LIFESTYLE - Gerrard Kistanna, a medical technologist, avid baker and a contestant on Season 3 of the Great South African Bake Off shares his recipes.
Churros With Chocolate Sauce
Churros
1 cup flour
1 cup water
125g butter/margarine, cut into cubes
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbs sugar
oil for deep frying
1 cup cinnamon sugar (1 cup castor sugar plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
Chocolate sauce
100g chocolate (dark or milk)
120ml cream
Method
Churros
Place the water, butter, sugar and vanilla essence in a pot and slowly bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
The butter should be completely melted. Add the flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture comes together and is smooth (a few lumps are fine).
Transfer to a large bowl or a stand-mixer bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Each egg must be fully incorporated before adding the next.
The mixture might look like it has split but it will come together.
Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe and cut off with kitchen scissors 15cm-long pieces of the dough into medium-heated oil. Fry until golden brown.
Dry off the extra oil on a paper towel and coat with cinnamon sugar while still hot.
Chocolate sauce:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Warm the cream gently on the stove. When it starts to bubble, pour it over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute. Then mix together until smooth. Keep warm.
Chocolate, Banana And Hazelnut Loaf
3 large overripe bananas
2 eggs
½ cup melted butter
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
¼ cup milk
2 cups cake flour
½ cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarb
½ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup + ¼ cup roasted and nibbed hazelnuts (or nut of your choice)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and bicarb. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and beat in the eggs.
Mix in the brown and castor sugars, vanilla essence and milk.
Add the combined dry ingredients and mix together. Mix in the chocolate chips and a ¼ cup of the hazelnuts.
Lastly, mix in the melted butter.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf tin with baking paper that sticks out a little high on the long sides of the tin. Sprinkle with the other ¼cup of hazelnuts.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
Test with a skewer. The cake should be slightly wet inside (the skewer won’t be completely clean). It should be like a gooey brownie texture.
Allow the cake to cool completely.
Drizzle with the ganache. It is delicious with ice cream.
Ganache
Heat 150ml cream on the stove until it starts bubbling. Add 150g chopped chocolate. Leave it to sit for a minute. Mix gently until combined. Add 3 teaspoons of butter gently. Don’t over-mix or the ganache will split.
Microwave Cuppuccino Mug Cake
5 tbs self-raising flour
3 tbs sugar
2 tbs coffee granules
1 pinch of salt
2 tbs milk
2 tbs sunflower oil
1 egg
whipped cream for topping
Method
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mug.
Bake in the microwave for a minute on high.
Once cool, top with whipped cream.
White Chocolate and Pecan Blondies
1 cup packed soft dark brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten (at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1½ cups cake flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
150g white chocolate chopped into small chunks, plus extra to decorate.
½ cup roughly chopped and toasted pecans (or nut of choice)
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a large bowl mix the butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla essence.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the brown sugar mixture.
Mix in the white chocolate and nuts.
Spread the thick mixture evenly in a greased and lined 30cm x 20cm baking dish.
Bake for 18 to 20minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack. Cut into 12 pieces and decorate with melted white chocolate.
*Follow Kistanna on Facebook: Kistanna - Great South African Bake Off, Instagram: @ gerrard_85