Angela Day
On the menu
Red and blue velvet cake
Crispy fried chicken
Jerk burgers with orange chilli mayo
Layer dip
Corn dogs
RED AND BLUE VELVET CAKE
180g butter, softened
375ml castor sugar
2 eggs
30ml cocoa powder
30ml red or blue food colouring
30ml warm water
250ml buttermilk
15ml white vinegar
500ml cake flour
7.5ml bicarbonate of soda
ICING
125g butter
250g thick cream cheese
5ml vanilla extract
500ml sifted icing sugar
strawberries and frozen blueberries to decorate
Cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the cocoa powder, food colouring and warm water and mix to a paste.
Combine with the buttermilk and vinegar.
Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sifted flour and bicarbonate of soda.
Mix until well combined.
Divide the mixture between 2x20cm cake tins which have been lined and greased.
Bake at 180°C for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.
Remove and cool the cakes in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.
ICING: Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese and mix until well blended.
Beat in the vanilla. Gradually beat in the icing sugar.
Use the icing to sandwich the cakes together and ice the top of the cake.
Decorate with strawberries and blueberries.
NOTE: For my celebration cake, I made one cake with red food colouring and one cake with blue food colouring and a double quantity of the icing.
Although the blue cake doesn’t look very blue from the outside, when you cut slices it is blue on the inside.
CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN
Serves 6-8
MARINADE
250ml buttermilk
10ml chopped garlic
15ml dried tarragon
5ml dried oregano
5ml dried thyme
5ml cayenne pepper
15ml smoked paprika
10ml salt
5ml ground black pepper
2kg chicken pieces
COATING
500ml flour
15ml paprika
5ml cayenne pepper
15ml garlic salt
10ml salt
5ml ground black pepper
Oil for deep frying
Combine the buttermilk, garlic, dried herbs, spices and seasoning and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Drain off the marinade.
COATING: Combine all the ingredients and mix well.
Place in a plastic bag.
Add the chicken pieces a few at a time and coat with the flour mixture.
Place the chicken portions on to a tray and refrigerate for an hour or until ready to fry.
Heat the oil to 180°C, add the chicken and cook until golden. Reduce the temperature of the oil to 160°C and fry the chicken until cooked through.
Alternately, the browned chicken can be placed on an oven tray and finished being cooked at 180°C for 15-20 minutes. Serve with waffles and maple syrup if desired.
CORN DOGS
Serves 6-8
180ml polenta
180ml self-raising flour
5ml salt
1 egg, slightly beaten
200ml milk
375g cocktail viennas
extra flour, for dusting
oil, for frying
wooden skewers
In a large bowl, combine the polenta, flour and salt.
Combine the egg and milk and stir into the dry ingredients to make a thick batter.
Let stand for 5 minutes.
Place the cocktail viennas in a bowl, cover them with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes.
Drain well, pat dry and coat in the extra flour.
Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or large pot to hot.
Dip the cocktail sausages, a few at a time, in the batter and deep fry for 5-6 minutes until golden.
Remove and drain on paper towel.
Insert a skewer into each and serve immediately with tomato sauce.
LAYER DIP
Serves 8-10
30ml olive oil
½ onion, finely diced
5ml chopped garlic
1 red chilli, seeded, finely diced
400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15ml lime juice
30ml water
250g sour cream
250ml shredded lettuce
250ml grated cheddar cheese
2 ripe avocados, mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 small red onion, finely diced
125ml chopped fresh coriander
salt and pepper
3 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
60ml chopped black olives
15ml olive oil
3ml salt
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
tortilla chips, for serving
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic and chilli.
Add the kidney beans and fry for a few minutes.
Mash with a potato masher and add the lime juice and water.
Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a serving dish.
Top with a layer of sour cream, shredded lettuce and grated cheese.
Combine the mashed avocado, lime juice, red onion, coriander, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
Layer on top of the grated cheese.
Combine the tomatoes, olives, olive oil and salt and layer on top of the avocado.
Sprinkle with the sliced spring onions.
Serve with tortilla chips.
JERK BURGERS WITH ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO
Makes 4
500g beef mince
1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
125ml chopped fresh parsley
1 chilli, seeded, finely chopped
10ml chopped garlic
5ml ground allspice
5ml cayenne pepper
A pinch of nutmeg
3ml ground cinnamon
5ml ground cumin
5ml salt
5ml black pepper
5ml sugar
olive oil for cooking
hamburger rolls, for serving
lettuce, for serving
sliced red onion, for serving
ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO
250ml good quality mayonnaise
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
In a bowl, combine the mince with the spring onions, parsley, chilli, garlic, allspice cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, salt, pepper and sugar.
Mix well and shape into 4 burger patties. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Brush each patty with olive oil.
Heat a griddle pan and fry the patties to desired doneness.
Serve on a roll with lettuce, sliced red onion and the orange-chilli mayo.
ORANGE-CHILLI MAYO: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate until needed.
* The Angela Day column is published in The Star, Pretoria News, Daily News and Cape Argus