South African pancakes

Back home in South Africa you would find everyone eating pancakes when it was raining. I love pancakes so much it doesn't even have to be raining for me to whip up a batch.

I am a pancake snob though, you either have the right recipe or you don’t. Back home when you went to church markets you would find these old ladies making these lovely pancakes. They were always the BEST, I was convinced that when you get old that you miraculously wake up one morning and instantly know the secret recipe..... lol well I believed that until now that is. I came across this recipe on http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=934533 and decided to give it a try. The recipe calls for vinegar but I substituted it for lemon juice.

When I started mixing all the ingredients together I though this was bound to be a disaster, but I kept the faith and proceeded with following the recipe step by step. I was tempted to add more flour but decided that if this is the way its suppose to be I should at least try it.

Success!!!! I found the recipe I have been looking for!! I made a few pancakes, sprinkled them with cinnamon and sugar and run to my husband in the other room, I think my face said it all I had this massive cheesy grin on my face, he tried it and was ecstatic. Not only have I found the recipe ive been searching for but I have a taste of home right here with me.

So here we go enjoy:

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour
3 eggs
half a cup of oil (any oil should work)
25mL vinegar (regular white vinegar or 35ml fresh squeezed lemon juice)
3mL salt
15mL Baking Powder
4 cups of water

Method:
1.Grab a BIG mixing bowl and beat the eggs and water together until well blended,then add the oil,salt and vinegar/lemon and mix well.
2.Sift in the flour, mix well. Make sure that you have a smooth lump free mixture.
3.Now lastly add the baking powder,and stir that in.
4.The consistency will be very runny so dont let that have you worried ,trust me on this and stick to the recipe.
5.The mixture works best if you leave it to stand for a few hours (i leave mine to stand either over night or for 2hours+)
6.Get out a round non stick frying pan,the non stick pans work best. You can add a little bit of oil to the pan if you like but i find its then too oily and cause the batter has oil in it there is no need for it in the pan as well.
7.Heat up your pan on a meduim heat.Take 1 laddle full of batter to the pan. I lift and tilt the pan as i pour in the mixture ,this way spreading the mixture evenly .

8.The pan cake will make bubbles like you see here above. when the sides start lifting a bit then you know it should be ready to flip. Loosen the sides a little with a flexable spatula. The move the pan back and forth (the pancake should be loose and easly moving around the pan now), then lift the pan push forward ,up and pull back catching your pancake............okay okay you dont have to do this, but give it a try its fun. You can also use a big spatula or two to flip the pan cake over quickly.
It will look like this:

9.Now cook it on this side for about a minute (depending on the heat of your pan). Flip the pan cake over again to check, it should look like this below:

10. Slid it off the pan onto a plate. It is now ready to be filled with what every you like. I like mine the traditional way with cinnamon ,sugar and a squeez of lemon juice over it.

Just mix some white sugar and cinnamon together to your taste,sprinkle on the pan cake ,squeez some lemon juice and roll up the pan cake. Now for the best part "tuck in" and enjoy :)

YUMMY!!!!!!

Strawberry Vanilla Muffins

I spent the morning before work at the market in Birmingham, and I was amazed at great fresh produce that they have there, from the eggs, cheese down to the fresh juicy strawberries. I left there with 3 bags full of fresh fruit:) I bought these lovely juicy strawberries and it got me thinking what I could make with them (besides just eating them straight from the box hehe).

So after much thought I settled on muffins, after a busy long day at work I wanted something quick,non complicated and simple and these even though they simple they are just delicious.

This recipe is great to use to add a few other ingredients, blue berries, canned apples,pineapple,chocolate chips, white chocolate chips etc ,and then depending what you decide to add you can add a few extra flavour to it as well e.g.: lemon zest, orange zest,cinnomon well the options are endless. I haven’t tried turning these into chocolate muffins to be honest but I wouldn’t I would rather use one of my other old time favourite chocolate muffin recipes(stay tuned for that soon).

