Q: I was recently at Wickedfood where we made a fantastic cheesecake, I wanted to know is it possible to replace the lemon and orange zest and juice with other flavours such as chocolate especially white chocolate?

A: Yes definitely, cheesecakes are fantastic dessert’s or high tea snacks and are  really easy to make (with a fridge cheesecake being the easiest as apposed to a baked one.) There are really no limitations to making cheese cake find a recipe that works well for you and then try replacing the flavourents ie: orange zest, lemon zest, berries etc…with flavours of your choice.

On Sunday the 28th June Wickedfood Cooking School will be teaching an “all you need to know” class on chocolate where we will be doing: Chocolate cakes, glazes, Chocolate truffles, biscuits, chocolate brownies and chocolate mousse.

Here is a recipe for one of the most decadent fridge cheesecakes around. The mixture is ideal for a 28cm spring form pan. Serve as a dessert, with a nice acidic berry coulis, or each wedge, drizzled with passion fruit pulp, which will cut through the sweetness.

Base
200g tennis biscuits, crumbed
125g butter, melted

Filling
500g white cooking chocolate
250ml cream
250g cream cheese
250g mascarpone cheese
1 lemon, the rind and juice of (optional)

Garnish
Berry coulis or passion fruit pulp

Base
1.    Mix together the crumbed biscuits and melted butter. Press the biscuits melted butter mixture into the base of a 28cm spring form tin. Place in the fridge and allow to chill.

Filling
2.    Place the chocolate and cream in a bowl and then melt the chocolate by either placing the bowl on top of hot water, or in the microwave at 30 second intervals on full power, stirring between intervals (do not allow the mixture to come to the boil).

3.    Once the chocolate has melted, allow the mixture to cool slightly and then whisk in the cream cheese, mascarpone and lemon, if using, until smooth and well blended.

4.    Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and place back in the fridge to set overnight.

Serve
5.    Serve each slice of cake, drizzled with berry coulis or passion fruit pulp.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School Johannesburg runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Q: I was watching a cooking show the other day where they were making a Chicken Korma, looked like and easy enough recipe but one item the recipe called for was Korma paste. How would one make it as i am sure the store bought ones would contain a few preservatives and i try to stick away from those.

A: Chicken korma is a fantastic easy curry to make. I do agree with you about using products that have preservatives in them we try keep away from foods that have been processed to much and will always try make from fresh.

This is a very easy korma paste recipe that we made recently in our Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food class.

2 cloves garlic peeled and sliced
4cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
½t cayenne pepper
1t garam masala
½t sea salt
2T grapeseed oil
1T tomato puree
2 fresh green chillies seeded and finely sliced
3T desiccated coconut
2T ground almonds
Small bunch fresh coriander stalks and leaves chopped

Dry fry
2t cumin seeds
1t coriander seeds

1.    Dry fry seeds until they start to change colour and release an aromatic smell.
2.    Place all the ingredients in a food processor or mortar and pestle and grind until the desired paste is achieved.

Wickedfood Cooking School will be holding an “all you need to know about indian curry” class on the 6th of July where we will give an in-depth hands on demonstration in preparing a number of great Indian curries. Cooking methods covered will include:
A hot fragrant beef curry
A classic lamb curry
Mild slow cooked curry.
A famous Mongol dishes
Fish curry
A vegetarian stew.

Other topics covered will include:

Blending spices and masala mixes;
Making gee and its uses in Indian cooking

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking school Johannesburg runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

The name comes about due to the butterflied chicken liberally seasoned with red chili flakes, but for a milder version just omit the spice.

1 x 1.5kg. chicken
2 lemons
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 t red chili flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, butterfly the chicken remove chicken backs by cutting along both sides of the backbone. Discard backbones, or save for making stock. Place the  butterflied chicken on a cutting board skin side up, and roll a rolling pin on it, leaning heavily on the pin to flatten the bird.
2. Place chicken in a wide, deep dish. Squeeze the juice from the lemons over the chicken, and add the oil. Sprinkle both sides with chili flakes and season to taste with salt and lots of pepper. Set aside to marinate for 30–60 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the a gas bbq grill or kettlebraai.
4. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill birds over a medium-heat, basting occasionally with the reserved marinade, until skin is well browned on both sides and thigh juices run clear when pricked with a fork, about 40 minutes. Set the chicken aside to rest for 10 minutes, then cut into quarters.

Serves 4

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School Johannesburg runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee is the most widely quoted culinary work in English. It is a kitchen classic, hailed by Time magazine as “a minor masterpiece” when it first appeared in 1984. The book is the bible to which food lovers and professional chefs worldwide turn for an understanding of where our foods come from, what exactly they’re made of, and how cooking transforms them into something new and delicious. At Wickedfood Cooking School it is a regular source of reference when developing a new recipe for a cooking class.

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its Johannesburg purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.