ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR-CAKE FLOUR vs SELF-RISING FLOUR

All-purpose flour is plain flour and when a recipe calls for flour this is what they mean.
Self-rising flour is AP flour with baking powder and salt added to act as a leavening agent (meaning, to help your baked goods rise). To make your own, the recipe is as follows:
1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon salt = 1 cup self-rising flour.
Can I substitute one for the other? No. Just buy AP flour and add baking powder if a recipe ever calls for self-rising flour and you can’t find it.

OLD FASHIONED OATS vs QUICK-COOKING OR INSTANT OATS

Old-fashioned oats, also called rolled oats, are oats that have been husked (their outer, fibrous husks are removed), steamed, then flattened. This makes them softer and speeds up the cooking process without compromising texture too much. On the stovetop with boiling water, old fashioned oats take about 5 minutes to cook into a creamy, slightly chewy oatmeal with lots of texture.
Quick-cooking/instant oats are rolled oats that have been pressed much thinner, creating broken-up pieces of oats that are almost powdery. In boiling liquid on the stovetop, instant oats take less than a minute to cook. However, they don’t have much texture, since they’ve been broken into such tiny pieces, and they make for slightly mushy oatmeal.
IN A NUTSHELL: Quick cooking oats are old fashioned oats pressed even thinner that cook even faster.
Can I substitute one for the other? No. If a recipe calls for rolled oats, substituting instant oats won’t work because the texture is far more powdery and will make your batter gummy.

GEBOTTELDE KERRIEKOOL, -UIE OF -BOONTJIES
Hierdie resep gebruik ek vir kerriekool, -uie en boontjies.
1 middelslag kool, opgesny in repe of blokkies
2 middelslag uie, opgekap
5 ml sout
500 ml asyn
350 ml suiker
10 ml matige kerriepoeier
5 ml borrie
30 ml mielieblom

Kook die kool en uie en sout in klein bietjie water tot net sag. Dreineer baie goed.
Kook die res van die bestanddele – uitgesluit die mielieblom – saam vir 2 minute. Meng die mielieblom met bietjie water tot ‘n pasta, roer by en prut tot mengsel verdik.
Voeg alles bymekaar, bring weer tot kookpunt en skep in warm gesteriliseerde bottels.
Verseël dadelik. Laat dit verkieslik 3 weke staan voor gebruik.
Resep: Petro Borchard
Foto: Marie Rheeder Troskie

BAKED FRUIT SALAD PUDDING
Batter
1 cup (140 gram) self-raising flour (add 1 tablespoon self-raising flour if the batter is too runny)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/8 teaspoon (pinch) salt
¼ cup coconut
1 jumbo (extra-large) egg
½ cup (100 gram) white sugar
1 x 410 gram tin of fruit salad (fruit cocktail) in juice
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) vanilla essence

Caramel sauce
3/4 cup (190ml, which is ½ of a 410 gram tin) Nestlé Ideal Evaporated Milk
1/3 cup (75 gram) sugar
2 tablespoons (25 gram) butter
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) caramel or vanilla essence
Pudding
Sift the self-raising flour, baking soda and salt together. Add coconut.
Beat egg and sugar together.
Add vanilla essence, tinned fruit, and juice in which the fruit was preserved, to egg and sugar mixture.
Add dry ingredients to the mixture and mix.
Pour the batter into a greased 20 cm (1,25 liter) oven dish.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in an oven, preheated to 180ºC, while you make the caramel sauce.

Sauce
Bring all the ingredients, except the caramel or vanilla essence, to the boil in a saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove sauce from the stove and add caramel or vanilla essence.
Pour the hot sauce over the hot tart as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Serve lukewarm with custard or ice cream.

Notes:
For a tropical flavor, add approximately ¼ cup of crushed pineapple and ¼ cup of coconut to the sauce.

Recipe and photo:  Marietjie Swart

MIELIE BREAD

INGREDIENTS
250 ml coarse mealie meal
10 ml baking powder
250 ml cake flour
2,5 ml cayenne pepper or paprika or to taste
3 ml salt
250 ml low-fat maas or buttermilk
3 eggs, beaten
60 ml sunflower oil
1 x 410 g tin cream style sweetcorn

METHOD
Preheat oven to 180 C and lightly grease a 1.5 litre bread tin.
Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Combine the maas, eggs, oil and sweetcorn. Mix into the dry ingredients until well blended.
Spoon into the bread tin. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack.
SOURCE/PHOTO: The Heart and Stroke Foundation.

CHERRY KIRSCH CAKE

INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
4 eggs
250 ml sugar
250 ml butter
750 ml cake flour
62,5 ml milk
250 ml shredded carrots
5 ml salt

Black Cherry Syrup:
125 ml Cherry kirsch Liqueur
62,5 ml sugar
For The Cream Cheese Filling:
110g. cream cheese – softened
50 ml butter – softened
1/25 ml castor sugar

METHOD
For the Cake:
Preheat Oven to 180C:
Combine the sugar and butter in a mix master and mix until smooth. Add the eggs, shredded carrots and milk and continue to mix on low. Slowly, add the flour, while mixing on low.
Evenly fill two cake pans.
Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick test comes out clean.

For the Cherry kirsch Syrup
Combine the kirsch and sugar in a small saucepan and gently heat over the stove until syrup is formed.
When the cakes are cooled gently poke holes in each layer and drizzle with the syrup.
For The Cream Cheese Filling:
Soften the cream cheese with a spoon and add the butter beating until smooth. Sift in the confectioner’s sugar and continue beating until smooth.
Fill one half of the cake with the cream cheese filling and top with the other half.
Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar and a cherry.