So here you go enjoy.


Ingredients:

2 Cups of all purpose flour

1 Cup Granulated white sugar

12,5ml Baking powder

pinch of salt

10ml Vanilla Extract

60ml Oil or melted butter(I used oil)

1 Cup of milk (I used skimmed milk)

1/2 Cup of chopped fresh strawberries (I had about 4 pieces per muffin)

1 Large egg

Method:

Pre heat oven to 200C

1. Sift all the dry ingredients (flour,salt,sugar,baking powder).
2.In a separate bowl or measuring jug, beat the egg and mixing the rest of the wet ingredients.
3.Add the wet ingredients, you just mixed , with the dry ingredients, mix until just combined.
4.Now add your chopped strawberries. You can add more or even less strawberries if you like.

5.Line muffin pans with muffin cups or small cup cake cups(I used the small cup cake cups) and scoop mixture into them about 3/4 full.
6.Bake at 200C for 15-20min

7.Allow them to cool in the muffin pans for 10min before moving them to a wire cooling rack.

I think a good combination with the strawberry muffins would be a bit of lemon zest about half a lemons zest or otherwise for a bit of warth and a bit of aroma I would also add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. If you’re feeling a bit indulgent why not add some white chocolate chips to the strawberry muffins :)

If you were to add choc chips, use your judgement as too how much you would like but I would start with 1/2 a cup no more than a cup .

Well happy baking and enjoy these xoxo

Baking with a bit of inspiration .....

What inspires you to bake or take on a new baking challenge?

Is it the excitement about sinking your teeth into a new baked treat or do you enjoy watching the Food Network channel? I know what gets me excited to bake is watching a show and seeing something totally different, I enjoy a good baking challenge. I have had my fair share of baking mistakes and "flops" and as frustrating as it is when this happens, it’s also good to learn from these mistakes. I am itching to take on a new challenge for baking.... not too sure what is on the cards yet...

What are you going to be baking this up and coming weekend?something new? or a old family favorite?
What challenge would you like to take on in the kitchen ?

Peanut Butter Chicken Tandori Curry

Being a newly married couple we have had to get use to cooking our own meals. I decided to make my own version of a curry with peanut butter. The first time I made it I can honestly say it wasn’t great so I adjusted the recipe ,tweaked it here and there and tried again....success :) I now think I have my very own signature dish. I make this often and I just can’t get enough of it . So give it a go!

Ingredients:

3 boneless & skin less chicken breast chopped into blocks
60ml Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
10ml Tandori Spice ( mine isn’t very strong so adjust to your taste)
1 Red bell pepper
1 Onion
2 Cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp Smooth Peanut Butter
1 chicken stock cube ( dissolved in 400ml water)

Suggestions: I served my dish with steamed carrots and peas, and some Jasmine rice.

Method:

1. Marinade the chicken . Get a zip lock bag or a medium size bowl. Put in the chopped up chicken,Olive,pinch or 2 of salt, Pepper to taste,Tandori spice and chopped up garlic. Massage it all into the chicken and marinade for 12 hours.

2.Now that the chicken is marinated take it out the fridge and set it aside while you sauté the onions in some olive oil in a pan.

3. Add the Red Bell peppers and fry with the onions for a few seconds.

4.Remove the onions and bell peppers and place in a bowl to the side for now.

5.Add the chicken to the pan ,marinade and all and brown the chicken .

6. Now add the onions and bell peppers bake into the pan with the chicken.

7.Add the chicken stock just enough to cover the chicken slightly , you probably wont need all of the chicken stock but use your own judgement as well.

8.Turn the pan down and allow it to simmer for 10min. Add now the peanut butter and mix in till it melts(this will also thicken the sauce).

9.Alow this to simmer for a further 10min or until the sauce has thickened a bit (it should now be watery)

10. Remove from the stove and serve with rice and steamed vegetables.

Enjoy xoxo

Happy cooking xoxo

Banana Bread!

