Nostalgic home-made birthday cakes are making a comeback, and we are totally here for it! They’re more affordable and, in our opinion, much more fun than the store-bought variety. Here’s how to make two sporty cakes from scratch using a sheet tray or two round cakes. It’s a hole-in-one, if you ask us.   

S-SHAPE DIRTBAKE CAKE 

BAKE

Ingredients: 

1 (800g) chocolate box cake mix
2 cups (500g) butter, at room temperature
8 cups (1kg) icing sugar, sifted
3-4 Tbsp (45-60ml) milk
Yellow, blue and green food colouring
2 cups (170g) desiccated coconut

For the cake bushes: 

2 Tbsp (30ml) sugar
2 Tbsp (30ml) melted butter
1 egg, whisked
½ tsp vanilla essence
⅓ cup (50g) flour
¼ tsp (1.5ml) baking powder
2 Tbsp (30ml) milk

For decorating: 

½ packet (100g) chocolate sandwich cookies, roughly chopped
1 packet (60g) chocolate-covered raisins
Star piping nozzle, piping bag and a toy dirt bike, to decorate

Method: 

1. Grease the base and sides of two round 20cm cake tins. Line the bases with baking paper. 
2. Prepare and bake cakes according to packet instructions, adding any extra ingredients called for. Cool completely. 
3. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat for 30 seconds, until light. 
4. Add icing sugar and beat on low until the mixture forms crumbs. Increase speed and beat into a fluffy, light buttercream for about 3 minutes. (Scrape the sides of the bowl down occasionally.)  
5. Add milk and beat through to achieve a smooth, pipeable consistency. Then add drops of yellow and blue food colouring to achieve a dark green colour. Set aside. 
6. Add coconut and a generous drop of green food colouring to a bowl. Rub coconut together to saturate it with colour. 
7. For the cake bushes, whisk together the sugar and butter in a bowl for 1 minute. Add egg and vanilla and whisk through to combine. Add the flour and baking powder and stir through, then whisk through the milk. 
8. Colour the batter a light green, using yellow and blue food colouring to achieve the shade. 
9. Microwave for 60-80 seconds, until cooked and risen. Set aside to cool completely. Tear into rough chunks to make the bushes. Set aside.  

SHAPE 

Step 1  

 Align the two cakes vertically on a tray or serving platter, positioning one directly above the other. Use a 5cm round cookie cutter (or use a cooldrink glass if you don’t have a cutter) to cut out a ring from the centre of each cake.  

Step 2  

Using a knife, cut out about quarters slice out of each cake. Set aside the off-cut cake. 

Step 3  

Arrange rings together on a serving platter to form an ‘S’, turning the cakes carefully as needed. (You may need to cut away a little excess to make it fit perfectly.)  

DECORATE 

Method: 

1. Cover the entire cake with the green buttercream, saving a portion for the piped trees. 
2. Crumble the cake cutouts into small crumbs and sprinkle along the shape of the cake to create a bike ‘track’.
3. Place cake ‘bushes’, crushed cookies and chocolate-covered raisins along the side of the bike track. 
4. Scoop the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe trees along the cake. Pipe three blobs on top of each other, ranging from biggest to smallest, to make a tree.
5. Scatter green coconut ‘grass’ around the cake to finish. 
6. As an optional final touch, put a dirt bike toy next to the cake – ready to hit the track! 

 NUMBER 4 GOLF COURSE CAKE 

 BAKE 

Ingredients: 

 1 (800g) vanilla box cake mix
2 cups (500g) butter, at room temperature
8 cups (1kg) icing sugar, sifted
3-4 Tbsp (45-60ml) milk
Yellow, blue and green food colouring
½ packet (100g) Eet-Sum-More biscuits
Ateco piping nozzle 234 (for the grass) and piping bag (optional)
Blue paper, white plastic lolly stick and red paper, to decorate

Method: 

1. Grease and line a 20x30cm sheet tray.
2. Prepare and bake cake according to packet instructions, adding any extra ingredients the recipe calls for. Cool completely.
3. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat for 30 seconds or until light.
4. Add icing sugar and beat on low until the mixture forms crumbs. Increase speed and beat into a fluffy, light buttercream, about 3 minutes. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl down occasionally.) Add milk and beat through to achieve a smooth, pipeable consistency.
5. Scoop ¾ cup icing into a separate bowl and use yellow and blue food colouring to create a light green colour, adding a small drop of each at a time and mixing until the desired colour is reached.
6. Colour the remaining buttercream a dark green, combining the blue, yellow and green colours until the desired shade is reached.

