Maltabella Rusks

Maltabella Rusks

by | Jun 8, 2018 | 17 comments

These Maltabella rusks are a twist on my mother’s famous buttermilk rusks – perfect with a cup of tea!

 

Maltabella Rusks

Question: if winter arrives and you haven’t baked a batch of buttermilk rusks, is it really winter at all? I don’t think I can ever remember a winter that didn’t start with my mother making buttermilk rusks. It happened like clockwork and it was (and still is) the only time I ever eat rusks. There’s nothing like a steaming cup of sweet rooibos tea with a buttermilk rusk.

My childhood also featured steaming bowls of maltabella porridge during winter with dollops of butter and a sprinkling of sugar.  So when I combined both winter morning favourites, I got… Maltabella rusks! 

In case you’re not sure what maltabella is, it’s a porridge made from malted sorghum flour. It’s creamy, toasty and comforting like a warm hug. It’s really quite odd that we don’t eat more sorghum in South Africa. It has been cultivated and eaten in Africa for far longer than maize has – Sorghum is our very own South African superfood. It’s a pity it doesn’t get as good of a PR job as quinoa or freekeh because nutrient-wise, it’s loaded with good stuff and is high in protein.  It’s also gluten-free, a lot cheaper than any of the other ‘fancy’ Instagram-famous grains, and it hasn’t travelled halfway around the world (sustainable too – tick!). So why is it so hard to find sorghum grain on supermarket shelves? You can’t. You can only find Maltabella porridge. So. Friggin. Weird. 

 Maltabella Rusks

Something else that’s really weird is the fact that amasi or maas is often a lot cheaper than buttermilk. Did you know that it amasi is exactly the same as buttermilk? It’s simply labelled/branded differently. As far as using it in recipes goes, the two are completely interchangeable.  Odd, right? What’s not odd though, is the maltabella in these rusks. It makes them super crunchy, gives the rusks a slightly malty flavour and bumps up the nutritional value quite a lot. They are my new favourite breakfast – dunked in cup after cup of milky, sweet rooibos tea! 

Do you enjoy Maltabella as much as I do? 

Maltabella Rusks

Maltabella Rusks
Yields 36
These Maltabella Rusks are a variation on a South African bake, buttermilk rusks - except I've added two more local twists - Amasi and Maltabella porridge
Print
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
3 hr
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
3 hr
4957 calories
645 g
951 g
228 g
88 g
139 g
1608 g
2548 g
262 g
8 g
72 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1608g
Yields
36
Amount Per Serving
Calories 4957
Calories from Fat 2002
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 228g
350%
Saturated Fat 139g
694%
Trans Fat 8g
Polyunsaturated Fat 12g
Monounsaturated Fat 60g
Cholesterol 951mg
317%
Sodium 2548mg
106%
Total Carbohydrates 645g
215%
Dietary Fiber 14g
54%
Sugars 262g
Protein 88g
Vitamin A
142%
Vitamin C
13%
Calcium
113%
Iron
54%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Does this look wrong?
Ingredients
  1. 240g soft brown sugar
  2. 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  3. 500ml amasi or buttermilk
  4. 500g self-raising flour
  5. 500g maltabella (I used the quick-cook version)
  6. 250g salted butter or margarine, softened
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (160 if you’re using a fan-forced oven). Grease 2 x standard loaf tins.
  2. Whisk the sugar and eggs until light and creamy. Add the amasi or buttermilk. Sift the flour and Maltabella into a large separate bowl and rub in the butter or margarine.
  3. Add the buttermilk mixture and mix to form a sticky dough. Pinch off golf-ball-sized pieces of dough, roll them neatly and pack them tightly together in a single layer in a greased baking tray or bread loaf tin. Bake for 50 minutes - 1 hour or until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
  4. Break the cooked dough into pieces along the lines of the original balls, lay out flat on baking sheets and leave in an oven heated to 100ºC overnight or until completely dry, at least 8 hours. Store the rusks in an airtight container.
beta
calories
4957
fat
228g
protein
88g
carbs
645g
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The Kate Tin https://thekatetin.com/

LOVE THE TWIST ON A SOUTH AFRICAN FAVOURITE? HERE ARE SOME MORE! 