I guess being in a new country so far away from home has me home sick and what better way to cure a bit of that than with a taste of home. Here I sit with a cup of "Rooiboss" tea, you might know it as "Red Bush Tea" and what do I have baking in the oven? BANANA BREAD :)

I decided to bake 1 small loaf and with the left over batter I will make small banana muffins (great to just put in your bag for a quick snack or for lunch). This recipe is one of the "cream the sugar and butter together" kind, so if you remember my post about the importance of this step, do not skip on this.

So with out further a due here is my Banana Bread recipe, use it to either make a loaf or muffins with this.

Ingredients:

125ml (1/2 Cup) Butter

1 Cup Sugar (Light brown or white)

2 Large Eggs

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

4-6 Banana's (Mashed)

2,5ml Vanilla Extract

Pinch of salt

2,5ml Cinnamon (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oven to 180C.Cream together the butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs one at a time, beat well after each one.

3. Add the vanilla.

4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon (optional) and mix.

5. Now add and mix in the mashed up bananas.(I cut them up befor I mash them it makes the mashing easier)

6. Put mixture into a small/medium size loaf pan or divide into muffin pans.

7. Loaf -bake for about 1hr (check loaf at 50min as ovens vary)

8. Muffins - 20-25min depending on size of muffins.

9. Remove from oven when tester comes out clean. Cool and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this just as much as I always do. I love to enjoy mine still warm out the oven with some butter or margarine.

They are so soft and just lushes in there banana goodness..... yum

Happy baking xoxo

BAKING TIP #2 - Ingredients

You have your recipe ready and your ready to get started but have you made sure that:

Eggs, are they at room temperature? It’s a very important thing to remember. Take your eggs out of the fridge about 1-2 hours before baking. When baking with eggs you are creating an emulsion and for the emulsion to remain "stable" the egg needs to be at room temperature. You could end up with a very flat or crumbly type of texture.

Vanilla,

Are you baking with Vanilla essence or Vanilla Extract? Vanilla essence is NOT REAL VANILLA! The way I feel about vanilla is that if you don’t have vanilla extract and your about to use the essence STOP just don’t even bother adding it at all. If you have never used the Vanilla extract, do your self a favour go out today and get some Vanilla extract or Vanilla Paste. You will taste a major difference in your baking, and you will never ever use vanilla essence ever again .Nothing beats the real thing.

Cream, is your cream cold and is the bowl you going to beat it in cold bowl as well? For the best results when beating cream make sure that your cream is straight from the fridge. If you are able to put the bowl, that you will be using to beat the cream in , in the fridege then do so for about and hour.

Be for your start baking make sure you have read through the recipe ,check that you have ALL the ingredients and last but not least take out all the ingredients you will be using.

Remember that baking should be fun , so dont get stressed if you make mistakes or your cake flops or your cookies are hard as rocks ,we all had to start some where. So pick up that wisk and get in that kitchen and have FUN! :) xoxo

BAKING TIP #1 -Why should we bother to cream the butter and sugar?

I am sure you have at some or other point, in your baking life, come across a recipe asking you to first cream the butter and the sugar together. I don’t know about you but some times im in the mood for a "throw it all in one bowl" sorta recipe and I'm not in the mood for all the work it takes to cream the butter and sugar. The creaming the butter and sugar together is actually very important to a recipe, when it asks for the butter to be creamed don’t ignore this and decide to just throw it all in a bowl and hope for the best .

Creaming the butter and sugar together puts air bubbles into the mixture; it also helps in the dissolving of the sugar during the baking process. The creaming also helps it rise as well. If you were to take a recipe that asks for creaming of the butter and sugar and just put all of the ingredients in one bowl and mix it all together, you will most likely end up with a texture that is dense and flat.

How to cream the Butter and sugar:


The butter or margarine should not be straight of the fridge nor should it be at room temperature. Take out the amount of butter needed about 1hr before you will start baking. Cut it into blocks.

