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Christmas Bun Wreath with Sherry Caramel

Christmas Bun Wreath with Sherry Caramel

by | Dec 21, 2016 | 0 comments

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There are a few things that define being a South African; if you use the word ‘Ja’ instead of ‘yes’, if you know what a ‘bakkie’ is, if you call it a granadilla instead of a passion fruit and, if you have at least one memory of OBS (Old Brown Sherry). Mine specifically revolves around Christmas and the generous glug my Great Aunty Margot always adds to the family trifle, but my story isn’t nearly as exciting as the one’s Sedgwick’s have compiled in a sweet little book to celebrate their 100-year birthday! One story, specifically, had me in fits of giggles because it sounded exactly like something my late grandmother would do! It’s called ‘The Undefeatable Tipsy Tart’ and was submitted by A. Nel.

“For over 15 years, my Grandmother was the reigning Tipsy Tart Queen of the local Agricultural Show. No other tannie could come close and every year, as she walked away with another first-prize ribbon, you would see them flocking around, fishing for her “secret ingredient”. Ouma would just laugh and say: “It’s made with love”.

 

Two years ago, my Gran passed away and my mother inherited all of her cookbooks and the hand-written recipes she had collected over the decades. Obviously the first dish my mother tried to replicate was the Undefeatable Tipsy Tart and while it tasted delicious, well, it wasn’t THAT good.

 

It was only 6 months later, after the gentleman who had been the judge for all those years stepped down, that Grandma’s trick was finally revealed. Turns out, the “secret ingredient” wasn’t actually part of her recipe – it was the shot of Sedgwick’s she always gave him beforehand that sealed the deal!”

If you’d love to get your hands on this special book (and a bottle of Sedgwick’s to drink while you mull over the stories), I’m giving away a gift set over on my Facebook page this week so click here to enter! You can also read all the funny OBS tales over on Sedgwick’s website here. But before you head on over, I’ve made some deliciously sticky Christmas buns stuffed with proper almond marzipan and fruit mince and drizzled with a Sedgwicks caramel which, if I could, I would bath in! Make them on Christmas eve, pop them in the fridge to prove overnight and bake them on Christmas morning to nibble on while you open presents! Merry Christmas everyone!

Sticky Christmas Bun Wreath with Marzipan and Sedgwick's Caramel

Makes 12

 

DOUGH

500g flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp mixed spice

75g muscovado sugar

75g butter, softened

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

10g instant dry yeast

10g salt

175ml lukewarm milk (or water)

 

FILLING

60g butter, softened

½ cup fruit mince

100g almond marzipan (not persipan*) – optional, grated, plus extra for star cut-outs

 

SHERRY CARAMEL

1 cup light brown sugar

½ cup Sedgwick’s OBS

60g butter

1 tbsp cream

 

Make the dough by placing all the ingredients in a mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer to make it easier) and combine until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes or until it’s smooth and springs back when poked with a finger. Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour). You can also do this in the fridge overnight which gives it a lovely sourdough flavour. In the meantime, prepare the baking tray by rubbing a large 30cm spring form cake tin with butter. Knock down the dough and knead it lightly to press out the air then roll out into a 20x30cm rectangle. Spread the dough with the softened butter then spread with fruit mince and sprinkle with grated marzipan. Roll the dough up tightly (from the longest side) to form a sausage then slice into 2cm thick wheels. Pack the buns around the outside of the prepared cake tin and place a small ramekin in the middle (to keep the wreath shape. Then cover loosely with cling wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. In the meantime, make the caramel; place the sugar in a pan or saucepan with 2 tbsp water and heat gently until dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer until deep golden brown. Add the OBS, butter and cream and swirl to combine. Allow to cool. Preheat the oven to 200C (conventional, 180 fan-forced) and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden (with the ramekin in the middle). Allow to cool slightly before serving warm, drizzled with the sherry caramel. Decorate with marzipan stars.

 

TIP You know when people say they hate marzipan? What they really mean is they hate persipan – the fake marzipan sold in most shops which is actually made from peach and apricot kernels and tastes like almond essence (also fake). Woolies now sell proper marzipan so do yourself a favour and give the real deal a try.

