Rich buttermilk cake, drenched in Kirsch syrup, layered with a decadent chocolate cream cheese filling.

Cake Ingredients

450g butter
1140g granulated sugar
10 large eggs
500g cake flour
320g cocoa powder
120ml corn flour
10ml baking powder
4ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml salt
620ml buttermilk

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Gradually add beaten eggs.
3. Incorporate sifted dry ingredients, alternating with buttermilk.
4. Bake at 180˚C for approximately 60min.

Kirsch Syrup Ingredients

500ml cherry juice
100ml Kirsch
300g granulated sugar

Method

1. Boil all ingredients together for 3min.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients

1kg cream cheese
400g dark chocolate
500g butter
20ml vanilla extract
2kg icing sugar
180ml cocoa powder

Method

1. Melt all ingredients, except chocolate over a bain-marie.
2. Melt chocolate separately and add to other melted ingredients.

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients

500g dark chocolate
500ml cream

Method

1. Scald cream.
2. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir to combine.

To Decorate

White chocolate for piping purposes
Dark chocolate fans

Assembly

1. Slice cake into desired number of layers.
2. Brush each layer with Kirsch syrup.
3. Sandwich cake layers with chocolate ganache and chocolate cream cheese filling.
4. Spread top surface and sides of layered cake with more chocolate cream cheese filling.
5. Enrobe entire cake with chocolate ganache.
6. Pipe white chocolate over surface of cake and decorate with dark chocolate fans.

Chef Daniella Petö at the Capsicum annual High Tea event

Chef Daniella Anne Petö who specialises in all things Pastry, was born and bred in Cape Town and has had a love for food from a young age. Daniella’s mother is originally from London and her father is from Austria and with this came a rich heritage of European cooking which Chef Daniella inherited. Chef Daniella truly is an example of how the love cooking and being in the kitchen follows you through life. Chef Daniella studied her BA Degree through the University of Cape Town where she majored in English. Chef Daniella then followed her passion for cooking and obtained her THETA Certificate in Professional Cookery in 2002. She then enrolled for her Diploma in Patisserie at Capsicum Culinary Studio and graduated in 2006 with distinction. 

From working in London and Austria to working at The Mount Nelson Hotel, Chef Daniella’s love for food and travel has taken her to many interesting places. Chef Daniella has been lecturing at Capsicum Culinary Studio since 2007 and attributes her 5 and a half years teaching to the love for seeing others excel: “Teaching and education has always been a passon for me. I have very high expectations of myself and my students and excellence in everything I do is a non-negotiable. I love seeing my students do well and add their own creative skills in the kitchen. I wouldn’t trade what I’m doing now for the world!” says Chef Daniella. 

Some of Daniella’s achievements include receiving Student of the Year Award from both Capsicum Culinary Studio (2006) as well as the David Higgs School of Good Cooking (2002). Daniella is also a firm believer in giving back to the community and has championed many campaigns such as the “Bake a Difference” campaign where she and her students do clean-ups at various beaches and public areas. Chef Daniella also has headed up the annual High Tea which her pastry students take part in every year. The annual High Tea is an event where all the Capsicum Pastry students get to show-off their pastry skills and prepare food for invited guests like parents, guardians and friends. Chef Daniella has been at the forefront of this prestigious Capsicum event since its inception in 2008 and delivers exceedingly good results every year. 

Chef Daniella’s excellence has also rubbed off on her students and has resulted in City and Guilds Medals of Excellence being awarded to two of her 2009 Patisserie students (awarded to the students who achieved the highest marks for the international examinations amongst all candidates worldwide) and she maintained 100% student distinction rate (every student she’s taught in 5 years has achieved a distinction) in the International City and Guilds Examinations, Capsicum Culinary Studio (2007 – 2011). 

Capsicum is very fortunate to have Chef Daniella on-board and is a remarkable example to all who work and study at Capsicum.

Ingredients 

•  1 Beef fillet    
• 100g diced onion
• 350g mushrooms
• 500g Chicken Liver Pate
• 1 Roll puff pastry
• Salt and pepper
• 6 potatoes thinly sliced
• 1 Litre double cream
• 50ml chicken stock
• 150g grated parmesan
• 500ml beef stock
• 75ml Madera wine
• 250ml double cream
• 50g diced onion
• Half tsp. crushed garlic
• 125 g cream

Method 

 1. Trim sinew and tail of then season and seal in a hot pan take of heat and rest till cool

2. Place onion and mushrooms in blender till paste (this is called a duxelle)

3. Slice potato thinly layer evenly in oven proof dish with cream, cheese stock in every layer and bake for 1 to 1 and a half hours at 170

4. After sealing beef and resting now spread pate over fillet then the duxelle after that now wrap in puff pastry brush with egg wash and bake for 45min till nice and pink

5. With the pan you sealed beef in now add your crushed garlic and onion sweat off add Madera wine and cream  reduce and season to taste

6. Serve 

Image source: Manic.com [snog blog]

Chef Robert James Macdonald was born on the 16th of October 1974 in a quiet little fishing town called Girvan on the West Coast of Scotland. From a very young age he knew h

e was going to become a Chef because of his love for food, and his dreams soon outgrew the small town he grew up in. A week after finishing high school he enrolled at the Hotel and Catering Training Collage (HCTC) in the town called Ayr and 4 years later qualified with City and Guilds 706/1 706/2 certificates.

His career started at the prestigious Malin Court restaurant and function venue (3 rosettes). After a few years he felt the need to learn and experience different cultures and the cuisines that captured his imaginations as a young boy. His travels took him from places like the French Alps to Italy, Turkey and Greece and to the French Island of Corsica in a variety of kitchens working his way up the ladder and his dream of becoming a Head Chef. 

Feeling confident with his new ability’s and full of new ideas he headed homewards for a new challenge and worked for a large specialised catering agency as a relief Head Chef, working in small and large kitchens of 300-400 chefs for companies such as Ford and Yardley of London, preparing meals for thousands of clients a day. “This was scary at first but soon I realised that it wasn’t any different from any other kitchen I have ever been in, being organisation is key whether you are 2 Chefs or 200 Chefs, the same principles apply”. 

Moving on a few years in his life he settled down in a beautiful little place called Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis the tallest mountain in the UK as a Head Chef in a 4-star hotel, with room for scope in this kitchen he wanted to challenge himself to take the hotel forward to new chapter in his future and head towards his own Rosettes but little did he know life had other plans for him. He met his future wife, Nicolene Van Den Berg (a South African) there. They then moved to South Africa soon after they got married and this has given him the opportunity to absorb the cultures and cuisines of South Africa. Now Chef Robert is at Capsicum Culinary Studio in Port Elizabeth and is thrilled to be teaching his students the City and Guilds courses and sharing his knowledge and experiences with them all. 

Meet Chef Samantha Theron from the Capsicum Boksburg Campus. Chef Samantha Theron became a Chef because food has been her passion since the age of 12. When asked “Why food?”, she simply said: “There is no better way to express ones personality and imagination than through the art of food.”

Chef Samantha has been in the industry for the past 7 years in which she’s worked in Bloemfontein (Premier Protea Hotel Bloemfontein), Cape Town (Protea Hotel Victoria Junction) and Johannesburg (Melrose Arch African Pride Hotel) which gave her a far-reaching understanding and respect for the industry.

With the introduction of Capsicum’s new technologically integrated learning platforms, Chef Samantha’s most cherished piece of equipment is her Apple iPad2 (after her Chef’s Knife, of course!). For Chef Samantha, it’s created a new kind of versatility whereby she can create new recipes, have her required recipes at hand and take photos of her new creations all with one state-of-the-art tool.

When asked what inspirational message she has for aspiring Chefs, Chef Samantha said: “In my personal opinion the recipe to becoming a master chef is to have a natural drive varied with passion, patience and the hunger to become great. Nurture all these aspects and you will have the perfect formula to being one of the greatest chefs. And remember that we’re all great chefs in our own capacity; all we need to work towards is the recognition of the masters.”

The online team chatted to Chef Alfred and asked his advice on how to be a masterchef and what to remember when competing in competitions. Chef Alfred had the following to say:

• Always check the rules and guidelines of the competition you are entering thoroughly, as these may differ from competition to competition. Never assume they will be the same.
• Always make sure you incorporate all mandatory ingredients into your menu and utilize these in an innovative way. If one are these items are left off you will be disqualified from the competition.
• Make sure you submit your recipes in a standardized recipe format for the printed entry application.
• Plan your menu beforehand; make this adaptable to most proteins 
• Practise your menu at least 3 times before the competition cook off date
• Remain calm as panic creates confusion
• Create a timeline schedule for yourself so that you are able to finish on time during the cook off as late delivery of plates will be penalized
• Keep your food simple and tasty, always cook food you have made before and know how to do well
• Modern plating is essential as you eat with your eyes before your stomach
• Portion size on the plate is essential
• Plate must be balanced in presentation
• Don’t practise your engineering skills, make your plating suitable for a service environment
• Most importantly don’t forget to season your food as this is overlooked the most.

Professional cooking is a fast paced, high pressure environment that involves working long hours. A Masterchef is exposed to these kinds of pressures on a daily basis.

How you overcame these challenges each time demonstrates perfectly how a person’s drive and determination to pursue and achieve their dreams and do something they are passionate about in life can be accomplished no matter what obstacles are placed before them.

Each Masterchef knows in them that they will bring more happiness into their lives once they have achieved their goal.

Masterchef demonstrates that skill is developed though practice and that makes all the difference because, whilst a “god given talent” may be important, it’s the drive, persistence, determination and self-belief that are more important in the end.

So if you have ever felt like there was more that you were put on this earth to do, that life has somehow got in the way of your dreams and ambitions, take some time to think about what you really want to do.

In order to make progress to where you want to be in your life you have to commit to making change. If you don’t make changes to get to where you really want to be then tomorrow is going to be just the same as yesterday – with the exception of you being a day older and your dream still being just as far away.

If you have a dream, an ambition, a desire or a need in your life – take actions to achieve it.

 Difficulty: Medium

Serves: 50 macaroons
Preparation Time: 20 minutes, excluding baking time & cooling time

Ingredients:

150 g sugar
50 g water
120 g egg whites
35 g sugar
150 g ground almonds
175g icing sugar
25 g cocoa powder

Method:

Bring to the water and the first sugar amount to the boil. Boil to 110°C exactly.
Combine 60g egg white with 35g sugar and whisk to soft peaks.
Pour boiling sugar mix onto the soft egg whites, keep whisking until cold (pour this slowly down the side of the mixing bowl whilst whisking and not into the middle of the egg whites).
Sieve the almonds, icing sugar & cocoa powder. Add the remaining 60g egg white and mix until smooth.
Mix in 1/3 of the meringue first and then the remaining meringue, and fold through.
Place into a piping bag and pipe out walnut size rounds about 3 cms apart onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Pick up tray and bang on table to remove bubbles and to create the macaron foot.
Leave to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry the tops and ensure even cooking
Bake at 160°C for 9 minutes.
Once cooked remove from tray gently.

Ganache filling:

125 g bittersweet chocolate finely chopped.
1/2 cup heavy cream.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into cubes.
Place chocolate in a large bowl.
Warm cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat until it just starts to boil.
Add chocolate and mix gently allowing it to melt.
Add butter and stir until smooth.
Place in refrigerator until chilled and is able to be spread.
Assemble the macarons by taking one macaron and pipe a cherry sized amount of ganache onto the foot of the macaron. Place the second macaron on top and twist gently to spread the ganache evenly.

Ingredients

Mousse

• Liquid glucose         60g                            
• Raspberries pure    60g                            
• Sugar                      60g                            
• Dark chocolate       245g
• Fresh cream           340g

Sponge fingers

• Eggs     4
• Flour      110g                  
• Sugar    110g

 Method: For the sponge fingers

1. Whisk yolks and sugar until pale colour.
2. Fold in the flour.
3. Whisk whites till stiff. Fold into the mix.
4. Pipe flat rounds and bake at 180C for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Method: For the mousse

1. Boil the raspberries pure, sugar & glucose in the sauce pan.                               
2. Add the chopped dark chocolate to the liquid & stir until smooth. Remove from the sauce pan and put into a mixing bowl.                                       
3. Allow to cool slightly then mix in 1/3 of the whipped cream, then fold in the other 2/3.                                                                                                   
4.  Cut a disk of the sponge finger place it in the bottom of a glass or a ring mould, pour the mousse into the glass or the ring mould and place in fridge for 2 hours.

Preparation time: 10 min
Serves: 4
Requirements Food Processor and grating blade, liquidizer

Slaw
2 Large Courgettes
4-6 Yellow Patty pans
4-6 Radishes
1 large Carrot
1-2 Beets
½ bulb of Fennel
Mustard or Watercress

Dressing
¼ bunch of Mint
4 tbs. Good olive oil
2 tbs. White wine vinegar
3 tbs. Plain yoghurt
½ Chillie seeded
Good pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Wash all vegetables, carrots and beets can be scrubbed to remove surface skin.
Push all the vegetables through the grater of the food processor, do not shake or level out the allow the vegetables to form their own pattern in the blender dish.
Once all the vegetables have been processed turn the bowl out on to a serving platter, and shake lightly, but not to vigorously as to flatten the mound of vegetables

For the dressing
Combine all the ingredients in a liquidizer, and blitz up until the dressing turns nice and smooth and a delightfully striking green.
Pour in to a serving pourer

Allow each person to dress their own slaw.

Says Chef Chad: “This recipe is a true expression of the variety and wonder which mother nature provides. A slow amble along the crowded alley’s of a local farmer market provides one with so much inspiration. This salad not only allows us to rejoice in the colours of nature and summer but also to enjoy the wholesomeness of using a variety of fresh organically grown vegetables.”

prawn-tempura

Another year has come and with it a new set of culinary trends. We chatted to Capsicum Executive Chef Alfred Henry and got his insights into what we thinks will be the trends in the kitchen this year. Says Chef Alfred Henry “With the use of scientific methods and electronics in the kitchen, 2012 really is going to be an interesting year for chefs.”

2012 culinary trends: 

• Eastern European items on the menus will be more prevalent as chefs try new things
• Chefs are experimenting more with beer in food and even creating new homebrewed beers with flavours
• Mixing of fish, shellfish and proteins is making a strong comeback
• Vegetables are inspiring pastry chefs at the moment
• Side dishes are a thing of the past
• Children’s nutrition will play a huge role in 2012  
• Cooking Apps and electronic recipe books for tablets will be big in 2012
• Food transparency will become more prevalent as dinners want to know where their food is coming from
• A bigger look into allergies and how chefs will change their menu’s to accommodate these dinners will play a role in 2012