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Check Jam Roll
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Check jam roll this is a quintessential Cape Malay recipe. One that adorned every cake table at a wedding, hujaaj, on the Eid/labarang table or any other social gathering. Check jam roll is also known as Battenberg Cake in England. This striking checkerboard cake is a favourite for afternoon tea in England. Legend has it that the cake was created in honour of the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter Victoria to Prince Louis of Battenberg in the 1880s. (The coloured squares inside are thought to represent the four princes of Battenberg) It’s quite possible that the English brought the recipe to South Africa and we’ve adapted the recipe to represent our colourful personalities as the original recipe was only yellow and pink in colour and covered with marzipan.
From what I can remember my sister in law making this cake, she used to finish it off in chocolate flavour as well as a plain icing sugar. This cake can be made in advance and keeps well for up to a week if wrapped and stored properly. Slices of this cake was often used as a centre piece in a cake plate at wedding and other such gatherings.
Assembling the cake requires some precision, but it’s easier than it looks. The batter is thick enough that you can fairly neatly spoon two colours next to each other without them bleeding together; you might have to trim a bit off each half to cut away any combined bits. Or you can create a divider to keep them separate. I’ve wrapped a thin piece of cardboard, such as from a tissue box, in aluminium foil to good effect. My recipe makes 2 cakes.
Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1½ cups castor sugar
½ cup hot water
2 tsp cooking oil
2 cups self-raising flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp red food colouring
½ tsp rosewater (optional)
½ tsp green food colouring
½ tsp peppermint essence (optional)
½ cup smooth apricot jam
1 tbsp hot water
2 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder (omit if finishing off the cake plain)
Enough water to make a paste
Desiccated coconut
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Lightly grease two Swiss roll tins and line it with greaseproof paper. Cut a strip of cardboard to fit the length of the tins. It should fit snug. Cover the cardboard with foil. Lightly grease the foil and wedge into place.
In a large bowl beat eggs and castor sugar until light and creamy. Mix in vanilla essence, oil & hot water. Fold in the self-raising flour and baking powder.
Divide the mixture evenly into 4 bowls. Mix the red food colouring and the rosewater (if you’re using it) in one bowl. In the 2nd bowl mix the green food colouring and peppermint essence (if you’re using it). In the 3rd bowl mix the cocoa powder and in the 4th bowl the vanilla essence.
Turn the pink mixture (the red will have turned pink) into one side of the prepared tins. Turn the green mixture into the other half of the tin. Turn the chocolate and vanilla batter into the second prepared tin. Smooth the batter gently into the corners.
Bake for 20 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Leave to stand for 5 minutes in the tin. Slide a knife between the cake, tin and foil strip. Turn onto a wire cooling rack lined with greaseproof paper. Remove greaseproof paper attached to the bottom of the cakes. Leave to cool completely.
Trim the cake so that each half measures approximately 28x9cm. Cut each slab in half lengthways so that there are eight equal pieces.
Mix the jam and hot water to thin the jam slightly. To assemble the cake, brush the top of each cake strip with the jam and press a pink strip on top of a vanilla strip, do the same with the chocolate and green strips. Press the pink/vanilla strip together with the chocolate/green strip to create a chequerboard effect. Make sure to brush all the inside strips with jam to help it sticking together.
Mix the icing sugar and cocoa powder together with a bit of water to make a thick paste. Brush the cocoa paste all around the outside of the cake and roll desiccated coconut all over the cocoa paste. Wrap the cake firmly in greaseproof paper and leave to set for a couple of hours. Cut a very thin slice off each end of the cake for a neat edge.
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Chocolate Brioche Pudding
Salwaa’s Chocolate Brioche Pudding
Made with chocolate brioche rather than a standard loaf, this is a lovely alternative to the classic bread pudding.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
6 large slices of chocolate brioche
½ litre milk
3 large eggs
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons custard powder
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons butter
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180°C.
Grease a one litre oven proof dish with the butter.
Cut the brioche into slices. Arrange the brioche in the buttered dish.
Using an electric mixer, mix the eggs, custard powder, vanilla essence and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.
Whisk the milk into the egg mixture.
Gently pour the egg and milk mixture over the brioche.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 45 minutes, or until firm.
Cool slightly before serving.
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Fasulye and Pilav
Fasulye and Pilav
Salwaa’s Fasulye (Beans Stew & Rice)
Fasulye
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive
On our recent trip to Istanbul we had this delicious bean stew called Fasulye served with a buttery rice. It’s very popular amongst the Turks and widely eaten in the country. It’s such a cheap and easy dish to make, it’s filling and really warms you up too. This is my version and a must try dish.