Gingerbread Beach Huts

Gingerbread Beach Huts

by | Dec 19, 2016 | 1 comment

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Gingerbread Beach Huts

I’ve built quite a few gingerbread houses over the years - my very first one was a gift sent by my cousins. It came in a beautiful big box with all the pieces already baked, little plastic containers filled with icing and all sorts of sweets and sprinkles for decorating. My brother, sisters and I spent an entire day engrossed in building the (what felt like) gigantic edible house. Now that I think about it, it was probably more of a gift to my mother, who must’ve relished an entire day without 4 holiday-bored kids annoying her! By reliving and building this childhood memory over the years, I’ve learnt two tricks to making a gingerbread house:

 

  1. Always cut your gingerbread pieces out AFTER baking. The raw pastry cutouts simply stretch or spread in the oven leaving you with a wonky house. Not ideal.
  2. Stick the house together using caramel – not royal icing. Caramel hardens quickly giving the perfect structure. You can then pipe on royal icing afterwards if you’re going to keep the house for a few days.
Gingerbread houses are one of the European traditions we’ve somehow inherited and while it’s fun to dust them in icing sugar and pipe on icicles hanging from the windows, it just doesn’t make sense in our 30 degree summer! For us South Africans, Christmas is about having sand between your toes, licking a quickly-melting granadilla lolly and (depending where you’re holidaying) attempting to swim in the frigid Cape Town waters or basking in the warm Durban ocean! Since I’m a Cape Town gal, I decided to create a house that reminds me of a South African summer; so why not recreate the colourful Muizenberg beach huts – in gingerbread!
Not all gingerbreads are created equal – especially if you’re going to actually eat them – which if you aren’t, what is wrong with you?! Traditional gingerbread is all about that dark, deep molasses flavour so when Natura Sugars gifted me with their new Molasses sugar, it was a sign! Because it’s unrefined, it’s oozing with flavour and just takes any gingerbread to a whole ‘nother level! I’ve used 3 other kinds of Natura Sugars in this recipe (because, well, why not?!); demerara icing for the ‘bright paint’, light brown sugar for the caramel ‘glue’ and the silky soft brown sugar makes the perfect beach sand! Happy Holidays everyone – enjoy the time with your family, eat a gingerbread beach house or two and forget about the calories. Life is too short .

Gingerbread Beach Huts

Makes 1

 

125g butter, softened

90g Natura Sugars Molasses Sugar

230g golden syrup

375g cake flour, plus extra for dusting

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

 

Royal icing

1 egg white, beaten

2 cups Natura Sugars Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

Food colouring

 

Caramel

1 cup Natura Sugars Light Brown Sugar

 

To assemble

Wooden chopping or cake board, to display

Natura Sugars Soft Brown Sugar, for beach sand

Cocktail umbrellas

Ocean sweeties, to decorate

Gingerbread house template here

Preheat the oven to 180C. Cream the butter and sugar well until very pale and fluffy. Add the syrup, flour, spices and bicarb and mix until a smooth dough forms. Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes if too soft. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. While still hot, cut out templates using a sharp knife. * If you want, cut out doors, a beach towel and a surfboard from the off cuts. Set aside to cool.

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice. Divide the icing into 4 bowls, colour the batches in red, blue, green and yellow. Ice the biscuits with the royal icing, using sweets to decorate if desired. Allow to set completely.

To assemble, prepare the caramel by placing the sugar in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water and heat until dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer until golden brown. Remove from the heat. Use the caramel to glue the beach hut together onto the cake board. Then glue on the roof and decorate as desired. Sprinkle the soft brown sugar around the base for ‘beach sand’ and arrange the beach-themed sweeties around.

 

TIP  If the gingerbread gets hard, simply pop it in the oven for a few minutes to soften up.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THE RECIPE AND ASSEMBLE HERE:
Milk Tart Éclair Trifle with Pinotage Jelly and Naartjie Caramel

Milk Tart Éclair Trifle with Pinotage Jelly and Naartjie Caramel

by | Dec 12, 2016 | 3 comments

Here's a question for you; if there's a Christmas lunch and there's no trifle on the table, was it even Christmas at all? These are the things I lie awake and think about at 3am. Also, why do we still struggle with Christmas puddings, custard and roast turkey's in the middle of summer. I'm not saying we should abandon traditions that spilled over onto our South African shores, but, each year I long for us to inject our own flavour and twists onto them. In our home, we've stripped the British Christmas down to one thing; gammon. That's it for us! Give us gammon, and it's Christmas! Last year was the fall of the trifle and the year before that, the turkey got the axe.  But unlike all the other hot puddings, trifle fits with our climate which is how it came to get a bit of Pinotage, some milk tart and a drizzling of naartjie caramel. And because we're huge fans of the eclair in SA, I thought I'd get rid of the sponge too. These flavours together are just magic - in fact, the trifle may just be making a comeback on our Christmas menu! If you're skipping the booze, then swop the Pinotage for Naartjie juice but it really does taste incredible with the milk tart filling. And the best part about this dessert is that it can be made ahead of time - bonus! Which traditional Christmas dessert do you wish would get a local makeover?

