Hazelnut and Raspberry Meringue Cake

A delicious summer cake.

Lightly toast 140g of skinned hazelnuts. Grind them to a powder taking care not to let them become oily.

Whisk 4 egg whites until stiff peaks form. Gradually add in 250g of castor sugar.

Mix in ½ tsp of vanilla essence and ½ tsp of vinegar.

Gently fold in the ground hazelnuts.

Line 2 sandwich pans with baking paper.

Empty the batter into the pans and smooth.

Bake on 180 degrees celcius for 30-40 minutes.

Whip 300ml of fresh cream with 3 Tbsp icing sugar.

Lightly crush 2-3 cups of fresh raspberries with sugar as needed.

Sandwich the cool cake with half of the cream and berries. Top with the other half. Refrigerate until serving.

The cake should be eaten on the day that it's assembled.

Macarons

Yes, it is possible to make these at home!

Whisk 60g of egg whites (from 2 eggs) till soft peaks form.

Gradually add 75g of castor sugar. Whisk till firm peaks form.

Sift 100g of icing sugar and 75g of almond flour.

Fold the sifted icing sugar and almond flour into your egg whites together with a few drops of colouring.

Remember that the macarons will be lighter in colour after baking.

Continue folding until the batter falls off your spatula in a thick ribbon.

Read more: Macarons

Frozen Banana Pops

A fun (and healthy!) snack to make with your kids.

You will need:

6 bananas

280g of chocolate

12 popsicle sticks

Assorted chopped nuts/sprinkles/coconut

Read more: Frozen Banana Pops

Honey and Garlic Chicken

Season one chicken cut into pieces with:

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp crushed green chillies

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp dhana jeeru

½ tsp lemon pepper

Roast 3 tsp crushed garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil.

Add chicken and braise.

Add

4 Tbsp lemon juice

2-3 Tbsp runny honey

5 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp mixed herbs

¼ tsp rosemary

Cook till almost done. Add 2 Tbsp of Steers garlic sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Taste and adjust chillies.

Thai Butternut Soup

An exotic twist on an old favourite

Braise one chopped onion and 1 Tbsp ginger garlic in 1 Tbsp butter.

Add:

2 ½ cup of cubed butternut

2 ½ stalks of celery roughly chopped

2 Tbsp of brown sugar

1 ½ cup of vegetable stock

20ml of Worcestershire sauce

20ml of sweet soy sauce

1 Tbsp of chilli sauce

Cook till tender.

Add 1 can of coconut milk and the zest and juice of 1 lime. Liquidize.

Add salt, pepper and more chillies to taste.