The Corkless Mind

Category: Baking

  • Roasted red grape and rosemary focaccia. 

    Roasted red grape and rosemary focaccia. 

    I’ve been struggling to come up with blog posts lately, mainly suffering from ‘writers block’, which to me is weird as I am immensely passionate about fare and find I can talk about food for hours on end if you pick my brain I will happily engage in conversation about my basic knowledge of food. However there’s just one little problem, you see I’m an introvert, and a rather shy one. But like an onion I have so many layers, if you peel me back… 

    I tend to compose posts and recreate recipes only when inspiration has struck. My kind of Inspiration, could be that instantaneous revelation of how ‘ugly’ distorted veg is hardly ever used these days, or asking myself questions, like “why can’t candy floss be savoury?” Yes, these are indeed the strange yet wondrous questions I ask myself. 

    (Cue the Oprah voice) I Love Bread! and thank god I am not gluten intolerant. I cannot imagine my life, I cannot imagine life in general without the sustenance which is bread. So as an ode to my great love of bread, I recreated a recipe adapted from BBC GoodFood , a no knead focaccia with an interesting twist. 

    The photos were taken yesterday early noon as soon as the bread came out of the oven. I started making the dough Monday evening already to ensure successful proving. The red grapes were really sweet, strangely enough not only did they look like cherries but they had the same sort of sweet taste too. These grapes are great for snacking without all the guilt of crisps or sweets. I’m a notorious snacker and I’m trying to make a real effort to snack healthier these days, more for health reasons than anything else. 
    A tad off topic, this time of year Cape Town gets very busy, the craziness lasts till mid-end of January, I do love that fact that people continue to visit our unique country and city. There are many times I feel incredibly privileged to live around such beauty and authenticity. The crazy traffic on the roads and in the shopping centres is something you learn to tolerate and avoid if you’re lucky, but there’s no place I’d rather be this time of year, than right here in my home city. 
    Dominique x

  • Cocoa powder dusted Pavlovas with Blueberry compote. 

    Cocoa powder dusted Pavlovas with Blueberry compote. 

    Pavlovas are without doubt one of my favourite desserts! I’ve always found them quite daunting and intimidating to make, until yesterday I took a leap of faith and tried out a recipe from Donna Hay,that leap of faith and trust in a legend’s recipe truly paid off! I’m slowly getting into the festive season spirit, and what better way to start it off then with a festive pav! I added a little something extra(as always) I had a punnet of Blueberries sitting on my fridge shelf about to go off, to accompany and top the Pavlovas I made a quick blueberry compote using castor sugar to equal parts of water(a few tablespoons until it just about covers the blueberries) 

    Okay, time to let the cat out of the bag…remember that piece of news I’ve been teasing you all about? So, last week with the release of the December issue of the Food&Home Magazine, I was chosen and featured in this issue as their ‘Blogger of the month’! Exciting right?! 🙂 I feel incredibly honoured and so grateful to be chosen by Food&Home Magazine, check out my Instagram feed for the photo of the feature. If you’re in South Africa head out to get your copy of the issue, not only to read the feature, but there are so many gift ideas and amazing recipes for entertaining this festive season! 

    I shot this series of photos this morning and took me a while to shoot and edit thereafter, feeling like a train hit me, down with the common cold. So, to cheer myself up, I experimented with different backgrounds, aperture settings and light exposure, yes these are things that cheer me up! The above photo with blue backdrop, I crinkled up some tissue paper and painted it with water based paint to get that effect. I can never get enough of backdrops and backgrounds, I’ve recently noticed that there are online stores in the United Kingdom and Russia that make and sell backdrops for food photography. There are some incredibly beautiful backdrops at both stores, all of which are rather expensive if you have to include shipping costs too! I would love to make my own backdrops using stone and wood, but have no idea where to start…

    Do you have any backdrops you love or know how to make? Share in the comments section. 

  • Apple Tart with Butterscotch sauce. 

    Apple Tart with Butterscotch sauce. 

    Apple tart, freshly baked bread, and a fresh brew of coffee are up there with my favourite wafting scents from the kitchen! It’s been a crazy few weeks, and as you know, one of the ways I regroup and relax is by baking. I adapted this recipe from Woolworths Taste Magazine and used Pink Lady apples instead of strawberries. I love the contrast of tart and sweet from the Pink lady apples married with a rich drizzle of butterscotch sauce. 

    This was the very first time I made a batch of Butterscotch sauce, it came out velvety smooth and gorgeously golden, yes, it’s better than store bought! There are so many things to do with Butterscotch sauce, drizzle over ice cream, French toast, pancakes, cakes, or gift it to a friend or family member, pour in a glass jar with a little handwritten note. The tart had a glorious crisp bottom (no soggy bottoms here) I used my silpat to bake it on, which really helps to achieve a crisp bottom with the right oven setting and temperature, you can’t go wrong.

    At the moment I’m doing lots of research and reading up of recipes for the festive season. I love this time of year, the type of food, the weather and of course, just the festivity of it all. I’m super excited to be celebrating Christmas this year, not only on the blog, but sharing and creating special memories with my family and friends of course, as that is what it’s all about any way. 

