Ganache Chocolate Macaron Class - Recipe and Tips For Successful Macarons

As with most modern love affairs, it started with a tweet. After trying EatPlayShop's amazing macarons, I tweeted how I wish I could make macarons too. My wish was answered when Ganache Chocolate saw my tweet and invited me to attend their Macaron Class. I was jumping for joy because unlike EatPlayShop, I've had more failed macaron attempts than successes. The worst effort was when I met up with some fellow food bloggers and attempted to make macarons in a professional kitchen no less. You can see the results here. Those macarons were seriously hard enough to throw at burglars.

Look how perfect and pretty EatPlayShop's macarons are. I hoped to replicate these after I attended the macaron class.

And the result...equally impressive macarons if I say so myself.

Here's another shot of the macarons I made as they're super pretty and I'm so proud of them.

The macaron class at Ganache Chocolate is taught by owner and pastry chef Arno Backes. Arno actually has a masters degree in pastry, which is taken very seriously in Europe. You actually need to get a regular teaching degree first even. He's worked through Europe and even cooked for the Queen of England. Throughout the class, you'll get to hear Arno's wonderful story of how he motorcycled around the world for 2 years before settling in Sydney to work. He also helped kick off the Koko Black franchise in Australia.

During the class Arno takes you through each step of making a basic macaron shell and ganache with hands on learning. Obviously you can become more inventive and use the basic recipe and add different flavours.

The macaron recipe uses an Italian method, which uses a sugar syrup poured into stiff egg whites. This forms a more stable shell, which results in shiny smooth macaron shells.

Look how beautiful the shells are. So smooth and with perfect little feet. I must say I'm rather pleased with my own piping as the shells were all fairly equal in size and shape.

We piped a simple raspberry ganache into the shells to form the finished product. The ganache utilised good chocolate and raspberry liqueur and puree and is super fragrant. I loved the taste of the final product.

So, here are the tips I learned at the class that will help you to achieve macaron success.

* Arno leaves his egg whites to age in the fridge for 5 days. He says this gives a stronger batter. He also mixes his almond meal and icing sugar together, sieves it and leaves to age for 5 days as well. There is some prep work involved but he says this gives a better outcome.

* Start whipping the egg whites super slowly before increasing the speed to get stiff peaks. Seriously, this process took way longer than I usually do it. Add a pinch of salt to the whites to help stabilise them further. When the sugar syrup is at 120C, pour the syrup into the whites at a slow speed, slowing increasing the speed to beat the whites until they are cool. You can feel the side of the bowl and it should be near room temperature before you stop whipping. This again takes longer than I expected.

* Use a template to pipe the shells the perfect size. Don't freestyle it unless you're a pro.

* Let the piped shells sit for 20 minutes or so until you can touch them and your finger doesn't stick to the shell. The shell sort of bounces back to the original shape after your touch.

* Bake for 8 minutes and then open the oven door slightly to let the humidity out. You can use a thin stick or something to keep the oven door ajar. Keep baking until the shells don't stick to the baking paper anymore.

If you want more detailed instructions and to see each step of the process in action, I highly recommend you attend a class at Ganache Chocolate. There's nothing that can compare to hands on training.

Ganache Chocolate's Macaron Recipe

INGREDIENTS
240g almond meal (mixed with icing sugar and aged for 5 days)
240g icing sugar (mixed with almond meal and aged for 5 days)
15g corn flour (optional, helps to stabilise it further)
190g caster sugar
50g water
110 egg white (aged for 5 days)
50g egg white (aged for 5 days)
6 drops food colouring (optional for colouring the shells)

METHOD
1. Age egg whites in fridge covered in plastic wrap for 5 days. Sieve icing sugar and almond meal together and leave in pantry to age for 5 days.

2. Make a sugar syrup to 120C.

3. Whisk 110g of egg whites to a stiff peak, starting slowly and increasing speed.

4. Pour in boiling sugar syrup at a low speed and slowly increase mixing speed. Beat until the bowl is cool to the touch.

5. Mix 50g of egg whites with almond meal/icing sugar mixture.

6. Mix egg white/sugar syrup mixture into almond meal mixture.

7. Add food colouring (if you want) and use spatula to mix the mixture until it is a smooth consistency and flows off spatula.

8. Pipe the batter onto baking paper. Use a template to obtain regular sized shells. Leave plenty of room between shells.

