Blue Ribbon Recipes
Blue Ribbon Recipes
Blue Ribbon Recipes
BISCUITS
(Makes ± 50 biscuits)
Variations
Chocolate: Melt 50 g chocolate and dip biscuit on one side. Leave to set.
1. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Add other dry ingredients.
2. Melt butter and golden syrup and add to dry ingredients.
3. Add beaten egg, and both essences. Mix well and press mixture into a large baking tray of
about 23 cm x 32 cm.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 160 °C and
bake further for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool in pan before cutting into
squares.
Tip
These crunchies are suitable for freezing.
(Makes ± 28 squares)
Topping
60 g butter or margarine
15 ml honey (1 Tbsp)
375 ml icing sugar (1½ cups)
± 15 ml hot water (1 Tbsp)
125 ml muesli (½ cup)
1. Beat butter, sugar and honey in a mixing bowl. Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add
coconut.
2. Sift flour and add alternately with milk to egg mixture. Mix well and spoon into a greased 23 cm
x 32 cm Swiss roll pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool.
4. Topping: Beat butter and honey in a bowl. Add icing sugar and water until a smooth mixture.
Top cake with icing and sprinkle muesli over. Cut into squares.
Semolina coconut biscuits
(Makes ± 50)
Topping
30 ml butter or margarine (2 Tbsp)
30 ml honey (2 Tbsp)
1. Cream butter and sugar together. Add egg and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Sift dry ingredients together and add, alternately with milk, to the butter mixture.
3. Spoon half of the batter in a greased baking dish. Cover with apple slices and spoon the
remaining batter over. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 40 minutes or until done.
4. Topping: Melt butter and honey together and pour over the cake when taken from oven. Serve
warm.
Golden madeira coconut loaf
(Makes 1 loaf)
Topping
3 extra large egg whites
100 ml castor sugar
250 ml desiccated coconut (1 cup)
1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until
light and fluffy. Add essence.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt and add, alternately with milk, to butter mixture.
3. Spoon into a greased 23 cm loaf tin.
4. Topping: Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar and beat well. Add coconut and mix. Spoon on
top of cake mixture.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 ºC for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 160 ºC and bake
for another 15 - 20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Bakewell tarts
(Makes 1 large or 10 small tarts)
Pastry base
250 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (1 cup)
2 ml salt (¼ tsp)
60 ml castor sugar (¼ cup)
60 g butter
2 extra large egg yolks
2 ml vanilla essence (¼ tsp)
Filling
60 ml smooth apricot jam (¼ cup)
60 g butter or margarine
80 ml sugar (1/3 cup)
2 extra large eggs
80 ml Blue Ribbon self-raising flour (1/3 cup)
8 ml almond essence (1½ tsp)
180 ml ground almonds (75 g)
1. Pastry: Sift flour and salt together. Add sugar and rub in butter with fingertips until the mixture
resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add egg yolks and essence and work into firm dough. Knead pastry well until smooth.
3. Roll out pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of about 3 mm. Line base and sides of a
greased a 24 cm loose-bottomed flan tin or individual one.
4. Filling: Spread the apricot jam over the base.
5. Beat butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat until light and creamy. Sift flour and
add, with almond essence and ground almonds. Turn out onto the pastry bases.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 °C
and bake further for about 10 minutes or until the filling is firm and set.
7. Allow the tart to cool slightly, then remove from the tin and place on serving plate. Dust the
edges with icing sugar and serve warm or cold.
Vanilla cake
(Makes 1 large cake)
Icing
100 g soft butter or margarine
500 ml icing sugar (2 cups)
10 ml vanilla essence (2 tsp)
about 25 ml milk
Variations
For a different flavor omit vanilla essence and add grated citrus rind, fresh citrus juice, smooth
cottage cheese, cocoa powder or coffee powder.
Granadilla cake: Add 30 ml granadilla pulp to cake mix and another 30 ml to the icing.
Orange cake: Substitute milk and water with orange juice. Omit the vanilla essence and add 5 ml
grated orange rind.
Nut cake: Stir 75 g chopped walnuts or any other nuts into the batter.
Spice cake: Sift 5 ml ground cinnamon, 5 ml ground ginger and 2 ml ground cloves together with
the dry ingredients. Omit the vanilla essence.
Semolina orange cake
Syrup
60 ml sugar (¼ cup)
60 ml water (¼ cup)
1. Beat butter and 100 ml sugar together. Add egg yolks and beat well after each addition until
light and fluffy. Add orange rind.
2. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add remaining sugar gradually; beating until egg whites are stiff,
but not dry.
3. Sift dry ingredients together and stir, with orange juice, into the creamed mixture. Fold in
beaten egg whites.
4. Turn into a greased 23 cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 30
minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
5. Syrup: Dissolve sugar in water, bring to the boil and pour over lukewarm cake. Cool completely
before cutting.
Milk tart
(Makes 2 tarts)
Base
250 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (1 cup)
5 ml baking powder
2 ml salt
80 ml sugar (1/3 cup)
100 g butter or margarine
1 extra large egg, beaten
Filling
750 ml milk (3 cups)
80 g butter or margarine
80 ml cake flour (1/3 cup)
4 extra large eggs, separated
100 ml sugar
ground cinnamon for sprinkling
1. Base: Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add sugar and rub in butter. Add beaten egg and mix
well to a soft dough.
