Damn delicious desserts!! Welcome to your cheat day ladies and gentlemen. This is a no judgement zone. Enjoy!!!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

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INGREDIENTS:
CUPCAKES
 140g  flour
 1½  Tbls cocoa powder
 ¾ tsp baking powder
 ⅓ tsp baking soda
 ¼ tsp salt
 5 Tbls unsalted butter, softened
  100g white sugar
 2 eggs
 1 tsp vanilla
 120 ml buttermilk
 4-6 drops red gel food coloring
CREAM CHEESE ICING
120 g unsalted butter, softened
120 g  cream cheese, cold
180 g powdered sugar
METHOD:
FOR THE CUPCAKES:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake cups.
In a small bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients.
To a large bowl add the softened butter and sugar.
Cream together with an electric mixer until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Then add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix till smooth.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to butter mixture on low speed until perfectly combined.
Lastly fold in the red gel food coloring just until combing
Spoon batter into cupcake cups. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
Beat the butter in an  electric mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy,
5-10 minutes. Add in the cream cheese and beat for another minute.
Spoon in the icing sugar and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy.
Pipe the icing onto the cupcakes.

CINNAMON ROLLS

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DOUGH:
4 cups flour
1/3 cup castor sugar
1 packet instant Yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 Tbls butter
1 egg
CINNAMON SUGAR:
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbls cinnamon powder
For The Cream Cheese Frosting
110 g cream cheese
125 g unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 – 3 Tbls milk
1 tsp
vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients together.
In a small pot, warm up the milk and butter until milk is warm and the butter is mostly melted. Let the mixture cool before adding to the yeast to prevent killing the yeast. Add the warm milk and butter to the flour mixture.
Add the egg.
Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to
high until completely combined, about 2 minutes.
Add the flour a bit at a time until combined and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
On a well floured surface, knead dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and you can stretch a piece of dough out between your fingers without it breaking. This means the gluten has developed and your dough will be pillowy soft.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
While the dough rises, make the filling.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a long rectangle about 18 x 12 inches on a well floured surface.
Spread the butter for the filling all the way to the edge of the dough. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the butter, pressing it down to stick to the butter.
From the long end, roll the dough away from you into a tight roll, sealing the bottom edge down by pinching the douch together.
Use a very sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place the rolls in a 9 × 13 inch pan lined with baking paper. Cover loosely with a dish cloth and allow to rise for another hour until doubled in size and puffed up.
Bake the cinnamon rolls at 180 degrees C. for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and no longer doughy. Allow to cool.
While the rolls cool, make the cream cheese icing. Whisk the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, milk, salt, and vanilla extract on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Spread the icing evenly over the 12 rolls.
Enjoy warm!

PAVLOVA WREATH WITH TETLEY EARL GREY CREAM

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INGREDIENTS

4 Large egg whites
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbls Tetley Earl Grey tea syrup
Fresh mixed berries
1/2 cup icing sugar
Mint to garnish
TETLEY EARL GREY SIMPLE SYRUP:
In a saucepan, add 4 Tetley earl grey teabags, 2 cups of water, and 1 cup white granulated sugar.
Bring to a boil and simmer until the liquid reduces to half and becomes slightly thick. Allow to cool at room temperature and store in the fridge until ready to use.
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Draw a big circle on the paper.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually add sugar until mixture is thick and glossy. Gently fold in the cornstarch, vanilla and lemon juice.
Spoon mixture inside the circle and spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven until meringue is dry and sounds hollow when tapped, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack.
In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream until stiff peaks form, fold in the Tetley tea syrup.
Spoon cream over the meringue, lay the berries onto of the cream, sift a bit of icing sugar on top.
Garnish with mint leaves.
Enjoy.

Merry Christmas.

 

ROOIBOS PANCAKE CAKE WITH  ROOIBOS MARSCAPONE FILLING

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ROOIBOS PANCAKES

2 cups self raising flour

2 Tbls castor sugar

1 pinch of salt

3 cups milk

4 laagerrooibos teabags

4 eggs

1 Tbls oil

Warm up the milk up with the teabags, on medium heat in a saucepan, until the milk becomes ‘rooibosy.’ Just simmer the milk, don’t bring to a boil. Remove the teabags and allow the milk to completely cool down.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

In another bowl, whisk together the rooibos milk, oil and eggs.

Slowly mix n the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the batter is nice and smooth. Batter should be pouring consistency.

Divide the batter into two bowls and colour the one bowl with a drop of pink food coloring.

In a non-stick pan, on medium heat, using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, pour batter into hot pan, swirl around until the bottom of the pan is covered. Once the bubbles start to form, flip the pancake to cook the other side until golden brown on both sides.

Repeat until all the batter is finished. Set aside for stacking.

ROOIBOS MARSCAPONE FILLING:

2 tubs plain mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup rooibos syrup

Whisk the mascarpone with rooibos syrup until nice and loose. Add more rooibos syrup is preferred.

TO MAKE PANCAKE CAKE

On a cake stand, place a white pancake at the bottom, spread a bit of the rooibos filling ontop and place a pink pancake onto and repeat until all the pancakes and filling is finished.

The top later should be the mascarpone cream topped with fresh berries and a dusting of icing sugar.

