4 WARM SWEET BAKES TO CELEBRATE WORLD BAKING DAY

 It’s World Baking Day!

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From basic banana bread to decadent chocolate lava cakes, we need no excuse to celebrate with these warm sweet treats – perfect for a cosy night in.

BASIC BANANA BREAD
Makes 2 small-medium loaves



INGREDIENTS
4–5 (about 220 g) large ripe or overripe bananas, peeled
2 eggs, whisked cup (135 g) brown (or white) sugar
¼ cup (60 ml) melted butter or canola oil
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
½ tsp (3 ml) fine salt
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
2 cups (about 300 g) cake flour or wholewheat flour

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Spray two 18x10 cm bread tins with non-stick spray and lined with baking paper.
3. Mash banana very finely with a fork or masher.
4. Whisk egg and sugar together for 3–5 minutes until tripled in volume.
5. Add banana, butter or oil, vanilla and salt to the egg mixture and mix to combine evenly.
6. Sift together baking powder and flour into a bowl and create a well in the middle.
7. Pour egg mixture into the well and whisk to create a smooth batter.
8. Spoon batter into the prepared tins.
9. Bake for 45–50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of bread comes out clean.
10. Remove and cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then take out of the tin and allow to cool completely.
11. Serve within 3 days, or store in the fridge and toast.

Recipes and styling: Liezl Vermeulen
Photographs: Zhann Solomons

CREAMY CONDENSED MILK RICE PUDDING
Serves 8 // Prep time 5 minutes // Cooking time 1 hour



INGREDIENTS
½ cup (125 ml) long-grain bonnet rice
2 (500 ml) cups water
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
2 (500 ml) cups full cream milk
1 tin (385 g) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla essence
Ground cinnamon, to serve

METHOD
1. Place the rice, water, zest and cinnamon stick in a pot over medium-low heat and cook for 15 minutes, covered, until the rice is soft.
2. Remove the cinnamon stick and drain off any excess water.
3. Add milk, condensed milk and vanilla. Cook mixture uncovered over low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring often, until thick and creamy.
4. Divide the rice pudding mixture between serving glasses and sprinkle with cinnamon to serve.

Top tip: For an even creamier pudding, use short-grain rice such as sushi- or pudding rice.

Recipes & styling: Marizka du Toit
Photography: Jurie Senekal

GIANT COOKIE CAKE
Serves 12 // Cooking time 45 minutes



INGREDIENTS
180 g unsalted butter
1 cup (250 ml) packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla essence
2 cups (500 ml) flour
1 tsp (5 ml) bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp (3 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) chocolate chips

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a cake tin.
2. In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. In another bowl, mix flour, bicarb and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix gently until dough is thick and sticky. Fold in ¾ cup chocolate chips.
3. Transfer the dough to the cake tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown around the edges. Then cover with foil and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES
Makes 4 // Cooking time 30 minutes



INGREDIENTS
130 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), chopped
75 g butter
120 g eggs, plus 40 g yolk (±4 eggs)
65 g golden caster sugar
30 g flour
Cherries, to serve

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 4 small round moulds or pudding basins with butter and flour.
2. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Melt in the microwave or over a pot of simmering water.
3. Add the eggs, sugar and flour to the chocolate mixture. Whisk together until shiny.
4. Pour the batter into the moulds and bake for 10–12 minutes.
5. Turn the lava cakes out of the moulds and serve with cherries.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

CHOCOLATE & ORANGE MALVA PUDDING WITH CUSTARD
Serves 8–10 // Total time 1 hour 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the custard
2 cups cream
2 tsp vanilla essence
3 Tbsp caster sugar
4 egg yolks

For the pudding
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
45 ml apricot jam, heated
1½ cups flour
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
25 g butter
7.5 ml vinegar
150 ml milk
150 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2 oranges, zested

For the sauce
1 cup cream
150 g butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup hot water

METHOD

For the custard
1. Place the cream and vanilla in a pot over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar and egg yolks to a bowl and whisk for 3 minutes, until pale and thick.
3. Just before the cream starts simmering, remove from the heat.

4. While whisking the egg yolk mixture, add around ½ a cup of the hot cream and stir vigorously to mix through. Continue to add the cream bit by bit, to not curdle the eggs.
5. Move the custard back into the pot and place over a low heat.
6. Stir continuously for 10–15 minutes until the custard has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
7. Strain the custard into a jug through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits. Place a layer of cling film on the surface of the custard and refrigerate until needed. Adding the cling film to the surface of the custard prevents a skin from forming.

For the malva
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Add the sugar and eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat well until thick, about 2 minutes. Mix through the jam.
3. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour, bicarb and salt.
4. Add the butter, vinegar and milk to a bowl and microwave until the butter is just melted.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk mixture alternately to the egg mixture. Beat well until smooth and combined. Stir through the chocolate and orange zest until evenly dispersed. Cover and bake for 45–55 minutes.

For the sauce
1. Just before the pudding is ready, place the ingredients for the sauce in a pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved and butter has melted.
2. Remove the pudding from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Use a skewer or knife to pierce holes all over the surface, through to the bottom of the dish.
3. Slowly pour the warm sauce over the pudding, stopping to let it absorb the liquid before adding more.
4. Serve the malva pudding with the vanilla custard.

Stylist: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Stylist’s assistants: Jezza-Rae Larsen & Kirsty Buchanan
Photography: Callen Jefferson/hmimages.co.za