From eclairs to a light (and yummy) panna cotta, these delicious caramel desserts are sure to impress and leave your guests wanting more.  

Sea-salt caramels

Makes 20 // Cooking time 2 hours 25 min 

Ingredients 

2½ cups sugar
1 cup water
385 g tin condensed milk
115 g butter, cubed
1 tbsp sea-salt flakes 

Method 

1. Line and grease a loaf tin.
2. Heat the sugar and water in a pot over low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil and cook, swirling the pot occasionally, until the mixture turns a deep amber.
3. Remove from the heat and add the condensed milk and butter. Allow to bubble for a few seconds, then whisk vigorously.
4. Return to medium heat. Use a sugar thermometer to monitor the caramel. Cook, whisking all the time, until it reaches 115°C. Remove from the heat and add 2 tsp sea salt flakes.
5. Pour into loaf tin and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tsp sea salt flakes. Leave to cool and set, at least 2 hours.
6. Use a hot knife to slice into bite-sized caramels. Wrap in waxed paper and store in a cool place.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli 

No-churn salted-caramel ice-cream sandwiches

Makes 10-12  

Ingredients  

500 ml cream 
3 cans Caramel Treat, plus extra for drizzling 
½ tsp sea salt flakes (or use fine salt) 
1 box (400 g) ready-rolled puff pastry, defrosted 
Chopped and toasted nuts or praline, for serving 
Mint leaves, for garnish   

Method 

1. Whisk the cream into stiff peaks. 
2. Whisk the caramel until smooth.  
3.  Add half of the cream to the caramel and mix until well combined, then fold in the remaining cream.  
4. Pour into a 30×20 cm tray and freeze for 8–12 hours or overnight.  
5. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Prick pastry all over with a fork and cut into rectangles.  
6. Place on a baking tray and bake for 13–18 minutes or until golden. Cool.  
7. Cut ice cream into the same size as pastry shapes. Refreeze to set, if needed.  
8. Sandwich the ice cream portions between two pastry rectangles.  
9. Serve drizzled with extra caramel, top with toasted nuts or praline and garnish with mint leaves. 

Cook’s note: Cut the ice cream before the party and refreeze to avoid a sticky, melting mess.  

Recipe and photography: Fresh Living Magazine 

Peppermint Crisp & Caramel Swiss Roll

Serves 6–8 // Total time 30 min + cooling 

Ingredients 

For the Swiss roll 

3 eggs
1 cup (130 g) caster sugar
1 cup (130 g) cake flour 
¾ tsp baking powder 
½ tsp salt   

To assemble 

1 can Caramel Treat 
1 (49 g) Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar, finely chopped 
½ cup cream, whipped   

Method  

For the Swiss roll 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 ºC. Grease and line a 23×33 cm Swiss roll tray.
2. Using an electric hand mixer, whip the eggs and caster sugar until tripled in volume and pale in colour, about 5 minutes.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the egg mixture. Gently fold in using a large metal spoon until the flour is just combined. 
4. Pour the batter into the prepared tray and bake for 10 min until lightly golden.
5. Line a kitchen cloth with a piece of baking paper and sprinkle a layer of castor sugar. When the cake is baked, tip it out on to the cloth and roll up into a tight coil starting from the short end. Leave for 10 minutes until cool, then carefully unroll.

To assemble 

1. Whip the caramel with an electric mixer until smooth. 
2. Spread three-quarters of the caramel in an even layer over the Swiss roll. Sprinkle over half the chopped Peppermint Crisp and top with a layer of whipped cream. 
3. Carefully roll up the Swiss roll and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Decorate with the remaining caramel and chocolate.

Cook’s note: Experiment with flavour. You can also fill this Swiss roll with your favourite jam and serve with fresh berries. 

Styling: Jezza-Rae Larsen
Photography: Callen Jefferson/hmimages.co.za 

Salted-caramel panna cotta

Makes 4 // Cooking time: 1 hour 20 min 

Ingredients 

300 ml cream
250 ml milk
2 tsp salt, plus to decorate
3 gelatine leaves
200 g sugar
2 tbsp water 

Method 

1. Lightly grease 4 moulds.
2. Scald the cream and milk in a pot over medium heat. Add salt.
3. Place the gelatine leaves in ice water to soak.
4. Meanwhile, boil sugar and 2 tbsp water in a pot over high heat until the sugar reaches a dark caramel colour.
5. Remove from the heat and add the warm cream and milk immediately. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature.
6. Squeeze excess water from the gelatine. Add it, stirring until fully dissolved.
7. Pour the mixture into the moulds and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set.
8. Remove panna cottas from moulds by placing them in hot water for a few seconds before turning out.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli 

