I realise a lot, if not most people, wouldn’t have nut roll tins in their cupboards. I also realise that this traditional Australian recipe is really old fashioned, in fact my grandmother used to make these when I was a kid. Despite that, I love this cake precisely because of it’s lack of foodie coolness, and[read more…]
I’m on a bit of a Bill Granger kick at the moment. So I spotted Bill’s rather tropical sounding cake online a while back and was keen to try it, as most of the dry ingredients are from ground macadamia nuts and there’s no dairy, including butter. The fat comes from beaten egg yolks and you[read more…]
I baked this pretty, tender-crumbed, berry studded, lemon scented bundt cake a few weeks months ago and loved it. Let’s face it, lemon is the new chocolate; chocolate will always be my first love however lemon has become so much a part of my cooking repertoire, it’s hard to imagine life without it. The first time I made[read more…]
The toasted walnut crunch combined with soft little sweet berries is a delicious, if unusual combination in this loaf cake. It tastes fantastic toasted under the grill and served with butter (but doesn’t everything really?) and it has a lovely soft texture. I toasted the walnuts after tossing them through a little maple syrup for some added crunch and sweetness,[read more…]
I love fig season! It’s so short but they’re such a luxurious treat at a time when most fruit and vegies are available year round. It’s worth hunting them down and I always use them as an opportunity to whip up some lovely treats. And while figs are pretty special raw, caramelised down slowly, they become soft[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…]
Blackberries are my new favourite berry; I just love their lush darkness and how purply sweet they become after baking. Sprinkled over this soft, fluffy cake with a crunchy streusel topping they were lovely. When I first made this cake, I was all about the full fat sour cream (and it is a sour cream[read more…]
Rustic, spicy and pear studded describes this winter inspired loaf perfectly although it’s far from perfect looking. I’m not the neatest cook ever! Despite this, I love the soft, fragrant crumb and crunchy crust combined with fresh pieces of pear and toasted pecans. It’s delicious with butter and is best on the day it’s baked however is also lovely toasted[read more…]
In saying goodbye to warmer weather, I made some berry bejeweled muffins made from ingredients I just had at home, which happen to be healthy and cute at the same time (also, we’re not quite ready for warm spicy treats yet, we still have our air con on currently). The muffin itself isn’t overly sweet however[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…]
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…]
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…]
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…]
This weekend’s baking was a light and fresh lemon coconut loaf. While we’re not quite out of the winter woods yet, I spied lots of little green shoots and a burst of pretty pink flowers on my deck plants this morning which means warmer weather ahead, so I felt like a lemony treat. I made this loaf with baking margarine[read more…]
I spied this loaf recently on a lovely blog called FoodBabbles. It’s an Ina Garten recipe (I love her!) and I decided to bake it for afternoon tea on the weekend. I’ve made lemony baked goods before but have never tried a lemon syrup poured over – it really is gorgeous. This is a really moist cake and[read more…]
I love sweet potatoes, all kinds really but particularly the orange – I mean who doesn’t? They’re sweet, healthy and a gorgeous colour. Yesterday I had a huge organic sweet potato sitting on my kitchen bench and I also had pecans, maple essence, dates and other baking essentials so thought I’d knock together a sweet potato loaf. I also decided on some[read more…]
I had an epiphany late in bed the other night. Yeah I know, I’m daft (or I was hungry), but it suddenly came to me how delicious strawberry buttermilk muffins would be. Strawberries aren’t a fruit you commonly hear about in terms of baking, at least not as much as blueberries, raspberries or cherries, and I don’t know[read more…]
Oh, my god. This loaf is just gorgeous. Juicy raspberries in a fluffy loaf with a hint of lemon. So good with butter and a cup of coffee. Anyway. I’m digressing. I recommend using a good brand of yoghurt; I used an organic European style honey flavoured yoghurt (think Greek yoghurt with a slight hint of honey) but[read more…]
I purchased a friand tin on impulse the other day so of course I had to give it a test run. I’ve never baked friands before, although I’ve had them quite often in cafes with a coffee. I loved the soft texture inside these easy-to-make little cakes, with crisp edges and a burst of berries. So if you[read more…]
