Cherry Butter Biscuits

Makes 24

Ingredients:

150g butter, softened
50g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp Staffords Vanilla Extract
Pinch sea salt
150g flour
1 ½ Tbsp corn starch
24 Staffords Maraschino Cherries, without the stem

Method:

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Using an electric hand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Mix.
Whisk together the flour and corn starch and then add to butter mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
Divided mixture into 24 balls. Weighing the whole mixture, and then dividing by 24 and weighing each ball will create perfectly uniform biscuits.
Roll mixture into balls and place 12 on each baking sheet, spacing them a few cm apart.
Gently press down the mixture to flatten the biscuit slightly. Finally add a maraschino cherry to the centre of each one and press down until it fits snugly inside the biscuit.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until barely taking on any colour. Allow to cool on baking trays and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Churro Waffles with Chocolate Dipping Sauce

 Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the waffle batter:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp Staffords Cinnamon Sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups warm milk
⅓  cup butter, melted
1 tsp Staffords Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Staffords Cinnamon Sugar, for dusting

For the dipping sauce:
100g dark chocolate
¼ cup cream
½ tsp sea salt flakes

Fresh seasoning berries, for serving

Method:

Preheat waffle iron.
In a large bowl sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon sugar.
In a separate bowl beat the eggs then add in the milk, melted butter and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until well incorporated.
Using a ladle fill the waffle iron to the instructed level. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp.
Sprinkle waffles with Staffords cinnamon sugar on both sides.
While the waffles are cooking, melt dark chocolate and cream together in a bain marie. Once the chocolate has melted stir in the ½ tsp of salt.
Serve waffles with fresh seasonal berries and melted chocolate on the side for dipping and drizzling.

Crispy Pork Belly with Apple Sauce

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2kg pork belly, deboned
2 Tbsp sea salt flakes
1 Tbsp Chinese five spice powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 x 360g jar Staffords Apple Sauce

Serving suggestion:
Oven-roasted potatoes
Fresh green salad with apple slices & a mustard dressing

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220°C.
Place pork on a clean work surface. Pat rind bone dry with paper towel.
Using a sharp knife, score the pork belly skin and fat, without cutting into the meat.
Whisk together the salt, five spice and pepper.
Rub the skin and meat of the pork belly with the spice mix.
Place the pork belly on a wire rack set on top of a baking tray and place in the oven.
Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 160°C, then roast for a further 3 hours or until the pork is tender and cooked through, and the skin is crisp.
Rest the pork belly, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then cut into thick slices and serve with salad and apple sauce.

Cherry Rocky Road

 Makes 1 large tin

Ingredients:

 250g white marshmallows, roughly chopped
100g Staffords Glacé Cherries
170g mixed nuts of choice, roughly chopped
35g desiccated coconut
400g high quality / couverture white chocolate, chopped

Method:

 Line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
Roughly chop the glacé cherries into a mix of sizes.
Combine cherries, marshmallows, nuts and coconut in a bowl.
Melt the white chocolate in a bain marie.
Pour the chocolate over the other ingredients.
Mix until everything is well combined and well covered in chocolate.
Press mixture into prepared cake tin with a spoon or spatula.
Place the tin in the refrigerator for at least two hours or until set.
Using a warm knife, cut into squares and serve.

Honey & Orange Madeleines

Makes 24

Ingredients:

Tip: weigh everything accurately
3 large eggs, beaten
150g sugar
1 tsp Staffords Vanilla Extract
Zest of 1 orange
30g Staffords Pure Honey
200g flour
10g baking powder
50g milk
200g butter, melted and cooled

Method:

Whisk eggs and sugar together until pale and creamy.
Add the vanilla, orange zest and honey. Mix.
Whisk together the flour and baking powder and then add to egg mixture. Mix.
Finally whisk through the milk and melted butter.
Transfer batter to 2 piping bags. (Or zip lock bags) Rest batter in fridge overnight.
Preheat oven to 200˚C.
Butter and flour a 12 piece madeleine pan.
Snip off the end of the piping bag and pipe about 2 tablespoons of batter into each shell.
Place pan into oven and immediately turn the oven down to 150˚C.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until a nice hump has formed on the madeleine and the shell side down is golden brown.
Repeat with the other piping bag of mixture and serve madeleines piping hot straight out of the pan.

