Individual Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tarts

Happy National Chocolate Mint Day!

I felt this was a day that had to be celebrated since I'm pretty sure chocolate and mint is my all time favourite flavour pairing!  I went through a stage where every dessert I made had to be made better by adding a little mint to it! However, we've found out recently that my husband gets crazy bad heartburn if he has too much mint (randomly) so I try and sneak it in here and there when I can in small doses to still get my fix! 

Fortunately, my husband is South African and so he's always willing to get heartburn for something as tasty as peppermint crisp fridge tart! For those who haven't been following the blog for long, peppermint crisp fridge tart is a very South African dessert - I have yet to meet a South African who didn't feast on this growing up! 

This continues to be one of my most visited recipes on the blog! and it's just not a very photogenic dessert so I'm always trying to think of ways to make it look prettier.

I thought it would be cute to make individual portions in these glasses and layer it up. If you want to make it the standard way then follow this recipe, or jazz it up with a crust around the edge then follow this recipe. I blitzed up the tennis biscuits to crumbs in order to make the layering smoother...but they were a bit sandy in texture so if I was to make it again I think I'd just crush up the biscuits into smaller chunks as opposed to crumbs.

I also had more problems with Canadian whipping cream not whipping up as thick as it should for this dessert, and don't even get me started on the dulche de leche in this country - it tastes like mocha! 

All in all, I won't be recreating this dessert in a hurry (on this side of the pond) but if you live in a country where whipping cream actually does it's job and dulche de leche tastes like caramel then you need to make this dessert! It's one of my all time faves! 

Individual Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tarts:

Makes 4

From Cupcake Crazy Gem

2 packets of tennis biscuits (or other coconut flavoured biscuits), blended into crumbs

375g caramelised condensed milk/tinned dulche de leche

250ml whipping cream

20ml caster sugar

3 peppermint crisp bars, crushed

3 drops of peppermint extract

Blitz the tennis biscuits in a blender.

Whip the cream and stir in the caramel.  If you are using regular condensed milk, then boil the tin until it turns into caramel.  Stir in the caster sugar and peppermint extract to the caramel cream mixture.

Using a sharp knife, cut up the peppermint crisp bars into small pieces.  Stir 2/3 of the peppermint crisps into the cream mixture.  

Spoon some of the tennis biscuit crumbs into the bottom of your glasses.  Smooth out the surface.  Sprinkle some of the leftover peppermint crisp chunks on top of the biscuit base and layer some of the caramel cream mixture on top.  Smooth it out, and repeat with another biscuit layer and a final caramel cream layer.  

Finish off with a sprinkling of tennis biscuit crumbs and a sprinkling of peppermint crisp pieces.

Refrigerate for 3 hours until the cream is firm.

Eat and enjoy.

South African Granadilla Fridge Tart

As you know, my mom had a birthday recently and I made her Key Lime Pie.  It didn't even last 'til the 2nd evening of my stay! so after our birthday Braai we needed another dessert.  I helped my mom whip up this Granadilla Fridge Tart, a South African dessert that she said her mother made countless times when she was younger.  I don't know why she's waited so long to do the same for us! because it's the first time we had ever had it, and it's definitely not going to be the last - it was so delicious!

It occurred to me recently that the other South African desserts I have featured on my blog so far have both been no bake: Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart and Romany Minty Choc Fridge Tart and now this dessert too  - I guess when you live in South Africa and are already contending with a hot climate then the last thing you feel like doing is turning on your oven.  

So back to the dessert.  From what I can tell Granadilla's are the same as what we call Passion Fruit, but in South Africa they will always be referred to as Granadilla.  I also have it in mind that Granadilla's are slightly larger too but it's been a long time since I've seen one, and they taste the same too! Regular Passion Fruit's were used to make this.  The original recipe calls for Tennis Biscuits, which I've mentioned on here before - they are South Africa's equivalent to Nice biscuits so you can use those or any biscuit crumb will work just fine. Hmm, I'm just imagining how good Graham Cracker crumbs would be with this! You can also use any flavour jelly you would like to switch things up, we kept ours totally tropical and used pineapple flavour jelly.  