9. Tap the underside of the tray to remove air bubbles and flatten the macaron shells slightly. Leave the shells for a while until they form a skin. When touched, your finger should not stick to the shell and it should bounce back.

10. Bake in preheated oven at 150C for 6-8 minutes. Turn the tray 180 degrees around and leave door ajar slightly. Bake at 140C until macarons are easily removed from baking paper. This may take another 8 minutes or more depending on your oven.

11. Remove macaron shells from the hot tray and leave them to cool on a bench.

12. Fill shells with a ganache once they've cooled.

I attended the macaron class courtesy of Ganache Chocolate.

Bluestone Restaurant

I like to write lists. They make me feel like I have control over things. The best part of writing a list is when you can cross an item off the list. It gives me a real sense of joy. One list that gives me pain is my "Melbourne Restaurants To Dine At" list. It just gets forever larger as Melbourne is such a food loving town and there's always new and exciting places to go to. It means that the old stalwarts tend to get forgotten. One such place that has been on my list for forever is Bluestone Restaurant. Many years ago I had heard about how good it is from a friend. Finally, I visited the restaurant when I received an invitation to try out their new Autumn menu designed by head chef Cody Cunningham.

My first impressions of the restaurant is that it's a very classy looking dining area. The furnishings are very nice and everything has a feel of class and quality to it. It's definitely a restaurant to go to if you like a more restrained and quiet environment. There's something about certain rooms that make you feel like you need to talk in a quieter voice. I'll say that my personal preference is for loud and bustling ambiance generally but it's nice to be able to carry a conversation comfortably without having to shout the whole time.

We start the meal with a mixture of natural oysters for our appetizers. The oysters were fresh and didn't need the accompanying vinaigrette, which was rather heavy and oily than sharp and bright. Entrees of Parmesan and Dill Crusted Scallops and Calamari Stuffed with Chorizo were both good without creating any amazement. While both dishes were well cooked, I think they seemed a bit dated in terms of the flavour profiles and especially the way they were presented. The plating and the plates themselves all play a part in how your brain reacts to the dish and to me the dishes felt more suited to a cafe than a high end restaurant.

For the mains, the Roast Duck with quinoa spiced with quandong was quite a good dish. The duck was cooked quite well, although I felt the fat could have been rendered a bit more so the skin was crispier and the duck less fatty. I didn't care for the quandong in the well cooked quinoa. Lastly, I was quite surprised when I tasted the quail egg which was filled with a cream of some sort. It felt a bit old skool, which I like, but may not be to everyone's liking.

The Seared Barramundi with caramelised popcorn and a red wine butter reduction was again quite a nice dish. The barramundi was excellent and so sweet and perfectly cooked. I really liked the corn puree and the red wine butter reduction. The salsa on the dish was also quite nice. The shocking element was the caramelised popcorn. It wasn't shocking to me in terms of the chef deciding to put it there. I'm happy to try anything in food and my favourite chef is Hestong Blumenthal, and everyone knows all the crazy flavours he puts together. While the popcorn didn't taste awful with the fish, I'd say it didn't enhance it either. And if that's the case, I think it's best not to put it there than to have it for the shock factor.

Finally, to the desserts. The White Chocolate Fondant with chili cream did not manage to excite me. The waiter and chef both apologised for the fondant being overcooked, which happens sometimes. I didn't find the flavour profiles of the fondant very exciting, and I didn't like it matched with the chili cream at all. I did like the caramelised white chocolate pieces on the plate, although maybe they could be presented in a different way as the look of them was quite off putting. The second dessert of a Chocolate Mousse with a mixed nut bar also failed to excite. One quenelle of mousse was presented on the plate with a simple nut bar placed separately. If that is to be the extent of the dessert, each element needs to be exceptional for the $14 that the dessert commands. Unfortunately, the mousse was rather heavy and the nut bar was a nut bar.

The service at the restaurant was friendly and efficient. I would say it was verging on trying too hard, which can make it uncomfortable for the diners as opposed to helpful. I did like how the waitress helped to explain the menu and also gave recommendations for various items.

Overall, as a dining experience, I would rate it in the mid range of Melbourne restaurants. The food was solid, without really exciting. I would say the flavours were quite simple and felt a bit outdated in parts. The restaurant setting is definitely classy and I can see that it would cater to some clientele. If you enjoy a quieter meal in a beautiful restaurant, this would be a good place for you.

