One Bowl Easy Apple Cake with Cinnamon Apple Chips

Everyone needs a one bowl cake mix up their sleeve that is no fuss and tastes amazing. This is it, you don't even need to peel the apples. I don't know where the original recipe comes from, it's one of those ones from my childhood which is written on a recipe index card in my mum's scrawling hand with Terry Bac inked in the upper right corner, Terry gave this recipe to my mum many many years ago and it is still the apple cake we go back to time and time again. Thank you Terry! The apple pieces melt into little pockets of apple mush and the cake goes a dark moist caramel studded with toasty walnuts. Autumn on a plate... in Southern Spring. 

Pomegranate Syrup Date Cake for Mother's Day

It's mother's day today and even though I am on the other side of the country to my family this cake is for my mum who is nothing short of wonderful and for my sister who will celebrate her first mother's day today! Even though you aren't here with me to try this cake I hope you both have something delicious today xx

This cake has a dense semolina crumb with the sweetness of dates countered by the tart pomegranate syrup. The syrup should soak almost all of the way through the cake. You don't need more than a small piece of syrup cake and it goes especially well with a good strong cup of coffee. The recipe I have given below is for a half mix as mine was too high so the syrup didn't soak through enough. This tin is from Ikea and can still be used for a half mix, it just won't be as thick.

Pomegranate & Thyme Cocktail

When I started thinking of the pomegranate and thyme combination I wanted to make a tart crimson sorbet with just a hint of herb. Try as I might I just haven't got the texture quite right. First it was too icy so I added some Cointreau and some syrup, then it wouldn't quite set but made an amazing slushie which got me thinking about cocktails. No messing about with the freezing temperatures of invert sugar - just shake and serve!

Saffron and Maple Poached Pears

When I was in primary school I had to do a presentation on armadillos. I have always been terrified of public speaking so to shift the focus from me and under the guise of ‘armadillo education’ I made a cake shaped like an armadillo decorated with alternate bands of chocolate chips and slivered almonds, complete with a life-saver eye. It was a huge success; whatever I said in that 5 minute presentation was completely eclipsed by my seriously awesome cake. Needless to say I got 100% for that assessment. Did I learn anything? Australia doesn’t have armadillos and kids will always want the slice of cake decorated with chocolate chips instead of almonds.

Easter French Toast

Happy Easter Sunday! I have tried making hot cross buns a few times in the lead up to Easter but haven't been completely happy with any I made (though they all vanished anyway). I am a planner, I like to have an outline of what I'm going to be making for the blog weeks in advance, plan what will be available in different seasons, or what festive occasion is coming and play around with recipes so when the time comes it's easy. So even though I wasn't happy with my hot cross buns I still thought 'I have Saturday to get them right'... then I woke up with a cracking headache. At this point I cursed myself for having: (A) decided to start a blog in the first place when I could have days of absolutely nothing stretching out in front of me; and (B) deciding that my blog would have groupings of 3 recipes! Idiot! 

Hot cross Easter pikelets

I don't know about you but the idea of spending several hours of my Easter weekend making hot cross buns just didn't appeal this year (plus I am yet to find a recipe that I really love and am willing to share). Instead these pikelets are super simple, quick to make and taste a lot like the real thing without all the waiting around or wondering how it is that shop bought ones stay soft for so long? Eat them warm or cold with lots of salted butter!

Paasbrood (Dutch Easter Bread)

I literally do not know where time has gone this year... seemingly a minute ago it was Christmas and the long days stretched out before me. I would get home from work and lazily make some dinner, photograph it, eat it cold (one of the side effects of food blogging) then still have time to do... I'm not entirely sure what, but there was time for it anyway. Now it's Easter... I mean really, Easter? How on earth did that sneak up so quickly. The days are suddenly noticeably shorter and will only get shorter still in a couple of weeks when daylight savings ends. After the blur that has been the year so far the four day Easter break couldn't come soon enough, four blissful days of sleep and red tulip Easter eggs, of lazy breakfasts around midday and if the weather holds lying in the park eating more red tulip eggs.

Pomegranate and Rose Water Marshmallows

Pomegranate and rose is a winning combination, aromatic with a hint of tartness. These marshmallows are the palest pink and are, dare I say it, a 'sophisticated marshmallow' (is this an oxymoron?), not dissimilar to Lokum (Turkish delight) but much lighter and not actually as sweet. Pomegranates have been an important part of culture and cooking for centuries, and have captured endless imaginations resulting in Greek myths involving them, cities names after them, countless golden age still-lifes painted of them and their inclusion on heraldic badges. Would Persephone be tricked by Hades into eating these pomegranate marshmallows? Well, if the underworld has pomegranates and marshmallows I think most people would be tempted...

