Chocolate Brownies

So obviously I see this recipe and decide it's too good not to share!!

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup cake flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. 
Line the bottom and sides of an 20cm square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. 
Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. 
Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. 
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. 
When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. 
Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the centre emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack.
Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. 
Cut into 16 or 25 squares.BY ANICA MARTIN

Apple and Banana Crumble

Here's an easy, fun recipe to enjoy with friends.

Ingredients:
250ml cake flour
75g butter/margarine
5ml baking powder
75ml castor sugar/brown sugar
5ml cinnamon
100ml chopped nuts
1x 410g can unsweetened pie apples
3 bananas sliced

Garnish:
Sliced fresh apples dipped in lemon juice
Fresh cream

Rub margarine or butter into flour. 
Add baking powder and castor sugar.
Place apples and bananas into a glass dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts.
Sprinkle crumble mixture over and microwave on High in a NATIONAL microwave oven for 8 - 10 minutes. 
Serve hot with cream or custard. 
Garnish with sliced apples.

Hearty Stew

Beef shin slowly stewed in a tasty red-wine sauce is the perfect meal for cold winter evenings. Sylvia Jays of Durbanville says she often uses brisket to make the dish, and oxtail if she's feeling particularly flush.

Serves 4-6400g small pickling onions

4 cloves garlic, crushed
1kg beef shins
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50ml cake flour
5ml paprika
5ml origanum
250ml hot beef stock
65g tomato paste
25ml soft brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
180ml red wine
250ml sour cream
finely chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 160deg C (325deg F).
Saute the onion and garlic in a little oil until glossy.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish and set aside.
Season the shins with salt and pepper.
Combine the flour, paprika, origanum and roll the shins in the mixture. Reserve the remaining flour mixture.
Score the fatty edges of the shins with a sharp knife to prevent them from curling during cooking.

Brown on both sides in the oil in the pan.
Reduce the heat and add the brown sugar and seasonings.
Add the red wine and simmer for a few minutes.
Turn into the ovenproof dish, cover and bake for one and a half hours or until the meat is tender. Pour the cause into a saucepan and add the sour cream. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly or use the remaining cake flour mixture to thicken it.
Pour the sauce over the meat, sprinkle with parsley and serve with mashed potato, peas and carrots.

Serves 4-6

Ouma's sweet-and-sour meatballs

My Gran says this recipe is awesome. She makes it often and says it comes out perfect every time. If you've ever tasted her cooking, then I don't need to test the recipe to believe her:

Serves 4-6

60g (75ml) raw rice
500g beef mince
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 egg, beaten
10ml dry sherry
10ml soya sauce
Seasoned flour for coating
oil for deep frying

Sweet-and-sour sauce:
440g can pineapple, chunks, drained, chopped, juice reserved
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
10ml soft brown sugar
30ml soya sauce
30ml white vinegar
15ml cornflour mixed into a paste with 30ml water
15ml finely chopped parsley

Cook rice in boiling salted water until cooked. Combine rice, mince, garlic, egg, sherry and soya sauce in a mixing bowl. Form 15ml amounts into balls, toss in seasoned flour to coat, shaking off excess. Deep fry in hot oil until well browned and cooked through.

Sauce:
Combine reserved pineapple juice with red pepper, sugar, soya sauce and vinegar in a pan. Stir in cornflour paste, stir over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Add pineapple and parsley, stir until heated through.
Add meatballs to sauce, simmer until heated through. 

Serve with tossed green salad/assorted vegetables/as desired

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Fridgecake - cheesecake

So my sister-in-law Michele, brings the most amazing cheesecake to a braai we hold at my house for my brothers 25th birthday!! This is a definite MUST-MAKE! It's amazing

Tennis biscuits - 2 packs
150g Margarine/butter to bind the biscuit base
1 Tin condensed milk (397g)
250g plain cream cheese 
250g Masorpone cheese (optional for a bigger batch - but I suggest it)
250g fresh cream
2 fair sized lemons

Crush the biscuits.
Melt the margarine, add to crushed biscuits and press into a glass dish to make the base.
Mix the condensed milk and cream cheese and Masorpone well together.
In a separate bowl beat the fresh cream until thick - soft peak.
Fold in the cream to the cheese mixture.
Add squeezed lemon juice of both lemons.
Place mixture over the biscuits and chill for 3-4 hours before serving.
Decorate as desired.

