Short on time? Simply make the chocolate sauce and pair it with fresh fruit or marshmallows to dip into it.

Churros with citrus, chilli and chocolate sauce

SERVES 4-6

Ingredients

For the churros

2 cups water
180g (¾ cup) butter, chopped
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp salt
2 cups cake flour
4 large eggs
Vegetable oil, for frying

For the cinnamon sugar

1 cup SELATI Pure White Sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

For the zesty chilli chocolate dipping sauce 

2 slabs (150g each) dark chocolate, chopped
½ cup cream
2 oranges, zested
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

For piping

1 large star nozzle
1 large piping bag

Method

1. Add water, butter, vanilla and salt to a pot over high heat, stir to melt and bring to a rapid boil.
2. Remove pot from the heat, add the flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a smooth paste forms.
3. Transfer paste to another bowl and cool for 10 minutes, until you can press your finger into the mixture for more than 5 seconds. (Too hot and the mixture will cook the eggs).
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely combined before adding the next.
5. Heat a pot of oil for deep-frying.
6. Combine cinnamon sugar ingredients in a deep bowl.
7. Snip off the end of your piping back and fit with your piping nozzle.
8. Place bag into a long glass, folding the opening over rim of the glass.
9. Spoon half of the mixture into the piping bag, close and twist to secure. Dip blades of a pair of scissors in some oil. (This prevents the batter from sticking to the scissors).
10. Pipe portions of the batter into the hot oil, using scissors to snip between each churro.
11. Deep-fry in batches for 2-3 minutes until golden and cooked through.
12. Remove using a slotted spoon and immediately toss through cinnamon sugar to coat, then drain on paper towel. Repeat with remaining mixture to make 20-30 churros.
13. Melt chocolate and cream over a double boiler until well combined. Stir through orange zest and chilli.
14. Arrange churros on a serving plate with citrus, chilli chocolate sauce on the side.

CHEF’S TIP

Nozzles and piping bags can be bought at any baking store, create your own using a Ziploc bag snipped at one corner. These aren’t as sturdy, so double up on bags if you can.

The post Churros with citrus, chilli and chocolate sauce appeared first on MyKitchen.

We’ve put together 4 nostalgic dessert recipes, chocolate-chip cookies, bread pudding eclairs and chocolate pudding to make you feel right at home.

Chocolate-chip cookies
MAKES  20  •  TOTAL TIME  3 hr

INGREDIENTS

Butter 170 g

Brown sugar 2 cups

Eggs 2

Vanilla essence 1 tsp

Flour 2 cups

Baking soda 1 tsp

Dark chocolate, roughly chopped 150 g

Sea salt 2 tsp

70% dark chocolate, optional 100 g

METHOD

1. Add the butter to a pan over medium heat. Once melted, it will begin to foam and bubble. Stir for a few minutes. Remove from the heat once it has turned a deep golden colour. Place in a large heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.

2. Add the sugar to the butter and whisk to combine. Add the  the eggs one at a time and beat well. Add the vanilla.

3. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Add to the butter mixture and fold through until combined. Add the chocolate.
If you aren’t using extra chocolate, keep a few pieces behind.

4. Mix in the chocolate to disperse it well; do not over-mix. Place the dough in the fridge for 1 hour, or overnight. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line two trays with baking paper.

5. Scoop 2 tbsp sized amounts (35 g) of dough out and roll into one ball. Repeat with remaining dough to create 15–20 biscuits. If you are using more dark chocolate, roughly chop up your slab and place pieces onto your dough balls. This will create delicious pools of chocolate on top of the biscuits.

6. Place dough balls in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.

7. Bake cookies for 10–12 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and bang the tray on the counter to deflate the cookies, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and enjoy. 

Pear bread pudding with ice cream and caramel sauce
SERVES  6  •  TOTAL TIME  1 hr 15 min

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

Water ½ cup

Sugar 1 ¼ cups

Heavy cream 1 cup

Sea salt ½ tsp

FOR THE BREAD PUDDING

Milk 3 cups

Sugar ¼ cup

Butter 3 tbsp

Cinnamon ½ tsp

Salt ¼ tsp

Eggs 4

Baguette loaves, thickly sliced 2

Pears, thinly sliced 3 

Melted butter, to brush 3 tbsp 

TO SERVE

Vanilla ice cream

METHOD

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

1. Add the water and sugar to a medium-sized pot over low heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the sugar has completely dissolved and there are no remaining granules in the water. 

