side facing up and about 1 – 2 cm between them, or as evenly spaced as you can manage.
Slip the baking dish into a plastic bag and leave to proof for 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Bake the rolls for 30 minutes.

For the glaze:
500ml icing sugar
30ml butter
10ml vanilla
60ml milk

Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
Melt the butter and add the vanilla and milk to it.
Pour the wet ingredients into the icing sugar while stirring.

Remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven and immediately drizzle the glaze onto the rolls.
Serve warm or cooled down.

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Apple Crumble

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Apple Crumble
Apple Crumble

This is an easy, uncomplicated apple crumble in one dish but it is full of flavour and absolutely delicious when served slightly warm with ice cream.

450g cooking apples
62ml sugar

Crumble:
40g oats
40g flour
40g butter, cubed
30g brown sugar
2,5ml cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters. Cut the quarters into chunks.
Add the apple pieces to a small saucepan with the sugar and 45ml water.
Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Spoon the apple into an ovenproof dish or individual ramekins. Put aside.

For the crumble:
Add the oats, flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl.
Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until it has an even crumb texture.
Spoon the crumb mixture onto the apple chunks.
Place in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.

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Spinach Lentil Dahl

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Spinach Lentil Dahl
Spinach Lentil Dahl

If you like Indian food you will love this nutritious Dahl! It is really easy to make and a superb dish to serve when you are having friends over.

45ml ghee/olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
15ml ginger powder
1 chilli, chopped
5ml fennel seeds
5ml mustard seeds
10ml cumin seeds
15ml garam marsala
400g baby spinach
15ml sugar
16 mint leaves
125ml plain yoghurt
500ml lentils, uncooked
10ml salt
1 lemon

Cook the lentils according to the instructions on the packet. Set aside.
Add the ghee to a saucepan on medium heat and fry the onion for 2 – 3 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and fry on low heat until fragrant.
Add the fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam marsala and sugar. Stir the mixture for about one minute while cooking gently.
Add the spinach, mint and 45ml water to the saucepan and immediately cover with the lid. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place the spinach and spices into a blender, add 320ml water and blend until smooth.
Pour the sauce back into the same saucepan, on low heat.
Add the yoghurt, salt and the juice of about half a lemon.
Serve with fragrant rice and tomato salad.