The Weekend Cooks

Quick Christmas cake Recipe Courtesy - @Snowflake Makes 1 cake Ingredients 500ml (280g) Snowflake Cake Wheat Flour 750ml (450g) dried fruit cake mix 375ml water 250ml (200g) sugar 125g butter of margarine 125ml brandy 125g red glacé cherries, halved 10ml bicarbonate of soda 2 eggs, beaten 2ml salt Extra brandy for sprinkling Method Combine the fruit, water, sugar and butter in a medium, heavy-based saucepan and simmer for about 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Add brandy, cherries, bicarbonate of soda and beaten eggs to the fruit mixture. Sift the flour and salt together and add to the fruit mixture. Mix well. Line a 23cm round cake pan with two layers of greaseproof paper. Grease well, then turn the mixture out into the pan and level the top of the cake mixture with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for about 45 mins. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C and bake for a further 20 mins...

Upside-down Peach Sponge Cake Recipe Courtesy - @Koo   INGREDIENTS: Topping 2 tbsp castor sugar mixed with 1 tbsp flour 2 cans KOO Peach Slices, drained Sponge base 250 g softened butter, plus extra for greasing 280 g self-raising flour 250 g golden castor sugar ½ tsp baking powder 4 eggs 150 ml  natural yoghurt 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract KITCHEN GADGETS: Baking tin, whisk, butter knife METHOD: Topping. Heat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20 x 30cm baking tin and line with baking parchment. Sprinkle with the sugar-flour mix. Place the peaches, in the tin. Sponge batter: Beat the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, yoghurt and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric whisk until lump-free. Spoon the mix into the tin, over and around the peaches, then bake for 50 minutes-1 hour until golden and risen and a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool briefly, then carefully run a butter knife around the edges to relea...

Apple Crumble Recipe Courtesy - @Bakersbiscuits Ingredients 125 ml BAKERS Blue Label® Marie biscuit crumbs 125 ml cake flour 125 ml soft brown sugar 125 g butter 1 x 397 g can unsweetened pie apples 65 ml apple juice 10 ml ground cinnamon 90 ml castor sugar zest of 1 lemon 45 ml seedless sultanas fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 200 ˚C. Place the BAKERS Blue Label® Marie biscuit crumbs in a mixing bowl and sift in the flour.  Stir in the sugar and with your fingers rub the butter into the dry ingredients.  Set aside. Chop the apples a little smaller and mix with the apple juice, ground cinnamon, castor sugar, lemon zest and sultanas.  Place in a greased 20 – 30cm pie dish and sprinkle with the crumble. Bake in the oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown.  Serve warm with fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.

Devil’s Food Doughnuts Recipe Courtesy - @onsugarmountain These sinfully decadent Devil’s Food Doughnuts would be perfect for any occasion, but with a dark chocolate ganache and festive sprinkles, they are ready for your next Halloween bash! Yields: Makes Approximately 8 standard or 24 mini doughnuts Ingredients 3/4 cup flour 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tbsp vinegar 1/2 cup milk 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tsp vanilla 1 large egg For the ganache: 6oz dark chocolate morsels/chunks 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 tbsp butter 1 pinch sugar 2 tsp vanilla Method Preheat oven to 175C degrees and grease your doughnut pan with cooking spray. Add vinegar and milk to a small bowl and let sit 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until well mixed. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk milk/vinegar mixture with egg, vegetable oil,...

Monster Cookie Bars Recipe Courtesy - @Justataste INGREDIENTS 1 cup sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 large eggs 1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth or chunky) 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 1/2 cups Old Fashioned oats 1 cup M&Ms 1 cup chocolate chips INSTRUCTIONS Pre-heat the oven to 175C and line a 13x9-inch metal baking pan with greased parchment paper with a 2-inch overhang on each short side of the pan. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the sugar, brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time, beating between each addition then add the the peanut butter, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt and mix until well combined. Add the oats and mix just until combined. Stir in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. Transfer the cookie ...