 SHAPE 

Step 1  

Place the cake on a tray or serving platter, with the short side facing you. Slice into three equally rectangles, cutting down vertically.  

Step 2   

 Cut out two squares and a smaller rectangle from the second rectangle.  

Step 3: 

 For the final slice, cut both short ends off diagonally last rectangle looking like a pyramid. 

Step 4: 

To assemble: 

Transfer the long rectangle (A) to your serving platter.  

Place the smaller rectangle (B) on the inner side of the large rectangle.  

Place square (C) on the bottom right-hand side of large rectangle to create the outside edge of the four-shape.  

Place pyramid shape (D) diagonally across to connect the four-shape together. Fill up any gaps with cake offcuts. 

DECORATE 

Method:

1. Use scissors to cut out a shape from the blue paper for the water hazard. Arrange on the cake.
2. Add the lighter green buttercream to three different spots on cake, shaping into funky rounds to create the golf course. Use a spatula to smooth out the surface.
3. Using the crumbled biscuits, add some ‘sand’ to the sides of the light green patches.
4. Scoop the dark green icing into a piping bag fitted with the grass nozzle. Squeeze icing through the nozzle, swirling, blotting and dolloping to make the ‘grass’, covering the remainder of the cake.
5. Cut out a small triangle from red paper and secure to a lolly stick using sticky tape. Insert your ‘flag’ somewhere in a light green section on the cake. 
6. Add a white round sprinkle for the golf ball and you’re all set. Tee off with candles and serve.

Recipes & Styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons

The post Nostalgic kids’ birthday cakes: A step-by-step guide  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Here’s how to keep food fresh for longer with simple kitchen cleaning and storage tips, from organising your fridge to storing fruit and vegetables correctly.  

Spring cleaning your kitchen is about more than scrubbing the counters. The way you clean, organise and store your food can also help ingredients stay fresher for longer. These simple food storage tips can help reduce waste and keep your kitchen in order.  

Give your fridge a proper spring clean 

Start by taking everything out of the fridge and wiping down the shelves and drawers with warm, soapy water. Always clean up any spills as soon as they happen. Keeping the fridge clean helps prevent bacteria from spreading between foods.  

Tip: Your fridge should typically be kept at 4ºC or below, with your freezer at -18ºC. Avoid packing the fridge too tightly as cold air needs room to circulate.  

Keep fruit away from sensitive vegetables  

Some fruits produce ethylene, a natural gas that speeds up ripening. While that can be useful when you want fruit to ripen, it can also cause other ethylene-sensitive produce to deteriorate more quickly. Bananas, apples, avocados and pears are examples of produce that can produce ethylene and can be sensitive to it, while leafy greens, melons, cucumbers and eggplant are more sensitive to it. Try separating these fruits and vegetables by storing them separately in the fridge or on counter-tops in your fruit bowl of choice.   

Don’t wash all your produce at once 

It might feel like a good spring-cleaning shortcut, but washing everything as soon as you get home can sometimes make storage trickier. Instead, wash fresh produce under running water before preparing or eating it, and dry it thoroughly where appropriate. Remember to always wash your hands before handling produce, and remember that soap or specialist produce washes aren’t necessary.  

Paper towel is your friend 

Since refrigerators contain moisture and humidity, certain delicate produce such as fresh herbs and berries can deteriorate quicker or develop mould. Storing these items on a paper towel can help absorb excess moisture, which will extend their shelf life and keep them fresher for longer in the fridge. 

Give older food the front-row seat 

A little fridge organisation can go a long way. When unpacking your groceries, move older items towards the front and place newer ones behind them. This way you’re more likely to spot food that needs to be used sooner over something newly bought. It’s also important to properly store your leftovers. Use clean, covered containers or sealed bags to protect food and help keep your fridge organised.  

