Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Baking captured my heart from a very young age and I can remember sitting on the floor in front of the oven watching the cupcakes steadily rise. It fascinated me and you'll still sometimes find me sitting and peering through my oven door! There is something just so enchanting about combining a few ingredients and then watching the sticky batter magically rise into a perfectly fluffy cake. 

Choux pastry is the most miraculous of all; with no baking powder or yeast, a gooey, tacky dough miraculously inflates to form a pastry so light and airy that it threatens to float right off your fork. It's hard to believe that choux pastry uses nothing but steam to rise to the occasion! 

I've given my good ol' chocolate éclair recipe a modern touch here and filled the little puffs with a tiramisu filling; lashings of whipped cream, rich mascarpone, a shot of espresso and a hint of vanilla. Tiramisu seems like such an appropriate match to these chocolate éclairs - and not just because the word means 'pick-me-up'!

Oh and if you would like a little more detail on the exact steps involved, see my previous post on choux pastry.

Photography and styling by Katelyn Williams

Tiramisu chocolate éclairs

Makes 24

1 cup cake flour

pinch salt

80g Stork Bake margarine, cut into small blocks

1 cup water

4 eggs, lightly beaten

For chocolate éclairs

200g dark chocolate, melted

½ cup cream, whipped

½ cup mascarpone cheese, softened

1 shot espresso coffee

½ tsp vanilla essence

1 tbsp castor sugar

Cocoa powder, for dusting

Sift the flour and salt together. Heat the butter and water until just melted then bring to a rolling boil.
Immediately remove from the heat and add all the flour at once. Mix until a smooth dough forms, place back on the heat and cook for about 1 minute or until the pastry pulls away from the sides of the pot. Allow to cool completely.
Beat the eggs into the pastry a little at a time until smooth, shiny and of a piping consistency. 
Place the pastry in a piping bag fitted with a large fluted nozzle. It is now ready to be used as desired.For éclairs, pipe long tubes of dough about 10 cm long. Bake at 200˚C for about 15 - 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden. Turn off oven, remove the puffs, pierce each with a skewer to allow steam to escape and immediately return to the oven to dry out for 15 minutes. 
To assemble chocolate éclairs, dip the tops in melted chocolate and allow to set. Whip the cream until stiff before folding in the mascarpone, espresso, vanilla and sugar. Place in a piping bag and fill the éclairs. Dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

TIPS

*  it is very important to beat the egg in a little at a time into the completely cooled dough

*  sprinkle a little extra water on the tray before baking – the extra steam helps the pastry rise even more, making it lighter.

*  don’t be tempted to open the oven and take a peak or your pastries may run out of puff!

STORAGE

*  unfilled choux pastries can be stored in an airtight container for no more than 2 days – just pop them into the oven for a few minutes to crisp them up again.

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Vanilla custard slices

This recipe was given to me by my childhood best friend, Tammy whose mom used to send her to our farm with a tin filled with these creamy slices almost every Friday after school. We'd sit in the treehouse we built ourselves and devour them, getting custard all over our hands and then relishing the process of licking the creamy filling off our fingers. I must add that the recipe wasn't just handed to me, it was handwritten and carefully placed in a folder along with all my best friends' favourite recipes (also scribbled down on paper) for my 18th birthday. The title of the little cookbook? 

'Katelyn's Favouriteistest Favourite Flop-proof Recipe Cookbook - Made with love by all her friends' 

How awesome is that? Pretty awesome. 

Almost as awesome as these custard slices.

Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio 

Custard slices

Makes 16-20

2 x 200g packets unsalted cream crackers

½ cup cake flour

100ml maizena or cornflour

20ml custard powder

pinch of salt

100ml water

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs, separated

1L milk

1 cup white sugar

60g butter or margarine

Lemon glaze

1 cup icing sugar, sifted

juice of 1 lemon

Line a 20 x 30cm cake tin with baking paper and arrange the crackers in the bottom.

