The following morning Juan went into hospital. Corriebush was a small town, but the hospital and doctors were respected throughout the Province. Their prognosis was that there was every hope, but that he would need at least two operations. The vertebra were cracked, they said, but not crushed, and he could be walking within a year. Not for sure, but very probably.
The day Juan came out of the hospital, they were waiting, and a cheer went up as Herman wheeled him out through the double doors and down the ramp, followed by a smiling Estrelita.
Dawid stepped forward.
‘I speak on behalf of all the inhabitants of Corriebush,’ he began, but got no further.
‘You must think us very rude,’ said Lily.
‘You’ve had to wait so long,’ Nellie went on.
‘The reason is, it wasn’t ready,’ explained Anna.
‘But we think you’ll like it!’ beamed Sophia.
The couple were beginning to look very bemused, so Daniel took over.
‘It’s your wedding present,’ and he handed them a large white envelope.
Estrelita and Juan opened it together, both trembling a little. Perhaps they were expecting a cheque, which would have embarrassed them both. Or a poem, or something to make them cry. But it was none of these things.
They slit the top and pulled out a large brass key. Puzzled, Juan held it up. ‘A key?’
‘Ja, a key. Our gift to you: a renovated little cottage in Corriebush. It’s yours.’
Neither of them could speak, so one by one their friends helped out.
‘You see, Juan needs to be here. For the doctors.’
‘And you, Estrelita, need to be here. For us.’
‘We need you to keep us on our toes.’
‘Heads up, backs straight.’
‘Stomachs in.’
‘And navels to spine.’
‘Now off you go. You’ll know the cottage by the name on the gate.’
It read simply: OLÉ!
Baking
Florrie’s Fruitcake
Chocolate-Orange Layer Cake
Coffee & Spice Layer Cake
Fruit & Wholewheat Buttermilk Ring Cake
Nutty Fruitcake Muffins
Brown Buttermilk Muffins
Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones
Glazed Lemon Loaf
Brown Double-Ginger Loaf
Fruit & Carrot Loaf
Stirred Wholewheat & Yoghurt Bread
Quick-Mix Herbed Buttermilk Bread
Best Wholesome Bread
Florrie’s Fruitcake
It’s one of those well-known, flop-proof boiled fruitcakes, but somehow this one is special: heavy with fruit and nuts and cherries, it weighs between 1 kg and 1.5 kg and, as it is not a very thick cake, it can easily take a layer of marzipan and icing and become a last-minute Christmas cake. On the other hand, if you would rather have it plain, the mixture is stiff enough to support halved cherries, decoratively arranged on the top before baking. If you want a deeper, ‘fatter’ cake, use a 20 cm tin, but bake for slightly longer.
500 g fruitcake mixture
250 ml (1 cup) seedless raisins
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) light brown sugar
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) white sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
125 g butter, roughly cubed
250 ml (1 cup) water
2 XL free-range eggs
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
15 ml (1 Tbsp) dark rum
30 ml (2 Tbsp) brandy
500 ml (2 cups) cake flour
10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
a pinch of salt
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) each ground cinnamon, mixed spice and freshly grated nutmeg
50 g glacé cherries, chopped
50 g walnuts, coarsely chopped
15 ml (1 Tbsp) finely chopped preserved ginger
Bring the cake mixture, raisins, both sugars, bicarb, butter and water to the boil in a large, deep saucepan – it must be deep as the bicarb froths up. Stir and reduce the heat to low, then half-cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool completely. Whisk together the eggs, vanilla, rum and brandy. Add to the fruit mixture (in a large mixing bowl), then sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix well, then add the cherries, walnuts and ginger. Turn this thick, sticky mixture into a 21 × 6 cm cake tin, base and sides lined with baking paper. Smooth the top and arrange halved cherries on top, if using. Bake at 160 °C for 1 hour 10 minutes; test with a skewer in the centre of the cake – it should come out clean. Cool in the tin before turning out. Store airtight for a day or two before enjoying.
Chocolate-Orange Layer Cake
A large, dark cake. The ingredients are basic and it’s easy to make, so it’s a useful recipe and the flavour is super.
