The Weekend Cooks

CHRISTMAS  SNOWBALLS Recipe Courtesy - @Checkers  INGREDIENTS: For the pudding you’ll need: 6 classic fruit mince pies 6 balls vanilla ice cream 2 eggs 2 L vanilla ice cream 6 tbsp. runny honey A selection of summer berries to garnish
 For the meringue you’ll need: 6 egg whites 1 cup castor sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract METHOD: 1. Place the mince pies and ice cream balls separately on a baking tray and freeze for 24 hrs. 2. Do the following just before serving the puddings:     Pre-heat your oven to 240 °C.     Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks start forming.     Add the castor sugar gradually while mixing.     Keep beating mixture until it is thick and glossy and the sugar is dissolved. Beat in the vanilla extract. 3. Place a ball of frozen ice cream onto each frozen fruit mince pie and drizzle with honey. 4. Cover the stacks completel...

Moir's Ultimate Choc Extravaganza Recipe Courtesy - @Moir’s Ingredients 2 x 400g packets of Moir’s Soft ‘n Moist Chocolate Cake Mix 2 heaped tsp (10ml) of instant coffee powder dissolved into 2tbsp (30ml) hot water 4 eggs 100ml cooking oil 400ml fresh milk Filling 250ml tub of whipped cream 1 tsp Moir’s Vanilla Essence 200g dark chocolate 20ml Frangelico liqueur Chocolate Ganache 200g dark chocolate 180ml fresh cream 20ml Frangelico liqueur 100g hazelnuts Method Four layers of rich chocolate sponge, filled with chocolate cream and topped with dark chocolate, hazelnut and Frangelico ganache Make up the Moir’s chocolate sponge cakes as per instructions, adding 1 tsp (5ml) of instant coffee dissolved into 1 tablespoon (15ml) hot water per 400g packet. You will end up with four sponge cakes Prepare the tub of whipped cream as per instructions for use as a topping Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over si...

BAKERS BANANA CRÈME BRÛLÉE WITH NUTTIKRUST PRALINE Recipe Courtesy - @BakersSA Ingredients Brûlée 15 g unsalted butter 3 bananas, peeled and coarsely chopped 90 g white sugar granulated white sugar Juice of lemon 750 ml fresh cream 1 vanilla bean 8 egg yolks Praline 60 ml water 230 g castor sugar 80 g flaked almonds 100 g BAKERS Nuttikrust® biscuits, crushed Hints Replace the BAKERS Nuttikrust® biscuits with BAKERS Ginger Nuts® biscuits. Replace the flaked almonds with chopped cashews. Instructions Brûlée Pre-heat the oven to 150˚C. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sized frying pan, add the bananas, and sprinkle with 15 g of the white sugar. Stir well to blend the sugar and butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. The bananas should be lightly caramelized (about 10 minutes). Mash the bananas with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the lemon juice to the banana, remove from heat, divide amon...

Christmas Cookie Mix Gift Recipe Courtesy - @Spar  Ingredients(Makes 30 cookies) For a 1 litre capacity jar. 100ml SPAR white sugar  75ml SPAR pure brown sugar 61g box Smarties 250ml (120g) SPAR cake flour 1.5ml  Bicarbonate of soda 175ml SPAR breakfast oats 175ml Caramel or chocolate Rice Krispie cereal 175ml Coconut 40ml Cocoa powder Method Wash the jars and lids thoroughly with hot soapy water, rinse and ensure they are completely dry before use. The entire list of measured ingredients must all go into one jar otherwise the proportions will be incorrect when mixing and baking later. Collect these ingredients together and carefully measure into each jar, in this order, to create compacted, visually defined layers, reaching the brim to prevent the ingredient layers mixing. Cover with a square of wax paper and close the lid securely. Include the mixing and baking instructions provided, and print onto a Christmas tag attached to the jar w...

Frozen Chocolate Mocha Soufflé Recie Courtesy - @LindtSA Ingredients MIXTURE 1/2 cup (125mL) milk 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (200mL) 35% whipping cream 30g instant mocha coffee 2 bars (200g) Lindt Excellence 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate (separated) 3 eggs Pinch of salt 1/3 cup (80mL) sugar GARNISH Amaretti biscuits, coarsely chopped or crushed, for sprinkling Method HEAT Heat milk, cream and instant mocha coffee, then remove from heat, leaving mixture to stand for about 15 minutes. PREPARE THE MOULDS Meanwhile, in six expresso or mocha cups, insert a strip of baking paper, about 3cm wide and 10cm long, in such a way that the soufflé can rise about 2cm above the rim. Use tape to hold this strip in place. Break 1 bar of Lindt chocolate into small pieces. PREPARE THE MIXTURE Separate the eggs. Using a bain-marie, beat egg yolks into the mocha-cream-milk mixture until it has a thick consistency. Gradually add the pieces of chocolate, ...