This is a perfect summery dessert, it is so light and creamy and refreshing and I can't wait to bake up another one very soon.  I'm also thinking of how I can work some coconut in there too (aside from the coconut flavour biscuits that it already contains!) yes...the coconut obsession continues! 

Granadilla Fridge Tart:

Serves 6

Adapted from Food24

1 packet pineapple jelly

410g chilled evaporated milk

1/4 cup caster sugar

granadilla pulp from 5/6 granadillas

2 packets biscuits of your choice (Tennis/Rich Tea/Nice)
4 pineapple rings

Mix the jelly with 250ml boiling water and set aside to cool.

Beat the ideal milk until "stiffish", continue beating while adding the sugar.  It should look thickened.

Stir in the cool jelly and granadilla pulp, combine well.

Crush biscuits into crumbs.

In glass bowl, layer biscuit crumbs and then jelly mixture on top.  Repeat and finish off with a top layer of biscuits.
I decorated mine with a sprinkling of granadilla seeds and juice and a few slices of pineapple.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.

Sit back, and watch, as people will want to lick the bowl clean - it is that good! 

Some Birthday S'mores Bars...For My Favourite Aunt!

Do any of you have a cool aunt? I have 10 aunts in total and they're all great but Lynne is my very cool aunt who is favoured above all other aunts!

The first time I got to meet her I was 11, she was 28.  She lives in South Africa and so that is why it took us so long to finally meet! The first time I knew she was super cool was when she had just taken us to get some lime milkshakes and we were driving around in her car with the music blasting and she started slurping the last bit of her milkshake, that is something my mom would never allow me to do so I told this to Lynne and she told me I was definitely allowed when I was with her! So we slurped up our milkshakes as loud as we could, and as an 11 year old I thought that was pretty fantastic! 

The fun didn't end there! Every trip I have ever made to South Africa, I have always been crazy spoilt by Lynne! She would always take me on shopping trips, all expenses paid! and she always knew the best spots for cake and frulattas (a South African drink - a cross between a milkshake and a smoothie with chunks of real fruit on top).  We would talk about guys non stop and I would tell her all about my little crushes and who was the current boy of the moment! 

After the first trip I made out there we became permanent 'pen pals' and I still have boxes of the letters she sent to me.  These days it's easier to keep in touch through Facebook and email...although I do miss our letter writing days, since getting post is always that little bit more fun!

Lynne also has a very sweeth tooth, just like me! In fact she was the one who helped inspire me to start this blog because she took me to lots of South African cupcakeries back on my visit in 2009 before the trend had really begun in the U.K.  When I came home I was crazy for cupcakes and I started to bake them whenever I could! There is nothing we like better than going to grab a cake and a shake, oh and occasionally we like to get our nails done too!

 

She also knows all the best restaurants! She took us to one of the Top 10 restaurants in South Africa while we were in Durban, and also to Kream in Pretoria where we had amazing biltong soup!




Harrie's Pancakes was also another great find, a My Old Dutch Style pancake house but with delicious fillings like mango!



and of course all the best little cafe's with cakes and tasty treats...




So it makes me sad that because of a huge ocean and a few dozen countries that separate us I'm not able to bake treats for Lynne on her birthday! but I decided I could bake some treats and share them with her virtually (that's the next best thing right?) So I sneakily looked on her pinterest to see what sweet treats she had been pinning recently and when I stumbled upon these s'mores bars I knew that's what I would bake for her!


Happy Birthday Lynne! I hope you have a really amazing day filled with lots of cake and delicious treats (even if you are only able to look at pictures of it, and not try it!)
Come back to England soon and I will bake you round two of these!

These are definitely the best thing I've baked in a while, the dough actually tastes like a graham cracker so it does taste like you're eating an enormous s'more.  I love the sticky marshmallow and the gooey warm chocolate in between the layers of dough, all the flavours compliment each other perfectly!



S'mores Bars:
Makes 9
From The Apron Gal

113g unsalted butter, at room temperature
50g dark brown soft sugar
112g caster sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
162g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
60g graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
3 x 120g Dairy Milk chocolate bars
180g marshmallow fluff (available at Asda or TK Maxx)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.  Grease an 8x inch sqaure dish.  I also lined mine with parchment paper.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light.  Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.
Add to butter mixture and mix at low speed until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
Place chocolate bars over dough.  They should fit side by side, but break the chocolate if necessary to get it to fit into a single layer.
Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.
Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Bake these for a loved one today - you will not regret it! 

