Koeksister balls,Dirt Bombs,Nutella Brownies

Koeksister balls
Heavenly bites of a traditional favourite.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Skill level: medium
Makes about 45
Syrup
5 x 250 ml (1 kg) sugar
500 ml water
2 ml cream of tartar
2 ml salt
1 small piece fresh root ginger, peeled
1 small piece lemon peel
45 ml fresh lemon juice
Dough
625 ml (350 g) Snowflake cake wheat flour
15 ml Snowflake baking powder
3 ml salt
60 g butter or margarine
1 extra-large egg
125 ml water
15 ml fresh lemon juice
cooking oil for deep-frying
1. Syrup: Combine all ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan.
Heat and stir until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and
simmer for 10 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate, preferably
overnight.
2. Dough: Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Rub in
butter with fingertips until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Whisk egg, water and lemon juice together. Add to flour
mixture, cut in with a knife and knead lightly to a soft
dough.
4. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
5. Roll dough into heaped teaspoon-size balls. Heat oil in a
small, heavy-based saucepan. Deep-fry balls in hot oil,
turning constantly, until golden brown. Remove from oil with a
slotted spoon and immediately drop into ice-cold syrup. Place
on wire racks. Refrigerate for a few days before serving.
Variation
– Cut the dough into 6 x 9 cm strips and plait to make
traditional koeksisters. Makes about 30.
Dirt Bombs
Like a cinnamon-sugar doughnut in
muffin form. You’ve been warned.
Ingredients
Servings: Makes 12
muffins
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½
½
¾
1
1
teaspoon ground nutmeg
cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
cup sugar
large egg
cup whole milk
topping and assembly
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
Recipe Tips
Preparation
muffins
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan
with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt,
and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in a
large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat
in egg. With mixer on low speed, add dry ingredients in
3 additions alternating with milk in 2 additions,
beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
Divide batter among muffin cups and bake, rotating pan
halfway through, until a tester inserted into center
comes out clean, 30–35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes in
pan, then transfer to a wire rack.
topping and assembly
Mix sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Working one at
a time, dip tops of muffins in melted butter, then
cinnamon sugar.
DO AHEAD: Muffins can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep
tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Nutella Brownies
Nutella – 3 ingredients chocolate brownies
1 cup Nutella
2 eggs
1cup flour
Optional – 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 180*C.
In a small bowl mix Nutella and eggs.
Add flour and whisk until blended.
Spoon butter into muffin pan and sprinkle with choc chips or
nuts.
Bake 8 to 12 minutes or till the tops have settled and cracked
around the edges.
Makes 12 regular muffins.
Ystervarkies (Lamingtons)
Bestanddele
Koek
250 ml (1 k) meel
5 ml (1 t) bakpoeier
knippie sout
3 eiers, geskei
125 ml (½ k) suiker
125 g botter, gesmelt
5 ml (1 t) vanielje-ekstrak
Versiersel (bruin sjokoladestroop)
500 ml suiker
140 ml kakao
250 ml water
10 ml botter
Instruksies
Vir die fyngebak-uitdaging moes die Koekedore ystervarkies
maak wat in drie verskillende versiersels gedoop is: ’n bruin
sjokoladestroop, sneeuvlokkie-stroop (wit) en ’n aarbeiwitsjokolade-stroop(pienk). Dié resep is vir ystervarkies wat
in bruin sjokoladestroop bedek is – die mees tradisionele
opdiening.
(Lewer 18 ystervarkies)
Koek
• Voorverhit die oond tot 180 °C. Smeer ’n broodpan.
• Meng die meel, bakpoeier en sout in ’n mengbak.
• Klits die eierwitte en suiker saam in ’n aparte mengbak tot
sagte pieke vorm. Vou die botter, eiergeel en vanielje-ekstrak
in tot gemeng. Voeg dit by die meelmengsel en vou in tot glad.
• Giet die beslag in die bereide bakpan en bak vir 30 minute
of tot ’n tandestokkie skoon uit die koek kom. Keer uit op ’n
draadrak en laat heeltemal afkoel.
Versiersel (bruin sjokoladestroop)
Kook die bestanddele saam om stroop te vorm.
Klapper om die ystervarkies in te rol.
Aanmekaarsit van die ystervarkies
• Sny die koek in blokkies om 18 ystervarkies te maak.
• Doop die blokkies in die stroop en rol dan in klapper.
Salty Nutella Cigars
Serves: 24
Ingredients
1½ cups Nutella spread
1 (8 ounce) package phyllo dough, thawed according to
package directions
¾ cup butter, melted
optional ~ flaked sea salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Scoop Nutella into a large piping bag, or gallon sized
zip-top bag and snip the corner off.
4. Unwrap thawed phyllo dough and cover it with a slightly
moist clean kitchen towel. Phyllo dries out very
quickly, so keeping it covered while you’re working is
essential.
5. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface
carefully. Using a pastry brush, brush melted butter on
6.
7.
8.
9.
one half of the phyllo and fold the other half on top.
The butter works like a glue and holds the sides
together. Pipe a strip of Nutella down one side of the
dough, leaving ½ inch at the top and the bottom. Fold
the Nutella up at the ends (so it doesn’t squeeze out)
and then tightly roll the phyllo into a tube. Lightly
brush the end with butter so the end stays sealed.
Place the “cigar” onto the baking sheet and lightly
brush with a little more butter.
Repeat this process with all the sheets of phyllo.
Bake the “cigars” for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Sprinkle lightly with sea salt flakes if desired.
Apple Roses
Ingredients: to make 6 roses
1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 red organic apples (I used red delicious)
half lemon, juice
1 tablespoon of flour, to sprinkle the counter
3 tablespoons of apricot preserve
cinnamon (optional)
powder sugar for decorating (optional)
Preparation time: about 20 minutes to prepare, plus 45 minutes
to bake
Directions:
1. Thaw the puff pastry if you haven’t done so yet. It should
take about 20-30 minutes.
2. Prepare a bowl with some water and the lemon juice. Cut the
apples in half, remove the core and cut the apples in paper
thin slices, as shown in my picture. Leave the peel so it will
give the red color to your roses. Right away, place the sliced
apples in the bowl with lemon and water, so that they won’t
change color.
3. Microwave the apples in the bowl, for about 3 minutes, to
make them slightly softer. If you prefer, you can also simmer
the apple slices in the water in a small pan (on the stove).
4. Unwrap the puff pastry over a clean and lightly floured
counter. Using a rolling pin stretch the dough a little,
trying to keep it in a rectangular shape. Cut the dough in 6
strips. These are about 2 in x 9 in (5 cm x 22 cm).
5. In a bowl, place three tablespoons of apricot preserve with
two tablespoons of water. Microwave for about one minute, so
that the preserve will be easier to spread. Spread the
preserve on the dough.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Drain
the apples.
7. Place the apples on the dough, as shown in my picture.
Sprinkle with cinnamon if you’d like.
8. Fold up the bottom part of the dough.
9. Carefully roll, seal the edge, and place in a silicone
muffin cup. No need to grease the muffin mold if it’s
silicone. Otherwise, make sure to grease it.
10. Do the same for all 6 roses. Bake at 375 degrees F (190
degrees C) for about 40-45 minutes, until fully cooked.
NOTE: make sure the pastry is fully cooked on the inside
before removing the roses from the oven! If after 30 minutes
the apples on top look fully cooked, move the pan to a lower
rack in the oven, and wait for 10-15 more minutes to avoid
undercooking the puff pastry.
Sprinkle with powder sugar and enjoy!
True Belgian Waffles Recipe
TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 20 min. YIELD:5 servings
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sliced fresh strawberries or syrup
Directions
1. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder. In
another bowl, lightly beat egg yolks. Add milk, butter
and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just
until combined. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form;
fold into batter.
2. Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to
manufacturer’s directions until golden brown. Serve with
strawberries or syrup. Yield: 10 waffles (about 4-1/2
inches).
CHOCOLATE ÉCLAIRS
Makes about 24 small éclairs or 12 large éclairs
Ingredients:
For the choux pastry:
1 cup cold water
½ tsp caster sugar
85g unsalted butter
Pinch salt
1 cup cake flour
4 medium eggs, beaten
For the cream filling:
300 ml fresh cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
To complete:
175g cooking chocolate, broken into pieces
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. To make the pastry, place the butter, water, salt and sugar
into a large saucepan.
3. Place over a low heat to melt the butter. Increase the heat
and pour in the flour in one go.
4. Remove from the heat and quickly beat the mixture
vigorously until a smooth paste is formed, stirring
continuously to dry out the paste.
5. Once the paste curls away from the side of the pan,
transfer the mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for
10-15 minutes.
6. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, stirring vigorously
until the paste is smooth and glossy.
7. Continue adding the egg until you have a soft dropping
consistency. The mixture will be shiny and smooth.
8. Lightly oil a large baking tray or line the tray with
greaseproof paper. Dip a teaspoon into some warm water and
spoon out a teaspoon of the éclair mixture onto the baking
tray. Leave enough space in between for the éclairs to expand.
9. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown, if too pale
they will become soggy when cool.
10. Remove from the oven and prick the base of each éclair.
Place onto the baking tray with the hole facing upwards and
return to the oven for 5 minutes. The warm air from the oven
helps to dry the middle of the éclairs.