Indoor S'mores

If for whatever reason you can’t get out camping, or if camping appeals to you as much as sweet curdled egg white (we’ll get back to that in a minute), there is no reason you should have to miss out on the pure joy of campfire S’mores. I was lucky enough to grow up with an American mum who brought the S’more tradition to outback Australia, and to have a family who camped – a lot. Even when not camping we had a big open fireplace and would toast marshmallows on the end of sticks until the outside was charred and the middle oozing soft white goo, then carefully transfer it to a prepared granita biscuit with a square of milk chocolate. We always ended up happy with sticky hands and faces, and a trail of crumbs to our sleeping bags. Patience has never been a virtue of mine so instead of golden toasted marshmallows, I would jam mine right into the fire until it burst into flames, then wave it madly until it either went out or slipped off the stick into the ashes.

Brown Sugar Marshmallows

There is something hugely satisfying about turning out a big slab of soft, springy, fluffy marshmallow covered in a drift of icing sugar and thinking, ‘I made that!’ After eating 15 marshmallows you think, 'OOohhhhhhhhhhhhh why did I make a giant slab of marshmallow when I am home by myself and am severely lacking in willpower’. Sometime later when they are all gone and you’re licking icing sugar off your fingers and out of the corners of the Tupperware you start thinking, they were so light, like eating air, maybe I’ll make more, I could easily double a batch! Do it…

 

I should clarify, do make marshmallows, they are easier than you imagine to make, but don’t double the batch unless you are planning on seeing lots of people soon.  They are just too easy to eat, dissolving in your mouth with a puff of sweetness and then you think, ‘just one more...’ . Before you know it the marshmallow has re-formed in your stomach as one giant marshmallow man and you are wishing the Ghostbusters were real and that they would help you with digestion, or save you from yourself by eating the rest of the marshmallows. Then you’d all sit around toasting marshmallows while Bill Murray tells jokes and compliments you on your cooking.

Treacle Brandy Snap Cones

Bubbly, buttery, crunchy, heavenly spiced cones… Have I got your attention yet?

 

I relish brandy snap - baskets, tubular biscuits, cones, any format they care to come in really. At boarding school they were one of the few and far between desserts (along with chocolate self-saucing pudding) that I actually a) wanted to eat  and b) wanted seconds of… needless to say we didn’t get them often. In our little kitchen we had tried a few times to make brandy snap baskets without much success, ending with hot batter (albeit wonderful tasting batter) that wouldn’t hold its shape. The trick is the cooking time.

 

Pistachio, Cardamom & Orange Flower Water Ice Cream Cones

When I cook with orange flower water I dab a little on my wrists, or a put a splash behind my ear as it's so fresh, light and perfumed it is the perfect scent for warm summer afternoons. It is also the perfect flavour for summer, in sorbet or a refreshing cocktail, and pairs especially well with pistachios. I wanted a thin buttery cone that could stand alone as a wafer thin biscuit, but would also compliment everything from a good vanilla bean ice cream to a rose sorbet. I ate more of these hot from the oven than made it to 'cone' stage, I kept trying them 'to make sure they were done'. I also persevered with putting three on a tray to bake even though I knew I only had time to roll two of them into cones before they were too cool and cracked. I hate wasting food so I really HAD to eat the cracked ones rather than let them go to waste.

Homemade Chocolate Waffle Cones

In the words of the soca singer Alphonsus "Arrow" Cassell I'm feeling hot hot hot, feeling hot hot hot; hear it from the top feeling hot, hear it from the top feeling HOT! Although unlike the song the last thing I want to do is party in this heat, instead I'd settle for sitting in a cold bath eating ice cream! I am obsessed with Maggie Beer's Burnt Fig, Honeycomb and Caramel ice cream which I will happily eat from the tub, unfortunately without some form of portion control I will happily eat my way through the whole tub, such is its deliciousness. Enter the Ice Cream Cone. Bowls come in many sizes but ice cream in a cone is limited to the size of the cone, and these chocolate ones are perfect mini-cones.

Sesame & Ricotta Hotcakes with Tahini Honey Butter

I am loving experimenting with pancakes in the lead up to Shrove Tuesday, they just may be my ideal food as they are quick to make and can be modified endlessly to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While I usually tend towards the thin lacy crepe I feel it is my duty (tough though it is) not to neglect the thicker hotcake. Maybe my years of shunning the hotcake is unfair to a 'genre' of pancake but I have eaten a lot more mediocre thick pancakes in my time than I have crepe failures... there is just a lot more that can go wrong with the consistency. These hotcakes are super light and fluffy with the added depth and nuttiness of sesame seeds and tahini, a good source of antioxidants and calcium (these are practically a health supplement!).