Refrigerate until ready to eat.

 

CHEWY SPICE COOKIES 

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INGREDIENTS:

Chewy Spice Cookies:

1 cup butter, chopped into cubes

1 Teabag Tetley Masala Chai

2 1/4 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chai spice

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

2 Tbls maple syrup

 

Cinnamon Sugar:

1 Tbls brown sugar

2 Tbls white sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together until well combined.

 

METHOD:

In a medium pan, add the chopped butter and loose Tetley tea leaves. Cook the butter until it turns amber in color. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl so it stops cooking. Cool for 20 minutes, and the place in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and spices together.

In another bowl, add the browned butter and sugar. Beat together for 1 minute. Add vanilla, egg and maple syrup and mix again.

Slowly pour all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.

Cover and refrigerate while you preheat oven to 180 °C.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper Roll dough into balls and roll into the cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 12 minutes. Cool before eating.

 

CRÊPES WITH BERRIES & CREAM

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Ingredients:

2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 Tbls castor sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 1/2 cups milk

Method:

Butter, for cooking
Mixed berries and whipped cream, to serve
Sift all the dry ingredients together.
Mix the eggs, vanilla and milk together until well mixed.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
In a non-stick pan, melt a bit of butter.
Scoop a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, swirl around until batter
covers the surface of the pan.
Once tiny bubbles form on the batter, flip over and cook on the
other side.
Repeat until all the batter is finished.
Serve with berries and cream, or desired filling/topping.

 

ROOIBOS CHAI ICING

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1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups icing sugar

1 Tbls milk *optional

@laagerrooibostea chai spice:

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp green cardamon

@laagerrooibostea leaves

To make chai spice: Mix/ crush all the spices in a pastel and mortar until well blended.

In a bowl, with a hand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy for about 5 minutes.

Add in the icing sugar one scoop at a time. Beat until well blended and fluffy.

Add in the milk to loosen up the icing *optional

Fold in the rooibos chai spice until well blended.

Using a star nozzle and piping bag, pipe icing onto a cupcake or cake.

Enjoy.

DECONSTRUCTED ROOIBOS EASTER CHEESECAKE

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200 g tennis biscuits, crushed

80 g melted butter

1 cup cream cheese

1 cup cream

1 Tbls lemon juice, *optional

1/4 cup @laagerrooibostea syrup :

2 cups water

6 teabags @laagerrooibostea

2 cups castor sugar

crushed meringue, garnish

speckled eggs/ Easter eggs , as garnish

To make syrup: In a small pot, bring the water, sugar and teabags to a boil for a minute. Reduce to a simmer until the liquids are reduced to half.

Remove the teabags. Leave syrup to cool.

Mix the biscuits with the melted butter and spoon into the bottom of a glass and pack neatly.

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese with the rooibos syrup until nice and smooth.

In another bowl, beat the cream until stiff. Fold in the cream into the cream cheese mixture. Mix in the lemon juice *optional.

Spoon/ pipe in the creamy mixture into the glass onto the biscuit layer.

Top with crushed meringue. Garnish with Easter eggs.

 

MINI ROOIBOS & THYME PAVLOVAS

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4 egg whites

1 cup castor sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp corn starch

1 @laagerrooibostea leaves

1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 cup fresh whipped cream, to serve

@laagerrooibostea syrup, to serve:

2 cups water

6 teabags @laagerrooibostea

2 cups castor sugar

Thyme leaves, to garnish

To make syrup: In a small pot, bring the water, sugar and teabags to a boil for a minute. Reduce to a simmer until the liquids are reduced to half.

Remove the teabags. Leave syrup to cool.

Preheat oven to 120 degrees C.

Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

With an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peak. Gradually add in the sugar, whisk well after every addition until the sugar dissolves.

Add in the cream of tartar, cornstarch, thyme and loose tea leaves and whisk some more.

Whisk for another 3 minutes until stiff peak stage.

Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and pipe onto baking sheet (in desired shape). Reduce oven temperature to 90 degrees C.

Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the pavlovas cool in the oven completely.

Once cooked down, top pavlovas with whipped cream. Drizzle with syrup and top with some fresh thyme.

Naked Spicy Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 1hr30 mins

Ingredients:
4C Flour
4 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Salt
6 Eggs
1 1/2C Buttermilk
1 1/4C Oil
3C Castor Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla paste/essence
4C Grated Carrots
2C Desiccated Coconut
2C Pistachio Nuts, chopped
2 Cans crushed Pineapple
1 1/2C Raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2C Cream Cheese
1C Softened Butter
2C Icing Sugar
Zest of 1 Orange

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Sift all the dry ingredients together(except fruit, nuts and coconut).
In another bowl mix the buttermilk and oil together. Thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
Then mix the rest of the ingredients together and gently fold into the batter.
Spoon into a prepared cake tin. (You may divide into 3 tins to make 3 layers).
Bake for 1 hour or until testing pin comes out clean when inserted.
Cool completely before icing.
For the icing, beat all the ingredients together until light and fluffy.
Lightly ice all the layers together to create a cake sandwich then dirty ice the entire cake. Pipe the rest of the icing on top and garnish with edible flowers bad chocolate.

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