Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Simple and Delicious

I've made this carrot cake more times than I remember. However, I hadn't made it for a while and when I went to my own blog (which I use like my own digital cookbook) to find the recipe, I realised I hadn't blogged it yet *gasp*. Hence here is the recipe. Of the many many carrot cake recipes I've tried, it's my favourite. I first found the recipe on the Kitchen Wench blog. Now it is one of my favourite go to recipe when I want something fast and tasty. The texture of this cake is beautifully crumbly and the flavours are really good. Of course you need to make the cream cheese frosting as it really enhances this cake.

In terms of making this cake, it's so easy. A one pan all in one mix. You don't even need an electric mixer. The hardest part is grating all the carrots.

Some tips for a good bake:

* Don't grate the carrots too finely as it will really release the water and the texture won't be as good.
* I like to put roughly chopped nuts to get the texture when I eat it.
* I like the spices to be fairly strong so I use about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg.
* I've made a slight addition to this recipe where I sandwich fresh bananas between the carrot cake. For me it enhances the cake so much and I was really surprised how well it works. So I'd recommend sandwiching the bananas.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS
200g (2 cups) self-raising flour
1 heaped cup of brown sugar
a couple of dashes of ground cinnamon and nutmeg, according to taste
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 1/2 medium carrots, grated*
120-150g roughly chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

250g Softened Cream Cheese
80g Softened Butter
1 tbsp Vanilla Essence
1 cups Icing Sugar (add more or less icing to your liking)

OPTIONAL
2/3 cup sultanas
2 bananas sliced, to sandwich between the carrot cake

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and line a non-stick 18cm cake tin.

2. Sift together flour, sugar and spices in one bowl, and lightly beat together the eggs and oil in a separate bowl.

3. Toss the grated carrot and coarsely chopped walnuts through the flour (if you’re adding sultanas to the mix, do so at this stage), then add the oil and egg mixture and stir till combined.

4. Pour mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45 min – 1hr, or till a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

5. If sandwiching the bananas, cut the cake in half horizontally. Lay out the slice bananas on the bottom until the cake is completely covered. Put the top half of the cake over the bananas.

6. For the cream cheese frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Mix in vanilla essence and icing sugar until the desired sweetness. Spread cream cheese frosting generously over cake.

Eat Street 2014 - French Elegance

Eat Street this year was once again a wonderfully organised event and so much fun. The French elegance theme was definitely captured by the Sofitel Melbourne ballrooms. The numerous restaurants and food purveyors all got into the mood with beautiful food that was thoroughly enjoyed by the patrons. All the proceeds of the night went to Redkite, who provide support for kids with cancer and their families.

I had a great time at this year's event and really enjoyed the French theme. There were so many wonderful dishes and lots of great wines and beers as well. I also made sure I filled up on cheese and lots of desserts. A lot of effort was put into all the food and they were of the highest quality that you would expect from such fine establishments.

A great event once again with such a great cause. I hope you'll check out this event next year and see what it's like for yourself.






I attended the event courtesy of Eat Street.

Delicious American Style Blueberry Pancakes - Jamie Oliver Recipe

I've always loved pancakes. I used to regularly go to Pancake Parlour for my fix of half priced pancakes using the shop-a-docket vouchers. However, I stopped going to Pancake Parlour when a friend brought back good maple syrup from Canada for me and the flavour was just amazing that I didn't want to eat the Pancake Parlour ones any more. I still love pancakes, but the ones I made were always rather dense. So when I saw Lianne's photo of her fluffy pancakes, I asked for the recipe. It turns out it's a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's his Pancakes USA Stylie.

I gave the pancake recipe a go and the results are great. The pancakes are very fluffy and tasty. The recipe is a bit more work than usual but I think it's worth it for the result. They're way lighter than the ones I normally make, using the same ingredients you will have in the fridge most of the time. You can add anything, or nothing else to them. I decided to make some blueberry pancakes as I had frozen blueberries in the freezer.

I used my good maple syrup from Canada and drizzled them all over the pancakes. Oh wow, it was so delicious. I wish I had some vanilla ice cream as well. That would have made them perfect. Next time.

So some tips to ensure you pancakes are delicious

* I beat the egg yolk mixture about until it became quite thick and creamy.

* Make sure you beat the egg whites until they're stiff but probably don't over beat them until they become lumpy.

* Cook one side of the pancake until you can see bubbles and then add your topping and flip them.


