Actions speak louder than words. This was a phrase J.B.M. Hertzog, former prime minister of South Africa, clearly did not live by. In the 1920s, he promised equal voting rights to women and to the Coloured community. He fulfilled the first promise, but not the second. So why the history lesson? Because the second-last recipe from Recipes for Love and Murder was Hertzoggies, named after this not-so-esteemed gentleman.

The story goes that his supporters baked these coconutty, jam-filled cookies, or tartlets if you will, and served them at his political rallies. However, after he failed to deliver on his promise to give Coloured people equal voting rights, Coloured women started dipping the tartlets in icing. One half of the Hertzoggie was dipped in pink icing, the other half in chocolate, and they were called twee gevreetjies, signifying his hypocrisy.

This brings me to my next cliché: the proof of the pudding is in the taste. I tend to disagree, thanks to the mess I made of these Hertzoggies – while they tasted good, they looked a mess. The cookies crumbled as I lifted them out the pan, spilling their jammy insides and sprinkling coconut everywhere. Eating them was just as much of a mess.

This may have had to do with the pan I used, which I think was too deep for these tartlets, and I think I should have worked the dough up the sides of the pan to make more of a “cup” to hold all that jam. I also think I could have whipped the egg whites for longer. As a result, nothing quite held together. So yes: presentation matters … but not quite as much as keeping your promises.

Views expressed are my own. All opinions are my own. The opinions expressed here belong solely to me.
Words and images: Claudia Hauter
Feature image: Claudia Hauter, a shot taken during location filming on Recipes for Love and Murder season 2.