sunday 21 october 2018

This beautiful climbing rose is still going mental all up and down the lanes of North Carlton. 

I’m unsure what the variety is called but it is so prolific this year it is almost a weed. One plant is having a good go at strangling a neighbour’s fig tree at the moment!

The rest of the roses in the neighbourhood are also going gangbusters this spring, making every dog walk very enjoyable. I watch the buds grow, open and fade over the week. 

I planted four bare root roses at the start of spring (a mix of lovely old English heritage varieties) and I’ve nurtured them to lots of new shoots but they won’t flower for a year. 

I can hardly wait to have my own, big, homegrown, open petaled roses for cakes! They are so much nicer than those nasty long stemmed, tight, hard-headed roses that seem to be 90% of what is commercially available these days and which are such an aggressive, harsh looking rose. Not at all what I associate with idea and meaning of a rose bloom. 

In the meantime I’ll keep collecting wild roses and runaways.

saturday 20 october 2018

He got a little scorched in the rudely hot weather yesterday. Hope you didn't.

friday 19 october 2018

Another floral edition of #FridayFollow: @jardinebotanic. 

After cake, flowers and plants are the next most beautiful thing in the world. 

How could they not be when they come in such infinite variety? There is a form of botanical beauty for every mood and moment: from a scrubby dried banksia that will hold on to its seeds for thousands of years only releasing them only when scorched and burnt in a raging bush fire, to the delicate tulip that will last mere hours once picked but that is so powerfully beautiful that wars were waged over its bulbs in the Dutch Golden Age.

I will often bake a cake simply because I have grown, foraged, found or been given some beautiful flora. 
I feel the cake deserves the flower and the flower deserves the cake.

If you think like me pop over to Jardine’s account and take in some of the wondrous magic she creates with some of the most beautiful flowers and floral arrangements you will ever see.

thursday 18 october 2018

I posted an uncut, enticing, teasing picture of this lovely fresh pansy covered cake in September. Back then I didn’t tell you what was beneath the frosting because it was a trail of my top-secret October Cake. 

But now you all know… October’s recipe is a malted wattle seed cake!

This was a late stage trial. I had the cake recipe down but I was still playing with filling and icing combos. The homemade sour cherry compote in this worked fabulously. The vanilla bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream not so much - too heavy. Hence my change in the end to a cream cheese and raw honey frosting and filling that gives a diary tang balanced with a natural honey sweetness.

I always recommend filling cakes with fruit jam or compotes. Go for homemade where you can or grab a jar of locally made stuff from a school fete, farmers’ market or whole food/organic/green grocer type store - it contains WAY less sugar and no nasty preservatives and you’ll actually be able to TASTE the fruit.

It is also a super easy way to get fruit that is out of season into your cakes (i.e. sour cherries).

wednesday 17 october 2018

I swear 95% of my fantasies are about old wood stoves in big old country houses. 

I literally looked up hashtag #AgaPorn thinking it must be a thing. It isn’t. How isn’t it!? How isn’t it that everyone else doesn’t want to move to a giant old rambling house in the country and sit by a range all day, popping logs in, stirring casseroles, reading books and drinking tea with liberal splashes of whisky?

This gorgeous little wood combustion stove was in the kitchen of the old Court House in Fryerstown that we stayed in a couple of weekends ago. The Court House was opened in the 1860s and is now a private home.

The stove probably dates from around 1910/20 when Lux were among the leading producers of cast iron wood stoves in Victoria and Australia. The Lux Foundry on Hope Street in Brunswick, which closed in the 1950s (gas and electricity rapidly put wood stoves out of business), is now a heritage listed building and home to a trendy cafe. I might have to go have a coffee in the building this little guy was made.

tuesday 16 october 2018

< chocolate, raspberry & liquorice >

My Grandma use to make us come and “visit” her wisteria when it was in bloom every year. I thought this a bit mental when I was a child.

Now I find myself wanting to do the same… Unfortunately, everyone seems to have the same enthusiasm for visiting my wisteria now as I had for visiting my Grandma’s a kid. Karma.