American Blueberry Pancakes
Jamie Oliver Recipe
Serves: 4
Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
3 large free-range eggs
115 g plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
140 ml milk
1 pinch salt

METHOD
First separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Fold into the batter – it is now ready to use.

Heat a good non-stick pan on a medium heat. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. At this point sprinkle your chosen flavouring (see below) on to the uncooked side before loosening with a spatula and flipping the pancake over. Continue frying until both sides are golden.

Competitions With A Catch - Mamamia's Food Blogger Idol, Opportunity or Exploitation?

I received an email from the folks at Mamamia about a new Food Blogger Idol competition they were running. Instantly, I sensed it was going to be one of those competitions with a catch, like the one I experienced a while back with Travelscene. Anyway, out of interest, I thought I'd go and take a closer look.

So basically the competition involves the following:

Together with our good friends at Rachel’s Gourmet Low Fat Yoghurt we are launching Food Blogger Idol. Sounds kind of exciting huh? That’s because it IS. The winner of Mamamia Food Blogger Idol wins a 3 month contract (one paid and published post per week) as Mamamia’s New Food Blogger.

..To be crowned the dedicated Food Blogger for Mamamia and be read and shared by potential millions, all you need to do is create a unique recipe with a specific ingredient, one that we will share with you below.

...And, apart from the fact that it’s actually pretty easy to enter, we also get to introduce you all to the beautiful and foodie inspired low fat yoghurts from Rachel’s, this will be the key and only mandatory ingredient in the dish you create and write about as your entry.

Email your recipe list, how-to and loving description to foodbloggeridol@mamamia.com.au
Please accompany your recipe with a minimum of 5 photos (iPhones are fine!) of the creation process
We also need your name (including a ‘public’ alias if you’re the private type) and a head shot to show everyone your pretty face
You don’t have to live in Sydney to enter and won’t be required to come into the office (unless you want to!) if you’re successful
All entries must be received by Monday 2nd June 2014 11.59pm

If you've ever entered any of these competitions, your Spidey senses are probably going off already. This competition isn't about finding a food blogger idol obviously, it's about promoting Rachel's yoghurt. All that is fine. I'm not against promoting things and using competitions to promote something. I think the part that annoys me is that in this case, and other similar competitions where the entrants have to invest quite a bit of work, it may not be known to everyone that your work is no longer your work, regardless of whether you win or not. It would be logical, but incorrect, for most people to assume that the winner's work becomes the property of the competition promoters, but in fact, every entrants work is now no longer their own. So in this case, Mamamia, who I would assume is being paid by Rachel's Yoghurt to help promote them, has full ownership of entrants work, and can use in any which way they want.

If you go and read the full terms and conditions, there's all the stock standard disclaimers that basically they own everything that you submitted. It goes on for pages but the three conditions below give a summary of their rights:

(a) consent to the Promoter and/or Rachel’s making copies of or publishing the whole or any part of their entry/vote and otherwise exploiting the entry/vote and contents of the entry/vote and any rights in relation to the entry/vote, to publicise this competition, Rachel’s products, the Promoter, or for any other purposes;

(b) undertake to the Promoter and Rachel’s that their entry/vote is not, and its use by the Promoter and Rachel’s will not be, in breach of any third party intellectual property rights;

(c) grant the Promoter and Rachel’s a world-wide, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable, transferrable licence (with a right to sublicense) to use their entry/vote (including by editing it) submitted as part of this competition for any purpose.

This means both Mamamia, and in association Rachel's, can use your photos and recipes for whatever they want. Rachel's Yoghurt may use your recipe for their next product. So in effect you've helped save them heaps of money in research and development and you will in all likelihood get nothing in return, not even a mention as the work is theirs now. Only the five finalists will be featured, with the lure that "to be crowned the dedicated Food Blogger for Mamamia and be read and shared by potential millions", somehow the exposure will help any aspiring food bloggers with dreams of cracking the food industry. The voting process is a popularity contest via social media and where you basically have to tell every single person you know about Mamamia and Rachel's Yoghurt to get a vote. It means you're further helping to promote them for some possible returns if you win. And what do you get if you win, you get to help them write 12 posts, 600-800 words each, at $200 a post. It's pretty bad pay to begin with, and it's not clear what you can write about. They may make you write about things you don't want to. And if you don't want to write what they ask you to, well then Clause 13 states:

13. In the event the final winner named Food Blogger Idol does not fulfill the provided contractual arrangements, the Promoter may pursue the employment of any of the other entrants . Any decision by the Promoter on future blogger employment contacted from entrants of this competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

And the winners obligations run quite far. It's not just the 12 articles you need to write. It also states:

17. The winners must, at the Promoter’s or Rachel’s request, participate in all promotional activity (such as publicity and photography) surrounding the winning of any prize, free of charge, and they consent to the Promoter and Rachel’s using their name and image in promotional material.