Make your freezer part of the plan 

If you know you’re not going to use something in time, don’t wait until it’s already past its best. Freezing is a useful way to preserve many foods and reduce unnecessary waste. Label frozen leftovers and ingredients with the date so you know what needs using first. Just remember that freezing helps extend storage, but it doesn’t make spoiled food safe to eat. When in doubt, throw it out.  

The post Kitchen cleaning tips to keep your food fresh appeared first on MyKitchen.

Shake up your summer soirée with four easy ways to make your drinks pop – think bold garnishes, zesty rims and ice that’s anything but basic. 

Make the citrus peel the star of the show 

As the saying goes (or should go in this case, anyway), one person’s waste is another’s cocktail garnish. Before you discard your orange, lime and lemon peels, let them take centre stage in your drink. Simply peel your citrus fruit and remove all the pith (the soft, white inner layer of the peel). Then, slice it into different shapes or even carve out various patterns. Finally, slide it onto the rim of your glass or pop it inside your drink for a vibrant splash of colour, giving the peel the limelight – literally! 

@mycocktailbible Orange Peel Garnish #garnishgoals #garnish #cocktailtutorial #fyp #cocktail #drinksoftiktok #cocktailoftheday #drinks ♬ Come Check This – FETISH

Use herbs as natural ‘skewers’ 

Sturdy herbs like rosemary and lavender make excellent natural ‘skewers’ to enhance your drink. Thread summer fruits such as berries, plums and chunks of pineapple onto your herbs and add them to your glass. As the herbs infuse, their earthy aroma gradually releases into the drink, adding a subtle earthy flavour that complements the fruit. Want to take it further? Light the end of your rosemary, then add the charred stem to your glass for a smoky flavour. 

Get creative with your ice 

What’s a summer cocktail (or mocktail) without ice? Basic. Add edible flowers, fruit (even just the peels) and herbs to your ice tray (bonus points for trays in fun shapes), freeze and add to your drink for extra fun and flavour. And when the ice melts? Your drink becomes a garden party in a glass, with petals and fruit gently infusing every sip. And it is pure gold for your Instagram grid.  

@brits.bites it’s giving spring #icemolds #flavoredicecubes #icecubemolds #cocktail #mocktail #recipesoftiktok #diy #flowers #springtime #mocktail #cocktail #springdrink #florals #fyp ♬ golden hour – Ruel Remix – JVKE

Add sugar, spice (and everything nice) to your rim 

Adding a splash of flair (and flavour) to your glass is as simple as dressing up the rim. Dipping the rim of your glass in salt, spice or sugar can make all the difference. For sweet drinks opt for a sugar-coated rim. Feeling spicy? Is it even worth drinking a margarita without a salted edge? But don’t stop at plain salt – mix in a little chilli and lime zest for a hot and citrusy kick that’ll have your taste buds dancing. 

@kleverjoe WHY SALT ON GLASS RIM? A salt rim on a glass is a classic garnish, especially for cocktails. A salted rim of glass looks attractive and signals the drink’s identity (e.g., Margarita). #mixology #mocktails #garnish ♬ original sound – ✯ 𝔍𝔞𝔢 ✯

Recipes and styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography: Zhann Solomons 

Also read: 4 Viral TikTok drinks to try out 

The post 4 Tips to jazz up your drinks for your summer soiree  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Become an ice princess with our complete guide to piping and decorating. 

Frosted tips  

Firstly, icing needs to be stable to make it ‘pipeable’. American buttercream, also called butter icing, is easy and quick to make. Butter icing is also fun to shape and manipulate, and it takes on colouring in a lovely way.  

