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.
The recipe yields a small batch of around 16 small donuts. Feel free to double-up!!
80ml greek yoghurt 45ml lemon curd 10ml lemon zest 190ml self-raising flour vegetable oil for deep frying icing sugar
Add the yoghurt, lemon curd and zest to a mixing bowl and mix together. Add about two thirds of the flour and mix through. You should have a very thick, sticky dough. To test the consistency, break off a piece and roll between your palms. If you can’t form a ball and the dough is too sticky, add sour flour, mix again and give it another try. You want as little flour as possible so that you produce a light, airy donut. Scoop up 15ml of the dough with a measuring spoon and roll between your palms to make a ball. Place the balls on a tray lined with baking paper. Pour some vegetable oil about 5cm deep, into a small saucepan. Heat to 170℃. Add the donuts to the preheated oil and fry in batches until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper. Arrange on a serving plate and dust with icing sugar.
Line a container that is about 20cm x 14cm with baking paper.
Pour 250ml milk into a small bowl and add the cornstarch. Whisk together until the cornstarch has dissolved. Set aside. Pour the other 250ml milk into a small saucepan and add the sugar. Place over medium-low heat and cook for 3-4 minutes while stirring. The milk should be warm but it should not come to the boil. Now, whisk the cornstarch mixture while slowly pouring it into the saucepan. Stir continuously for about 4 minutes until the mixture is very thick. Pour the mixture into the prepared container and allow to cool completely – about 2 hours. Add the desiccated coconut to a shallow bowl. Lift the milk pudding out of the container with the paper and cut into small squares. Roll each square in the coconut to coat. Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
6 hot cross buns, halved 240g cream cheese, room temperature 125ml cream 2,5ml vanilla 160g Biscoff spread 4 bananas, sliced
Toast the halved buns in a dry pan. Add the cream cheese and cream to a mixing bowl and whisk together. Refrigerate until needed. Add the biscoff spread to a small bowl and warm in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time, until you have a very soft spread. Spoon the cream cheese mixture on the buns. Slice the bananas and arrange on top. Drizzle with the biscoff spread.
2 x 400g puff pastry rolls, thawed 400ml tomato sauce for pizza 400g sandwich ham, sliced into squares 200g salami, sliced 200g green olives, halved a handful of basil leaves 500g mozzarella cheese, grated egg-wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water, whisked together
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Unroll both the puff pastry rolls and place one horizontally in front of you on a work surface. Brush a 2cm wide strip at the top of the pastry with water and overlay the other pastry roll so that the two overlap. Press the overlapping sections together. Spread the tomato sauce over the entire pastry. Scatter the ham, salami and olives evenly over the tomato sauce. Arrange the basil leaves across the surface and top the entire pizza with the grated cheese. Now lift the edge of the pastry closest to you and start rolling it up into a roll. Work lightly as you do not want to tear the pastry. Slice the roll into 4cm thick slices and then lay the slices flat (cut-side down) on the baking sheet. Brush the top and sides of the rolls with the egg-wash. Bake the pizza rolls for 25 minutes until oozy and golden. Serve immediately.
125ml sugar 125ml flour 3 eggs 5ml vanilla 30ml butter, melted 250ml milk enough pitted cherries to cover the bottom of a pie/flan dish
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a ceramic pie/flan dish. Add the sugar and flour to a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs, vanilla, melted butter and milk together in a wide-mouth jug. Slowly pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients while whisking. Fill the bottom of the pie dish with an even layer of cherries and pour the batter over the cherries. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. The clafoutis will puff up in the oven and fall back on itself as it cools. Dust with icing sugar once cooled.
500g self-raising flour 10ml cream of tartar 10ml bicarbonate of soda 10ml ground ginger 2ml salt 170g butter, cubed 170g golden syrup 350g brown sugar 2 eggs 12 chocolate balls, halved 250ml cream, whipped
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 24-hole mini-muffin pan with cooking spray. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and salt. Add the cubed butter and rub in with your fingers. Set aside. Add the syrup and sugar to a saucepan set of medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has almost completely dissolved. The mixture should be very runny. Cool for 5 minutes. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl and add it to the syrup mixture while whisking. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly – there should be no dry flour left. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place in the muffin pans. Flatten the balls with your fingers and then make an indent with a small shot glass/the back of a lemon juicer. See video below. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press the indents like you did before baking. Place half a chocolate ball in each hollow and set aside to cool. Top each ginger cup with whipped cream to serve.
250g dark chocolate, chopped 250g biscuits, something like ginger biscuits, finger biscuits, Marie biscuits or digestives 100g soft butter 150g caster sugar 3 eggs 30ml vanilla 30ml cocoa powder 75g almond nuts, chopped 75g pecan nuts, chopped 50g pistachio nuts, chopped 30ml icing sugar, sifted, to decorate twine, to decorate
Add the chocolate to a heatproof bowl set over simmering water and allow to melt until completely smooth. Set aside to cool. Bash the biscuits in a plastic bag but keep it chunky. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together. Gradually, and one by one, add the eggs – do not worry if it looks as though it has curdled at this stage. Add the vanilla and mix until blended. Sift the cocoa powder into the cooled chocolate and mix through. Now add the chocolate to the egg mixture and mix through on low speed. Take the bowl from the mixer and add the crushed biscuits and all of the nuts. Mix well. Refrigerate the mixture (in the bowl is fine) for about 30 minutes. Cover your working surface with plastic wrap. Roll the mixture into a log shape with your hands until it resembles a fat salami, about 30cm long. Cover the log with the plastic wrap and roll it, as if it were a rolling pin, to create a smooth cylinder. Twist the ends and make a knot. Refrigerate the log for at least 6 hours. Take the salami out of the fridge and lay it on baking paper. Rub some icing sugar over and tie with string to give it an authentic look. Slice into discs to serve.
250g butter, room temperature 60g caster sugar 2,5ml vanilla 260g flour 35g cornflour a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, flour, cornflour and salt and mix until a very soft dough is formed. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm star nozzle and pipe 3cm diameter rosettes onto the prepared baking sheet. Space them well apart as they do spread when baking. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes. Cool the biscuits on the tray and store in a glass container. Yields about 25 biscuits but the recipe can easily be doubled.
Slice the halloumi into fingers Add the sesame seeds to a shallow bowl and the flour to another. Roll each piece of cheese in the sesame seeds, pressing down to make them stick. Now press them into the flour to coat and place them on a plate. Add the honey and lemon juice to a small bowl and whisk together. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and wait for it until it is hot. Fry the halloumi in batches for 1 minute until golden brown, turning to colour evenly. Drizzle the warm fingers with the honey dressing and serve.
My Whisk and I 