Melt in your mouth Sweets & Desserts

MILK TART
South African
Serves:*8
*
INGREDIENTS
PIE CRUST
80gr butter - not margarine please!
⅓ cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour,sifted
1 teas baking powder
pinch of salt

FILLING
1litre milk
60gr butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs (separated)
⅓ cup cake flour
⅓ cup cornflour
1 tsp vanilla extract

TOPPING
Fine Cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS
PIE CRUST
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Cream the butter and sugar together and beat in the egg.
Add the flour and salt and blitz until it all clumps together to form a dough.
Press the mixture into a greased pie dish and chill in the fridge while preparing the filling.

FILLING
Bring the milk to the boil.
Cream the sugar, egg yolks, flour,cornflour and vanilla extract.
Add some of the hot milk to the creamed mixture, then pour it back into the pot and heat gently until it thickens. Do not boil.
Add the butter.
Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form and fold into the custard.
Pour into the chilled pastry case and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake for +- 30-35 minutes

PUMPKIN FRITTERS
South African
Serves:*6
*
Pumpkin fritters or Pampoen koekies in Afrikaans are delicious for breakfast or dessert and it's so quick and easy to make!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked mashed pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg beaten
1 cup Self Raising flour
2 tsps baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tbles brown sugar
Oil for frying
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
50g castor sugar
2tsp ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS
Drain the cooked pumpkin well.
Add the beaten egg and vanilla extract and mix.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix to a soft but firm batter.
Place a spoonful of the mixture into hot oil.
Fry on one side until golden brown and turn to cook on the other side.
Remove with slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper.
In small bowl, combine castor sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle over hot fritters before serving.
Tip: The cooked pumpkin should be drained well as too much moisture can make the batter too runny.

NO BAKE DATE BALLS - Perfect for Christmas time

Ingredients
3 cups desiccated coconut
2 cups (200g) pitted dates


Method
Place 2 cups of coconut and the dates into a blender or food processor.
Process on high speed for 3-4 minutes, pausing to scrape down sides as needed.
Remove from processor and roll teaspoon-sized balls. Roll in remaining 1 cup of coconut.
Pack in portions for snacks, to put in lunch boxes and keep on hand to satisfy a sweet tooth in a healthy way.

South African Fudge

Golden Syrup can be found in European or British Grocery Stores
2 cups sugar
5 T. water
4 T. unsalted butter
2 T. Golden Syrup (or dark corn syrup)
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1. *In a heavy pot (I used a pan that was too small in these photos – try something a little bit bigger, like a dutch oven), dissolve the *sugar into the water over medium-low heat.

2. *Add the butter and golden syrup, and stir with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted.

3. *Add the salt and the sweetened condensed milk, and bring to a boil.

4. *Continue cooking the mixture over medium-low heat (it should be simmering, or boiling very gently) while stirring with a wooden spoon. *You will need to cook this mixture on medium-low for about 20 minutes to reach the “soft ball” stage. *(Don’t worry – this is not as hard to do as it seems. *Basically just cook the mixture for 20 minutes, stirring, and you will pretty much be there at the 20 minute mark. *I have made this recipe a bunch of times without the candy thermometer and it turns out just fine.)

5. *When the mixture becomes thick and reaches the “soft ball” stage (235-240 degrees F), turn off the heat. *(You can use a candy thermometer to judge when you are at the soft ball stage, or you can also drop a small amount of the mixture into a cup of cold water. *If the mixture firms up so that you can form a soft ball of candy between your fingers, then you are done. *If you are using a candy thermometer, I would stop cooking somewhere around 237 or 238 degrees… if you go all the way to 240, you might end up overcooking.) *Another way to tell if your mixture is cooked to the right stage, is to look for the mixture to “sheet” off the back of your wooden spoon. *If you dip the spoon into the mixture and pull it out above the pot, look for the syrup to slowly drip off the back of the spoon – it may start off as individual drips, but they will coalesce into a single sheet of syrup coming off the spoon.

6. *Remove the pot from the heat, and add the vanilla extract (stirring as you go). *THIS STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT! *Keep stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon – actually, you want to stir vigorously or beat the mixture – for about 3-5 minutes until it becomes thickened. *You will notice the mixture beginning to crystallize and form a paste on the sides and corners of the pot – the syrup will start looking a little chalky. *At this point you can stop.

7. *Pour the fudge mixture into a non-stick foil (or greased foil) lined 8″ or 9″ square pan, or a 7″ X 11″ rectangle pan. *(The pan size doesn’t have to be exact – basically, the bigger the pan, the thinner the fudge. *The smaller the pan, the thicker the fudge pieces will be.)

8. *Allow the fudge to rest on the counter for 2-3 hours until firm. *Remove to a cutting board (use the foil as a sling to remove it from the pan), and cut into squares. *Store in an airtight plastic container.