Only in hindsight can I appreciate how impressive my Grandma’s garden was. And her wisteria really was spectacular. She had trained it so it ran back and forth the entire length of the back verandah - like a cathedral of blossom. I’ll just pop mine on a cake.

monday 15 october 2018

< malted wattle seed cake with honey cream cheese icing & salted white chocolate crumbs >

I’m still recovering from our epic weekend in the garden. 

If you missed it on Stories we had a big (BIG) truck deliver us 3/4 of a cubic meter of soil (FYI that is A LOT), 1/2 a cubic meter of mulch and a huge, huge pile of stones for a massive spring garden and landscaping refresh.

Because we live in the inner city there was nowhere for the truck to dump them except into a car park out the front of the house on the road. So we had no option but to complete the task in a day. After 10 hours of wheelbarrowing, bucketing and spreading we were done!
We left a small pile of mulch and soil on a tarp, that we moved to the side of the footpath, over night, planning to fill lots of big pots on Sunday for our summer veggie crop. While we were at the hardware shop on Sunday morning buying some tomato stakes SOMEONE STOLE IT. Yep. If you don’t nail down your soil in this neighbourhood someone will bloody steal it!! I was LIVID. 

Sigh. 

Anyway, after a second big day in the garden, redistributing and figuring out how to fill our pots, re-constructing our fruit tree prison out of netting and stakes (the fruits trees are locked up and the possums, hopefully, are locked out) and planting loads of summer veg we finished after sundown last night.

There is still a bit more that needs doing but today my hamstrings need a rest and I need some cake. I’ll put more pics of the garden up on stories soon. If you see someone with soil and mulch in their pockets around North Carlton/North Fitzroy arrest them!

saturday 13 october 2018

< lemon myrtle & coconut cake >

Similar to lemon, hence the name (!), lemon myrtle is a native Australian plant cultivated for its leaves.

The aroma of is similar to a blend of lemon verbena, lemongrass and kaffir lime. It has a a slight eucalyptus background behind a very zingy lemon-lime cordial tang. 

In a buttermilk sponge - pictured here - it adds a delightful pep. And paired with a coconut buttercream it becomes almost tropical!

What with these yellow climbing roses (which are delightfully spilling into the lanes all over North Carlton at the moment) this cake is positively SUNNY! In complete opposition to my love of all things overcast and cold.

friday 12 october 2018

Have you ever seen such a beautiful picture of garlic skins?! No. 

That’s why @thaliaho is my #FridayFollow this week. 

I LOVE her instagram aesthetic and I’m regularly flawed by her simple, completely perfect pictures. 

Her cookie shots are my #goals and her commitment to close up, detailed, de-saturated images makes her stand out in the world of Instagram food. 

Oh, and she is a damn great baker too! With a brilliantly written, captivating website.

thursday 11 october 2018

< malted wattle seed small cakes with raw honey cream cheese frosting >

I made my October recipe into small cakes!

They work so well and look such a treat.

Simply divide the batter into 2 greased cupcake/small muffin trays and bake for around 10- 15 minutes. The size of your cupcake/muffin tray "holes" will determine how long they need in the oven. A skewer inserted into the middle and removed clean will mean they are done. 

Slather them with the raw honey cream cheese frosting and decorate as you wish. 

I managed to find 4 different species of wattle on our drive home from the country on the weekend so naturally they had to go on top - specimen cakes!

wednesday 10 october 2018

Lemon Blossom.

Such a decadent scent.

I had to snip a tiny bit for my desk. Small things, like a tiny posy from the garden, can make a day in front of the computer so much better.

tuesday 9 october 2018

What’s that rubble-like stuff?!?

That my dears is a culinary revelation! Salted white chocolate crumble, part of this month’s recipe. And it tastes like heaven.

Until I made this stuff I HATED white chocolate. I had despised it ever since I was a toddler. When I was about three I discovered a 5kg bag of white chocolate buttons and made a valiant, furtive attempt to eat it all. I probably got a good kilo plus in until disaster struck.

I was violently ill for days.

Such an early food=vomit memory can be hard to erase.

But this little recipe is really that powerful. It changed the taste and texture of white chocolate enough that it made it insanely delicious! Even for me!

