BISCUITS, TRAYBAKES AND OTHER TREATS

THUMBPRINT BISCUITS

• 250 g unsalted butter, softened
• 140 g icing sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ¹⁄₃ cup (80 ml) cream cheese, softened
• 1¹⁄₂ tsp (7.5 ml) vanilla essence
• 1 tsp (5 ml) finely grated lemon zest
• 350 g cake flour, sifted
• ¹⁄₄ tsp (1 ml) baking powder
• ¹⁄₂ (2.5 ml) bicarbonate of soda
• ¹⁄₄ tsp (1 ml) salt
• 6 tbsp (90 ml) strawberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease three baking trays and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, icing sugar and egg yolk until pale and fluffy.
3. Add the cream cheese, vanilla essence and lemon zest and mix until smooth.
4. Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a large bowl and gradually stir into the butter mixture until a soft dough forms. Set aside for 5–10 minutes.
5. Break off small pieces of dough and shape into balls with your hands. Flatten each dough ball slightly to make 4 cm rounds.
6. Arrange the rounds on the baking trays and press an indent into the centre of each round with your thumb. Fill each indent with about ¹⁄₄ tsp (1 ml) jam.
7. Bake for 10–12 minutes or until light golden. Cool for a few minutes on the trays and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

FUN FACTS

The only fruit that has its seeds on the outside, is a strawberry.

MAKES ABOUT 45 BISCUITS

GINGERNUTS

• 120 g self-raising flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 tsp (10 ml) ground ginger
• ¹⁄₂ tsp (2.5 ml) bicarbonate of soda
• 45 g sugar
• 60 g salted butter
• 40 ml golden syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a baking tray and set aside.
2. Sift the flour, salt, ginger, bicarbonate of soda and sugar together.
3. Melt the butter and syrup in a saucepan over low heat.
4. Stir the melted butter and syrup into the dry ingredients to form a soft dough. Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the mixture, shape into your preferred shapes and arrange on the baking tray.
5. Lightly press down each dough ball with a fork. Bake for 10–15 minutes or until golden-brown.

TIP:

To keep biscuits or cookies crisp, sprinkle a layer of white sugar over the base of the biscuit tin to absorb the moisture.

MAKES ABOUT 32 BISCUITS

OAT CRUNCHIES

• 160 g oats
• 80 g desiccated coconut
• 140 g cake flour
• 160 g brown sugar
• ¹⁄₂ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
• 250 g salted butter
• 2 Tbsp (30 ml) golden syrup
• 1 tsp (5 ml) bicarbonate of soda

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a large baking tray well and set aside.
2. Combine the oats, coconut, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. Melt the butter and syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir to combine. When the butter and syrup have melted remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda. The mixture will foam a bit.
4. Stir the syrup mixture into the dry ingredients until combined.
5. Scoop the mixture onto the prepared baking tray, pressing it down gently and distributing it evenly on the tray.
6. Bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then cut into squares while still warm.

MAKES 30

CHOC CHIP COOKIES

• 100 g castor sugar
• 75 g soft brown sugar
• 125 g unsalted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla essence
• 150 g cake flour
• ¹⁄₂ tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder
• ¹⁄₄ tsp (1 ml) salt
• 100 g chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line two baking trays and set aside.
2. Stir the castor sugar and brown sugar together in a bowl.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add to the sugars and mix well.
4. Stir in the egg and vanilla essence, then the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop out teaspoonfuls of the mixture, form into small balls and arrange about 3 cm apart on the baking trays. Flatten each ball slightly with the back of a spoon.
6. Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden-brown. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool. Store the cookies in an airtight container lined with wax paper.

MAKES ABOUT 24

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

• 175 g unsalted butter
• 250 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 250 g castor sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
• 150 g cake flour, sifted
• 200 g milk chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
• 30 g white chocolate, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base and sides of a 30 × 20 cm baking tray and set aside.
2. Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until smooth and then leave to cool a little.
3. Using an electric mixer, whisk the sugar and eggs together until pale and thick. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture and stir through.
4. Fold the flour and chocolate chips into the batter, then pour it into the baking tray and bake for 35 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
5. Cool the cake in the pan and then cut into squares. Drizzle over the melted white chocolate, allow it to harden a bit and then serve.

