The Corkless Mind

Tag: dessert

  • Fudgey dark chocolate and tahini brownies. 

    Fudgey dark chocolate and tahini brownies. 

    Inspired by a visit to my new favourite ice cream parlour in the heart of Cape Town I felt compelled to recreate my flavour experience. For the past week all I could think and dream about is their mesmerizing Chocolate Tahini flavour with glorious nutty notes from the tahini paste and an unmistakable velvety smooth texture no ice cream I’ve ever had possesses. Feeling like I’ve been bewitched and in a chocolatey daze, I’ve taken the flavour combination and put my own twist on it. 

    I’ve tried the Lindt dark chocolate studded with toasted sesame seeds and is quite a favourite of mine, but never have I thought to pair chocolate with Tahini. It’s always those flavour pairings that we don’t expect to go together that end up blowing our minds and surprising our tastebuds. I tried making gluten-free chocolate cookies, a Nigella recipe using Buckwheat flour, dark chocolate and I added tahini. The recipe is from the book Simply Nigella, and seems rather interesting because of the toasty, nutty taste the buckwheat lends to the cookie against the tartness of the dark chocolate and the complementing nuttiness of the tahini too. The cookies were okay but didn’t quite get my stamp of approval to make the cut for a blog post( if you know what I mean) 

    The brownies are from a classic standard brownie recipe, of which I have tweaked a bit. 

    Ingredients: 

    -177 ml all purpose flour(I used cake flour as that was what I had on hand) 

    -177ml cocoa powder 

    -1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

    -1/4 teaspoon salt 

    -1/4 teaspoon baking powder

    -120g caster sugar 

    -2 tablespoons of tahini 

    -60ml Greek yogurt(plain yoghurt) 

    -2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter(cooled) 

    -2 beaten eggs 

    -1 teaspoon vanilla paste

    -1 punnet of fresh raspberries. 
    Method: 
    Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a baking pan and cover in baking parchment. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, instant coffee powder, baking powder and salt until combined. I used my stand mix for this step, using the flat beater attachment, mix together the yoghurt, sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla until just combined then fold in half of the raspberries. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Add the tahini in blobs and swirl around in the pan. Place remaining raspberries on top press in slightly. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are crisp and the middle is set. 


    * if you don’t have instant coffee powder, add the same amount of granulated coffee to hot water then add at the end of the mixing process of the batter just before adding the raspberries. 

    * Cool the brownies in the pan completely before taking them out to slice. 

    * Lastly serve with an ice cream of your choice or even a quenelle of marscapone for a more indulgent feel. 

    Treat yourself!  

    Dominique.

  • 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 🙂 

  • Apple Crumble Semifreddo.

    Apple Crumble Semifreddo.

    Semifreddo, is Italian meaning ‘semi cold’ dessert. Unlike its cousin,Ice cream, this frozen delight does not include churning or tempering of eggs in its process of making, but whipping and lots of it, best be sure you have an electric handheld beater for this one.
    The recipe comes straight from one of my regular inspirations, Donna Hay. I’ve never made Semifreddo before, this seemed an interesting recipe to try out and experiment with, and what better time than right now, being on the precipice of summer! The recipe is super easy to recreate at home, with little effort and or need for any other equipment.
    While I’m on the topic of frozen dessert, it’s no secret that my obsession with ice cream is, well, an unhealthy one. There’s a new ice cream parlour that has opened its doors not too long ago in Cape Town central, that I absolutely have to check out soon. But more on that later! I went sourcing for backdrops and background material yesterday and found these lovely gems at my local tile store. I love the texture it lends to the overall look and feel of the shot. For now I’m leaning towards a more rustic style in my photos. I am completely enamoured with the depth and character it adds to shots.

    Remember that exciting bit of news I mentioned a while back? I’m counting the days till all can be revealed! 🙂

    Dominique xo

  • Deconstructed lime meringue.

    Deconstructed lime meringue.

    I took it upon myself to recreate a classic and also critically deconstruct it. This in essence is the very teaching and philosophy of Massimo Bottura, celebrating nostalgia but asking questions. I made a deconstructed lime meringue dessert with crushed ginger cookies as the base, and a lime meringue ginger cookie sandwich(think ice cream sandwich style, but way better). So with my fat pants on and guilty conscience happily abandoned at the door (this is a judgement free zone) so please feel free to recreate this dessert and even top it and take it to another level of indulgence! 
    I made the speediest and tastiest lime curd just over a week ago, and it’s been sitting on the shelf of my fridge in a sealed jar staring at me asking me to eat it. To be honest it had me at hello! The lime curd was made in the microwave recipe found on Food52. The rest of the recipe for the desserts I have developed. I simply crushed ginger biscuits and drizzled with a little ginger syrup(a sweet twist) I then filled the glass with the lime curd and topped off with the whipped meringue and blowtorched to get the desired toastyness. Any excuse to use my awesome little blowtorch! 

    For the cookie sandwich, assemble the curd between the biscuits, gently press together and smooth out edges if oozing out, then top with the meringue and toast with the blowtorch. I think I had way too much fun doing this! 


    The photos were taken just before noon again, I find I take less photos these days when shooting for one post, as I find that I don’t need to take hundreds of photos to get that good batch of photos like I used to do. This must mean I am improving slowly 🙂  I’m super excited to share next week’s posts and photos with you! It’s going to be super chilled 🙂 that’s about all I’m letting you know for now. 

    This post was collated whilst listening to the incomparable David Bowie. Specifically the song ‘Heroes’. 

    Happy Heritage day everyone! xo

  • Corn flakes cereal milk ice cream

    Corn flakes cereal milk ice cream

    a melting Corn Flakes Cereal milk ice cream

    For the first 10 years of my life, being the youngest gave me that prized golden first choice of choosing the cereal for the month when we went grocery shopping. My favourites alternated between, Cocopops, Rice Crispies and Corn flakes, whatever I chose my sister had to suck it up and eat. This all changed when I became the ‘middle child’ and my preferences as the youngest fell away. So as an ode to my glory days when I used to antagonize my older sister and reign supreme as the youngest. So in that spirit I recreated a Christina Tosi dessert with cereal milk being front and centre! Christina Tosi is the chef and founder of Milk Bar, many of you will know her from Dave Chang’s Momofuku as the highly acclaimed and inventive pastry chef. 

    I saw this ice cream trending not too long ago, many travel to New York City solely to experience this unique and coveted dessert. For me, one of two highlights of eating a bowl of Corn Flakes was the sweet flavoured milk at the end when all of the crunchy flakes are quickly devoured so as to not get soggy. The second is of course the crunch. 


    I’m something of an ice cream addict. When I do, I love making from scratch, but hate the fickle tempering process with the egg yolks. So i’d much rather visit my favourite ice cream parlours in and around Cape Town for my frequent fix. I spotted the recipe on Food52 and made an exception to make this interesting recipe. With that last batch of ice cream and dignity down the drain from my previous failed attempt at ice cream and fierce bravery(fake or not) as I attempt this batch of ice cream. 

    I am happy to report that yes, it does indeed taste of ice cream, not exactly soft serve, but it will do. I love how the taste of the cereal milk really shines through although it’s not overpowering. I love the velvety smooth texture. The specks of vanilla from the vanilla paste really does it for me. 

    The photos were taken just before noon today, the weather is not exactly ideal for the natural light that I needed but again, with the use of reflector boards and white backgrounds I made it work somehow. 

    Do you have any favourite foolproof ice cream recipes? Share them in the comments section. Sharing is indeed caring 🙂 

    This post was collated whilst listening to the album X By Ed Sheeran.