White-chocolate-and-caramel eclairs

Makes 10 eclairs // Hands-on 60 mins // Hands-off 75 min 

Ingredients 

For the choux pastry 

85 g unsalted butter
220 ml water
100 g flour
Pinch of fine sea salt
3 large eggs, beaten 

For the eclairs 

150 g white chocolate
250 ml cream
360 g tin caramel  

Method 

For the choux pastry  

1. Preheat oven to 200 °C and grease a baking tray.
2. Bring butter and water to the boil.
3. Sift flour and salt on to a piece of waxed paper and pour into the boiling water.
4. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture is smooth and doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Spread out on a plate and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
5. Once cool, return dough to the pot. Gradually beat in the eggs until it reaches a consistency that lazily drops off the spoon. (You may not need to use all the egg.)

For the eclairs 

1. Pour the pastry mixture into a piping bag with a wide nozzle tip. Pipe oblongs on to a baking tray. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden.
2. Use a skewer to pierce a hole in the base of each pastry, then leave upside-down on a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat.
4. Whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold in the caramel.
5. Cut each pastry in half and fill with caramel cream.
6. Dip each filled pastry into the melted chocolate. Use a blowtorch to slightly burn it. Serve immediately.

Also read: Caramel 101

The post Five caramel desserts that will hit the right spot appeared first on MyKitchen.

You’re guaranteed to be the host with the most after debuting this all-out dessert. 

Pastry perfection 

Choux pastry (pronounced like “shoe”) is a magical thing. The unique ratio of five ingredients that everyone has at home allows the pastry to steam in the oven and magically rise to create feather-light buns that are hollow in the centre. The centres are then filled with anything from custard and ganache to chocolate mousse. 

Crispy crust  

Choux buns can be made and stored in a sealed container for up to three days in advance, but keep in mind that over time they become soft. To crisp them up before assembling, simply pop them into the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. 

1.

Boil butter, water and salt

2.

Add flour to create a choux

3.

Add eggs to create the dough or pastry

Perfect choux pastry 

A pastry that can be dressed up or down to fit into any event. Stack them to create a tower or simply serve as single bite-size buns. A piping bag with a large round nozzle will come in handy. 

Makes 20-30 buns

Ingredients 

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp (75g) butter 
¾ cup (180ml) warm water 
Pinch of fine salt 
2/3 cup + 1 Tbsp (110g) flour 
4 large eggs 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Grease two baking trays. 
2. Add butter, water and salt into a pot and bring to a boil. (Cover with a lid to avoid evaporation.) 
3. Once bubbling, add flour all at once and stir vigorously until a smooth and lump-free ball forms that pulls away from the side of the pot. 
4. Place pastry in a glass bowl and flatten against the base and sides for quick and easy cooling. (Cooling is essential to avoid eggs cooking once they touch the pastry.) 
5. Once cool to the touch, add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly with a wooden spoon until completely incorporated before adding the next. 
6. After adding the last egg, your pastry should be smooth and shiny, and fall in a consistent, thickened stream when you lift your spoon. 
7. Snip the corner off a disposable piping bag and fit with your nozzle. Place nozzle folded upward in a tall glass to avoid the filling pouring out, and wrap the opening of the bag around the rim of the glass. 
8. Fill bag ¾ full of pastry, pick up the bag and twist tightly to close.
9. Pipe 3cm rounds of pastry onto the trays, keeping them 4cm apart. 
10. With a wet teaspoon or finger, flatten any pointy tops on pastry, then splash specks of water over trays and onto buns. (Splashing lightly with water ensures a crispy top. This is because the water turns into steam in the oven.) 
11. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate trays 180 degrees and reduce heat to 180°C. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, until pastry is puffed and is golden. 
12. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack. 
13. Store cooled pastries in an airtight container until ready to fill and serve.

Remember: once the filling is added, the pastry will start to soften, so make sure to add your filling just before serving if possible. 

The all-important filling 

For the topping, melted dark chocolate is an absolute winner, but you can also have fun with white or milk chocolate, icing glaze (icing sugar and hot water with food colouring) and decorate with chopped nuts, edible flowers or caramel. 

Crème pâtissière  

Makes 3 cups 

This classic yet versatile dessert is the perfect way to add some creamy flavour to your choux pastry. 

