Lion Heart - Have your cake and eat it

I first came across Lion Heart through Nikki Albertyn. She is a local baker and creative with an Instagram that caught my eye. I knew from the get go that I had to share what she was up to. Her business partner Karmen, is her lifelong friend and the two have created a little magic with their baking skills and creativity. After much stalking, I decided to contact the Gurl's and shoot the exciting bakery and magnificent cakes! 

Situated in Woodstock this team of two work on making cakes that are minimal in design yet make a statement with their bold colours and unique textures. I was taken aback when I saw the limited space that they work out of. To create these little pieces of art with such limited space is commendable! Trust me, I know because I am in a tiny kitchen and although it's great that everything is at arm's length, it can get tiring! 

Spending the morning with the team I watched how they work together with ease and let each other create with trust. Feeding off the fun vibe and with tunes playing in the background. Of course, this all would mean nothing without the matching Gurl Power T's. 

They created a new beautiful cake and mentioned that they will put it on the site and name it "Everest." It's the blue cake above and it took all of me to not run my finger through the buttercream! 

I believe you can never have too many good bakeries listed in your little black book and I will definitely be adding this team to mine. Their cakes are for all occasions. So whether you are celebrating a birthday or going to get married they are definitely worth a call! The flavours of the sponge vary from poppy seed to mud cake and the fillings from smokey salted caramel, lemon curd to rosemary buttercream! If you would like to see more click here to visit their site! It's pretty rad and will leave you drooling - just a warning! All cakes are made to order and you need to give them a heads up! 

I know for sure if I ever need to make a cake and I don't have the time, the Sweet Lion Heart Gurl's will be the first bakers I call for back up! 

-Melissa 

Cederberg Mountains and the Wolfberg cracks!

So my friend Julie has this boyfriend named Ian. He is a really great guy that loves adventure more than anyone or anything. I like Ian. I didn't like Ian when he chose to have his 30th birthday in the Cederberg which involved the dustiest dirt road that was horribly rough on my little car and entailed a giant hike that was 6 hours long. Kidding (not really).
My car had beeping lights the entire way and I was convinced it was going to fall apart.

A four-hour drive out of Cape Town and we arrived at our campsite in Krom Rivier. Julie and I, of course, decided that Ian deserved a giant Steri Stumpie cake. For those of you who aren't South African; it is a local strawberry flavoured milk drink. Needless to say, the cake barely made it intact to the campsite. I was very impressed it survived the journey. The heat was absolutely unforgiving on my perfect buttercream! Eventually, I was happy to be safe in the camp site under oak trees, eating cake. 

The main event of the weekend was, of course, the Wolfberg cracks. I will let you guys in on a little secret. I exercise because I have to. If I didn't I would be morbidly obese with my career. Julie had spent the better part of the Saturday morning telling me that the hike wasn't that bad. That I could totally do it. The question was would I be able to walk after I had done it?

The answer, no.

I couldn't walk properly for two days afterward. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes. It was simply spectacular. The cracks are unlike anything I have ever seen. If you ever find yourself in the area - it is a must. The cool part is that once you are down you can go wine tasting and swimming in a crystal clear river. I couldn't believe that something so beautiful was right in our back yard. Often with my life on social media, I have this wanderlust for travel. Have you seen the Utah slot canyons? Well if you dream of them then this one is for you. If you are local, it is so affordable. For R100 per person you can camp and for R50 per person, you can get a permit for the hike! What a win. I spent the week dreaming of going back and believe it or not, I am booking it for my birthday in January despite the wide range of emotions I had on that mountain.

So in closing. Thank you, Julie, for lying to me and Ian for turning 30. I will return to this magical place and I am dragging you with me! 

Click here for details if you would like to book or read up more about this adventure! 

-Melissa 

Brie stuffed artichokes

This week has been simply manic and I  must admit as grateful as I am to be busy it does make me miss my kitchen and question my sanity. Cooking by myself with some music on in the background is everything to me. Its like a zen meditation that I get to do. It doesn't happen often but I get these slight moment where I doubt myself. Im not sure if you get them? Where I have this chaotic life and then in the hast I think to myself, am I doing the right thing? Can I really create this food dream that I work so hard for. Do I have the talent in my kitchen to be creative and take on a dish that I haven't made before as well as develop it? All these questions come rushing in all at the same time when I have these moments. It is so hard with social media to not doubt myself. I find myself in a moment of hesitation comparing myself to other creatives which is creative death in my opinion, yet I still do it. 