2. Stop stirring completely. Turn the heat up to high and let the mixture come to a boil.

3. Let it bubble for 5–7 minutes; it will begin to start turning an amber colour. Once the mixture is an even golden colour, add the cream and begin to stir vigorously. The mixture will bubble up. Stir until the bubbles disappear.

4. Add a sprinkle of sea salt and pour your caramel into a heat-safe jar. Leave the jar open for the caramel to cool.

FOR THE BREAD PUDDING

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease a 25 cm round baking dish.

2. Place the milk and sugar in a pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved, then remove from the heat. Do not bring to the boil. Add the butter to the heated milk and stir through.

3. Add the cinnamon, salt and eggs to the milk. Stir well to combine.

4. Dip each slice of bread into the milk mixture, arrange the bread and pear slices in a circular pattern in the dish. Gently pour the milk over the bread, moving over the whole dish to soak all of it evenly.

5. Bake the bread pudding for 40 min until set but still slightly wobbly. Cover with tinfoil if it starts to brown too much.

6. Brush with the remaining butter once the pudding comes out of the oven.

7. Serve the pear bread pudding with a few scoops of ice cream and a generous drizzle of caramel sauce.

Top tip Rather safe than sorry! Caramel can be quite intimidating, if you’d rather skip this step, then feel free to use syrup, honey or store-bought caramel sauce.

Eclairs with coffee cream
SERVES 10  •  TOTAL TIME  1 hr 20 min

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY

Flour 70 g

Butter, cubed 50 g

Water 55 g (2 tbsp + 2 tsp) 

Full-cream milk 55 g (2 tbsp + 2 tsp)

Salt ¼ tsp

Sugar 1 tsp

Large eggs, lightly beaten 2

Icing sugar 1 tbsp

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Dark chocolate, finely chopped 80 g

Cream  ⅓ cup

FOR THE WHIPPED COFFEE CREAM

Instant coffee 1 ½ tsp

Whipping cream 1 ½ cups

Icing sugar 3 tbsp

TO DECORATE

Chocolate sprinkles

Lavender flowers

METHOD

FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line a large oven tray with baking paper and draw ten 10 cm long lines. Flip over the paper.

2. Sift the flour into a small bowl. Place the butter, water, milk, salt and sugar in a pot and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. Remove from the heat when the mixture just starts to boil.

3. Quickly add the flour and vigorously stir with a wooden spoon to form a paste. 

4. Return the pot over medium heat and cook the paste, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until a film of dough clings to the base of the pot. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and set aside until cool.

5. Once cooled, add the whisked eggs to the dough a little at a time, mixing until fully incorporated between each addition with a wooden spoon. Continue adding egg until the dough is smooth and glossy but still holds its shape. You may not need to add all the egg. When dropped off a spatula, the dough should form a ‘v’ shape.

6. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Pipe log shapes using the drawn lines as a guide. Flatten any pointed ends using a finger dipped in water, then dust the eclairs with the icing sugar.

7. Place the eclairs in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 180ºC. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and prick one end of each eclair with a skewer to release any steam. Place back in the oven for 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool.

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a small pot and heat gently until it start to bubble around the edges. Pour over the chocolate and leave for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth and glossy.

FOR THE WHIPPED COFFEE CREAM

1. Dissolve the coffee powder in a few tablespoons of cream. Place the coffee mixture, remaining cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and whip to stiff peaks with an electric hand mixer.

TO ASSEMBLE

1. Slice the eclairs in half using a serrated knife. Dip the top half of the eclairs into the chocolate glaze and place on a wire rack to drip. Pipe cream onto the bottom half of the eclairs. Sandwich all the eclairs together carefully. If the glaze is too thin
it will run, refrigerate for a bit longer before dipping. 

Storage tip: Assembled eclairs are best eaten straight away. Unfilled eclairs can be kept in an airtight container for a few days or frozen. Crisp them up in the oven before filling.

