Two of my very favourite drinks in one cup!!
250ml milk
15ml sugar
80g chocolate, chopped
30ml espresso
2,5mll vanilla
Pour the milk into a small saucepan, add the sugar and turn the heat to medium. Warm the milk to just before boiling point.
Turn down the heat to the lowest setting and add the chopped chocolate.
Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes while whisking/stirring continuously.
Take the saucepan from the heat and add the hot espresso and vanilla.
Stir through and serve hot.
For the pastry:
80g dark chocolate, 75% cocoa
175g butter, cubed
230g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
10ml vanilla
5ml milk
50g cocoa powder
350g flour
Blueberry custard:
150g blueberries
15ml lemon juice
250ml + 30ml coconut milk
60g honey
15ml cornstarch
10ml agar-agar
Chocolate ganache:
160g dark chocolate, chopped
180ml coconut and cows milk
30ml honey
15ml coconut oil
a pinch of salt
Making the pastry:
Melt the chocolate and set it aside.
Add the butter, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla and milk to the bowl of a food processor and process to mix.
Add the chocolate in a thin stream while the engine is running.
Add the sifted cocoa and flour to the mixture and process until the mixture forms a smooth ball of pastry.
Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Roll out the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 3mm.
Line a loose bottom tart tin and then line the pastry case with tin foil. Freeze for one hour.
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Bake the pastry case with the foil lining for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
Set aside to cool completely.
Making the blueberry custard:
Add the berries, lemon juice, 250ml coconut milk and honey to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
Pour the 30ml coconut milk into a small bowl and add the cornstarch and agar-agar. Stir to dissolve.
Pour the blueberry mixture into a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil.
Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture while whisking continuously until smooth and it starts to thicken.
Pour the blueberry custard into the cooled tart shell and allow to cool.
Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Making the ganache:
Add the chocolate, milk (pour whatever you have left of the coconut milk into a measuring jug and then fill up with dairy milk to 180ml), honey and coconut oil to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted and you are left with a smooth mixture.
Pour over the blueberry custard.
Refrigerate the tart for 4 hours before serving.
Make this sauce part of your repertoire and elevate that steak to the next level!
83ml brandy
190ml beef stock
125ml cream
15ml canned green peppercorns
Pour the brandy into the pan in which you have cook the steak. If you barbecued your steak, pour it into a small saucepan.
Turn the heat up to high and simmer the brandy for about 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
Add the beef stock and cook until reduced by half – about 5 minutes.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cream and peppercorns.
Gently simmer the sauce for 2 minutes, while stirring.
Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon over steak and serve.
These clusters are perfect treats for those tiny-hands-in-the-kitchen…
100g chocolate, chopped
250g fresh blueberries
100g pistachio nuts
Add the chopped chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan with barely simmering water to melt.
Stir every now-and-then until completely melted. Take from the heat.
Line a small-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Spoon about half a teaspoon chocolate into each cup and give it a swirl so that the chocolate covers the base of the paper cup.
Add about three blueberries and two pistachio nuts to the cups and then drizzle with another half teaspoonful of melted chocolate.
Place some more blueberries and nuts on each cluster and give each a final drizzle of chocolate.
Allow to set for at least 30 minutes.
Gently remove the clusters from the paper cups and serve.
Do not keep the clusters in the refrigerator.
These rolls are deliciously moist and soft and make for a great dinner roll, with a boost of veggies!!
190ml cooked and mashed butternut (about one large butternut)
190ml milk
10g instant yeast
450g bread flour
50g cake flour
45g caster sugar
15ml honey
7,5ml salt
45g butter
about 45ml melted butter
Add the mashed butternut and milk to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Mix together on a low speed for 2 minutes.
Add the yeast, bread flour, cake flour, caster sugar and honey and mix on a low speed until the mixture comes together as a rough dough.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Cut the butter into small pieces and set aside.
Remove the plastic wrap, add the salt and knead the dough on medium speed for 1 minute.
Add the butter pieces one at a time, with the machine running and knead until the dough is silky smooth. About 6 minutes.
Lightly oil a mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Cover and allow to rise until double in size (about 1 hour).
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray.
Transfer the dough to a working surface and divide into twelve equal pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place it into the prepared muffin tin.
Cover the muffin tin with a plastic bag and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Bake the rolls for 16 minutes.
Melt an additional 45ml of butter in the microwave oven.
Take the rolls from the oven, brush the rolls with the melted butter and place back in the oven for a further 3 minutes.
Take the rolls from the oven and cool on a cooling rack.
Serve with butter and honey.
400g bacon, sliced/diced into 0,5cm pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, sliced
500g split peas
3 bay leaves
2,5l chicken stock
a small handful of thyme, leaves stripped
Put a saucepan on medium-low heat and add the bacon pieces. Cook until the fat is rendered.
Add the onion, carrot and garlic and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the split peas and stir to coat in the bacon fat.
Add the bay leaves and 2,5l chicken stock.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Skim off the foam that rises to the top. Stir the soup every now and then.
Add the thyme leaves and simmer the soup for at least an hour. Add more stock if you prefer a thinner soup.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
Purée with a stick blender.
Reheat the soup and check the seasoning.
Serve piping hot with fresh bread.
Easy to make and even easier to eat, apple crumble is a dessert classic for good reason!