Turmeric Milk Tart

 

Caramel Peppermint Crisp Mousse Cake

 

Milk Tart Custard Slices

 

 

Sticky Toffee Flapjacks

Sticky Toffee Flapjacks

by | Jul 25, 2017 | 0 comments

This Sticky Toffee Pudding Pancakes post is #SPONSORED by Natura Sugars

Image of Sticky toffee pudding pancakes piled high with toffee sauce dripping over them

This Sticky Toffee Pudding Pancakes recipe balances effortlessly between being breakfast and dessert. Whether you call them flapjacks (South African), crumpets (if you’re in the UK) or pancakes (if you’re American), around the world we seem to strongly disagree on what exactly they’re named but the one thing we can all agree on is they should be piled high!

Flapjacks fall within the same category as muffins and waffles – whoever made serving a dessert in the morning socially acceptable, let us know who you are so we can worship at your feet forever! These Sticky Toffee Pudding Pancakes/Flapjacks are inspired by one of my favourite puddings – with a hint of spice and loaded with fresh dates, they’re then covered in what has got to be the best sauce I’ve ever licked off a spoon.
Image of a stack of sticky toffee pudding pancakes

The secret is my favourite Natura Sugars Light Muscovado Sugar which is unrefined (all the goodness of the sugar cane is locked in) so is loaded with flavour – so much so that you don’t even need to caramelize it to develop flavour. Simply pop the ingredients in a pot (or jug) and heat until dissolved. I’ve got a jar of this in my fridge right now because I swirl a spoonful into my morning oats. Breakfast goals! See some more breakfast goals here and here!

Image of the ingredients for sticky toffee pudding pancakes with light muscovado sugar
STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING PANCAKES

Serves 4-6

 

200g Natura Sugars Light Muscovado Sugar

300g cake flour

7.5ml (1/2 tbsp) baking powder

pinch of salt

1 large egg

125ml (1/2 cup) buttermilk

5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

300ml milk

90g butter, melted

100g fresh dates, finely chopped

 

TOFFEE SAUCE

100g Natura Sugars Light Muscovado Sugar

60ml cream

45g salted butter

 

To make the sticky toffee pudding pancakes, mix all the dry ingredients together. Whisk the egg, buttermilk, vanilla and milk and add to dry ingredients. Add the melted butter and dates. The mixture should be of a dropping consistency. Heat a non-stick pan and grease thoroughly. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan. When bubbles start to form on the surface, flip the flapjacks over and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep warm while you make the sauce. To make the toffee sauce, place the sugar in a small saucepan with the cream and butter and stir over low heat until dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly. Allow to cool slightly.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THEM HERE:
Spiced Pear and Sweet Potato Cake with Muscovado Frosting

Spiced Pear and Sweet Potato Cake with Muscovado Frosting

by | Jun 13, 2017 | 0 comments

This cake is an ode to my favourite time of the year: autumn. When you eat it, you feel like you’re being wrapped in a warm, knitted jersey. It’s packed with spices, healthy things like sweet potato, pear, sultanas and almonds but my favourite part is the muscovado frosting – I absolutely adore proper, unrefined muscovado sugar – it’s dusky, molasses flavour adds an amazing depth of flavour to this not-too-sweet cake. It’s a little more expensive, but to me, it is worth every penny!

I’ve topped them with wafers of pears which, if you want to make your own, are very easy. Simply slice the pears very thinly (using a knife or mandlin) then lay them onto a silicone baking mat or baking paper and place them into an oven (with the fan on if you have) at 100 degrees celcius for 1 hour 30 minutes until dried out – they’ll keep in an airtight container for ages.

Speaking of pears, please tell me you noticed the mini ones?! ? Look how itsy bitsy they are?! Aren’t they the cutest! You can get them tinned from most supermarkets and let me just say, they can rescue ANY dessert. Serve them warm, in a bowl, with piping hot custard and you have instant dessert – and everyone will be so distracted by their cuteness they’ll forget you didn’t actually DO anything. Sometimes I’m so clever I astound myself, anyway, back to the cake. Make it. And if you want to up the adorable factor, this recipe would make uber-cute cupcakes too!