Make a paste with the flour, cornflour, custard powder, salt, water, vanilla and egg yolks. Heat the milk, sugar and butter and add to the paste while whisking. Return to the pot and cook until the custard is thick, stirring continuously.

Whip the egg whites until stiff then fold into the lukewarm custard. Pour the custard over the crackers and place another layer of crackers on top. Allow to set in the fridge until completely cool.

Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice together with a little hot water to form a paste and drizzle over the tops of the custard slices. Cut into slices and serve.

Sticky caramel baked puddings

If you're trying to stick to a diet, I suggest you look away now, because this is possibly the most decadent, delicious, oozy, luscious baked pudding in my repertoire - so unctuous it comes with its own warning. No surprise then that it is based on a recipe by the anti-diet diva herself, Nigella. Caramel is my latest obsession and it seems toffee trumps chocolate in the food world these days so this is my ode to the caramel fad. With a few white chocolate chunks thrown in for good measure, of course.

Eating healthily and living a balanced, active lifestyle is an important part of my life, but there are occasions that demand a pudding of this calibre. Like those freezing weekends when it pours with non-stop rain and you seek the refuge of your duvet and live in your slippers for 2 days or those Monday evenings when only something supremely sweet will cure a terrible case of the Monday blues. And if anything, it will be the best dessert to impress friends with – super easy and you can casually say 'caramel is the new chocolate you know' , because it totally is.

Sticky caramel baked puddings

(serves 4)

200g dark brown sugar

350g self-raising flour

1 cup milk

2 eggs

2t vanilla extract

100g butter, melted

200g white chocolate chunks

200g tinned caramel

50g butter

4 cups boiling water

Combine the dark sugar and flour. Whisk the milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter together and pour into the flour mix, stirring to combine. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Divide between individual moulds – filling up to halfway. Combine the caramel, butter and boiling water and pour over the puddings. Bake at 180°C for 25 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch. Serve with caramelised banana slices, if desired and top with marscarpone or whipped cream.

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Chicken meatballs with courgettes and chickpeas

The world loves meatballs. How do I know this? Meatballs are one of the few foods that pop up in just about every type of cuisine across the globe. From the local frikkadel to the palm-sized meatballs of Italy smothered in tomato sauce (called ‘polpette al suga’), then there is of course the spiced kofta which feature in Mediterranean countries, North Africa, Asia and India. The Swedish serve theirs with dill sauce while the Spanish enjoy theirs as tapas. Meatball subs, poached in a broth, with soy sauce, with spaghetti, on a bun, on a stick, grilled, fried; they come in flavours and forms for every palate!

While my meatball recipe isn’t traditional, it is rather a fast supper solution – dinner in a dash, if you will. It’s quick, it’s tasty and it’s healthy and that’s all you really need to know isn’t it?  Swop the courgettes for aubergines, butternut, peppers or ready-to-roast veggies (no chopping is an added bonus) and dinner is a mere 30 minutes away. And if there are any leftovers? Toss through cooked pasta with a spoonful of pesto or softened cream cheese and you have lunch (or dinner) version 2.0.

Chicken meatball, courgette and chickpea sauté

Serves 4

500g chicken mince

1 tub Mediterranean Delicacies Chicken liver pate

salt & pepper, to taste

1 egg

handful basil, chopped

handful Italian parsley, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ - 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

olive oil

700g courgettes or baby marrows, chopped into chunks

1 red onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

juice from 1 lemon

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Mint tzatziki

1 tub Mediterranean Delicacies tzatziki

2 tbsp chopped mint

Combine the mince, chicken liver pate, seasoning, egg, herbs, onion, garlic and breadcrumbs together. Form into golfball-sized balls and set aside. Heat some oil in a saucepan and fry the meatballs until golden. Add the courgettes, onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the chickpeas. Season to taste. Serve warm with the mint tzatziki.

