Banana Bread

Banana bread is a type of quick bread that contains mashed ripe bananas. Banana bread is often a moist, sweet, cake-like bread which typically uses baking soda as the leavening agent instead of yeast; however, there are some banana bread recipes that are traditional-style yeast breads

Ingredients:

125g Margarine

1 x Cup sugar

2 x Eggs

2 – 3 Banana’s, mashed (Over ripe)

2 x cups Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 x Teaspoon Bi-carb of Soda

Method:

Cream the butter and sugar.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Add the banana and vanilla

Fold in the dry ingredients

Bake at 180 for 45 mins.

Banana Mandazi

We grew up eating banana Mandazi (fritters) so making and eating these brings back so many happy childhood memories.

Ingredients:
2 x bananas
Batter (made from flour, egg and milk)
Oil
Cinnamon


Method:
Prepare the batter.
In a small pot heat the oil.
Peel and cut the bananas into quarters.
Dunk the banana’s into the batter and place (carefully) into the hot oil.
When golden brown remove from oil.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve with ice cream.

Melktert

Meaning "milk tart" in Afrikaans, melktert is a famous South African dessert. It is a sweet pastry crust containing a creamy filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs.


For the pastry

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 egg
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
125g butter
Pinch of salt

Method:
Cream butter and sugar well together and add the egg, before beating well.
Add all other ingredients – making a stiff dough.
Press into one or two round cake tins/pie dishes and bake at 180°C until light brown.


For the filling

Ingredients:
4 ½ cups milk
2 ½ tbsp corn flour
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
2 ½ tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
A big spoon of butter

Method
Bring milk to the boil.
Beat eggs well and add sugar, flour, corn flour and salt.
Mix well.
Pour boiling milk into the mixture and stir well.
Return to stove and stir well until mixture thickens.
Add butter and vanilla essence and pour into cooked pastry.
To decorate, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Please note:
If like me, you don't like making Pastry (or you just don't have the time), buy a ready made empty pastry case at Morissons (or your local supermarket) instead.

Koeksisters

A traditional South African treat, koeksisters are wickedly sweet and make for a delicious tea time treat. So roll up your sleeves, follow this easy recipe and get ready to work that dough!

Ingredients – dough:

2 cups cake flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
4 tbsp butter/margarine
½ cup of water
oil for frying


Ingredients – syrup:
1kg sugar
1 ½ cinnamon sticks
1 ½ cups of water


Method – dough:
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
Rub in the butter and mix until pliable.
Mix this with the egg and water (adding the water a little at a time).
Work the dough well. If the dough appears to be lumpy and sticky, continue to work the dough until it will ball up.
Let the dough rest at room temperature for about three hours (under an inverted mixing bowl).


Method – syrup:
Prepare the syrup well in advance (it needs to be very cold).
Dissolve sugar in the water.
Add the spices leave the syrup cool in the fridge.

To prepare the koeksisters:
Roll out the dough (thickness 5mm).
Cut the dough into strips of 6cm long, 2cm wide.
Cut each of these strips into three strips
(not all the way through, leave the strips connected at the top).
Plat each strip, pinch together at the end of the strip.
Deep fry until golden brown.
Remove and drain quickly – dip the hot koeksisters in the cold syrup (that was stored in the fridge up to now).
The secret is to keep the syrup cold and the koeksisters hot, this way it will draw just the right amount of syrup.
You can keep the syrup cold by keeping the syrup bowl in another container filled with iced water.