Buttermilk Rusks

I know that quite a lot of people like Ouma's Rusks. I personally don't at all! This recipe my mom got from her gran. Once again, it's the best I've ever tasted - to the point where I don't eat rusks at all unless it's my moms. It is hard work so be warned but it's so worth it! Be careful of those extra kg's though, it's that good!

2.5kg self rising flour
12ml salt
10ml baking powder
3 eggs
500ml sugar
500ml oil or margarine
1.5L buttermilk

Sift the flour. Add the salt and baking powder
In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil/marg and buttermilk.
Add the liquid to the flour mix. Knead well.
Grease tins well and make dough into balls and pack them firmly togehter.
Let it rise for 1 hour. 
Bake in the oven at 180°C for 45minutes.
Let it cool and break apart in pieces.
Place back in the oven to dry at 200°C.

Home made chutney

We normally get together as a family and work together, then split what we get out.
This generation has lost the drive to make their own jam and chutney. It's just easier to buy it. Not nothing compares to home-made. Once again, it's quite a lot of work, but preserved correctly, you could have enough for the family for years and it definitely tastes way better.

5kg yellow peaches
1.3kg onion
1.5L brown vinegar
30ml salt
2.7kg sugar
7ml cloves
10ml red pepper
10ml ginger
10ml all spice
12ml curry
7ml coriander

Remove fruit from pips.
Finely chop all peach and onion. (A processor will help - doing it by hand will be terrible and take too long)
Put in a huge pot (this specific recipe is big enough for a 50L pot - you can cook smaller amounts by dividing recipe)
Cook for 2 - 2.5hours before bottling and labeling.

You can add more or less red pepper based on how hot you'd like your chutney

- Batch from 2011 preserved and stored at the back of my cupboard (",).

Asparagus Tuna Tart

Although I'm honestly not an asparagus fan, I have had this before and most people LOVE it. It is slightly pricey. But worth every penny

Crust: 
750ml flour
1ml salt
50ml milk
10ml baking powder
200ml sunflower oil

Sift dry ingredients together. Add oil and milk. Make a dough. Line a 35 x 25cm dish.

Filling:
1x 200g tuna (drained and flaked)
1x Tin asparagus, drained and chopped
250g bacon, chopped and fried.
1 onion, chopped and fried
200ml white sauce (see below)
375ml grated cheese (of choice but i'd use Cheddar/Gouda)
3 eggs

Combine tuna, asparagus, fried onion and bacon.  
Add cheese.
Beat eggs and add to above mixture. 
Add white sauce. 
Pour onto crust. 
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for one hour. 
Serve hot.

Basic white sauce:
100g of butter/margarine
salt & pepper
flour
milk, about a 1L
large saucepan
a whisk

Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and melt the butter.
When the butter has melted, start chucking in some flour, little bits at a time while whisking.  This mixture will burn easily, so I normally take it off the heat every now and then, basically heating it up and then mixing in more flour off the heat.
Continue with this process until it becomes a paste like this.

Cook the paste for a bit, just be careful to not burn it, if it burns your sauce is ruined.  We have to cook it a little bit in order to get the sauce to not taste all floury though. Continue with the on and off heat  method and you should be fine, a minute or two will do.  Now start adding milk, little bits at a time (I suggest you do this off heat too). Add about 100 ml of milk at a time, mix it in properly, and then put the pan back on heat.  You will notice the sauce will thicken as it cooks. Continue this for a while, until you have the consistency you want.  Leave it to simmer on low heat for a couple of minutes to cook off any floury taste that may still be there.  Season with salt and pepper (use white pepper if you do not want black flecks in your white sauce).

Swiss Roll

This is a really handy recipe to have if you'd like to serve cake without the long bake. It's easy, it's quick and it goes down well with most.