*This post has been sponsored by Mediterranean Delicacies who make a fabulous range of yummy pesto, dips, phyllo pastry, olives and other delicious Med-style goodies. 

{GIVEAWAY} Mediterranean Delicacies are giving away TWO Morphy Richards Induction Cookers! Follow this link to enter their latest competition.

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Chocolate peanut butter mousse tart

DISCLAIMER: The below text and images are not for sensitive viewers. Content contains large amounts of fat, sugar, chocolate and decadence. Just looking at this recipe will most likely expand your waistline. You have been warned!

On Expresso Breakfast Show, I'm known for creating incredibly sweet and utterly indulgent recipes. Sometimes, so much so, that I almost feel guilty making such sugary delights so early in the morning. Almost.

Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

Because it's National Slipper Day today, I got thinking, what would I enjoy while wearing my favourite fluffy slippers? 

Well, chocolate of course, and peanut butter straight out the jar, or perhaps a slice of caramel cheesecake. So why not combine them all! This weekend, slip on your comfiest pair of slippers while whipping up this recipe, then put your feet up and tuck in to a slice or three! And if you needed some convincing? 

It is Friday after-all, so spoil yourself!

Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio 

Chocolate peanut butter mousse tart
Serves 10-12

Chocolate pastry
¼ cup cocoa, plus extra for dusting
185g cake flour
125g Stork Bake, chilled and cubed
½ cup icing sugar
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp ice cold water 

Peanut butter mousse filling
1 cup chocolate spread
170g smooth cream cheese
¾ cup icing sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ¼ cups smooth peanut butter
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups cream, whipped stiffly

To decorate
Chocolate spread, melted
Smooth peanut butter, melted
Caramel sauce (optional)
Chopped chocolate peanut butter bars
 
Place the cocoa, flour, margarine and icing sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the egg yolks and water to form a dough.
Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll the pastry out to 3mm thick and line a 24cm loose-bottomed tart tin, trimming the edges and prick the base with a fork.
Refrigerate again for 30 minutes then bake blind* at 180C for 15 minutes, remove the paper and weights and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crisp. Allow to cool.
Spread the base with the chocolate spread.
Make the filling by beating the cream cheese, icing sugar and salt until fluffy then beat in the peanut butter and vanilla. Fold in the whipped cream gently and spoon into the chocolate crust.
Drizzle with melted chocolate spread, peanut butter, caramel and decorate with chopped chocolate bars.
 
*Baking blind refers to the process of placing baking paper inside the lined tart tin the filling the tart with baking beads, beans or rice to weigh it down and prevent the pastry from puffing up.

Martha's One Pan Wonder Pasta

I’m constantly searching for interesting recipes to cook and experiment with and every now and then I come across a recipe that stops me in my tracks. This recipe blows my mind. It is just impossible. Martha Stewart’s one pan wonder-pasta has got the internet buzzing, mainly because it is prepared in just 10 minutes but mostly because it goes against everything you and I have ever been told about cooking pasta. Here’s why:

ONE:The pasta is cooked in a wide, shallow pan not a tall, big pot.

TWO: The raw pasta is covered with cold water. (Sorry, what? Cold water? Yes, you read right – no boiling, salted water here.)

THREE: All the ingredients are cooked together, the pasta, everything in one go.

I was beginning to think Martha might have lost her mind. But Martha Stewart is one of my favourite food icons, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt and put the recipe to the test and I hate to say it, but this is pretty good. While it’s presence in the world is probably insulting every Italian out there, I must admit it’s an amazingly quick, delicious meal. Dinner on the table in 10 minutes? Yes please! 
Just make sure you don't invite any Italians over when you serve it!  

One pan wonder-pasta

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Serves 4

340g linguine

340g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 onion, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

4 1/2 cups water

Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red chilli flakes, basil, oil, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and water in a large pan.

Bring to a boil over high heat and boil the mixture, stirring and turning the pasta frequently with tongs, until the pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls and garnish with basil.

Serve with olive oil and Parmesan.