This tart is makes for the perfect summer dessert when served with a scoop of ice cream and extra passionfruit pulp drizzled on top. It is so easy to make, you only need to take out a mixing bowl and a whisk!!
4 eggs 250ml milk 5ml vanilla 125g butter, melted 250ml caster sugar 125ml passionfruit pulp and extra for drizzling once you serve 125ml flour 250ml desiccated coconut
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and spray a 24cm tart tin with cooking spray. Add the eggs, milk, vanilla, butter, sugar, passionfruit pulp, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes. Cool the tart for 10 minutes before refrigerating for at least 2 hours. Dust with icing sugar and drizzle with passionfruit pulp.
This is a traditional South African food that is popular as a quick meal and often eaten as is, filled with minced meat or with cheese and syrup. Vetkoek literally means “fat cakes” as it is basically a deep-fried bread. Magwinya is simply shaped differently, smaller than tennis balls and often found in Townships or sold as a on-the-go breakfast at taxi ranks.
10g dried yeast 900g cake flour 10ml salt 10ml sugar vegetable oil for frying
Pour 250ml of warm water (tepid) into a mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Stir to dissolve the yeast and set aside. Add the flour, salt and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Run the mixer on low speed and add the yeast mixture. Now add some more lukewarm water (about 400ml) until the mixture comes together in a soft dough. Knead on medium speed for 6 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside for 90 minutes. Knock back the dough by kneading it by hand for 1 minute. Pour about 2 litres of vegetable oil into a saucepan over medium-high heat. If you are making Magwinya, pinch off some dough and shape it into a ball, about the size of a golf ball. If you are making vetkoek, pinch off twice the amount of dough, roll into a ball and then press it flat between your hands. Place the shaped dough on an oiled tray until you have shaped all the dough and the oil is warm. Test the oil with a small piece of dough: if the dough starts bubbling and rises when dropped into the oil, it is hot enough. Deep-fry the magwinya/vetkoek in the oil, turning them often for about 3 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown. Scoop out and drain on kitchen paper. Serve warm with mince/ragou or grated cheddar cheese and golden syrup.
Add the chocolate and 100ml of the cream to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring every now and then until the mixture has amalgamated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Stir the mixture every now and then to help the cooling along. Add the 300ml cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the cream until it forms soft peaks when you lift the whisk. Continue whisking on medium speed while adding a spoonful of the chocolate mixture at a time. Keep going until you have added all of the chocolate and the mixture forms stiff peaks. Spoon the mousse into serving bowls/glasses and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Caramel Pop Corn: 60ml vegetable oil 83ml popping corn
Add the vegetable oil to a heavy-base saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the corn, cover the saucepan with a lid and wait for the corn to pop. Turn the pop corn out into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
For the caramel: 100g butter 220g brown sugar 170g liquid glucose (or corn syrup or honey) 2,5ml salt 5ml vanilla 2,5ml baking powder
Preheat your oven to 110℃. Add the butter to a saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Now add the sugar, glucose and salt and stir together. Stop stirring as soon as the mixture starts to bubble and allow it to simmer for 4 minutes – WITHOUT STIRRING! Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately add the vanilla and baking powder while whisking. Pour the caramel over the pop corn and mix through – be careful, it is extremely hot!!! Spread the mixture on 2 oven trays and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, tossing the pop corn every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Gently break the pop corn into pieces.
Place a small handful of the caramel pop corn on the chocolate mousse and serve immediately.
The pop corn can be stored for a week in an airtight container.
240g flour 230g butter, room temperature 120g caster sugar plus a handful or so for dusting after baking 2,5ml salt
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 20cm x 20cm square or 20cm round baking tin with cooking spray. Add the flour, butter, caster sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse together until combined. Check that the mixture is soft and pliable and comes together in a dough when you press it together between your fingers. If not, pulse the mixture some more. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and use your hands to push it down firmly. Prick the shortbread with the tines of a fork, creating rows. Run the back of a knife’s blade between each row of fork tines to make cutting the shortbread easier once it’s baked. Place the baking tin in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Take the shortbread from the oven and sprinkle with caster sugar while warm. You may also enhance the cutting lines and prick the biscuit with a fork once more. Allow the shortbread to cool completely in the baking tin before removing and slicing into squares or triangles.
Shortbread is best kept in an airtight container and will last for several weeks.
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line the sides only, of a 22cm loose-bottom cake pan with baking paper. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and drizzle in the melted butter, with the engine running. Scoop the mixture into the prepared cake pan and press it evenly on the bottom. Place in the refrigerator. Put a frying pan on medium heat and add about 5ml vegetable oil to it. Add the bacon and onion to the pan and cook until done. Take the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Add the ricotta, cream cheese, grated parmesan and eggs to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a smooth mixture. Pour this mixture over the cooled bacon and onion and stir to combine. Spoon into the prepared base and bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. Serve at room temperature with balsamic roasted beetroot (recipe on this site) and roasted onions.