Then I enter my kitchen and I can breath. I find a moment where everything makes sense and I know what I am doing is being done in the best way that I know how. I remind myself to take a second and acknowledge myself for how far I have come and how much I have learnt. I force myself to look up from my phone and away from my social media. To rather look inward at my talent and not at everyone else's. I know that no matter what happens, or how crazy life gets that I just need to keep cooking. 

On that note I found these amazing artichokes at the farmers market this past weekend and knew I wanted to be creative with them. They are so beautiful to shoot. I have never cooked with artichokes before but I know that I love to eat them. The result is juicy moorish cheesy artichokes that are the most fun to eat and delectable! They are best served with a great white wine as the richness of the cheese is perfectly paired with the wine! 

After I made these I had to remind myself that I've got this. That I can do this and that it isn't that bad if you have a good glass of wine in your hand and a delicious meal!  

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Ingredients:

• 5 medium artichokes
• ½ cup of cream
• 250 grams Brie cheese, diced with rind on
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Honey to serve

For the bread crumb topping:

• 2 slices of thick cut sourdough bread, torn into fine pieces
• ¼ cup pistachios
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions:

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

Cut the stems of your artichokes so that they have a flat base. Trim the leaves slightly. The base of the leaf is edible so don’t cut it all off. Once trimmed, pop the artichokes into the pot and boil for 15-20 minutes. Once ready drain and set aside in the colander.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a small saucepan over a low heat add the cream, Brie, and Parmesan. Melt all the ingredients together until soft and creamy.  Remove from heat and while whisking add the egg yolk and cayenne pepper to taste.

Cut the artichokes in half or leave some whole if you prefer. Place them on a roasting tray lined with wax paper. Pull the leaves outward opening them up like a flower. Fill the artichokes with the creamy cheese sauce. Make sure you fill all the grooves!  

In a separate bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, pistachios, butter and oregano. Sprinkle over the top of the artichokes. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with fresh lemon zest on top! Of course, add a beautiful glass of white wine!

-Melissa 

Saffron poached pears with Lourensford noble late harvest 2014

I have never been a fan of avocado. 
The texture was simply something I could not accept. 
I remember being young and being told that certain things in life were an acquired taste and that an appreciation for them would more than likely come with age. 
For many years I wasn’t sure that this was true, until, lo and behold, my absolute distaste for avocado disappeared. 
Slowly but surely I invited this green fruit into my life and I started experimenting with its flavours. Strange how that happens.
How the adults turned out to know a thing or two at the end of the day.

Another food that I have had the same experience with is blue cheese. 
The thought of it when I was younger turned my stomach (and my nose).
It was off putting to know that mold was grown in the cheese (on purpose!), the taste was pungent, the smell oh-so-over powering rushing into my sinuses with a less than agreeable result and that people actually ate it AS A SPECIAL TREAT!?

Now, in my later years, I enjoy a mild blue cheese and won’t say no to it especially with a fig on top. 

My new found love for blue cheese and avocado started me thinking about the wines that I drink. 
Being a stone’s throw away from some of the best wine estates in the world have given me a unique opportunity to expand my palette and begin appreciating some phenomenal wines.  

I have always loved dessert wine. For obvious reasons, it is sweet and pleasing to a novice wine drinker. 
In the same way, I have learned to appreciate new tastes with a maturing palate, I am loathed to admit that I had forgotten the delights of some of my younger forays into dessert wine and had all but excluded it from my repertoire.

Revisiting some of my earlier favorites, I’ve fallen in love with dessert wines all over again 

Appreciating the nose of a wine and the tasting notes have definitely come with age.
I found the perfect opportunity with this Lourensford Noble late harvest to pair up some unique flavours that will not only test your palette but please it right down to its nuanced sensibilities.

The wine has a certain richness to it and could be a dessert all on its own. 
With its liquid gold colour and an inviting nose of rich tropical fruits, I decided to pair it with saffron poached pears served with blue cheese and walnuts. It’s a flavour symphony that will sing in your mouth and should be kept in your arsenal for Christmas, which is just around the corner, complete with a list as long as your arm of demands for indulgent desserts and treats.

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Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes. 

Ingredients:

• 4 pears peeled 
• 1 cup of castor sugar 
• 3 cinnamon sticks 
• pinch of saffron 
• 4 cardamom pods
• 4 whole cloves 
• peel of 1 lemon
• 3 star anise
• 100 grams blue cheese
• 80 grams walnuts 

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Instructions:

In a medium pot add the pears, sugar, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom, cloves, lemon peel and star anise. 

Fill the pot halfway with warm water. Place on a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 40-50 minutes or until the pears are soft when pricked with a fork. 