Spiced Pear and Sweet Potato Cake with Muscovado Frosting

Serves 10-12

 

210g butter, softened

270g demerara sugar

3 large eggs

180ml cooked and mashed sweet potato

1 tsp vanilla extract

200g self-raising flour, sifted

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

120g finely grated pear, squeezed well

1/2 cup sultanas (optional)

75g flaked almonds, toasted

 

Frosting

200g butter, softened

2-3 tbsp boiling hot water

175g muscovado sugar

200g icing sugar, sifted

250g smooth cream cheese

 

Molasses Drip

55g white chocolate

1/4 cup (60ml) cream

4 tbsp (60ml) molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Tinned baby pears, granola and pear chips, to decorate

 

Preheat the oven to 180C and grease and line 3 x 20cm sandwich cake tins. Cream the butter and demerara sugar until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Beat in the sweet potato and vanilla. Combine the self-raising flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices and stir into the cake batter. Stir in the grated pear, sultanas and flaked almonds then divide between the 3 tins and bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes, comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool, upside down, completely then remove from the tin. For the frosting, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Pour the boiling water over the muscovado sugar to dissolve (pop in the microwave for a few seconds if needed) then allow to cool. Add the cooled muscovado syrup to the butter with the icing sugar and beat until combined. Mix in the cream cheese. Sandwich the cakes together with the frosting, leaving enough to cover the top. To make the molasses drip, combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature before using. Spread the drip mixture over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Garnish with tinned baby pears, granola and pear chips.

Brown Butter Pancakes with No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream

Brown Butter Pancakes with No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream

by | May 17, 2017 | 0 comments

brown butter pancakes

There’s no better way to celebrate Autumn than with hot, crispy-edged brown butter pancakes and chestnuts!  I’m sure you can feel it… The chill in the air, the leaves crunching under your feet and the sense that everything is ready to go to sleep. Autumn is my absolute favourite time of the year. Snuggly jerseys, copious cups of tea, ridiculous amounts of butter and fluffy socks. There’s also the promise of the Newlands forest floor being covered in mushrooms ready to be plucked – which is, to be honest, my only form of winter exercise. But while I was a tad too early for porcini, on my last forage I stumbled upon chestnuts – loads and loads of chestnuts.

brown butter pancakes

They instantly reminded me of my trip of Italy a few years ago, where standing on a street corner in Venice, freezing cold, I scoffed two paper bags of chestnuts that had been toasted right in front of me over a fire made in a tin can. Casual for Italians, a revelation to me – mostly because my first taste of chestnuts as a child, had been a disaster. My dad had come home one day with an entire bag of prickly green balls and announced triumphantly that we would be toasting them! While much excitement ensued, our enthusiasm didn’t make up for the apparent lack of knowledge of just how to cook them – my mom threw them into the oven with the hard brown shell still on and so we all bit into teeth-breakingly hard nuts. If only Google was around then!

Chestnuts

After that trip to Italy, where I realised that the shell had to be scored with a kiss (an X) before going into the oven, so that the chestnuts split open while roasting, releasing the creamy, sweet nut inside – I was hooked! After roasting you can turn them into a puree which is amazing on pavlovas, in between cakes, cookies or in this deliciously creamy ice cream. I’ve paired it with my favourite Autumn dessert, brown butter pancakes. Another revelation of frying ‘plain’ pancakes in brown butter to make the edges go all crispy (the best bit!). If you can’t find fresh chestnuts, use the tinned chestnut puree which you can find at most delis or online here. Otherwise, simply swap it out for any nut butter – think pecan, almond or cashew. And don’t skip the spiced caramelised nuts – they absolutely make the dish!

Brown butter pancakes

BROWN BUTTER PANCAKES WITH CHESTNUT ICE CREAM AND SPICED PECANS

Serves 4

 

BROWN BUTTER PANCAKES

100g salted butter

125g cake flour

pinch of salt

2 large eggs

250ml milk

 

ICE CREAM

3 cups (750ml) cream

1 cup (250ml) milk

1/2 cup (125ml) icing sugar, sifted

100g tinned sweetened chestnut puree

 

SPICED PECANS

100g pecan nuts

1/4 cup (60ml) brown sugar

1 tsp (5ml) ground cinnamon

 

To make the brown butter pancakes, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling every now and then, until the butter froths and starts turning brown. It is ready when it smells like toasted nuts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk and whisk into the dry ingredients. Add 2 tablespoons of the brown butter. Allow the batter to stand for 30 minutes. Heat a non-stick frying pan and brush with the brown butter, pour a 1/4 cup of batter into the hot pan and swirl to coat.  When the edges begin to lift, flip over and cook the other side until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter and brown butter.

