A magnificent
kudu bull at Thali Thali near Langebaan on the Cape West coast
This week's recipe. Chocolate mousse cake
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Another busy week and two stories will have to wait
until next week. We drove up the West coast to visit two wonderful destinations
and there just has not been enough time to edit photographs and put together
all the words, so our stories about Thali Thali and !Khwa ttu will be in next
week’s MENU, which will be the last we will publish for a couple of weeks. As
we said last week we will fly to Hong Kong next Friday to visit Vinexpo and
then have a week’s holiday in Vietnam. To see what we’ll be doing, please
follow us on Twittter, Facebook, Google+ and our blogs. All
the links are on our blog page. Choose any of them which
suits you
New chef and menu at Mondiall, V&A Waterfront
Patrick Symington is the owner of Mondiall Kitchen and Bar in the
waterfront and he invited us and a few other media people to come and sample
the food of his new chef Stephen Mandes, their new Autumn/Winter menu and see
their fresh new look. We had a lovely relaxed lunch in this waterside venue
with some of the best views in Cape Town. Read On
Idiom Wines new Restaurant and Tasting Centre We
have known the Bottega family for a long while. We used to sell both their
Whalehaven and Idiom wines in our shop, Main Ingredient, and got to know them
then as they have a house in Fresnaye and Mrs Valerie Bottega is a keen cook.
Last week, we were invited to join other members of the media to see the
impressive new mountain venue high up on the slopes of Sir Lowry’s Pass. Read on
Wade Bales Wine and Malt Whisky Affair Thursday
was the trade night at this annual event held at 15 on Orange Hotel at the top
of town and it was buzzing with wine and spirit people. Wade came up with a new idea this year. All
of the wine and whisky people showcasing their products had to bring something
rare and different and at 7.15 a bell rang and for just 15 minutes you could
race around to taste the special offerings.
But the evening had many special things to taste. Read on
Old Mutual Trophy Feedback session You
may not agree with wine competitions or guides, you may, as we do, find them
quite useful in gauging where the industry is currently. This competition run
by Michael Fridjhon allows the media and the wine industry access to the judges
- local and international - on the last day when judging is over and we get to
hear their unbiased opinions of the entries they have tasted blind during the
week. They do not know at this stage which wines they tasted, they are only
revealed on the day the awards are presented, so hearing their opinions is
always fascinating. And some years it gets quite exciting... Read On
96 Winery Road 20th Anniversary How
many of you remember the original Gatrile, Son and Co restaurant in
Johannesburg in the mid 70s. (It has now moved from the city centre to Sandton,
like much of the business which started in central Jhb. John was in advertising
in Jhb then and it was the “in” place to eat and entertain clients if you were
in the advertising industry. Ken Forrester was the manager and, later, part owner
Twenty years ago, in 1996, after twenty years at
Gatrile, Ken came to Cape Town and opened 96 Winery Road across the road from
his farm, Scholtzenhof, in the Helderberg valley. His brother Allan joined him
as manager and partner. Chef Natasha Harris has also been with them since the
start. She took over as head chef from Kathy Romer-Lee. It has very much the
same concept, local and fresh and now often organic, and one very important
beloved recipe, Duck and Cherry Pie, which goes so well with Ken’s Syrah Grenache,
is still on the menu. Ken went on to start Ken Forrester wines and with
winemaker Martin Meinert has produced some very special Chenin Blancs and other
excellent wines. But, last Saturday, it was time for 96 Winery Road to
celebrate its success with a party for special customers, suppliers, and
friends. Everyone was invited to bring the family. It was a great fun day. See it all here
Wine of the Week
Carl Schultz and his team are renowned for their Shirazes, including the premium wines Gravel Hill and The Stork. This is the "entry level". Superb with meat, stews and game. As they say,"it is a younger, more modern style Shiraz than those for which Hartenberg is renowned". Retails for R70 on the farm, impressively affordable for an estate wine
This week's recipe
We had the most marvellous chocolate cake this week and as there is a
birthday in the family, Lynne is going to make this for Sunday. It is
incredibly rich and decadent, not that difficult to make, just a layer of rich
almond flour (gluten free) chocolate cake drenched in a little fruit liqueur or
fruit syrup, a thick layer of dark chocolate mousse and some raspberries or
chocolate curls to top it. Do make the day before in order for it to set, it
will be very soft.
Chocolate Mousse Cake
125g dark bitter chocolate – 100g butter –
100g caster sugar – 15ml rum or brandy - 15ml strong black coffee -100g ground
almonds – 3 eggs, separated
Break up the chocolate into a glass bowl, add the
butter, rum or brandy and the coffee and heat gently in the microwave or over a
pan of hot water until melted. Take off the heat and stir in the ground
almonds. Beat the egg yolks well, then stir them into the chocolate mix.
Stiffly whip the egg whites and then fold them gently into the mixture. Take a
23 cm spring form cake tin with a removable base, line it with a disk of baking
paper and lightly grease the sides with butter. Pour in the mixture, put the
tin on a baking sheet and bake in a low oven, 150ºC for about 45 minutes. This
cake is very fragile. Leave to cool in the tin.
Optional, but recommended: Just before you add the
mousse topping, sprinkle over a small glass of Framboise liqueur or another
fruit flavour you like. You can also use Frangelico or Amaretto. If you do not
use alcohol, you can use a little fruit syrup.
The Mousse
300g plain dark chocolate, broken into
pieces - 4 eggs, separated - 300ml whipping cream
For the mousse, melt the chocolate in the same way and
allow to cool until lukewarm. Using an electric beater, whisk the eggs whites
to stiff peaks. Then softly whip the cream in another bowl until thickened but
not as far as soft peaks.
Stir the egg yolks into the chocolate, then fold the
cream into the mixture. Gently fold in a quarter of the eggs whites, then the
rest, and then spread the mixture over the cake base and keep in the fridge
overnight. Release the sides of the spring form tin and using a pallet knife
carefully smooth the sides of the mousse if untidy. Very carefully transfer to
a pretty cake plate and sprinkle with a little dark cocoa powder and top with a
few raspberries or chocolate curls.
Food Fact: Eggs are not bad for you. They are not
full of harmful cholesterol and are the perfect source of pure protein. Have a
look at the new medical opinions: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/eggs-fats-and-the-new-dietary-guidelines/
11th May 2016
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Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656
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Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Our Adamastor
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Recommendations of products and outside events are not
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authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes
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blogs are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus.
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