Hello everyone,
Tuesday we celebrated Women’s Day and we honoured all the amazing women in our lives!
International Women’s Day is celebrated in March, and aims to celebrate and focus on the outstanding achievements of women all around the world.
In our country we celebrate National Women’s Day on August 9 as a reminder that women are an important part of our lives that significantly contribute to our country and society.
Yes, there are the amazing women who achieve great success and are an inspiration to many but there are also those who do so much behind the scenes.
Fatima Sydow shocks fans with news that her cancer has returned Gadija out of hospital: Celeb cook back home after stroke 6 weeks ago Gadija’s stroke scare: Celebrity chef rushed to hospital over the weekend
The mother who raises kids, works, then comes home, cooks and cleans and keeps her household going.
The grandma who does her best to keep the family together, often with her pension money.
The sick mom who carries on doing everything with love, despite being ill.
The friend who has so much going on but lends a ear.
The mom who has a few pennies that needs to stretch far but gives her last to help another.
To my ladies out there. We see you, we appreciate you and we salute you all.
On that note I would like to kick off my Women’s Day column with classic teatime recipes by the amazing Fatima Sydow.
Fatima is very dear to me and holds a special place in my heart.
The celebrity cook is a household name in Cape Town and is a huge inspiration to me and many others.
Fatima has cancer, and although she faces daily challenges of her own, she passes on her positive energy and kindness by doing what she loves the most – sharing her love of food and cooking.
For more recipes or baking and cooking inspiration, visit my website www.sprinklesandspice.co.za or visit my social media platforms @sprinklesandspicect or Sprinkles and Spice by Farzana Kumandan.
Happy Baking
Love, Your Cooksister
Caption: FAMILIAR FAVOURITE:
Caption: Fatima’s Snowballs
Fatima Sydow’s Scones
Farzana Kumandan
Fatima Sydow’s Scones
Ingredients
4 & 1/2 cups of self-rising flour
2 heaped tsp of baking powder
200 grams of room temperature butter
50 grams castor sugar
3 eggs
250 ml milk or buttermilk or fresh cream
Method
Lightly grease two baking trays. Pre-heat the oven to 200°c
Measure the flour and baking powder into a processor.
Add the butter and process until it crumbles, then add the sugar.
You can do this by hand too, by rubbing the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
Beat the eggs together and add to milk, then put about 2 tablespoons of the egg/milk mixture aside in a cup for glazing the scones later.
Gradually add the egg/milk mixture to the dry ingredients until you have a soft dough.
It is better that the scone mixture is wet, sticking to your fingers, as the scones will rise better.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and flatten it out with your hand, or use a rolling pin, to a thickness of 2 cm.
Use a fluted cutter to stamp out the dough by pushing the cutter straight down into the dough (as opposed to twisting the cutter) then lift it straight out.
This ensures that the scones will rise evenly and keep their shape.
Gently push the remaining dough together, knead very lightly then re-roll and cut more scones out as before.
Arrange the scones on the prepared baking trays and brush the tops with the reserved beaten egg/milk mixture to glaze.
Bake for about 12 -15 minutes or until the scones are well risen and golden. Allow to Cool. Serve as fresh as possible - cut in half and spread generously with strawberry jam and top with thick cream, or spread on some butter and top with cheese.
Snowballs
Fatima Sydow’s snowballs
Ingredients for the cake
150 grams of butter (at room temperature)
1 cup of castor sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
2 cups of sifted cake flour
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Ingredients or the topping
1 cup of apricot jam
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 drop of crimson, pink food colouring
Fine coconut
½ cup of warm water
Ingredients for cream filling
250 ml of fresh whipping cream
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence
2 tablespoons of icing sugar
Method for the cake
With an electric mixer, whisk butter for a minute, add the sugar and beat until light and creamy - about 2-3 minutes.
Add one egg at a time and whisk, then add vanilla essence, and mix.
Now add half of the milk, flour and all the baking powder and mix with a spoon or spatula until it is just combined.
