Chai cupcakes with marshmallow frosting

... that's what the best cupcakes are made of! 

While baking a test batch of vanilla cupcakes this week for a dear friend and bride-to-be I couldn't resist whipping in a sprinkling of spice. Since my two whirlwind work trips of the 'Spice Islands'; Seychelles and Zanzibar (which both happened in the space of 4 weeks - I know, I'm such a jet setter!), I've found my spice drawer overflowing with the most beautiful cinnamon quills, nutmegs, cloves, cardamom, juicy vanilla pods and white peppercorns. 

The markets in Zanzibar and Seychelles are packed with spice stalls and the heady aroma hangs in the thick humid air - it's intoxicating! The vendors all haggle for your attention and you're encouraged to get the best bargain whether it be in Seychelles rupees, Zanzibar shillings or dollars. Compared to Seychelles, the spice sellers of Zanzibar are far more persistent and I found myself purchasing spices I didn't even need just so we could continue our tv shoot in peace! 

The cinnamon quills were my favourite treasure - long, golden and perfectly curled they're unlike anything we get here in South Africa. Cinnamon is actually one of the spices first used in antiquity (along with francincense and myrrh) which of course only adds to it's charm. I love how it laces everything it's added to with a deep warmth. Vanna Bonta said it perfectly; 'Cinnamon bites and kisses simultaneously'. Which is exactly what these spicy cupcakes will do! 

Chai cupcakes with marshmallow frosting

Makes 12

125g butter

150g castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 cup self-raising flour

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp chai spice*

Marshmallow frosting

2 egg whites

1/2 cup castor sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift over the flour and spices and beat again. Spoon into a muffin tin lined with cupcake wrappers and bake at 180C for 12-15 minutes or until golden and a skewer comes out clean. 

Make the frosting by whisking the egg whites in a heatproof bowl until soft peak stage. Add castor sugar and whisk over simmering water until the meringue is hot to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat on high with a hand mixer until cool. Whip in the vanilla. Place in a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes immediately. 

*TIP: To make the chai spice mix, combine 1 tsp each of ground cinnamon and cardamom then add 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp each of ground cloves, ground nutmeg and ground white pepper. Store in a sealed jar. 

I like to grind the whole spices myself in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar as the flavour is far more punchy than the store-bought ground stuff. 

Festive milk tart & Hertzoggie mince pies

Working on a daily breakfast show on any given day, my colleague Zola and I churn out close to 5 recipes a day which amounts to about 25 recipes per week, 100 a month. That is a lot. And with that many recipes being developed, we sometimes have to get a little more creative (and sometimes - okay most times- we have some down right crazy ideas). This morning's show was all about 'Christmas with a South African twist' because although we love traditional dishes like mince pies and christmas cake, let's be honest, they're not our traditions but rather very European. Enter our local 'n lekker milk tart and hertzoggies. Zola had the genius idea of crumbling up Christmas cake and blending it into the pastry of milk tart; imagine all that fruity flavour stuffed into the crust with the creamy cinnamony smoothness of the milk filling. Yummo! I could eat a whole tart. But then I'd have no space for the pies. I loooove mince pies but sometimes the flavour of the filling can be overpowering and it just needs that something extra - enter the coconut meringue topping which I borrowed/stole (thank you Afrikaans tannies) from the humble hertzoggie. Our camera crew devoured them all with gusto and they're always our harshest critics. So, why not serve something traditional (because, let's face it, for some of us Christmas isn't Christmas without the fruit cake or mince pies) but with a local twist and let's start our own South African festive food traditions!

