Around SA in 80 Desserts - The Second Set of 10 Desserts

I have posted the second list of 10 desserts. I will blog about each and every dessert so you as the reader have a chance to try all the delicious desserts yourself. Only after all the desserts on each list has been made and blogged about will I post the next set of 10 until all 80 has been made. 

The second set of 10 desserts for the 'Around South Africa in 80 Desserts' challenge. 

Blou Maans

Sneeupoeding

Soet gebakte kwepers

Outydse Soetkoekkies

Gebakte appel

Karringmelkpoeding

Malvapoeding

Peppermint crispt fridge tart

Nat koek

Cremora fridge tart

I am making 80 desserts, what are you doing? 

10 down 70 to GO! Van der Hum liqueur

We are 10 desserts down dear foodies! Only 70 left to go! It did take me 40 days to complete the first 10 but it’s all a working progress. I have 160 days, 5 hours, 57 minutes and 30 seconds left to complete the rest! There is nothing stopping us now!

The last dessert on our first list of 10 is Van der Hum liqueur.

Van der Hum was South Africa’s first indigenous liqueur. This wonderfully aromatic liqueur is a blend of brandy, naartjie peel and spices. It was distilled in South Africa for centuries by housewives before it was bottled officially. It is named after Admiral Van der Hum of the Dutch East India Company fleet who is said to have been ‘fond of it to the point of distraction’.

VAN DER HUM LIQUEUR

• 1 bottle of good quality brandy
• 4 cloves
• 1 cinnamon scroll
• ¼ freshly ground nutmeg
• 2,5 ml (½ tsp) mace
• 30 ml (2 tbs) naartjie peel
• 500 ml (2 cups) white sugar
• 125 ml (½ cup) water
• 60ml (¼ cup) good quality rum

Step 1 – Pour the brandy into an sterilized glass bottle. A 1 litre bottle is perfect.

Step 2 – Add the cloves, cinnamon scroll, ground nutmeg, mace and finely cut naartjie peel.

Step 3 – Seal the lid and shake the bottle gently every morning and every night.

Step 4 – Allow to infuse for 1 month. Strain the liqueur through a clean muslin cloth.    

Step 5 – In a sauce pan boil the water and sugar until very thick.

Step 6 – Combine the liqueur with the sugar syrup and add the rum.

Step 7 – Pour the mixture into a sterilized bottle and reseal. Write the date on the bottle and only after three weeks of adding the syrup can the liqueur be enjoyed. 

9 down 71 to GO! Appel Tert – Apple Pie

It has been a very cold and rainy weekend in Cape Town. Sometimes your trusty woollen jersey, a glass of 20 year old brandy or a fireplace right in the middle of the lounge just doesn't cut it. How about a freshly baked apple pie smothered with some hot custard to warm your senses?

I would be lying if I told you that I've always loved apple pie. It is something I learned to like and eventually fell in love with as I got older. The way I see it, if I don’t like something I always ask myself, “Why do millions of other people like it but not me? What am I missing?” This encourages me to try it in all different ways with the hope of eventually liking it and ultimately falling in love with it.

I gave apple pie a chance and lo and behold I actually started liking it. A couple of years ago I couldn't imagine myself enjoying apple pie. Today it’s a matter of “Does it come with cream or custard?” and not “I’ll take a slice of pie but leave the apples”.

I was a bit concerned when I read through this recipe. The whole thing just felt very queer to me. Never the less I pushed through and made it ALMOST exactly according to the recipe. I tweaked a couple of measurements here and there and to my amazement it actually worked and came out beautifully.

The texture and balance of flavour was just out of this world. Every bite was like a piece of fruity and spicy heaven. The cinnamon, vanilla and brandy softly kiss your senses as the sweetness of the currants balance out the sourness of the apples. From texture to flavour the pie was moist but never soggy with the fruits being the star of the show. Every slice baked to perfection and every bite guaranteed to warm up even the dreariest of days.

This apple pie is a must and I promise you, you will definitely not regret it. Warm yourself this winter with a slice of traditional South African apple pie. 