1kg apples (5-6 large apples)
25g brown sugar
5ml ground cinnamon
For the crumble:
110g pistachio nuts (you may replace it with pecan if you like)
75g butter, diced
175g self-raising flour
10ml ground cinnamon
110g brown sugar
Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Peel and core the apples and then cut them into 3cm chunks.
Add the apple chunks, brown sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and toss everything together with your hands.
Scoop the apple mixture into a 18cm X 28cm ceramic dish and set aside.
For the crumble:
Chop the pistachios into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Add the butter and self-raising flour to a mixing bowl and rub it together with your fingertips until it resembles crumbs.
Stir in the cinnamon, brown sugar and chopped pistachio nuts.
Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apples, spreading it right up to the edges of the dish. Press the crumble down with the palm of your hand. (If the mixture is tightly packed it will be really crispy)
Now run the tines of a fork over the surface.
Place the crumble in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Serve the apple crumble with big scoops of vanilla ice cream.
This cake has a fine, delicate crumb which gives it a silky mouth-feel and makes it the ultimate teatime treat!
220g butter, very soft
240g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
20ml honey
6 eggs
280g flour
2,5ml baking powder
30ml cocoa powder
5ml vanilla
Chocolate Glaze:
150g chocolate, 70% cocoa
10ml coconut oil
30ml vegetable oil
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a small loaf tin of 21cm X 11cm with baking paper.
Add the butter, sugar, salt and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Turn the mixer on to high speed and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and very pale – about 6 – 7 minutes, scraping down once or twice.
Add the eggs to a small bowl and whisk together.
Run the mixer’s engine on medium-low and add the egg a little at a time, waiting for it to be incorporated before adding more.
Now mix the flour and baking powder together and add it in the same way.
Scoop half of the batter into a clean mixing bowl and sift the cocoa powder over it. Mix with a spatula until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated – the batter will appear very dry, but keep mixing until it turns brown.
Add the vanilla to the half of the batter which you have kept in the mixer bowl and stir through.
Spoon 3-4 dollops of the vanilla batter into the baking tin, alternating with the cocoa batter. Keep going until there is no batter left.
Lightly pull a butter knife through the batter, stirring-mixing the two colours.
Level the top and bake the loaf for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Cool the cake on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing it from the baking tin by lifting it out in the baking paper.
Allow the cake to cool completely.
For the chocolate glaze:
Add all the ingredients to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water and stir until melted completely.
Remove the glaze from the heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
Place the cooled cake on a cooling rack and place the cooling rack inside a baking sheet so that the chocolate drips down into it.
Pour the glaze over the cake. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least one hour.
Slice and serve.
Baked cheese is such a versatile dish to serve; aperitifs, as a casual starter, an in-between-meals-snack and even as a cheese course after dinner. You may of course replace the Camembert with Brie or any other soft cheese with a runny centre and the blood orange with regular fresh oranges.
1 600g Camembert wheel (or 2-3 smaller ones)
1 roll store-bought puff pastry
egg wash: 1 egg and 15ml milk, whisked together
Blood Orange Sauce:
15ml honey
30ml red wine vinegar
180ml blood orange juice
15ml cold butter
2 oranges, segmented
a pinch of salt
For the baked cheese:
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Lightly dust a surface with flour and roll the pastry to a 3mm thickness.
Place the cheese wheel on the pastry and cut a circle 2cm wider than the cheese.
Now cut another pastry circle of the same size and drape it over the top of the cheese.
Lift the edges of the pastry at the bottom over the edges hanging down. Secure by pressing together with the tines of a fork.
Score the top of the pastry parcel with the back/blunt side of a sharp knife and brush the entire cheese parcel with the egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to stand for about 20 minutes.
For the sauce:
Pour the honey, vinegar and juice into a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce the mixture until syrupy.
Take off the heat, add the butter and whisk until amalgamated and you have a beautifully shiny sauce.
Add the orange segments to the sauce and spoon over the baked cheese.
This dish can be prepared in advance and grilled once your guests are seated. Delicious served with a grain salad or a crusty bread.
5-6 crayfish tails per person (it is the main dish after all!)
150g bacon, diced
30ml butter
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
250ml cream
125ml parmesan cheese, grated
250ml Boerenkaas or mature cheddar, grated
Fully thaw the crayfish tails.
Turn your oven on to the grill setting and spray an ovenproof dish with cooking spray.
Fill a large stock pot/saucepan with salted water and bring to a rapid boil.
Add the crayfish tails, bring the water back up to a boil and cook the tails for 6 minutes.
Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.
Take the tails from the boiling water and immediately immerse it in the ice water to stop the cooking process.
Lay a tail flat in your hand and cut the top shell with poultry shears down the centre of the back, to the tail.
Remove the vein and any shell shards.
Run your finger between the meat and the shell to loosen it. Lift and pull the meat from the shell and add it to the prepared ovenproof dish. Set aside.
Add the butter and bacon to a frying pan on medium-high heat and fry the bacon until crispy.
Scoop out the bacon bits and keep aside.
Turn the heat to medium and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
Add the cream, parmesan cheese and cooked bacon and cook for another minute.
Take the sauce from the heat and evenly pour it over the crayfish tails.
Sprinkle the grated Boerenkaas over and place under the grill until the cheese has melted and is slightly charred.
Serve with fresh lemon wedges and a good glass of wine.
My Whisk and I 