My guest and I dined courtesy of Bluestone Restaurant.

Bourke Street Bakery Sour Cream Pear & Raspberry Cake - Fantastic Cake

Thanh: What cake is this, it's amazing.
Michelle: It's a sour cream pear and raspberry cake from Bourke Street Bakery.
Thanh: So this cake is from the Burch and Purchese book?
Michelle: Yep. I've got the book and this was the first recipe I tried.
Thanh: Wow, it's an amazing cake and I must go get the book.

Above is roughly how the conversation went between Michelle and myself at a food bloggers picnic at Albert Park. When I tasted the cake she had brought, I was hooked on how delicious it was. But due to the loud noise, we misheard each other and I thought that Burch and Purchese had started to make these simple desserts. Not only until later did we clear up that it was a Bourke Street Bakery Sour Cream Pear and Raspberry Cake which Michelle had made previously. That made far more sense as this cake is definitely in the style of Bourke Street Bakery.

This cake is a simple butter style cake but with a great texture and an amazing flavour. What got me was this recurring fragrant hint, and then a punch of tartness. I tried to guess the fruits in it, and the raspberry part was easy. But the other element, I just couldn't pick. When Michelle told me it was pear, I was quite surprised. I didn't know pear would taste so good in a cake. So, obviously I got the recipe and have made the cake many times since to great appreciation by everyone that's tried it.

Here are some tips to help you make the best cake possible.
*This recipe makes a huge cake. Even in the 28cm tin, it rises out of tin. You could put into two smaller tins even.

*The cake is quite sweet but I like it that way. I think any other berries besides raspberries won't work as well as the raspberry really punch through with a tartness that enhances this cake greatly.

*Michelle said the recipe required you to make your own stewed pears. She was lazy and just used canned pear and so did I. It tasted great with the canned pear and I would put even more than the recipe suggested. Lay out the pear neatly and evenly so that every piece of cake has some pear.

*I don't sift my flour and it doesn't seem to affect the cake.

*The raspberries can get a bit burnt during baking if they're exposed. Depends what you want to do but you can push the berries inside the cake but I like them a bit exposed as it's prettier and some burnt bits taste great.

*The cooking time for this cake seems to take a lot longer in my oven. It takes about 90 minutes sometimes.

Sour Cream Butter Cake with Pears and Raspberry
Recipe adapted from The Bakeanista

INGREDIENTS
250g unsalted butter
355g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
200g sour cream
300g self-raising flour
1 can (approx 400g) of sliced pears
1 cup of raspberries

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line baking paper in a 28cm cake tin.

2. Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla extract until pale and creamy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated before adding more.

4. Add the sour cream in two batches, then add the flour in two batches, until well combined.

5. Add mixture to cake tin. Arrange the pear wedges in an even circle around the tin. Sprinkle raspberries evenly.

6. Bake for 55 - 75 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 2013 - Cider, BBQ, High Tea, Fine Dining and an Italian Feast

For us food lovers, the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival (MFWF) is definitely the largest collective food festival on our yearly calendar. The festival has been reduced back to two weeks but there are still hundreds of events to go to, ranging from free events to very expensive events. The events are extremely varied in both content and location, spread across the whole of Melbourne and Victoria. This year, I was starting to look at some events that I wanted to go to, but as luck would have it, I got invited to a number of events as I happen to write a food blog. When I started my food blog nearly 7 years ago, I never imagined that I would get to attend events just because I happen to catalog what I eat. I'm so happy that food has become something that is popular amongst the general public such that I can experience things that even money can't buy sometimes.

Below is my summary of the events that I attended. All were very different and definitely all were enjoyable. Whilst I went for free at all the events, I've tried to assess the value for money aspect as part of my overall judgement of the event.

Napoleone Cider at Prahran Market

The first event on my MFWF calendar was a Napoleone Cider tasting event, with matching food from Trupp Cooking School held at the Prahran Market. I went to the event unsure what would happen as I couldn't even picture where the event would be held even in the Prahran Market. Hence I went in without any big expectations. The event turned out to be a great fun, informative and most definitely delicious.

