Select Page
Black Forest Marshmallow Sweetie Pies

Black Forest Marshmallow Sweetie Pies

by | Apr 19, 2016 | 0 comments

#SPONSORED

Hand’s up who eats their sweetie pies by digging out the marshmallow filling with their finger before they consume the chocolate shell? Or maybe you’re like me that just tucks straight in and tries to get the entire thing into my mouth as quickly as possible to limit marshmallow wastage? Well whichever way you enjoy them, I think we can all agree that they’re one of those South African treats we all have a serious soft spot for! But something else I have a serious soft spot for lately is the Haute Cabriere Unwooded Pinot Noir and after spending an entire afternoon working out what flavours would go with it (and by working, I of course mean drinking) I stumbled upon the perfect pairing of pinot noir and cherries. And oh my goodness is this combination so gooooooood! While I’m all for suggesting that the cherries count as fruit and a plate of these treats could count as a meal ðŸ˜‰ society says otherwise so why not try Sarah Graham’s delicious Dukkah Chicken Flatbreads – and then polish off the sweetie pies!

A crisp chocolate shell encases a vanilla marshmallow creme filling into which I tucked a sneaky syrup-soaked cherry and all of this sits snugly on top of a wafer biscuit. Of course, the sneaky syrupy cherry inside means that there’s something exciting for all you savages who dig out your marshmallow filling first. These are super easy to make, especially if you have those silicone muffin trays and heck if you don’t, then just pipe the marshmallow on top of the wafers and dip them in chocolate – that will be okay too! Either way it’s a win-win situation. And speaking of winning, don’t forget that each week Haute Cabriere are giving 2 lucky people each a case of mixed wines during March and April 2016. So this is how you make the most of this situation: 1. Buy the wine and make the sweetie pies. 2. Drink the wine and eat all the sweetie pies. 3. Use the barcode on the (now empty) bottle and click here to enter. See, told you it was a win-win!

Black Forest Sweetie Pies

(Makes 8)

 

200g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, melted

 

Marshmallow creme filling

2 large egg whites

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

8 cherries, in syrup, drained

16 vanilla wafer biscuits (or 8 if they’re large), cut it rounds the same size as your mould

 

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a medium glass or metal bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water until melted and smooth. Using a pastry brush, brush a round silicone mould (or muffin cups) with chocolate a few times to form a chocolate shell, making sure to allow the chocolate to set in the fridge between each coating. About 3 layers should do it.  To make the marshmallow creme filling, in a large glass or metal bowl combine the egg white, sugar and vanilla and gently whisk over gently simmering water until the mixture is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat  and beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until fluffy and white then continue beating until cool. Pipe or spoon the marshmallow into the chocolate shells then insert a cherry into the middle of each. Top with the wafer rounds then cover with more chocolate to seal the sweetie pies well. Allow to set completely before unmoulding. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Haute Cabrière – I only work with brands I think are awesome and that I actually use myself.
Red Velvet Raspberry Sweetie Pies

Red Velvet Raspberry Sweetie Pies

by | Feb 12, 2014 | 0 comments

South African’s have a serious soft spot for sweetie pies (around the world they’re known as cutie pies, wagon wheels, moon pies or mallow puffs). But whatever you choose to call them, their squishy marshmallowy centres covered in a thin layer of chocolate will turn anyone to mush. I don’t know about you, but I love them for the fact that sharing is not an option, the treat is designed for a solo indulgence(best done in the car on the way home so you can hide the wrapper and no one will know!). I thought outside the cake box and added a red velvet spin to mine, with some bright raspberries swirled in for good measure. The red hue transforms this childhood favourite into a sexy little red number, perfect to make for your sweetie.
In the spirit of a different kind of luuuurve, my super-talented sister and I teamed up to do this very special post. Sarah-Jane from Art Strings has transformed my boring recipe text into the most beautiful illustration so feast your eyes before you feast on the sweetie pies!