    Shooting a tart is always a bit tricky, I was told by someone that I look up to very much that when shooting the pastry treat, always create height and volume, by failing to do so makes the shot appear flat and lifeless. I took his advice as best I could and tried to create something that hopefully makes you want to lick your screen 🙂 

  • But first coffee…and cake.

    But first coffee…and cake.

    Coffee, for most is what carries us through the day, living from cup to cup a day. I am a coffee and cake enthusiast, thus this recipe is the very best of both worlds. The recipe I gave a go, is one of Nigella Lawson’s and quite frankly stirs up a recollection of a memory. I lived in Centurion, Gauteng for almost 8 years and when it was time to leave and come back home to Cape Town, a long lost friend baked these indulgent coffee cupcakes with the lightest crumb and the most fluffy frosting I just could not compare to any other cake I’ve had. This of course was on the last day that I had bid farewell to a few good friends that I have gathered along the early years of studying a law degree. 

    The baking of the coffee and walnut cake was something of a therapeutic experience. When stressed or life gets a tad overwhelming, I find the best solution is to find the peace I am looking for and that is in my kitchen, my place of refuge.

    This time I stuck to the recipe, with the only addition being the coffee and walnut praline. When baking I don’t stray too far from the original recipe. Measurements are definitely there for a reason, I’ve learnt that the hard way from one too many flop bakes. 

    For the praline I melted 220grams of caster sugar in a non stick pan over a medium to high heat, swirling to fully incorporate. Once caramel brown, take off the heat and pour over coffee beans and chopped walnuts (preferably on a silpat) or on a greased and lined tray, leave to cool completely, then snap and arrange on the cake once the frosting is on. The praline provides height to the aesthetic of the cake and texture to the taste. 

    These are truly wise words below, from a legend. Can you imagine a world without cake? Let alone a party? 
    “A Party without cake is just a meeting” – Julia Child. 

  • Cranberry, Date and Macadamia granola bars.

    Cranberry, Date and Macadamia granola bars.

    Every week I mix up a batch of granola bars, every week a different recipe, each week a different taste and texture. I’ve never been happy with any recipe I’ve tried until I tried this one. Whilst looking for inspiration for my next post and researching recipes, I had the TV on the food network channel on a really soft yet audible tone. When I noticed Anna Olsen about to make her Granola bar recipe, I stopped searching and adjusted the volume with all eyes on the screen. Her recipe seems very easy and tasty and had me wondering what have I been doing all this time with all these disappointing granola bar recipes! Sunday, I schleped my partner along to a prop and background sourcing haul at the Milnerton Flea market. Feeling quite chuffed with all my treasures I couldn’t wait to play around and shoot something with them. I made the granola bars on less than a few hours sleep and much zeal after my haul. I couldn’t believe how easy and fuss free the recipe was, I toasted the oats and nuts along with a seed mix which consists of pumpkin, linseeds, sunflower and sesame seeds and added to all the ingredients along with the melted coconut oil and warmed honey pressed down firmly in a parchment fitted pan and baked for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing. I cooled in the fridge to set further, to have a more firm and chewey texture you don’t have to do this(I just wanted to be sure that this time when I cut into the bars they won’t fall apart instantly). It was indeed love at first bite, I love the crunch and saltiness of the salted and roasted macadamia nuts and the tartness of the cranberries married with the sweetness of the dates.A match made in heaven. I love how I can control what goes into the bars, as opposed to the mysterious artificial ingredient packed store bought ones. I make these scrummy bars for my partner to take along to work as a midday ‘pick me up’ snack and the bars are great for kids to take along to school for a healthy energy boost. I decided to make a smoothie bowl as a great idea to use the granola bars as part of a full breakfast meal, the quick and easy on the go option might not be for all. I used my trusty NutriBullet to blitz up berries, frozen banana slices, coconut milk and water to thin it down. serve in a bowl or cup with the crushed granola bar pieces. 

    As I type this blog post, my iPad is covered in sticky finger marks from all the constant munching on these glorious granola bars.

    The photos were taken around noon and late afternoon as the sun decided to make a late appearance for the day. I love my new props and background and as you can tell I am still trying to find my own style of shooting and styling. This takes time and patience, I am not the most patient person but I am certainly learning to be…

  • Banana and Date loaf.


    I love bananas and always end up buying way more than I actually need. So if you, like me find yourself with too many slightly overripe bananas than this is the perfect solution for you. Of course you could do just about anything else with overripe bananas like, banana flapjacks as seen previously on Off Beet Blog, or separate the batter into a muffin tin to make smaller portions of the tasty loaf. I sometimes mash up one or two into a granola bar mix of which I make on a weekly basis. 
    Recreating classics is what excites me although mindfully keeping the said ‘classic’s’integrity in tact.The recipe is from Woolworths Taste by Clement Pedro, who is now on Afternoon Express as their resident Chef. As always, I tweaked the recipe and added two more bananas, chopped walnuts and dried Medjool dates. I love the added texture the dates and the walnuts lend to the banana loaf,that said it has a ‘cake like’ soft texture too. I added a few Pomegranate rubies for a pop of colour, why not?


    The photos were taken yesterday at noon once again. As you can tell by now this is one of my favourite times to shoot during the day. Natural light was rather moody with it being overcast out but with a few reflector boards perfectly positioned, a white sheet on the table to create texture and bounce the light I made it work. 

    Happy baking! 🙂