1. Butter must be at room temperature to ensure even mixing. If you have fridge-cold butter, cut it into equal slices and microwave on defrost until you can easily butter bread with it (or a lovely indent is made when poking with a finger). 
2. Sifting the icing sugar is vital. If you don’t, your buttercream will still work, but you will be dealing with clumps of icing sugar that you can never completely remove. Halfway through mixing, and at the very end, remove the whisk attachment and properly scrape down the sides and base of your mixing bowl to ensure you bring the lesser-mixed sections (appearing as a darker yellow) to the centre. 
3. Colour your icing by separating portions of mixture into smaller bowls. Douse the end of a toothpick in your desired colour and swirl this through the buttercream. Mix well with a spoon to see how strong the colour becomes, then repeat, or if needed, add in drops to reach your desired hue. 
4. Fit a nozzle in the piping bag before filling. Cut between ½ – 1cm off the tip, if using a disposable piping bag, and push the nozzle to fit snugly against the plastic. (The bag shouldn’t bunch out or have any gaps.) Hold the bag in the middle using your dominant hand, folding the excess bag open over your hand. Use a spoon or spatula to add scoops of icing into the bag, sliding the spoon over your thumb to scrape off excess. Push the icing down towards the nozzle. Fill until your piping bag is maximum ⅔ full, then twist or tie the end. (Don’t overfill the bag or it won’t close and icing will spill out.) 

Practice makes perfect!  

To practise piping, grease four corners of a tray and place baking paper on top, pushing down to secure. Hold the tied end of the bag with one hand and place your other hand a bit further down onto the bulge of icing. Press from the top hand to squeeze icing and pipe onto the baking paper, swirling, dotting, pushing and pulling as you wish. You can always scoop your practice patterns back into a bowl to use again. If you hold the icing for too long, it will become looser due to the heat from your hand. If this happens, pop in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up. On the flip side, if your icing becomes too hard when in the bag, press it in between your fingers to help warm it up.  

Patterns aplenty

1 Round nozzle/ plain savoy tube

This nozzle makes perfect pillowy teardrops.

2 French star (ATECO #19)

Creates fluted rounds that make a fun border for a circus-themed cake.

3 Open star (ATECO #32)

Creates a 6-pointed star or funky border.

4 Ruffle tube/skirt(ATECO #97)

Perfect for creating a light ruffled skirt around a border.

5 Ribbon/wavy petal nozzle (BAKING TIN #119)

Creates thin ribbons great for Victorian cakes.

6 Shell rope nozzle (ATECO #98)

Perfect for a delicate sea-shell border.

7 Small round nozzle

Any small round nozzle is great for writing on cakes or fine detailed dots or petals.

8 Basket weave nozzle (ATECO #48)

A trendy pattern used in a squiggle around cakes, but great for basket weaves too.

Vanilla buttercream

This makes enough to cover a 30x23cm cake and decorate it with all the twirls and patterns. You can halve the recipe to make less, or place leftovers in an airtight container and freeze for up to months.

Makes 1.5kg 

Ingredients

2 cups (500g) butter, room temperature 
7¾ cups (1kg) icing sugar, sifted
2 tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup (60ml) milk
Food colouring of choice 

Method

1. Place butter in a bowl and beat for 1 minute to loosen it up. 
2. Add half the icing sugar and slowly beat through (this prevents icing sugar from billowing up everywhere).
3. Beat on medium until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and base with a spatula.
4. Add second half of icing sugar and beat on high until creamy, light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape sides and base again.
5. Add vanilla for flavour and milk to loosen slightly.
6. If colouring, divide into the number of bowls you need for each colour.

The icing on the cake 

To finish your newly decorated cake, we suggest adding one or two extra sparkles such as: 

-Colour matched sprinkles or edible glitter.
-Chopped fruit, chocolate or biscuits, sweets or nuts (try match these to the flavour of your cake).
-3D fondant decorations themed to your cake such as animals or figurines.
-Candles or cake toppers. 

Recipe & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Raspberry and vanilla mille feuille with Selati Sugar 

The post Top decorating tips with butter icing  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Who says entertaining must be expensive? The MK team’s savvy tips prove you can throw unforgettable gatherings without emptying your wallet. 

Set up ‘build-your-own plate’ stations 

I love it when guests can build their own plate – whether it is tacos, pitas or pizza. Sticking to something as simple as a build-your-own burger or taco station is often cheaper and more fun than making a roast or having a meat-focused braai.  

Not only does it take the load off you to present perfect plates, but there are no special orders, as guests can skip an ingredient they don’t eat! Doing this makes guests feel involved and creates a relaxed environment. 

