My husband and I don’t have kids of our own. Fortunately, there are three amazing little people in my life who gives me so much joy and who I love so much that I can’t imagine my life without them.  These are my sister’s three children – the 12-year old twins Wynand and Nicola, and soon to be 11-year old Christiaan.

I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, but they have wonderful, full lives in Johannesburg where they have amazing opportunities to grow and learn and develop.  Obviously, they were adorable children, but they have now entered that fascinating stage where they start taking tiny little steps into puberty and where their own, interesting personalities really start to shine through.  

Wynand is incredibly intelligent, hard-working and is finely tuned to environmental and atmospheric cues. Nothing gets past this child! Nicola is funny and artistic and extremely loving, just like her grandmother when she was still with us.  Christiaan is the sport star of the family, excelling at just about any sport he chooses to take up.

Together, they are like a plaited rope – three strands of extraordinariness, who together share an unbreakable bond. 

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth, but these three definitely have!  No question that I was going to make them something jaw-achingly, unapologetically sweet.  I guess it’s sweets for my sweet…

DIE KLASSIEKE SA KOOKBOEK – WHITE CHOCOLATE FRUIT SQUARES

I assume not everyone is a fan of white chocolate.  I mean, I know there must be people out there who doesn’t like white chocolate, but honestly, I’ve never met one.  Having said that, if you are one of those rare people, I’m convinced this recipe will work equally well with milk chocolate, or even 70% dark chocolate.

In fact, if you’re making this for a slightly more adult palate, I think dark chocolate would be a fantastic replacement.  But the three little palates I’m making this for, loves sweet and therefore I’m sticking to the original recipe.

Just one more thing, these are so quick to make that they would be an excellent stand-by for when your little darling tells you just before bedtime that they need to take something for the bake sale to school the next day.  Make sure that you have the ingredients in the cupboard at all times and you’ll be sorted!

Makes 25 – 30 squares (honestly, I only got about 12 – 15, but maybe you’re more delicate than I am).

250 g white chocolate

100 g glacé cherries, chopped

75 g mixed citrus peel, chopped (I’m not a fan of citrus in desert, so I just used more of the cranberries)

75 g dried cranberries (or a mix of raisins and cranberries)

50 g almond flakes

Butter a square 20 cm cake tin or spray with cooking spray.  Melt 200 g of the white chocolate in a double boiler, or in a bowl over very hot to slowly simmering water.  Add the fruit and almond flakes and mix well.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and leave in a cool place to slightly set. 

Cut into squares and place in the fridge to set completely.  Melt the rest of the white chocolate and drizzle with a teaspoon over the squares.  Remove the squares from the baking dish and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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