Bussi - Bake Happy

For my mother, Catherine Ritchie Bussi, with love and thanks always

To all those who have contributed to the book in various ways

Published in 2013 by Struik Lifestyle
(an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd))
Company Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
Wembley Square, Solan Road, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
PO Box 1144, Cape Town 8000
www.randomstruik.co.za

Copyright in published edition: Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd 2013
Copyright in text and illustration: Gail Bussi 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders.

Publisher: Linda de Villiers
Design manager: Beverley Dodd
Editor: Cecilia Barfield
Designer: Helen Henn
Illustrator: Gail Bussi
Proofreader and indexer: Anja Grobler

ISBN 978-1-43230-168-2

I have two clear memories of things I loved doing when I was a little girl reading and baking. (Actually, the baking came first, before I even learned to read.) I think most bakers would agree that they started in the kitchen, standing alongside a mom or dad or granny or aunt, watching as he or she stirred, mixed and added all sorts of ingredients to create a wonderful sort of alchemy in the oven.

Wherever I was in the house, I was drawn to the kitchen like a magnet when I knew my mom was making a cake, or cookies, or scones. She always left a little of the mixture in the bowl for me to scrape up with a spatula. I used to wonder why cake batter or cookie dough sometimes tastes even better before its baked.

And later, when I was about eight or nine years of age, I was allowed to bake a cake on my own! for the very first time. My mom showed quite a lot of faith in me by going out and leaving me to it only to be greeted by a very sad face when she returned. I couldnt find the vanilla essence, and was convinced that the cake would be a flop without it! Then there was the time I knocked an entire bottle of pink colouring into a bowl of icing needless to say that was a very colourful cake!

As I say elsewhere in this book, the baking I remember (and which I still do most of the time) was not fancy or time consuming. It was the simple, honest taste of plain cakes and cookies and buttery scones. To this day I have no great love for those towering, gungy cakes, filled with cream, that one often sees in bakeries or restaurants. They might look grand, but the taste is often something of a let down.

From my early baking beginnings I progressed to experimenting with recipes from all over the world, some from cookbooks, others given to me by friends. Thats really one of the things I love most about baking, and cooking in general the sense that one is part of the greater whole, learning something fresh and delicious with each new recipe one tries. Its the sense of continuity and community that I enjoy. So many of the recipes in this book have a history, and when I make them, I am transported to other places and times.

Today theres a big trend towards simpler and less rushed living, which is one I am heartily in favour of and I think baking can be a big part of that. Its actually difficult to be angry or stressed when one is quietly pottering in the kitchen, rolling out dough or whipping sugar and butter to a light cream. So, apart from having something delicious to eat and share, one is left feeling a lot calmer and more serene.

It is my hope that some of the recipes in this book will become your favourites too, and that you will discover simple joy and tranquillity while practising this kitchen art. That, after all, is what its all about a celebration of food, family, friends, laughter and love.

There is a difference between living and just surviving. Find something that you love, and find someone to love its that simple. And that hard.

JOHN CONNOLLY

In the childhood memories of every good cook, theres a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom.

BARBARA COSTIKYAN

Any book about food and cooking is always about so much more fundamentally about how the simple kitchen arts are tied together with strings of memory, family, friendship and love, and things that are part of our universal experience. I have had many blessings in my life, but one of the earliest, and best, was that I grew up in a nurturing home, with a mom who had lots of time, patience and love. That warmth was most evident in the kitchen, which was always the heart of our home, and from where a seemingly endless stream of simple yet delicious meals and baked goods would appear to delight both family and friends.

And, of course, there were other kitchens; those of my aunts and neighbours and my mothers friends all a part of the kitchen warmth I knew and treasured. So, the recipes in this section and indeed throughout the book have their origin in many different kitchens, but they all have a common thread, in that the focus is not simply on the food, but also on the fun and companionship to be found in sharing.

Even if you were not fortunate enough to have experienced the joy of learning to cook with a beloved family member or friend, theres no time like the present to change that! Create your own kitchen warmth, whip up something sweetly delicious and share it with the world, one person at a time. That way we can all have a store cupboard of luscious tastes and memories.

The combination of chocolate and orange is, for me, one of the most delicious tastes around; when I was little and allowed to choose a bag of pick-and-mix sweets, I always tried to take as many orange creams as I could! Terry, who was a part of my life for several years, also loved this taste treat, so I devised this cake and topping for both of us. Although we have gone in different directions, he remains very special to me, and I will always treasure the time we had together. (And he was always so appreciative of everything I baked even some of the more spectacular flops!)