Marshmallow Mummies Recipe Courtesy - @Pillsbury Ingredients 18 large marshmallows 6 thin pretzel sticks (2 3/4 inch) 1 box (4.5 oz) chewy fruit snacks in three-foot rolls (any flavor) Black decorating gel (from 0.68-oz tube) Method Thread 3 marshmallows onto each pretzel stick to make 6 "bodies." Unwrap fruit snack rolls (do not unroll). With kitchen scissors or sharp knife, cut rolls in half horizontally to make 12 rolls of long strips. Unroll strips; remove paper. Wrap 2 long snack roll strips around each "body" to look like mummy, leaving small amount of 1 marshmallow uncovered for face. With decorating gel, add dots on "face" for eyes.

Caramel Peanut Popcorn Snack Mix Recipe Courtesy - @Myrecipes Ingredients 15 cups popped popcorn (about 3/4 cup kernels) Vegetable cooking spray 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. firmly packed dark brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup dark corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts Wax paper 1 (10.5 oz.) package candy-coated peanut butter pieces (such as Reese's Pieces) How to Make It Step 1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Spread popcorn in an even layer on a lightly greased (with cooking spray) heavy-duty aluminum foil-lined 13- x 18-inch pan. Stir together brown sugar and next 3 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; bring to a simmer, and simmer, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Pour over popcorn, and stir gently to coat. Step 2 Bake at 160° for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Add peanuts during last 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and spread on lightly greased (with cooking spray) wax paper. Cool c...

Condensed Milk Cake Recipe Courtesy - @Africanbites Ingredients 10 ounce 284grams unsalted butter 3/4 cup 150grams granulated sugar 5 large eggs 2 cups 250grams all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder. 1 14 ounce can condensed milk or 396 grams 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 Tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg optional 2-3 tablespoons lime zest Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Grease a 10 inch or Bundt pan generously with cooking spray and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar at high speed in a stand mixture until it’s fluffy and starting to look white, about 3 minutes. Then add the condensed milk and mix for another minute. Stir in the eggs, a little at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. Sift in the flour and baking powder into the batter, and then add the grated lime zest& juice, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. Stir well until everything is fully combined. Scrape down the s...

No Bake Oreo Layer Dessert Recipe Courtesy - @Browneyedbaker INGREDIENTS: For the Crust: 1 (15.35-ounce) package Double Stuff Oreo Cookies ½ cup (113 grams) butter, melted and slightly cooled For the Cream Cheese Layer: 8 ounces ( 227 G)cream cheese 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar 1 (8-ounce)( 227 G) tub Cool Whip - ( Imitation whipped cream )  For the Pudding Layer: 1 (5.1-ounce)( 144 G )  box instant chocolate pudding ( Try Moir's instant pudding mix (choc) )  3½ cups (840 ml) milk For the Topping: 1 (8-ounce)( 227 G ) tub Cool Whip (  imitation  whipped cream) DIRECTIONS: Make the Crust: Place the Oreo cookies in a large ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin. The pieces should be in small crumbs, but still a little chunky, not completely fine crumbs.  Set aside ½ cup of the crumbs for the topping, then transfer the remaining crumbs to a 9×13-inch pan and use a fork to mash them u...

Multi Coloured Cake Pops Recipe Courtesy - @Stork   Ingredients For the basic cake: 250 g eggs (around 4 large eggs) 250 g cake flour 250 g white sugar 250 g Stork Bake 16 g baking powder (2 flat teaspoons) A pinch of salt For the cake pop mix and decoration: 200 g softened Stork Bake 200 g icing sugar 175 g white chocolate 175 g dark (or milk) chocolate Ready-made cake decorations: i.e. grated coconut, coloured sugar, chopped assorted nuts, metallic balls Method Take the Stork Bake out of the refrigerator beforehand, allowing the margarine to soften at room temperature. Transfer the softened Stork Bake to a large mixing bowl. Weigh the exact amount of sugar and add it to the Stork Bake Whisk the sugar and the Stork Bake into a soft and creamy consistency, using a hand-held or standing mixer. Place the de-shelled eggs in a bowl and weigh them until you have the right amount. Add eggs to the Stork Bake/sugar cream in small batches, ...