Streusel Crepes with Candied Orange Syrup

It's only 2 days until Pancake Tuesday (aka Shrove Tuesday) and I am going to make pancakes for everyone at work on Tuesday morning as we all hit the ground running this year and it's nice to take time in the morning to a) eat and b) talk... not my usual start to the morning which involves a coffee on the hoof and a "don't talk to me, I'm not ready to face people yet" glare. Pancakes are a staple Sunday breakfast for many as they usually have all the ingredients in the house and are quick to make, but I want to make something that my colleagues wouldn't make themselves. I love streusel topping on most things, it is a simple (and quick) addition that adds so much extra flavour and texture to muffins, cakes, pies.. the list goes on, and now I urge you to try it on pancakes or crepes. The candied orange syrup take a little longer but can be made early and then stored in the fridge for up to a week. It is like the mild, sweet natured cousin of marmalade, with just a hint of rind which stops it being sickly sweet and has the consistency of honey with a golden orange glow.
 

Brown Sugar & Spice Pavlova with Brûléed Nectarines

Modern Australia is made up of so many cultures and traditions, from the original inhabitants of the land  through to the newest of migrants. For me, Australia Day is about celebrating this diverse multicultural range and what better way than through food. I am a first generation Australian and thinking about my own heritage I have come up with my Australia Day Pavlova to represent me - Brown Sugar & Spice Pavlova... with brûléed nectarines just because they are amazing.

 

Using brown sugar is a nod to my American mum who taught me the wonders of candy making (and love of cooking in general), this pavlova tastes like a wonderful light version of American brown sugar fudge "penuche". From my Dutch father I have incorporated those aromatic Trade Route Spices which I (and the Dutch) can't get enough of - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and cardamom. The Pavlova bakes to a sun kissed creamy brown with flecks of spice throughout and the combination of flavour and texture is heavenly.  

Decadent Chocolate & Cherry Pavlova

All I can say is cream and fruit can cover a myriad of structural problems so even when a Pavlova is a "failure" it is a success… and this tasted phenomenal.

 

This Pavlova started with all the hallmarks of a successful show-stopping dessert. Cherries are in cheap, ripe abundance at the moment so I wanted to use Nigella’s chocolate Pavlova as a platform for fresh cherries by incorporating the flavours of that Aussie classic chocolate bar the Cherry Ripe (dark chocolate, moist coconut and glacé cherries) into the meringue before cooking. The idea being that with the shell made the night before, I would be destined for an effortless end of meal flourish with a dab of cream and scattering of glossy cherries. Unfortunately my kitchen appliances had other ideas…

Classic Pavlova: for Australia Day

Happy New Year and Happy Australia Day week! While the end of January seems a little late in the year to be giving New Years' wishes, I have been a little lax in getting back into the swing of things since Christmas. So with the first week back at work under my belt and now my first blog for the year I will race past Christmas and towards that merciful public holiday for those back at work with the year stretching out in front of them - Australia Day. Christmas was the ideal antidote to a busy year with a long relaxing break in WA with family reading, camping, snorkelling, fishing and of course eating - glazed ham, black brim from river to BBQ in a matter of minutes, caramel flan with a hint of orange, iced cherries, zesty quinoa salad, turkey quesadillas with exceptionally hot jalapenos, chicken curry with eggplant from the garden, Dad's corn chowder (it's not camping without it)... the list of good, restorative, tasty food goes on.

I ummed and ahhed over Australia Day fare, with vegemite and lamingtons being the forerunners, or some canny composition of the two (the idea of which was met with concerned amusement by my husband, turning to horror when he realised I was not joking). I have not entirely shelved the idea but without time to experiment I am going for that "Aussie" favourite that is so perfect for summer get togethers while every berry and stone fruit imaginable is ripe and ready, the Pavlova.

Gift Toffee: Popcorn Balls

The decorations are out and hung on the tree,
There are people to visit, so many to see;
What gift to bring, just something small,
like toffee and popcorn made into a ball...

These toffee popcorn balls are easy to make and are very light and crisp, not densely packed, with the toffee threads merely holding the ball together. They always remind me of bringing them to the school fair, all tied up in crisp cellophane, when we were little and toffee was all we wanted. Kids would have their teeth glued together with the sticky toffee that come in colourful patty pans and we would crunch through the popcorn balls, jaw untethered!

Gift Toffee: Pistachio and Cranberry Brittle

The children are nestled all snug in their beds,

While the adults collapse, tired and stressed;
With still more to do, I need a big coffee,
And a piece of that remarkable toffee...

Butter Crunch Toffee is always a crowd pleaser, but sometimes I want something a little different, a more sophisticated toffee if you like, so I came up with this Pistachio and Cranberry Brittle. My original intention was to have a red toffee with flecks of green, but on making it turned such a luminous deep amber I am even happier with the result.

 

This is a toffee to savour, from the deep notes of the browned pistachios to the astringent tang of cranberry juice infused through the toffee - a little complex and not too sweet. Brittle can be clear or have a little bicarb soda added to form bubbles making it cloudy but easier to bite. Because of the wonderful colour of this brittle I have made it clear and by tipping the tray when the toffee was hot, stretched it as thin as possible so it's not too hard to bite through and has a wonderful stained glass effect.