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Crazy Caramelised White Hot Chocolate

Crazy Caramelised White Hot Chocolate

by | May 18, 2016 | 0 comments

By now, you've probably seen the whole 'freakshake' trend - maybe you've even knocked back a few of them! You know, those milkshakes piled with every chocolate, biscuit and sugary sauce possible (it's basically a meal on top of a milkshake). In fact they're so decadent they kinda make my creations look healthy *round of applause* because THAT is difficult to do!  Well, challenge accepted, Freakshake people! I give you.... the crazy hot chocolate! It's basically a freakshake for winter and this one is made with decadent caramelised white chocolate then topped with whipped cream and more caramelised chocolate. Man, is this gooooooood! I'm actually going to stop typing now because you're probably not even reading this anymore because you're already rushing to the kitchen...

Crazy Caramelised White Hot Chocolate

Serves 2

 

100g The Kate Tin White Baking Chocolate, chopped

1 tbsp oil

1L hot milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Whipped cream and chocolate shavings, to serve

 

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celcius. Place the chocolate on a baking tray and drizzle with the oil. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring every 5-10 minutes for 50 minutes or until golden brown. If it's crumbly, simply drizzle in a little more oil and continue working it. If there are a few lumps, blend until smooth. Set aside a few spoonfuls of caramel chocolate for decorating. Heat the milk until just below boiling point, add the vanilla, salt and pour over the melted caramelised white chocolate. Whisk until combined then pour into mugs, top with whipped cream, chocolate shavings and drizzle with extra caramelised white chocolate.

 

 

 

 

TIP A spoonful of Horlicks powder whisked into the hot milk would also be delicious!

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Dates

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Dates

by | Jul 2, 2015 | 0 comments

There's nothing fancy or frilly about a baked pudding. It's plain and simple but there is something deeply satisfying and supremely indulgent about a sticky pudding complete with pools of sticky toffee sauce and of course,  a good glug of piping hot custard. Something else which always accompanies a baked pudding, is a big spoonful of nostalgia. And this one, if it's even possible, comes with an extra dose - because the recipe is over 60 years old.
When my great aunt Gwen passed away recently, I was given a great gift; 3 large falling-apart boxes filled with her love of recipe hoarding and all sorts of vintage kitchen paraphernalia. There were pages upon pages of recipes - not in a book or file but just stacks of cuttings torn out of magazines, from the back of soup packets and old shopping lists, some even quickly jotted down on the back of a church hymn booklet. But it was amongst these droves of recipes, that I discovered a few real gems.
And this recipe is one of them.
Cape Times Newspaper - Wednesday, June 16, 1954
 Margaret Pollitt writes: 'One of the biggest problems of winter menu-planning is how to ring the changes with the sweet course - those sturdy summer standbys, ice cream, jellies and fruit salads, are of no use now to the mother whose children crave a big helping of pudding after the main course has been polished off.'
I cropped out the advert for corsetry services in the bottom right, although, in hindsight, that advert placement was very good!

Amongst recipes for pancakes (Margaret advises budding cooks that 'tossing pancakes only comes with experience!'- you've been warned.), hot orange pudding, steamed sago pudding and roly poly, a date pud caught my attention. And it would be perfection when baked in my vintage pudding bowl (side note: how beautiful is this?!)

As a child I never appreciated puddings; I wanted to be a pastry chef and the simplicity of a baked pudding was completely lost on me. I only yearned to make the complicated, intricate desserts I saw in my cheffy cookbooks and magazines. My young imagination extended so much further than a quick-mix sponge drowned in thick UltraMel custard. How times have changed. Now... it's the very thing I crave when the weather turns wet and grim. Perhaps that's what makes pudding so universally soothing and rich in nostalgia. The fragrance of a baking pudding takes me back to Sunday afternoon lunches where we had to endure the delicious smell all the way through lunch. Torture. Followed by sheer bliss.

1954 Sticky Toffee Date Pudding

Serves 6-8

 

250g dried, pitted dates

250ml (1 cup) hot water

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

250g cake flour

250g butter

1 tsp (5ml) baking powder

2 large eggs

100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

100g toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped

Soaking syrup:

60g butter

1 cup sugar

11/2 cups milk

2-3 tbsp sweet sherry (optional, or add 1 tsp vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 180C, fan-forced 160C. Grease 12 small dariole moulds or ramekins or a large 26 x 16 baking dish. Place the dates in a medium bowl and pour over the hot water. Sprinkle over the bicarbonate of soda and allow to stand for 30-45 minutes or until very soft. Place the softened dates (and the water) in a food processor with the rest of the pudding ingredients (except the nuts) and blend until smooth and combined. Stir in the nuts then pour into greased individual moulds or one large dish. For small puddings, bake for 10-15 minutes and large pudding, 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. In the meantime, make the syrup; place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Keep hot. Pour the hot syrup over the puddings as soon as they come out the oven. Serve immediately with salted caramel sauce (recipe below), vanilla custard or thick cream.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Makes 500ml

 

1 (395g) tin condensed milk

250ml (1 cup) cream

3 tbsp (45ml) brown sugar (like Demerara or Muscovado)

Pinch of good-quality salt (I used local Oryx desert salt)

Place the condensed milk, cream and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer, stirring constantly until golden brown. Allow to cool, then sprinkle in the sea salt.

Honey and Toasted Almond Puff Pancake

Honey and Toasted Almond Puff Pancake

by | May 9, 2014 | 0 comments

Also known as a 'Dutch baby' this beautifully puffy pancake is a different spin on a breakfast favourite. It's essentially a sweet Yorkshire pudding; a 5-ingredient batter which is poured into a preheated pan with lots of melted butter. I love how the puffy edges go crispy and almost embrace the fillings that you could add in the middle. Think berries or sliced fruit, scoops of vanilla ice cream or dollops of creme fraiche. I kept mine delightfully simple with a drizzle of honey and a scattering of toasted almonds. And if you'd rather to stick to the good ol' classic pancake then give my milk tart pancakes a try!

Honey and Almond Puff Pancake

Serves 1-2

 

37g (1/4 cup) flour, sifted

15ml (1 tbsp) caster sugar

1 egg

60ml (1/4 cup) milk

½ tsp vanilla essence or extract

15g butter

25g flaked almonds, toasted

Honey, to serve

Icing sugar, to dust

 

Preheat oven to 200C. Place a 10cm cast iron skillet, pan (with an oven-proof handle) or oven-proof dish in the oven for at least 20 minutes to preheat. In the meantime, combine the flour and sugar. Add the eggs, milk and vanilla and whisk to form a smooth batter. Once the pan is preheated, remove it from the oven and add the butter. Coat the pan with the melted butter then immediately pour in the pancake batter and place back in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pancake is puffy and golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately scattered with almonds, drizzled with honey and finished off with a dusting of icing sugar.

 

TIP  Take care when removing the pan from the oven as it will be very hot!