Ingredients:
2 chopped onions
2 ripe chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 small chopped green pepper
2-3 finely chopped chillies
1 tbsp grated garlic
Salt to taste
2 tins of cannellini beans drained
Method:
Braised finely chopped onion in a little oil for about 5 minutes.
Add garlic, chillies, tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Add cannellini beans and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add water as desired.
The result is a delicious, hearty bean stew. I served it with a plate of Pilav (rice)
Turkish Pilav (rice)
Fasulya with Pilav
Ingredients
2 cups of basmati or fragrant rice
3 tablespoons butter (real butter gives the flavour, margarine is not a substitute)
5 cloves
2 cups of water or stock (chicken stock works particularly well, and helps create the authentic taste)
1 – 2 teaspoons salt, use less salt of you are using chicken stock
Method:
Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with hot salted water. Let this stand for about 30 minutes. Wash again thoroughly in cold water (the water should run clear) and drain well.
Melt the butter, with the cloves, in a saucepan until it just starts to sizzle, before it turns brown. Add the rice and sauté for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously.
Pour the stock or water into the pan, bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer on a low heat. Don’t stir the pilav whilst cooking! Cook until the rice has absorbed all the water (10-15 minutes). Add salt to taste.
Take the pan off the heat, and remove the lid. Place a clean kitchen towel over the pot, and then replace the lid. Leave to “rest” for 5-10 minutes. Stir the rice with a fork to fluff it up before serving with the fasulya beans.
Enjoy a taste from Turkey
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Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf
Chocolate Chip Banana Loaf
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tbsp milk
Pinch of salt
1 tsp fine cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and grease a loaf tin with oil.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas with the eggs.
Add the butter, milk and sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved. Add salt and cinnamon. Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared tin.
Put in the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean and the loaf is nicely browned.
Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove the loaf and cool completely on a cooling rack.
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Green Bean and Lamb Stew
Salwaa’s Green Beans Stew
A simple yet tasty recipe for green beans stew or bredie as we know it in Cape Town. Easy to make, a great idea for a healthy and nutritious meal. Here I used trimmed fine beans. Best of all 3 heaped tablespoons green beans equals one of your 5 a day.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
600g lamb pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1½ tsp salt
2 – 3 green chillies, chopped
1 Tbsp spoon sugar, optional
3 cloves
3 all spice
1kg green beans, sliced diagonally
3 large potatoes, quartered
Green Bean Stew served with basmati rice and atchar
Method:
Wash and drain the meat. Heat the oil in a large pot and braise the onions until deep golden brown.
Add the lamb pieces and garlic and cook until nearly tender about 40 minutes adding water as necessary.
Add the salt, chillies, cloves, allspice and green beans as well as the potatoes.
Cook until the potatoes are soft and tender adding water for thinner gravy.
Serve with boiled rice and atchar. Serves 6
Atchars are available in store at 377 on Imam Haron Road, Lansdowne or online at www.capemalaydelights.store
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Mango atchar, lemon atchar, mix veg atchar
Always braise meat until very dark in colour, carefully watching it, so that it doesn’t burn to get a nice dark colour stew.
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Chocolate Swiss Roll
Salwaa’s Chocolate Swiss Roll
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp oil
1 cup self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 dessert spoons cocoa powder
Butter Icing:
100g butter, softened
100g icing sugar
75g chocolate, melted
Or whipped fresh cream for the filing
Method:
Beat eggs, sugar until light and creamy. Mix in vanilla essence, oil & hot water.
Add self-raising flour, cocoa and baking powder. Mix well.
Pour into a greased rectangular baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 8-10 minutes.
Dust a large piece of baking parchment with caster sugar and turn the sponge out onto it. Trim off the hard edges and make a dent along the width, 1cm in. From this end, roll it up with the paper in the middle. Cool on a wire rack.
Beat the butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy and then beat in the melted chocolate. Unroll the sponge, spread over the butter icing or whipped fresh cream and up roll again. Serve in slices.
Use the following variation for a delicious filling:
275 g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
300 ml fresh cream
Icing sugar, for dusting
Strawberries, to garnish
Melt the chocolate and 300ml of the cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Refrigerate until cool and thickened. Unroll the sponge, spread over the cake and roll up again. Dust with icing sugar and garnish with strawberries.
Or
Spread the cake with a layer of caramel, slices of banana and whipped fresh cream. Roll up and cut into slices.
© Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Chocolate Fridge Tart
No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Tart
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive since 2011!
An elegant chocolate tart. The bright red of the strawberries and the green of the pistachios goes beautifully with the dark chocolate. This incredibly easy, no-bake chocolate tart is made with a simple Oreo crust and rich chocolate ganache filling made with both milk and dark chocolates.
Ingredients:
2½ packets chocolate cookies (Oreo or similar)
100g butter, melted
350g milk chocolate
150g dark chocolate
300ml fresh cream / double cream
Strawberries for garnishing
Crushed pistachios, optional
Method:
Finely crush the biscuits and mix it with the melted butter.
Line a 20cm non-stick fluted loose bottom tart tin with the biscuit mixture. Use a spoon and your fingers to get an even layer into the bottom and edges of the tin. Freeze whilst preparing the filing.
Using a small pot heat the cream over low to medium. Break the chocolate into small pieces. Add the pieces of chocolate to the warm cream and stir till the chocolate has melted. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the biscuit base. Top with strawberries and crushed pistachios. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.
Cook’s Notes:
It’s best to use a dark chocolate which contains 50-90% cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar. For best results make the tart a day in advance. This chocolate tart will keep, covered well, for up to 4-5 days in the fridge, but I guarantee it wont last that long!
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Homemade Bread
Homemade Baked Bread
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our traditions alive!
Fancy making your own bread? Baking homemade bread needn’t be difficult, here’s my easy recipe for a delicious crusty loaf of bread. My recipe makes 2 medium size loaves.
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
1 sachet instant yeast (7g)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water
Oil for greasing
1 Tbsp melted butter
Method:
In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Stir to mix, make a little well in the centre, add the water. Start with one and half cups first. If the dough is too dry add the remaining quarter cup water little bit at a time. You may not need all the water. A wet dough is better than a dry one which will result in a tough bread texture.
Knead well for 10 – 15 minutes. The dough should be smooth and shouldn’t stick to your hands after kneading.
Grease a bowl with little oil. One to two teaspoons oil should be enough. You just want to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl. Place dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place. Depending on the weather it can take between 1½ to 2 hours.
Punch down. Place in prepared loaf tins, (grease the tins well with oil) and leave to rise until double in volume.
Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes.
Turn out and cool on wire rack. To check if the bread is baked through, tap bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow. Brush melted butter over the loaf whilst still warm.
This bread was made from my basic bread recipe. Shaped in a fluted mould pan, dusted with dry flour before baking. Served with butter and homemade fig jam. Learn how to make my fig jam here.
Dusted with flour before baking
Common bread faults and causes
Lack of volume, heavy and closed texture.
- Dough is too tight due to insufficient liquid.
- Too much salt added.
- Not enough yeast.
- Dough over fermented, causing the gas pockets to break down.
- Low gluten content due to incorrect flour used
- Insufficient kneading or proving
Dough collapsing when placed into the oven
- Over proving
Lack of crust colour
- Dough over fermented
- Lack of salt
- Oven too cool
Uneven texture with holes and crust breaks away
- Oven too hot
- Insufficient proving
- Dough left uncovered during proving and surface dried out
Bread is doughy in the middle
Taken out of the oven too early, not enough baking time.
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Chocolate Brownies
Chocolate Brownies
These brownies can be made individually, as shown in the picture, or in a baking tray and cut into squares.
Serve on its own or with whipped cream for a delicious treat.
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Coconut and Oats Crunchies
Salwaa’s Coconut and Oats Crunchies
Crunchies, also known as flapjacks, this recipe is quick and easy to make with your kids. Add a handful of nuts, chocolate chips or mixed dried fruit in the mixture for variety.
Crunchies / Flapjacks
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From Our Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
2 cups oats
1 cup coconut, medium
1 cup cake flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
180g butter
1 heaped tablespoon golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Extra butter for greasing
Melted chocolate to complete
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a square baking tray with the extra butter. In a mixing bowl mix together the oats, coconut, cake flour and sugar. Add the nuts, chocolate chips or mixed dried fruit if using. #capemalaycooking
Melt the butter in a separate pot then add the golden syrup and bicarbonate of soda.
Remove from the heat when the butter mixture is bubbling and mix it into the dry ingredients.
Press the dough lightly into the greased baking tin. Bake for 30 minutes.
Pour chocolate over, leave to set for about 5 minutes.
Cut in squares whilst still hot. Leave to cool before gently removing the crunchies.
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