Is it wrong to say my favourite part of Christmas Day, after the hectic usual lunch, was lying down on our old yet much loved lounge in the air con drinking ciders, eating Japanese rice crackers and watching Community with Ant? (if you haven’t seen the Modern Warfare ep, you have to, it’s fall-about-on-the-floor funny). Anyway, I’m ashamed to[read more…]
I was thrilled to be contacted by Kat from Keep Left PR to do a review for Bakers Delight, one of my favourite bakeries. Anyone who knows me is aware of my obsession for bakeries, and I usually find it difficult to walk past a Bakers Delight without stopping and staring like a little kid[read more…]
This recipe is pretty easy and well worth making for a lovely treat. If you’ve ever made home made ice cream or custard you’ll find it a doddle but even if you haven’t, it’s just a few careful steps. I loved this comforting, childlike dessert! So velvety, creamy and full of sweet caramel flavour. The[read more…]
I’m really very enamored with brioche pudding these days. This one’s full of squishy blueberries and crunchy almonds and was gorgeous with a drizzle of cream. I’m amazed actually, that a tiny bit of effort with a bit of bread; albeit lovely and luxurious brioche (I used a frozen one I made previously but you could always buy it from a[read more…]
I love these old-fashioned, citrusy, sweet little bars and they’re so easy to make. I whip up a batch, freeze them and take them out to defrost for dessert emergencies (no really! There is such a thing, you know there is). You can also swap the lemon juice for lime for an even zestier flavour.[read more…]
Ok. Eton mess in Autumn doesn’t sound a seasonal appropriate dessert but .. we live in Queensland, Australia and it’s warm still. British Eton mess is one of those luscious desserts which is so easy and is basically a messy pavlova all piled up in a bowl with whatever fruit you like, although traditionally, Summer strawberries[read more…]
Friands are sweet, little, oval teatime cakes traditionally made with almond meal and egg whites. I don’t make them that often, not because they’re difficult, they’re not at all, but because they use egg whites which means you then have all these lovely egg yolks left over. So last weekend for afternoon tea I put together a[read more…]
No you aren’t dreaming or hallucinating. This really is a thing – a wonderfully inspired recipe I discovered recently by lovely Sydney blogger Katrina Meynink, (also freelance food writer and recipe developer and lots of other things). You could say I did a double-take. Cookie dough chocolate brownies – no way! As a long time brownie lover, I’m[read more…]
This lovely seasonal galette was made with December peaches and cherries baked on a rainy afternoon just before Christmas Day (I’m uncomfortably aware it’s way way too late in the year to still be talking about Christmas but completely forgot I hadn’t posted this yet and am madly going through summer recipes before we aren’t in it anymore). I mean[read more…]
Apologies for the wordy title but … I had no idea what to call these saucy little tarts (ooh missus!). I’m a sucker for this type of hedonistic dessert – there’s something fundamentally appealing about the combination of fudgy cookies, cold, creamy ice cream with chocolate sauce and not minding getting chocolate all over your face while you’re[read more…]
I found this wonderful recipe for healthy candy bars recently (check out the rest of the site, it has tasty recipes for healthy minded people). I have a big bag of quinoa puffs which, while I love to eat them for breakfast, I wanted to do something a bit more fun with, so I thought I’d make these chocolatey[read more…]
It’s been raining heavily here for the past few days and doesn’t look like letting up any time soon. Rain’s lovely, for a night or so, drumming on the roof in that comforting way while I’m reading and listening to music, but goes on for too long and it makes everything a bit flat and gray. Anyway. I pulled my[read more…]
I’ve never appreciated the appeal of bread pudding – I always thought it would taste bland and I just couldn’t understand how bread belonged in a pudding. While shopping for Christmas I came across some brioche loaves which looked gorgeous and fluffy and sweet, thinking I would have some toasted with tea or something. But then for[read more…]
Baked cheesecake is one of two of my favourite desserts in the whole world ever (the other is creme brulee). I don’t make it often because despite normally avoiding moral judgments about food, it’s difficult to rationalise eating quite so much fat and sugar in one sitting in a normal day-to-day setting. And I refuse to make low fat desserts[read more…]
I made a pretty cake yesterday to celebrate my other half’s birthday. Happy birthday to my darling Ant. We’re on holidays at the moment and it’s wonderful. This cake was dreamy .. I really loved the chocolate flavour combined with a surprising fluffy cloud of vanilla frosting; kind of unexpected, like brown eyes with blonde[read more…]
This luscious, beautifully coloured sauce is wonderful served warm over pancakes, Greek yoghurt or ice cream. It’s super easy to make and will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days or so.
I was thinking recently, there just isn’t enough spice around when it comes to baking. It’s not that easy to find ready made spice biscuits or cake in Australia and it’s not a favourite flavour for most people I know. Personally, I love the warmth of spice baked goods and they seem so comforting and[read more…]
This isn’t really a recipe but since we seem to be hurtling towards Christmas at a rather scary rate (7 and a half weeks what?!), I thought I’d put together a little festive, girly sweetness to add to your holiday baking. It’s really just as much white, granulated sugar as you need in an airtight,[read more…]
Mmmmmm dessert for breakfast. You could also, obviously, serve this as dessert and nobody would mind. I use a yoghurt which isn’t too sweet as it’s a cool and tangy relief combined with the crunchy granola and sweet, luscious fruit. And it’s really just a simple layering in a cute glass: Blueberry sauce Greek yoghurt[read more…]
I made a batch of dreamy brownies to celebrate my move to A Splash of Vanilla and also to celebrate a year of blogging (I’m a bit late but then I’m hopeless at remembering anniversaries). Now I made these purely because I accidentally bought a tub of cream cheese. I have no idea why or how[read more…]
Nigella never fails me. She somehow manages to make food which is both easy and decadent. Her chocolate peanut butter sundae is no different and it’s one of those desserts where combinations are really important; The hot sauce competing with the cold ice cream, the dual flavours of chocolate and peanut butter, and the sweetness and richness of the dessert compared[read more…]
I spied this simple, delicious recipe from raw foodie Celia Eddy. I add a handful of early blueberries or figs in season and bam – fruit intake for the day and an intense chocolate fix. You won’t believe how divine this is, I confess I skipped the refrigerate part, I just had to try a bit and it[read more…]
I had some frozen bananas and strawberries in my freezer and thought I’d make a teacake. Not muffins, not banana bread or loaf cake which I would usually fall back on, but a teacake. To be honest, when I decided to press the strawberries into the top of the mixture rather than mix them in,[read more…]
Sweet, doughy bites with the stickiest brown sugar butter glaze on the base which I just couldn’t stop picking at. It was worth washing the very sticky pan afterwards.
Like Nigella, I’m all for an easy chocolate fix. Nobody should have to wait very long for chocolate on those days when it feels necessary. The iconic Nigella dessert, chocohotopots – easy, luxurious, charmingly named little treats, remind me of a cross between chocolate brownies and pudding. Honestly, despite the kid friendly nature of them (Nigella’s son naming this dessert when he was[read more…]
We were very French today and had cherry clafoutis and coffee for breakfast. This lovely dessert (or breakfast) is similar to a pancake but baked in the oven. The velvety soft and creamy texture pairs well with sweet little bites of cherries.
I love this dessert because it’s just so decadent. I also love that it has a routine to it; pouring in the espresso, dipping the biscuits. I love the moment you pour the hot espresso on the ice cream and it starts to melt; the first spoonful of ice cream so sweet and creamy and[read more…]
