Custard slices

A recipe I got from Andre's mom. One of the few sweet things I make that he will eat. 

Ingredients:

1 tin condensed milk

lemon juice

2 heaped tablespoons custard powder

about 500 ml milk

2 heaped teaspoons sugar

Nice biscuits (or Tennis biscuits if you're in SA)

Here's how to make it:

1. Pour condensed milk into a bowl and fold in lemon juice until the condensed milk becomes quite thick. Next time I will measure how much lemon juice I used. You will need a few tablespoons full. It doesn't need to be solid. Just a bit thicker than when you poured it from the tin.

2. Place a layer of biscuits in the bottom of the dish and around the sides. I used a smallish dish. Let me go measure it... it's 22cm x 17cm.  One packet of biscuits was just enough for this size of dish. You will need a bit more if your dish is any bigger.)

3. Mix custard powder and sugar with a little bit of milk.

4. Heat 500ml milk. Stir in custard mixture and keep stirring until boiling.

5. Pour warm custard over biscuits in dish.

6. Pack another layer of biscuits over the custard, keeping aside one biscuit.

7. Pour condensed milk mixture over the second layer of biscuits and crumble the one biscuit you kept aside over the top.

8. Refrigerate until set.

Apple Crisp - This is a good one!

No pictures of this one as it isn't a pretty looking dessert in the dish. You could dress it up in a bowl with some ice cream. I've already had a taste of it now before dinner and it's so good. It can do with some cream or vanilla ice cream.

I got the recipe here, but will type it out simpler the way I like it.

Peel and core 5 - 8 apples and slice into 1/2 to 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in oven dish.
Add:
3/4 cups sugar (I only used half that and will leave the sugar in the apple mixture out completely next time.)
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Mix well.

In a separate bowl mix the topping:
3/4 cup oats
3/4 cup sugar (again I used less or it will be way too sweet)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
optional: shopped nuts (I didn't add this as I don't like nuts much.)

Spread topping over apple mixture and bake at 190C for 45 minutes.

Have a taste test straight away then serve to your guests with ice cream or cream!

Apple and Sparkling Cider Sorbet

I've been trying out new recipes and here's one of them: it's a grown-up sorbet and deliciously refreshing. You really get that fresh apple taste and just a bit of the apple cider taste in there too. Here's the recipe:


1 kg apples
2 cups sparkling dry apple cider
1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cups water
1/2 whole lemon, juiced (or to taste)

Quarter the apples and remove cores. Don't peel them. Cut into chunks.
Combine cider, sugar and water and bring to boil.
Add apples, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 min.
Turn off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature for about 3 hours.

Strain the apples, pressing firmly to extract the pulp and all the liquid. I placed a colander over a large bowl and mushed it around with a spoon.
Discard the peels.
Add lemon juice to taste.

Refrigerate overnight, then freeze. You can use an ice cream maker, but I don't have one so I just put it into a tub in the freezer, stirring after an hour or two.

Apple Pie

Yesterday I started looking for recipes containing apples. We have a lovely big apple tree in our garden now. They must be cooking apples as they're not that great tasting as is, but they're great in the apple pie I made yesterday.

I've only ever made apple pie using canned apples, never fresh. This time I used our own fresh apples straight off the tree. I think I used two for the apple pie. Peel, core and slice the apples. Place them in a pot with 1 part sugar to 3 parts water. Simmer for a few minutes until they just become soft, then remove from syrup.

Here's the apple pie recipe if you like baking:

2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
60g margarine
1/4 C milk
1 C self-raising flour
1 tin apples or 2 whole apples (see above)

Whisk eggs and sugar.
Melt margarin and add.
Add milk, then flour.
Mix well and pour into pie dish.
Place apples on top.

Bake 30 min at 180C

Syrup
Melt:
3/4 C cream
1 t caramel essence
3/4 C sugar

Use fork to pierce pie once it's baked. Pour syrup over and place back into warm oven for a few minutes.

Serve with cream or ice cream.

Victoria Sponge Cake

This has been one of Andre's favourites since we've moved to England. It's a basic sponge cake with layers of strawberry jam and cream in between.

The plan was to have just two layers. I cheated and bought a packet of cake mix. Plain vanilla sponge. My round cake tin was slightly bigger than what the packet instructions wanted me to use so the two layers came out a little thin. I still haven't learnt my lesson with these cake mixes: buy double what you need. A mix that promises to make 12 cupcakes, usually only just makes 9.

