So in my previous post you would have seen that today is Wesley’s Birthday! He asked that I make him a cake to take to work with him today .. and for 30 people! Immediately what popped in my mind was a Beer-box cake, so I decided to share this very easy recipe :
Chocolate Beer-box Cake
You will need:
2 cups (500 ml) boiling water
150 ml Cocoa (you can leave the cocoa out of this recipe for a vanilla version)
250 ml sunflower oil
2 tsp. (10 ml) vanilla essence
6 eggs
3 cups (750ml) of white sugar
3.5 cups (875ml) cake flour
6 tsp. (17.5ml) baking powder
1 tsp. (5 ml) salt
Method:
1. Mix the boiling water, cocoa and oil in a separate mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla essence.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the egg and sugar mixture and gradually add the cocoa mixture
4. Wrap the beer-box in “heavy” tinfoil, make sure the shiny side is facing the top! The entire box needs to be wrapped in foil – well I think so, I was afraid it was going to catch fire haha, this was the first time I have EVER made a beer-box cake!
5. Spray the box thoroughly with spray-and-cook before adding your cake mixture, bake at 180ºC for 30-35 minute or until the cake is cooked – the cake will be done when a knife comes out clean.
After the cake has cooled you can ice the cake with basically any thing your heart desires – I however iced the cake with the best topping for basically anything:
You will need:
250 ml (1 cup) of chilled cream
1 can (360g) of caramel treat/ caramel condensed milk
1 box of astros – you can use anything to top this cake off
Method:
1. Whip the cream until stiff and fold in the caramel condensed milk.
2. Spread on the cake and decorate with astros.
The final product!The Birthday boy still in his PJ’s hehehe half a sleep
People at his work said it was really light and fluffy .. this cake could also be perfect for school cake sales and quick birthday cakes. You could probably take it out the box and shape it too. It was a really perfect sponge.
I have been wondering what recipe to add to Peace and Cake for a while now and I decided to add my easy banana bread recipe, but I have been waiting for my bananas to become “over “ripe.
This simple banana bread recipe is my favourite; it really is so easy and is an excellent base for adding nuts, chocolate chips, or anything else you like to eat in banana bread. In this recipe I used pecan nuts to add a nice crunch – Wes sat and cracked them open for me, because we got them from a farmer where Wes went fishing the other day, so he had a big hand in the making of this .. and the eating hehe
This recipe makes two regular loaves or one huge loaf.
Ingredients
3-cups of flour
2 tsp. bicarbonate soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1-cup castor sugar
1-cup of oil
1-cup milk
3 eggs
½ tsp vanilla
4 over ripe bananas, mashed, if they huge bananas you can use 2 or 3
Optional: Hand full of roughly chopped pecan nuts (I might have added a bit more than a handful, because I just love the crunch of nuts with anything baked). You can also add a tsp. of cinnamon if you like the flavour
Prepare your loaf tin with Spray and Cook, and line it with a baking sheet. Preheat your oven between 165°C – 180°C, depending on the size of your oven. I have a gas oven and mine was preheated at 180°C
Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl; combine all the wet ingredients (except the mashed bananas). Combine the wet and dry ingredients using a hand mixer
Add your mashed bananas and fold into the mixture, I leave some pieces of banana in the mash because it helps keep your loaf moist. Fold in your nuts/chocolate chips/coconut or whatever you would like to have in your banana bread.
Half fill your loaf tins with the mixture and then bake for about 50min or until the cake skewer/knife comes out clean, Banana bread should form a crack down the center as it bakes – a sign the baking soda is doing its job. Leave to cool completely, well in my case we left it to cool slightly before slicing it and smearing it with butter.
It was the perfect treat to end of an eventful weekend; chilling in front of the TV with Wes with a yummy cup of vanilla cappuccino and a fresh slice of banana bread.
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, let me know what variations you use so I can try them too!!
Even though he was frozen he wanted to catch that fish!
My little fishy
Frozen and the sun hasn’t even set yet!
On our way
Defrosting with some tea early morning
Sunset
Above are a few pictures of our lovely long weekend away.. the nights might have been freezing but the days were beautiful and I loved every minute! – Except the freezing at night, thank goodness for our heater!!
We arrived at Chelmsford then set up camp at the Sandford site, which is placed with outlooks of the dam and the waterfront. There was ablutions that have hot water showers, flush toilets and basins with washing facilities, so that was a big save.
The fresh water fishing provided us with an excellent opportunity to catch carp and scalies. The nature reserve (that was right next to the campsites) offered me exciting game viewing opportunities on Saturday morning while drinking my tea, I saw herds of springbok, blesbok and zebra, as well as a significant amount of the rare and elusive oribi antelope. The rest of the people, including Wes, went to fish at winter games on the other side of the dam. They left at 05:30am while it was still dark and feezing.