APPEL TERT

Crust:

•  125g butter
• 125ml (½ cup) sugar
• 1 egg
• 250 ml (1 cup) self-rising flour
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) salt
• 125ml (½ cup) milk

Filling:

• 6 Granny Smith Apples peeled and quartered
• 15ml (1 tbs) sugar
• 3 cinnamon scrolls
• 60ml (¼ cup) currants

Sauce:

• 60ml (¼ cup) sugar
• 75ml (5 tbs) milk
• 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
• 15 ml (1 tbs) brandy
• 3 cinnamon scrolls (Used in filling)

Step 1 – Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the egg and beat together.

Step 2 – Sift the self-rising flour and salt together and it add bit by bit to the butter mixture.

Step 3 – Spray two 20cm pie dishes with non-stick cooking spray and spread the dough mixture in the pie dish.

Step 4 – Add the quartered apples, sugar, cinnamon scrolls and currants in a sauce pan. Stew until the sugar is melted.

Step 5 – Place the stewed apples and currants into the pie dish and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Step 6 – In a saucepan add the sugar, milk and previously used cinnamon scrolls together. Bring to a boil until the sugar is melted. Let it cool and add the brandy and vanilla essence.

Step 7 – As soon as the warm apple pie comes out of the oven pour the sauce over the hot pie.  

Enjoy with hot with some custard or cream :) 

8 down 72 to GO! Konfyttertjies

Apricot jam tartlets or Konfyttertjies as it is called in Afrikaans is a very simple and easy tartlet to make. The whole recipe calls for only three ingredients granted you have made the puff pastry ahead of time that is.

Konfyttertjies is basically puff pastry filled with the best apricot jam you can find, preferably homemade and then brushed with egg yolk. The pastry is baked and enjoyed with a cup of sweet Rooibos tea.

I am going to go out on a limb here but I am guessing before now I haven’t had this treat in at least 10 years. If there is a treat I have recently eaten that brought back long forgotten memories it is this.  

One thing comes to mind, Beaufort West and the spectacular beauty of the Great Karoo. I might have made a home for myself in Cape Town, but my heart will always belong to the Karoo.  I remember once or twice having konfyttertjies and for some reason one person always come to mind, my grandmother. The lady who still bakes pancakes for the church bazaar and recently gotten her Master’s degree for her theses:  "The interdisciplinary archaeological research of musical instruments of ancient Israel and Palestine during the Iron Age."  Not bad wouldn't you agree? 

My grandmother introduced me long ago to konfyttertjies and since then it has become one of my most beloved treats. Sometimes we need a push from the past to bring us back to our roots. For me that push was the taste of sweet and sticky homemade apricot jam in a puff pastry shell with the scent of Rooibos tea lingering in the air.

This might not be a five star dessert or treat, but it is definitely special and dear to me. Simplicity at its best! 

KONFYTTERTJIES

•  Puff pastry dough
• 1 egg yolk
• Apricot jam

Step 1 – Roll out the puff pastry dough until 5mm thick. Work quickly in order to keep the pastry cold.

Step 2 – With a teacup or circular cookie cutter, cut out little circles.

Step 3 – Wisk the egg yolk and with a pastry brush, brush the edges of the dough.

Step 4 – Place one teaspoon of apricot jam in the middle of the dough.

Step 5 – Fold the one side over on itself and with the tip of your finger push the edge of the pastry down.

Step 6 – Lightly brush the top of the pastry with some egg yolk

Step 7 – Bake in a preheated oven at 200-220 degree Celsius for 10 minutes or until golden on top.

Enjoy with a cup of Rooibos tea. 

7 down 73 to GO! General Hertzog and his ‘Hertzoggies’

“Barry Hertzog was a Boer general during the second Anglo-Boer War who became Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1924 to 1939. He encouraged the development of Afrikaner culture in order to protect the Afrikaner from British influence.”

During the general election of 1924, supporters J.B.M Hertzog and the National Party showed their side and support by driving only Ford motor cars and baking Hertzoggies. The opposing party of Jun Smuts drove Chevrolets motor cars and baked Smutsies . Both these two desserts are very similar to one another and were named after the leader of the running party. Supporters of Jan Smuts would bake Smutsies and the supporters of J.B.M Hertzog took the Smutsies idea and made it ‘better’ by topping it off not with a light cake mix but with a coconut meringue filling. The dessert was named after J.B.M Hertzog. He himself used to love Hertzoggies.  

