The authentic recipe uses Japanese “Shokupan” (milk bread), which is light and fluffy. Our own unsliced government white bread will work perfectly for this, as it is also springy and full.

Makes 6

Ingredients

For the toast:

• 2 unsliced white bread loaves
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup cream
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup butter, for frying

To serve:

• Icing sugar
• 6 scoops ice cream
• Golden syrup

Method

1. Slice each loaf into 3 x 8-10cm squares, then slice off the crust on all sides to create 6 loaves.
2. In a jug, whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cream and milk.
3. Arrange loaves in a deep tray and pour custard directly over them, it will soak into the bread and pool into the bottom of the tray.
4. Turn the loaves on all sides to coat in the custard, even pressing them down to help absorb as much custard as possible.
5. Preheat oven to 200°C.
6. Add butter to a large pan over medium-low heat.
7. Carefully remove 1-2 pieces (depending on the size of your pan) of bread from the custard, allow excess to run off before transferring into the pan.
8. Fry French loaves for 6-7 minutes, turning to caramelise on all sides.
9. Transfer slices to a roasting pan (or individual skillet) and bake for another 6-8 minutes, until crisped and puffed.
10. Serve hot French toast dusted with icing sugar, topped with a scoop of ice cream and finished with a drizzle of warm syrup.

Cook’s Note

The heat from the French toast melts the ice cream and syrup, creating a syrupy sauce as a dip for your bread.

Recipe & Styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

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This recipe is inspired by the much-loved “Torrijas” (a Spanish French toast made with a spiced citrus custard, which is known for being the perfect mixture of a bread pudding and French toast.

Makes 10 slices

Ingredients

For the custard:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 orange, zested
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Kitka loaf
• 3 eggs, whisked well
• ¼ cup canola oil, for frying
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 6 Tbsp white sugar + extra to brûleé
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

To serve:

• 500ml store-bought custard (optional)
• Honey

Method

1. Combine milk, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and brown sugar in a pot over high heat.
2. Once scalding, remove from the heat and set aside to cool and infuse for 20 minutes.
3. Slice Kitka loaf into about 10 pieces, 2-2.5cm thick.
4. Place eggs in a deep plate.
5. Pour milk into a deep tray, discard the cinnamon stick.
6. Soak each slice of bread in the custard for 20-30 seconds.
7. Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium heat.
8. Remove 1-2 slices of bread from the milk and coat each in the whisked egg.
9. Remove and hold over the plate to allow any excess to drip off, then transfer to the hot pan.
10. Fry bread for 2-3 minutes until golden and glossy, flipping halfway. Repeat with remaining slices (if the butter in the pan starts to burn, drain and wipe clean before continuing with remaining slices).
11. Combine white sugar and ground cinnamon on a plate
12. Once cooked, coat each slice in the cinnamon sugar, then transfer to a cooling rack.
13. Enjoy French toast as is or serve on a bed of custard as below.
14. Pour a serving of custard into a deep plate or bowl, nestle a slice of French toast on top, and add a last glug of custard on top of the toast.
15. Sprinkle 1-2 Tbsp sugar onto the custard on the toast, then use a kitchen torch (or oven grill) to brûleé the sugar until golden. Serve immediately.

Recipe & Styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

The post Spanish-Inspired French Toast appeared first on MyKitchen.

If you go to France and don’t end up with a steaming hot chocolate, a side of cream and a croissant to dip into it, I’m afraid you’re doing it wrong. Turn to page 56 to make your own croissant or buy them to pair with this hot drink that can, let’s be honest, double as a chocolate sauce.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

Combine ¼ cup full-cream milk,
1½ cups cream,
1-2 Tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp instant coffee.

Method

Finely chop 230g 70% dark chocolate and add to the cream mixture. Place mixture over medium heat until the chocolate is melted (or use the microwave and stir every 30-60 seconds). Whisk ½ cup cold cream, 2 Tbsp sifted icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract to stiff peaks. Serve the hot chocolate steaming, with a side of piped cream.

Recipe & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons

The post Iconic Parisian Hot Chocolate appeared first on MyKitchen.

Best Asparagus & Prosciutto Galette Recipe | Savory French-Inspired Tart

Thanks to the maize meal (a South African twist), the pastry in this recipe is delightfully crunchy.