So you have to be their show pony at their beckon call. I wonder how far this clause stretches. Would you have to buy a plane ticket interstate to fulfill your obligations?

All in all, is this competition really an opportunity, or more like exploitation? Of course Mamamia will say that all the terms and conditions are there for everyone to read and it's not their problem if entrants don't read it, but they're not going out of their way to make it clear that all entries are their property within the competition description. If they clearly outline the implications and people still choose to enter, that's great. I have no problems with that. But when the competition's darker sides are hidden amongst a tonne of legal jargon, I find it all rather distasteful.

Matcha Chiffon With Matcha Cream and Matcha Ganache - Addictively Good

I love chiffon cakes. They're quite an Asian cake and most people growing up in South East Asia has probably eaten a chiffon cake. My favourite chiffon cake is the Pandan Chiffon that I normally make. Chiffons are mostly left bare and not iced as Asians tend to like less sweet desserts. I'm not Asian in that way as I always put the pandan coconut fudge onto my pandan chiffon. I can now add some more chiffons to my repertoire thanks to Chiffon Queen, aka Agnes. I've had three of her chiffons and they're all super amazing. I've tried a chocolate chiffon with a chocolate ganache glaze, a lime chiffon with lime curd filling and a Matcha Chiffon with with Matcha Cream and Matcha Ganache. They're all so good but I decided to make the matcha chiffon first as I had some matcha powder in the pantry.

For my matcha chiffon, I added some raspberries both for looks and for flavour. I really loved the slight sourness of the raspberries in this cake as it's quite sweet. I reduced the matcha glaze as I didn't want it as sweet and it was still more than enough. The chiffon itself is beautifully light and works so well with the matcha cream. I had been making the chiffons via another method in the past but this method is far quicker and seems to produce a result that is as fluffy. I will be using this method in future and making many more chiffons.

As usual, some tips to help you bake the best cake possible:

* Use a good quality matcha as it will really come through in the cake. The amounts given in the recipe produce that a cake that's medium in matcha flavour. Obviously, adjust the amount according to what flavour profile you want.

* It doesn't really say how much to whisk the egg yolks for but I just used an electric beater to beat it until it became pale and increased in volume.

* In my pandan chiffon recipe I used to have to fold the flour in slowly to not remove the air in the egg whites. But here you add the flour before the egg whites so you don't have to be gentle and can just mix the flour in.

* When beating the egg whites, make sure you beat it until it is really stiff. The stiffer the better as you will get a fluffy cake.

* Definitely do not fill the cake tin more than 3/4 full as it really rises.

* You must let the cake cool upside down in the tin to enable it to stiffen and stay risen.

* DO NOT OIL OR GREASE THE PAN. The chiffon sticks to the pan enabling it to rise.

* I do use a chiffon mould but have made chiffons successfully in regular cake tins.

* The ganache hardens quite quick so only make it once you have assembled your chiffon and are ready to pour the ganache over it.


Matcha Chiffon Cake with Matcha Cream
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the cake
7 eggs, separated (note: if you have large eggs, only use 6)
220g flour
350g caster sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon matcha powder (or more to taste)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the whipped cream filling
200ml thickened cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons matcha powder (or more to taste)

For the ganache
100ml thickened cream
220 white chocolate
2 tablespoons corn syrup (leave out if you don't have any)
2 teaspoons matcha powder (or more to taste)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and set aside a large 20cm tube cake tin that has a removable base.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3. Whisk together the matcha powder and water until dissolved, then whisk in the egg yolks, oil, and vinegar.

4. Add to the wet ingredients to the flour and whisk until well combined.

5. In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer to stiff peaks.

6. Using a large metal spoon, fold in a spoonful of the egg whites to the cake mixture to lighten it.
Add the rest of the egg whites to the cake mixture and fold in with your metal spoon until just combined.