Michele put some strawberry sauce mix into the mixture to make it more of a strawberry cheesecake. She decorated the top with fresh strawberries. Winner recipe for sure!!!! 

Rolo Cupcakes

So I saw this recipe in an Afrikaans magazine and I must say... it's pretty awesome - I make something similar myself - very often - and it goes down really well!! Check right at the bottom of the recipe for my personal way to doing this sort of cupcake. All my little comments and tips are in pink!

RECIPE MAKES: 36

INGREDIENTS:

250ml milk
90ml cocoa
250ml  oil
8 eggs (I always add 1 extra egg per 3 or 4 given in a recipe – leaves cupcakes that much more moist - so here i'd actually use 10 eggs and reduce oil by 20ml)
500ml castor sugar
10ml vanilla essence
875ml baking flour
20ml baking powder
Pinch of salt
200g (4 x 50g-rolls) Rolo chocolate
45ml cream (optional)

ICING:

250 ml chilled cream
1 tin caramel
Extra roll Rolo

· Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

· Prepare muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake holders

CUPCAKES:

Heat up the milk and whisk in cocoa until well mixed.

Add the oil.

Whisk the eggs and castor sugar together until fluffy and light in colour.

Add the vanilla essence.

Sift all the dry ingredients together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk mix to the egg mix.

Mix well.

Dish up into the paper cupcake holders, ¾ full.

Push a piece of Rolo into the center of the raw cupcake.

Bake for ±15 minutes (I always bake for ¾ of the time they give on a recipe personally so I’d bake 12 minutes or so and only extend to 15 minutes if the dough is still raw. Remember that there is chocolate in the center to check the cupcakes readiness from the side and not dead center.)

ICING:

Whip the cream stiff and fold in the caramel.

Spread over the top of the cupcakes.

Place some extra chocolate over the top.

HOW I DO IT AT HOME:

Instead of pushing in a piece of Rolo, I buy a tin of caramel instead. I fill the cupcake holder 1/4 of the way. I then spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of caramel on top of the raw dough and then cover the caramel with some more dough till 3/4 full. This is an awesome way to make cupcakes. I normally ice with caramel and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. It works well in both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and is to everyone's liking. Go the extra mile by sprinkling  with some cake glitter (white one for best effect).

I will be honest in saying, I love using Snowflakes instant muffin mix packets when i'm in a rush and don't want to make cupcakes from scratch. They cost like R12.00 from your local PnP - it fills exactly 12 large muffin holders and I add one extra egg than instructed to the mix and get my caramel on. People LOVE IT!

Peppermint Crisp Tart

Peppermint Crisp tart is my weakness. This recipe is easy and really good!!


Needed:
Tennis biscuits
500ml cream
1 tin caramel
Peppermint crisp chocolate
Condensed milk, caramelized. (Optional but gives the best results. Check below on how to do it)

Instructions:
Beat the cream. Mix in the caramel.
Place a layer of tennis biscuits on the bottom of the dish. 
Layer the whip mixture over the biscuits. 
Sprinkle or layer some caramelized condensed milk over the whip mixture. (use your own discretion) 
Repeat the above 3 steps.
Sprinkle peppermint crisp on top.
Place in the fridge to set.

I like to sprinkle some smashed chocolate bits in between the layers too.


Caramelize condensed milk:
Microwave oven method: Pour milk into a glass or ceramic container. Cook at medium (50% power) for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through. Reduce power to medium low (30% power), cook for 12 to 18 minutes, stirring briskly every 2 minutes until smooth, thick and caramel-coloured. Cooking times depends on the wattage of the microwave.