The last of this year’s bulbs from my garden.
The first spring with a garden at our place has resulted in lots of lovely surprises. I popped a whole lot of bulbs in the front garden back in autumn, told myself I “would of course” remember what I had planted and promptly completely forgot. Come spring and I have this been enjoying a mix of daffodils, tulips and freesias of all sorts.
Sometimes having the memory of a goldfish can have its benefits!
A posie of freshly foraged flowers from an hour rambling in the Spring sunshine with Dan the Dog and three HEAVENLY cakes from Tamsin’s Table Cake Shop (@tamsinstablecakeshop).
What a birthday afternoon tea!
I had a lovely getaway to Gippsland for the night last night with a friend for our birthdays. We ate a gorgeous lunch in Loch at @oliveatloch, browsed antiques, went for a little walk, dreamt about buying the old Loch pub and Korumburra Post Office and had whiskies by the fire in the sweetest little country bungalow. [If you need an AirBnB recommendation for down that way PM me, this place was a super find; a modern, minimalist, light filled space with views over the rolling hills of South Gippsland, rescue chooks and cows and a beautiful orchard and garden.]
This morning we had breakfast at The Borough Dept Store in Korumburra. I have been dying to get there since it opened earlier this year and it was EVERYTHING. The space, the food, the coffee, the people, the light, the energy and - most importantly - Tamsin’s cake, was just beautiful.
It was an extra special treat to meet Tamsin, icing and decorating her cakes with freshly picked blooms.
A couple of us lil Insta peeps are thinking of take a day trip down to @theboroughdeptstore for lunch and a visit to the Farmer’s Market hosted there every Friday. We were thinking October. Are you keen to join us?! I’ve never done an Insta meet-up before so don’t worry, I’ll be the most shy and awkward!
Who else has started soaking their fruit in buckets of brandy!?
Christmas is COMING!
It’s my favourite time of year. I’m not going to lie.
And in Australia we are particularly lucky because we can make all the traditional northern hemisphere bakes AND all our traditional Christmas summer bakes incorporating the abundance of fresh fruit and veg that Christmas and December brings. Granted, having the oven on for nearly a month solid when the temperature is generally well over 30 is not my favourite part!
Who, like me, is planning for Christmas already?! I have a list as long as my leg of bakes I want to do this year!
A ring of pretty posies on top of a two tier, six layer classic chocolate and cookie & cream cake.
Bring on the tall cakes and short week!
We should have a public holiday every week!
As the weather warms up the hellebores are starting to retreat.
If I was a flower I think I’d be a hellebore! I shrink from the sun and I don’t last long once picked and put in a vase.
This homegrown bunch contains such an array of colours and patterns. They work well in an old vase of my Grandmothers that, because of its odd but amazing colour, can sometimes be difficult to pair with the right flowers.
Happy weekend all.
More fresh flowers and pale rose buttercream - always Swiss Meringue.
Sometimes I love using flowers that have an “image problem”, so to speak.
Poor retro Carnations, the ultimate supermarket/convenience store flower, definitely do. But like Baby’s Breath and Geraniums I’m coming round to them and in fact falling starting to fall in love with them.
Look at these lovelies! Most definitely not from a supermarket (!), they show that carnations can be so much more than the flowers beside the bed in a hospital scene in an early nineties day time movie!
What non trendy flowers would you like to see given an epic @hattiemolloy style image makeover?
I’m so enraged and distressed by what is happening with the strawberry crisis in Australia at the moment.
I can’t even begin to understand who, how or why!
Strawberry farming is a labour intense, expensive and precarious business. Much is done by hand and it is bloody hard work. Now the actions of some seriously questionable human beings have seen millions of dollars of strawberries being dumped into the ground before they even leave the farm gates.
As if farmers don’t face enough with the weather, markets and crushing grip of the supermarket duopoly!? The actions of a few absolute idiots has curtailed access to many people’s favourite fruit, and such a glorious fruit it is too, and endangered the livelihoods of many farmers and their families.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to help?! I’m buying up big in my local green grocers, organic shops and at markets but I’d like to do more. How can I?
Freshly picked homegrown flowers and dusk pink rose buttercream. A marriage made in heaven.
< October’s Cake >
The trials and tastings continue ahead of the release of my first monthly recipe in October.
I’m so excited to start sharing some of my own bakes. My plans and dreams are huge but reality and the time constraints of “real life” (the worst) mean I have to purposely and regularly tell myself to keep things at Kelmscott small and to focus on my PhD.
