Vanilla bean and almond meringues with mixed berry sauce

Vanilla and almond meringues with a mixed berry sauce.

At the end of November we packed our bags and headed out of the burbs for a weekend in the Overberg. This was a welcome break after a busy few weeks on the home and work fronts, plus a chance to spend some quality family time together. Our destination was a farm called Landmeterskop near Stanford and were invited to join some good friends who had been there before. What a gem of a place!

We stayed in the spacious and comfortable homestead surrounded by beautiful mountains, grazing sheep and the sounds of nature. The farm is a fabulous family destination and the children had the opportunity to feed the animals each morning and evening, milk the goats and go on a tractor ride. The grown ups enjoyed being able to switch off (there was hardly any signal on the farm) and some amazing star gazing in the evenings. Another highlight of the weekend was being able to collect fresh free range eggs in the mornings to enjoy for breakfast. Which brings me to this week’s recipe… but first, here are a few snaps from our trip.

Continue reading “Vanilla bean and almond meringues with mixed berry sauce” →

Chocolate fudge nut pieces

Pieces of fudge with nuts and dark chocolate on a plate.
Such naughtiness on the blog today! I was in two minds about sharing this recipe which was inspired by a treat by Tessa Kiros from her book (and one of my favourites on the cookbook shelf) Apples for Jam. You see, when I tried the recipe it did not come out quite the way I had expected. For one thing the picture in her book shows a toffee square that is much darker and (from what I can see) firmer than what I ended up with. I have made this recipe a few times and I tend to end up with more of a fudgy, crystalline mixture. Still, no complaints about that and the family gave these chocolate fudge nut pieces a thumbs up for blog-worthiness, so who am I to argue.

Continue reading “Chocolate fudge nut pieces” →

Vanilla and chocolate almond butter cookies

Top shot of cookies and milk

 

If you are a regular Cupcakes and Couscous reader then you: a.) are awesome and b.) will probably know that I love a good cookie recipe. These cookies came about when the recipe I was actually trying to make went slightly off track, but luckily in a good way!

 

Continue reading “Vanilla and chocolate almond butter cookies” →

Vegan chocolate nut brittle cake

A triple layer vegan chocolate cake with nut brittle.
This is the first time that I am officially delving into the world of vegan cooking and if you are feeling the chocolate cravings on this post long weekend Wednesday-that-feels-like-a-Monday then this is just for you.

Continue reading “Vegan chocolate nut brittle cake” →

Date and nut balls (with video)

Date balls for snacking.

Warning: parental ramblings ahead! I am sure parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief as school resumes for the third term. If I am honest I actually quite enjoyed the 3 week break from lunchboxes, school runs and most of all the dreaded “lurgies” that always make their way home from the playground. Yes, the holidays can push any parent’s patience to the limit at times, but all too often I am reminded of how quickly time goes and that this chapter in our family journey is really so fleeting and special. Even when I am knee deep in stuffed toys, picking tiny bits of muesli off the soles of my feet (did I not just sweep that floor 5 minutes ago?!?) and answering the same question for the tenth time whilst pureeing a chicken and veggie concoction for the babe. All to the soundtrack of the washing machine and Disney radio. Special times, chaos and all!

Continue reading “Date and nut balls (with video)” →

Pecan, almond and honey nougat

 
A few weeks ago I announced that the “I Made It” challenge for October would be nougat. This is something that I have always wanted to try, especially when I see images of perfect slabs of nougat in magazines and recipe books or fresh nougat bars in our local delis. So when Tandy over at Lavender and Lime asked me to host the challenge this month I knew this was my chance to challenge myself to master this classic sweet treat.

Continue reading “Pecan, almond and honey nougat” →

Double chocolate almond meringues

I whipped these up a while ago when I found myself sitting with a few extra egg whites leftover from a batch of fresh pasta I had made. The perfect excuse to make meringues! Not just any meringues, no no… but an extra special version with dark chocolate and crunchy almonds. They were so delicious that I have made them several times since. Continue reading “Double chocolate almond meringues” →