For the Love of Baking
ISBN: 978 1 43230 256 6
Review: Lesley Byram
Recommended retail price: R250
Just one look at the cover of this book and I knew I was going to love it. A dark chocolate fondant, topped with pomegranate rubies and accompanied by raspberries, oozing salted caramel, with the first spoonful resting tantalizingly on the plate just waiting to be savoured. Now that’s how you catch someone’s attention.
For the sweet-toothed, it’s like Christmas on a plate 365 days of the year, starting with breakfast and ending with actual Christmas.
Dall shares her love of baking with other enthusiastic bakers regardless of their level of experience and shares her hard-earned tips generously, so you don’t have to make frustrating and costly mistakes yourself.
At the launch of her book at the Cooks Playground, Dall demonstrated some recipes the average baker might find daunting, including Rose Delight Macaroons. Ooh, brave girl, I thought. We all love to eat them but I, for one, have yet been brave enough to tackle them, particularly after Queen of Tarts Tina Bester, who also made macaroons at one of her book launches said “I hope these turn out okay.” I thought, “Yikes, if she’s not confident after the many thousands she’s made, what are my chances?”
Sarah’s turned out perfectly – even though they had been piped by all the novices attending her launch: crunchy (not hard) on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
Here, however, is the recipe for her Salted Caramel. It’s astonishingly quick and easy, absolutely delicious and uses affordable ingredients. Plus it makes a great gift. The results can vary from light in colour, thin and runny and perfect for drizzling over ice-cream, to thicker and darker, the colour of peanut butter, which you can spoon from the jar. It can keep up to three months and can be frozen in a jar or a sealable container.
Salted caramel
(Fridge)
Makes 350 ml
100 ml golden syrup
75 g butter
75 g Demerara sugar
75 g castor sugar
125 ml double thick cream
15 ml Maldon salt
To make the sauce
Heat the syrup, butter and sugars in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and salt. Return to the heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars and set aside to cool and thicken.
Author’s tip: The caramel will keep for up to three months. It can also be frozen in the jar or a sealable plastic container.
We have one copy of Sarah Dall’s For the Love of Baking to give away, courtesy of Struik Lifestyle.