South Africa’s much-loved Christine Capendale shares her kitchen secrets in this wonderful baking book as well as a delicious chocolate and cherry cake.

With a collection of more than 80 inspiring recipes for both beginners and experienced bakers, Christine Capendale’s Baking for Profit and Pleasure is one of the most exciting local cookbook launches of this year. With classic recipes along with some that are also gluten-free, vegan and low-sugar, Christine ensures that her book has something for everybody.

Since Covid and the rise of social media platforms such as TikTok, a number of home cooks were discovering that they had a passion for baking, with many trying to start a business with their talents. In this book, Christine speaks to those who are interested in making money through food, and offers advice on how to bake for profit – from choosing the right equipment, packaging and branding to offering advice on calculating costs and profits. Whether you’re baking for profit or pure pleasure, Christine covers everything you could need. Recipes range from cakes and savoury platters to tray bakes and of course, classic South African bakes. My favourites include the cheesecake caramel brownies, her key lime pie and the beautiful Vietnamese coffee cake.She also has interesting recipes such as a sesame and tahini ice-cream cookie sandwich and the Fraisier cake, which I simply cannot wait to try.  

Decadent chocolate and cherry cake
MAKES 1 cake

For the chocolate cake
Cocoa powder 80 g
Dark chocolate, chopped 160 g 
Strong, hot coffee 1 cup
Cake flour 275 g
Bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
Baking powder 2 tsp
Salt ½ tsp
Butter 325 g
Caster sugar 100 g
Dark brown sugar 200 g
Eggs 6
Plain yoghurt 170 g 

For the cherry compote
Tin cherries, pitted and chopped 2 × 425 g reserve 100 ml liquid
Caster sugar 100 g
Finely grated rind of lemon ½
Almond essence 1 ml
Cherry liqueur (optional) 45 ml 

For the whipped cream
Whipping cream 750 ml
Icing sugar 60 g 

For the layering and decorating
Chocolate, grated 100 g
Chocolate shards, for decorating
Fresh cherries, for decorating
Cocoa powder, for dusting

For the chocolate cake
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease two 20-cm cake tins well and dust them liberally with cocoa powder.
2. Combine the chocolate andcocoa in a bowl and pour overthe hot coffee. Stir to combineand melt the chocolate.
3. In another bowl, sift togetherthe flour, bicarbonate of soda,baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Beat together the butter andsugars until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after every addition.
6. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the eggs, then add the dry ingredients and yoghurt. Mix wellto make a smooth batter.
7. Divide the batter between thecake tins and bake for 25–30 minutes until cooked. Cool completely.

For the cherry compote
1. Combine all the ingredients andthe 100 ml reserved liquid, in a small pot on low heat and stir to dissolvethe sugar.
2. Simmer for 5 minutes, then scoop out 45 ml of the liquid and combineit with the liqueur (if using). Set aside for brushing.
3. Continue to simmer the cherry compote until it starts to thicken slightly. Cool completely.

For the whipped cream
1. Place the bowl and beaters ofyour mixer in the freezer, so that they are very cold.
2. Whip the cream and icing sugar to stiff peak stage.

For the layering and decorating
1. Cut the cakes in half horizontally and brush each cake layer with the cherry liqueur syrup, if using.
2. Stack the cake layers, spreading the cherry compote, cream and some grated chocolate between the layers.
3. Top the cake with a layer of cream or chocolate ganache, scrape the sides (optional) and place in the refrigerator until ice cold.
4. Decorate with the chocolate shards, cherries and a dusting of cocoa powder.
Tip: Fresh long-stem cherries are only available for a few months in summer. I used long-stemmed maraschino cherries, wrapped in
gold leaf (available throughout the year).

Baker, fashionista and My Sweet Life author, Faaiza Omar shares her delicious passionfruit pavlova layer cake with us. It is PHENOMENAL.

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