Earl Grey & honey layer cakes

Earl Grey & honey layer cakes

Ok this is pretty gorgeous you guys. The fragrant, slightly floral tea flavoured cake with thick, sweet honey icing is lovely. I made 2 mini layer cakes but you could easily make this in a loaf tin or round standard sized tin.

Carrot & sweet potato soup

Carrot & sweet potato soup

I made this impromptu soup today and it was so lovely; thick, creamy, rich, full of vegies yet surprisingly low in calories.

Banana cake

Banana cake

This pretty cake is simple with only a few ingredients but turned out fluffy and soft with a great banana flavour.  A pretty dusting of snowy icing sugar makes it perfect for tea time.

Singapore Noodles

Singapore Noodles

Singapore noodles are one of my favourite things to eat; this dish was always something I’d buy as take away years ago if I felt like something spicy.  I’ve never made it though!  So last night I gave it a go and it was delicious.

Spicy pumpkin & date muffins

Spicy pumpkin & date muffins

I know, I sound like a complete knob asking people to use organic stoneground unbleached freshly milled plain flour but the reason for that is that I accidently purchased some online, thinking it was just regular old plain flour. Anyway, if you manage to get your hands on it, it’s a lovely, healthy flour which[read more…]

Baked gnocchi, meatball & mozzarella bake

Baked gnocchi, meatball & mozzarella bake

I think I must be quite mad because I made this on new year’s day for new year’s dinner – one of the hottest nights of the year quite possibly!  Anyway, obviously something stuffed full of meatballs, gnocchi, cherry toms and cheese baked in the oven is going to be wonderfully decadent.  We added a crusty baguette with[read more…]

Stove top vanilla bean rice pudding

Stove top vanilla bean rice pudding

Rice pudding is one of those comfort desserts I love, yet I’ve never been able to find a decent recipe until today. This turned out creamy and lush and full of childhood cinnamon and vanilla flavours – if you really wanted to turn it up a notch, you could replace 1 cup of the milk[read more…]

Coconut bundt cake

Coconut bundt cake

So I made a little bundt cake today – I say little, because I halved this awesome recipe but only had a 24cm bundt tin and fretted for half an hour while it was baking.  It turned out perfectly though!  The crumb is amazing – fairly dense yet somehow light and fluffy and the flavour is pleasingly[read more…]

Sweet potato & split pea dahl

Sweet potato & split pea dahl

I love nothing better than a bowl of spicy, hearty dahl and warm naan bread – comfort food at it’s best.  This one has some sweet potato in it, just to sweeten things up a bit.

Chicken white bean soup with ginger & chilli

Chicken white bean soup with ginger & chilli

It’s the time of year for chicken soup! Here in Queensland we’ve gone from the longest, hottest summer to sudden and very icy cold temperatures and this soup cheered me right up recently. It’s said that chicken soup has magical healing properties and I do feel that’s true, however in order for this to happen[read more…]

Oatmeal raisin cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies

On needing to use up oats, peanut butter chips and raisins and looking for the perfect oatmeal raisin cookies one night, I decided to go directly to a good source and found this great recipe (is anybody else so confused by the over abundance of recipes online now?  I know I know, I’m part of the problem). Anyway,[read more…]

Speculoos (cookie butter) chip loaf

Speculoos (cookie butter) chip loaf

I love Speculoos (cookie) butter and often smash it between Speculoos cookies but am always on the lookout for baking recipes using it.  So I found this recipe for cookie butter chips, then whipped up a spicy sweet loaf cake. You’ll need 24 hours for the Speculoos chips to set before you make the cake.

Swedish sandwich cake

Swedish sandwich cake

I’ve always wanted to make one of these as I’m a huge sandwich fan and I love all things Swedish and Scandinavian.  I haven’t made it exactly as you would a traditional smörgåstårta, as I wanted to use ingredients I had already.  However, I tried to think of traditional Swedish things while putting it together; making one layer with a fish[read more…]

Sticky date raw muesli

Sticky date raw muesli

I know toasted muesli is super popular and I really like it myself, but there’s just something so wholesome about raw muesli.  Combined with dates, spices and golden syrup, this muesli has a nutty, chewy texture and is reminiscent of sticky date pudding. Because of the dates, this is quite high in sugar, so you could think of[read more…]

Easter mini carrot layer cake with cream cheese icing

Easter mini carrot layer cake with cream cheese icing

Carrot cake always reminds me of the uni refect, 2nd year.  The vegetarian café I’d often go to served the best carrot cake with lashings of cream cheese icing and good coffee.  I’d kid myself that carrot cake was good for me, what with all the carrots and walnuts and things. However.  After stacking on 10kg, I realised all that carrot[read more…]

Spicy lentil & vegie soup

Spicy lentil & vegie soup

So in the interests of being healthy this January due to some questionable food choices recently, I made a pot of lentil soup! Lentil soup will always be one of those comfort foods for me; this one’s thick, hearty, spicy and was brilliant with toasted, buttered sourdough.                [read more…]

