It’s true that I hate cooking. But I love baking.
Cooking seems all kitchen histrionics and flailing arms - a dollop of this a bit of that. All too stressful. I love baking because it’s measured and precise. I spend 3-4 hours a day refining my methods and trying new recipes. Or maybe a twist on one I’ve picked up. Each week I’ll share a few of our favourites.
Tahini BiscuitsThis is a healthy alternative biscuit and really easy to make.
Ingredients:
100g Tahini
100g almond flour
95g Honey or Maple Syrup
½ tsp Vanilla bean paste or vanilla essence
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
White & Black sesame seeds for sprinkling.
Method
Mix all the ingredients together except the sesame seeds until everything is incorporated. It will be quite a wet consistency. Prepare a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Take a tbsp of mixture and roll into a ball. Or my preferred method is to pipe ball shaped blobs onto a prepared tray. Make sure you leave space between each one as they will spread. Press each ball down slightly and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
Place the tray in the fridge for about 15mins and turn the oven to 180⁰C. Once chilled, place tray in oven and bake for appx 8-10 minutes depending on size, until they are golden. Remove tray from the oven. The biscuits should still be slightly soft to touch. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Flourless Chocolate CakeThis is my most requested cake. So easy to make and gets rave reviews every time. Try serving with vanilla ice cream and raspberries. It will last up to three days if kept in the fridge and tastes even better next day.
Ingredients:
250g Unsalted Butter
300g Dark Chocolate
365g Light Brown Sugar (Muscovado)
135g Ground Hazelnuts
85g Cocoa Powder
6 Eggs
1 Vanilla Pod
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 tsp Sea Salt
Method
Preheat oven to 180⁰C. Grease and line a 22cm, springform cake tin. Melt the butter and the chocolate in a bain-marie (or in a Pyrex bowl over a saucepan of hot water). Whisk and combine, then add the sugar, ground hazelnuts and cocoa powder. Beat the eggs then add them, the vanilla seeds, vanilla essence, and salt.
Mix everything together until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin then bake for approximately 30 - 35 mins. When the cake is ready the top should feel hard to touch but still have a slight wobble. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Gaby Van Clarke
Our international culinary tour stops off at Brazil today for one of their most classic desserts – Brigadeiros, a chocolate truffle speciality.