Milk  Tart Éclair Trifle with Pinotage Jelly and Naartjie Caramel

Recipe originally shot and created for Food & Home Entertaining Magazine

 

Éclairs

75g cake flour

40g butter, cubed

125ml (½ cup) water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

 

Milk tart filling

500ml (2 cups) milk

1 cinnamon quill

40ml cornflour

45ml (3 tbsp) caster sugar

5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon

2,5ml (½ tsp) vanilla essence

4 large egg yolks

2 large egg whites

 

Pinotage jelly

3 (2g) gelatine sheets

310ml (1¼ cups) pinotage wine

30ml (2 tbsp) sugar

2 whole star anise

1 cinnamon quill

 

Naartjie caramel

225g castor sugar

225ml naartjie juice

To serve

 

500ml (2 cups) fresh cream, whipped to soft peaks

60ml (4 tbsp) icing sugar, sifted

225g castor sugar, to dip and to make spun sugar

edible gold stars (optional)

 

1 For the éclairs, preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C for fan-assisted). Sieve the cake flour. Heat the butter and water in a pot over high heat until just melted and bring to a rolling boil. Immediately remove from heat and add all of the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, return to the heat and cook, about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely. Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and beat until cool. Add the beaten eggs into the pastry, a little at a time, until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. Add a little more egg, if needed. Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle. Pipe tablespoonfuls of mixture into lined baking trays, leaving enough space to puff up. Bake, about 15 – 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Switch off the oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out, 5 minutes.

 

2 For the milk tart filling, heat half of the milk with the cinnamon quill until just below boiling point. Set aside to infuse, 5 minutes. Whisk the remaining cold milk with the cornflour, castor sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla and egg yolks. Whisk into the hot milk. Cook over medium heat until thick and the flour taste is cooked out, about 5 minutes. Remove the cinnamon quill. Beat the 2 egg whites until soft peaks start to form and slowly fold into the custard. Pour into a medium-sized dish, cover the surface with cling film and refrigerate until set.

 

3 For the pinotage jelly, soften the 3 gelatine sheets in a bowl of cold water. Once soft, squeeze out the water and transfer to a small pot with 250ml (1 cup) of the wine, sugar and spices. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatine and sugar are completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve into a jug and stir in the remaining red wine. Pour the mixture into the bottom of a large 4-litre capacity trifle bowl and refrigerate until set.

 

4 For the naartjie caramel, place the castor sugar in a saucepan and heat until caramelised and golden. Deglaze with the naartjie juice, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

 

5 To assemble, fold half of the whipped cream into the set milk tart filling, place in a piping bag with a plain tip nozzle and fill the profiteroles. Make a caramel by heating the castor sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and cooking until golden. Remove from heat and dip the tops of the profiteroles into the caramel, working quickly so that it doesn’t set hard (use the remaining caramel to make spun sugar, if desired).

 

6 Stir the icing sugar into the remaining whipped cream, and layer the profiteroles and whipped cream in alternate layers. Drizzle with the naartjie syrup in between. Decorate with spun sugar and edible gold stars, if desired.

 

 

 

TIP  To make the spun sugar, tape 2 wooden spoons, 10cm apart, onto a benchtop with the handles hanging over the side of the bench. Place a sheet of baking paper on the floor under the handles. Once your caramel starts to set, use a fork or whisk and quickly flick the caramel back and forth between the handles of the spoons to form thin strands. Once set, gather the strands and shape into a large ball. Use immediately.

Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

by | Nov 22, 2016 | 0 comments

It's not Christmas without the smell of freshly baked, spicy, gingerbread biscuits, right? Whether you're making them as a gift to give away, to decorate your fruit cake, or using them as decorations themselves, this recipe will come in handy - and after testing so many, I can promise that this is by far the most delicious! Too good even for Father Christmas!