EET-SUM-MOR® FUDGE Recipe Courtesy - @Bakersbiscuits ingredients 1 x 200 g packet of BAKERS Eet-Sum-Mor® biscuits 250 g butter 5 ml vanilla essence 500 g icing sugar 5 ml coffee granules 45 ml cocoa powder 1 beaten egg icing sugar (extra) instructions Place the BAKERS Eet-Sum-Mor® biscuits on a board. Break or cut into coarse crumbs, leaving a few chunky pieces. Melt the butter and add the vanilla essence, icing sugar, coffee, cocoa powder, egg and mix well. Mix the biscuits into the butter mixture and pour into a 20cm square, greased baking dish. Dust liberally with the extra icing sugar. Chill in the fridge then cut into small squares.

Marmalade Ice Cream Recipe Courtesy - @AllGold Ingredients 1 can (450g) ALL GOLD SEVILLE ORANGE MARMALADE 60ml (4 tablespoons) Van der hum liqueur 250ml (1 cup) thick cream 500ml (2 cups) custard 15ml (3 teaspoons) grated orange rind Preparation method Place the marmalade and liqueur in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the marmalade has melted. Set aside to cool. Whip the cream until soft peaks form, add custard and whip together until combined. Stir in the orange rind and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spoon mixture into a plastic container, place in the freezer until frozen at the edges. Remove from freezer and beat with an electric beater. Pour back into container and re-freeze. Repeat twice more adding the marmalade mixture during the last beating, freeze until firm. (Alternatively, churn in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's directions. When the ice cream has almost finished churning, add the marmalade mixture an...

Homemade Gingerbread Spread Recipe Courtesy - @Stork  Ingredients 300 g cake flour 1 tsp baking powder (10 g) 150 g treacle/muscovado sugar (dark brown sugar) 150 g Stork Bake 1-2 tsp mixed spice (10-20g) A pinch of salt A cup of (strong) coffee A tin of unsweetened condensed milk Recipe Pre-heat the oven to 185°C. Sift the flour in a glass bowl and add the baking powder. Crumble the soft Stork Bake in the bowl and also add the treacle sugar and mixed spice. Now roll up your sleeves and knead all the ingredients to a firm, smooth dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it firm up in the fridge for half an hour. In the meantime, grease the bottom of the baking tin with Stork Bake and cover the bottom and sides of the tin with baking paper. The Stork Bake will help the baking paper to stick. After half an hour, the dough is ready to roll out. Sprinkle some flour on your kitchen worktop and roll out the dough from the middle, using a rolling pin...

Coconut squares Recipe Courtesy - Condensed Milk: everyone’s guilty secret Ingredients 2 packets (200 g each) Tennis 1 tin (385 g)          condensed milk 500 ml (2 C) desiccated coconut 125 g butter, melted Topping 125 ml (1⁄2 C)      fresh cream 250 ml (1 C) white chocolate chips or pieces Method Line a 23 x 35 cm baking pan with non-stick foil. Arrange a single layer of biscuits on the bottom of the lined pan. Mix the condensed milk, coconut and melted butter together. Spread the mixture evenly over the layer of biscuits and arrange another layer of biscuits on top. Topping Place the cream in a saucepan over low heat and add the chocolate; stir until melted. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Spread the topping evenly over the top layer of biscuits. Refrigerate until set and then cut into squares the size of the biscuits.