So back to the shop I went for another packet of cake mix. This time I poured the whole mix in one cake tin. That's why you see three layers with the top one slightly higher.

I didn't have strawberry jam so used a mixed berry instead which is just as nice. Spread the jam on top of the first layer and top with whipped cream. Place next layer on top and repeat jam and cream before placing the final layer. 

Now a traditional Victoria Sponge cake will have castor sugar sifted over the top. Andre requested butter cream icing, so I made half a batch of this and used:

70 g butter

140 g icing sugar

1/2 T milk

Beat together until smooth and creamy. 

It was just enough for a good layer of icing on top. The cake tastes AMAZING. Andre even had some after dinner last night and he doesn't often eat dessert!

Zucchini Bread

I've read about Zucchini bread a while back, but the thought of zucchini in a bread just didn't sound right to me. But then I started thinking if we can put carrots in carrot cake then perhaps zucchini could work too.

When I looked at the sugar that goes into this bread it's obviously not a savoury one and I expected it might be something like a banana bread. It is, only better!

André thought it was some fancy Swiss recipe I was trying out. He did not see the ingredients. So I let him believe that because I knew he would also be quite a bit unsure about eating zucchini in a sweet bread, more like a cake. And I was right.

I managed to get a picture seconds before the last slice got eaten.

After he finished about four slices:

Me: Do you like this bread?

Andre: Yeah it's awesome!

Me: Is it better than banana bread? (He LOVES banana bread, it was his favourite, until now.)

Andre: Oh yes, this is way better!

Me: Do you know what it is?

Andre: No, what?

Me: Zucchini bread.

Andre: WHAT??? NO!!! Don't lie!!

Me: It is, see those green bits there? That's zucchini.

Andre: I used to hate zucchini when I was a kid.

So here's what you need to go do RIGHT now. Sift:

3 c flour

1 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t baking powder

3 t cinnamon

Then in another bowl you need to beat:

3 eggs

1 c oil

2 c sugar (I used 1 c white and 1 c brown)

3 t vanilla

Then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well.

Add 3-4 c grated zucchini and stir it in. You might need to actually just use your hands and squish it in there to get it really mixed in with the dough. Go on, it feels good.

PS Don't squeeze out any water from the grated zucchini, you need the moisture in the bread.

Then put half the dough in a bread pan and bake 40-60 minutes at 165 C. Mine baked 55 minutes. You need to test to see if it's ready. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes. Then remove from the pan and cool completely.

Oh, then go ahead and bake the rest of the dough. It makes 2 loaves. You can also make individual zucchini muffins instead. I'm going to freeze one loaf.

Enjoy with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon!

PS The bread looks a bit pale on these pictures. I don't know what happened to the colour when I imported it here. But believe me, it looks better in real life!

Hungarian Tart

This is something I first had at my mother-in-law's house after she baked it. I asked her to email me the recipe earlier this weekend because it's something my husband really likes too. It's so easy to make and has no special ingredients so I didn't even need to go shopping when I decided to bake this morning.

Ingredients:

Apricot jam

125 g margarine

2 T sugar

2 T oil

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla essence

2 C flour

2 t baking powder

salt

Mix margarine and sugar until creamy.

Add oil and vanilla essence - mix well.

Beat egg and add to mixture.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt - add to mixture and mix well.

Knead slightly to form soft biscuit dough.

Press a little more than half of the dough into a baking tray or pie dish. Also press it up the sides a bit. (Next time I will use a bigger dish, my dough at the bottom is a bit thick. It shouldn't be too thick.)

Generously spread apricot jam over dough.

Grate remaining dough over jam.

*I found it doesn't grate like you would grate cheese. I kind of just pushed the dough through the grater to get little dough "worms" all over.

Bake at 170 C for about 30 minutes until light brown.

You could slice it while still hot, but we like to eat it like a biscuit when it's cooled down completely and the jam has set. In the picture below you can see the jam is still hot and runny. I couldn't wait of course! But it's now in the fridge to set. Doesn't have to go in the fridge. I'm not even sure if it should go in the fridge? But as I said, I can't wait and am trying to speed up the cooling process!

Chocolate Cake

After the milk tart André seemed to be in a sweet mood - he wanted chocolate cake. It's his birthday next week so I decided to bake a pre-birthday cake. I have this great chocolate cake recipe, it's the best, well I think so, but André doesn't. He wanted a traditional chocolate cake with two layers and it had to have a caramel and apricot jam filling. Mmm. Ok, so we had to go buy a cake tin, that ring thingy for baking a round cake in.