I also get flustered when there are too many people offering help or standing in the kitchen, so a good idea is to give your helpful guests a task outside. Ask someone to decorate or set the table, put one person in charge of the playlist, and put another in charge of the drinks station. That way, each person can focus on their task, and the load is lighter! 

Liezl Vermeulen, Editor-in-Chief 

Prep and plan ahead 

Prepare larger batches of food in the week before your party. This not only saves on electricity costs, but it also saves on the grocery bill because you can buy ingredients in bulk or on special. Focus on meals or elements that can easily be frozen, such as chicken pie, lasagna or bolognese. Prepping ahead also helps relieve stress and hard work on the day of your dinner party. 

Lichelle May, Food Editor 

Make it a potluck 

An excellent idea is to turn your dinner into a potluck – people usually offer to bring something along, so this time, accept their offers and delegate. Many hands make light work, and involving everyone in the food preparation will mean more enjoyment without all the stress on your shoulders.   

Assign each family member or friend a dish to bring, like a side, snack, dessert, drink or salad. When everyone places their dish on the table before serving, you’ll have more than enough to go around without exceeding your budget. 

If you do choose to cook yourself, keep things simple. Opt for a starter and main, leaving out the dessert, or stick to a main and dessert if you have guests with a sweet-tooth. 

Sjaan van der Ploeg, Deputy Food Editor 

Photography: Freepik

The post MK team’s top tips to entertain on a budget  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Like testing the waters with homemade sourdough bread, making your own pasta is an experience worth trying. Here are three expert tips to get the dough rolling! 

Get your dough consistency right  

According to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, it’s all about perfecting the consistency of your dough. But it’s tricky to know if consistency is right when kneading your dough. Gordon suggests feeling your pulse. Gordon says that after kneading, your dough’s texture should resemble the same texture as the part of your arm where you feel your pulse. That’s when you know your dough is ready. “Too much flour, it’s gonna be dry. Too little flour, and the pasta’s gonna be wet. Therefore, when we start running it through the machine, it’ll actually stick, but every thirty seconds, it needs a light sprinkling,” he explains. 

How to roll pasta (without the fancy machines) 

Don’t have a fancy food processor or a pasta machine? Don’t worry, your homemade pasta dreams don’t have to end here. According to Chef Farideh Sadeghin, you can roll out your pasta by hand. “You really need a rolling pin, and if that isn’t accessible to you, an old wine bottle will work just as well! Having a large enough work area to roll is essential, and elbow grease is your best friend when rolling pasta by hand,” she says. Bonus tip: Turn your dough 90° after a couple of rolls, so the dough stretches in all directions. 

@iamalessandralauria Make #Tagliatelle using just a #rollingpin like #nonnastyle. What would you like to see next? #pasta #pastashape #pastachallenge #italiancuisine #sfoglina ♬ Stories 2 – Danilo Stankovic

Ensure your dough rests long enough 

Ensuring your dough rests sufficiently is an essential part of making pasta to ensure dough stretches out when rolling instead of jumping back. “Pasta making shouldn’t be rushed,” says chef, cookbook author and TV personality Antonia Lofaso. “Dough is best rested for at least 2 hours, and up to 24,” she says. “Wrap in a flat disk, so it’s easier to cut when cold.” 

Make your own dough at home with this great recipe: 

Homemade Pasta Dough 

Serves: 4 – 6  

Total time // 10 – 15 minutes plus 30 minutes resting time 

 Ingredients 

1 cup flour 

½ tsp salt 

1 egg 

1 Tbsp olive oil 

Method 

1. Place flour onto a large surface in a heap. Make a deep well in the centre. 
2. Whisk egg and olive oil together and add to the well. 
3. Using a fork, slowly work the flour into the egg, starting from the inside and moving outwards, until it forms a sticky dough.
4. Knead for a few seconds, adding extra flour, if needed, until smooth.
5. Shape into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and set aside to rest for 30 minutes before shaping. 

Recipe: Chad January 

Photography: Zhann Solomons

Words: Gaynor Siljeur

Photography: Freepik

Also read: Gorgeous green pasta salad

The post Expert tips to perfect your homemade pasta dough  appeared first on MyKitchen.