The Perfect Red Velvet Cake

I have tasted many "supposed" Red Velvet cakes and all they are is cake with red food colouring.

This recipe I found online and made some tweaks for the perfect moist and rich Red Velvet cake. 
 
 1 cup of oil
 1 1/2 cups white sugar
 2 eggs
 4 tablespoons of Coacoa
 4 tablespoons red food coloring
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 cup buttermilk
 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar.


Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease two 9-inch round pans.  
Beat shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar until very light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.  
Make a paste of cocoa and red food coloring; add to creamed mixture. Mix salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and buttermilk together. Add the flour to the batter, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Mix soda and vinegar and gently fold into cake batter. Don't beat or stir the batter after this point.  
Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes completely on wire rack.  
To Make Icing: Cook 5 tablespoons flour and milk over low heat till thick, stirring constantly. Let cool completely! While mixture is cooling, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy. Add cooled flour mixture and beat until frosting is a good spreading consistency. Frost cake layers when completely cool. 

How to make soft porridge (Umdoko)

 


I have always loved waking up to my grandmothers soft porridge as a child. Whether made with butter and a pinch of salt, or when she added viniger to make it sour. It was a sure way to bring warmth in any winters morning. 

Fast forward to my adult life, many think I am a good cook, but I struggle with this basic thing. Some days it would be too soft other day it looked more like stiff pap than porridge. I struggled for while but now I finally have the right measurements to make SOFT (not watery or hard) porridge and I can finally share it with you.

Soft Porridge 

Recipe

1 litre of Boiling water in a pot

1 cup of Maize meal

1 cup Cold water

Pinch of salt

Margarine

Sugar 

Milk

1. On a high heat setting, boil water in a pot or alternatively boil the water with a kettle and pour in a hot pot to keep the boiling process.

2. On a separate bowl mix the cold water and maize meal.

3. Pour over the boiling water and stir till thick. You should see the mixture bubbling. (Close the pot before you get burned) 

4. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

5. Serve with a pinch of salt, some butter or margarine (I use margarine) 

6. Sweeten with Sugar, pour some milk and enjoy!

Crumbed Fish with Stir Fry and Basmati Rice

Crumbed Fish with Stir Fry and Basmati Rice

Rice:
Make a cup of Basmati Rice
(Follow instructions on pack)

In a separate Wok or Frying pan, saute chopped Red Cabbage, Grated Carrots and Brocoli. You can sprinkle with Rosemary and some sugar. (You can get creative with your veg)

Mix in rice or serve them separately.

Fish:

2 fillets of Pangasius fish (hake would also work)
2 slices White breadcrumbs
1 Tsp Sweet Basil
2 Tsp Fish spice (Taste while mixing to see if its the right amount of salt)
Approx half a cup of flour

Method:
Put 2 slices of bread in a food processor and cumb finely. Mix in the fish spice and Sweet Basil. Place in a plate.
Beat egg in a separate bowl.
Place flour in another bowl.
Pre-heat oil in a frying pan (enough to cover the fish on one side)
Cut your fillets up to make 4 pieces or smaller if that is what you desire.
Coat the fish in the flour 1st, then coat with the egg and then dip into the breadcrumb mixture and fry for 8-10 minutes turning frequently.

What is in my spice cabinet

Welcome to the wonderful world of herbs

As a teenager I was introduced to mixed herbs by a recipe that included Robertsons Mixed Herbs. That spice alone made my food taste as if I had a secret ingredient. Which I did. 

Since then I have bought almost every herb on the shelf to try with my food and individually each herb brings a certain VUMA to each meal I cook. Some more stronger in taste than others, eventually I found what works for me. 

I have no time to grow herbs as yet and I find buying fresh ones in store sees you spend money on something you will use for that day and it eventually expires. 

I have compiled a list of herbs that I cannot live without that you can find at any good grocery store in the Robertson spice range.

Herbs to stock:
Origanum
Sweet Basil
Rosemary
Mint
Mixed Herbs
Bay Leaves

Parsley

I will blog about each herb individually to really go into detail of how it can be your secret ingredient to cooking like a champ.