Peppermint Crisp Tart recipe

Ingredients
1 x packet tennis biscuits (or any basic morning tea biscuits)
1 x tin of caramel
2 x 250 ml fresh cream (or can opt for low fat too)
400g Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars - grated (or Aero Mint chocolate will do)
Instructions on how to make it
Cover the bottom of your dish with the tennis biscuits, making sure you cover the whole dish. Place the tin of caramel into a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form.
Add the whipped cream and 100g of the grated peppermint crisp chocolate to the caramel and mix well.
Remember you are going to layer the tart, so don’t use all the mixture at once.
Spread the mixture evenly over the tennis biscuits.
Then add another layer of tennis biscuits and caramel mixture and continue until you reach the top.
Sprinkle the remaining peppermint crisp over the top and place in the fridge for 1 hour to set.

Coconut Ice Squares

Ingredients
1 can*Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 packet* (500g) icing sugar
390g (5 cups) desiccated coconut
Pink food colouring

Method:
Combine Condensed Milk, icing sugar and desiccated coconut together.
Divide mixture in half.
Press half of mixture into an 18cm x 28cm loaf pan.
Work a few drops of colouring into remaining mixture.
Press into pan and allow to set before cutting into squares to serve.

Seems nice, but we seldom have dates... what could be a substitute?

This just fits a Whats for breakfast thread. On weekends we can sometimes have fresh hot pan de sal with any filling available, or champorado wc is glutinous rice cooked in cocoa and served with some milk and sugar.

It is a very yummy recipe, we made it a lot while I was young and is still a great treat today. You could try substituting with raisins or figs, whichever you prefer.

Koeksisters

DOUGH
500g flour
30 ml baking powder
2 ml salt
50 g butter, diced
1 jumbo egg
250 ml milk, sour milk, or buttermilk
oil for frying
SYRUP
500 ml water
1 kg sugar
2 ml cream of tartar
2 thin slices ginger
1 lemon, finely grated rind and juice

Method

SYRUP: Combine ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Boil, without stirring, for about 5 minutes, or until a light syrup forms.
Strain into a large bowl.
Cool, then refrigerate until well chilled.

DOUGH: Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Whisk egg with 200 ml (4/5 cup) milk, add to flour mixture and knead to make a soft, pliable dough.
Add remaining milk only if dough is too stiff.
Shape into a ball, wrap in waxed paper and chill for a couple of hours, or overnight, if possible.
Roll out to 1 cm thick on a floured surface.
Cut into 4 x 8 cm strips, then cut each into 3 strips lengthways, almost to the top.
Plait together and pinch ends tightly to seal. Place on a tray and cover with a damp cloth.
Deep fry, a few at a time, in hot oil, turning constantly.
Watch the heat: koeksisters take 2 to 3 minutes to cook through and turn deep golden brown.
Drain briefly on kitchen paper and then, while still hot, dip into chilled syrup. Let them sit for a little while to really soak in the sauce.
(If syrup gets too warm, place it in a larger bowl of cold water and ice blocks.)
Strain off excess syrup back into bowl.
Drain koeksisters on a rack.
Servings: 36

Malva Pudding

Ingredients:*
Pudding
30ml (2T) Butter/Marg
125ml White Sugar
1 Extra Large Egg
15ml (1T) Apricot Jam
5 ml (1t) Bicarbonate of Soda
125ml (½C) Milk
250ml (1C) Cake Flour
Pinch of Salt
15ml (1T) Vinegar

Sauce
125g Butter/Marg
185 ml (¾C) White Sugar
65ml (¼C) Water
185 ml (¾C) Cream
5ml (1t) Vanilla essence

Method:*
Pudding
Cream butter and sugar together, beat in the egg until light and fluffy.
Beat in the apricot jam.
Dissolve the bicarb in the milk.
Sift the flour and salt together and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
Lastly stir in the vinegar.
Pour into a deep round dish about 19cm diameter. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and then bake for 1 hour at 180°C.

Sauce
Bring the butter, sugar and water to the boil and simmer, stirring all the time for 2 minutes.
Remove from the stove and then add the cream and the vanilla. Pour over the hot baked pudding.

Serve with custard.

Figs are harder to find here. But oh, there were some dates recently, and i just noticed a serving had 60% dv of copper...nice.

Oh, now this is a dangerous thread! I'm going to grab a few of these recipes!

I'll add one more
South African Buttermilk Pudding (karringmelkpoeding in Afrikaans)

1/2 a cup of sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 a cup of cake flower
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 and a 1/2 (375ml) cups of buttermilk
1/2 a cup of plain milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons of butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C/ 356 F .
2. Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar
3. Separate the eggs, adding the egg yokes to the mixture and keeping the egg whites separate
4. Mix thoroughly and then add dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk and plain milk, also add the vanilla
5. Again mix thoroughly
6. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until very stiff
7. Carefully fold this into the mixture then spoon the whole batter into a deep, greased bowl
8. Bake for about an hour until golden brown on top.
9. Serve with ice cream, best eaten hot