Mama's Apricot Chicken

Food has an amazing ability to create memories. It's amazing how the smell of certain dishes can take you back down memory lane...this is one of those recipes for me. It takes me to a place of love, joy and home. This is one of my mama's favourite recipes and is often on the table when there are guests visiting or for special occasions.

This dish is so easy to make, even though it has to sit in the oven a while. The flavour is unexpectedly delicious...by looking at the list of ingredients, it may not sound good...but OH MY GOSH!!! It's amazing! The sweetness of the apricot jam complements the chicken. Give it a try and I promise you won't regret it!

Thank you Mama Monica for your love and inspiration!

this recipe can be found in Swedish here.

Apricot Chicken 6 people
-6 chicken fillets
-1 onion, chopped finely
-1 cup smooth apricot jam (you can change this quantity, depending on how sweet you want it)
-1 packet white onion soup powder (or French soup powder)
-450g mayonnaise
-3 cups milk
-1 tsp salt

Method:
1. Set the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Spread the chicken fillets in an oven-proof dish.
3. Scatter the onion over the chicken, spread the jam evenly over the chicken pieces, and then sprinkle the soup powder.
4. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl. Add the milk, a little bit at a time, mixing continuously. Pour the milk mixture over the chicken.
5. Bake in the oven for 1½ to 2 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. After about 30 minutes, mix the sauce around to make sure the flavours mix together. If the top is getting too brown, cover with foil and continue baking.
6. Serve with rice and vegetables like peas and carrots.

Horse Cake

Here is another cake I made for a friend's sister. I was asked to make something to do with horses, so I modelled a horse from fondant and put it in a field of flowers. I think it was cute, and apparently it tasted really nice too...that's always good to hear!


I love the little flower and fence details. The flowers and horse were made in advance so that they had time to dry. The fence was, however, made just before I put it on the cake so that it would fit against the cake properly. Finally I piped some grass around the edge and on the cake to finish it off. The cake is made from chocolate sponge, filled with chocolate cookie cream and covered in white chocolate frosting. Lots and lots of chocolate...it always works!

Birthday cake

In May this year I made my first 2-tiered cake...I think it turned out well. I loved the colour scheme - shades of pink and chocolate brown. I made the cake for a friend's 25th birthday. I liked it! In retrospect I think that the top layer was a bit big for the bottom layer. But I'm very happy wih how the roses turned out. And the polka dots...and the whole cake actually!




The vanilla sponge was tasty, but it was a bit stodgy and heavy, so I wouldn't use the same recipe again. The cake was filled with lemon curd and white chocolate mousse...YUMMY. I'll post the recipe for those soon! The cake was decorated with fondant/sugarpaste, which is very easy to work with and looks very nice. The only negative aspect of sugarpaste is that it's so sweet...BUT it looks nice...and food needs to look good, so I can live with the sweetness ;-)!

The secret with good cakes is letting your creativity flow and make it your own. Happy baking!

Malva Pudding

One of my absolute favourite South African desserts is Malva Pudding. It is AMAZING! A soft and moist texture combined with a creamy, vanilla flavour makes this pudding almost irresistible. This dessert is on almost every South African restaurant menu and found deep in the memories of many true South Africans. This is a real comfort food that is perfect for these cosy autumn evenings and especially for those of us South Africans missing home!

This recipe can be found in Swedish here!



Malva Pudding: 6-8 servings:

•1 cup sugar
•2 tbsp margarine
•1 egg
•1 tbsp smooth apricot jam
•1 tsp white wine vinegar
•1 cup milk
•1 cup flour
•1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
•1 tsp baking powder
•½ tsp salt
For the sauce:
•½ cup cream
•125 g margarine
•½ cup sugar
•1/3 cup water
•1 tsp vanilla essence
Method:
1.Put the oven on 180 degrees (Celsius)
To make the pudding:
2.Beat the margarine and sugar well.
3.Add the egg, apricot jam and vinegar while beating.
4.Mix in the milk first and then add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate and salt, mixing until everything is just blended.
5.Pour the batter into individual ramekins. Cover the forms with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

To make the sauce:

6.Melt the margarine with the sugar and water on a stove.
7.Remove from the heat and add the cream and vanilla essence.
8.Pour the sauce over the pudding as soon as it is out of the oven. It may feel like too much sauce, so go on your feeling, but don’t be scared about pouring over too much sauce…this is what makes the pudding so mice and moist.
9.Enjoy served with some vanilla custard or ice-cream.

If you don’t have individual ramekins, the recipe will work just as well when baked in a larger oven proof dish. Just remember to increase the time spent in the oven up to around an hour.

There is so much in life worth enjoying. Family, friends, the different seasons of life, and food...food is one of my favourite things to enjoy. There is so much variety of food, so much to test and explore, so many new flavours to experience.

And because of my love for food and baking, I've decided to try out doing a blog. The thought kind of started through a part-time job that I have as a food columnist for a local internet newspaper, Jnytt. I realised how much I enjoy trying out new recipes and sharing them with other people.

I am from South Africa, but live currently i Jönköping, Sweden together with my wonderful husband and cute little son. Besides being in the kitchen, I am studying full-time towards a degree in Media and Communication Sciences. A very interesting, yet contrasting subject to that of food. But I enjoy the different aspects of my life and hope to someday be able to combine the 2 in an exciting way.

That's a little about me for now. I hope that you enjoy this blog and that it gives you inspiration for many wonderful meals and celebrations shared with the special people in your life.