Red velvet raspberry sweetie pies

Makes 20

 

2 egg whites

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 tsp liquid glucose

1 tsp vanilla extract

few drops red gel food colouring

¼ cup raspberry puree

20 fresh raspberries

20 round biscuits or wafers

250g The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, melted

 

Whisk the egg whites in a heatproof glass or metal bowl until soft peak stage. Add the castor sugar gradually until the meringue turns glossy. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and beat the meringue on high until the mixture feels hot to the touch (or 60C on a thermometer). Then add the liquid glucose. Remove the bowl from the heat transfer to a new bowl and beat on high until cool. Fold in the vanilla, red colouring and raspberry puree then place in a piping bag. Pipe a swirl onto each biscuit, insert a raspberry into the middle then finish piping more marshmallow on top. Dip the sweetie pies in chocolate and allow to set on a wire cake rack.

 

TIP The marshmallow fluff can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Chocolate Éclairs with Tiramisu Filling

Chocolate Éclairs with Tiramisu Filling

by | Aug 15, 2013 | 0 comments

Baking captured my heart from a very young age and I can remember sitting on the floor in front of the oven watching the cupcakes steadily rise. It fascinated me and you’ll still sometimes find me sitting and peering through my oven door! There is something just so enchanting about combining a few ingredients and then watching the sticky batter magically rise into a perfectly fluffy cake. Choux pastry is the most miraculous of all; with no baking powder or yeast, a gooey, tacky dough miraculously inflates to form a pastry so light and airy that it threatens to float right off your fork. It’s hard to believe that choux pastry uses nothing but steam to rise to the occasion! I’ve given my good ol’ chocolate éclair recipe a modern touch here and filled the little puffs with a tiramisu filling; lashings of whipped cream, rich mascarpone, a shot of espresso and a hint of vanilla. Tiramisu seems like such an appropriate match to these chocolate éclairs – and not just because the word means ‘pick-me-up’!

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Makes 24

 

Choux Pastry:

1 cup cake flour

pinch salt

80g butter, cut into small blocks

1 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

 

For chocolate éclairs:

200g The Kate Tin Dark BakIng Chocolate, melted

½ cup cream, whipped

½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened

1 shot espresso coffee

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp caster sugar

The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder, for dusting

 

Sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter and water until just melted then bring to a rolling boil. Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely. Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. It is now ready to be used as desired.For éclairs, pipe long tubes of dough about 10 cm long. Bake at 200ËšC for about 15 – 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Turn off oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes. To assemble chocolate éclairs, dip the tops in melted chocolate and allow to set. Whip the cream until stiff before folding in the mascarpone, espresso, vanilla and sugar. Place in a piping bag and fill the éclairs. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

 

 

 

 

TIPS: 

* it is very important to beat the egg in a little at a time into the completely cooled dough

* sprinkle a little extra water on the tray before baking – the extra steam helps the pastry rise even more, making it lighter.

* don’t be tempted to open the oven and take a peak or your pastries may run out of puff!

STORAGE

* unfilled choux pastries can be stored in an airtight container for no more than 2 days – just pop them into the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again.

Sicilian Cannoli with Homemade Ricotta

Sicilian Cannoli with Homemade Ricotta

by | Jul 8, 2013 | 4 comments

Ah, cannoli. How your deep-fried pastry flecked with crispy bubbles and stuffed with fluffy ricotta has stolen my heart forever. Oh, I had seen you from a distance, in pictures, of course, and admired your soft dusting of snowy icing sugar, and imagined the crunch of your pastry crumbling into the smooth creamy filling, but never did I realize just what I was missing out on. Silly of me really, considering that all things deep-fried and stuffed with cheese are delicious. That’s a given.