7. Pour the batter into your cake tin and bang it on your work surface a couple of times to bring any large air bubbles to the surface. (Note: if there is a lot of batter, don't add it all to the tin. You only want to fill it to 3/4 full. If you have extra, put them into cupcake liners and make small cakes. Small cupcake sized ones need to be baked for 15 minutes only.)

8. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

9. Remove from the oven and immediately invert the entire tin and cake upside down until it's cool - you can do this by resting the middle of the tube over a bottle, or (if your cake isn't too tall) by placing it over a high wire rack that will let air circulate underneath.

10. To release the cake, run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and the tin. You will want to serve the cake upside down as it's prettier that way.

11. Make the cream filling by whipping the cream with the icing sugar and matcha powder until thick and stiff.

12. When completely cool, cut cake horizontally into three layers with a serrated knife. Place bottom layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the cream. Place the second layer on top and spread with the remaining cream. Place the last layer on top.

13. Make the ganache by adding all the ingredients into a saucepan and melting on a gentle heat until all the chocolate has melted. Let it cool for a bit (about 10 minutes) before pouring on top of the cake.

French Elegance at Eat Street 2014 - Tickets Out Now

Eat Street is back for 2014. Once again, Redkite is the chosen charity. Redkite provide support for kids with cancer and their families. This year, the them is French Elegance, ooh la la. The Sofitel Melbourne Grand Ballroom will be transformed into a beautiful giant buffet. Thirty of Melbourne's top restaurants will serve a number of dishes and drinks. Having been a few times, I can highly recommend you come along. Your ticket fees are going to a great cause and you'll eat some of the best food in Melbourne as well as having so much fun. I'll be there eating everything so say hi if you see me.

Date: 27 May 2014
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Sofitel Melbourne On Collins
State: VIC
Enquiries:(03) 9653 0000 or email h1902-co01@sofitel.com
Cost: $160

Wicked In Australia - Melbourne Opening Night

I used to think musicals were rather silly, with the actors singing the words they would otherwise say. But nowadays, I'm hooked to musicals. One of the first musicals I ever saw was Wicked The Musical. I somehow heard the soundtrack from the Broadway recording and was totally captured by the story and the amazing singing of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Then, by pure chance, the musical was coming to Melbourne. So I quickly bought a ticket and went to see it. I was completely captivated and went to see it a second time during it's first Melbourne run. Like most people, I then got onto the Internet and watched more videos from various productions around the world. There were some great casts around the world but the Australian cast is right up there in terms of quality.

If you don't know, the story of Wicked proceeds the Wizard of Oz story, both the book and the movie. It explains how Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) became who they were. The story gives an insight into how people become good or bad and how perception is not always a reality. It's a really touching story and will leave you totally enthralled due to the writing, acting, singing and dancing. It definitely made me change my mind about the Wicked Witch of the West who I used to hate from the movie.

The production on this show is huge, with massive elaborate sets, lighting and music by a great symphony. I was lucky enough to be invited to the return of Wicked to Melbourne for the opening night show. Jemma Rix reprises her role as Elphaba and Lucy Durack as Glinda. Taking over from Rob Mills (who I saw the last two times) as Fiyero is Steve Danielsen. Reg Livermore is The Wizard in place of Bert Newton. The opening night performance was absolutely on-song and was so amazing. There were no jittery moments or mistakes at all. Jemma's voice is still stunning and she hits the spine tingling high notes during Defying Gravity and No Good Deeds that have the crowd cheering. Yes, we cheered like a football match. Lucy Durack also hit some brilliant falsetto high notes during her songs and was so funny. I liked Steve Danielsen way more as Fiyero as he has a better voice than Rob Mills and just encapsulated the character better.

The show has so many highlights and you'll be laughing, crying and cheering when different things happen. I was also singing along as I know all the songs so well. Despite knowing the story so well and the songs, it was still so enjoying. The singing was great, but the acting was so believable. Even the different pronunciations and emphasis on different words really made helped to draw out the drama.

The Melbourne run of Wicked only goes until the end of June, so I implore you to quickly book some tickets and go along and see it. It's a world class production and you will kick yourself for missing it. It's such a wonderful experience and I defy you to not have fun at it.
Photo credits: Jess Busby

I attended the opening night performance courtesy of an invite from ACMN.

