Keep the romance alive with these post-Valentine’s Day desserts

Wild Coast Sun’s seasoned sous chef, Godfrey Setwe, guides a team of 34 to maintain high culinary standards at Sun International’s four-star seaside resort on the border of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Over the past five years, Setwe has witnessed growing demand from guests for healthy, sustainable and locally sourced food. “Our guests, particularly those from Indian backgrounds, enjoy vegetarian and plant-based meals,” he said. “They are curious to know where their food comes from and how it is made.”

This has inspired their team to keep ingredient lists simple to curate decadent flavours, which allows people to care about how the food feels beyond how it tastes.

Alongside executive chef Georgina Hill, the two have shared Valentine’s Day-inspired recipes for all dessert lovers with a sweet tooth.

Godfrey Setwe’s homemade chocolate brownie

Ingredients:

Baking:

• 800g Chocex dark chocolate
• 400g butter unsalted
• 900g sugar white/brown
• 1kg cake flour
• Teaspoon baking powder
• Vanilla essence
• 300g pecan nuts

On the plate ingredients

• Almond
• ½ teaspoon honey
• Chocolate shavings
• Red cherry
• Chocolate dark ganache
• Chocolate white ganache
• Buttercream
• Pinch of gold dust

Method:

1. Melt the chocolate and mix with butter in a saucepan and melt over low heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
2. Set the chocolate aside to cool.
3. Beat eggs and sugar. Use an electric mixer on high speed to whip the eggs in a large bowl.
4. Continue for several minutes, until they turn pale in colour and the batter is thick and velvety, then mix in the vanilla extract.
5. Put away your electric mixer and use a rubber spatula or a whisk for the remaining steps. Pour the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture and stir gently.
6. Stir in the flour, but do not overmix, as that will make the brownies dense and tough.
7. When a little bit of flour is still visible, stir in the chocolate chips. You can add the pecan nuts at this point, too.
8. Use a metal pan lined with parchment paper.
9. Pour the brownie batter into the parchment-lined baking pan and spread it smoothly, pressing the batter into the corners.
10. Use an instant thermometer and remove the brownies when the centre is between 82°-91°C.

Georgina Hill’s vegan lemon tart

Crust ingredients:

• 1½ cups almond flour (blitzed almond flakes)
• ½ cup coconut flour (blitzed desiccated coconut)
• ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
• ¼ cup maple syrup

Crust method:

1. If making your own flour, blitz the ingredients until fine, then add the liquids and mix.
2. Spray a pan or pie pan with Spray & Cook, press down into the pan, spreading out as smoothly as possible, and bake in a preheated oven (170°C) for 10 minutes.
3. Let it cool slightly before adding the filling.

Filling ingredients:

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1 cup lemon juice (I used bottled, but fresh works just fine)
• ¾ cup maple syrup             
• 1 cup cornflour
• 4 lemons’ zest

Filling method:

1. Mix the liquids and then add the cornflour, making sure the mixture is cold when adding to avoid lumps.
2. Place on a low heat and bring to a boil, stirring continually.
3. Pour into your prepared base and bake for 12 minutes.
4. Once the tart has reached room temperature after baking, place it in the fridge to complete setting.
5. Garnish with fresh fruit and whipped coconut cream.