Flour vs self raising flour

When you read a recipe and see self raising flour, you can think to yourself…. But I don’t have any in my cupboard, what do I do now? It is actually an easy question to answer.

Self raising flour is nothing more than regular flour with a baking agent added already. If you live in America, the self raising flour also contains salt. So if you follow a recipe when baking in America, remember to leave the salt specified in the recipe out if you are substituting flour for self raising flour.

Self raising flour has a specific ration of flour to baking powder. There is about 1 ½ teaspoon of baking powder for every cup (150gm) of plain flour. Many recipes require a different proportion of baking powder to flour in order to achieve the desired leavening. You may need 3 teaspoons of baking powder to 1 cup of flour in order for the recipe to rise as much as required….

For me personally it is better to use plain flour and then just add however much baking powder the recipe requires. The other reason why I prefer the plain flour and baking powder separately is because the baking powder added to the self raising flour does expire and the shelf life is short. For me it makes more sense to keep the flour and baking powder separate and use as you need.

This is just my opinion. Maybe you prefer baking with self raising flour and there is nothing wrong with it  Just remember if a recipe calls for self raising flour and you do not have any in the kitchen, just add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder per 1 cup of flour and off you go …
Let us know your thoughts.

Gluten Free Orange drizzle cake

Hi everyone. This Christmas I made an orange drizzle cake. Can’t tell you how much I like this recipe. This is the first time I made a Gluten Free version and it tasted wonderful.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of flour (3/4 cup of brown rice flour, 3/4 cup with half potato starch and half tapioca flour)
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of xantham gum
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons or margarine
3/4 cup of milk

Method:
1. Beat together the eggs and sugar.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt and add to the egg and sugar mixture.
3. Melt the margarine and add together with the milk and the rest of the mixture.
4. Bake at 180 degrees celcius for 25 – 30 minutes.

Ingredients for sauce:
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of margarine
1 cup of orange juice (freshly squeezed is the best 🙂
1 tablespoon of grated orange skin.

Method for the sauce:
1. Mix together the water, sugar and margarine and boil together for 5 minutes.
2. Let it cool down and then add the orange juice and skin.
3. Once the cake is removed from the oven, add the sauce over the hot cake so the sauce is absorbed in the cake.

Gluten free cheese scones

Yet another wonderful gluten free recipe by my wonderful husband 🙂 Scones has always been a favourite of ours… We used to love eating scones on Sunday evenings and there is nothing more tasty than CHEESE scones. Our children loved it just as much as we did.

You will also find a scone recipe in my Recipe book so get yours today. Have a look at the full recipe and how it is made by vising Martin’s site… He has other gluten free recipes available to try today …

Make your own and let us know how it came out. Take a photo, make suggestions, let us know what you did differently and why. Trying your own take on all kinds of recipes are fun and you can involve the whole family with baking in the kitchen.

If you are tired of having the same breakfast every morning, try this recipe with some butter and jam, and if you feel brave, add a spoon full of fresh whipped cream… My favourite 🙂

Christmas is near…

Hi everyone. Do you also not know what to buy someone for Christmas? Well, why not get them our wonderful selection of South African recipes. Get it for a loved one, someone you miss, someone living overseas and missing South African food or someone that is just a food enthusiast…

There are so many wonderful South African recipes in this book, it just goes on and on. All your favourites from when you were still young like pancakes, plaatkoekies, frikkadelle, chicken pie, apple pie, milk tart and so many more…

You can purchase the hardback copy directly from Amazon or purchase the Downloadable version now.

Tomato jam (Gluten Free)

Cooking something yourself from scratch is a great feeling!! You feel like you actually achieved something wonderful. Specially if your husband and son likes the end result 🙂

It is very easy to make… Thanks to my husband and mother’s help I had success. You need only a few ingredients and off you go:

Ingredients:
1kg of tomatoes (I bought the jam tomatoes)
1 cup of sugar
4 peppadews (you can use fresh chilli if you wish, just don’t add too much of it 🙂
a pinch of salt
juice of half a lemon

Method:
1. Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and pour boiling water over it (it must be covered).
2. Once the tomatoes have been soaking for about 15 minutes, peel the skins off and cut into little cubes.
3. Put the sugar in a pot on the stove and start melting it over a low heat.
4. Add the tomatoes, salt, lemon juice and peppadew. Mix everything together and bring to the boil.
5. Once it is boiling, turn the heat down and let simmer for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours. Stir in between and make sure it doesn’t burn. Don’t put the lid on the pot.
6. Once all the water is gone and the sugar has turned into a syrup, remove from heat and let it cool down.
7. Place in glass jars and store in fridge.