Next, add the remaining milk and flour and mix just until it's combined.
Bake in greased muffin pans for 15-20 minutes on 180°C.
Cool off completely and remove from pans.
You can also bake in cupcake holders in the muffin pans and remove the cupcake holders after the cakes have been cooled.
Method for the vanilla cream filling.
Pour all the cream, icing sugar and vanilla essence into a chilled bowl, whisk with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Do not over whip.
Method for the topping
In a bowl add the jam, warm water and red food colouring, vanilla essence and stir until smooth.
In a separate bowl put in the fine coconut.
Next, take the cakes and dip into the jam syrup and ensure all sides are covered.
Now dip the cakes quickly but gently into the coconut.
Next, cut the cakes in half and pipe the cream on the bottom halves, and replace the tops.
Apple crumble
Fatima Sydow’s Apple crumble
Ingredients for the apple filling
8 big green apples, peeled and cored and cut into small blocks
1 cup of water
½ cup of sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Method for the apples
Cook all ingredients in a saucepan until all water is cooked away.
If you want your apples to be softer, add a little more water and cook until desired softness. Spoon into a bowl, remove cinnamon sticks and allow to cool completely.
Ingredients for the Biscuit dough
150g of soft butter
¾ cup of sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla essence
1 egg
1 tsp of baking powder
2 cups of cake flour
Method for the biscuit dough
Cream the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes with a whisk, next add the egg and vanilla essence and whisk further for a minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients and using your hand bring the dough together to make a soft ball. If it is too sticky just add 1 tablespoon of flour and work it in gently.
Take a quarter of the dough and cling wrap and place in the freezer.
Take remaining dough and cling wrap and place in the fridge. Remove after 20 minutes.
Next roll the dough from the fridge on a floured surface or in between two pieces of cling wrap into the shape of your baking pan.
Transfer to the greased baking pan.
If rolled out with cling wrap remove top plastic, then lift and flip over onto to greased baking pan and remove remaining cling wrap.
Fill with the cooled apple filling.
Remove dough from freezer, take off the cling wrap and grate over the apple filling.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow to cool slightly and dust with icing sugar.
Serve on its own or with cream or custard.
Chocolate slab cake
Fatima sydow’s Chocolate slab cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of cake flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup of cocoa powder
Wet ingredients:
2 tsp of granulated coffee stirred into a cup of hot water
body.copy.bold: 2 eggs
1 cup of milk
½ cup of oil
2 tsp vanilla essence
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients.
Add the milk to the coffee mixture and stir.
Next, add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until well combined.
Pour batter in a greased baking tin and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Decorate with fresh whipped cream, shavings of milk chocolate and berries or caramel and cream.
Or melt chocolate and a few tablespoons of cream stirred together to make a thick chocolate ganache.
Tip: I used a rectangle baking tin size 30-33cm.
You may also divide the batter into two round standard baking tins and bake for 20-25 minutes.
For the big oven trays, simply double the ingredients.
Milk Tart
Fatima Sydow’s Milk tart
Ingredients for the biscuit base
200 grams of soft to the touch butter
1 cup of castor sugar
1 egg
2 tsp of vanilla essence
1 tsp of baking powder
2 cups & an extra 3 tablespoons of cake flour
Method
In a bowl, with a hand whisk, cream together the soft butter and sugar for 2 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla essence and whisk further for a minute.
Next, add the dry ingredients and, using a spoon, mix until the dough comes together.
Use your hands to bring the dough together and smooth. It will be soft but not sticky.
Wrap with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.
Remove the dough from the fridge and remove the cling wrap.
Roll out on a well-floured surface into a large rectangle about the same size as your pan, in this recipe I am using a basic large oven pan that has been greased with butter.
Transfer the dough to the pan, should it break, not to worry as you will now use your fingers to press the dough evenly and up the sides of the pan, ensuring there are no holes.
Use your fingers to make the edges neat and straight.
Place in the fridge until ready to fill with the custard filling.
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