A Very South African Christmas – A Food24 Recipe Round-up

Recently I was tasked with developing summer dessert recipes with a South African twist for Food24. So it is official, I am now a Food24 contributor in recipe development. This enables me to go back to my first passion which is being in the kitchen, playing around and adapting recipes. With a week to go until Christmas, I thought I’d share my recipes I developed and photographed for Food24 with you!

I love making and experimenting with meringue. It’s stiff, glossy peaks are reminiscent of a Christmas snowy summit that I can only dream to experience (for now) The brief was to make summer desserts with a South African twist. The pavlova wreath I made, was topped with decadent caramel, flecked with chunky bits of peppermint crisp chocolate and studded with raspberries to create balance and give a bit of tart flavour. This is my ode to the very South African festive dessert – peppermint crisp fridge tart.

A Lolly to Make You Jolly!

Christmas in the Southern hemisphere is a scorcher, so to keep cool and calm, I made rosè, rooibos (the South African twist) and strawberry Ice lollies.

Creme Soda Gummy Bears

I’ve been looking for a gummy bear mold and dropper set for ages! Imagine my elation upon finding an affordable set on Takealot! The South African twist you ask? The legendary green fizzy drink that is our version of creme soda. It only takes 20-30 minutes in total to make and set in the fridge. Such a fantastic idea to make with the kiddos in the school holidays. Here’s the recipe.

Tropical Fruit Meringue Roulade

Inspired by my mom’s famous swiss roll cakes she used to magically conjure up in the kitchen, I made my own modern twist on the traditional by making a roulade with seasonal summer fruits. You can find the recipe here