Lemon Tartlets

Makes 6

Ingredients:

500g Staffords lemon curd
For the tart shells:
250g flour
30g ground almonds
80g icing sugar
1 pinch sea salt
125g butter, cold
1 egg yolk
For the Italian meringue:
200g / 1 cup sugar
125ml / ½ cup water
4 large egg whites
½ tsp cream of tartar

Method:

For the tart shells:
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt.
Cube the butter and rub into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until the mixture forms a wet sand like consistency. Add in the egg yolk and mix. Add a tsp or two of cold water to help bring everything together.
Turn out onto a cool surface. Knead the pastry until it just combines into a smooth ball. Wrap it in cling film and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Grease 6 tartlet moulds. Roll out the dough to about 3-5mm and fill each tart case.
Place the tart cases in the fridge to chill.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
Cover the base of the tartlets with baking paper and fill with a few baking beans or rice.
Bake blind for 8 minutes then remove the paper and beans.
Return pastry cases to the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until they are light golden-brown and completely dry. Set aside to cool.
Once the tartlet shells have cooled-  fill each shell with lemon curd.
Place in the fridge for the curd to chill and thicken.
For the Italian meringue:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Over high heat cook until sugar syrup reaches 115°C.
While the syrup is cooking, combine egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Whisk until soft peaks form.
With the mixer on low speed slowly drizzle in the hot sugar syrup. Increase speed to high and whisk until stiff peaks have formed and the meringue has become glossy and thick.
Just before serving- remove tartlets from the fridge and pipe the meringue on top of the curd. Using a blowtorch gently torch the meringue until golden brown and serve.

Seafood and Saffron Paella

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 x 400g tin crushed tomatoes
Large pinch Staffords Saffron threads ± 1 tsp
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cups paella rice or risotto rice, such as Arborio
3 cups fish stock, plus more if needed, kept hot
1 cup dry white wine
12 queen prawns, head and shell on
500g fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded
± 400g fresh firm white fish, hake or kingklip
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Method:

Using a paella pan or something similar, fry the onion in a drizzle of olive oil until soft.
Stir in the garlic, cook until fragrant and then add the crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
Grind saffron with a pinch of sugar using a mortar and pestle. When it is a fine powder add a splash of hot water, stir, and pour into pan along with paprika and chilli flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
Cook until the tomatoes have thickened and add the rice. Stir well so all the grains are coated and begin to toast. Add the white wine and bring to a simmer. When the wine has reduced and almost been absorbed by the rice add the hot stock.
Stir everything once and spread the rice out evenly in the pan. Gently cook the rice over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes.
While the rice cooks prep the seafood.
Pat the fish dry with paper towel and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Cook the fish with a drizzle of olive oil in a very hot non-stick frying pan for 2-3 minutes each side or until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
Preheat a griddle pan or braai on high heat.
Devein the prawns using a small sharp knife to make a slit along the middle of the back to expose the dark vein. Pull out the vein but keep the head and shell intact.
Place prawns in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill prawns on high heat for 2-3 minutes until pink, lightly charred and just cooked through.
When the rice is almost cooked add the cleaned mussels on top and cover with a lid. Steam for a few minutes until they open. Discard any that remain closed.
Flake fish into large pieces and add to paella. Arrange grilled prawns on top and serve with plenty of lemon wedges.

Vanilla & Lemon Cheesecake

Serves 12

Ingredients:

150g butter, melted and cooled
250g ginger biscuits
150g caster sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
900g cream cheese, room temperature
2 XL eggs, room temperature
125ml sour cream, room temperature
1 Tbsp Staffords Vanilla Extract
Zest of 1 lemon
⅔ cup Staffords Lemon Curd, chilled
Seasonal berries, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 24cm springform cake tin
Pulse ginger biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
Lightly press biscuit mix into the base of the prepared tin and bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Pulse sugar and corn starch in food processor. Add cream cheese and pulse, occasionally scraping down sides, until smooth.
Crack in the eggs and mix well.
Finally add the sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Pulse until smooth and well combined.
Scrape filling into cooled crust and bake cheesecake until edges are set but center is still a bit wobbly, 45 minutes.
Let cheesecake cool at room temperature.
Spread cheesecake with lemon curd and then place in the fridge overnight or for a few hours until nice and cool and well set.
Serve slices topped with fresh berries.