Christmas Cake Truffles Recipe Courtesy - @Moirs Ingredients  FOR THE CAKE BALLS: 500g Christmas or fruit cake loaf, crumbled 2 tbsp (30ml) brandy, optional 2 tsp (10ml) Moir’s Vanilla Essence 100g Moir’s Assorted Glacé Fruit 100g Moir’s Glacé Cherries,chopped 200g milk chocolate, melted FOR THE TOPPINGS: Additional melted milk chocolate, for dipping 150g white chocolate, melted 150g Moir’s Desiccated Coconut   Method THE CAKE BALLS: 1. In a large bowl, combine the fruit cake loaf, brandy (if using), Moir’s Vanilla Essence, Moir’s Assorted Glacé Fruit, Moir’s Glacé Cherries and melted milk chocolate. Mix well. 2. Working quickly, roll tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on a lined or greased baking tray. 3. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes. FOR THE TOPPINGS: 1. Dip halve of the truffles into melted white chocolate, followed by Moir’s Desiccated Coconut and the other halve into melted...

LANCEWOOD® ROOIBOS CHEESECAKE ICE-CREAM Recipe Courtesy - @Lancewood INGREDIENTS 90 ml redespresso® Rooibos espresso (use 3 redespresso® pods or prepare with ground redespresso®) 125 ml icing sugar 5 ml cinnamon 1 x 230 g LANCEWOOD® Medium Fat Plain Cream Cheese 250 ml fresh cream, whipped METHOD Mix the Rooibos espresso, icing sugar and cinnamon together.   Leave to cool.   Mix with the cream cheese until smooth.   Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture.   Spoon into a container suitable for freezing.   Freeze until firm (about 4 – 6 hours).

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES WITH STRAWBERRIES Recipe Courtesy - @Bakersbiscuits Ingredients 20 BAKERS Tennis® Cinnamon biscuits 2 L vanilla ice-cream 350 g fresh strawberries, chopped 5 ml ground cinnamon 300 g milk chocolate, roughly chopped Method In a large mixing bowl, stir together the vanilla ice-cream, cinnamon and strawberries. Spread the ice-cream out into a baking tray lined with plastic wrap and return to the freezer to set. Using the BAKERS Tennis® biscuit as a template cut the ice cream into blocks to fit between the biscuit layers. Meanwhile, place the chocolate into  a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Allow chocolate to melt and stir until smooth. Dip the BAKERS Tennis® biscuits into the melted chocolate until half of the biscuit is coated. Allow excess chocolate to drip off then place on a wire cooling rack to set. Layer a slice of ice cream between two BAKERS Tennis® biscuits and then return to freezer before servi...

Moir’s Mini Fruit Cakes Recipe Courtesy - @Moirs Ingredients 250 g Safari dried fruit cake mix 50 g Moir’s mixed citrus peel 50 g Moir’s red glacé cherries, halved 50 g Safari flaked almonds 100 g butter 125 ml brandy 125 ml brown sugar 5 ml Moir’s bicarbonate of soda 2 ml mixed spice 1 extra large egg 60 ml sherry 60 ml milk 200 ml cake flour 2.5 ml Moir’s baking powder Cream cheese icing: 230 g cream cheese 100 g icing sugar Moir’s maraschino cherries Method Place cake mix, mixed citrus peel, cherries, almonds, butter, brandy, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice in saucepan. Bring to the boil, lower heat and cook for 5 minutes while stirring continuously. Leave to cool. Beat the egg, sherry and milk together and add fruit mixture. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix well. Spoon into muffin cases in a muffin tin and bake in a preheated oven at 160°C for 30 minutes. Leave to cool. Beat toget...

First Choice Custard & Apple Tartlets Recipe Courtesy - @Firstchoice Make this incredibly easy recipe with First Choice Custard. Makes 6 servings. Ingredients 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed 2 table spoons of cake flour 1 litre First Choice Custard 1 Medium Granny Smith Apple thinly sliced 50g First Choice Butter, melted 2 table spoons castor sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon Double cream & Fruit to serve Method Preheat oven to 220°C Grease 6 small ramekins and roll out the puff pastry. Use a 10cm round cutter to cut out 12 pastry rounds and place 2 in each ramekin. Sprinkle your cake flour into each ramekin. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of First Choice Custard into each ramekin. Toss together the apple slices, melted butter, cinnamon & sugar making sure the apple slices are covered well. Top each pasty with 2 to 3 apple slices and cook for 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before servin...

Recipe for Brown Velvet Dessert Recipe Courtesy @Spar Ingredients(Serves: 6) 60 g SPAR full-fat margarine 45 ml corn-flour 500 ml SPAR full-cream milk 50 ml SPAR light brown sugar 5 ml vanilla essence 2 ml cream of tartar 2 large SPAR eggs, beaten 25 ml brandy 250 ml SPAR fresh cream 1 Flake chocolate Method Break the biscuits into the base of a dessert dish Cook a basic white sauce using the margarine, corn flour and milk. Bring to the boil briefly, then stir in the sugar and essence. Remove the pot off the heat and slowly mix in the egg, stirring in well. Lastly stir in the brandy. Pour this velvety smooth sauce over the biscuits and refrigerate once it has cooled down slightly at room temperature. When it has firmed up considerably, cover with stiffly whipped cream and crumble the chocolate over. Serve chilled. Hints and Tips The cream of tartar gives substance and emphasises the creaminess of a sauce such as this.

