2 onions, roughly chopped 1 carrot, cut into small chunks 2 cloves of garlic, minced 4 Portobello mushrooms 120g shitake mushrooms 200g mixed mushrooms 6 sprigs of thyme 150ml red wine 200ml vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 15ml tomato purée 15ml cornflour
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrot and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Now add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for another 7 minutes. Pour in the wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the stock, bay leaves and tomato purée. Turn the heat down and sift the cornflour over the mixture. Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the mushroom bourguignon on mashed potato.
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.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Place the bread on a wooden board and place a wooden spoon on either side of it, in its length. Slice the bread on the diagonal, into 1,5cm thick slices WITHOUT slicing through – the wooden spoons should prevent this. Now turn the bread and slice again so that you are left with squares that are attached at the bottom. Place the sliced bread on a large piece of aluminium foil and then onto a baking sheet. Set aside. Add the cheese spread, butter and garlic to a small saucepan and set it over a medium-low heat. Stir every now and then until the mixture has melted and is amalgamated. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. Spoon generous amounts of the cheese mixture in between the sliced bread. Push the biltong slices between the bread squares and cover with the aluminium foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately as a casual starter.
This is one of my top 5 favourite all-time eats!! It is so easy and quick to make and utterly, heavenly delicious! The recipe makes 2 dumplings each for 4 people.
Syrup: 125ml golden syrup 190ml brown sugar 40g butter, diced 450ml water
Dumplings: 375ml self-raising flour a pinch of salt 30g butter 1 egg 100ml milk 30ml golden syrup
For the syrup: Add the syrup, sugar, butter and water to a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, give the mixture a stir and leave on a low simmer while you make the dumplings.
For the dumplings: Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the butter is as evenly distributed as possible. Add the egg, milk and golden syrup to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into the flour and stir until just combined – do not overmix! Drop heaped tablespoons of the batter into the simmering syrup and cover with a lid. Simmer for 7-8 minutes, turn the dumplings over and cook with the lid on for another 5 minutes. Serve the dumplings with cream, ice cream or as is.
1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 500g prawns, cleaned 375ml mashed potato 125ml grated cheddar cheese 2 eggs about 500ml panko breadcrumbs vegetable oil to fry
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add a splash of cooking oil and the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the prawns and cook until pink – about 3 minutes. Spoon the mixture into a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the mashed potato and cheddar and pulse until the mixture is evenly incorporated. Season with salt. Beat the eggs together in a shallow bowl. Add the breadcrumbs to another shallow bowl. Scoop 30ml of the prawn mixture into you hands and shape it into a log. Dit into the egg and then roll to cover in the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate the shaped croquettes for a minimum of 30 minutes. Heat the vegetable oil and fry in batches for 3-4 minutes. Serve warm with a tartar sauce on the side.
1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 100g mature cheddar, grated 15ml salt 120g maize meal 30g butter 200g panko breadcrumbs 1 egg vegetable oil for frying cooked boerewors, sliced into 3 cm lengths
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a splash of oil and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Set aside. Pour 750ml water into a saucepan and add the salt. Wait for the water to come to a boil. Add the maize meal slowly while whisking. Keep whisking until smooth. Turn down the heat and cook until you have a stiff consistency. Add the onion, garlic, grated cheddar and butter to the pap and stir through. Cover with a lid and set aside to cool. Add the breadcrumbs to a shallow dish. Add the egg to another shallow dish and beat. Scoop 15ml of the pap mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball. Keep going until you have no pap mixture left. Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs, then dip into the egg and roll in the breadcrumbs again. Heat the vegetable oil and fry the pap balls until golden. Skewer a pap ball, then a piece of boerewors and another pap ball onto a wooden cocktail skewer. Serve the pap and wors skewers with a chakalaka sauce on the side.
Add the two quartered guavas and 500ml yoghurt to a blender and blitz until smooth. Set aside. Add the vegetable oil to a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and wait for it to start crackling. Now add the curry leaves, coriander, chilli, turmeric, salt and sugar. Pour in the guava and yoghurt mixture and add the chicken pieces. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the three quartered and deseeded guavas and stir through. Simmer lightly for another 10 minutes. Serve the curry on fragrant rice.
60ml butter 1 onion, chopped 60ml flour 750ml vegetable stock 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces, stems included 1 large carrot, finely diced 500ml milk 750ml grated mature cheddar cheese
Add the butter to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat and wait for it to melt. Add the onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft. Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, while stirring. Drizzle in the stock while whisking continuously. Season with salt and black pepper. Now add the broccoli and carrot, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Pour the milk into the mixture and stir to blend. Decant about two thirds of the mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and wait for the soup to come back to a low simmer. Add the cheddar and stir through until melted. Serve the soup piping hot with a crusty bread.
Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper (or line a cupcake tin with paper cups). Add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and milk to a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the sugar has melted and it reaches a boil. Allow to boil for exactly 60 seconds, without stirring. Remove from the heat. Add the vanilla, peanut butter and oats and stir until THOROUGHLY combined! Spoon about 60ml of the mixture onto the lined baking sheets and set aside to set for an hour. Store the oats cookies in a glass container.
My Whisk and I 