South African Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart...so good I made it twice!

This is the second time I have made this South African dessert, and I'm happy to say that this time I made it more authentic than the last time because now we're back in the UK there are South African shops all over where you can get Tennis biscuits from, and really if you're going to make this dessert and I hope you do because it's SO delicious then you're definitely going to want to try and do it right, coconut Tennis biscuits and all! 

Having said that there are South African shops all over, I had planned to go to one in Covent Garden a few weekends back that I have been to countless times over the years and when I got there I discovered it had closed down! Luckily, after some googling I discovered there was a little South African shop in an indoor market in the Stratford Mall and since I was heading to the new Westfield later in the day it fit into my plan quite well! So Randsavers saved the day!

 I made this dessert for my Zimbabwean mother-in-laws birthday dinner that we hosted for her that very evening so if it hadn't been for that shop I might have had to abandon the whole idea! 

This dessert combines coconut with caramel and peppermint in creamy, crunchy mouthfuls of deliciousness.   As we sat down to eat it the two other South Africans at the table requested seconds...and even thirds! It really is that good! 

I decided to make it even better this time around I would add a crushed up Tennis biscuits base and sides just to be fancy.  Note for next time: when trying to be fancy do not push out your loose bottomed cheesecake tin using a tin of condensed milk (it is not tall enough so your dessert will be stuck and if you're not careful your lovely biscuit sides will cave in like mine did!)

Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart:

Serves 8 normal people, or 4 South African people! 

Adapted from Cook Sister

1 packet/200g Tennis biscuits

60g melted unsalted butter

250ml double cream (Orley Whip if you are in S.A)

397g Carnation Caramel, or if you're feeling brave you can boil a tin of condensed milk instead!

20g caster sugar

3 Peppermint Crisp bars, crushed

3 drops of good quality peppermint extract - I use this

1/2 packet/100g Tennis biscuits

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Grease an 8 inch loose bottomed cheesecake tin.

Crush Tennis biscuits using a food processor.  Melt butter in 30 second intervals in the microwave.  Mix the two together.  You should be able to roll a ball of the mix without it crumbling, if it is not at that consistency you will need to add a little more butter.

Press the biscuit mix into the bottom of the tin, using a tablespoon to press around the edges to ensure it is firm.  Take spoonfuls of the mix and press them around the edge of the tin until it is completely covered.  

Bake in the oven for approximately 10-12 minutes or until it starts to go firm.

Leave to cool.

Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form - you can do this in a stand mixer or using a handheld whisk.  Add the caramel, caster sugar and peppermint extract.  Beat until well mixed and then stir in 2/3 of the crushed peppermint crisp with a metal spoon.

Spoon a 1/3 of the caramel mix over the crushed biscuit base and spread evenly.  Add a layer of Tennis biscuits, then repeat with adding another 1/3 of the caramel mix.  Add another layer of Tennis biscuits and a final layer of caramel mix.  

Use your leftover crushed peppermint crisp to decorate the top. 

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Very carefully remove your tart from your tin! 

Eat and enjoy :)

Triple Mint Choc Chip Cookie Dough and Mint Oreo Brownies

I'm going to start this post with some bad news.  I feared it from the moment I baked my first batch of brownies in our new house...but I thought I'd wait and give our oven a few more chances to come around but there is no two ways about it - we have a bad oven!! It is WAY too hot and even if you drop the temp dramatically it still burns things on top and leaves them uncooked in the middle! but what do you do in this situation? It's hardly like at your initial viewing of a property you can pop in a quick batch of cupcakes to see if the oven is up to scratch is it! Although I wish I could have done that because I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have picked this house! seriously! dodgy ovens are my worst nightmare :( so if any of you have any tips on how I can improve my situation please share!

bad news aside, here's the good!

Remember when my sisters brought me back tons of amazing goodies from America! and I was saving my last packet of Mint Oreos for a super special recipe...well I think I just created that special recipe, with a little inspiration from this recipe! 