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 1⅓ cups (200g) cake flour
• ½ cup (50g) coarse maize meal
• 2 tsp (10ml) sugar
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
• ¾ cup (150g) ice-cold butter, cubed
• ⅓ cup (80ml) ice-cold water

For the béchamel sauce:

• ½ cup (50g) butter
• ⅓ cup (50g) cake flour
• 1 cup (250ml) milk
• Salt and milled pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 300g asparagus, blanched (green beans work well, too
• 2-3 Tbsp (30-45ml) olive oil
• 100-150g prosciutto crudo (par-cooked bacon works well, too)
• 1 egg, whisked
• Gruyère or Parmesan, for serving

Method

1. For the pastry, place dry ingredients in a food processor. Add butter and pulse for 30 seconds to create pea-sized lumps.
2. Add iced water and pulse just until the mixture comes together.
3. Remove pastry and flatten into a disc, then cover in cling wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.
4. For the sauce, melt butter in a pan, then add flour. Stir mixture until it starts to simmer.
8. Reduce heat and add milk in a thin stream while continuously stirring until sauce is thick and smooth.
9. Cook sauce for about 2 minutes. Season and add nutmeg. Cool.
11. Preheat oven to 200°C.
12. Roll out pastry on a floured surface to a 3mm-thick oval.
13. Place pastry on a baking tray.
14. Spread cooled béchamel over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border of pastry clean around the edges.
15. Toss asparagus in oil and arrange on top of béchamel sauce along with prosciutto.
16. Neatly fold edges of pastry over to enclose ingredients a little.
17. Brush edges with egg.
18. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and cooked through.
19. Serve warm with shavings of Gruyère or Parmesan.

Compiled by: Lichelle May
Photographs: Fresh Living magazine
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

The post Asparagus & Proscuiutto Galette appeared first on MyKitchen.

We’ve added a biscuit to the top of our s’mores croissant, but you could crumble a few biscuits into the croissant when assembling too.

Makes 4

Ingredients

For the meringue

• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup (110g) caster sugar
• 4 plain croissants
• Butter, for brushing
• 1 packet (400g) marshmallows
• 150g milk chocolate
• 1 packet (60g) mini digestive biscuits

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a tray with baking paper.
2. For the meringue, place egg whites in a bowl and whisk to stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
3. Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking well to dissolve sugar between each addition. Continue until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue is glossy.
4. Slice each croissant in half, keeping it attached on one side.
5. Brush the inside and outside of the croissants with butter.
6. Halve 12 marshmallows and place 6 halves in each croissant.
7. Halve 12 blocks of chocolate and stuff 6 halves in between the marshmallows of each croissant. Close croissants.
8. Cover the entire tray with foil to enclose the croissants.
9. Bake on the middle oven rack for 12 minutes or until the marshmallow is puffed and gooey, and chocolate has melted.
10. Remove foil and spoon a portion of meringue onto the top of each croissant.
11. Bake in the oven on a high oven rack for another 1-2 minutes (or use a blow torch if you like) until the marshmallow is toasted.

Recipes & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons

The post S’mores croissants appeared first on MyKitchen.

Poulet à la moutard has the sharpness from mustard balanced by creaminess. This sauce, with the thickness of a gravy, is rich but isn’t heavy as it doesn’t use a starch to thicken it. Instead, mustard and egg are used to create an emulsified sauce.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• Salt and milled pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil blend
• 2 diced shallots, chopped (or 1 onion works well, too)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• ⅘ cup (200ml) dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4-6 leeks, cut into 5cm sticks
• ¼ cup cream

For serving:

• Pangrattato (see cook’s note)
• Chopped parsley and thyme leaves
• Mash or rice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Season chicken well. Heat oil in an oven-safe pot over medium-high heat.
3. Brown chicken on both sides, for about 3-4 minutes stock and mustard. Season. a side. Remove and set aside.
4. In the same pan, brown leeks for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
5. Scoop about half of the pan juices or fat out of the pan, so you’re left with about 1 Tbsp fat only. (This is important as you’re making an emulsified sauce, so too much fat can cause it to split.) Turn heat to medium.
6. Add shallot or onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for a minute until golden.
7. Add wine to deglaze the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add bay leaf, thyme and stir in
8. Return chicken to the pot, placing skin-side up. Nestle leeks around chicken.
9. Braise uncovered in the oven for about 23-28 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. (To check if the chicken is done, pierce it with a sharp knife at its thickest point. If liquid running out is clear, the chicken is cooked.)
10. Remove chicken from the pot and place over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add cream, stirring to combine, and allow to simmer to reduce and thicken to a coating, gravy consistency.
11. Sprinkle with pangrattato (if using) and herbs just before serving. Serve with rice or mash.

Cook’s Note

To make a pangrattato, tear crusty bread into small pieces. Toast in a pan with butter and/or oil until crispy. Mix with chopped herbs (such as parsley, thyme and rosemary) and a grating of Parmesan. We’ve added this for extra flavour, but it is not used in the traditional French recipe.

Recipe & Styling: Liezl Vermeulen
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

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