This tastes really nice and goes well with anything 🙂

Christmas gift…

How often do you treat yourself for Christmas? Not often I am sure… Why not this year treat yourself by getting our Recipes from South Africa cookbook.

It is real, you can hold it in your hands and keep it on your kitchen cupboard to see and find easily to make any recipe… Whether you are a South African that has settled down overseas and just miss home, someone who visited our beautiful country and want to have the wonderful recipes or even if you have never been here but just want to try something new, this is the book for you. You can purchase the real book at Amazon by clicking the link…

If you are more for new technology, no problem 🙂 Why not buy the e-book version and keep it safe on your i-pad or phone these days. Take your i-pad when you go shopping and have a look at recipe and what ingredients you need to get without having to first write down the information. You might even miss something out if you have to write it on a piece of paper. You will receive individual recipe cards when you purchase the downloadable version

You will find the most wonderful recipes in the Recipes from South Africa cookbook. Anything from our famous rusks to main courses including wonderful potjiekos, to snacks including biltong and droë wors. Why not have a look at our biscuit recipes and wonderful desserts.

There are a few sample recipes on our site. Just have a look at our English recipes and try them today. They are very easy to make and taste wonderful 🙂

Homemade Gifts…

Sometimes when you walk around in the shops and you look at what you can get for the price that you have to pay, you can feel very disappointed… What can you get the person you love, or what gift will say thank you so much for your hard work or your support? What can you get to say have a wonderful Christmas this year!!

I know what you are thinking…. Christmas is still a long way away, and you are very right, but the problem is if you don’t start looking at things and getting ideas, you will get stuck. You might feel rushed making a decision, feeling you did not put enough thought into a gift.

Why not stick to handmade or freshly baked goods? It always shows how much you care, how much thought went into the process of choosing the perfect gift. You know that freshly baked biscuits and cakes are always a winner and they will taste MUCH better than the produce you buy in the shops these days.

One lady who bought biscuits the other day said that in the shops on the boxes it says “melt in your mouth”, but how can something melt in your mouth if all you can taste is a floury biscuit? That was a wonderful observation and I agree 100%.

But with freshly homemade biscuits and cakes, you can’t go wrong…. and if you don’t feel like baking it yourself, why not order these wonderful South African recipe biscuits and fruit cakes from Ouma’s Cookies! Only the freshest ingredients are used and they are baked to order. Place your order today and make sure you don’t miss out this holiday… Ouma’s Cookies are based in Vereeniging, South Africa.

Soetkoekies (with coconut and vanilla)

We have been experimenting with different flours and recipes for my husband who has celiac disease. We baked the most wonderful biscuits a few weeks ago and it came out tasting lovely.

The kiddies couldn’t eat enough of it and my husband had snacks for a few weeks 🙂 These wonderful South African biscuit recipe is as old as time… A soetkoekie (which translates directly to sweet cookie/biscuit) is as it’s name suggests, sweet, but wonderful with a hint of coconut inside.

This is the recipe for the wonderful recipe from South Africa, soetkoekies:

Ingredients:
2 cups of margarine
2 cups of sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
9 cups of gluten free flour (mix of white rice, tapioca and soya/chick pea)
1 cup of coconut
1/2 teaspoon of xhantam gum
1 tablespoon of gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of bicarb of soda (mixed in a dash of milk)

Method:
1. Cream the sugar and margarine together.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla.
3. Sieve the flour, xhantam gum, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar together and add.
4. Add the bicarb of soda and mix everything together.
5. The dough should rest for about 15 minutes. It should not stick to your hands too much.
6. Roll into little balls and place on a baking tray. Press lightly down with a fork.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at the bottom of the oven and then about 10 minutes at the top of the oven at 180 degrees Celsius.
8. Make sure they don’t burn.