11. Prepare the filling: lightly whip the cream and icing
sugar until soft peaks form. Do not over whip. When the
éclairs are cold, cut the éclairs in half and spoon in the
cream with a teaspoon.
12. Melt the chocolate over a pan of boiling water. Spoon the
melted chocolate over the éclairs.
Classic Glazed Doughnuts
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup whole milk, heated to 110°F
2 to 2 1/2 cups (320 to 400 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 2 ounces) unsalted butter,
softened at room temperature and cut into cubes
Vegetable oil for frying
Basic Sugar Glaze
Chocolate Glaze
Special equipment: Stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment and dough hook, 2 large baking sheets, nonterry dish towel, 3-inch-diameter doughnut cutter with
1-inch-diameter hole (or cookie cutters), wire cooling
rack, deep-fry thermometer
Preparation
In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of the yeast with 3/4
cup of the warm milk and stir to dissolve the yeast. Add 3/4
cup of the flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover the
bowl with plastic wrap and let the flour mixture rest in a
warm place for 30 minutes.
Once 30 minutes have passed, in the bowl of a stand mixer
fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 1
teaspoon yeast with the remaining 1/4 cup milk (the milk will
be room temperature at this point). Add the rested flour
mixture along with the vanilla and egg yolks and mix on low
until the ingredients are incorporated and the dough is
smooth, about 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer and add 1 cup of
flour, along with the sugar and salt. Mix on medium until the
dough starts to come together, about 30 seconds. Add the
butter and mix on medium until it’s incorporated, about 30
seconds.
Remove the paddle attachment from the mixer, and switch to the
dough hook. Start adding the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a
time (turning the mixer off for each addition) and knead the
dough on medium until it completely pulls away from the side
of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky, about 1 minute.
The dough will be very soft and moist but not so sticky that
you can’t roll it out. (For this step, you may only need to
use as little as 1/4 cup flour, so there may be flour
leftover.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough
rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Once 30 minutes have passed, gently press down on the dough to
remove any gas bubbles then chill, covered, for at least 1
hour and up to 12 hours.
When ready to roll out the dough, line a baking sheet with a
lightly floured non-terry towel. Lightly flour a work surface
and roll out the dough to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using doughnut
or cookie cutters, cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inchdiameter holes. (For filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the
holes.) Arrange the doughnuts on the prepared baking sheet,
leaving at least 1 inch between doughnuts. Cover the doughnuts
loosely with plastic wrap and let them proof in a warm place
until almost doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see
if the doughnuts are ready every 5 to 10 minutes. To test, use
a fingertip to lightly touch one of the doughnuts. If the
dough springs back immediately, it needs more time; if it
springs back slowly, it’s ready; and if the dough doesn’t
spring back at all, it’s over-proofed. You can punch down and
reroll over-proofed dough once.
While the doughnuts are proofing, line a baking sheet with 2
layers of paper towels and place a wire rack on top of the
towels. In a heavy-bottomed large pot or deep fryer, heat at
least 2 inches of oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers
360°F. Working in batches, use a slotted metal spoon or
spatula to carefully place the doughnuts in the hot oil. Fry,
flipping once, until light golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per
side. Transfer as done to the wire rack and return the oil to
360°F between batches. Let the doughnuts cool slightly before
glazing
Apple fritters
Just 15 minutes and you are done, i serve it with Cinnamon
sugar or home-made caramel sauce or just a sprinkle of icing
sugar.
1 heaping cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
1 – 2 tsp. cinnamon (depending on how much you love cinnamon)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter, melted
1 egg
1/3 cup milk + plus more if needed
1 – 1 1/2 cups chopped apple, your favourite kind for eating,
peanut sized or smaller
oil for frying
milk and powdered sugar glaze for dipping or just powdered
sugar for dusting
(About 1 cup Icing sugar + 1 T. milk or more)
Mix all dry ingredients together, slowly add the wet
ingredients minus the apple. Carefully mix until well combined
but not overly beat,gently fold in apple pieces. The batter
should be the consistency of a light cake mix. Once the oil is
ready (when a test drop of dough floats to the top of the oil,
a drop of water sizzles, or a piece of white bread browns in
60 seconds) then using a cookie scooper or soup spoon, place a
4-5 balls of dough into the oil. Be careful not to overcrowd
and watch carefully for the underside to turn golden brown,
then gently flip over and continue frying until done. I cooked
mine about 35 seconds per side, but they were the size of golf
balls – adjust cooking times based on size of fritters and
temperature of your oil, ideally around 180° C. It is always a
good idea to test one to ensure it comes out like you are
expecting.