The Corkless Mind

Tag: sweet

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
Helen Goh’s Chocolate ‘O’ Cookies.
I recently purchased myself a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh’s book, Sweet. Having read the book numerous times cover to cover, and making mental and actual notes of what to bake and when. For me, Sweet reminds me of one of those CD’s (yes, I am that old) that you could listen to without skipping a track. The only dilemma I face, is to not scoff my face with all the deliciousness from this decadent book.

One of the first recipes in the book, is that of Helen Goh’s. The decadent Chocolate ‘O’ cookies. The chocolate ‘O’ cookie, came about by Helen setting herself a challenge of creating a cookie that could rival the infamous chocolate chip cookie at Ottolenghi. The ‘O’ is a nod to a few things, namely to Thomas Keller, whose own version of the oreo biscuit inspired the base of this biscuit, and of course the obvious ‘O’ on Ottolenghi’s shop door. The ganache made in this recipe is an absolute genius new way to make it, and at the risk of sounding clichéd , life-changing!

I thought sharing this recipe this time of year would be a great addition to all things chocolate being baked, tempered and shared! This recipe takes a while to make, but is oh so worthwhile!

Helen Goh’s Chocolate ‘O’ Cookies.

Ingredients:

For the cookies:
- 190g unsalted butter, cubed (at room temperature)
- 130g caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes (I used Maldon smoked sea salt flakes)
- 220g plain flour
- 75g cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
For the water Ganache:
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- shaved peel of 1/2 clemengold mandarin or orange
- 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes
- 90ml boiling water
- 125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped into 1 cm pieces
- scraped seeds of 1 vanilla pod
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt flakes
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g liquid glucose
- 50g unsalted butter, cut into 2 cm cubes
Method:

To make the cookies, place the butter, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer or stand mixer(with a paddle attachment). Beat on a medium-high speed for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into another bowl, reduce the speed of the mixer to low, then add the dry ingredients in two batches until a dough forms. Tip the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth and uniform. Wrap the dough in cling film, press to form a disc, and set aside in the fridge for up to 1 hour to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/160 fan. Line two baking trays(or if you like me, have only one, then bake them in batches) with parchment and set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge 10 minutes before rolling, to make it malleable to roll. Divide the dough in half, then on a clean, lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a thickness of 3mm. Using a 6cm round cookie cutter, cut out 44 circles and place them on the parchment lined tray/s. Bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating the baking tray halfway through baking. Set aside and leave to cool in the baking tray.

To make the ganache, place the cinnamon, orange peel and chilli flakes in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to infuse for 30 minutes. After the water has infusing for 20 minutes, prepare the sugar syrup. Place the chocolate, vanilla seeds and salt in a separate bowl(medium sized) and set aside. Place the sugar and glucose in a small pan and melt over a medium heat. Do this until the sugar has melted. Increase the heat to medium-high and boil until the caramel turns a light amber colour, this takes about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the infused water and aromatics. (Don’t worry if the sugar seizes in the pan, just return to the heat and stir until all sugar has dissolved). Return the caramel to the boil, then strain the liquid over the chocolate and vanilla; the aromatics can be discarded. Leave for 2-3 minutes until the chocolate has melted, then stir to combine.

Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring continuously one piece at a time, stirring until all butter pieces have been incorporated and the chocolate mix is smooth. Place in the fridge until the ganache is firm. Using a teaspoon, take a heaped amount of the ganache and spread onto the underside of the biscuit, spread evenly toward the edges of the biscuit using the back of the spoon, then sandwich with another biscuit and set aside. Repeat this with he remaining biscuits and ganache.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate! x
March 27, 2018
Sweet potato, maple and pecan nut waffles.

Autumn is a special and magical time of year, the transition from light crisp summery food and weather to a comforting warmth of stews and chunky knits, I find totally irresistible as any winter/autumn baby would! There’s something so satisfying about hearing the crunch of leaves under your feet and feeling the crispness of the cold wind against your face.
As you can tell I’m pretty excited for Autumn and the imminent(hopefully rainy) Winter to come! I might have mentioned before that, the Western Cape of South Africa is currently experiencing the worst drought yet, The City of Cape Town has implemented very strict water restrictions to curb the rather high water usage. Currently our dam levels are at a dismal 23% , I urge you to please use water sparingly if you live nearby, and to be smart about how you use water. At the moment my plants are getting watered by my recycled dish water, so I’m expecting a rather soapy tasting fennel, basil and mint 🙂
This recipe is a take on a conventional waffle with a twist of course! Having finally purchased an electric waffle machine, the temptation was too much to not put it to immediate use.
Sweet potato, maple and pecan waffles.
Ingredients:
-210g of cake flour

-15ml baking powder

-15ml castor sugar

-15ml maple syrup (plus a little extra for roasting the sweet potato)

-300ml milk

-2 eggs separated

-50g melted butter

-1 sweet potato cut into chunks

-pinch of cinnamon

-100g of pecan nuts roughly chopped
Method:

For the waffle mix, sift the dry ingredients into a bowl then add the sugar.

Whisk the milk, the two egg yolks and melted butter together. Add to the dry ingredients, mixing until a smooth consistency is achieved.

Beat the egg whites to a soft peak consistency and add folding it into the mixture. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Whilst the waffle mix is resting, in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C, cut the sweet potato into chunks and place into a roasting dish and drizzle with maple syrup and a pinch of cinnamon. Place into the oven for 25 minutes until soft and caramelized. Once the waffle mix is done resting. Switch the waffle machine on, then add the cooled down sweet potato chunks( I mashed mine to be able to get them adequately into the waffle mix) add the maple syrup and chopped pecan nuts and gently fold into the batter. Using a ice cream scoop! spoon the batter into each side of the waffle machine, for 3-5 minutes until golden brown or according to the waffle machine instructions. Serve with pecan nuts and ice cream.

March 8, 2017