90 ml (6 Tbsp) cocoa powder
5 ml (1 tsp) instant coffee granules
250 ml (1 cup) boiling water
10 ml (2 tsp) finely grated orange rind*
4 XL free-range eggs, separated
375 ml (11⁄2 cups) castor sugar
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) oil
500 ml (2 cups) cake flour
15 ml (1 Tbsp) baking powder
a pinch of salt
ICING
Vanilla butter icing, using 750 ml (3 cups) icing sugar, sifted;
30 ml (2 Tbsp) cocoa powder;
60 ml (4 Tbsp) softened butter;
5 ml (1 tsp) instant coffee granules dissolved in 30 ml (2 Tbsp) cold water;
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence;
a little milk to moisten.
Whisk everything together until smooth.
Mix the cocoa, coffee, water and orange rind, then leave to cool. Whisk the egg yolks with the castor sugar and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture resembles creamy butter. Add the cocoa mixture and oil, and whisk until combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and whisk briefly, just until smooth. Fold in the stiffly whisked egg whites, using a metal spoon, then pour into 2 × 20 cm round cake tins, first brushed with oil, then base and sides lined with baking paper, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for about 25 minutes – do the skewer test. Leave to stand for a few minutes before inverting onto a rack. Remove the baking paper and cool, then ice and decorate with chocolate scrolls.
* When using orange rind to flavour cakes, biscuits or desserts, use firm but ripe oranges and a very fine grater – the result will be almost a pulp, and just a little will provide plenty of flavour. It is a good idea to wash the oranges in hot water first, because of the waxy coating.
Coffee & Spice Layer Cake
Despite the popular invasion of croissants and preserves, baguettes, goat’s cheese and blueberry muffins with mascarpone, there’s still a place, now and then, for one of those imposing iced layer cakes that used to be seen on every tea table some time in the past. Here’s a reminder.
30 ml (2 Tbsp) instant coffee granules
250 ml (1 cup) hot water
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) oil
4 XL free-range eggs, beaten
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
500 ml (2 cups ) cake flour
15 ml (1 Tbsp) baking powder
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) ground mixed spice
5 ml (1 tsp) ground cinnamon
30 ml (2 Tbsp) cornflour
275 ml (1 cup plus 5 tsp) castor sugar
a pinch of salt
4 XL free-range egg whites, beaten until stiff
COFFEE BUTTER ICING
To sandwich the layers and cover the top thickly, you’ll need to mix together
90 g soft butter;
750 ml (3 cups) sifted icing sugar;
5 ml (1 tsp) instant coffee granules dissolved in 15 ml (1 Tbsp) water;
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) vanilla essence and about
15 ml (1 Tbsp) milk to moisten.
Pecan nuts are optional, but they look very good on a coffee cake.
Dissolve the coffee granules in the ho
t water, then allow to cool down completely. Add the oil, beaten eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder, spices, cornflour, castor sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl, add the coffee mixture, and whisk quickly just until smoothly combined – do not overbeat. Using a metal spoon, fold in the egg whites in two batches. (Whisk these right at the start, and then you won’t have to wash the beaters.) Turn into 2 × 20 cm round cake tins, first brushed with oil, then base and sides lined with baking paper, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for 30 minutes. Leave to stand for a few minutes before turning onto a rack to cool, and remove the baking paper.
Fruit & Wholewheat Buttermilk Ring Cake
This is a large, moist cake with the satisfying goodness of a sweet something made with a generous ratio of unrefined grain. Apple, nuts, carrot and honey add to the wholefood image.