Giveaway - 3 x Double Passes to Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show 2014

There's quite a lot of food events around the year, and I like to go to them all if I can. Once again, the Good Food and Wine Show is nearly upon us. I think I've been to all of the Good Food and Wine Shows that have ever occurred in Melbourne. This year won't be an exception and I'll be going. I'd like to invite some of you to come along and enjoy the show as well as I have 3 Double Passes to give away to gain entry to the show. You too can stuff your face with every free sample you can get your hands on, buy lots of great food, attend masterclasses and even spot some food celebrities.

What: Good Food and Wine Show
Where: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre South Wharf
When: May 30 - June 1
How Much: $34 for an adult ticket

GIVEAWAY

3 x Double Passes to the Melbourne Good Food and Wine Show 2014

HOW TO ENTER
***************************************************************************
COMPETITION CLOSED

The randomly drawn winners are Jackie, Dean Brandt and Kaz Reimann. Congratulations to you three and thank you everyone else for entering.

Update: As I haven't been able to reach Kaz Reimann, I've redrawn the last prize and Leelee is the winner.
***************************************************************************
Just leave a comment. You can write about anything.

Make sure there is a way for me to contact you. If I can't get in contact with you within 2 days, I will redraw the prize.

Conditions of Entry
- Anyone can enter. One entry per person. You can transfer the prize to friends or family.
- Competition closes May 11th 7pm AEST. The winner will be announced on this same post.
- The winners will be randomly drawn.
- I will contact the winners directly to get your address to send the tickets.

Sepia Restaurant - Schweppes Fancy Food Fight

The thing about coincidences, is that they're so coincidental. I was heading up to Sydney for a holiday already. Then I get an invite to attend a function in Sydney. The sender knew I was in Melbourne, but sent the invite just in case I happen to be up in Sydney. Low and behold, I said I would be there in a couple of weeks time. Before I knew it, I had a chance to dine at Sepia Restaurant, voted Sydney's best restaurant by the Sydney Good Food Guide 2014 as the Restaurant of the Year. Sepia was on my list of places to dine in Sydney, so it was all perfect. The meal I would be having at Sepia was in celebration of Schweppes Australia Mineral Water Range, where they worked with Sepia head chef Martin Benn for him to develop dishes inspired by the mineral water for the Fancy Food Fight campaign. The menu that Martin came up with is below, and the accompanying ad is so much fun.

Pumpkin, parmesan and rosemary sloop
Inspired by Schweppes Apple & Pink Grapefruit Mineral Water

Chilled spiced squidgy tomatoes and baby basil
Inspired by Schweppes Natural Mineral Water

Beetroot and goats cheese and rye tart surprise
Inspired by Schweppes Orange & Mango Mineral Water

Super sticky soba noodle prawns, rice wine and lime vinaigrette
Inspired by Schweppes Lemon & Lime Mineral Water

Golden eggs, pickled ginger cream and persimmon
Inspired by Schweppes Orange & Passionfruit Mineral Water

Yuzu and raspberry grenades
Inspired by Schweppes Lemon & Lime Mineral Water

The Ultimate mango custard tart
Inspired by Schweppes Orange & Mango Mineral Water

Schweppes Mineral Water Jelly
Inspired by all Schweppes Mineral Water Flavours

You can find the behind the scenes videos on the making of the ad on the Schweppes Youtube page.

For my particular meal, I would get to try the golden egg, which at the time I knew nothing about how it was yet and it all sounded so exciting. I also got to sample some of the Sepia menu and they were as below:

Tuna tartare starter

Nori rolled sea scallops, avocado cream, pickled ginger, puffed sushi rice
Served with Schweppes Lemon and Lime Mineral Water

House made chevré, rhubarb, beetroot, rye, native violets
Served with Schweppes Orange and Mango Mineral Water

Hatcho miso wagyu rump, sea urchin and wasabi butter, grilled onions and shallots, chestnut mushroom fried potato and kombu crumb
Served with Schweppes Orange and Mango Mineral Water

Golden eggs, pickled ginger cream and persimmon
Served with Schweppes Orange and Passionfruit Mineral Water

“Autumn chocolate forest”
Soft chocolate, hazelnut and almond praline, lavender and honey cream, blackberry sorbet caramel and shiso vinegar jellies, green tea, licorice, chocolate twigs, crystallised fennel fronds, shiso buds
Served with Schweppes Mineral Water

I'd seen photos of Sepia online before, but it still didn't make it easy to find. The unobtrusive (at least to me) front door had me looking around for a while until I finally spotted it. I did look with "guy eyes", which meant straight ahead and no awareness at all of anything else in my vision. I was warmly greeted once inside by the hostess, who took my umbrella (ella eh eh eh eh eh ehhhhh) and showed me to my table. The room is very beautiful, dominated by the huge bar and in quite a strange semi circle layout. It definitely felt intimate though. I loved the decor and late found out from Vicki Wild (wife of Martin and owner) that the beautiful tile floors were flown in from Italy and then cut to the shape using three different coloured tiles and hand laid by a master tiler. Stunning.