As it turned out, a beautiful long table in the fruit & veg are was the setting for the event. Hay bale seats and rustic fruits, nuts and ales strewn across the table helped to give a comfy feel. We tried out four Napoleone ciders matched with food cooked by Walter Trupp. Here is the menu we had

-Apple Cider with Squash vichyssoise with hazelnut oil
-Pear Cider with Mould raclette on nutty sour dough
-Oak Cloudy Apple Cider with Berkshire pork belly with apple mash
-Methode Traditional Pear Cider with Brittany buckwheat pancakes with chestnut jam and cider honey

All the ciders were excellent and really tasted of fruit. I don't like ciders that are sickly sweet and taste more like alco-pop than a good cider. The apple and pear cider both had a good sharpness to them with just the right amount of sweetness. The taste was really clear and I tasted the fresh fruit. The Oak Cloudy Apple Cider had lots of complexity and the Traditional Pear Cider was more like a sparkling wine. It wasn't to everyone's liking but I really liked the fairly dry flavour.

On the food side, the dishes by Walter were all simple but brilliant. I was really surprised how good the squash vichyssoise was. So smooth and comforting and the hazelnuts worked so well in it. The raclette with pear chutney was again a great dish that matched the cider so well. You can't go wrong with pork belly so that was a good dish. Lastly the buckwheat pancakes were so good with the chestnut jam and honey. All the dishes had sweet elements that really highlighted the ciders, showing that you can match food with ciders.

I was so full by the end of this event after the ales and matching dishes. The setting was really nice amongst the fruit and veg stalls and the food and drinks excellent. The event was $25 and I would rate it as one of the best value for money event I've ever been to as part of the MFWF. I'd highly recommend this event if it comes back next year. Also, I definitely recommend trying some Napoleone ciders and going to Walter Trupp's cooking school.

My guest and I attended this event courtesy of Prahran Market.

BBQ Masterclass at BBQ Fest

The next event I attended was a BBQ Masterclass as part of the BBQ Fest. The event was on at 9am, super early for me. I hate mornings so I wasn't in the best mood getting there. I wasn't sure what was going to happen and was expecting a boring lecture on BBQ, which I already thought I knew about. How wrong I was to be. The event turned out to be very hands on, super informative and I got to eat some of the best BBQ meats I've ever had. My BBQ knowledge has increased greatly and I can't wait to put everything I learned into practice.

BBQ expert Chris Brown took us through the many facets of BBQ-ing. We learned many things, and at each step, of course we got to put our lessons into action and taste test what we made.

Here are some lessons that I learned:

-Brining is key. A salt solution of 1 tbsp of salt to 1 litre water is used to soak the meat overnight before BBQ-ing. The brine really keeps the meat so moist during cooking and works far better than a marinate, which doesn't work at all. In fact, if your marinate has sugar, the meat tends to burn. You can infuse flavours into the brine and it really seeps into the meat. If you then want more flavour on the skin, you brush on a marinate or rub in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.

-A meat injector works really well to inject liquids deep into the meat so again the flavour seeps in.

-Knowing the temperature of the BBQ and the meat is essential. If you can control the temperature of your BBQ, and know the temperature of the inside of your meat, you will always get the perfect result and cook your meat exactly as you want it.

-To give flavour to the meat, you can either cook it on high heat at the start, or at the end. Both will give the meat a good caramelisation and great flavour.

-Learn to use the hood of your BBQ as it really helps to retain heat. Avoid opening the hood too often as you lose a lot of heat each time and increase the cooking time by about 10 minutes with each opening.

With all those lessons, we made chicken wings, pork fillet, chicken fillet, lamb racks, shoulder of lamb, chicken coconut curry, rib-eye steaks and grilled pineapple. The chicken wings were so moist and not like what I normally make. Even the pork and chicken fillets were fairly moist. The lamb racks were stunning and the 12 hour lamb shoulder was seriously amazing. The curry was really good and the steaks were cooked perfectly and so tender. Lastly, the pineapple covered in palm sugar and chili was super addictive.

As I mentioned, I learned so much from the event and ate so much delicious food. I was so full afterwards. This event was $200, and I would say it's borderline whether I would recommend it due to the cost. Normally the event runs for 6-8 hours instead of the 2 we had so you learn even more. If you really love BBQ-ing, then I think it's great value and a must. Your BBQ food will never be the same again. For everyone else, I'd say if you wanted to go for fun, it's worth it. If you want to go to get your "money's worth" in food, I'd suggest you skip it.

