Sugar Babes

MasterChef South Africa

2012-07-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

MasterChef South Africa

Food oh glorious food!

It was only a matter of time until the Masterchef brand hit South African shores.

What I love about the show are the judges' and editors' ability to stimulate drama, managing to get audience's heart's pumping week after week. Masterchef South Africa has gripped thousands of south africans, as every week has had an emotional turn. Its down to the final 4: Manisha, Deena, Sarel and Sue-Ann. Tune in to Masterchef South africa Tuesdays on mnet to see who will be the ultimate Master Chef. http://www.masterchefsa.dstv.com/

Harrods

2011-07-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Omnia Omnibus Ubique ( All things For all People)

Harrods founded in 1834

In our London tour, Sugar Babes visit the World famous Harrods Food Hall. It turned out to be-without a doubt-one of the best food experiences yet! There is a fresh and vibrant feel from the moment you enter. The food is just as amazing as the fashion stores. It is located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. If you are taking a tube, you get off at Knights bridge. Be sure to arrive with loads of money, the prices match the high standard of food and clothing. Harrods is a must, if you love food and fashion.

Sugar babes enjoy a strawberry and cream krispy cream doughnut

MASTERCHEF USA

2011-07-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

Episode 10

The Blue team loses as contestants battle it out in Gordan Ramsay's Los Angeles West End Restaurant. With only 6minutes on the clock, Esther, who I believe should have left a while ago, disappoints her team as she cant pull it together to make her dessert. They pull together a fruit salad in a cupcake cup with cream on top-which could make you forget that you are watching MASTER chef. This week was one of the most difficult pressure tests to date as they had to make a six layered cake. Once again Christine looses it in the kitchen in the pressure test. Her tantrums could possibly turn out to be a good strategy for her, as she makes it another week. In-experienced Tracey, manages to make it through, but Esther falls flat and was eliminated.

Caffe Concerto

2011-07-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Regent Street's Caffe Concerto

While walking the streets of London, SugarBabes were stunned by the window displayed cakes at the Caffe and had to pop in to try their delicious looking Ice Cream. What is said to be London's Finest Ice Cream, proved to be just that, once we had a taste. The Caffe specialises in cakes, whether they are for weddings, birthdays, celebration, corporate or any shaped cakes. You can find the Caffe located at either Regent street Picadilly, Kings Road, the Villiage in Westfield shopping centre or High Street Kensington, all in the London.

People admire the lovely cakes on display Cakes on display

yummy ice cream

Don't waste anymore time, and make sure that you have tasted the BEST Ice Cream in London!!

visit their website caffeconcerto.co.uk

Gordon Ramsay's Shepherd's Pie

2011-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

The Sugar babes attempt Gordon Ramsay's Classic British dish: The Shepherd's Pie.

Ingredients:

filling: Olive oil (2tbsp) Mash: 2 potatoes

Lamb mince heavy cream ( quarter cup)

1 Carrot butter

Salt and Pepper salt

fresh Rosemary and Thyme pepper

Minced garlic 2 egg yolks

Worcestershire sauce Parmesan cheese

Tomato puree

Red Wine

Chicken Stock

Instructions:

chop and peel the potatoes

boil the potatoes, adding salt, until soft to be mashed

while potato is boiling add olive oil in another saucepan and add the lamb mince

once the mince has slightly browned, add salt, pepper, grated carrot, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Let cook for 2-3minutes and add the tomato puree, Worcester sauce and wine.

Once the potato has softened to mash, add its ingredients.

add the chicken stock to the mince mixture and cook for a further 3minutes

put the mince mixture in an oven dish and place the mash on top of the mince and spread some Parmesan cheese. Poke with a folk, and place in the oven for about 15-20minutes. Once the top is golden brown, serve and enjoy. We decided to serve it with Garlic bread, which turned out to be a great compliment.

The recipe turned out to be a big success, a definite favourite for the sugar babes!

Madame Tussauds English Fudge

2011-07-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Fudge Galore At Madame Tussuad's

In the midst of the excitement of spotting your favourite waxed celebrity be sure to stop by the English Fudge wagon. It has a great and wide variety of fudge and can please your urging taste buds whether they are craving mint, strawberries, chocolate, or just the classic fudge.

