I love Choux!

Dessert

There is something quite extraordinary about pastry. I find it truly amazing that a simple mixture of butter, flour and water can magically transform in the oven into a light, airy puff, or develop a multitude of flaky layers. There are so many desserts that would be amiss without pastry. What would the world be without the 'pie' in apple pie, the buttery crust of a lemon meringue tart, or the light softness of a chocolate éclair?

Tea Time! | The Tea Room QVB

afternoon tea

Going to high tea always makes me feel somewhat glamorous. It's not every day you get to go to a hotel or decorated tea room to eat delicate cakes off tiered stands and sip tea from fine china. As a child I'd always marvel at the finesse of the beautiful petit fours and rejoice at the thought of eating sandwiches that were both and crustless and filled with something that wasn't vegemite or ham and cheese.

Hopetoun Tea Rooms, Melbourne

afternoon tea

Melbourne is infamous for its coffee culture and hipster laneways, where one can spend hours wandering and eating away to their hearts content. It’s no wonder so many Sydneysiders travel over when they’re in need of a short getaway without leaving the comfort of suburbia.

While the debate of whether Sydney or Melbourne has the better coffee remains at large, it may seem as if the traditional cup of tea has lost its humble appeal. That’s most certainly not the case at Hopetoun Tea Rooms.

Pistachio and lemon curd cake

Dessert

The saying goes that we eat with our eyes. This is a notion highly applicable to the realm of sweets. The difficult thing about baking cakes is that, often, they can come out of the oven looking less than spectacular – at least compared to the photos in recipe books. This cake throws any worry of a wonky rise or volcanic cake peak out the window. 

Ginger-Spiced Pumpkin Loaf

Dessert
Sometimes you find yourself craving cake, but don’t feel like eating something that leaves you with a lingering sugar high. You have an urging desire for that delicate, soft crumb, to consume a scrumptious piece of baked goodness, just not of the sweet variety.

Black Sesame Tong Yuan

Chinese
Imagine if someone told you that all the best features of Asian sweets existed in a single dessert. The sticky, chewy texture of mochi, the roasted aroma of black sesame, ginger's signature hot zing, and the warm fulfilment of a sweet dessert soup, melded together to create what encompasses the pinnacle of everything that I love about Asian cuisine. 

Chinese New Year, for many Chinese families, is a celebration bigger than Christmas. It's a time when multiple generations get together, exchange well wishes, and gather to eat a banquet of traditional, well-loved foods which are destined to give good luck for the new year.

Strawberries & Cream Sponge Cake

Baking
I must confess that prior to beginning the journey of this recipe, I had a slight aversion to (or rather, fear of) sponge cakes, for two main reasons.

Reason number 1: The recipe requires the whipping of egg whites. Not that I am scared of this, but rather the lack of a stand-mixer in my kitchen requires a labour of love and 10 minutes of semi-vigorous physical activity to achieve glossy, stiff-peaked whites.

Reason number 2: It's hard to predict how successfully the cake will turn out, as there are a number of variables that could cause it to go downhill. For example, overbeating the egg, beating too much air out of the mixture or having a cake that disappointingly deflates upon taking out of the oven. I say this because the latter happened to me the last time I attempted a sponge to make lamingtons. I later realised I hadn't left it in the oven long enough to rise and become stable.

Never-fail Crumble Recipe

Dessert

You know those recipes that manage to be fool-proof, fail-safe and crowd-pleasers all at once? The kind that you can whip up with your eyes closed on demand, with whatever ingredients you can manage to find in your fridge? Those recipes fall into two categories, savoury or sweet. While the savoury recipes tend to be a little bit easier to master because they rely largely on taste and less on exact measurements, there are few sweet recipes that are just as easy and simple. Crumble is one of those recipes I turn to when in need of a dessert fix but can't be bothered to grease and line a cake tin and break out those handheld electric beaters. It's easy to adapt to any kind of fruit, and requires little preparation or washing up.

Pear and Raspberry Cake

Baking

My love for cooking began when I started baking in the kitchen. I began by making simple things - chocolate chip cookies, lime and coconut loaf, cupcakes and muffins. Then I started becoming more adventurous with homemade pastry, tarts, pies, biscotti and this cheesecake.

Italian Baked Ricotta Cheesecake

Dessert


Papa's Pasticceria in Haberfield is famous for its light, fluffy and unique Ricotta Cheesecake, a cake no sweet tooth (or anyone, for that matter) could ever resist. The cheesecake is not heavy or 'cheesy', per se, but is wonderfully spongey, creamy and airy. Unlike traditional cheesecakes, Papa's cheesecakes is encased all around in a layer of spongey pastry, inside of which reveals a sweet, white ricotta cheese filling. Cinnamon and icing sugar is dusted on top in a criss-cross pattern, a sweet and delicate finish.

I've loved this cake from the moment I had my first mouthful, and have had it on numerous occasions since, one of which was on my birthday. It is one of my all time favourite cakes to eat, so when I stumbled upon this recipe post on Wholesome Cook by blogger Martyna Angell, I knew I just had to try making one for myself.