Adding a tang to Easter

So, how was your Easter? Did you eat way too much chocolate? Did you drink too much beer/wine/whatever floats your boat? Last night did you vow only to eat carrot sticks for the next month? Well, if you said yes to all of the above, sounds like you had a pretty good Easter break!

Easter for me was a little different than past years. It was the first time since my son was born that I didn't share the joys of discovering what treats the Easter Bunny had left for him on Easter morning. I have loved seeing the excitement and shock across his face when he's come out of his bedroom to find evidence that the Easter Bunny has been to our house and even better, left him some delicious chocolate. The first Easter he was only about 9 months old, so instead of lots of chocolate, he got a few toys and chocolate custard. The next Easter he was old enough to eat chocolate and of course the family took full advantage of that - he had chocolate coming out of his ears! His third Easter he got pretty spoilt again, mainly because it was around the time his Dad and I were getting separated and I think we both just wanted him to have a great day and be spoilt by everyone and anyone. This Easter we were all pretty good. He spent Easter day with his Dad, which meant the Monday was our day. Even though it was only a few people around for lunch, I wanted to make it special by baking some fresh and Eastry desserts. It was lovely and even better, the Easter Bunny made a surprise stop at our house even though Reuben wasn't there. How exciting!

It's a tarty Friday treat

You know what's really funny? Giving a child a lemon to taste for the first time. I don't mean to be cruel, but it's one of those reactions that you can't help but laugh at. The innocence as they inspect the brightly coloured fruit, then naturally raise it to their mouth to taste. Then as the juice hits their tongue, the instant screwing up of their face followed by a look of complete shock - how can you not start to giggle, at least out of recognition of the situation. 

I've never been a huge fan of the tartness of lemons, however as I get older, I seem to be more tolerant to their refreshing flavour. I also accept that most other people like lemons and citrus flavours, so thought I should probably add these to my baking list more often (and on a plus, if I don't like it, I will automatically eat less).

So, here are some lemony cheesecake tarts for my friends in the office today. They mainly act as a farewell for two wonderful people, neither from Australian so deserving of a fresh, tangy treat to remind them of their time here and working with our team.

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!

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.