My meal started with bread and butter. Meh you say. OMG I had to stop myself from gobbling up 3 more bread rolls with butter because it was amazingly delicious. The bread was soft and had the most wonderful flavour. And then that butter, oh man. It rivals the Vue de Monde butter. This butter was smooth, creamy, had a hint of sourness right at the end and super fragrant. I had to find out what was in the butter. And after asking the waiter, I found that it was house made butter from creme fraiche with truffle salt. Magic.

So once I got over the butter, I was served the tuna tartare starter, which was good. The first course was then the Nori scallops. I didn't know what to make of this at first but once I started eating it, it was like a deconstructed sushi rolls. The flavour, and especially the texture, of the scallop were wonderful and I love the avocado cream and ginger gels with it.

Next dish up was my equal favourite dish of the night. A house made chevre was served with textures of beetroot and rhubarb. Goodness me, the layers of different textures melted away in your mouth as well as having some crunch. It was just something so unexpected and so good. The beetroot butter and jelly were just heaven. I need that to eat with my chevre going forward.

The next dish was the David Blackmore Wagyu with mushrooms. Thin layers of wagyu were perfectly cooked and that sea urchin butter was umami goodness. The dish was quite rich by the end but overall a stunning dish.

It then came time to try the Golden Egg. This beautiful gold glittered egg was presented standing up in the middle of my plate, dusted with gold powder all around it. I cracked it open and this yolk and white came oozing out. So much fun. It really looked like an egg and some awesome yolkporn. It was really tasty too besides looking good. I didn't eat all of the shell though as that was all sugar I think and really sweet.

Lastly to end the night, I was served Sepia's signature dish, the Autumn Chocolate Forest. This dessert was my other equal favourite of the night (it was so hard to choose which was my favourite) and is going to feature in my all time favourite desserts list. When I started to eat it, I kept getting different layers, textures and flavours that kept changing depending on which elements I happen to have in my mouth. The super cold sorbet worked really well to cut through every element, with three layers of cream contrasted with all these things that were crunchy, chewy and had really distinct flavours. I didn't even mind the small amounts of licorice in this dish. A superb dish and a great way to end the meal. I was going to explode by this dish and had to sit very still sipping plain mineral water for quite a while before I could move.

Overall, I loved this meal so much and would put it right up with with a handful of the best meals I've ever eaten. The food was exceptional but also the mood and ambiance was lovely in that restaurant. You can't fault the service, even when one waitress sheepishly smiled and told me she forgot one element in the wagyu dish. I'd forget too given how complex the dishes are. If you get a chance, I highly recommend you go and dine at Sepia, and have your own fancy food fight.

I dined courtesy of Schweppes. Thanks so much to the wonderful team at Sepia for looking after me all night. Thanks Lucy from Haystac for organising the meal.

Black Star Pastry Strawberry and Watermelon Cake - A Showstopper

On my most recent trip to Sydney, I finally got to taste the Black Star Pastry strawberry and watermelon cake. I was lucky to even get a taste as they didn't have any left by the time I got there. But then the chefs were cutting up cakes for orders and there were a few small slices left so I pounced and got one. The cake is an extremely beautiful cake and it is very tasty. The hype around it was warranted as I really enjoyed the cake in it's simplicity, especially with that refreshing slice of watermelon in the middle. As the cake is quite fragile, I know that it would be hard to carry from Sydney even (although one awesome Instagrammers did offer to carry me some from Sydney) and I wouldn't get to eat it often. But, thanks to another Instagrammer, I found out that the recipe for this cake is online. I Googled it and found the Gourmet Traveller recipe. At it's core, this cake isn't that hard to make in terms of the individual elements. It's more about doing lots of little things and getting each element spot on. Below was my attempt at this cake.

