HomeEditor PicksEditor’s Choice … It’s Easter. And our editor wants cake!

Editor’s Choice … It’s Easter. And our editor wants cake!

Herbaceous orange olive oil cake with cream cheese topping

A delicious Easter cake, bursting with citrus flavours. (Ed’s note … so delicious, perfect for a sunny afternoon tea time treat).

What you’ll need:

For the cake: 1 cup B-well Extra virgin olive oil; 2 Tbsp B-well Thick and Creamy mayonnaise; 3 cups All-purpose flour; 2 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; ¼ tsp salt; 1 cup sugar or 1 ¼ coconut nectar sugar; ¾ cup plant milk; 1 ½ Tbsp fresh rosemary/lavender buds, finely chopped or crushed in a mortar and pestle; zest of two oranges; ½ cup fresh orange juice; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp orange extract (optional)

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For the topping: 2 cups icing sugar; 1 tub cream cheese; 1/3 cup fresh orange juice; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 fresh rosemary/lavender sprig, minced (optional); Orange slices; some lavender springs, for decoration; berries, optional for decoration

To make:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C. Coat a cake tin with B-well baking spray, (we recommend a bundt tin)
  • Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, then still in the minced herbs.
  • In a separate bowl combine the B-well Extra virgin olive oil, B-well mayonnaise, plant milk, sugar, orange juice, optional orange extract, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
  • Combine, and add to flour mixture, mix until blended.
  • Pour the batter into prepared bundt cake mould. Bake for 40 minutes or until the outside is golden brown and when you insert a wooden toothpick, it comes out clean.
  • Remove from pan and cool for 15 minutes on wire rack.
  • Combine icing sugar, cream cheese, vanilla extract and orange juice, stir until smooth. Place short pieces of wax or parchment paper underneath the cake.
  • Drizzle icing over cake in circle. Garnish with the lavender and decorate with the orange slices, herbs and fruit. Dust with icing sugar for a final ending. Serve and enjoy!

For every baker with a sweet tooth, chocolate recipes are the ultimate treat. And The Little Chocolate Cookbook by Sue Quinn is just crammed with chocolate treats … desserts, biscuits, even breads. It’s full of inspiration for all types of occasion and includes the perfect recipe whether you’re new to baking, or an old hand! Lovely recipes for gifts, too … like chocolate bark and chocolate-dipped shortbread. Enjoy the sweeter side of life with this irresistible little cookbook. Hardie Grant, R210

Rather fancy this modern acacia wooden plate with glass cloche … just the thing to store cakes and stylish enough to bring to the tea table. R750 from Woolworths.

RICH CHOCOLATE TART
This is our editor’s go-to recipe for a minimum effort, maximum result chocolate tart.

Kick off with one packet Romany Creams, whizzed around in food processor or bashed with a rolling pin until you get rough crumbs. Add about 1/3 cup melted butter – enough to bind the biscuits. Press the crumbs into the base of your tart dish (one big one is impressive, but you can make individual tarts if you prefer). Keep in the fridge until you’re ready with the next stage. Now, over a low heat, warm one tub (250ml) cream and 1/4 cup butter until very hot but not boiling. Chop 2 cups good quality dark chocolate (or one cup each dark and milk, if you prefer) and add to the hot cream, mixing gently until it’s all melted. Pour into your chilled tart case, and pop into the fridge overnight, or for at least four hours. Decorate as you wish … with strawberries, or Whispers, or edible flowers for a pretty Easter tart.

A rich chocolate tart calls for a bold wine. Did we mention the ed likes wine, too? She suggests this Muratie Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2018. You’ll smell floral notes of violets and roses along with Christmas spice and plum pudding, and taste the deeply rich flavours of Kirsch-macerated black cherries and dark chocolate-enrobed hazelnuts, as well as undertones of truffles and tobacco. It’s a world class wine … buy one to enjoy with your chocolate tart, another to put aside for up two decades. R295. Details: muratie.co.za/product/ben-prins-cape-vintage

 

CAN’T BAKE, WON’T BAKE … WE LOVE THESE

Think the fluffiest lightest cheese cake imaginable, pop in a hidden berry centre, then a finish with a rose velvet spray. Place it on a crunchie cookie base and you’ve got a Rose Berry Petit Gateaux. R66.99 from Woolworths (Sharing? Nope. Editor’s prerogative).

Sweet, sweet dreams are made of this Tiramisu Entremet Slice. Chocolate sponge laced with coffee, and layered with a rather decadent mascarpone and chocolate mousse. Ed’s note … It’s a two pack, but I’m not sharing! R69.99 from Woolworths.

Compiled by: KYM ARGO

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