This recipe has been circulating pinterest for a while now, it has been on my 'to bake' list but I kept thinking making cookie dough and brownies in one go would be time consuming, not so! This recipe was actually relatively easy to whip up! and since I make my brownies in the saucepan once I've removed them from the heat I didn't even have to wash out my KitchenAid bowl to re use it - bonus! 

I decided to add some mint-spiration to this dish and instead of chocolate chips in the cookie dough I substituted them with Andes mint chips.  I used my Mint Oreos for the Oreo layer and then I sprinkled up some Peppermint Crisp bars on top of the brownie layer before it went in the oven to create some triple mint yumminess! If you don't know...Peppermint Crisps are chocolate bars that originate in South Africa and are one of my very fave choc bars ever!

Mint Choc Chip Cookie Dough & Oreo Brownies

(Makes 9)

Cookie dough:

1 stick/113g unsalted butter (at room temp)

1/2 cup caster sugar
3/8 cup light brown sugar (a full 1/4 cup and then a half 1/4 cup is how I did it!)
1 large egg
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup Andes Mint Chips
9 Mint Oreo cookies
Brownie mix: 
112g milk chocolate
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 large eggs (or 90g)
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 Peppermint Crisp bar

Preheat all your normal ovens out there to 180 degrees C.
Grease your baking dish with butter.  I used an 8x8 dish.

For the cookie dough: Cream the butter and both sugars in an electric mixer for 3-5 mins.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, soda and salt  and slowly add it into the mixer until the flour is just combined.  Stir in the mint chips.
Spread the dough in the bottom of your dish.

Layer it with 9 Mint Oreos or if you have unlimited access to Mint Oreos go ahead and use 16 - I could have fit that amount in but I wanted to use mine sparingly as once they're gone they're gone!

For the brownies: Melt milk chocolate with butter over heat.  Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar and salt.  Whisk in the eggs.  Gently whisk in the flour and cocoa until just combined.  Pour over the Oreo layer.

Sprinkled your crushed up peppermint crisp bar for just an extra hint of mint!
Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Make sure when you eat these you do so with copious amounts of ice cream! They are crazy rich but in a very good way! and I was surprised at how well the mint element worked, it wasn't overpowering at all but for all you mint lovers out there it was just right! chocolatey, gooey, minty deliciousness! Certainly not a dessert for the faint hearted but if it's a cold windy evening and you want to snuggle up with the one you love on the sofa and be kept warm by a yummy pudding then this is the one to make!

Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart...baie lekker!

So you all know by now my love for English chocolate! and the huge supply my sister brought over for us before Christmas is nearly all gone...sad times! but one of my favourite chocolate bars of all time is actually South African.  When I visited family in South Africa last year, a whole bag full of Peppermint Crisps greeted me on my arrival! and I even got to try a Peppermint Crisp cupcake while I was there at one of their amazing cupcakeries! 

Well my South African mom knows of my love for peppermint crisps and so along with all the English chocolate that was sent over for us she also included 2 beloved Peppermint Crisps that she got from a South African shop in Shropshire where she lives.  If I'd had my way they would have been devoured the minute they came out of my sisters suitcase, but my South African husband requested that I use them to bake up a delicious Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart! 

I've used Peppermint Crisps a few times in my previous baking.  Back in my early days of blogging I used them along with another South African food, Romany Creams, to make Romany Minty Choc Dessert and for my minty birthday dessert bar I used them to garnish the top of my mini mint cupcakes but why did I wait so long to make this amazing dessert! It was full of caramel, minty and coconutty goodness - how can you go wrong! 

First step is to crush up some 'Tennis biscuits' to form your bottom layer.  Tennis biscuits are another South African delicacy and whilst it would have been quite easy to pick up a pack of them at a South African shop had I been making this recipe back in the U.K, there are definitely no S.A stockists like that on this island! so I went to the supermarket hoping to find a suitable replacement.  The only biscuits I could find that had coconut in were chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies - the coconut variety! They're not ideal but they worked well all the same! 

Then you whip up your 'Orley Whip' another South African product.  You can substitute it with Cool Whip if you live in the States or double cream if you're a Brit.  You beat in your dulche de leche and get this amazing looking tastiness in your bowl! 

Then you add my favourite part: those little green crystal like gems of Peppermint Crisp and mix them in.