I am extremely happy with my attempt at the cake. Besides not being able to cut the edges of the cake neatly, not finding any dried rose petals and cutting the watermelon a bit too thick, it does look really nice and tastes excellent. I think the flavour profile is very close to the original. I didn't really have any issues with the cake, with the dacquoise being my biggest worry. However, I made sure I measured everything accurately and even market out how big I wanted the dacquoise. The chewiness of the dacquoise combined with the crunch of the watermelon and the soft cream makes for such a great contrast. The rosewater on this cake is very strong and it is a sweet cake. If you don't like either of these two things, I would suggest you not make it. Otherwise, this is an excellent cake to make just to eat, but also for celebrations. Look how stunning it is. Rectangular layer cakes always seem to have a level of sophistication as only bakeries and high end restaurants do them that way and this cake has that same feel. A definite showstopper at any gathering I'd say.

Finally, some tips for a good bake and some suggestions

* Rather than ground my own almonds for the dacquoise, I just used store bought almond meal. That worked just as well so I've added that to the recipe.
* Use a strong natural rosewater that you can buy from a Middle Eastern grocery shop rather than the awful synthetic tasting ones from the supermarkets.
* Use ripe watermelons as it will really enhance the flavour of the cake rather than being a tasteless lump in the middle. After adding the rosewater, the watermelons are very wet so I added a step to dry them.
* The strawberries are macerated but again, if you can find ripe strawberries, it will enhance the flavour of the cake. The quantity specified wasn't enough to really fill a cake so I've increased that.
* I found the 300ml of cream was a way too little to get the same look as in the article and also the right ratio of cream to fruit to dacquoise taste wise. I ended up with very thin layers of cream and I made the dacquoise to the exact size as in the recipe. I have increased the cream amount in the recipe.
* Make sure you spread the spare almond meal evenly as it helps to absorb the moisture from the watermelon and stop the watermelon from making the whole cake soggy. The quantity specified is too little so I've increase that as well.
* The grapes work quite nicely but I think next time I might try lychees to get the classic Pierre Herme flavour combination of rosewater and lychee. I think that would make it even nicer.
* Slivered pistachios are a pain in the backside to chop up but they do add a nice visual effect and the taste is felt within the cake so make them.

Black Star Pastry Strawberry and Watermelon Cake
Adapted from the Black Star Pastry recipe

INGREDIENTS

250g seedless watermelon, thinly sliced (about 0.75cm - 1cm)
60ml rosewater
4 tbsp caster sugar
80 g almond meal
750 g strawberries (about 2 punnets), halved
10 seedless red grapes, halved
1 tbsp slivered pistachios (see note)
1 tbsp dried rose petals (see note)

Almond dacquoise
150g almond meal
150g pure icing sugar, sieved
5 egg whites
135g caster sugar

Rose-scented cream
900ml thickened cream
30g caster sugar
2 tbsp rosewater

METHOD

Almond Dacquoise
1) For almond dacquoise, preheat oven to 200C. Combine almond meal in a bowl with icing sugar.
2) Whisk egg whites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (3-4 minutes), then gradually add caster sugar and whisk until stiff peaks form (1-2 minutes).
3) Gently fold through almond mixture, spread on a 25cm x 40cm oven tray lined with baking paper and bake until golden (10-15 minutes).
4) Set aside to cool on tray, then cut in half lengthways.

Watermelon
5) Arrange watermelon slices in a single layer on a wire rack.
6) Sprinkle with 20ml rosewater, then scatter with 2 tbsp sugar.
7) Stand to macerate (at least 30 minutes), then pat dry with absorbent paper.

Rose Cream
8) Whisk cream and sugar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, gradually adding rosewater and whisk until stiff peaks form (do not over-whisk).

Macerated Strawberries
9) Combine strawberries, remaining rosewater (40ml) and remaining sugar (2 tbsp) in a bowl, toss to combine and set aside to macerate (at least 15 minutes).

Assembly of Cake
10) Spread one-third of the rose cream evenly over one half of dacquoise, scatter with half the almond meal to act as a barrier for the watermelon.
11) Top with watermelon, trimming to fill any gaps.
12) Scatter over remaining almond meal, spreading over half remaining cream.
13) Top with remaining dacquoise, spread over remaining cream and refrigerate until firm (1-2 hours).
14) Carefully arrange strawberries on top of cake, gently pushing into cream.
15) Trim edges of cake, scatter over grapes, pistachios and petals, and serve.