The Ultimate Snowflake Collection

Snowflake is a brand of flour and baking products in South Africa whose key phrase is too fresh to flop. I was sent their recipe book, The Ultimate Snowflake Collection, to review and I have already made the New York cheesecake (p103) which went down so well at a braai that I shall be making it again.

The recipe books starts with guidelines for successful baking, preparation of cake pans and information on flour and other baking products, and ends with a section on general mistakes and a glossary of terms. The first chapter deals with pastries and doughs, and includes tips for successful pastries. I have made most types of pastries but not yet a soda water pastry (p25) or a hot water pastry (p26). The section on sweet treats has a recipe for Danish pastries (p37) which are definitely on my to do list. Savoury snacks are divided into starters and finger foods and include recipes for soups and vol-au-vents (p44). The chapter on light meals has a recipe for rotis (p48) which I could make for our weekend lunches. There is also a recipe for sweet and sour pork (p55) which caught my eye.

In the chapter pies and tarts I want to try and make Cornish pasties (p63) to take us back to our holiday in Devon and Cornwall. I have never done lattice work, and could make the cherry lattice pie (p65) to test my hand at this skill. The recipe for crustless milk tart (p70) reminds me of a high school home economics recipe I still have written down. Next up is muffins and scones and the fruity eggless muffins (p75) intrigues me as the recipe uses vinegar. I think the pumpkin, ricotta and chorizo muffins (p79) would be worth making for workday lunches and the breakfast marmalade scones (p80) would work well for us on race day weekends.

In the chapter on cakes I want to try the passion-frosted angel cake (p84) as well as some of the eggless cakes. There is a whole horde of icing recipes including special icings that I will attempt over December. From decadent cakes the Venetian layered cake (p103) looks like a great recipe for a special occasion, together with the festive celebration cake (p107). I might make Dave the birthday cake (p108) if he is in need of a treat.

For me, any baking that is about breads and loaves is ideal and here I found recipes for easy-mix breads, as well as traditional, yeast and special breads. I will be making the garlic and coriander naan bread (p108) next time we have a curry. The chapter on biscuits, cookies and rusks includes a recipe for millionaire’s shortbread (p127) that is going to be tested very soon, together with the choc coconut creams (p129). Desserts are divided into cold and hot, and include a recipe for a self-saucing pudding (p143) that will be made before winter comes to an end. This chapter includes sweet sauces, as well as a versatile playdough recipe (p143) to make with your children. I still have a 5-minute chocolate mug cake (p151) on my list of recipes to make and I want to try the traditional South African buttermilk pudding (p157) as I have buttermilk in my freezer than needs to be used for baking.The recipe for delitia al limone (p164) will be made to remind us of Sorrento and all the amazing lemons we saw and bought there.

The Ultimate Snowflake Collection does not include many photographs and some of the photographs for recipes are not on the same page as the recipe itself. It also includes any recipe that uses flour and some recipes have variations and tips.

ISBN 978143170291

Disclosure: I was sent the book to review by Jillian Penaluna from Gullan and Gullan. I was not required to write a positive review. This post is in line with my blogging policy.

What I blogged August 12:. 

• one year ago – Choc Chip Scones
• two years ago – Artichokes
• three years ago – Interview With Magda van Wyk
• four years ago – Red Pepper And Tomato Sauce
• five years ago – Chicken Stuffed With Mushrooms Wrapped In Bacon

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