The secret ingredient? Christmas fruit mince. It adds a fruity punch that takes these cookies up a notch. Also, don't skimp on the Muscovado sugar - it's worth every cent - as it infuses a dark dusky flavour that makes you want to each an entire batch. Best to make double anyway, having a batch of frozen dough in the freezer means you can whip it out and bake cookies with the kids if you need to keep them busy, or bake up a batch for a friend. But there are a few other ways you may not have thought about using your dough for:

Cut out house shapes and stick them around the edge of your fruit cake for an easy and impressive way to decorate a cake

Cut out star or snowflake shapes and hang them up with pretty ribbon as tree or window decorations (added bonus: they make the house smell like Christmas and spices)

Or use different sized star and Christmas tree cookie cutters, make and bake the biscuits then pile them to create a gingerbread forest on the top of a frosted cake. *drops the mic*

Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 24

 

100g cake flour

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

50g Natura Dark Muscovado Sugar

1 tbsp whole milk

75g butter

2 tbsp candied peel, finely chopped or Christmas fruit mince

 

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Mix together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and combine to form a dough (you can do this in a stand mixer using the dough or paddle attachment).  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 1/2 cm thick. Cut out shapes using a sharp knife or cookie cutter then place on a baking tray.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely before icing.

 

Royal Icing

Enough for 24 cookies

 

1 egg white, beaten

2 cups Natura Demerara Icing Sugar, sifted

squeeze of lemon juice

 

To make the royal icing, whisk the egg white gently then add the icing sugar until a stiff paste forms. Add the lemon juice and stir before placing in a piping bag. Pipe the frosting onto the biscuits in patterns and allow to dry thoroughly. Then use spread the remaining royal icing around the outside of the cake and stick the houses in place. Dust with extra icing sugar to serve.

TIP

No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

by | Nov 13, 2016 | 0 comments

Does anyone actually LIKE Christmas pudding? Sure, it wouldn't be Christmas without it, but in our hot South African climate, who wants to eat a heavy, steamy, piping hot custard-coated winter pudding? Bleh. Yes, our Christmas is peppered with all kinds of snow-covered European traditions but that doesn't mean we can't put our own twist on them. Forget reindeer - we should have springbok instead! But let me not get ahead of myself here, let's start with the important stuff; dessert.

 
Looks like a figgy pudding - yes! Tastes like a figgy pudding? Well, erm no. It's a gajillion times better!

Firstly - it has chocolate in it.

2) Condensed milk

3) It's no-bake / no-steam / no-effort

4) It's still got all the Christmassy stuff in, but it's cold

5) You can put whatever the heck you want in it!

6) It's low-fat - JOKES! Oh heck no. Hear that? It's the sound of diets crashing everywhere! But hey, that's what January is for, right?!

Now, you might be thinking, this looks familiar. Remember my Peppermint Crisp Fridge Cake recipe? In celebration of it being shared over 21 500 times on Facebook (see there are LOTS of sugar addicts out there like us) I gave it a festive makeover with an unhealthy amount of Christmas cheer (and treats)!

I've added ginger biscuits, cherries, pistachios, toasted hazelnuts, candied peel, dried figs, booze-soaked raisins, heck I even threw in some spices and drenched it in white chocolate.

It's like a Christmas party - in your mouth! But also, it's muesli.

No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

Serves 6-8

 

100g butter

300g The Kate Tin Milk or Dark Baking Chocolate, chopped

½ tin (190g) sweetened condensed milk (eat the rest with a spoon)

1 tsp mixed spice

200g biscuits, crumbled (I used spiced ginger biscuits)

240g of toasted nuts/soaked dried fruit/cherries/candied peel/caramel popcorn/marshmallows (you can use any ratio of ingredients, as long as the total weight is 240g)

100g The Kate Tin White Baking Chocolate, melted

Start by lining the inside of a medium-sized 1.5L mixing bowl with 2-3 layers of clingwrap. In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk chocolate and condensed milk over low heat and stir until melted. In a separate bowl, mix together the spice, biscuits, nuts and fruit. Stir into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour into the lined mixing bowl then place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until set. Remove from the mould and turn onto a serving plate. Spoon the melted chocolate onto the top and coax it down the sides. Decorate with sprinkles or Christmas decorations. Serve thin slices with strong coffee or a glass of brandy.

Does anyone actually LIKE Christmas pudding? Sure, it wouldn't be Christmas without it, but in our hot South African climate, who wants to eat a heavy, steamy, piping hot custard-coated winter pudding? Bleh. Yes, our Christmas is peppered with all kinds of snow-covered European traditions but that doesn't mean we can't put our own twist on them. Forget reindeer - we should have springbok instead! But let me not get ahead of myself here, let's start with the important stuff; dessert.

Looks like a figgy pudding - yes! Tastes like a figgy pudding? Well, erm no. It's a gajillion times better!

Firstly - it has chocolate in it.