Masterchef USA

2011-07-06T17:10:00.000-07:00

Top 13 Compete

The mystery box challenge set, previously down-falled Jennifer, at the top of the group with her vegetable terrine with eggplant wrap and tomato sauce dish. Contestants had to make a vegetable dish. Adrienne and Alejandra were in the top 3. Christiane had the worst dish, and had no problem letting the judges know his contrary beliefs to their thoughts, which left everyone in shock. In the second challenge the top 13 had to imitate a crispy cat fish dish of last year's winner, Whitney Miller. Alejandra and Adrienne fell from the top 3 to the bottom 3 in a short space of time. Watch more of the heat here:

cake boss

2011-07-06T03:45:00.000-07:00

Cake Boss is an American reality television series set at Carlo's bakery. Carlo's bakery is a family owned business that produces what many say are the best tasting, highest quality wedding and specialty cakes as well as baked goods. The bakery is based in the heart of Hoboken, New Jersey.

Never having tasted their cakes, I can agree with the statement above, because just by looking at the cakes from my living room, makes me want to jump into the television set and indulge in these mouth watering treats.
These cakes are not your typical bakery goods, because every creation is made and treated like an art creation, and I am sure they taste like one. They transform every-day boring pastry into the most decadent pastry you have ever tasted.

Watch how buddy make this amazing cake for national train day.

and here is his final product for train day

MASTERCHEF USA

2011-06-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

From 15 to 14

mystery Box challenge

with 60minutes on the clock, contestants were challenged to make their best ever dish with the contents of the mystery box, having ingredients including: peaches cauliflower, beans, feta, white rice, Thai chili peppers, cream and eggs.
Right at the beginning, Jennifer was called out for serving a piece of meat that was completely raw. I found myself clenching my teeth as the judge embarrassed and called her out in front of everyone. Here are some of the judge's favourites:

alejandra served a Currie rack of lamb with peach chutney and cauliflower steak
adrienne's Farmer's market lamb, with cauliflower puree.
tracy's sweet and salty lamb and feta.

Elimination challenge : Dessert

Coffee...pineapple...or nuts. Mystery box winner Adrienne chooses the nuts. I would have preferred the coffee. The challenge proved to swallow most of the contestants. The only ones that sat well with the judges was the 6minute made moose by Christine and the oh so yummy espresso chocolate cake with coffee caramel sauce made by Tracy. A science experiment gone so wrong, caused Alvin to leave the competition.

Drum magazine : Layered Vanilla and Pecan Nut Cake

2011-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

DRUM magazine Recipe

Layered Vanilla and Pecan Nut Cake

Preparation time: 15 min
Baking time: 35-45 min
serves: 8-12

Ingredients
CAKE
400 ml (1½ cups + 5 tsp) caster sugar
375 g soft butter
7 large eggs
750 ml (3 cups) self-raising flour
15 ml (1 tbsp) baking powder
2ml (½ tsp) salt
60 ml (¼ cup) milk
10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
Butter icing
180 g butter or margarine
750 ml (3 cups) icing sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
20 ml (4 tsp) water
10 ml (2 tsp) vanilla essence
100 g (1 packet) chopped pecan
nuts to decorate

Method

1. CAKE Preheat the oven to 180°c and line two 20 cm cake tins with baking paper. in a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until it's light and fluffy. add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. 2. sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the egg-butter mixture. Mix together. Fold in the milk and vanilla essence. 3. spoon into the prepared tins and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. let the cakes cool then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 4. Icing Beat together butter, icing sugar, salt, water and vanilla essence. half each cake horizontally and spread icing in between and all over the cake. cover with nuts and serve in slices.

visit the DRUM website

Cooking With Siba

2011-06-18T04:57:00.000-07:00

South African food television sensation "Cooking with Siba" graces Mnet's Mzantsi Magic channel in the year 2011. Paging through the drum magazine, I rush to the food section, excited to see which new recipe I am going to try out. My mouth already waters as I look at the pictures. So when I saw her television show, I rearranged my schedule. Each week a new South African celebrity joins chef Siba in the kitchen, as she teaches them a thing or two about cooking.

