The Corkless Mind

Tag: desserts

Groot Constantia’s Grand Constance 3 ways – Part 1.
**I was gifted this bottle of Grand Constance by Groot Constantia to create a series of posts with. All views and thoughts are my own**

In Celebration of Groot Constantia’s 333 years as South Africa’s oldest existing wine estate, I was gifted a bottle of their award winning Grand Constance Muscat wine to do a series of blog posts where I let my imagine run wild in the kitchen with the fruity wine. Most recipes I kept it as simple as I could, not altering the taste of the wine, but in each dish, making it shine and making it the centre of the dish as it was intended when made at Groot Constantia.

Grand Constance, the French translation for Groot Constantia, was an established brand revered in the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, King Louis Phillipe of France and Frederick the Great of Prussia, when they were clients of Groot Constantia. Modelled on remnants found in the USA, Scandinavia, Europe and the U.K dating back to the late 1700’s. The Wine has an intense liquid amber colour and is produced from Muscat grapes sun ripened on the vines, pressed, fermented and aged in oak barrels. It has notes and nuances of pears, apricots, peaches, rose petals, and nutty flavours.

I will be sharing all three posts one per week, to commemorate the 333 years. This is a project I am super excited to share with you all, and best of all I had loads of fun experimenting in the kitchen. I don’t get to do much of baking these days being stuck behind a desk (even in the comfort of my own home).

This Cheesecake recipe is an adaptation of Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Apricot and Amaretto cheesecake. I replaced the apricots with seasonal sweet and crunchy pears and of course substituted the Amaretto with the Grand Constance. The cheescake, I found was not overly sweet or too rich (I could be biased, I do love a good cheesecake!) I loved how the delicate flavours of the Grand Constance shone through in the filling and roasted pears that I topped the cheesecake with.

Roasted Pear and Grand Constance cheesecake.

Ingredients:

For the Base:
- 70g flaked almonds
- 180g digestive biscuits
- 100g unsalted butter, melted
- 350g fresh pears(or any seasonal fruit) seeds removed and cut in thick slices
Filling:
- 840g cream Cheese
- 170g caster sugar
- scraped seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod, save the husk.
- finely grated zest of 1 large orange
- 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 85g sour cream
- 70ml Grand Constance
Topping:
- 15g flaked almonds
- 400g fresh pears, cut into thick slices
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 4 tablespoons Grand Constance
- a drop of rose water
Method:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C/150 fan. Lightly grease the base and sides of a 23cm springform tin and line with parchment. Spread all the almonds(for the base and topping) on a baking tray and toast for 5-10 minutes, or until light golden brown in colour. Set aside 15g for the topping to be used later.

For the base, place the digestive biscuits in a food processor or blender and blitz to form fine crumbs(the consistency should be that of breadcrumbs). Tip into a medium sized bowl and add the majority of the almonds and melted butter. Using a large spoon, mix together to combine. The texture should be that of wet sand. Spoon the crumbs into the tin, using your hands to press them into the base. Even out the crust with the back of a spoon or base of a glass. Set aside in the fridge.

Increase the oven temperature to 210 degrees C/190 degrees C fan. Spread all of the pears evenly out into a roasting dish with the sugar, empty vanilla pod/husk and Grand Constance and a drop of Rose water. Roast for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the filling, place the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla seeds, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Beat on a medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the eggs, followed by the sour cream, and beat until combined. You might have to scrape the bowl down to fully incorporate everything and then mix again. Then add the Grand Constance, and mix until combined.

Remove the cheesecake base from the fridge and arrange the roasted pears evenly over the bottom(just enough that it covers the base). Then gently pour over the cheesecake filling over the roasted pears and then place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour, or until the sides of the cheesecake are set but the middle still has a wobble when gently shaken. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for another hour, with the door propped open with a wooden spoon. Place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours or overnight to set completely.

On the day of serving, take the pears that have been set aside to top the cheesecake and arrange on top of the cake in any pattern you wish. Sprinkle over the roasted flaked almonds and to garnish for colour some dried rose petals. For extra effect, add caster sugar on top of the pears and using a blow torch brulee until sugar caramelizes.

Best enjoyed with a chilled glass of Grand Constance.

Cheers! x
May 25, 2018
Spiced date and pecan nut pudding

This gorgeous dessert is straight out of this month’s issue of PnP’s Freshliving magazine, and oh what a decadent treat it is for the cold days that are still ahead!

I don’t get to shoot much these days, it however feels amazing to be back behind the lens and it feels like second nature to me. There is no better reminder of your passion than to constantly put it to practice. This I am glad I made the time for. We all need reminders of what we love doing or what we are good at when times are turbulent.

This dessert is a spectacular as a hearty addition to any Sunday lunch or dinner for that matter. I love that the flavour reminds me of Cinnabon, especially with the caramel sauce I added, crushed pecan nuts and subtle notes of cinnamon. Eat with caution should certainly be the caveat that should accompany this dessert.

I wanted to serve this dessert with a molten, salty, dripping caramel sauce to complement the nutty sweet flavours of this pud. I improvised and made a smokey salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce to drench the pud with. Butter being the key in this recipe 🙂 butter indeed does make everything taste so much better!

Spiced Date and Pecan nut pudding with a salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce.

Ingredients:
– 150g Medjool dates

– 100g Butter, melted.

– 250ml Milk

– 2 free-range eggs

– 8ml vanilla extract

– 125g caster sugar

– 3ml salt

– 300g self-raising flour

– 50g pecan nuts, chopped

– 10ml cinnamon

– 5ml ground ginger

– 5ml ground cardamom

– 250ml sugar

– 310ml boiling water

– 60ml sherry or clemengold mandarin juice (I used a combination of both)

– Smokey salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce to serve.
Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease any dish. I used a Bundt mold.

Whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Using my NutriBullet or you could use any other blender, blitz half of the dates together with the melted butter until a paste-like consistency is achieved. Roughly chop the rest of dates, I did this for extra texture in the pud. Add this to the date paste.

Add the date mixture, milk, vanilla extract to the egg mixture. Combine the flour, salt, nuts and spices together then fold into the egg mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin or dish, sprinkle over brown sugar evenly over the batter.
To make the topping:

Mix together the water and sherry/mandarin or orange juice, pour over the back of a spoon to cover the pudding. Bake the pudding for 35 minutes or until just cooked. Serve with cream and the salted buttermilk butterscotch sauce drizzled over.

August 4, 2017
Grilled strawberries and cream.

There’s something so unmistakably classic about the combination of strawberries and cream, that will always transcend food trends. That to me is the very definition of classic food. Inspired by the breathtaking food photography and styling in the March issue of delicious Australia, I couldn’t resist recreating this recipe at home. This recipe is by chef Matt Wilkinson for the March issue of delicious.
Like many others scrambling to the stores to indulge in the last little bit of summer produce available before its all vanished off of shelves for a good couple of months and before regret sets in that I didn’t attempt this gorgeous recipe, I knew I had to give it a go!
Grilled strawberries with cream and meringue shards.
Ingredients:
– 250g strawberries

– 1 tsp of olive oil

– Black pepper to taste

– A few basil leaves to garnish

– Vanilla ice cream to serve

– 2 egg whites

– 120g castor sugar
Method:

Preheat oven to 95 degrees C. Starting on the meringue shards first, in a stand mixer or with an electric beater, beat the egg whites until soft peaks have formed. Gradually adding the sugar a little at a time, whilst the mixer is on. Beat until stiff and glossy. On a parchment lined/silpat lined baking tray spread the meringue thinly on the baking tray, and bake for 40 minutes. Break into shards and set aside.
Coat the strawberries in olive oil and a little freshly ground black pepper. On a high heat, sear the strawberries until black grill lines are visible (take care to space the strawberries apart)
Serve with the meringue shards, a scoop or two of ice cream, basil leaves and freshly ground black pepper.

March 15, 2017
Matcha Madeleines

Since last week I had been obsessed with all things green and this week is just another continuation of that healthy obsession. Perusing a baking feed on Pinterest I noticed a scarlet Madeleine that instantly took my breathe away I knew I had to recreate it and add my own twist to it.
Matcha, in recent years have been taking the western world by storm. Matcha is a fine green tea powder that derives from the same source as green tea leaves. It has been dubbed as a superfood with many health benefits. Loaded with antioxidants, if consumed regularly only then will one reap all the health benefits of prevention of cancer, lowering of cholesterol and blood pressure and strengthening the immune system.

The Madeleine recipe is from Woolworths Taste magazine’s website, the only difference is the addition of Matcha into the batter towards the end of folding. I had only just recently bought my very first Madeleine pan, as I really wanted to recreate the scarlet Madeleine and make it my own. I dipped the madeleines in white chocolate and with the beautiful golden Madeleine in the middle I added Matcha to the melted chocolate mixture, simply because I love the contrast in colour and who knew matcha tasted spectacular in white chocolate!?

The photos were all taken in the height of a very nasty storm (believe it or not). I absolutely adore the lighting as it makes everything appear so pure.

I’m trying to be creative when it comes to props in my photos, as good props are rather hard to find, so at this point I find myself just scavenging around my apartment looking for interesting things that would give my photos that extra special touch.

This post was collated whilst listening to the whimsical Si tu vois ma mère by Sidney Bechet. (Yes, I am dreaming of Paris :))

In honour of her up and coming birthday, I leave you with a Julia Child quote.

“People who love to eat are always the best people” – Julia Child.

*information sourced from Eat out and Tea Mill*

July 21, 2016
Unusual suspects – The Guava.

Winter is finally upon us, and with that comes the kind of comfort food that requires stretchy clothing to consume copious amounts of the heart warming genre of food. For me, the arrival of seasonal Fruit such as the Guava, signifies the start of winter.

Being a single mom of three daughters, my mom never really had the time to stand over a hot stove for hours in a kitchen, but when she did, my mom made the most delicious yet inexpensive chocolate cakes and Swiss rolls with that yummy tinned caramel spread sandwiched in between. Watching her create such homemade masterpieces, I was in awe, I think this is where my love affair with food ignited . I recall we had a incredibly tall guava tree(which I used to climb all the way to the top) and whenever they were in season, we had an amazing bounty of Guavas that we gave away to neighbours/family or my all time favourite dessert would become of it, my mom stewed the tropical fruit in a syrup of water, sugar and spices, served with a generous dollop of box custard. To this day I am guilty of the ultimate sin, I love box custard, there I said it! Inspired by this memory, unusual suspects is all about Guavas this week.

Instead of stewing or poaching the guavas, I roasted them with a 100g of sugar, juice of one fresh lime, a vanilla pod and star anise. Roasted until tender. I left the skins on the guavas as I find they are packed with flavour too. To accompany the roasted guavas I made a syrup cake, made with 85g of flour, 1 egg, 100g butter and 110g of castor sugar, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add the egg and mix till fully incorporated, sift in flour and fold till just combined. Caveat: don’t over fold, you’ll end up with a stodgy crumb, to achieve a light and airy crumb, gently fold. Bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) in a lightly greased muffin tin for 15-20 minutes. Pierce several times and pour syrup of roasted guavas over the cake. Allow to cool and soak up.

The photos were taken between 14:00 and 17:00 yesterday on my balcony, whilst the stormy clouds were rolling in.

“Cooking is about emotion, it’s about culture, it’s about love and memory” – Massimo Bottura.

June 3, 2016