To make the ice cream, whisk the cream, milk, sugar and chestnut puree together in a large jug. Divide the mixture into two large ziplock bags and seal well. Lay the bags flat and freeze until firm. Break the frozen cream mixture into junks and place it in a blender of food processor – process until the mixture forms a soft serve consistency. Quickly pour into a freezer proof container and freeze until firm.

To make the nuts, place the sugar in a small saucepan or frying pan with 1 tbsp water and heat until golden and caramelised. Add the pecan nuts and stir to coat. Add the cinnamon and keep stirring until the sugar starts crystallizing (you can speed the process up by adding a teaspoonful of brown sugar), once the nuts are coated well, spread onto a lined baking sheet to cool.

Serve the pancakes with a scoop of chestnut ice cream and a sprinkling of the spiced nuts.

 

 

 

TIP Make your own sweetened chestnut puree by roasting 200g shell-on chestnuts; to do this, score an ‘X’ into the flat side of the chestnut and place them on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 240C for 10 minutes. Allow to cool then peel off the hard shell. Place the chestnuts into a saucepan with 2 cups milk, 1 tsp vanilla (if desired) and simmer until the chestnuts are soft. Add 1/2 cup more milk, 1/4 cup sugar and stir to dissolve. Place the mixture into a food processor and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve and bottle in sterilized jars to store.

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

by | Aug 1, 2016 | 4 comments

#SPONSORED

Some of you, will make lemonade, but me? When life gives me lemons, I make PUDDING. Although, if I’m really honest with myself (and you), life didn’t give me lemons last week, I sort of, kind of, took them. My floral stylist friend Matanna would call it ‘Gorilla Foraging’ (which is, like, very trendy right now) but I know better than to dress something up and give it a fancy name. In simple words, it’s called stealing. Yes, when nobody was looking (at least I hope nobody was!), I snuck into my neighbour’s front yard and knicked a few lemons. Their tree has been groaning with citrus for the past few weeks, the ground littered with plump zingy lemons rotting away – going unused. Wasted. Every time I drive past, my heart ached with longing to save them. It just had to be done, nay, it was my duty!

So when life gave me lemons (just run with it, people!), I obviously made dessert – there is so much poetic clout in that sentence I can’t even deal. See, dessert even turns me into a poet! I adore lemons, along with butter, salt, a jar of Nutella , chocolate, and coffee, lemons are among the ingredients that are ALWAYS in my kitchen. Always. They bring so much brightness and cheer to winter – and the fact they’re packed with Vitamin C, well that just makes them (and anything they’re in) healthy.

All my favourite pudding recipes are magical and this one is no exception – it splits into two layers in the oven; a smooth, creamy, tangy, lemon curd at the bottom and a light, spongy pudding at the top. Sprinkle over some crunchy coconut crumble and you’re a scoop of ice cream away from lemon heaven. As if by some kind of sweet fate, the caster sugar that this silky smooth pud cries out for, just happens to be the same colour as it’s inspiration; Natura Golden Caster Sugar. It’s fine texture means it dissolves quickly ensuring a velvety texture, and it’s unrefined, natural bronze colour adds heaps of flavour. Just like a lemon without it’s zest, sugar with all it’s colour stripped from it, sadly, doesn’t taste like much so make sure you get the sugar with all the tasty parts still in it!

Now, excuse me while I go and fight the flu by eating this pudding.

Coconut and Lemon Curd Crumble

Recipe adapted from Curtis Stone

Serves 4

 

Coconut Crumble

110g cake flour

85g Natura Golden Caster Sugar

110g butter, melted

90g desiccated coconut

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

 

Lemon Curd Pudding

220g + 110g 85g Natura Golden Caster Sugar

Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon

4 eggs, separated

90g butter, melted

70g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

300ml coconut milk

125ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

 

Vanilla ice cream, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Make the crumble by combining all the ingredients together. Spread on a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside to cool. To make the pudding, butter a 25cm pudding bowl or casserole dish with butter. In a mixing bowl, rub 220g of the sugar and the lemon zest together with your fingertips to release the oils from the zest – it should be very fragrant. Add the egg yolks and beat with an electric whisk until light and creamy. Add the melted butter, sifted cake flour and baking powder to form a batter then mix in the coconut milk and lemon juice. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form then gradually add the remaining 110g caster sugar to form a glossy meringue. Whisk half the meringue into the lemon curd mixture then fold the rest in gently. Pour into the prepared dish and place inside a larger roasting tin. Fill the roasting tin with boiling water so it comes halfway up the sides of the dish then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the top just sets. Sprinkle over the coconut crumble and allow to cool in the bain marie for 5 minutes before serving with ice cream.