Benchmark Malva Pudding Recipe Courtesy - @Braai.com WHAT YOU NEED (serves 6) For the batter: 1 cup flour ½ tot bicarbonate of soda 1 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tot apricot jam 1 tot vinegar 1 tot melted butter 1 cup milk For the sauce: ½ cup cream ½ cup milk 1 cup sugar ½ cup hot water ½ cup butter WHAT TO DO 1. Light the fire. You need fewer coals than when braaing steak, but you’ll need a steady supply of coals once the pudding is baking. Now use butter to grease your no. 10 flatbottomed baking potjie. You can see a picture of this kind of potjie on page13. 2. Sift the flour and the bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar (you don’t need to sift the sugar). 3. In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg very well. Now add the jam, vinegar, butter and milk, whisking well after adding each ingredient. 4. Add the wet ingredients of step 3 to the dry ingredients of step 2 and mix well. 5....

Jennifer's Peppermint Crisp fridge tart Recipe Courtesy - @Food24 Ingredients 2 packets tennis biscuits 250 ml chilled whipping cream 1 can caramel 2 Peppermint Crisp chocolate Method  Whip chilled cream until thick. Spoon out caramel into the cream. Whisk gently until the two are blended together. Do not over-mix. Layer a dish with Tennis Biscuits and spoon the cream caramel mixture over them, making a solid layer with no gaps. Grate a layer of Peppermint Crisp and continue the process until the mixture is finished and you have used all the biscuits. Grate the remaining Peppermint Crisp on top. Seal with cling wrap or a lid and put it in the fridge - overnight for best results.

Chocolate Chia Pudding Recipe Courtesy - @LindtSA Ingredients Pudding 4 pieces (40g) Lindt Excellence 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate 1 1/3 cups (335mL) 2% milk or milk substitute (e.g., almond milk) 4 tsp maple syrup 4 tsp whole black chia seeds Garnish Chopped bananas and Lindt Excellence 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate shavings (for garnish) Directions Melt the Chocolate Put chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Heat milk and maple syrup in a saucepan on low heat. Pour over chocolate. Mix until blended into chocolate milk Assemble Place chia seeds in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid, or four small ones about 1/2 cup (125mL) each in size. Pour in chocolate milk, mix, and close jar(s). Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours, stirring after 1 hour to make sure mix is even. (The longer the pudding sets, the thicker it will be.) Serve Serve topped with bananas and chocolate shavings.

Carrot and pineapple cake with cinnamon frosting Recipe Courtesy - CloverSA Ingredients cup (230 g) Clover Mooi River Butter, softened 1 cup (210 g) castor sugar 3 eggs, beaten 2 cups (250 g) carrot, finely grated 1 cup (100 g) pecan nuts, chopped ½ cup (75 g) crushed pineapple 1 orange, zest 2 cups (280 g) cake flour 2 tsp (10 ml) bicarbonate of soda 2 tsp (10 ml) baking powder 2 tsp (10 ml) cinnamon 1 tsp (5 ml) nutmeg ½ tsp (2 ml) salt Cinnamon frosting: ½ cup (125 g) smooth cream cheese ¼ cup (60 g) Clover Mooi River Butter 3 cups (390 g) icing sugar ½ tsp (2 ml) vanilla essence 1½ tsp (7.5 ml) ground cinnamon Method Preheat oven at 180˚C and grease a 28 cm loose-bottomed spring form cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the carrots, pecan nuts, pineapple and orange zest and stir to combine. Sift the flou...

Ma Annas Choc Cake Recipe Courtesy - @moir’s Ingredients 125 ml cocoa 250 ml boiling water 430 ml cake flour 375 ml sugar 15 ml MOIR’S baking powder 5 ml MOIR’S vanilla essence 4 extra large eggs, separated 125 ml oil For the centre 1 x 360 g can caramel filling Luxury Chocolate Icing Ingredients: 140 g butter 140 g icing sugar 5 ml MOIR’S vanilla essence 100 g milk chocolate, melted Method: Beat together the butter, icing sugar and essence. Add the chocolate and mix through. Method Mix the cocoa and water and stir until cocoa has dissolved. Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder together and make a well in the centre. Add the cocoa mixture, essence, egg yolks and oil into the well and mix well until the mixture is smooth. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks forms and fold into the mixture. Divide the mixture between two greased cake tins. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 – 30 minutes or unt...