I attended this event courtesy of GRAM Magazine

Bursaria Fine Foods at Abbotsford Convent

The Bursaria Fine Foods event at Abbotsford Convent showcased both the catering abilities of Bursaria, and the lovely Abbotsford Convent. I've never been to the convent before and only wished I lived closer now. It's such a wonderful space with so much going on. If I was closer, I'd definitely go there a lot to eat at the many cafes, buy things from the bakery, and just lounge in the beautiful garden areas.

The event started with some sparkling wine and canapes in the convent courtyard. The beautiful sunny day was such a perfect backdrop to the canapes of salmon egg blinis, roast beef on toast and chicken liver parfait on toast. All the canapes were excellent and I may have eaten 3-4 of each.

The main meal started with a variety of bread. There were so many types but I found they tasted rather similar. Next up was the Warialda belted galloway beef with a gnocchi and asparagus. We were told to guess what cut the beef was and it would be revealed at the end of the meal. I never got to find out which cut it was as I had to leave a bit early. However, I found the beef a bit dry and hard to eat. It needed more of a sauce to go with it. The meal ended with a pannacotta with rose water and pistachio. People generally have mixed views about pannacotta. When they're too set, it tends to put a lot of people off. This one was just perfectly set and I loved it. The rose was light so tasted great with the pistachio.

This event cost $45 from memory and I think it's great value. The atmosphere was so good and I like the idea of the canapes and sparkling wine in the beautiful courtyard before the meal. One slight complaint would be that the event should give a more realistic estimate of the duration or else try to keep more to the time. It ran way over time and if you had another event right after, you'd be struggling to get to the next one.

I attended this event courtesy of Bursaria Fine Foods.

Jazz High Tea at Spiegeltent

I've driven past The Famous Spiegeltent a number of times and have wanted to attend an event. I was about to book an event when the pretty and generous Agnes happened to say that she got an invite, and could bring a guest. Such was her generosity, she took me (after I pleaded and begged endlessly).

So we turned up to the event to have high tea while listening to jazz music from the Janet Seidel Trio, Australia's first lady of jazz. The jazz component was really enjoyable as Janet and her trio doo wop and diddly dee their way through a variety of songs. The Spiegeltent itself is beautiful and the acoustics really nice. Surprisingly, it was well air-conditioned too and really comfortable too.

The high tea component of the jazz high tea were simple sandwiches, tarts and scones. The elements themselves were ok, nothing special. However, it was nice to be able to nibble on some food while watching Janet. The staff were also wonderful in constantly refilling water, tea and coffee.

Overall I had a great time and really enjoyed my first experience in The Famous Spiegeltent. I'll definitely go back to other events held there. I believe this event was $65, which I think is great value for a 90 minute set by Janet and her trio and some small nibbles. This was more focused on the experience rather than the food so don't go expecting an amazing high tea.

I attended this event courtesy of Agnes.

Celebrating the Savoury at Jacques Reymond

I've never been to Jacques Reymond *gasp*. Yes, how can I call myself a food lover and not been to one of Melbourne's most consistent high end restaurant. As usual, there's always some new restaurant opening and inevitably I find myself going to those. Also, as the price is quite high for a meal at Jacques, I always think I need a special occasion to go and never plan far enough ahead for it to work. Anyway, I'm so happy that I got invited to go to the Jacques Reymond "Celebrating the Savoury" meal, which showcased Dalwhinnie Wines and Clonakilla Wines.

The meal was five courses with matched wines from Dalwhinnie and Clonakilla for each course. After bread and some wonderful cheese gourges, the first course was the most amazing fish I've tasted. I had such high expectations for this meal and was expecting for it to not be met as I thought the meal may be old skool French food which can be too rich. However, the hapuka and ocean trout en croute instantly set me at ease. The flavours and textures was so amazing and made me love fish.

The next dishes of a seven hour braised lamb and a Western Plains pork with shiraz poached egg were also really good. I loved the lamb, so soft and paired so well with a goats cheese ravioli, pickled beetroot and a tamarind sauce. Jacques does use classical techniques but the flavours are definitely modern. The pork was similarly cooked perfectly and tasted great with the lentils and verjus. I'm not sure I like the shiraz poached egg though as it was quite a punch.

The next two dishes of hanger steak cooked two ways and a Peking duck confit were impeccable. The beef was so tender and flavoursome and matched wonderfully with so many flavours. The duck was tender and smooth but still had great flavour.

For desserts, we were served this amazing looking stone fruit dessert with meringue, almond soil and green tea popping ball. All the elements provided a different taste and texture and the stone fruits worked so well with the chocolate marquis. The only element I didn't really like was actually the beautiful looking merinuge. It was a bit undercooked so tasted quite eggy.

