Romany Cream Biscuits

I believe Romany Cream Biscuits are from South Africa. It's a biscuit my mom grew up eating since she was born and raised in Zambia and the recipe has been passed through my family. They are cocoa and coconut flavored cookies sandwiched with rich melted chocolate, and the dark color is because of the cocoa. All I can really say is that these cookies are one of my favorites (and my dad's favorites). They simply melt in your mouth because of their soft texture.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) and 1 tbsp butter 
• 3/4 cup castor sugar
• 1/2  cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 1/2 cups dessicate coconut
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp cocoa
• 7 oz melted chocolate

1. Cream (by mixing by hand mixer or in an electric mixer) the butter, sugar, and oil until light and fluffy.

2. Add the eggs and vanilla. Make sure you add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.

3. Stop mixing; add the coconut and sifted dry ingredients (see note for sifting) and make a soft dough by pressing it all together with your hands. Do not knead the dough too much since the dough needs to be soft.

4. Take a biscuit machine or cookie cutters, and make small cookie or biscuit shapes with the dough.

5. Place cookies on a greased baking tray, preferrably lined with parchment paper and keep a distance of 1 or 2 inches between the cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

6. When the cookies are done, make sure they are cooled.

7. After they are cool, melt chocolate (see note for melting chocolate) and sandwich cookies together (see note for sandwiching cookies).

 

*Sifting Dry Ingredients: It is always better to sift any dry ingredients, especially flour and powdered sugar, before adding them. Sifting can be done by using a fine mesh sieve (you can see it in some of my pictures)

*Melting Chocolate: I learned the hard way, DO NOT melt chocolate directly on the stove in a saucepan or pot. Chocolate should be melted either in the top pan of a double broiler, or by putting the chocolate in a pan that will fit into another pot that is filled with boiling water. If chocolate is melted directly on the oven, it will burn and stick to the pan. The easiest way is to fill a pot with water, heat the water over low heat until it is barely simmering, and then place chocolate in another pot that will fit into the pot with simmering water. Remove when chocolate is melted and let it cool before using it.

Pound Cake

^ This is a picture of the Pound Cake I made...really good stuff...especially to eat with tea, coffee, or milk.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups cake (soft-wheat) flour 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 2 tsp baking powder 
• 1 cup (8oz/ 250 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
• 5 large eggs 
• 2 tsp vanilla essence 
• Icing sugar for dusting 
• Berry coulis (optional) 
• Whipped cream (optional)

Method:

1.Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper cut to fit. Butter the paper, then dust the bottom and sides of the pan with flour.

2. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the butter and granulated sugar. With a mixer beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla, and remove the bowl from the mixer.

5. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in one half of the dry ingredients, and using a light lifting motion and turning the bowl continuously, fold in until the batter is smooth and the dry ingredients are incorporated. Do not fold the batter too vigorously, or the cake will be tough.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth with the rubber spatula. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or 60-70 minutes.

7. Let the cake cool on a wire inside the pan for 5 minutes and then cool on a wire rack.

8. Using a sieve, dust the top of the cooled cake with icing sugar and serve with berry coulis and whipped cream if desired.

Berry Coulis Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh, thawed frozen raspberries or strawberries 
• sugar 
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained

If using fresh strawberries, remove the hulls. Using a food processor or blender,puree the berries until smooth. Strain the puree through a sieve into a bowl. Season to taste with sugar, then stir in the lemon juice to heighten the flavor of the berries

Whipped Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream 
• 2 tbsp icing sugar 
• 1 tsp vanilla essence 
• In a large bowl, combine the cream, icing sugar, and vanilla. With a mixer, beat on medium-high speed until medium peaks form. (Makes about 2 cups)