250ml sugar
5ml baking powder
4 eggs, separated
250ml flour
60ml cold water
Smooth apricot jam
Castor sugar for the top

Beat the sugar and egg yolks one by one.
Add water.
Add the flour and baking powder.
Beat the egg white to hard-point (it's when you remove the whisk and the egg white stands at a point without flopping over).
Mix in the egg white.
Line a flat pan with lunch/wax wrap.
Pour into the pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 190°C.
Throw out onto a damp cloth.
Remove the wax paper. Spread on apricot jam over the top.
Use the cloth to roll the Swiss Roll into a circle.
Sprinkle with castor sugar. Serve

Alternatives to apricot jam: (1 hour process just for filling - good for fancier occasions)

Mocha butter cream

100ml castor sugar
125ml water
3 egg-yolks
225ml butter or margarine
30ml coffee powder
2.5ml cocoa
5ml brandy
2.5ml vanilla essence

Place the castor sugar and water in a small pot and cook over a med heat, stirring until melted. Bring to the boil and allow to boil gently for 5 minutes until the syrup becomes thick and reduced by half.
Place the egg-yolks in a bowl and beat to a pale yellow with an electric mixer. Add coffee powder, coca, brandy and vanilla essence. Pout in the hot syrup in a very thin stream, beating continuously until the mixture resembles a thick pale mousse. Cool to room temperature.
Dice the butter or margarine into small pieces and leave to stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes for the margarine and a little longer for the butter to soften. Beat the butter or margarine into the egg mixture bit by bit, beating well after each addition. Continue in this manner until a smooth light emulsion is obtained. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Unroll the cake and spread with butter cream.

Garnish with:
Dark chocolate melted or chocolate leaves
Almonds, toasted
Cherries

Impossible Tart

This is any lazy bakers dream. You throw everything together, bake and it forms it's own crust, filling and sweet top covering all on it's own. It's really good!!!

4 eggs
125g soft margarine
10ml vanilla essence
500ml milk
200ml sugar
250ml coconut (Optional - i personally don't like coconut (",) )
125ml flour

Put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat together.
Bake in the oven at 180°C for 75 minutes

Moist Banana Bread - the best yet

Every year my mom bakes loaves and loaves of banana bread as people flood to take them off her hands. This recipe is by far the best banana bread I've ever tasted. I wouldn't say that lightly as I find myself to be quite the critic. This recipe is awesome! I would suggest that people who generally don't like banana bread taste this one first before making their final decision on the matter.

125g margarine

250ml sugar

5ml vanilla essence

2 eggs

4 bananas, mashed

500ml flour

5ml baking powder

5ml bicarbonate of soda

125ml boiling water

165ml chopped walnuts (optional) - I personally don't use it

Cream margarine and sugar together. 

Add vanilla essence, well beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Beat together. 

Add sifted flour and baking-powder, then the soda dissolved in hot water. 

Mix well. 

Add the chopped nuts. 

Pour into a well greased 23cm loaf pan and take at 180°C for 45 minutes - 1 hour. 

What really makes this banana bread the best ever, is using over ripe bananas. Not pitch black, but already starting to caramelize slightly. Border line throw aways...

This banana bread also freezes amazingly. Just remove and allow to defrost naturally. 

Perfect pumpkin fritters

Always popular and a very typical accompaniment to a meal of roast lamb, pork or poultry, bobotie or curry. This recipe ensures a neat, round and crispy pumpkin fritters. When not served with meat, it can be welcomed as a sweet treat after the meal, served with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar and syrup.

Needed:
250ml pumpkin, cooked until dry and well drained
2 eggs
250ml cake flour
15ml sugarpinch salt
1ml cinnamon
7.5ml baking powder
sunflower oil for frying
cinnamon sugar (10ml cinnamon mixed with 125ml sugar)

Mash the pumpkin and eggs well and add the flour, sugar, salt cinnamon and baking powder. Mix until evenly blended. The batter should be moderately firm and the consistency depends on the moisture content of the pumpkin - if necessary, add a little flour.

Pour oil to a depth of 50mm into a saucepan and heat to moderately hot. Drop tablespoonful of the mixture neatly into the oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally. do not fry until too dark, for the flavour and appearance will be impaired. Adjust the temperature of the oil as necessary.

Lift out with a draining spoon and drain on absorbent paper.Arrange on a serving platter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar. 

Cover loosely with foil and keep warm in a cool oven until ready to serve (preferably no longer than 20 minutes)


Makes 12-16 fritters
Can be frozen and used later
Enlarging: as many as needed

For an optional sauce over the fritters:

Syrup:
500ml sugar
250ml water125ml milk30ml butter or margarinePinch of salt10ml  maizenapinch cinnamon (optional)


Heat all ingredients (except maizena) together in a pot until it boilsMix maizena with a little water and add to boiling mixture.Pour over the fritters just before serving