The wines served with each course were all really different and some really worked with the food while others tasted better by themselves. For me, while the Dalwhinnie wines were really good, it was the Clonakilla wines which really excited me. For me the clear standouts in terms of the wines were the 2005 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier and as a special treat a Botrytis Semillion, which unfortunately is in such small supply it's not for sale. These two wines really made me go wow and I'd drink them again any day.

The whole event was really enjoyable. Both winemakers explained their wines that accompanied each course and talked about both the science but also the history behind their wines. It's so good to hear the story behind each wine and how they came to be. The food side was also excellent. I love every dish from Jacques as they were all cooked perfectly and had excellent interesting flavours. I'd go back for sure.

This event was $265, and whilst that is very expensive, I would recommend it if a similar event happens next year. It's not often you get to hear winemakers talk through their whole range of wines and get to sample the wines back to back for comparison. The food from Jacques is also stunning and would alone carry that price so it's almost like you get to try the wines for free. See how my logic works. I'm Asian so I'm good at maths you see. ;-)

I attended this event courtesy of Jacques Reymond restaurant.

Italian Feast at Heronswood Gardens

I've been to Heronswood Gardens a number of times and I absolutely love the place. It's got both a beautiful garden with views of the port, a nursery with loads of heirloom plants and also a beautiful cafe serving fresh food. Hence, I was delighted to be invited to the Italian Feast event held in the backyard of the house, where I've always looked on in envy at the infinity pool. The backyard is only open a few times a year for special events so it's not every day you can walk through it.

The event was an Italian feast where there would be lots of shared food. And shared food there was. The meal started with lots of ciabatta that we all took turns to tear a piece off and then eat with the most amazing home made prosciutto and salami. One of the salami was made from venison and I had never tasted before. It wasn't very gamey but did have a distinct flavours. Some home pickled vegetables and a bean puree made for great accompaniments.

The next courses were some simple marinated Flinders mussels and a bread salad. Of course I loved the mussels, but I also loved the bread salad. I can't believe it but I enjoyed not only the bread, but the heirloom tomatoes too. Who am I? They tasted so sweet and vibrant. I hate raw tomatoes but these were great.

For the mains, it was a Florentina Bistecca with salsa verde, pumpkin semolina gnocchi and roasted garden vegetables. Talk about simple food tasting good. The whole course was mind blowingly amazing. The pumpkin gnocchi was so soft and had such a rich flavour. The roasted vegetables were done perfectly. And the beef, oh wow wow wow. The Angus steaks were cooked over charcoal and it shows. The meat had the most amazing charcoal flavour and was so juicy, tender and flavoursome. One of the best steaks I've ever eaten.

Just when I thought the meal couldn't get any better, it finishes off with a baked pear, fresh figs, mascapone, pistachio crumble and honey. Oh man, this dish made my day. I love fresh figs and found that it works wonderfully with pistachio. The pear was poached beautifully and all elements came together so well. I'd happily eat this at any hatted restaurant.

That wrapped up a most amazing meal in the Heronswood Garden. The setting is fantastic and the food matched the view. The meal was matched with five wines from Crittenden Estate. Each wine helped to bring out more flavours in the food and I liked them. The event cost $110 but I think it's great value for an amazing experience. From the setting, to the food, to the atmosphere, it was a wonderful event and I would highly recommend it if it is on next year.

My guest and I attended this event courtesy of Heronswood Gardens.

Fig Pistachio Frangipane Tart - Super Delicious Recipe

I have a fig obsession, and it's led me down some wonderful paths. I used to have a fig tree in the backyard as a kid but never really appreciated it. Now that I've grown up and my tastebuds have changed, I'm totally in love with figs. I usually buy dried ones as it's so hard to get fresh figs. So when figs are in season, I eat heaps of them and try them in everything.

I've been baking a lot with figs lately, all because of a Grosvenor Hotel fig tart photo. This photo just drew me in and had me salivating. Unfortunately, when I went, they had sold out of the tarts. So, if you can't go to the fig tart, you bring the fig tart to you. The stars were aligned when my Aunty brought over a small bag of fresh figs from her tree, which I duly made into a tart. Then, she brought over an even bigger bag of figs. I had hit the fig jackpot. So, I made a tart again, but inspiration struck and I improved it even more.