Then soften the butter first, you can use a wooden spoon or a standing mixer using the paddle attachment.

Now you can start adding the sugar, little bits at a time, creaming well after each time you have added sugar.

Once you have added all the sugar carry on creaming the mixture.

What you are looking for is a mixture that is lighter in colour as well as lighter in texture.

It is allot easier using a standing mixer ,especially if you have allot to bake, but I do sometimes believe that the "old school" way of creaming is the best way , and I can thank my Mum for that , she taught me and showed me just what a big difference it can make.

So roll up the sleeves and work that elbow grease and get baking xoxo

South African "Plaat Koekies" -Flap Jacks-Crumpets

 
I remember making these as a little kid, coming home from school and having these for lunch. I’m all grown up and I still enjoy the buttery goodness of these soft scrumptious flap jacks. These are known all over by different names, in SA we call then "Plaat Koekies" or Flap Jacks and in America and the UK they known by the name Crumpets.

Once you have the basic recipe for these the options as to what to add to them is endless eg: chocolate chips, strawberries, blue berries etc.

I love mine with butter and honey, but I have also been known to add fresh strawberries to the batter and serving them with some fresh soft wiped cream.... im hungry just thinking about these..... ;)

Here is the recipe I've used ever since I could use the stove.

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Milk
25ml Oil
2 Cups Flour
20ml Baking Powder
2,5ml Salt

Method:

1.Beat together the eggs,sugar,oil and 1/2 of the milk.
2.Sift together the flour,baking powder and salt and add it slowly to the wet ingredients.
3.Slowly add the milk bit by bit.
4.Mix until smooth and lump free.
5. Do Not mix after this .
6. Bake in a warm pan that has either been sprayed with spray and cook or is non stick .
7. You will know its ready to turn when tiny bubbles appear on the top. Flip them and cook for a few more seconds.

I like mine as i have mentioned with some butter and honey , but try it with what ever you like ,jam,cheese,honey,strawberries and cream etc.

Happy baking xoxo

Chai Cocoa Short Bread Cookies

If you have ever tried a Chia Tea Latte or a simple cup of Chia tea then you will love these. I got inspired to make these as the weather here in the UK is getting cooler. If
I could add the smell that’s coming out of the oven right now I would, I can’t wait for them to come out the oven so I can devour each and every single one of these happy cookies. Okay okay maybe I won’t eat them all.... ill share a few ;)

Chia tea if you don’t know of it yet, is a spiced tea. It’s a combination of spices like spicy cinnamon, nutmeg. It’s a milky aromatic tea from India and its proper name is masala chai, Chia means tea so we are actually saying Tea Tea, BUT who cares its so delicious and so aromatic, it’s a great "pick me up"

So go a head try these out and let me know if you love them just as much as i do .


Ingredients:

1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Icing sugar
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
4 tbs(60ml) Chia Tea Latte Powder
120g Unsalted softened Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method:

1.Combine the flour,icing sugar,Chia powder and cocoa.
2.Add the butter and vanilla.
3. Pulse until its combined and the mixture forms a ball , IF you dont have a standing mixer you can always use your hand to combine it all. It makes no difference in the texture. I will take a while to combine with your hands just keep at it and I know you will think the mixture is too dry and its never going to combine BUT DONT ADD ANY THING ELSE TO IT, it will combine.
4.Gather the dough together and place on a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a log form(see my picture below).

5.Place it now in the fridge for about 15 min.
6.Pre heat oven to 300F or 150C.
7.Un wrap the dough from the cling wrap and cut slices with a sharp knife. About 4mm thick. Place them on a non stick baking sheet or on a baking sheet linned with baking paper.(I get about 24 cookies out of this dough)

8.Bake for 15-20 min (oven vary so check them at 15min) they should be a semi-firm to the touch.
9.Put cookies on a wire rack and cool them.

They great for when you have the family coming over for some tea or coffee , or for when the winter blues is getting you ,make a cuppa and have a few of these happy bites.