Siba putting icing on some cupcakes

MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA

2011-06-18T04:19:00.000-07:00

Darren Purchese on MASTERCHEF AUSTRALIA

Contestants were challenged as they broke up into teams and had to make a carnival or beach themed dessert. Genuise pastry chef Darren Purchese, whom is one of Autralias best pastry chefs, showed his magic as he demonstrated how he made his carnival themed dessert. His food philosophy is "to highlight and enhance beautiful, natural ingredients and products to provide the ultimate dining experience for the customer."

Here is another recipe of his.

Caramelised White Chocolate Mousse, Banana, Vanilla and Passion Fruit

Ingredients

caramalised vanilla white chocolate
2 vanilla pods, split
600g chopped chocovic jaina white chocolate
40g yoghurt powder

caramalised vanilla, bannana and white chocolate mousse
10g or (5) gelatine gold leaves
100g water
100g reserved banana flesh
250g caramelised vanilla & white chocolate
30g softened unsalted butter
400g thickened cream, whipped

caramalised vanilla and white chocolate velvet spray
350g caramelised vanilla & white chocolate
250g melted cocoa butter

Light coffee shortbread
375g plain flour
2g baking powder
2g salt
225g cubed unsalted butter
150g icing sugar, sieved
10g freshly ground coffee
90g whole eggs

White Rum gelatin
50g water
75g sugar syrup 100%
1.5g agar
175g white coconut rum

For the rest of the recipe Visit: MASTERCHEF RECIPES

lemon vanilla cup cakes

2011-06-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

vanilla cupcakes

I recently tried to make cupcakes for a friends birthday, but I didn't know what cupcake flavour she liked, so I decided to make simple Lemon Vanilla Cupcakes which most people would love. That is when I found this amazing recipe on http://www.joyofbaking.com/ and now I cant get enough of it, and cannot wait to share it with you guys <3

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2/3 cup castor sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 zest of large lemon(outer yellow skin)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk and a little more if too thick

METHOD

pre-heat oven to 180 C and line 12 muffin cups with paper liners
in a bowl using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.add the eggs one at a time , then add in the vanilla essence and beat for 2-3 min
in a seperate bowl sift and add the flour ,baking powder and salt then at low speed add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and add in the milk
then make sure its all well mixed then fill in the muffin cups and place them into the oven for 15-20 min or till brown . make sure not to over cook them

gâteau éponge

2011-05-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

mouth watering

For years I have been trying to make the perfect home-made sponge cake that is simple, yet still tastes great. Sadly every recipe I have tried, falls short of my expectations, but recently I found this amazing recipe from my moms cook book, way back from when she took cooking classes. This sponge cake is one of the best that I have ever tasted. Its quick and easy to make and mouth watering. You can always add other flavours to make it a delicious bannana, carrot or just a plain vanilla cake. It is perfect for every occassion!

Sponge Cake

- 4 eggs
-3/4 cups castor sugar
- 1 cup self raising flour
- 1 Tbsp cornflour
- 2 tsp butter,softened
- 1/3 cup (80ml) hot water
-fruits (2 mashed banana,or 5 pureed carrot) this is optional

Filling

200ml cream
2 tTbsp castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
fruit of choice -optional

Method

pre-heat oven to 180c
grease two round cake pans
beat eggs in a bowl with electric beater for about 10 min or until thick and creamy then gradually add the sugar beating it till it dissolves
tripple sift self-raising flour and cornflour together and add it to the egg mixture
combine the butter and water ,and add to your mixture
if you want to put fruits mix them in now and they are better purred and mix well(optional)
pour mixtures glently into the pans and bake for 25 to 40 min
when ready turn out the sponge cakes to cool on wire racks
whip the cream, sugar and vanilla essence together till thick and looks like whipped cream
now decorate your cake and enjoy

ps: you can also make these cup cakes

Pick n' Pay Doughnuts

2011-05-14T01:20:00.000-07:00

I know this may come as a surprise, but one of the best doughnuts I have tasted are from Pick n' Pay. Yes, I said it! The under-rated bakers of Pick n' Pay rock my world. Its great because it simple, less is always more. Can you believe that it's only R3.49, they may be cheap, but don't be fooled, what makes it so tasty is its lightness in texture, and icing. The earlier you are, the better, as they may have vanished the shelves-they are THAT good! Not all branches live up to the same standards, so based on my experience, the best goes to Braam Centre, as well as the Pick n' Pay branch in Milpark, Johannesburg.