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray two 22cm tart tins with cooking spray. Dust a work surface with flour and roll the pastry to 3mm thickness. Line the tart tins – the pastry should be about 1cm larger that the tins to allow for shrinkage during baking. Place the prepared tart tins in the refrigerator until needed.
Pour 1 litre milk into a saucepan and add the sugar and cinnamon quill. Turn the heat on medium-high and stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved. Heat the milk mixture until it starts forming tiny bubbles around the edges of the saucepan. Remove from the heat and take out the quill. Set aside. Add the flour, custard powder and cornflour to a mixing bowl. Drizzle in the remaining 250ml milk while whisking, to make a slurry. Add the egg yolks to the slurry and whisk together. Slowly pour the warm milk-mixture into the slurry while whisking continuously. Remember: pour slowly, whisk quickly! Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and return to a low heat. Stir the mixture until it thickens and starts to bubble. Take off the heat, add the butter and vanilla, stir through and set aside. Add the baking powder to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the custard and divide the mixture between the two prepared tart tins. Bake the tarts in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sift some ground cinnamon on the surface. Serve with your favourite brew of coffee.
This is fruit cake is dark and rich and incredibly moist and the very best is it does not need time to ripen! You do however need to use a dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa – I used the Dark Chocolate from De Villiers Chocolates which you can order online.
500ml dark stout beer 800g mixed fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas, cherries, orange peel) 175g butter, softened 200g brown sugar 4 eggs 125g ground almonds 50g cornflour 7,5ml ground cinnamon 5ml allspice 80g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), finely chopped or grated
Pour the stout beer into a saucepan and reduce it to 200ml. Add the mixed fruit to a ceramic bowl, pour over the stout and set aside to soak overnight. Preheat your oven to 150℃. Line and lightly spray a 22cm cake pan. Wrap a double layer of baking paper around the outside of the baking tin and secure it with string. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed, until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down and add the eggs one at a time, beating we’ll after each addition and alternating with a spoonful of ground almonds after each addition. Now add the remaining ground almonds, cornflour and spices and mix together. Take the bowl from the mixer and stir in the soaked fruit and chocolate. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 3 – 4 hours – a cake skewer should come out clean. Remove the fruit cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the cake pan.
The fruit cake does not need ripening but keeps really well when wrapped in a layer of baking paper and aluminium foil.
This is such a refreshing drink and can easily be adapted as a mocktail. Makes 4. Cheers!
250g fresh strawberries 45ml sugar a squeeze of lemon 50ml Grand Marnier (orange flavoured liqeueur) 25ml vodka 2 basil leaves 350g ice, crushed
Add the strawberries and sugar to the bowl of a liquidiser and process. Add all the remaining ingredients and pulse together. Serve in 4 martini glasses.
This is a small cheesecake that serves about 8 people with a taste-size portion which makes it ideal to serve with tea. It goes against cheesecake rules as it is baked in quite a hot oven and not in a baine Marie, has no eggs in it and is sweetened with condensed milk.
200g digestive biscuits 80g butter, melted 250g cream cheese, room temperature 1 x 385g can of condensed milk 125ml lemon juice fresh fruit to serve
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 25cm x 11cm x 7cm loaf tin with baking paper. Add the digestive biscuits and butter to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a texture that resembles wet sand. Line the baking tin with the mixture, covering the bottom and sides evenly. Put aside. Add the cream cheese and condensed milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Set the mixer on high speed and mix until the cream cheese is smooth – scrape the bowl down once or twice. Now set the mixer on a low speed and drizzle in the lemon juice. Mix until fully incorporated and you have a smooth mixture. Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside until it has cooled completely. Place the cheesecake on a serving dish and arrange fresh fruit on top before serving.
750g cooked and mashed sweet potato (about 4 medium sweet potatoes) 125ml self-raising flour 1 X 375ml can of Corn kernels, drained (you may substitute with cooked corn) 125ml pumpkin seeds 1 egg 2,5ml salt 2,5ml cinnamon 63ml brown sugar vegetable oil to fry
Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix through. Place a heavy bottom pan onto medium-high heat and cover the bottom with vegetable oil to heat up. Scoop a tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes before flipping and frying the other side for another 2-3 minutes. Do not overfill your pan as you want the sweet potato to caramelise and fry to a golden, crisp outside. Keep going until all the mixture is used. Serve the cakes with a dollop of yoghurt and honey.
My Whisk and I 