I have not made a tart in a long long time. I used to remember the results were not so good and it was so hard to make. However, my baking skills have improved and I found this fig tart to be so easy to make and the results are mind blowingly good. So good in fact that the tart is gone way too fast, but that's another issue I'll have to deal with when I buy some new stretchy elastic pants.

Here is the final Fig Pistachio Frangipane Tart that I came up with. It's a mix and match of a few recipes and some adaptations. The flavour profile is just stunning. The pistachio is a strong hit in the frangipane mixture and pair perfectly with the caramelised figs. The soft texture of the frangipane contrast well with the super crumbly buttery shortcrust pastry and the slightly chewy figs. I don't want to sound like a egotist but I rate this fig tart ten out of ten.

This recipe makes a massive 32cm tin tart, but trust me, it will disappear fast. You can always make a smaller tin and some mini tarts. Look how beautiful the tart looks with the geometric pattern that I designed.

I also made a traditional almond frangipane version of this tart and it too is sensational. The smell of the almond is more subdued and the figs come through more in this one, but I personally think the pistachio version is the best as I love pistachios.

As usual, some tips to help you make the best fig tart possible.

*With pastry, the butter and water must be cold to get the best results. Once the dough comes slightly together in the food processor, stop it and take it out. Don't roll it or anything as overworking it makes it a little bit less crumbly as I found out on my first attempt.

*The figs you use really need to be ripe for this tart to work best. The figs are not completely dried out in the baking and you can still taste the freshness and ripe sweetness.

*I ground up some natural pistachio in a coffee grinder so the meal was very smooth. If you don't have a coffee grinder, you can use a food processor but the results won't be as good and the final frangipane won't be as smooth.

*I don't bother waiting for the pastry shell to cool before putting my frangipane and figs on. I didn't encounter any problems.

*I cover my pastry with foil rather than silicone paper as I can wrap it around the sides when I'm blind baking so the tart does not go too brown.

Fig Pistachio Frangipane Tart

Shortcrust Pastry
Recipe from Belinda Jeffrey

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
125g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup (60ml) iced water

METHOD
1. Put the flour and salt into a food processor, and whiz them together.
2. Add the butter and whiz everything again until the mixture resembles medium-fine breadcrumbs.
3. With the processor running, pour in the iced water and process only until the dough forms a ball around the blade.
4. Tip the dough out onto a board and shape it into a ball.
5. Flatten it into a disc and wrap it tightly in cling film.
6. Chill the disc for about 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is firm, but supple enough to roll.
7. Roll out the pastry on a floured benchtop until large enough to fill out a tart tin. I used a 32cm tin and so the pastry was about 1mm thick, very fine.
8. Place the pastry into the tart tin by wrapping the pastry around the rolling pin and then unrolling it into tin. Trim and neaten the edges of the pastry around the tin.
9. Place tin back into fridge to cool for 20 minutes and preheat oven to 200C.
10. Take tin out of the fridge and cover the pastry with foil.
11. Blind bake the pastry using rice, beans or any other weights for 25 minutes.

Pistachio Frangipane
Recipe adapted from The Hungry Excavator

You can make this frangipane mixture while the pastry is blind baking in the oven. It doesn't take long to make this.

125g butter (softened)
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pistachio meal (almond meal can be substituted as well)
1/2 cup plain flour

METHOD
1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Add the egg yolk, egg and vanilla extract and beat until well combined
3. Add the flour and pistachio meal and beat until well combined

Tart Assembly

INGREDIENTS
1 blind baked tart shell
1 portion of the pistachio frangipane
20 or so fresh figs cut up to cover a 32cm tin

METHOD
1. Take pastry out of the oven, remove foil and weights. Turn oven down to 180C.
2. Spread frangipane mixture evenly onto tart shell.
3. Arrange cut up figs onto frangipane mixture in a nice pattern of your choice.
4. Bake tart for 35 minutes or until the frangipane looks set.
5. Cool in the tin and then take out.

