Featured recipe

Benni cake

Sesame caramel brittle

Benni is the Krio word for sesame, and benni cake is the crunchy sweet sold by hawkers on Freetown's streets and laid out on Christmas and party tables. Toasted seeds are stirred into hot golden caramel, pressed thin and cut into squares that snap cleanly and taste nutty, toasty and not too sweet. With only two main ingredients it comes together in twenty minutes, but caramel waits for nobody, so have everything ready before you start. Keep the pieces in an airtight jar, or humidity will make them sticky. Chef's tip: score the slab while it is still warm and pliable; once fully cold it shatters unevenly.

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