Vanilla Sugar Cookies

Old Fashioned Vanilla Sugar Cookies MY WAY ;)

I love giving baked gifts to my friends and family and this is one recipe I use often. I baked a whole batch for last mothers day for my Mum and mother in law and they loved it. These cookies are so "more-ish" and because i love the combination of vanilla and almond I just had to sandwich 2 of this vanilla cookies together with a simple yet delicious almond icing.
So whether you make these for someone special or simply make them to fill the cookie jar , I can promise you will simply love them.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter or Margarine
1 Cup Sugar
1 egg
25ml Milk
2,5ml Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose or Cake Flour
10ml Baking powder
2,5ml Salt

Method:

1.Cream together the butter and sugar until light. (this is a very important step , add the sugar little bits at a time)
2.Add the egg,milk and vanilla and mix well.
3.Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.
4.let the mixture stand for about a hour in a cool place.
Note: if your not planning on using a cookie cutter to cut out shapes then what you can do is shape the dough into a long log shape and wrap up with cling wrap and place it in the fridge for the hour.
5.Pre heat oven to 190C and roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface 3mm-4mm thick and cut out shapes using a cookies cutter. If you have decided to wrap up the dough in the cling wrap in a log shape you can ,instead of rolling out the dough, cut slices.
6.Place cookies on a baking sheet that has been linned with baking paper or sprayed with 'spray & cook".
7.Sprinkle each cookie with a light sprinkle of white sugar befor baking.
8.Bake for 8-10 min,they should NOT be golden brown ,use the color in my picture as a guide (ovens my vary so keep a eye on your first batch)

Almond Icing

Ingredients:

Icing sugar
Almond Extract
Milk

Method:

Depending how many cookies you want to ice it will depend how much of the ingredients you will need.
I simply mixed the icing sugar with milk so that it was  spread-able  (not a paste)Ii added a few drops to taste of the almond extract ,be careful the almond extract is strong.
You can color the icing if you wish, I did as I felt it looked very special for mothers day.
Then simply spread a layer on a cookie and sandwich another on top .
Easy right ?! :)

Enjoy and happy baking xoxo

Biscotti Craze ;)

Biscotti Baby!
Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti dipped in White Chocolate

Who doesn't enjoy sitting back with your feet up ,cup of coffee in the one hand and a Biscotti in the other. This was very easy to make and you can adjust just how "hard" you like your Biscotti and how "thick" as well.
They make a lovely gift but who needs an excuse to make these? Go a head treat yourself ;)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
6 tbs Room temperature butter
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Large eggs
1 tbs Lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Cup Dried chopped Cranberries
3/4 Cup Pistachios
Wax Paper
White chocolate (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Sift flour,baking powder and salt.
3. In a seperate bowl beat together the butter and sugar.Beat in the eggs 1 at a time,making sure to beat well after each egg.
4.Mix in lemon zest and vanilla.
5.Add the flour to this mixture and mix.
6.Stir in the cranberries and the pistachios.(the dough will be sticky)
7.Turn dough out onto a floured surface, gather the dough together and divide the dough into two.
8. Roll and shape each half into a 'log" shape . 15- inch long and 1 1/4 inch wide.
9.Transfer each log onto a baking tray that is lined with the wax paper.
10.Bake until ALMOST firm 28-35min. Remove and cool them on the sheet for about 15 min.
NOTE: Keep the oven on still and keep the temperature the same.
11.Transfer the logs onto a cutting board and using a serrated knife cut slices about 1/2 inch thick. (use your discretion).
12.Line baking sheet with new wax paper and place the slices cut side down and bake in the oven untill firm and pale golden brown (aprox 9min each side ,ovens may vary ).
13. Once they have cooled melt the white chocolate and dip one side of each biscotti in the white chocolate and allow them to dry on a wire rack befor serving.


I know that it might seem like allot of work but actually once you get going you will realize that its very simple and well worth it.