1 x 385g can of condensed milk 60g butter, softened 190ml sugar 10ml vanilla 2 eggs 125ml flour 125ml cocoa powder, sifted 1,2ml salt 80g dark chocolate, finely chopped 80g dark chocolate, chopped a handful of pistachio nuts
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper. Add the condensed milk, butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl and cream together with a hand-held mixer, until smooth. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix for another minute. Now add the flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix again on low speed. Add the chopped chocolate and stir through with a spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the baking tin. Add the 80g chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and allow to melt. Drizzle the chocolate over the brownies and sprinkle the pistachio nuts on top. Slice and serve.
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper. Add the oats and chopped almonds to a baking sheet, spread it out evenly and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Stir the mixture around and bake for another 5 minutes, until lightly toasted. Spoon into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Add the honey, butter, sugar, vanilla and salt to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir the mixture until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Allow it to bubble for 30 seconds and remove from the heat. Pour the honey mixture into the bowl with the oats and almonds and mix well. Add the cranberries and the chocolate chips and stir again. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and firmly press into the tin. Wet your fingers with water and press some more – this is really important for the mixture to stick together. Cover the tin with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove from the tin and cut into 12x bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. I like to wrap the individual bars in baking paper so that they are ready to be taken on-the-go!!
For the biscuit base: Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups. Spray the paper cups with baking spray and set aside. Process the biscuits to crumbs. Whisk the egg white with a fork until just frothy and add to the crumbs. Add the melted butter and give everything a good mix. The mixture should resemble wet sand. Divide between the cupcake liners and press the mixture down firmly into the bottom of each cup. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
For the filling: Turn you oven temperature down to 160℃. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water. Allow to melt completely, remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Add the cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping down once or twice between mixing. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer, add the melted chocolate and fold in until no streaks remain. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake cups. Bake for 15 minutes or until just set in the centre. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes inside with the door closed, for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the baking tin. Refrigerate the cheesecakes for 1 hour before adding the topping.
Marshmallow-Meringue Topping: Turn your oven to the grill setting and move the oven rack to the top position. If you are going to blow-torch your toppings you may leave your oven off. Add the egg whites and sugar to a heatproof bowl and place the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk the mixture for about 3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is very frothy. Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the vanilla and cream of tartar. Beat on high speed for about 6 minutes, until very thick and glossy. Spoon or pipe the topping on the cheesecakes and either place under the grill to toast or blow-torch the topping.
62ml tepid water 10g instant yeast 250ml milk, warm 30ml sugar 7,5ml salt 5ml ground cinnamon 62ml butter, melted 2 eggs 4 x 250ml + 83ml flour 1 x can/portion Dulce de Leche or Caramel Treat 3 bananas, sliced
Pour the tepid water into a small mixing bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Stir until dissolved and set aside. Add the milk, sugar, salt and cinnamon to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and whisk together by hand. Stir in the butter, eggs and yeast mixture. Turn the mixer to a low speed and gradually add the flour. You are looking for a dough that is soft enough to handle. It is usually ready when it easily pulls away from the sides. Knead/mix for another 5 minutes. Rub a few drops of oil on the inside of a mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise until double in size. (about 90 minutes) Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a work surface lightly dusted with flour. Roll the dough to a 0,5cm thickness and cut circles of dough with a biscuit cutter, about 8 cm in diameter. You need about 22 circles to make two small breads. Line two 11cm X 25cm loaf tins with baking paper. Spread a teaspoon of caramel on half of each circle and place 3 slices of banana on top. Fold the circle in half and place it in the prepared tin with the open ends facing up.
Continue until all the discs are in the loaf tin. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 40 minutes. Preheat your oven to 180℃. Bake the breads for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the baking tin. Serve the pull-apart bread warm or at room temperature.
Edible flowers (or fruits like berries) 45ml water 10ml powdered gelatine 45ml sugar 150ml hot water 75ml sparkling wine
Prepare your moulds/cups by lining them with plastic wrap. Place the flowers inside the moulds and set aside. Pour 45ml cold water into a small mixing bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over. Set aside to bloom for 5 minutes. Add the sugar to the gelatine and pour in the hot water. Stir to dissolve. Add the sparkling wine and mix well. Allow the liquid to cool to the point where it is cold but still completely runny. Pour into the moulds and refrigerate until set.
2 pears 30ml lemon juice 60ml brown sugar 2,5ml ground cinnamon 30g butter, cubed
For the oatmeal: 250ml rolled oats 250ml water 250ml milk a pinch of salt 1,2ml ground cinnamon honey a handful (or two) of almonds
For the pears: Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a small baking tray with baking paper or aluminium foil. Halve the pears and remove the core. (I use a melon scoop for this) Place the pears, cut-side up, on the prepared baking tray and drizzle with the lemon juice. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon on the fruit and place a piece of cubed butter on each. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.
For the oatmeal: Pour the oats, water, milk, salt and cinnamon into a saucepan and place on medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, while stirring often.
Spoon the porridge into 2 bowls and place 2 pear half on top of each bowl. Drizzle the oatmeal with honey and a generous scattering of almonds and serve warm.
Jodetert is a traditional South African bake of years gone by. It is a wonderful concoction of light and buttery biscuit discs, layered with a soft custard and literally melts in one’s mouth. Without doubt, one of my all-time favourite eats – do try it!
For the biscuit: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Cut 8 pieces of baking paper the size of a large baking tray. Spray each paper sheet with cooking spray. Add the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the beaten egg in a thin stream while the engine is running, until the mixture comes together in a dough ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Divide the dough in to 7 equal portions. Place one piece of dough on a sprayed piece of baking paper and dust with flour. Place another piece of baking paper on top and roll the dough to a thickness of 5 mm and a 20cm diameter circle. Remove the baking paper on top and place the dough circle on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Repeat with the other 6 pieces of dough.
For the filling: Add the flour, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Drizzle the milk onto the flour mixture in a thin stream while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir with a whisk until it thickens. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and place some plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Allow to cool completely.
Assembly: Spoon the custard into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle. Place the first biscuit disc on a serving plate, pipe a spiral of custard onto it and place the second biscuit circle on top of it. Repeat the process of piping custard and stacking the biscuit discs until you have none left. Dust the Jodetert with some icing sugar and serve with a good cup of coffee.
180g butter, melted 170g sugar 3 weet-bix bars, crushed or about 150g of crumbs/broken pieces 150g self-raising flour 85g desiccated coconut 2 x 395g cans condensed milk 310ml lemon juice (strained if using fresh) about 150g raspberries and blueberries
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 20cm x 30cm oven tray with baking paper, allowing an overhang so that you can easily remove the fruit slices when set. Add the butter, sugar, weet-bix, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Scatter the raspberries and blueberries over the cooled base. Gently pour the condensed milk mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and process to crumbs. Whisk the egg white just until frothy and add it to the crumbs with the melted butter. Mix well until the mixture resembles wet sand. Tip the crumb-mixture into a loose-bottom tart tin and level it out. Use a glass with a flat bottom to press the crumb down firmly all over and up the sides of the tin. Keep pressing until the base comes together. Place the tart tin on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Add the cornstarch to a large mixing bowl and pour the water over. Mix to a smooth slurry. Add the egg yolks and whisk through. Pour the custard into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly and in a very thin stream, add it to the slurry while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it on medium heat while whisking until it thickens. Pour the filling into the cooled base and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Refrigerate the milk tart for 3-4 hours before serving.
Peel the papino and cut it in half. Slice a small section away on the rounded side so that it forms a base on which the fruit can “stand”. Place the half on a serving dish and fill the cavity with the berries and a generous dollop of custard!!
My Whisk and I 