Dark Chocolate and Amaretti Semifreddo

The unusual holiday heatwaves seem to be well and truly behind us here in Cape Town, and all of a sudden the dark, chilly mornings and early sunsets are more obvious and a reminder of the cold (and hopefully very rainy) months ahead. As I sit here I am wearing two jerseys and clutching a hot cup of tea and I had second thoughts about posting this recipe given the shift in seasons and the fact that this is a frozen dessert. Then I laughed at this silliness because frankly any time of the year is appropriate for a chocolate dessert, frozen or not. Who's with me? 

Thin Crust Spelt Flour Pizza

It's a new month and time to get back to normal after all of the school and public holidays which have had many of us wandering around much of the time scratching our heads and trying to work out what day it is! (Or maybe that was just me?) Last week I took a little break and the family headed to beautiful Knysna for a couple of wonderfully chilled days. Well, as chilled as you can be with two small children running about. We had a brilliant time and I so enjoyed being out of the normal routine, free from the usual daily chores and away from my laptop screen! Just what the doctor ordered. 

Lemon Easter Cookies

Today's post is a bit of holiday fun for the kiddies, and given world events over the past two weeks and particularly here in S.A. I think us adults could do with a bit of fun too! In all seriousness though, this is an exceptionally tasty cookie, with or without all the icing and trimmings, and you should definitely give this recipe a try these Easter holidays! 

Chocolate Dipped Figs with Orange and Almond

Welcome to the start of the weekend, whoop whoop! Another busy week is coming to an end and our theme for the week has been contending with back to school germs, argh! Because nothing says back to school like a sink full of empty lunch boxes, an inbox crammed with school reminders and snotty noses. True story.

Chocolate and Kahlua Mousse Cups

Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is just a few days away and what better excuse to indulge with something decadent and chocolatey. Not that I need a good reason... holiday or no holiday you do not have to ask me twice when it comes to anything chocolate related! Yes, I have been on somewhat of a chocolate mission recently and as a result this has inadvertently become the theme for the rest of February on the blog. I am sure you don't mind. 

Bran and Fruit Muffins

Happy New Year everyone! I am glad to be back after a few weeks away from my "home on the web" and thought we would ease into the year with an easy muffin recipe that I know you will love. 

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!) 

Fruity Wholewheat Loaf Cake

I have been on a clearing out mission lately. I started in the kitchen, and was happy to get rid of a big box of utensils and bits and bobs that I no longer needed. As for the rest of the house... the clearing out process has been going much, much slower than I would prefer. I am talking one shelf a day slow. Still, it is better than nothing I suppose. As part of "project declutter" I have also been delving into the deep freezer, cautiously prying open tupperwares from the depths and playing "guest the contents" with various unlabelled ziplock bags. 

Win a Sasko Mother's Day Hamper!

You probably thought you had heard the last of me for this week but... surprise! It's giveaway time! This Sunday is Mother's Day and our friends at Sasko have put together a gorgeous kitchen hamper for one lucky Cupcakes and Couscous reader. Could it be you?

Chocolate Sandwich Biscuits

So today I am grateful for two things. 1.) That I managed to get a blog post together for this week, and 2.) that I am able to string a coherent sentence together. It has been a rough couple of days you see, with the entire family being struck down with an assortment of germs and lurgies. Currently my kitchen counter looks more like a pharmacy than anything else and we are all lacking in the sleep department which is less than ideal. The timing was also unlucky as we had planned to go away this past weekend for a wedding. We did manage one night away in the end but we were not on best form. Never mind, grumble grumble. 

How to make perfect Chocolate Coated Strawberries

I started February with a chocolate recipe, and in the month of love I thought I might as well continue the theme! It does seem a bit cheeky to call this a recipe, think of it as more of a "how to" for making gorgeous chocolate dipped strawberries for your someone special (or yourself). This Valentine's Day I have you covered!

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. 

Summer Chicken Goujon Salad

Wherever you are, I hope that things that are slowly winding down and that holiday mode is setting in. Or at the very least that there is light at the end of the tunnel in the mad rush to get everything finished before the end of the year!

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?

PEPPADEW® HOT WINGS with BLUE CHEESE DIP

Seeing as we are in Heritage month with National Heritage Day, also popularly known as Braai Day, coming up on Thursday, I thought it would be appropriate to share a recipe that can be whipped up on the old barbie! These hot wings are perfect for spring and summer entertaining - enjoy them around the braai with friends, serve them up at your next party or munch on them while you cheer on the Springboks (she said optimistically)!

Date and Nut Balls

Warning: parental ramblings ahead! I am sure parents everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief as school resumes for the third term. If I am honest I actually quite enjoyed the 3 week break from lunchboxes, school runs and most of all the dreaded "lurgies" that always make their way home from the playground. Yes, the holidays can push any parent's patience to the limit at times, but all too often I am reminded of how quickly time goes and that this chapter in our family journey is really so fleeting and special. Even when I am knee deep in stuffed toys, picking tiny bits of muesli off the soles of my feet (did I not just sweep that floor 5 minutes ago?!?) and answering the same question for the tenth time whilst pureeing a chicken and veggie concoction for the babe. All to the soundtrack of the washing machine and Disney radio. Special times, chaos and all!