Click link to watch on my Vlog: https://youtu.be/rejf_SKvhz4

Moist Chocolate Cake

 Found this great recipe from another blogger and all I changed was adding 2 teaspoons of of instant coffee instead of a teaspoon of Expresso powder. 

It is a rich and moist chocolate which I sealed with Butter cream.

 

 

Chocolate Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons of Instant coffee
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 ºC . Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
2. For the cake:
3. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
4. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
5. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Butter Cream frosting:

• ½  a cup of soft butter
• 3 - 4 cups of Icing Sugar
• 1 tablespoon of milk/cream

Method:
Whisk butter until smooth. Add a cup of Icing sugar at a time until smooth. Finally add the milk and beat for 3-5 minutes to ensure smoothness and to allow air in to make you frosting less yellow and more white.

Frost cake and Enjoy!


 

Quesadillas

Mine is always served with Jalapeños.. :)

Without Jalapeños - Still has great flavour

 

This is a nice way to serve your Tortillas, especially for those chilly nights when you need something war. You can choose which way to serve them and the type of meat to use.

Since this meal is based on your taste, my recipe will be a guideline and you can be creative with yours.

Ingredients:

8 tortillas
2 Chicken Breasts
1 cup of grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup of Salsa (Will post the recipe or you can use a store bought one)
Chopped Jalapeño's (for those who want to add some fire to their Quesadillas)

Method:

• Preheat the over to 200 C
• Chop the chicken breasts into small pieces and fry them in a drizzle of Olive Oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Lay 4 tortillas on a flat surface and then spread Salsa and then the chicken and lastly the cheese. You can also sprinkle some Jalapeño's if you would like yours hot.
• Place another tortilla on top of each and place over a baking tray or directly on the oven sieve/rack and bake for 10 minutes or until the chees has melted.
• I sometimes cheat and pop them in the microwave when I'm in a rush. They are not as crispy but it does the trick. ;)

Serve with:
Sour cream

Interesting Fact: Quesadilla is pronounced Ke-Sa-Dia!

Home made Tortilla Recipe

Tortillas
(Makes 16 wraps)

 

I Love Mexican wraps especially when I have a few people coming over and I don't feel like cooking something heavy. They are quick, delicious and out of the box. Another great thing about them is that you can serve them as wraps or into cheesy Quesadillas.

I found this great recipe for Tortillas which will be the base of this meal. They are quick, taste authentic and much cheaper than the store bought ones. This was my 1st trial of this recipe but they were amazing. They are bent because I had squeezed them into a smaller Zip Lock to keep in the moisture after cooking.
 

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

Instructions

1. Combine flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl and mix together. Add oil and water and knead. Do this for about 5 mins to ensure a great final product.
2. Transfer to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough in half, then in half again. Continue until you have 16 fairly equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with the palm of your hand as much as possible. If dough is sticky, use a bit more flour. Cover flattened balls of dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before proceeding.
3. After rest period, heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Roll each dough piece into a rough circle, about 6-7 inches in diameter, keep work surface and rolling pin lightly floured. Don’t stack uncooked tortillas on top of each other or they will get soggy.
4. When pan is very hot, place one dough circle into pan and allow to cook about 1 minute or until bottom surface has a few pale brown spots. The uncooked surface will begin to show a few little bubbles. If tortilla is browning too fast, reduced heat a bit. If it’s taking longer than a minute to see a few pale golden brown spots on underside of tortillas, increase heat a bit. Flip to other side and cook for about 30 seconds. You want the tortilla to be soft but have a few small pale golden brown spots on surface. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag till all tortillas are cooked. This will keep them soft and pliable.
5. Wipe out the pan in between tortillas if flour is started to accumulate.
6. Serve warm or allow to cool for later use. When ready to use, place a slightly damp paper towel in the bottom of a container (with a cover) that will hold the stacked tortillas. Microwave, uncovered for 15-25 seconds (start with 15) or until warm, then cover to hold heat while serving.
7. The tortillas will keep well stored in an airtight container or zippered bag at room temperature for 24 hours or can be frozen indefinitely. To freeze, separate tortillas with parchment paper or waxed paper and place in a zippered bag before placing in freezer.

Interesting reading about Kneading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneading