SWEET TREATS
We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with these exquisite creations by Faaiza Omar, who shares a few recipes with us from her book My Sweet Life.
150 Faaiza Omar shares beautiful bakes from her debut cookbook My Sweet Life just in time for Valentine’s Day
CANDIED GINGER CHEESECAKE SERVES 12 TIME: 1 HOUR + 4 HOURS REFRIGERATION
BASE
• 250g ginger biscuits, finely crushed
• 75g butter, melted
FILLING
• 750g cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp ginger syrup, from store-bought ginger preserve
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp cake flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 extra-large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 75g candied ginger pieces, chopped
TOPPING
• 1½ cups sour cream
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp ginger syrup, from store-bought ginger preserve
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
TO DECORATE
• 4 figs; sliced chocolatecoated ginger, as desired; ginger preserve in syrup, as desired
1. Preheat a Thermofan oven to 160°C. Prepare a 22cm round springform baking tin by greasing it with non-stick cooking spray and lining it with baking paper.
2. To make the base, combine the crushed biscuits and butter in a mixing bowl. Press it into the bottom of the prepared baking tin and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Lower the oven temperature to 140°C.
3. While the biscuit base is baking, prepare the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, ginger syrup, vanilla essence, cake flour and sugar until well combined and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs, one at a time, then add the sour cream. Incorporate each ingredient and scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding the next. Using a spatula, fold through the candied ginger pieces.
5. Transfer the filling to the top of the baked base, ensuring the ginger pieces are evenly distributed. Bake for 45 minutes. Once baked, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Leave the oven on.
6. While the cheesecake bakes, make the topping by combining the sour cream, sugar, ginger syrup and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl. Once the cheesecake has cooled down, gently drop the topping around the edges of the cheesecake using a spoon and carefully spread the topping over the entire cheesecake, smoothing it evenly.
7. Return the cheesecake to the hot oven and bake for 10 minutes. Once baked, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool completely in the oven. Once completely cooled, refrigerate the cheesecake for 3-4 hours before serving.
8. To serve, remove the cheesecake from the fridge and decorate with the figs, chocolate-coated ginger and ginger preserve.
SERVES 12
TIME: 45 MINUTES +
40 MINUTES FOR INFUSION
SPONGE CAKE
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp dried edible lavender
• 2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 125g butter, softened • zest of 1 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
LAVENDER GLAZE
• ½ cup fresh cream
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tbsp dried edible lavender
• 2½ cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
TO DECORATE
• lavender sprigs,
as desired
‘I had always associated lavender with soap bars until I sampled some lavender cookies and was pleasantly surprised. The sweet floral notes of lavender in this bake pair well with the richness of the honey and the zesty lemon... It all screams spring!’
1. Preheat a Thermofan oven to 170°C. Grease 4 x 15cm diameter Bundt pans with butter and dust lightly with cake flour.
2. To make the sponge cake, blend the sugar and dried lavender in a processor until fine. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift the self-raising flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer and using a paddle attachment, beat the butter, lavender-sugar mix and lemon zest until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, honey and vanilla essence, and continue to beat until it resembles curdled cream.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients; mix to combine.
6. Add the Greek yoghurt and combine well. Transfer the batter into the 4 prepared pans. Place the cakes in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven, and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
7. While the cakes bake, prepare the lavender glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream, milk and lavender to a simmer. Remove from the heat and set aside for the lavender to infuse – about 40 minutes.
8. In a mixing bowl and using a stick blender, blend the mixture and strain into the sifted icing sugar. Add the honey and lemon juice, and whisk to a smooth icing. Rest the icing for 10 minutes before glazing the cakes. Decorate with sprigs of lavender, as desired.
SERVES 10 TIME: 2 HOURS + OVERNIGHT
REFRIGERATION
BASE
• 270g digestive biscuits, crushed
• ½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
• ½ cup butter, melted
POACHED PEARS
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup light-brown sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder
• 1 tbsp ground cardamom
• 8 firm, ripe pears, peeled and bottoms sliced off to make them sit upright
FILLING
• 900g cream cheese
• 240g sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 45ml (3 tbsp) cake flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 250g sour cream
TO SERVE
• hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1. To make the poached pears, combine the water, sugar, vanilla bean powder and cardamom in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
2. Submerge the pears in the simmering liquid. If necessary, add more water to just cover the pears.
3. Measure and cut a piece of baking paper into a circle just large enough to cover the inside of the saucepan. Ease the paper into the saucepan until it is touching the surface of the liquid. Allow the pears to cook for about 20 minutes.
4. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the pears and poaching liquid to cool completely. Once cooled, drain the pears and set aside. Reserve ¼ cup of the poaching liquid for the caramel sauce.
5. Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan force). Grease a 24cm round loosebottomed springform baking tin with non-stick cooking spray and line with baking paper.
6. To make the base, place the biscuits in a food processor and blend to a crumb. Mix in the hazelnuts and melted butter. Transfer the biscuit mixture to the baking tin and, using the back of a tablespoon, press the mixture down onto the base and sides of the tin. Place the tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and decrease the temperature to 130°C.
7. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy. Add the sugar, vanilla essence and cardamom, and continue to mix.
8. Once combined, add the cake flour and mix again on medium speed. Gradually add the 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the sour cream and continue to mix on low speed.
9. Transfer the filling to the tin and place the poached pears (sitting upright) into the cheesecake evenly. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until just set; the centre of the cheesecake should be wobbly.
10. Once baked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool completely with the oven door slightly ajar. Refrigerate overnight and remove 20 minutes before serving.
11. To make the salted caramel sauce, place the brown sugar and poaching liquid in a saucepan, and bring the liquid to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the sauce to simmer for 8-10 minutes or until it turns a dark golden brown colour.
12. Carefully stir in the heated cream, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the sauce to simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add the salt and butter, pour into a small jug and refrigerate until ready to serve.
13. To serve, unmould the cheesecake on a cake stand. Sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts and pour the caramel over the cheesecake. Serve at room temperature.
SERVES 6-8 TIME: 2 HOURS
CARDAMOM SPONGE CAKE
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 140g sugar, divided in 2 equal parts
• 55g oil
• 90ml water
• zest of 1 lemon
• 140g cake flour
• 7g baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 whole green cardamom, split, seeds removed and crushed
SAFFRON AND ROSE CREAM
• 180g mascarpone, at room temperature
• 375ml whipping cream
• 115g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp rose syrup
• 1½ tsp rose water
• ½ tsp vanilla essence
• 2 pinches of saffron
TO DECORATE
• 100g pistachio nuts, finely chopped, as desired • 5g sugar-coated rose petals, as desired
1. Preheat a Thermofan oven to 180°C. Grease 3 x 15cm round cake tins with non-stick cooking spray.
2. To make the sponge cake, place the egg yolks, 70g sugar, oil, water and lemon zest in a bowl. Use an electric hand mixer to combine them and whisk until double in volume.
3. Combine the dry ingredients and fold into the egg yolk mixture.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.
Gradually add the remaining 70g sugar and whisk until stiff and glossy.
5. Using a spatula, fold a third of the beaten egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture; continue to gently fold in the egg white mixture, a third at a time, until well combined.
6. Divide the mixture into the 3 prepared cake tins. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tins to cool completely before removing from the tins.
7. To make the saffron and rose cream, gently whisk the mascarpone to loosen, using an electric hand mixer. Add the remaining ingredients and combine until thick and spreadable.
8. To assemble the cake, sandwich the sponge layers together with a generous layer of saffron and rose cream and sprinkle with pistachios. Decorate with pistachios and sugar-coated rose petals, as desired. ❖