2. Press dough into two greased 23 cm pie plates.
3. Filling: Heat milk in a heavy-based saucepan. Add butter, melt and remove from heat.
4. Sift flour and salt, add egg yolks with sugar and beat well.
5. Add some of the heated milk to egg mixture stir well and pour back into saucepan. Boil for a
few minutes until thick, stirring constantly, and remove from heat.
6. Beat egg whites until soft peak stage and fold lightly into cooked mixture. Pour filling into the
two bases.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 20 minutes, sprinkle ground cinnamon over the
top and bake for another 10 minutes.
Chocolate caramel shortbread
(Makes ± 24 )
Shortbread
125 g butter of margarine
80 ml sugar (1/3 cup)
375 ml Blue Ribbon self-raising flour (1½ cups)
2 ml salt (¼ tsp)
Caramel filling
125 g butter of margarine
30 ml golden syrup (2 Tbsp)
397 g can condensed milk
125 ml sugar (½ cup)
Chocolate topping
125 g dark chocolate
15 ml butter or margarine (1 Tbsp)
1. Shortbread: Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy.
2. Sift flour and salt, add to butter mixture and knead to stiff dough.
3. Press in a greased Swiss roll pan of about 23 cm x 32 cm. Prick base with a fork and bake in a
preheated oven at 160 °C for 15 – 20 minutes.
4. Filling: Boil all ingredients together in a heavy-based saucepan for about 5 minutes until
starting to thicken. Stir constantly to avoid burning. Spoon over shortbread base and leave to set.
5. Topping: Melt the chocolate and butter in microwave or top of a double boiler. Spread over
caramel layer and cut into squares or slices.
DESSERTS
Coconut pudding
(Serves 4 - 6)
60 g butter or margarine
250 ml sugar (1 cup)
3 extra large eggs
5 ml vanilla essence (1 tsp)
200 ml Blue Ribbon self-raising flour (¾ cup)
125 ml Blue Ribbon semolina (½ cup)
3 ml baking powder (½ tsp)
1 ml salt
250 ml milk (1 cup)
250 ml desiccated coconut (1 cup)
1. Beat butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla essence and beat well.
2. Sift dry ingredients and add, with milk and coconut and mix well.
3. Pour into greased ovenproof dish and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for about 45 minutes
until golden brown. Serve with custard or cream.
Chocolate pudding
(Serves 4 - 6)
Sauce
200 ml water (¾ cup)
80 ml sugar (1/3 cup)
5 ml vanilla essence (1 tsp)
1. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and essence and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Sift dry ingredients and add, alternately with milk, to butter mixture. Spoon mixture into a large
ovenproof dish.
3. Syrup: Mix all ingredients except essence in a saucepan, heat and stir until sugar has
dissolved and mixture starts to boil. Add essence.
4. Pour syrup over batter and bake in a preheated oven at 180 *C for about 1 hour. Serve with
custard or fresh cream.
Toffee steamed pudding
(Serves 4 - 6)
Toffee sauce
250 ml light brown sugar (1 cup)
60 ml white sugar (¼ cup)
60 g butter or margarine
200 ml fresh cream (¾ cup)
Pudding
125 g butter or margarine
125 ml castor sugar (½ cup)
2 extra large eggs
3 ml vanilla essence (½ tsp)
310 ml Blue Ribbon self-raising flour (1¼ cups)
2 ml salt (¼ tsp)
80 ml milk (1/3 cup)
(Makes ± 24 squares)
1. Sift flour and salt in a bowl. Rub in butter until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Add the egg, orange rind and juice to mix into a ball. Alternatively, use a food processor to
make the pastry. Wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
3. Roll half of the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to 3 mm thick. Use a 6 cm round cookie
cutter to make 16 rounds. Place in bottom of greased bun tin. Top each base with the mincemeat.
4. Use a star-shaped cutter to cut the remaining pastry. Place on top of the mincemeat.
5. Brush each pie with a little of the egg glaze and bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C for 10 – 12
minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool for 4 – 5 minutes and sprinkle lightly with castor
sugar.
Variations
Replace the stars with grated pastry for topping to make crumble.
To freeze, complete mince pies and store without egg glaze. Bake off from frozen, after glazing.
MUFFINS
(Makes 12)
Variations
Substitute raisins with chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecan nuts.
Variations
Substitute the chives with any other herbs of choice.
Add 125 g chopped streaky bacon, ham or viennas to mixture.
Crunchy muesli and honey muffins
(Makes 12)
1. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add sugar, muesli and raisins.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, oil and honey.
3. Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over mix; batter
should still be lumpy.
4. Spoon into greased muffin tins, filling each to two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven at
200°C for 15 – 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on a wire rack, then
serve warm with butter.
(Makes 12)
Tip
A medium-sized lemon yields about 45 ml juice. To extract maximum juice, warm a whole lemon
in a preheated moderate oven for 2 minutes.