Hertzoggies are little tarts that consist out of a light nutmeg pastry base filled with delectable homemade apricot jam and topped off with a coconut meringue filling.  Hertzoggies are the perfect tea time treat but can also serve as a dessert after a light lunch or dinner.

Hertzoggies

DOUGH

• 60ml (¼ cup) sugar
• 30ml (2 tbs) butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 15ml (1 tbs) cold water
• 500ml (2 cups) self-rising flour   
• 1,25ml (¼ tsp) salt
• 1,25ml (¼ tsp) freshly grated nutmeg

Step 1 – Beat the sugar and butter together and stir in the whisked egg yolks and cold water.

Step 2 – Sift the self-rising flour, salt and nutmeg together.

Step 3 – Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time to the sugar, butter and egg mixture.

Step 4 – Mix all the ingredients together to make a little dough ball.

Step 5 – Warp the dough with Clingfilm and let it cool in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Step 6 – Roll the dough out until it is about 5mm thick.  

Step 7 – Cut circular shapes from the dough with a tea cup or a cookie cutter.

Step 8 – Line your pan with the cut out dough.

FILLING

• 60ml (4 tbs) smooth apricot jam
• 3 egg whites
• 250ml (1 cup) sugar
• 500ml (2 cups) dried coconut

Step 9 – Add one teaspoon at a time of the apricot jam to each of the little dough cups.

Step 10 – Whisk the egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in the coconut.

Step 11 – Add a tablespoon or more of the egg white and coconut mixture on top of the dough and jam cups.

Step 12 – Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

Step 13 – After 20 minutes take the Hertzoggie tarts out of the oven and let it rest and cool on an oven rack.  

6 down 74 to GO! Pannekoek – Traditional South African flat pancakes

“It’s baked at every fundraiser and sold at every school function. It has built church halls and bought a new school bus. It has built a new public swimming pool and paid for countless matric dances.”

“When rain pours down in the Boland it is a tradition to bake ‘pannekoek’. Outside it can be stormy weather but inside the toasty kitchen crunchy sugar melts under your teeth as the taste and smell of cinnamon softly kiss your senses. “

Traditional South African flat pancakes or ‘Pannekoek’ as it is known in South Africa is much like a Dutch/Belgian pancake. Pannekoek is usually much larger and thinner than an American or Scottish pancake. Pannekoek fillings can range from something as humble as cinnamon sugar and lemon juice or decadent as a banana, caramel and wiped cream combination.

In South Africa pannekoek is traditionally eaten as a sweet dessert on a cold and rainy day. It can also serve as a light meal with savoury fillings such as bolognaises or tuna and mayonnaise.

Pannekoek dusted with cinnamon sugar then rolled up into a tight little scroll is still my firm favourite. Fill a pannekoek with caramel, banana and whipped cream and I will be a very happy kid again. This is one of those desserts that can melt any grouchy girlfriend or unpleasant husband’s frigid disposition any day. 

My grandmother still bakes hundreds of these pancakes for the church bazaar every year. She and a couple of other ladies would have their 'set up' on a long aluminium table in the church hall. Armed with their little camping gas stoves and old school but trusty pancake skillets they will bake non-stop from 8am the Saturday morning until 12pm, finishing just before the Rugby starts. They always have their work cut out for them as hundreds of drooling customers anxious to get their hands on this delectable treat flock to the pancake tables. Without doubt the queues at the pancake tables put those at the Colosseum in Rome during the peak tourist season to shame. 

From all of the traditional South African desserts I have eaten, pannekoek is still my number one favorite. Give me pannkoek any day and I promise you I will never tire from it!  

 Pannekoek - South African flat pancakes

• 2 eggs
• 625ml (2 ½ cup) milk 
• 500ml (2 cups) cake flour
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) baking powder
• 2,5ml (½ tsp) salt
• 30ml (2 tbs) sunflower oil
• 15ml (1 tbs) good brandy 
• Nonstick cooking spray or oil for baking

Step 1 – Beat the eggs and the milk together

Step 2 – Bit by bit beat all of the dry ingredients into the egg and milk mixture.

Step 3 – Add the brandy and oil and mix everything together

Step 4 – Leave the pancake mix to rest for 30-60 minutes

Step 5 – Spray your skillet with non-stick cooking spray or add enough oil to cover most of the bottom.

