tea-time treats – My Whisk and I

Lemon-Poppyseed Rusks

September 4, 2023August 18, 2023by Karen Claassen3 Comments

Yields about 60 rusks.

250g butter, room temperature, cubed
300g sugar
6 eggs
4-5 lemons, 80ml of finely grated zest
4 x 250ml self-raising flour
5ml salt
80ml poppyseeds
500ml cultured buttermilk

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line two 23cm loaf tins with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed until creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well to incorporate. Scrape the mixture down once or twice.
Add the lemon zest and mix through.
Now add the flour, salt and poppyseeds to another mixing bowl and stir through.
Alternatively add a few spoonfuls of flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
Mix on high speed for one minute.
Spoon the mixture into the loaf tins and bake for one hour.
Remove from the baking tins and cool on a cooling rack.
Cut the loaf into slices about 2 cm thick and then cut each slice into three pieces.
Space the rusks evenly on a baking sheet and dry in the oven at 100℃ for 3-4 hours.
Cool completely and store in a glass container.

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Breakfast Puffs

September 3, 2023August 18, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

140g flour
12,5ml baking powder
1,2ml salt
a pinch of smoked paprika
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
250ml milk
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray.
Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and paprika into a mixing bowl.
Add the grated cheddar and mix through.
Add the milk and egg to a jug and whisk together.
Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix together to form a batter.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Pistachio, Date and Honey Cake

July 31, 2023June 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

175g butter, cubed
100g brown sugar
30ml + 15ml honey
2 eggs
225g self-raising flour
2,5ml ground cinnamon
2 ripe bananas
100g stoned dates
50g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a medium loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together.
Add the honey with the mixer running and then add the eggs one at a time.
Scrape the mixture down and mix for another minute.
Mix the flour and ground cinnamon and add a tablespoon of flour to the mixture while mixing. Continue adding flour until you have none left.
Mash the bananas and cut the dates into small pieces with scissors.
Add the fruit to the the batter and mix for 2 minutes.
Spoon the batter in to the prepared loaf tin and level out the top.
Scatter the pistachios over and bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes – check the loaf with a skewer to see if its done.
Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before lifting it out of the baking tin.
Drizzle the remaining 15ml honey over the warm cake and allow to cool.
Slice into thick slices and serve along a cup of Turkish coffee.

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Custard Slice / Mille-Feuille

March 17, 2023March 16, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

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.

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Jodetert/Custard Cake

August 12, 2022August 12, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

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!

Biscuit:
250g butter, softened
300g flour
240g sugar
10ml baking powder
1ml salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Filling:
80g flour
250g sugar
4 egg yolks
1 litre milk
5ml vanilla

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.

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Chocolate Scones

April 13, 2022April 11, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

500g flour
190ml brown sugar
62ml cocoa powder
10ml baking powder
2,5ml salt
120g butter, cubed
220g dark chocolate, chopped
250ml cream
5ml vanilla
125ml pecan nuts, chopped
15ml cream
brown sugar for sprinkling

Preheat your oven to 220℃ and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.
Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingers.
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water and stir it every now and then until completely melted.
Add the melted chocolate, cream and vanilla and lightly mix through, making sure that all dry ingredients are moistened.
Add the chopped pecan nuts.
Knead the dough 3 or 4 times by hand to bring everything together in a ball. Do not overwork the dough – scones are soft and crumbly when the dough is handled less.
Place the dough ball on the prepared baking sheet and pat it down into a 20cm diameter circle.
Cut the dough circle into 8 wedges and slightly separate them with the. blade of the knife.
Brush the top of the scones with the 15ml cream and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
Serve the scones with a dollop of whipped cream.