PASTRIES
Tips
Used for savoury dishes, small pastries and tartlets.
To make the pastry easier to work with, be sure to have the butter and cottage cheese cold. It is a
soft pastry and is important to chill before using.
If pastry has been left overnight in the refrigerator, allow to stand at room temperature for at least
1 hour before rolling out.
Flaky pastry
Tips
Ideal to use for pie toppings.
This pastry is flaky and rises high, yet not as delicate as puff pastry. It is
easier to make than puffy pastry.
Shortcrust pastry
Tips
Ideal to use for savoury dishes, especially for pies.
Avoid using too much liquid, which will make the pastry sticky, resulting in a dry crust. The pastry
should just be moistened.
Tips
Mainly used in sweet tarts.
The food processor is ideal for making this pastry, as it needs to be mixed well, resulting into a
fine and crisp pastry.
SAVORIES
(Serves 4 - 6)
Crust
310 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (1¼ cups)
2 ml salt (¼ tsp)
100 g butter or margarine
1 extra large egg yolk
30 ml iced water (2 Tbsp)
5 ml lemon juice (1 tsp)
Tips
Making coconut milk: For 125 ml coconut milk (½ cup), boil 200 ml milk and 60 ml desiccated
coconut for about 5 minutes. Strain through cloth or sieve and use milk.
Pizza
(Serves 4 - 6)
Base
625 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (2½ cups)
3 ml salt (½ tsp)
3 ml sugar (½ tsp)
10 g sachet instant dry yeast
15 ml olive oil (1 Tbsp)
± 240 ml lukewarm water
Topping
400 g can tomatoes, chopped
50 g tomato paste
500 ml grated Cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 onion, peeled and sliced, optional
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped, optional
4 strips back bacon, quartered
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
30 ml chopped fresh origanum (2 Tbsp) or 10 ml dried (2 tsp)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1. Base: Sift flour and salt in a bowl. Add sugar and yeast.
2. Mix oil and water and add to flour, mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and
knead lightly until smooth, for about 4 – 5 minutes.
3. Place dough in a greased mixing bowl, cover and leave to rise in a warm place to double the
size.
4. Preheat oven to 200 °C. Knead dough down and divide in 4. Press flat and place on a greased
oven tray.
5. Topping: Mix tomatoes and paste and spread over dough. Sprinkle cheese, onion and garlic
over. Layer bacon and banana on.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 15 – 20 minute, depending on thickness. Sprinkle with herbs and
seasoning.
Variations
Substitute bacon and bananas with any other vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes, peppers or
pineapple.
Samoosas
Dough
750 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (3 cups)
5 ml salt (1 tsp)
± 250 ml cold water (1 cup)
5 ml lemon juice (1 tsp)
Mince filling
30 ml cooking oil (2 Tbsp)
500 g lean beef mince
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
10 ml finely chopped coriander leaves (2 tsp)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 ml strong curry powder (2 tsp)
3 ml garam masala (½ tsp)
1 ml ground turmeric
cooking oil for frying
1. Dough: Sift flour and salt Add water and lemon juice and mix to a stiff dough.
2. Divide dough into 12 portions and roll each between hand palms. Roll into 12 discs.
3. Place 6 discs on top of each other, brushing with oil on both sides and sprinkling a little flour
on. Leave bottom and top of discs ungreased. Roll pile of discs into a large circle of about 30 cm.
4. Place dough on a greased baking tray and bake in preheated oven at 200 °C for 3 - 5 minutes
to separate layers. Trim edges. Repeat with remaining dough.
5. Cut into strips of 6 cm wide x 20 cm long. Separate layers carefully. Fill on edge with filling and
fold in triangle. Moisten edge with water and fold to complete samoosas.
6. Filling: Heat oil in a heavy-based saucepan and brown mince. Add onions and garlic and sauté
until soft. Add remaining ingredients and fry for about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool.
7. Fill samoosas and chill in refrigerator for about 30 minutes before frying. Fry in hot oil, turning
until golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
Vegetable quiche
(Serves 4 - 6)
Pastry
250 ml Blue Ribbon cake flour (1 cup)
250 ml grated Cheddar cheese (1 cup)
125 g butter or margarine
Filling
45 ml butter or margarine (3 Tbsp)
1 small onion, quartered
200 g butternut, cut into bite-size pieces
3 baby marrows, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
125 ml sour cream (½ cup)
125 ml milk or cream (½ cup)
2 extra large eggs
30 ml chopped fresh mixed herbs (2 Tbsp) or 10 ml dried (2 tsp)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
30 ml grated Parmesan cheese, optional (2 Tbsp)
1. Pastry: Mix all ingredients to a soft dough in a food processor or by hand. Press into base and
sides of a greased 24 cm quiche dish.
2. Filling: Heat butter and sauté onion, butternut, baby marrows and garlic until slightly soft.
Spoon all vegetables onto the pastry base.
3. Whisk sour cream, milk, eggs, herbs and seasoning. Pour over vegetables. Sprinkle Parmesan
cheese over and bake in a preheated oven at 160 °C for 30 – 40 minutes.