Step 6 – Make sure your skillet is hot enough before pouring ¾ cup of pancake mix onto the hot skillet.

Step 7 – Tilt the skillet so that the pancake mix covers the bottom of the whole pan.

Step 8 – Bake the one side of the pancake until it is golden brown and turn over. Reap until both sides of the pancake are golden brown.

Step 9 – Flop the pancake onto a warm plate and dust with cinnamon sugar.  

Step 10 – With a fork roll the warm pancake into a little scroll and serve immediately. 

5 down 75 to GO! ‘Melktert’ - Milk Tart

Milk tart or ‘Melktert’ as it is known in Afrikaans is one of the most divine traditional South African desserts. Milk tart comes from South Africa, and has Dutch and Malay influences, both ingredients and the name. There are many desserts in Africa that have been acquired during the period of colonization. One such dessert of Dutch origin is ‘Melktert’. In this dessert the ratio of milk to egg is higher than the European or Chinese custard egg tart. This modification was brought about during the 17^th and 18^th century by the Cape Malays who were brought to South Africa as slaves.

Milk tart is one of those desserts that everyone loves but no one has the courage or time to make it themselves. Unless you have a very old recipe handed down by generations or you are a sweet old granny that is known for making the best milk tarts in town people tend not to dabble in the black magic of milk tart making. Everyone knows what a good milk tart should taste like and thou shall not challenge the unique recipe or you might have a “What brick through yonder window breaks?” situation on your hands.

I guess I am just over exaggerating a wee bit. People don’t often make milk tart because of the possibility of a projectile crashing through your window, it’s mostly because some recipes require the pastry shell to be made from puff pastry and secondly everyone knows how temperamental eggs, milk and sugar on a stovetop could be. Scrambled eggs anyone? And I know what you are thinking, store bought puff pastry is the answer. If you want to be thrown out of book club or chased around with torches and pitchforks at a church bazaar you dare make it with store bough ingredients.

Milk tart making in general is quite a process but the end result is always worth it. I am not talking about ‘shortcut’ recipes or ‘10 minute milk tarts’ that is NOT milk tart. It is ‘crap’ that doesn't even vaguely resemble the original.

This is my first time making a ‘Melktert’. It wasn't that bad making it, but I did break out in a cold sweat as soon as I started working with the puff pastry. The trick is to work fast, keep your pastry cold and do not overdo it. As for the milk, eggs and sugar on the stove, gently bring it to a boil, and just keep stirring. Use a flour sifter to get rid of any lumps. If those lumps are scrambled eggs then you might as well start again.

Although this recipe is quite allot of work. Trust me you MUST give it a try at home! You will not regret it! You can use store bought puff pastry if you like. It’s not the same but the end result is still mind blowing. So in the light of today’s crazy world I say go ahead! 

 

MELKTERT

•  500g puff pastry

 Filling:

• 1 litre full cream milk
• 2 cinnamon scrolls ‘sticks’
• 30ml (2 tbs) butter
• 60ml (4 tbs) cake flour
• 250ml (1 cup) sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) milk (keep aside)
• 4 eggs
• 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
• Ground cinnamon for dusting

Step 1 – Roll out the puff pastry dough until it’s about 2cm thick and line two sprayed tart tins with the rolled out dough.   

Step 2 – Add the cinnamon scrolls, butter, and sugar to the milk and gently bring to a boil.

Step 3 – Combine the cake flour with 125ml (1/2 cup) milk into a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Step 4 – Separate your 4 eggs. Keep egg whites aside.

Step 5 – Whisk the 4 egg yolks and combine them with the rest of the 125ml (1/2 cup) milk.

Step 6 – Add the egg yolk and milk mixture to the simmering milk on the stove. Keep stirring!

Step 7 – Add the milk and flour paste to the simmering milk.

Step 8 – Finally add the vanilla essence and give everything a good stir. Take off heat.

Step 9 – Beat the egg whites until just before it becomes dry with stiff peaks.

Step 10 – Fold the beaten egg whites into the milk mixture.

Step 11 – Pour the milk mixture into two tart pans lined with the puff pastry dough.

Step 12 – Bake for 40 minutes at 180 degree Celsius.

Step 13 – Dust the milk tart with ground cinnamon as soon as it is taken out of the oven.