• Mixed berry cheesecake

    Summer in Australia can be brutal – and as we move towards the end of the seemingly constant stream of 30°C plus days, I felt the need to indulge in a light, cool dessert.  Lo and behold, the mixed berry cheesecake.  Yum! Ingredients 250g plain biscuits (I use Arnott’s Butternut Snap, so an ‘oaty’ biscuit is great) 100g butter 250g…

  • Hummingbird cake

    This cake is a favourite – it’s sweet and moist, but not over the top.  It has that fulfilling ‘tea cake’ feel to it, which I think comes through with the cinnamon and fruit taste to it.  And if you like Banana Bread, then you should absolutely love this too! Ingredients 1 cup plain flour 1/2 cup self raising flour…

  • Carrot cake

    There is absolutely nothing better in autumn than home made carrot cake, made with the carrots you’ve pulled out of your garden.  Autumn is the season I associate with apples, carrots, pumpkin and falling leaves – this is mostly because I always forget to plant my carrots until mid-end of spring! The cake itself is dairy-free and nut-free, but if…

  • Cream cheese frosting

    There is NOTHING better than a super delicious frosting for a cake, and there isn’t a frosting much better than cream cheese frosting. I could be super biased, but I think this is best cream cheese frosting I’ve ever made.  This frosting is best on citrus and berry based cakes, such as orange and poppyseed cake, carrot cake, or even…

  • Orange and Poppyseed Cake

    There is nothing I like better than a tart citrus-based cake…  Well, except a really good chocolate cake!  But orange and poppyseed is definitely one of my favourites. Ingredients 50g butter 2 tbsp grated orange rind 1 cup caster sugar 1 eggs 1/4 cup orange juice 1 cup self-raising flour 2 tbsp poppyseeds 1/3 cup milk Method Preheat oven to 180°C…

  • Apple and cinnamon tea cake

    My parents have a small hobby farm where we grew up.  On the farm we had some cattle, horses, chicken and the occasional sheep that escaped from the neighbours.  We also had an small orchard, as my mum is great with plants.  There were peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and apples. Every year when the summer was finishing up and the…

  • Chocolate Brownies

    Brownies are one of those magical things that have migrated from the US, along with Coca-Cola, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Hallowe’en.  And the best brownies are slightly gooey in the middle… just like these ones! Ingredients 125g unsalted butter, melted 3 eggs 1.5 cups white sugar 3/4 cup plain flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder (Dutch cocoa powder is the…

  • Cookies and Cream Cheesecake

    One of my ‘go-to’ recipes is my cookies and cream cheesecake.  It’s relatively simple and very delicious – a definite crowd pleaser.  It is based on my white chocolate cheesecake recipe, but I make it as a larger slab type recipe for bigger groups.  It has the potential to last up to a week in the refrigerator – but alas,…

  • Lemon Lime Tart

    My mother’s favourite dessert is a really tart citrus tart.  Like, it has to really bite as you take a mouthful, and then once in your mouth it takes on this sweeter, smooth consistency. Ingredients Base: 1.5 cups plain flour 1/4 cup self raising flour pinch of salt 1/2 cup caster sugar 100g butter 1 egg Filling: 1/2 cup lemon…

  • Brandy Custard

    My favourite side with plum pudding at Christmas time is Brandy Custard.  Well, brandy custard and ice cream.  I use a family recipe, and while it’s probably a little heavy on the brandy side, it is what I am used to (and besides, isn’t Christmas a perfect time for a little indulgence?). Ingredients 550g* of milk (full cream / full…

  • Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

    Magic Study – Maria V Snyder

    Release date: 1 October 2006 Rating: ★★★★★★★★ – 8/10 Goodreads link Book Depository link Magic Study (Study series #2; Chronicles of Ixia #2) blurb: You know your life is complicated when you miss your days as a poison taster… With her greatest enemy dead, and on her way to be united with the family she’d been stolen from long ago, Yelena…

  • Rocky road

    Rocky Road

    I can’t eat whole nuts, so I generally just don’t eat nuts at all because there’s a fine line between what I can eat and what will make me sick (I’m not anaphylactic, but it’s not pleasant).  What I can get away with (luckily) is eating foods that may contain traces of nuts.  However, I know that this is not the…

  • White chocolate cheesecake

    So this is what I use as my base (not baked) chocolate cheesecake recipe.  It has a simple flavour and it is easily adjustable to make several variants, which I am sure you will see a few of in later blog posts. Ingredients Base: 250g plain chocolate cookies (I use Arnott’s chocolate ripple) 100g melted butter Cheesecake filling: 375g cream…

  • Baked Chai Cheesecake

    So I have this policy at work where I tell my team mates that they can pick any type of cake they want for their birthday and I will make it.  It’s never actually backfired yet, but there have been a few times where I think they just like to test me.  Case in point – E asked me if…

  • Mini Baked Lemon Blueberry Cheesecakes

    I love cheesecake.  There’s likely going to be a lot of cheesecake recipes on here.  I’m just preparing you now. I found a recipe online for lemon blueberry cheesecake, but when I made it, the whole thing just fell apart.  It was a disaster.  And that was the last time I actually followed a recipe instead of making my own.…