Mess

In itself this is not a mess. Sat in the tub in the kitchen, it is not a mess. Whilst baking in the oven, it was not a mess. However as soon as you try and eat it, you are guaranteed to have crumbs everywhere, that is a mess!

I've had a craving for rusks for a while. Not those funny little biscuits that you feed to babies, though I'm sure they're tasty too, but a South African Rusk. They're like a hard baked bread/biscuit type thing that is great dunked in a hot drink. I fell in love with them whilst we were over there in 2008 and promptly learnt how to make them on my return home. Unfortunately they contain buttermilk so I haven't had them for nearly 3 years.

Today I made my own dairy free "buttermilk" and these wonderful little tests of my patience are the results. You bake rusks for 45 minutes. At that stage they are a tasty bread (not that you'll have been cheeky enough to eat one when they're not finished), they then go back in the oven for 4 long hours to become the wonderful, crumbly, delicious mess! Next time I will be shaping them in to fingers rather than balls as they're very hard to eat in a chunky shape.

Challenge #23 Mess