Check it out with this month’s recipe if you need convincing.

And please tell me what your food=vomit memory is! Everyone has one.

monday 8 october 2018

From the weekend.

Red Beard bakery in Trentham, Victoria. 

Making REAL bread in a nineteenth-century wood-fired Scotch oven with locally grown and milled organic flour.

Dreaming about my next visit to this beautiful part of the world (and foodie-heaven) today as I battle a serious case of writer’s block.

saturday 6 october 2018

< honey, strawberry & basil cake with vanilla bean frosting >

A simple, delicate seasonal number to ease into the weekend with. 

A light honey sponge, made with @honey_fingers amber North Fitzroy Honey. Honey can’t get much more local than that, I may even have “met” these bees! 

Filled with fresh strawberries and finely chopped basil and slathered in lashings of vanilla bean swiss meringue.

Decorated with ranunculus, which have been stunning this September/October. I’ve even grown a few in my front garden - although they were free seeds and they turned out to be electric blue!

friday 5 october 2018

For my #FridayFollow I’m super excited to share this stunning illustration of Acacia, wattle seed and ants by one of my favourite Australian botanical artists, illustrators and down right creative super star: Edith Rewa (@edithrewa).

It fits so perfectly with my malted wattle seed cake recipe.

The traditions of botanical illustration are deeply woven into Australian history. 

A lot of a my work (in both my baking and my PhD) engages with the history of Australia’s nineteenth-century forgotten female artists and creatives who’s work was maligned as “home work”; “domestic craft”; “hobby work” or “handicraft” simply because it was made by women. Many were world class artists (painters, ceramicists, needleworkers, printers etc) relegated to the margins of men’s lives in a male dominated society. 

As art historians, curators and designers work to recover the names of these lost women it is inspiring to see a young Australian woman like Edith Rewa continuing to work within and against the conventions and traditions of botanical art.

I have several of Edith’s illustrations cycling through as my computer desktop and sometimes I just clear all my windows and stare at them for a break when I’m writing… nerd! 

I also have one of Edith’s eucalyptus illustrations tattooed on my shoulder and it brings me joy everyday. (She has a great “Tattoo Token” page where you can support her and her work before you get it inked on you. #TattooPermission is a thing and an important thing for independent artists!)

A couple of years ago my friends gave me one of Edith’s stunning silk scarves for my birthday and it will always be one of my most treasured possessions.

thursday 4 october 2018

< malted wattle seed cake with honey cream cheese icing & salted white chocolate crumbs >

Q: What are wattle seeds?

This is a question I’ve had a few times after posting my October recipe.

A: Wattle seeds, come from the pod of the Acacia tree, also known as the wattle tree. The Acacia or wattle is a native Australian evergreen with beautiful fluffy golden blooms, as adorn my cake above. It is also the origin of our “green and gold” Aussie colours.

In the UK and Europe some people colloquially refer to Acacia or wattle tree flowers as Mimosa, whilst not “incorrect”, this can be confusing because Mimosa is also a genus of about 400 species in its own right.
ANYWAY…

There are about 120 species of Australian Acacias that produce wattle seed that can be eaten.
Indigenous Australians have been harvesting protein rich wattle seeds for over 40,000 years. Traditionally wattle seed was roasted and ground to make a flour that was then mixed with water and baked in embers as a type of hard cake or damper. 

Wattle seeds have a hard husk, meaning that when they fall to the ground they can last for up to 20 years in their natural environment, remaining dormant, and often only germinating after a bushfire. 

This hard outter casing also means they can be stored and have provided indigenous Australians with a rich source of protein and carbohydrate in times of drought for thousands of years. 

Wattle seed has a strong, nutty, coffee-like aroma, with hints of warm spice and dark chocolate. It has a similar flavour to roast to coffee with a savoury, wheaten biscuit background. 

It works fabulously in baking and is particularly great paired with chocolate.

wednesday 2 october 2018

Does anyone else listen to the podcast by Sara Tasker (@me_and_orla) & Jen Carrington (@jencarrington_) “Letters From a Hopeful Creative”? OMGeeeeeee it is awesome.