Ondersteuningsraamwerk

Ons woord vir vandag is ondersteuningsraamwerk. Weereens ‘n groot woord wat jou tweekeer daarna sal laat kyk en wonder, het ek dit reg gelees? Ondersteuningsraamwerk is ‘n woord met 6 lettergrepe en klink na ‘n mondvol, maar dit rol tog ook so maklik en lekker oor jou tong as jy dit hardop sê…

As jy na die eerste twee lettergrepe kyk maak dit sommer sy eie woord – onder. Dit wys duidelik daarop dat iets van onderaf gebeur  Dit maak ook totaal en al sin, want ondersteuning kom gewoonlik van onder af. Maak jou laste ligter deur dit van die af te neem, of dra jou as jou voete nie meer kan nie.

Almal het ondersteuning nodig anders sal ons nooit heel anderkant uitkom nie. Ondersteuning kom uit alle oorde en word aanvaar omdat ons nie altyd als self kan dra nie. ‘n Ondersteuningsraamwerk is ‘n raamwerk wat in plek gestel kan word deur jouself. Jou onmiddellike familie insluitende jou man, vrou en kinders, jou uitgebreide familie insluitende jou ouers, ooms, tannies en neefs en dan ook jou uitgebreide vriendekring.

Mense maak vriende tydens verskeie tye van jou lewe. In die Laerskool is jy maatjies met die eerste kind wat net so verlore lyk en voel soos jy, waarmee jy kan assosieer. Julle bly dalk nie altyd maatjies nie, maar julle kan op mekaar steun in hierdie moeilike tyd van julle lewe.

Dan is daar Hoërskool, wat nou gemaak in die middel van vreemdelinge, en hierdie keer is dit nog moeiliker want kinders is groter, het hulle eie opinies en aanvaar nie sommer enige persoon in hulle klein, persoonlike spasie nie. Jy moet harder werk en assosiasie tydens hierdie fase hou soms langer…
Jy gaan deur jou lewe met nuwe vriende maak tydens elke belangrike pad wat jy moet stap onder verskillende omstandighede. Maar ware vriende is altyd daar vir jou, sal nooit opgee nie en jou altyd dra en ondersteun, maak nie saak waardeur jy gaan nie.

Maak seker jy bou vir jouself ‘n baie sterk en hegte ondersteuningsraamwerk gedurende jou lewe, anders gaan jy ‘n baie eensame persoon wees tydens jou latere jare.

My man en kinders is my anker, my rots op hierdie aarde. Hulle hou my positief en herinner my elke dag aan die belangrigheid van liefde en ondersteuning…

Vertel my meer van jou ervaringe, jou ondersteuningsraamwerk en hoe jy moeilike omstandighede hanteer.

Banana bread

Banana bread is a wonderful recipe from South Africa that is easy to make. It might take an hour in the oven but the smells coming from the kitchen while it is baking is well worth the while.

Ingredients
½ cup of butter
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups of flour (Gluten free flour)
2 teaspoons of baking powder (Gluten free)
a pinch of salt
5 small bananas

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar together and add the vanilla.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
3. Sieve the dry ingredients together and add.
4. Mash the bananas with a fork and add last. Mix well.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for 1 hour.

When the banana bread is removed from the oven, leave it for a few minutes in the pan to rest. Remove and let it cool down. Cut the banana bread while it is still a little warm and add butter. It tastes at its best when the butter just starts melting.

You can very easily make this recipe Gluten Free by substituting the baking powder and flour for gluten free versions. Remember to also add 1/4 of teaspoon of xantham gum to help it bind. The banana bread in the photos that I made yesterday is gluten free 🙂

If you are interested in my Gluten Free version of Recipes from South Africa, please do not hesitate to contact me at lizel@recipesfromsouthafrica.com If you want to purchase the real book from Amazon, click here to have a look or buy the downloadable version here.