The recipe didn't tell me how long to bake the cake for, it only said bake until a knife comes out clear when you test it. So I opened the oven about four times to check. When it came out clean, I left it an extra 5 min - just to be sure. Well. Don't do that. Our chocolate cake turned out nice and crispy around the edges and on top! Not too bad though, we're still enjoying it!!

Ingredients:

Mix 90 g cocoa with 130 g brown sugar.

Heat 285 ml milk on medium heat until it starts to bubble.

Gradually add the cocoa-sugar mixture. Beat until smooth and leave to cool.

Cream 125 g butter.

Gradually add 250 g caster sugar.

Add 3 eggs, one at a time.

Add 1 t vanilla essence.

Beat until light.

Sift together 250 g flour + 1 t baking powder + 1 t baking soda.

Add alternately with cocoa mixture to butter mixture.

Beat until smooth.

Bake at 180 C for approximately 60 min. But do check before- you don't want it over done like mine!

Then we cut the cake in half with a piece of thread, or André cut it. Spread apricot jam on the bottom half with caramel over the jam. Place the top half onto this spread and spread icing and decorate! We made icing using butter, powder sugar and cocoa.

Doesn't this look delicious? Mmmm...

You want a bite?

Oh, you want to taste the apricot - caramel inside? Surprisingly good isn't it?

Ok, that's enough now. The rest is mine. Go bake your own!

Milk tart - first attempt

Before I tell you about the milk tart I just have to show you what I bought today. I'm so excited about it. My baking has been limited here in Switzerland until now without this. Look.

Don't you love the color? I do! And it happens to go with my kitchen which has some touches of red. And look what it can do, frothed milk! Pretty, hey?

Ok, so I wanted to bake something this morning after buying this and I asked André what he'd like me to bake. It needs to be something he likes, otherwise I end up eating it all. He doesn't eat much sweet stuff, so I might just end up having to eat it all myself anyway... But I really wanted to bake something and from the list I gave André to choose from, he chose milk tart.

I have two recipes. One is my grandma's recipe which my mom made in Melkbos some time ago. It turned out really good. But the other recipe I have, one without a crust, sounded way easier so of course I chose the easy way out. Perhaps not the best choice! I will give you both recipes in a minute. If you look at the picture you can see the two layers and it feels as though something separated which shouldn't have. The bottom is too dense and the top too foamy. I looked up other recipes on the internet afterwards and the first one I found is exactly this recipe I used today and the reviews say that it is supposed to form a sort of crust with the bottom layer. So maybe it's supposed to be like this. Just not the way I know milk tart. And I like a pastry crust so next time I'll try the other one and let you know how that turns out.

But here's both recipes so you can choose and let me know what you think if you do try it.

Today's recipe: Crustless Milk Tart

4 C milk

1 C sugar

1 t baking powder

1 C flour

2 T butter

1 t vanilla

3 eggs, separated

pinch of salt

Beat the egg whites until stiff.

Melt butter and add sugar, salt and egg yolks. Mix.

Add baking powder and flour. Gradually add milk and vanilla.

Fold in the egg whites.

Pour into an oven dish. Bake at 180C for 30-40 min. (I baked mine for 50 min today. It musn't be too wobbly when you take it out. It will be a little wobbly, but if too much it won't set properly.)

Sprinkle with cinnamon while still hot. Leave to cool and set.

And here's my Ouma's recipe:

Melktert

500 ml milk

30 ml butter

1 cinnamon stick

pinch of salt

2 extra large eggs, separated

100 ml milk

15 ml flour

30 ml maizena (cornflour)

125 ml sugar

Puff pastry

cinnamon

Heat milk, cinnamon stick, salt and butter.

Heat until just before boiling point.

Beat egg yolks, sugar, 100 ml milk, flour and cornflour.

Add a little bit of the warm milk to the egg mixture and beat well. (This is important, don't ask me why but you have to do it this way!)

Now add the egg mixture to the rest of the warm milk. Keep stirring until it starts thickening.

It will start looking like custard.

Let the mixture cool completely.

Line dish with puff pastry.

When the mixture has cooled completely, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in.

Pour into dish and bake at 180C for about 35 min. (Would probably be longer.)

As with the first recipe, it mustn't be too wobbly when you take it out the oven.

Allow to cool and sprinkle with cinnamon.