Happy New Year foodies! I’m sure most of us breathed a sigh of relief when the clock struck midnight on December 31st, but we’re not quite out of the woods yet. After the major rollercoaster of a year that was 2020 I hope that you managed to squeeze in some holiday down time, and that the year ahead will be kinder to all of us.
Just four sleeps until Christmas (I get the daily count down from my kids, ha ha!) and just time to squeeze in a festive treat to enjoy these holidays. It doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve baked something spiced and the homely aromas that come from the kitchen when this gingerbread cake is in the oven are so enticing and comforting.
One of the things I’ve missed most during this pandemic is the simple hug. Fortunately I have been in lockdown at home with my husband and the kids so it’s not as though I’ve missed out completely, but I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted a warm hug from a friend, a hello hug from a colleague or a quick passing hug that says “you’ve got this” from another mom also rushing around during the busy morning school run. Sometimes it feels as though we’ll never get to that point again! But I know that we will.
Halloween is just around the corner and it’s interesting to see how this holiday has taken off in S.A. over the last few years. When I was a child Halloween was a holiday we saw in movies and on t.v. shows but never celebrated ourselves. This year my kids want to dress up and many neighbourhoods are organising (socially distanced) trick or treating. I decided that I would create a “spooktacular” cake to mark the occasion and for a bit of fun!
This recipe came about quite simply because I had a surplus of egg yolks that had accumulated in my freezer after some recent meringue testing. Yes I could have made pasta or pastry, but I wanted something quicker and more simple – so cookies it was!
I put this recipe together for a Portuguese inspired magazine feature, and since travel has been so restricted these past few months there’s all the more reason to take a culinary trip from the comfort of your own kitchen. Hey, it’s not quite like jetting off to Europe but we can only try, right?
I remember baking and photographing this particular loaf on a grey and rainy winter afternoon. The chocolatey aroma wafting from the kitchen was just heavenly, and the wait while it cooled and was being photographed felt like forever. This simple chocolate loaf cake is a delight with its soft crumb and crunchy pops of pecan nuts, all slathered in velvety chocolate buttercream.
A perfect cup of tea with fresh rusks is one of life’s most wonderful simple pleasures, and you can’t beat a batch that has been home made. With lockdown still firmly in place and many of us continuing to work from home there really is no reason not to whip up a batch and pop them in the oven to dry for a few hours while you go about your business around the house (well, if load shedding allows, bah humbug!)
