Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen’s Edible Candle and Mosbolletjies

prep time: 3h / cooking time: 40 min / serves 10

Ingredients

For the mosbolletjie

• 20g yeast
• 80g sugar
• 450ml water
• 15ml salt
• 30ml aniseed
• 100ml milk
• 220g butter
• 1kg flour

For the candle

• 300g biltong powder (30g x 10)
• 1L pork fat that has been rendered
• 20g salt
• black onion powder

Method

For the mosbolletjie

1. Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the salt, aniseed, milk and melted butter.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, place the flour in the mixing bowl and add the wet mixture.
4. Knead the dough for 10 minutes at a medium-low speed until the dough is smooth.
5. Let the dough proof in a bowl covered with a damp kitchen towel for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
7. Spray a loaf tin with cooking spray and divide and portion the dough into the loaf tin, forming balls and packing them together to achieve the traditional mosbolletjie look.
8. Allow the mosbolletjies to proof, covered with a damp kitchen towel until they have doubled in size.
9. Bake the mosbolletjies for 30-40 minutes, until they are cooked.

For the candle

1. Combine the salt with the pork lard.
2. Crisp the biltong by torching it with a blow torch in a tray.
3. Mix the biltong and kaiings into the pork lard and season well with salt and pepper.
4. Place it into a piping bag.
5. The lard’s consistency should be that of room-temperature butter.
6. Arrange a double layer of cling film on your work surface and pipe a line onto it.
7. Place an organic wick down the center of the lard and then pipe another line of lard over the wick to cover it.
8. Cover the lard with the cling wrap, forming a sausage shape. Let the candle set in the freezer.
9. Repeat with the remaining lard.
10. Once the candles have set, remove the cling wrap.
11. Roll the candle in burnt onion powder (place onions under the grill until they are blackened, then blend, sieve and season) and serve with the mosbolletjies.

Recipe Courtesy of Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen of Michelin-starred Restaurant JAN in Nice.

Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen Chef Feature.