Wistful recollections of our childhood usually centre around food and baking. Nothing conjures up feelings of nostalgia better than the image of a little child, nose-pressed-to-the-oven door on a cold Sunday afternoon. With nostrils giddy with the scent of melted chocolate and eyes bigger than dinner plates, their delicate hands’ are poised, ready to grab a freshly baked cookie as soon as mom carefully plates them.
Grace Stevens, award-winning TV chef, confectionery connoisseur, and fellow mum, shares some delectable ways to ensure this Mother’s Day is the most special one yet.
Here Are Her Top 3 Tips:
Give the gift of food
Food shared with loved ones always creates memorable moments. There is something wonderfully unforgettable about making and gifting special edible treats for those we love, and more so for our mums, as they do it all the time for us. Mother’s Day is the perfect opportunity to treat mum to treasured cakes and bakes passed down from previous generations, over a steaming pot of fresh tea or coffee.
Bring the family together
It is so special when Moms can be celebrated by spending quality time with their families, catching up, and sharing fond memories. A delightful alternative to taking mum out for a meal is to recreate her favourite restaurant dinner at home, with all the family. We absolutely love making homemade pizza together. It’s a lovely way of getting the whole family involved. From kneading the dough to roasting the tomato paste, grating the cheese, and chopping up toppings to scatter over, there is something every member of the family can do, irrespective of their age.
Make mum the focus
Mother’s Day is all about spending quality time with your mom and making her feel special. Set aside time to just hang out with your mom and do something that she enjoys. Doing a craft class, helping with some gardening, or going on an outing together is a great way to spend precious time together. If you have more than one sibling, divide up the weekend and take your mom on a few different outings. This way she can relax and not be stressed with having to try and catch up with everyone at one time.
Here are Grace’s beloved treats to create for Mum:
Lemon and Blueberry Cake
Nothing beats sitting down to indulge in a delicate slice of cake for afternoon tea. I absolutely love a moist cake with light fluffy sponge layers, a citrus zing, and fresh bursts of fruits. The great thing about cakes is that they are easy to make, they taste even better after a day or two when the flavours have had a chance to mingle, and the little ones can go to town with the decorating.
Scroll down for the recipe.
Shortbread
Shortbread is notable for its crumbly texture and butter-rich taste. My quick and easy recipe for candied orange peel shortbread packs a punch of flavour and is ideal for this time of year. They make the perfect food gift if you’re popping round to Mum for a cup of tea. Simply wrap them up in brown paper and tie them with a pretty ribbon to take with you.
Scroll down for the recipe.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Who doesn’t love to walk into a house that smells like cookies baking? I adore cookies and perfectly sweet and undeniably delectable chocolate chip ones are my favourite. The perfect cookie is crispy and firm on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and tastes scrumptious, served with a large cup of warmed hot chocolate. I love to keep a tin full of these in the house and serve them as an after-dinner treat, or late evening snack. You’ll look like a domestic goddess with minimal effort on your part.
Scroll down for the recipe.
Mother’s Day is all about taking the time out of our busy schedules to appreciate the selfless sacrifices and limitless compassion of our mum, which actually merits more than just one day of recognition. So, this Mother’s Day, let’s make our moms feel extra special by baking some delicious memories that will last a lifetime.
For more delectable recipes, online tutorials, shop, and live classes visit www.gracestevens.co.za or follow her on Grace_stevenschef or Facebook grace_stevenschef
Grace Stevens – Blueberry & Lemon Cake Recipe
Cake:
120g butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 large eggs
10 ml baking powder
2 ml salt
500 ml cake flour
125 ml milk
300g bleberries
Zest of 1 lemon
30 ml lemon juice
Icing:
100g soft butter
375 ml icing sugar
20 ml lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
Method:
1 Heat oven to 180°C.
2 Grease a Bundt tin and dust with flour
3 Add lemon juice to milk (it will curdle, this is fine)
4 In electric mixer, whisk butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat until pale and fluffy.
5 Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one.
6 Sift dry ingredients. Add blueberries and mix gently to cover.
7 With spoon, fold in half of flour, then half of milk into batter; repeat.
8 Spoon into Bundt tin and smooth off top with the back of a spoon.
9 Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until golden brown
10 Remove from tin carefully. Place a wire cooling rack over the top of the tin, Flip the wire wrack and the tin over. Remove the cake tin and allow to cool completely.
11 You will ice the smooth “bottom” of the cake.
12 Beat butter and icing sugar together well before adding lemon juice and zest.
13 Spread onto cooled cake.
14 Decorate with blueberries and some more lemon zest.
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Grace Steven – Candied Orange Peel Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients:
175 g Butter
100 g Castor Sugar
225 g White Flour
30 g Candied Orange Peel
Method:
1 Combine butter and sugar.
2 Beat well until light and creamy.
3 If candied orange peel is not finely chopped, chop up.
4 Add flour and candied orange peel to butter and combine with a spatula.
5 Bringing everything together with your fingers to form a ball of dough.
6 Divide dough into two.
7 Place one half onto a sheet of cling film in a long sausage.
8 Roll dough up in cling film and secure each end with a knot. Roll the dough back and forth on your work surface to form a round sausage.
9 Repeat with the second piece of dough.
10 Leave the dough in the fridge for at least half an hour.
11 Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
12 Grease two baking sheets.
13 Remove dough from the fridge and take off the cling film. Cut each sausage into 11 pieces.
14 Place the biscuits onto baking sheets, leaving room for a bit of spreading.
15 Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Start 15min timer
16 Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
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Grace Stevens – Choc Chip Heart Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
50 g Butter
115 g Castor sugar
5 ml Vanilla extract
1 Egg
200 g Flour
10 ml Baking Powder
50 g Dark chocolate chips
Method:
1 Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
2 Cream butter and sugar until light.
3 Add egg and beat well.
4 Add flour and chocolate chips and mix until well combined.
5 Roll out between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 2mm. Place on prepared baking sheet.
6 Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden on the edges. 7 Minutes
7 Allow to cool for a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
8 Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
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