MAKES ABOUT 18

RASPBERRY AND WHITE CHOCOLATE SQUARES

• 1 × 400 g roll shortcrust pastry, thawed
• 2 × 250 g tubs mascarpone cheese
• 100 g castor sugar
• 100 g ground almonds
• 2 large eggs
• 250 g fresh raspberries
• 100 g white chocolate, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry a little more and then use it to line a 30 × 20 cm baking tray.
2. Prick the pastry all over with a fork. Cover the pastry with baking paper, fill with dried beans or rice and blind bake for 10–15 minutes.
3. Remove the beans or rice and baking paper, then return the pastry to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
4. Whisk together mascarpone, sugar, ground almonds and eggs until well blended. Fold in the raspberries and chocolate, then pour the mixture evenly over the pastry.
5. Bake for 30–40 minutes until just set and lightly golden. Turn off the oven, open the door and leave the tray bake to cool gradually.
6. For the best results refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.

DID YOU KNOW?

Almonds are members of the peach family.

MAKES ABOUT 16

BLUEBERRY SQUARES WITH PASSION FRUIT SYRUP

• 150 g salted butter, softened plus extra for greasing
• 2 eggs
• 175 g castor sugar
• 175 g self-raising flour, sifted
• 90 ml milk
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 225 g blueberries
• 4 ripe passion fruit (granadillas)
• 115 g icing sugar plus extra (sifted) for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Grease and line a square 23 × 23 cm cake pan.
2. Whisk the butter, eggs and sugar until pale and fluffy. Fold in the flour lightly and evenly.
3. Stir in the milk, lemon zest and 175 g of the blueberries. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
4. Bake for 25–30 minutes until firm and golden-brown. Remove from the oven and leave in the pan.
5. Meanwhile make the syrup. Scoop the pulp from the passion fruit and rub it through a sieve. Throw the pips away.
6. Place the icing sugar and passion fruit juice in a small saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the icing sugar dissolves.
7. Prick the warm cake with a fork and spoon the syrup evenly over the top. Leave the cake to cool completely in the pan, then cut into nine squares.
8. Top the squares with the remaining blueberries and dust with icing sugar before serving.

MAKES 9 SQUARES

MARBLE MERINGUES

• 100 g dark chocolate
• 4 egg whites
• a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 200 g castor sugar
• 1 cup (250 ml) cream, whipped

1. Preheat the oven to 120°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper, draw six circles 6–7 cm in diameter on each sheet of paper and set aside.
2. Position a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and melt the chocolate in the bowl. Carefully remove the saucepan and bowl from the heat. Don’t remove the bowl from the saucepan, let it rest in the saucepan while the chocolate cools just a bit — it needs to be liquid enough to pour slowly.

   

3. Whisk the egg whites with a squeeze of lemon juice until stiff peaks start to form. Then beat in the sugar a little at a time, until you have a stiff shiny meringue. Ask an adult to help you with the following steps.

   

4. Lightly mix the chocolate into the meringue mixture in a spiral motion (do not overmix as the mixture must be marbled). Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag.
5. Start piping the meringues about 1 cm from the outer edge of the circles and pipe in a spiral ending in the middle of the circle.

   

6. Bake for 1 hour or until set. Then switch off the oven and leave the meringues inside to cool. Sandwich two meringues together with the whipped cream and serve.

MAKES 12

CHEESE AND CORNFLAKE BALLS

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Grease a large baking tray and set aside.

Beat 1 egg and 50 ml milk together. Keep 15 ml of the milk mixture aside for the glaze.

Mix 100 g salted butter (cubed and softened), 100 g grated Cheddar cheese, 2 ml salt, 1 ml cayenne pepper, 140 g self-raising flour and 250 ml crushed cornflakes together.

Add the milk and egg mixture and stir until combined.

On a lightly floured surface, knead to form a smooth dough.

Break off small bits of dough and roll into neat balls of about 3–4 cm in diameter.

Arrange on the baking tray and flatten with a fork.

Brush with the glaze and sprinkle with your choice of seasoning.

Bake for 12–15 minutes until the biscuits are pale golden and firm.

Switch off the oven, open the door slightly and leave the biscuits in the oven until crisp (± 15 minutes).

Cool on a wire rack.

MAKES ABOUT 36