When I was younger, mum would take me into the city. She would stop at the ground level of the Lonsdale St Myer store and treat me to a cheese twist. They were delicious puff pastry treats. Myer has since refurbished but the memory of those days remains. Seeing something similar at Safeway the other […]
Recent Posts
Spanokopita (Spinach and Cheese filo slice)
Growing up, I was often treated to Spanokopita in various forms, as I am lucky enough to have a Greek father. It is often made into individual pastries by talented Aunts who also make their own pastry. Luckily, I find that the flavour is not lessened by using boxed filo pastry! The recipe I am […]
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over My Kitchen
In March I was meant to assist a friend cater a Kitchen Tea where the bride to be was lactose intolerant. The afternoon had an Alice in Wonderland Theme and I had been given the task to make cupcakes. Frequently a number of different cooking blogs, I had always heard glowing recommendations for the book […]
Crostata
For the most part I don’t usually plan what I make. I prefer for the inspiration to come to me organically. It doesn’t always work and can mean I spend quite a bit of time just reading cookbooks. The only exception is when I have an ingredient that I need to use. A few weeks […]
Chocolate-Honeycomb Biscuits
If you happen to try your hand at the lemon slice I posted recently, you will find yourself with half a can of sweetened condensed milk left over. Aside from it eating out of the tin in front of the TV, another excellent use of that leftover condensed milk is to make these delicious biscuits. […]
No-Bake Lemon Slice
Update: Last minute Christmas ideas for gifting/bringing-a-plate. This slice is an absolute God-send, especially at Christmas time. Easy, economical, fast and, best of all, very moorish. This is the recipe for last minute homemade gifts, cake stalls, drop-in guests and generally giving the impression of great baking and organisational skills. Even if you happen to […]
Lemon Madeleines
I’m Mel and I simply adore madeleines; I’m enchanted by the soft sponge biscuit. The story behind this blog posts actually begins in 2004. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but in addition to owning too many cook books, I also like to borrow them from the library. There’s is rarely a time at home when […]
Mary Berry’s Chocolate Sponge Cake
In honour of International Suit Up day (http://internationalsuitupday.com/) but also because I have been inspired and impressed by Mary Berry on the Great British Bake-Off, I decided to make her chocolate sponge cake to share with my colleagues. I could have also called this post “how I accidentally made chocolate fudge” because I ad-libbed with […]
Jam and Cream Roulade
Today’s post is once again inspired by the Great British Bake Off. Why do I love that show? I think it’s not only because it’s about baking, or that I adore Sue Perkins; it’s that it is such a sharp contrast to Masterchef Australia. Where the contestants in the latter are locked up for 6 months, in the […]
Spaghettini con le Melanzane (Spaghettini with Eggplant)
Pasta, is a food I take for granted. My grandparents emigrated to Australia from Southern Italy. My paternal grandfather in 1921, and my remaining grandparents in the 1950s. I sometimes think about the difficult choices they made; I discovered when I visited Ellis Island in 2006 that my paternal grandfather John had originally lived in New York […]
A Tale of Two Kitchens 