Passion Fruit Pudding Cake Recipe Courtesy - @africanbites Ingredients 2 fresh passion fruit sub ¼ cup passion fruit ¼ cup passion fruit puree 1 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 3 large eggs separated 1/3 cup melted butter ¾ cup whole milk ¼ teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon Lemon/Lime Juice 1 Tablespoon lime Zest 1 Tablespoon rum optional Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease a 2 quart oven safe dish (ceramic, glass,Pyrex custard cups) or 8 “4 “ounce ramekins generously with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2/3 granulated sugar, salt and flour. Set aside. In a Large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, butter, milk, rum, lime zest, lime juice and passion fruit puree, and pulp until fully combined. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to just combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites for about a minute then add sugar and continue mixing on medium-high unt...

OAT & DATE TRAY BAKE Recipe Courtesy - @Supremeflour INGREDIENTS 370 g Dates pitted and chopped 30 ml Lemon juice 150 g Castor sugar 150 ml Water 190 g / 1 ¼ cups Cake Wheat Flour 220 g Brown sugar (Demerara) 120 g / 1 cup Rolled oats ½ teaspoon Salt 155 g Margarine METHOD Pre-heat oven to 200°C. To make date filling: In a saucepan over low heat, combine dates, water, castor sugar and lemon juice. Heat for ±10 minutes or until thick. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine flour, Demerara sugar, oats and salt. Mix until well blended. Rub in margarine until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Press half the oats mixture into a square baking tray and cover with the date mixture. Chill in fridge for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, press the rest of the mix on cling wrap to form the approximate width and length of the tray. Take out the chilled tray and invert on top, filling any holes. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool, the...

Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake Recipe Courtesy @Hulettssugar Ingredients: For the Sponge Cake 3 extra large egg whites 12 g Huletts Castor Sugar 100 g ground almonds 100 g Huletts Icing Sugar 3 extra large eggs 35g cake flour, sifted 30 g unsalted butter, melted For the Buttercream 3 extra large egg yolks 70 g (1/3 cup) Huletts Castor Sugar 225 g unsalted butter, cubed and softened 10 ml (2 t) vanilla essence For the Chocolate Ganache 100 ml double cream 100 ml dark chocolate, broken into small pieces 60 ml (4 T) strong black coffee or liqueur of your choice (optional) Method: Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Grease and line a 33 x 23 cm swiss roll tin with baking paper. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until stiff peaks form. Add the castor sugar, one teaspoon at a time, whisking between each addition to make a glossy meringue. Cover with cling film and set aside. Tip the ground almonds and icing sugar into the...

Cappuccino Squares Recipe Courtesy - @Stork Ingredients Base Ingredients:  125g Stork Bake margarine  ¼ cup sugar  1 ¼ cups of cake flour ¼ tsp baking powder Filling Ingredients: 1 can condensed milk 30g Stork Bake margarine 2 tbsp golden syrup 3 tsp instant coffee powder 1/3 cup of chopped walnuts or pecan nuts (optional) Topping Ingredients: 1 cup of cake flour 2 tsp cinnamon 1/3 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed 125g Stork Bake margarine Method Topping Method: Sift the dry ingredients into a dish and rub in the Stork Bake margarine. Add the brown sugar and mix to a stiff dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge. Filling Method: Combine condensed milk, Stork Bake margarine, golden syrup and coffee powder in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until mixture begins to bubble on base of pan. Continue stirring briskly for about 3 minutes or until mixture is thick a...

BAKED PEARS WITH SPICED ALMOND & GOOD MORNING™ BISCUIT FILLING Recipe Courtesy - @Bakers Ingredients 1 x packet Bakers Good Morning™ Peach & Apricot biscuits, crushed 3 large pears Butter 1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted Fresh cream for serving Instructions Preheat your oven to 180 C. Cut your peard in half lengthways, and scoop out the center so you have a hole for the filling. Add a piece of butter in each hole. In a bowl, combine the almonds, cookies, cinnamon, honey and melted coconut oil. Mix to combine. Add your filling into each of the pears, don’t worry if it overflows. Once your oven is ready, bake your pears for approximately 30 mins or until you can insert a knife into the pears with ease. Serve warm with a drizzle of fresh cream.

Karoo steamed Christmas pudding Recipe Courtesy - @Foodandhomeentertaining INGREDIENTS 475g (2½ cups) mixed dried fruit 125ml (½ cup) rooibos or honeybush tea 100g (½ cup) brown sugar 65g butter + extra, for greasing 2,5ml (½ tsp) bicarbonate of soda 1 lightly beaten egg 30ml (2 tbsp) brandy 60g (½ cup) plain flour 70g (½ cup) self-raising flour 5ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon 2,5ml (½ tsp) nutmeg 2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cloves 60ml (¼ cup) walnuts, roughly chopped 5 silver coins, washed thoroughly INSTRUCTIONS Place the fruit in a large saucepan with the tea, sugar and butter. Stir constantly over high heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add the egg and the brandy to the fruit mixture, stirring. Sift together the flours and spices, and add the walnuts. Add the s...