Ingredients 

½ cup (100g) granulated sugar 
¼ cup (30g) corn flour 
½ tsp (3ml) fine salt 
4 egg yolks 
2 cups (500ml) milk 
2 tsp (10ml) vanilla essence 
1 Tbsp (15g) butter  

Method 

1. Whisk together sugar, corn flour, salt and egg yolks until smooth and light. Set aside. 
2. Add milk, vanilla and butter to a small pot, heat until steaming hot.
3. Add hot milk in a thin, steady stream while whisking in the egg mixture. (This slow addition of a hot ingredient is called tempering and prevents the yolks from cooking.) 
4. Return milk and egg mixture to the pot over medium-high heat. Cook while continuously whisking until thickened, about 10-15 minutes. 
5. For the smoothest custard, pass mixture through a fine mesh sieve. 
6. Spoon into a bowl, cover with clingwrap directly on the surface and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least two hours. 
7. Prick the base of pastry buns and use a piping bag to fill your pastry with the cooled custard, or slice in half and dollop into the cavity, sandwich closed and dip tops in melted chocolate.

Flavour bending  

Custard, or as the French say Crème Pâtissière, can be infused with many different flavours. Try these combos:  

– For a chocolate custard, add 2 Tbsp cocoa to the egg yolk mixture, and stir through 80g chopped dark chocolate to the finished thickened custard. 
– For a coffee flavour, add 5 Tbsp instant coffee to the milk. 
– For a fragrant spiced custard, heat the milk with 1 star anise and 1 cinnamon stick – strain these out before adding to the egg mixture. 
– If you’re looking for a fresher filling, whip cream with sugar to taste, slice choux buns in half and dollop into the cavity. 
– For a zesty tang, swirl berry compote or heated jam through your custard before filling. 

Words by: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg 
Photographs: Zhann Solomons 

The post The guide to perfect (and delicious) eclairs 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.

Our mini éclairs are a great way for you to learn how to make easy choux pastry plus they are super tasty! What more could you want?

SERVES 12 // COOK TIME 60 mins

INGREDIENTS
150 ml full-cream milk
100g butter, cubed
200g flour
4 large eggs, beaten
100g chocolate, melted
1 cup cream, whipped

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Heat the milk and butter in a medium-sized saucepan. As it comes to the boil, remove from the heat and immediately add the flour. Beat the mixture thoroughly to combine, then return to the heat and cook slightly. The mixture will come away from the sides of the pan when ready. Then whisk in the eggs until glossy and thick.
3. Pipe the mixture into 5 cm-long pieces on to a baking tray and place in the oven for 10–15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
4. Remove the éclairs from the oven and poke a hole in each one to release the steam. Return to the oven for a few minutes to dry the centres. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
5. Once cool, drizzle the melted chocolate over the éclairs and leave to set.
6. Fill each éclair with whipped cream, and serve.

If you’re obsessed with home-grown, delicious and nutritious rooibos like us, you must try this rooibos-pear frangipane tart recipe!

The post Mini éclairs appeared first on MyKitchen.

Whip out the flour, eggs and butter and brush up on your your choux pastry skills; eclairs have made a comeback and are looking more glamorous than ever before!

By Jana du Plessis

We watched as the world indulged in the cupcake trend, with their elaborately whipped toppings and unusual garnishes. Then, the foodie masses named the dainty French macaron the flavour of the month. It seems the spotlight has now fallen on a nostalgic classic: the eclair!

When we first got word that choux pastry was back in fashion, we turned to the experts for final confirmation. The One&Only Hotel in Cape Town is well-renowned for their extravagant afternoon high teas (here are the details:), so we knocked on the kitchen door of their pastry chef, Kyle Hickman, to get the tasty low-down. ‘It’s choux time!’ Kyle decalred, ‘And aside from delicious sweet variations, we are also experimenting with savoury versions, too’. We had to know more…

The anatomy of an eclair

For those who are still pondering the difference between an eclair and a profiterole, we’ll break it down for you. Both delights are made with choux pastry, an originally French pastry that is deliciously light, flaky, crisp, and golden in colour. The pastry is made using a meticulous technique; butter and flour are cooked over a stove top, eggs are then added and vigorously whisked into the mixture to create a glossy, aerated dough. Now here’s the most important defining detail; the shape in which the pastry is piped, ultimately decides the classification of the dessert. A profiterole, or cream puff, is a little circular, ball of doughy pastry, most commonly filled with a rich, sweet cream. The eclair has a longer, oblong shape, and is filled with a wider variety of flavoured creams or custards, before being topped with icing. What factor makes the eclair the winner of the two? There’s more of it, of course!

Flavour Fantastic

The original eclair offered a very limited choice of flavours, but the trendier 21st century eclair comes in a myriad of flavours, textures and tastes. Raspberry cream, lemon curd, salted caramel, chilli chocolate and Green Tea matcha, are just a few of the many eclair varieties available! And if all that sugar doesn’t tickle your fancy, go for the herbed cream cheese, tuna mousse or smoked salmon with horseradish cream. Yum!

What are the flavours you’re most looking forward to trying? Comment below! In the meantime, here is the recipe for our scrumptious white-chocolate and caramel eclairs.

The post Craving eclairs? You’re right on trend! appeared first on MyKitchen.