Self-saucing chocolate pudding
SERVES 6–8  •  TOTAL TIME  55 min

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE PUDDING

Flour 2 cups

Cocoa powder ½ cup

Baking powder 1 tbsp

Salt 1 tsp

Caster sugar ½ cup

Brown sugar ½ cup

Eggs 2

Milk 1 cup

Butter, melted 130 g

Vanilla essence 2 tsp

Instant coffee powder 1 tsp

FOR THE SAUCE

Brown sugar 1 cup

Cocoa powder 6 tbsp

Boiling water 2 cups

Double-thick cream

METHOD

FOR THE PUDDING

1. Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Grease a 30 × 20 cm baking dish.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the sugar.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter, vanilla and coffee powder until well combined.

4. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until combined. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish. 

FOR THE SAUCE

1. Whisk together the brown sugar and cocoa in a heatproof bowl or jug. Add the boiling water and mix until the sugar has mostly dissolved.

2. Gently pour the sauce onto the pudding over the back of the spoon.

3. Bake the pudding for 40–45 minutes or the top is firm and the pudding is bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before tucking in. Serve with scoops of ice cream, if desired.

Recipes & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg:
Stylist assistants: Kirsty Buchanan & Jezza-Rae Larsen
Photography: Chanelle Naudt/hmimages.co.za

This Lemon milk tart meringue pie with lemon curd drizzle is the perfect combination of two desserts and a fab twist on a local South African dessert!

The post Delicious Nostalgic Dessert Recipes appeared first on MyKitchen.

The post Decadent churros with dark chocolate sauce appeared first on MyKitchen.

Whether it’s a late-night treat or a decadent pudding – this best-ever chocolate sauce will be the cherry on the top for your future desserts!

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 10 min

INGREDIENTS
200 g sugar
20 g cocoa
Pinch salt
125 ml water
60 g butter
2 tsp vanilla essence

METHOD
1. Mix sugar, cocoa and salt in a pot. Add enough water to make mixture stirrable. Add butter.
2. Bring the mixture to the boil, while stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

Give your new chocolate sauce a try with our dairy-free chai-flavoured cashew nut ice cream!

The post The best-ever chocolate sauce for all your puds appeared first on MyKitchen.

Over at Haute Cabrière, it’s all about celebrating seasonal, locally sourced and organically farmed food through their menu of classic dishes – with a modern twist, of course. For chef Westley, it’s a no-brainer, having grown up on his grandparents’ farm. From there, he followed his dream of studying to become a chef. Now, he finds himself cooking alongside Nic van Wyk at the iconic Haute Cabrière Restaurant & Terrace. He showed us how to perfectly prepare grilled venison with dark chocolate sauce.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 60 min

INGREDIENTS
For the dark-chocolate sauce
150 g brown sugar
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 cup crème de cassis
2L beef stock
2 cloves
1 star anise
½ stick cinnamon
130 g mixed frozen berries
40 g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), chopped
For the crispy kale
1 bunch kale
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
Salt and pepper
For the venison loin
1 kg venison loin
Salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 sprigs thyme
2 peaches, halved

METHOD
For the dark-chocolate sauce
1. In a pot, heat the sugar, stirring until caramelised.
2. Deglaze with the white wine vinegar and reduce until all the liquid has evaporated.
3. Deglaze with the crème de cassis and reduce by ⅔.
4. Add the stock and spices, and reduce again by ¾.
5. Add the berries and reduce again until sauce is the desired consistency. Strain out berries.
6. Add the chocolate, stirring until melted and smooth.
For the crispy kale
1. Cut off the kale stems.
2. Blanch kale leaves in salted, boiling water, then shock in ice water. Squeeze out all the water.
3. Deep-fry the kale. Drain on paper towel and season with salt and pepper.
For the venison loin
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Season the venison with salt and let it rest for 5 minutes.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a griddle pan until smoking hot. Brown the venison, turning constantly. When almost brown, add butter and thyme. Ensure the venison is evenly coated with butter.
4. Transfer the venison to an ovenproof dish and roast it for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
5. Rub the peach halves in the remaining oil. Heat a griddle pan and grill them until char lines appear.
6. Serve the venison loin topped with crispy kale, grilled peaches and dark-chocolate sauce.

The post Chef Westley Muller’s grilled venison with dark chocolate sauce appeared first on MyKitchen.