Log on to the Pick n Pay website and read up on recipes ranging from kids recipes to healthy meals, on their Fresh Living Network. Here is one of the recipes I got from their website. Its always good to experiment and find new, delicious ways of making doughnuts.

Honey and ricotta doughnuts

Ingredients Sauce

2 tsp dried yeast 1 cup orange juice freshly squeezed

100ml warm water 100ml honey

2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp lemon juice

3 large egg whites

400ml cake flour

1ml salt

100 grams ricotta cheese

1tbsp orange juice

1 dash garlic avocado oil, for frying

Method

Dissolve yeast in warm water with honey. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form
Sift flour and salt together
Mix ricotta, orange juice and yeast mixture together in a bowl
Add to dry ingredients
Fold in egg whites with a wooden spoon
Cover bowl, put in a warm place and allow dough to increase by a third in volume
Heat 4-5cm oil in a deep pan
Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough into hot oil and fry until golden. Place onto paper towel to remove excess oil.

Sauce

Heat orange juice in a small saucepan and simmer over high heat, until liquid has thickened and reduced by half
Stir in honey and lemon juice
Serve drizzled over doughnuts

FOR MORE RECIPES, LOG ONTO THE PICK N PAY WEBSITE: picknpay.co.za

CUPCAKE RECIPE

2011-05-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

SUGARY GOODS

Have you ever tried to make cupcakes and they just don't come out the way you expected them to, nor do they taste like the cupcakes that you buy from your local super market or favourite cafe. Well i had the same problem until i came across this recipe in my little sister's school cookery book and I have been enjoying them ever since, and now you can too.

INGREDIENTS

60 g margarine
75 ml Castor sugar
1 egg
3ml vanilla essence
250ml flour
5ml baking powder
pinch of salt
+/- 150ml milk

METHOD

PREHEAT OVEN TO 190 C
cream the margarine and Castor sugar in a bowl
beat the egg and vanilla in a small bowl then add to creamed mixture,then beat well
sift the dry ingredients into the creamy mixture
then add the milk till the dropping is consistent
line up 12 cupcake papers and half fill them
babe in preheated oven for 20-30 min
let them chill , when cold ice with glace icing
then indulge in these delicious cupcakes that will melt in your mouth!
makes 12 cupcakes

ICING

125ml icing sugar
add a drop of food colouring
+/- 10ml warm water

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

The happy couple

The crowd begins to assemble

Metropolis Lounge and Bar, Monte casino, Fourways

Table setting

Inside decorations

Hey Doll,

Johannesburg brought their cups of teas and English hats on, and gathered to watch what is being said to be the wedding of the century, at Metropolis restaurant, Monte casino, Fourways. A three course meal was served including the 'Royal Combination' starter which was the usual Greek salad, with salad greens, peppers, onions, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers,and creamy danish feta cheese. For the main course, I chose to order the 'Evolvement of Love' which was a Kingklip topped with a lemon and herb butter,served with veggies. For dessert I chose creme brulee, which was so delicious. I loved it because is not like the usual creme brulees which are so sweet, but rather had the right amount of sweetness. Malva pudding was also being served which was Oh so delicious, and was warmly served with custard. To top off the event, a goodies bag to the value of R1500 was given to guests, which included manicure and pedicure vouchers and 30% off accommodation vouchers, and so much more. The event was organised by T.E.A.M Survival

Malva pudding served with custard

Creme Brulee

A Little Taste of What's To Come

2011-04-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so We are not exactly certified food critics. We are simply lovers of good food. The voice of the masses. Be sure to read up on the 'Sugar Of The Week', informing you on that week's hotspot and let your voice be heard on the poll. Watch and read as we experiment in the kitchen, sharing our own recipes. Happy eating <3