Remove the pears from the pot and set aside. Reduce the syrup in the pot for another 15 minutes. You want it to become slightly thick. 

Serve warm or cold topped with syrup, blue cheese and walnuts crumbled on top and the perfect glass of dessert wine from Lourensford! 

-Melissa 

p.s this can be made the day before and the flavour gets even better! 

How to grill the perfect steak and a giveaway with Risoli!

I often get asked, “how do you make the perfect steak?” 

As a proudly South African girl, my first answer is on the grill with an open flame. There is something primal about it that ignites my inner pyromaniac, plus it’s really wonderful cooking on an open flame out in the elements. However, this isn’t always achievable. Add in a howling south easter and that little open flame meant to char a chop can turn into a roaring mountain blaze faster than you can put down the braai tongs. In fact more often than not, in simpler terms, it’s just too much hassle to set up a fire and wait for it to be the correct temperature to grill a single steak. So then what?

Enter Risoli and their marvelous grill pan! Imported from Italy and an absolute essential in the kitchen.  
The best part of the design is that it is non-stick. I love this because a cast iron grill can be such a pain to clean and with the Risoli it is quick and easy! You can focus your energy on cooking rather than cleaning which is right up my alley. 
Nobody likes to wash dishes.  

A grill pan is an essential in the kitchen because it actually goes so much further than just grilling a steak. Essentially you are cooking without added fat making it a healthier cooking method. 
You can grill vegetables as well as meat and my personal favorite, corn. 
I have a habit of trying to incorporate that little yellow ‘mielie’ into as many dishes as I can.
The possibilities are endless, think grilled corn salsa, marinated grilled vegetable salads and of course, chorizo tapas and perfect meat options!  

So, without further adieu - let’s get down to basics. Here are a few tips that I believe will make your life easier in the kitchen: 

Lesson Number 1.
The biggest mistake people make is to put oil into a grill pan. 
This is a big no-no because all you are going to do is smoke out your house. Unless your house is already on fire from that earlier braai attempt in the South Easter – nobody enjoys choking on the thick smoke billowing from an oiled grill pan.
The pan is designed to work with little to no oil. When grilling your steak all you need to do is lightly brush the meat. Lightly. That’s it. If you add more oil it will just cause a mess. 
So lesson no 1, oil the meat - not the pan.

Lesson Number 2.
The second biggest tip is to cook one side and then another. Don’t toss and turn your piece of meat. What I mean is; lightly oil your meat, bring your pan to a high heat and then lay your meat down. The main thing you are looking for is a sizzle! It is all about the sizzle. Once the meat is in the pan, leave it face down for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes turn your meat over and grill for another 3 minutes. You will see the grill marks showing up nicely. Cooking time can vary based on the thickness of your steak as well as how you would like your steak done. I personally only like medium rare to medium. So my cook time on a based on a 2cm thick steak, 3 minutes a side.
Aside from the taste benefit of minimizing the manhandling of your meat – it leaves your steak with a perfect aesthetic; marks on meat that looks more like a grill pan and less like you prepared your meat on chicken coop wire.
I’m a stickler for the details.

Season your meat after grilling with a basic salt and pepper herb mix. 
If your meat is marinated then you won’t need to oil your meat. Just let excess marinade drip off before grilling the meat. 

Lesson Number 3.
Let sleeping meat lie…
Allow for rest time on your meat. You want to be able to rest your meat for 5-10 minutes. 
Remove it from the pan (heat) and put it on a chopping board. 
Cover it with foil to allow the steak to keep warm. 
Resting the meat means it won’t end up in a bloody pool on the plate! (Unless you like that sort of thing...no judgment…okay, maybe a little Hannibal) 

Once rested, slice and serve with a simple chimichurri sauce or cracked salt. See recipe below ... 

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Ingredients: 

• 2 Rump steaks approx 200 grams, cooked according to above method. 
• A bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley 
• 1 teaspoon coriander 
• 1 - 2 garlic cloves 
• 1/4 red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1/2 red chilli (depending on how hot you like it)
• 5-6 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

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Instructions: 

Grill the steak and set aside to rest. 

Blend all chimichurri ingredients together and serve on top of sliced steak. 

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GIVEAWAY TIME! 

Now for the exciting giveaway! Comment below on what your favourite grilled dish is and you can stand a chance to win this amazing pan! Competition for South Africa only, entries close on the 17th of November. If you share the post on social media from The Truffle Journals facebook page and follow the page, then you score some extra points! Good Luck! 

*This blog post was sponsored by Risoli, all opinions are my own.