Mince Pie Tart with Christmas Custard

Just a few days to go until Christmas (four sleeps to be precise), are you ready? We are looking forward to a family Christmas at home this year and will be celebrating with a relaxed festive lunch next to the pool - cannot wait!

Ten Fabulous Edible Christmas Gift Ideas

Happy Friday! Christmas is just around the corner (eek!) and if the thought of hitting the shopping malls this weekend fills you with dread then this post is just for you. 

Vanilla Bean and Almond Meringues with Mixed Berry Sauce

At the end of November we packed our bags and headed out of the burbs for a weekend in the Overberg. This was a welcome break after a busy few weeks on the home and work fronts, plus a chance to spend some quality family time together. Our destination was a farm called Landmeterskop near Stanford and were invited to join some good friends who had been there before. What a gem of a place! 

Christmas Biscuit Tree

This week the nostalgic mood continues with another family inspired recipe. When it comes to food there is no question that baking is my first love, and when I think back to my earliest baking memories I am always reminded of childhood Christmases. The much anticipated, long December school holidays that felt like they went on forever were the perfect time for sun drenched afternoons in the pool and fun with friends, but a real highlight for me would be the Christmas baking. Each year I looked forward to making mince pies, biscuits and the decorating of the Christmas cake which my mum would have baked a few weeks earlier using my grandmother's recipe. (And still does!) 

Festive Rocky Road

Summer holidays are here again and with them (hopefully) some much deserved down time for you all. For many of us this time of the year is steeped in tradition, whether that centres around a getaway to a favourite holiday destination, Christmas festivities or the food we eat. It is also a time for reflection on a year gone by and the inevitable question - just where has this year gone?

Cranberry and White Chocolate Crunchies

There is a very simple story behind this one. Last weekend we were invited to a Christmas picnic with some playgroup friends and I was asked to bring a plate of sweet eats to share. "Fantastic!" I thought, right up my alley. Crunchies are usually always a hit with adults and children, and the fact that I was having a crazy weekend and needed something I could make in a jiffy made them even more perfect. I have a wonderful basic crunchie recipe which I have previously adapted to make chocolate crunchies and today I wanted to share the Christmas version that I made for the picnic. 

Macadamia & Cranberry Chocolate Squares

I made these sumptuous squares of chocolatey goodness over the weekend and they were just too good not to share! The original recipe comes from "Ottolenghi - The Cookbook" and I adapted it to use ingredients that I had to hand. In the Ottolenghi version they included chestnuts and dried figs (which sounds utterly delicious!), but I opted for creamy macadamias and tart cranberries as these also taste fantastic with white chocolate. I also used chocolate coated digestives instead of the regular ones just to up the chocolate even more - go big or go home, right?

Cheese & Rosemary Stars

As we hurtle towards Christmas I am once again left wondering where the time has gone! I always love spending time in my kitchen at this time of the year - preparing food for friends or edible gifts for the family. This time last year I was preparing to host a big family Christmas feast, but this year will be a lot more low-key.  

Tarte Au Chocolat

Last week I posted a round up of the dishes I made over the Christmas period (you can check out that post here). This article received quite a bit of attention, mostly because of the delectable dessert featured right at the beginning. Some of you have been asking for the recipe...and your wish is my command. You will find everything you need to know below.

In my kitchen ... Christmas 2013

Tarte Au Chocolat

This post, my first for 2014 is a little indulgent , but hey ho, it's holiday season and I thought it would be fun to do a round up of some of the things I have been cooking over Christmas. Just in case you haven't seen enough food over the last week or so.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream

I'm sure you will have noticed the Christmas theme in this month's posts, and today is no different! Deciding on this week's recipe was very easy... these last two weeks have been quite a roller coaster, and as the saying goes: when the going gets tough - the tough eat cake. Or something to that effect.  

Sugar & Spice Christmas Pecans

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... the tree is up, the presents are wrapped, the Christmas album has been loaded onto the iPod (a necessity) and I have a stash of these in the cupboard - crunchy, candied Christmas pecans! 

Mushroom and Chevin Pithivier

In exactly one week my dearest younger sister will be boarding an airbus and making her way from Old Blighty down to Cape Town. It has been two and a half years since I last saw her and to say that I am excited could be the understatement of the year! The prospect of having the whole family together to celebrate Christmas fills me with glee and over the past few weeks I have been poring over my cookbooks looking for inspiration for the feast I will be preparing for everyone on Christmas Eve.

Salted Caramel Sauce

Christmas has come early to Cupcakes & Couscous with the second challenge I am participating in this month. The lovely Sam over at Pomegranate Days has teamed up with Karon Grieve from Larder Love to challenge bloggers to come up with their favourite foodie Christmas gifts. This is right up my street as I love giving foodie presents during the Festive Season - cookies, flavoured oils, roasted nuts... and this rather delectable salted caramel sauce. 

National Cookie Swap 2013 & Spiced Dark Chocolate Cookies

Well readers, I can't wait to tell you about an exciting event that I attended over the weekend. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter then you'll no doubt know what I'm talking about - the 3rd annual Cape Town Cookie Swap! This year it was a national event with cookie swaps also taking place in Johannesburg and Durban on the same day (Saturday). Proceeds from the event went to Khayelitsha Cookies, and I'll be telling you a bit more about this fantastic company in a little bit...