Writing first, cake second.
Who else gets frustrated by the fact that they can’t be a creative full time!? What do you do when the creative urge is taking over but real life (work, family, kids - whatever your commitments may be) mean you can’t let it?
One more from the weekend because I can’t stop looking at all the pictures of clouds I took from the chairlifts.
A weekend at the snow was exactly what I needed. Fresh air, sun, hail, snow, mountains and lots and lots and lots of skiing is the best kind of break there is.
The snow is still amazing for mid-September and the drive from the top of Falls Creek down to Mount Beauty in the twilight last night was magical. An immense cathedral of glorious yellow wattle all the way down. Apologies to the cars following me - I was a very distracted driver!
The post weekend depression is real today.
< lemon, poppy seed & rosemary cake >
Rosemary is one of my favourite smells and flavours. I adore a herb that can be used in a sweet or savoury recipe. And all the rosemary about me is blooming in a spring haze of glorious purple.
This cake, topped with a wonky climbing rose I foraged from between some overgrown thistles down the lane, and those beautiful rosemary flowers smells zingy and fresh - just like spring should!
I collected all these little purple beauties on this afternoon’s walk with Dan the Dog around the neighbourhood.
Dan is nearly 12 and with all her black Labrador fur she struggles with the warm weather (I’m starting to worry a bit about the summer) so we took it extra slow in the sunshine today.
Tottering about, listening to the lovely @gillianbellcake and @annabellehickson ’s podcast Dispatch to a Friend, I was struck by just how many purple flowers are blooming at the moment.
Purple was my favourite colour when I was in grade four and I was a member of the exclusive, four person, “Purple Pen Club”. Subsequently, I’ve kind of grown out of the colour, and would never pick or wear anything purple. Or so I thought until I came home with a posy of purple flowers this afternoon!
What are your thoughts on the colour purple (pun intended)?!
Thank you all for your kind responses to my Monday tantrum.
I wish I could give you all a bunch of this heavenly scented lilac in return. It comes from two HUGE lilac plants at my Mum’s work that are, very sadly, destined for the chop to make way for some ugly new monster building. Such a pity.
But I have survived today with no major disasters! So here’s hoping my bad luck has come to an end. I hope it hasn’t just moved on to someone else! Are you all ok?
< vanilla, raspberry & rose >
A delicate vanilla sponge filled with homemade raspberry compote and all wrapped up in a rose swiss meringue buttercream.
A pretty cake for an ugly Monday.
Did anyone else have really bad luck today?! I got interrupted by phone calls all morning; a picture fell off the wall (sending glass EVERYWHERE and ruining one of my precious @aliceoehr prints); my “quick” writing break, lunch catch-up was thwarted by two toasted sandwiches that took 45 MINUTES to arrive; my sourdough stuck to its proving basket and was consequently ruined (goodbye 36 hours of work); and now the car won’t start!!!!
Is some moon or planet retrograding!? What is going on!? I’m terrified to go out to dinner tonight - who knows what might happen!?
Sorry for the whinge-rant but Monday 10th September 2018, I hate you.
< carrot, pistachio & date cake with cream cheese frosting >
A special birthday cake for my second mum.
A woman who taught me the power food and cooking has to bring a family and community together and showed me that there isn’t a stronger force in this world than love.
Happy birthday Abda.
I grew them!
Tulips and daphne are currently stealing the show in my front garden.
What’s popping up for spring in yours?
< dark chocolate & lavender sour cream cake >
The stars aligned on the weekend and I had the most epic foraging trip at a top secret destination! It resulted in a bucket of lavender, a bucket of roses, armfuls of lilac and jasmine and blossom.
A dark chocolate and lavender cake drowning in roses was the necessary way to celebrate such a glorious haul!
20 degrees and windy today! Whaaaatttt!? I brought some blossom inside to enjoy before it is all blown away.
Spring please hold your horses for another couple of weeks! I’m not ready. And I would desperately love to get to the snow one more time but with temperatures like these I’m scared it will all be gone by Friday!
What are your spring thoughts, feelings and emotions? Are you ready?
A more vital question however: is anyone else OBSESSED with The Australian podcast The Teacher’s Pet!? I don’t think I’ve been as hooked to a true crime poddy since Serial 1. I’m even having to listen in the shower!
Last close up of this guy and indulgence of my wattle obsession and then I’ll go to bed. Promise..... for now.