 

Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Natura Sugars, however, I only work with brands I think are awesome and that I actually use myself.

Self-Saucing Gooey Chocolate Marshmallow Puddings

Self-Saucing Gooey Chocolate Marshmallow Puddings

by | Jun 2, 2016 | 0 comments

CHOCOLATE PUDDING | #SPONSORED CONTENT

Chocolate pudding meets s’mores in this baked dessert that magically splits into a lightly spongy pudding with a chocolate sauce at the bottom. Self-saucing puddings are like the Harry Potter of the pudding world – it’s always so magical making them and as a kid I was always absolutely transfixed when my mom would pour hot water over the top of the pudding batter before putting it into the oven. I thought she was absolutely nuts, but then she’d tell me to wait for the magic to unfold so I’d sit in front of the oven on the kitchen floor and watch how the sauce and pudding swopped places in the oven! Now, I’m typing this and realizing that my mother probably just wanted 15 minutes to herself and me sitting in front of the oven watching a pudding rise was 15 minutes of pure heavenly silence! Hmmm.. I’m going to remember that trick one day!

Our family cookbook is filled with self-saucing puddings – there’s a ginger pud dubbed ‘Family pudding’ that’s spicy and golden and just incredible with custard! Then there’s a tropical pudding made using ideal milk as the sauce and tin of that insanely kitsch tropical fruit mix – it’s allure for me comes from the fact that we were never allowed to eat it because it was always on it’s way to my parent’s bible study group. And then there’s this chocolate pudding. The recipe is not a family one but was rather given to me by a dear friend as a gift when I turned 16. It was one of the many recipes in the now infamous ‘Katelyn’s Favouriteistest Favourite Flopproof Recipe Cookbook – Made with love by all her friends’ (SIC). It’s one of those puddings that you can crave at 8pm after dinner and be eating it by 8.30pm – because, I know you all have those moments too! You can make this as indulgent or simple as you like – add more chocolate, a shot of espresso, some caramel but whatever you do, don’t skimp on the Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar – it’s what makes this chocolate pudding so sticky and moist and gives it a deep dark flavour which takes it to a whole other level! Also, the Muscovado sugar is unrefined, Non GMO and non-irradiated which are a lot of fancy words which basically mean it’s much better for you and when it comes to chocolate pudding, I don’t need much to be persuaded into going back for seconds!

P.S. If your chocolate craving is a 911 situation and 8.30pm is too far away, this chocolate pudding can also be cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes on full-power although you won’t get that crusty top when you plunge your spoon through the gooey toasted marshmallow…

Self-Saucing Gooey Marshmallow Chocolate Puddings

Serves 4

 

100g cake flour

3 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

¼ cup (40g) Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar

3/4 cup milk

40g butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

100g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate

1 packet white marshmallows

 

Sauce:

½ cup (90g) Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar

1 tbsp The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder

1 cup boiling water

 

To make the chocolate pudding, preheat oven to 180°C (fan-forced) or 200°C (conventional). Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add the milk, butter, egg and vanilla and mix well to combine. Fold through the chopped chocolate. Spoon into 4 x 1 cup-capacity oven-proof dishes and place on a baking tray. Place the extra sugar and remaining cocoa in a bowl and mix to combine. Sprinkle over the puddings and pour over the water. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops of the chocolate puddings are firm, risen and springy but the centre should still be a bit squishy underneath then place the marshmallows on top and bake for another 3-5 minutes until golden.

TIP For Mocha pudding, simply replace the boiling water with freshly brewed coffee.

Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Natura Sugars, however, I only work with brands I think are awesome and that I actually use myself.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE THE RECIPE FOR THIS CHOCOLATE PUDDING HERE: