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Teresa Ulyate is a multi-tasking working mom who juggles a job, children and a blog cupcakesandcouscous.com

‘N CRUNCH COOKIES

DURING THE RECENT LOCKDOWN SOCIAL MEDIA WAS FLOODED WITH IMAGES OF PEOPLE TAKING THE TIME TO BAKE. INSTEAD OF FOLKS CHUCKING AWAY A BANANA THAT WAS PAST ITS BEST, BECAUSE THEY HAD TIME ON THEIR HANDS, THEY MADE BANANA BREAD.

For better or worse we are living in very interesting times, and the world will certainly never be the same again. Earlier this year our schools closed early and unexpectedly, and like parents all over the world we suddenly found ourselves “locked in” with several weeks of home time ahead of us. What now?

Fortunately this is where our family’s collective love for baking came in very handy. Baking is not only a fabulous (and educational) activity for the kids to get involved in, but it also brings comfort and is a great stress buster in uncertain times. There is something magical about taking a few pantry staples, mixing them together, popping them in the oven and ending up with a completely different and delicious creation!

These are two of our favourite recipes that we made during our time at home, and as you can see they are based on some South African classics. First up are some light and melt in the mouth custard cookies filled with a gorgeous vanilla buttercream – they look rather pretty and taste just as good.

And then there’s that other South African staple: rusks. What would a morning tea or coffee be without a crispy, crunchy rusk to dunk?

We got a bit creative and whipped up some buttermilk rusks packed with a variety of nuts and some chewy cranberries. They do require a bit of patience but are well worth the wait!

I can’t promise that these scrumptious bakes will keep you stocked up for the duration of a lockdown (a few days tops) but I will say that they are sure to please the family at teatime. So get the kettle on, and know that you can keep the family entertained and enjoying some baked treats whatever the circumstances.

CUSTARD AND VANILLA BEAN SANDWICH COOKIES Makes 22

For the cookies:

175g butter, softened 150ml icing sugar 1 large egg 5ml vanilla extract 310ml flour 150ml custard powder 5ml baking powder Pinch of salt

For the vanilla bean buttercream:

120g butter, softened 5ml vanilla paste 625ml icing sugar 30ml milk, warmed

1 Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line two trays with baking paper. 2 Place the butter in a mixing bowl and sift in the icing sugar. Cream for a good 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then mix. 3 Sift the flour, custard powder, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Mix gently to combine. 4 Roll the dough into 44 small balls. Arrange the balls on the trays (leaving some space for spreading) and press each one down lightly with a floured fork. 5 Bake for 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool. 6 While cookies are cooling prepare the vanilla buttercream. Place the butter in a mixing bowl and cream until soft and pale. Mix in the vanilla paste. 7 Sift in the icing sugar and mix until the icing comes together. Add the warm milk and mix again. 8 Group the cookies into pairs of similar sizes. Pipe or spread the icing onto a cold cookie, and sandwich it together with its partner. Repeat with the remaining cookies and icing. Serve.

NUTTY BUTTERMILK RUSKS Makes 45

500g cake flour 20ml baking powder Pinch of salt 125ml raw almonds, roughly chopped 125ml raw cashews, roughly chopped 80ml shelled pistachios, roughly chopped 80ml pecans, roughly chopped 125ml dried cranberries 150g castor sugar 200g butter 1 large egg 180ml buttermilk

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line two large loaf tins. 2 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans and cranberries and mix together. 3 Place the castor sugar and butter in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the butter has melted, then set aside. 4 Whisk the egg and buttermilk together. Add the butter mixture and whisk again. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to form a thick, sticky dough. 5 Split the dough between the two loaf tins and carefully flatten into an even layer. Bake for 50 minutes until baked through. Set aside to cool. 6 Preheat the oven to 60ºC. Turn the loaves out of the pans. Carefully slice the loaves into your desired shapes. (I like to slice the loaf, then cut each slice in half lengthways.) Arrange the rusks on two trays and bake for 8 hours (or overnight) until completely dried out. Store in an airtight container.

“The very act of preparing and serving tea encourages conversation. The little spaces in time created by teatime rituals call out to be filled with conversation. Even the tea itself - warm and comforting-inspires a feeling of relaxation and trust that fosters shared confidences.” Emilie Barnes