One bowl Speculoos stuffed Speculoos, pecan & peanut butter blondies

One bowl Speculoos stuffed Speculoos, pecan & peanut butter blondies

I’ve seen Speculoos spread around recently with everyone saying how delicious it is (had never heard of it before) and had to try some.  I mean I’ve bought the bikkies quite a few times, usually for Christmas but this is sort of a spicy cookie butter, it’s amazingly good.  I purchased my Dutch goodies from here.[read more…]

Orange almond mini loaves

Orange almond mini loaves

I made some sweet little orange loaf cakes at the end of winter, using whole oranges.  So not surprisingly, they’re Intensely orange flavoured, bitter/sweet and super soft.  I added a bit of almond essence for a stronger almond flavour but if you’re not into that, leave it out or add vanilla instead. They are a teeny bit[read more…]

Curry puffs

Curry puffs

So I made these cute, tasty little curry puffs yesterday. The filling is spicy/sweet and surrounded by crispy puff pastry; dipped into tomato sauce, they made for a brilliant afternoon snack with a beer.

Chilli hummus

Chilli hummus

I eat buckets of hummus and always have some in the fridge.  Nothing wrong with buying a tub but making it is so simple.  Make it soon! This one is spicy and rustic and if you have it with heaps of carrot and celery sticks, you get most of your daily vegies in one hit then[read more…]

Chocolate chip loaf cake

Chocolate chip loaf cake

Sometimes a simple loaf is just the thing.  I loved how hearty yet soft this lightly vanilla scented loaf was with chocolate chips inside and sticky ganache all over.

Butterscotch dairy pudding with tiny teddy biscuits

Butterscotch dairy pudding with tiny teddy biscuits

This is a real treat today you guys!  Silky smooth, creamy sweet butterscotch custard, cool cream and crunchy Tiny Teddy bikkies (tell me I’m not the only one who loves these)! It’s super easy to whip up (it’s egg and oven free) and all you have to do is wait a bit for it to set. And spot the[read more…]

Orange ricotta hotcakes with orange honey syrup

Orange ricotta hotcakes with orange honey syrup

I made these zesty, bright pancakes one recent weekend; the syrup is so deliciously sweet and full of floral honey and orange flavours.  I make ricotta pancakes quite often; ricotta makes pancakes fluffy yet slightly custard-like inside unlike the cake texture of your classic buttermilk pancakes, but lovely just the same. There’s heaps of syrup so if you[read more…]

Spicy lentil & sweet potato cottage pie

Spicy lentil & sweet potato cottage pie

I love my lentils and beans and things and this dish is something I make quite regularly in colder weather.  It’s a hearty, spicy, vegie packed cottage pie with French lentils; I prefer French lentils as they keep their shape and have a nice bite to them. Lentils are a brilliant sub for meat and even carnivores don’t miss[read more…]

Three bean chilli con carne

Three bean chilli con carne

Just a quick post today to say I made a vegetarian chilli based on this one, packed full of beany goodness. It’s great for freezing and quick lunches and dinners, is vegetarian and vegan friendly and uses tins and things from the cupboard so is very economical and easy to put together. Oh and this chilli cheese[read more…]

Fennel & apple salad

Fennel & apple salad

Fennel is a vegetable in the carrot family which is perfect for salads; it has a slight aniseed flavour which is very subtle and palate cleansing. I had this pleasingly crunchy salad on it’s own while Ant had some oven baked chicken alongside.  I think it would also go really well with Atlantic salmon.  It has quite sweet,[read more…]

Fig, honey & salted pistachio raw muesli

Fig, honey & salted pistachio raw muesli

I know, I know, I posted a granola recipe a couple of weeks back but have I ever said on here how much I love salted pistachios?  I’m a little bit obsessed actually.  Give me a big bowl of dry roasted, salted pistachios and I’ll sit on the lounge happily shelling and eating them like[read more…]

Ginger spice & apricot toasted oat clusters

Ginger spice & apricot toasted oat clusters

I whipped up a deliciously spicy, crunchy, cold weather inspired toasted muesli a while back, just from ingredients I had on hand. It’s not full-on ginger in flavour, just enough to give a sweet, warm flavour however if you’re a real ginger fan, add a bit more fresh or ground ginger to the recipe.  This is nice[read more…]

Baked sweet potatoes with spicy lemon chickpeas

Baked sweet potatoes with spicy lemon chickpeas

You guys, these are so good! And you might think lemon and sweet potato are an odd pairing but actually, the zesty lemon works really well with the sweet, creamy potato, particularly with spices.  This is a bit of a fancy take on the baked potato with topping I usually make, and it made for a hearty,[read more…]

Roast winter vegetable & herb pasta

Roast winter vegetable & herb pasta

This caramelised vegetable, hearty pasta dish with fresh herbs and salty cheese is so easy; just roast some vegies and toss through cooked pasta and fragrant garlic oil.  Serve with lots of cheese and crusty bread!