After that you're ready to begin the layering process.  Add a layer of caramel mixture on top of your biscuits, and then repeat with another biscuit layer and finish with a caramel layer.  

Not forgetting that all important sprinkling of Peppermint Crisp on the top just to finish it all off! The hard part is leaving it in the fridge for 4 hours afterwards to set, we did some serious clock watching in those four hours let me tell you! 

If you are wanting to make this dessert, and believe me you should! and you are in the UK but not fortunate enough to live close to a South African shop (where are you living?! those shops are everywhere!) then you can buy them online cheaply here and you can even get the Tennis biscuits on that site too if you want to make it the true South African way! 

This is the blog that helped me make the wishes of my husband come true! It's a great blog with lots of South African recipes on there, you should definitely check it out. 

Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart:
Serves 8
From Cook Sister

250ml Orley Whip, whipped

2 packets of Tennis biscuits (although you will probably use less)

375g caramelised condensed milk

20ml caster sugar

3 Peppermint Crisp bars, crushed

3-4 drops of peppermint extract (more, if you like)

Whip the Orley Whip and then add the caramelised condensed milk caster sugar and peppermint essence.  Beat until well mixed and then stir in 2/3 of the crushed Peppermint Crisp.

Place a layer of whole tennis biscuits in a buttered 29x19x5cm dish.  Spoon 1/3 of the caramel mix over the biscuits and spread evenly.  Continue in layers, finishing with a layer of filling on top.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  Decorate by sprinkling the remainder of crushed peppermint crisp on top.  Cut into squares and serve.

South African Romany Minty Choc Fridge Tart

So when By and I celebrated our first year anniversary in Brighton we found The Biltong Hut and bought some Mint Romany Creams (they are South African biscuits for those of you who don't know). We munched them all..and then I saw an awesome recipe on the back of the box for this dessert but unfortunately had just eaten them all so had none to use as ingredients! So I cut out the recipe and kept it in my recipe file and on my recent trip to South Africa I remembered to stock up on some!

I decided to make it when Mel and Arne had come to visit for the weekend and everyone got involved and helped! Mel whipped the cream (as apparently she's the pro at that), By attacked the Romany's with a rolling pin and Arne..watched! so almost everyone helped! 

Romany Minty Choc Fridge Tart:

Serves 9

From Romany Creams biscuit box

1 x 150g pack of marshmallows

1 cup (250ml) semi-skimmed milk

2 large slabs Peppermint Crisp chocolate

1 cup (250ml) whipping cream

1 x 200g pack Mint Choc Romany Creams biscuits, crushed

1 x Peppermint Crisp (to decorate)

Combine marshmallows and milk in a saucepan. Over low heat, stir until marshmallows have melted. Add Peppermint Crisp and stir until metled and mixture is smooth. Allow to cool.

Whip the cream and fold into the cooled chocolate mixture.

Roughly break the Romany's into quarters. Place into a dessert dish and pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the top. Tap dish softly to remove air bubbles. Place in the fridge to set. 

 Decorate with extra Peppermint Crisp if desired.

2. The Patisserie, Johannesburg, South Africa

This was a lovely little place and the decor was gorgeous. They had an amazing array of goodies and my Aunt was especially fond of their profiteroles filled with custard and iced. I tried their cupcakes (you can see them in the centre of the picture) - they were iced with regular icing and had spring/easter patterns on them. They were pretty good and the icing had a hint of lemon to it but for me it has to be buttercream every time so I would give those a 7/10.

1. 'I Love Cupcake' - Centurion and Parkhurst, Johannesburg - South Africa

Wow I was so impressed with this place. We went to their factory shop in Centurion and I tried this chocolate cupcake with mint buttercream icing and i didn't even realise until I was about to eat it that it was sprinkled with peppermint crisp (my very fave choc bar ever..only available in South Africa!) so that was super exciting and wow it was just an amazing cupcake. We went back to their other store in Johannesburg (I am standing in front of it in the top picture) and I'm afraid to say I was boring and went for another mint one, I was tempted by the granadilla but it had poppy seeds in so I became less keen. Lynne had the caramel one and Mom had the chocolate - they are so attractive and so yummy too.