SOURCE/PHOTO: Foodista

WALNUT BAKLAVA WITH CINNAMON

INGREDIENTS
Baklava:
900 g Walnuts
37,5 ml Cinnamon
1 Package Phyllo, Filo, or Fillo Dough
50 ml Fine White Sugar
500 ml Butter, Melted
Syrup:
500 ml Fine White Sugar
500 ml Water
62,5 ml Rose Water
1 Cinnamon Stick
Tools:
Foil
Cooking Brush
12×12 / 10×12 / 12×14 Baking Pan

METHOD
Start by removing phyllo dough from the freezer and defrosting at room temperature for about 1 hour. Do not try to quickly defrost by placing in microwave, this will ruin the filo dough.
For walnut center filling: In a large blender/chopper, place walnuts, cinnamon, and 50 ml sugar and chop choarsely.
In a non-stick pot, add all the ingredients for the syrup – EXCEPT cinnamon stick – and cook on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat to low, add the cinnamon stick, standing vertically sticking up, and cook for an additional 10 minutes so the cinnamon flavor is absorbed in the syrup. Discard cinnamon stick and remove syrup from heat. Let cool completely.
In your baking pan, cut a large piece of foil so that it will cover the bottom of the baking pan and later the top of the baklava. Or just cut two pices to cover the top and bottom of the baking pan. Grease the bottom/foil. Start by taking 1-2 sheets at a time of the phyllo dough and placing it into the baking pan.
Most times the phyllo dough is cut into square sheets and it will say on the package the cut size. Most common in 10×12 or 10×10 which is why you want your baking pan to be the same size so additional cutting isn’t required. If it is required, do not use knife. Use kitchen shears.
With each piece of the phyllo dough you lay down, cover the entire sheet with butter by using the cooking brush. This is what gives baklava that golden look. Repeat per 1-2 sheets.
Once about 1/4 the sheets have been placed in the pan and buttered, add 1/3 of the walnut filling and spread evenly with a spoon.
Then repeat by topping with phyllo dough and buttering each layer until 5 additional layers have been placed on top of the filling. Add 1/3 of the filling and spread evenly with spoon. Repeat by adding another 5 layers of phyllo and adding the remainder of the walnut filling. Then top with additional phyllo dough, buttering each piece.
Cover with foil and place in the oven at 180 C until the phyllo dough has risen slightly and is completely golden. (around 20 minutes).
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. This could take a few hours. Make sure the baklava has completely cooled.
Add all or desired amount of syrup over top. Cut in squares or diagonals and serve immediately.
To store, cover in foil and place at room temperature, not in the fridge.
SOURCE/PHOTO: honeynbutters

DEURNAG LAM SKENKEL KERRIE POT
Ek noem dit kombuis want ek maak dit met n ysterpot op die stoof in die kombuis.

BESTANDELE EN METODE
Ek noem dit kombuis want ek maak dit met n ysterpot op die stoof in die kombuis.
Voorbereidng begin Saterdag middag laat.
Vleis word eers bietjie gebraai saam met uie en knoffel tot geseel aan altwee kante.
Braai die vleis net een laag op n slag.
As alles klaar gebraai is draai die stoof plaat op no 2 en wag tot die plaat afgekoel het,
Voeg al die vleis in die pot(GEEN WATER) sit die deksel op die pot en laat prit/stadig kook vir 3 tot 4 ure.
Roer net so lke 30 miniute en maak seker dit brand nie vas of kook droog nie. Onthou geen water die vleis moet in sy eie sous kook.
So n half uur voor jy gaan slaap gooi jou Kerrie mengsel in en draai die plaat af maar moenie die pot afhaal nie.
Na n half uur roer een keer deur en los deur die nag sodat die Kerrie kan trek
Vangoggend maak jy nou vir jou apart n goente potjie.
Sit die plaat onder die Lam op no 1 net om alles warm te maak end an so n uur voor jy gaan eet meng die lam en die groente pot saam.
Die vierde foto lyk of dit bietjie aan gebrand het maar dis maar net vanoggend nadat dit oornag af gekoel en getrek het waar die Kerrie bietjie donker word maar roer en so lyk die finale produk op foto no 5.
Nou kort die groente en ander bykosse.(Pot Brood, Stamp Mielies, Rys, Krummel pap of my varkie brood)

BRON/FOTO: Koos van der Merwe

GEMENGDE GROENTE PAP BALLE

BESTANDELE
Pap
Gemengde groente
Garlic sout
Parsley
Thyme
Swart pepper
Aromat
Bietjie kaas.
Kellogs krimmels

METODE
Meng alles saam, maak balletjies en roll in kellogs krimmels. Braai in olie.
BRON/FOTO: Natascha Du Toit‎

SUBSTITUTING OIL FOR BUTTER

Before substituting oil for butter in a cake, cookie, or pie recipe, it’s important to understand what each does and does not contribute to the outcome.

Picture creaming butter and sugar together in a mixer when you’re making a cake: you get a fluffy, creamy substance. Now imagine beating oil and sugar together: the result looks like wet, heavy sugar. That’s because butter incorporates and holds tiny air bubbles while oil does not.

But that doesn’t mean oil is all bad in baking. Oil makes cakes moist and tender–like my favorite carrot cake, which is made with oil (and no butter). But I wouldn’t much care for a pie crust made with oil: I want both the flaky light texture and great flavor that butter contributes.

There is no hard and fast rule for how much oil it takes to replace butter: it varies by recipe. Start with a cake, muffin or cookie recipe. (Stick with butter or shortening for pie crusts). Try substituting one-fourth or half the butter with oil. And don’t substitute the same amount: try two thirds to three fourths as much oil. In other words, to replace 4 tablespoons of butter, experiment with a scant 3 tablespoons of oil.

For more information about ingredient substitutions, see our Ingredient Substitutions guide.

Marge Perry

December 2013