Raw Cheesecake

I have never understood this whole 'raw foods' trend. Suddenly everything's being converted into what is essentially its 'healthified' version - vegan, gluten free, sugar free and raw. It's been everywhere lately in the form of cookies, bars and even brownies. And while a part of me thinks it's great to focus on using natural, pure ingredients to achieve a similar result, another part of me can't help thinking that it ruins the fun of baking a little. (I mean to me, baking brownies with chocolate, butter, sugar and flour is what actually makes it the process of baking brownies.) 

Jaffa Muffins

I don't know about you, but I love discovering new kinds of food through books. Literature has a way of making you look at food differently. In the particular case of jaffa cakes, I discovered their existence when I was about eleven through a book I was reading at the time which unfortunately I can't remember the name of - the protagonist was a young girl who got a role in a theatre and goes through a series of dramas with her friends (as pre-teen books tend to go), but the part that stuck out for me was that her favorite snack was jaffa cakes. 

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Afternoon tea is a tradition that's been ingrained in me since primary school. At least one afternoon each week, my mother would pick me up and we would go to McDonald's for a teatime treat of french fries, cokes and cheeseburgers (the stuff every kid dreams of). I'm not even kidding; I visited Maccas so often as a kid I managed to collect their practically their entire stuffed Hello Kitty collection, which I don't know if anyone reading this will remember or know about but I had about twenty of those dolls in my room all through primary school. (Then I gave them all away a few years ago.)

Almond Croissants

Do you have a cafe that you go to frequently as a meeting place? Somewhere that you can call the 'usual place' and others will know what you're referring to? For me and a small group of my closest friends from high school, that would be Le Pain Quotidien, or as we like to call it more simply, the French cafe.

4-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

It's Monday again. It just insists on rolling around every six days, doesn't it? I've been fortunate enough to be on a two week break from classes, but as it's Monday, it means it has officially ended. It's sad news, people.

Luckily I've got something to give you that isn't so sad. Right the opposite. Especially if you love nutella - and come on, who doesn't? - you will absolutely love these cookies. They are dense, chewy and fudgy with a crackly brownie-like top, which isn't surprising considering I've adapted the recipe from these practically infamous 4-ingredient nutella brownie bites.  And the best bit is that they can be made, baked and eaten in less than 30 minutes.

Apple Pie

It took a while, but it's finally starting to feel like fall here in Sydney. The trees are turning red and fading brown; there's the sharp crunch of dried leaves under your feet as you walk down the street. In the supermarket, piles of apples tower above everything else.

Strawberry and Cream Biscuits

I went to Orange last weekend on a road trip which, while woefully lacking the presence of real oranges, did have plenty of beautiful fall colored trees in various shades of orange, brown and red. It's known as the 'color city' and you can see why.