I was left behind – by choice I might add – I said I will make the poitjie that will be ready when they get back. The poitjie was the cherry on top of a wonderful day watching Zebras and feeding the birds. Everyone loved it .. I was so chuffed!! I made a Chicken Poitjie and here is the recipe:
EASY CHICKEN POITJIE WITH DUMPLINGS
Serves: 10 Cooking Time: 2.5 hours
Potjie
45 ml (3 T) oil
3 Onions, diced
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp crushed Garlic
4 Tbsp Mild curry powder – depending on the heat you want
1 Tbsp Tumeric
2 Tbsp Garam Masala
2 Tbsp Chillie powder – optional
3 Tbsp Chillie flakes – optional
2 kg chicken thighs & drumsticks
2 tsp salt
250 ml (1 c) chicken stock
50g Tomato Paste
4 large potatoes, cubed, I used this to thicken the sauce
10 – 12 Baby potatoes
4 large carrots, sliced
250 g whole button mushrooms
4-6 baby marrows, sliced
salt and pepper (optional)
I also added Butternut, sweet potato, celery. However, the veggies are all up to you. You can basically add what you enjoy.
I added 250ml of cream, so if you were worrying about the heat the cream neutralises it completely. Only the flavour of all the spices comes through.
I used already-made bread dough, but if you want to make it yourself here are the ingredients:
Dumplings
250 ml (1 c) cake flour
7 ml (1½ t) baking powder
2 ml (½ t) salt
60 g Margarine, diced
10 ml (2 t) dried parsley – optional
60-80 ml (¼–1⁄3 c) milk
You can make a Poitjie either on Gas or on a fire; I made it on gas because it is easier to regulate the temperature. If you use fire, make sure you have two fires going to feed new coles under or around the pot so that there is always heat.
Potjie Heat the oil in a heavy-based cast-iron pot.
Add the onions, let them brown a little, add your garlic and bay leaves. Let that lightly brown and then add all your spices and then chicken pieces and salt and fry a few pieces at a time until golden brown. Add your stock and tomato paste.
Add your potatoes. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
Add the carrots, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and baby marrows, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add some water if the potjie becomes too dry.
All depending on how long veggies take to cook add them accordingly; you don’t want them getting too soggy.
Before I added my dumplings, I stirred the cream in.
Dumplings
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Rub the Margarine into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the parsley and just enough milk to form a soft dough.
Drop tablespoonful’s into the potjie and cover with the lid.
Cook for at least 15-20 minutes without lifting the lid until cooked. (The dumplings are cooked when a knife inserted into the thickest part comes out clean.)
You can either have this with rice or pap, we just had the dumplings. It was more than enough and so filling.
So I hope you all had a great weekend and celebrated Youth Day in the correct manner!!
Hope you try this Poitjie recipe, It really was Yum!
This is my ultimate favourite recipe for pasta .. and so easy to make, I found this recipe on Knorr Whats for Dinner – The best go-to web site when you have no clue what to make for supper! I added my own little yummy twist to it, so I know you waiting in anticipation so here it is!
SUNDRIED TOMATO, BUTTERNUT AND BABY SPINACH PASTA
Recipe serves 4
INGREDIENTS
15ml Olive oil/ Sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
5ml crushed garlic
About 3 or 4 sundried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
250g button mushrooms, sliced – Or you can add a packet of bacon bits, this is my twist .. Bacon and butternut is the perfect pair! In addition, the smokiness of the bacon just adds to the dish!
1 sachet (50g) tomato paste
½ tin tomato puree, you can freeze the other half of the tin to save for another dish
5ml Italian Herbs
1 KNORR Vegetable Stock Pot
500g butternut, peeled, cubed and steamed
15ml sugar
150ml cream
30ml fresh parsley, chopped
2 rounds feta cheese, crumbled
500g penne pasta, boiled and drained
100g baby spinach leaves, I usually don’t add this because Wes does not eat spinach so this ingredient can be optional..
METHOD
Fry the onions and garlic in oil until lightly brown
Add the chopped sundried tomatoes and fry for 3 minutes
Add the mushrooms or your bacon and fry for a further 5 minutes or until soft
Stir in the tomato paste, tomato puree, Italian Herbs and KNORR Vegetable Stock Pot and allow to simmer for 5 – 10 minutes
Then add the steamed butternut, sugar, cream and chopped parsley and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Mix the cooked penne pasta into the sauce together with the baby spinach leaves (If you are adding this ingredient to the dish) – the heat from the sauce will wilt and cook the spinach
Top with crumbled feta cheese and enjoy ..
I have never gone wrong with this recipe, it is always a winner!
TIP: If you are cooking for vegetarians and carnivores you can add the bacon after..
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do .. It really is top of my list for easy quick meals! Tell me what you think by leaving a comment 🙂
peace and cake 