"Darling Koeksusters"...

COOKING WITH MAVIS   #3…      “Darling Koeksusters”

You’ll soon discover my love of cooking…There is ALWAYS  a groaning  fridge  in my kitchen!

Just 2 of us in our household, but godforbid we should go hungry!...or there’re less than 4 eggs in the tray…or no spare packet of filter coffee… or at least 4 bottles of milk in the freezer…..

And 2 spare blocks of butter; at least 3 spare rolls of Hulett’s foil… and one spare roll of Gladwrap…and……and what’s more, I just LOVE supermarket shopping…strolling aisle-by-aisle; stocking-up on all that we don’t need!..it’s called “retail thhhh-e-r-a-p-y” !

You’ll find me at BloodyPack’nPiyClaremont supermarket twice-or-thrice a week…keeping both Glen or Nicholas on their toes…

(Between you and me),  I know that the second I set foot into the store, the CCTV cameras whirl around, and follow me!   Alarm bells flood the managers’ office and the Management scatter……

They busy themselves in backrooms and storage places, switch-off their cell phones, make themselves unavailably invisible, and hide! THEY ESCAPE!

I AM the terror of supermarket consumerism!!! …but as I always say: “That’s a story for another time….”

Collecting recipes is a weakness that I indulge in – tearing pages out of glossy magazines allows me to collate copious amounts of mouthwatering recipes which I confine to a few mega-thick brightly coloured “kitchen” files.    

My creativity overrides convention. I’ll cut some cardboard into a squiggle to form a ‘bespoke’ section divider…or even an A4 laminated photo of Mo’-and-Me (- me wearing those Xmas Reindeer felt horns!)..well, that is  a nice divider for the Hors d’oeuvres !

And if you think I don’t use those recipes..I do!...and here’s one that supersedes many , in popularity and in reaction from them that tastes it:

. BUTTERMILK  TART . stolen and changed a little from the “Koeksusters” of Riebeek Kasteel / Darling / or Somewherethere?

It’s almost like a baked cheesecake…yet sohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh much easier.  Tastes divine ,  bakes divine ,  slices divine..and the texture on the tongue………………………………….is divine!

It really is a simple,  easy, quick recipe…try it!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

160g sugar(about ¾ cup)

3 jumbo eggs  (extra large ok )

1 tsp vanilla essence (‘Mavis just ‘goois’)

1 cup cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

3 cups milk (750ml)

2 cups buttermilk (= 1x 500ml carton)

Topping #1:

2 tubs sourcream  -stirred to loosen (Lancewood Sourcream is my best…)

Topping #2:

Frozen berries -  I  use a generous amount (1 whole punnet = about 350g) of supermarket-bought:     blueberries are good! ..not soft mushy berries!

1 ½ cups water - you might want to use 2 cups?

4 heaped teaspoons “Maizena” (ordinary cornflour for those of you who don’t know)

¼ cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

Plus a few tablespoons water to mix Maizena and sugar

******* Or…….a cheaper and easier option is to just substitute  berries, instead, with 2 cups orange juice , mix with rest of ingredients to make a thick sauce – easy in the microwave!

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METHOD:

1)Preheat oven to 180*C

2) Grease an ovenproof dish (eg: Pyrex / or Corningware..they say 25cmx25cm) – should be     quite biggish.

3) Combine dry ingredients – ( flour, baking powder and salt ) in a bowl

4) In a mixingbowl, cream the butter and sugar

5) Add vanilla essence

6) Add the flour mixture, alternating with the eggs one at a time , then add the buttermilk and milk, and beat slowly till well mixed

7)Pour into a large ovenproof glass dish (Pyrex is good)

8)Bake at 180*C for +/- 40 mins

9)….then take out of oven (still a bit wobbly?)…gently spread 2 tubs of soft, stirred sourcream (LANCEWOOD sourcream works marvelously ) over the whole top of the tart, and return to the oven to continue to bake another 15 mins.

This sets the sourcream. …..Remove from oven!

Meanwhile, while all this palava is happening….prepare your berry / 2^nd topping:

Option: Berries

1) Mix the Maizena and 2 spoons sugar, then add 3 – 4 tablespoons water to mix to runny smoothe paste.

2) In a smallish saucepan, heat the 2 cups water with the rest of the sugar then add the runny paste, stir, and when hot add the frozen berries, stir gently till it thickens, add lemon juice.

3) Leave to cool a little.

4) Spoon over the cooled tart, and when cold, put into the fridge to chill.

    

Or

Option:  Orange juice

Note: I find the orange juice option easiest to make in a Microwave…..

In a ½ litre pyrex jug:

      1)  Mix Maizena with 2 spoons sugar

      2)  Add 3 to 4 tablespoon water ( ‘Mavis never measures! ) to mix to an easy runny  paste

      3)  Add orange juice rest of sugar and cook on high for 2 mins…then take out and stir…then cook another 2mins, to thicken.

      4) Spoon over cooled tart and chill!

***** This tart can be prepared the day before!

ANOTHER OPTION:  …. You can serve it warm , no toppings…with delicious warm vanilla custard!...also MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm!

‘COOKINGWITHMAVIS’

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