As you may have noticed recently, my blog posts have had a decidedly Italian twist to them which may or may not have something to do with an Italian man in my life. While I have yet to school him in South African malva poeding, koeksisters and melktert, mostly because I don’t have time, he has not-so-subtly been teaching me the art of Sicilian cooking. Probably so I can cook for him. Sneaky I tell you! Italian’s are fiercely proud of their regional specialities and Siciliy is known for, among other things, their cannoli where the pastry was invented. The first thing I learnt about this delicacy is: two cannoli, one cannolo. Get it right. The name means ‘little tube’ which not surprisingly refers to it’s shape. But, wait, it gets more complicated because different sizes have different names. Some are small and no bigger than a finger while others (like the cannoli from Palermo) are as big as a hand.

Proper Sicilian cannoli, I’m told, is always made with homemade ricotta cheese made from sheep’s milk. But because you won’t catch me milking a sheep in a million years, cow’s milk will do (and no I didn’t milk that myself either). The trick to a deliciously creamy filling (one that doesn’t make the cannoli shells go soggy too quickly), is to make the ricotta a few days beforehand and hang it in muslin cloth to get rid of as much moisture as possible. (I know, I know, I hear you, ‘a few days’ is a pain, but we’re talking traditional here. If you want to cut the corner, then do so, just don’t tell an Italian you did.)

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

 

1 litre full cream milk

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

 

Slowly bring milk and salt to a rolling boil in a large saucepan. Add lemon juice and stir constantly over low heat until the mixture curdles. Carefully scoop out the curds using a sieve or fine slotted spoon. Pour the remaining mixture into a sieve lined with muslin cloth and let it drain for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Discard the liquid.

Now for the best part, the cannoli! I would suggest making these on a weekend, and definitely invite a group of friends over because you’ll want the “oooh’s and aaah’s” as a reward for your hard work. Unless, of course, the heavenly taste of the cannoli is enough, then by all means curl up on the couch with the whole batch and devour them. Just be sure to have a glass of red wine afterwards, because as Italian tells me, that’s the secret to staying slim (and I’m not about to argue with that logic!)

Cannoli

Makes 25-30

 

300g cake flour

30g butter, softened

15g The Kate Tin Cocoa Powder

1 tsp ground coffee

1 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

1 glass white wine or marsala

1 egg white, for brushing

oil, for deep-frying

 

Filling

500g ricotta cheese

500ml milk

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

1 stick cinnamon

40g cornstarch

125g castor sugar

3/4 cup The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate Chips or The Kate Tin Dark Baking Chocolate, chopped 

1 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Candied orange rind, to decorate

Icing sugar, to dust

 

Combine the flour, butter, cocoa, coffee sugar and salt then gradually add the white wine or marsala until a stiff pliable dough forms (the dough should be a similar consistency to pasta dough). Knead the dough until smooth and elastic then cover and rest for 10 minutes. Slice off pieces of dough and roll through a floured pasta machine starting at the largest setting and working your way through the notches until your each size 4 thickness. Cut out circles of dough using a cookie cutter or cup then wrap around a cannoli mould or wooden stick. Overlap the edges and stick them together with a little egg white. Continue until all the dough has been used up. Heat the oil to 180 degrees celcius and deep-fry the cannoli, in batches, until deep-golden brown. Drain on paper towel and allow to cool.

Now for the filling: Heat the milk gently with the bay leaf, cloves and cinnamon until just simmering. Add a little water to the cornstarch to make a thin paste then gradually whisk the paste into the warm milk, whisking continuously until thick. Add the sugar. Simmer for a few minutes until cooked before spreading on a baking tray to cool. Pass the ricotta cheese through a fine sieve to get a smooth mixture. Mix in the cooled white sauce (remove the spices) and stir well. Add the chocolate chips and cinnamon powder. Place the filling into a piping bag and pipe into each cannoli. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with candied orange rind, if desired. Serve immediately.

TIP  The cannoli shells can be stored for up to a month in an airtight container. To get them super crispy again, pop the shells into the oven for a few minutes. The ricotta filling can be frozen – simply freeze the mixture in a ziplock bag.