A Delicious Italian Affair - Pizzas at Hotel Grosvenor and Pastas at Etto

GROSVENOR HOTEL

The battle was on. I was ready. Armed with my secret ingredients and a whole lotta trash talk, I was ready to win. What am I talking about? The Great Pizza Comp at Grosvenor Hotel of 2013 of course. I, along with a number of other bloggers, was invited to Grosvenor Hotel by Tink PR to invent a pizza. The best 3 of the night would go on the menu and be voted on by the public. The winning pizza would be put onto the restaurant menu for a month, with the victor allowed to eat their pizza endlessly for free for the whole month. You can read about the whole competition in detail at Michele's blog. It was such a fun night and I had the best time. It was amazing how inventive everyone was with their pizzas. Lots of amazing flavours there. Of course we had some help along with way with the bases from head chef Emile and my new friend Stefano, pizza mestro. We may have also had a "Ghost" moment. Think Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, and replace the clay with a pizza base.

After all the delicious eating, we all voted on which pizzas we liked best. Let's just say that while my "The Karaage Kid" pizza was awesome, Michele's Banhmigeddon pizza was even more awesome. I'll admit defeat when it hits me deliciously in the stomach. Below is my "The Karaage Kid" pizza, with Japanese chicken karaage, grilled capsicum, rocket, roasted sesame sauce on a tomato base. It worked really nicely and I would definitely make this again at home.

As we loved the pizzas so much, Michele, Cherrie, James, I-Hua, Aaron and I went back to Grosvenor Hotel to eat the now famous Banhimgeddon. Below is the said pizza. Look at how glorious the marinated chicken, pickled chili, pickled carrot, coriander, mayo and sriracha pizza looks. It seriously tastes amazing, just like a banh mi in pizza form.

Besides the Banhmigeddon, we also tried the mushroom pizza and sausage pizza. The bases are beautifully thin and crispy and the toppings very good, albeit a tiny bit inferior to the amazing banhmigeddon. I might be a bit biased as the banhmi pizza was my idea, which Michele executed perfectly.

To accompany the pizzas, we had the chips. Let me put it out there right now, these are Melbourne's best chips. Triple cooked chips over 72 hours in the style done by my food hero Heston, these chips are super crispy on the outside while maintaining the most delightful soft interior, and a wonderful flavour. Emile tells me he's constantly trying out different potatoes and thinks he's found an even better one, so I can't wait to try them. I've been on a chip hunt for a year now and if you think there's a better chip in Melbourne, please please let me know as I'd love to try it.

The last item we ordered was the chicken liver parfait. This parfait is my favourite I've tried anywhere. Emile says it's Marco Pierre White's recipe and it's stunning. I can't help comparing all chicken liver parfait to this one now. In the last month I've had chicken liver parfait at 3 other places and they all pale in comparison so badly. Even Cherrie's kids loved this parfait, which was a real shock. A tip, the parfait spread on the crust of the pizzas or eaten with the chips is unbelievable.

While Grosvenor Hotel does amazing pizzas, they also serve many other dinner menu items, such as a suckling pig. Uh huh. I can't wait to go back and try that as well.



ETTO

Etto is a new pasta restaurant that has opened up in South Melbourne. Their self proclaimed vision statement is

"Etto’s all about fresh Italian street food – fresh pasta and seriously delicious sauces cooked to order in minutes with love & passion."

Their restaurant is a bit like Grill'd, simple items made freshly and tasting great. The store even has that Grill'd feel with a mix of fun and lots of mix and match options. After much thought, as everything looked so tempting, I decided on the Wagyu Meatballs with Papardelle, Salami with truffle oil linguini and Smoked salmon and capers spaghetti.

All the pastas were really nice. Everything is freshly made on the day and the pasta is either made on site or from a kitchen nearby and the sauces are made on site. Pastas are cooked to order and then the sauces are added. I really loved the wagyu meatballs with a pesto type sauce. The meatballs were covered in a rich sauce and my standout pasta was without doubt the papardelle. I'd be happy to eat that at any hatted restaurant. Perfectly smooth pasta cooked perfectly. The salami linguini was also very good. I really liked the spicy salami and again, the pasta was really good. I liked the fact that even the parmesan tastes good and not the fake stuff. The smoked salmon was pretty good, but it wasn't the usual smoked salmon I was expecting. Instead it's more like a lightly smoked salmon. It went well with the capers and rocket.

I was surprisingly impressed with everything as I was thinking that the fast food style place would produce rather generic tasting pasta. Instead, everything tasted really homely and I would go back for more. With dishes around the $11 mark, it would make for a great lunch or dinner. You can eat in, although there is limited seating, or take the food away to eat.

Etto is a simple nice concept which I can see working in the same manner as Grill'd. You can serve one type of food, but if you do it well, people will come back I think.

I dined courtesy of Etto.