250 ml (1 cup) cake flour
7 ml (11⁄2 tsp) baking powder
7 ml (11⁄2 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
10 ml (2 tsp) ground mixed spice
a pinch of salt
125 g soft butter*
200 ml (4⁄5 cup) light brown sugar
3 XL free-range eggs
375 ml (11⁄2 cups) wholewheat flour
250 ml (1 cup) fruitcake mix OR seedless raisins
50 g walnuts, chopped
1 large, sweet apple, peeled and coarsely grated
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
60 ml (1⁄4 cup) oil
30 ml (2 Tbsp) runny honey
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
Sift the cake flour with the baking powder, bicarb, spice and salt. Cream the butter and sugar well. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding 5 ml (1 tsp) of the flour mixture with each egg. Mix the wholewheat flour, fruit mix or raisins, nuts, apple and carrot into the remaining cake flour mixture. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil and honey. Fold the flour mixture into the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Add the vanilla, then turn into a baking paper-lined 22 × 7 cm ring tin, spreading evenly. Place the tin on a baking tray – this is important as a ring tin usually has a removeable base and soft, oily batters such as this one will leak and drip onto the floor of the oven. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for 50 minutes – test with a skewer. The cake should be richly browned but will not rise to great heights due to the heaviness of the ingredients. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool. The cake is moist enough to eat plain, in fat slabs, but if you wish to ice it, the best would be the icing traditionally used for carrot cakes.
* To soften butter for creaming, warm the mixing bowl with hot water, discard the water, add the cubed butter and leave for a few minutes before using.
Nutty Fruitcake Muffins
Dark and nobbly, sweet and spicy muffins. No need to butter these, they are moist enough to enjoy just as they are.
250 ml (1 cup) fruitcake mix
60 ml (4 Tbsp) butter
250 ml (1 cup) boiling water
375 ml (11⁄2 cups) cake flour*
5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder
5 ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
7 ml (11⁄2 tsp) ground cinnamon
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) freshly grated nutmeg
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) wholewheat flour
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) light brown sugar
30 g walnuts, chopped
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
Place fruit mix and butter in a bowl, pour boiling water over, stir to melt the butter and leave to cool for about 15 minutes. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and spices, mix in the wholewheat flour, sugar and walnuts, then pour the fruit mixture into a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla and mix very quickly to a lumpy batter – mix only until no trace of flour remains – then spoon into large, lightly oiled muffin cups (not paper cups), filling each to the three-quarter level. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for 20 minutes until brown and firm – test with a skewer to check whether they are cooked through. Leave to stand a few minutes before removing to a rack to cool. Makes 9 large muffins.
* White bread flour can replace cake flour and, for a more wholesome muffin, 250 ml (1 cup) wholewheat and 250 ml (1 cup) cake or white bread flour may be used instead of the above ratios.
Brown Buttermilk Muffins
… with raisins and spice and a touch of orange, all of which combine to make these a great choice to serve at a brunch, with butter and lime marmalade.
250 ml (1 cup) cake flour
a large pinch of salt
5 ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) mixed ground spice
60 ml (4 Tbsp) light brown sugar
250 ml (1 cup) wholewheat flour
200 ml (4⁄5 cup) seedless raisins
1 XL free-range egg
60 ml (1⁄4 cup) oil
60 ml (1⁄4 cup) runny honey or golden syrup
250 ml (1 cup) buttermilk
5 ml (1 tsp) very finely grated orange rind
Sift together the flour, salt, bicarb and spice. Mix in the sugar, wholewheat flour and raisins. Whisk together the egg, oil, honey or syrup, buttermilk and orange rind and add this mixture to the dry ingredients; mix quickly to a lumpy batter. Spoon into large, lightly oiled muffin cups (not paper cups), filling them to the three-quarter level, and bake on the middle shelf of the oven at 180 °C for 25 minutes – do the skewer test and, if done, leave to stand for a few minutes before removing to a rack to cool. Makes 10 fat muffins.
Rosemary-Buttermilk Scones
Plump, savoury scones topped with melted cheese – these are quite delicious served freshly baked with mid-morning coffee, with brunch, or with soup. Switch on the oven, snip the herbs, and then they’re made in less time than they take to bake.
500 ml (2 cups) self-raising flour*
1 ml (1⁄4 tsp) salt
15 ml (1 Tbsp) castor sugar
15 ml (1 Tbsp) finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
15 ml (1 Tbsp) snipped chives
1 XL free-range egg
60 ml (1⁄4 cup) oil
buttermilk
milk and finely grated cheddar cheese for topping
Sift the flour, salt and castor sugar and mix in the herbs. Break the egg into a measuring jug, add the oil and enough buttermilk to reach the 200 ml (4/5 cup) mark – about 125 ml (1⁄2 cup) buttermilk should just do it. Whisk these together, then add to the dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix quickly until the dough holds together, then use your hands to form into a ball. Pat out, 2 cm thick, on a lightly floured board and use a 5 cm scone cutter to cut into rounds – don’t twist when cutting. Place, almost touching, on a baking tray lined with baking paper, brush the tops lightly with milk and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 220 °C just above the centre of the oven for about 14 minutes until the scones have ballooned beautifully, are golden in colour and the cheese has melted. Makes 10.
* For a more wholesome scone, substitute bran-rich self-raising flour in any ratio preferred, remembering that the bran will require slightly more liquid.
Glazed Lemon Loaf
Not everyone likes iced cakes and not everyone likes fruitcakes and that’s when this moist, light and lemony loaf provides the perfect alternative.
125 g soft butter
200 ml (4⁄5 cup) castor sugar
10 ml (2 tsp) very finely grated lemon rind
500 ml (2 cups) white bread flour
10 ml (2 tsp) baking powder
a pinch of salt
50 g mixed citrus peel, finely chopped
2 XL free-range eggs
250 ml (1 cup) milk
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
GLAZE
45 ml (3 Tbsp) castor sugar
90 ml (6 Tbsp) fresh lemon juice
Cream the butter, castor sugar and lemon rind until light. Sift the flour, baking powder an
d salt, then mix in the citrus peel. Add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, one at a time, adding a teaspoon of the flour mixture with each egg, then add the remaining flour mixture alternately with the milk. Finally add the vanilla, give a quick whisk to even out the soft batter and turn into an oiled 19 × 8 × 7 cm loaf tin, base and sides lined with baking paper. Smooth the top to level evenly and bake at 180 °C for about 50 minutes – test with a wooden skewer. Just before the end of the baking time, make the glaze by mixing the castor sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan, stir over low heat to dissolve the sugar and then boil rapidly over high heat for a minute or two until syrupy. Remove the baked loaf from the oven but leave it in the tin. Prick the top, all over, with a thin skewer, and slowly drizzle the lemon syrup over. Leave the loaf in the tin until cold – the syrup will gradually be absorbed, and then it will be easy to turn out. Remove the baking paper. Because this loaf is so moist, it will grow mouldy if kept and should therefore be finished up within a day or two, which should not be a problem. Makes 1 medium loaf.
Brown Double-Ginger Loaf
If you love ginger, this is for you: it’s not gingerbread as such, but a large, perfumed loaf which is delicious served sliced with soft goat’s cheese (like cylinders of chevin) or cream cheese, and a preserve such as kumquat or grapefruit on the side. An unusual treat at a brunch, or tea.
125 g soft butter
200 ml (4⁄5 cup) castor sugar
1 XL free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 knob fresh root ginger, peeled and coarsely grated (about 15 ml (1 Tbsp))
45 ml (3 Tbsp) runny honey
45 ml (3 Tbsp) golden syrup
250 ml (1 cup) cake flour
375 ml (11⁄2 cups) brown bread flour*
15 ml (1 Tbsp) ground ginger
5 ml (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) baking powder
2 ml (1⁄2 tsp) ground mixed spice
200 ml (4⁄5 cup) milk
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla essence
Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and castor sugar until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg, then mix in the grated ginger, honey and syrup. Beat until thick and creamy. Sift the flours, ginger, bicarb, baking powder and mixed spice, returning the bran left in the sieve. Whisk this into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and mix to a fairly stiff batter. Finally add the vanilla. Turn into a 26 × 9 × 7 cm loaf tin, oiled and then lined, base and sides, with baking paper. (Oiling the tin first allows the paper to adhere.) Bake at 160 °C for 11⁄4 hours until caramel brown, risen and firm – test with a skewer. Leave to stand for a few minutes before turning out onto a rack, remove baking paper, and cool. Makes 1 large loaf.
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