About Annika
pastry chef - Mossel Bay
Living my Dream of Travel and Pastry's
My name is Annika Erasmus and I was born and raised in Pretoria, South Africa. Before settling in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, I traveled the globe for six years, enjoying one adventure after the other whilst living out my passion in pastry making. I got the opportunity to experience all the sweet desserts of the world. From having Pastel de Nata in Lisbon, to having delectable gelato in Napoli, to indulging in the best pastries in Paris – the list is endless. I also developed a slight obsession with creating the perfect macaron over the years and the quest is still ongoing as I never get tired experimenting with new ideas and flavors.
I consider myself very lucky because I get to do what I love every day. I am constantly searching for those things that will inspire me, reflect it through my creations and in so doing to inspire again others.
Caramel Pecan Cheesecake
A combination of two famous and most loved desserts. Rich and creamy cheesecake baked together with a caramel pecan topping. A favourite that can satisfy your sweet tooth craving!
Ingredients
Crust
- 75 g Butter
- 200 g Graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tsp Caramel essence
Cheesecake
- 460 g Cream cheese
- 50 g Castor sugar
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Caramel extract
- 3 Eggs
- 60 ml Sour cream
- 60 ml Cream
Caramel Pecan topping
- 68 g Brown sugar
- 60 g Maple syrup
- 17 g Butter
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Heavy cream
- 1 pinch Salt
- 80 g Pecans, coarsely chopped
Annika
Method
Crust
- Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 20 cm springform pan.
- In a bowl mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and caramel essence. Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.
- After baking set aside and turn the oven temperature to 120 degrees Celsius with the fan option.
Cheesecake
- In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese, castor sugar, cornstarch and caramel essence on low speed until fully combined and smooth.
- Add the egg and mix until incorporated.
- Add the sour cream and heavy cream and mix until fully combined.
- Pour the batter onto the baked crust and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. While the cheesecake is baking start preparing the pecan topping.
Caramel pecan topping
- Add the brown sugar, maple syrup and butter in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, keep cooking for 2 minutes and take off the heat. Put aside to cool down.
- Whisk together the egg, cream and the salt.
- When the sugar mixture has cool down a little, whisk it together with the egg and cream mixture.
- Once the cheesecake has finished baking for 45 minutes, take out of the oven.
- Mix the pecans with the sugar and egg mixture and then gently place it on top of the cheesecake.
- Return the cheesecake to the oven and continue baking for another 40 minutes.
Notes
- When the cheesecake is done baking, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside with the oven door open for a few minutes.
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Lemon meringue macarons
French method macarons filled with zesty tang lemon curd and meringue
Ingredients
Macaron
100 g Castor sugar
100 g Egg whites, room temperature
125 g icing sugar
125 g Ground Almonds
Yellow food colour
Lemon curd
140 g Granulated sugar
190 ml Lemon juice
4 Egg yolks
3 Eggs
110 g Butter (room temperature, soft)
2,5 ml Gelatine powder (or half a gelatine sheet)
5 ml water
Swiss Meringue
1 egg white
60 g granulated sugar
Annika
Method
Macaron
Turn oven on 125 degrees Celsius, with the fan option on.
Pulse together the almond flour and icing sugar in a food processor and then put through a sieve.
Whip egg whites to soft peaks, gradually add the sugar little by little while whisking on medium speed. Whip until stiff peaks form. Here you can add your food colouring.
Fold in through the almond mix until uniform and desired consistency.
On a silicone mat, pipe circles about 3cm in diameter. Give a few taps on the bottom of the tray so that air bubbles can escape. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes or until a skin has formed on the top.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Lemon curd
Mix together the gelatine and water in a small dish and set aside to bloom.
Place lemon juice in a pot on top of the stove and bring to the boil.
Meanwhile whisk the egg, egg yolk and sugar in a bowl with a hand whisk until pale in colour.
Once boiling, add the lemon juice to the egg mixture while whisking. Place the mixture back on the stove on medium heat and cook, constantly stirring, until the mixture thickens or coats the back of a spoon.
Take off the heat and add the softened butter, and mix to combine.
Microwave the gelatine for 10 seconds and then add to the mix.
Place plastic on top of the surface of the curd when storing to prevent a skin from forming.
Swiss Meringue
Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer.
Put the sugar and egg white in a glass bowl and place on top of the simmering water while continuously mixing.
Once no more sugar granules can be felt when feeling between fingers, take off the heat.
Place in the mixer and whip until stiff peaks.
Assembling
Pipe a circle of meringue on one half of a macaron shell. Pipe some lemon curd in the middle and then close with another half of a macaron shell.
Notes
Egg white whips best when it is at room temperature.
Silicone mats help the piped macaron keep its round shape. If you don’t have a silicone mat available you can also use baking paper.
If you have a convection oven, I suggest that you try and bake a few macarons without the skin formation and see how it turns out.
Macarons are very complex and every one’s oven does differ. Always bake a few macarons first to test out the oven and play around with the tray position, fan and the temperatures.
The lemon curd can be done a day before and stored in the fridge overnight.
Macaron shells can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
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Raspberry, pistachio and white chocolate Eton Mess
Ingredients
Raspberry compote
150 g Raspberries
20 g Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla essence
1 tsp Lemon juice
Crystallised pistachios
50 g Sugar
1 tbsp Water
50 g Pistachios
White chocolate sauce
50 g White chocolate
1 tbsp Cream
Eton Mess
1 cup Whipping cream
1 tbsp Icing sugar
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 cup Dry meringue
Annika
Method
Raspberry compote
Place raspberry, sugar and lemon juice in a pot and heat over medium heat.
Once it starts to bubble rapidly, cook for 10-12 minutes while stirring constantly until the food breaks down and the mixture has thickened a little.
Take off the heat and add the vanilla essence.
Cool down in refrigerator.
Crystallised pistachios
Put the sugar and water in a pot and heat over medium heat.
Cook until the mixture has thickened to a syrup consistency and add the pistachios. Stir vigorously until the sugar has started to crystallise and has coated the pistachios. Take off the heat.
White chocolate sauce
Heat the cream and white chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals until fully melted.
Eton Mess
Whip together the cream, vanilla essence and icing sugar on medium speed until just before stiff peaks form.
Fold through crushed meringue
In a glass layer the whipped cream together with the raspberry compote and white chocolate sauce. Top with the crystallised pistachios.
Notes
Eton mess needs to be put together close to serving time so that the meringue can still be crispy within the cream.
You can prepare each of the ingredients in advance. Store the whipped cream and raspberry compote in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
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Peach and cinnamon custard Pavlova
Ingredients
Deconstructed Pavlova served with a creamy cinnamon and milk custard, honey caramelised peaches with an almond-vanilla crumble.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Australian, New Zealand
Servings 6 People
Ingredients
Swiss meringue
- 2 Egg whites
- 120 g Granulated sugar
Cinnamon and milk custard
- 190 g Condensed milk (1/2 tin)
- 1 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 Egg
- pinch Salt
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Almond and vanilla crumble
- 50 g Flour
- 50 g Almond flour
- 35 g Brown sugar
- 50 g Butter, softened (room temperature)
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
Honey caramelised peaches
- 4 Peaches
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Vanilla essence
- 2 tbsp Peach schnapps (optional)
Annika
Method
Swiss meringue
- Turn oven to 100 degrees Celsius.
- Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a simmer.
- Put the sugar and egg white in a glass bowl and place on top of the simmering water while continuously stirring.
- Once no more sugar granules can be felt when feeling between fingers, take off the heat.
- Place in a mixer and whip to stiff peaks.
- Place in a piping bag and pipe on to the bottom of the half spheres of a silicone mould.
- Bake in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. It should have a crisp exterior with a soft, almost marshmallow-like interior.
Cinnamon and milk custard
- Place the condensed milk, milk and cinnamon in a pot and bring to a boil on the stove.
- Whisk the cornstarch and the egg together in a bowl until smooth and no lumps.
- When the milk mixture starts to boil pour it into the egg mixture while whisking. Place back on the stove and cook on medium heat, constantly stirring, until it starts to thicken and coats the back of the spoon.
- Take off the heat and stir in the butter, salt and vanilla.
- Place cling wrap directly on to the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Almond and vanilla crumble
- Turn oven on 180 degrees Celsius.
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle. Mix until the butter has incorporated and resembles coarse meal.
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Honey caramelised peaches
- Cut the peaches into quarters and then cut each quarter again in half.
- Heat the butter in a pan until fully melted and foamy.
- Add the honey and vanilla essence.
- Add the peaches and cook until caramelised, turning them carefully to coat all sides.
Optional:
Take off the heat and add peach schnapps.
Assemble
When assembling, pipe the caramel custard inside the meringue. Serve with crumble on the bottom, topped with the peaches and then the meringue filled with the custard.
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A Galapian
What is a Galapian?
This dessert was created by Alain Bouchard, in the 90’s, in France’s Galapian commune. Even though Galapian is almost 740 km away from Monaco, the Galapian tart has found a well known place in the cuisine of Monaco.
A Galapian is a sweet tart made with a filling of egg whites mixed with ground almonds and baked together with maraschino cherries and candied cantaloupe. It is then finished off with a honey glaze. Every bite is light, airy and creamy and quite a pleasure for those with a sweet tooth, each bite reminding you of the glitz and glamour that is so enjoyed by the Monégasque.
There is some similarities between the Galapian tart and a Bakewell tart. In a Bakewell tart you will find a layer of jam and frangipane which is then topped with almond flakes. Basically both is made of a sweet pastry base with almond topping and something sandwiched in the middle.
I have created my own version of this tart where I still use the same almond batter filling except I used fresh cherries and then topped it off with honey glazed almond flakes.
I love using the almond filling of the Galapian tart as it is very airy and not so sweet, thus bringing the sweetness in with the honey glazed almond flakes and also having that freshness and slight hint of sourness of the cherries.
Almond and Cherry Tart
This tart is made out of a sweet pastry shell baked with sweet cherries enrobed with a light almond filling and topped with honey glazed almond flakes. Goes down so well with vanilla ice-cream and a cup of tea!
Ingredients
Sweet pastry dough
- 125 g Butter, soft
- 85 g Sugar
- 1 Egg
- 229 g Flour
Almond filling
- 4 Egg whites
- 100 g Sugar
- 100 g Almond flour
- 160 g Cherries, cut in half, pit removed
Almond topping
- 120 g Butter
- 100 g Honey
- 150 g Almond flakes
Annika
Method
Sweet pastry dough
In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed, for roughly 2 minutes.
Add the egg and mix to incorporate.
Add the flour and mix just until it forms a dough.
Wrap the dough in a rectangular block and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Roll the dough out, in 3mm thickness. Line a greased baking dish (24 cm in diameter and 3,5 cm deep) with the dough and refrigerate until needed.
Almond filling
Turn on oven to 180 degrees Celsius, with the fan option.
Whip egg whites until medium peaks and start adding 25g (2 tablespoons) sugar gradually, continuing to whip to stiff peaks.
Mix together the almond flour and the rest of the sugar and then fold in with the egg whites.
Smooth the egg white and almond mixture into the tart shell. Push the cherries into the filling.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes while preparing the almond topping. The tart should be almost firm to the touch and slightly brown on the top.
Almond topping
Combine the butter and honey in a small saucepan and gently simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir through the almond flakes.
When the tart has baked for 20 minutes, take out of the oven and layer the almond flakes on top of the tart and bake for a further 10 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Notes
Top it up with some delicious vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream!
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Alfajores
So what are Alfajores?
Alfajores are a delicious South American cookie which have been mostly popular in Argentina and Uruguay. These cookies are such a delicious treat packed with a rich heritage.
It is said that Alfajores originated in the Middle East (The word being from Arabic origin) where it then reached southern Spain where this version then made its way to South America.
The word “alfajores” doesn’t have any direct translation but many believe that the word “alfajor” is derived from the Arabic word “al-hasu” which means filled.
Two soft thick cookies, usually shortbread cookies, are sandwiched together with a creamy dulce de leche filling. There are multiple variations made throughout such as Alfajores covered with chocolate, Alfajores rolled in coconut flakes and Alfajores with flavour variations.
Alfajores differs from country to country in South America. In different regions they will use honey, fruit mixture, pineapple jam, chocolate mousse, cream or marmalade as filling options
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 100 g Butter
- 175 g Brown sugar
- 1 Egg yolk
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp Caramel essence
- 100 g Maple syrup
- 450 g Flour
- 20 g Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 tbsp Ginger, ground
- 2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
- 1 tsp Cardamon, ground
- 1 pinch Nutmeg, ground
- 45 ml Milk
Dulce de leche filling
- 1 can Dulce de leche
- 2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
Annika
Method
- Cream together the butter and the sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg and yolk and mix until incorporated.
- Add the caramel essence and maple syrup and mix through.
- In another bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon and nutmeg.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk and mix just until everything forms a smooth dough. Try not to overmix.
Put in the fridge for approximately 2 hours to chill.
Turn oven to 180 degrees Celsius, without the fan option.
Roll the dough out to 0,5 cm thickness and cut out circles with a diameter of 6 cm. Cut out the centre of the half of them using a smaller star cookie cutter.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the cut out dough on it. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes, until a nice golden colour.
Dulce de leche filling
- Add the cinnamon to the dulce de leche and mix through.
Alfajores assembling
- Dust the cookies with cut out stars with icing sugar.
- Pipe a generous amount of dulce de leche filling on the complete cookies and sandwhich with the other half.
And now you enjoy!
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