I just listened to Monday’s episode: ‘Building a creative business alongside a day job’ and HOLY BUCKETS! Amy, my #dearhopefulcreative, I AM YOU! All of what you said resonated so deeply with me. And Sara and Jen your advice was GOLD!

Gosh, I needed this episode. In fact, I needed it so much that I actually listened to it twice! 

There were so many brilliant messages in it but the one that has really stuck with me and that felt like a big warm hug of hope was that it is ok to build slowly and at your own pace. It is ok to be a quiet builder. Do what you can and don’t compare your creative work to someone in a position to work solely on their creative business. 

In the last week I’ve decided to shelve plans to launch an online pop-up for Christmas. I knew that realistically my full time work (my PhD) would suffer and the pop-up wouldn’t be what I dreamt it could be because I simply don’t have the time or recourses right now to do both. 

It’s sad and frustrating but it is also completely FINE. Because at the same time that I made that decision I also did something else. I wrote down my ideas and my plans and gathered together my inspo pics and web links in a folder titled “Christmas 2019”. Because Christmas isn’t going anywhere and my dreams and goals aren’t going anywhere. It’s only that the path I have to take to get to them is a bit longer. 

So, in the meantime, I’m treasuring my ideas. I’m not rubbishing them because they aren’t do-able at this very moment. And I’m working on smaller, achievable things like my monthly recipe series.

A lot of plans I have for Kelmscott won’t happen right now or all at once or even in the next year. But they’ll happen.

This path won’t get me thousands of @instagram followers and blog hits overnight or even probably over a year. 

It may not be glamorous. 

It won’t make a pithy social media bio or a sexy origin story. 

But it will keep me sane and healthy and happy. And allow me to work and create and live all at the same time. 

#DearHopefulCreative Amy and all you other full time workers with a creative business you try to squeeze into your “spare time”, I feel you. And it is so nice to know I’m not the only one who has major insecurities and doubts and worries.

Thank you Sara and Jen for building this community!

monday 1 october 2018

< malted wattle seed cake with honey cream cheese icing & salted white chocolate crumbs >
I’m so excited to share my recipe for October! 

The first in my monthly recipe series. 

Featuring wattle seed and malt extract this cake is an Aussie banger! 

Paying homage to a native ingredient that has been used in baking for more than 40,000 years (!) this cake explores my love of Australiana (wattle and wombats are my favourite things) and also a bit of Australian baking history.

The link to the recipe is in my profile and throughout the month I’ll be sharing more info on the ingredients, alternate baking ideas (mini cakes!) and decorating tips. As well as some fun Australiana facts (jokes… maybe). I’d love to hear what you think.

sunday 30 september 2018

< October’s Cake >

All shall be revealed tomorrow......

friday 28 september 2018

< chocolate and chocolate and chocolate cake >

Three flavours that work really well together!

Over the years I have narrowed my favourite chocolate to bake with down to four brands: Callebaut (@callebautoz), Valrhona (@valrhona_south_east_asia), Green & Black’s (@greenandblacks) and Hunted+Gathered (@huntedandgathered). All use sustainable and fair-trade methods of production. 

Green & Black’s and Hunted+Gathered use organic ingredients and Callebaut and Valrhona have an organic range.

While three of the four are from overseas (the food miles are horrific, I know), Hunted + Gathered is made right here in Melbourne and it is BOMB. Not only do I eat it for dessert nearly overnight it is also my top baking pick. It contains no nasties and for those with restricted dietary requirements it is also soy, dairy and gluten free. 

This lack of additives is SO important when baking with chocolate, especially when tempering or making ganache, fillings or icing. I found that all those weird “ingredients” with numbers after them are what cause things to go awry; for chocolate to split, curdle or dry up into a crazy, weird gravel like substance (yes that happened!).

Also if I’m making a cake that is all about chocolate I want that chocolate to be damn good! If the chocolate is crap before you bake with it, the end result will be crap too. Cooking or baking isn’t going to improve or hide bad chocolate, quite the opposite in fact. So, don’t even think about touching that “cooking chocolate” poison!

p.s. this isn’t sponsored (LOL, I wish!) Just an honest share from a chocolate obsessive.