Author Archives: Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
COCKTAIL FRUIT CAKE
Cocktail Fruit Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups (500ml) selfraising flour
1 cup (250ml) sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
Pinch salt
1 tin (410g) fruit cocktail
Method:
Preheat oven at 170C. Beat eggs and sugar well. Add the dry ingredients and fruit including juice. Mix until combined. Pour into greased dish and bake in preheated oven for ¾ hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Sauce:
1 small tin evaporated milk
½ cup desiccated coconut
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter.
Add the ingredients for the sauce into a small saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour over hot cake. Cut into squares and enjoy warm or cold, on its own or with whipped cream.
CINNAMON RING DOUGHNUTS
Ring Doughnuts
Makes +/- 30
Ingredients:
500g selfraising flour
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
70g butter/margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 – 1½ cups buttermilk
Oil for frying
7cm and 3cm round cutters
For the coating:
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
125g caster sugar
Method:
Cream together the eggs, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla essence.
Add the flour and baking powder. Make a slight dent in the middle of the flour.
Add the buttermilk.
Mix together into a smooth ball and then turn out on to a floured work surface.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of just over 1cm. Flour the cutters and use the larger one to cut out rounds of dough, then cut out the centres using the smaller cutter. (Or you can buy a ring doughnut cutter from your local spice shop)
Re-roll the trimmings to make more doughnuts.
Put the doughnuts to one side and make the coating.
Mix the cinnamon into the sugar in a small bowl.
Now fry the doughnut. Place the rings carefully into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden on the bottom, then turn them over and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until they are an even golden colour and cooked through.
Lift on to kitchen paper to drain briefly and, while they’re still hot, toss them in the cinnamon sugar until evenly coated. Shake off any excess and place on a wire rack to cool. (Not suitable for freezing).
Cook’s tip
GLAZE
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence or a drop of food colouring
Whisk in enough boiling water to make a thin glaze, drizzle over donuts.
Cover with sprinkles.
Kids love these different coloured doughnuts!!
Or
Spread the doughnuts with chocolate spread
Ring Doughnuts
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
This is a firm favourite in my house at anytime. So easy to prepare. I usually make a batch to freeze, so there is always something to cook when unexpected quests arrive or whenever the kids feel like nibbling.
MINI SAUSAGE ROLLS
Makes 16
Ingredients:
500g ready-made puff pastry
Flour for dusting
1 egg, beaten
8 good quality sausages cut into two
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Small handful fresh thyme leaves
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C
Roll the pastry out on a floured surface to a rectangle of about 48x32cm.
Cut the large rectangle in half lengthways, then cut both smaller rectangles into eight equal sections. You now have 16 rectangles in total. Brush one end of each rectangle with a little of the beaten egg, lay a piece of sausage at the other end, then season the sausage with salt and freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle with thyme leaves. Roll the sausage up in the pastry to enclose and repeat with all the sausages. Put the sausage rolls in the fridge for 20 minutes for the pastry to harden.
Once the pastry is hard, remove the sausage rolls from the fridge and score the tops with a sharp knife for decoration, or prick with a fork. Brush well all over with the rest of the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 25–30 minutes, or until the pastry has turned golden-brown and looks crisp. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before serving.
Variation:
Use viennas (Frankfurters) instead of the sausage
ORANGE CAKE
- 250g cake flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 200g caster sugar
- 125ml milk
- 125ml orange juice
- 125ml vegetable oil
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated orange zest
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 250g icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- Grease and flour two 20cm round cake tins.
- In a measuring jug, combine milk, 125ml orange juice, oil, beaten eggs and 1½ teaspoons orange zest. Set aside.
- Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.
- Mix in sugar.
- Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk mixture.
- Stir until thoroughly combined.
- Divide cake mixture between the two prepared tins.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool.
- Cream butter until smooth.
- Gradually beat in icing sugar.
- Beat until light and fluffy.
- Beat in 2 tablespoons orange juice to bring to spreading consistency.
- Stir in vanilla and 1 teaspoon orange zest.
- Spread over cooled cakes.
MINCED MEAT PIES
MINCE PIES
Fills about 40 – 50 pies
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
500g lean minced meat, washed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, crushed
5 cloves
30g sago soaked in half a cup of water. (You may use more sago for a thicker texture filling, personally I don’t like using a lot of sago)
Water as needed
Puff pastry
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, for 2 minutes or until onion softens. Add the mince, cloves, salt and pepper and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up any lumps. Cook for 10 minutes. Add water if required.
Meanwhile soak the sago in the water for approximately 15 minutes or until sago is transparent. Add to the mince and cook until combined and the mince have thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 200C. Cut circles from rolled out puff pastry sheets. Line mini muffin pans or use a flat baking tray with the circles. Spoon a teaspoon mince mixture into the centre of the pastry. Top each pie with another pastry circle and seal edges. Brush tops with beaten egg.
Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside in the pans for minutes to cool.
COOK’s TIP:
Remove cloves before filling pastry cases.
You can freeze these pies for up to 1 month. Bake straight from frozen.
OATS & BANANA MUFFINS
Muffins are VERY easy and quick to make, and nothing’s better than warm muffins from the oven on a weekend morning.
OATS AND BANANA MUFFINS
Good for a healthy breakfast
Makes 12 muffins
In one bowl combine:
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 cup of porridge oats
2 mashed bananas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup caster sugar
In another bowl, mix together:
1/2 cup of wholemeal flour
1 cup of cake flour
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp of baking powder
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cases
OATS & BANANA MUFFINS
Now combine the two mixtures, moving quickly and lightly with your spoon – or a fork actually works well here. You want to use as few stirs as possible and mix until there are no dry patches of flour, but don’t worry if the mixture is pretty lumpy.
Get the mix into the paper cases ASAP filling them three quarters full – as soon as the liquid hits the raising agents they will activate and you want your muffins rising in the oven, not sitting in the kitchen raw.
Bake them for around 20 minutes, then take them out, leave them a couple of minutes and pop them on a wire rack to cool. While they were still warm, I punctured them with a skewer and drizzled them with golden syrup.
SPRINGROLLS
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Ingredients:
1 cup mixed vegetables, chopped long and slim/shredded (carrot, beans, cabbage, peas, corn, green, yellow, red peppers, etc)
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon ginger & garlic paste
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 chopped green chilli
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon oil
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until transparent and pink.
2. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another minute.
3. Next add the vegetables and green chilli, sprinkle some water and cook closed until soft, yet crunchy.
4. Turn heat to high and add the soya sauce. Mix well for a minute on high.
5. Lower heat. Mix in salt and pepper. Remove from fire and cool.
Filling and rolling:
Defrost the pastry to room temperature before separating the sheets.
Lay out one sheet; add about 2-3 tbsp (depending on the size of your spring roll sheets) of the vegetable filling towards one corner.
Fold in the end of the corner first and then both sides.
Once these ends are firmly placed, start rolling towards the other end until fully done.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Cook’s notes:
– Add cooked, shredded chicken pieces.
– You can use any mix of vegetables you want. However, cabbage and peppers really enhance the taste.
– Arrange spring rolls in a single layer on a medium baking sheet. Brush with vegetable oil. Bake in preheated oven @ 200C for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. For a crispier spring roll, turn after 10 minutes.
QUICK MINI PIZZAS
Quick mini pizzas (savouries)
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken fillet – cooked with green chillies, salt and 1 teaspoon ginger and garlic
1 cup grated cheese
1 green pepper – cubed
1 tomato – finely chopped
2 eggs – lightly beaten
5 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sweet corn – optional
Ground green chillies to taste
Method:
Mix all ingredients well in a large dish.
Place in greased patty pans and bake at 180C till done – 10-15 minutes.
Sprinkle with origanum before baking
BREAD ROLLS
Rolls
Makes about 10, depending on the size.
Ingredients:
500g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 packet instant yeast
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
25g sugar
1 egg
½ – ¾ cup warm milk
Method:
In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
In a separate bowl mix the egg, oil and yoghurt. Add to the flour.
Add the milk and mix thoroughly.
Knead the dough until smooth and the dough no longer stick to your hands.
Cover the bowl with plastic and leave to rise in a warm place until double in size.
Knock the dough down to let the air come out.
Divide the dough into 10 and form into shapes.
Place in a baking tray dusted with flour. Leave to rise for 10 minutes.
Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
Bake in a preheated oven at 190C until light brown approx 25 – 30 minutes.
Tear & Share
I’ve used my basic rolls recipe for this, use small pieces of dough roll into a ball between your palms. Arrange in a round baking tray couple of centimetres apart to allow rising. Bake as usual and enjoy!
Plaited Rolls
Again I’ve used the basic recipe. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and roll to form three even ‘sausage’ shapes. Plait the three dough ‘sausages’ together to form a large loaf and place onto a lightly floured baking tray.
PASTA BAKE
PASTA BAKE
Pasta bake is such an easy dinner – try our pasta bake recipe to feed the kids a simple dinner.
KIDS LOVE THIS! Braise lean minced meat with 1 chopped onion, 1 teaspoon garlic, 3 cloves, pepper and salt to taste. The mince should be dry. Top with mashed potatoes and cooked spaghetti as a top layer. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Dot with blobs of butter. Heat through in the oven. Serve with a fresh salad.
EASY PEASY!!
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
You must be logged in to post a comment.