2) Condensed milk

3) It's no-bake / no-steam / no-effort

4) It's still got all the Christmassy stuff in, but it's cold

5) You can put whatever the heck you want in it!

6) It's low-fat - JOKES! Oh heck no. Hear that? It's the sound of diets crashing everywhere! But hey, that's what January is for, right?!

Now, you might be thinking, this looks familiar. Remember my Peppermint Crisp Fridge Cake recipe? In celebration of it being shared over 21 500 times on Facebook (see there are LOTS of sugar addicts out there like us) I gave it a festive makeover with an unhealthy amount of Christmas cheer (and treats)!
I've added ginger biscuits, cherries, pistachios, toasted hazelnuts, candied peel, dried figs, booze-soaked raisins, heck I even threw in some spices and drenched it in white chocolate.

It's like a Christmas party - in your mouth! But also, it's muesli.

No-Bake Chocolate Christmas Pudding

Serves 6-8

 

100g butter

300g milk or dark chocolate, chopped

½ tin (190g) sweetened condensed milk (eat the rest with a spoon)

1 tsp mixed spice

200g biscuits, crumbled (I used spiced ginger biscuits)

240g toasted nuts/soaked dried fruit/cherries/candied peel/caramel popcorn/marshmallows etc

100g white chocolate, melted

Start by lining the inside of a medium-sized 1.5L mixing bowl with 2-3 layers of clingwrap. In a saucepan, combine the butter, milk chocolate and condensed milk over low heat and stir until melted. In a separate bowl, mix together the spice, biscuits, nuts and fruit. Stir into the chocolate mixture and mix well. Pour into the lined mixing bowl then place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until set. Remove from the mould and turn onto a serving plate. Spoon the melted chocolate onto the top and coax it down the sides. Decorate with sprinkles or Christmas decorations. Serve thin slices with strong coffee or a glass of brandy.

Cheat’s Christmas Almond Croissants

Cheat’s Christmas Almond Croissants

by | Dec 21, 2015 | 1 comment

Imagine waking up to the warm smell of baked buttery, sugary, spicy goodness wafting from your oven on Christmas morning? It can be a reality, people! I'm not saying you have to make croissants from scratch - heck, ain't nobody can't time for that! But fancying up some store-bought croissants, stuffing them with festive spiced fruit mince (also store-bought) and a generous helping of almond frangipane filling can turn plain, ordinary croissants into something rather special for Christmas breakfast!

Almond croissants are any bakery's darkest secret. I learnt to make them in the ridiculous hours of the morning when I was interning at a French patisserie in my high school years. You know how you fork out a small fortune for an almond croissant? Well, sorry folks, but actually, these almond pastries are made using YESTERDAY'S croissants - jip, all the croissants that weren't sold yesterday? The stale pastries are dipped in a sugar syrup, stuffed with an almond filling and rebaked to become today's deliciousness. Oh the shock and the horror! Actually, it's a pretty darn clever way of using leftovers and one that now, thanks to me, is no longer a secret (the things I do for you guys!).

Lucky for you,  you won't have to wake up at 3am to make them! Smile and bat your eyelashes at the baker at your supermarket to give you some stale croissants (or use leftover one's - although I struggle to fathom in what universe someone would have leftover pastries) then dip and fill them, cover and refrigerate til morning. When you wake up, pop them in the oven and by the time you've opened up all your Christmas gifts, your house will smell like a French bakery. Oh and I give you full permission to pretend as though you made them from scratch - just don't tell a French pastry chef I spilled the beans!

Christmas Fruit Mince Almond Croissants

Makes 6-8

250g sugar

250ml water

6-8 stale, day-old croissants

165g butter

160g icing sugar

2 eggs

200g ground almonds

20g corn starch

8 tbsp store-bought Christmas fruit mince, to spread

Flaked almonds, to garnish

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until dissolved completely then bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Set aside.Make the almond by creaming the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time beating well in between each. Add the ground almonds and corn starch and mix until combined. Place in a piping bag. Cut a 5-7cm pocket into each croissant then dip into the warm syrup briefly. Remove from the syrup, spread a layer of fruit mince inside then pipe in some almond filling. Pipe a little of the almond filling on top and sprinkle with almonds. Place on a lined baking tray then repeat with the remaining croissants. It's at this point where you can cover and refrigerate the croissants until the next morning when you're ready to bake them. Bake at 170 degrees Celcius for 15-20 minutes until golden and crispy. Allow to cool slightly then serve warm, dusted with icing sugar.