Photography by Günther Schubert of www.vorsprungstudio.com

Zola's Festive milk tart

Makes 2 tarts

Pastry:

125g butter, softened
½ cup castor sugar
1 egg
2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup Christmas pudding, crumbled
Pinch of salt

Cream butter and sugar together and add the egg, beating well to combine.
Add all the other ingredients – to form a stiff dough.
Divide the dough into two, then press into 2 round sandwich cake tins.
Dock the pastry base then blind bake at 180C for 30 min or until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Filling:
4 ½ cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 ½ Tbs flour
2 ½ Tbs corn flour
1 tsp vanilla paste
Large Tbs butter
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place milk, cinnamon stick and cloves into a pot and bring to the boil.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, flour, corn flour and vanilla.
Pour the boiling milk into the egg mixture, while continuously whisking.
Pour the mixture through sieve to remove the spices and return to the pot and cook on medium heat until the mixture thickens.
Add the spoonful of butter and stir through.
Pour into the baked pastry shell and sprinkle with the ground cinnamon.
Allow to cool completely cool at room temperature before storing in the fridge.

Photography by Günther Schubert of www.vorsprungstudio.com

Katelyn's Hertzoggie mince pies

Makes 30

210g cake flour

90g corn flour

100g icing sugar

pinch of salt

zest of 1 lemon

250g soft butter, in blocks

1 cup fruit mince

3 egg whites

1 cup castor sugar

2 cups coconut

Combine dry ingredients in a mixer and gradually add the butter until the shortbread comes together.

Press tablespoon fulls of dough into mini muffin tins. Using your finger, make a hole in the centre of each shortbread and fill with fruit mince.

Whisk the egg whites until soft peak stage then beat in the castor sugar until thick and glossy. Fold in the coconut and spoon small amounts on top of the fruit mince (just enough to cover).

Bake at 150˚C for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool in the tin before removing and dusting with icing sugar.

This is how I roll

Every now and then, whilst testing and developing many many recipes, I come across a real gem. The kind that gives me the urge to share its awesomeness with everyone (and yes, awesomeness is a word - I just invented it). I've never understood those foodies that don't share my optimism to dish out delish recipes; the one's that graciously accept a compliment for their superbly moist chocolate gateau or utterly light choux pastry but then um and ah when asked to dish the dirt on the recipe... After all, sharing is caring right?

Not if you're a sweet little old lady who is known for her outstanding bakes at the church bazaar! A friend of my grandmother's, she would willingly hand out her 'secret' recipes with a smile to those who asked... However, the product of her 'secret' recipes never seemed to emerge from other's oven's quite as perfectly as it did from hers! I can only imagine the scandal and sordidness of it all when it was discovered that the dear old dame would leave out an ingredient or two when passing on the recipe card! With that in mind, rest assured, the recipe for the most delicious Cinnamon rolls below is featured in all its original glory - no recipes were harmed in the posting of this blog!

Cinnamon rolls

 

Popular in Scandinavia where they are known as Kanelbullar, these buns are light, not too sweet and delicately spiced. They freeze extremely well - a quick pop in the microwave is all that stands between you, a cup of java and a freshly baked cinnamon bun for breakfast each morning.

(makes about 20)

800g flour

½t salt

2 packets yeast (10g each)

100g butter, melted

350ml milk

2 eggs

Cinnamon butter

2t ground cinnamon

100g castor sugar

100g butter, softened

1 egg, to glaze

Combine the flour, salt and yeast. Mix the butter, milk, eggs and stir into the flour mixture. Knead for about 5 minutes until smooth using your hands or the dough hook in your mixer. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Make the cinnamon butter by mixing together the cinnamon, sugar and butter. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 3 mm thick. Spread the cinnamon butter on the dough, and roll up to form a sausage, and cut into 2cm slices (cut fat 'v' shapes with the bottom of the 'v' about 2cm and the top about 5cm). Press down on each one with two fingers so the cinnamon stripes ooze outwards. Put the buns on an oiled and lined baking tray, allowing enough space in between for them to puff up as they rise and while they bake. Brush with beaten egg, and leave to rise for about 15-30 minutes and then bake for 20-25 minutes at 180ºC until they are golden. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Photography by Angie Lazaro