The taste of Summer

Summer activities* in Brisbane include going to the beach, going swimming in a friend or family member's pool, swimming in the blow-up pool in the backyard or sitting in front of the fan trying not to create a pool of your own sweat.

Summer flavours in Brisbane are pretty tropical, including mangos, passionfruit, peaches, pineapple and so on. I am generally one to bake with chocolate and heavy flavours, but in the extreme heat of a Brisbane summer, the best things to bake are cold, sweet and light (ie not turning on the oven and not using too much energy). I found the perfect dessert to accommodate these flavours and energy level - a Mango and Passionfruit Layered Pavlova. Light, sweet and easy - and better than anything else, a crowd pleaser.

Feel free to exchange the Mango and Passionfruit with a different flavour, maybe hazelnut spread or berries. Enjoy!

(* I have a toddler, so activities for me generally include something to keep a hyper-active 3 year old happy).

Who needs a reason to bake?

There are many reasons to bake - birthdays, celebrations, dinner parties... however my reason for baking last night was because I bought a new tin! I have been wanting to buy a bundt tin for ages and finally did over the weekend. I also had some passionfruits and a lemon which looked like they were in desperate need of being used, so that was another reason. Actually, I don't need a reason to bake, I just do it because I love it!

This is a delicious cake to share for morning tea or with coffee. It is moist yet crumbles between the fingers. The flavour is subtle with the butter coming through nicely, however if you'd like a stronger passionfruit flavour, add an extra passionfruit or two. The coconut adds a final tropical flavour and texture to the cake. So yummy! ENJOY.

A burst of summer in winter

Today was cold! Cold for Brisbane anyway. Apparently it was 3 below average this morning. It is definitely Ekka time (always cold and everyone's sick). This morning at the train station I shivered while standing in what must be the coldest platform in Brisbane. I am not really a Summer girl, but I was keen on anything to warm my bones, even a touch of Summer. Luckily last night I did some baking with some classic summery flavours. If I can't be warm, at least I can eat something that reminds me of warmth. A hot cup of tea and one of these for morning tea has made my morning. ENJOY!

Something for the kids that Mummy will love

It's no secret I like to bake. It relaxes me, it gives me an avenue to show off, it confirms I am actually good at something. So, when I'm invited to someone's house, I generally like to bring something homemade. Whenever my friend Dani invites my son and I over for a play date, she specifically tells me not to bake - so of course, I always bake.

Luckily, whenever I bake for Dani, I don't feel like I need to bring something overly healthy, like oat bars or date slice. Not saying she injects her kids full of sugar or doesn't feed them properly, just that she's a pretty cool and level headed Mum.

I had some passionfruit in the fruit bowl so wanted to base my treats on that. I did a quick search of my "go to" recipe site and found these Vanilla Custard and Passionfruit Scrolls. I love custard and remember whenever we use to visit people as kids, my parents would buy a bun - my favourite was always the custard bun. So, these scrolls are an homage to my parent's "drop in" days as well as a delicious treat for kids and mummies! 

Bringing summer into the office

It's Summer in Brisbane, however the weather this week has been cold, windy and wet. So, to lift spirits, I have baked Summer Passionfruit Cupcakes for the office. I love baking for the people in my office, mainly because they act as if they have never tasted sugar before when they sample my fairs, but also because they let me know what they like about my treats - so they are a good test audience. I think sometimes they are just being nice though, as I get a lot of "your best ever" each time :-).

I now have a trademark blue cake tin, which I always use to transport my cakes to work. I don't have to tell people when I've baked, they see the tin and know there's morning tea (or breakfast).

Today happens to be the first sunny day all week, so good thing we're bringing the sunshine inside with these golden passionfruit curd and sweet vanilla cupcakes. ENJOY.

A moment to melt

Take a moment and treat yourself to these delicious buttery biscuits. I don't bake biscuits often, but these delightful treats are just that, delightful. I made the below batch for my  husband's family recently when they all popped over for a Sunday afternoon cuppa - the biscuits didn't last long.

What I love about these biscuits is that they just melt in your mouth - I guess whoever named them melting moments was pretty spot on. I've made these before using custard powder (I think they're also referred to as Yo-Yo Biscuits), but as I LOVE custard, I got a tad disappointed that I couldn't taste custard in the biscuits. The below recipe works just as well and avoids any unneeded custard disappointment.